X Way Vision is a video of live performances by artists from the Dunedin-based Xpressway record label. Performing artists include The Dead C, Alastair Galbraith, Plagal Grind, Chris Heazlewood & Greg Cairns, Shayne Carter, and Chug.
Screening at the Film Archive, Wednesday 27 May at 7pm. Tickets $8/6 concession.
[Read more after the jump]
The window at Bowen Galleries in Ghuznee Street is often chocka with all sorts of interesting tidbits of visual art, and right now is no exception with the Works On Paper "group-show".
Works On Paper features a selection of fantastic prints and drawings on paper by a number of artists: amongst them Kim Pieters, Greg O’Brien, Chris Salmon, Euan MacCleod, and…
Metaphorical Proximity (Otago), 2006 by Reg Mombassa!
I could scarcely believe my eyes when I saw this today, down by the Cenotaph:
Could it be true?
Can’t quite read it? No worries, there’s a zoomed-in version after the jump…
Pumice and Grouper are playing at Happy on Saturday night, with local support from seht (yesh, moi). It’s gonna be a great show.
Grouper (Liz Harris from the U.S.A.) has put out (at least) 4 incredible, beautiful albums* in the last few years, and apparently her live shows leave the records in the dust.
more after the jump…
TVNZ has commissioned Wayne Youle to orchestrate an art work for an upcoming episode of New Artland (hosted by Chris Knox). Wayne’s idea for the work follows on from his recent focus on New Zealand identity and the concept of turangawaewae, which while specifically related to Maori is a universal idea. We all as New Zealanders have a place or places that we link to physically and spiritually.
more after the jump…
The link between local musicians and the "fine arts" is stronger than you may suspect and goes back several decades in this town. Often, through necessity, DIY musicians need to head into new territories to produce their own artwork, as they lack the funds to outsource design work. The resulting artwork, e.g. CD artwork and posters, is a genre in its own right.
Until its recent closure, Christopher Moore gallery seemed to have representation for everyone from Alistair Galbraith to Stuart Porter; the adjacent Bowen Galleries 
still occasionally shows work by Kim Pieters and Susan Ballard from down south. Other collaborative efforts had the famous Wellington Media Collective designing and producing posters for the Braille Records crew.
Now DAF106 gallery on Aro Street is running a show of musician self-portraits. EGO, The Musician as Artist deliberately explores the way creative people express themselves through different art forms. EGO will draw together a host of local and national musicians, who are also visual artists, as they lay their souls bare and present a self-portrait in their chosen medium.
Self-portraits cause the artists to think laterally about their work and the difference between performance and visual representation of the self. Submissions may include painting, graphic art, multi-media, photography and sculpture. Size restrictions will apply so as to avoid the possibility of various egos battling for space.
Halloween approaches and what better way to celebrate than to scare yourself shitless watching what’s rumoured to be the scariest movie ever produced in this country? Yep, the Wellingtonista Film Season at the Film Archive continues at 7pm on Wednesday the 29th October with Glenn Standring’s notorious The Irrefutable Truth About Demons.
The Irrefutable Truth About Demons (official site) centres on Dr Harry Ballard (Karl Urban), a University lecturer who has become obsessed with exposing cults since the recent death of his brother. “The story unfolds,” explains Standring, “when Harry is attacked by this horrible cult, at which point he has to try and work out whether there is just a weird cult chasing him, or whether, there are in fact demons. So he goes through a whole reality shift that he’d never considered before – embarking on a journey to discover the irrefutable truth.”
More (including a 7 minute documentary video) after the jump…
Almost in order to prove that rumours of the death of genuine, good quality music retailers in this country have been greatly exaggerated, on November 6 Wellington will have a new specialist music retail store. Samurai Store will be the retail extension to the long standing Samurai Distribution and the recently established ‘Samurai Music’ record label.
Owned and operated by Geoff Wright (aka DJ Presha) with the assistance of Darryl McGown (aka D Dog from ‘Bass Frontiers’), Samurai Store will specialise in Drum and Bass, Dubstep, and Breaks vinyl, CDs, and a rage of related merchandise. The store will also be stocking other forms of electronic music and selling event tickets.
Wellington has not had a specialist store like this for many years, and with the knowledge and combined business experience going into the creation of this vinyl buyers paradise, Samurai Store will be an exciting addition to the capital city’s music retail entities.
Samurai Store [from 6 Nov 2008]
151 Willis Street [near that weird place where Turner’s Steakhouse was]
Wellington 6011
Phone: 04-3842145 Fax: 04-3843646
email: info@samuraistore.co.nz
Remember a few years ago when a bunch of punks dressed up as fairies chased the National Front guys around the Railway Station beating them up? LOLarama. Anyhow…
Anti-racism activists will be holding a rally and picnic at the Wellington Cenotaph at 10am on Saturday October 25. The rally and picnic is in opposition to plans to hold a "Flag Day" rally by the "Nationalist Alliance", a coalition comprising the National Front, New Right and National Democrats.
More about these asshats after the jump….
The Wellingtonista season of NZ feature films continues this Wednesday with Kingpin (1985), the predecessor to last week’s film Mark II.
Starring much the same cast but with the addition of the wonderful and greatly-missed Wi Kuki Kaa, Kingpin tells the story of a provincial borstal: a world where only the strong survive and The Kingpin is the biggest, the meanest, the toughest, the boss. And, there can be only one.
Tickets $8 or $6 concession – which includes a complimentary glass of wine (with ID) unless you can tell us which Hollywood blockbuster pinched its tagline from Kingpin, and we’ll give you a double pass. Film commences 7pm.
More details on The Film Archive’s website…
Some YouTube clip goodies after the jump!