portraits of the artists
landscape by David Harker
The first day back at work is always a sobering affair. Those oh-so-familiar surroundings, the problem with the desktop you hoped might have done the decent thing and gone away over the Christmas break, but for all my bleating there is a reassurance in the solidity of objects; the heavy presenter’s mike on its articulated arm, the frequency graphics on the computers, the (squeaky) office chair. The station was a buzz with an early spring clean underway. There is a glass panel through which I can see into another studio and I was treated to the sight of one of the station techs, a fairly burly fellow it must be said, hoovering to Queen’s I Want To Break Free.
Our first show of the year started as I hope we’ll carry on. The musical contributions were as varied as they were original; I particularly enjoyed Model Society’s ‘City of Romance’ a salute to a variety of British influences from the past 20 years and yet idiosyncratic and full of energy. It reminded me a little of the Stone Roses epic adolescent lust for life and the Smith’s Urban spirit was in the mix as well. I am looking forward to hearing more from this band. ROPHONE, meanwhile, offered an entirely different musical experience. I like being challenged – I don’t mean trying to get past piss-poor pop lyrics (the linguistic contortions song writers put themselves
Telegraph by David Harker
through to come up for a rhyme for ‘self’ are usually hilarious and pitiable, and invariably result in some variation of ‘don’t leave me on a shelf’, a weak metaphor if ever there was one). No I mean coming ear-to-track with a piece that doesn’t do what you want it to, makes no apologies for the situation. ‘ROPHONE Raveup’ is a harsh alarm of a piece which seems to test the listener, and yet I found myself liking the subtleties of the evolution of the song. I remember Bjork singing along to a car alarm; that piece shared some of this track’s qualities. I am looking forward to more from ROPHONE. Geoff Cotton gave us a comic swipe at anglo-franc relations, which I must admit had me on the edge of my seat somewhat. Was he going to cross the acceptability line? Was the talk of mistresses going to be suitable for broadcast? Where was it all going? Happily there were some very funny moments in Geoff’s track, not least the invitation from his Gaelic alter-ego to f-off on the Eurostar (context is everything for that gag) and I was really rather taken aback by the authenticity of his French accent, which seemed all to plausible. You could almost hear the Gaelic shrugs.
The guest list was one-third shorter than usual, owing to a snow related
David Harker Himself
disaster in the West Midlands; happily this resulted in a longer interview with artist David Harker. It’s one of the most satisfying I’ve done so far for the show. At the beginning of the interview I knew embarrassingly little about the genre of landscape representation and through considered responses and careful explanation of his craft, Harker led me through perspective, pointillism, Peter De Wint, Constable, architecture, Japanese and Chinese graphic art, and the challenges facing the emerging artist. I
landscape by David Harker
found him thoughtful and engaging. Some of his work, including the picture ‘telegraph’ which we discussed on the show, are included here. Harker, resident of Pinner, is planning exhibitions later in the year, I will keep you posted.
The big project for Fat Content Theatre’s Daniel Holme is The Man I Cure. My imagination has been captured by the idea of using a smell in theatre and also by the concept of institutionalising the theatre audience prior to the performance. For a show set in a hospital these seem like both clever shortcuts and powerful locators; oftentimes a smell can act as a memory trigger in a way that no
Daniel Holme
other sensory data could. You’ll have to listen to Daniel’s explanation of the show to learn more as its complex plot and ambitious thematic concerns don’t bear summarizing here. Suffice to say that The Man I Cure sounds as though it should be a thought provoking, diverting and surreal experience. I wish it the sweet smell of success.
And so 2010 is underway, I hope you’ll join us through the year as we probe the arts world and bring you the inside track.
Listen to this edition of The Arts Show
Tags: Daniel Holme, David Harker, Nikk Quentin Woolf
