Blog | Roundhouse
This blog by Associate Producer Tim Wilson documents the production process as the team prepares for the opening of the installation on 9 August.
Monday was the official opening of Ron Arad's Curtain Call and we celebrated in style with plenty of Roundhouse friends and family in attendance. With delicious cocktails supplied by Absolut Vodka, conversation flowed freely all evening. Plenty of our artists and collaborators were there to see their work in front of an audience for the first time and the sheer number of oohs and ahhs let us think we were onto a good thing!
A few hangovers were nursed on Tuesday morning as the installation opened to the public for the first time a little after midday. We're open now right through until Monday 29 August with plenty of special events, just check the website for more details.
Tweet50km of silicon, cut into 5,600 silicon rods have been connected to a ring 18m in diameter to form Ron Arad's curtain.
Flick through the gallery below to see the curtain take shape.
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For those of you who don't know the Greenaway brothers, catch up. They are going to be big. Check out Jude's site in particular for a taster of how cool their work is.
But what's this RH° project? It's only the one I've been waiting for with baited breath. It's the one that'll launch the Curtain into it's own space - the one that Jude and his brother have mined from the inside of the Roundhouse itself.
Playful, architectural, deconstructionist and more cutting edge than a Global paring blade, RH° is going to be part of the Content Loop, playing every day, that you can't miss.
And Jude's also planning a special event. More on that later - for now, just revel your eyes in the intricacy in the picture above.. Jude's sent over a few more and I'll let them out slowly...
TweetOne of the leading public intellectuals in American and British culture, Jonathan Safran Foer is using Ron's Curtain in a way like nobody else even thought of.
He is.... The Oracle.
From inside the space, or from your own home via Twitter, put the big questions to the big man in New York. Via satellite telepathy and celestial wizardry he will beam the Oracle's answers back onto the Curtain in full 8 meter tall letters.
Put your secrets in the Roundhouse main space. (But don't expect polite answers, he's warned us, he's not holding back)
Monday 15th - 6pm. Don't miss this one. (Pay what you can - thanks Bloomberg)
TweetSDNA have been working alongside EYESONTHEWALL for some time now, mentoring and training the upcoming visual label. Now, the multinational and interdisciplinary collective are back again at the Roundhouse for three nights as part of Ron Arad's Curtain Call Installation. EYESONTHEWALL are working on three very unique pieces, incorporating video, animation and photography to create an immersive 360° experience."
Check out their work at eyesonthewall.net no ordinary eyes...
For those who finish work late, or if you just want to dilly dally a little longer in the Curtain, there's late openings on Thursdays in August. Our Call to Create has yielded three very talented young producers who will be presenting their individual shows, one each week. The line up will be as follows (each event is 8-830pm):
Thursday 11th - Spoken Word
Thursday 18th - Live Music
Thursday 25th - Circus
It's pay what you can, like most events, so just turn up. We look forwards to seeing you there - and meantime, you can look forwards to seeing the finished versions of this: (note the extraordinary format of the picture - nearly 7:1!) There'll be some more info about this later on - EYES are working through the night to deliver.
TweetThere's a video collective called SDNA without whom this project would be on its knees still. SDNA have assisted and advised half the artists on the rostra, and we're now pleased as punch to be able to show you a still from their own film, which will be showing as part of the regular content loop.
SDNA have been working alongside Javier Mariscal, Christian Marclay, Stephen Isserlis, and Hussein Chalayan, to name but a few. Their expertise in everything from camerawork to this kind of unique post production has made the process a thousand times easier. Come and see their work anytime in August.
¡Oye - Aficionados y espontaneos!
Here's a thrilling glance at Ori's project. He's been shooting in Spain for some weeks during the start of the bullfighting season, so imagine yourself at the heart of the fiesta looking out from the bullring.
Ori and his DOP Bevis Bowden have created a really unique piece of work - never before has this technology been used in conjunction with a bullfight. I know that the sensitivity surrounding the subject of bullfighting is as tender here as it is in Spain - much of their work looks into why we feel the way that we do about the tradition.
What better place to show a film exploring bullfights than inside a 20m circular ring?
Come and find out where your own response lies - Ori's film is going to be part of the regular content loop, appearing every day that the Curtain is open to view - except of course, from 12 till 2pm each day, when Ron's 360' Array, entitled WET, will be taking over the space.
Look at these spectacular crowd panoramas - bringing you an electrifying glimpse into a very different kind of spectacle...
TweetRoyal College of Art students Seongyong Lee, Hina Thibaud, Olivia-Flore Decaris, Florie Salnot, Billur Turan and Tom Higgs are making four separate works to go alongside everyone else’s work.
There’s some great ideas here – from Usain Bolt’s real-time world-beating sprint to Greyhound Racing (genuine bets win genuine prizes!) – and we’re honoured to have them show work. Some of the pieces will be shown as part of the loop – some will be one-off events. As a last minute entry, to find out more you’ll have to keep your ears close to the ground – or eyes on this blog!
For now, here’s a few mockup images of what they are planning
Lail Arad's back from her international tour now and fully focused on delivering a really interesting show in August. It's called Ten Minutes with Lail Arad and it's pay what you can - so come along.
It's on Sat 20 & Sun 21, noon, 3pm & 6pm
A one-woman show about time, music and nepotism
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"Walker" is a new animation by David Shrigley. A terrifying blend of funny and, well, terrifying, this little character isn't going to be so little when you see him on the big screen. In all his glory, as it were. Have a walk round the space, wait for the giant Shrigley creation to catch you up. It'll be up as part of the regular content loop, every day the installation is open.
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