ALIEN ALIEN - SAMBACA

A SPECIAL PERFORMANCE BY HAHN-BIN

A SPECIAL PERFORMANCE BY HAHN-BIN from V Magazine on Vimeo.

ZOMBIE BOY

MONODRAMAS

'Monodramas' at the New York City Opera directed by Michael Counts, formerly of GAle GAtes, et al.

Notes on MonoDramas At The New York City Opera

IT'S NOT MY PARTY : DIAMOND RINGS

Great video, directed by Jeff Scheven.

SECRETIONS MAGNIFIQUES

A very exuberant review from the usually staid Katie Puckrick of the foul fragrance endeavor Secretions Magnifique by Etat Libre d'Orange.

UNDERCITY

DESIGN RESEARCH 1969

The great Design Research building by Benjamin Thompson and Associates, 1969, Cambridge, Massachusetts.  A beautiful example of Modernist architecture profiled in the Design issue of the NYTimes Style Magazine.
One-Stop Living - NYTimes.com

RUTH HOGBEN

Ruth Hogben, ASVOFF'09 Jury Prize Winner, Gareth Pugh film
Uploaded by AShadedView. - Independent web videos.

Ruth Hogben, represented by Gainsbury & Whiting, Associates, discussing the emerging genre of fashion film. Frequent collaborator of Gareth Pugh and former film editor for Nick Knight, her aesthetic tends toward hypnotic, repeating visual themes and ideas of the extreme, with sound or music, often of an experimental type, playing a central part in her work.

Another very compelling piece of hers, completely silent:

MICHAEL CUNNINGHAM AND JAMES FRANCO

An interesting conversation between two writers about their process and school.  And John Rechy.

FOOTAGE FROM CHICAGO GAY PRIDE 1977

Really amazing and touching.  Such a different era.  They still had Brown's Chicken.

Kenyan filmmaker, Lupita Nyong'o speaks on her acclaimed documentary about Albinism, "In My Genes" // Current

ALEXANDER MCQUEEN - PLATO'S ATLANTIS

I cannot believe I have not yet posted this on this blog.  This is the last show produced while Alexander McQueen was alive and it is truly a cultural pinnacle.  There are shapes and themes in this show that seem to access and trigger some primeval and, and at the same time, non-linear absolute knowledges and sensations.  It's as if there's a nostalgia happening for something that we have not yet experienced, but also as if we have always known this theme, this feeling, this communication and it just yet hadn't been brought out from the collective unconscious into the collective conscious.

(All this leads me to consider the idea of the "noosphere," a concept elaborated on by French theologian Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, where the planet is seeing sort of a direction towards a unified psychic envelope/atmosphere called the Omega Point.  Technology is assisting in a degree which he may or may not have considered, but nonetheless is help transmit ideas, feeling, and thought processes faster and further.  This is a complete digression, and probably better suited for another of my blogs.)

LOUISE BOURGEOIS IS DEAD

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704366504575278901828488676.html?mod=fox_australian

MARINA ABRAMOVIC : THE ARTIST IS PRESENT

The more interesting component to this performance piece that just wrapped up at MoMA NYC has been the portraits captured of every single person that sat in front of Abramovic.  SO fascinating.  From smiles to tears.

AMIR BARADARAN

An interesting response the Abramovic piece at NY MoMA.

IF SAN FRANCISCO WERE VENICE

EYJAFJALLAJOEKULL

The most incredible footage of the eruption yet.  Watch for the lightning towards the end.  SO breathtaking.

MALCOLM MCCLAREN IS DEAD

Malcolm McLaren, Impresario and Rock Music Manager, Is Dead - ArtsBeat Blog - NYTimes.com

LOGORAMA : 2010 ACADEMY AWARD FOR ANIMATED SHORT FILM

Simply incredible!

A LA MODE

Courtesy of Face Hunter

THE MORNING BENDERS - "EXCUSES"

Yours Truly Presents: The Morning Benders "Excuses" from Yours Truly on Vimeo.

A beautiful recording made at San Francisco's Different Fur Studios.

TAKE AWAY SHOW #89 : REM

While this is definitely not one of my favorite Vincent Moon Takeaway Shows, it's REM so I'm posting it. This video lacks the spontaneity and freedom and public feeling of his other videos that are what makes them special. Whether or not this is due to the level of REM's fame and ability to be in public are factors, their definite seasoned experience and coming of age as music television performing video artists and self-consciousness in front of a camera makes this video different.  Stipe is performing, narrating to the camera.  This is just another "music video."  There are moments though when this falls away, there are mistakes, and realness, which is the point of the takeaway shows. And it's just great to see a great band who has been together for so long doing great work still having great fun.

MARINA ABRAMOVIC DOCUMENTARY

View Trailer | Marina - A Documentary Film about Marina Abramović

In preparation for her upcoming piece to be performed at the Museum of Modern Art this spring, the performance artist Marina Abramovic takes her performers to the woods for a retreat.


To prepare them for the retrospective at MoMA, last Fall Marina invited the re-performers to a workshop at her home in upstate New York.  Participants slept outside and did not eat nor speak for four days.  They engaged in a regimen of individual and group exercises, such as walking backwards in slow motion, counting grains of rice, and observing a single object for hours.  The goal of these exercises was to enable the re-performers to become aware of their limits and to find their own charismatic space.

THE CENTURY OF THE SELF

Adam Curtis' acclaimed series examines the rise of the all-consuming self against the backdrop of the Freud dynasty.

To many in both politics and business, the triumph of the self is the ultimate expression of democracy, where power has finally moved to the people. Certainly the people may feel they are in charge, but are they really? The Century of the Self tells the untold and sometimes controversial story of the growth of the mass-consumer society in Britain and the United States. How was the all-consuming self created, by whom, and in whose interests?


The Freud dynasty is at the heart of this compelling social history. Sigmund Freud, founder of psychoanalysis; Edward Bernays, who invented public relations; Anna Freud, Sigmund's devoted daughter; and present-day PR guru and Sigmund's great grandson, Matthew Freud.


Sigmund Freud's work into the bubbling and murky world of the subconscious changed the world. By introducing a technique to probe the unconscious mind, Freud provided useful tools for understanding the secret desires of the masses. Unwittingly, his work served as the precursor to a world full of political spin doctors, marketing moguls, and society's belief that the pursuit of satisfaction and happiness is man's ultimate goal.
- BBC.co.uk

JOANNA NEWSOM NEW ALBUM OUT

If you are one of those people that venture into Joanna Newsom world, you can hear all two hours here:

First Listen: Joanna Newsom : NPR

HOTEL PRO FORMA | TOMORROW, IN A YEAR

HOTEL PRO FORMA | Tomorrow, in a year (video clip from site of show)

The Knife - "Colouring Of Pigeons" (MP3 for stream or download)

The Knife, Mount Sims, and Planning to Rock have created an electro-opera for the Danish Royal Opera in collaboration with Hotel Pro Forma theater company.  From the company site:

DESCRIPTION

The world seen through the eyes of Charles Darwin forms the basis for the performance Tomorrow, in a year. Theatre production company Hotel Pro Forma’s striking visuals blend with pop-duo The Knife’s ground-breaking music to create a new species of electro-opera.

An opera singer, a pop singer and an actor perform The Knife’s music and represent Darwin, time and nature on stage. Six dancers form the raw material of life. Together with the newest technology in light and sound, our image of the world as a place of incredible variation, similarity and unity is re-discovered.

Concept

The opera-genre provides the DNA, the framework of the performance. It calls for large scale, and it forms a space where form and expression dominate. The Swedish music group The Knife creates completely new compositions that challenge the conventional conception of opera music. The musical form is experimental and exploratory, and much of the sound heard was recorded while in the Amazon Jungle and in Iceland.

It is written for three singers of different backgrounds: popular music, classical opera and the performing arts. They are the narrators and the main characters in the performance. The singers tell about Darwin and they observe time and nature as Darwin.

Directed by Ralf Richardt Strøbech and Kirsten Dehlholm, the visual and conceptual universe is formed by Darwin’s thoughts, experiences and letters. The performance is divided into two parts – analogous to the development and publications of The Origin of Species.

The first part of the performance is exploratory. It concentrates on observing the underlying sequences and relationships between image, narrative, movement and music used in the performance. The second part is a synthesis of the material. A completed image and totality emerge, before the performance again mutates and passes into new forms, as happens over time with all things.

The opera presents an image of Darwin that above all reminds us that the world is a place of remarkable similarities and amazing diversity. That over time - tomorrow, in a year, or tomorrow, in a million years - change is inevitable.

Time forms our lives, gives our existence meaning and populates the globe. Generations, eons and millions of years create the new and eradicate existences. Nature selects, invites and dares everything without limitation. 

– Ralf Richardt Strøbech, co-director, Tomorrow, in a year

HOLLY MIRANDA WITH MARQUES TOLIVER

A new voice. Presently on tour with Tegan and Sarah. Tried to put together a solo gig for her in SF. No dice.

MODERAT

A true joy to behold.

Moderat "Rusty Nails" from Pfadfinderei on Vimeo.

A SINGLE MAN

If his clarity of vision in fashion can carry over into film, we have another fantastic filmmaker whose work we hope to enjoy for years to come. A Single Man, the directorial debut of Tom Ford, looks pretty from this pastiche of a trailer. Let's hope it feels as good as it looks.

THE BURNHAM PLAN CENTENNIAL CHICAGO

In 1909, Daniel Burnham and Edward Bennett collaborated with the Commercial Club of Chicago and others to create a new plan for the greater Chicago region. The year 2009 will be a time to look back 100 years for inspiration, and appreciate the big dreams that led to Chicago’s sweeping lakefront, the “emerald necklace” of County Forest Preserves, and a tradition of thinking comprehensively about the region’s development, always looking to the future.

http://burnhamplan100.uchicago.edu/newberryexhibit/index.shtml

(PARK)ING DAY SAN FRANCISCO

UNMADE BEDS by ALEXIS DOS SANTOS

A great film, from a great filmmaker. NYC folks, check it out.

http://trustmovies.blogspot.com/2009/08/alexis-dos-santos-unmade-beds-opens-at.html

MERCE CUNNINGHAM IST TOT

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gpGk9X0Vxmn7wD-NVv8rzNVvLsQQD99MSJB80

HOW IT WOULD BE IF A BUILDING WAS DREAMING

555 KUBIK | facade projection | from urbanscreen on Vimeo.

An amazing installation projected onto the facade of the Hamburg Kunsthalle. Another, more static image of the building can be viewed here.

CLAUDE VON STROKE // "WHO'S AFRAID OF DETROIT?"

STEALING MONA LISA

A sensational(ized?) account of a fantastic art heist. Reads like a
film.

http://www.vanityfair.com/style/features/2009/05/mona-lisa-excerpt200905

La Vitrine - Montreal from steven bulhoes on Vimeo.

PINA BAUSCH IST TOT

Pina Bausch News - The New York Times

BLACK IS, BLACK AIN'T

“black is, black ain’t” - artforum.com / in print

A review by Huey Copeland of the show "Black Is, Black Ain't" at the Renaissance Society in Chicago. (Artforum, October 2008)

EXAMPLES OF SUPERIOR THEATRICAL PRESENTATION

From our German artist friends. Why has this complexity yet to reach American stages?

wmv-File, 6:34 min.
DSL or Broadband Modem or ISDN

"The Sea Gull"
Anton Chekov „The Sea Gull“, 2000, Schauspielhaus Hamburg,
Director: Stefan Pucher
Video: Frank Bussacker
Costumes: Tabea Braun

wmv-File, 3:50 min.
DSL or Broadband Modem or ISDN

"Replacement"
„Replacement“, 2006, Volksbühne Berlin,
Choreographer and Director: Meg Stuart (Video of the rehearsals
Video: Chris Kondek
Costumes: Tina Klömpken
Music: Hahn Rowe

GERMAN STAGE DESIGNERS

Most of this work is simply unbelievably amazing. Functional installation and spatial design unfettered by practical restraints and imbued with metaphorical imagination.

http://www.goethe.de/kue/the/bbr/bbr/enindex.htm

HANS DIETER SCHAAL

Hans Dieter Schaal

ANNA VIEBROCK

this is one set that looks like two
gorgeous austerity
set creating an atmosphere of oppressive institution and bureaucracy

Anna Viebrock could be considered one of the most impressive contemporary set designers whose monumental scales shift theatrical reality into exaggerated realms of meaning.

CUBE HAMBURG 2007

This hulking void of pitch black makes quite a statement in front of Hamburg Kunsthalle.

NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY ARCHITECTURE

For a bit of historical Evanstoniana, visit the Northwestern University Library Archives' gallery of campus architecture. It's quite interesting to see pictures of the Old Deering Library actually yards from the natural coastline of Lake Michigan, as well as the various transformations and architectural work over the years.

SXSW

need I say more?

www.sxsw.com

MYSTERIOUS SKIN

Film: Mysterious Skin. very interesting. much better than the book that I couldn't finish - directed by Gregg Araki who is sort of a cult director - he did Doom Generation and Nowhere. It's about these two boys who were sexually abused by their little league coach: one becomes a shit talking hustler and the other has a psychological transference of the events and he thinks he was abducted by UFOs. The subconscious of the UFO boy surfaces at these bizarre moments and he is led to seek out the hustler boy, who tells him all the details he's been blocking for ten years. It's really good and explains a lot about the adult behavior of sexual abuse victims. two thumbs up.

SHROOMS

www.dhlovelife.com
In addition to her efforts towards legalizing magic mushrooms and marijuana, look at Daryl Hannah's latest project:

The "now playing" mushroom clip is actually pretty amazing about all these medicinal purposes for common mushrooms, but of course we're told that the ones that are most readily available in supermarkets are carcinogenic.

The "week 1" episode about her car that runs on bio-diesel vegetable oil is also amazing. She drinks the fuel out of the pump.

It's all very interesting and I think we should pay attention. And ditsy Madison from "Splash" is the perfect hostess.

Glitter and Doom: German Portraits From the 1920s

This art show, showcasing portraits from German painters between the two world wars, is PHENOMENAL. I haven't seen it, but I have seen many of the paintings in Berlin. These are some of my favorite paintings and artists, borne out of a very tumultuous time in German history. These representations of the Berlin demi-monde during the Weimar Republic express the political instability of the time through stilted imagery and the almost grotesque portrayals of characters on the scene and are extremely special. I am particularly compelled by the darkness and ominous nature of the subjects and colors, their density almost anticipating the rise of the National Socialist party and the ensuing political nightmare. If you have a chance to see the show at the Metropolitan in NYC, please go.

It is always fascinating to consider just exactly what social, psychological, or political forces pull the art of an era out of the past, giving it immediacy and relevancy for our present. Why was this show curated? A personal fancy? A political motive? A cultural similarity or total contrast?