This autumn, the Bank Austria Kunstforum is presenting the first ever comprehensive Frida Kahlo retrospective in Austria. Frida Kahlo is a global icon artist, an identification figure of Mexican culture and the forerunner of the feminist movement. Kahlo’s art is intertwined with the truth in her life. Her paintings and drawings were not only the mirror of her life history, but also marked by physical and mental affliction she suffered from her whole life and the injuries caused by a horrific bus accident.
In the early thirties her paintings show the first tendencies towards surrealism; an approach which produced complex compositions springing out of her inner life. In her 1940′s self-portraits expression, we see the “authoritarian eye”: Frida takes the stage like a saint “worthy of adulation”; her dominant aura is inescapable.
The exhibition Frida Kahlo contains around 60 paintings, 20 objects and 80 works on paper. These are combined with a selection of photographic documents, compiled by Frida’s great-niece Cristina Kahlo. Most of Kahlo’s artistic legacy is in Mexico and the USA. Due to the lack of Kahlo’s European collections, and the sparsity of exhibition projects in Europe, this show is a sensation for Vienna. The exhibition is being held in cooperation with the Martin-Gropius-Bau in Berlin. The exhibition curators in Vienna are Ingried Brugger, Florian Steininger and Helga Prignitz-Poda.
Statement Concerning Change
Frida Kahlo has a pioneer role for so many generations of female artists, she paved the way for crucial positions in feminist art, especially in context with bodyart and performance. Her physical and psychological suffer was depicted in such a direct, violent and surreal way, especially in the painting “unos cuantos piquetitos!” from 1935. Diego Rivera’s betray with Frida’s younger sister Cristina is transformed in a violent bodilly agitation, in the brutal murder of Frida Kahlo: blood is smeared everywhere, also on the frame, so to pretend the real character of this action.
Ngawang Choephel has a lifelong passion for Tibetan music, and has devoted his life to its preservation and dissemination. He was born in Tibet, and grew up in exile in India, where he discovered his talent for music at an early age. He received a degree in Tibetan Music from the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts (TIPA) in Dharamsala, India. He then taught Tibetan music to children of elementary to high school age while continuing to do independent research on Tibetan music. In 1993, he recorded an album of Tibetan folk songs entitled “Melody in Exile.” In 1994 he traveled to the West as a Fulbright Fellow at Middlebury College, VT, where he studied video production and international music in preparation for the production of his documentary “Tibet in Song.”
He returned to Tibet in 1995 to film Tibetan folk songs, and Chinese authorities arrested him, calling his work a pretext to collect sensitive material on the PRC. He was sentenced to an astonishing 18 years in prison without a fair trial. After a highly publicized world campaign for his release, that was covered in most of the world media,Ngawang was released in 2002. His resilience in the face of adversity, earned him the Courage of Conscience Award from Peace Abbey 2002. That year he also received an Honorary Doctor of Arts Degree from Middlebury College, as well as ‘Best Act in Exile’ award from Lobsang Wangyal Productions for his musical talent. He resumed working on his film “Tibet in Song” in 2002 while he also worked for a time as special project coordinator for New York Association for New Americans (NYANA) in New York City. While he has kept the majority of the details of his experience as a political prisoner private, he has spoken at various colleges, and other venues on the issue of Tibetan music as covered in his film, and agreed to an interview by American Public Media in 2008. He also gives occasional Tibetan music workshops in New York City where he resides. “Tibet in Song” is his first feature-length documentary. It showcases the richness of Tibetan music and the beauty of the ordinary Tibetan people, while documenting the Chinese influence on Tibet from 1949 to the present day. It will make its world premiere at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. Ngawang is currently working on his autobiography as a former Tibetan political prisoner, and is looking for agents.
Director Statement
Through Tibetan music I can feel Tibet itself. The Tibet which I lost as a child at once becomes very real to me through the music. Tibetan folk songs are not just a form of art, they are like a precious treasure hidden under the earth. We learn through these songs everything there is to know about the Tibetan people. When you see and hear the performances of Tibetan folk music you feel the warmth of the Tibetan people. These songs have been passed down from generation to generation. They are a historical record of the Tibetan experience.
This film is not just about music, it is about the strength and determination of the Tibetan people to keep their culture alive despite losing their freedom as a nation over 60 years ago. My experience filming in Tibet, and as a former political prisoner for the making of this film, have taught me that Tibetan culture is alive in the hearts of my fellow Tibetans now as it ever was and that we will continue to work for our freedom no matter what. I would like to show Tibet in Song to many people throughout the world. I would like to see some breakthroughs in the Tibetan movement. I would like to see Tibetans in exile taking the Tibetan movement into their daily lives until China talks to the Dalai Lama. That is my desire.
“This one-man Middle East peace accord makes music that is an ambitious celebration of multicultural diversity. The ethnic elements are cleverly rewired with modern grooves to create an ambient journey that thrillingly bridges the traditional and the modern.”–The Times (London, UK)
The architect of this unique recording project, is keyboardist, producer and composer Idan Raichel. Originally from Kfar Saba,Israel, a small city near his current home of Tel Aviv, Idan was born in 1977 to a family with Eastern European roots, and although music was an important part of his upbringing, his parents did not place much emphasis on performing music from his particular cultural background. “I think the fact that I didn’t have strong family musical roots is what made me be very open to music from all over the world,” says Idan.
He started playing the accordion at the age of nine, and even at this young age was attracted to the exotic sounds of Gypsy music and tango. As a teenager, Idan began playing keyboards, and studied jazz in high school, honing his skills at improvisation and working with other musicians. In Israel, military service is mandatory for all young men and women, and at 18 Idan was conscripted into the Israeli army. Rather then heading to the front lines in this volatile region, Idan joined the Army rock band and toured military bases performing covers of Israeli and European pop hits. As the musical director of the group, he became adept at arrangements and producing live shows, making his Army experience productive and positive.
After completing his service, Idan started working as a counselor at a boarding school for immigrants and troubled youth. Notably, the school was filled with young people from Ethiopia who were part of Israel’s growing community of Ethiopian Jews. Idan developed friendships with members of the Ethiopian community and began to explore Ethiopian music and culture. He started going to Ethiopian bars and clubs and soon was invited to Ethiopian synagogues, weddings and ceremonies. Meanwhile, Idan had become a successful backup musician and recording session player for some of Israel’s most popular musicians. He decided it was time to pursue a project that reflected his musical ideals, and began working on a demo recording in a small studio he set up in the basement of his parent’s home. Idan invited over 70 of his friends and colleagues from Israel’s diverse music scene to participate in the recordings. He never expected his musical experiments to turn him into Israel’s biggest musical phenomenon in recent memory.
CONCERNING CHANGE
The Idan Raichel Project burst onto Israel’s music scene in 2002, changing the face of Israeli popular music and offering a message of love and tolerance that resonated strongly in a region of the world where headlines are too often dominated by conflict. With an enchanting blend of African, Latin American, Caribbean and Middle Eastern sounds coupled with sophisticated production techniques and a spectacular live show, the Idan Raichel Project has become one of the most unexpected success stories in Israeli music history…
“To say that everything that has happened was the fulfillment of a dream would imply that I even dreamed that any of this could happen,” notes the humble Raichel, whose rise to fame was as much a shock to him as it was the skeptical Israeli music industry executives who said his multilingual, cross-cultural fusions would never find mainstream acceptance.
In 2008, The Idan Raichel Project released the album Within My Walls (Bein Kirot Beiti) in Israel to tremendous acclaim. The album is to be released worldwide outside of Israel by Cumbancha in early 2009. Much of Within My Walls was recorded over the past few years while Idan was on tour, during recording sessions in hotel rooms, backstage dressing areas, private homes and other impromptu settings. His poetic lyrics reflect these travels and contemplations; sung in Hebrew, Moroccan Arabic, Spanish, Cape Verdean Creole and Swahili, the songs address the struggle for personal fulfillment and the true meaning of love in a conflicted and complex world.
For Within My Walls, Idan recorded and co-wrote songs with Colombian singer Marta Gómez, Cape luminary Mayra Andrade and the silken-voiced Somi of Rwandan and Ugandan heritage. Inspired by the lush, moody strings of Nick Drake, Idan assembled a 24-piece orchestra and worked with Israeli arranger Assaf Dar to transpose his engaging melodies into an orchestral format. Idan also invited some of his favorite musicians, such as Middle Eastern percussionist Zohar Fresco, traditional flute and woodwinds specialist Eyal Sela, Mark Eliyahu on kamancheh (a traditional Persion fiddle), and legendary bassist Alon Nadel to lend their talents to the recording. The result is a deeply moving recording, overflowing with rich melodies, engaging poetry, stunning vocal performances and intricate arrangements.
The album’s title track follows, featuring Idan on vocals. With its lyrics dealing with walls and the way they simultaneously protect and isolate people, it is easy to interpret the song as a commentary on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, but Idan denies any overt political agenda in his songs. “I have a strong political view about the situation in Israel,” he points out, “But I refuse to say what I think about it because I still see myself as a representative for the musicians and singers of the Project in and out of Israel. We may have opposing viewpoints, but we can relate on an artistic level, and I don’t want differences of opinion on politics to come between us.”
However, Idan does admit “You cannot close people in walls. They’ll immediately want to break them. Even if you have a kid and you want him to stay away from something, you don’t build a wall around him to force him to stay away, you just explain to him why it’s important to stay away from this. If you just build a wall and say to stay away, he will break the wall and want to get there anyway.”
With the release of Within My Walls, the Idan Raichel Project embarked on their next great adventure by bringing their music to an even wider audience across the globe. The album released by Cumbancha, a record label founded by Jacob Edgar, the longtime head of the A&R and music research at Putumayo. Dedicated to presenting exceptional artists from around the world to a wider audience, Cumbancha has worked closely with the Idan Raichel Project since it released their eponymous first international release in the fall of 2006. With major tour dates planned in North America, Europe, Latin America and other regions, the Idan Raichel Project will be breaking down walls for years to come.
This autumn, the Bank Austria Kunstforum is presenting the first ever comprehensive Frida Kahlo retrospective in Austria. Frida Kahlo is a global icon artist, an identification figure of Mexican culture and the forerunner of the feminist movement. Kahlo’s art is intertwined with the truth in her life. Her paintings and drawings were not only the mirror of her life history, but also marked by physical and mental affliction she suffered from her whole life and the injuries caused by a horrific bus accident.
In the early thirties her paintings show the first tendencies towards surrealism; an approach which produced complex compositions springing out of her inner life. In her 1940′s self-portraits expression, we see the “authoritarian eye”: Frida takes the stage like a saint “worthy of adulation”; her dominant aura is inescapable.
