savvy rumble

bigelow

this is awesome. the first woman to win an oscar for best director just landed a retrospective at MoMA. suck it, james cameron.

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/13/moma-calls-action-on-kathryn-bigelow-retrospective/?partner=rss&emc=rss

paradise of fools

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/06/movies/radical-light-alternative-film-in-san-francisco-area.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Place like San Francisco and Brooklyn get all the credit for being so cutting edge avant garde. I'm excited for the day when people start recognizing Baltimore as one of those cultural hot spots. Baltimore has such a sprawling underground art scene- its the seat of the High Zero international experimental music festival, the 14 Karat Cabaret, the Transmodern Festival, countless burlesque troops and circus acts, and dozens more oddities I've yet to discover. Baltimore's Station North was in the Time's weekend travel section a few months ago. Bmore is Brooklyn 30 years ago. It's about to explode.

Spirituality #5

KANE KWEI
Born in 1922 in Teshie, Ghana.
Died in 1992, Teshie.

Aged eight, Kane Kwei left Teshie for Asamankese, one of the farms of his clan. In Ga language, "Kane" means light. He returned there aged fourteen and settled with his eldest brother, Kane Adjetei who taught him carpentry for 6 years. Kane Kwei showed little interest in furniture making or roofing, but showed great talent for wood carving that he practiced for pleasure with a minimum of tools. In 1937, Kane Kwei undertook the journey, that meant the end of his training. He worked for some ten years in the Ashanti forests, in the center of the country, where he got to know the different kinds of woods and their characteristics. In 1951 Kane Kwei opened his workshop in the old part of Teshie. He built a first coffin, in the shape of a dugout, for one of his uncles, a fisherman who owned a whole flotilla of them. He dedicated himself from then on to this new funerary art and worked, secluded, almost exclusively for the elders of his clan. The second coffin was a Mercedes car. The day of the funeral, it was paraded throughout the city and was a huge success. Kane Kwei started reproducing the symbols of earthly success and social status that the Ga asked him for. Since then, the wealthiest families have buried their dead in coffins of the most varied shapes. These coffins honor the dead, and show their achievements and those of their clan. Huge sums of money are spent on them. These extravagant coffins are chosen by the deceased's family, most often according to their social background or their profession. A lion for a traditional chieftain, a Mercedes for the boss of a fleet of taxis. Carving hens, onions, houses, shoes, tools, he constantly improved his technique as a sculptor and painter, and turned out works that were realistic, colorful and highly skilled. Over the last twenty years, his sculptures, very popular in Ghana, have made a special and original contribution to the tradition of funerary cults in Western Africa. ~caacart.com

Kwei is a carpenter in Ghana who creates fantasy coffins for human burial. His work borders on kitsch, justifiable for an outsider artist. I suppose clients order these shapes for their funerals.

These are spiritual objects in the sense that they actively negate the normal spiritual constructs of funerary rites and rituals by making these traditionally sacred objects highly commercial. Interestingly, these objects are much more personal than a standard coffin; they express the interests and personalities  of the departed.

Spirituality #4

Joseph Beuys (German pronunciation: [ˈjoːzɛf ˈbɔʏs]; May 12, 1921 – January 23, 1986), was a German performance artist, sculptor, installation artist, graphic artist, art theorist andpedagogue of art.

His extensive work is grounded in concepts of humanism, social philosophy andanthroposophy; it culminates in his "extended definition of art" and the idea of social sculpture as a gesamtkunstwerk, for which he claimed a creative, participatory role in shaping society and politics. His career was characterized by passionate, even acrimonious public debate, but he is now regarded as one of the most influential artists of the 20th century.^{[1][2] ~Wiki}

I saw these two piano pieces in person (one in Centre Pompidou, the other in Venice), and they were really very striking. The images cannot communicate the feeling that they emitted. The one above felt so warm and comforting somehow. I remember talking with someone about the swiss cross on its side, a nod toward first aid kits.

Below, the viewer must crawl into the padded room to view the piano. There was no audible resonances within the space because of its acoustic qualities. It created a very claustrophobic and dense sense of place, nearly opposite the other piano.

The guitar in the case also looks like a first aid kit, implying "Break in case of emergency." Maybe music is spiritually healing.

I understand that Beuys did several performances included rooming with a coyte for a period of time. Interesting.

Spirituality #3

Bill Viola (born January 25, 1951) is a contemporary video artist. He is considered a leading figure in the generation of artists whose artistic expression depends upon electronic, sound, and image technology in New Media.^[1] His works focus on the ideas behind fundamental human experiences such as birth, death and aspects of consciousness.^[2] ~Wiki

Viola creates highly conceptual videos, usually incorporating traditional religious and spiritual symbols such as water, fire, baptism, pulpit, pieta, life, and death. His abstract explorations communicate the overwhelming spiritual elements of suffering and catharsis.

Spirituality #2

Mark Rothko, born Marcus Rothkowitz (September 25, 1903 – February 25, 1970), was a Russian-born American painter. He is classified as an abstract expressionist, although he himself rejected this label, and even resisted classification as an "abstract painter". ~Wiki

My experience with Rothko is that the giant paintings he creates dealing with color field. I understand that the viewer is supposed to sit in front of the painting in a meditative state, allowing the feeling of the color to permeate personal emotion.

Rothko creates a spiritual environment through his subtle use of color.

Spirituality #1

Kiki Smith (born January 18, 1954, in Nuremberg, Germany) is an American artist classified as a feminist artist, a movement with beginnings in the twentieth century. Her Body Art is imbued with political significance, undermining the traditional erotic representations of women by male artists, and often exposes the inner biological systems of females as a metaphor for hidden social issues. Her work also often includes the themes of birth and regeneration, as well as sustenance, and frequently has Catholicallusions. Smith has also been active in debate over controversies such as AIDS,gender, race, and battered women. ~Wiki

Kiki's work deals with themes of paganism and wiccan culture. 

Most of these pieces deal with the maternal quality of nature and the human interaction with the natural environment through a feministic and spiritual lens.

restrepo

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/21/world/africa/21photographers.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss


I guess I should start with Tim Hetherington's work. His acclaimed photography and oscar nominated film (which SHOULD HAVE WON) strikes at the very core of conflict- Hetherington offered us a glimmer of humanity among the constant barrage of unpronounceable cities and piles of statistics. His courage was astounding.

More than his courage, his passion for his art is what truly inspires me. Here is a man so passionate about his life's work that he risks everything to produce it. In the words of this article, "he lived for this. And this sort of thing did not faze him. It’s what gave him life, and it’s what took it away from him.”

I hope I can live my life with such passion and courage in every endeavor.
RIP Tim Hetherington

passion in close up

http://video.nytimes.com/video/2011/04/11/movies/100000000769791/passionjoanarc.html?ref=movies

this was a great little review of The Passion of Joan of Arc, one of my favorite films. Its the sort that you really need to see on a massive screen in absolute darkness. It is unbelievably moving despite its lack of spoken dialogue and sluggish plot- the film itself is a trial, much like what Joan is experiencing. By filming Joan in extreme close up (the first time an actress was filmed as such, and never before with so much passion) the director was able to focus the audience attention not on the plot, but on the conflict of terror and conviction in the young girl's face.

I once heard that before film, the only people to see a your face in close up are your mother and your lover. We take the intimacy of the close up for granted now- imagine the vulnerability this actress experienced, allowing a huge camera with a short focus to film just inches from her face, while still being able to convey all the emotion she did.

It would be very interesting to see this barrier of voyeuristic intimacy restored and then destroyed in a contemporary film...

no biggie

NY Times Magazine, men's fashion issue. this is my cousin, third from the left. no biggie.

identity

http://www.forgebrands.com/2011/01/14/forge-business-cards

branding examples

http://www.dcglassworks.com/   http://www.chromebagsstore.com/  http://www.vimeo.com/  http://www.eatpes.com/  http://www.bitterfilms.com/  http://www.bullseyeglass.com/  http://www.urbanglass.org/  http://www.dogfish.com/  http://www.hsbeer.com/   http://www.tomsachs.org/     http://www.booooooom.com/  http://nachocarbonell.com/

annecy- travel section

http://travel.nytimes.com/2011/02/27/travel/27cover-alps.html?pagewanted=1

I've never really heard of anyone mentioning Annecy before, so I was kinda startled to see its name in the Times. I didn't know the place existed either, until I found myself there. I learned much more about the city by reading this article than I did by following a group of non-English speakers around the canals for a week. But, I'd take the confusing gondola rides over a newspaper any day.

pic from the Times

pic from my stay

unfair

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/03/us/03scotus.html?_r=1&hp

These people are legally able to hate me, and I am legally unable to love my partner. I'm leaving the country.

coed

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2011/03/01/us/AP-US-Rutgers-Gender-Neutral-Housing.html?_r=1&ref=us

Rutgers University is instituting gender neutral dorm housing in responce to Tyler Clementi's recent suicide. It's very good to see someone finally addressing these life threatening issues that have been invisable to the heteronormative majority for so long.

exit through the gift shop

http://carpetbagger.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/10/banksy-shenanigans-not-welcome-at-oscars/?scp=3&sq=banksy&st=cse

There's so much I have to say about Banksy. A few years ago, I was convinced he was just a popular street artist appealing to younger demographics because of his persistant law breaking and secret identity. He was like a cliche super villian. However his recent film, "Exit Through the Gift Shop" COMPLETELY changed my opinion about him. I am now convinced that he is one of the greatest (and perhaps most sinister) artists alive today.

There's a big debate over if Thierry Guetta is Banksy or not- I don't think he is. He's just an easily manipulated man who became the subject of an artistic experiment. Banksy used him to turn the lens of the camera off himself, off Mr. Guetta even, and focused it succicinctly on the world of fine art in all its fickle shallowness. Banksy in fact created Mr. Brainwash, a sort of Frankenstien resurrection of a pop art icon. And the art world totally fell for it. Now Mr. Brainwash is getting Oscar invites, recieving awards, shmoozing with the most famous artists in the world, and somewhere in the shadows, Banksy is laughing his ass off.

If you haven't seen Exit Through the Gift Shop yet, I highly recommend it. Especially if you are working in the fine art industry. It's so easy to make it big if you've got enough capital to drive you (and enough designers to do all your work for you). An ugly truth.

olivier de sagazan

Dealing with this assignment concerning the body and identity, its hard for me not to mention this artist, though I know he's not on the list. He uses his own body as a vehicle for exploring and creating characters, literally morphing his face in real time expressisonistically. I love his work.

artist research #10

shirin neshat

Neshat's work comments on Islamic cultures from a traditionally Western feminist perspective. These women she depicts are constantly barraged by the muzzle of guns and sacred text- equally as dangerous, in my humble opinion. 

artist research #9

nancy burson

Holy shit, Burson is awesome. I've been very interested in science and physics recently, reading alot of Brian Greene and 13.7 over at NPR. Her website makes me think that she's some sort of religious sciency nut job, but that makes me love her work even more. She composites human faces together to form one singular identity- the biological identity of humanity (or religion). It would be very interesting to see her create a similar identity for space and the universe.

artist research #8

Do Ho Suh

Suh's work strikes me because of its relationship to space. He deals with multiplicity and population, specifically how people occupy space and how the government interacts with that fact. His use of multiples is extremely effective. It seems to me that he says that a single person is irrelevant, but as a group people are powerful. No man is an island.

artist research #7

hung liu

Liu seems to paint and collage over old anonymous photographs. She is commenting on her own seemingly unknown or lost cultural heritage. I can identify with this- I'm from Mexican and French decent, but can't really fit into either category. I like that she's searching for her own identity through the medium of others and culture.

artist research #6

rachel whiteread

Whiteread's sculptures focus on negative space rather than actual space, playing an interesting trick on the eye. These sculptures explore the space around an object rather than the object itself- the space itself assumes the identity of the object it encompasses. 

artist research #5

Yasumasa Morimura

Morimura inserts himself into images of cultural or historical fame, assuming the identities of the people originally displayed. He almost always poses as a female, complicating his gender identity and the context of the original work. I really dig this. I'm very interested in gender roles and identities, and it seems to me that Morimura hits the nail on the head here.

artist research #4

cindy sherman

Sherman is famous for assuming unspecified "roles" in her self portraits, taking on the identity of her created characters and capturing them as if they were stills from a film. In the context of film, Sherman would be called an "auteur," that is an autobiographical director who has a hand in every element of the film process including writing, directing, cinematography, and mise en scene (like Woody Allen, Alfred Hitchcock, or Clint Eastwood). Sherman creates her sets, she makes her costumes, she develops her character, and she shoots the image. She has a hand in every aspect of her new identity.