PIAF 2015 The Giants

   The Perth International Arts Festival always likes to start off with a bang. You know, get that party started right with fireworks or a water show or confetti falling on the main drag.  But this year PIAF set their guns to 'stun' and indeed we were.
    The Incredible and Phenomenal Journey of The Giants , created by the French company
Royal de Luxe, was a spectacular  public art  exhibition that walked around the Central Business District for three days. Giant marionettes, Young Girl  and  Diver, were escorted through streets (aided by 70 handlers dressed in red velvet called Lilliputians) loosely enacting  a story that incorporated the Aboriginal peoples of Australia and the World War I ANZACS.  A rather long bow had to be drawn to connect the two but most onlookers weren't bothered by the stretch. They were enchanted by the duo.

Giant Young Girl.       courtesy T.Debski

Giant Diver.        courtesy The West Australian

        Young Girl, at six meters tall, had everyone wrapped around her little finger.  She bathed and dressed in the mornings. She would walk or ride her scooter or don a raincoat and go on a boat ride.  At rest, she would read a giant book made by local elementary schools  or snore while napping in a huge lawn chair.  At one point during her walk, unable to find a restroom, Young Girl crouched down, pulled her dress out a bit and peed on the road. The school kids must have howled with laughter.
  
   The Diver, at 11 meters tall, was far less active but no less captivating. He stretched out  to sleep just outside the train station downtown.  Not your average rummy or vagrant lying about, Diver gained rock star status with commuters in no time who held off their morning trot to the office long enough to get a really cool selfie with the big guy.  Diver's handlers had to be highly athletic as their swinging weight from ropes helped propel him along. I have to wonder  if physiotherapists weren't on hand to help those folks out during the breaks.  Click HERE to see some video that really brings the Giants to life.

Repelling down Diver

   Where was I? At a disadvantage for the big picture but a front row seat for the inner workings of working massive marionettes.  The Diver had a mobility issue his very first time out on the second day.  There is an elevated crosswalk at the train station that the Diver had to be craned over.  He landed right in front of me. Careless craning would have shortened my height considerably.  Once in position, the Lilliputians worked quickly to the Mission Impossible opening march (played by an accompanying live band) to reconnect the ropes, guy wires and hydraulics. They had to repel down, climb up and swing over to get this done and get him on his way.

Connecting the hydraulics.

Feet bigger than mine!

          
    Despite the fact that even Ebenezer Scrooge himself softened up to the Giants, they almost didn't happen.  The price tag  to bring this "free"  exhibition in totaled over $5 million. Corporate sponsors contributed the biggest part of that but the State contributed $2 million of taxpayers money to make it happen. Oh, the roar, the stink, the outrage and the chin-wagging that followed this announcement.  Was this how the state mishandled our tax dollars!!!?? was the hue and cry.  The verbiage changed as skeptics and the curious fell beneath the Giants spell. It has been estimated that 1.4 million people saw the Giants. This does include multiple visits as there are less than 2.5 million people in the whole state.  Someone did the math and determined that each taxpayer contributed 80 cents (or 27 cents per day) to the magic. Such a paltry sum people tutted.

    And the conquering of Perth by two giants was complete.

Public Art Space in Perth

     I wrote about public art way back in 2009, Community Art,  because I was impressed how "a fishing village" (as someone from the eastern states referred to Perth) embraced the intangible delights and merits of public art projects.  The widespread employment of sculpture and artistic venues has never struck me as an inferiority complex kind of reflex but seen as having genuine value.  If you take a quick look at  Community Art , you'll see some of my basic shots on my Hannah Montana camera with its CIF (Crap, In Fact) resolution and understand how I was initially  impressed.

Cultural Center Beach

    Fast forward five years and you'll notice the upgrade in photography and in public art projects. I rather wonder if people sometimes complain under their breath that money spent making public spaces artsy wouldn't be better spent on relief projects for the impecunious.  Speaking  for the close-to-broke set, I like having a happy place to go to and enjoy for free.  As green space gets eaten up by cement and chrome buildings, it's nice to have a refuge.

Cultural Center Ice Rink

Penguins to the rescue

The Cultural Center, comprising the Art Gallery, Museum, State Library, Institute of Contemporary Arts, public garden and State Theatre , has a big open space which has been alternately  been turned into a beach complete with sand, umbrellas, "changing houses" and a free book cart.  Fast forward a few months and for the first time, Perth had an outdoor ice rink! A half hour ice time plus ice skates cost a fortune in this case but it never went wanting. People,  likely just about every northern hemisphere expat and a few natives ,  flocked to this opportunity to ice skate outside.  This rink was up for just a couple of weeks, but it was a success.  I spotted no Zamboni but lots of stabilizing penguins for youngsters for the easy Dorothy Hamill effect.

Yarn bombing bike racks

     It all sounds a bit brutal, but flash mobs and (blank) bombings are oh so popular. And the knitting nerds have joined the fun.  Mobilized by the city library, the local knitting circle and terrorist society made colorful covers for the bike racks on St George's Terrace--the main road in the CBD. Many are still holding up after several months.  I just love the whimsy.  I appreciate the whimsy that many Perth International Arts Festival public art installations provide. 

    Life just needn't be all Stalin-block gray and gloomy.  Bring on the balloons, bubbles and grins!

Perth International Arts Festival 2014

    It was another tremendous festival for PIAF this year. Some offerings were oh so new and others followed a more visible trendy path.  A few of my favorites include:

Stonehenge Bouncy Castle

  Stonehenge Bouncy Castle. Yeah, that needs repeating.  Stonehenge Bouncy Castle.  Officially known as Sacrilege, it is a life-size, inflated art installation modelled after the famous Stonehenge.  Even if it weren't a free event, it still would have been a very popular attraction for people of all ages. Located in the Supreme Court Gardens in the Central Business District, it became a magnet for all the young adults in their business suits who would shed their shoes and run around with with wild abandon during their lunch hour. Private schools in the CBD would schedule their physical education classes on Stonehenge. Shoot, even someone like myself  who has no history with bouncy castles gave it a whirl.  It is made of very heavy rubber canvas which heated up spectacularly in the summer sun. OUCH!  It required frequent cold water hosedowns.

"Sacrilege" at PIAF 2014

     
     Now, something like this could attract as many troublemakers as it would funmakers. So it would be deflated at night and re-inflated in the morning.  Twelve little generators attached to twelve small 'pipes' took exactly three minutes bring back the joy of this rubber wonderland.

Not By Bread Alone post show chat

   Not By Bread Alone.  Step into another world as the Israeli professional theater troupe for deaf-blind, Nalaga'at Deaf-Blind Theatre Ensemble, walks the audience through the stories of their lives, dreams and ambitions while actually baking bread on stage.  Eleven performers with various levels of acute blindness and deafness communicate through carers/translators (except for two who speak clearly) and are kept on pace by the banging of a drum.  Director Adina Tal, a self-professed hard case ("I'm not a nice person.") who doesn't tolerate a 'poor me' attitude,  thought she would be working with this group at its beginning for about two months. Fourteen years later she is still leading this engaging group to international audiences. Their stories are engrossing.  The smell of the bread baking onstage is intoxicating. And the invitation to go on stage after the show to eat some hot bread and chat with the performers through their translators is too tempting to resist. These connecting short and  informal chats are particularly satisfying for both performer and audience member.
    A heightened sense of life without sight and sound could be had at the Blackout Restaurant experience. Forty people per show day (who were very fast with their credit cards at the ticket office) could eat supper in complete darkness served by blind waiters. Not By Bread Alone was a very interesting experience.

Bianco. copyright UWA

    Bianco.  The contemporary image of  a circus is a far cry from the days of yore where lions jump through flaming hoops, elephants dance on their hind legs, bearded ladies flex muscles and men are shot out of cannon.  Replacing this nostalgia  is the example set by Cirque du Soleil and now imitated and altered by many.  Bianco by NoFit State Circus  provided the physical artistry in trapeze, tightrope, man-spoke hoops, gymnastics , contortionism and movement that one expects in a modern circus. The big difference is in the audience. There were no chairs, so the audience stands during the entire performance. And this makes sense as the set design shifted often to accommodate a new act, so the audience needed to shift also. This gave a new point of view with every change and gave a highly immersive feel  to the whole performance. By the end of the show, the audience was entirely the center of the 'stage' and the performance was surrounding them.  It ended with snow shower--real, large flakes blown from snow machines. A rather magical final impression.

PIAF 2013 & the Writer's Festival

    The highlight of the annual Perth arts calendar has just passed.  The Perth International Arts Festival, with the Perth Writer's Festival tucked inside the event seems to get better each year.  There is always a few way-out ther offerings (and how they exasperate Kev) and a few way cool things.  This year more Western Australian arts and works were incorporated into the program.
     Kev and I took in a delightfully frothy piece called "Clouds", a performance based on the artwork of Rene Magritte.  Just outside the theater, on Subiaco's trendy but short shopping strip of Rokeby Road was a bit of street theater.  An Argentine show called "La Marea" (The Tide) tapped into our inner voyeur and curiosity.  Who can walk down a residential street (or hotel corridor) without turning one's head to glance into the bay window or door and wonder what is happening on the other side?  Using converted shop windows for homes and sidewalks for street scenes, the connected but not related nine vignettes, are repeated every ten minutes.  Some of the scenes: a family eating supper, a man bored at a party, a courting young couple and even a motorcycle accident. Dialog is projected on the building (or street) near the action so spectators at any depth from the action could follow along.  A really cool performance concept that works on the right bit of street.
    The Perth Writer's Festival. It's not fair to complain that it is getting too popular.  The PWF expanded the number of offerings to meet the greater demand. Yeah. The PWF also spread out the expanded list over more days, now utilizing Thursday and Friday as well as the weekend.  Drats.  Who can attend weekday seminars and workshops save for senior citizens and those underemployed? (Notice I avoid using the term "professional writers" here- a gentle irony.)   Besides the great mix of free (yes, almost half of the sessions are absolutely free) and cheap (usually $13.50) events, this year included a free wine & mini-talk tent. Free booze?! In Australia?! I'm surprised that the tent wasn't overrun with people, unless they thought it was too good to be true. Naturally, I managed to sample one or two...or three... wines myself.
    This year I was particularly interested in play writing.  I've been rolling a short one-act play in my head for over a year and needed inspiration to get on paper.   Unusually, the session with playwrights - who refer to themselves as "theater makers" - seemed unaware of how different formats are consumed and processed by their audience.  Who were these people?  I would have thought playwrights, particularly those who adapt other works into stage plays (as this session was partially about),  would be the most aware of the flow and meter of different types of writing.  One panelist, a former ballet dancer, really made my teeth grind when he dismissively described audiobooks as "those cassette tapes your friend's 90 year-old blind grandmother used to listen to."  Kind of 'off pointe' aren't we, Nureyev?  When these blowhards  managed to stop passing so much gas, I did actually glean something positive from this session.  As I do for all of the sessions I can squeeze in during the day.
    This year I remembered to send the program to the writers I know who live elsewhere. Having been to other writer's conferences, I know what they are - and aren't - getting. Not to make them jealous, but maybe they can inspire their local writers associations to follow the PWF model.  Or, in the case of my eldest brother, just plan any future possible trip to Perth during the Writer's Festival.
    This year's Cool Art : "Tangle" Kids wrap huge colorful elastic bands around many May poles and then get happily lost and bounced around inside them. I'd tell you what it was like but they wouldn't let me in.  Hummmmpphh.

PIAF - The Writer's Festival 2012

     You and I have been waiting a whole year for the return of the magic that is the Perth International Arts Festival.  Every possible branch of the Arts is represented here in classic to downright...eclectic...form. My favorite part is the Writer's Festival, a long weekend of speakers and  presentations of interest to anyone who has ever read a book. The matrix scheduling, variety of topics and quality of guests leaves the attending public fairly panting with excitement each hour.

      "Panting" doesn't really describe the reaction to a new offering this year called The Pitch. Twenty lucky people were going to get three minutes to pitch their story ideas  to a local publisher to get feedback or (hold your breath) a nibble.   I was ninth in line.  It all sounded like a fabulous game show and I wanted in because I know I can make an impressive presentation.  Pity I didn't have a finished or near-finished book in hand like most of my fellow line-waiters.  What am I doing here?  I started  to get nervous but not about the pitch. Better showman than writer am I.  No, I was afraid the 21st person in line -who had a manuscript and experience pitching it to several agents and publishers already- would thump me one out in the hallway afterwards for killing off their chance with my fancy.

      Yeah well, they should have gotten here sooner I decided and resolved to squeeze in two story ideas. One was based on a real-life gypsy singer (a tale that has been rattling around in my  head since 1996) and  the other winner was to turn this blog into a book. I was so ready when my name was finally called. Cue the dramatic music:

       Vara Panina.  A gypsy singer celebrated by Imperial Russian society. A voice so captivating that world renown jeweler Carl Faberge immortalized her in statuette ... celebrated by but not accepted into Society ... alienated by her own community  ...  unrequited love   ... died young.  Alas, a tragedy not a fairytale.

.....................but  while I still have some time left, let me go autobiographical.   Forget everything you've read by Bill Bryson  ... get a picture of expat life a few pixels at a time a la Erma Bombeck...

       The truth is I have never considered Vara as anything other than a screenplay and said almost as much.  "Vara I can see as a lushly produced movie running behind my eyeballs, but with Postcards From OZ you can taste the Vegemite!"   High drama in place of finished manuscript with loads of industry cred. The publisher, Terri-ann White, at this point usually asks the writer a few questions like: "What is this story similar to?" (The Great Gatsby), "Who is your target audience?" (Umm,  errrr, ummm)  Instead, Terri-ann turned to the audience and asked, "Who would consider buying this book?"   About a quarter of the room raised their hands.   This was unexpected.   She recommends thorough research of the subject and injecting interest and life into the dry facts found.   

       As for Postcards From OZ?  "Keep it on the blog and see where it goes."        Ouch.                     

        Also new this year was shifting some of the free presentations (to make space for all the extra paid sessions -- scowl) to lush groves on the beautiful college campus this was held on. In this regard, Perth's weather is ideal. More than a few bridal couples getting photos taken amongst the greenery, scenic archways and ethereal stained class had to share space with several hundred festival goers and the half dozen peacock pairs that roam the campus.

 

        Let me share a snippet of the publicly displayed art that is part of PIAF.  South Korean artist Choi Jeong Hwa, whose usual medium is mass-produced plastic items, has a couple of interesting installations about town.  The colorful pyramids standing sentinel at the Supreme Court  are made of fish & chip baskets.  The large red lotus flower found on this campus has an oscillating fan inside giving it a happy octopus demeanor.

       
    I'll close here with an exhortation to start saving your pennies.  My new book, "VARA",  is on track to be published in 2028.  MSRP is $45.  Autographs are free.

      

PIAF - Apollo 13: Mission Control

      Yes, I have yet to make a single post about my recent vacation (I'm blaming the excruciating heat outside/in the computer room for that) but I just had an adventure that cannot wait. The Perth International Arts Festival is back (I've blogged on this before) and besides the Writer's Festival I'll be attending, one other event caught my eye and imagination.
      The Apollo 13: Mission Control       Hands-on experience filled with action, confusion (planned and otherwise), laughs and drama.

At Mission Control

Pad Comms , Green Team

Never mind sitting in the Press Gallery watching the action. I paid the big bucks to be part of the action. I'm not sure any of us knew how the event was supposed to play out, so I'm sure a confusion not found in real life and only marginally in the movie added to the drama and thrill. No dozing on this job!  Turns out, I was part of Pad Comms.  I had a phone!  I even got to raise the alert about geese getting too close to the engines. The guy on the other end of my hotline told me about them.  Not on cue (still trying to figure out where we fit in with the professional actors leading it) but not to be deterred from my duties, I interrupted some very boring personnel talk to stand up and notify EVERYONE that  geese were becoming a problem on the launch pad.  Not sure the actors were thrilled with me (or my camera, for that matter) but improv is the name of this game after all.  And it was a crucial point later on in the flight.

Action viewed from my station

Captain Lovell and team

 A surprising number of very young kids were there. Ten and over I can understand, but five year-olds?  Little ability to comprehend what was going on.  One lucky 14 year-old got MY spot on the spaceship. He's on the far right in the astronaut shot. Subbing for the sick astronaut exposed to the measles.  But I'm not bitter.  
     O.K. Most of us knew how this played out at the end.  Even expected the shouting match between  a frustrated, grounded astronaut and the head of Mission Control.  But it was loads of fun, especially once we figured out where we fit in in this highly interactive performance.  I went for my Uncle Norm- a long time NASA and aeronautics fan.   His enthusiasm for the space program spilled over unto his nieces & nephews and automobile license plates.  If I can't get him on a spaceship at the Senior Space Camp in Alabama, I hope to direct him to Mission Control.  
       T minus 20 and counting.

PIAF - Haircuts by Children

It's time again for that month-long arts extravaganza called the Perth International Arts Festival.  Fabulous event, something for everyone, I wrote about attending the Writer's Festival portion of it last year.  And I will attend Writer's Festival events this year, but I already know what my favorite part of this year's Festival is.

Haircuts by Children.  Never mind the whiney, we-don't-overpraise-our-kids enough description of the event [e.g. "Each stylish new coiffure proves that kids are competent and creative members of society who deserve our respect."] it is just a bit of fun. The kids of Roseworth Primary School were clearly excited about a huge supply of real heads (not dolls heads) to work on and took to their duties--under watchful eyes of pros--with proper import.  My style team consisted of Skye Watson and Jack Leighton-Jones. Skye tended to the details: the welcoming chitchat ("Is this your first time here?"), the obligatory compliments (" Your hair is very soft"), confirming the order ("So, we're doing a trim, style and color. Right?")  and hairdressing insider secrets ("My mum and nanna are from Scotland, that's where I get my beautiful red hair.")  Jack has an eye for the big picture: hair never stayed on the floor for long and the clips & pins were always in order.
The choices of service were clearly displayed at every station: Trim, Style, Mohawk, Whatever?!, Colors.  Having done numerous hairshows in my life, I opted for the full complement. After Skye trimmed my hair, made the sides shorter (er, much shorter), put styling gel in, combed and pinned it into place and applied hairspray.  Jack enthusiastically sprayed on the gold glitter. I was Stylin' ! It is not exactly even, but balance & symmetry can be so overrated. Doubtless that is the reason so many hairdressers signed up for the free haircut.


Roseworth Primary School, an ethnically diverse school whose students might not otherwise have been able to attend PIAF events, is also in charge of the Children's Choice Awards. They've been shuttled to events in order to be able to judge such categories as: Best Hair, Most Enjoyable for Old People and Most Cheering Applause. Bravo, Roseworth!


Appearing Rooms.  Not wanting the party to end so soon, Kev and I walked over to one of the art installations at the Culture Centre area.  A different kind of architecture, "...jets of water shoot into the air to create 'rooms', which disappear as quickly as they emerge." Too cool. And on a hot day, the temptation to walk through walls is great indeed.
Scouts Parade.  But wait, there's more.  What is an exciting day in the City without a parade?  Don't know why  Scouts of all ages (and both genders) were marching, but I was there for the entire thing. Only my secondary Hannah Montana cam was handy, but you get the picture.  Pity you didn't get to Perth for the Festival.


 

Perth International Arts Festival

The Perth International Arts Festival is THE jewel of the WA arts scene. It has the usual contemporary art, edgy three dimensional pieces, the oh-so-trendy video screen art installations and an extensive foreign film festival.

The three-week festival has some great surprises within it. The Mobile Sewing Company moves their exhibition about the CBD...on the bicycles that power old PFAFF sewing machines. The artists ask passers-by for articles of their clothing and then sew on theatrical embellishments. A very fit female pedals the now-raised bike at the desired speed and the seamstress presses her pedal to engage the tire to the needle gears. Lots of fun to watch.

A French company has a unique and very edgy exhibit called

Revolt of the Mannequins. Put into store windows and altered daily, everyone does a double take at the decidedly more animated dummies in vignettes unexpected. Madness at a "going out of business sale." Roller derby at the jewelry store.

Today I attended the first of three days in the Writer's Festival section. A fabulous multi-venue matrix of author presentations. Some of the expected: characterization, short form writing, researching facts, etc. Anatomy of a Thriller had a young Aussie novelist James Phelan and former Director of MI5 turned author Stella Rimington. Alan Weisman, author of "The World Without Us" (if humans all disappeared at once, how would the earth change?) paired with 'fish' author Mark Kurlansky with a message "You don't have to be right, just not wrong." The Censorship in Young Adult Writing unit didn't excite me but as it was free --as are 86 of the 116 modules-- I hardly felt it was a waste. Two more days of different topics, different perspectives, different lessons.

What's not to like about this premier event?