Comic books, illustration, animation, music, multimedia and other new ways of telling stories have not only changed the face of our popular culture, they now define it. GRAPHIC, which is being held on Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 August 2010 at the Sydney Opera House, Australia, celebrates this brave new world in a weekend of specially commissioned productions. The program includes musical responses to graphic art and stories, workshops, panels, a film program, a games exhibition and an animation competition. Highlights include a world first reading of an unreleased Neil Gaiman story; an evening with Fantagraphics the world leading publisher of alternative comics; and workshops on publishing and illustration. The guest line up includes Neil Gaiman, Kevin Smith, Shaun Tan, Gary Groth, Eddie Campbell, and many others. CLICK here for more information on the lineup.
I was emailed this vid a couple of months ago and have been waiting patiently to post it once I conquered the YouTube embed function and worked out the functionality of Blogger. This performance piece moved me to tears. The performers are deaf but their dance of the hands is stunningly graceful and so precise that it made me wonder how they could interpret the music so well – I found out in the last few minutes where I saw two conductors at the side of the stage. It solved the mystery but didn't detract from my enjoyment. Each hand and arm reminded me of an elegant crane head and neck. The music is quite lovely too, evoking memories of Disney's Mulan soundtrack. The piece relaxed and soothed me – it was like being in a state of hypnosis – until the dancers stepped off the pedestal and the tempo picked up and they got jiggy with it. Anyway, decide for yourself if this worth the watch or not ...
