I am not sure how to review this, because when I left the venue I was pretty much speechless! I am very, very rarely blown away by something but hand on heart this was one of the best experiences I have ever seen/had. Sure there has to be a caveat or two, and yes I may have some bias (which I will explain) but...wow, wow and WOW!
Mayfield Depot
Firstly, the venue of Mayfield Depot was inspired, I am truly passionate about the aesthetic of urban decay, I love brutalist architecture and concretism, along side the architecture of the industrial revolution. Fortunately, living in Manchester I am surrounded by exquisite examples of old factories, industry, dreams of an industrial metropolis, some of which has now been regenerated, but a majority where nature is reconquering the industrial dreams of the past, a return to form. A fleeting reminder that decay comes to us all, and the earth will subsume us all in the end. But it also represents the human spirit of the dare to dream, buildings and monuments to achievement, to challenge and solve social problems, to follow Sci-fi-esque dreams of futuristic living (Fritz Lang's Metropolis for example and the rebellion against art deco), yet failing and creating social decay and misery. This is in contrast to the architecture of today, with it's disposable ethos and short redundancy lifespan..... lifeless glass boxes on steel frame constructions, all personality removed, the call centre approach to living, shallow construction, cheap materials, no self-determinationism just a temporary throwaway construction, with thin walls, and lifeless laminate.
I have always wanted to go to into Mayfield depot, having spent endless hours viewing it from platform 14 at Piccadilly station. I am enthralled and fascinated by urban exploration, yet is isn't something I haven't really ever done (probably because of the potential illegality of it....and not having the time), so I am a passive viewer through sites such 28 Days Later and totally in awe of the spaces (and the people who capture) photographed. Needless to say, I was totally enthralled by the space, it was perfect, from the old signage, random ancient graffiti to the intricate Victorian brick work.
I am so inspired, and I just have to put on a multimedia experience in this venue, this is my new goal...watch this space!
Massive Attack
So, my Massive Attack bias comes from the fact that they formed a large part of the soundtrack to my life in London. Providing the perfect balance to the endless commute, traversing the overland railways from New Cross in the South (when I was at Goldsmiths), the decay of the North London Line from Gospel Oak to Willsden Junction in the west and Islington in the east to the daily commute through the deep tunnels of the Northern Line from Kentish Town to Moorgate, Liverpool Street or Tottenham Court road. Massive Attack was the perfect tempo'd soundscape, floating above the clatter of tube train bogies against steel track and points. The passing of floursence of stop after stop, creating the tinted expressions of people's hope, despair, dreams, love, hate, anger and thoughts, against the cold glass windows. Keeping me safe from harm.
Without wanting to spoil it for anyone, I think those going thinking this is a Massive Attack gig will be disappointed, those going will an open mind will be taken totally by surprise!! The music was perfect for the narrative, sometimes providing a joyous soundscape against the images of hope of people in Communist Russia (The Archies - Sugar Sugar) juxtaposed against the haunting nature of Nirvana's version of 'where did you sleep last night' was something to behold and will stick with me for a long long time.
Adam Curtis
My biggest bias is probably in relation to Adam Curtis, I love his film work and without is probably my biggest influence in my day job as a film maker, I would love to be able to produce such well argued, thought provoking, self-revelatiory films, using such powerful imagery. Again, as explored above, I love cold war imagery and in particular the film aesthetic of the 50's and 70's, along side the realisation of the power of fear, and the construct of the growth of capitalism, neo-conservatism and globalisation, creating 'norm' people based on statistically based data analysis of the past, thus managing all risk.....'if you liked that, then you will like this'.
I am now going to go back and watch each of his films again especially, The Century of the Self , The Power of Nightmares, The Trap: What Happened to our Dream of Freedom and All Watched Over By Machines of Loving Grace.
I am not going to post to much of a review as I don't want to spoil it for anyone who is about to see it. But as a feat of art and technology it was immense, the message which whilst drawing on Curtis's work of the past, is strong and clear through out, with a personal touch, there is humour in the despair, and despair in the hope. There is a strong sense in the hope of the past, and the more recent culture of fear (Blair/Clinton era politics), the notion that analysing the past will keep us 'safe from harm' in the future, yet results in control by fear. He touches again on his idea that any deviation from a statistically correlated 'norm' is something which can be 'fixed', usually by the use of drugs such as prozac, the endless categorisation of disorder into a treatable problem. Rather than take risks, challenge the norm, challenge society, the neo-con ideology of managing risk through computational methods such as game theory, which led to the global financial collapse, when fear was removed, because risk was managed, packaged and syphoned off failed. When the owners of the 'data' started to manipulate it to their own means (Enron), the system collapses in on itself, and there are no longer any 'heroes', who put their own lives on the line for the bettering of society (the scientists who encased the reactor at Chernobyl in a cement sarcophagus, who knew they would die a horrible death), rather is it is a about self betterment, yet we are always comparing ourselves against a 'norm' provided by the 24 hour rolling media, trying to sell us 'product' or lifestyles which are the norm. The narrative in-dispersed with humorous, harrowing, amazing, haunting, engaging imagery and audio from the period, as well as following the stories of individuals through out. The story of Russians dreams of america, the first rock concert in Afghanistan, the dreams of ideal cities, the heroin trade which grew out of a fail attempt at bettering a country, the disney idealism, the death of New York in the 1970's, the lies of Donald Trump, casinos, the growing insanity of those who put the systems in place, the art of rebellion, and the images of the Taliban, all worked together to tell a powerful story.
All this with against the backdrop of Massive Attack basically doing cover versions, was truly something else, the russian song will inspire and haunt me for a long time, in it's beauty, simplicity and message.
Great art in my opinion is something which makes you think, grounds you in the moment, brings your life experience and hopes and dreams to the fore and inspires you for the future and makes you become a better person. This had it all
PeaceNeil