End of the year art round-up online at CIRCUIT.org.nz

Our end of the year round up panel, discussing the highs, lows, and middles of 2014 in the NZ art world is now online at CIRCUIT.org.nz. We sat in a cozy booth in an Irish pub, with the typical classic rock fare pumping through the sound system. Ably hosted by Mark Amery, with contributions from myself, Megan Dunn, and via email, Thomasin Sleigh. Disussion ranged from the "wellington/auckland" divide, the cuddly nature of relational practices, highlights in recent video art, most memorable recent shows, and, of course, The Walters Prize. 

Remembering The Shaggs

I just finished the terrific comic writer Jon Ronson's slim volume on the Mancunian pop phenomenon of sorts Frank Sidebottom. In the book, Ronson also mentions some other great "outsider" musicians such as Don Van Vliet (Captain Beefheart), Daniel Johnston, and the utterly inimitable Shaggs (one of Kurt Cobain's all-time favorite bands). I hadn't thought about the Shaggs in a while. They were in high rotation on my roommate's turntable while in my first year at art school, sure to inspire contagious giggles, whether cannabis fumes were enveloping us or not. Ronson visited the Shaggs resulting in a short radio documentary, but of course the best thing hands down is to listen to the LP "Philosophy of the World" kindly uploaded to YouTube by one of the Shaggs' fans. My personal fave has always been "My Pal Foot Foot." See the links below and do enjoy (if this is up yr street).