University work too much for you? Try living a double life...

The extraordinary life of David Burgess is one few will have heard about. Yet his story is an enlightening look into not only an incredible life but the difficulties faced by the transgender community.


Last October, detectives were called to investigate the death of a woman under a London tube train. But as they traced her final moments, they discovered that she was, in fact, David Burgess, one of the most brilliant immigration lawyers of his generation.

The Guardian obituary's article, copied below, is an eye-opening homage to this complex individual.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/jan/09/david-burgess-sonia-lawyer-death

F.H. 

Happy Tuesday

The true harvest of my daily life is somewhat as intangible and indescribable as the tints of morning or evening. It is a little star-dust caught, a segment of the rainbow which I have clutched - Henry David Thoreau, Walden

Art Exhibition

Tracy Emin & Louise Bourgeois:

Do Not Abandon Me

Artists pictures above by Brigitte Cornand (2010)

Location: Royal West of England Academy, Queens Road, Clifton, Bristol BS8 1PX

Exhibition ends on the 23/10/11 


Overview:

The late Louise Bourgeois will be remembered as a founder of confessional art. She continued working right up until her death in May 2010, with her last project finished only the week before.
During the creation of her final set of prints she handed them to Tracey Emin who eventually added to the work, admitting: ‘I carried the images around the world with me from Australia to France, but I was too scared to touch them’.

The joint collection of 16 drawings explores themes of identity, sexuality and the fear of loss and abandonment. Bourgeois began by painting male and female torsos in profile and mixing red, blue and black gouache pigments with water to create delicate silhouettes.

Emin used fantasy to draw smaller figures engaged with the torsos, like Lilliputian lovers, enacting the body as desires and anxieties. In one drawing a woman kisses an erect phallus. In another, a small foetus-like form protrudes from a swollen stomach. In many of Emin’s pictures her handwriting accompanies the image as narrative, which puts into words the emotions expressed in Bourgeois’ gouaches (www.visitbristol.co.uk)

* Please be aware that the exhibition contains themes of an adult nature. 

Life in a Day

Life in a Day is a crowd-sourced documentary film comprised of 80,000 clips from around the world, all filmed on a single day, July 24 2010. The film is an intimate portrayal of human life, brimming with beautiful shots, and serving as a great time capsule in the history of the world.

Click on the link below to view the official trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bT_UmBHMYzg

Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.

The death of Steve Jobs saw an array of tributes – including an apple etched with Steve Jobs's mantra, 'think different' – left outside outside the Apple store on London's Regent Street.

In 2005, a year after he was first diagnosed with cancer, Steve Jobs (CEO of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios) made a wonderful speech to graduating students at Stanford University. Below is the prepared text of the Commencement Speech. Enjoy! 

Merci

Thank you to everyone who stopped by the Helicon stall, it was great to meet so many of you and hear your ideas. For all the Freshers who are joining us at the University of Bristol, and any other newcomers who are interested in Helicon, let us tell you a little bit about what we do:

First and foremost, Helicon is dedicated to showcasing creative talent and keeping you up-to-date with local events and exhibitions.



* Helicon Online *
 Helicon's online presence consists of our blog, Twitterand Facebook page, each of which are updated regularly by our editorial team. Bringing you reviews, interviews and features, as well as a stream of ramblings, our blog encompasses everything from Bristol’s local scene to the creative world at large.





* The Magazine *
Alongside publishing content on our blog, we publish a printed magazine each term, the content of which consists solely of our readers' submissions. (That means you!) So to guide you in your creative endeavours, the editorial team choose a theme for each issue. Once decided, we proceed to shout it out at the top of our lungs and encourage you to share your work with us! If you have any ideas for a theme for our next issue, please email us at helicon.magazine@gmail.com 



* The Society *

This year we plan to hold more meetings and establish Helicon as a creative society. It will be an opportunity for all members, and anyone interested in the creative arts, to meet on a regular basis and explore Bristol. We will also send regular emails telling you about local art exhibitions, gigs and events. 

* Submitting your work *
 We are an unintimidating bunch who always love to hear from you. Our task is to look for what is successful in a piece and provide feedback even if it doesn’t make it into the magazine. We will also happily provide you with all the guidance and editing advice you want. In fact, every submission receives detailed and helpful feedback from our editors. 

* We want you! *
You can become an official member of Helicon via the UBU website (http://www.ubu.org.uk/activities/studentmedia/helicon/)
Remember, Helicon isn't just for students; everyone and anyone is invited to join our ever-expanding Creative Collective. If  you'd like to get involved or submit your work for the magazine or blog, send an email to helicon.magazine@gmail.com with 'submission' as the subject.


With love, 
The Helicon editors 

Freshers Fair...

Hi all,

We have a stall at the Freshers Fair on Friday 6th on the 3rd Floor. If you're at all interested in the Creative Arts, please come on down to sign up and have a chat.

See you soon

F.H.

See time...

Ron Fricke's beautiful time lapse film Chronos is a must see. Music and pictures working in perfect harmony to create a fantastic artistic piece, which reminds us of the effects of time, and the achievements and miracle of human society and nature.

F.H.

The world from a child's eyes

Harrell Fletcher, an artist from Oregon, interviewed his 3 year old daughter, Beatrice. Click on the link below to read the amusing result and see the world as only a child would:

http://dumbofeather.com/pass-it-on/harrell-fletcher-s-interviews-with-children/post/interview-between-harrell-fletcher-and-his-three-year-old-daughter-beatrice/

Fletcher has encouraged other parents to do the same, posting their submissions on his website Dumbo Feather

Do you have plans...

If you're wondering what you should do tonight, or even if you already have plans, drop it all and watch The Dekalog.

In case you haven't heard of this wonderful programme, I'll give you a brief description of what it's about. It's a 10 part Polish TV mini-series (perhaps why you haven't heard of it before). Each episode is based around one of the ten commandments & is set in a communist tower-block. Slow and melancholic, yet engaging and beautiful, it really makes you remember that big budgets and flashy effects aren't needed to engage the viewer. But if my recommendations aren't enough for you then Stanley Kubrick's should. He described it as the only masterpiece he could name in his lifetime. So, yeah... watch it!

I've attached a short clip from good old youtube from the second part, where one of the characters life hangs in the balance, just to give an example of how fantastic the imagery is. You should be able to find the whole thing on youtube. Enjoy!

F.H.

THE POLAROID KIDD

DIRTY PLACES & SWEET FACES

At the age of 18, Mike Brodie - The Polaroid Kidd - left home to travel the railways of America, giving conventianal living the same gesture as pictured above. Thanks to 3 years of gypsy-hearted roaming with a trusty Polaroid SX-70, Mike Brodie has become one of the youngest and most inspirational photographers of American travel culture.

If you fancy looking at more of Brodie's work, Needles & Pens have uploaded snaps from their August 2007 exhibition: http://www.needles-pens.com/polaroidkidd.html

Enjoy,
S.R.

Bend over and get polishing!

If anyone has seen the film Limitless, the film opens with the narrator proclaiming that if a man looks like he lives on the street, he either is homeless or he's a writer. Well this is Charles Bukowski and I'd be very surprised if he's ever sat outside your local supermarket.  So for your viewing pleasure here is this amazing poet, described by Time as a 'laureate of American lowlife', reading a powerful desiderata for the modern disenfranchised society....
Just to cheer you all up!

Toodlepip,
F.H.

Welcome to a new year of...

Helicon has been around for over ten years, yet not everyone knows exactly who we are or what we're about. So, for all the Fresher's joining us at Bristol Uni as well other newcomers who, by one means or another, have stumbled across us: here's a quick low-down of what goes down at Helicon Headquarters.

Helicon is an online platform and printed magazine brought to you by students from the University of Bristol. Dedicated to showcasing new talent and keeping you up-to-date with local events and exhibitions, we are, in short, all about bringing together Bristol's creative community. From its humble beginnings over ten years ago, Helicon has evolved from a photocopied pamphlet put together by a group of English students, into an award-winning publication expanding into ever broader ventures...

* Helicon Online *

Helicon is first and foremost an online presence, consisting of our blog, Twitter and Facebook page, each of which are updated daily by our editorial team. Bringing you reviews, interviews and features, as well as a miscellany of titbits, our blog encompasses everything from Bristol’s local scene to the creative world at large.

* The Magazine *

Alongside publishing daily content on our blog, we publish a printed magazine each term, the content of which consists solely of our readers' submissions. (That means you!) So to guide you in your creative endeavours, the editorial team choose a theme for each issue. Once decided, we proceed to shout it out at the top of our lungs and encourage you to share your work with us!

* Submitting your work *

We are an unintimidating bunch who always love to hear from you. Our task is to look for what is successful in a piece and provide feedback even if it doesn’t make it into the magazine. We will also happily provide you with all the guidance and editing advice you want. In fact, every submission receives detailed and helpful feedback from our editors.

For the latest theme, submission deadlines and other Helicon news: check our blog, Twitter or Facebook page and keep an eye out for e-mails and posters.

All submissions are sent to helicon.magazine@gmail.com

* We want you! *
Remember, Helicon isn't just for students; everyone and anyone is invited to join our ever-expanding Creative Collective. If you'd like to join our mailing list, send an email to helicon.magazine@gmail.com with 'add to mailing list' as the subject.


 

PHOTOGRAPHY FOR THOUGHT

I recently came across some photographs by Robert and Shana ParkeHarrison. Their book, The Architect's Brother, was selected by the New York Times as one of the ten best photography books of the year in 2000. 

In these images, Robert is dressed in a dark suit and white shirt, playing the role of the 'everyman', telling stories between man and the natural landscape.

Guardian (2003)

Book of Life (2000)

The Source (2004) 

Striking and dreamlike, their photographs have a romantic charm to them. Or perhaps I just like men in suits, who knows.

S.R. 

We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars - Oscar Wilde.

Are you in Bristol this month? Take a trip to the iconic silver ball in Millennium Square. Journey through the night sky in Explore's very own seasonal Planetarium show. Sit back and discover coloured stars, distant planets, amazing black holes and even learn some simple star-spotting tricks to use in your own back garden. Exhibition ends 19/9/11. 

Located: Planetarium, Explore-At-Bristol, Anchor Road, Bristol, BS1 5DB 

S.R.

Fantastic artistic trickery!

LOVE & THEFT

More of music videos that are this, and less of music videos that are not this!

F.H.

For the keen traveler

1 second of footage from all round the world!
http://www.wimp.com/travelsworld/

The Poetry Corner

Helicon invites you to share your favourite poems! To start with, I'd like to post one of my favourite poets, Edgar Allan Poe. If you're a fan of his poetry and you have a sunny summers afternoon to spare, try his short stories too... perhaps Masque of the Red Death.

To One in Paradise

By Edgar allan poe

Thou wast that all to me, love,

   For which my soul did pine—

A green isle in the sea, love,

   A fountain and a shrine,

All wreathed with fairy fruits and flowers,

   And all the flowers were mine.

Ah, dream too bright to last!

   Ah, starry Hope! that didst arise

But to be overcast!

   A voice from out the Future cries,

“On! on!”—but o’er the Past

   (Dim gulf!) my spirit hovering lies

Mute, motionless, aghast!

For, alas! alas! with me

   The light of Life is o’er!

No more—no more—no more—

   (Such language holds the solemn sea

To the sands upon the shore)

   Shall bloom the thunder-blasted tree,

Or the stricken eagle soar!

And all my days are trances,

   And all my nightly dreams

Are where thy grey eye glances,

   And where thy footstep gleams—

In what ethereal dances,

   By what eternal streams.

Deadline for next year's Editor extended!

You now have until this Sunday, 8th May, to apply to be editor of next year's Helicon

The paintbrush: this year’s festival must-have accessory?

Each year it seems that more and more festivals are vying to grab the remains of our student loans by tempting us with impressive line-ups and extra entertainment. However, if you want your 2011 festival experience to be a little less mainstream, why not get creative and head to Austria for the World Bodypainting Festival?! Musical entertainment will still feature but it takes a backseat to allow the weird and wonderful world of body art to take centre stage.