AUTUMN HIGHLIGHTS
P H O T O :
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C O U R T E S Y O F D A V D K O R D A N S K Y G A L L E R Y
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21 OCTI Bright Future
Elad Lassry is an artist with a palette that is both bold and spooky. Jonny Ensall explains why his work is set to cause a stir in Glasgow
W hat does modern mean? Does it mean commerical, bright, and futuristic? Or is modernity simply something to do with how our view of the past changes over time? These aren’t new ideas to occupy the mind of an up-and-coming visual artsist, but Elad Lassry’s work captures the tricksiness of modern fashions in unique and compelling ways.
Lassry works with magazine photos to create uncanny effects. The images look familiar – like anything you’d find flicking through a glossy mag – but they’re layered and altered in ways that leave them haunted. There’s a ghostliness to his work that asks the viewer to look through the people and objects that he presents. The Israeli-born Lassry this year showed at the Venice Biennale, and was also nominated for the prestigious Deutsche Börse Photography Prize. This autumn he is on his way to Tramway, Glasgow, with a video work, ‘Untitled (Ghost)’. It features a group of dancers in monochrome costumes, moving in what Lassry describes as a ‘haunted house-cum-performers stage’. The work asks the same questions as his photo compositions: what are modern ways of looking, and should we trust them? You are, of course, encouraged to go see for yourself.
Elad Lassry: Untitled (Ghost), Tramway, Glasgow, Fri 21 Oct–Sun 4 Dec. 22 THE LIST 22 Sep–20 Oct 2011
▼ 22 OCTI
BON IVER
MUSIC Justin Vernon and co play out second album There was a long wait between Bon Iver’s 2007 debut For Emma, Forever Ago and this year’s self-titled follow up, but fans and critics have unanimously decided that it was worth it. Where the first album was sparse, minimalist and largely a solo effort on Justin Vernon’s part, his latest release is an equally ambient, full-band affair. Not as obviously a heartbroken lament as previous material, tracks like ‘Perth’ and ‘Calgary’ are still filled with evocative images, emotive lyrics and layered voices. Backed by a drummer, guitarist and bassist live, Vernon’s lush, soaring falsetto vocal is breathtaking, making his only Scottish date one not to be missed. (Lauren Mayberry) Usher Hall, Edinburgh, Sat 22 Oct.
28 OCTI BILL BOLLINGER
VISUAL ART A US visual artist, reconsidered Bill Bollinger died in 1988, and hasn’t properly had an exhibition since 1970, when he very nearly slipped into complete obscurity. But this retrospective aims to provide an overview of the brief but intense career of the minimalist sculptor considered by many to be one of the most important visual artists of the 1960s. The New Yorker often worked with industrial materials – pipes, netting, hoses, ropes – having started out as a student of aeronautical engineering. With this exhibition the Fruitmarket is hoping to put the spotlight back onto an important advocate of stark and irreducible modernism. (Claire Sawers) Fruitmarket Gallery, Edinburgh, Fri 28 Oct–Sun 8 Jan 2012.
29 OCTI
MINIMAL: PHILIP GLASS AT 75 MUSIC Two days of Glassworks in Glasgow
This packed weekend of music looks forward to high priest of minimalism Philip Glass’ 75th birthday in 2012. Back-to-back concerts feature the subtle, shifting sounds of his five string quartets played by new-music specialists the Smith Quartet, as well as hardcore early works ‘Music in Fifths’ and ‘Music in Similar Motion’ from cutting-edge American players Bang on a Can. There will also be a rare performance of Glass’ extraterrestrial music-theatre piece 1000 Airplanes on the Roof from the Red Note Ensemble. Chill out afterwards with a live performance of Brian Eno’s ambient classic Music for Airports. (David Kettle) Tramway and Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow, Sat 29 & Sun 30 Oct.
31 OCTI
AN EVENING WITH ROB BRYDON COMEDY Welsh wit chats about his life
It’s not been a bad year for Rob Brydon. He received critical acclaim in particular for The Trip in which the Welshman joined Steve Coogan playing versions of themselves on a journey to review six restaurants in the north of England amid a torrent of one-upmanship celebrity impersonations. In one episode Brydon entertained an elderly fan by launching into his curious ‘Small Man in a Box’ voice which has given him the title of his book and the subsequent tour. The memoir traces his own showbusiness quest during which he ‘very, very slowly became an overnight success’. (Brian Donaldson) Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, Mon 31 Oct. ▼