grizzly bear on KCRW

Grizzly Bear recently performed a new song on KCRW’s  Morning Becomes Eclectic. The band show they are capable of creating a incredible atmosphere wherever they are, and parallels can be drawn between the qualities of this performance and the creation of their 2006 Album Yellow House, an album the group recorded in the empty former home of band member Ed Droste’s grandmother.

The texture of Yellow House is soaked in the empty, austere space of light-soaked boards, time-worn walls, and acute shadows cast against empty spaces. An ethereal tapestry is draped over the music, and echoes of a dreamlike state saturate the vocal harmonies which are so much a part of the sound. With the roots of the group formed in those surroundings, the four musicians have found the cohesion to transport that atmosphere, and infuse it with the limpid, crystalline characteristics of a unique sound.

world press photo contest 2008

Founded in 1955 and headquartered in The Netherlands, World Press Photo each year organizes the world’s largest press photo competition. Entry to the prestigious contest is free to all professional press photographers. Keeping with the organization’s commitment to a varied and noteworthy selection of photographs, entries are welcomed from any magazines, newspapers or press agencies worldwide, as well.

In early February of each year, a 13-member panel consisting of photographers, photo editors and representatives from press agencies all across the globe judges the competition independently of World Press Photo. In their judgement of the photos, the group strives for diversity in perspective, background and vision amongst its panelists. The result is a dynamic, influential and generally astonishing group of finalists, culled from a pool of over 5,000 entries.

The prizes are awarded in ten categories, each split into single image and photo story groups, with one photo chosen as the grand prize winner. This year the honor was bestowed upon Tim Hetherington from Vanity Fair, for his photo (below) of an American soldier taking a stunned moment’s rest in the Korengal valley in Afghanistan. A fine photo in its own right, but only one of many captivating, gripping photos chosen as prizewinners this year.

The gallery is worth some viewing time, as a visual feast, but more importantly, for its immediacy in connecting the viewer with the world. These are timely, relevant stories; and through the power of photography, they highlight not only the chaos, fear and depravity of the human condition, but the potential elegance and subtle beauty of the world, no matter the context. 

bildschöne bücher in berlin, dirt ollies

Inspired by the success of his online venture 25books.com, Bodo von Hodenberg, a former sales director for heavyweight pioneers Taschen, opened Bildshöne Bücher in Berlin, Germany.  Seeking to create a physical space in which to curate and sell a refined collection of 25 books per month, the main goal was an environment where senses are free from the overwhelming crush of choice. A honed, focused collection chosen from “the heart or from the stomach,” as von Hodenberg puts it, allows a visitor to “feel good, and not overwhelmed.”

The store is even more focused, in that the selections come solely from art, photography and architecture. Von Hodenberg speaks of falling in love with the selections, and by that standard, he says almost 80 percent of the books that truly capture him end up being photography. Upon entering the store, a single, central table displays the month’s 25 books. Beyond is a reading table, and against one wall are shelves which hold the past months selections; the store’s stock being made up exclusively of past titles.

In Bildschöne Bücher, Von Hodenberg has calmly sidestepped the paralysis some customers experience from the shear force of mass variety—addition by subtraction at its finest.

Pictured at top is a selection from last month’s collection of books. Dirt Ollies is a photography project documenting a 2004 skateboarding trip to Mongolia. Inspired by an aerial photograph of a inexplicable skatepark in the middle of  Ulaanbaatar, 11 skateboarders journeyed to ride the park. Upon their arrival, they faced only the remnants; the park having been dismantled just weeks prior. Below, a trailer for the film that resulted from the trip.

stand-up stories

Started in 1997 by novelist George Dawes Green,  The Moth is a live storytelling event currently celebrating its 11th year. Inspired by informal, late-night storytelling sessions at a friend’s house in his native Georgia, the project is a forum for original performances of true-to-life stories.

The events are held throughout New York City, and as the project has grown, The Moth has expanded to include a national tour, ’story-slam’ contests, and an outreach program. The main event, Stories at The Moth, usually features a writer or performer of some acclaim, though the show is really about sharing a unique experience, no matter who it comes from. The stage has seen writers Jonathan Ames, Malcolm Gladwell, and Adam Gopnick among others, and was once graced by the late, great George Plimpton. Though the performances often feature a well known professional, each event is peppered with extraordinary stories from an array of backgrounds.

A sampling of the stories are available on the website. To understand what the ethos of the event is all about, listen to the dynamic tale from Ari Handel, “Don’t Fall in Love with Your Monkey”; the hilarious, though sad, Cindy Chupak story “Till Death or Homosexuality Do Us Part”; the inspiring, emotional Alan Robinowitz saga “Man and Beast”; and finally, the difficult and rather heartbreaking account by Jeffery Rudell, “Under the Influence”. 

The stories all share the bold, visceral nature of being before an audience, not acting or playing a role, but sharing the bare facts. Each is crafted from a very personal experience, and the act of sharing can elicit an emotional reaction from both the audience and teller. It can be moving.

feltron 3030

For the past three years, graphic designer Nicholas Felton has gathered the meticulous details and detritus of his life; he counted, weighed, measured and listed the minutiae of his daily existence—the sum total of his tastes, habits and whims. The result of this narcissistic, O.C.D.-like behavior is The Feltron Report.

Though the idea at first smacks of pretension and self-importance, Feltron’s report is instead an amazing compendium, filled with handsome typographic highlights and clever graphic design elements. A showcase for Felton’s design repertoire. And as it turns out, the content is captivating, if only for the spectacle of the task—the careful collection and recording of nearly all the input and output of one (relatively dynamic) person.

To some degree, the report has a voyeuristic quality to it. Rarely do we get such a detailed glimpse into anyone’s life. The potential for understanding one’s life through the tallying of resources, both produced and consumed, could be an interesting tool for the recognition and appreciation of what constitutes an existence, as a consumer and a human.

The report deserves a careful viewing, first for its aesthetics and imagination, and second, as a document and undertaking of some significance. 

alvin lustig, book design

Four book covers by Alvin Lustig for the New Editions: Modern Reader series. Lustig is the original master of an art-form that, while not entirely his own, one you could say he perfected. His contributions to the design world are many, but for some he will always be one of the few great book designers of the 20th century, and a visionary for the possibilities and potential of the medium.

super champion, energy and elegance

There is a subtle, though unmistakable magnetism about a track bike. The spare, unadorned instrument speaks quiet volumes; it has visible energy and potential even at rest. This particular build comes close to saturation in its composition, though it ultimately wins with symmetry and contained flourishes. Balance, aggressiveness, and elegance are the raw, winning elements that make this bicycle special.

A window bike for Super Champion track/fixed-gear shop in Vancouver, B.C. Some of the very same elements which make this Makino so attractive are found in the aesthetic of the retail space. Subtle displays, austere empty space with wood tones, highlighted by the wild, streaked color of the various anodized accouterment. Visit them here, or really roll through if you find yourself in Vancouver. 

bicycle film festival 2008, joy

Started in New York City, the Bicycle Film Festival has gained in size and status since its inception in 2000. All aspects of bicycle culture are represented in films generally ranging three to ten minutes. According to the Bicycle Film Festival website, the festival was viewed by over 100,000 people in 15 cities across the world last year. Submissions for 2008 are currently being accepted until February 19th.

A new movement is brewing in this country right now, and the festival is just one indicator. People are once again experiencing the wonderful freedom of bicycles. For those already won over, the myriad benefits and joys are a given. There are those who proselytize the bicycle way of life as an alternative to cars, pollution and destruction; some who understand and advocate the bicycle as a health benefit or an athletic endeavor, and those who appreciate the aesthetic beauty and pleasure of the mechanics—the machine itself. Each and every one of these qualities is agreeable and legitimate, further proof of the endless functionality and simplicity of riding.

However, there is, in my mind, one aspect that trumps everything: sheer fun. The pure joy of riding a bicycle is, first and foremost, the main attraction to cycling; easily the most tangible, visceral expression of the two-wheeled phenomena. Nothing takes a human being back to the raw thrill of childhood, unhinged and free of any boundary, free to propel oneself across the face of this world we have found ourselves in. Freedom, unchecked and unrelenting, is at your fingertips in a moments notice. Only a doorway stands between a static lifestyle, and one which communes with the air, the earth and the sky. There are few boundaries when the bicycle enters one’s world.

Enjoy a trailer from this year’s upcoming festival, apparently a Japanese race that takes place in Africa.

the five obstructions (inspirations)

Beginning in 2001, Danish filmmaker Lars von Trier challenged his fellow director and compatriot Jørgen Leth to remake his most famous film, the 1967 short The Perfect Human, five times. Each attempt would be accompanied by its own set of limitations set out by von Trier. The result is the quasi-documentary The Five Obstructions. It is unclear at the beginning of the film how exactly the project has come to be, or even why the agreement has taken place. It is, however, in unmistakable von Trier idolizes Leth, and that The Perfect Human has played a key role in both the personal and professional trajectories of von Trier’s life. He has, by his own admittance, seen the film at least 20 times.

The self-assured manner with which von Trier metes out his so-called obstructions is fascinating. He is obviously in a role he relishes. And though in the presence of his hero, he revels in pushing Leth around with an intensity which is at once gleefully child-like and borderline vicious. In fact, the first striking aspect of the film is the dynamic between the two men themselves. Ostensibly, this is a film about Leth, remaking—and in some ways, deconstructing—his classic work. Yet the subtle calculations and intensity behind von Trier’s motives give a great deal of insight into the intentions and personality of the challenger himself. Ultimately, the film becomes as much about von Trier’s perspective as it is about Leth’s vision as a human being and filmmaker.

Each successive set of obstructions is laid out between the two men only after the previous film has been completed. Leth invariably walks away from these meetings bemused, freshly perplexed by von Trier’s latest mandate. The most captivating aspect of the film, and really, the reason Five Obstructions succeeds as a whole, is Leth’s ability to adapt to the obstructions set before him, and use these parameters as impetus for creative exploration.  His transition from perplexity to inspiration is seamless. Each new project becomes a vehicle for the Dane’s prodigious talent.

Von Trier, a man for whom control is paramount, succeeds only in pushing his mentor in new directions. Leth proves resilient, it seems, beyond what von Trier had anticipated. He appears bent on breaking Leth down, to expose something of his true self. By placing him in vulnerable situations, both geographically and stylistically, he expects the potent combination to reveal something enlightening. It is almost as if he attempts to will profundity out Leth. This proves to be a magical combination for inspiring creativity, but perhaps not for exploring the depth of Leth’s psyche. 

In the end, it can’t help but seem that von Trier’s fifth ‘obstruction’ is nothing more than capitulation. He understands Leth, without malice of any sort, has bested him. It was never a contest, but is feels as though von Trier somehow lost something, perhaps by leaving himself too exposed and only realizing it after the fact.

At the end of the film, von Trier audaciously postulates that he, though an expert on very few things in the world,  knows Leth perhaps better than even Leth himself.  Certainly a presumptuous statement, and one which further points to the possibility von Trier is attempting to manipulate Leth to fit his own vision of the man.

The last of the films is most revealing with regards to von Trier, as he only requests that Leth read a script written by von Trier, over a film of footage collected from the project itself. Certainly a perspective that is open to interpretation by all parties involved. The project, as whole, is engrossing from start to finish. The two Danes are prodigiously talented, captivating artists, no matter the questions left unanswered.

look out

Currently holding it down in Stockholm, Sweden, Ida Maria is presently backing a self-released album with an apparently riotous live performance. Based on the strength of a few available songs floating around the internet, Ms. Ida Maria seems poised to take over in 2008. With the right mix of coyness, intensity and the perfect-sized chip on her shoulder, the formula is gold. Here is the strongest track, called Oh My God.

ladies and gentleman, the entertainist!

Multi-talented musician, producer, and vaudevillian Chilly Gonzales (see post below) is, at the end of the day, a entertainer above all things. His performances are equal parts humor and serious musicianship; engaging the audience with personality, and ultimately drawing them closer with artistry and technique.

going solo

When a musician is capable of offering up something new and unexpected, something so different and singular from anything previously known, the result has the potential to shine even brighter in contrast to its predecessor.

For Canadian-born musician Jason Charles Beck to release an album of solo piano pieces in 2004 was not simply remarkable, but jaw dropping. The first two releases by the artist, entitled O.P. The Original Prankster and Gonzales Uber Alles respectively, are eclectic mash-ups of electro-funk, schmoozie lounge singing, breakbeats, and for lack of a better term—white rapping. All orchestrated by the singular stage persona Chilly Gonzales.

However, the irreverant, faux b-boy persona belies what Gonzales is capable of in front of his favored instrument. From the liner notes:

 ”Although they say the piano can create the most colors of any instrument, it is actually black and white, much like an old silent movie. Staring down at my hands, I imagine each piano piece as a shadow against the wall.”   

 

 The album, simply titled Solo Piano, was recorded in Berlin and released on the French label No Format. The 16 pieces which make up the album are in turn solemn, elegant, and whimsical; each capable of standing alone, yet coalescing to create a melodic and truly timeless whole. 

 

For this endeavor, the stage name is simply Gonzales. Gone are the frills and cheekiness of his prior persona. Simplicity is king here, and out of nothing, Gonzales has created a distinct and worthy sound of his own. Drawing in part from the likes of Keith Jarrett, Philip Glass and Satie, he has managed to achieve singularity amongst his compeers.  

 

Solo Piano is a work that stands alone. And like any great work, Solo Piano, too, is a ticket which gains entry to the vast, sprawling collective imagination, which in this case, is the score to a great and beautiful silent film that encompasses all of our lives and all of time itself. 

 

 

true films

Author, photographer and futurist Kevin Kelly has, among many other projects, been collecting personal reviews of his favorite film genre—what he likes to call “true films.” He defines the genre as ‘non-fiction visual accounts’, such as documentaries, educational films, educational how-to’s, and the very British sounding ‘factual’.  After years of posting reviews on his website, Kelly gathered his favorites and published them in book form. Now in its third incarnation, the book is available for the first time as a free PDF download. Kelly has recognized the near universal appeal of the documentary, and through his diligent and somewhat dogged search has put together a fascinating collection of recommendations. His criteria are simple: 1) the film must surprise him, and 2) it must inform him.  Those that make the list fall exclusively into what he considers great films with universal appeal.

Kelly’s list is as enjoyable as a great documentary itself. His natural curiosity about life, his passion for learning, and a very open mind make this collection unforgettable. I was captivated by the list, and have to believe that both the casual observer and the most ardent film buff could find something of interest.

 

don’t hate, illustrate

A recent posting at Wired magazine’s website brought to my attention the work of artist/illustrator Mario Hugo.  Using an imaginative variety of mediums and materials, Hugo manages to evoke both a vaguely futuristic feel, and, particularly through letter-forms and shapes, a feeling of times-past. Hugo’s personal work is wildly inventive and tinged with psychedelia, and while much of his professional work encompasses that same aesthetic, his commissioned projects are quite focused and effective.   

a year end review—the work of Larry Brown

When Larry Brown passed away in November, 2005, he left the literary world bereft. But he also left a manuscript. Posthumously published by Algonquin of Chapel Hill in March of this year, A Miracle of Catfish is further proof America lost one its premier writers of modern fiction. Brown’s stature as a great Southern writer has long been firmly placed in the minds of those who knew, and it is with Catfish Brown may well earn accolades from a wider audience. 

  Born in William Faulkner’s home town of Oxford, Mississippi in 1951, the literary traditions of the town seeped into Brown’s life from the beginning. He read voraciously throughout his childhood and teenage years, but never graduated college. Arriving home in 1972 to Oxford after a stint in the Marine Corps, Brown worked a series of jobs before becoming a firefighter. It was during these years that he began to write.  By his account, he wrote six or seven novels and hundreds of short stories in his auto-didactic quest to become a writer. The unconventional trajectory of Brown’s writing career is reflected in his work; it quickly becomes apparent that nothing comes easy in the lives of Brown’s characters.

Brown was first published in 1988 with a short story collection, Facing the Music. But it was his first novel, Dirty Work, published just a year later, which heralded his arrival. In his powerful debut, two Vietnam vets, one black, one white, lay side by side in a veteran’s hospital.  The two men, one living for some 22 years in that very hospital with no arms and no legs, the other equally ravaged both physically and emotionally, try to cope with the brutal legacy of the war.  Shifting perspective between the two in a masterful interplay of colloquial southern song, the Mississippi blood runs deep in Brown’s intense paean to the ‘lost’ survivors of the conflict. Profoundly affecting, Dirty Work was hailed upon its publication as a singular and brilliant antiwar novel as good as any other of its kind.

After the success of Dirty Work, and a short story collection, Big Bad Love a year later, Brown was able to pursue writing full-time. He continued through the 90’s with a string of novels all published by Algonquin of Chapel Hill, in partnership with lifelong editor Shannon Ravenel. And it was in the hands of Ravenel the manuscript of A Miracle of Catfish was entrusted. For in November, 2004, at the age of 54, Brown suffered an untimely heart attack and passed away.

As Ravenel disclosed in her introduction to Catfish, Brown’s manuscripts tended towards the overlong.  Generally, Ravenel would suggest cuts, and Brown, considering himself, for all intents and purposes done with the work by the time he turned it in, would accept the suggestions without hesitation. It is precisely this relationship and its implicit trust which allows for such a welcomed posthumous release.

At the time of Brown’s death, the manuscript weighed in at over 700 pages, and was very nearly complete. In addition, Brown left a series of small notes on how the book would end. With careful cuts by Ravenel (the edits are marked and available, along with the original manuscript, in the archives at Ole Miss,) A Miracle of Catfish is a testament to a writer truly hitting his stride. 

In Catfish, Brown collected all the themes of his life work, the scenes and textures of the south, and the laden vernacular of his surrounding, and spun them into a poetic and brutal narrative with a raw edge. Brown writes of the rural poverty of backwoods southern life, the misery of defeated expectations; the self loathing and regret brought on by failure, and the inability to act as even oneself would wish. The legacy of abusive home life, unchecked and unhinged alcoholism, and the near universal desire to escape, all lie at the heart of Catfish and many of Brown’s other work. But also redemption, hope,  and the desire to love and be loved.

That Catfish is not finished is irrelevant. Brown’s work stands alone and his messages are clear. 

small stakes, big tent

Originally from Wisconsin, Jason Munn gravitated to the West Coast, and in 2003 began printing attractive music posters under the moniker The Small Stakes.  As the venture gained momentum, so too did Munn’s portfolio. Screenprinted by hand, the elegance and simplicity of his designs are set-off by subtle details and tastefully chosen typographic highlights.

Even amongst a burgeoning field of talented designers working in the medium, Munn’s work stands out not only for its aesthetic, but for the often imaginative idea, or theme within much of his work. Whereas so many rely on loud type and irrelevant images, The Small Stakes softly whispers a meaningful message with the use of negative space and gentle movement.

cool kids ride in paper planes

•  cool kids— Mikey Rocks
•  Bon Iver— Skinny Love, The Wolves (Act I and II) 
•  Caribou— Melody
•  Video to Simian Mobile Disco— I Believe 
  
•   M.I.A.— Paper Planes is hype.

                               V  

hungarian for turtle

  Just this year, two scientists at a Budapest university solved (obsessed over) a posed theory that a self-righting object could be made. The result is the Gomboc, a physical manifestation of a mathematical quandary solved. The Gomboc is a “mono-monostatic”, with just one stable and one unstable point. When knocked over, the object will, without the aid of a counterweight, self-right. Similar shapes are found in nature—certain beetles, turtles and shelled creatures all share this same structure. Not only an interesting phenomena, but a beautifully sculptural object.  

houses lit up at night

The bleakness of winter can be both eerie and beautiful, much like the Houses at Night series by photographer Todd Hido. His collected work evokes an other-worldliness, and an almost savage emptiness. Yet no matter how desolate his photographs may be, the beauty and interplay of light are a constant. 

nothing better than the worst

‘Tis the season to be critical. Even more fun than the perennial ‘best of’ lists, the ‘worst of the year’ list is a wonderful celebration of poor, poor taste. Here is Pitchfork’s worst album covers of 2007.   

the time is right nau, fly like a (super) squirrel

The Northwestern United States has always been haven for solid, technical outerwear.  The elements demand as much, and a savvy and somewhat hard-core group of outdoor enthusiasts, in turn, demand the same from what they wear. Portland, Oregon’s Nau launched in March 2007, with a impressive line of aesthetically simple, yet highly technical clothing. Sustainable philosophy is the backbone of the company. Recycled materials predominate,  and 5% of all sales go to the purchaser’s choice of charities . The company’s four retail “web stores” simply stock a sample of each size, while automated stations take down customer’s requests, process and ship the order from a centralized location. Now, more than ever, companies are quick to market social/environmental responsibility. The potential for dishonesty and/or questionable motives abound, and skepticism is warranted. However, if the entire concept and core philosophy is such, it may be better than the alternative.  Also, found on Nau’s blog, skydivers and base jumpers are taking things to “11″ with these squirrel suits. The straight shot this guy makes past the mountain road only gets more impressive as the video goes on. Smashing down the mountainside.

First fixed-gear magazine, NJS inspired bicycles

 Perhaps the biggest boom in the bicycling community since, well, the bike-boom itself, fixed-gear riding continues, inexorably, to pull itself up from the depths of its sub-culture roots. Another rung has now been grasped by Milwaukee, Wisconsin’s COG Magazine, the first serious quarterly to be published in the United States devoted exclusively to the fixed-gear bicycle. The endeavor is a welcomed one. With a serious base of riders throughout the world, fixed-gear riding (or fixed-wheel, as it is known in Europe) is poised to become a healthy and vibrant community. A publication that takes itself and its readership seriously points to a legitimacy long understood by its proponents.

  Included in the first issue is an interesting look at the fixed-gear craze currently sweeping through Japan. Fanatical only begins to describe the Japanese culture, and in a country where professional track racing is an incredibly lucrative sport, it is a wonder fixed-gear riding hasn’t caught on until now.  In honor of the fixed-gear counterparts in the Far East, a number of bicycles inspired by the sport of Keirin, or track racing, found in Japan.   

 These wonderful machines are truly works of art. And we all know you can’t ride a painting down the street.