November 24, 2004
November 23, 2004
The Now
Congratulations to Walker for being the 100th comment. You will be receiving your homemade newspaper M. Hulot hat via interstellar Priority smail in the next few nanofootcandles.
I know everyone's over it already but I just got around to downloading a new copy of Dirty's Return to the 36 Chambers yesterday & I'm rocking it on the iTunes currently. It's as good as my memory says. I was just beginning to warm to Ghostface's recent Pretty Toney LP when we got the news (via the internet! hooray 21st cent!) of ODB's passing. That song Tush makes me blush on the inside.
I watched M. Hulot's Holiday this morning & spent most of the time smirking and/or snickering. You know when you've always heard how good a movie is but for some reason you've never watched it (even though you've owned it!) because you don't want it to not be as good as you think it is? Maybe not but this movie is really great & I'm embarrassed that I've never seen it & probably two or three people will screen my calls from now on. Next year I'm going to dress up as Hulot if I can find some cool striped socks & the right hat.
The other day I got rang up by a girl at the Barnes & Noble that was wearing one of those less than half-shirts that's just long sleeves & a collar, like the one that Ciara wears in the video for Goodies. It's one of those items of clothing that seem of neglible function but who cares it's hottt (as opposed to not). I told Mary about it & she said she's had a conversation about it with some Paper Source ladies & they discussed it's relation to the "shrug" which is some type of half-cardigan w/no buttons or something. I like navy blue clothes, mostly.
My friend Camilo just got back from NYC where, among other things, he photographed Coney Island, skated the Tylenol Bowl (watch the video), saw clothed (& naked) porn stars & ate pizza. I'm jealous of all of those things.
November 20, 2004
going old school
If the first casualty of graduate school was the nightscape project then the second is printing digitally. Yesterday I printed in the darkroom for the first time in probably 3-4 years. Perhaps longer than someone like me should go without. Needless to say, everything didn't go smoothly but it wasn't a disaster. The C-prints are hot. Anyway, it's like a riding a bike I guess, even though last time I rode my bike wasn't so hottt.
November 16, 2004
What I want for Christmas - Item #1
Amazon.com & HVE are offering a set that includes every Criterion Collection dvd currently in print (241 title on 282 dvds) for $5000. That's just under $18 a disc. Let me know if you're buying it for me so I don't end up with two.
November 15, 2004
John Bonham 'Back From the Dead', too
According to Pitchfork (I'm aware of the weight of this preface) Gang of Four is getting back together to play some dates in the UK. If they announce a Slint/Led Zeppelin/Gang of Four club tour I'm selling whatever I have to buy a ticket.
November 14, 2004
Brian Ulrich
My friend Brian is on his way to being successful & famous. His first assignment for the NYTimes Magazine was published today.
Walton Ford
Walton Ford is another winner from the Art21 series. Twisted, hyperreal, Audobon-style paintings of animals acting like, er, animals.
November 12, 2004
Beardtown
I'm taking a printmaking elective this semester & I am not currently good at it. The above is a high school-style self-portrait that, for the sake of everyone involved, got no further than the drawing board. It's more laughing at me funny than laughing with me. I wish I could grow a beard like this, though.
November 11, 2004
Art21
I think I've determined that, perhaps something obvious, inspiration plays a major part in motivating me to make things. After watching a good portion of 2 seasons of PBS' Art21 recently, I am now armed with some more inspiration. Here are some:
November 5, 2004
Fade to Black
I'm pretty sure I'm getting this partially wrong but I've been listening to Jay-Z's Black Album off & on for the last few months & I think one of my favorite couplets is where he says something about his parents "makin' love under a sycamore tree/which makes me a more sicka mc". I pretty sure I'm going to see the documentary by myself.
If you want to run a rap-check on me point your internet machine at Hip-Hop Lyrics Archive. Indispensible.
November 1, 2004
If I were a rich man
The Barry McGee piece above is in an upcoming auction of contemporary art at Sotheby's. Estimate is in the neighborhood of $15-20K. Other luminaries include Calder, J Cornell, Dubuffet. Kline, Gursky, C Sherman, Twombly, Nevelson & lots of other heavyweights. Pretty heady company methinks.
On a more "realistic" level there's one of his TWIST screws on eBay hovering at $400something right now
Oliver Boberg
German photographer Boberg makes photographs of empty urban spaces that he's built out of cardboard. Similar to Thomas Demand's methods but different mood & ideas entirely. Very nice. Link from Conscientious