ANTONY & THE JOHNSONS
Bistrotheque, London
7th September 2005
"That is the great risk, and the great boon, of doing this: There is that rare experience the performer gets to enjoy, which, in a way, is like having your spirit witnessed by people. And, sometimes, appreciated. Perhaps people will see it and relate, or identify themselves in it."
In early autumn last year Antony Hegarty and two of his Johnsons staged a very special performance on the occasion of Wolfgang Tillmans exhibition ‘Truth Study Centre’, at Maureen Paley’s East End gallery. Tillmans is an enormously well-respected artist, internationally recognized for distinctive photographic work eruditely displayed and edited. During the making of the body of work that made up Truth Study Centre (also a Taschen book) Tillmans frequently listened to Antony & the Johnsons, and felt the atmospheric of the music had been influential on his thoughts, and was strongly evocative of that period of output. Antony and the Johnsons reached a level of critical acclaim in 2005 that saw them emerge from a cult status and edging into a broader milieu, (including winning the nationwide Mercury Prize for 'I am a Bird Now' on the eve of Tillmans event). Gallerist and artist ventured an approach to Antony to invite him to stage some kind of live performance in the light of Tillmans veneration, and were thrilled that -despite the ever-increasing profile and demanding schedule- he agreed to mark the exhibition with an intimate concert.
Arriving at Bistrotheque -a bar, restaurant and cabaret- in a characteristic Hackney back street of brick warehouses the unmistakable sounds of Antony’s singing were emanating as he rehearsed. A grand piano had been hoisted into the upstairs restaurant space and the gathered crowd of artists, colleagues of the gallery and associated scene filled the old factory rooms. A figure in the gathering -known for his own excellent performances- was adamant there was a particular value to the skewed demographic of this kind of crowd as an audience. The following footage gives a sense of how enlivening a performance can be in a redolent, small in scale setting.
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Credits
Direction: Marcus Werner Hed
Image Capture: Christabel Stewart and Marcus Werner Hed
Edit: Jeremy Valender
Performance: Antony and the Johnsons (Antony Hegarty, Julia Kent, Todd Cohen)
Event: Organised by Maureen Paley for Wolfgang Tillmans, on the occasion of Truth Study Centre, Maureen Paley, London, September 2005
Location: Bistrotheque, hosted by David Waddington.
Thanks: Nathan Beazer, Maureen Paley, Antony Hegarty, Wolfgang Tillmans
