One more for the road ahead of you, for the beauteous New Year: may it be filled with joy, with art that touches you, with wonders beyond imagining, with more toast you can shake a stick of butter at, with love that feeds you in the best way possible, and with things that inspire you to your greatest heights.
I've been going through a mini-obsession with Josephine Baker lately, so what better way to start the new year than this magnificent dance sequence? I love how everyone in the audience is sitting around totally nonchalant and disinterested while she's dancing her little heart out, but she doesn't even give a damn. She just keeps dancing.
So I was reading this examination of Josephine's life here, and I really liked this description:
Baker’s improvisations transgressed the conventions of choreographed dance; she strung together steps with every appearance of spontaneity. Where European dancers showed the front, presenting the body as a unified line, Baker contrived to move different parts of her body to different rhythms. Most shocking to dance purists, she used her backside, shaking it, as one of her biographers says, as though it were an instrument.
What I'm saying is, I hope you're out there today, shaking your ass like it's an instrument! Happy New Year!
I've been crazy for all things Flickr lately, so thought I'd try doing a weekly Wednesday photo pool feature--why not? If I'm going to spend hours flipping through other peoples' photos, I may as well share it with you folks!
So here's my first pick to eat up several hours of your day: Flappers and the Jazz Era, a group devoted to images from the 20s and 30s and the ladies who made the period so dazzling.
Sifting through this collection is like witnessing a critical moment in history play out in extreme fast forward. You can see the cultural definitions of attractiveness shift as the passive, demure, "lady-like" woman of the past is replaced by the sophisticated, sly woman with a wink, stockings, and -- of course -- bobbed hair.
Short and thoroughly haunting tale of murder and revenge, with art and music by Chad VanGaalen.
(NSFW if your boss doesn't like brief glimpses of zombie tits. Or zombie pubic hair).
The other day, Alberta Hunter was teaching us you're never too old. Today, 13 year old drummer Sara is teaching us you're never too YOUNG. Here she is playing Rush's "YYZ" -- I am digging the hell out of the drumstick twirling.
First of all, I hope everyone had a safe and happy holiday.
Second of all, it's that time of year again--New Year's Resolution time. So I want to know everyone's resolutions this year, specifically as it pertains to music, painting, writing, ceramics, sculptural welding, and all that good stuff. How are you going to bring more art into your life this year? Are you finally going to write that sonata for the pan flute you've been talking about for years? Or take that Chinese calligraphy class? Or make a donation to your local mime troupe? I need to know, my friends!
Please leave your comment after the beep (complete with email address!), and one winner will be chosen at random (because who am I to judge?) to win this exclusive hand screened print by Freddi C. for a Paper Tiger. And you can hang it on your wall the whole year long, to remind you to create, create, create!
(A huge, HUGE thank you to a Paper Tiger for making this possible, and for inspiring us all with their continuing dedication to offer awesome, affordable art! We love you guys!)
Shelby Allen, a friend of mine, passed away suddenly last night of accidental alcohol poisoning. Her aunt Belinda asked me to post this video-- Shelby is in it towards the end. She was full of joy and love and she was too young.
This happened totally unexpectedly at a holiday party. Please, please be careful with your drinking this holiday season.
The owner of one of the most beautiful, resonant modern male voices I've heard in a long time, Findlay Brown, is coming out with a new album, Love Will Find You, in early 2009. Here's a little excerpt from the press release:
"His new record, Love Will Find You, is a very different type of album. Produced by Bernard Butler (Suede), it’s a move away from Findlay’s earlier folk influenced sound, featuring more deeply soulful songwriting and lush, delicately orchestrated arrangements (...) “I’d already started going back and listening to a lot of records I’d grown up on, like Elvis Presley, soul music, doo wop, Phil Spector, The Righteous Brothers and the like. I had an idea about making a modern record influenced by the songwriting of the late 50’s and early 60’s. I just started writing, trying to work out what made a universally great song, like ‘Stand By Me’. These new songs are the first part of that process.”"
I'm kind of fascinated with this idea: Thinking about the bare bones of what makes a song great, what makes it timeless, and working out your interpretation of that in your own music. So here's the solo acoustic version of Findlay Brown's new song, "I Had a Dream." You can decide for yourself if he's on the right track.
January 9, 2009, Thinkspace and Ad Hoc Art are co-presenting the show "From the Streets of Brooklyn," a celebration of all things street art from the artists who make Brooklyn such an awesome place to live. From the press release:
"From The Streets of Brooklyn" is a wide survey of the street and graffiti artists who call Brooklyn their home. From internationally renowned street artists such as Bast and Swoon to hardcore graf writers such as Kuma and Rate, this show features almost 50 artists from every walk of street art and graf art life. Wheat pastes, stencils, murals, installs and of course tags and piece ups are all recognized and included in this once in a lifetime examination of what is currently going up and staying up in the streets of Brooklyn, New York. A photo montage by street art photographer Luna Park is included in the show as well as great installations in the gallery by Gaia with Rachel Lowing (front entry area) and Imminent Disaster (project room area). Also, be sure to check the area around the gallery for the incredible chalk shadows of Ellis G. dotting the sidewalks and enhancing the mundane city landscape, even if only until the next rain."
This show runs through February 6 at Thinkspace, and you can view some exciting sneak peeks here and here.
Finger breakdancing is yet another great example of how to be productive even if you're sitting around with nothing but time (and an incredibly small pair of shoes) on your hands.
Whether you're into political commentary or just into looking at pictures of people with pretty shoes -- I'm kinda a mix of the two, to be honest -- Thank You For Throwing Your Shoe has got something for you. In their words,
"Hold up your shoe for Muntadar al-Zeidi, the Iraqi journalist who was arrested for throwing his shoes at President Bush. We don't condone shoe throwing, but we prefer it to war."
Great gallery, and you can still submit a pic of your own. I may just go do that myself, actually.
It's that time of year again, folks. That time of year when we can all celebrate the wonders of the boombox, the wonders of wandering the streets in groups lugging around audio equipment while freezing our toes off, the wonders that are Phil Kline's "Unsilent Night." It gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling inside, it does.
New Yorker Phil Kline composed Unsilent Night in 1991 as a non-denominational way of celebrating the holiday season. Participants bring portable music players and each is given one of four “parts” that will be played simultaneously. The music is specially created to blend and morph as the participants naturally shift places and walking speeds while their players each contribute their own slightly different playback speed. The resulting sound is beautiful and ethereal.
For a complete list of towns and cities participating, as well as scheduled times and dates, click here. And if your town doesn't have one, maybe you can schedule one yourself for next year! Or this year, if you're super-industrious.
What I also find surprising about this video is the different angles and distances used in recording and the editing. Both seem quite more sophisticated than I would have expected for those times. What fun to watch!
Linda on 