a little bit of culture

I managed to squeeze in some culture this holiday break. On solstice day Jan Akkerman (a truly famous Nederlander) came to play in the bar at the end of my street. I had seen him once before at North Sea Jazz about five years ago and to be honest hadn't been too impressed. I liked his work with Focus (that dates me) but found his solo stuff veered far too much towards free form jazz. But its not every day a guitar hero plays at the end of the street so I thought I would risk it. Though performing as Jan Akkerman the band was dominated by a black soul and blues singer from Washington who must have been at least 55 years old (and whose name I missed). It was like having Solomon Burke playing at the end of my street! The set was full of classic soul and blues songs - including some of my favourites from Marvin Gaye, the Temptations, Sam Cooke, Percy Sledge and others whose provenance was older and under my radar. And the delivery was perfect (not always faithful but done with soul and panache) It was a superb afternoon out. The band arrived about two hours late because of heavy snow the previous night - so it was almost an evening gig - but congratulations to the band for being committed enough to set out on the worst weather day of the year. And congratulations to Jan for standing solid in the background and being a great backing blues guitarist. It was a small and intimate venue. The band didn't even have a dressing room (and were lugging their own equipment into the back of estate cars). After the gig they were stood around with everyone else grabbing a quick smoke outside (and when it is minus 8 you do have a quick smoke!). So I got to meet the man and exchange a few words - and like most Dutch people who know /follow him say - he seems really nice, down-to-earth guy.

Cultural event number 2 was going to see Avatar on Boxing Day. Anyone who knows me will reel in shock at the thought of me going to see a Hollywood blockbuster on its first week of release -more so at the thought that I proposed the idea to some friends rather than just acquiescing to someone else's suggestion. I'm a film snob - I only really go for foreign language - minority interest - movies. (There's a reason for this - that is linked to US and Anglo Saxon cultural hegemony- but I might explore that in another post). I had read much about this movie - heard it was a technological breakthrough and had an eco-friendly story line - so decided it would be a good Christmas film (and I had two tickets that I won in a speed-dating competition several months ago that were approaching their use-by date). It was a great movie - the special effects were wonderful, the story line engaging and the eco-message was strong. But I thought the fight scenes went on too long.

Cultural event number 3 was going to the Municipal Museum in Den Haag to see the Cezanne /Picasso/Mondrian exhibition. Its called the Municipal Museum - but it is actually one of Holland's leading galleries and it claims to have the biggest collection of Mondrian's in the world. I have never been very impressed by Mondrian - his cubist work seems completely lacking in soul or other artistic merit - but I did very much appreciate seeing his earlier works (photo to follow) which I saw for the first time - which seemed to be a mixture of impressionism and the silk screen techniques of Warhol (avant la lettre).

The exhibition was based around showing how Cezanne's work influenced the latter two artists. It was an interesting take - but I thought it was a bit hyped and maybe the Gemeentemuseum is working a bit too hard on trying to establish Mondrian's reputation. It was interesting to see what a debt Picasso felt he owed to Cezanne -even at ne stage buying Cezanne's old house at the foot of Mount Sainte Victoire. We had far more fun in the basement where the museum has established a series of "Wonder kamers" (wonder rooms) where art is presented in new forms and contexts- free of historical linkages and with a dozen or so rooms full of interactive installations. The kids loved them. So did we.


I spent ages searching the museum shop for a new art diary that would inspire me as much as the Hundertwasser one I have been using for the past year. Alas nothing to be found. New Year's Eve I found a Keith Haring diary to get me through 2010. With all the work I do on sustainability and ecology I need something that is a little urban and funky to keep a balance.

This picture opportunity presented itself as we were walking back to the city centre. 'Pimp-your-bike'.