Concrete and Clay

Well, we all know the Chinese are very good at reproducing products from around the world. From rare flower hybrids to Louis Vuitton bags, their craftsmanship when it comes to duplication is quite simply unparralelled.
I remember my friend in Japan telling me that his colleague had moved to Shanghai and decided to furbish his new flat. Instead of going to Habitat, this guy simply brought the catalogue to some furniture artisans on the outskirts of the city and they reproduced everything from a large leather couch, to a stylish designer coffee table - all at a fraction of the price at Habitat.
However, when I heard that a Disney style theme park - complete with Micky Mouse and Goofy figurants- had been open for 21 years in China, I thought this is too crazy. But its true. They've had the place open there with characters from Disney, in a flagrant breach of copywright. But get this: they have also included other characters such as Hello Kitty, the cute little cat from Japanese company Sanrio- nothing at all to do with the Disney company.
Now, the difference between a Louis Vuitton fake and and a real LV is in the number of stitches. A real one has five stitches on either side of its handle. Apparently, this is difficult to master as stitches usually come in pairs. The fake versions usually have 3 pairs. But with a theme park such as Disneyland, where children's dreams are at stake, the stitching of the Micky costume is probably not as important the discipline of the actor within the costume (we all remember Goofy losing it a few years back at DisneyWorld, Florida). Indeed, the real Disneyland character actors are forbidden from removing their headgear at any time in order to preserve this suspension of disbelief.
Anyway, I was forwarded a clip from Youtube, with some japanese tourists at the chinese version of the theme park. I've put it below. The report is in Japanese but you don't need to understand the language to get the gist. It was translated to me though, and the best bit is at 2.10-2.15 when the guy in the suit, the owner of the theme park, insists that they have no Mickey Mouse character.
Have a nice weekend.

At this time of graduations, commencements and diplomas, I find myself wondering how prepared the graduates are to embark on a life of their own. When the president of the United States says, "Rarely is the question asked, is our children learning?" - I suppose the question is asked and answered.

In a topsy-turvy political environment, it's not easy to understand what is going on in the world today; Fighting for peace, being told to just say no to drugs in a country that wants to medicate you for everything imaginable, being told that we must sacrifice our liberties for freedom, allegations of foreign terrorist attacks while the borders remain wide open, etc.

I find myself wondering if the students have been exposed to genuine history. It's a common axiom that the victors write the history. Even in Thomas Jefferson time, he said of history, "A morsel of genuine history is a thing so rare as to be always valuable."

**THE ERRORISTS : Hilary Koob-Sassen (vocals and visuals) and Andreas
Köhler (cello) **

Will perform a new work at The National Film Theatre on Sunday June
17th at 3pm. Tickets: https://secure.bfi.org.uk/incinemas/nft/film/7635

Immediately following, at 4 pm, is a program of screenings, including

Hilary Koob-Sassen and THE ERRORISTS's
PARACULTURE/FUTURE GARDEN STRUCTURE.
tickets: http://www.bfi.org.uk/whatson/southbank/film/7636

Kirk Palmer
23.06.07 - 22.07.07

PRIVATE VIEW: 22nd June 2007, 6 - 8pm

"I see old people walking happily down the street. Young people holding hands and enjoying each other's conversation. Children holding their parents' hands and looking happy. And I think about those awful scenes that I experienced many years ago now and all the people that lost their lives... I think to myself, 'What was all that? Did it really happen?'"

A-bomb survivor interviewed in the BBC dramatized-documentary Hiroshima articulating her response to living in present day Hiroshima.

Paradise Row presents Hiroshima, the first solo show of British artist Kirk Palmer. A recent graduate of the Royal College of Art, Palmer’s practice encompasses photography, film and video and has, to date, focused on the nature of places and landscapes - especially their less tangible, evanescent aspects, such as their emotional and psychological character.

As you may have noticed "C & C" has been pretty dry recently, it's now time to announce we are undergoing a serious re-design. For the past 2 years we have been generally getting by celebrating the vast pool of creative friends around us locally and globally. We are now expanding, pumping more energy into the project as a whole and creating a free platform for creatives to exhibit their work. With a gallery, interviews section, independent free listings service and shop we are moving into the future. So we want to hear from you...

Please send all submissions (mp3s, jpegs, movies) to: submissions@concreteandclay.org

like, rawk

It has been interpreted as a swastika, a running chav, and a tomato thrown at a wall. What do you think about the Olympic logo? (In case you are wondering what it is, its a stylised 2012)