Carnival time and Flaming Lips

This time ten years ago I was writing up my dissertation for an MA in Folklore and Cultural Tradition. My chosen subject was carnival and I described and analysed my local carnival tradition in Bakewell in a study entitled Good Deeds and Bad Behaviour. As carnival season in Derbyshire approaches I am reminded of the background reading as well as the observation and participant involvement that went into my final piece of work. The topsy turvey aspects of carnival traditions mean that roles are reversed and truth can be spoken in jest. It's also a liminal experience, a space and time between our everyday worlds, where anything can happen. Men dress as women, women dress as fairies, children dress as aliens and anyone can take on an animal disguise. There are grotesque figures, giants, and cartoon characters from popular culture. On Tuesady night I went to see Flaming Lips, in all their glory, with their spectacular stage show featuring giant inflatable aliens, suns, stars and caterpillars with butterfly wings. There were women dressed as face painted fairies and men dressed as furry animals. Wayne Coyne was resplendent in a Lycra body suit that looked like exposed muscle,with no protective layer of skin, but accessorised with tinsel strands in strategic places. I had a strange desire to be an academic again, to have the opportunity to analyse and describe Flaming Lips and their stage shows through the eyes of a folklorist, discussing their approach to the carnivalesque, incorporating Mikhail Bakhtin's notion of carnival as grotesque realism. But I will content myself with sharing these thoughts on this blog post. If anyone knows of any academic approaches to Flaming Lips and their work,please send me some links. In the meantime, here's a link to Mels's fantastic images on Louder Than War. http://louderthanwar.com/flaming-lips-manchester-apollo-live-review/

Love Goes to Building On Fire once more

Around this time last year there was a devastating fire in central Manchester and a fireman lost his life. As I walked past the gutted building and watched the work that went on to make it safe and then rebuild it, my thoughts always went out to him and his family and colleagues. Gutted is the right word here, an ugly word, but used for emotional trauma as well as a physical description of what fire can do. As I left work yesterday, the signal kicked in on my phone. A text message from my son told me he was safe, but that Glasgow School of Art was in flames. In the other world that is Chatsworth, no social media, mobile phones or email updates in our world as guides in the house, I had been blissfully unaware.i was very thankful for the message when the news came on the car radio. Charles Rennie Mackintosh and the Glasgow School of Art has been part of my life since I was a teenager when those wonderful designs for fabric and jewellery came into my consciousness and into vogue. That led to an appreciation and awareness of the architecture and furniture he designed. It was part of the hippy fascination with art nouveau and art deco as I was growing up. Eventually those jewellery designs became ubiquitous, but always lovely. When my son was applying to do fine art at university, he got an interview at Glasgow. Eight places on the course, sixteen called for interview. That seemed a huge achievement. I went with him to Glasgow, took a tour of the School of Art whilst he was in his interview. It was like a dream come true, to see the building and furniture I had only seen in books and photographs. The sense of identity and pride was palpable. It's a place with presence, meaning and history on so many levels. For the individual students who have been there, for the people of Glasgow, for people who care about and make art. A spiritual place. A place with spirit. That spirit will be called upon now. The news this morning is that far more of the structure of the building and the work within it has been saved than any of us could ever have imagined looking at those devastatingly destructive flames on the news yesterday. I have been involved in fire salvage plans and fire evacuation training through my work in heritage and public places. Suddenly all that theory becomes reality as I think of how much work must have been done yesterday by the fire teams and staff, working to those plans. The miracle that there was no loss of life is also an amazing outcome. I know that modern conservation techniques can bring things back from the brink. I hope there's a wave of help and expertise heading Glasgow's way. My son didn't get in to do his first degree there. It was a hard knock, but he went to Sheffield Hallam and it all worked out well. After several years of working and continuing his creative practice he got in to Glasgow last autumn to do his MA. He's there for two years. He has just finished his first year, had his interim show. That's why the text message to say he was OK was so important. My heart goes out to the students and staff who have to deal with this shocking experience. This morning it feels more hopeful and the Phoenix will rise I am sure.