This past week or so has be hectic. But not so hectic to keep me out of the loop, just out of time to post onto my blog. I have great new things to post in every category listed in the sidebar. Even new links to music, hangout spots, and books. So far I’ve been successfully checking off a list of goals (resolutions) created at the beginning of the year. Included was the creating a blog (success!) and extending a book club for people on the go like me.
Regular constant posting to resume Monday. Happy 4th of the July.
Directed by Kahlil Joseph, the video showcases a melody of three songs from Shafiq’s album, Shafiq En’ A-Free-Ka. Exhibiting advance mutations in hip hop, soul, and jazz, this video captures iconic hotspots like World on Wheels and the coolness that comes from jamming with a couple of friends.
Ask yourself this question, when was the last time you have seen a music “movie” like this? I know.
Découvrez “ Le bel été ” avec Lou Doillon et Gonzales.
Discover the film “ Le bel été ” with Lou Doillon and Gonzales. http://www.vanessabruno.com
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Fashion short film showcasing French designer Vanessa Bruno’s latest collection. It’s playful, emotional, heart breaking….it’s living life. Effortlessly chic. Refreshing.
I couldn’t embed the film, but the link above will take you directly to the video.
On a day like this, the work is piling up and my urge to surf the web or dive into some juicy gossip is too strong. I created this playlist to be the magic pill or that 5 hour energy drink. I pray that it will keep you focused….Wait, who am I kidding, right?
Put the playlist on shuffle for the maximum effect.
1. As We Enter by Nas & Damian Marley – Distant Relatives
2. Dance Tonight by Lucy Pearl – Lucy Pearl
3. Strawberry Letter 23 by Shuggie Otis
4. You’ll Disappear by The Phenomenal Handclap Band
5. Seven (Crookers Remix) by Fever Ray
6. Ooh la la (Tiefschwarz Dub) by Goldfrapp
7. I Get Crazy ft. Lil Wayne – Nicki Minaj
8. Saddest Summer by The Drums – “Summertime”
10. Anything with T-Pain. Try it. Create a T-Pain collaboration list.
Matthew Barney’s Cremaster Cycle is Showing at the Landmark NuArt Theatre in Santa Monica. That’s right all 5 cycles. If you follow artist Matthew Barney then you understand that his films are not available on DVD and they are rarely shown in its entirety in a public setting. The last time I saw his films I was a sophomore in college. UCI received a grant to showcase the films. The imagery was orgasmic. Although your mind is pulled so many directions and you want to apply ‘this argument to that and this theory to this’ you ultimately stop. Well, your mind just says stop and appreciate.
Here is what The NuArt has to say:
“Murderer Gary Gilmore does the Texas two-step, Master Masons experience spiritual transcendence in the Chrysler building, and satyrs compete in motorcycle side-car teams. While these films have nary a word per half-hour, Barney’s able to create a narrative that sucks you in with its eccentric motifs, highly researched and crafted detail, and carefully casted cameos. Screenings of these films are rare. Screenings of all five together? A one-off New York extravagance. “ – Rozalia Jovanovic, Flavorpill
Jamaica Kincaid is an American novelist. A writer of life, her pieces reflect the freedom of being young.
In the video above, she re-reads her published article in the New Yorker. Written as an inventory of the book reception for the late Economist Milton Friedman, Kincaid was upset that Friedman was an adviser to the Chile government.
Here are some quotes to add to your email signatures:
“Be arrogant and vain when you’re young,” she advises her audience. “That’s the only time it looks appealing — and it’s also the only time it’s forgivable.” – Jamaica Kincaid
Reading her work and listening to her video makes me want to be a writer. I want to sit down on cushion and just watch her write. She’s that good.
“Influenced by Dada and, especially, Fluxus, [Tobias Wong] questioned authorship through appropriation; held a mirror to our desires and absurdities; upended the hierarchy between design and art, and the precious and the banal; and helped redefine collaboration and curation as creative practices.” (Source)
Early Sunday morning, May 30th, designer and artist D. Tobias Wong passed away. Know for coining the term “Paraconceptual” Tobias helped redefine conceptual product design. Always an admirer of his product designs, I felt his objects were designed with a purpose, a function, or a message. And the best thing about his products, they were affordable and fun.
In the picture above the product names (Left to right): Ballistic Rose, Coke Spoon, Engagement Ring, 24-Karat Gold Pills, Light Switch Watch, Rubber Chandelier, Smoking Mittens, D. Tobias Wong.
His products are available at MOMA, MOCA, and most contemporary musuem stores. Also Citizen-Citizen
Coming off an amazing 3 day weekend I wanted to post two fashion videos that will ease my mood into a state of mellow tranquility. The first video above is by Commes des Garcons called Wonderland for their new fragrance Wonderwood.
“The three minute film was created by The Quay Brothers who came up with the concept of woodland happenings from the view of a porcelain doll after smelling the fragrance.”(source)
The second video is by Prada and it is called Trembled Blossoms (2008).
“The original animated four-minute short, entitled Trembled Blossoms, is the final feature of a body of work that began last summer in conjunction with the design of the women’s Spring 2008 collection that debuted in Milan in September, based on inked drawings (used as wallpaper designs) which depict a lush, slightly scandalous, landscape of flowers and nymphs that evokes Prada’s vision, blending suggestions of Art Nouveau, Liberty, Aubrey Beardsley, and Hieronymus Bosch.”
“…directed by James Lima, produced by Hi! Production, Max Brun, with animation by Sight Effects, L.A. The goal was to create a classic animated film, from Hollywood’s golden era of the 1930s and 1940s, while employing modern animation and motion capture technology.” (source)
Both videos were well received at the Fashion Film Festival. View the second video after the jump.
Keira Knightley in Maze (dir. Stuart Pearson Wright, 2010). Courtesy of the artist and Riflemaker.
Starring the Stuart Pearson Wright and Kiera Knightly as two lovers going in circles. Trapped in a labyrinth, Wright is an artist who is frantically trying to reach his lover played by Knightly.
Two separate projections displayed side by side closes in on each characters’ individual journey and emotional conclusions.
Stuart Pearson Wright – “romantic artist or fickle muse, earnest male or inconstant female.”
Apichatpong Weerasethakul is a Thai independent film director and winner of the prestigious 2010 Cannes Film Festival Palme d’Or prize.
Heres is the synopsis of his latest film.
“Uncle Boonmee is suffering from kidney failure. As an avid practitioner of Yoga, he is well aware of his body. He knows that he will die in 48 hours. Boonmee calls his distant relatives to take him back from hospital to die at home, a longan farm. There, they are greeted by the ghost of his deceased wife who has re-appeared to take care of him. His lost son also returns from the jungle in an ape-like form. The son has mated with a creature known as a ‘monkey ghost’ and has lived in the trees with her for the past 15 years.” - CINEUROPA
The latest edition of FLAUNT magazine is thick and filled with quality reading. Peel back the plastic wrap and rub your hand over the beveled relief book cover. Feels nice, right.
In this post, I wanted to highlight three articles that caught my eye and led me to research more about their subject matter.
More about the articles and additional information about the the artists are after the jump.
Renée Thompson, has been modeling for 10 years. Originally from Jamaica, she moved to New York to continue pursuing her dream of becoming a top model and hopes to “kill it” at New York Fashion week. Renée manages to keep her hopes high as the fashion industry relentlessly refuses to showcase people of color in their top fashion runway shows. One agent mentions in the short documentary that one of his clients wanted a “white model dipped in chocolate”. Meaning he wants a black girl with the features of a white women. Interesting note, Renée’s body measurements are exact to her competitors, but the way her body curves and her balanced proportion throughout her body immediately signifies her as being too big.
Markets in Asia, South America, and Africa are rising up and they are redefining the look of the runways. Their magazines may hint at the look of the west, but their magazines’ ultimate goal is to reflect their own culture. It is becoming less common to have similarly featured white women walking down the runway. Last year, Italian Vogue featured an entire issue devoted to black women. It sold out in 72 hours.
Louis Vuitton, Gucci, and Prada can say that their demographic are wealthy white women, but I can spit at you some stats of people of color who can throw down for some Gucci. I’m just saying.
Comme des Garçons is a Japanese fashion label created and headed by designer Rei Kawakubo. French for “like boys”, Commes des Garcons over the years has collaborated with various other labels including Lascoste, Louis Vuitton, Nike, H&M, and many others. A year ago, I attended a Comme des Garcons creative space that was set up in the historic district of downtown Los Angeles. A high conceptualized store allowed their selected to designers to set up the store and design it as they pleased. I can steal remember entering off the street through a narrow alley pushing through some refrigerator flaps.
The stores and boutiques I come to love over the years are those who feature and recognize the efforts of individual designers. Treat this collection of designers organized by Complex Magazine as your latest edition of cliffnotes.
“Model Grace Jones and singer Tina Turner attending ‘Tina Turner Opening’ on May 7, 1981 at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in New York City, New York.” Jezebel
Matthew Barney’s Cremaster Cycle is Showing at the Landmark NuArt Theatre in Santa Monica. That’s right all 5 cycles. If you follow artist Matthew Barney then you understand that his films are not available on DVD and they are rarely shown in its entirety in a public setting. The last time I saw his films I was a sophomore in college. UCI received a grant to showcase the films. The imagery was orgasmic. Although your mind is pulled so many directions and you want to apply ‘this argument to that and this theory to this’ you ultimately stop. Well, your mind just says stop and appreciate.
Apichatpong Weerasethakul is a Thai independent film director and winner of the prestigious 2010 Cannes Film Festival Palme d’Or prize.
