Tag Archives: MONA FOMA

Long Weekend short film

7 Jul

This 16 minutes short-film was made from the performance that was commissioned by Brian Ritchie for MONA FOMA 2016 in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. The live version, just like this film version, was narrated by Craig San Roque with music by Joshua Santospirito, with visuals projected onto the big screen at the Odeon Theatre and then repeated again at Cinemona in the Museum of Old and New Art (MONA) in January, 2016.

The art and story in this film is extracted from the award-winning graphic novel of the same name, which can be purchased from sankessto.com/product/the-long-weekend-in-alice-springs The Long Weekend is the cult favourite graphic novel, adapted from an original 2004 essay that explores the Jungian concept of the cultural complex; an idea about group behaviour that was left largely unexplored until very recently in the academic world.

Neil Gaiman – “this Australian graphic novel is the best thing I’ve been handed to read in ages”

The Australian Review – “… one of the oddest and most rewarding Australian comics that has yet appeared”

Joshua’s website is at – joshuasantospiritoart.com

Sound recording for the film are by Matt Warren

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BIG NEWS – And a launch in Melbourne!

16 Oct
I have news … lots of news!
HEADLINES for busy people who don’t want to read all of this POST 
– Josh has a new graphic novel called Swallows Part One
– Swallows launches in Melbourne THURSDAY next week: October 22 – event link
– this book is also available in shops!
– Carlton Footy Club article about Swallows
ALSO
– My older graphic novel The Long Weekend in Alice Springs is being majorly featured at the amazing MOFO festival at MONA in January – AND it’s going to it’s 3rd print-run.
Screen Shot 2015-10-16 at 1.06.43 pm
DETAILS for leisurely types with time to read more
I would like to formally invite you all to come to the Melbourne launch of Swallows Part One
 – my new graphic novella which I have published through San Kessto Publications. 
When? Thursday October 22, 6pm, FREE
Where? Museo Italiano Co.As.It. – 199 Faraday Street, Carlton, just off Lygon Street
* It will be launched by Bernard Caleo – he gives amusing, elegant and considered speeches
 …….. what kind of speech will this one be? Who knows? I don’t.
* I will be doing an audiovisual comic reading with music as part of the event. There will also be an exhibition opening of some of the art from the book which will be up for two weeks in the Museo.
* I hope Stephen Silvagni comes to the book launch, I invited him.
Swallows Part One is available from Readings on Lygon Street, Minotaur, Brunswick Street Books.
It’ll make a really really good Xmas pressie
 
MOFO 2016
I am VERY excited to tell you all that my 2013 award-winning graphic novel The Long Weekend in Alice Springs is going into it’s THIRD print run (holy smokes)
…. and I will be performing it … yes, you read right … me and Craig San Roque will be doing a performance of excerpts from the graphic novel in January as part of MOFO, Hobart’s amazing music and art festival. Three small performances at Cinemona, and one absolutely HUGE one at the Odeon Theatre to a humungous crowd. Hopefully that crowd buys some copies of the third print-run so I can cover the costs of printing it (yikes!)
It has been announced today on the MOFO website.
Thanks to you all for your ongoing support of all my projects, none of which would be possible without you (seriously)
Josh
xoxo

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Neil Gaiman

28 Jan

At MONA FOMA in January I found Neil Gaiman with a little help from festival curator Brian Ritchie – it gave me the opportunity to hand Mr Gaiman a copy of my book The Long Weekend in Alice Springs. Now Hobart is a small town, and all my friends were at that amazing festival (you should come – MONA FOMA is a freak of a good time): and I had a bit of intel that Neil Gaiman had been sighted coming out the jumping castle, and down at the cafe reading it … so it was nice to hear he’d had a look.

A week or two later – he tweets this ->

Neil Gaiman Twitter

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Recording from MONA FOMA

22 Jan

I played as part of the Hobart Improv Collective in an hour long relentless set – it was freaking unreal
You can download the set here if you want to listen – there’s a little Miles Davis, there’s some freaking weird noises – Pip Stafford harnessed a crystal: go figure that one out.

HIC MOFO

The image for the HIC was smuggled up by Sally Rees.

 

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MOFO 2014

13 Jan

MOFO 2014

Heya – I’m taking part in the MONA FOMA again here in Hobart in 2014
– this time as part of the great and wonderful HOBART IMPROV COLLECTIVE on Sunday the 19th at 7pm at MAC2 – you should totally come down and watch and jeer! (and cheer)
(pic below mashed up by the wonderful Sally Rees)

HIC MOFO

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Anthr-apology

5 Oct

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The Shipwright & the Banshee

20 Jan

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The S&B was first performed by Chris Downes and Josh Santospirito as part of the 2011 Sound to Light evening which pitted a visual artist with a sound artist. Josh approached Chris in early 2011 about doing something together and they slowly developed the idea of performing a ghost story based on the Derwent River near Hobart, Tasmania.

Chris came up with the slow-burning 20 minute story of a young Shipwright meeting a banshee on the banks of Derwent River and Josh wrote the music and created the soundtrack and the music that he also performed. The story was cobbled together from various myths about banshee’s.

The second performance was at Chugnut (comics camp) in Victoria on the 31st of March 2012 where it was watched by every comicer worth a damn in the country (except for all the others) … who loved it.

The performance was then dissected for its weak points and turned into an interstellar monster with the addition of the idea of having an animated component along with Chris’s drawing … then we decided against that.

Then we asked Brian Ritchie (of the Violent Femmes) to include it in the MONA FOMA – an awesomely amazing music and art festival in Hobart, Australia … where Chris and I both live. The video is from the performance at the Rosny Barn as part of the festival.

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MONA FOMA 2013 – the Shipwright and the Banshee

13 Jan

MOFO

Joshua Santospirito and Christopher Downes perform The Shipwright and the Banshee on Friday the 18th at the 2013 MONA FOMA in Hobart, Tasmania.

It’s a performance that combines comics and sound – better make sure you get into the act!!

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Drive West Today’s 2012 wrap up

22 Dec

DWT had the most prolific year ever in 2012 with 15 concerts, some tours of mainland Australia and Europe and two mini-albums released.

I gotta say that the gig where I played best was the NOW now concert in August, but unfortunately there is no recording … it is slowly flowing out into the stars, mingled with other noise from Sydney at that time.

Some other highlight gigs this year were

the Pontevedra gig in Galicia, Spain, where I met some absolutely lovely people and played to a very attentive crowd

the recent gig in Hobart where I played with Matt Warren in a sort-of impromptu arrangement – the first gig of the Hovering Waitresses.

A concert in May at the Moonah Arts Centre where I worked in some sports commentary from a Carlton Blues game which worked a TREAT!!

I’d like to thank all the people I played with on various tours and whatnot, people who helped gigs happen and people who came and told me they liked my music! Met some rad people and had a blast. Big thanks to the beautiful Nadine Kessler for supporting me and making great tour posters. xxoo

2013 starts with an exciting gig where I will be playing with cartoonist Chris Downes as he draws the images for a ghost/horror story at the Rosny Barn as part of MONA FOMA 2013 … hopefully as an artist at the festival I can sidle up to David Byrne and get someone to take a sneaky pic when I hug him by stealth!!

thanks guys!!!

jxo

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Pontevedra concert – they called me the Santa Tasmano!!

17 Sep

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