retinal

Not so much to report on today, just working and whiling away the odd stolen hour reading Tess in Starbucks.

So why not add another link to Dennis Cooper's excellent blog, for a post about Bridget Riley, one of my very favourite painters.

LITTLE OTIK

Listing for Thursday's Cine Salon:



A weekly display of hidden or neglected facets of the magic lantern. The finest wines and cheeses shall be served.
Don't miss!

3 Springfield, Dundee.
Thursday 31st January, 9pm

COMING SOON!

LITTLE OTIK
(2000, Dir. Jan Svankmajer)

Wikipedia.org:
Otesánek, also known as Little Otik or Greedy Guts, is a 2000 absurdist film by Czech couple Jan Švankmajer and Eva Švankmajerová. The movie is a surreal-comedic live action, stop motion-animated feature film set mainly in a poor apartment building in the Czech Republic.

Allmovie.com plot synopsis:
Acclaimed animator Jan Svankmajer combines cartoon and live-action imagery to bring to life a bizarre story based on an old Czech folk tale. Karel (Jan Hartl) and Bozena (Veronika Zilkova) are a married couple who desperately want a child, but have been unable to conceive; Alzbetka (Kristina Adamcova), an only child who lives next door, has long wanted a friend to play with and feels for the couple's sad dilemma. One day, Karel is digging up an old tree stump when it occurs to him that the roots look a bit like a baby; Karel brings the stump home and carves it into the image of a child, and Bozena expresses so much love for the wooden infant that it comes to life. Karel and Bozena name their new child Otik, but their joy is short-lived when they discover the infant has a bottomless appetite -- so much so that Otik begins eating stray animals and even people in an effort to satisfy its hunger. Karel and Bozena hide Otik in their basement to keep it from harming others, but Alzbetka feels sorry for the strange child and begins bringing Otik scraps of food. It soon becomes obvious that this isn't enough to keep Otik satisfied, so Alzbetka starts luring people from the neighborhood into the basement -- letting Otik do the rest. Otesanek was screened in competition at the 2000 Venice Film Festival.

reborn

I've posted this before, but in keeping with recent blogs, artworks and Salon screenings there's a welcome repeat on TV just now for My Fake Baby. This truly is one of the most intriguing things to be screened in recent times.

Dolls Realm

An interesting blog here for those with a liking for latex, mannequins and plastic.

Bride

Ben Robinson, Bride (2008, collage)

More documentation of the night's events can be found here.

on

Lots happening this evening. Caught a quick glance of a show at the college, Generator members' show to come, party at the flat to follow and some sort of after-event on at the Function Suite to finish things off. Some it will be documented, and relevant photos posted tomorrow.

The Beasthouse

Lately I've been greatly enjoying this amusing new blog, "A Personal Journal, by the Son of One of the Nineteenth Century's Leading Master-Criminals".