Today In Art Class...

Tobey

2010-07-20T16:48:00.000-06:00

In high school, Yana and I wrote a rap about a fictional bass player named Tobey. Three years later, we recorded it. Two years later, it's on here.

We rule.

Tobey. Original lyrics by Yana Matusovski and Hayley Muir.

Audition Reel

2010-07-13T14:25:00.000-06:00

My job is pretty sweet. I get things like this sent to me.

Alex's Audition Reel

Packing Tape Webs by For Use/Numen

2010-07-10T11:13:00.000-06:00

Marc Johns draws cute things

2010-05-11T20:09:00.015-06:00

That pretty much sums up artist Marc Johns. Cute. Totally cute. I'm generally not a big fan of doodle-artists BUT...I can't say no to this guy.

I could post more...but it would take all day...and it would be a very long post.
Marc Johns

Harlem - Be Your Baby

2010-05-09T12:38:00.002-06:00

Hippies is one of my favourite albums from the last little while. Harlem have created such a wonderful sound...pretty simple and very classic. It's the perfect update to old blues and soul with just enough fuzz and lo-fi to keep it light and fun. Sometimes I forget that, outside of my world, they're not a well-known band...yet. Considering they're on Matador and made their way onto Casual Victim Pile: Austin 2010, I would guess that Harlem have a lot of really big things in their future.
Listen to "Be Your Baby" from Hippies.

Harlem - Be Your Baby

Caribou - Swim

2010-05-08T13:58:00.002-06:00

Caribou - Hannibal

As the semester draws to a close...

2010-04-06T22:18:00.005-06:00

So do my projects. I'm hard at work trying to get everything done in preparation for the Open House next week.
The large lighting piece I posted about before is pretty much done. I need to install the actual lights and figure out how to hang it up. If I've learned anything from this project, it's that nothing is as easy as it seems...but hopefully it'll be done tomorrow. Here's a couple shots of it as is.

(underside)

After this I have one more "perceptual" project to finish...a cement cast of a model sculpted in clay. Hate it, but it must be done.
The last project is...ears. That's all I'll say.

If you're reading this and living in Calgary...feel free to come to the open house next Thursday between 3 and 7. We're on the 6th and 7th floors of the Art Parkade!

Hot Chip - I Feel Better

2010-04-05T00:04:00.008-06:00

1. The best video they've ever made. 2. The best video ever made.

-----------

Also....

The Heavy is coming to Calgary in June. So exciting.

The Heavy - How You Like Me Now

Case Study 22

2010-03-31T17:43:00.009-06:00

West Hollywood. 1960 architect: Pierre Koenig. photographs: Julius Shulman
---------------
In other news...

totally over Banksy. --------------- Also.... Liars - Scissor

Born Ruffians

2010-03-26T21:23:00.005-06:00

New track from Say It by the Born Ruffians. Officially released in June. Enjoy!

Born Ruffians - Sole Brother

Quick Update

2010-03-15T16:16:00.002-06:00

Working on a large lighting piece that is kind of an extension of my final project last semester.
Here's the "skeleton" so far. It needs another bar added to the bottom portion (and that little bit cut off) and then I'll stretch fabric over the whole thing. A light cream, medium grey and dark grey.
Stay tuned for the finished product!

2010-03-01T21:47:00.002-07:00

My first piece of furniture

2010-01-24T12:58:00.002-07:00

I really enjoyed planning and making this piece. Welding was a new experience for me and it was so fun. I'd like to do more furniture in the future and I'd love to see this piece on a really large scale outside a building or something...but that's just a dream. Maybe some day!

Michael Cera is the Coolest Kid

2010-01-21T10:50:00.002-07:00

Not to mention...a lucky bugger too. He's in some of the best and most talked about movies of the last 3 years, one of the greatest television shows of all time and seemingly has a group of pretty rad friends. I'm sure I'm not alone in feeling like we could have gone to high school together and that's why I like him. He seems pretty down-to-earth, still kind of a loser, but that breed of loser when at some point they become the coolest loser at school. I dig.

Here he is in Islands new video for No You Don't.

Photos...round one

2010-01-14T22:30:00.002-07:00

Underwater photography by Bruce Mozertom, 1938. via Bored Bored.

- - - - - -

Square America. I have a thing for vintage photographs and this site has possibly the best online gallery of them I've ever seen.

...I could go on and on

"Organize Bookmarks"

2010-01-11T20:07:00.003-07:00

I have over 100 websites in my bookmarks and desperately need to clean it out. I'm going to do that over the next few days and blog probably most of what I find.

Graffiti

The further you delve into the world of graffiti/street art, the more apparent it is that specific styles begin to emerge out of different cities over time. For whatever reason, "Western" graffiti seems to have taken less of an artistic approach over the years. Granted, occasionally you can discover some incredibly imaginative street art in Canada and America but, for the most part, seriously artistic work is left for Europeans.
Case in point...Ukraine:

via Hemmy

London is home to the infamous Banksy, who has managed to shoot street art into a realm never before seen. I mean, who knew Angelina Jolie would be buying up seriously pricey collections from a man who began by stenciling all over London in the dead of night? I might be slightly "over it" now but I can't make a post about street art without a few Banksy works. And, just to keep with the theme of things, these are all found in London, although he did some incredibly socially-conscious (as his work always is) pieces in New Orleans after the hurricane.

via Art of the State

Going back a few years...
Picasso's light graffiti from 1949. This kind of light art is super popular right now but anytime I see a time-lapse photo of bubbles, robots or words created with any kind of bulb or fire, I think of this. Gorgeous in its simplicity and originality at the time, Picasso's light art is overlooked in most surveys of his work. I find it fascinating that even though this is a hard thing to control, his style permeates.

via Wooster Collective

And finally...
I think I've blogged this before but it's still in my bookmarks and fits this post.
The Reverse Graffiti Project

The Reverse Graffiti Project
by BriKO

via Daily Motion

That's all for now. 4 down...many more to go.

xo

Last Semester

2010-01-11T13:05:00.001-07:00

First off, it was a terrible semester for me, hence the lack of blogs, but I'm forcing myself to be enthusiastic again and post regularly.

Here's my final two sculptures from last semester.

Stay tuned for work this semester and the usual posts. I'm going to get back in the habit of this!

Xo

A Work in Progress

2009-10-24T20:45:00.003-06:00

I've decided to do a big project of photos taken on my iPhone...all printed at the same size as they appear on the phone, which is probably 2x4.5...roughly. At that size, it's harder to figure out what is happening or what the photograph is of which I like. I think it'll be pretty neat but will take a while to stockpile enough photos.
Here are a few of my favourites so far. I'm not exactly concerned with "focus" or "blur" as I tend to like what it can add to some shots. And it's a phone...so focus and blur are not always easily controlled. None of them will be edited whatsoever and they will most likely all be vertical. Maybe I'll do a second one with all horizontals at some point.
Stay tuned.

Today in the Little Gallery

2009-10-06T09:44:00.002-06:00

The Art Building's Little Gallery has a great new exhibit this week. Forgive me, I lost the piece of paper I wrote everything down on so I will get more info later today and update this.
The artist is an MFA at the U of C and has put together a sound sculpture, if you will, and encourages viewer participation...which I'm into!
Again, I'll get all the info later this afternoon.
For now, here is a video of the exhibit in two parts...watch both!

Last Week in Art Class....

2009-10-06T07:48:00.003-06:00

First Sculpture project done.
Our assignment was to cast a big chunk of plaster and then chip and chisel and sand away at it to create essentially whatever we want.
Mine started out as something and ended up as something completely different. My initial idea was to create a pseudo-mushroom cloud type thing but as I started putting holes in it I realized it was looking like a dinosaur egg...back to the drawing board.
I had a different idea and wanted to go with it but since it already had two holes in it I had to work around that and knew it would end up looking...feminine...as one of my teachers put it.
I like the way it turned out although I do have some work left to do with it before I'm totally happy with it.

Stay tuned for the completed project.

Coming up in the next week or two...
Next printing project...don't ask me what it is really...my instructor isn't too clear...
Sketches and the beginning stages of the next one, two or three sculpture projects. Included: sculpture that can be used as furniture!
Also...my bookmarks are getting full of things I've found on the internet and am in love with so I'll get through posting those over the next little bit.

Yesterday in Art Class

2009-09-24T07:56:00.006-06:00

We printed. We're not using limestone lithography this year...instead, we're using "pronto plates."
It was fun. Messy. Very messy.

My print. Fourth edition maybe?

We had teams. This is Caitlin sponging the plate before ink gets rolled onto it.

This is Martin rolling ink.

Stay tuned for more prints and my first sculpture assignment...sometime next week probably.

Peter Jansen

2009-09-10T17:46:00.003-06:00

Human Motions Sculptures

AMAZING! I can't even get over the incredible work of sculptor Peter Jansen. Capturing motion is one thing, but this level of detail and anatomical correctness on top of that is absolutely stunning and awe-inspiring.
I haven't been able to round up dimensions on any of these pieces but large or small, it's phenomenal. Anatomical sculpting isn't easy by any stretch but Jansen obviously has an incredible grasp on it.
Taking a motion blur photo and pulling it into a 3-D format is no easy feat and this work is flawless. I'm in love.

Theme Magazine

2009-09-09T15:28:00.007-06:00

It's been a while since I've posted anything but today was my first day back in art classes and I'm stumbling my way all over the internet to find some new inspirations for upcoming projects in sculpture and printmaking. Needless to say...I've come across some amazing things that I'll be posting over the next few days.

For today...a great new website! Theme Magazine. Each issue is centered around a main theme, with incredible photographers and writers, and cover a wide range of topics.
Honestly, I'm not really that into fashion photography and get fairly tired of looking at what is most times, the same old thing, but this black and white shoot from the February/March issue For The Love Of Food really tickles my fancy. It's the perfect combination of stylized fashion and art, making it more dynamic and, for me, far more visually stimulating than your typical fashion shots.

2009-08-13T14:04:00.003-06:00

Fantastic Mr. Fox. Adapted from the Roald Dahl book, directed by Wes Anderson, starring (voices) George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray and Owen Wilson. Need I say more?

New York, I Love You.
Directed by EVERYONE, starring EVERYONE and Phoenix in the trailer. Need I say more?

Gentleman Broncos. Directed by Jared Hess. Starring Jemaine Clement...and others! Undecided.

The Invention of Lying. Ricky Gervais, Jennifer Garner, Rob Lowe, Tina Fey. Funny concept.

Missed Connections

2009-08-11T20:55:00.002-06:00

I have a complete obsession with Craigslist's Missed Connections.
I read them, I sympathize with them and I post them. Not really "Missed Connections"...just things I think about.

Here's a lengthy exchange that went down today.

I think we were made for each other... - m4w - 29

Not a missed connection in the traditional sense. I think it's just God's cruel joke really. I've liked you since I met you, infact I would go as far as to say we are connected. Well at least I am, you have apparently missed this connection. Now don't get me wrong, I'm not upset, just baffled. You see before we last talked about this I prayed for the first time in a long time, something like this... "give me a sign you bastard, or I'll have to give up on her". Not even a half an hour later I found your ad on here and I knew somehow it was you, I don't know how to explain it. The ad was vague, it could have been anyone, I had this feeling in the pit of my stomach, I knew it was you like I would if you had been speaking directly to me.

There are only a couple of options here:
-a) either I'm completely delusional and it was just a crazy coincidence
-b) god hates me, and is pissing his pants laughing right now, or
-c) maybe god tried to tell you, but you can't hear him for some reason,
*Note to to readers who are not the target of this posting: She knows who she is, we've already talked about it, she seems to lean toward option a).
Look, all I know is unrequited love sucks to begin with, but when I know, absolutely and undoubtedly that we would be so good together, it sucks all that much more. And I really don't like the f-word but you gotta admit fate isn't that far of a stretch from where I stand.

I know you have already made up your mind, otherwise I would just send this to you, I guess I just need to say it and clear some space in my head.

Sincerely,
M

-------

Re: I think we were made for each other

I am pretty confident this ad was posted directed at me....all I can really say is i am sorry. I knew it was tough for you when I said I couldn't date you but I guess I didn't realize really how much it affected you. Its not that I hate you or that I don't like you....I think you know that. I told you my reasons and I am sorry if those weren't good enough for you. I don't know what else to say except that......I have alot of things going on in my life right now, yes I posted an ad at one point but all it did really was reinforce why I have given up on the dating world a long time ago. Its been a long time and I know really I am still not ready to move on.
I hope that some how we can get past this awkwardness that we feel when we are around each other and that we can still remain friends at the very least. We did have fun hanging out....right? Your call I guess...

M

------

Love is tough. I might start posting my own "Best Of" once a week. I say that about a lot of things though.

2009-07-29T11:26:00.009-06:00

2009-07-27T15:34:00.003-06:00

Hey listen, gimme a kiss.
Really?
Yeah, why not, because we're just gonna go home later, right, and then there's gonna be all that tension, we've never kissed before and I'll never know when to make the right move or anything. So we'll kiss now and get it over with, and then we'll go eat. We'll digest our food better.

More Light Play

2009-07-13T15:32:00.000-06:00

Light Play

2009-07-10T10:20:00.005-06:00

I was laying outside the other night trying to take photos of lightning and ended up just playing around with zoom and lights.

I'm into it.
Also, I'm working on compiling some out of focus/blurry photos I've taken that actually turned out to be nice...or at least....I like them. Inspired by a blog I came across once about photos that would have otherwise been deleted but ended up being beautiful. I can't find it again.
Stay tooned (sic)

Coconut Records - Any Fun

2009-06-29T11:24:00.003-06:00

If you don't know by now...I'm completely obsessed with Jason Schwartzman and Coconut Records.

Here's his new video for "Any Fun" off Davy. Even though I'm really not a fan of Chloe Sevigny at all...I dig this video!

Also...I'm really branching out into the wonderful world of blogging - BeatRoute Magazine is now the proud owner of a blog which you can find here and also...a fantastic website for Calgarians and fans of awesome things alike is Calgary is Awesome which I will now be posting on. Ch-ch-check it out!

<3

Alice in Wonderland - Tim Burton

2009-06-22T16:01:00.002-06:00

I've got just about one word for these first promo pics from Tim Burton's upcoming rendition of Alice in Wonderland:
YES.

Freaky Friday - MGMT

2009-06-19T09:52:00.003-06:00

MGMT - "Kids"
These dudes...this video...so strange. And scary!!! But I really like this video. It makes me want to jump inside their minds and figure out what planet they came from.

Have a nice weekend. I won't be posting.

xo.

Coconut Records

2009-06-17T11:07:00.003-06:00

Jason Schwartzman...how do I love thee? Let me count the ways...

1. Cool Ethan in Slackers.
2. Rushmore. Duh.
3. I Heart Huckabees
4. The Darjeeling Limited
5. Coconut Records

Coconut Records is so poppy and sweet it hurts my teeth. And I love it. Jason Schwartzman is one talented dude and his one-man band puts a huge, huge grin on my face no matter what.

"Microphone" from his latest album Davy on Young Baby.

Not an official video but pretty good anyway! "Nighttiming" from the 2007 debut release of the same name. (Young Baby) This song has such an incredible beat. I can't get over it.

Sonic Youth - The Eternal

2009-06-15T11:37:00.003-06:00

New Sonic Youth album is absolutely fantastic.
Head over to Pitchfork to check it out!

The Road

2009-06-11T13:15:00.003-06:00

The Road by Cormac McCarthy is by far one of my favourite books of all time and initially, I was hugely excited at the idea of a big-screen adaptation of it but now...after watching the trailer...I am a little concerned.
I didn't even watch the entire trailer because, honestly, I couldn't stomach it. Going from the very drawn out (in a good way) and intense (in a subtle way) style with which McCarthy tends to write...this over the top Hollywood trailer just didn't sit well with me.
Furthermore, the book never specifies what the "disaster" was and the role played by Charlize Theron was much, much smaller in the book.
I'm undecided as to whether or not I will go see this movie. I'm slightly disappointed that the film seems to not have the same ambiance as the book...whatsoever.

In other news...since I feel like a pirate today I decided to post a Gogol Bordello video. Gypsy, pirate, all the same for today.

"Wonderlust King" from the 2007 release Super Taranta! on SideOneDummy.

A day of reflection...

2009-06-10T15:56:00.003-06:00

You know...I miss Kanye West. I miss him when he was good, at the top of his game.
This new 808s and Heartbreak album is just not...Ye to me. At all.
The College Dropout, Late Registration and Graduation just all seemed so full of life. They are as big and inflated as his ego which made it okay for him to spout off about how he is the next James Brown and how he will go down in history as one of the greatest entertainers of all time etc etc etc.
But stacked up against 808's...those statements just don't seem to ring as true.
I like to think that his next album will return to walking the walk AND talking the talk.

New Kasabian and other new things

2009-06-08T12:59:00.003-06:00

New Kasabian track "Fire" from their newest album coming out tomorrow West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum released on RCA/Red Ink.

Also, no videos for this but...
The Most Serene Republic are releasing a seriously fantastic record. ...And The Ever Expanding Universe is an absolute must-have for fans of Arts and Crafts! Give 'er a listen when it comes out on July 14th.

It's Saturday

2009-06-06T13:49:00.003-06:00

New Moby Single "Pale Horses" from the upcoming Wait For Me album out June 29 on Little Idiot. A charming video.

Amazing Baby - "Head Dress" from their upcoming full-length Rewild being released June 23 on Shangri-La. I'm not too sure how I feel about this video yet.

Something a little bit older. I just love this video. Lioness - "You're My Heart" from their 2008 self-titled release on New Romantic.

Fresh Friday

2009-06-05T13:03:00.007-06:00

Again avec alliteration!

Franz Ferdinand has released a dub album. Yeah, you read that right. A DUB album. And what's more surprising? It is, for the most part anyway, incredible!
They've taken tracks from their last release, Tonight, and remixed them in a way to create Blood - a fresh take on the sound niche they've carved out for themselves. They should probably get risky like this more often. It works. Some tracks are more fetching than others but on the whole, I'm really diggin' it!

There's nothing on the internet that will let you listen to some tracks (quickly) so I've made a file of 3 of my favourite tracks and uploaded it to the site below. It's crude, so forgive me, but I have no idea how to do this and am pretty impressed I managed to do this much.

The tracks I've included are (in order of appearance) "Feel The Pressure", "Feel The Envy" and "If I Can't Have You Then Nobody Can."
Hopefully there's no trouble with this file. Enjoy!
Franz Ferdinand - Blood (Domino)

Tiga on Thursday

2009-06-04T17:02:00.003-06:00

Apparently I really like alliteration.

Here's the new Tiga video for "Shoes" from the new album Ciao! on Last Gang records. Directed by AlexandLiane who did the video for "Shut Up and Let Me Go" by the Ting Ting's (We Started Nothing, Columbia) as well as "That's Not My Name"...and since embedding is disabled on both those videos...I'm gonna take it back to 2004 and post another video directed by AlexandLiane!

Scissor Sisters!!! "Laura" from their self-titled debut album on Universal.

A Little Somethin' Different for Hump Day

2009-06-03T10:42:00.002-06:00

New Beyonce video for "Diva." I really like it a lot.

Happy Wednesday!

Tiny Masters of Today

2009-06-02T13:20:00.006-06:00

These kids...15 and 13...and totally amazing.

Title track from the upcoming album Skeletons being released on June 16 on Mute records. I has me a feeling it will be packed with gems.

Here's their video for Hologram World from the 2007 release Bang Bang Boom Cake directed by Kids with Canes (Karen O and Barney Clay). Great video, great song, great kids.

And in the spirit of new music...

Here is a video of I Don't Wanna Go There... new Dinosaur Jr. song from their upcoming release, Farm (June 23) on Jagjagwuar.

Film Friday!

2009-05-29T14:18:00.002-06:00

How To Be. Directed by Olver Irving and starring Robert Pattinson. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Twilight was awful...but I have a feeling Robert Pattinson is going to have a long career ahead of him and we'll look back on Twilight as that awful movie that started his career.

Twistee Treat. Directed by John Herzog. Potential!

That's all for today. I have to get back to working on work things.
Enjoy your weekend!

Toonie Thursday!

2009-05-28T11:44:00.002-06:00

Got a double header today!

Whatever Works. New Woody Allen film starring Larry David, Patricia Clarkson and Evan Rachel Wood. Looks great!

Newest Phoenix video. 1901 from Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix.

Grizzly Bear - Two Weeks

2009-05-27T09:48:00.003-06:00

First video off the new album Veckatimest. Directed by Patrick Daughters who's done a ton of music videos including "Date With The Night" - the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, "Four Kicks" - Kings of Leon, "No I in Threesome" - Interpol and basically every Feist video.
I love this video!! There's something about humans with really big cartoony eyes that just makes me so happy. Great, great video.

New Steadman!

2009-04-29T21:32:00.001-06:00

Lacrosse Ballet

Local Spotlight

2009-04-24T20:17:00.002-06:00

My friend Anna and I went to Market Collective 5 here in Calgary a couple weekends ago and had the pleasure of seeing local artist Markus Michel.
His work is absolutely amazing and I came across this video of one of his books. The video doesn't do it justice but these books are huge, hundreds and hundreds of pages, and this particular one took 22 months to complete. The majority of the pages are delicately cut so that each page interacts and relates with the next. The colours he uses are so bright and vivid and his subjects range from octopuses to buildings to his own cat. Some of it is funny and all of it is totally breathtaking.
The video is 6 minutes long and worth every second.
Beautiful, beautiful work.
Enjoy! And go to the next Market Collective and see it for yourself!

Movie Madness, Take Two!

2009-04-23T21:26:00.009-06:00

Get it? I made a joke...referencing film making?
Anyway, here again are some wonderful trailers of upcoming movies that look simply wonderful. I hope you enjoy them. (NOTE: For some unknown reason, these damn trailers are showing up with a quarter cut off on my computer. If the same goes for yours...take the time to go to youtube and watch them because they really do look great.)

Paper Heart starring Charlyne Li and Michael Cera. I can pretty much say this will be one of my favourite movies of the entire year. Makes me feel all warm even though there's snow on the ground.

Lymelife. Three words: Culkin. Culkin. Baldwin.

Cheri. The kind of period piece I could get into.

Here is the link to a film I couldn't find the trailer for. It's called In A Dream and is a documentary about an artist, his family and the demise of his marriage. It looks beautiful.

Aaand...

CUT!

Random Vandal

2009-04-19T16:08:00.004-06:00

I took a little hiatus from blogging in order to get things done for school and celebrate appropriately at BSD on Friday but I am back now and will hopefully return to daily blogging once again.
So...I came across a new site! Random Vandal. The name is pretty self-explanatory but basically it's a blog with photos of random graffiti. I like the idea but instead of posting photos from it I'm posting my own favourite random vandal from a pedestrian bridge downtown.

Also...here is a piece I did for 3-d Intro. The assignment was to make a sculpture out of a found object and I came across a garbage bin outside the woodshop with a bunch of discarded wood. I took them all home and, after a stressful night of essay writing, glued them together into...whatever this is. I call it Clusterfuck.

Airspaces

2009-04-08T16:07:00.007-06:00

I came across an awesome site that lists a ton of different homes, shops, rooms, etc for photographers, directors, artists etc to rent and use for whatever they need.
I clicked around for hours, wishing I could live in these amazing spaces.
Whenever I get bored I tend to rearrange furniture or see what kind of interior design-y type things I can do, generally for free, and this website is just a big bundle of inspiration.
Here's some of my favourite interiors:

Here's the Aispace site. Check it out for tons, tons more rooms.

And here's something I did the other day when I should have been doing a drawing assignment. I pinned up old curtains into my hideous drop-ceiling. I guess they're good for some things!

The Prairie Chicken comes alive at night...

2009-04-07T12:10:00.004-06:00

Today in 3-D fundamentals, Ron took us on a little walkabout around the campus to look at all the sculptures that were commissioned around the time of the '88 Olympics. Here's a few of them.

"Rhythm One" - Drahanchuk - 1970.

The figures were sculpted by Ann something...finding out... The arch was designed by Diamond Architects.

Kinetic sculpture park by Katie Ohe.

"The Prairie Chicken" - George Norris.

There's tons, tons more art on campus if you ever want to wander around one lovely summer day and take it all in! But keep your eyes peeled, some of it is a little hidden.

A First

2009-04-03T11:39:00.002-06:00

I got the chance to do a silly little political cartoon for BeatRoute and here it is!
I think it's kind of hilarious although the dude on the right is supposed to be Stephen Harper and it doesn't really look like him at all.
Let's just say it's Barack Obama and the love child of Al Pacino and Robert DeNiro?

BeatRoute Magazine

Factory Party 5

2009-03-29T20:04:00.004-06:00

Well, Calgary, it's that time of the month again!
Factory Party is back this Friday at the Uptown Stage and Screen! If you haven't been yet, you really should, and if you have, then you're probably already planning on coming again. It's a great night for music, art, film, dancing, socializing and drinking...all in one place for one low, low price!
I'm even lucky enough to have a couple things up this time 'round and I would love to see some familiar faces and shoot some celebratory tequila. Maybe, just maybe I'll see you there!
Come down early if you don't have tickets...they're expecting 1200 people so there'll probably be more than that and door tickets will sell out.
See some bands, watch some films, check out some art (mine, too, please!) mingle, shake ya tail feather and party!

Movie Madness

2009-03-28T13:47:00.005-06:00

Got a couple more movie trailers for ya.

Away We Go is directed by Sam Mendes (American Beauty) and written by Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida. It's got a great cast and looks to be filled with dry humour. Looks like a good'er.

The Limits of Control. Great cast. Great director. Looks quite interesting.

Must Read After My Death. Documentary. I can't even describe it...just watch it. A beautiful, if not entirely disturbing, idea for a film.

Explicit Ills. This look amazing. Paul Dano is making some really great choices in the films he works on. He's extremely talented and I look forward to watching the rest of his career unfold.

Alien Trespass. Set in 1957, this film looks absolutely ridiculous in the most wonderful way. Check out this movie poster:

Where the Wild Things Are

2009-03-27T16:10:00.006-06:00

Here's the trailer for the new live-action adaptation of Maurice Sendack's 1963 children's book. It's directed by Spike Jonze and the screenplay was adapted by Jonze and Dave Eggers.
It looks absolutely amazing and I can't wait for it to hit theatres.
Goosebumps, anyone?

Dove with Green Peas ala Cardboard

2009-03-26T12:31:00.003-06:00

Our last assignment for intro to sculpture was to recreate a Picasso painting in 3-D using cardboard.
It was really fun and I like how mine turned out. This photo isn't great but it gets the point across I suppose. I'd actually like to shrink down and run around in it - it kind of reminds me of an amusement park or an "urban landscape" as my classmate Kristy said.

Meredith Dittmar

2009-03-24T11:57:00.011-06:00

These cute little polymer clay creatures totally made my day.

Meredith's homepage.

Louise Nevelson - 1899-1988

2009-03-22T12:30:00.001-06:00

We watched a film on Russian artist Louise Nevelson in sculpture class last week and I was completely in awe of this woman. The film was made in the 70's, when she was 80, and she has such a strong energy and presence when she works. She's funny as hell and has such conviction in everything she does. I tried to find clips of the video we watched but couldn't so instead I'm posting an interview she did on American Architecture Now. It's a bit long, about a half hour, but it's totally worth it. She says the most amazing things.
She worked primarily with objects she found on the streets of New York - old wooden crates, discarded banisters from the school across the street from her house and some of her later work was recreated on larger scales using sheet metal and glass.

She's quite amazing.

-Once her friend and patron Howard Lipman showed her an early American rocking chair that he had just acquired. He asked Nevelson's opinion of the chair. "I couldn't care less about the chair," she said, "but look at its shadow."-

"I have made my world and it is a much better world than I ever saw outside."

"Anywhere I found wood I took it home and started working with it..to show the world that art is everywhere, except it has to pass through a creative mind."

Links to more of her work.

Wet Paint - Please Touch

2009-03-21T13:50:00.005-06:00

Here's a site I found that's an excellent time killer.
WetPaintPleaseTouch

Some samples from the gallery.

Ones mine, but you'll never know which!
So...click on the link, throw some paint and let's see what you come up with!

Short Film Friday

2009-03-19T23:04:00.003-06:00

The Black Hole - Phil and Olly - 2008

Wishie Series - Denis Brown

2009-03-17T20:04:00.004-06:00

"I asked people to e-mail me a wish, and I wrote many hundreds of their wishes into these works. Etched in glass and with writing layered on top of writing, the wishes remain mostly secret/illegible, but they embody 3-D images of blow balls, wishies, soffione and pusteblume. In releasing a private wish to me, I hoped it might become more tangible to the wisher. Denis Brown, Dublin, February 2009"

I've always loved dandelions. There's something very magical about their shape, texture, the way those little umbrella seeds take flight with the slightest breeze and how they are at their most beautiful right before all those seeds are gone and their life ends.
Denis Brown manages to capture all of these elements in his series and the idea of secrets etched within every one adds even more magic.
Love it!

Side Note
We've been reading poetry by Don McKay in English for the past week and a half and this is one of my favourites.

Some Functions of a Leaf

To whisper. To applaud the wind
and hide the Hermit thrush.
To catch the light
and work the humble spell of photosynthesis
(excuse me sir, if I might have one word)
by which it's changed to wood.
To wait
willing to feed
and be food
To die with style:
as the tree retreats inside itself,
shutting off the valves at its
extremities
to starve in technicolour, then
having served two hours in a children's leaf pile, slowly
stir its vitamins into the earth.

To be the artist of mortality.

Brian Dettmer

2009-03-16T22:24:00.002-06:00

Brian Dettmer carves into books revealing the artwork inside, creating complex layered three-dimensional sculptures. Amazing!

Sea Creatures

2009-03-12T17:58:00.002-06:00

These are one of my all time favourite creatures.
They're called nudibranchs (noody-brank) and if that isn't enough to make you love them too then listen to this!
Sea slugs, which these guys technically are but not all sea slugs are as pretty as them, lost their outer shells over the course of evolution because they developed other defense mechanisms. The big one for nudibranchs being their insanely bright colours which warns that they are poisonous or distasteful. When threatened, they release a sour tasting liquid from their skin. Also, these guys are carnivores! They eat algae, sponges, anemones, coral, barnacles and even other nudibranchs! There's also more than 3000 different species, with new ones being discovered every day.
They're amazing. And beautiful. And I want one. I hope you do too.
I think I'll actually do a couple different posts on beautiful sea creatures.

If You Could Spend a Day...

2009-03-03T19:57:00.007-07:00

With any artist, celebrity, musician or what have you, who would it be?

I choose Michel Gondry - visionary French director of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Science of Sleep, Be Kind, Rewind, Dave Chappelle's Block Party, Tokyo! and a number of music videos. He's insanely talented and I would love to hang out with him for a day...watch him work, help him work, talk about dreams...just get inside his head in general.
I couldn't even begin to post his huge body of work, but here are some of my favourites along with a couple extra treats. Again, if you've got time to spare, watch them. Then go to you tube and watch everything else.

Levi's Commercial.

Radiohead - Knives Out

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind clip

"La Science des Rêves" (The Science of Sleep) dream sequence

Beck - Deadweight

Oui Oui - Les Cailloux

So, who would you spend a day with? And for this one...it can't be a dead person. Sorry, it's the rules.

Yuval and Merav Nathan

2009-02-26T14:33:00.003-07:00

These Israeli directors/animators/"creators" are incredible. I first saw their work on the video for Her Morning Elegance by Oren Lavie and I was instantly captivated. Here is that video first:

Amit Erez - Postcard

DANCING

Dancing

Eatliv - Attractive

If you've got 20 minutes to spare, I recommend watching these videos. Also, there are quite a few more on Yuval and Merav Nathan's homepage.

Nordpark Cable Railway

2009-02-25T12:20:00.003-07:00

Incredible railway in Austria by Zaha Hadid Architects.

Urban Knitting

2009-02-21T18:12:00.006-07:00

Another form of street art!

"Tree Cozy" - Carol Hummel - Cleveland Heights City Hall (now dismantled)

Knitted shoes by Knitta Please.

In Stockholm.

Abandoned gas station, Syracuse, New York.

More information, photos and a video here.

A Link

2009-02-20T00:44:00.000-07:00

Pictures of Walls.

Vladimir Kush

2009-02-18T12:37:00.004-07:00

This phenomenal Russian artist dubs his work "metaphorical realism."

More paintings.
Homepage.

Love

2009-02-15T22:38:00.004-07:00

My best friend Yana Matusovski has a thing for "I Love" pages and I made one a while back. The other day, I made another.

I love her.

Natural Architecture

2009-02-14T15:46:00.006-07:00

Here's some photographs from Alessandro Rocca's book Natural Architecture.

La Tonnelle - Gilles Bruni and Marc Babarit, 1996

Organic Highway - Mikael Hansen, 1995

Clemson Clay Nest - Nils-Udo, 2005

Running in Circles - Willow and Maple Saplings - Patrick Dougherty, 1996. This one is obviously my favourite.

More.

What I've been doing

2009-02-13T16:07:00.003-07:00

This is the first assignment for my 3D fundamentals class, which is by far my favourite this semester.
We built a shallow box out of wood and then drew a design using three letters of our name. After filling the box half full with clay we then carved out the design and cast a mold in plaster.
This is the negative of my design but I hope to cast a positive or two next week.

The one thing I wish the U of C had...

2009-02-12T17:51:00.012-07:00

GLASS BLOWING!

This glass artist, David Chihuly, is incredible. All of these pieces are on display until May 31st at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, Arizona but the link at the bottom is to Chihuly's homepage which has oodles more.
Chiostro di Sant'Apollonia Chandelier, 1995.

Mexican Hat and Horn Tower, 2008 (detail on right)

Saffron Tower, 2008. 27 feet high!

Blue and Purple Boat, 2008.

Blue Fiddleheads, 2008.

David Chihuly.

Abu Dhabi Hyatt

2009-02-11T17:08:00.003-07:00

The Leaning Tower of Pisa's title of World's most inclined building is being taken over by the new Hyatt hotel being built in Abu Dhabi. RMJM Architects designed the building which will open later this year.

RMJM Architects.
More info on the Abu Dhabi Hyatt.

Some Interesting Churches

2009-02-10T12:22:00.002-07:00

The Church of Hallgrímur, Reykjavík, Iceland - Guðjón Samúelssondesign

Jubilee Church, Rome, Italy - Richard Meier

Device to Root out Evil - Dennis Oppenheim. Apparently, this has recently been moved from Vancouver to Calgary. I'm not sure where exactly this is but if any of you do, please let me know!

Chris Zajko

2009-02-06T16:46:00.002-07:00

Local artist. Singer for Sharp Ends. Genius.

Cloud Gate

2009-02-06T00:45:00.003-07:00

Cloud Gate - Chicago - Anish Kapoor

Ted Godwin

2009-02-05T17:34:00.007-07:00

I had the pleasure of not only seeing Ted Godwin's exhibit at the Nickle Arts Museum late last year but I also happened to be there while he popped in for a visit. He was kind enough to sit down with some of us and answer all of our questions and offer up some helpful tid-bits that only a career of his length could provide.
He is truly an amazing man and his work leaves me speechless.
Ted was born in Calgary in 1933 and after graduating from SAIT (holla) in 1955, he began teaching at the University of Regina in the faculty of art. He later became part of what is now known as the Regina Five and his work continues to be met with critical acclaim.
Unfortunately, I'm unable to find photos of most of the pieces in the Nickle exhibit, but here is what I could find.

Said the Spider to the Fly - 1965. Oil and acrylic on canvas. This was by far my favourite piece in the exhibit. It's beauty can only really be seen first hand but I had to include it nonetheless.

Red Grew - 196. Oil on canvas

Lower Bow - 1991. Watercolour etching.

Untitled.

Exposure 2009 Calgary Banff Photography Festival

2009-02-04T09:16:00.011-07:00

Over the next week or so I'm going to highlight one (or more) exhibits going on as part of this year's Exposure Photography Festival.
This weekend, Edward Burtynsky's exhibit, The Residual Landscape is opening at Whyte Museum in Banff.
"Edward Burtynsky is one of Canada's most respected photographers. Nature transformed through industry is a predominant theme in his work. His photographic images are meant as metaphors to the dilemma of our modern existence, they search for a dialogue between attraction and repulsion, seduction and fear."
His work is as beautiful as it is disturbing.

For more information on the Exposure festival, check out the website here.

Edward Burtynsky's exhibit opens this Saturday and runs until April 26 at Whyte Museum, 111 Bear Street, Banff.

Steadman.

2009-02-03T16:07:00.007-07:00

This should have been the first post I ever did...but it wasn't so here it is now.
Ralph Steadman is one of my favourite artists of all time. You probably know him as the guy who did all the drawings for Hunter S. Thompson's Rolling Stone pieces as well as many of his books. His collaborations with Hunter are incredible but my favourite Steadman work is, hands down, the illustrations he did for Alice in Wonderland. I love all things Alice and when I came across Steadman's illustrated book in Vancouver a few years ago, I had to buy it. I look through it quite often and get lost in his work every single time.
The illustrations are considerably darker than the animated film...but that kind of goes without saying when Steadman is the artist and I think his work is closer to the actual feel of the book.

some other Steadman pieces...

New. Kurt Vonnegut etching.

The quintessential Dr. Gonzo.

Another of my favourite series...Wine According to Steadman.

Steadman has a huge body of work and I couldn't even begin to cover it here...
Ralph Steadman Art Homepage.

If anyone has an extra $3,000 lying around, please buy me The Lizard Lounge silkscreen. Thanks.

On the Flip Side...

2009-02-02T18:23:00.001-07:00

The Reverse Graffiti Project
Uploaded by BriKO

This is beautiful. This guy makes stencils and then instead of spray painting them onto walls he finds a dirty wall and cleans the area of the stencil. Amazing!

It's Monday...It's Banksy!

2009-02-02T13:32:00.008-07:00

Please click on the photos...they keep getting cut off and the majority of it is not shown in the post.

Banksy's work is what street art is supposed to be. Powerful, evocative, political, emotional, relevant. Genius. Banksy.

Cans Festival - Banksy Street Exhbitiion.

Love

2009-02-01T14:38:00.002-07:00

Radiohead - All I Need. Footage from J. Tyler Helms' 1996 film Microcosmos. Beautiful.

Pinhole Photography

2009-01-31T23:47:00.004-07:00

All photos - Rob Gardiner. More.

Spiral Jetty

2009-01-29T13:42:00.002-07:00

Spiral Jetty (Land Art) - Great Salt Lake - Robert Smithson, 1970. After he finished this piece he went up in airplane to look at it and the plane crashed and he died. Crazy.

PS

2009-01-28T22:10:00.000-07:00

I'm totally in love with this cover.

Factory Party 4

2009-01-28T21:53:00.005-07:00

See you there.

Jean Dubuffet

2009-01-27T18:15:00.003-07:00

French painter and sculptor. July 31 1901 - May 12 1985

Manoir d Essor - Lousiana Museum of Modern Art - Denmark.

Monument à la Bête Debout - 1984 - Chicago

Jardin d'email - Kroller Muller Sculpture garden - Otterlo, Netherlands

Grand Jazz Band (New Orleans) - 1941

Galeries Lafayette - 1961

Dubai

2009-01-26T13:39:00.004-07:00

Dubai Architecture
This city is totally insane...and it's awesome. Don't stop scrolling!

Morning Bass and Cartoons

2009-01-26T11:28:00.002-07:00

Alex Cuba - Tu Boca Lo Quita

Art of Fresh - Out of this World

A Link For a Friend

2009-01-25T13:09:00.002-07:00

Картины
Я люблю Вас
(Who knows if that's accurate...)

I like...

2009-01-24T12:42:00.002-07:00

Monet, National Holiday, June 30, 1878, Rue St. Denis

Monet, National Holiday, June 30, 1878, Rue Montorgueil

Manet, The Viennese Woman (Portrait of Irma Brunner in a Black Hat)

Road trip...

2009-01-23T22:34:00.004-07:00

It's too cold outside.

An American Road Trip of Yesteryear

A Canadian Road Trip of '07.

Electroland...

2009-01-22T11:51:00.004-07:00

I stumbled upon (literally. great add-on) this website a number of months ago and I go back and look through it probably once a week.
Cameron McNall and Damon Seeley create huge public art all over the globe incorporating light, sound, images, architecture, motion and interactivity into each piece. Their work creates a sense of play and, as said before, interactivity missing in day to day life. These projects are a way to catch people off guard and wake them from the drone of monotony.
They proposed a project last year for Calgary, which I couldn't get a photo for so you'll have to go to their website (link at bottom) to see it. "Eleven differently coloured glass interactive sculptures mark each one of the main train stops along 7th Ave. When viewed as a group they lend a cohesive identity to the transit corridor; individually, each displays unique interactive patterns when people approach them. The sculptures will be installed over a three year period during phased corridor construction."

"Enteractive" in Los Angeles. The lights on the side of the building correspond with lights on the sidewalk below and as people move and interact on the sidewalk, the wall of the building lights up.

City National Plaza, L.A. This one didn't get completed as the client decided not to continue with it. Too bad.

Urban Nomad Shelter, L.A. This was the first I saw of Electroland and was immediately intrigued. The shelters are inflatable which McNall and Seeley see as both a "social and humanitarian act." The wide distribution of the bright cocoons was hoped to foster a "dialog about the invisibility and marginalization of the homeless." On the humanitarian side, the shelters provide portable and inexpensive ways to protect against weather and other hardships the homeless face.

These are the only images I was able to get due to a savvy website design...check out Electroland's website for more projects.

Today in 3D...

2009-01-20T16:57:00.009-07:00

Started the first project which is making a clay mold of a design using three letters of our name and then casting that in plaster. HAY! It's a happy design and I think I will really enjoy it. No pictures...work in progress?

Sidenote...Obama!
Considering it's inauguration day, I feel it's only right to do something about Barack Obama.
Thinking about the man who rose to mass media superstar over the past number of months, I realize how far the influence of his campaign has reached. Music, art, literature, history. The Obama Machine pushed campaigning to a level not often seen in the political realm.
Mtv News had a short story on Obama Art and after interneting a bit, these are my picks...much more at The Obama Report.

The one that started it all...
Shepard Fairey. Los Angeles based street artist. He got together with publicist Yosi Sergant, who suggested he pitch something to Obama and, after a few calls, got the go-ahead Fairey was waiting for. He had two weeks before Super Sunday and set out pulling his piece together...starting with a googled news photo. Progress was the word on Fairey's first posters but hope and change are among many variations. It's become a pop culture icon...and it's politics! Could the American people be getting smarter...or, counterpoint...is this some form of carefully chosen, glamourized propaganda? Either way, it's a great time to be alive and it's been said a thousand times but...This is History.

Another Shepard Fairey piece for his Duality of Humanism exhibit in San Francisco.

Another take by Mac

Morning Breath. A lot of Obama art took on this really 'retro' kind of feel, resembling feel-good advertising in the 50's.

Up in Canada we didn't see this poster for Upper Playground by The Date Farmers but it played a big part in the success of The Obama Machine. A conversation about how "silly it was that Obama wasn't getting the Latino vote"...ergo...Cambio.

Street art in New York City.

Street Art - Atlanta.

Acrylic. Phil Fung.

"Just Words" Gene Mackles

"Hussein (Handsome One)" Ian Simmons. I love this because in the mixed media class I had one of my "texture studies" was made by getting everyone in the bar one Wednesday night to sign an 8" by 8" piece of paper. Since then I've been using words as 'mark-making'.

Hope (You Complete the Picture) Trey Speegle

Josh Holland. and Shannon Bonatakis.

A version of the Abe-Obama image. San Francisco

Coup.

Cut acrylic paint, Zane Lewis..

...but I digress!

h

A few things...

2009-01-17T17:17:00.004-07:00

The redesign of BeatRoute is a go for February! I'm so excited to get this thing going and work on a brand new template and do brand new covers with a brand new logo. Pick one up next month!

This was my final project for the "mixed media" class I had last semester. I've fallen out of love with it a bit because I see it all the time now, but I still think it's pretty neat.

Also, I miss this time dearly. It was a wonderful week in a wonderful city.

(Lollapalooza 2008 - Grant Park, Chicago)

Back to work...

2009-01-14T17:49:00.002-07:00

After a lovely month or so of doing close to absolutely nothing (and loving every minute of it) it is time to get back to alarm clocks, commutes and classrooms.
This semester is already shaping up to be a good one. My Drawing II class is most likely going to be a little more intense than Drawing I ( a project every week as opposed to every month...) but I'm up for the challenge.
I need this week to just get my bearings and what not but I should be back up posting regularly next week.

Also, keep your eyes peeled for a new and fresh BeatRoute hitting stands in February or March (hopefully).
If the rest of the people involved can get on board and get moving, the redesign will be official soon(!) and I will feel a huge sense of accomplishment.
A big check mark on the long list of things to do in my life.

More in a few days.

h.

It's done.

2008-11-30T13:07:00.002-07:00

Hours and hours later and the starfish are done. I might eventually do a series with more starfish. Who knows.
I'm happy.

Time Flies...

2008-11-24T22:05:00.002-07:00

Production week again...seriously?
Almost end of semester...seriously?

Currently I'm finishing up my "fantasy building" which is probably the least fantastical of the entire class but I really enjoy it.
Also, I'm putting in many, many hours on an extremely detailed drawing of starfish. It's painstaking but these kind of projects are always the most rewarding for me.
I'm planning my final project for mixed media and if it goes according to the picture in my head, I'm going to be really stoked on it.
I don't see a point in posting works in progress but all my things will hopefully be done this week.
I'm also starting a painting for fun and I think I actually have some kind of direction and end result in mind, which is good.

All in all...stay tuned...

Last night in Mixed Media/Tonight in Drawing 1...

2008-10-28T21:58:00.001-06:00

Blogging on hiatus. Finally feeling like a university student with not enough time.
Back next week, probably, after Beatroute production is done.