Colette- Victorian/turn of the century French novelist, a pretty fascinating character- culturally versatile (largely a novelist, she also had a brief and controversial career as a music hall performer, and also dabbled in modern poetry and painting), with a romantic and stormy personal life (first marriage, to a powerful, popular, libertine author- a bisexual and an extremely interesting man on his own; second marriage to a newspaper editor, a marriage that ended after her much-publicized affair with her stepson- he 16, she in her forties; and a third marriage- a Jew whom she hid in her attic during the years of Nazi occupation; and some very public lesbian affairs along the way.) Her most famous work is the novella, Gigi.
baht- the currency of Thailand.
Grand cru- a term referring to the quality of the vineyard from which a bottle of wine comes; Grand cru indicates a vineyard of exceptional quality or potential.
poker facts- for instance, the specifics of the ante (it's a forced bet), and a reminder of the terms used for the cards dealt in a poker hand, in the climactic stage of the game: the flop, the turn, and the river.
etsy- it's like ebay for arts and crafts, vintage goods, handmade goods, and so on. Like an old fashioned craft fair. The design and content reminds me of my pal Ana's blog. It looks like a pretty cool thing to get into, actually.
Abies- the genus of fir trees.
Oysters are half shellfish.
a "lea" is an open grassland, such as a meadow, primarily used for grazing (for instance, a place to keep sheep.)
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
film #2
The Godfather Part II
There are lots of moments that make beautiful, elegant parallels with the first one.
The scenes with Fredo fishing- heartbreaking. You realize he's so much better, so much more beloved as an uncle than Michael is as a father. After looking at Fredo largely as a fool for the two films, you realize the depth of his kindness, how he succeeds in a facet of life in which so many of these other characters fail- as a genuinely good soul.
This is a much more interesting film than the first one, in terms of historical context… the attention paid to old Little Italy, to the Cuban Revolution, the investigations of the mafia and the growth of Las Vegas as a center of Mafia power, Hyman Roth as an analogue of Meyer Lansky. Historically speaking, a fascinating film.
Vito truly is the "life" of the film… his half of the story is so vibrant and compelling- a season of birth, as opposed to the main storyline of death and decline. DeNiro is so perfect in the role- it's a perfect Brando impression and yet he makes the character his own, as well. Vito's confrontation with the old man, the moment of vengeance… fascinating. Fascinating to se that old man, so deteriorated, so weak- you can be an evil strongman, a force of nature, but age will take your power. It is an inevitable fate.
a few criticisms: You never really feel Kay's presence, or why she matters… the end is pretty powerful- the parallel moment of the door closing is pretty powerful- but I never really care about Michael's family and his personal life failures, until the end. Also, the chronology is a little awkward, a little inconsistent between the films (I'm pretty sure Vito died in 1955, and this movie takes place in 1958, but it's supposed to be ten years since Vito's death.)
The last scene of the film is so hauntingly beautiful- that flashback. A startling reminder of the joy that once existed in the family, the innocent, sweet, youthful Michael that once existed (but still with a hint of the isolation and frustration that will someday overcome him.) Only Fredo is happy for him, the brother he will destroy. And the absence of Vito is striking- it makes the scene so much better. It's incredible that the scene wasn't originally planned that way, because it's so heartachingly perfect. And in the very final scene- Michael in his bleak, contemplative silence. Haunting and perfect.
There are lots of moments that make beautiful, elegant parallels with the first one.
The scenes with Fredo fishing- heartbreaking. You realize he's so much better, so much more beloved as an uncle than Michael is as a father. After looking at Fredo largely as a fool for the two films, you realize the depth of his kindness, how he succeeds in a facet of life in which so many of these other characters fail- as a genuinely good soul.
This is a much more interesting film than the first one, in terms of historical context… the attention paid to old Little Italy, to the Cuban Revolution, the investigations of the mafia and the growth of Las Vegas as a center of Mafia power, Hyman Roth as an analogue of Meyer Lansky. Historically speaking, a fascinating film.
Vito truly is the "life" of the film… his half of the story is so vibrant and compelling- a season of birth, as opposed to the main storyline of death and decline. DeNiro is so perfect in the role- it's a perfect Brando impression and yet he makes the character his own, as well. Vito's confrontation with the old man, the moment of vengeance… fascinating. Fascinating to se that old man, so deteriorated, so weak- you can be an evil strongman, a force of nature, but age will take your power. It is an inevitable fate.
a few criticisms: You never really feel Kay's presence, or why she matters… the end is pretty powerful- the parallel moment of the door closing is pretty powerful- but I never really care about Michael's family and his personal life failures, until the end. Also, the chronology is a little awkward, a little inconsistent between the films (I'm pretty sure Vito died in 1955, and this movie takes place in 1958, but it's supposed to be ten years since Vito's death.)
The last scene of the film is so hauntingly beautiful- that flashback. A startling reminder of the joy that once existed in the family, the innocent, sweet, youthful Michael that once existed (but still with a hint of the isolation and frustration that will someday overcome him.) Only Fredo is happy for him, the brother he will destroy. And the absence of Vito is striking- it makes the scene so much better. It's incredible that the scene wasn't originally planned that way, because it's so heartachingly perfect. And in the very final scene- Michael in his bleak, contemplative silence. Haunting and perfect.
album #4
john lennon/plastic ono band (john lennon)
This is a dark, extremely personal album. It all fits nicely into a certain theme- John unleashing his anxieties, frustrations, disillusions, all the pent-up pain. Just pushing it all out there. Wrestling with the agony of his orphanage (the primally searing "Mother," bookended with the hauntingly, heart-achingly subtle "My Mummy's Dead"), the loneliness and frustration of celebrity (or romance) (the White Album-esque "Look at Me"), the falseness of religion, the Beatles, and every other prophet or savior ("God," one hell of a personal anthem), class-based social injustice and discontent (the pitch-black but beautiful "Working Class Hero"), feeling trapped and alone in a world of madness, with only Yoko ("Isolation")… a deeply confessional, passionate, political album.
This is an example of a record that, lyrically speaking, reminds me of hip hop. Thematically at least- the literacy and defiant spirit in the lyrics would really work well on a smart rap album. Musically, Lennon runs the gamut from dark, crunchy funk ("I Found Out," one of my favorites) to sweet, delicate piano ballads ("Love," one of the more optimistic tracks.) It's simplistic, honestly, to call this a dark album- more precisely, it's an emotional album. A lot of those emotions are dark, but others are very positive, and all are genuine. My overall favorite track, for instance, is relatively optimistic- "Hold On," a nice, groovy, rainy day track.
Even though it's an emotionally intense album, it's never really uncomfortable to listen to… it stays out of the unnervingly unhappy 'Portishead' zone. I don't love this record as much as the others I've heard so far this year, but I do like it- a contemplative, rainy day, dark and passionate record. Pretty good.
This is a dark, extremely personal album. It all fits nicely into a certain theme- John unleashing his anxieties, frustrations, disillusions, all the pent-up pain. Just pushing it all out there. Wrestling with the agony of his orphanage (the primally searing "Mother," bookended with the hauntingly, heart-achingly subtle "My Mummy's Dead"), the loneliness and frustration of celebrity (or romance) (the White Album-esque "Look at Me"), the falseness of religion, the Beatles, and every other prophet or savior ("God," one hell of a personal anthem), class-based social injustice and discontent (the pitch-black but beautiful "Working Class Hero"), feeling trapped and alone in a world of madness, with only Yoko ("Isolation")… a deeply confessional, passionate, political album.
This is an example of a record that, lyrically speaking, reminds me of hip hop. Thematically at least- the literacy and defiant spirit in the lyrics would really work well on a smart rap album. Musically, Lennon runs the gamut from dark, crunchy funk ("I Found Out," one of my favorites) to sweet, delicate piano ballads ("Love," one of the more optimistic tracks.) It's simplistic, honestly, to call this a dark album- more precisely, it's an emotional album. A lot of those emotions are dark, but others are very positive, and all are genuine. My overall favorite track, for instance, is relatively optimistic- "Hold On," a nice, groovy, rainy day track.
Even though it's an emotionally intense album, it's never really uncomfortable to listen to… it stays out of the unnervingly unhappy 'Portishead' zone. I don't love this record as much as the others I've heard so far this year, but I do like it- a contemplative, rainy day, dark and passionate record. Pretty good.
exhibit #3
Bauhaus: Workshops for Modernity (MOMA)
[the exhibit website, the catalogue of all the pieces on view, and a video.]
The First Years
Founded by Walter Gropius in 1919, the lifespan of the Bauhaus coincided almost exactly with the Weimar Republic. "Building" was to be the goal of all making at The Bauhaus… Gropius' mission, essentially, was to unify technical knowledge and aesthetic ambition. To this end, they taught in workshops rather than studios- reinforcing the concept of art as something to be built, rather than just made. Two of the original faculty members: Kandinsky and Klee.
• Johannes Iten, Aufstieg und Ruhepunkt- lovely, bright colored, cubist
• Paul Klee's "Mystisch-Keramisch (I. D. Art eines Stilllebens)"- lovely, dark painting with bright colors
objects in this gallery: vases, pitchers, plates, tiles, candelabra, a wine pitcher, a beautiful brass samovar by Sucker.
1923: A New Unity
• The postcards for the '23 Bauhaus exhibition are so cool… so modern, you feel the spirit coursing through- artists excited about their work and excited for people coming to see. Gerhardt Marcks' two slim hands raising that clean, geometric building- my favorite. A beautiful expression of the school- an elegantly precise, geometric artistic vision, created by young and vibrant people.
• Josef Albers- big fan of his luminous glass grids. Glass Fragments in Grid Picture is my favorite, all three are great- beautiful, bright color, geometry that feels both precise and dirty, alive- reminds me of the Christmas lights in Austin.
• Paul Klee's hand puppets look like they belong in the Burton exhibit. His drawings too- I really like "Puppentheater" and "Der Angler." It's interesting that with the recurring emphasis on basic forms and primary colors, that Klee is one of their most famous teachers. I always thought of him as stylistically different than that.
• I enjoy Kurt Schmidt's Form und Farborgel mit bewegenden Farbklängen- fascinating piece, a striped/painted wooden relief, a little like a maze [read the description] It is like experiencing the rising and setting sun, the progress of music- it is a piece that evolves in the movement of the viewer. Really fascinating.
• Schrammen's Maskot- dark, smooth wood, geometric shapes, quasi-robotic, a subtle joyfulness. A really cool piece, and indeed the mascot of a Bauhaus student.
objects in this gallery: carpet, cabinet, chairs, cradle, newspaper shelf.
([maybe delete this section] How many of these objects were actually used? Were they made to provoke, to be thought about- or for actual use? I have a feeling they were for use. At least some of them certainly were; they sold chairs. And surely they were more interested in uniting and crossing disciplines, rather than merely provoking and surprising with their objects, ala Duchamp. Anyway, I think it would be cool to know about the family that raised their baby in a Bauhaus cradle.)
A New Teacher: Laszlo Moholy-Nagy
• I love Josef Hartwig's chess set- holy crap they should sell these. Pieces shaped like the movement rules of the piece (the Knight shaped like an L, the Bishop an X.) Hartwig was the master craftsman in the Weimer Bauhaus wood-carving and sculpture workshops. The chess sets exemplify "an unqualified faith in the potential of pure logic and geometric abstraction to provide a visual language appropriate for a new, more rational world." Beauty, utility, and logic- three of the central traits of the Bauhaus really convey themselves to me in this set.
I like all the Kandinskys… Schwarze Form is cool. Kurt Schmidt's marionettes are pretty cool; the whole concept of the 'mechanical cabaret' is intriguing. All of the kitchenware looks like it could be sold in the Moma design store today. Gleaming, elegantly geometric. Modern was perfected 90 years ago.
The Move to Dessau
Now the Bauhaus is in a bigger, more thriving, more industrial city than sleepy Weimar…
• It's fascinating seeing Moholy-Nagy's photos of the Bauhaus artists. They're all so hip. So frozen in time. I really like Kandinsky's "Drawings for sixteen movements for Modest Mussorgsky's
Pictures at an Exhibition." Especially XVI: The Great Gate of Kiev. They're beautifully clean and geometric.
• I really like Moholy-Nagy's Constructions in Enamel, enamel gives a particular texture and look which I always find appealing (for instance, in Johns' work.)- wow, a factory produced these according to his specifications! One of the most fundamental contemporary art concepts I can think of, "the artist in the technological age as producer of ideas, not objects" was already in the place in the '20s. Sorry Hirst!
• Moholy-Nagy's Nickelplastik- clean, geometric, beautiful. The coil vibrates- much like a Miro work I saw last year. I love it. So exciting to see a work that is still alive!
objects in this gallery: lamps, chess sets, wall hangings, fruit bowl, liquor pitcher, tea caddies, ash trays, tea saucer, ink pot.
Art and Technology: A New Unity.
(I can't actually remember if this was the name of a gallery, or just part of a plaque, but it really does say it all.)
• I love this particular corner- the white circular table, two clean black chairs, before Kandinsky's "Auf Weis II" on a black wall- the adjacent wall blue, the floor gray. This would be such a cool room in an apartment. So clean and modern and stylish.
• Albers' Goldrosa and Upward- beautiful luminous glass. They are identical except color (dark pink and blue) and yet he made them individually, not on an assembly line. What a fascinating counterpoint to the Modern impulse to remove craftsmanship from the production of art.
• Light Prop for an Electric Stage (Moholy-Nagy) - the coolest god damn thing. An indescribable collection of gleaming geometric pieces, metal, glass, mirror, different shapes and textures, a wooden ball, projecting different shapes of lights, moving like a perpetual motion machine, and it looks like some sort of kitchenware Frankenstein, except beautiful- gleaming, categorically beautiful. What a fascinating object. The mind that makes this thing is just indescribably gifted.
• The collages in this room are pretty cool and crazy. So whimsical. Marianne Brandt, the main collagist on display- interestingly, collage wasn't even her main discipline. Just more evidence of the versatility of the Bauhaus artists. Our Unnerving City, the busiest, is my favorite. Helfen Sie Mit! reminds me of something Mark would make.
• I love Kandinsky's pictures, "Design for a ceramic tiled music room"… lovely texture, broad, flat backgrounds with intricate geometric objects within.
objects in this gallery: tables, lots of chairs, ceiling lights, writing desk, cabinet, kitchen table and chairs.
Hannes Meyer's Directorship
Gropius retired to focus on his architecture practice, and Hannes Meyer took over. He promoted well-designed affordable objects for mass production- a critique of luxury, a bit of a critique of the earlier years of the Bauhaus, their aesthetically flowery creations. His wikipedia page nicely illustrates the successes and controversies of his time as director.
• More photos of Bauhaus artists- Klee smoking a cigar, guys leaping in the air playing sports, a jazz band, a group of students hanging out. By 1928 the school was well known in Germany and beyond… Meyer promoted the school as "a tight knit community of teachers and students representing a new generation…" they "appealed directly to potential students through lively photographic images of a vibrant student body at work and play."
It's fascinating to look at a map and think of it as a living, breathing city… great artists, young and new creatives walked on those streets, they hung out, they explored the shops and restaurants and back alleys of the city, these lines on the paper.
objects in this gallery: ceiling lights, lamps, chairs, tables. Unpretentious, plain wooden furniture, smooth and simple, foldable, very much a precursor to Ikea.
Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe and the Final Years of the Bauhaus
Hannes Meyer was dismissed by the right-wing Anhalt government for his Communist sympathies and affiliations (ah- makes sense, Mr. "low-cost unpretentious mass produced works for the common man.") The school focused more on architecture and interior design in its last years. In July 1933, in the face of political and economic pressure, the faculty dissolved the school by unanimous vote.
Kranz's Untitled Picture Series- a cool collection of water color frames… it reads like an animatic. Distinctly cinematic indeed- the frames sequentially relate to each other. So cool. Could be an acid trip or an imac screen saver.
Klee's Feuer Abends- a lovely work, nice and clean horizontal rectangles, dark greens, blues, grays, browns, violets, a small bur bright red square in the middle. Fire in the evening. Very pretty.
Klee is a texturally dazzling painter. I love the texture and the pastel palette of Hauptweg und Nebenwege.
The paintings in this gallery are rather nostalgic- Schlemmer's Bauhaus Stairway, painted shortly after the Dessau Bauhaus closed; Kandinsky's "Massiver Bau," a "souvenir of a friendship [Klee] and a home as he prepared to leave Dessau…" I really like this one. Sweet pink colors, the soft brown background. I Really liked Albers… "Skyscrapers," beautiful- black on white, white on black, black on honey gold. Beautiful, clean, geometric works.
objects in this gallery: chairs, architectural drawings.
Architectural drawings on one wall, chairs in the middle, and on the opposite wall, a series of paintings that seem to poignantly say farewell to the Bauhaus experience. Schlemmer's Bauhaus Stairway… they are moving upward. But they're also going away.
****general observations****
Fascinating to think of these are real, breathing, young, adventurous people… To think of their revolutionary objects, now pieces in a museum… the life blood still flows through them. This particular exhibit must be thought of in terms of the people and culture that produced the works.
• A recurring, perhaps the central, concept of the exhibit is the unity of practical use and aesthetic beauty. Chairs that are beautiful and simple, teapots and other kitchen ware, "wall hangers" (basically quilts.) Design is pretty central to the movement.
• What is it about geometry? What makes the simple, rational elegance of geometry the system that modern art returns to, again and again? The Cubists, Mondrian, The Bauhaus, the minimalists… "timeless modernity," a strange phrase, but that's what this gallery largely reminds me of. How is it that modern art was perfected 90 years ago, you know? Is my generation less adventurous? This gallery is a useful/funny/sad reminder that younger is not always more advanced, more progressive… elements of my great-great Grandfather's generation are responsible for cooler, more adventurous work than what this generation seems to have produced. To be fair I'm undervaluing my peers and overvaluing the Bauhaus (and without the benefit of retrospect to determine greatness), but there's certainly some truth in this.
• Again, it's cool imagining this in their moment, as a thriving community of artists. To think of students going to watch these marionette shows, or attending the play that Kandinsky staged, getting their photographs taken. It's a hip culture.
• It's interesting thinking of this as a community that the Nazis were determined to shut down. Their art was different, modern, rational, but how dangerous Were they, really? Was this really a politically/socially charged place, threatening to the Nazis, or were they just crazy bullies? I guess every indicator in the history of that movement would indicate the latter. What was it like for the students, after it ended? What happened to them, where did they go?
• A recurring theme- particularly of interest to Kandinsky, it seems- the interdisciplinary fusion of arts. Illustrations of Music, Art as Theatre, Light and Design as Film. Again and again, these fusions are discussed and explored and created.
• this artistic center is organized like a school- the whole thing reminds me a little of the theatre, actually. That said- what does the work of a mediocre Bauhaus student look like? What does bad art in this style look like, and how was it treated by the Bauhaus? I'm curious about how they treated inferior students- encouraging and welcome for the ride, or less so?
• My overall top favorites: Schmidt's Form und Farborgel, Hartwig's chess set, Maholy-Nagy's light machine, and Albers' colored glass grids.
[the exhibit website, the catalogue of all the pieces on view, and a video.]
The First Years
Founded by Walter Gropius in 1919, the lifespan of the Bauhaus coincided almost exactly with the Weimar Republic. "Building" was to be the goal of all making at The Bauhaus… Gropius' mission, essentially, was to unify technical knowledge and aesthetic ambition. To this end, they taught in workshops rather than studios- reinforcing the concept of art as something to be built, rather than just made. Two of the original faculty members: Kandinsky and Klee.
• Johannes Iten, Aufstieg und Ruhepunkt- lovely, bright colored, cubist
• Paul Klee's "Mystisch-Keramisch (I. D. Art eines Stilllebens)"- lovely, dark painting with bright colors
objects in this gallery: vases, pitchers, plates, tiles, candelabra, a wine pitcher, a beautiful brass samovar by Sucker.
1923: A New Unity
• The postcards for the '23 Bauhaus exhibition are so cool… so modern, you feel the spirit coursing through- artists excited about their work and excited for people coming to see. Gerhardt Marcks' two slim hands raising that clean, geometric building- my favorite. A beautiful expression of the school- an elegantly precise, geometric artistic vision, created by young and vibrant people.
• Josef Albers- big fan of his luminous glass grids. Glass Fragments in Grid Picture is my favorite, all three are great- beautiful, bright color, geometry that feels both precise and dirty, alive- reminds me of the Christmas lights in Austin.
• Paul Klee's hand puppets look like they belong in the Burton exhibit. His drawings too- I really like "Puppentheater" and "Der Angler." It's interesting that with the recurring emphasis on basic forms and primary colors, that Klee is one of their most famous teachers. I always thought of him as stylistically different than that.
• I enjoy Kurt Schmidt's Form und Farborgel mit bewegenden Farbklängen- fascinating piece, a striped/painted wooden relief, a little like a maze [read the description] It is like experiencing the rising and setting sun, the progress of music- it is a piece that evolves in the movement of the viewer. Really fascinating.
• Schrammen's Maskot- dark, smooth wood, geometric shapes, quasi-robotic, a subtle joyfulness. A really cool piece, and indeed the mascot of a Bauhaus student.
objects in this gallery: carpet, cabinet, chairs, cradle, newspaper shelf.
([maybe delete this section] How many of these objects were actually used? Were they made to provoke, to be thought about- or for actual use? I have a feeling they were for use. At least some of them certainly were; they sold chairs. And surely they were more interested in uniting and crossing disciplines, rather than merely provoking and surprising with their objects, ala Duchamp. Anyway, I think it would be cool to know about the family that raised their baby in a Bauhaus cradle.)
A New Teacher: Laszlo Moholy-Nagy
• I love Josef Hartwig's chess set- holy crap they should sell these. Pieces shaped like the movement rules of the piece (the Knight shaped like an L, the Bishop an X.) Hartwig was the master craftsman in the Weimer Bauhaus wood-carving and sculpture workshops. The chess sets exemplify "an unqualified faith in the potential of pure logic and geometric abstraction to provide a visual language appropriate for a new, more rational world." Beauty, utility, and logic- three of the central traits of the Bauhaus really convey themselves to me in this set.
I like all the Kandinskys… Schwarze Form is cool. Kurt Schmidt's marionettes are pretty cool; the whole concept of the 'mechanical cabaret' is intriguing. All of the kitchenware looks like it could be sold in the Moma design store today. Gleaming, elegantly geometric. Modern was perfected 90 years ago.
The Move to Dessau
Now the Bauhaus is in a bigger, more thriving, more industrial city than sleepy Weimar…
• It's fascinating seeing Moholy-Nagy's photos of the Bauhaus artists. They're all so hip. So frozen in time. I really like Kandinsky's "Drawings for sixteen movements for Modest Mussorgsky's
Pictures at an Exhibition." Especially XVI: The Great Gate of Kiev. They're beautifully clean and geometric.
• I really like Moholy-Nagy's Constructions in Enamel, enamel gives a particular texture and look which I always find appealing (for instance, in Johns' work.)- wow, a factory produced these according to his specifications! One of the most fundamental contemporary art concepts I can think of, "the artist in the technological age as producer of ideas, not objects" was already in the place in the '20s. Sorry Hirst!
• Moholy-Nagy's Nickelplastik- clean, geometric, beautiful. The coil vibrates- much like a Miro work I saw last year. I love it. So exciting to see a work that is still alive!
objects in this gallery: lamps, chess sets, wall hangings, fruit bowl, liquor pitcher, tea caddies, ash trays, tea saucer, ink pot.
Art and Technology: A New Unity.
(I can't actually remember if this was the name of a gallery, or just part of a plaque, but it really does say it all.)
• I love this particular corner- the white circular table, two clean black chairs, before Kandinsky's "Auf Weis II" on a black wall- the adjacent wall blue, the floor gray. This would be such a cool room in an apartment. So clean and modern and stylish.
• Albers' Goldrosa and Upward- beautiful luminous glass. They are identical except color (dark pink and blue) and yet he made them individually, not on an assembly line. What a fascinating counterpoint to the Modern impulse to remove craftsmanship from the production of art.
• Light Prop for an Electric Stage (Moholy-Nagy) - the coolest god damn thing. An indescribable collection of gleaming geometric pieces, metal, glass, mirror, different shapes and textures, a wooden ball, projecting different shapes of lights, moving like a perpetual motion machine, and it looks like some sort of kitchenware Frankenstein, except beautiful- gleaming, categorically beautiful. What a fascinating object. The mind that makes this thing is just indescribably gifted.
• The collages in this room are pretty cool and crazy. So whimsical. Marianne Brandt, the main collagist on display- interestingly, collage wasn't even her main discipline. Just more evidence of the versatility of the Bauhaus artists. Our Unnerving City, the busiest, is my favorite. Helfen Sie Mit! reminds me of something Mark would make.
• I love Kandinsky's pictures, "Design for a ceramic tiled music room"… lovely texture, broad, flat backgrounds with intricate geometric objects within.
objects in this gallery: tables, lots of chairs, ceiling lights, writing desk, cabinet, kitchen table and chairs.
Hannes Meyer's Directorship
Gropius retired to focus on his architecture practice, and Hannes Meyer took over. He promoted well-designed affordable objects for mass production- a critique of luxury, a bit of a critique of the earlier years of the Bauhaus, their aesthetically flowery creations. His wikipedia page nicely illustrates the successes and controversies of his time as director.
• More photos of Bauhaus artists- Klee smoking a cigar, guys leaping in the air playing sports, a jazz band, a group of students hanging out. By 1928 the school was well known in Germany and beyond… Meyer promoted the school as "a tight knit community of teachers and students representing a new generation…" they "appealed directly to potential students through lively photographic images of a vibrant student body at work and play."
It's fascinating to look at a map and think of it as a living, breathing city… great artists, young and new creatives walked on those streets, they hung out, they explored the shops and restaurants and back alleys of the city, these lines on the paper.
objects in this gallery: ceiling lights, lamps, chairs, tables. Unpretentious, plain wooden furniture, smooth and simple, foldable, very much a precursor to Ikea.
Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe and the Final Years of the Bauhaus
Hannes Meyer was dismissed by the right-wing Anhalt government for his Communist sympathies and affiliations (ah- makes sense, Mr. "low-cost unpretentious mass produced works for the common man.") The school focused more on architecture and interior design in its last years. In July 1933, in the face of political and economic pressure, the faculty dissolved the school by unanimous vote.
Kranz's Untitled Picture Series- a cool collection of water color frames… it reads like an animatic. Distinctly cinematic indeed- the frames sequentially relate to each other. So cool. Could be an acid trip or an imac screen saver.
Klee's Feuer Abends- a lovely work, nice and clean horizontal rectangles, dark greens, blues, grays, browns, violets, a small bur bright red square in the middle. Fire in the evening. Very pretty.
Klee is a texturally dazzling painter. I love the texture and the pastel palette of Hauptweg und Nebenwege.
The paintings in this gallery are rather nostalgic- Schlemmer's Bauhaus Stairway, painted shortly after the Dessau Bauhaus closed; Kandinsky's "Massiver Bau," a "souvenir of a friendship [Klee] and a home as he prepared to leave Dessau…" I really like this one. Sweet pink colors, the soft brown background. I Really liked Albers… "Skyscrapers," beautiful- black on white, white on black, black on honey gold. Beautiful, clean, geometric works.
objects in this gallery: chairs, architectural drawings.
Architectural drawings on one wall, chairs in the middle, and on the opposite wall, a series of paintings that seem to poignantly say farewell to the Bauhaus experience. Schlemmer's Bauhaus Stairway… they are moving upward. But they're also going away.
****general observations****
Fascinating to think of these are real, breathing, young, adventurous people… To think of their revolutionary objects, now pieces in a museum… the life blood still flows through them. This particular exhibit must be thought of in terms of the people and culture that produced the works.
• A recurring, perhaps the central, concept of the exhibit is the unity of practical use and aesthetic beauty. Chairs that are beautiful and simple, teapots and other kitchen ware, "wall hangers" (basically quilts.) Design is pretty central to the movement.
• What is it about geometry? What makes the simple, rational elegance of geometry the system that modern art returns to, again and again? The Cubists, Mondrian, The Bauhaus, the minimalists… "timeless modernity," a strange phrase, but that's what this gallery largely reminds me of. How is it that modern art was perfected 90 years ago, you know? Is my generation less adventurous? This gallery is a useful/funny/sad reminder that younger is not always more advanced, more progressive… elements of my great-great Grandfather's generation are responsible for cooler, more adventurous work than what this generation seems to have produced. To be fair I'm undervaluing my peers and overvaluing the Bauhaus (and without the benefit of retrospect to determine greatness), but there's certainly some truth in this.
• Again, it's cool imagining this in their moment, as a thriving community of artists. To think of students going to watch these marionette shows, or attending the play that Kandinsky staged, getting their photographs taken. It's a hip culture.
• It's interesting thinking of this as a community that the Nazis were determined to shut down. Their art was different, modern, rational, but how dangerous Were they, really? Was this really a politically/socially charged place, threatening to the Nazis, or were they just crazy bullies? I guess every indicator in the history of that movement would indicate the latter. What was it like for the students, after it ended? What happened to them, where did they go?
• A recurring theme- particularly of interest to Kandinsky, it seems- the interdisciplinary fusion of arts. Illustrations of Music, Art as Theatre, Light and Design as Film. Again and again, these fusions are discussed and explored and created.
• this artistic center is organized like a school- the whole thing reminds me a little of the theatre, actually. That said- what does the work of a mediocre Bauhaus student look like? What does bad art in this style look like, and how was it treated by the Bauhaus? I'm curious about how they treated inferior students- encouraging and welcome for the ride, or less so?
• My overall top favorites: Schmidt's Form und Farborgel, Hartwig's chess set, Maholy-Nagy's light machine, and Albers' colored glass grids.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
album #3
younger than yesterday (the byrds)
Supremely likable album. I love the Byrds' style, those beautiful choral harmonies. I like every track on the album, and I love parts of just about every song, and there are a few tracks I love all the way through- in particular "Renaissance Fair," a beautifully airy, contemplative, vaguely psychadelic song- wistful guitar interplay, mesmerizing lyrics. "CTA 102" has a nice, upbeat sound, with a twist of the hauntingly weird; "So You Want To Be A Rock & Roll Star" is a nice, quick, satiric opener. "My Back Pages," a Dylan cover, is quite beautiful- the song that led me to this album. Sweet, melodic, a vibe of wistful optimism. "The Girl With No Name" reminds me of the middle ground between early Beatles and Country Western- it's really good. "Why?" is a really lovely track, it really grew on me- great guitars, great melody in the verses.
Extremely likable album, good all the way through. Nice touches of pop, psychadelia, country- great guitars, those beautiful choral harmonies.
Supremely likable album. I love the Byrds' style, those beautiful choral harmonies. I like every track on the album, and I love parts of just about every song, and there are a few tracks I love all the way through- in particular "Renaissance Fair," a beautifully airy, contemplative, vaguely psychadelic song- wistful guitar interplay, mesmerizing lyrics. "CTA 102" has a nice, upbeat sound, with a twist of the hauntingly weird; "So You Want To Be A Rock & Roll Star" is a nice, quick, satiric opener. "My Back Pages," a Dylan cover, is quite beautiful- the song that led me to this album. Sweet, melodic, a vibe of wistful optimism. "The Girl With No Name" reminds me of the middle ground between early Beatles and Country Western- it's really good. "Why?" is a really lovely track, it really grew on me- great guitars, great melody in the verses.
Extremely likable album, good all the way through. Nice touches of pop, psychadelia, country- great guitars, those beautiful choral harmonies.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
crossword #3
axilla- the technical term for the armpit.
the 'M' in M. Night Shyamalan stands for Manoj.
Agandar- the Hank Azaria character in the movie The Birdcage, which apparently is the highest-grossing LGBT film of all time.
casaba- a type of melon.
tasso- a spicy Cajun ham.
Yser- a river in northern France and Belgium.
paronym- the word meaning two words that sound alike, and have different meanings, but are not spelled/pronounced exactly alike (homonyms). e.g., deprecate and depreciate are paronyms.
Sue Ane Langdon- one of those hot ditzy blonde starlets of the late '50s and early '60s.
Light It Up- a 1999 flop starring Usher, a kinda gritty story about teenagers in inner city Queens.
Alan Ruck- the actor who portrayed Cameron Frye in Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
If I Ran the Circus- a 1956 Dr. Seuss book, one of his lesser known works, but still dealing in the common Seuss theme of "cumulative fantasy leading to excess."
Towa Tei- DJ most famous for his hit with Deee-lite, Groove is in the Heart.
SFMOMA- the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (not directly related to MOMA.)
Toshiba- a Japanese multinational conglomerate… they make digital rice cookers, they're the world's 5th largest PC producer, they're beginning to get involved in nuclear energy, they own the top video screen on One Times Square… the whole wikipedia article on them reads like a perfect, archetypal example of an enigmatic and megapowerful corporation.
yoni- the word used to refer to the vagina, in the Kama Sutra.
Sidney Lumet- legendary director- 12 Angry Men, Dog Day Afternoon, Network; crazily prolific- more than one movie a year on average, since 1957. Fascinating entry, deserves to be read and studied more thoroughly.
the 'M' in M. Night Shyamalan stands for Manoj.
Agandar- the Hank Azaria character in the movie The Birdcage, which apparently is the highest-grossing LGBT film of all time.
casaba- a type of melon.
tasso- a spicy Cajun ham.
Yser- a river in northern France and Belgium.
paronym- the word meaning two words that sound alike, and have different meanings, but are not spelled/pronounced exactly alike (homonyms). e.g., deprecate and depreciate are paronyms.
Sue Ane Langdon- one of those hot ditzy blonde starlets of the late '50s and early '60s.
Light It Up- a 1999 flop starring Usher, a kinda gritty story about teenagers in inner city Queens.
Alan Ruck- the actor who portrayed Cameron Frye in Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
If I Ran the Circus- a 1956 Dr. Seuss book, one of his lesser known works, but still dealing in the common Seuss theme of "cumulative fantasy leading to excess."
Towa Tei- DJ most famous for his hit with Deee-lite, Groove is in the Heart.
SFMOMA- the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (not directly related to MOMA.)
Toshiba- a Japanese multinational conglomerate… they make digital rice cookers, they're the world's 5th largest PC producer, they're beginning to get involved in nuclear energy, they own the top video screen on One Times Square… the whole wikipedia article on them reads like a perfect, archetypal example of an enigmatic and megapowerful corporation.
yoni- the word used to refer to the vagina, in the Kama Sutra.
Sidney Lumet- legendary director- 12 Angry Men, Dog Day Afternoon, Network; crazily prolific- more than one movie a year on average, since 1957. Fascinating entry, deserves to be read and studied more thoroughly.
dvd #1
30 Rock: Season 1
Really delightful so far. Fast paced, witty, insane. Jack is my favorite character. Dennis is also hilarious. Dr. Spaceman is pretty inspired- hilarious character.
Some of my favorite episodes: Jack The Writer (Dilbert- can we do that?) , Jack Meets Dennis, The Break-Up (I cried like a big dumb homo), Black Tie (Paul Reubens! So so awesome!), Source Awards (everything that the Wayne Brady character said- probably my favorite celeb cameo), Fireworks (America- which I invented- BOOOOO), Cleveland (one of the funniest and most bizarre episodes, so great- the JD-est of the episodes, plus a compelling plot- probably my overall favorite episode.)
So many celebrity cameos, at least one or two per episode, it seems. I wonder if this was to prop up the ratings, or just because it was the sort of show that everybody Wanted to appear on? Like, friends with connections who jumped at the opportunity to appear. Also, lots of UCB types.
This would be a hard show to write for- just so fast paced, every opportunity to make a joke, they take. Every line, every subtlety- the movie titles, the sketches. A nice sense of pattern and game (for instance, when Liz keeps getting overheard in private conversations- intercom, microphone, TV camera etc.) The characters are generally very simple archetypes, Liz and Jack are the characters that you really discover more about as the season goes on. I liked it a lot.
Really delightful so far. Fast paced, witty, insane. Jack is my favorite character. Dennis is also hilarious. Dr. Spaceman is pretty inspired- hilarious character.
Some of my favorite episodes: Jack The Writer (Dilbert- can we do that?) , Jack Meets Dennis, The Break-Up (I cried like a big dumb homo), Black Tie (Paul Reubens! So so awesome!), Source Awards (everything that the Wayne Brady character said- probably my favorite celeb cameo), Fireworks (America- which I invented- BOOOOO), Cleveland (one of the funniest and most bizarre episodes, so great- the JD-est of the episodes, plus a compelling plot- probably my overall favorite episode.)
So many celebrity cameos, at least one or two per episode, it seems. I wonder if this was to prop up the ratings, or just because it was the sort of show that everybody Wanted to appear on? Like, friends with connections who jumped at the opportunity to appear. Also, lots of UCB types.
This would be a hard show to write for- just so fast paced, every opportunity to make a joke, they take. Every line, every subtlety- the movie titles, the sketches. A nice sense of pattern and game (for instance, when Liz keeps getting overheard in private conversations- intercom, microphone, TV camera etc.) The characters are generally very simple archetypes, Liz and Jack are the characters that you really discover more about as the season goes on. I liked it a lot.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
album #2
all things must pass (george harrison)
I really liked this album. Just an awesome statement of Harrison's talent as a musician and songwriter. Some of the tracks are a little drippy, and perhaps it's too long, but at least half the tracks are great and the other half are perfectly okay. It's truly a classic rock sound, led by George's high, sweet guitar. Many of the tracks are sweet lullabies, other are heavy rock numbers, lyrically united by a sense of romance, of faith, of breaking free.
Altogether it's a darn good record. The truly great half of the album: “I'd Have You Anytime,” a sweet, enigmatic, seductive opener; “My Sweet Lord,” a great track, one of the most famous products of his solo career; “Wah-Wah,” a great rocker; “What Is Life-” one of my absolute favorites, soaring vocals, great brass, great guitar- just across the board, an awesome song. One of the most Beatles-esque tracks on the album. “If Not For You” is a sweet, lilting romantic song, “Let It Down” encapsulates the whole album in a way- forceful rock, with a great tenderness in the verses… this particular track is the lead example of a trend I see in the album- that it seems to open a door to the rest of the seventies and beyond. There's a melodic blues/rock swoon to this song and some others, reminiscent of Billy Joel or John Mayer. “Ballad of Sir Frankie Crisp” is another Beatles-y track, with a haunting echo of distant piano and high woodwind instruments, a delicate twinkle to this song. My absolute favorite track (tied with “What Is Life”) is “Awaiting On You All”- a song about faith, joyous faith in God- with some of the most beautiful instrumentation the album. A rowdy, echoing, futuristic sound, couched in the melodic pop of early '60s motown or gospel. A thoroughly unique and awesome song. And lastly, two of the jams, “Plug Me In” and “Thanks for the Pepperoni” are killer, blazing rock tracks- classic rock unleashed.
A versatile and melodic and uplifting album. Half of it is okay, maybe even a little dull- but the other half is a hell of a lot of gold.
I really liked this album. Just an awesome statement of Harrison's talent as a musician and songwriter. Some of the tracks are a little drippy, and perhaps it's too long, but at least half the tracks are great and the other half are perfectly okay. It's truly a classic rock sound, led by George's high, sweet guitar. Many of the tracks are sweet lullabies, other are heavy rock numbers, lyrically united by a sense of romance, of faith, of breaking free.
Altogether it's a darn good record. The truly great half of the album: “I'd Have You Anytime,” a sweet, enigmatic, seductive opener; “My Sweet Lord,” a great track, one of the most famous products of his solo career; “Wah-Wah,” a great rocker; “What Is Life-” one of my absolute favorites, soaring vocals, great brass, great guitar- just across the board, an awesome song. One of the most Beatles-esque tracks on the album. “If Not For You” is a sweet, lilting romantic song, “Let It Down” encapsulates the whole album in a way- forceful rock, with a great tenderness in the verses… this particular track is the lead example of a trend I see in the album- that it seems to open a door to the rest of the seventies and beyond. There's a melodic blues/rock swoon to this song and some others, reminiscent of Billy Joel or John Mayer. “Ballad of Sir Frankie Crisp” is another Beatles-y track, with a haunting echo of distant piano and high woodwind instruments, a delicate twinkle to this song. My absolute favorite track (tied with “What Is Life”) is “Awaiting On You All”- a song about faith, joyous faith in God- with some of the most beautiful instrumentation the album. A rowdy, echoing, futuristic sound, couched in the melodic pop of early '60s motown or gospel. A thoroughly unique and awesome song. And lastly, two of the jams, “Plug Me In” and “Thanks for the Pepperoni” are killer, blazing rock tracks- classic rock unleashed.
A versatile and melodic and uplifting album. Half of it is okay, maybe even a little dull- but the other half is a hell of a lot of gold.
Monday, January 18, 2010
exhibit #2
American Stories: Paintings of Everyday Life, 1765-1915 (Metropolitan Museum of Art)
The intro paragraph to this exhibit is particularly good:
"Between the American Revolution and World War I, a group of British colonies became states, the frontier pushed westward to span the continent, a rural and agricultural society became urban and industrial, and the United States—reunified after the Civil War under an increasingly powerful federal government—emerged as a leading participant in world affairs. Throughout this complicated, transformative period, artists recorded American life as it changed around them. Many of the nation's most celebrated painters—John Singleton Copley, Charles Willson Peale, William Sidney Mount, George Caleb Bingham, Winslow Homer, Thomas Eakins, John Singer Sargent, Mary Cassatt, William Merritt Chase, John Sloan, and George Bellows—captured the temperament of their respective eras, defining the character of Americans as individuals, citizens, and members of ever-widening communities.
American Stories: Paintings of Everyday Life, 1765–1915 presents tales artists told about their times and examines how their accounts reflect shifting professional standards, opportunities for study, foreign prototypes, venues for display, and viewers' expectations. Recurring themes such as childhood, marriage, family, and community; the notion of citizenship; attitudes toward race; the frontier as reality and myth; and the process and meaning of making art illuminate the evolution of American artists' approach to narrative."
• There are particular colors I associate with old American painting. A glowing golden brown, for instance.
• I like The Champion Single Sculls… the symmetry of gray-blues and golden-browns, the discipline of the horizontals.
The first gallery focuses on water, the peril and pleasure of water in American painting… scenes of peaceful rowing and turbulent sailing.
• The Gulf Stream (1899), by Winslow Homer, is the most modern of the works in this first gallery. It's a hot, heavy painting… the Carribean, a lone man, serious, on a small, broken fishing boat, sharks gnashing at the water before him. He paints these lovely ocean scenes, the sort of scene that generally fascinates me.
• This first room is loaded with philosophy- virtue, progress, questions of race. America is a subject that invites big ideas.
Inventing American Stories, 1765-1830
In the post revolutionary era, painters were considered mere tradesmen, and the interest of the market lay largely in portraiture. Gradually, as America began to change and get more complicated, patrons began to appreciate more complex works… works that reflected not just a portrait, but also status and storytelling.
Greenwood's Sea Captains Carousing in Surinam is a pretty unique and delightful work. Title is pretty self explanatory… In a tavern- alcohol, smoke, vomit, cards, trash, the natives as pygmies and enablers. It's always interesting to be reminded that vulgarity existed in generations other than our own.
I really like The Exhumation of the Mastodon, a big, darkly colored American scene, an excavation of Mastodon bones from a marsh, directed by the artist himself. A story of Jeffersonian ingenuity (the blend of art and science) and the supremacy of mankind.
Charles Wilson Peale certainly held himself in high regard for his scientific talents. In The Artist In His Museum, he's pulling back the red curtain, "like a carnival barker or a master of ceremonies," on his vast collection of oil portraits and exotic taxidermied animals. The mastodon skeleton of the previous work is alsovisible.
• It's a little funny that one of these paintings is about a pack of upper-middle class socialites bursting into a room and celebrating the completion of a quilt. 1830s America! I like the paintings of John Lewis Krimmel… intricate, brightly colored, interested in groups of people and social statuses.
• Paul Revere looked a little like Jack Black.
• Benjamin and Eleanor Ridgley Laming, an extraordinarily provocative painting… the gentleman, a properly dressed businessman with an affectionate eye on his lovely, ambiguously European-looking bride, in her willowy dress, with her uncorseted bosom, his telescope across the lap aiming right at the soft sweet fruit in her lap… an orderly but horny businessman who, by his success and status, has earned himself this exotic and sexy wife. And also, for some reason, there's a little green parrot by his hand.
• Elijah Boardman (1789)- looking at this before I read the description, I'm thinking, 'upstanding and learned businessman, of great power and influence in the textiles market.' …He is a seller of luxury goods, an expert guide through his store. "The seductive salesman who cultivates desire was an entirely modern notion." This portrait tells the story not just of the man who commissioned it, but the evolving tastes of the country that allowed this man to exist.
Stories for the Public, 1830-1860
Because new exhibition spaces were opening, artists could now turn away from portraiture (which depended on private commission) and create stories for the public. Ah- it's interesting to think of this gallery as contemporary with the Hudson River School, which I love.
• The dignity and joy of Kitchen Ball at White Sulphur Springs, Virginia is beautiful, poignant, compelling. A German emigre artist painting a scene of slaves dancing and celebrating harmoniously, elegantly dressed. They look like real people, with warm and knowing faces, not caricatures, as many other would paint (Krimmel for instance.) The whole painting glows with a subtle allure. One of my favorites.
• The Power of Music- pretty interesting. Is that black man included, as a warmly smiling, admiring neighbor, enjoying the music, or is he excluded- they better not find out he's outside, he wouldn't be welcome to walk in and listen with them?
• The City and Country Beaux- a charming, well painted story of two different guys after the same girl. The specific wardrobes have changed, but this class rivalry continues to this day. I'd certainly rather be the slim, bowing man in the form-fitting black coat and slacks. Even though the city guy seems to be winning in this scene, something about the demeanor of the country guy implies that he may be the real winner- he doesn't need that girl and her closed vagina anyway. (by the way, has there ever been a "Rocky" style comedy of manners? The slob who Loses to power and wealth but it don't fuckin matter to him anyway, in the end? Because that would be a great story.)
• The Jolly Flatboatmen, a compelling fantasy about the joy and ease of frontier life, far removed from the grinding industrial and social tensions of eastern city life, colored in a bright, pale, flat light. Cider Making, by William Sidney Mount, painted 1840-1841, is a clear statement in favor of William Henry Harrison. The Death Struggle- a cinematically exciting painting, with a clear hero and villain- virtue is in the color of their horses, as if it needed to be any clearer. "Deas's composition tells the tale of a white trapper, with a beaver and trap still in his hand, being pursued over the edge of a cliff by Indians who seek the prized fur. Deas suggests a vicious circle of struggle: the trapper holds tight to the beaver; the beaver bites the principal Indian; and the Indian clutches the trapper. The exciting story contains distinct racial commentary and suggests a moral imperative. The savage, mercenary Indian is completely caught up in the objective of getting the goods. In contrast, the horrified white man is conscious of his fate, comes to his senses, and grabs the branch of salvation. Deas offers the trapper a chance for redemption, or at least some self-awareness, which his native adversary is denied."
• Old 76 and Young 48- a fascinating work uniting the stories of the Revolution and the Mexican American War, in the gathering of a family. This was a very good gallery- even the works I didn't point out had thoroughly interesting and insightful messages within them.
Stories for the Public, 1830-1860 (continued)
Now, instead of allegories or ideas presented from home life, the characters are going outside, seeing the broader world, tackling more complex themes and issues. It's interesting to note the recurring profit motive… the painters are responding to what will get their work exhibited and sold. We are experiencing the story of America on two levels, not just in the growing complexity and philosophy of the art, but on the meta level, in the transformation of the American audience. What we see is changing because what they wanted to see was changing.
• Themes in this gallery: black-immigrant job market tension, civic disorder, the lure of the American West. It puts me in the mood to re-read some academic essays about the frontier, its impact on American culture. "While talking- haggling over business deals and electioneering- might work for men in the city, men out west were still men, rugged and silent in their pursuits."- from the plaque for a painting of a frontier shooting contest.
• Bingham's The County Election is the sort of political-historical American slice that I can't get enough of. I hate but also love that this is the way things used to happen. Advice on the Prairie- sentimental, appealing to me mainly because of its lovely, glowing sunset color. The Belated Party on Mansfield Mountain- a lovely blend of narrative and landscape, the era's two most popular types of painting.
Lily Martin Spencer- sassy, successful midcentury lady painter! Kiss Me and You'll Kiss the Lasses… Young Husband: First Marketing I like- awkwardly funny, lovely choices of color and texture, the rainy streets, the cobblestones, the leaves in the trees, the marble steps. I really like this one.
Other than Negro Life in the South, a pretty cool canvass, None of these pictures imply the growing north-south tension… apparently the art market was focused on the escapist fantasies of the Western frontier.
Stories of War and Reconciliation, 1860-1877
In this era, the pains and challenges of change were so overwhelming that painters turned instead to nostalgia, domesticity, small reassuring slices of the American experience.
Seymour Joseph Guy- interesting painter. Warm paintings of children; girls exploring their maturity (reading bedtime stories to younger siblings, playing dress-up), warm glowing light. An entire wall of this room has thus far focused on young people at home, sentimental images of sweet and stable and virtuous youth, the power of Family.
Winslow Homer, Croquet Scene- I love the colors, the vintage fashion, the social-cultural intrigue. I like it a lot.
Eagle Head, Manchester, Massachusetts- my favorite part is that frightened dog. "WHATAREYA DOIN, LADY!?"
Snap the Whip- nostalgic, small painting of boys playing in a green field, recess. "Children embodied innocence and the promise of America's future and were depicted by many artists and writers during the 1870s. Here, Homer reminisces about rural simplicity and reflects on the challenges of the complex post–Civil War world. Released from the confines of a one-room schoolhouse, exuberant boys engage in a spirited game. As the population shifted to cities and the little red schoolhouse faded from memory, this image would have evoked nostalgia for the nation's agrarian past. The boys' bare feet signal childhood's freedom, but their suspenders are associated with manhood's responsibilities. Their game, which requires teamwork, strength, and calculation, may allude to the reunited nation. Observed from right to left, Homer's boys hang on to one another, strain to stay connected, run in perfect harmony, and fall away, enacting all the possible scenarios for men after the Civil War."
Young America- I love the detail, the variety, the expression of political and social questions, softened by using kids to tell the story. Winslow Homer is just the best at these. A star in contemplative 19th century Americana. The Veteran in a New Field- something in the farmer's back facing us, I like it… he's faceless, the everyman; he's moving towards the future. He's anonymous. Talking it Over, an interesting, nostalgic depiction of two farmers, symbols for Washington and Lincoln.
The recurring theme of this gallery- bewildering change, dramatic transformations, producing a yearning for simpler times.
Cosmopolitan and Candid Stories, 1877-1915
The next gallery produces a dramatic aesthetic break- in color and in technique, we are moving to the impressionist era. Painters are more intrested in continental (meaning European, French) art. It's an era of increased travel, communication, information and sophistication, and the artists respond.
Little Girl in a Blue Armchair… I always thought of Cassatt as very prim and sentimental- her sense of humor surprises me (for instance, this display of a bored/exhausted child, far removed from the proper child portrait ideal) and also I love that sleepy little dog. Cassatt is a beautiful colorist- ah, and I didn't realize she was the only American to show her works with the impressionists. Neat! A Woman and a Girl Driving, lovely color with a perfectly clear feminist message, in the title and in the image.
• In the Luxemburg Gardens… I love the airy gray colors. Leisurely, modern, dreamlike. Love it. The Lake for Miniature Yachts- it's cool seeing a 130 year old painting of one of my favorite spots in Central Park.
A frequent theme of this gallery- the characters aren't here to teach us something. They're here to just, be. It's a modern era of leisure and cosmopolitan indulgence, far removed from the morality, philosophy and social reckoning of earlier eras.
The Open Air Breakfast is an impossibly beautiful depiction of a fashionable Brooklyn backyard. I love it.
Wow, John Singer Sargent is great… A Street in Venice, cool, murky, back alley… I love it. The twists and mysteries of the city. Fantastic texture, cool gray color; I can feel it.
Homer's The Gale and Bacon's First Sight of Land are pretty interesting next to each other… one, the intense, lashing sea, the strong mother, child in arms, a picture of fortitude and toil; the other, a young lady on a voyage, gazing over the ship, past the serene water, a story of discovery, anticipation, youth.
A Reading (1897) by Thomas Wilmer Dewing. I Love it. The sexy, mysterious green haze, two demure and beautiful young women. Impossibly cool. The plaque implies that they are passive, their circumstances claustrophobic… I guess my read is modern. They are not isolated, the aversion of their eyes is not humility- they are too cool and too confident to look anywhere else.
In this era, women are precious aesthetic objects, and their conspicuous consumption is welcomed as a vicarious statement of the man's wealth and power. Paxton's The Breakfast- an amusing and vaguely sad picture of a woman thoroughly bored and trapped in the Victorian home.
Artists at Work, 1765-1915
Definitely one of the sub-stories of this exhibition is the change in the painter's experience, from dependence on portraiture and commission from a few wealthy patrons, to a bustling, international art market.
Thomas LeClear's Interior with Portraits- pretty cool. And man, those kids sure are dour! Sargent's The Sketchers- gorgeous colors and textures. The Painter's Triumph is funny because the painter and farmer rather look alike, which gives the whole thing a Fight Club/Adaptation vibe.
Cosmopolitan and Candid Stories, 1877-1915 (continued)
The Ironworker's Noontime is unlike any other painting in this exhibit. Muddy, industrial, unabashedly a working class picture. It's firm and masculine, a hard contrast to the era's feminized culture of leisure and consumption. I love the blue-white palette of Glackens' Central Park, Winter.
John Sloan- I never heard of him, but his work is pretty cool. Candid, humorous, brash. The Picnic Grounds is my favorite, Chinese Restaurant is cool too. Remington's Cavalry Charge on the Southern Plains is pretty awesome. Bright colors, western cowboy/warrior drama. This room is well arranged, with leisurely views of New York life on one wall, brash cowboy mythology on the opposite wall. East and West.
I Love Eakins' Between Rounds (1898-99). Such a cool picture of a boxing match… an awesome moment captured. In the fighter's face, pure resolve. Such a cool era. I love every detail of this one, the posters, the press box, the judge. A compellingly rendered slice of a very specific time and culture. Cliff Dwellers (George Bellows)- fascinating, upbeat view of the Lower East Side in 1913. Masses of people living and interacting. A fascinating myth. Broad, flat, pastel palette. Club Night- dark, filthy, violent, awesome. You're there, witnessing the slummy rage of the boxing match.
This last gallery is really incredible. You can truly see, feel, the transformation of America into a modern nation… the bustling city, both the leisurely consumers and the urban scrum; the allure of the western mythology of the cowboy. And what's also fascinating is how abruptly the exhibit ends- no hint of the next wave of jarring transformations that war will bring. Much like the 1830-1860 galleries, nothing suggests the next wave of transformations on the horizon; the war exists as an unspoken dramatic irony. This exhibition, ultimately, is way more interesting than I could have expected (I've always considered American art the Met's weak link), and definitely has renewed my interest in American art by couching it in the fascinating exploration of American history.
The intro paragraph to this exhibit is particularly good:
"Between the American Revolution and World War I, a group of British colonies became states, the frontier pushed westward to span the continent, a rural and agricultural society became urban and industrial, and the United States—reunified after the Civil War under an increasingly powerful federal government—emerged as a leading participant in world affairs. Throughout this complicated, transformative period, artists recorded American life as it changed around them. Many of the nation's most celebrated painters—John Singleton Copley, Charles Willson Peale, William Sidney Mount, George Caleb Bingham, Winslow Homer, Thomas Eakins, John Singer Sargent, Mary Cassatt, William Merritt Chase, John Sloan, and George Bellows—captured the temperament of their respective eras, defining the character of Americans as individuals, citizens, and members of ever-widening communities.
American Stories: Paintings of Everyday Life, 1765–1915 presents tales artists told about their times and examines how their accounts reflect shifting professional standards, opportunities for study, foreign prototypes, venues for display, and viewers' expectations. Recurring themes such as childhood, marriage, family, and community; the notion of citizenship; attitudes toward race; the frontier as reality and myth; and the process and meaning of making art illuminate the evolution of American artists' approach to narrative."
• There are particular colors I associate with old American painting. A glowing golden brown, for instance.
• I like The Champion Single Sculls… the symmetry of gray-blues and golden-browns, the discipline of the horizontals.
The first gallery focuses on water, the peril and pleasure of water in American painting… scenes of peaceful rowing and turbulent sailing.
• The Gulf Stream (1899), by Winslow Homer, is the most modern of the works in this first gallery. It's a hot, heavy painting… the Carribean, a lone man, serious, on a small, broken fishing boat, sharks gnashing at the water before him. He paints these lovely ocean scenes, the sort of scene that generally fascinates me.
• This first room is loaded with philosophy- virtue, progress, questions of race. America is a subject that invites big ideas.
Inventing American Stories, 1765-1830
In the post revolutionary era, painters were considered mere tradesmen, and the interest of the market lay largely in portraiture. Gradually, as America began to change and get more complicated, patrons began to appreciate more complex works… works that reflected not just a portrait, but also status and storytelling.
Greenwood's Sea Captains Carousing in Surinam is a pretty unique and delightful work. Title is pretty self explanatory… In a tavern- alcohol, smoke, vomit, cards, trash, the natives as pygmies and enablers. It's always interesting to be reminded that vulgarity existed in generations other than our own.
I really like The Exhumation of the Mastodon, a big, darkly colored American scene, an excavation of Mastodon bones from a marsh, directed by the artist himself. A story of Jeffersonian ingenuity (the blend of art and science) and the supremacy of mankind.
Charles Wilson Peale certainly held himself in high regard for his scientific talents. In The Artist In His Museum, he's pulling back the red curtain, "like a carnival barker or a master of ceremonies," on his vast collection of oil portraits and exotic taxidermied animals. The mastodon skeleton of the previous work is alsovisible.
• It's a little funny that one of these paintings is about a pack of upper-middle class socialites bursting into a room and celebrating the completion of a quilt. 1830s America! I like the paintings of John Lewis Krimmel… intricate, brightly colored, interested in groups of people and social statuses.
• Paul Revere looked a little like Jack Black.
• Benjamin and Eleanor Ridgley Laming, an extraordinarily provocative painting… the gentleman, a properly dressed businessman with an affectionate eye on his lovely, ambiguously European-looking bride, in her willowy dress, with her uncorseted bosom, his telescope across the lap aiming right at the soft sweet fruit in her lap… an orderly but horny businessman who, by his success and status, has earned himself this exotic and sexy wife. And also, for some reason, there's a little green parrot by his hand.
• Elijah Boardman (1789)- looking at this before I read the description, I'm thinking, 'upstanding and learned businessman, of great power and influence in the textiles market.' …He is a seller of luxury goods, an expert guide through his store. "The seductive salesman who cultivates desire was an entirely modern notion." This portrait tells the story not just of the man who commissioned it, but the evolving tastes of the country that allowed this man to exist.
Stories for the Public, 1830-1860
Because new exhibition spaces were opening, artists could now turn away from portraiture (which depended on private commission) and create stories for the public. Ah- it's interesting to think of this gallery as contemporary with the Hudson River School, which I love.
• The dignity and joy of Kitchen Ball at White Sulphur Springs, Virginia is beautiful, poignant, compelling. A German emigre artist painting a scene of slaves dancing and celebrating harmoniously, elegantly dressed. They look like real people, with warm and knowing faces, not caricatures, as many other would paint (Krimmel for instance.) The whole painting glows with a subtle allure. One of my favorites.
• The Power of Music- pretty interesting. Is that black man included, as a warmly smiling, admiring neighbor, enjoying the music, or is he excluded- they better not find out he's outside, he wouldn't be welcome to walk in and listen with them?
• The City and Country Beaux- a charming, well painted story of two different guys after the same girl. The specific wardrobes have changed, but this class rivalry continues to this day. I'd certainly rather be the slim, bowing man in the form-fitting black coat and slacks. Even though the city guy seems to be winning in this scene, something about the demeanor of the country guy implies that he may be the real winner- he doesn't need that girl and her closed vagina anyway. (by the way, has there ever been a "Rocky" style comedy of manners? The slob who Loses to power and wealth but it don't fuckin matter to him anyway, in the end? Because that would be a great story.)
• The Jolly Flatboatmen, a compelling fantasy about the joy and ease of frontier life, far removed from the grinding industrial and social tensions of eastern city life, colored in a bright, pale, flat light. Cider Making, by William Sidney Mount, painted 1840-1841, is a clear statement in favor of William Henry Harrison. The Death Struggle- a cinematically exciting painting, with a clear hero and villain- virtue is in the color of their horses, as if it needed to be any clearer. "Deas's composition tells the tale of a white trapper, with a beaver and trap still in his hand, being pursued over the edge of a cliff by Indians who seek the prized fur. Deas suggests a vicious circle of struggle: the trapper holds tight to the beaver; the beaver bites the principal Indian; and the Indian clutches the trapper. The exciting story contains distinct racial commentary and suggests a moral imperative. The savage, mercenary Indian is completely caught up in the objective of getting the goods. In contrast, the horrified white man is conscious of his fate, comes to his senses, and grabs the branch of salvation. Deas offers the trapper a chance for redemption, or at least some self-awareness, which his native adversary is denied."
• Old 76 and Young 48- a fascinating work uniting the stories of the Revolution and the Mexican American War, in the gathering of a family. This was a very good gallery- even the works I didn't point out had thoroughly interesting and insightful messages within them.
Stories for the Public, 1830-1860 (continued)
Now, instead of allegories or ideas presented from home life, the characters are going outside, seeing the broader world, tackling more complex themes and issues. It's interesting to note the recurring profit motive… the painters are responding to what will get their work exhibited and sold. We are experiencing the story of America on two levels, not just in the growing complexity and philosophy of the art, but on the meta level, in the transformation of the American audience. What we see is changing because what they wanted to see was changing.
• Themes in this gallery: black-immigrant job market tension, civic disorder, the lure of the American West. It puts me in the mood to re-read some academic essays about the frontier, its impact on American culture. "While talking- haggling over business deals and electioneering- might work for men in the city, men out west were still men, rugged and silent in their pursuits."- from the plaque for a painting of a frontier shooting contest.
• Bingham's The County Election is the sort of political-historical American slice that I can't get enough of. I hate but also love that this is the way things used to happen. Advice on the Prairie- sentimental, appealing to me mainly because of its lovely, glowing sunset color. The Belated Party on Mansfield Mountain- a lovely blend of narrative and landscape, the era's two most popular types of painting.
Lily Martin Spencer- sassy, successful midcentury lady painter! Kiss Me and You'll Kiss the Lasses… Young Husband: First Marketing I like- awkwardly funny, lovely choices of color and texture, the rainy streets, the cobblestones, the leaves in the trees, the marble steps. I really like this one.
Other than Negro Life in the South, a pretty cool canvass, None of these pictures imply the growing north-south tension… apparently the art market was focused on the escapist fantasies of the Western frontier.
Stories of War and Reconciliation, 1860-1877
In this era, the pains and challenges of change were so overwhelming that painters turned instead to nostalgia, domesticity, small reassuring slices of the American experience.
Seymour Joseph Guy- interesting painter. Warm paintings of children; girls exploring their maturity (reading bedtime stories to younger siblings, playing dress-up), warm glowing light. An entire wall of this room has thus far focused on young people at home, sentimental images of sweet and stable and virtuous youth, the power of Family.
Winslow Homer, Croquet Scene- I love the colors, the vintage fashion, the social-cultural intrigue. I like it a lot.
Eagle Head, Manchester, Massachusetts- my favorite part is that frightened dog. "WHATAREYA DOIN, LADY!?"
Snap the Whip- nostalgic, small painting of boys playing in a green field, recess. "Children embodied innocence and the promise of America's future and were depicted by many artists and writers during the 1870s. Here, Homer reminisces about rural simplicity and reflects on the challenges of the complex post–Civil War world. Released from the confines of a one-room schoolhouse, exuberant boys engage in a spirited game. As the population shifted to cities and the little red schoolhouse faded from memory, this image would have evoked nostalgia for the nation's agrarian past. The boys' bare feet signal childhood's freedom, but their suspenders are associated with manhood's responsibilities. Their game, which requires teamwork, strength, and calculation, may allude to the reunited nation. Observed from right to left, Homer's boys hang on to one another, strain to stay connected, run in perfect harmony, and fall away, enacting all the possible scenarios for men after the Civil War."
Young America- I love the detail, the variety, the expression of political and social questions, softened by using kids to tell the story. Winslow Homer is just the best at these. A star in contemplative 19th century Americana. The Veteran in a New Field- something in the farmer's back facing us, I like it… he's faceless, the everyman; he's moving towards the future. He's anonymous. Talking it Over, an interesting, nostalgic depiction of two farmers, symbols for Washington and Lincoln.
The recurring theme of this gallery- bewildering change, dramatic transformations, producing a yearning for simpler times.
Cosmopolitan and Candid Stories, 1877-1915
The next gallery produces a dramatic aesthetic break- in color and in technique, we are moving to the impressionist era. Painters are more intrested in continental (meaning European, French) art. It's an era of increased travel, communication, information and sophistication, and the artists respond.
Little Girl in a Blue Armchair… I always thought of Cassatt as very prim and sentimental- her sense of humor surprises me (for instance, this display of a bored/exhausted child, far removed from the proper child portrait ideal) and also I love that sleepy little dog. Cassatt is a beautiful colorist- ah, and I didn't realize she was the only American to show her works with the impressionists. Neat! A Woman and a Girl Driving, lovely color with a perfectly clear feminist message, in the title and in the image.
• In the Luxemburg Gardens… I love the airy gray colors. Leisurely, modern, dreamlike. Love it. The Lake for Miniature Yachts- it's cool seeing a 130 year old painting of one of my favorite spots in Central Park.
A frequent theme of this gallery- the characters aren't here to teach us something. They're here to just, be. It's a modern era of leisure and cosmopolitan indulgence, far removed from the morality, philosophy and social reckoning of earlier eras.
The Open Air Breakfast is an impossibly beautiful depiction of a fashionable Brooklyn backyard. I love it.
Wow, John Singer Sargent is great… A Street in Venice, cool, murky, back alley… I love it. The twists and mysteries of the city. Fantastic texture, cool gray color; I can feel it.
Homer's The Gale and Bacon's First Sight of Land are pretty interesting next to each other… one, the intense, lashing sea, the strong mother, child in arms, a picture of fortitude and toil; the other, a young lady on a voyage, gazing over the ship, past the serene water, a story of discovery, anticipation, youth.
A Reading (1897) by Thomas Wilmer Dewing. I Love it. The sexy, mysterious green haze, two demure and beautiful young women. Impossibly cool. The plaque implies that they are passive, their circumstances claustrophobic… I guess my read is modern. They are not isolated, the aversion of their eyes is not humility- they are too cool and too confident to look anywhere else.
In this era, women are precious aesthetic objects, and their conspicuous consumption is welcomed as a vicarious statement of the man's wealth and power. Paxton's The Breakfast- an amusing and vaguely sad picture of a woman thoroughly bored and trapped in the Victorian home.
Artists at Work, 1765-1915
Definitely one of the sub-stories of this exhibition is the change in the painter's experience, from dependence on portraiture and commission from a few wealthy patrons, to a bustling, international art market.
Thomas LeClear's Interior with Portraits- pretty cool. And man, those kids sure are dour! Sargent's The Sketchers- gorgeous colors and textures. The Painter's Triumph is funny because the painter and farmer rather look alike, which gives the whole thing a Fight Club/Adaptation vibe.
Cosmopolitan and Candid Stories, 1877-1915 (continued)
The Ironworker's Noontime is unlike any other painting in this exhibit. Muddy, industrial, unabashedly a working class picture. It's firm and masculine, a hard contrast to the era's feminized culture of leisure and consumption. I love the blue-white palette of Glackens' Central Park, Winter.
John Sloan- I never heard of him, but his work is pretty cool. Candid, humorous, brash. The Picnic Grounds is my favorite, Chinese Restaurant is cool too. Remington's Cavalry Charge on the Southern Plains is pretty awesome. Bright colors, western cowboy/warrior drama. This room is well arranged, with leisurely views of New York life on one wall, brash cowboy mythology on the opposite wall. East and West.
I Love Eakins' Between Rounds (1898-99). Such a cool picture of a boxing match… an awesome moment captured. In the fighter's face, pure resolve. Such a cool era. I love every detail of this one, the posters, the press box, the judge. A compellingly rendered slice of a very specific time and culture. Cliff Dwellers (George Bellows)- fascinating, upbeat view of the Lower East Side in 1913. Masses of people living and interacting. A fascinating myth. Broad, flat, pastel palette. Club Night- dark, filthy, violent, awesome. You're there, witnessing the slummy rage of the boxing match.
This last gallery is really incredible. You can truly see, feel, the transformation of America into a modern nation… the bustling city, both the leisurely consumers and the urban scrum; the allure of the western mythology of the cowboy. And what's also fascinating is how abruptly the exhibit ends- no hint of the next wave of jarring transformations that war will bring. Much like the 1830-1860 galleries, nothing suggests the next wave of transformations on the horizon; the war exists as an unspoken dramatic irony. This exhibition, ultimately, is way more interesting than I could have expected (I've always considered American art the Met's weak link), and definitely has renewed my interest in American art by couching it in the fascinating exploration of American history.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
crossword #2
I actually solved the entire crossword this week! Although it's not because I knew everything; but I knew enough to piece together the things I didn't know. Going forward, my general policy will be to only list clues I couldn't figure out at all. But for the sake of writing Something, here are a few things that I learned from solving this puzzle:
DJ Rick Dees- Seems to be an iconic example of the goofy/bland DJ; he's the man behind Disco Duck, and owns the website rick.com.
Alexei Ramirez- White Sox second baseman who set the record for grand slams in a rookie season with four in 2008. Before that, he played in Cuba for seven years, and his nickname is "the Cuban Missile."
outs- the name for the cards, in a game of poker, that, if drawn, significantly increase your odds of winning. An interesting topic that I understand on the surface level. This article on poker strategy also looks interesting.
MIT mystery hunt- not sure how to describe this other than, it sounds incredibly cool and incredibly difficult.
Saul Bloom- a character portrayed by Carl Reiner in the film Ocean's 11… maybe I'll see it this year.
Judge Joe Wapner- the first judge to preside over real cases in a court-themed TV show, the People's Court (1981-1993.)
The Haj- a 1984 book by Leon Uris, about a Palestinian Arab family living through the vast historic events of the 1920s-1950s. It's an intensely sad story about the family becoming refugees, torn away from their values and their homeland by the intensity of the political and religious conflicts of that era.
DJ Rick Dees- Seems to be an iconic example of the goofy/bland DJ; he's the man behind Disco Duck, and owns the website rick.com.
Alexei Ramirez- White Sox second baseman who set the record for grand slams in a rookie season with four in 2008. Before that, he played in Cuba for seven years, and his nickname is "the Cuban Missile."
outs- the name for the cards, in a game of poker, that, if drawn, significantly increase your odds of winning. An interesting topic that I understand on the surface level. This article on poker strategy also looks interesting.
MIT mystery hunt- not sure how to describe this other than, it sounds incredibly cool and incredibly difficult.
Saul Bloom- a character portrayed by Carl Reiner in the film Ocean's 11… maybe I'll see it this year.
Judge Joe Wapner- the first judge to preside over real cases in a court-themed TV show, the People's Court (1981-1993.)
The Haj- a 1984 book by Leon Uris, about a Palestinian Arab family living through the vast historic events of the 1920s-1950s. It's an intensely sad story about the family becoming refugees, torn away from their values and their homeland by the intensity of the political and religious conflicts of that era.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
film #1
The Godfather
I liked it a lot. (favorite scenes) the political-strategy scenes; elaborate favorite characters: Sonny, Tom, Michael, Vito. (interesting overall themes): ambiguity of good vs evil, moral vs immoral; the political/business aspects are pretty fascinating; age, the loss of power, the fading of glory, yearning for the past, times getting too dirty and ugly and complicated for a generation with class and order- frightening pace of change… (critiques) why did connie get upset about carlo at the end? he was clearly terrible; why did he go back to kay? why does kay even matter, really?
I liked it a lot. (favorite scenes) the political-strategy scenes; elaborate favorite characters: Sonny, Tom, Michael, Vito. (interesting overall themes): ambiguity of good vs evil, moral vs immoral; the political/business aspects are pretty fascinating; age, the loss of power, the fading of glory, yearning for the past, times getting too dirty and ugly and complicated for a generation with class and order- frightening pace of change… (critiques) why did connie get upset about carlo at the end? he was clearly terrible; why did he go back to kay? why does kay even matter, really?
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
album #1
outlandos d'amour (the police)
What an awesome album. I really, really liked it. Exciting combination of reggae, punk and rock, with incredibly dark lyrics- a strong emphasis on isolation, longing, loneliness. I like pretty much the whole album, I especially love "Next to You," a spectacular, rocking, anthemic opener; "So Lonely," with that energetically sweet, catchy, frustrated chorus, and a touch of reggae in the verses; "Peanuts," a great, crazy, frantic rock track; the classics "Roxanne" and "Can't Stand Losing You." When the tracks aren't awesome, they settle for interesting- "Be My Girl-Sally" has got a long, weird, lyrical/nursery rhyme interlude about a man and a blowup doll; "Masoko Tango" is a cool, polyrhythmic instrumental closer; and "Born in the '50s," a bold, brash, growly-voiced revolutionary track, is mainly interesting because it's funny hearing such a bombastic anthem about people who are now fiftysomething dads. Speaking of which, probably the most lastingly strange, interesting thing about this record is to think of Sting today. This is such, such a cool album, and Sting today is the definition of mild. It was fun listening to tracks of this album alternating with "Fields of Gold" and "Desert Rain."
Anyway, it's an extremely cool, adventurous record, and there's something poetically sad and interesting to think that, even though I'd love to hear more of The Police, there are precious few albums in their catalogue before they morph into the guys who made "Every Breath You Take."
What an awesome album. I really, really liked it. Exciting combination of reggae, punk and rock, with incredibly dark lyrics- a strong emphasis on isolation, longing, loneliness. I like pretty much the whole album, I especially love "Next to You," a spectacular, rocking, anthemic opener; "So Lonely," with that energetically sweet, catchy, frustrated chorus, and a touch of reggae in the verses; "Peanuts," a great, crazy, frantic rock track; the classics "Roxanne" and "Can't Stand Losing You." When the tracks aren't awesome, they settle for interesting- "Be My Girl-Sally" has got a long, weird, lyrical/nursery rhyme interlude about a man and a blowup doll; "Masoko Tango" is a cool, polyrhythmic instrumental closer; and "Born in the '50s," a bold, brash, growly-voiced revolutionary track, is mainly interesting because it's funny hearing such a bombastic anthem about people who are now fiftysomething dads. Speaking of which, probably the most lastingly strange, interesting thing about this record is to think of Sting today. This is such, such a cool album, and Sting today is the definition of mild. It was fun listening to tracks of this album alternating with "Fields of Gold" and "Desert Rain."
Anyway, it's an extremely cool, adventurous record, and there's something poetically sad and interesting to think that, even though I'd love to hear more of The Police, there are precious few albums in their catalogue before they morph into the guys who made "Every Breath You Take."
album #98
all eyez on me (2 pac)
[I listened to this album and wrote most of this review in '09, so I'm counting it as the last of my '09 albums.]
This is one of the longest albums I've listened to this year, and it's in a genre, Gangsta Rap, that just isn't my thing. For what it is, it's pretty good. Some of the tracks are boring but for the most part, a lot of great, hard, well produced beats. Tupac has a great voice, low and confident.
Basically I can grade every song on two axes… (1) the lushness of the beat (2) the introspection or intelligence of the lyrics. I've read/heard before that Tupac allegedly is the 'socially conscious' rapper, a poet of the streets, but so much of this record is just cocky, bombastic thug-life aggression. And he's good at it, it's not inherently dislikable, but I'm more moved and more intrigued when he gets more reflective, it interests me more. For instance, “I aint mad atcha” is really interesting because lyrically, he's basically talking to people who rejected the path he's on and he's saying, 'hey, I understand that too.' “Tradin War Stories” is probably my favorite of his aggressively straightforward, I'm a thug gangsta raps- great beat, smart lyrics, harsh and forceful. “Cant C Me” is up there too- damn! such a heavy, harsh beat. The songs I find most dislikable and skippable are those with lazier or less remarkable beats, united with drearily predictable, 'I'm a badass thug' lyrics. Some of the songs that I love for the beats, with okay lyrics- “All About U,” “Skandalouz,” “How Do U Want It.” Some of the songs that I didn't really care for the beats, but the lyrics are pretty striking and would deserve a reexamination: “Life Goes On,” “Only God Can Judge Me,” and “Wonda Why They Call U Bytch.”
Tracks like “Shorty Wanna Be A Thug” are really ambiguous to me, I can't tell if he's lamenting or celebrating little kids going down that same dark path.
An interesting difference between Rock and Hip Hop, as far as I can tell, is their different opinion of money. In rock, it seems like material wealth is a sign of clownishness, of selling out, but in hip hop, even when this is music that is loudly pronouncing the struggles on the streets, enormous amounts of money seems to legitimize the artist rather than the opposite; bragging about the enormous sums of money being made is like, 'they made good.'
Anyway, a huge-ass album, rife with opinions, and overall it's obviously a good example of what it is, but what it is, a gangsta rap album, is not a thing I'm particularly in love with. Nas and Biggie are better by my grade. I'll need to hear some of Tupac's more intellectually and socially challenging work to change that opinion; that said, I look forward to hearing it.
[I listened to this album and wrote most of this review in '09, so I'm counting it as the last of my '09 albums.]
This is one of the longest albums I've listened to this year, and it's in a genre, Gangsta Rap, that just isn't my thing. For what it is, it's pretty good. Some of the tracks are boring but for the most part, a lot of great, hard, well produced beats. Tupac has a great voice, low and confident.
Basically I can grade every song on two axes… (1) the lushness of the beat (2) the introspection or intelligence of the lyrics. I've read/heard before that Tupac allegedly is the 'socially conscious' rapper, a poet of the streets, but so much of this record is just cocky, bombastic thug-life aggression. And he's good at it, it's not inherently dislikable, but I'm more moved and more intrigued when he gets more reflective, it interests me more. For instance, “I aint mad atcha” is really interesting because lyrically, he's basically talking to people who rejected the path he's on and he's saying, 'hey, I understand that too.' “Tradin War Stories” is probably my favorite of his aggressively straightforward, I'm a thug gangsta raps- great beat, smart lyrics, harsh and forceful. “Cant C Me” is up there too- damn! such a heavy, harsh beat. The songs I find most dislikable and skippable are those with lazier or less remarkable beats, united with drearily predictable, 'I'm a badass thug' lyrics. Some of the songs that I love for the beats, with okay lyrics- “All About U,” “Skandalouz,” “How Do U Want It.” Some of the songs that I didn't really care for the beats, but the lyrics are pretty striking and would deserve a reexamination: “Life Goes On,” “Only God Can Judge Me,” and “Wonda Why They Call U Bytch.”
Tracks like “Shorty Wanna Be A Thug” are really ambiguous to me, I can't tell if he's lamenting or celebrating little kids going down that same dark path.
An interesting difference between Rock and Hip Hop, as far as I can tell, is their different opinion of money. In rock, it seems like material wealth is a sign of clownishness, of selling out, but in hip hop, even when this is music that is loudly pronouncing the struggles on the streets, enormous amounts of money seems to legitimize the artist rather than the opposite; bragging about the enormous sums of money being made is like, 'they made good.'
Anyway, a huge-ass album, rife with opinions, and overall it's obviously a good example of what it is, but what it is, a gangsta rap album, is not a thing I'm particularly in love with. Nas and Biggie are better by my grade. I'll need to hear some of Tupac's more intellectually and socially challenging work to change that opinion; that said, I look forward to hearing it.
Friday, January 8, 2010
exhibit #1
Frogs: A Chorus of Colors (American Museum of Natural History)
(museum overview)
Borneo Eared Frog- bored, pale brown
Ornate Horned Frog- fat, flat, imperial, like lawn ornaments
Amazon Milk Frog- cute, little brown, casually friendly
Tomato Frog- shy! Tucked in a hole, and tucked under a rock. orangey-red, familial.
Long-nosed Horned Frog- Big! Looks like a brown leaf!
poison dart frogs- small, brightly colored! (blue poison frog, bumble bee poison frog, green and black poison frog, dyeing poison frog, golden poison frog- the most poisonous animal on the planet, with a "don't touch meee!" sneer)
a big ol' tree island with tiny bright poison frogs! tiny, multicolored, making small, quick movements, quirky. a little tiny tiger frog, chirping
Fire-bellied Toad- calm little alligator
Smooth-sided Toad- very big. Brown. stoic.
American Bullfrog Tadpoles- fat little brownies. big sperms.
African Bullfrog- so big and fat! serious. green and brown.
American Bullfrog- brown, spotty, big bulbous eyes, at ease
Waxy Monkey Frog- waxy, pale green, totally stilll
Smokey Jungle Frog- deep, rich brown, calmly hidden on a rocky ledge with green foliage
African Clawed Frog- ideal lab animals. Hangin out in the water, floating casually… biggish.
Chinese Gliding Frog- Pretty, dark green, resting pretty comfortably. One frog is attached to the side of the glass- so comfy! You can tell they're the last exhibit in the hopes that they'll put on a show, gliding around.
MISCELLANEOUS FACTS
• amplexus- the mating hug
• Frogs were the first land animals with vocal cords.
• Frogs can do Anything. They adapt to the cold, to the desert, they dig underground; they adapt So well. But also, frogs are often the first casualties of pollution or other environmental problems/changes.
(museum overview)
Borneo Eared Frog- bored, pale brown
Ornate Horned Frog- fat, flat, imperial, like lawn ornaments
Amazon Milk Frog- cute, little brown, casually friendly
Tomato Frog- shy! Tucked in a hole, and tucked under a rock. orangey-red, familial.
Long-nosed Horned Frog- Big! Looks like a brown leaf!
poison dart frogs- small, brightly colored! (blue poison frog, bumble bee poison frog, green and black poison frog, dyeing poison frog, golden poison frog- the most poisonous animal on the planet, with a "don't touch meee!" sneer)
a big ol' tree island with tiny bright poison frogs! tiny, multicolored, making small, quick movements, quirky. a little tiny tiger frog, chirping
Fire-bellied Toad- calm little alligator
Smooth-sided Toad- very big. Brown. stoic.
American Bullfrog Tadpoles- fat little brownies. big sperms.
African Bullfrog- so big and fat! serious. green and brown.
American Bullfrog- brown, spotty, big bulbous eyes, at ease
Waxy Monkey Frog- waxy, pale green, totally stilll
Smokey Jungle Frog- deep, rich brown, calmly hidden on a rocky ledge with green foliage
African Clawed Frog- ideal lab animals. Hangin out in the water, floating casually… biggish.
Chinese Gliding Frog- Pretty, dark green, resting pretty comfortably. One frog is attached to the side of the glass- so comfy! You can tell they're the last exhibit in the hopes that they'll put on a show, gliding around.
MISCELLANEOUS FACTS
• amplexus- the mating hug
• Frogs were the first land animals with vocal cords.
• Frogs can do Anything. They adapt to the cold, to the desert, they dig underground; they adapt So well. But also, frogs are often the first casualties of pollution or other environmental problems/changes.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
crossword #1
one of my new 2010 projects (similar to the almost-immediately-abandoned 2009 wikipedia hour) is to write reviews/recaps of the new terms or facts I learn from the avclub crossword puzzle. If there's a clue I can't figure out on my own, or something I'd never heard of until doing the crossword, I'll write it down and describe it on this blog.
A Study in Scarlet- the first Sherlock Holmes story, published in 1887, with some amusing and surreal demonization of the Mormon church.
Ego Tripping at the Gates of Hell- 2003 EP by the Flaming Lips.
Remo- prominent drumhead company.
Ann Patchett- contemporary author, breakout novel Bel Canto is about terrorists and hostages falling in love (interestingly, published in 2001.) Apparently she worked for Seventeen magazine for nine years and had a pretty awful experience working there.
High Plains Drifter- Beastie Boys song from their most celebrated album, Paul's Boutique.
Oratorio (eg, Handel's Samson, and Saul)- a musical composition, popular in the 17th century, similar to an opera (in terms of, big orchestral arrangements with singers), except that while the opera is musical theatre, the oratorio is a concert piece. Oratorios tended towards religious themes. The most noted oratorio composer seems to be Handel. These articles are definitey worth a re-read and deeper study.
Isere River- river in the south of France, right by the Alps.
Kanga- a character from the Winnie the Pooh stories, she's the wise, maternal character- the only female and also the only parent among the cast of characters. Also, apparently the characters were based on real stuffed animals owned by A.A. Milne's son, Christopher Robin, and they are on display in the Children's Reading Room of the New York Public Library.
orts- basically, the official word for the gross and discarded parts of a butchered animal. Eaten by cultures and people who are braver and less finicky than me.
otros- the spanish word for "others."
Michelle Yeoh- She played the lead in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. She's actually done a hell of a lot of other films (lots of Asian fighting movies, and also Tomorrow Never Dies and some other American action films. Crouching Tiger was actually relatively late in her career.)
Tek War- a series of Science Fiction novels written by William Shatner; it also spawned a 1995 computer game of the same name.
Manny Acta- formerly with the Washington Nationals, newly hired as the manager of the Cleveland Indians.
Assamese people- the people of Assam, a region in the easternmost part of India, east of Bangladesh. Actually, the definition of who the 'Assamese people' are makes for a complicated political issue. There's an interesting chain of small wikipedia articles and stories springing from the Assam Accord; could be worth a further read sometime.
toroid- a donut-like shape
A Study in Scarlet- the first Sherlock Holmes story, published in 1887, with some amusing and surreal demonization of the Mormon church.
Ego Tripping at the Gates of Hell- 2003 EP by the Flaming Lips.
Remo- prominent drumhead company.
Ann Patchett- contemporary author, breakout novel Bel Canto is about terrorists and hostages falling in love (interestingly, published in 2001.) Apparently she worked for Seventeen magazine for nine years and had a pretty awful experience working there.
High Plains Drifter- Beastie Boys song from their most celebrated album, Paul's Boutique.
Oratorio (eg, Handel's Samson, and Saul)- a musical composition, popular in the 17th century, similar to an opera (in terms of, big orchestral arrangements with singers), except that while the opera is musical theatre, the oratorio is a concert piece. Oratorios tended towards religious themes. The most noted oratorio composer seems to be Handel. These articles are definitey worth a re-read and deeper study.
Isere River- river in the south of France, right by the Alps.
Kanga- a character from the Winnie the Pooh stories, she's the wise, maternal character- the only female and also the only parent among the cast of characters. Also, apparently the characters were based on real stuffed animals owned by A.A. Milne's son, Christopher Robin, and they are on display in the Children's Reading Room of the New York Public Library.
orts- basically, the official word for the gross and discarded parts of a butchered animal. Eaten by cultures and people who are braver and less finicky than me.
otros- the spanish word for "others."
Michelle Yeoh- She played the lead in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. She's actually done a hell of a lot of other films (lots of Asian fighting movies, and also Tomorrow Never Dies and some other American action films. Crouching Tiger was actually relatively late in her career.)
Tek War- a series of Science Fiction novels written by William Shatner; it also spawned a 1995 computer game of the same name.
Manny Acta- formerly with the Washington Nationals, newly hired as the manager of the Cleveland Indians.
Assamese people- the people of Assam, a region in the easternmost part of India, east of Bangladesh. Actually, the definition of who the 'Assamese people' are makes for a complicated political issue. There's an interesting chain of small wikipedia articles and stories springing from the Assam Accord; could be worth a further read sometime.
toroid- a donut-like shape
2009: Recap
an entry from the first days of this blog:
these are two things I wrote, right after my graduation from NYU:
"(1) just because you're done getting grades, doesn't mean you're done learning.
Keep expanding yourself intellectually.
(2) Follow your own definition of success and achievement.
that's not an excuse to be happy with your status quo. it's a reminder that your talents are different than those of the law-school bound 4.0 student. devote yourself to sharing and expanding your talents. on your terms."
that's generally the mission of the year. I feel like I took a semester off to just hang around, do some good things but not really kick any ass, but now I'm enrolling in the University of Life."
So, did I get to 99%? Although this was not my initial idea- in fact, I did not think of this until literally a minute ago- I will take the 9 'courses' I listed at the beginning of the year, and give a 0-11 grade for each one.
• Physical Education- 2. I did some workouts in January but they quickly faded from my weekly routine. I didn't devolve into unhealthiness, but I certainly didn't push myself out of the ordinary.
• Literature- 6. I read eight or nine books, with six published reviews; also a couple essays. Decent!
• Music Education- 9. The project where I found the most consistent success, I produced 97 music reviews this year and vastly expanded my music awareness. I fell short of my goal of 100, only barely, after some lulls and a slower pace in general overcame me in the summer/end of year.
• Home Economics- 8. I'm cooking more, keeping my room decently clean, and I have $6000 in my bank account. I've got one regular 'day' job and a lot of first-step-on-the-ladder success with my creative-for-pay work.
• Creative Writing- 1. I think I wrote some sketch outlines but I really didn't produce anything.
• Improv Theatre-11. I got cast, one of my big goals of the year. I haven't accomplished everything I want to do on the performance side, but I'm giving myself the max grade for my additional success coaching- I've never been prouder or felt more on-track of my dreams with a paying job.
• Painting-2. I did a few smaller paper works early on, but I didn't complete a single work on canvas, I haven't developed any momentum in this regard.
• Art Criticism- 6. Saw a decent number of museums and wrote some very good, thorough reviews.
• Cartooning- 7. This grade would be very low for one-panel newspaper cartoons (I never drew a second batch), but it gets higher for my success with the doodle blog (up to a shade under 500 followers at the one year mark, and around 527 now, just a week into the new year.)
So that adds up to… 52. 52 in 2009! I'm being a tough grader (and of course, a '6' doesn't mean a 60% in the conventional grade sense), so I'll take this to mean that I succeeded at the stuff that I worked on, and lay the blame for where I was unsuccessful mainly on, not maintaining my discipline and work effort.
other highlights, greatest hits from 2009:
Obama Inauguration, Becky, Geth Bus, Ernie Gumboldt, The Bishop, Zuleyka's cagematch, Platinum, The Slumber Party, SPLISH SPLASH, WWH, I love you, Chompetition, Unemployable, Colbert, the Michael Jordan of cups, North Carolina Thanksgiving, Texas Christmas, Katie's vacation/NYE at the end.
There's some big stuff coming up in 2010, big plans I've got to continue working and developing my goals in various fields. Ultimately the main narrative of 2009 is, I found a way to live a lifestyle with flexibility, free time, a decent amount of money, and some creative integrity; now the great mission for 2010 is to build from this freedom and use my free time to get me in the best possible shape as a successful, well rounded person moving forward.
these are two things I wrote, right after my graduation from NYU:
"(1) just because you're done getting grades, doesn't mean you're done learning.
Keep expanding yourself intellectually.
(2) Follow your own definition of success and achievement.
that's not an excuse to be happy with your status quo. it's a reminder that your talents are different than those of the law-school bound 4.0 student. devote yourself to sharing and expanding your talents. on your terms."
that's generally the mission of the year. I feel like I took a semester off to just hang around, do some good things but not really kick any ass, but now I'm enrolling in the University of Life."
So, did I get to 99%? Although this was not my initial idea- in fact, I did not think of this until literally a minute ago- I will take the 9 'courses' I listed at the beginning of the year, and give a 0-11 grade for each one.
• Physical Education- 2. I did some workouts in January but they quickly faded from my weekly routine. I didn't devolve into unhealthiness, but I certainly didn't push myself out of the ordinary.
• Literature- 6. I read eight or nine books, with six published reviews; also a couple essays. Decent!
• Music Education- 9. The project where I found the most consistent success, I produced 97 music reviews this year and vastly expanded my music awareness. I fell short of my goal of 100, only barely, after some lulls and a slower pace in general overcame me in the summer/end of year.
• Home Economics- 8. I'm cooking more, keeping my room decently clean, and I have $6000 in my bank account. I've got one regular 'day' job and a lot of first-step-on-the-ladder success with my creative-for-pay work.
• Creative Writing- 1. I think I wrote some sketch outlines but I really didn't produce anything.
• Improv Theatre-11. I got cast, one of my big goals of the year. I haven't accomplished everything I want to do on the performance side, but I'm giving myself the max grade for my additional success coaching- I've never been prouder or felt more on-track of my dreams with a paying job.
• Painting-2. I did a few smaller paper works early on, but I didn't complete a single work on canvas, I haven't developed any momentum in this regard.
• Art Criticism- 6. Saw a decent number of museums and wrote some very good, thorough reviews.
• Cartooning- 7. This grade would be very low for one-panel newspaper cartoons (I never drew a second batch), but it gets higher for my success with the doodle blog (up to a shade under 500 followers at the one year mark, and around 527 now, just a week into the new year.)
So that adds up to… 52. 52 in 2009! I'm being a tough grader (and of course, a '6' doesn't mean a 60% in the conventional grade sense), so I'll take this to mean that I succeeded at the stuff that I worked on, and lay the blame for where I was unsuccessful mainly on, not maintaining my discipline and work effort.
other highlights, greatest hits from 2009:
Obama Inauguration, Becky, Geth Bus, Ernie Gumboldt, The Bishop, Zuleyka's cagematch, Platinum, The Slumber Party, SPLISH SPLASH, WWH, I love you, Chompetition, Unemployable, Colbert, the Michael Jordan of cups, North Carolina Thanksgiving, Texas Christmas, Katie's vacation/NYE at the end.
There's some big stuff coming up in 2010, big plans I've got to continue working and developing my goals in various fields. Ultimately the main narrative of 2009 is, I found a way to live a lifestyle with flexibility, free time, a decent amount of money, and some creative integrity; now the great mission for 2010 is to build from this freedom and use my free time to get me in the best possible shape as a successful, well rounded person moving forward.
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