drumline

Holy bedazzlement…

I’ve found myself completely enamored by drumline’s and marching bands.  I think it’s the precision of synchronicity.  These drummers are like samurais- focused and held with continence.

 

 

 

what say you?

what pleasures the heart? but a wee bit of culture jamming..  this is an excellent example of the collective expression.  we would much rather have our hearts one true beauty voiced by love, than that which comes to put boundries around it.  who wants to be zoned?  imagine seeing the word “love” at every intersection you encounter.  eventually you would have to acquiece to the words notions.  who knows perhaps it would perpetuate you through out your day- not a bad idea. Make LOVE not ZONE in Utrecht the Netherland  

Kaki King

experimental ingenue…. this lady rocks … a genre unto herself.  I fell in love with Kaki fortuitously, after insomnia left me no refuge but the internet.  Now I’ve found myself  looking up anything I can on her.  Kaki King honed her unusual fingerstyle technique playing in New York City subway stations. She does amazing things with the simple six-string: she slaps the wood, rubs the strings and hammers her fingers over the frets. In short, she treats her guitar like a percussion instrument, creating a sound that one reviewer describes as “somewhere between funk and flamenco.”   

james turrell

My G.f. and I felt utterly lucky today after waiting 2 and half hours to see James Turrells lecture at PNCA.  We stood in a line that read “potential standing room”  While those who had tickets stood opposite to us.  We waited and waited and made friends with the couple in front of us.  When the time came they only allowed 30 of the “potential standing room” people in, at least 60 others where bum out of luck, myself included.  We stood crestfallen and in denial and plainly decided to not take their denial to admittance as truth.  Luck shear luck had arisen and Lou and I where snached off the the street and place three rows back from center stage.  We couldn’t believe our luck, I had wanted to meet James Turrell for years now and there he was.  The lecture was incredible packed with insights and awe.  Turrell’s work is based on light, perspective and color theory.  With an added emphasis on perspective psychology.  Much of his work is predicated on the works of Juni’chiro Tanazaki’s book “in praise of shadows”.Here is a synopsis of the book:

In Praise of Shadows is a small poetic book that resonates with a texture, imagery and poignancy of a time past. Originally published in 1933 by novelist Jun’ichiro Tanizaki it captures moments when time, culture and design intersect in an essay on Japanese architecture and design. He speaks fondly of the beauty, depth and resonance of shadows, specifically how Japanese designers work with darkness to create objects that reflect limited light. He talks of bright light garishly subjugating the delicate subtlety of Japanese design – the lacquer bowl, miso soup, paper paneled shoji. He suggests light robs us of the beauty of shadows, the mysterious depths and heavy patterns, the ageless unknown. Drawing comfort and familiarity of being one with a shadow, nestling into it, he laments his fellow citizens eager adoption of westernised technologies that leapfrogged Japanese design process. Referencing the introduction of new architectural design, the toilet, electric light and other domestic tools he reminisces of another way. Patina, the worn skin of age, is also reverently addressed in the essay. Tanizaki’s words caress the fascia of objects, describing with a deep sense of connection the experiences, histories and lives etched into their surfaces. Talking of the ’sheen of antiquity’ he explains;

“In both Chinese and Japanese these words denoting this glow describe a polish that comes of being touched over and over again, a sheen produced by the oils that naturally permeate an object over long years of handling – which is to say grime.” (1977:11)Also see James Turrels work at Roden Crater.  The Roden Crater project is Turrell’s most ambitious project and is being constructed in a dormant volcano in the Painted Desert of northern Arizona, northeast of Flagstaff. Turrell purchased the land with grants from the Guggenheim Foundation, the Dia Art Foundation and others. He is transforming Roden Crater into a space whose art is as much in the light of space and objects as it is in the spaces created in the crater. It will be your perceptions and interactions with the space and the ever-changing nature of light created by the light of the sun, moon, stars and other celestial events that will drive the art. Much like other civilizations throughout history that have built large structures that embody knowledge. scientific, cultural and spiritual, so will the Roden Crater project. 

new works from banksy

banksy, a local street artist from london has remained underground since his inception.  no one to this day knows his real name.  he travels the globe doing installations on abandoned walls and building.  his work is poignant and telling our times.  he is currently working on installations in Palestine and Jerusalem.

autonomy in arts

my affinities towards street art grows more and more each day.  as i peruse the wooster collective’s site on a daily basis i’ve come to realize that art is really more about the sinews of the artist processes and intentions than the actual art itself.  swaths of symbols become the new logos of collective consciousness wheat pasted to the sides of building and overpasses.  all the while leaving the artist entirely autonomous.  the space between the viewer and the art itself is not  framed or subjugated to a gallery or any other subsumed environment that is regulated by societal norms.  which in turn leaves the viewer autonomous as well.  street art in all of it’s myriad and innovative forms is becoming more and more ubiquitous around the world.  leaving our old forms of  hero-worship behind, and making way for both the artist and individual viewer to claim his or her own opinions.