Culture Diary w/c 30-09-13

Mark Boulos' Echo/AND

Monday – Mark Kermode Presents Hatchet Job: Love Movies, Hate Critics 7pm @ FACT

When the Observer’s much admired film critic, Philip French retired recently, the newspaper moved to replace him with another specialist in Mark Kermode. No big surprise, and yet, in a way it was. In the face of blogging, many critics have found themselves highly priced (rather than prized) luxuries, if not surplus to requirements; the starting point for Kermode’s latest book which he discusses this evening.

Live_Transmission: Joy Division Reworked 7.30pm @ Liverpool Philharmonic Hall £20/£26

Opening to rave reviews earlier this month, Live_Transmission: Joy Division Reworked, is the result of a loving collaboration between the Heritage Orchestra, Scanner and visual artist Beat13 (Gorillaz) and stops off in Liverpool as part of a UK tour tonight. Read our interview with Beat13.

Tuesday – It’s Such a Beautiful Day 6pm @ FACT

Voted 16th in an animation and historian survey of the Top 100 Most Influential People in Animation in 2012, 37 year old Californian Don Hertzfeldt puts his reputation on the line with debut feature It’s Such a Beautiful Day. Expectations are justifiably high.

Crime and Punishment 7.30pm @ the Liverpool Playhouse £12-£23

Described as “an exciting, fresh and accessible new way to explore Dostoyevsky’s masterpiece”, the staging of Crime and Punishment is a bold yet welcome move. Adapted by Chris Hannan (The Three Musketeers/the Princess of Spain) and directed by Dominic Hill, the Independent called it “both a classic come to life and an urgent new work which develops its own style and language”.

Wednesday – Haim Steinbach: Travel, White Cube (25-26 Mason’s Yard, London SW1Y 6BU), FREE, 10am-6pm

Do you ever really look at the objects you collect in your life? As White Cube put it, “We have feelings about objects, which are often complicated and intense.” Israel-born American artist Haim Steinbach has made the ritual of collecting, arranging and presenting everyday objects his life’s work. Expect brand new artwork from the artist alongside a re-creation of his Lino panel works for the first time since the 1970s. Read our recent interview with White Cube’s director of exhibitions, Tim Marlow.
Matthew Houlding, Tip of the Iceberg, Friday
PICK OF THE WEEK: Thursday – Abandon Normal Devices @ FACT FREE

Alternating between Liverpool and Manchester, 2013 is the turn of the former to play host to Abandon Normal Devices (better known as AND Festival), with a change in format to boot. Fear not, the now three-day festival still features a glittering programme of  new cinema, digital culture and art, with Mark Boulos-premiere Echo (main image) sure to be a talking point.

Friday – Tip of the Iceberg, Contemporary Art Society (59 Central Street, London EC1V 3AF), FREE, 11am-5pm

Since 1910 the Contemporary Art Society has existed to ‘encourage an appreciation and understanding of contemporary art’ and ‘to donate works by important and new artists to museums and public galleries across the UK’. As part of their remit, they now have a swanky public gallery space at Central Street, and their latest exhibition seeks to promote contemporary visual artists from the north. Expect a variety of work from familiar names Leo Fitzmaurice, Susie Green, Matthew Houlding (pictured centre), Laura Lancaster, Paul Merrick and Emily Speed.

HUMAN 2.0: Future Primed 9pm @ 45-61 Duke Street/the Kazimier £5

In the face of unfettered laissez-faire scientific progress are you future-proof? It’s a good question; one posed by HUMAN 2.0, a project undertaken by the Kazimier (commissioned by AND Festival), “where groups will be taken through bespoke services ‘safe-guarding’ against future redundancy”. It’s a fascinating concept, one we’re eager, if a little concerned, to explore.

Saturday – The Walking Dead Experience 9pm @ FACT £15/£13/£12

Whether you’re new to the post-Zombie-Apocalypse that is The Walking Dead or bang up-to-date (season 3 just ended its run in the UK), the opportunity to catch all of the first season on a cinema screen is a compelling one. A Zombie Survival Kit (priced as above) for the evening includes entry, a drink, popcorn and sweets among other things.

Posted on 30/09/2013 by thedoublenegative