P441ORACLE 441 Mon27 Jan C4 1714:51
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DETAILS
FOLLOW...
P441ORACLE 441 Mon27 Jan C4 170 :25
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ARTS & DRAMA ON 4-TEL
P441ORACLE 441 Mon27 Jan C4 1701:48
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CONTENTS
Footlights is 4-Tel's arts and drama
magazine. Coming up in a moment you
will find:
* SHAKESPEARE LIVES
A look at Timon of Athens, Part Two
of which will be shown on Channel 4
this Wednesday at 5.30pm.
* BELSHAZZAR'S FEAST
Bobb Strongman reviews Susan Hiller's
short video, shown as part of the
Ghosts In The Machine season this
Wednesday at 11.50pm.
Edited by Sophie Walpole
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P441ORACLE 441 Mon27 Jan C4 1708:01
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SHAKESPEARE LIVES!
TIMON OF ATHENS
This Wednesday at 5.30pm sees part two
of Michael Bogdanov's workshop
exploration of Timon Of Athens with
actors from the National Theatre.
Amongst other things the assembled
company will be discussing is whether
the play truly is a timeless masterwork
or whether its Elizabethan language
forms an insurmountable barrier for the
modern audience.
Shakespeare's adaptatign of Lucian of
Samosata's much earlier work is above
all a domestic tragedy combining
elements of betrayal, corruption and
false friendship.
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P441ORACLE 441 Mon27 Jan C4 1711:34
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SHAKESPEARE LIVES!
TIMON OF ATHENS
The play is a study of attitudes;
demonstrating how greed for financial
gain can distort the character and
ultimately lead to a total break down
of values.
By stumbling across a limitless pot of
gold Timon is placed in a position from
which he comes to realise the true
hollowness of the society in which he
lives.
Social concern is subordinated to
aspirations for personal financial gain
As such the subject matter retains an
immediacy that can be appreciated by
audiences from Shakespeare's time to
our own.
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P441ORACLE 441 Mon27 Jan C4 1712:57
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GHOSTS IN THE MACHINE
P441ORACLE 441 Mon27 Jan C4 1710:13
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BELSHAZZAR'S
FEAST
Imagine a flame, growing in intensity
to a crackling fire...you now have a
complete picture of Susan Hiller's
25 minute video. Belshazzar's Feast,
Wednesday at 11.50pm.
So why watch it? Well, the point of the
video seems not that it should present
a single, clearly identifiable picture,
but that the picture which it does
present should form the basis of a
personal perception.
As the video progresses reference is
made by way of comparison to white
noise ─ the random disturbance which
occupies the television screen after
closedown.
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P441ORACLE 441 Mon27 Jan C4 1717:36
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BELSHAZZAR'S
FEAST
As the video progresses, the notion of
identifying shapes in fire or white
noise is made more explicit,
strengthening the allure of the visual
image.
The repetition of a single image is a
device that has often been used in
video production, but Hiller has
thankfully opted not to re-present the
same image.
Instead she uses the natural magnetism
of the flame to retain a single texture
throughout the video, whilst allowing
a multitude of related images to act as
a background for its narrative.
More >
P441ORACLE 441 Mon27 Jan C4 1711:02
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BELSHAZZAR'S
FEAST
If the intention of the video was to
focus attention on our practice of
interpreting random patterns as images,
it succeeds.
If, on the other hand, it seeks to
suggest that these images actually
exist in an external sense, then it
does not, but either way it is an
interesting exercise.
My main criticism however is that
whatever its intention it does nothing
to add to the natural magnetism of the
image it portrays.
It was rather like sitting in front of
a real coal fire without feeling the
heat. By Bobb Strongman