ART FOR OBAMA

Founded by Ahndraya Parlato, Art for Obama is an online auction of photographs to benefit MoveOn.org; one of the most effective advocacy groups for the Obama campaign, who is also involved in respectful, and progressive issues that concern us all.

The collection brings together a satisfying and eclectic group of artists.

Fifty of the country's most prominent artists and photographers have donated their work for this cause. The auction will launch on October 1st and will run for one week. All proceeds from the auction will go to the Obama Campaign, to the Democratic National Committee and to non-profit organizations such as MoveOn.org, which are currently devoting their energy to helping the Obama campaign. Proceeds will be distributed in strict accordance with Federal Election Commission regulations.

The ART FOR OBAMA Photo Auction will start tomorrow (Wednesday, October 1, 2008) at 5pm EST(US) HERE and will continue through to the 10 October.




Links:
Art for Obama
MoveOn.org
Ahndraya Parlato (SiouxWIRE interview)

TURKISH BATMAN (1973)

A light hearted diversion from the collapse of the global economy...

Perhaps the fight for truth, justice, and the Turkish way is more your thing...

The 1971 Turkish remake of The Wizard of Oz is worth a look and it's definitely not in Kansas...

GLEN MARSHALL's Digital Poetry

Glen Marshall has some interesting short films in his portfolio making use of autonomous programs of his own creation that are navigated by his specifications and sound. His first independent film for the Irish Film Board, Butterfly garnered a lot of attention following its creation in 2002.

Glen went onto create a video for Peter Gabriel in 2003 for his track "The Drop" and recently completed Music is Math which he describes as follows:

This is the HD and finished version of my video ‘Music Is Math’. I just let the program run till the end of the music, I felt reluctant to interfere too much by trying to sculpt an ending, and just let the code run its own natural course.

Music Is Math from Glenn Marshall on Vimeo.


Butterfly from Glenn Marshall on Vimeo.

Links:
Butterfly: Glen Marshall Computer Art
Glen Marshall Vimeo
Glen Marshall MySpace
Music is Math. Cartoon Brew (Source)

Introducing: CHEN WEI

Ch’ng Yaohong's blog recently featured the fascinating work of Chen Wei. Born in 1980, Zhejiang province. China, Chen Wei currently lives and works in Hangzhou, China. His Kafka-esque images have blurred, hinted narratives that skate between menace and whimsy with rich compositions and muted palettes.




Links:
Chen Wei
Chen Wei - Asian Photography Blog (source)

JOHN MALKOVICH's "Snow Angel"

From Sony VAIO's Online Script Project, "Snow Angel" is a short animation based on a script started by John Malkovich and animated by Laurie J. Proud of Sherbet. Watch it below or visit our friend Dek at NoFatClips! for further download options.

"The project started with a scene from John Malkovich. He invited visitors to continue the story and chose three winning entries. Our script was complete – you can read it here. Then we moved on to a new stage, working with an animator to make the transition from words into visions. Now you can see how the script lives on in his dramatic creation. Watch as, with a few bold strokes, the characters come to life. And see how the story unfolds... We hope you enjoy the show."

Links:
Sony VAIO Online Script Project
Snow Angel - No Fat Clips! (source)
Laurie J. Proud
Sherbet
John Malkovich Wiki

CHARLIE KAUFMAN's trailer for "Synecdoche, New York"

Charlie Kaufman is consistently interesting if not always successful in his daring scripts. His directorial debut Synecdoche, New York is high on my list of films to see. Produced by Anthony Bregman, Charlie Kaufman, Spike Jones, Kimmell. Executive producers, William Horberg, Bruce Toll, Ray Angelic. Directed, written by Charlie Kaufman.

From the press pack:

SYNECDOCHE
[Sih-NECK-doh-kee]
-noun

A figure of speech in which:

A Part is used for the Whole
The Screen for Movies

A Whole stands for a Part
The Law for Police

A Species (specific kind)
stands for its Genus (general kind)
Cutthroats for Assassins

A Genus stands in for its Species
Creature for Person

A Material stands for a Thing
Ivories for Piano Keys

See the trailer HERE or click below.

Links:
SynecdocheNY.com
Synecdoche, New York wiki

Reading Charlie Kaufman's Next Project (LA Times)
Variety review

Featurette: WLODZIMIERZ KSIAZEK

I find Wlodzimierz Ksiazek's paintings refreshing though I will grant that their nameless forms are somewhat confounding (empty?) vessels open to individual interpretation.



Links:
Wlodzimierz Ksiazek
Wlodzimierz Ksiazek (Kouros Gallery)
Wlodzimierz Ksiazek
Painting as its own being (James McCorkle - Artnet)
Sustained Abstraction (Donald Kuspit - Artnet)
Layered Mimesis (A.C. Frabetti - ArtsEditor)
Signs of Humanity (Christopher Todd Lynch - ArtsEditor)

Dekoju 2HORA

New work from 2hora in Vilnius, Lithuania. This peach warmed my bramble-covered, anthropomorphic-loving heart. A little diversion for Friday.

Links:
Wooster Collective (source - 10Sep08)
Dubstep - 2hora

Are you AFRAID? Or are you liberal?

Science have published what looks to be an interesting report in regard to political views and physiology. The abstract is below and a good (layman's) overview is available on the BBC HERE.

"Although political views have been thought to arise largely from individuals' experiences, recent research suggests that they may have a biological basis. We present evidence that variations in political attitudes correlate with physiological traits. In a group of 46 adult participants with strong political beliefs, individuals with measurably lower physical sensitivities to sudden noises and threatening visual images were more likely to support foreign aid, liberal immigration policies, pacifism, and gun control, whereas individuals displaying measurably higher physiological reactions to those same stimuli were more likely to favor defense spending, capital punishment, patriotism, and the Iraq War. Thus, the degree to which individuals are physiologically responsive to threat appears to indicate the degree to which they advocate policies that protect the existing social structure from both external (outgroup) and internal (norm-violator) threats."

** To read the full report requires subscription or one-off payment ($10)

Links:
Political Attitudes Vary with Physiological Traits (Science)
Science Journal
Political views all in the mind (BBC)

Featurette JEREMY GEDDES

Jeremy Geddes who is well known for illustrating the comic Doomed has been working on a compelling new series of paintings which feature a weightless cosmonaut in urban settings. Beyond the obvious technical ability at play here and aesthetic sense, I can't help but feel there's something more profound lingering under the surface.



Links:
Jeremy Geddes Art
Jeremy Geddes Blog
Jeremy Geddes (MySpace)
Doomed (IDW Publishing)
Jeremy Geddes - Fabrik Project (source)

YUMIKO MATSUI's paper craft city representations

I seem to be drawn toward dioramas recently and Yumiko Matsui's work is the latest to catch my eye. Here is an excerpt from her site:

"As we all know, There is much brutality and violence around the world. Everything can change in a moment, a happy, peaceful day can be destroyed in a second by things that are not in our control.

I used to be influenced by this continual potential for disastrous change and I felt compelled to paint what might be called a borderline:the line between light and dark, black and white, good and evil...etc. The way to express this was through abstract drawings and surrealism. But I have changed and I have begun to focus on a more happier aspect of life since I moved here to NYC.

I have been making paper sculpture since 2006. The catalyst for this change was seeing dollhouses created by my aunt with her husband when I retuned home to Japan on vacation. I realized I really like miniature worlds.

Therefore,I have been working on miniature world lately. My miniature worlds are patterned after Osaka and Tokyo, Japan. I, myself, am from Osaka, and I fold and glue pieces of colored paper to create 3D effect."

Links:
Yumiko Matsui's homepage
Paper City - Mixed Green Gallery (NYC)
Yumiko Matsui (ArtSlant)
Yumiko Matsui (Kyubidou Gallery - Tokyo)
Yumiko Matsui (カンナの花のように)

BANRI's intriguing OSAKA Fotolog

Banri's Ozaka fotolog has some wildly varied though consistently good photographic work. The text is in Japanese but at the bottom of each entry there are arrows ( < > ) to navigate forward and back as well as a calendar in the left margin.

Also have a look at his website and Flickr photostream.





Links:
Ozaka - fotolog
Banri Photography
Banri's Photostream (Flickr)

BJÖRK's "Dull Flame of Desire

A new video for Björk's "Dull Flame of Desire" with Antony Hegarty. If the lyrics sound familiar, they are from a translation of a poem by Fyodor Tyutchev as featured in Andrei Tarkovsky's Stalker.

"Out of hundreds entrants for the “Innocence” music video competition (which ran on www.bjork.com offering new directors the chance to work with Björk), she chose 3 new directors to collaborate on the “Dull Flame” video.

Björk and Antony performed against green screen in New York then each director was sent the raw footage to edit and create their piece. Christoph Jantos (Berlin) Masahiro Mogari (Tokyo) and Marçal Cuberta Junca (Girona) are the chosen directors. Each director was given their own section of the film, to develop how they wished - on completion the 3 films were edited together in London to make the final music video."

Links:
Dull Flames of Desire - Bjork.com (source)
Antony Hegarty wiki
Fyodor Tyutchev wiki
Andrei Tarkovsk wiki

TERRY GILLIAM's The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

Terry Gilliam briefly discusses his upcoming film, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus in the following clip which also features some design work. The film itself sees an impressive pool of talent stepping into the shoes of the late Heath Ledger's character in what looks to be a throwback to some of Gilliam's earlier work.

Links:
DoctorParnassus.com
Terry Gilliam at La Scala (SiouxWIRE)
Dreams - Terry Gilliam Fanzine

MOSCOW MOUSE

I'm not a fan of nudes as a whole but I think the documentary style combined with a kitsch anthropomorphic twist was too much to resist; perhaps a new fetish?

Links:
Ivan Erofeev (Photosight.ru)
Ivan Erofeev (Photodom)
Photosight.ru

Introducing GWENDOLYN KRAEHENFUSS

Gwendoly Kraehnfuss is a young German photographer with some nice work in her portfolio.




Links:
Gwendolyn Kraehenfuss
Gwendolyn Kraehenfuss (MySpace)
Gwendolyn Kraehenfuss (deviantART)

BITONE Children's home & troupe

Bitone (translating as "talents) is a Ugandan children's home and troupe that have recently produced their own album entitled Movement of Life using a laptop and a single microphone in the centre's living room. This album is being sold to fund the home and continue its work.

Most of the charming music is traditional and performed by the children at the home with the exception of a suitably innocent rendition of Björk's All is Full of Love. You can listen to it in on their MySpace and it comes with a hearty recommendation from the WIRE.

"The mission of The Bitone Children’s Home/Troupe is to restore the lives and hopes of Ugandan children between 8 and 18 years old who have been traumatized by the death of their parents or loss of their home due to disease, war, or economic hardship. The program was founded by Branco Sekalegga, and Hassan Kayemba with the vision of “Restoring Hope by Nurturing the Body and Spirit.” Bitone youth are provided with basic food and shelter, a nurturing environment, an academic education, and counseling. Through learning traditional African music, dance, folklore and theater, the children build self-esteem, become self-reliant and contribute to creating a peaceful future for the next generations of Ugandans and others worldwide."

Bitone dance troupe

Links:
Bit0ne Troupe (MySpace)
Bit0ne - Center for Disadvantaged Children
Bit0ne are Full of Love (Bjork.com)

OLIVIER CHABALIER's video for KID LOCO's "Pretty Boy Floyd"

I spotted this video over at Antville and while digging around for the credits, I found our friend Dek at No fat clips!!! had (as usual) beat me to the scoop. The video itself is a little rough around the edges and isn't particularly revolutionary but I like it. Director Olivier Chabalier and producers Sacrebleu have more work to view on their sites.

You can see it in high resolution Quicktime, MPEG-4, or OGG video as well as low resolution Flash below.

Credits:
DIRECTOR Olivier Chabalier

PRODUCER Jean Yves Prieur (F.L.O.R 2008) / Sacrebleu

COMPOSITING Zaven Najjar, Nicolas Fuminier, Annaëlle Moreau, Olivier Chabalier 2D ANIMATION Payam Mofidi, Zaven Najjar, Annaëlle Moreau, François Lebras 3D ANIMATION François Lebras SPECIAL FX Nicolas Fuminier MATTE PAINTING Zaven Najjar, François Lebras ILLUSTRATION Milla Gajin SET MODELING Olivier Chabalier DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY ON THE SHOOT Boubkar Benzabat ANIMATION SUPERVISOR Sébastien Dabadie AFTER FX SUPERVISOR Claude Weiss

Links:
Olivier Chabalier
Kid Loco
Sacrebleu
No Fat Clips!!! (source)
Antville (source)

SOPHIE LEWIS & EMMA CRITCHLEY's "Fear of Falling"

Sophie Lewis and Emma Critchley have an interesting exhibition of underwater photography at the Shunt Vaults, London.

"The Fear of Falling is a series of timeless, life-size underwater portraits that invite new ways to consider the profound experience of submergence. Exploring our changing relationship to the present moment when immersed, the subject moves away from the ethereal and floaty imagery usually associated with water and offers instead a more grounded and weighted sense of being. With a gentle nod towards the Industrial Revolution and making processes surrounding the period, the portraits pose the question; could the shifts in consciousness whilst immersed be akin to those experienced centuries ago?"

Here is more underwater work from Emma Critchley's site...



Links:
The Fear of Falling Exhibition
Shunt
Emma Critchley
Waterbody (Sophie Lewis)

Featurette: MALIKA FAVRE

Noticing Malika's work on her Alphabunny typeface at the Creative Review Blog, I was pleased to find more interesting work on her MySpace.


Links:
Malika Favre MySpace
Biography (Airside.co.uk)
Creative Review Blog

The Kites of Nagasaki

The good people at PingMag have posted an interview with kite maker Akihiro Ogawa as part of their brilliant Make series.

Links:
Japanese Kites/Akihiro Ogawa
PingMag Make

ONE IN THREE's video for Wild Beasts

"This music video directed by OneInThree for 'Wild Beasts' second single of their debut album 'Limbo Panto' is a mesmerising & hypnotic tour de force. It pioneers an amazing mind bending visual technique called the 'Droste Effect' which is based on an uncompleted lithograph that Escher made in 1956. The maths behind the lithograph was so complicated that Escher was unable to finish the centre of the picture and so left it blank. OneInThree developed the technique from Josh Sommers code so that it could be applied to moving images and apart from a grade & online at The Mill did all the VFX themselves."

Links:
OneinThree
Wild Beasts
Wild Beasts (MySpace)
Vimeo Page
The Mill

THE CRITERION COLLECTION update

For those of you who haven't visited Criterion recently, they have some interesting additions and developments to their collection. Their cult movie line has a deliciously splendid mix of kitsche and classic. On Five, the Criterion blog, is worth a look for its insight into Criterion's work and the tribulations involved with some surprising anecdotes.

And for those of you who have upgraded your systems to BluRay, Criterion will release The Last Emperor, Bottle Rocket, The Man Who Fell to Earth, Chungking Express, and The Third Man on BluRay in November this year(2008).

Links:
Criterion
OnFive (Criterion Blog)
Criterion Trailers (YouTube)

Featurette: LYNNE ROBERTS-GOODWIN

Mrs. Deane posted on Lynne Roberts-Goodwin's work on the Landings series of "Bad Birds". Here is an excerpt from Lynne's profile; the full verion is HERE.

LYNNE ROBERTS GOODWIN - Born Sydney, Australia
Lynne Roberts-Goodwin’s work is grounded in a deep concern for nature and humanity. Her strategic partnerships with industrial and scientific communities underpin photographic artworks relating to endangered species and their environments that transcend geographical representation, creating ‘a characteristic push–pull … between the aims of truth on the one hand and those of rhetoric and desire on the other ... Roberts-Goodwin is constantly investigating the possibilities whereby images, even for an instant, can cross the borders of language.’ (Adam Geczy).

As a sidenote, it also seems that this series is tangled in a minor controversy.

Links:
Artist Profile + works (Sherman Galleries)

Dolk og Pøbel

What I find interesting about the new work of Dolk og Pøbel is the remote context in which they've placed it. See more of their work HERE. Images by John Inge Johansen/NRK.



Links:
NRK feature (Norwegian)
Wooster Collective feature (source)