Sometimes artists use themes or characters from Mythology, and currently, two artists have done this in Venice, Italy, in exhibitions running concurrently. In one case, Iceland-born artist Egill Sæbjörnsson has created two enormous and ugly trolls, which are a staple of Nordic Mythology, and in another, British artist Damien Hirst has created sculptures that depict many well-known Ancient Greek, Roman, Egyptian and Nautical myths. In this post I take a look at the references in the exhibitions of both artists and hazard a guess at what they may be trying to say. Opposing arguments are to be expected at important art exhibitions but these two have caused a particularly high level of puzzlement and publicity. In the case of the trolls – the hullabaloo is, well…because they are trolls. And in the case of the classical myths, it is because it is a huge exhibition by a very famous artist. Continue reading
Tag Archives: art as truth
The Comedy of Brent Butt and the Canadian Psyche
Update on this post, May 30, 2014
Corner Gas is going to be a movie! It’s currently in production! Hooray! Says Brent Butt on his blog (on May 20, 2014): “…the original story for this script was dreamed up by me and two other Corner Gas writers, and the actual script was written by me and Andrew Carr (one of the original writers on all six seasons) along with a nice, talented guy named Andrew Wreggit, who helped us transform a short-form show into a feature length movie.” Follow all the action on Twitter: @CornerGas; and check out the new website at cornergasthemovie.com.
In some countries, comedy is a serious business
Brent Butt, writer and creator of “Corner Gas”.
At the time that I relocated to Canada from South Africa, I thought that the situation down South was pretty depressing. The tension in the country was even showing in the work of local comedians who seemed to have turned bitter and defensive. Comedy was either viciously political or superficial and slapstick. Making fun of public figures could get you sued. My impression was that South Africans had lost the ability to laugh at themselves. It was not a good time to be politically incorrect.
Corner Gas – A bit of Canadania
Then I arrived in Canada and saw my first episode of the Canadian sitcom Corner Gas. First I thought; ’¿Qué…?!’ Then, ‘Oh, this is funny!’ It was philosophical, but also witty – in a dry, sneaky sort of way. There are poignant, reflective moments and some hard truths underlying the banter in some episodes, which gave them more depth than one would expect from a sitcom. Continue reading
