Standing Room Only for Sunday 10 April 2022

12:16  Printmaker Francoise Gilot - life after Picasso

Napier is about to host the largest collection of  artwork by pioneering fine art printmaker Françoise  Gilot ever exhibited in the Southern Hemisphere.

Françoise is a spritely 100 years old - and for 80 of them, this artist tour de force has experimented wth colour lithography....

She lived with Picasso in the late 1940s, and while already an established artist in her own right, she acknowledges that she learnt much by watching his printmaking techniques over that time.

Lynn Freeman talks with Dr Adrian Ormsby, the Curator of the exhibition Francoise Gilot The Pioneer, which opens at Creative Arts Napier on the 22nd of April.

 

12:31  The art of Ceramics repairs with Dave Clingman

In the latest in our occasional series of interviews with repairers, we turn our attention to pottery.

People are often encouraged to repair broken musical instruments, furniture or paintings.  But crockery - even a much loved plate or mug - is more likely to end up in the tip after an accident.

However, if the item is rare or there's sentimental value attached to it, there is still hope, according to Wellington ceramicist Dave Clingman.

Dave not only makes pottery, he fixes it too.  He uses several techniques, but his favourite, he says, is the Japanese art of Kintsugi.

Lynn Freeman asked Dave about the particular challenges of fixing broken ceramics.

 

12:44  The X factor - horror producer Jacob Jaffke

Right now the movie industry is increasingly nervous, with all the big Hollywood studios saying the only way to make a profit is huge and very expensive blockbusters.

But one company is going in the opposite direction - and doing very well at it.   A24 specialises in smaller movies aimed mostly at cinema releases - movies like The Green Knight, Lady Bird, Lighthouse - and an upcoming tongue in cheek horror film called X.   

So why was it filmed mostly around Whanganui?   

It's an unlikely combination, an unabashed genre picture called X set in Texas - it describes itself as Boogie Nights meets Texas Chainsaw Massacre! - suddenly transferred to New Zealand.  And not even mainstream backlot New Zealand - Auckland, say, or Central Otago .  X was mostly shot around Whanganui, Bulls and Rangitikei.  And the good news it's getting great notices already overseas.  

Simon Morris talks to producer Jacob Jaffke in Los Angeles about the enduring appeal of horror movies, why they work so much better in a cinema, and why he was drawn to New Zealand.

X has been showing in selected cinemas this week, and then will later stream on Google Play and iTunes before heading for BluRay/DVD.
 

1:10 At The Movies

Simon Morris reviews Morbius, Deep Water and Benedetta

 

1:33  Baroque violinist Anne Loeser

In what she believes to be a first for Aotearoa, violinist Anne Loeser is about to play the entire cycle of Heinrich Biber's 17th century Rosary Sonatas for violin and continuo..

It's such a marathon, she'll be playing it over three evenings.

Anne is a first violinist in  the NZSO, but she also plays baroque violin, which is what she'll be using for the marathon event.

Two other musicians will be performing with Anne and she'll also need a dedicated violin-tech backstage, because every sonata demands that the violin be re-tuned and even mistuned.

Lynn Freeman asked Anne why playing the full cycle is such a daunting prospect for a violinist:

The performance of Heinrich Biber's Rosary Sonatas for violin and continuo at St Mary's of the Angels in Wellington, starts on Wednesday, continuing on Good Friday and Easter Sunday.

i. "The Joyful Mysteries"                                                                           Wednesday 13 April, 7pm
II. "The Sorrowful Mysteries"                                                                    Good Friday 15 April, 7pm
III. "The Glorious Mysteries" and Passacaglia "The Guardian Angel"  Easter Sunday 17 April, 7pm
 

1:46  David Groves takes us on a journey from Xanadu to Venice

Author David Groves invites us to travel the Silk Road from fabled Asian capital Xanadu to Venice, with adventurer Marco Polo and the Emperor Kublai Khan as our guides, in his novel Intelligible Cities.

In it, the two old men talk reflect on the strengths, and weaknesses, of language and different ways it can be translated.

David is deeply versed in Italian language and culture, and his novel is impossible to pigeonhole - part travelogue, part allegory, part treatise on translation all encapsulated in a comic novel.

David tells Lynn Freeman that it's also a tribute to an Italo Calvino novel that was published 50 years ago:

Intelligible Cities by David Groves is published by goWare, 
 

2:06 The Laugh Track - Dane Giraud

South Aucklander Dane Giraud has been dreaming of "diversity" long before it became a buzz-word.  In particular he's wanted to see the comedy of his neighbourhood brought to the mainstream - right now!

But creating TV and film is hugely expensive.  So Dane's tapped into a genre of the past.  He wants to bring back the Comedy Record - the sort of album that topped the charts in the days of Monty Python, Eddie Murphy and latterly The Flight of the Conchords.

Lest you think Dane is living in the past, he's also a long time TV creator - everything from the Loading Docs portal and the sitcom Find me a Maori Bride to YouTube series and even VR games.

Dane Giraud joins Simon Morris on the Laugh Track.  His picks include Seventies TV children's  host "Nice one" Stu Dennison, Richard Pryor, Spike Milligan and Cheech and Chong.

 

2:26  Novelist India Holton  

With characters who include a pirate of low morals but high cheekbones and a witch who's also an excellent pick pocket and a keen bibliophile, you can tell you're in for a wild ride.

India Holton's books The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels and The League of Gentlewomen Witches have both been picked up by a US publisher.

The latter is about to be released here in Aotearoa.  It tells the story of Miss Charlotte Pettifer and her nemesis, the pirate Alex O'Reiley who together must find a magic and powerful amulet.

Like Charlotte, India is a massive Jane Austen fan and the books are written very much in her style, with a twist:  "It is a truth seldom acknowledged that a single woman in possession of a good fortune is not especially in want of a husband", she writes.

The New York Times review was glowing:   "As much fun as the English language will permit". Lynn Freeman talks to India about the world of witches and pirates.

The League of Gentlewomen Witches by India Holton is published by Penguin Random House.

 

2:39  Christine Whybrew retraces the histories of houses

Family genealogy is irresistable for many of us, researching our whakapapa.

There's another history though that's overlooked but often just as fascinating - the story of our homes.

Christchurch-based Dr Christine Whybrew from Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga is captivated by home histories and gives talks about them to homeowners interested in delving into the past.

Lynn Freeman wondered what got Christine so interested in the history of houses..

Dr Christine Whybrew from Heritage New Zealand Pouhere Taonga.  

 

3:06 Drama at 3 - Part 3 of The Redhead Gets the Gig

And in our Classic Drama slot the final of this series of singer-songwriter-entertainer Lorkin's memoirs The Redhead Gets the Gig.

Last week Linn decided to let go of her academic ambitions in Paris, and really go after her dream career in music.   She took off to London at the height of the Swinging Sixties, with a dream but no plan.

The Redhead Gets the Gig is written and performed by Linn Lorkin, adapted for radio by Duncan Smith for RNZ National.  Linn will return later in the year, and you can listen to the first series by simply entering "Linn Lorkin" into the search bar on the RNZ website.
 

Music played in this show

Artist: Mulan
Song: Cups and saucers
Composer: Panzer
Album:  Disney Princess Tea Party
Label: Waltdisney
Played at: 12.12

Artist: John Hiatt
Song: Tennessee plates
Composer:  Hiatt-Porter
Album:  Slow Turning
Label: A&M
Played at: 12.28

Artist: Michael James Keane
Song: Ceramic tide
Composer: Keane
Album: (single)
Label:  N/A
Played at: 12.58

Artist: The 5th Dimension
Song: Paper cup
Composer: Webb
Album:  Up up and away
Label: Arista
Played at:  1.07

Artist: Fortunes
Song: Storm in a teacup
Composer: Roker-Rubin
Album: Singles 
Label: BR
Played at: 1.46

Artist: Bootsy Collins
Song:  Mug push
Composer: Clinton-Collins-Collins
Album: Back in the day
Label: Warner
Played at:  1.58

Artist: Lovin' Spoonful
Song: Jug band music
Composer:  Sebastian
Album: The Collection
Label: EMI
Played at:  2.05

Artist:  Dixie Cups
Song:  Iko Iko
Composer: Hawkins-Jones
Album: The Red Bird Story
Label:  Charly
Played at: 2.37

Artist: Strawpeople
Song: Porcelain hands
Composer:  McDonald-Casserly-Tierny
Album: Vicarious
Label:  Columbia
Played at:  2.58

Artist:  Jack Johnson
Song:  Washing dishes
Composer:  Johnson
Album: From here to now to you
Label: N/A
Played at: 3.05

Artist: Rihanna
Song: Breakin' dishes
Composer: Nash-Stewart
Album: Good girl gone bad
Label: Defjam
Played at:  3.58