15th November 2018
#001
Free
15
Arts and Theatre An evening at the Tate Modern: Anni Albers
medium of weaving instead - one she eventually grew to
Dana Broadbent Photography Laura Morris.
were forced to emigrate to the US due to the growing rise
see the artistically interesting capabilities of. The Bauhaus college ended up closing down in 1933, and the couple of Nazism in Germany.
Translation between media: A review of Dublin Oldschool, a two-man show taken to feature film Ana Kozlova
The Anni Albers exhibit - currently showing at the Tate Modern from 11th October 2018 to 27th January 2019 - is
The London Film Festival has been providing a stage and
a must go event for any student keen on discovering the
a voice to emerging directors and artists alike for the past
intricate and meticulously made wall-hangings of the late
six decades. This year the 62nd BFI London Film Festival
Anni Albers. Born in 1899 (and died in 1994), she was
included over 220 features from more than 77 countries.
among the leaders of the modernist abstraction of the
A particularly complex story lies behind one called Dublin
twentieth century, transforming the way weaving was
Oldschool, which was a feature on 19th of November.
understood professionally and artistically due to her use of abstract ideas, incorporating these notions fluidly into
Originally, Dublin Oldschool was written and performed
the ancient art of weaving - thereby creating artistic works
by Kirwan and Anderson as a two-man theatre perfor-
that can leave the onlooker wanting to gaze for longer over
mance showcasing a poetically-fuelled journey of Jason,
it’s geometric impressions within close proximity.
a man in Dublin searching for the simpler pleasures of life on the small income of a wannabe DJ. The story reAlbers’ work was highly influential to the artists that came after her (an example of somebody that openly praises her work is fashion designer Paul Smith) - as she showed that the craftsmanship of weaving and the use of textiles within the art world can be a medium taken seriously, used to create impressionistic and abstract pieces to help interpret the world around her. Her use of ancient techniques can make her arguably a modernist artist of excess, for she showed how the ancient method of weaving, used largely by people creating something they ‘needed’ (such as a basket, a blanket etc.) can be used as an excessive extension and comment on industrialisation within an increasingly modern/post modern age. It is in this way that her life is incorporated into her work, and also in this way that we understand it.
If you’re interested in seeing the Anni Albers exhibition (and many more like it) for cheap, students can sign up to the Tate Collective for free and pay only £5 to get into exhibitions: see www.tate.org.uk/tate-collective for more The patterns that Anni Albers created throughout her
information.
ally takes off once he stumbles upon his long-lost brother and sets off on an adventure to rekindle a lost familial tie but more importantly, a rediscovery of self-told through the very real struggles of substance-abuse and social pressures. This brilliant rhythmic rapport was later written into the script with the help of their director, Dave Tyran. “The main difference is that in the stage play Jason is telling the story himself, there he seems (cont.) much more heroic and portrays his struggles as much more significant”, notes Kirwan. “When you come to make the film, and you take away the poetry, he’s just another Dubliner with a drug problem.” In the feature film, Emmet Kirwan played the role of Jason, stumbling through life and the streets of Dublin, on the search for the next session with his group. The true complexity of the feature comes in with Ian Andreson’s role, giving up his multi-persona of 30 characters on stage to immerse himself into one main character, Daniel. “It’s a weird thing because I had to let go of this sense of
artistic life vary in colour and design - with some of her
ownership I have had for so long over the characters in the
creations also being made purposively for clients (as for
play”, says Andreson “The good aspect of it all was, that I
example, she was commissioned by the Rockefeller house-
truly got to enjoy the role and fully submerge myself into
hold to create curtains for their guest house, etc). The sto-
the complicated character of Daniel.”
ry of Albers is one of persecution, immigration, and glass ceilings: born in Berlin at the end of the 19th century, she
The film was a success with the audience ‘aweing’ and ‘ah-
was encouraged by her family to paint and draw, and end-
ing’ at every emotionally filled moment in the play. An
ed up enrolling in the Bauhaus art college in 1922. Here
adaptation well-made and a pathway paved for emerging
is where she met her husband Josef Albers, a fellow artist
artists to see that they aren’t confined to one medium with
whom she married in 1925. Being barred from painting
their art.
and sculpting while attending the college due to her gender, forced her into the position of having to adapt to the
