Two days ago I was early for a meeting at mac birmingham and so took the opportunity to watch the piece of video art they had looping just off their foyer space. To Dance Like Your Dad is a seductive diptych in which on the left hand screen an engineer gives a guided tour of the garage in which he customizes cars. On the right hand screen, the artist Hetain Patel, in an empty room mimics these actions. The camera movements are also matched up. The recreation sometimes matches perfectly and occasionally strays, its lovely.
Yesterday I was early for a meeting at mac birmingham and so took the opportunity to watch the piece of video art they had looping in the main gallery. The First Dance is a highly seductive projection with the image split into six narrow strips. In an elegantly paced unfolding you come to be shown the set up and execution of a moment from the film Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon alongside the original. The recreation sometimes matches perfectly and occasionally strays, I love it.
There were also great photographs and a multi-screen piece I regretted not having time to watch properly. Suddenly I regard myself a Hetain Patel fan, his aesthetic chimes with me.
Also last night I had the delight of introducing an eight year old to Laurel and Hardy AND Harold Lloyd on the big screen thanks to Flatpack. We zoomed to seats on the front row at Birmingham Cathedral so we could see John Sweeney in full flow providing live accompaniment from the piano. It was fantastic, the eight year old really enjoyed it but I suspect still doesn’t realize quite what an amazing treat it was.
