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Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Ingmar Bergman

Mr. Bergman finally fully confronts his famous fear of death today July 31 2007.



Luckily he's got nothing to show for himself except over 50 films, nominated for awards, won some awards, 168 works for the stage, television, and radio.... tax evasion, jail time, nervous breakdown, marriages to Ingrid von Rosen, Else Fisher, Ellen Lundström, Gun Grut, and Käbi Laretei, a daughter Linn who became a novelist, relationships with all his leading actresses: Harriet Andersson 1952-55, Bibi Andersson 1955-59 and Liv Ullmann 1965-70, an inspiration to many and most obviously to Woody Allen.


That brand of extreme laziness will not leave much of an impact.
Except maybe the cover of the The New York Times.

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Now I will state that I have a profound appreciation for Mr.Bergman's work.

I know that some find him bleak and melodramatic, but I must pronounce that there is a Bergman film for everyone! If you've only seen a few of his films and you've decided he's always this or that, you must know that he does provide us with such a breadth. He made over 50 films, trust me, there is one for you.

I have seen a whole lot but somehow still only like 30%. I'm normally not much of a list person but I've decided to make a list.

Here the Bergman films I've seen
Clumped in descending order of likeness:

- Persona (1966)
- Scenes from a Marriage (1973)
- Wild Strawberries (1957)

- Hour of the Wolf (1967)
- The Passion of Anna (1969)
- Cries and Whispers (1973)
- Fanny and Alexander (1982)

- Smiles of a Summer Night (1955)
- The Magician/The Face (1958)

- The Silence (1963)
- The Seventh Seal (1957)
- Through a Glass Darkly (1961)
- Winter Light (1962)

- Summer with Monika (1953)
- Autumn Sonata (1978)

- Sawdust and Tinsel (1953)
- Port of Call (1948)
- The Serpent's Egg (1977)
- Prison (1948)

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Thank you, Mr.Bergman, for your immense contribution to this world.

Monday, July 30, 2007

Brad Neely

Brad Neely lives in Austin, too (comme moi). And he's funny. real funny. and smart. pretty damn smart.

Watch these specimens of humor and you will inevitably crave more. After that inevitably happens you can go to this link that I have so usefully provided you with. Have fun!


This is a rap about George Washington:





This is part of his series "Baby Cakes":




This is part of his series "Professor Brothers":

Saturday, July 28, 2007

Gertrude Stein

"A writer should write with his eyes and a painter paint with his ears."

"To write is to write is to write is to write is to write is to write is to write".

"I really do not know that anything has ever been more exciting than diagramming sentences."

"Poetry is I say essentially a vocabulary just as prose is essentially not. And what is the vocabulary of which poetry absolutely is. It is a vocabulary based on the noun as prose is essentially and determinately and vigorously not based on the noun. Poetry is concerned with using with abusing, with losing with wanting with denying with avoiding with adoring with replacing the noun. It is doing that always doing that, doing that doing nothing but that. Poetry is doing nothing but using losing refusing and pleasing and betraying and caressing nouns. That is what poetry does, that is what poetry has to do no matter what kind of poetry it is. And there are a great many kinds of poetry. So that is poetry really loving the name of anything and that is not prose."

"The great thing about language is that we should forget it and begin it over again."

-Gertude Stein (b.1874)




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Ever since Chris lent me a copy of Tender Buttons I've developed a mild obsession with Gertude Stein. There's a lot to say about her. Many people say many different things. Some post-modern / avant-garde / whatever-you-want-to-call-it literary movements such as "L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E" of the 1970's have claimed her. She lived from 1874 to 1946, so obviously she wouldn't have described herself then in those terms. In fact, I'd be curious what she would think of it. Some feminists have claim her. Some get annoyed with her use repeatition. Some disregard her work as nonsense. Some say her writing is akin to cubist's painting. It's important to note that she did roll with some cubists such as Picasso. She was born in Allegheny, Pennsylvania but resided mostly in Paris, France. Quoted to say, "America is my country, but Paris is my hometown."

Wikipedia says: "These stream-of-consciousness experiments, rhythmical word-paintings or 'portraits,' were designed to evoke 'the excitingness of pure being' and can be seen as an answer to Cubism in literature. Many of the experimental works such as Tender Buttons have since been interpreted by critics as a feminist reworking of patriarchal language. These works were loved by the avant-garde, but mainstream success initially remained elusive."

I will say only: it's clear that Stein was experimental, subversive, and innovative as a writer and bold as a personality; she certainly thought outside the timeframe in which she lived. So naturally she wasn't initially taken well by critics because her writings "did not represent a familiar world and could not be read in familiar ways" (to quote Ulla E. Dydo).

Cute tidbit!!! The famous sentance she wrote in Sacred Emily (1913): "Rose is a rose is a rose is a rose" was heavily promoted by her life partner Alice B. Toklas; for example, she sold plates with the sentence going all the way around.

The sentence is often interpreted as "things are what they are."
Stein: "When I said. 'A rose is a rose is a rose.' And then later made that into a ring I made poetry and what did I do? I caressed completely caressed and addressed a noun." (Lectures in America, 1935)

Many critics of the time disregarded her work as "nonsense." Her response? "Listen to me."

And my response? I'll use you Stein's words: "A master-piece ... may be unwelcome but it is never dull."

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Here are some audio links (thank you once again UBU) that you can listen to:

The Making of Americans: A family history and history of whole humanity. Written 1903 - 1911. Only very early notes were written in 1903 in New York; basically the novel was rewritten and rewritten in Europe. recorded in New York, Winter 1934-35.

Matisse: Written in Paris, early 1911; Recorded in New York, Winter 1934-35.

If I Told Him: A Complete Portrait of Picasso: Written late Aug. 1923 in Nice / Antibes, where Stein & Toklas went to see Picasso. Picasso returned to Paris early September, but Stein, working steadily, stayed on for 3 full months, far longer than her usual, short visits.

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If you are really interested in Gertude Stein, then you sould know that Ulla E. Dydo is one of the world's foremost Stein scholars.


Hahaha of course! someone has created a myspace profile of her with audio recordings.


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Internet thumbnail version of the portrait Picasso did of Stein (1906):

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Leslie Hall: Gem Sweaters

Leslie Hall has turned her obsession with gem sweaters into a web museum, comedy sketches, music videos, live performances, and more than anything, a cause.








Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Laura Balch



Along with being a close friend of mine, Laura Balch is a neverending talent parade! Her drawings, her embroidery, her comic books, her music, and so on and so forth. She's simply fantastic. She has an understanding of the darkest depths but maintains gracefully adorable and clumsily romantic all with the finesse of a lady.





She describes her music: "a girl looking out her window at the moon." And she comically states: "laura balch playing everything she can in varying degrees of ineptitude."




Here's a link to her MUSIC, far far from overly produced, the recordings are done in a low-fi intimate setting. It makes you feel like you're hanging out with Laura, which is something everyone would want to do.

Her previous comic "Cottontales" starred a bunny rabbit and took us through an unexpected funny touching adorable and well-drawn journey.

She is now working on a new comic, which I'm proud to say that I am one of the characters in. "Sheena Riot" is based on me but at age 12. Here's a link to Friends of Pendragon Park.

Here's a little taste of us:





Here are summore of her drawings:












Some of her embroidery:








Are you in love with her mind yet?

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Richard Serra

Tired of living your life inside boxes? All those hard lines and perpendicular angles got you down? Well you should be inside one of Richard Serra's sculptures then.

Be there or be square.



I got a chance to see his work at MOMA NYC. Extremely cranky from plate spinning, wild goose chasing, and spreading myself thin, I still couldn't help but notice that Serra's sculptures are fucking incredible. Inside the kind of spaces that Richard Serra creates, I felt e x p a n s i v e. The only relatable experience I can conjure up is being in the desert (Wadi Rum, Jordan). However, this is the industrial equivalent.


The installation process:



A walk through with MOMA voice over:





Here I am:
Richard Serra"

Thursday, July 19, 2007

Takeshi Murata

I was reminded by Ivan and Eric that Takeshi Murata (American, b. 1974) is featured in the Hirshhorn Black Box circa right now. Nick and I went the other day and were blown away. Who needs drugs when you've got this brand of hallucinogenic video art right in front of you? Of course, then one can't help but wonder about the coupling.

Murata digitally re-works and re-joins various motion picture images individually rendering and altering the pixels into his own creation. Described as "electronic painting," the effect is like "visual quicksand."


I'm not sure if there is much better than a pixelated psychedelic soup where a huge beast emerges. Oh wait, I think there is something better: an epileptic pink dot where Rambo emerges. I can't stop thinking about manly entities disguised as cubed rainbows flowing out of waterfalls!


In Monster Movie (2005), Murata samples from a video of the B-movie Caveman (1981). In Pink Dot (2006) we get Rambo. Also, the music in each piece couldn't have been a better fit. Monster Movie, 4 min: sound by Plate Tectonics. Pink Dot, actually a 5 minute loop: 20 minute soundtrack by Robert Beatty


Here's a little taste of "Pink Dot" though without all the movement this is near pointless:

Saturday, July 7, 2007

Death of The Author???

About the responsibility of text:

Anti-Death: Author is "origin" / "cause" of text.

Pro-Death: Author is "function" / "effect" of text.


Any thoughts or comments please...

Friday, July 6, 2007

Belaire CD Release

TODAY! Belaire'a first full length comes out: "EXPLODING / IMPACTING" (buy)


Here's how they describe themselves: "Belaire is a synth-prog-pop band from Austin, TX all about making some good music and colorful visuals. We come from previous & current projects including Fancy Feast, Voxtrot, and Arkay."


They are one of my very favorite Austin bands filled with great people.

While I'm on the subject, why don't I just link you up with some other Austin bands of varying genre niches? This way you can check them out yourself real quick because maybe one or more of them will catch your interest:

- Yellow Fever

- Octopus Project

- Horse Plus Donkey

- The Diagonals

- Pataphysics

- Cry Blood Apache

- The Black

oh the austin music scene is so good...

Nam June Paik

If you aren't already familiar with Nam June Paik (South Korean born-American, b.1932)'s video art than I am glad to be of service. Check-a-check-him-out!

Nick and I went to the Portrait Gallery which for some odd and awesome reason has not one but TWO Nam June Paik video installations! Happy day. As it's obviously a very visual and auditory experience, I won't bother trying to explain it much in words.

1. Electronic Superhighway: Continental U.S., Alaska, Hawaii,: a multimedia work in neon, 49-channel video installation map of the United States, with various representative sounds and pictures emanating from each of the 50 states.



2. Megatron/Matrix: 215 monitors driven by eight computers continually changing laser-disc images.

This youtube video ain't so hot but it can give you a bit of a feel. However keep in mind it is missing the right HALF of the installation.



I was first introduced to him long ago by way of the Hirshhorn Museum in DC- his piece that is aptly titled: "Video Flag". The title explains all that I would, it must just be seen, but here's a picture of me in front of it:

Flag me!

Sunday, July 1, 2007

Sound Advice

Went to Wonderland in DC for some dancing and I got it got it. I was so happy to run into an old friend who happened to be DJing (DJ Elsewhere) with his two-man DJ team Sound Advice. I danced like crazy. Sweat sweat sweat. Gimmie some room.

Who am I?

My photo
Tiny Spur, Teency Clout, United States
writing to you from Tiny, Spur