{ feuilleton }

On the move

Le Stryge by Charles Méryon (1853).

“These writings, which deal with the Parisian arcades, were begun under a clear sky of cloudless blue that curved over the arcade; even so they are covered with a dust hundreds of years old by the millions of pages in which the fresh wind of diligence, the heavy breath of the scholar, the storm of young zeal and the slow gentle breeze of curiosity rustled. For the painted summer sky, which looks down from the arcades to the study of the Parisian Bibliothèque Nationale, has spread its dreamy, lightless cover over them.”

Walter Benjamin, Passagenwerk.

Off to Paris again for a week to explore some of Walter’s arcades.

The art of Vasili Vereshchagin, 1842–1904

The Apotheosis of War (1871) by Vasili Vereshchagin, “dedicated to all conquerors, past, present and to come”.

Previously on { feuilleton }
• The apocalyptic art of Francis Danby

Rogue’s Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs, and Chanteys

The great Hal Willner is doing his eclectic thing again. A marvellous collection of folk ballads. Nice cover as well, from Howard Pyle’s celebrated pirate paintings.

Disc: 1
1. Cape Cod Girls—Baby Gramps
2. Mingulay Boat Song—Richard Thompson
3. My Son John—John C. Reilly
4. Fire Down Below—Nick Cave
5. Turkish Revelry—Loudon Wainwright III
6. Bully In The Alley—The Old Prunes
7. The Cruel Ship’s Captain—Bryan Ferry
8. Dead Horse—Robin Holcomb
9. Spanish Ladies—Bill Frisell
10. High Barbary—Joseph Arthur
11. Haul Away Joe—Mark Anthony Thompson
12. Dan Dan—David Thomas
13. Blood Red Roses—Sting
14. Sally Brown—Teddy Thompson
15. Lowlands Away—Rufus Wainwright & Kate McGarrigle
16. Baltimore Whores—Gavin Friday
17. Rolling Sea—Eliza McCarthy
18. Haul On The Bowline—Bob Neuwirth
19. Dying Sailor to His Shipmates—Bono
20. Bonnie Portmore—Lucinda Williams
21. The Mermaid—Martin Carthy & the UK Group
22. Shenandoah—Richard Greene & Jack Shit
23. The Cry Of Man—Mary Margaret O’Hara

Disc: 2
1. Boney—Jack Shit
2. Good Ship Venus—Loudon Wainwright III
3. Long Time Ago—White Magic
4. Pinery Boy—Nick Cave
5. Lowlands Low—Bryan Ferry w/Antony
6. One Spring Morning—Akron/Family
7. Hog Eye Man—Martin Carthy & Family
8. The Fiddler/A Drop Of Nelson’s Blood—Ricky Jay & Richard Greene
9. Caroline and Her Young Sailor Bold—Andrea Corr
10. Fathom The Bowl—John C. Reilly
11. Drunken Sailor—Dave Thomas
12. Farewell Nancy—Ed Harcourt
13. Hanging Johnny—Stan Ridgway
14. Old Man of The Sea—Baby Gramps
15. Greenland Whale Fisheries—Van Dyke Parks
16. Shallow Brown—Sting
17. The Grey Funnel Line—Jolie Holland
18. A Drop of Nelson’s Blood—Jarvis Cocker
19. Leave Her Johnny—Lou Reed
20. Little Boy Billy—Ralph Steadman

Previously on { feuilleton }
• The music of The Wicker Man
• Davy Jones

The Haunter of the Dark

Today sees the publication of my collection of Lovecraft adaptations and illustrations, The Haunter of the Dark and other Grotesque Visions (Creation Oneiros) in the US, although I’ve no idea what’s out there right now. Confusion reigns on the online front with Amazon.com saying the book isn’t out yet while Barnes & Noble says it’s a new title that’s out of stock. Presumably things will settle down in the next week or two, in the meantime you can order copies, of course. UK release has been put back a few more weeks but the book should be available in October: Amazon.co.uk.

Sample pages and previous book news can be seen here.

“At its far edge, horror shades into beauty, and it is far beyond
that edge that Coulthart takes us, into terrible magnificence.”
Alan Moore, in the book’s introduction

“A terrific book, haunting and beautiful.
That writer from Providence would have been proud…”
Neil Gaiman

Exodus art and Plague Songs

Saturday 30 September 2006 Exodus Day in Margate. Commissioned and produced by Artangel

My name is Pharoah Mann and I’m going to change the world. And I’m going to start now by doing what politicians never do. I’m going to say sorry.
Pharoah Mann, Margate 30 September 2006

Plagues of lice, locusts, frogs and flies, a 25-metre high sacrificial sculpture and a cast of thousands will dramatically transform the south coast town of Margate into a colourful and contemporary setting for an epic film inspired by the Old Testament Book of Exodus, in which the town’s residents will play all of the parts.

The Margate Exodus brings together international artists led by Penny Woolcock, including sculptor Antony Gormley, and songwriters Rufus Wainwright, Brian Eno and Imogen Heap, alongside local musicians, singers, actors, costume-makers and set-builders to create a timeless story of identity, migration and the great movement of peoples across the world in search of a promised land. Written and directed for Artangel by acclaimed filmmaker Penny Woolcock, the story of Exodus is told for the present day as a feature film for theatrical release and Channel 4 broadcast in 2007.

Exodus Day on Saturday 30 September takes place in Margate’s town centre, at the Winter Gardens, along the Seawall, through the streets and in the Dreamland funfair. The day opens with Pharaoh’s impassioned election victory speech and ends with an epilogue of fire and water on the coastal path. High above Dreamland towers Antony Gormley’s ominous Waste Man, a giant combustible thrift store sculpture, standing 25 metres tall. Filled with the collective detritus of consumer society and hand built by the local community using abseilers and pulley systems, Waste Mansignals a decisive turning point in the Exodus story and an enduring beacon for Exodus Day.

During the day, a cycle of Plague Songs written by international singer-songwriters and inspired by the ten biblical plagues in the Book of Exodus, are performed by local musicians and singers at the Winter Gardens. A diverse range of musical forces from hurdy-gurdy to hip-hop have been uncovered through auditions held by voice coach Mary King of Channel 4’s Operatunity and musical director and multi-instrumentalist David Coulter. Rufus Wainwright has taken a personal approach to the Death of the First-Born whilst Scott Walker brings about Darkness. Cody ChesnuTT communicates a higher authority with Boils and Martyn Jaques of The Tiger Lillies evokes Hailstones. Brian Eno and Robert Wyatt take wing together for Flies, Laurie Anderson mourns the slaughter of cattle for Death of Livestock and Imogen Heap conjures up a swarm of locusts in the ecstatic Glittering Cloud. A CD of the songs performed by the original singer-songwriters will be available for Exodus Day and on general release in October on 4AD.

The large-scale photographic project Towards a Promised Land, by Wendy Ewald also plays a part in the day’s events. These banner photographs of children who have relocated to Margate from places near and far are sited in various locations around the town. The audience follow an audio trail of the photographs by collecting a headset from a central pick-up point in town or downloading the audio trail as a podcast from the Margate Exodus website. A book of texts and images co-published by Artangel and Steidl, will also be available.

It is anticipated that a great many people from Thanet will take an active part in this ambitious project and that Exodus Day will attract a substantial audience from Kent, London and beyond.

Klashnekoff : Blood [Plague of Blood]
King Creosote : Relate The Tale [Plague of Frogs]
Stephin Merritt (The Magnetic Fields) : The Meaning of Lice [Plague of Lice]
Brian Eno & Robert Wyatt : Flies [Plague of Flies]
Laurie Anderson : The Fifth Plague [Death of Livestock]
Cody ChesnuTT : Boils [Plague of Boils]
The Tiger Lillies : Hailstones [Plague of Hail]
Imogen Heap : Glittering Cloud [Plague of Locusts]
Scott Walker : Darkness [Plague of Darkness]
Rufus Wainwright : Katonah [Death of The Firstborn]

www.themargateexodus.org.uk

Previously on { feuilleton }
• Generative culture
• Wyatting
• The Drift by Scott Walker
• My Life in the Bush of Ghosts