Today NYT broke news of the acquisition of the storied Savory recordings by the National Jazz Musuem in Harlem! The recordings were made in the 30's-40's by the guy who eventually invented the LP. He used his own recording apparatus to record live jazz sets broadcast on the radio from the ballrooms and clubs around the city. Because of the restraints of 78's, recorded songs were limited to 3 min. but because Savory had devised his own personal way to record, he managed to record live impromptu sets 6-7 min long. These have never been heard before (except for the people who were there in the moment in 1930) This is an unbelievable historic breakthrough for jazz music preservation, not to mention jazz fans! This is the time machine taking us (not alive then) back to the moment when the spontanteous magic was happening. Because of copyright issues its yet unclear what form, or how available these recordings will be to the public in the forseeable future. What isn't explained in the article is why Mr. Savory held on to the recordings for so long, never letting anyone listen to them, and also, given that he knew how valuable they were, why he let them get so damaged? Alas, that may remain the mystery of the ages. But now, out of the darkness– into the light, comes the exciting jazz sounds of the 1930's unedited and uncut!
"Repetition and revision are central to Gallagher’s treatment of advertisements that she appropriates from popular magazines like “Ebony,” “Our World,” and “Sepia” and uses in works like “eXelento” (2004) and “DeLuxe” (2004-05). Initially, Gallagher was drawn to the wig advertisements because of their grid-like structure. Later she realized that it was the accompanying language that attracted her, and she began to bring these ‘narratives’ into her paintings—making them function through the characters of the advertisements as a kind of chart of lost worlds. Although the work has often been interpreted strictly as an examination of race, Gallagher also suggests a more formal reading with respect to materials, processes, and insistences. From afar, the work appears abstract and minimal. Upon closer inspection, googly eyes, reconfigured wigs, tongues, and lips of minstrel caricatures multiply in detail. Gallagher has been influenced by the sublime aesthetics of Agnes Martin’s paintings as well the subtle shifts and repetitions of Gertrude Stein’s writing."- art21
I recently redesigned a website for non-profit group Comprehensive Development Inc. CDI is a support network in conjuction with Manhattan Night and Day School that provides tutoring and other services to help students get their high school diploma. CDI needed a modern upgrade and more streamlined navigation to their site. Using their existing logo and brand colors, I designed new layouts and art directed brand new photography for the redesign. Implementing lots of white space and focusing on the strong, student centered photographs created a clean, modern look that is easy to navigate and user friendly. Check out the full site HERE.
So, last night I went to the final symposium for Marina Abramovic's, The Artist is Present. (the whole of which can be seen at the end of this post). It provided some satisfactory closure for me after closely following the performance for the last 3 months. I have to say I really notice the absence of the exhibit and, at the moment at least, feel a loss. MoMA conducted an interesting interview with Marina since the closing that provides insight into what the performance was like for her. A must read for anyone who has had an interest in the exhibit. and also the video below of the symposium which includes the performers who reenacted the some of the pieces.
MoMA is running a small retrospective of Maya Deren's films and video (w/an accompaniment of three other women filmmakers inspired by her to round it out). Deren died at age 44 from a brain hemorrhage, allegedly due to malnutrition and amphetamine abuse, so unfortunately there is not a large amount of material to view. An avant-garde filmmaker/pioneer active in the 1940's, she is most famous for her (& then husband, Alexander Hammid) first film Meshes of the Afternoon. It was filmed using a small Bolex camera at their Los Angeles home. With a circular narrative and dreamlike symbolic imagery, the film shows duel view points from both a female and male perspective and possibly explores multiple personalities. It questions the power of perception and examines the line between real and perceived reality. There is debate whether this film can be considered surrealist. Music was added later composed by her third, much younger husband, Teiji Ito."Meshes of the Afternoon is one of the most influential works in American experimental cinema. A non-narrative work, it has been identified as a key example of the "trance film," in which a protagonist appears in a dreamlike state, and where the camera conveys his or her subjective focus. The central figure in Meshes of the Afternoon, played by Deren, is attuned to her unconscious mind and caught in a web of dream events that spill over into reality. Symbolic objects, such as a key and a knife, recur throughout the film; events are open-ended and interrupted. Deren explained that she wanted "to put on film the feeling which a human being experiences about an incident, rather than to record the incident accurately."Made by Deren with her husband, cinematographer Alexander Hammid, Meshes of the Afternoon established the independent avant-garde movement in film in the United States, which is known as the New American Cinema. It directly inspired early works by Kenneth Anger, Stan Brakhage, and other major experimental filmmakers. Beautifully shot by Hammid, a leading documentary filmmaker and cameraman in Europe (where he used the surname Hackenschmied) before he moved to New York, the film makes new and startling use of such standard cinematic devices as montage editing and matte shots. Through her extensive writings, lectures, and films, Deren became the preeminent voice of avant-garde cinema in the 1940s and the early 1950s."
-MoMA collection
There is an interesting documentary on her life called In the Mirror of Maya Deren. A complex, multifaceted female I highly recommend exploring her work.
Update: Went and saw this tonite. It is terrifically funny and so entertaining. It originally started as a documentary about street artists but the filmer is more obsessive/compulsive than artistic which resulted in, well, Banksy took over to produce what you see today. There is a climax in the middle of the movie where tears were streaming down my face from laughter. Banksy has such a wonderful, witty sense of humor. Its in his art and delightfully comes through in film too. Although, at the end he claims this is the first and last for him. I kinda hope not!
I've gone to the Marina Abramovic exhibit at MoMA twice in as many days and plan many more visits during the next 3 month period. It is all kinds of fabulous and simply fascinates me. The artist is and will be present at the museum throughout the length of the exhibit sitting across a table from participating audience members who wish to enter into quiet contemplation with her. Also in the show are live models recreating pieces she did in the past with her collaborator and partner, Ulay. The models are, for most part nude, and stand or sit for long periods of time. One piece is a naked man and woman standing in opposite ends of a doorframe and viewers are encouraged to pass between them. In another 2 people stand facing across from each other with their index fingers extended but just shy of touching and remain like that motionless. There is also video, photo, and sculptural representations of her past work. Most are about pushing the body (and hence the mind) to the edge of their limits. Others seem to portray the monotony and repetitiveness of life and routine. One is particularly funny, recreating Slavic superstitions like exposing your genitals to the rain will make the rain stop? Every time I go I see something new or see it in a different way and then its somehow reassuring or comforting to look down at the 2nd floor atrium and see Marina herself sitting there, in quiet contemplation. Her work brings up so many questions in my mind and really generates alot of thoughts and ideas about her, life, and my own perceptions.This performance retrospective traces the prolific career of Marina Abramović (Yugoslav, b. 1946) with approximately fifty works spanning over four decades of her early interventions and sound pieces, video works, installations, photographs, solo performances, and collaborative performances made with Ulay (Uwe Laysiepen). In an endeavor to transmit the presence of the artist and make her historical performances accessible to a larger audience, the exhibition includes the first live re-performances of Abramović’s works by other people ever to be undertaken in a museum setting. In addition, a new, original work performed by Abramović will mark the longest duration of time that she has performed a single solo piece.
I like short stories because they're convenient for subway and gym reading. Meloy's fiction is fast and sweet.
another short story collection (I actually don't have a short attention span). describing her characters in great detail and with touches of welcome humor, Munro's prose sucks you into another world.
this one I have yet to crack open, it won the National Book award this year and takes place in NYC in the 70's
