4.2.06

Bob and Roberta Smith at Hales Gallery, Tea Building, Feb 2006


Went round some East End galleries with Andy yesterday. Gilbert and George was good (The White Cube website is a disaster); Bob and Roberta Smith at Hales is also good. If you go to them also go to Kate MacGarry (Matt Bryans erased photos cut out from newspapers and magazines) and Trolley (David Fryer, Sean Flynn and Robert Montgomery - get them to open the basement space over the road for you) on Redchurch Street and then go and get the best Salt Beef beigel in London from this place.

1.2.06

Pickpocket: Bresson

Bresson's PickpocketWhile my wife was out drinking with her bookclub buddies (Philip Roth's Plot against America since you ask) Robert Bresson's Pickpocket was on Artsworld. I've never seen it before and it was excellent. Basically it's Crime and Punishment but with an unexpected dollop of redemption at the end. Shot largely from the point of view of our wastrel pickpocket of the title, it's hardly a realist movie despite the naturalism of the settings, the camerawork and even Bresson's casting of non-actors. The story moves along through visual clues as much as any spoken narrative and works by the seemingly logical progression of one scene simply following the next. If you liked Le Samourai, L'Homme du Train or even Ghost Dog then you'll like this.