Adam's book launch: One in Three

Adam's book launch

Went to Adam's book launch at the John Snow last night. Book launches are weird, they're like art show openings but (I suspect) with bigger egos and a more formal hierarchy to be observed. The publisher, the agent, the publicist, the family and the friends (the last two groups having read early drafts in a random order and as a result have no idea what the book's actually like) are all there*. Adam told a nice story about his mum. Having read the first draft she said "Well Adam, it's not very good is it". I think her initial comments about his first book were "Maybe writing isn't really your thing".

The book (I've read half of it in draft) is very good and is mostly about the history of cancer treatments. It's also about the death of Adam's dad but it's not really a cancer biography. You can read about it here and buy it here.

* Adam reckons book launches are weird but not for the reasons I've listed. In his case he thinks it's because he had lots of his contributors there and wanted to make sure he looked after them.

High Horse: even more

High Horse: even more

The High Horse ran an excellent evening of readings at the equally excellent Grant Museum of Zoology, part of the University of London. A series of writers were allocated different exhibits from the collection and each wrote a response. Bats, octupi and all sorts in formaldhyde formed the subjects of most of the stories. (George promises an audio download by "the middle of the week" on The High Horse website.) The Museum collection includes all types of monkey skeletons, a cat, elephants and even better it's free.

Konstantin Lifschitz's Piano

LSO St Luke's London

Went with Steve last week to LSO St Luke's which used to be a fucked up derelict Hawksmoor church by Old Street. Now it's very nice, like a yuppie's loft (but tasteful), all exposed brick and wood and double height ceilings. The concert was great. I wanted to go because I'm really common and Lifschitz was playing Bach's 'Goldberg' Variations as made famous in The Silence of the Lambs. As far as I remember (and being lazy as well as common I can't be bothered to check) in the film you just get to hear it playing when Hannibal is being held in the makeshift jail in Baltimore (?) and the unfortunate guard detail bring him his dinner. Hannibal has been playing it on his little cassette player and it continues through the scene. In the book (as far as I remember) it's one of his requests when they're negotiating for his help in finding the Senator's kidnapped daughter. He asks for one (of the two) Glenn Gould recordings and specifiies which one. I really can't remember which one it is, the earlier one or the later, but since the book came out that particular recording now outsells the other 5 to 1!* Sony marketing executives refer to this as the 'Hannibal Effect' - when one particular recording of the same piece of music by the same musician outsells another based on the fictional recommendation of a fictional character.

Lifschitz was great - dark and dressed in some weird black smock he seemed to have some kind of facial twitch despite being only 29 or 30 (he was born in 1976). As for the performance of the music I thought it was really fine (but what do I know). Over the years I've acquired two recordings of 'Goldberg'; the Gould (which is very short as he doesn't play any of the repeats) and one on Harpsichord by Pierre Hantai (which is really fucking majestic and I've just put it on).

* Regular readers will know that this is (obviously) a 'fact' that I just made up.

"I don't want a new outfit, I want a fucking wardrobe!"...

Fine dining at IKEA

...says my wife. This is the second time in less than seven days that I've been to IKEA and the third time in a month. I tell her this is proof, if proof is needed that I really love her. "Isn't the wardrobe for you as well?" I hear you ask, gentle reader. It is in the sense that my clothes will no doubt be in it (if it ever comes back into stock) but it isn't for me in that I would just as happily live out of a carrier bag/suitcase/pig sty.

Today was the turn of the Lakeside branch having been to Edmonton ("It's fucking murders there," as my ex-brother-in-law might have said) twice previously. This was simply because the internet led my wife to believe it was in stock there whereas Edmonton had sold out. This is no doubt because the wardrobe she'd like to score is the only one that might possibly have come from Heal's (but only on a dark night with your eyes half-shut). Anyway, as you already guessed it was out-of-stock despite the computer's belief that there were three stacked up in the shelves-and-pallet-hell just before checkout. Yol was pretty upset and the three stacking cardboard boxes, hand towel and shower-curtain didn't really begin to make up for it. I suggested a hot dog and after that (and a small fries and drink) she cheered up a bit. It was in the car as we were leaving the IKEA carpark that I suggested she might like to buy a new outfit at the nearby Lakeside shopping centre. Mr IKEA, she really really wants that wardrobe. Please help.

Hackney to Clapham and back again: Mark McGowan

Hackney to Clapham and back again

This is Mark McGowan, performance artist. At the show in Clapham we went to you could fight him in the guise of Ken Livingston. This is what it says on his website:

STREETFIGHTER (an opportunity to fight Ken Livingstone)
In an extraordinary art exhibition, controversial artist Mark McGowan is to proposition members of the public to boxing matches in the street. Clad in boxing attire, boots, shorts and gloves, McGowan will also be wearing a box on his head with a picture of the Mayor of London Ken Livingstone.

McGowan says, " i will be out at 10am outside the GLA building near Tower Bridge next Thursday looking for people to fight me (Ken) and arrange up to 10, one minute fights, which will take place outside the Clapham Art Gallery, as part of an art exhibition on Thursday 18th May 2006. You can prebook by calling 07956084780 or contact the gallery. I know lots of people are upset with Ken and his policies but i am here to defend Ken i think he is a great Mayor and there are too many people disrespecting him. Ken is not only the Mayor of London but a true fighter in every sense of the word, so if there is any black cab drivers, congestion charge critics etc, that fancy there chances, i am Ken and i am ready."

Maria gave him a good kicking. I thought he was OK, mostly because he's funny and he admits most performance art is rubbish.

Paperworld: Peter Liversidge

Paperworld: Peter Liversidge

Opens tomorrow. I hung (some of) it. It looks really good. This is a guy called Peter Liversidge who does things with brands and branded objects. These are all made in paper. Needless to say none of them work.

Bruce Sterling at Space Studios, Hackney

Bruce Sterling at Space Studios

The witty erudite clever insightful acerbic (and in this picture bored-looking) Bruce Sterling gave a talk at Space studios. It was all about arphid and was really really good (look elsewhere if you need more detail) but the most fantastic bit is that the good folks at Space took him to The Dolphin on Mare Street for a beer afterwards. As my wife says 'The Dolphin is the kind of place where men fall off their bar stools and women look at them with eyes full of pity knowing they'll be going home with them.' (Naturally it's my favourite pub in Hackney).

Feminism: Ed Ruscha

Feminism

There's a great linear art chronology (I guess all chronologies are linear?!) in Tate Modern. Actually, it's not great, it's shit. What I mean is that it *LOOKS* great and is all done in art student handwriting and for some reason I get excited even just seeing the name of artists I like written down. My favourites here are Mary Kelly, Martha Rosler and (of course) Ed Ruscha.

My book...

My book which once cost, oh £20 or so, is now freely available via Amazon resellers for as little as £2.99. On the upside you can pay as much as £61.19 for it if you prefer. Personally I don't mind which you buy as I don't get a cut and also the "royalties" such as they were dried up years ago.

Josef Albers: Tate Modern

The Albers and Moholy-Nagy show at Tate Modern is quite simply the best show I've seen this year. This is probably because in its own understated way you get the sense of the overarching influence of the European modernism on not only 20th century art but also design in all its fields. Plus the work by Albers and Moholy-Nagy is awesome. On the downside my wife decided she'd like a set of the Josef Albers nesting tables (reissued and available via Vitra or, handily enough, the Tate shop) which I figured I could afford with a few months overtime. But no, it's worse than that. She wants me to make her a set. On the upside the modern ones for sale look over-machined and ugly while mine will definitely have a certain 'home-spun' charm (if they ever get done - I did get a book on carpentry out of the library today though).