Posted by kluster on August 24, 2010
Things have gotten dull, predictable, so normal these days. Sun rises, sun sets. Winter comes, spring follows. When did it all become so static?
Enter Madame Claude, the brothel-cum-bar and self-proclaimed ‘bar for common people’ with a difference. The difference is things here have been turned upside down here. Literally. Inspired by Twin Peaks, Madame Claude is designed to look like the inside of your art school friend’s small creative-district studio apartment - the one who had a penchant for classic literature and card games and was always able to make a fake flower jammed into the neck of an old medicine jar somehow look so super now - if you were to enter said apartment all Lionel Richie-esque, dancing on the ceiling. That’s where all the good stuff is here, stuck to the roof. Tables, chairs, rugs, bookstands and even the letterbox, they’re all up there.
It’s the attention to detail that makes Madame Claude, the brainchild of three French expats, especially muse-worthy. The ceiling-stuck items appear perfectly placed with pre-thought. The classics are book marked as if placed down mid-read, a deck of cards sits atop a table, dealt out and waiting to be played.More...
madame claude, twin peaks, lionel richie-esque, berlin, deutschland
Posted by kluster on August 24, 2010
Kids: they never cease to amaze me with all the marvellous things they’re getting up to these days. Yesterday, my morning started with the polished news presenter-esque sounds of 11-year-old film reviewing and Emmy-Award-winning Jackson Murphy weighing up the pros and cons of Phillip Noyce’s latest action blockbuster, Salt. The day before, I spent hours poring over the archives of 14-year-old Tavi Gevinson’s The Style Rookie, seeking further fashion inspiration, of course.
So it was with great interest that I ventured down to the Wharf Theatre to take in the Sydney Theatre Company and Australian Theatre for Young People’s co-production of Tusk Tusk last Wednesday night, eager to see what a trio of young Australian actors could bring to 22 year-old English writer, Polly Stenham’s (That Face) latest stage offering. The result, I am pleased to report, is a series of polished, powerful, emotionally driven performances. It’s reassuring to know that the future of Australian theatre is in safe hands.More...
jackson murphy, phillip noyce, tavi gevinson, sydney theatre company and australian theatre for young people, tusk tusk, polly stenham
Posted by kluster on August 24, 2010
Last September we ventured down to Allen & Unwin’s Sydney headquarters for the announcement of the 2009 Australian Vogel Literary Award. Much to our surprise, two burgeoning writers were declared joint winners of the illustrious prize – Lisa Lang for her Utopian Man manuscript and Kristel Thornell for Night Street. Yes, literature is still alive and kicking (hard) in Australia.
A few weeks ago we spied a copy of Lang’s winning manuscript – converted as it was to novel form – atop a pile of books awaiting eyes. We unhesitatingly selected it for visual consumption post haste, interested as we were to find out what exactly it was about this particular offering that set it apart from the 200 other entries received for last year’s award.
Utopian Man, set in 19th Century Melbourne, fictionalises the life story of Melbourne entrepreneur, Edward Cole and the successes and failures that surrounded the world-renowned Coles Book Arcade. It’s a deftly written, humanistic tale of grand ideas and courageous vision. Lang is no stranger to Cole’s ambitions, having previously penned the non-fiction work E W Cole: Chasing the Rainbow (2007), and in this her newest offering she skilfully interweaves this terrific true story with presumedly fictional accounts of life behind the Coles family’s closed front doors. The resulting novel is deserving of the prestigious award bestowed on Lang late last year.
Utopia Man is published by Allen & Unwin.
allen & unwin, australian vogel literary award, utopian man, lisa lang, night street, kristel thornell, coles book arcade, e r cole: chasing the rainbow
Posted by kluster on July 13, 2010
Ernest Ellis first grabbed our attention with the single ‘Bad Blood’ which projected him into the touring circuit with the likes of Evan Dando and The Paper Scissors. Recently, he’s been hiding out in the wilds, recording his debut album, Hunting. We caught up with Roland Ellis, the front man of the solo-project-with-band that is Ernest Ellis.
Covered: singing in the bath, turning 25, musical bones and supporting Florence.
Kat Hartmann: So, how’s everything on the back of last week’s album release? Is it nice to finally have it out there?
Roland Ellis: It is, yes. It’s my first album and it’s exciting that it’s finally out. It was quite a long process to record it and I’m pretty proud of it.
KH: Fabulous. There’s a lot of buzz surrounding you and your band at the moment. What does it feel like sitting where you are, in the middle of it all?
RE: I don’t really feel any of it. It’s weird because I’ve been writing songs for a fair while. I turn 25 on Monday and it’s taking me a while to put something out. It’s nice to have people interested in what you’re doing and that can’t be a bad thing right?More...
ernest ellis, roland ellis, interviews, bad blood, tim carr, mat gardner, ben morgan
Posted by kluster on July 7, 2010
A picture paints a thousand words, right? In the case of Karl Maier's interview with fellow artist and Rinzen-ite, Craig Redman for Kluster a picture paints an answer to a question. Bored with the often-restrictive written Q&A interview format -and inspired by the duo's Pick Me Up exhibition at Monster Children Gallery; the culmination of a year of visual communication between Maier in Sydney and Redman in New York - we decided we'd hand the conch over to the boys and let them do what they do best; illustrate their thoughts via images. This is the interview that resulted...
pick me up, karl maier, craig redman, rinzen, monster children gallery
Posted by kluster on June 30, 2010
What can we say, any designer who first found inspiration in the moves and grooves of Deee-Lite is all right by us. Not to mention one whose shoes have been featured as larger than life props in a Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus. Canadian designer Jerome C Rousseau creates the kind of shoes we anticipate and salivate over, season in, season out. Last week we seized the opportunity to pick his brain about his upcoming AW collection. We’ve even been able to smuggle back a few sneak peeks of his as of yet unreleased collection for your eager eyes. No sweat, you can thanks us later.
Kat Hartmann: What inspired you to first begin designing shoes?
Jerome C Rousseau: As a young teenager in Quebec, I came across a band called Deee-Lite. They were wearing wild footwear and I started drawing these shoes in art classes. Drawing shoes became something I wanted to do all the time, and after researching the history of shoes it evolved into a strong passion. I ended up moving to London to study at Cordwainers College, which turned out to be the start of a brilliant journey for me.
KH: Can you tell us a little about some of the inspirations and motivation for the AW collection?More...
jerome c rousseau, fashion, shoes, deee-lite, terry gilliam
Posted by kluster on June 1, 2010
Mother And Child is a film that explores motherhood from three very different perspectives. Karen (Annette Bening) gave up her child for adoption 35 years ago, Elizabeth (Naomi Watts) is her estranged daughter and Lucy (Kerry Washington) is trying to adopt a child of her own.
To celebrate the release we have 20 exclusive preview double passes to give away to Kluster subscribers. To enter, simply email info@kluster.com.au with the subject: Motherhood.
Entries close 04.06.10
mother and child
Posted by kluster on May 26, 2010
Night Two of the Even Books Le First Ever Readers Festival was a books-on-film based affair, hosted in the welcoming space that is CuriousWorks.
As our fellow city-mates would be aware, Saturday night in Sydney was a miserable affair. Incessant rain and mid-winter temperatures combined resulted in the creation of a rather unwelcoming conurbation.
Not to be swayed by some blowing winds and a bit of sky water, a group of adventurous literarily-and-film-inclined individuals braved the night, nursing wounded heads as a result of the reportedly raucous activities experienced at the festival’s opening night party, The Library of Unwritten Books at Performance Space at CarriageWorks.
The tone of the event was, suitably, set to low-key. More...
even books, le first ever readers festival, the library of unwritten books, carriageworks, fbi, kate jinx, femminst bookstore, threesome, parker posey, party girl
Posted by kluster on May 21, 2010
Last Tuesday we were invited to take a sneak peek of all things Sydney Biennale. From early morning to late afternoon we ventured through the MCA, across the harbour, into Walsh Bay, around Cockatoo Island, back across the harbour, along the Circular Quay foreshore past the Opera House, through the Botanic Gardens, up to the Art Gallery of NSW and down to Artspace in Woolloomooloo. Who would have thought art could be so simultaneously rewarding and exhausting?
The breadth of Sydney’s 17th Biennale, The Beauty of Distance: Songs of Survival in a Precarious Age is impressively extensive. To say that Artist Director, David Elliott’s realised vision is comprehensive would be an understatement. 'Expansive' would bring the hammer closer to the head of that particular nail. 440 works from 166 local and international artists are dotted across kilometres of public and private Sydney harbour-side real estate. More...
sydney biennale, the beauty of distance: songs of survival in a precarious age, david elliott, miguel angel rios, yayoi kusama, cal guo-qiang, choi jeong hwa
Posted by kluster on May 10, 2010
Ksubi
rafw, fashion, ksubi
Posted by kluster on May 7, 2010
A loud cheer just went up in Kluster's Sydney office. On the back of the release of their new album, End Times (could you get a more Mark Oliver Everett sounding title?) Eels have announced they're coming to OZ! Well, the East Coast section of OZ.
Enough talk, let's get to the details:
Dates:
Friday 13 August, Brisbane, The Tivoli.
Saturday 14 August, Sydney, Enmore Theatre.
Sunday 15 August, Melbourne, Palace Theatre.
Tickets from Ticketek.
eels
Posted by kluster on May 7, 2010
What do you get when you cross a Navajo blanket with a pre-war NYC bathroom design? The new OHWOW Book Club store is what. The designer behind this tiny retail space, Rafael de Cardenas says he drew inspiration from both these things when devising the interior.
We're pretty taken with the black, white and aqua colour scheme. Not to mention those deliciously OCD clean lines and the floating feeling you get after staring at the shelving for too long.
OHWOW is located at 227 Waverly Place, New York, NY 10014. It's open Tuesday - Sunday 11am - 8pm.
ohwow, rafael de cardenas