Thursday, August 11, 2011

The Ghostvillage Project

This short documentary was shot in October 2009 on the remote Cowal Peninsula in the west of Scotland. It details arts collective Agents Of Change's transformation of an abandoned village of Pollphail into an open-air art gallery.

Six artists - Timid, Remi/Rough, System, Stormie Mills, Juice 126 and Derm - were given free reign to paint anywhere in the complex.

The brutalist 1970s concrete structures had never seen human inhabitants - the site was constructed ostensibly as a base to house workers needed to construct concrete oil rigs, but the plan was subsequently abandoned - but were ideally suited to the separate styles and methods employed by the collective.

Working together on huge collaborative walls and individually in hidden nooks and crannies all over the site the artists realised long held dreams and were inspired by the bleakness and remoteness of the site. Drawing on the history of the village the artists' stated intent on completion of the project was to populate the ghostvillage with the art and characters that it deserved.

Inspired by the marked contrast between the architecture and the surrounding landscape of rolling hills, forests and lochs, the artists worked for three days through challenging physical conditions to produce foreboding yet hauntingly beautiful artwork all over the site. The viewer is rewarded with a unique insight into the world of the graffiti artist and an opportunity to experience the creative process behind such a huge undertaking.

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Sights and Sounds of India

Music day: Three track



Yes, the Taj Mahal is stunning, but so are many other sights and sounds in the world's second most populous country.

Monday, April 4, 2011

The story of India - amazing BBC documentary series

Music day: In Flames – Touch Of Red

The Story of India is a BBC TV documentary series, written and presented by historian Michael Wood, about the 10,000-year history of the Indian subcontinent in six episodes. It was originally aired on the BBC in six episodes in August and September 2007 as part of the BBC season "India and Pakistan 07", which marked the 60 years independence of India and Pakistan. In the United States, PBS broadcast the series on three Mondays, January 5, 12 and 19, 2009 from 9 to 11 PM. An accompanying text was published by BBC Books.

As in most of his documentaries, Wood explains historical events by travelling to the places where they took place, examining archeological and historical evidence at first hand and interviewing historians and archaeologists, as well as chatting with local people.