SiouxWIRE

Thursday, 10 April 2008

Interview: MARCI WASHINGTON

My favourite works from Marci Washington are obtuse glances that appear to be specimens from an Edwardian murder mystery showing the suspects, the crime scenes, and the objects involved. Though apt, that is still oversimplification and only scratches the surface of Marci's work which hints at much more in the dark spaces between.

Growing up in California, Marci Washington attended the California College of Arts & Craft where she received her BFA in 2002. She's currently pursuing her MFA and CCA while building her collection of work and exhibiting.

SIOUXFIRE: How would you say work has progressed since graduating from the California College for the Arts in 2002? And has anything surprised you in regard to your work in this time?
MARCI: I think that there are still some things from then in my work now, and I think I’m interested in making art for the same reasons that I was back then, but I hope that the paintings are technically better, as well as more developed in terms of the story I’m telling. When I was in school I wasn’t very interested in narrative, but now the story that connects all of the paintings is a really important part. The paintings are like hints toward the bigger story.

The really weird thing for me now is how I spent so much time trying to get away from these dark gothic kinds of tales just to end up totally immersed in them. I used to be worried that people would just think that I was some super melodramatic goth girl (which I totally was), but now I know that it would be kind of silly to discount something that has always had such a huge impact on me. So now I paint all the dark melodrama I want.

SIOUXFIRE: To me, your work has a hint of folk art and Erte with a hint of David Lynch thrown in; how would you describe your work as a whole?
MARCI: I think of my work as illustrations for a novel that doesn’t exist. I borrow tons from the romantic gothic novel and from old bookplate illustration. I’m also super influenced by film. My paintings are kind of between bookplates and film stills.

Continue reading the interview & see more images
by clicking here

Introducing VILAYANUR S. RAMACHANDRAN

Vilayanur Ramachandran is a neurologist best known for his work on neurological disorders through simple, low-tech investigations that reveal the inner workings of the brain. The work of a neuroscientist may seem incongruous to SiouxWIRE, but understanding how our minds function and perceive the world is well within mandate.

In addition to pursuing a career in neuroscience, Vilayanur also studied visual perception through psychophysics and is credited with the discovery of visual effects and illusions such as perceived slowing of motion at equiluminance (where red and green are seen as equally bright), stereoscopic capture using illusory contours, stereoscopic learning, shape-from-shading, and motion capture. See HERE for Ramachandran's illusions.

The video below is Vilayanur's talk on how brain damage can reveal the links between internal structures of our minds:

Links:
Vilayanur S. Ramachandran Reith lectures (BBC)
Vilayanur S. Ramachandran TED lecture (TED)
Vilayanur S. Ramachandran profile (UCSD)
Vilayanur S. Ramachandran's Illusions(UCSD)
Vilayanur S. Ramahandran profile (edge.org)
Vilayanur S. Ramachandran Wiki

Wednesday, 9 April 2008

No time for cricket

This week started off lousy and turned dishy on the edge of a dime. Though I was unable to make it to London to meet Jónsi and Alex of Riceboy Sleeps, we were able to make our appointment by phone and they were so incredible gratious and down-to-earth that optimism crept back into my heart (two sizes too small). That said, I did miss an appointment with the great Monika Forsberg.

Then interviews and appointments from Theo Jansen, Marci Washington, Lisa Robinson, Johnna Arnold, Chris Randall & Jim Turner of Second Home Productions, and Roy Andersson started to bear fruit so things really took off. The only downside being a bottleneck of interviews which means no time for cricket.

We're also rapidly approaching the 50th published interview as well as the 500th post; small but significant milestones on the winding path of the WIRE.

ROY ANDERSSON's "Du Levande" (You, the Living)

In Roy Andersson's latest work yet another thread leads back to Iceland. Inspired by The Poetic Edda, an ancient Icelandic piece of literature, the concept of the film is "man is man's fascination". The original proverb from the ballad of Hovamol("The high one's words) states "man is man's delight". Andersson adds that man is also "the bane of man, a threat and a sorrow."

Only Andersson's fourth feature film in 37 years, the film is presented in stark settings in deep-focus with faded palettes. Scenes are brief appearing at regular intervals to introduce new characters and ideas before moving onto another subject. With dark humour and considered commentary on human existence, it is a gem of a film that feels like a natural progression from Andersson's earlier work.

Here is the trailer:

Born in Gothenberg, Sweden(31 March 1943), Roy Andersson has been described as a "slapstick Bergman" for his absurdist comedy, slapstick humour, and caricatures. Strong anti-capitalist themes have become another trademark in his recent features and shorts as well as his visual style which became firmly established in Songs from the Second Floor(2000) which garnered a host of accolades including the Jury Prize at Cannes 2000 and took four years to complete.

Thanks to Rebecka at Roy's press office for the help in putting this together and in arranging an interview with Mr. Andersson in the coming months.

Links:
Du Levande (You, the Living)
Roy Andersson
Roy Andersson Wiki
Roy Andersson interview (thecontext.com)
You, the Living review (Guardian)

Tuesday, 8 April 2008

Jehane Noujaim's PANGEA DAY

For those of you following the WIRE, you'll know that I am a great admirer of the TED(Technology. Entertainment. Design) series of lectures. Each year a TED prize is issued from a broad range of disciplines and in 2006, the winner was filmmaker Jehane Noujaim who was granted $100,000. Her aspiration was to create a day which would bring the world together through film and thus Pangea Day was born.

Here is the English trailer(Click HERE for additional languages):

And here is Kenya sings for India, one of the Imagine anthems:

This is Japan sings for Turkey (click HERE to view in high resolution):

From the organisers:

In a world where people are often divided by borders, difference, and conflict, it's easy to lose sight of what we all have in common. Pangea Day seeks to overcome that -- to help people see themselves in others -- through the power of film.

On May 10, 2008 -- Pangea Day -- sites in Cairo, Kigali, London, Los Angeles, Mumbai, and Rio de Janeiro will be linked to produce a 4-hour program of powerful films, visionary speakers, and uplifting music. The program will be broadcast live to the world through the Internet, television, digital cinemas, and mobile phones.

Pangea is the name of the original super-continent which contained all the world's land mass before the continents started splitting apart 250 million years ago. We're launching Pangea Day with the vision that the people of the world can begin to overcome their divisions, and that the power of film can help make it possible.

Movies can't change the world. But the people who watch them can.

Jehane Noujaim is also the director of the highly recommended film Control Room, a documentary on Al Jazeera putting forward an alternative vantage point on the Iraq War and media in general.

UPDATE: Here are the first 20 minutes...