SiouxWIRE

THE CRITERION COLLECTION update

2008-09-08T11:05:00.007+02:00

For those of you who haven't visited Criterion recently, they have some interesting additions and developments to their collection. Their cult movie line has a deliciously splendid mix of kitsche and classic. On Five, the Criterion blog, is worth a look for its insight into Criterion's work and the tribulations involved with some surprising anecdotes.

And for those of you who have upgraded your systems to BluRay, Criterion will release The Last Emperor, Bottle Rocket, The Man Who Fell to Earth, Chungking Express, and The Third Man on BluRay in November this year(2008).

Links:
Criterion
OnFive (Criterion Blog)
Criterion Trailers (YouTube)

Featurette: LYNNE ROBERTS-GOODWIN

2008-09-07T11:42:00.001+02:00

Mrs. Deane posted on Lynne Roberts-Goodwin's work on the Landings series of "Bad Birds". Here is an excerpt from Lynne's profile; the full verion is HERE.

LYNNE ROBERTS GOODWIN - Born Sydney, Australia
Lynne Roberts-Goodwin’s work is grounded in a deep concern for nature and humanity. Her strategic partnerships with industrial and scientific communities underpin photographic artworks relating to endangered species and their environments that transcend geographical representation, creating ‘a characteristic push–pull … between the aims of truth on the one hand and those of rhetoric and desire on the other ... Roberts-Goodwin is constantly investigating the possibilities whereby images, even for an instant, can cross the borders of language.’ (Adam Geczy).

As a sidenote, it also seems that this series is tangled in a minor controversy.

Links:
Artist Profile + works (Sherman Galleries)

Dolk og Pøbel

2008-09-06T12:09:00.002+02:00

What I find interesting about the new work of Dolk og Pøbel is the remote context in which they've placed it. See more of their work HERE. Images by John Inge Johansen/NRK.

Links:
NRK feature (Norwegian)
Wooster Collective feature (source)

PingMag's POSTCARD EXHIBITION

2008-09-05T12:27:00.001+02:00

100 artists from around the globe customised postcards from home with some fun results which can be seen HERE. Also as a reminder, the postcard appeal is still open as ever to anyone willing to help.

Links:
Postcard Exhibition
PingMag (source)

So Yong Kim's TREELESS MOUNTAIN

2008-09-04T12:43:00.001+02:00

Early word on So Yong Kim's Treeless Mountain is promising following on from her first feature In Between Days. This is Kim's statement on the film:

"TREELESS MOUNTAIN is inspired by events from my early childhood in Pusan, Korea. My mother divorced our father and left us with our grandparents on a rice farm. She immigrated to America in order to find a better life for herself and to build a future for her children. At the time of these events we were too young to understand and our mother did not tell us what was happening. I began writing the film to search for certain lost memories from this period of my life and also as a letter to my mother.

As the story began to take shape, Jin, the main character, took on her own distinctive personality and blossomed. As the writing progressed, the story and the characters began to separate from actual events from my life. Jin's emotional and physical journey became the main force of the story. As in the case of the Aimie character in IN BETWEEN DAYS, I used my personal memories and experience as the starting point to develop Jin, and then allowed her to dictate her own journey.

TREELESS MOUNTAIN is a simple story about a six-year-old girl, Jin, and her journey to early maturity. Jin's sensitivity and the complexity of the emotions stem from her desire to have her family life back. She must let go of everything she has known in order to persevere. In this sense TREELESS MOUNTAIN is an intimate portrait of a young girl and a classic coming-of-age story. I wanted to tell the story of Jin in order to celebrate her resilience in life."

Links:
So Yong Kim interview (IndieWIRE)
Treeless Mountain review (Twitch)
Treeless Mountain review (Spout.com)
Treeless Mountain official site

Featurette: TIM SIMMONS

2008-09-03T13:19:00.002+02:00

Tim Simmons has some interesting work in his portfolio. The surreal landscapes are particularly enchanting though it's somewhat disappointing that there isn't an artists' statement on his site. On an aesthetic level, I really like the blanket of artifice that the lights and extended exposure give to the natural scenes while at the same time, I can't help but think how a logo or catchphrase wouldn't look out of place within their frames.

Links:
Tim Simmons
FAS Contemporary Art

MICHEL DE BROIN's "Superficial"

2008-09-02T13:54:00.001+02:00

I'm just getting acquainted with Michel de Broin's work. The featured work here is Superficial, to which had the following to say:

"Upon invitation to reflect on the notion of transparency, that led me into the forest to envelop the contour of a large stone with fragments of mirror. The large stone, tucked away deep in the woods, became a reflective surface for its surroundings. In this play of splintered radiance, the rock disappears in its reflections. Because it reflects one cannot be mislead by its presence, yet we cannot seize it, rather it is the rock that reflects us."

Images of Michel de Broin's Superficial, Mirror, glue, cement / Vosges, Alsace, France 2004

Links:
Michel de Broin
Michel de Broin (Artnews)
Michel de Broin (VOX)

Multiple KLEIN BOTTLES inside/outside eachother

2008-09-01T14:10:00.001+02:00

For those of you unfamiliar with a Klein Bottle, it has the special property in that it's surface (both interior and exterior) are the same. In our universe of three dimensions, we can only come up with an approximation of a true Klein bottle.

Taking it a step further, Alan Bennett of Bedford, UK created three Klein bottles set inside eachother as shown above.

Here is an animation of how a Klein bottle is formed:

Links:
Glass Triple Klein Bottle (Science Museum)
Klein Bottle Wiki
Imaging Maths - Inside the Klein Bottle

The CG Society

2008-08-31T14:29:00.001+02:00

Have a browse of the work of the CG enthusiasts at the CG Society. The technical aspect tends to be more breathtaking than the subject matter, but there is a definite sense that the medium is slowly maturing.

Links:
CG Choice 3D Gallery

The Kitsche Appeal of GODZILLA

2008-08-30T14:58:00.001+02:00

I've always had a soft spot for the innocent fun and snappy tempo of a good Japanese monster (Kaiju) film. I grew up with Godzilla films in technicolor on television and its appeal never vanished and to a great extent, it's retro-hyper-aesthetic has merged with my own.

It was somewhat surprising to find this guilty pleasure is shared by an unexpected other. And having browsed for further information on Godzilla, I found that the source of the Japanese name Gojira is supposedly an amalgam of the Japanese words for ‘gorilla’ (gorira) and whale (kujira). It's things like that which make me smile; gorilla-whale.

Links:
Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster (Conscientious)
Cultreviews essay
Godzilla - original BFI release

MATTHIEU ROUSSEL + NATHALIE TOUSNAKHOFF's "L’amie de Zoé"

2008-08-29T15:20:00.001+02:00

It's been some time since I've posted anything for children, but this simple and effective story and animation based on the Un monde en couleurs series of books illustrated by Mathieu Roussel and written by Nathalie Tousnakhoff is a charming diversion. See it HERE.

Links:
Lamiedezoe.com
Kilowatt Editions (the book)
MAKE Visual
Matt Roussel

Ritxi Ostáriz's VIVA CALACA

2008-08-28T15:35:00.001+02:00

This is a refreshing animation from Bilbao-based animator Ritxi Ostáriz with original music from Voltaire. See it HERE or below in low-quality flash video.

Links:
Viva Calaca!!
Viva Calaca!! (YouTube)

Viva Calaca!! (MySpace)
Ritxi
Voltaire.net

Remember LAST TIME?

2008-08-27T15:44:00.002+02:00

As we approach another American presidential election, think back to this memorable cover from the Seattle-based Stranger newspaper by Corianton Hale and Dan Savage. See it large HERE.

Links:
The Stranger
Corianton Hale
Design of Desent (Seattle Pi)

I'M SMITTEN

2008-08-26T16:05:00.004+02:00

Looking for an anthropomorphic gift for someone special? I'm Smitten might be just what you need. (Photography by Todd Baxter)

"In children’s stories, animals always mean magic. They are wonderful and ordinary. They talk and wear clothes and sometimes they go to school, and so, growing up, surrounded by these sorts of friends, you have the sense that almost anything can happen to you. The older you get, though, the more it seems that all of that magic has gone off, somewhere else maybe. I decided to take my artwork off the wall and out of the frame, and to put these images of everyday mysteries onto cards, and handbags, and t-shirts, so that everyone could have something a little bit pretty and a little bit strange to add to their day."

-Ashley Alexander
I'm Smitten

Links:
BuyOlympia
I'm Smitten
Baxter Photo

Favourite Scenes: THE GREAT DICTATOR

2008-05-31T02:34:00.006+02:00

It has been something of a political week (though not by design) on the Wire so I suppose it's appropriate that this is the current favourite scene. I selected it before the last, but it's arrival is timely.

The ending scene from The Great Dictator is a heartfelt plea that remains surprisingly relevant. The mention of the "aeroplane and radio" is easily applied to modern transport and communication. "The very nature of these inventions cries out for the goodness in men, cries out for universal brotherhood for the unity of us all." As for prejudice, greed, war... we haven't outgrown those either.

At this point in the film, Charlie Chaplin is less a character than his self and looks directly at the audience. It's startling and the conviction with which he delivers the speech is hypnotic. Below are the original speech as well as an effective version from Duffy23 featuring music and mixing from the brilliant Lasse Gjertsen.

original

Lasse Gjertsen mix

Here is the full text of the Look up, Hannah speech:

"Hope... I'm sorry but I don't want to be an Emperor - that's not my business - I don't want to rule or conquer anyone. I should like to help everyone if possible, Jew, gentile, black man, white. We all want to help one another, human beings are like that.

We all want to live by each other's happiness, not by each other's misery. We don't want to hate and despise one another. In this world there is room for everyone and the earth is rich and can provide for everyone.

The way of life can be free and beautiful.

But we have lost the way.

Greed has poisoned men's souls - has barricaded the world with hate; has goose-stepped us into misery and bloodshed.

We have developed speed but we have shut ourselves in: machinery that gives abundance has left us in want. Our knowledge has made us cynical, our cleverness hard and unkind. We think too much and feel too little: More than machinery we need humanity; More than cleverness we need kindness and gentleness. Without these qualities, life will be violent and all will be lost.

The aeroplane and the radio have brought us closer together. The very nature of these inventions cries out for the goodness in men, cries out for universal brotherhood for the unity of us all. Even now my voice is reaching millions throughout the world, millions of despairing men, women and little children, victims of a system that makes men torture and imprison innocent people. To those who can hear me I say 'Do not despair'.

The misery that is now upon us is but the passing of greed, the bitterness of men who fear the way of human progress: the hate of men will pass and dictators die and the power they took from the people, will return to the people and so long as men die [now] liberty will never perish...

Soldiers - don't give yourselves to brutes, men who despise you and enslave you - who regiment your lives, tell you what to do, what to think and what to feel, who drill you, diet you, treat you as cattle, as cannon fodder.

Don't give yourselves to these unnatural men, machine men, with machine minds and machine hearts. You are not machines. You are not cattle. You are men. You have the love of humanity in your hearts. You don't hate - only the unloved hate. Only the unloved and the unnatural. Soldiers - don't fight for slavery, fight for liberty.

In the seventeenth chapter of Saint Luke it is written " the kingdom of God is within man " - not one man, nor a group of men - but in all men - in you, the people!

You the people have the power, the power to create machines, the power to create happiness. You the people have the power to make life free and beautiful, to make this life a wonderful adventure. Then in the name of democracy let's use that power - let us all unite. Let us fight for a new world, a decent world that will give men a chance to work, that will give you the future and old age and security. By the promise of these things, brutes have risen to power, but they lie. They do not fulfil their promise, they never will. Dictators free themselves but they enslave the people. Now let us fight to fulfil that promise. Let us fight to free the world, to do away with national barriers, do away with greed, with hate and intolerance. Let us fight for a world of reason, a world where science and progress will lead to all men's happiness.

Soldiers - in the name of democracy, let us all unite!

Look up! Look up! The clouds are lifting - the sun is breaking through. We are coming out of the darkness into the light. We are coming into a new world. A kind new world where men will rise above their hate and brutality.

The soul of man has been given wings - and at last he is beginning to fly. He is flying into the rainbow - into the light of hope - into the future, that glorious future that belongs to you, to me and to all of us. Look up. Look up."

Links:
The Great Dictator (Roger Ebert)
The Great Dictator Wiki
The Great Dictator (BFI)

From Another Shore

2008-05-31T02:03:00.003+02:00

For those of you in New York, there's an excellent opportunity to see an impressive selection of Icelandic artists at Scandinavia House (just four blocks south of Grand Central Station).

"This survey of contemporary Icelandic art from the National Gallery of Iceland includes sculpture, installation, painting, photography, and videos by 21 of Iceland’s most acclaimed artists: Þórdís Aðalsteinsdóttir, Olga Bergmann, Hildur Bjarnadóttir, Margrét H. Blöndal, Ólafur Elíasson, Steingrímur Eyfjörð, Gabríela Friðriksdóttir, Hulda Hákon, The Icelandic Love Corporation (Sigrún Hrólfsdóttir, Jóní Jónsdóttir, and Eirún Sigurðardóttir), Guðný Rósa Ingimarsdóttir, Hekla Dögg Jónsdóttir, Ragnar Kjartansson, Ólöf Nordal, Jón Óskar, Eggert Pétursson, Katrín Sigurðardóttir, Hrafnkell Sigurðsson, Magnús Sigurðarson, and Hulda Stefánsdóttir."

The show will run through to August 15, 2008.

Links:
Scandinavia House
LIST (Icelandic Art News)
Icelandic Love Corporation interview (SiouxWIRE)
Katrín Sigurðardóttir (SiouxWIRE)
Gabríela Friðriksdóttir (SiouxWIRE)

CIRCLE OF FEAR... or doughnut

2008-05-30T18:30:00.010+02:00

What would T.E. Lawrence make of THIS? By these standards, McDonalds' uniform is reminiscent of Benito Mussolini or as one reply to the BBC article states, this "is like saying that UPS should change its brown uniform because it pleases the Hitler Youth."

"The US chain Dunkin' Donuts has pulled an advert following complaints that the scarf worn by a celebrity chef offered symbolic support for Islamic extremism."

Further insight into the mind that put forward this paranoid and reactionary thesis can be seen HERE. This ignorance reminds me of the case of Balbir Singh Sodhi who was gunned down in Arizona four days after 9/11. His killer bragged beforehand that he would "kill the ragheads responsible for September 11".

Links:
BBC News
Fox News

Introducing MAMORU TSUKADA

2008-05-28T02:21:00.009+02:00

Mamoru Tsukada has some intriguing work in his portfolio. From Tokyo Art Beat:

"Mamoru Tsukada was born in Nagano prefecture in 1962. After studying photography in the U.S, he is currently based in Tokyo. He started his career as a photographer taking pictures of blind people. Blind people build their visual experience through their other senses and the image they create in their brain differs from our reality. Tsukada gets his artistic inspiration from working with them. He explores how an image functions, by making photographs that deviate from reality to arouse the unconsciousness."

Links:
Mamoru Tsukada (Asian Photography Blog) - SOURCE
Mamoru Tsukada (Tomio Koyama Gallery)
Mamoru Tsukaka (Hangar.org)
Tokyo Art Beat

NATIONAL PRIORITIES

2008-05-27T23:16:00.000+02:00

The National Priorities Project aims to bring clarity to the US Federal Budget through number crunching and contextualization of the resulting costs.

Links:
National Priorities Project
NPP (YouTube)
NPP Wiki
NPP Myspace (official?)

CINEMATIC TYPOGRAPHY

2008-05-26T02:00:00.005+02:00

The following is a selection of typographic animations based on movie scenes. It's interesting to see how they flow, influence and enhance the dialogue.

Links:
I Love Typography
ABC Typography
Typographic Animation tutorial(Computer Arts)
Typography Wiki

Baz Luhrmann's AUSTRALIA

2008-05-25T23:32:00.000+02:00

"Australia is Baz Luhrmann's first feature film since the 2001 musical success Moulin Rouge! The highly anticipated film centres on an English aristocrat in the 1930s, played by Nicole Kidman, who comes to northern Australia to sell a cattle property the size of Belgium. After an epic journey across the country with a rough-hewn drover, Hugh Jackman, they are caught in the bombing of Darwin during World War II. Filming began late April 2007 & concluded December 19th 2007. The film is slated for a November 13 2008 release."

The teaser trailer for Australia is below. For additional viewing options, visit the official site HERE.

After enjoying Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge!, I'm looking forward to seeing his approach to this film which looks like a departure from his earlier work. Also, I highly recommend Nick Cave's The Proposition which (like the recently mentioned Dead Man) viscerally presents a convincing representation of a gritty period of history and like Luhrmann's latest is set in Australia.

I haven't enjoyed everything from Luhrmann but that doesn't diminish my admiration for his work which began with this gentle gem:

Links:
Australia
Bazmark Inq (official Baz Luhrmann site)
Baz Luhrmann Wiki
Baz the Great! (fansite)

BILL HICKS is made of bricks

2008-05-23T02:59:00.000+02:00

“Bill Hicks–blowtorch, excavator, truth-sayer, and brain specialist, like a reverend waving a gun around. He will correct your vision. Others will drive on the road he built.” – Tom Waits

Links:
Bill Hicks
Bill Hicks Wiki
The Gospel According to Hicks (GQ Magazine)
Bill Hicks (Spike Magazine)
Bill Hicks (BBC)

Featurette: Húbert Nói Jóhannesson

2008-05-23T01:57:00.004+02:00

One day when I live in Reykjavik, I hope I'll actually be able to go to one of these. This new show at Gallery Turpentine is featuring the work of Húbert Nói.

From CIA(Center for Icelandic Art):

Húbert Nói (b. 1961) studied biology, geology and chemistry at the University of Iceland in addition to his studies at the Icelandic College of Art and Crafts. While painting forms the core of his artwork, his diverse oeuvre includes drawings, etchings, videos, and even a CD of real-time music for astronauts. His creative work can be conceptualized as a sort of contemporary alchemy: transforming the scientific into the spiritual.

Links:
Húbert Nói
Húbert Nói interview (LIST)
Gallery Turpentine
CIA (Center for Icelandic Art)

Favourite Scenes: DEAD MAN

2008-05-22T23:52:00.001+02:00

Jim Jarmusch certainly ranks among my favourite film makers and I can track key events in my life through the release of his films. I saw Dead Man on the day of its release(1996) in London and having seen Jarmusch's earlier works, this was surprising. I have several scenes I love in this film, but the one scene that has lingered with me all these years is one in which the protagonist William Blake(Johnny Depp) embraces a dead fawn in the forest.

I have read numerous interpretations of this scene and generally speaking they're all quite interesting, but I believe it is our protagonist literally embracing death. Up until this point in the film, he has been running from the truth ("but I'm not dead") and in his vision quest for which his discovery of the fawn is a part, he finally understands Nobody(Gary Farmer)'s view that death is inherently a part of the fabric of life. In facing this truth, he finds peace and this scene perfectly illustrates this.

Aesthetically, the way the black and white film exaggerates the textures of the leaves, the fawn, the fur of Blake's coat, and the plaid of his trousers is rich and earthy. The appearance of his black hat in the top-down view of the scene is almost like a hole in the ground. Everything blends and in death, everything returns to the earth and in the stillness of this scene, it looks beautiful and tranquil.

The scene also reminds me personally of a time when my mum went mushroom picking in Washington State and one day found a mortally wounded deer in the forest. It had been shot and left. She stayed with it until it breathed its last and came home without the mushrooms but returned instead with a story. I was 10 years old at the time.

Dead Man trailer

Links:
Dead Man analysis (The Film Journal)
Jim Jarmusch Dead Man Q&A (NY Trash)
Jim Jarmusch (Senses of Cinema)
Jim Jarmusch Wiki
Jim Jarmusch interview (The Guardian)

SiouxWIRE Snippets 9.0

2008-05-20T01:38:00.002+02:00

Cannes: The decline of the world's leading film festival
Geoffrey Macnab, The Independent
Busy, expensive, and bureaucratic?

Wines Pleasures: Are They All in Your Head?
Eric Asimov, The New York Times
As an art, the perception of wines is dependent on more than what's in the bottle.

There's Beauty in Limbo
Chloe Veltman, ARTSJOURNAL
How should we approach unfinished artworks and why do we feel compelled to finish them?

Older Brain May Really Be a Wiser Brain
Sara Reistad-Long, The New York Times
"When older people can no longer remember names at a cocktail party, they tend to think that their brainpower is declining. But a growing number of studies suggest that this assumption is often wrong."

Little Orphan Artworks
Lawrence Lessig, The New York Times
"In a digital age, knowing the law should be simple and cheap. Congress should be pushing for rules that encourage clarity, not more work for copyright experts."

Hearing music that isn't there
The British Psychological Society, Research Digest Blog
An interesting piece on musical hallucinosis.

“I see a new, pervasive and global condition of fundamentalist violence directed against dissident images and thought”
Chris Bratton, The Art Newspaper