Marlene Dietrich - 'Where Have All the Flowers Gone?'

As a kid, I was extraordinarily lucky to meet Marlene Dietrich. It was in London in 1972, and through a family friend, Dorothy Cole, an administrator at Covent Garden Opera House.

It was at a post-concert 'party' in the Green Room of the Queen's Theatre - one of those affairs where the famous are required to 'press the flesh' when I'm sure (now) they'd much have preferred to have been at home in slippers with a cup of hot chocolate in hand. Still have the program!

This clip is of Dietrich performing a great anti-war protest song by Pete Seeger. In a Royal Command Performance in 1963. A great musical choice for Dietrich.



I love the way she subtly builds the expression anger over the circular journey of the song - through the repeated asking of a (rephrased) question - 'Where have all the flowers/the young girls/the young men/the soldiers/the graveyards gone?'. With the answer leading and linking into the next question - 'Young girls pick them every one. When will they ever learn?' and so 'Where have all the young girls gone?'. The final question and answer being 'Where have all the graveyards gone? Gone to flower every one'. Taking us back to the beginning! With the powerful symbolism.

I remember thinking at the time that the Dietrich persona had a synergic effect on the meanings in the song.

Cesaria Evora - 'Morna', the Music of Cape Verde

Cesaria Evora is from the former slave port of Cape Verde, an island off the coast of Senegal. A singer of Creole-Portuguese morna, a soulful, nostalgic and melancholic genre that fuses Latin jazz and Afro beats with traces of Portuguese fado and Brazilian modinha (ballads). Music of loving, longing and departure.



She began singing barefoot in bars in her island home, gave up performing to support her family for ten years and finally gained international recognition later in life, a success that proceeded from concerts in Paris in 1988. Winning a Grammy - as though the ultimate accolade.

Now in her seventies, Cesaria's visiting Sydney for concerts in March, 2008. Yippie!!!

Grace Jones - 'La Vie en Rose'

A knock-out disco version of 'La Vie en Rose' by Grace Jones - originally from Edith Piaf and by way of Marlene Dietrich.

What's totally FAB about this clip, apart from the music, is the accompanying surreal and artistic feast. Full of references from fine and pop art and fun ideas pillaged from glossy fashion magazines.



A perfect fusion of music and visual. Enhanced by Grace making visible the pulse of the music in the undulations of her body.

A few years back, Grace Jones performed at the Mardi Gras Dance Party here in Sydney - I remember dancing with a cute boy as she did 'La Vie en Rose' at midnight and the sprinkler system went off - due to the heat of ALL the cute boys around?! One of those great moments.

Joni Mitchell - 'Both Sides Now'

I've known of Joni Mitchell for a long time. Who hasn't.

But I've only appreciated her real greatness lately - I think it's caught in her new 'Both Sides Now', one of my now all-time favorite songs.

It's her unmannered directness that makes such powerful expression - in some way, nothing gets in the way of her communicating the meanings of words. Joni is only concerned with the ideas in the lyrics - rather than the song being a vehicle to display the ego of a star. She has something of real and permanent value to say.

Both Sides Now

Rows and floes of angel hair
And ice cream castles in the air
And feather canyons everywhere
I've looked at clouds that way

But now they only block the sun
They rain and they snow on everyone
So many things I would have done
But clouds got in my way

I've looked at clouds from both sides now
From up and down, and still somehow
It's cloud illusions I recall
I really don't know clouds at all

Moons and Junes and Ferris wheels
The dizzy dancing way that you feel
As every fairy tale comes real
I've looked at love that way

But now it's just another show
And you leave 'em laughing when you go
And if you care, don't let them know
Don't give yourself away

I've looked at love from both sides now
From give and take, and still somehow
It's love's illusions that I recall
I really don't know love
I really don't know love at all

Tears and fears and feeling proud
To say I love you right out loud
Dreams and schemes and circus crowds
I've looked at life that way

Oh but now old friends they are acting strange
And they shake their heads and they tell me that I've changed
Well something's lost, but something's gained
In living every day

I've looked at life from both sides now
From win and lose and still somehow
It's life's illusions I recall
I really don't know life at all

It's life's illusions that I recall
I really don't know life
I really don't know life at all

I love the unaffectedness of Joni's interaction with the audience at the end of the performance! It has the intimacy of equal friendship - and it really touched me.

Particularly after the humility of the song's meanings - the realization of one's limited understandings of life, even after having a lifetime of experience.

A true artist.

Deadly Accurate Character Assessment!

Take a piece of paper and note your answer (a, b, c, ...) to each of the following ten questions.

1. When do you feel at your best?

a) in the morning

b) during the afternoon and early evening

c) late at night

2. You usually walk .....
a) fairly fast, with long steps

b) fairly fast, with little steps

c) less fast head up, looking the world in the face

d) less fast, head down

e) very slowly

3. When talking to people, you ...
a) stand with your arms folded

b) have your hands clasped

c) have one or both your hands on your hips or in pockets

d) touch or push the person to whom you are talking

e) play with your ear, touch your chin or smooth your hair

4. When relaxing, you sit with ...

a) your knees bent with your legs neatly side by side

b) your legs crossed

c) your legs stretched out or straight

d) one leg curled under you

5. When something really amuses you, You react with ...

a) a big appreciated laugh

b) a laugh, but not a loud one

c) a quiet chuckle

d) a sheepish smile

6. When you go to a party or social gathering, you ...

a) make a loud entrance so everyone notices you

b) make a quiet entrance, looking around for someone you know

c) make the quietest entrance, trying to stay unnoticed

7. When you're working or concentrating very hard, and you're interrupted, you ...

a) welcome the break

b) feel extremely irritated

c) vary between these two extremes

8. Which of the following colors do you like most?
a) red or orange
b) black
c) yellow or light blue
d) green
e) dark blue or purple
f) white
g) brown or gray

9. When you are in bed at night, in those last few moments before going to sleep, you lie ...
a) stretched out on your back

b) stretched out face down on your stomach

c) on your side, slightly curled

d) with your head on one arm

e) with your head under the covers

10. You often dream that you are ...

a) falling

b) fighting or struggling

c) searching for something or somebody

d) flying or floating

e) you usually have dreamless sleep

f) your dreams are always pleasant

Now score yourself with a number for each of the questions, using the following scales:

1. (a) 2 (b) 4 (c) 6
2. (a) 6 (b) 4 (c) 7 (d) 2 (e) 1
3. (a) 4 (b) 2 (c) 5 (d) 7 (e) 6
4. (a) 4 (b) 6 (c) 2 (d) 1
5. (a) 6 (b) 4 (c) 3 (d) 5 (e) 2
6. (a) 6 (b) 4 (c) 2
7. (a) 6 (b) 2 (c) 4
8. (a) 6 (b) 7 (c) 5 (d) 4 (e) 3 (f) 2 (g) 1
9. (a) 7 (b) 6 (c) 4 (d) 2 (e) 1
10. (a) 4 (b) 2 (c) 3 (d) 5 (e) 6 (f) 1

Now add the total number of points you scored are check your character analysis:

OVER 60 POINTS

Others see you as someone they should "handle with care." You're seen as vain, self-centered and one who is extremely domineering. Others may admire you, wishing they could be more like you, but don't always trust you, hesitating to become too deeply involved with you.

51 TO 60 POINTS

Others see you as an exciting, highly volatile, rather impulsive personality; a natural leader, one who's quick to make decisions, though not always the right ones. They see you as bold and adventuresome, someone who will try anything once; someone who takes chances and enjoys an adventure. They enjoy being in your company because of the excitement you radiate.

41 TO 50 POINTS

Others see you as fresh, lively, charming, amusing, practical and always interesting; someone who's constantly in the center of attention, but sufficiently well-balanced not to let it go to their head. They also see you as kind, considerate, and understanding; someone who'll always cheer them up and help them out.

31 TO 40 POINTS

Others see you as sensible, cautious, careful and practical. They see you as clever, gifted, or talented, but modest. Not a person who makes friends too quickly or easily, but someone who's extremely loyal to friends you do make and who expect the same loyalty in return. Those who really get to know you realize it takes a lot to shake your trust in your friends, but equally that it takes you a long time to get over it if that trust is ever broken.

21 TO 30 POINTS

Your friends see you as painstaking and fussy. They see you as very cautious, extremely careful, a slow and steady plodder. It would really surprise them if you ever did something impulsively or on the spur of the
moment, expecting you to examine everything carefully from every angle and then usually decide against it. They think this reaction is caused partly by your careful nature.

UNDER 21 POINTS

People think you are shy, nervous, and indecisive, someone who needs looking after, who always wants someone else to make the decisions and who doesn't want to get involved with anyone or anything! They see you as a worrier who always sees problems that don't exist. Some people think you're boring. Only those who know you well know that you aren't.

Okay guys, how did you go?

Mystery Object - It Gets Harder!

A confession - I genuinely had no idea of what I was looking at when I saw this first photograph.

Nope, it's not your super fab C21 ball-point pen collection.

Three clues. Everyone of you has one or two in your home right now. And it's much closer than you could ever imagine. And you'll have one like this beauty here soon enough.

Ok, a more close-up view might help. Any wiser?


No? Mmm. Here is a photo of how 'it' will look in situ at home on your desk. PS There is some misleading redundancy in this pic.


You guessed! (Didn't you?)


Your next pocket-portable high-tech computer! The keyboard and screen are simply projected onto your flat objects of choice.

Don't wanna wait - I want mine NOW! I've always had problems with delayed gratification. Of every kind!

The Return of the Euphronios Krater and the Elgin Marbles

Euphronios Krater, Greek c. 515 BC

Two issues can arise round culturally significant objects - their possible illegal excavation and exportation, and their appropriate ownership and location in this day and age. These issues of course are not necessarily mutually exclusive.

To the first issue. The Euphronios Krater (Greece, c.515 BC), claimed by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York to have been purchased in 1972 in good faith, depicts exquisitely painted Homeric scenes.

Euphronios Krater - 'Side' A

Euphronios Krater - 'Side' A Detail

Euphronios Krater - 'Side' B

Italian authorities declared the krater was illegally removed from Cerveteri, north of Rome. The krater was recently returned to Italy, the carrot facilitating this was Italian archaeological digging rights, and ownership of finds, for the Metropolitan Museum. Fairly straight forward and a good outcome!

To the second issue. There is a hard-argued, often heated and on-going international debate as to whether or not important artifacts of antiquity that are of great cultural significance should be returned to their place of origin and greatest significance. Even if legally acquired or purchased in the past. The argument for return is that such objects are indissolubly tied to national and cultural identity. Galleries and museums, if the current owners, usually do not want to surrender their crowd-pulling treasures.

I'd like to consider the cases of the Elgin Marbles and the Pergamon Alter.

The Elgin Marbles were removed from the Parthenon between 1801 and 1812 and sent to the British Museum, with Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin, gaining permission for the action from the Ottoman (non-Greek Turkish occupying) authorities in Athens.

Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin

These marbles are sculptures from the two pediments or triangular spaces above the front and rear of the building, and many of the deeply carved single panels (or metopes) and many of the bas-relief panels of the continuous processional frieze above the columns and around the four sides of the building.

Sculpture from East Pediment

One Metope - One of the Scenes of the Battles of Lapiths and Centuars

Two Panels of the Processional Frieze

The marbles were housed in a new purpose-built wing at the museum, the Duveen Gallery.

The Duveen Gallery, British Museum

There have been a number of arguments fielded for the marbles remaining in London. That they have been rescued from certain deterioration had they remained in Athens. That they have been better cared for and restored. That they are open to all the world to view and appreciate.

Such arguments may have had some validity in the past but now do not seem relevant - just seem spurious and self-interested. The marbles would be housed and cared for within an inch of their lives in Greece. Some things are of such global importance that they should have funding from beyond the borders of the country in which they are located, such as Angkor Wat in Cambodia and the Karnak Complex at Luxor in Egypt. Ease of international travel would make them readily accessible. And so on, and so on.

There is now talk by some in Britain of a permanent loan. Heading towards a good outcome?

The same arguments surround the Pergamon Altar, 170 BC, Turkey, now in the Pergamonmuseum, Berlin.

Pergamon Altar, formerly Turkey, now Berlin - Detail

The real fear of many museums and galleries is that anyone acceding will set a precedent. And there will be a run on many of 'acquisitions'.

What do you guys think?

Richard Du Bois - 50's Body Builder, Physique Model, Mr America, Movie Star and Evangelical Pastor

Funny what a bit (or a lot) of googling can turn up.

I'd seen beef cake Dick Du Bois about as a 50's physique model and body builder, mostly poolside. Pretty AND macho. That square jaw. And that smile - 50 million watts. To say nothing of his luscious bod. Doesn't your pulse just beat faster and faster!








But there was more. Dick became a winner of the bodybuilder's 'Mr. America' and 'Mr. USA' in the mid-1950s.


But there was more and more. He graduated to the movies as Richard Sabre, supporting Debbie Reynolds and Jane Powell in the 1954 MGM 'Athena' ...


... and Mae West in her stage act in Las Vagas and elsewhere.


But there was even more. As Richard Du Bois, he took on Pentecostal evangelism as pastor at the Gospel Lighthouse in West Los Angeles. For 19 years. Sadly there seem to be no pictures of this last and perhaps most dramatic phase of his life - where he was known for communing with extraterrestrials. Now that really would've been a great movie role.

Finally, I particularly like these kinda goofy shots ...



... and these private ones, which are nicely more casual, relaxed and intimate.



Dick Du Bois died recently Santa Monica, California, aged 74, leaving a wife, Gladys. And memories of a guy as cute as all hell ... and 50's slicked up hair styling of absolute perfection!

Adam Raphael, Photographer - A Reprise

1

I posted on Adam Raphael on 9th November 2006 - and, a short time after and quite unexpectedly, a copy of 'XY Foto' (Issue 4/Winter 2005) appeared on my door stop. Featuring his work.

The compositions are quite formal, restrained and classic in feeling. It's in the disposition of all the elements and the often reduction of the background to something minimal and subdued - non-intrusive to maintain the focus on the usually single figure. A classicism which is all somewhat paradoxical given the real (sensual) subject matter. It's as though I was observing images from a mainstream commercial photo shoot, only the guy/s had forgotten to put their clothes on.

For example, this guy in white jocks could be setting out for an important meeting at work, except that he's probably not adhering to the dress code, and can't place his briefcase.

2

While this guy below seems to be considering what might be put into the up-coming chapter of his PhD, if only he could get his mind off his new purple tank top and repress the urge to flash his super erotic trail. No judgment here, of course.

3

Most of the guys in this selection of Adam's work could be singer-dancer-waiter-models. Who, when they step out of frame, you well know will remain models. Even in bed, wearing their ankles as earrings.

4

5

Others, more intriguingly, could be quite other - their model image in part achieved by the photographer. For example, this be-toweled shower dweller ...

6

... and the guy propped up in bed and draped in voluminous white sheets ...

7

... and finally this boy-next-door type.

8

I particularly like these two a bit less-than-obviously manicured long-haired blokes in their respective beds.

9

10

My valuing of Adam Raphael's work has drifted from something more aesthetic and technical to something more visceral.

In particular, it could be said I appreciate it because of the non-representatively high percentage of 'cute hairy blond guys'.

But this would be unfair to 'the organ between his ears' - which created these beautiful images!

A Good or Bad Photograph?

This is not a great photograph. It seems to me. In terms of composition, it doesn't appear more than a bit of red towel thrown down on some concrete and a guy plonked down on top. With the resultant image being not particularly well managed - various bits are cut off without obvious reason or intention: the head, right knee and part of the right foot. And there's some strange lighting.

But there is something interesting and novel about the picture that isn't immediately obvious. And which holds my attention and then makes me wonder why I'm still looking.

In part it's the pose. Reclining but with the legs and feet unusually towards the viewer. Okay, better to see the crotch!

What I particularly like is the twisting round of the torso that emphasizes its fleshy muscularity. But without any resultant tension or straining. Only a lazy sensuality and pliancy. And the counter twist of the head back to the viewer for engagement.

To elevate the chest and so make it more visible to the observer, the body is supported at the back on one forearm - the other arm straight and behind too, with hand to hand, giving a triangle.

In the 'artistic' though seemingly uncontrived disposition of the forms, the photograph in some ways reminds me of Michelangelo - for example, the study for Adam on the Sistine Ceiling.


I like the less than usual lighting - seemingly random over the body but in fact high-lighting a line down through the shoulder, crotch, thigh and sole of the foot. And the golden hair picked out on the upper torso by the sun.

I don't image the photographer or model calculated these effects - these things are operating at an intuitive level.

But maybe it's a lousy picture and I'm just raving on! And horny!