art

Hurricane Sandy: what a lame name?

the famous great wave off kanagawa

chief pontiac or ottawa

now watch i’ll get hammered for calling her lame, but what kind of lame name is sandy for a massive hurricane? i just cant take anyone with the name sandy that seriously. at least give it a 6 digit number like the japanese do with their typhoons (they get too many to give then names) or tap into the american indian vernacular to spark some imagination… like red cloud, little wolf, crazy horse, sitting bull, dull knife, he dog, or rain-in-the-face… and all those elaborate combinations are just all peoples names. and then we have sandy. i mean come on with your come on? by xy

CATEGORIES: art, earth related

Absurdity of art: author William Faulkner’s estate filed a lawsuit against Woody Allen for his use of a quote from a Faulkner novel

and yes film, when it’s film and not entertainment, is the ultimate art…

“faulkner’s likeness does not appear in the movie, but his words are quoted by owen wilson’s character. in a slight paraphrase of a line from faulkner’s novel ‘requiem for a nun,’ wilson’s character says, “the past is not dead! actually, it’s not even past.” the original quote reads, “the past is never dead. it’s not even past.”

unbelievable! petty! and of absolute bad taste… if anything woody allen has brought faulkner to a younger audience who would have mistaken him for owen wilson’s father-in-law. based on this absurd premise, jean luc godard should have been spending his life in court fending lawsuits instead of cooking culture. faulkner must have not left much money to his petty estate, who seem so desperate to make a buck. shame on them. see the film if you haven’t. its allen’s best film since manhattan. by uh

CATEGORIES: art, must see films

Martynka Wawrzyniak opening night at envoy for “smell me”

blood sweat and tears? well not quite, lets skip the blood.

it will all end in tears…. or in an armpit. polish artist martynka wawrzyniak demonstrates…

martynka wawrzyniak with sam and dawn goldworm

ucef hanjani and martynka wawrzyniak

photographer richard kern

“smell me” by martynka wawrzyniak was the perfect visceral self-portrait. one so intimate and original that either no one ever dared to do it, or one so intimate no one would have come to see it. that’s just 2 of the many good reasons why i went to see it.

“working with a research team of hunter college chemistry students under the guidance of professor donna mcgregor the artist underwent multiple experiments to collect aromatic elements from her body. she was subject to rigorous sessions to extract the concentrated essence of her sweat, tears, and hair to create an olfactory-based self-portrait that will engage visitors in a visceral form of communication without visuality as primary form.” – original post

the show will be up 10-20-2012 to 11-18-20012, at the new envoy gallery on 87 rivington street. with thanx to 12.29. by dd

CATEGORIES: art, backstage, ny places

arguably the most beautiful table in the world

sometimes it take a plumber to cook the finest meal, and sometimes it takes an artist to make the most beautiful furniture… well maybe the plumber shouldn’t touch the food but the artist part is quite true.

“i’ve always questioned design of what i’ve seen and i’ve always designed the things and spaces around me” donald judd by ht

CATEGORIES: architecture, art

Martynka Wawrzyniak: smell me on october 20th

polish artist martynka wawrzyniak

smell me is a solo exhibition by martynka wawrzyniak. a mixed-media and performance artist known for incorporating unlikely substances into her work, wawrzyniak will be creating an installation reflecting a year long project where she acted as both investigator and subject exploring and capturing her biological essence.

working with a research team of hunter college chemistry students under the guidance of professor donna mcgregor the artist underwent multiple experiments to collect aromatic elements from her body. she was subject to rigorous sessions to extract the concentrated essence of her sweat, tears, and hair to create an olfactory-based self-portrait that will engage visitors in a visceral form of communication without visuality as primary form.

a limited edition of the original organic essences will be displayed in tear shaped chemistry vials as well as three candles that are made of paraffin that was scraped off wawrzyniak’s body then melted into 250 ml chemistry beakers.

“in today’s society we do everything we can to mask the natural scent of our bodies, thus forgoing an ancient form of animal communication. i wanted to isolate these primal human essences and deliver them in an environment devoid of other sensual distractions. the piece represents the true essence of a woman – free of visual prejudice.” – martynka wawrzyniak. by dd

CATEGORIES: art, beauty, fragrance

lionel hun: dance of hope

you may have seen this but i like it as the movements are less literal and more liquid. a nice mixture of street and classical done well. here is lionel hun dancer/choreographer performing in tokyo during the tōhoku earthquake and tsunami. four days after he evacuated to macau where he decided to express his love for japan by making this performance. by kc

CATEGORIES: art, clips, earth related

swedish deco film confections

bela and boris in the same film, with a story written by poe nonetheless.  the actual tale of the black cat is quite short, i remember reading it as a creepy adolescent.  despite that, it has been made into two (that i know of) full length films, both with merits to share.  i came across these swedish movie posters, and you can check out the full list here. by sv

CATEGORIES: art, musings