Betty

Nudesicle

2008-06-11T11:56:00.000-07:00

I've recently gotten into riding a bike around everywhere. Over the past few weeks, I've ridden more than I have since I was a teenager and it's been a blast and a great workout. I feel healthier and stronger - despite a few extra aches and bruises I've picked up (after a foolish ride on Santa Monica Blvd. before I had my sea legs back, I considered making myself a shirt saying "I survived rush hour on SMB and all I got was this bloody shirt...") In theory it should take me longer to get around than it would by car or by bus, but in Los Angeles traffic, I think it's a safe bet I beat other people going the same distance during rush hour gridlock from time to time.

Anyway, I'm not in shape to feel comfortable doing this yet, but I read through BBC News about a naked bike ride in Sussex England over the weekend where a mass of riders stripped down to ride to promote the use of pedal power. As I know more and more people getting their bikes out of storage due to gas prices, it's a great time and I would love to do something like that here. I mean, if World Naked Bike Ride can pull it off in supposedly sexually repressed England (and there is another event planned for London as well) it's a shame we aren't doing this in Hell A. It's not unprecedented either, according to their Wiki, there was one in LA in 2004. And San Francisco of course is in on it as well.

Who's down? Let's get this started. This would outdo a kamikaze run on the Santa Monica Freeway any day. I just need a new seat on my bike first - it kills my ass with my pants still on...

Material incentives

2008-06-09T11:12:00.000-07:00

On the heels of Benicio Del Toro's best actor win at Cannes for his portrayal of Ernesto 'Che' Guevara, two of Che's children have begun to speak out over the commercialization of their father's likeness according to the Guardian. Rather than protest the film - in fact the son, Camilo, said he welcomed the film as long as it was faithful to his father's memory - they took issue with the idea of the image of "a man who fought and died trying to overthrow capitalism and material excess should [being] used to sell British vodka, French fizzy drinks and Swiss mobile phones, among other travesties."

This has been a long time coming as Guevara's image has been popular as a symbol of counterculture and on college campuses for decades, even while the companies that produce the t-shirts, hats, posters, etc. specifically from the photo taken by Alberto Korda in Havana in 1960 are using the image for capitalist gains.

But, that's to be expected. Corporations are concerned with bottom lines and profitability, and - just like Nike co-opting Saul Williams' List of Demands (an anti-corporate screed by any account) for a shoe commercial - it's not uncommon for words and images to be used to promote the exact opposite of what they were meant to stand for.

Hopefully, even if a kid hasn't read or seen The Motorcycle Diaries, or could care less about Steven Soderbergh's new 2-part film, with Che's own children speaking out they'll begin to see the irony in flaunting the image on their chest as it's juxtaposed against their Chuck Taylors (since Converse is now owned by Nike), while sitting in Starbucks working on their MacBook.

The Definition of Alt

2008-06-05T22:22:00.000-07:00

Nadya Lev at Coilhouse asked a really great question today, "What does Alt Model even mean?" Brought on by a discussion about the latest Bizarre Magazine cover girl, Veronika, (who had her left leg amputated below the knee due to disfigurement) and just what makes her alt, Lev runs through several definitions of alt - from transgender to heavyset models, to the tattooed and pierced models typically associated with the scene, and what she then calls the self-made persona - and shows how amorphous and incomplete the definition is in application to each.

Other than the fact even in porn their tends to be a backlash against any "next big thing" once it's become overexposed, this is probably part of the reason alt gets derided - gently here by Susannah Breslin, a little more harshly here by Lux Nightmare for Fleshbot - by those familiar with the porn industry. It's also drawn hackles from friends of mine who have worked on the fringes of it - in one case as a freelance photographer - when others have tried to suggest that the different visions of outward beauty embraced by websites like Suicide Girls or Gods Girls are somehow empowering to women.

This idea forgets that the women still mostly have very similar body types and conform to some standard stylistic sensibilities - such as Apnea (pictured above) and Stoya - only with a certain edge about them. In Apnea's case, over time she's gone down a more fetish route in her work, embracing goth and bdsm while taking almost a performance artist approach, but Stoya has had a quick and easy transition into more traditional hardcore porn over the past year. I'm not knocking either, just acknowledging their origins and career trajectories.

Even on the business side, with contractual exclusivity/non-compete agreements, low pay and various lawsuits the rise of the alt model scene hasn't been any more empowering for the women working in it than traditional pornography ever was. It's just as much a business, and models have to be savvy to become successful at exploiting it, rather than be exploited themselves.

Take porn out of it though and I would agree with Lev that those in the "self-made persona" category best exemplify the idea of alt - or maybe what alt should be. It seems more artistic and about expressing one's individuality as opposed to fitting easily into a category or scene. Becoming fashion and style grinders, looking high and low for inspiration and ideas in developing an outward look, and hopefully finding something that matches the wonderful weirdness inside as well. Which of course means a lot from a guy who wears tennis shoes, jeans and a button-down shirt to work...

The Decapitator

2008-06-05T20:49:00.000-07:00

London has another anonymous street artist, the Decapitator, who has been horrifically defacing corporate advertising campaigns with gruesome results. I have to thank Grinding.be for turning me onto the Decapitator, who posts his/her work at a Flickr account. Recently, the artist's work grabbed attention again for turning Carrie from Sex in the City (Sarah Jessica Parker) into a body carrying its own head as an accessory.

Unlike the Splasher, who defaced other street artists' works, the Decapitator's targeting of adverts is much easier to stomach for many. Violent, yes, but edgy and cheeky, it makes an obvious statement - even if it was not the artist's intent - that just because a corporation has the money to rent an ad space, it doesn't mean it's theirs. The fun, mocking attitude has struck a chord that led Environmental Graffiti's Alex Ingham to pronounce at the end of his profile of the artist's work, "ALL HAIL, THE DECAPITATOR!"

The Caligula of Orange County?

2008-06-05T19:39:00.001-07:00

I am so excited about the latest developments in this story. I've wanted to blog about this guy forever as the Orange County billionaire co-founder of Broadcom, Henry T. Nicholas, gave me one of my favorite news stories of 2007. You'll see why in a moment.

The timing is all messed up, but part of me sees Henry T. Nicholas as the retroactive inspiration for Patrick Bateman. I'm sure it's only a matter of time before a room full of bodies appears in Nicholas's underground lair. Why? Okay, first of all because it was found out last year that Nicholas really does have an underground lair. Of course, that would only put him on the level of a James Bond villain as far as most people are concerned. But, then there are all the allegations of hookers and drugs. You see, that secret bunker of his wasn't for building a laser to carve his face in the moon. It was built with secret nooks and crannies for him to secretly take prostitutes to so he could apparently snort some blow off their asses. Or something.

According to Wired | Threat Level, the story got even juicier today. In an indictment filed Thursday (and I'm paraphrasing Wired blooger Ryan Singel's post here) it's been alleged he drugged two fellow executives, racked up a $30,000 bill for ecstasy for a party, ordered employees to maintain a stockpile of drugs including coke and meth at his warehouse. At another point he allegedly bought 225 tabs of ecstasy. The indictment continues that he and several others smoked enough pot on a flight that the pilot had to don an oxygen mask to avoid a high from hotboxing. Supposedly, he had an employee exchange an envelope with $5,000-to-$10,000 for drugs, and he also signed a settlement agreement with an employee, paying out $1 million for silence about illegal drug activities. Finally, Nicholas allegedly conspired with others to get prescription drugs illegally. No word on if he ever declared himself the new emperor of Rome during a fit of drug-fueled mania.

Truly, it's amazing human beings like this who almost make the violence of the French Revolution understandable.

Update: Today's New York Post has more.

Know Your Rights: Photography in Public Spaces

2008-06-05T15:05:00.001-07:00

Umm... No.
In rethinking the direction of the blog recently, one thing I've become interested in is breaking out my camera again and providing original images I've taken and developed on my own. At the same time, from experience, I know it's become more difficult to even take photos in public places. Thankfully, BoingBoing.net has posted several times about this issue. Not just about people who have been stopped or antagonized for taking photos in public places, but also in providing information on just what is allowed.

Most recently, they linked to an article by Bruce Schneier for the Guardian - The War on Photography - that discusses just how improbable it is that someone being harassed by law officers for committing photography will end with the arrest of an actual terrorist. In addition, he links to several resources that explain your rights in the US, in addition to the UK and Australia.

As it turns out, taking photos of almost anything (with the exception of the odd secret military installation) is within bounds. Even if it's a privately owned location, if it's open to the public, it's within your rights to shoot photos. What's a little murkier is when you start taking photos of specific people. If you use a long lens and can see that a man across the street is holding a bottle of Valtrex, guess what? You're probably invading his privacy. Still, the next time mall security tells you to put your camera away or you and your friends have to leave (I'm raising my hand as this happened to me), you should know you can tell them where to shove their plastic rent-a-cop badge.

Half mastered ass style mad ruff task - WuChess

2008-06-03T22:26:00.000-07:00

Chess has figured into Wu-Tang lyrics from the very beginning and I know the RZA is a renaissance businessman. But, WuChess was probably the last Wu-Tang social networking concept I would have ever imagined. Not that I'm not impressed by the sheer weirdness of it.

Users can sign up for an annual fee of $48 to take part in chess games and tournaments in real time and network with other players and Wu-Tang fans. The two groups may seem at first glance to be mutually exclusive, but the RZA has made a successful career of taking the least expected path. GZA may be the genius, but I have faith Mr. Bobby Digital can pull this off. Check out the site or the blog for more info.

Guerrilla Gardening Takes Root in LA

2008-06-01T23:32:00.000-07:00

Scott stands amidst his handiwork on a Long Beach traffic island
You can thank the LA Times for that pun in the title, as I simply took the headline from their article in Thursday's paper about the guerrilla gardening movement (?) reaching Los Angeles.

You can call it political or social action, but guerrilla gardening seems much simpler than that. It is a wonderful thing as people take back unused and unwanted land - mostly in urban spaces - and return it to life with plants and flowers, leaving the barren and wasted a little more beautiful than how they found it.

"Brimming with lime-hued succulents and a lush collection of agaves, one shooting spiky leaves 10 feet into the air, it's a head-turning garden smack in the middle of Long Beach's asphalt jungle. But the gardener who designed it doesn't want you to know his last name, since his handiwork isn't exactly legit. It's on a traffic island he commandeered." - Joe Robinson, Special to The Times

According to the ever reliable Wikipedia, guerrilla gardening goes back as far as 1973. I first read about guerrilla gardening in Treehugger where they linked to a Toronto group who used the wonderful motto, "graffiti with nature."

Specifically, read the Treehugger article for more on the philosophy, and the LA Times piece if you've ever wanted to know how to make a seed bomb. If you're interested in giving this a try yourself, there are many sites around the web that could help, including Homegrown Evolution and GuerrillaGardening.org.

I'm sure there are some detractors, but much like Critical Mass is for bike enthusiasts, this is a great form of peaceful eco-activism.

Four

2008-06-01T22:20:00.000-07:00

The Corey Helford Gallery beat out the Culver City art walk by one day with the group opening, Four, Friday night. Featuring - as the gallery puts it - four emerging Los Angeles-based artists, the show featured a dark, Gothic sensibility throughout, but with two standouts.

I've been familiar with Jason Shawn Alexander (who used to simply go by Jason or J. Alexander, but I imagine changed it up for obvious reasons) for several years as he has worked on comics for Oni Press and Dark Horse Comics including Queen & Country and Hellboy spinoff, Abe Sapien among others. As such, even though I don't follow comics anymore, I leapt at the chance to see him show his painted work. He instills each piece with drama, but it's his distorted - almost hyper real - anatomy that really makes his figures stand out. Where an artist whose work I consider somewhat similar in look, Jeremy Geddes, uses distortions to add a dark, twisted, but humorous sensibility, Alexander's work is less cynical and more emotionally complex. Whether the red smeared across a woman's face (Repeater - to the right) as if it's blood from her hands or a little boy with a crow standing over him, there's a dark, melancholy, and fearsome quality constantly at work.

Alexander's work in comics has been well received despite how unconventional it may appear alongside more typical artists. Going for splotchy, scratchy inks as opposed to clean lines and photorealism, the skill and talent he showed in that medium is expanded upon beautifully in the Helford exhibit.

His work might be tender and human despite its edginess, but Karen Hsiao goes for a much more transgressive approach. Breaking her work into three sections, she turns the first into a de facto peepshow, making good use of the adults only label by her photographic work. Employing imagery both horrific and erotic, this portion is rooted deeply in the fetish scene where I first encountered her work.

In the second portion, she creates a pantheon of gods and demons with her own takes on Ningyo, Kali and Nephilim (pictured left). Finally, in collaboration with Miso - who provides twisted fairytale images around Hsiao's photos - she presents several photos of women in states of latex undress as they bathe. Altogether, the three scenes may seem disjointed - and they are - but they also serve to showcase the versatility of Hsiao's talents.

Provocative and unflinching, as grotesque or disturbing as Hsiao's work may be, she finds the beauty in the unnerving and shows she has grown from the good, but more one note series Bloodletting featured on her website.

Along with painters Melissa Forman and Sarah Folkman, Alexander's and Hsiao's work will adorn the walls of the Corey Helford Gallery for another three weeks until June 21. Enjoy the presence of these young artists' works while it lasts.

$30,000 for hookers and Halo? For reals? (No...)

2008-06-01T21:15:00.000-07:00

Greg Gutfeld gets owned by a juicy fake news story
Have you heard about this kid from Texas, Ralph Hardy? He stole his father's credit cards and ran up a $30,000 tab on a spending spree, hotel stay and - oh yeah - a couple hookers who he simply played Halo with for a couple hours. The story ran on the front page of Digg and was even covered on Fox News's Red Eye. And, it's completely made up.

A case of guerrilla marketing by way of an 8 ball (which is not to say that the writer of it had done an 8 ball, just that the story is that crazy), writer Lyndon Antcliff created the story for money.co.uk as linkbait - a story designed to go viral across social networks and drive up traffic to the site. According to Wired - Epicenter, Antcliff made the story as ludicrous as possible so that people would know it was a hoax. Besides, how would a British financial magazine scoop the American media over a story out of Texas?

The money.co.uk story now includes a disclaimer at the top. But the more interesting part is how quickly the media latched onto it, with Fox News running with the story, obviously without any factchecking. And, for Money and Antcliff, the gambit worked. According to Mediawatch, money.co.uk's online ranking went from 80,000 to under 6,000 in a matter of days.

There isn't enough sex in video games...

2008-05-28T14:36:00.000-07:00

Here's some food for thought. The reason sexuality in video games is so controversial is because there's not enough of it. Or so says SCAD (Savannah College of Art and Design) professor Daniel Floyd. Personally, I agree with the concept of the uncanny valley, which has me less than eager for the next generation of sexually-themed games. But, he brings up a good point. Video games are seen as a medium for children, and as something other than art when neither is actually the case. At some point, if they are to be taken seriously as an art form and as entertainment meant for a wider audience than kids, video games will have to begin to deal with mature themes in mature ways. Cory Doctorow and Susannah Breslin both chime in as well. Oh, and the video is pretty funny.

with a buzz in our ears we play endlessly

2008-05-27T19:31:00.000-07:00

Apparently, I'm not the only fan of Ryan McGinley.
One of my favorite bands, Sigur Rós, announced that their next album will reach stores in June and premiered their new single Gobbledigook today, making both the mp3 and the new video available at the link. While the track is a little surprising coming from them - more upbeat and less contemplative than they're known for (and I actually didn't enjoy it on first listen) - upon hearing it in the context of the video they created in collaboration with Ryan McGinley, it captures all the tenderness, joy and innocence of his photography.

Following a group of young adults as they cavort, run and play naked in the wilderness, it's a perfect pairing of visuals and sounds that allows one to synaesthetically complement the other. It is brilliantly unsafe for work, reveling in man and woman enjoying nature, in all their natural beauty. Go download the single, go watch the video. And get just as excited as I am for June 23 and Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust (With a Buzz in Our Ears We Play Endlessly).

The War Prayer

2008-05-26T11:38:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I posted an animated short film, but my favorite political blogger, Kevin Drum, posted about an extremely powerful animated adaptation of Mark Twain's short story, The War Prayer. At just under fifteen minutes, you may feel anxious by the end (you kids and your ADD), but as a damning parable of patriotic and religious zealotry in times of war, it is as important now as it was when it was published. Particularly given the day it is.

Digging in the Dirt of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

2008-05-22T10:33:00.000-07:00

George Lucas and Steven Spielberg have both attempted to inoculate Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull from what's been called a fandom backlash in recent months, stating that people comparing it to Raiders of the Lost Ark and its sequels would never be pleased with any new Indiana Jones film. Well, there's some good news for Lucas and Spielberg - Kingdom is not a bad Indiana Jones movie. Instead, it's simply a really bad movie. Period. In fact, take Indiana Jones and Marion Ravenwood out of this film and there is literally nothing else worth seeing.

Some critics have given it a pass because at least you are seeing Indy again. Others have argued you can't make an action film like Raiders in this day and age. I call bullshit on both counts. Indiana Jones is a character worth revisiting if you have the right story. And, while much has changed since the early 80s, the idea that a good film requires a good script has not. Kingdom essentially turns Indiana Jones into Wile E. Coyote and places him in a rejected X-Files in the Amazon script that intentionally incorporates elements - look, feel and storytelling - of 50s scifi B-movies. The result is an uneven, immature mess.

What makes a good action hero - not just Indiana Jones - is that they have to rely on their strength, their courage, their wits and a little luck to survive dangerous-but-in-the-end-somehow-believable odds. Not necessarily believable in the real world, but at least within the world of the film itself. When a character survives a nuclear blast with only scrapes and bruises by hiding in a refrigerator that ostensibly flies several miles through the air, there's no wits, courage or strength about it - only luck and bad writing that could see a character through. At that point, unless the film is a parody, there's no longer any means of suspending disbelief.

I'm not concerned with the alien storyline of the film. In fact, it actually gave me hope as several of the films Spielberg is most well-known for obviously involve extra-terrestrial life. What's more, each Indiana Jones film has incorporated myth and legend - Jewish, Hindu, Christian - and the concept of ancient astronauts loosely fits in that realm. The problem is that where the other films were action films that utilized comic relief - with the comic relief becoming more prevalent as the series went on - this is first a laughless comedy, then layered with overdone special effects. All the while it builds no tension, and contains no actual human drama.

It will have a huge opening weekend, but this is really Spielberg's worst film of any sort since at least Hook, and I would argue even further back than that. Lucas simply continues to show he has no idea what made the characters and stories he helped create appealing to fans in the first place. Harrison Ford is still charming as Indy, but he's hampered by a nudge-nudge, wink-wink script that clearly intends to build up Shia LeBeouf's Mutt as heir to the franchise - a wholly ridiculous notion on any number of levels. Especially since this film shows the franchise has no creative juice left.

I don't have a slavish devotion to the Indiana Jones franchise. I do think Raiders is a classic. But, Temple of Doom and the Last Crusade successfully killed any chance of the series as a whole being regarded as highly as, say, the original Star Wars trilogy. As such, I didn't carry the baggage some did into this film that it could never live up to the rest of the series. In fact, take the other films away and Kingdom still fails fully on its own merits.

The New Materialism

2008-05-21T20:16:00.000-07:00

In the future, our homes won't be built, our sculptures won't be carved, our clothes won't be sewn. In the post-modern world they'll be designed and grown in genetics labs. Or at least this is what well known science fiction writer and futurist Bruce Sterling posits in his speculative essay for Abitare, the New Materialism, in response to the organic artwork of Neri Oxman (pictured above). Loaded with ideas of the birth, life and death of one potential future for the arts, the short work is a great read that both speculates as to and eulogizes what is to come.

Armor Couture

2008-05-21T19:37:00.000-07:00

This would ordinarily have gone on the Tumblr, but it's just too cool. Dutch designer Tim Smit has come up with an awesome design for a next generation urban security suit. Made of neoprene and lined with kevlar, it's body armor you could wear just as easily in a Baghdad market, to a house music party or as an extra in the live-action adaptation of Ghost in the Shell.

Making a Splash

2008-05-21T06:50:00.000-07:00

Easily slotted in the "what took you so long?" category of editorials for being a year too late, I'm willing to give Adbusters a pass as Sarah Nardi's commentary on the Splasher of the New York City Street Art Scene asks some important questions. Even if it doesn't come anywhere near close to answering them.

Covering a series of vandalisms of street art pieces by some of the biggest artists in the scene in Street Art is Dead, she asks whether the perpetrator, the Splasher, really did have a point to make.

From late 2006 to early 2007, the Splasher targeted works by Swoon, Sheppard Fairey, Banksy and others around New York, earning their name by splashing different colored paints across works by artists they viewed as taking the street art scene in a corporate or gallery-driven direction. Descending from graffiti, where turf wars are hardly uncommon, you would think the artists involved would have been able to handle the defacement of their work. Essentially, it's vandalism of vandalism after all, yet the New York Street Art scene got itself in a tizzy trying to figure out who the Splasher was with vitriolic rants and insults just as inane as the Marxist manifestos the Splasher left behind at the scenes of their crimes on crimes.

Now don't get me wrong, I really enjoy street art. I think it's creative, sometimes ugly, sometimes beautiful and oftentimes important in a world where legally only corporations get to decide what images block out our skyline or vandalize our city streets. But, to me, half the point is that it's mutable and exists only for a brief period of time. The elements, city works and other artists will inevitably take a quick and heavy toll on any piece thrown up by an artist. The Splasher phenomenon only serves to highlight that fact in my mind. And while it must be hard for any artist to see his or her work defaced, the responses from Sheppard Fairey and Faile about the phenomenon show an amazing level of detachment from where their art form descended from.

While the anti-corporate message of the Splasher was over-the-top, the act itself does make a point. Graffiti used to be something that was dangerous. Now it's something that upper-middle-class art students go and do for pleasure as a means of beefing up portfolios on their way into art school or selling works at the gallery. And, I've known plenty who've done both. In an art form created as a rebellious act, this about as establishment as it comes. Even Banksy, whose work I love, put together an event a few weeks back with Eurostar, a European railway company. How defiant of the system are you when you're receiving corporate sponsorship? I'm not saying it's wrong - otherwise I wouldn't have written about it in the first place. I'm not against artists becoming successful. But it is an important question that no one has ever succeeded in answering despite how many artists, musicians and writers have crossed a line over the years from being revolutionary agitators to corporate sellouts.

Agree with the Splasher or not, but the whole series of events serves to remind that no scene is incorruptible or above these issues.

The Slave Trade

2008-05-21T06:19:00.001-07:00

This is not easy to watch, and is not work safe. Emma Thompson's PSA for the Helen Bamber Foundation couldn't be more traumatically to the point. And, that's exactly why - particularly if you don't understand what human trafficking or sex slavery is - you should watch it.

Knowle West Boy and the Council Estate

2008-05-20T21:22:00.000-07:00

I'd be much more excited to be posting a link to the mp3 of Council Estate, but the video for the first single from Tricky's new album, Knowle West Boy, will more than do for now. Tricky was one of my favorite artists from the 90s into the early part of this decade. Incorporating elements of hip-hop, reggae, punk and electronica his sound was audacious, crass and wore its imperfections proudly. From the new track it sounds like he hasn't lost a beat. In fact, it sounds like he has regained some of the edge that had given way by the time of his last full-length, Vulnerable. Which makes sense as KWB is meant to span and bring full circle the former Massive Attack emcee's musical career. Here's hoping the rest of the album can deliver. According to the site, we'll know in less than two months as KWB is set to drop on July 8. In the meantime, if you're into the art of remixing, be sure to visit the KWB site where you can download all the components of Council Estate, make and repost your own version.

The Revolution's Here... And I Have a Bike

2008-05-19T18:57:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago while riding home on the bus, a group of kids got the attention of everyone as they packed onto a corner - I believe Pico and 30th - and were getting their bikes and roller blades ready while pulling up hoods and tying on bandanas as face masks. Looking like a bunch of young anarchists, I thought maybe the tongue-in-cheek premonitions of the coming revolution by my buddy Kreplech from Illiterate Electorate may actually be right. Particularly the latter half of his statement, "The revolution's here... And I have a bike." The point being, when the shit hits the fan and the roadways are clogged with cars, he'll be able to make his way out of the city with pedal power. Well, there was no revolution, but pedal power got these kids far.

According to Banned Bicycles this was the latest in a series of rides by the Crimanimalz who took not just to the Santa Monica streets, but the Santa Monica and San Diego Freeways during Friday rush hour to make the point that people power is not only better for the environment, but a quicker method of transport through Los Angeles's clogged arteries. Apparently it started after Santa Monica began cracking down on Critical Mass to prevent the mass of bike riders from clogging city streets. As the bike riders were pulled over and let off without even a warning, I'd say the city is losing so far. Enjoy the video, and be sure to check out the Crimanimalz' photos of the event.

I Know Where the Summer Goes

2008-05-15T22:12:00.000-07:00

I wish I was cooler sometimes, and more in the know. I mean, being a film geek is fine, but a lot passes right by me that I would otherwise be thrilled to hear about. Ryan McGinley's photography is a good example. I read about him for the first time this spring a few weeks after a trip to NYC, where he had an exhibit going. If I had known beforehand, well, I know one show I would have been dragging my friends to.

It's funny to some of my friends that I enjoy McGinley's work as much as I do. To take a look at this blog when it comes to art you'd think I'm not much interested in anything beyond graffiti. Even if my first love in fine arts wasn't actually photography, McGinley's work would be an obvious exception to that idea. Focusing on shots mostly of his friends, commonly in the nude and frequently against sprawling natural vistas, there's an aching joy and innocence to his work. Being able to lay emotions naked without turning this sort of work into erotica is a rarer talent than some might imagine, and it imbues McGinley's work with a depth that belies the visual simplicity of each concept.

And, he manages to bring this sensibility to his more commercial work as well, capturing sides of Ellen Page, Marion Cotillard and Josh Brolin - among others for New York Times Magazine - that few other current photographers are capable of. Very simply, he takes celebrities and makes them human.

If you happen to be in San Francisco over the next month, his show, Spring and By Summer Fall, is running at Ratio3 through June 21. I'm actually considering making a special trip.

Bomb the Bass is So Special

2008-05-14T10:20:00.001-07:00

At some point I'd love to put together a comprehensive list of the most controversial music videos ever made, which Bomb the Bass's new video So Special would inevitably be part of. And the new track deserves the added attention. In anticipation of Tim Simenon's first full-length album in 14 years, the video popped up on Stereogum last week where they gave it a bit of context:

According to the video's directors, Nathalie Teirlinck and Ben Van Alboom, the clip "was inspired by Magnum photographer Burt Glinn's 1971 black and white series on prostitutes in New York. only we took to the streets of Brussels..."

It's NSFW, as it features hookers and call girls - female and transgendered - working the street and the bedroom. Shot in gritty fashion, it has erotic elements, but is meant to be disconcerting and more easily viewed as voyeuristic than erotica. Especially when seen in the context of lyrics like, "Next time you break my heart... I'm gonna come around... Smash your brains apart."

Get Down, Get Up

2008-05-14T08:08:00.000-07:00

I remember the good old minimalist days of electronic music videos where all you'd see was an amorphous digital blob spinning across a swiftly tilting background. Kingbastard's latest video seems to recall those abstract times, even though there's something much more complex with what Chris Weeks and Weird Fields are doing with [ downup ]. The flashing, subtle cues have a message tied somehow to the words explore, exploit, explode, before somewhere along the way you find yourself saying, "I love Big Brother."

Living Paintings by Blu

2008-05-13T14:33:00.001-07:00

MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.
I hope to God this was easier to make than it looks. Otherwise the graf artist Blu must have been working on Muto, An Ambiguous Animation Painted on Walls, for what I'm sure felt like a lifetime. A stop-motion animated film, Blu used buildings, sidewalks, walls and ceilings to tell a story of mutating humans evolving, procreating and dying their way across Buenos Aires and Baden. The animation is jerky as hell, but it's no less an amazing work for it - even when the random passers-by flash their way through the scenes of the short film. It's a rad little film from a graf artist who's pieces have graced walls of buildings from London and Berlin to Palestine and Sao Paulo.

Justice's Stress

2008-05-12T13:11:00.000-07:00

It's always interesting to see what pushes people's buttons and Justice's latest video, Stress, is a great way to do that. After showing up on Kanye West's blog, and within no time of being posted on Daily Motion, an explicit content warning went up and you needed to provide age verification to watch the video. Without a hint of nudity, the realistically shot - if largely bloodless - violence obviously freaked someone out.

Made in a documentary fashion by Romain Garvas, it shows the dark side of the City of Lights with a band of teenagers - think Telly from Kids, or Alex from A Clockwork Orange - cutting a lethal path through Paris, harassing people on the subways on the streets and in restaurants, mugging an old lady, destroying cars, and beating down police officers. It's seething with anger, and lest you think you're meant to get off on the violence there's a poignant message in the end about where this rage leads as the young criminals turn on the crew filming them, and by extension the audience as well.

I already mentioned A Clockwork Orange, but if you're interested in some of the other influences to be found here, Punk Photo has a great rundown.