Something for the boys, the girls, and the boygirls... a few of the many Isabella Rossellini mating shorts. Joy!
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Sorcery?
Though are connection to physical things seems ever diminished by the veil of technology, we as individuals seem to be gaining new powers.
An old friend who has taken up astrophotography came across this project:
An old friend who has taken up astrophotography came across this project:
Homemade Spacecraft from Luke Geissbuhler on Vimeo.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Banksy & "Simpsons" Collabroate
‘The Simpsons’ Explains Its Button-Pushing Banksy Opening
By DAVE ITZKOFF
How did “The Simpsons” manage to track down Banksy, the pseudonymous British artist, and get him to create the powerful opening-credit sequence from Sunday’s episode, which seems to reveal the torturous sweatshop responsible for the show’s creation? And how, after all that mockery, have the producers behind that Fox animated series been able to retain their jobs? Al Jean, an executive producer and the longtime show runner of “The Simpsons,” pulled back another layer of the curtain and explained the stunt to ArtsBeat on Monday afternoon.
Q.
How did you find Banksy to do this, and now that it’s done, how much trouble are you in?
A.
Well, I haven’t been fired yet, so that’s a good sign. I saw the film Banksy directed, “Exit Through the Gift Shop,” and I thought, oh, we should see if he would do a main title for the show, a couch gag. So I asked Bonnie Pietila, our casting director, if she could locate him, because she had previously located people like Thomas Pynchon. And she did it through the producers of that film. We didn’t have any agenda. We said, “We’d like to see if you would do a couch gag.” So he sent back boards for pretty much what you saw.
Q.
Were you concerned that what he sent you could get the show into hot water?
A.
I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think about it for a little bit. Certainly, Fox has been very gracious about us biting the hand that feeds us, but I showed it to Matt Groening, and he said, no, we should go for it and try to do it pretty much as close as we can to his original intention. So we did. Like we always do, every show is submitted to broadcast standards, and they had a couple of [changes] which I agreed with, for taste. But 95 percent of it is just the way he wanted.
Q.
Can you say what got cut out?
A.
I’ll just say, it was even a little sadder. But I would have to say almost all of it stayed in. We were thrilled. It was funny, I watched “Mad Men” last night and I wondered if this was my Don Draper letter to The New York Times. I knew just how he felt. But it was great to have a secret.
Q.
One of the things Banksy is known for is disguising his identity. How can you be sure that you were dealing with the real him?
A.
The original boards that we got from him were in his style and were certainly by an extremely proficient artist. We were dealing with the person that represented him making the movie. I haven’t met him, I don’t even know what he looks like, except what the Internet suggests. And he’s taken credit for it now so I’m pretty sure it’s him. We went through the people that made the movie so I assume they would know how to get to the real him.
Q.
Even compared to how “The Simpsons” has mocked Fox in the past, this seemed to push things to a different level. Are you sure there’s no one higher up than you on the corporate ladder who’s displeased with this?
A.
I think that we should always be able to say the holes in our DVDs are poked by unhappy unicorns.
Q.
Has Banksy’s criticism made you reconsider any of the ways you do things at “The Simpsons” in terms of producing the show or its merchandise?
A.
I have to say, it’s very fanciful, far-fetched. None of the things he depicts are true. That statement should be self-evident, but I will emphatically state it.
Q.
A lot of the show’s animation is produced in South Korea, but not under those conditions.
A.
No, absolutely not.
Q.
And even that closing shot of the 20th Century Fox logo surrounded in barbed wire?
A.
Approved by them. Obviously, the animation to do this was pricey. I couldn’t have just snuck it by Fox. I’ll just say it’s a place where edgy comedy can really thrive, as long as it’s funny, which I think this was. None of it’s personal. This is what made “The Simpsons” what it is.
Mural Arts Month in Philly
One of my colleagues at the American Friends Service Committee in Philadelphia is the lucky husband of Jane Golden, founder and Executive Director of the Philadelphia Mural Arts Project. Knowing my love of art, he drove me by a brand new mural last week while I was in town. It is called “The Evolving Face of Nursing” by Meg Saligman. The mural was dedicated during the beginning of Mural Arts Month and, like so many of the murals in Philly, it was impressive and inspiring. What really blew me away, though, was the mural artist decided to experiment on this mural using LED lights. As the lights slowly changed colors, parts of the painting disappeared while previously hidden parts emerged. The description or following pictures don’t do it justice, but if you happen to be in the area, stop by Broad and Vine and check it out. Also, check out the Mural Arts website to learn more about the incredible murals and tours: www.muralarts.org.
Also happening in Philly during Mural Arts Month, from Oct 7 – Nov 7, is the opening exhibition of a traveling mural project of the American Friends Service Committee called “Windows and Mirrors: Reflections on the War in Afghanistan.” I shared one of the pieces submitted for this exhibit a couple months ago and wanted to share the rest now that it has been unveiled. 45 mural panels, each about 4ft x 6ft, make up Windows and Mirrors and it will be traveling next to Queens, New York, then L.A., and Chicago. Future locations to be determined. Check out the exhibit which has been receiving much press and was Philadelphia Inquirer's Art Pick of the Week at www.afsc.org/project/windows-and-mirrors.
Monday, October 11, 2010
Artica: St Louis's Confluence of Creative Expression and Ancient Burial Grounds
A living entity to some, the Mississippi has churned industry and trade for a lineage of civilizations along its banks. When St Louis was established as a trading post by European explorers in the 1700s it was commonalty referred to as Mound City due to earthen structures constructed by a previous civilization, the Mississippians. In 1040 AD it's thought to have been the largest metropolis of its time.
As an homage to whom many refer to as the "mound builders" this past weekend artists, musicians, performers and members of the Burning Man community gathered for a yearly renegade art festival called Artica. The festival is on the site of the Big Mound, one of the largest burial mounds in North America removed in the late 1800s.
Artica in many ways seeks to encapsulate the City's past and connect to the future as its known for hosting a blend of experimental projects, ritualistic performances and site specific works that mimic the site's current incarnation of industrial decay.
Ironically this year's festival was dubbed "Return of the Mound Builders" as the St Louis Art Museum dumped two massive mounds of dirt from their expansion on the land. This created an exciting and drastically altered landscape juxtaposing a large homeless encampment along the riverfront.
Highlights from this year's event included a tent-size camera obscura, Stations of the Cross Grotto, a colorful woven web inside a dilapidated industrial complex, and a memory exchange project. As well as performances by the Unsceen Ghost Brigade, a group of street performers from Minneapolis traveling down the Mississippi on a raft who embody the stories of river rats of yester yor.
After sunset the Artica Effigy was ceremoniously torched as fire spinners, breathers, dancers and a light display entertained an audience of hundreds. The event concluded Sunday with a parade of dreams as festival goers floated handmade biodegradable constructions down the river.
As an homage to whom many refer to as the "mound builders" this past weekend artists, musicians, performers and members of the Burning Man community gathered for a yearly renegade art festival called Artica. The festival is on the site of the Big Mound, one of the largest burial mounds in North America removed in the late 1800s.
Artica in many ways seeks to encapsulate the City's past and connect to the future as its known for hosting a blend of experimental projects, ritualistic performances and site specific works that mimic the site's current incarnation of industrial decay.
Ironically this year's festival was dubbed "Return of the Mound Builders" as the St Louis Art Museum dumped two massive mounds of dirt from their expansion on the land. This created an exciting and drastically altered landscape juxtaposing a large homeless encampment along the riverfront.
Highlights from this year's event included a tent-size camera obscura, Stations of the Cross Grotto, a colorful woven web inside a dilapidated industrial complex, and a memory exchange project. As well as performances by the Unsceen Ghost Brigade, a group of street performers from Minneapolis traveling down the Mississippi on a raft who embody the stories of river rats of yester yor.
After sunset the Artica Effigy was ceremoniously torched as fire spinners, breathers, dancers and a light display entertained an audience of hundreds. The event concluded Sunday with a parade of dreams as festival goers floated handmade biodegradable constructions down the river.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
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