Murmur Most Foul

Watching Jerry Springer

2007-07-25T12:10:00.001-07:00

After a solo exhibition at the Power Plant Gallery, Toronto, Annie Pootoogook turned preconceptions of Inuit art on their proverbial ears. Her meticulous, yet minimal, drawings capture glimpses of life in Cape Dorset. Some are inspired by intimate or emotionally charged moments from Pootoogook's own life, others show scenes from the everyday, like waiting in line for an ATM on a sidewalk of permafrost, or watching Jerry Springer (above). Her work can now be seen at the the documenta art festival in Kassel, Germany.

Read Pootoogook's profile atDorset Fine Arts.

2007-07-24T13:03:00.000-07:00

From, the Beat Museum, San Francisco.

Oupeinpo

2007-07-04T10:46:00.000-07:00

The most prominent Ou-X-Po group is undoubtedly the OuLiPo, but there are some other mediums that have a concentration of artists concerned with the "potential" (a term best described as the use of reusable constraints to create works). Although Guiseppe Acrimboldo predated to OuPienPo by about 4 centuries, his work using two obvious constraints (still life composition of vegitables / different visual relationships depending on direction) is a good example of OuPienPo painting.

Guiseppe Acrimboldo (1527-1593), Tête réversible avec une bassine de légumes

Real Estate

2007-06-29T10:56:00.000-07:00

July 2007: Le Monde Diplomatique publishes an aritcle called "Individualisme de masse en Californie: Le Conformisme, c'est la transgression" by Christian Ghasarian, an Anthropoligist at the Swiss university of Neuchâtel. He asserts -

Assertion I: Counter-Culture (in terms of physical appearance and "identity") has become wideley accepted, even the norm, in Northern California cities such as Berkeley and San Francisco

Assertion II (going further): Conformity is becoming less and less acceptable

Assertion/Fact III: It has a histroy. FSM (beat culture too, though Ghasarian doesn't mention it).

Assertion IV: This is a good kind of environment for kids to grow up in. Generation Next will have healthily open minds.

[Tangent, but worth noting: "Une contre-culture institutionnalisée demeure-t-elle une contre culture ?" "Does an institutionalized counter-culture remain a counter culture?" It depends on the frame of reference, of course. Counter national culture? Counter local culture?]

Sounds to me like the start of a San Francisco Renaissance. Depending on the '08 election, the Bay Area might become a haven for creative expats who read articles like this one in academic periodicals. A San Francisco Rennaisance? Wouldn't that be nice.

I Have Since Learned That You Like Tomato Soup

2007-06-10T12:12:00.000-07:00

Imagine a corporation sending a letter like this to an artist today. See the latest issue of Paper Magazine for Kim's insights (and a copy of this letter).

Richard Kalvar: Anti-Photojournalist

2007-06-07T12:35:00.000-07:00

June third marked the close of "Terriens" at the Maison Européenne de la Photographie, a view of photos from Kelvar's book.

The Paris Review also ran a feature in the current issue, no.180: Spring 2007. (Not to mention some great fiction and an interview with Oulipian Harry Mathews)

Kalvar is called an anti-photojournalist because he makes photographs that capture the ironic and the absurd within contexts of banalities. No, there is no photoshop involved. Kelvar lives and works in Paris and is associated with Magnum Photos.

By the way, Magnum Festival '07 is on this month in NYC, so check the special events calendar and see what interests you. Werner Herzog aside, rumors are flying of possible Helmut Lang involvement in the festival. (!)

Palais de Tokyo Now Has a Magazine

2007-06-07T12:07:00.000-07:00

It's a quarterly bilingual publication with contributions from "art critics or philosophers, writers, footballers, artists, etc." marketed as "an essential tool for mapping the territories of contemporary art" (un complément essentiel pour saisir les enjeux de l'art contemporain). The Palais de Tokyo is known for its cutting-edge curation, and if PALAIS's editorials are on par with the museum itself, the magazine should be a worthwhile read.

The third issue to be released June 12 is dedicated to the oeuvre of Steven Parrino, whose work is currently on display at the museum.

A feature called "Pirate Spectrality" addresses the modern image of a pirate (in a context not limited to the theater of the open seas) and the resurgence of skull and crossbones motifs in fashion. Razmig Keucheyan writes, "Could this reemergence be regarded as a symptom of a transition phase and a new hegemonic decline?" Oh my.

Palais Magazine

What has this world become??

2007-06-02T22:42:00.000-07:00

Today, I was looking at telescopes. On one box, I read: "It Finds Things For You!"

Remind me, why, then, am I taking an Astronomy class next year?

The Poetry of Jean-Luc Godard

2007-05-24T20:24:00.000-07:00

Nouvelle Vague
-Jean-Luc Godard
(tiré de l'introduction de la première partie d'enregistrement sonore. ECM Records)

Dans un premier temps
- l'ancien testament -
un être humain
(un homme)
est sauvé de la chute
par un autre être humain
(une femme).

Dans un deuxième temps
- l nouveau testament -
un être humain
(une femme)
(la même)
est sauvé de la chute
par un être humain
(un autre homme).

Mais la femme découvre que l'autre homme
est aussi le même que le premier
que le deuxième est
(encore et toujours)
le même que le premier.

C'est donc un révélation.
Et si l'homme a dit le mystère,
la femme a révélé le secret.

Nouvelle Vague
by Jean-Luc Godard
(Taken from the introduction to the audio release of the film on ECM records)

In the first era
- the old testament -
a human being
(a man)
is saved from the fall
by another human being
(a woman).

In the second era
-the new testament-
a human being
(a woman)
(the same)
is saved from the fall
by a human being
(another man).

But the woman discovers that the other man
is the same as the first
that the second is
(still as before)
the same as the first.

This is a revelation.
And if the man asserts the mystery,
the woman revealed the secret.

(I'm sorry if my translation isn't very good. It just doesn't have the same ring as it does in french)

I Know, I Know, Everyone's Heard Enough: Helvetica

2007-05-22T17:00:00.000-07:00

This clip from HELVETICA mentions "automatic" and/or visceral responses in relation to typefaces. Our associations with the font, and, I think to some extent, its formal blance and simplicity does just the opposite of triggering "automatic negative response" (see below).

We all love helvetica. I use it on my portfolio page, kithalvorsen.com.

Well, actually not everyone loves helvetica. love/hate:BBC

Ultimately, the target is communication, and font is secondary to content. This debate is silly.

"Gracca Cum Est"

2007-05-19T13:02:00.000-07:00

Parable of boar and book
from the Monterey County Herald, 5/19/07

Occasional sightings of wild animals in residential neighborhoods on the Monterey Peninsula have caused some local residents understandable concern. Sometimes, though rarely, clashes with nature occur, but different people have their own ways of handling such threats and good common sense usually assures a favorable outcome. The following example may provide some reassurance to chronic worriers.

A young classics student at Oxford was walking in a nearby forest when he was attacked by a wild boar. In the ensuing struggle, he thrust the volume of Aristotle, which he happened to be reading, down the creature's throat exclaiming "Gracca cum est" which translates roughly as "With the compliments of the Greeks." The boar expired, and the incident is commemorated in the window of a nearby church. Quite likely a less erudite text would have proved just as useful, but, at least in this instance, one could say that the pursuit of knowledge proved to be a lifesaver.

Peter Kirwan
Pebble Beach

"Similarly, here are some of the conditions that appear to produce automatic negative affect:"

2007-05-09T21:59:00.000-07:00

heights,
sudden, unexpected loud sounds or bright lights,
"looming" objects (objects that appear to be about to hit the observer),
extreme hot or cold,
darkenss,
extrememly bright lights or loud sounds,
empty, flat terrain (deserts),
crowded dense terrain (jungels or forests),
crowds of people,
rotting smells, decaying foods,
bitter tastes,
sharp objects,
harsh, abrupt sounds,
grating and discordant sounds,
misshapen human bodies,
snakes and spiders,
human feces (and its smell),
other people's body fluids,
vomit.

This is a list I found in the book Emotional Design by Donald A. Norman of sensations that typically produce an "automatic negative" visceral affect. This list is preceeded by a list of situations and objects that do the contrary. The latter is neither as long, nor as poetic.

(continuity) It is a list. It is also a poem if you choose to read it as a poem. no?

Relevant?

2007-05-08T22:05:00.001-07:00

Following up on the first two posts.
Also, think about the artistry/design behind everyday objects.

Le Debat, Haute Tension; Speechbox

2007-05-05T15:55:00.000-07:00

"Programme de gouvernement" Adriana Garcia Galan, a Colombian aritst working in Paris, has transposed the French Presidential debate into a medium of modern urban folk art: Beatboxing. By doing so, she emphasizes a contentious dialogue between hip hip culture and politics that mirrors the original debate setting. The work is currently on display at the Palais de Tokyo, Paris.

Additionally, I think it is worth noting Sarkozy's role and comments as Interior Minister during the 2005 civil riots in Parisian outskirts. His allegations that organized planning was the root of the violence and use of the term "racaille" (translating to rabble or scum) disparaged the working class. The riots took place in areas that have a strong youth culture and population, some of which indentifies with and contributes to the international hip-hop movement.

Posted above is a clip from Wednesday's debate. Some of the English subtitles are not very accurate, so keep that in mind.

tragiquement les résultats ont été annoncés : Sarkozy a gagné. http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0,1-0@2-823448,36-906044@51-906165,0.html

Ne L'Oubliez Pas

2007-05-04T18:14:00.000-07:00

Pharoah Sanders - Hum-Allah-Hum-Allah-Hum Allah from Jewels of Thought (1969)

John Coltrane discovered Pharoah Sanders playing at New York’s Village Gate in ’63. Shortly thereafter, Sanders began playing the tenor sax in a uniquely shrill split-reed voice alongside Coltrane during an avant-garde period characterized by “cosmic” themes influenced by, most notably, Sun Ra and Albert Ayler. Two years into this “second quartet” project, Coltrane died, forcing Sanders pursue a solo career. He briefly collaborated with Coltrane’s widow and former pianist, Alice, before leading his own band. At this stage, Sander’s band drew heavily upon the avant-garde and cosmic influences of the “second quartet” as well as African scales and rhythms.

Jewels of Thought was recorded in ’69 and has since been largely forgotten. I found a dusty copy of it on vinyl a few months ago. Apparently, Hum-Allah was my mother’s favorite song around the time when it was released.

According the record cover, Pahroah Sanders plays the tenor saxophone, contrabass clarinet, reed flute, African thumb piano, and percussion. He is accompanied by Leon Thomas, Lonnie Liston Smith, Richard Davis, Cecil McBee, Idris Muhammad, and Roy Hanes.

"Peace is the will of the people / and the will of the land
With peace we can move ahead together"

Perspective

2007-04-29T16:25:00.000-07:00

This is an aerial photo I used to use as my laptop desktop, centered against a white background. I'm posting it because it gains artistic value in the same way Untitled (Greenhouse) and the Shikisai shirts do. Through a change in perspective, the suburban landscape becomes art. For example, we look at balance and geometries of urban planning like the composition of a Thiebaud canvas.

Unfortunately, I've since lost track of where I found the photo.

Untitled (Greenhouse)

2007-04-26T17:45:00.001-07:00

Music influences plants.* But Peter Coffin doesn't really seem to care. The exhibition notes of his installation piece Untitled (Greenhouse) describe Coffin's greater goal:

"This artistic project does not seek to validate scientific theories, as much as it establishes a creative dialogue between different forms of organic life and creates a site for a direct and ongoing engagement with plants that is intuitive, improvised, and undetermined."

In this greenhouse musicians play music for the vegetation using their own instruments or the electric guitar, keyboard, and microphones hidden amongst the leaves. Untitled (Greenhouse) continues an exploration of the theme introduced in the blog's prior post: the creation of art by presenting non-art objects in an aesthetic context. Some people don't think it's art. They should go back to the Armory Show.

On display at the Palais de Tokyo, Paris 01 FÉV - 11 MAR

*See:
"On the Reported Effects of Sound on the Growth of Plants"
Richard M. Klein, Pamela C. Edsall
BioScience, Vol. 15, No. 2, Biotelemetry (Feb., 1965), pp. 125-126

Concept, Craft

2007-04-26T17:03:00.001-07:00

Noto Hirotsugo and Noto Miyu, husband and wife, masters of monochrome, attempt to create color from black ink and white cloth. They call their work Shikisai, or colorful. They make this color by coalescing three independent design elements:

1. Quotidian actions/images
2. Medium
3. Interactivity

Today, I wore a t-shirt with a black silkscreen of venetian blinds from which a cord hangs. If you pull the cord, the blinds are drawn.

Notably, the design team behind shikisai is an acknowledgement of a disparity that exists between concept and craft. Hirotsugu is trained in design, his wife Miyo specialized in the technical aspects of clothing at KDI Parsons. Big difference.