Hannah Suarez

I wish that I recorded this (I saw a few recording the event) so that I can transcribe his introduction but I figured that this YouTube clip  might be better:

This is Peter Greenaway talking about the Tulse Luper project and about cinema:

After about half an hour of music playing and the crowd waiting in anticipation, Peter Greenaway in a black suit went up to a raised area with his touch screen, ‘VJ’ equipment and the two DJ’s live-mixing the sound.

Throughout the whole experience, I would say more than half sat down on the floor of the Gallery of Modern Art to stare at the two large screens, some left a bit early (puzzled, overwhelmed?) and I was the 40% that remained standing to tilt my head upwards towards one of the two projects in front of me and occasionally sideways to ‘watch’ the other projections.  I am hesitant to use the word ‘watch’ because it felt like more of an experience to be there or that using the word ‘watch’ feels too passive.  Faces of strangers, not 100% strangers because we would have shared a common ground which is our interest in this show, dotted my view of the projections.

There were times when I felt that I wished that this would end, there were other times when I nodded to myself because I understood what was in front of me or when i have placed the puzzle pieces together.  For example, near the end with a checked board game that have the words ‘East’ and ‘West’ was a very clear indication towards the politics in Germany when Tulse Luper was at an East-West checkpoint in 1963.  There were visual hints towards Tulse Luper’s background in terms of the conflicts and tension of politics and the military with the number of militaristic/WW2 imagery and references to the Cold War and the Berlin Wall.  Even though Greenaway mentioned that this project is “a personal history of Uranium” and the “autobiography of a professional prisoner”,  I personally didn’t ‘see’ much references from his descriptions but instead saw references of what could be his personal life.

Some people loved it, others got bored, others wondered what the big deal was with this Greenaway Guy.  I think that it is great for Brisbane to receive this multimedia project and I hope that Brisbane continues to attract these kinds of people/projects in the near future.

The Peter Greenaway Tulse Luper VJ Performance was part of the Brisbane Festival which goes from September 12 all the way through to October 3.  Description on their site:

Using a large plasma screen with touchscreen, Peter Greenaway finally achieves total freedom from classic cinematographic linearity. Sharing the stage with DJ Radar (Serge Dodwell) and electro-acoustical composer Huibert Boon, Peter Greenaway brings true Live Cinema to Brisbane, following hugely successful performances across Europe and South America.

The VJ Performance is part of Greenaway’s The Tulse Luper Suitcases – an ongoing multi-media work inspired by the life of the Welsh writer and perennial prisoner Tulse Luper who archived his entire life in 92 suitcases. VJ Greenaway projects avant-garde images from the project onto the walls of the Gallery of Modern Art, mixing them live using his outstanding cinematographic eye and relentless energy.

DJ Radar has toured the world with James Brown, Bootsy Collins, Prince and the Prodigy, finally deciding to become a full time DJ in 1994 and is one of the most diverse artists in the Netherlands where he has held residences at most major clubs.

Fellow Amsterdammer Huibert Boon takes his inspiration from the avant-garde pioneers of electro-acoustics from Cage to Varese, from Zappa to Zorn. His current work focuses on the integration of computer-based sound synthesis with the sound of pure electricity from analog electrical instruments and the complex noises of day to day life.

The Peter Greenaway Tulse Luper VJ Performance combines the outstanding talents of VJ, DJ and sound designer to bring a totally new experience, cinema without restriction and some rocking beats to Brisbane.