FOLLOW US ON:
GET THE NEWSLETTER
CONTACT US
Gorgeous, intricate dioramas of birds cut from feathers
12.11.2012
09:28 am
Topics:
Tags:

feathers
 
Today in meta, artist Chris Maynard carves birds out of feathers, and places them in tiny, elaborate dioramas. From his website:
 

My skills require application of various methods of design and craft. I also learn from a lot of trial and error. My favorite tools are the fine eye surgery forceps, scalpels, and magnifiers inherited from my father. I usually display whole feathers in their natural 3 dimensional shapes that produced aerodynamics and warmth on their original owners.

 
feathers
 
feathers
 
feathers
 

Posted by Amber Frost
|
12.11.2012
09:28 am
|
Figures in a Landscape: Classic documentary on sculptor Henry Moore
12.10.2012
07:40 pm
Topics:
Tags:

henry_moore
 
When the poet Stephen Spender visited Henry Moore at his home in 1960, he asked the sculptor ‘what were the differences of his aims when he did an abstract drawing, or a representational one, or a portrait.’ Moore replied that there were at least 5 or 6 different kinds of drawing used in the process of creating work.

(1) The kind of drawing he made when he was trying to study the organic form of nature of an object. This was the kind of drawing which consisted of trying to find something out. He said in this connection that it was impossible for anyone to do drawings without making discovery about the structure of objects.

(2) Trying to describe the objects, for example, when he did a drawing of his daughter or some other life figure, or perhaps even of a bone.

(3) The kind of drawing he did when he was trying to clear his mind of an idea for a piece of sculpture: to plan it out, to see it from different angles and so on, to get an idea of what it would look like.

(4) Drawings which he would call exploratory. He would start simply perhaps by scribbling a few lines and then discovering from them a shape which led on to something else. These are the kind of drawings which arise from doodling.

(5) Drawings in which he attempted to explore the metamorphosis of objects. He would draw something realistically and then try to discover how it could take some other shape. He would turn realistic subjects into an abstraction through drawing it first realistically and then abstracting from it.

(6) What he called ‘imaginative’ drawings in order to create an atmosphere of dream. In this category, he would draw figures standing against a background.

Moore was influenced by Picasso (the solidity of flesh, the abstraction of figures) and primitive art, in particular Mexican which he described as ‘a channel for expressing strong hopes, beliefs and fears.’  Moore’s work continued in the tradition of celebrating the human condition. He aimed to bring an affinity between the human figure and the landscape. At times his abstract forms were not as easily assimilated by the viewer as more classical presentations - their scale and lack of identifiable facial features left the viewer to ponder their own humanity and role in the world. Sadly these days this seems to mean stealing Moore’s sculptures for scrap metal.

There was also great repetition with Moore - the lessons he had learnt in sketching the shadowy figures of Londoners sheltering from the Blitz in the Underground tunnels, was re-created time and again, while his attraction to mother and child most likely came from the personal heartache of his wife, Irina’s miscarriages, and the eventual joy at the birth of his daughter Mary.

In 1951, film-maker John Read (son of art critic Herbert Read) made the first documentary on Henry Moore, in which the sculptor explained the tradition of his work, his influences, and the process by which he created his own sculptures - form sketches, drawing, to models and casts.
 

 

Posted by Paul Gallagher
|
12.10.2012
07:40 pm
|
Craft on, you crazy crafters: 5 unexpected ‘rustic’ iPod docks on Etsy
12.10.2012
09:35 am
Topics:
Tags:

antlers
My grandfather shot the buck and hand-fashioned this iPhone dock
 
While perusing Etsy for Christmas gifts, I have come across more of these rustic iPod docks than I can count. I don’t actually have a smartphone (those data plans are far too dear for my blogger/secretary income), but I think that if I did, I wouldn’t feel compelled to charge it on something nostalgic.

While I understand the compulsion in this modern, mass-produced world to try and surround ourselves with meaningful, lovingly crafted objects, this aesthetic does nothing for me,
 
lock
This iPod dock was fashioned during the Iron Age, by proto-Norse craftsman
 
lamp
This one feels more defensible, since it’s also a lamp, and not just an old thing with a hole drilled in it
 
cowboy hat
Possibly suitable as a retirement gift for the old guy in the office who’s moving to Montana in six months
 
concrete dock
This concrete dock posits itself as “a true homage to the Industrial Revolution which wages on in the digital sector,” but I see a more Socialist Realism or Bauhaus influence
 
driftwood
This is $60

Posted by Amber Frost
|
12.10.2012
09:35 am
|
Pier Paolo Pasolini: A rare interview on the set of ‘Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom’
12.07.2012
07:36 pm
Topics:
Tags:

pier_paolo_pasolini_salo
 
A rare and brief interview with Pier Paolo Pasolini on the set of his notorious film version of De Sade’s Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom. As ever, Pasolini’s is uncompromising in his views of film-making and politics, which are still relevant today.

There is a lot of sex in it (Salò), rather towards Sado-Masochism, which has a very specific function - that is to reduce the human body to a saleable commodity. It represents what power does to the human being, to the human body.

All my films start from a formal idea, which I feel I must do. It is an idea I have of the kind of film it must be. It cannot be expressed in words, you either understand it or you don’t.  When I make a film, it because I suddenly have an inspiration about the form of that particular subject must take. That is the essence of the film.

As I shoot this film, I already have it edited in my mind. Therefore, I expect a greater professional ability from my actors. So, this film I’m using 4 or 5 professional actors. But even the ones I have collected from the streets, I use them almost as if they were professional actors. The lines have to be said properly, the way they were written, and all in one take. They must have the correct facial expression from the beginning to the end of the shot, etc etc.

My need to make this film also came from the fact I particularly hate the leaders of the day. Each one of us hates with particular vehemence the powers to which he is forced to submit. So, I hate the powers of today.  It is a power that manipulates people just as it did at the time of Himmler or Hitler.

I don’t think the young people of today will understand this film. I have no illusions about my ability to influence young people. It is impossible to create a cultural relationship with them, because they are living with totally new values, with which the old values cannot be compared.

I don’t believe we shall ever again have any form of society in which men will be free. One should not hope for it. One should not hope for anything. Hope is invented by politicians to keep the electorate happy.

 

 With thanks to NellyM
 

Posted by Paul Gallagher
|
12.07.2012
07:36 pm
|
A Fabulous Collection of ACME Products: As used by Bugs, Daffy and Wile E. Coyote
12.07.2012
04:53 pm
Topics:
Tags:

acme_disintergator_gun
 
Looking for that unusual Christmas gift? That difficult birthday present? Something for the person with everything?

Then look no further - for here is a fabulous selection of ACME products, so beloved by Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and of course, Wile E. Coyote.

These beautiful images are guaranteed to raise a smile, and I wouldn’t mind a few hanging on my walls. This fine selection has been collated by dystopos, and you can see the full range here
 
acme_poultry
 
acme_matches
 
Via b3ta
 
More of these fabulous ACME screencaps, after the jump…
 

READ ON
Posted by Paul Gallagher
|
12.07.2012
04:53 pm
|
Buy or die! The Residents release ‘The Ultimate Box Set’ for only $100,000
12.07.2012
02:42 pm
Topics:
Tags:


When you search for images of “the residents” and “christmas” you get mostly depressing pics from old folks homes.
 
Celebrating the 40th anniversary of their first record release, 1972’s “Santa Dog” 45, The Residents are putting out the Ultimate Box Set which includes practically everything they’ve ever done and more, even a replica of one of the eyeball masks!

On Christmas Day, the set—it all comes packed inside of a 28 cubic ft. refrigerator—will go on sale at The Residents website. The $100,000 package includes the first issue of every Residents album, 45, CD, CD-ROM, video and DVD in the group’s 40-year career—even the stuff on dead formats, I’d guess—including the festive 2012 Residents’ Christmas single.

“Have a bake sale. Break open those penny jars. Sell a goddamn kidney if you have to,” Residents lead singer “Randy” suggests in the infomercial.

The Residents are selling just ten of these “box sets.” If all ten sell, that’ll add up to one million dollars for “Randy,” “Chuck” and “Bob.” There’s even a special “mystery box” edition that sells for, gulp, $5 million.

In honor of their 40th anniversary, The Residents will be embarking on their “Wonder of Weird” twenty date tour in January (I saw them on their 13th Anniversary Tour. Christ I’m getting old).

“Randy Rose,” lead singer for The Residents, hosts an infomercial where the group presents its entire catalog of music in an uplifting once-in-a-lifetime offer:
 

 
Thank you Chris Campion!

Posted by Richard Metzger
|
12.07.2012
02:42 pm
|
Shit gets weird: ‘The Everything Is Terrible! Holiday Special’ (NSFW)
12.05.2012
06:44 pm
Topics:
Tags:


 
To celebrate the impending end of mankind, the weirdos behind Everything Is Terrible! are doing the impossible! As the Mayan long count is about to run out, EIT! are going to be spreading their own unique brand of Holiday Cheer ON 2 TOURS AT THE SAME TIME! What the fuck?!

This holiday season, world-famous psychedelic soldiers of found footage Everything Is Terrible! return with another epic masterpiece! Over the last 5 years, EIT! has built upon their classic Holiday Special regarding everyone’s least favorite time of the year, piling on layers of erotic Santas, Nazi elves, misplaced sentimentalities, fistfights over toys-for-tots and an endless parade of singing kids that will surely destroy us all. As they sculpt an ever-more-abominable collage out of a millennium’s worth of VHS memories, EIT! asks: will this holiday season be our last? Will our Mayan brothers and sisters of so many moons ago be correct in their prediction of doom? There’s only one way to find the answers — and that’s to watch one more crappy holiday special. As always, EIT! will appear live to present the evening’s festivities in all of their fur-covered glory — and this time, they promise to convert every stage into the tackiest winter wonderland imaginable with all the trimmings: puppets, sing-a-longs, candy, fake snow, and a visit from the big man himself. The word “miraculous” falls short to describe the happenings of this Cataclysmic Transformation!

Coming soon to your town (or one just like it):

EAST
12-7 - Detroit @ Corktown
12-8 - Toronto @ Lee’s Palace
12-9 - Montreal @ Pub Brouhaha
12-10 - Worcester @ Firehouse
12-11 - Troy @ 51 3rd St
12-12 - Brooklyn @ Bell House
12-13 - Philly @ PhilaMOCA
12-14 - Boston @ Coolidge Corner
12-15 - Baltimore @ 5th Dimension
12-16 - Pittsburgh @ Filmmakers
12-17 - Cincinnati @ Mayday
12-18 - Nashville @ Belcourt
12-19 - St. Louis @ Mushmaus
12-20 - Bloomington, IN @ The Bishop
12-21 - Chicago @ Lincoln Hall

WEST
12-7 - San Francisco @ Roxie
12-8 - Oakland @ ABCO Arts
12-9 - UC Davis @ TCS Building
12-10 - Portland @ Hollywood Theatre
12-11 - Olympia @ Le Voyeur
12-12 - Vancouver @ Biltmore Cabaret
12-13 - Seattle @ Central Cinema
12-14 - Boise @ Spacebar
12-15 - Salt Lake City @ The Coffee Pit
12-16 - Denver @ Denver Film Center
12-17 - Albuquerque @ Guild
12-18 - Tucson @ Loft
12-19 - Phoenix @ Filmbar
12-20 - San Diego @ Che Cafe
12-22 - Los Angeles @ Cinefamily

Get tickets here for The Everything Is Terrible! Holiday Special—Is it comedy? Is it found footage? Is it both? It’s just seriously fucking fucked up, that’s all I know. Don’t miss this!!!
 

Posted by Richard Metzger
|
12.05.2012
06:44 pm
|
Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen collaborate on over-priced handbag with Damien Hirst
12.05.2012
06:14 pm
Topics:
Tags:


 
If you’ve got way too much money and no common sense whatsoever, listen up: the fashionista Olsen twins, Mary-Kate and Ashley, have produced a stunningly over-priced crocodile handbag festooned with colorful pill appliqués, in collaboration artist Damien Hirst.

The price? A mere $55,000. I wonder if any of those pills are Xanax?

“Damien, I’ve got Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen’s people on the line. They want to make a hideously overpriced handbag with you. Are you interested?”

“Blimey, what a shitty idea. That’s just too fucking stew-pid not to do, innit?”

“Damien says he’d love to be involved. Terrific, thanks. You, too. Bye!”

Only twelve of the bags are available. They go on sale December 12th exclusively at justoneeye.com.
 

 

Posted by Richard Metzger
|
12.05.2012
06:14 pm
|
Manga comics ‘sound effect rings’
12.05.2012
02:35 pm
Topics:
Tags:


 
“Sound effect” rings expressed through katakana characters by Shuji Tomishima and Takushi Okina aka RGB.

The rings are available to purchase on Japanese site Mitsubai Tokyo.
 

 
Via Nerdcore

Posted by Tara McGinley
|
12.05.2012
02:35 pm
|
Gang of Four’s ‘Not Great Men’ played by Javanese gamelan ensemble
12.05.2012
12:15 pm
Topics:
Tags:


 
Well this is fun: A Javanese gamelan ensemble called Sekar Melati playing Gang of Four’s “Not Great Men.”
 

 
With thanks to WFMU

Posted by Tara McGinley
|
12.05.2012
12:15 pm
|
Page 236 of 380 ‹ First  < 234 235 236 237 238 >  Last ›