Music For Backgrounds 01: Dr. Atmo – Samarra (Sad World II)
Music For Backgrounds is my 2012 music reviewer which will explore new music in the electronic / ambient genre. I hope to continue what I began with last year’s 30-Day Song Challenge; introducing my readers to the music of artists from around the world. I am calling this series “Music For Backgrounds” because I want to bring a musical sensibility that supports participation from a distance. This is background music. Music for creating art, working around the house, reading, anything where your attention is needed elsewhere. It is music for repeated listening throughout the day. Most of the tracks will be slightly long in length (up to an hour will be the average), therefore I suggest that you make a copy of the URL and paste it in a folder or on your desktop. Because of the length of the music, I realize that it may be difficult to devote listening time while posting.
First up in the series is Dr. Atmo. In the 1990’s I was very much influenced by the FAX label out of Germany. The label, founded by Pete Namlook, brings together various musicians in the electronic sphere for collaboration and solo projects. Dr. Atmo produced the 2-cd masterpiece entitled Samarra (Sad World) in 1993. The track featured here is just over 40 minutes long. It is a long-flowing, mind-blowing excursion into a wall of sound. It begins with a wash of ocean surf and synths with a vocalization depicting a rather strange, surreal story of Jesus in the upper room. As the piece progresses, the cyclical synths are joined by drums and sequencing beats. Sad World is a beautiful and mysterious work of art. A true masterpiece.
Weekly Movie-Making Moments In Film: Joe Frank Theater
The ongoing work of avant-garde monologist Joe Frank….
Memories
During the 1980’s while listening to NPR Radio, I came across the incredible surrealist work of monologist Joe Frank. His dark story of angst and misplaced reality quickly fascinated me. His work over the years has been a strong influence on my writing and my visual art. I am very pleased to introduce to you, my readers, to the beautiful work of Joe Frank. – Walter Smith
Joe Frank (born August 19, 1938) is an American radio personality, known best for his often philosophical, humorous, surrealist, and sometimes absurd monologues and radio dramas.
Early life
Joe Frank was born Joseph Langermann in August 1938 in Strasbourg, France near the border of Germany to Meier Langermann (then 51) and his wife Friederike (then 27), while in transit from Germany (where they were living, although they were Polish citizens). Being Jewish, his family was fleeing Nazi Germany and moving to New York City, where they arrived on April 12, 1939. Bills to allow the family into the country were passed in the U.S. Congress twice, the first having been vetoed by President Roosevelt. Joe’s father died when he was 5 years old. The next year his mother married Freddy Frank and changed Joe’s last name. In his twenties, Frank studied at Hofstra University in New York and later at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. Frank taught English literature at the Dalton School in Manhattan when he became interested in the power of radio.
Early Career
In 1977 Frank started volunteering at Pacifica Network station WBAI in New York, doing experimental radio involving monologues, improvisational actors, and live music during late night free-form hours. In 1978 he moved to Washington DC to serve as a co-anchor for the weekend edition of National Public Radio’s All Things Considered, his first paying radio job.
During this period he wrote, performed in, and produced 18 dramas for NPR Playhouse, which won several awards. His 1982 monologue “Lies” was used as the inspiration for the Martin Scorsese movie After Hours, without permission.(He later settled out of court for a “handsome” settlement.)
KCRW, 1986–2002
In 1986, on the invitation of Ruth Hirschman [Seymour] the general manager of NPR’s Santa Monica affiliate KCRW, Frank moved to Santa Monica, California where he wrote, produced and performed in his own weekly hour-long radio program, “Joe Frank: Work In Progress.”
While at KCRW, Frank received several awards, including a Peabody Award and two Corporation for Public Broadcasting Awards, one for his acclaimed three-part series “Rent-a-Family.” Frank was also a Guggenheim Fellow.
Joe Frank continued to work at KCRW until 2002, and his work evolved, as evidenced by the diverse series he produced: first Work in Progress, then In The Dark, followed by Somewhere Out There, and finally The Other Side.
Radio programs
Frank’s radio programs are often dark and ironic, and employ a dry sense of humor and the sincere delivery of ideas or stories that are patently absurd. Subject matter often includes religion, life’s meaning, death, and Frank’s relationships with women.
Frank’s voice is distinctive, resonant, authoritative, and—because of his occasional voice-over work—often oddly familiar. At the 2003 Third Coast Festival he explained that he was “recording in Dolby and playing back without it—which created Joe’s now familiar intimate and gritty sound.”
Adding to the atmosphere of Frank’s monologues are edited loops of instrumental music from sources as diverse as Miles Davis, Steve Reich, Tangerine Dream, Can, Air and Antonio Carlos Jobim.
The repetitive music and Frank’s dry, announcer-like delivery are sometimes mixed with recorded phone calls with actor/friends such as Larry Block, Debi Mae West and Arthur Miller, broken into “acts” over the course of each hourlong program.
Frank’s series The Other Side included excerpts from Buddhist teacher Jack Kornfield’s Dharma talks at Spirit Rock Meditation Center. In an interview on KPFA’s the Morning Show, Kornfield was asked about working with Joe Frank. Kornfield explained that although he had never met or talked to Joe Frank or heard his show, he didn’t mind Frank using the lectures and that many of his meditation students had found Kornfield through the show.
Other work
- He can be heard on the song ‘Montok Point’ on William Orbit’s album Strange Cargo Hinterland.
- “The Decline Of Spengler” Stage Play (New Directions 48, New York)
- “A Tour Of The City” Stage Play (Tanam Press, New York) was produced by Theatre Anima at Hangar #9 in the Old Port of Montreal in 1990, and was directed by Jordan Deitcher.
- The Queen of Puerto Rico and Other Stories,, William Morrow and Co, New York, 1993. ISBN 0-688-08765-5 a collection of short stories: Tell me what to do—Fat man—Night—Date—Walter—The queen of Puerto Rico—The decline of Spengler
2002–present
Since 2002, Frank has performed on stage in Chicago at the Art Institute of Chicago and Steppenwolf Theatre, in San Francisco at the Great American Music Hall and in Los Angeles at the Hammer Museum and Largo at the Coronet, as well as other venues.
In 2003, Joe Frank was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Third Coast International Audio Festival.
His body of work (over 230 hours) continues to be aired on the Pacifica Radio affiliate station KPFA in Berkeley, California and many NPR stations including WNYC New York, KCRW Santa Monica and WBEZ Chicago. The entire archives, Joe Frank film shorts and other extras, are available by subscription to his web site. Show CDs, downloads, and iPods are also available through his website.
Frank’s new web site launch in August 2010 now includes free daily downloads of stories excerpted from his radio shows.
Frank continues to write new work for the stage and his website, and posts frequently on Facebook.
Inspiration to other artists
Frank’s body of work has inspired a variety of other artists including:
- Ira Glass of This American Life: “Ira Glass worked under Frank as one of his first jobs in public radio, and credits him as his greatest inspiration.”
- David Sedaris, writer
- Troy Schulze, a theater artist in Houston who created the show Jerry’s World (2003) for the Houston, Tx.-based theater group Infernal Bridegroom Productions. Utilizing material from several Frank shows, the piece was deemed “Best Original Show” in Houston that year, by the Houston Press.
- Jeff Crouse, artist and technologist, created Interactive Frank, which uses content from the web to dynamically create a Joe Frank Show. “The user types in a sentence, and Interactive Frank takes over, scouring the web for another sentence that follows a sentence with the last three words. Frank can also find streaming audio to accompany the generated narrative based on a word analysis, and it can read the narrative using an online text-to-speech generator.”
- Filmmakers like Francis Ford Coppola, Michael Mann, David Fincher and Ivan Reitman have optioned or bought stories from Joe Frank’s radio shows.
Voiceover and acting work
Joe Frank has done voice over work for commercials including Zima, and Saturn Corporation. He was the voice of the computer in Galaxy Quest and provides voiceover for:
- “Wild Rescues” on Animal Planet
- “Conspiracies” on A&E
- “Ends of the Earth” on the Learning Channel
- “Hurricane X” on the Discovery channel
- “Sexy Beast” film: narrator on trailer. This trailer was nominated for best film trailer in 2004.
He also had a small acting role in The Game.
Awards
- 2003
- Third Coast International Audio Festival Lifetime Achievement Award
During NPR Playhouse
- 1982
- Broadcast Media Award
- 1983
- Radio Program Award from the Corporation For Public Broadcasting
- Gold Award from the International Radio Festival of New York
- 1984
- Gold Award from the International Radio Festival of New York (second)
- American Nomination to the Prix Italia
- 1985
- Special Commendation from the Berlin Prix Futura
During Work In Progress
- 1988
- Major Armstrong Award
- Corporation For Public Broadcasting Program Award
- 1991
- Peabody Award
- 1993
- Guggenheim Fellowship for Radio Art
Looking Forward to 2012 – An Artist Shares His Thoughts
Looking forward to a year of art, writing, and contemplative journeys in 2012….
Riding the path to a creative tomorrow
Somewhere in the waking, I will paint with more than one color, write with more than one word, express more than one idea….
This will be my last post of 2011. It is Friday morning, December 30th. I am sitting in front of my computer while listening to Fluid Radio on ITunes. As I begin typing, Fluid Radio is playing a track entitled Shooting Blankets from the band called Two People in a Room. It is a quiet morning. The ambience is meditative. The cats are hanging about; grooming themselves, eating and listening to the sounds. I am preparing lunch; whole grain pasta, and tomato basil sauce with scallops and meatballs. I wanted to go to the gym this morning and do some spinning or weight training, however when the urge to write beckons, expression and creativity governs the day.
I have been thinking for some time now what I wanted to work on and accomplish for the New Year. This past year I feel I have been quite successful. I spoke more in depth about my past achievements in my recent post It Has Been a Year of Blogging – Some Thoughts I Wish to Share. Now it is time to look forward.
The very first thing on my agenda is the opening of my online store n e w d i g i t a l s c a p e s for selling my art. I have completed the design of the site (Imagekind is my site provider) and I am now in the process of uploading, editing and organizing my art galleries. I am very excited. An online store, I believe, is well suited for my digital art, and should provide a high quality venue for the purchasing of my art. Prints in various sizes, high-end photographic paper, canvas, and assortment of frames are all available. Links to the site will be available on my website and on my blog in January.
I am also looking forward to returning to my love of video art. I just got a HD video camera, and will be upgrading to a semi-professional editing system. I hope to investigate a distinct realm of processing which I call “video as chance”. It is a form of video expression that allows for time, space and subject matter to dictate what come into the lens of the camera. In the meantime, I will continue to create 2-dimensional photographic work. As I hope to continue to find new ways to structure my work in a beautiful yet provocative form.
I will continue to blog as often as I can. In the past year, I have come to appreciate blogging as a great tool for finding a consistency that sustains the creative process. The heavy schedule of creating new art, and marketing my online store may mean less posting. But I always let the mood of the moment carry the day, so we will see.
Another important part of my exploratory nature is my connection with the mind and body through challenging physical adventures. Top of the list is finding new mountains to climb on my mountain bike; long road trips on my road bike; rocking climbing and hopefully sky diving. That last one will take a little courage.
I hope to finish out the year with the publishing of an art book that centers on my blogging experience. Art for Posts is the title.
All in all I am looking forward to expressing ideas and concepts, and continuing the communication I have come to appreciate with so many talented writers, photographers, musicians, and artists.
2012 is a year for us. Let’s do it together.
Art rules.
Ideas conquer….
Weekly Movie-Making Moments in Film: Attack the Block – 2011
The city series….
Yo - the aliens are coming
One of the things that I have always questioned is this … Why don’t the aliens ever attack the ghetto? I mean, all the alien invaders when they invade seem to end up in the midwest; or on someone’s farm; in the backwoods; at the lake during vacation; or the town you would never visit with a population of 10—anywhere but in the hood.
Well those days are over. We be talking about the really cool, down by law, and just totally sweet, street-wise, hip new film (out this year) entitled “Attack the Block”. I could say more but I will let the trailer say the rest. But I will conclude by saying I think it is a must see film if you like the dark comedy science fiction genre. There are great moments in the film. Nothing gave us a laugh more than one of the characters saying …”fire in the hole” or “aliens got talent” in reference to America’s Got Talent and Simon Cowell.
Attack the Block is a 2011 British science fiction action film written and directed by Joe Cornish. The film stars Jodie Whittaker, John Boyega, Alex Esmail, Franz Drameh, Leeon Jones, Simon Howard. Set on a council estate in South London on Bonfire night, the film follows a street gang which have to defend themselves from hostile alien invaders. The film was released in the United Kingdom on 11 May 2011. Attack the Block is the directorial debut of Cornish.
A scene from the film - is that what I think it is
No safety in here
Urban Contemplation: 11 – Music for the World Trade Center – an interview with sound artist Stephen Vitiello
The city series….
An interview with sound artist Stephen Vitiello – World Trade Center Recordings
http://youtu.be/PbkMBU2A9T8 – Stephen Vitiello
Urban Contemplation: 10 – Music for Entangled Thoughts – Lawrence English & Ai Yamamoto
The city series….
Music for Entangled Thoughts
http://youtu.be/gy1C5Jj6zNQ – Lawrence English & Ai Yamamoto – Plateau 2007
Detail of entangled thoughts and attached emotions
“All I Ask Is That I Am Allowed To Participate In The World Of Ideas” – Bill T. Jones
Bill T. Jones
I am a strong admirer of dance and modern dance in particular. And most notably Bill T. Jones, who has always been at the forefront of the discipline. He is an immensely creative and provocative choreographer, artistic director and dancer. I had the pleasure this evening of watching American Masters on PBS, and the featuring of “A Good Man”– Bill T. Jones and his examination of the life of President Lincoln and his new piece “The Ghost Train”. Listening to Jones’ pondering on creativity; the social, political, and psychological constructs that form his art, I was deeply inspired. It led me to my previous post on the idea of artists giving voice to their vision. This is a night of celebrating ideas, voice and Bill T. Jones.
http://youtu.be/Dg4a5RiAed8 – Bill T. Jones – As I Was Saying
http://youtu.be/ag5cSZcKp1g – Toronto Dance: Bill T. Jones – Chapel/Chapter
Bill T. Jones (born February 15, 1952) is an American artistic director, choreographer and dancer.
Early life
Jones was born in Bunnell, Florida and his family moved North as part of the Great Migration in the first half of the twentieth century. They settled in Wayland, New York, where Jones attended Wayland High School. He began his dance training at Binghamton University, where he studied classical ballet and modern dance.
Jones choreographed and performed worldwide as a soloist and duet company with his late partner, Arnie Zane before forming the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company in 1982.
Career
Creating more than 100 works for his own company, Jones has also choreographed for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, AXIS Dance Company, Boston Ballet, Lyon Opera Ballet, Berlin Opera Ballet and Diversions Dance Company, among others. In 1995, Jones directed and performed in a collaborative work with Toni Morrison and Max Roach, Degga, at Alice Tully Hall, commissioned by Lincoln Center’s “Serious Fun” Festival. His collaboration with Jessye Norman, How! Do! We! Do!, premiered at New York’s City Center in 1999.
In 1990, Jones choreographed Sir Michael Tippett’s New Year under the direction of Sir Peter Hall for the Houston Grand Opera and the Glyndebourne Opera Festival. He conceived, co-directed and choreographed Mother of Three Sons, which was performed at the Munich Biennale, New York City Opera, and the Houston Grand Opera. He also directed Lost in the Stars for the Boston Lyric Opera. Jones’ theater involvement includes co-directing Perfect Courage with Rhodessa Jones for Festival 2000, in 1990. In 1994, he directed Derek Walcott’s Dream on Monkey Mountain for The Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, MN.
Jones also collaborated with artist Keith Haring in 1982 to create a series of both performance and visual arts together.
Television credits include PBS’s “Great Performances” Series (Fever Swamp and Last Supper at Uncle Tom’s Cabin/The Promised Land) and “Alive from Off Center” (Untitled). Still/Here was co-directed for television by Bill T. Jones and Gretchen Bender. A PBS documentary on the making of Still/Here, by Bill Moyers and David Grubin, “Bill T. Jones: Still/Here with Bill Moyers”, premiered in 1997. The 1999 Blackside documentary I’ll Make Me a World: A Century of African-American Arts, profiled Jones’ work. D-Man in the Waters is included in “Free to Dance”, a 2001 Emmy winning documentary that chronicles modern dance’s African-American roots. Narrated by Jones himself, the BBC/VIEW also produced a documentary film, entitled Bill T. Jones: Dancing to the Promised Land, that documents the creation of Jones’s Last Supper at Uncle Tom’s Cabin/The Promised Land and guides us through the life, work, and creative process of Jones and the Bill T. Jones / Arnie Zane Dance Company.
Jones is the co-creator, director and choreographer of the musical Fela!, which ran Off-Broadway in 2008 and opened on Broadway in previews in October 2009. Jones won the Lucille Lortel Award as Outstanding Choreographer for his work as well as the Tony Award for Best Choreography.
Awards
In 1994, Jones received a MacArthur “Genius” Award. In 1979, Jones was granted the Creative Artists Public Service Award in Choreography, and in 1980, 1981 and 1982, he was the recipient of Choreographic Fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts. Bill T. Jones has been awarded several New York Dance and Performance (“Bessie Awards”); 1986 Joyce Theater Season (along with Arnie Zane), D-Man in the Waters (1989 and 2001), The Table Project (2001) and The Breathing Show (2001). Mr. Jones, along with his collaborators, sister Rhodessa Jones and Idris Ackamoor, received an “Izzie Award” in Choreography for Perfect Courage in 1992. In 2001, Jones received another “Izzie” for his work, Fantasy in C-Major, with AXIS Dance Company. Jones was honored with the Dorothy B. Chandler Performing Arts Award for his innovative contributions to performing arts in 1991. In 1993, Jones was presented with the Dance Magazine Award. In 2000, The Dance Heritage Coalition named Jones “An Irreplaceable Dance Treasure.” Jones has received honorary doctorates from the Art Institute of Chicago, Bard College, Columbia College, the Juilliard School, Swarthmore College, and Yale University. He is also a recipient of the SUNY Binghamton Distinguished Alumni Award.
In 2003 Jones was awarded The Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize, one of the richest prizes in the arts, given annually to “a man or woman who has made an outstanding contribution to the beauty of the world and to mankind’s enjoyment and understanding of life.” In 2005 he received the Wexner Prize at the Wexner Center for the Arts at The Ohio State University.
In 2007, he won the Tony award for Best Choreography for Spring Awakening.
Jones was named a 2007 USA Eileen Harris Norton Fellow and awarded a $50,000 grant by United States Artists, a public charity that supports and promotes the work of American artists.
Jones was inducted into the National Museum of Dance C.V. Whitney Hall of Fame in 2007.
In 2010, Jones won the Tony Award for Best Choreography for his work in Fela!.
He was one of five recipients for the 2010 Kennedy Center Honors.
Bill T Jones was the recipient of the 2011 YoungArts Arison Award which is given annually to an individual who has had a significant influence on the development of young American artists.
Bill T. Jones
Weekly Photo Challenge: Opportunity 02
I took this photo during a 1993 lecture and art exhibit of my latest work at Atlantic Community College in Mays Landing, NJ. The lecture was a demonstration of various digital processing elements for the creation of digital art and video art. It was a great opportunity to talk with the students and introduce them to digital art. In 1993 digital art was just beginning to grow as a valid artist medium to many, and I was happy to share my knowledge, take questions, and inspire these would-be artists.
In the photo a Commodore Amiga 1000 computer, Super Gen video mixer, and a Panasonic camera for scanning photographs. Yes, times have changed, and now artists have access to more sophisticated hardware and software.
Artist lecture at Atlantic Community College 1993
30-Day Song Challenge: Day 19 – Asks the question what musician best captures the essence of digital music?
30-Day Song Challenge: Day 19 – Asks the question what musician best captures the essence of digital music?
The Music of Ryoji Ikeda
Ryoji Ikeda - NODE Festival
Ryoji Ikeda – Data. Matrix – Live at Sonair 2010
Ryoji Ikeda – THE TRANSFINITE at Park Avenue Armory, New York City
“I can’t understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I’m frightened of the old ones.” ~ John Cage
I have always had a love for electronic music since the mid 1970’s. This fascination originated with the sounds of analog space music by such artists as Klaus Schulze and Tangerine Dream. Over the years the evolution of electronic music has been quite innovative and exploratory, while simultaneously producing various styles, and sub-genres. I purposely have sought out, over the years, the artists that were on the edge of the new technology–believing in, and embracing the influence–as a source for my own artistic creativity.
The transition to digital technology has opened the door to a multitude of creative possibilities for musicians and visual artists.
Ryoji Ikeda, my featured artist, is an experimental musician who utilizes a multitude of sound sources to create strange but beautiful musical soundscapes.
Ryoji Ikeda (born 1966 in Gifu, Japan) is a Japanese sound artist who lives and works in Paris. Ikeda’s music is concerned primarily with sound in a variety of “raw” states, such as sine tones and noise, often using frequencies at the edges of the range of human hearing. The conclusion of his album +/- features just such a tone; of it, Ikeda says “a high frequency sound is used that the listener becomes aware of only upon its disappearance” (from the CD booklet). Rhythmically, Ikeda’s music is highly imaginative, exploiting beat patterns and, at times, using a variety of discrete tones and noise to create the semblance of a drum machine. His work also encroaches on the world of ambient music; many tracks on his albums are concerned with slowly evolving soundscapes, with little or no sense of pulse.
“If there were one style of music I wish I had the ability to produce it would be the music of Ryoji Ikeda” – Walter Smith
Ryoji Ikeda – Barbican 2011
Ryoji Ikeda – “Per Se”
Ryoji Ikeda - datatron-8k-enhan
30-Day Song Challenge: Day 18 – a song you hear often on the radio (Itunes – M2 live from Paris)
30-Day Song Challenge: Day 18 – Asks the question what is a song that you hear often on the radio?
Stephane Pompougnac – remixes
Hotel Costes vol 1 mixed by Stephane Pompougnac
http://youtu.be/bIyc2as7h_k – Ghosts & Roses
http://youtu.be/1D70kcZvgZc – Union Square
http://youtu.be/_hqhq37ifeo – Summer in Paris
http://youtu.be/HiB_ns4lmMU – Amour
http://youtu.be/IC5kuwgFOls – Champs Elysees
http://youtu.be/ntM59FkTpME – One Night in Rio
http://youtu.be/xB3XbZ4nk50 – Zwing Ting – The Streamers – mixed by Stephane Pompougnac
Here are seven songs that I am sure have had heavy play in Paris, France. Stephane Pompougnac is the resident DJ at the famous Hotel Costes. For the last decade he has been mixing an incredible diverse sound of trip-hop, bossa nova, chill, house, and hip-hop for the Hotel Costes series. The groove is there and the beat flows. I highly recommend checking out this series as well as the Buddha Bar series. The Buddha Bar is another restaurant bar club in Paris, that is frequented by stars and the like and is hosted by different DJ’s. My favorite Buddha Bar mixer is DJ Ravin. Stayed tuned for a look at the playlist of the Buddha Bar series as well.
Hotel Costes vol 5 mixed by Stephane Pompougnac
Weekly Movie-Making Moments in Film: Sunshine / 28 Days Later / District 9
Sunshine by director Danny Boyle
The sun at less than 1% sunlight filter
Sunshine is a 2007 British science fiction film directed by Danny Boyle and written by Alex Garland.
In 2057 the sun is dying, and mankind is dying with it. Our last hope: a spaceship and a crew of eight men and women. They carry a device, a massive stellar bomb with the mass equivalent to Manhattan Island, which will breathe new life into the star. But deep into their voyage, out of radio contact with Earth, their mission is starting to unravel. There is an accident, a fatal mistake, and a distress beacon from a spaceship that disappeared seven years earlier. Soon the crew is fighting not only for their lives, but their sanity.
The crew is made up of an ensemble cast consisting of Cillian Murphy, Chris Evans, Rose Byrne, Michelle Yeoh, Cliff Curtis, Troy Garity, Hiroyuki Sanada, Benedict Wong, Chipo Chung, and Mark Strong. The script was based on a scientific back-story that took the characters on a psychological journey. The director cast a group of international actors for the film, and had the actors live together and learn about topics related to their roles, as a form of method acting. To have the actors realistically react to visual effects that would be implemented in post-production, the filmmakers constructed live sets to serve as cues. Previous science fiction films that Boyle cited as influences included Kubrick’s 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey, the 1972 Tarkovsky’s Solaris, and the 1979 science-fiction horror film Alien.
Sunshine is one of my favorite films of all time. I have seen it several times and it never ceases to entertain me as I embrace its stunning beauty.
I was first introduced to the filmmaking of Danny Boyle in 2003 with his kinetic, apocalyptic and frightening horror film 28 Days Later: In the film a powerful virus is unleashed following a raid on a primate research facility by animal rights activists. Transmitted in a drop of blood, the virus locks those infected into a permanent state of murderous rage. Within 28 days the country is overwhelmed and a handful of survivors begin their attempts to salvage a future, little realizing that the virus is not the only thing that threatens them.
28 Days Later by Danny Boyle
The only other film in recent production, I feel parallels Sunshine in its originality and vision is District 9 by Peter Jackson and Neill Bloomkamp.
District 9 synopsis: Over 20 years ago, aliens made first contact with Earth. Humans waited for the hostile attack, or the giant advances in technology. Neither came. Instead, the aliens were refugees, the last survivors of their home world. The creatures were set up in a makeshift home in South Africa’s District 9 as the world’s nations argued over what to do with them. Now, patience over the alien situation has run out. Control over the aliens has been contracted out to Multi-National United (MNU), a private company uninterested in the aliens’ welfare – they will receive tremendous profits if they can make the aliens’ awesome weaponry work. So far, they have failed; activation of the weaponry requires alien DNA.
The tension between the aliens and the humans comes to a head when an MNU field operative, Wikus van der Merwe (Sharlto Copley), contracts a mysterious virus that begins changing his DNA. Wikus quickly becomes the most hunted man in the
world, as well as the most valuable – he is the key to unlocking the secrets of alien technology. Ostracized and friendless, there is only one place left for him to hide: District 9.
District 9 by Peter Jackson and Neill Bloomkamp
The roundup in District 9
All three films are distinctly different in their subject matter, but are so well acted, produced, and directed it is difficult to choose one over the other as a favorite.
So what do you think? Are you a big fan of the Science Fiction genre? Have you seen any of these remarkable films, and if so do you have a favorite? And what is your favorite film of this genre and why?
30-Day Song Challenge: Day 17 – What musician best captured the essence of analog electronic space music
KLAUS SCHULZE
klaus Schulze Mirage
http://youtu.be/UpaoRFPzwQ4 – Velvet Voyage from the 1977 album Mirage – an electronic winter landscape – video by picturemusic 75
Klaus Schulze "X"
http://youtu.be/0vtE7–vetE – Frank Herbert from the classic 1978 album “X” by Klaus Schulze – video by zrhno
German composer, Klaus Schulze is one the most creative and
enduring electronic musician of our modern age. Born in Berlin in 1947, his
musical career began as a drummer, bassist and guitarist with several rock
bands including the band PSY FREE. He was an original member of TANGERINE DREAM and a
founding member of ASH RA TEMPEL. Both of these bands are all time favorites of mine,
and had become a significant part of my listening playlist during the 1970’s and 80’s. Klaus Schulze ventured out on his own in the early 70’s and recorded his first solo album in 1972 entitled Irrlicht. Several remarkable albums followed including
Cyborg in 1973, Timewind in 1975, and Body Love; a USA Billboard import charting in
at #2. In 1977 and 1978 he then produced the two albums featured here in this music
challenge; namely Mirage, and “X” respectively.
Out of the vast collection of recordings Klaus Schulze has
produced, these two distinctly different albums in style and sound composition
are my favorites.
In an interview with the master of “electronic space music”, Klaus
described his music as “the background to a mental picture, but the exact
interpretation must be made by the listener, hence the music is only half
composed and the listener himself should attack the composition to gain a mental
repercussion. This is why, perhaps, people love or hate my music!”
I’ve always admired and embraced his music as an art form unto itself, with its unfolding layers of sound
— their tones, textures and colors producing a mysterious, evolving beauty at its very core.
Enjoy the master of Electronic Music.
Live concert in 1978 with Wolfgang Tiepold
Klaus performing on he Moog analog synthersizer circa 1970's
The 1980's and the emergence of the digital age in music
Klaus Schulze still going strong in 2010
Klaus Schulze – Mirage
| Velvet Voyage |
28:16 |
|
| Crystal Lake |
29:15 |
|
| In cosa crede chi non crede? |
19:39 |
Soundtrack recording from 1976 (Bonus Track) |
Klaus Schulze – “X”
| # 1 : | Friedrich Nietzsche |
24:50 |
|
| Georg Trakl |
26:04 |
||
| Frank Herbert |
10:51 |
||
| Friedemann Bach |
18:00 |
||
| # 2 : | Ludwig II. von Bayern |
28:39 |
|
| Heinrich von Kleist |
29:32 |
||
| Objet d’Louis |
21:32 |
Live with orchestra, 1978 (Bonus Track) |
Weekly Movie-Making Moments in Film: Camille Claudel
A woman’s strength and determination is powerful….
A woman’s love is without equal…..
A woman’s suffering for that love is immeasurable….
Perhaps one of my favorite French films that depicts artistic creativity, strength, determination, love and obsession is none other than the film Camille Claudel finely directed by Bruno Nuyten and starring Isabelle Adjani as Camille—the young but gifted sculptress. In the film Camille possesses an artistic and romantic passion that consumes her. Her love for the sculptor, Auguste Rodin, and her life, ends in pain and lost.
Here is a clip from the film. What do you think? If you have seen the film, what is your opinion of Isabelle Adjani’s performance?
Weekly Movie-Making Moments in Film: Chelsea Walls
I thought I would start showing clips from some of my favorite films. Over the years, I have spent a considerable amount of time in theaters, and long nights viewing video tapes, and DVDs. And we cannot forget the ever consuming Netflicks via our computers. It is time to go deep, yes—very deep—and find those rare moments in classic film-making. These beautiful, intrepid, and visceral moments can be found delving into the issues of obsessive love, angst, betrayal, and tragedy (thinking of French, German and Asian films in particular). And what comes to mind when thinking of tragic French films? Well we can find the French catapulting our emotions in such films as: Un Couer En Hiver (A Heart in Winter) directed by Claudet Sautet, Damage with French actress Juliette Binoche and film direction by Louis Malle. And last but not least—my favorite French excursion into obsession is none other than the film Camille Claudel finely directed by Bruno Nuyten and starring Isabelle Adjani as Camille—the young but gifted sculptress full of artistic and romantic passion. Her love for the sculptor, Auguste Rodin—as you can imagine—will only end in pain and lost.
I hope over time to share from around the world some masterful works in cinema. However, to kick off this Weekly Movie-Making Moments in Film, I present what I think defines a good film moment i.e. strong characterization, heart-felt expression by the performer, and feeling as if you can truly relate to the scene or film in general. For this first challenge, I am selecting the “poem” scene in the film Chelsea Walls as recited by Rosario Dawson.
Tell me what you think of this moment in the film, and what you think of this concept in general. Do you have a favorite moment or film that has influence you in some way? Please share.
The Silence of Creativity
Towards the love within….
Creativity
Creativity 02
Where does the impetus for creativity come from? Is it a latent form of suppressed
experiences and / or emotions? When is creativity realized, and how is it manifested into what we call art?
As artists it is hard to imagine a world without art and the forces of creativity that fuel it. It is also at times difficult to understand the sensibilities that emerge from the soul when an idea comes into being i.e. its origin and purpose. Perhaps we can conclude with some ambiguity that creativity is indeed either individualistic, universal, or both—governed by the life one has lived or hope to live.
Creativity 03
Creativity 04
“The imagination imitates. It is the critical spirit that creates”. … Oscar Wilde 1854-1900
“Sometimes you’ve got to let everything go – purge
yourself. If you are unhappy with anything…whatever is bringing you down, get
rid of it. Because you’ll find that when you’re free, your true creativity,
your true self comes out”. … Tina Turner b. 1939
Creativity 05
Creativity 06
“Imagination is the beginning of creation. You
imagine what you desire you will what you imagine and at last you create what
you will”. … George Bernard Shaw 1856 – 1950
Creativity 07
Creativity 08
“Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep”. … Scott Adams b. 1957
Sometimes I see things around me that are in part a glimpse of reality. The many “realities” that surround my life often become vehicles for abstraction through the creative process. They are like a multitude of intersections—full of possibilities. As artists we must always ask the question is this the direction I want to go? Will this convey the message I desire to express? But in the end we can only trust in the mystery of what is and what it means to create art and call oneself an artist.
Creativity 09
The Silence of Creativity and the Creative Journey Within
What are your thoughts? As an artist or writer or master of any creative discipline where do you believe creativity arises from? Please share your ideas and what inspires you to follow your imagination.
Weekly Photo Challenge: Broken
A broken world view
This week’s photo challenge is “broken”. The image I selected for this challenge is a
photographic still of my 1991 video installation presented at Highwire Gallery
entitled “The World Spins Black / White”. The 1991 installation was an
examination of—and condemnation of the forces of civil disobedience, war, and
social unrest that our society was struggling with at the time. The motivation
for choosing this photograph, at this specific point, is the state of our political
union here in the United States and abroad. At the core, I believe is a broken democracy.
The world is changing and it can be
argued not for the best. There is an ideology that threatens to disrupt, dismantle,
and delineate our democracy and freedom. That dismantling presents itself in many
different forms, with a variety of sponsors. Here in the United States, I
believe its greatest sponsor is right wing conservatism at its extreme,
supported by various proxy organizations, and funded by wealthy individuals
such as the Koch brothers. At the heart of the process with malice intent are
the reduction and perhaps even the elimination of our government i.e. the way
it functions and the services it provides. Hence there is the privatizing and
systematic assault on the public sector, with the goal being the transference
of wealth from the many to the few. In league with the machinations to
facilitate these insidious methods are corporate media moguls, right wing think
tanks and Tea Party legislators to name a few.
My image for this challenge “broken” is a world globe,
wrapped in barbed wire and decaying red roses.
“The vast possibilities of our great future will become realities
only if we make ourselves responsible for that future”. … Gifford Pinchot
The Silence of Liberation
Toward the love within….
Silence
Silence 02
It is after 12 a.m. and I have just read a wonderful post by
fellow blogger Elizabeth—the author of the blog Mirth and Motivation on
Wordpress.com. I was so inspired by her thoughts and comments on the recent
tragedies in Norway, China and the death of Amy Winehouse, that I felt compelled
to create a post on her theme i.e. the need for silence, for understanding,
compassion and healing.
Silence 03
Silence 04
I am not going to say much about the events that occurred here
in this post, (the struggles of mankind as a community and we as individuals
speak for themselves) however, I would like to express my feelings, my
compassion, and the love of healing through
silence via my art.
Silence 05
Silence 06
Silence is a powerful tool. When we cultivate our inward
journey through meditation, contemplative thought and positive action, we
harness the energy to change ourselves and the world around us. For me, these
moments tonight of creative insight and sharing, in connection with my art and
the desire to send forth compassionate energy is liberating in of itself. I can feel the hurt that so many in our
communities are experiencing and my desire for their liberation and the end of
suffering goes out to a world in need.
In Buddhism we learn the need for Nirvana: the cessation of
unsatisfactory conditions and their causes.
Silence 07
Silence 08
I hope the images I have created and the music I selected
for this post help to bring some peace and positive recollection to our hearts
and minds.
http://youtu.be/K8-iTakhFrs — The Disintegration Loops III — William Basinski — Video by Bodyheaven
We are of one Source Energy, and one Spirit.
The Silence of Liberation and the Silence Within
The Fun House @ Highwire Gallery: 1991 / Dreaming in Future Tense / a 2011 remix
“Sometimes we turn the pages in the Book of Memories and come to remember the children who dream in future tense”…..
The Highwire Gallery production of The Fun House
workshop began in March 1991 at the Sayre Morris Community Center in West
Philadelphia and concluded with a performance in May. Funded by the PA Council
on the Arts, the goal was to bring together a group of children and introduce
them to the arts. Our focus would be on dance, performance, music and the visual
arts. Another important part of the workshop was for it to be a community
service, which merged different ethnic backgrounds and communities. For the
eleven girls who participated in the workshop, the hope was to inspire personal
challenges and the pursuit of their dreams. Everyone involved, the artists of
Highwire Gallery, the kids, Empress our musical director, Sandra Lynn our choreographer,
and “DADA” (Dancers Against Drug Abuse) met the challenge and worked hard to
make the program a huge success.
How do we encourage our children to dream, a dream that
inspires, enriches and motivates them to reach for the sky, and to touch just one of the millions of snowflakes that
can be found in the realm of possibilities? How do we lead them by the hand,
through the garden of hopes and dreams?
The Kids at Sandy Beach 2011
I think we do it one child at a time, one school at a time, one
project at a time, and as one community. Children love to discover, and be creative.
I strongly believe that the arts will provide them with the tools they will need for exploring their
imagination and giving birth to their dreams.
What do you feel is our children’s greatest need? What resources in our society would you like to see be provided for the well being and growth of our children? Do you believe that the arts, especially at a young age, is a vital tool for encouraging creative thinking and problem solving?
What do you think?
Select the link below for a dream-like journey into a contemporary child’s lullaby.
Winter Poem by Nikki Giovanni
once a snowflake fell
on my brow and i loved
it so much and i kissed
it and it was happy and called its cousins
and brothers and a web
of snow engulfed me then
i reached to love them all
and i squeezed them and they became
a spring rain and i stood perfectly
still and was a flower
— Author and poet Nikki Giovanni
From “The Selected Poems of Nikki Giovanni”
And last but not least in this journey of dreams…a short animation.
Out Tonight 1989 / 2009 remix
Out Tonight / video still / digital collage 2011
Bonus song: The Smiths – There is a light that never goes out
Out Tonight, the video, was first created in 1989 and mixed with the music of The Smiths and the song “There is a Light that Never Goes Out”. The video was originally conceived as a reflection of 80’s New Wave music, the club scene, and chillin out. But I wanted to add something more, and therefore centered its theme on the possible controversy, yet beauty of interracial dating. The texts used in the video, I thought I knew what would make you smile tonight ask the question of devotion, and statements after an arrest under the immorality act reveals the possible (most notably in the past) consequence. I was inspired to produce this video after seeing the play entitled “Statements after an Arrest under the Immorality Act” by South African playwright Athol Fugard. In the play, Fugard examined with a visceral intensity the consequences of interracial love during apartheid in South Africa. I believe that it is extremely important that we reach out and lead by example, demonstrating that love is universal and that we are all of one race i.e. the human race—diverse, complex, and beautiful.
Love has no boundaries.
The video was created using an Amiga 1000 computer with a Digital Creations’ Super Gen video mixer. Way ahead of its time, the Amiga 1000, which was first introduced to the public in 1985, was an extraordinary machine equipped with music, video and graphic cards. The 2009 version of Out Tonight is remixed with music by Nine Inch Nails.
30-Day Song Challenge: Day 15
30-Day Song Challenge: Day 15 asks the question what is “a song that best describes you”?
http://youtu.be/Fh0AaTOfkIc Alva Noto & Ryuichi Sakamoto – Moon
A bonus song that reinforces the theme as well…
http://youtu.be/OJORJFSWE1I Alva Noto & Ryuichi Sakamoto – Berlin
I have been listening for some time to the musical duo of Alva Noto and Ryuichi
Sakamoto. This collaboration has produced many ingenious works. Here are two entitled
“Moon” and “Berlin”. I think these songs best describes me because of their contrast
between the beautiful, seductive, melodies produced by pianist Sakamoto and the
pulsating beats and glitch from sound designer Noto. The sounds they produce seem at odds with
each other, however they are not. They are distinctly different but combined in such a way that it is
pure pleasure. I would like to think that this contrast is symbolic of how I
create art i.e. I am always searching for various source materials to bring together in a compelling work of art.
Maybe Tomorrow a Better Possibility / Resolution and Redemption
Maybe Tomorrow a Better Possibility / Resolution and Redemption was first conceived as a collaborative project with video artist Walter Smith and fellow artist / singer / actor and friend, Ronald Freeman in 1994. The emotional impetus for the project was the ever increasing urban decay surrounding us in Philadelphia. Through substance abuse, drug warfare, and a rapid deterioration of its infrastructure, we came to see our beloved city in a struggle for survival. The original song, Hunger for Holiness, which accompanied the original video was written and sang by Ronald. The composition sought to give insight to the problems and plight of the urban construct and hope for a better tomorrow. In this remixed version, a dreamlike jazzy trance score replaces the composition to create an otherworldly sense of ambiguity, but again hope.
Maybe Tomorrow a Better Possibility / A Self Portrait of Resolution and Redemption
30-Day Song Challenge: Day 13
30-Day Song Challenge: Day 13 asks the question what is “a song that is a guilty pleasure”?
http://youtu.be/xrPQKH9n0bk Miles Davis – Live
Without a doubt a guilty pleasure is Miles Davis. I am not
sure what the guilty part of this represents Miles, however any excuse to add
him to this challenge is fine by me. What’s not to love about the Black Prince,
Miles Davis? Yes he has lived a controversial life (doing it his own way, and his
not so good relationships with women) but still he is the man who owns the
trumpet. And I do mean own the trumpet. Whether or not it was with his famous
bands of the 50’s or 60’s, both acoustic and electric, Miles was the leader
that changed Jazz forever. He brought together some of the most talented
musicians in the world, like Coltrane, Chick, Jack and Herbie to name a few, to
create a myriad of traditional and experimental compositions, that have stood
the test of time.
Miles remains to be one of my favorite musicians. He
has been a great influence on my musical taste, art and life style.
Enjoy the guilty pleasure….
Miles – Live 1971
30-Day Song Challenge: Day 10
Day 10 of the 30-Day Song Challenge asks the question what is “a song that makes you fall asleep?
Brian Eno is considered to be the father of Ambient Music. I first discovered him in 1977 when I heard what I consider to be his best ambient album entitled Discreet Music. Most people are familiar with Music for Airports which is the album that set the standard for the genre. For this post and the challenge, what is a song that makes you fall asleep; I found it difficult to decide between 2 works. Both are slightly over an hour in length: Neroli and Thursday Afternoon. But in the end it is (drum roll!!) Thursday Afternoon. This is a 5 minute version of the song, which in my opinion does not convey the entire essence of the piece. As the song progresses there is an ever increasing simmering of sound in the latter minutes as if on a hot paved road in the desert sun. This is the perfect song for that afternoon nap on a beautiful day.
day 01 – your favorite song – Stars of the Lid’s “Don’t Bother They’re Here”
day 02 – your least favorite song – Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven”
day 03 – a song that makes you happy – Ivy’s – Edge of the Ocean
day 04 – a song that makes you sad – Trespassers Williams – Love You More
day 05 – a song that reminds you of someone – Trespassers Williams – Lie in the Sound
day 06 – a song that reminds you of somewhere – Isabelle Aubret – La Fanette
day 07 – a song that reminds you of a certain event – William Baskinski – The Disintegration Loops 1
day 08 – a song that you know all the words to – Philip Glass – Knee Play 1
day 09 – a song that you can dance to – Ror-Shak featuring Julee Cruise – Fate or Faith
day 10 – a song that makes you fall asleep
n e w d i g i t a l s c a p e s 