Maybe one day TLC will give me my own show where I get to go into graphic designers’ computers and Move to Trash – Empty Trash all of their bad graphics and fonts. And they’ll be all “noooooo my mom gave me that horn graphic for my 16th birthday” and “oh come on: I wore that Orientalist Graffiti font to my sister’s wedding,” and I’ll just say IT ALL HAS TO GO YOU’LL THANK ME LATER, delete.

Also across the ash-covered pond, the Barbican Centre has launched a creative and mildly terrifying campaign to promote the new opera After Life by Michel van der Aa. The premise of the opera, if I understand it correctly, is that six characters are only allowed to take one memory from earth with them to heaven, and that memory is reenacted and filmed so they will have it with them forever.  (One wonders if those going to hell are forced to bring their worst memory with them.) The Barbican posted a link to the After Life page on Twitter, and of course I got all upset because I couldn’t think of my memory. 21 people could, though, and they bravely posted their memories for all to read. Here are a few:

We spent the day inside while the gale raged and the rain poured. Lisa
and I played Jenga while my sister Katie was more interested in the
swaying tree outside.

The first time I danced Lindy Hop where I was immersed in the music
instead of fussing about footwork and frame – dancing with someone who
forgave me these technical errors and just let us enjoy the music,
spinning around the room and letting that cheerful jazzy bounce wash
over us for those few minutes blocking everything out.

There are too many memories to choose from – can I only take one with
me? Maybe I’ll choose a recent one, on holiday, swimming in a pool with
the sun on our backs. The only thing we could hear was the sound of
birds swooping and chirping above us. It was so relaxing and so so so
far away from anything else – I want to go back there now.

The Barbican is also running an illustration promotion:

Submit your one memory which you would take with you into the After Life, and a lucky few will be illustrated by Augustine Coll.
We’ll be asking Michel van der Aa to choose his favourite memory and
the author of that memory will win a framed print of Augustine Coll’s
illustration.

It’s very cool to think about the work’s creator reading his potential audience’s memory selections. They’re hosting the illustrations on Flickr, and the website has behind-the-scenes clips and a movie-esque trailer. I want to go! Someone give me an excuse to go to London on May 15 for work!

And also, can we please talk about how reasonable the tickets are??
 

ASKO / Schoenberg Ensemble / Tausk Michel van der Aa After Life 15 May 2010 / 19:30 Barbican Hall

Tickets: £9 / 13 / 17 / 22.50 / 2