24 febbraio 2026

E figure care, anzi carissime, si ritrovano nell'eccellente E is for Edward pubblicato l'anno scorso da Black Dog & Leventhal per celebrare il centenario della nascita di Edward Gorey (1925-2000). Ne ha curato l'edizione Gregory Hischak, super esperto di Gorey e affidatario - nonché lì residente - della casa-museo del Nostro a Yarmouth Port, Massachussetts, suddividendo il materiale selezionato in otto capitoli tematici: il primo si intitola Hapless Children, cosa che dice senz'altro molto anche agli estimatori di Michael Mantler (e a quelli di Robert Wyatt, naturalmente).

E is for Edward celebrates Gorey's capacity as author, illustrator, humorist, playwright, printmaker, fabric artist, and theatrical designer, and pokes around the vast array of material he created between 1953 and his death in 2000. Including both iconic as well as never-before-seen works, E is for Edward is organized by major themes and topics that characterize Gorey’s self-authored output, including unfortunate children, uncomfortable creatures, Dance, Fashion (both ill-fitting and to die for), the genres of Murder Mysteries and Nonsense, and the recurring motifs and latent symbolism that underlie these subjects. Writer Gregory Hischak (who also moonlights as Curator and Director of The Edward Gorey House) offers both a poet’s and a designer’s sensibility to Gorey’s art. Ensconced in the wake of ephemera that Edward left within the House, the author has had unfettered access to works, collections, and, via the indulgences of the Edward Gorey Charitable Trust, has had dozens of rarely viewed notebooks, manuscripts, and artwork made available for this volume.

https://edwardgoreyhouse.org/e-is-for-edward
https://ecmreviews.com/michael-mantler-the-hapless-child

23 febbraio 2026

Chi entro maggio ha in programma di visitare il Buckinghamshire potrebbe voler far tappa a Milton Keynes, e non solo per via della scuderia di Formula 1 della Red Bull: al Museo d'arte cittadino c'è infatti la mostra An Arc from the Eye con i dipinti di Euan Uglow (1932-2000), oltre una quarantina tra suoi paesaggi, nature morte e i celebri nudi. E tra i ritratti poi, quello di una persona cara: Alfreda Benge.

Euan Uglow was one of Britain’s most significant 20th century painters, known for his sustained observation and painstaking technique, often taking months, if not years, to complete a work. Each picture pursues a particular idea, seeking to depict the visual reality of the concept, expressed with radiant colours and light. Uglow often had three or four active ‘set-ups’ in his Battersea studio, using particular rectangular compositions in an attempt ‘to paint a structured painting full of controlled and therefore potent emotion’. Almost mathematical in his methods, Uglow left markings on his canvases that reveal his processes, including how the passage of time affected the depiction of his subjects. Best known for his large-scale nudes, Uglow also made landscapes in the summer light of the Mediterranean and still lifes, taking up the challenge of painting materials such as plastic, as well as organic material in gradual decay, such as fruit.

22 febbraio 2026


Phil Minton torna ospite dell'In Situ Art Society a Bonn per un nuovo appuntamento con il suo progetto collettivo sulla voce Feral Choir, con attività di laboratorio previste nel pomeriggio e doppio concerto stasera nella tradizionale sede del Dialograum Kreuzung an St. Helena assieme al duo con Carl Ludwig Hübsch, Metal Breath: la diretta streaming su YT inizia alle ore 20.30.

"The Feral Choir project is a series of vocal workshops with non-professionals, leading up to performances. It originated in the late 1980’s when I was asked to do some workshops with ‘non-singers’ in the Musik Centrum Stockholm. The success of these led me to develop the idea further. The choir consists of a workshop and performance, not only for singers but for anyone who takes a delight in the freedom to experiment. I encourage participants to take a vocal leap and explore all vocal possibilities through exercises and improvisations, over the workshop period, leading to a concert. Some of the choirs have been made up of professionals, sometimes actors and musicians, but many have been amateur groups with no previous musical interest or experience. These have been particularly rewarding, and the responses from the participants have been overwhelmingly positive."

Phil Minton ist ein legendärer englischer Sänger und Improvisator. Seine Stimmarbeit ist sehr speziell. Er hat mit seinem ganz persönlichen Stil Wege geebnet, auf denen sich heute abstrakte Stimmkünstler*innen frei und selbstverständlich bewegen können. Seine Chorarbeit ist einzigartig und das hängt vor allem an seiner Persönlichkeit. Phil Minton gibt einen so genannten Feral Choir, einen Improvisations-Workshop, der sich sowohl an Interessierte des improvisierten Gesangs, aber auch ausdrücklich an Unstudierte, Laien oder Amateure richtet, die sich mit ihrer Stimme aus der Deckung wagen wollen. Jeder ist willkommen! Auch Menschen mit Stimmbruch, Flüsterer, Stimmquerulanten oder Vokaldespoten! Der Workshops ist für ca 15 Teilnehmerinnen und Teilnehmer ausgerichtet. Er ermöglicht die Beschäftigung mit erweiterten Stimmtechniken und die improvisatorische Auseinandersetzung sowohl mit der Alltagsstimme, als auch mit „unkultivierten Klängen“ wie Grunzen, Röcheln, Säuseln und Hauchen. („feral“ = wild, grausam).

Metal Breath: Stimmbänder im Dialog mit Metallrohren. Hübsch und Minton tauchen gemeinsam in unbekannte Klangwelten. Grundlage ihrer Interaktion ist blindes Vertrauen - der Raum öffnet sich für das Feine, das Wilde, das Überraschende, das Magische - und für die Ohren des Publikums. Unerbittlich lustvolle Musik jenseits von Idiomen. Das Duo hat soeben seine zweite CD veröffentlicht: more metal, more breath.