Graphic Passions: "Moebius" - Jean Giraud 1938-2012

A bit of a genius be Jean Giraud but now sadly died 10 March.

This is a trailer for a 2007 documentary about Giraud (aka Gir, aka Moebius) that I did see a year or so ago. As well as the "bandes dessinee" (comics) he worked on the costume designs for "Alien", input into "Tron" and influences upon other sci-fi films.

And Oh but I wish his collaboration with Alejandro Jodorowsky for a film of "Dune" had made it to the big screen.

First fame as Gir - with his anti-hero cowboy, Blueberry. Later he set up with others the magazine "Metal Hurlant" ("Heavy Metal") and explored sci-fi and fantasy. He also collaborated with Rene Laloux on his full-length animated movie "Les Maitres du Temps". About which.... more later.

For another YouTube tribute/taster try clicking through this link.

But me... I'm off to get me some of his graphics.....

Spring - Down Porthleven Way

You can't see it but the boys are out surfin. They hang in two tiny patches.. one at the entrance to the harbour... the other back from some rocks on the western side... where there be some waves. If you could see that lot ... they'd be tiny black dots over on the left hand side of the surf there.

And here's some celandine.... cos it's Spring.

But in Cornwall... I'll Be Visiting Newlyn Art Gallery

... to see the Breon O'Casey exhibition there.

You may remember I did post about him shortly after his death. Cos I do remember him from my youthy days in Cornwall. I remember his jewellery of course, and paintings and prints but would like to see the rugs and... well everything all at once! He was a lovely man.

There's a good posting about the exhibition from a Blog called Instant Steve.

And you'll find Gallery details by clicking the link for Newlyn Art Gallery & Exhange over in the right had side panel there.

If I Were in London... I'd be Going to The Tate..

... to see the Yayoi Kusama exhibition.

This Grand Lady of Japanese Art , or you could argue Outsider Art, is now 82. Dots is her thing. And she have done the whole New York Art scene... and Happenings and stuff. Now she do voluntarily live in a psychiatric institution... cos she have always battled with some fragile boundaries.

Yes I know Damien Hirst does the dot thing too....

As you may have noticed in a post about being at Art College in the 60s-70s... I did favour painting Op Art... Somewhere at that time I must have seen work by artist Jeremy Moon... who sadly died in an accident in 1973. I think he did spots.... but now I can't find any images for that so maybe I's wrong there. I just can see paintings of spots... who's were they?

Anyway ... Yayoi Kusama...

I've never seen a real live piece of hers, I have to content myself with looking in a book. Which is why I do say... If I were in London I would.....

Queening It

Recently... I be contemplating favouring monarchy as a way of government.

Course, sometimes some what do know me and The Old Man do call us anarchists...

....And Mr Smooth-Face Smartypants and his Cabinet is telling us that it is the Socialist Workers' Party (or as we used to say... the "Space Cadets") that have cowed the likes of Tesco, Superdrug, et al... so that they do get all nervous and back out of the government's work-for-nothing scheme.Though sometimes Mr Smooth-Face do say it's Anarchists. Tut-Tut. Who would have thought that Big Business could be frightened by "extremists" so easily. I think it may be a first.

Mind you. You never know who can influence opinion utterly. I seem to remember when Murdoch closed the News of the World... some furious spokesperson for something or other blamed it on members of MumsNet "eating their shortbread" and voting on the Web. It is obviously a shame that extremists such as SWP members and MumsNet members can hold Big Business... ahem.. cough... cough... the Nation to ransom in this way.

But my ponderin on Monarchy is rooted a bit more in the world view.... elections that get rigged... presidents that won't leave when their time is up... would rather slaughter their people than go.... Oh the joy of democracy.

Let's call a spade a spade... and go back to Kings and Queens.... then they can just haggle over the DNA of the matter.

The Old Man's Telly Channel

So I do say... in my previous post... that The Old Man do pontificate somewhat. He do have a lot of views and do like to express them.

The other day we do have a visit from Family including Youngest Niece. And as we do all sit there... listening to The Old Man ... for often there are not many options ...

Niece says:

"It's like a TV show isn't it. Old Man's TV."

The Old Man Gives "Those Who Kill" The Thumbs-up

So this is how it goes. We do record "Those Who Kill" on the Thursday night telly. Then we do watch it like Friday night... fast forwarding them pesky adverts... And now The Old Man has announced that he do prefer it to the various "Killings".

This is of course a modern-day sacrilege but The Old Man is now so confident in his views that he be pontificating on Euro-crime telly.... to ME! I mean I'ms the one who wants to watch it.

I have explained his difficulties with crime films/telly before... on account of all telly faces look pretty much the same for him. Well. Now that he has the familiarity of interchangeable Danish telly actors... he be happy.

Also... he do explain another advantage of "Those Who Kill".

It has one crime per episode... or strictly speaking... a serial crime per episode... This do give him another aspect of comfort. The monoplot.

"No sub-plots!" he do say. He be so pleased. Everything become easy now.

One thing I myself say about it.

Some critics have complained that "Katrine" is no Sarah Lund ("Forbrydelsen" reference).

Sillies. You be looking at the wrong obsessive, say I.

It's not Katrine who is the "Sarah Lund-alike" in this series.

It's Thomas Schaeffer... the psychiatrist.

Listening to.....Carolina Chocolate Drops

Just out, their latest album "Leaving Eden"....

and brought back for me from Truro by The Old Man... as a treat... cos I's a fan.