I was soaking in the morning sun, reading a book, when a jet interrupted the blue skies above with some twin streaks. I snapped a few shots. I hope you like them.
When I see a jet in the sky I find myself conjuring up all kinds of tales for those on board, but today I was too busy trying to get my head around some Oswald Chambers, “Earnestness is not by any means everything; it is very often a subtle form of pious pride because it is obsessed with the method and not with the Master.” OC was an art graduate - not many know that, but you do, now.
It was a day for an adventure, and despite seeing beautiful mountains, flat calm lakes and sun soaked beaches it was a simple meadow which has stuck with me all the way to this evening. An old barn, a field of green and yellow, surrounded by mature woods and not a person in sight. Perhaps you needed to be there.
I have spent some time admiring Marco Cibola's work today, here is a site full to the scrollbar with things for you to see and love. NoveStudio.
30/05/09 What's your favourite number
What's your favourite number, and what does that mean? What colour grabs you like no other? There must be a texture which you could hold tight or stroke all day. Smell? Questions questions. I have been thinking.
Fifteen is my favourite number. A host of reasons are to blame. What I have done today, to entertain myself, and hopefully to show you some new stuff, I have used my favourite number as a building block from which to search the internet. It's amazing what art you can stumble on with the most unlikely of search terms. So fifteen is it, let's see how we get on.
The first one found is a great piece on London street art - I had heard of a lot of those mentioned, except Ben Eine. His story caught my eye. He paints huge letters on shop shutters, and has a carebear themed website!
"Eine’s shutter pieces started after he had gone out one night intending to write his name on a shop’s shutters. He opted not to put all the letters on one shutter, instead preferring to paint one letter a night on a row of four shutters. He went on to say, ‘But when I actually looked at the photos of it I thought it looked quite good and probably raised more questions because I hadn't tagged it either, so I thought if I was actually just to write all the letters of the alphabet on shop shutters but not put my name on it people would think, "What's going on here?" and assume it meant something and try to follow it. But it doesn't, it's just the letters of the alphabet.’ " I myself like the letter K and there is a photostream of lots of stuff here.
A few more forays into the world of fifteen and I am stopped in my tracks by this photograph. It seems that a street exists, called Space 15 Twenty. It is all explained here. The style blog Histyley must just loiter there, because most of the snaps are taken in that vicinity. The Space 15 Twenty blog is well worth checking out. I like Sam Wilson's Summer Tapes.
Aren't we getting on well, I know I am enjoying this. It's not always the great which you find, two dollars and fifteen cents is a rather lame photograph from one wednesdaylain, but the blog which she links to has more to offer, check out this chemical spill snap which I found.
One more then we're done. It's music related. Please note, I haven't listened to any other tracks, just the one which ties in with our quest for all things fifteen. I have it in mp3 format here, or you can myspce it, Late Nights - Fifteen. My advice would be to skip to about one minute ffty, then listen while going on with your daily business. It's not so bad.
When I talk about the Mini Cooper I am often reminded of that Oscar Levant quote. It was he who said, 'Underneath this flabby exterior is an enormous lack of character.' You see the Mini has quite the opposite, and I always am reminded of this when I think of Levant's take on things, or the general premise that bigger is better.
So small it beggars belief, yet once you've been in one, and taken a trip through town, the size becomes nothing more then a positive, added at the end of a list so long it's really not worth arguing over. To drive around on the beach with your arm out the window, fingers almost trailing in the sand, or to be sat at a red light in town looking upward at trucks and Golf's. Perfect. It was never normal. It was always special.
They exude charm, character and cool. In Paris they trundle down one-way streets, slow and steady, the wipers dripping with spring rain, the bumpers well used. In London they are squeezed down the side of red buses in Friday evening traffic, they are joy-riden on estates and parked safely on sleepy side streets, the leaves gathering around and on them. In New York they are admired, pointed at and praised....I could go on. I shall not.
It has been fifty years since the first Mini was made, so this year is one big celebration. I'm not sure why I chose today, for the real birthday bash is not until August 26th, 2009. I think it was the above picture, or maybe this one. I love the Mini Cooper.
I also love this picture, not related, but so great.
I know that Mother always said not to, but today I want to point. I want to point you in the direction of two things, no make that three, that have had my attention recently. They are all worth a look, so do just that. Don't sit idly, it will get you nowhere.
Firstly I spied this beautiful photo on Liza Lee Miller's blog, which always seems to be full of birds, now that can't be a bad thing. American Goldfinches perched not on thin branches, but rather on a wire fence, against an oh so blue sky, glorious.
Secondly I went hunting around after I saw this piece online. Bird theme anyone? Not intentional. It belongs to the Flickr of paperstringcloth aka hyena-in-petticoats'. The blog is here.
There was a picture on there, dated 30th March which in turn brought me to the wonderful world of the International Championship League of Matchbox Stuffers. Head on over for delights beyond what you may believe one can gain from a matchbox being crammed.
That is all, sorry if you were expecting a funny video, or two.
The shots above are Polaroids taken in Ridgewood, I am not a huge fan of the bikes, but the shots themselves are great. The story to go along with them probably involves some cool cat heading across the country with only a camera and some green bills. Or at least that's what I hope for.
Liverpudlian born stand-up comedian Alexei Sayle hit the nail on the head when he said, "People are more violently opposed to fur than leather because it's safer to harass rich women than motorcycle gangs." The North of Ireland is awash with bikers this weekend, but not so much the gang type, it's for the North West 200. Now 80 years after the first event, it is still going bigger and better, and usually wetter, then ever.
The old shots of the early racers capture my imagination, and I thought I would share some with you today. These fella's above know no fear. To see all the great pictures of the 80 years, try here.
14/05/09 And I ride and I ride
While browsing through Gestalten I saw this limited edition SEEK book for sale, it's the work of editors Sarah Cooper and Nina Gorfer, and combines nine short stories, all seemingly based around Icelandic myths and tales, containing Icelandic characters. The press release harps on about the art of storytelling and graphical structures merging. It won some awards back in 2007, here are some shots of the inside. You can purchase the normal version or the limited edition.
An acknowledgement today. Iggy-pop. Somewhere in California, taken from 2003, Coffee and Cigarettes. He also played a great role in Dead Man, which I have blogged about here before, try this clip if you didn't give the old one the time of day. No Iggy, but plenty of brilliance.
I can still remember where I was the first time I heard some artists, Iggy Pop and 'The Passenger' is one such example. The backseat of the car, rather ironically, left hand side. Jimi Hendrix is another example, but I'll not go into that one. Instead I'll point you towards this video of 'Hear My Train Coming'
Lastly today I wanted to share with you this piece I read on BLDGBLOG, showing some neat shots of The subterranean vaults of Manhattan. I was really excited when I read the opening, talking about reinventing the now empty underground, but the idea of storage which was put forward, rather than the possibility of shops, cafe's and clubs cured any fleeting thoughts I was having of upping roots and settling underground. We'll leave that to these guys.
Limited edition Icelandic publications to talking turtles and rats in one fell swoop, I'm not quite sure myself some days.
13/05/09 Until the rain starts
Who am I kidding, no one likes apologies for lack of posts, the sun is out, so until it decides to elope with the breeze and leave us with the rain again I may not be posting daily. Check back anyway, I do live in Ireland, so it will only be a day or two before I scribble out May on my wall calendar in place of a hand scrawled November.
Lots to show, I have been rather intriguied by Christoph Priglinger's Sound and Video work, I guess it's good to delve into some Granular synthesis once in a while. I found a link to swisslegacy on his site, which is a blog from Xavier Encinas, a few pages in I came across File Magazine which has just launched. It's aimed at graphic design, art and visual communication, and comes complete with a DVD holding over two hours of short films and the like. Sounds good, and judging from Issue one, it looks good too.
I had wanted to do a longwinded post this week called five dollar day, where I show you all the neat things you can get for five dollars / euros. I had started to collated a few, but thought I'd get this one off my chest today.
You could buy a pixel on Rhizome, and turn it into the pixel you always wished you owned. All the kids are doing it, check out some of the scroll-over links, you can do better then that. There is also a link to mindhuestudio in there, which is worth checking out.
I have been looking through Cody Trepte's work for a few weeks on and off, wondering if I wanted to post it, but you know what, you can judge for yourselves, I know some of it I can but laugh at, while other pieces quite fascinate me. Try his archived email for size and work from there.
I took a walk around a local gallery this morning, it was one of those which you feel rather uncomfortable in, which always pains me. You know the type, silence with awkward glances offered in every new room. I did stumble upon Lars Nyberg, I like his stuff, here are a few for you to take a look at. I love how macabre even the most innocent of scenes are when he sketches. 1 | 2 | 3 You can find them all here.
The gallery featured in these pictures is the 222gallery, which you can see and read more of here. I found it amongst Kozyndan's friends list, what a pair Kozy and Dan are, I remember having the chance to work a little with them a few years ago, I said no, I can't remember why, but it was not because I didn't like them, I was probably too busy being a student. You know how it is. You should take a look at their drawings here when you are finished watching this beautifully 'cute' clip.
There is so much I dislike about leisure, so keeping busy takes me away from any vice it may throw my way, or so Seneca thinks.Maybe it keeps me from blogging quite so much, being busy, I think so.
I will find time, I must, for there are things I want you to see. Like the work of Roger Mayne, gritty and perfectly dated, streets littered with white smiles and black, coal filled hair, skies overcast and smog filled, young and old post war and destined to be the generation livlng through the most incredible change. England streets and Dublin streets.
Speaking of England, Atherton Lin are great. Their 2009 calendar was just what the doctor ordered a few months back, alas too late now. Click on the months to see the pages. What has really got me excited however, is their blank cd's. Give them a look. I got a package last week with a present and today one with two mixes, treats. It was time I sent a few out. Give me your details I'll get something in the mail, don't be shy.
She's hardly new on the scene, but Thao Nguyen - Just another singer songwriter with a curious voice, or a fresh faced girly with oodles of talent? Her video to Bag of Hammers is very much worth a watch, oh and you may start to notice that I slip in a music video reference most Wednesdays or Thursdays from now on, but shoosh, pretend it's a surprise.
We’re all kids at heart, so a music video which makes this part of our heart burst into life, however small it has become after years of adulthood, will always strike a chord. Nguyen teamed up with two other bright beings, with equally peculiar names, Clyde Petersen and Forrest Baum, to create a masterpiece of a video for Bag of Hammers.
Petersen is known for his Super 8 spectaculars and Deerhoof have availed of his talent recently. Thao’s ‘Bag of Hammers’ video was one of the first of his to strike me , and I thought it only fair to share it with you, to bring out, as I stated above, all that child at heart nonsense.
The direction is cunningly simple, and the three minutes fly by as we watch the unfolding of the colourful clay family and their ice cream creator. The green screen background effects are low budget, and rightly so, the set, glue still wet, Hennessey box covered in paint. Don’t you just want to go back to school and create a stop motion project? I do, and I know what would make the perfect soundtrack, and now so do you.
"Whatever I do depends on what somebody else decides I do." David Vetter aka Bubble boy. Living with severe combined immune deficiency syndrome meant living in a bubble. These shots have caught my eye today. It's true what they say, forget the framing, lighting, composition, it's what these photographs show that make them priceless.
It's been a long time since I had an ice cold Coke, water is my tipple these luke warm days, but trust me, I wouldn't take a whole lot of convincing. I had almost forgotten how spell binding that red can was for me as a child. At times it was out of the question in the parents eyes, laced with sugar, the kickstart to your mad half hour. Rotting teeth. The glass bottles, always a danger, hard enough to hurt your head if turned into a sword, yet fragile enough to smash into pieces beneath your feet. The metal top of the can, oh so sharp, and the pull tab, a choking hazard, almost perfect in design.
Despite all the now obvious dangers, I remember having my fair share of Coke. Memories. It was different for David Vetter. His request to taste this sparkling black beverage, the one he had seen advertised for years on his bubble tv, the one which had been drank down so cool in the movies and enjoyed by his friends, this one wish was neglected, rejected. It's all he wanted before he died, and they said no. His Mother was quoted at the time, "David had heard the word Coke so often on TV and from other children that he always yearned to try one. It was one of the first things he asked for when he was taken out of his bubble before he died. But the doctors decided he shouldn't have one in his frail condition". It sums it all up really.
Michael Marcelle also caught my attention today. His early work is poor, but low and behold in 2009 with, Our Wild Indians, he has produced some wonderful shots, like those above.