3.22.09 by Ruth + 89 comments!
According to this article in … yeah, I don’t really have to tell you what publication … an artist, Shepard Fairey, (who is incidentally most famous for another piece of art) was brought to court this week in Boston for vandalism.
An example of the charges against him:
Here’s something else which was painted on concrete…
…in Berlin, in 1989. That piece of concrete is now an art gallery.
There are many many many more examples.
Remember the trash cans at Central which had reproductions of famous pieces of art on them? If you didn’t go to Central, pretend you remember them anyway. I think we can all agree that that was a pretty awesome idea. It was an awesome idea because it took blank surfaces and made them interesting. The difference between that and the examples above is, essentially, the pressence of permission. As rebelious teenagers, I think we can all agree that permission isn’t important.
If you were considering going out and spraypainting “Free Shepard Fairey” on the sidewalks, you should call me so I can go with you. Actually, if you are Shepard Fairey you can probably afford both a good lawyer and bail. Nevermind.
1.11.09 by Cypy + 94 comments!
Recently, I was cleaning off some bookshelves and I found a treasure trove of old papers I had written back when I was very young. I found one in particular that is fascinating because I spelled almost every word phonetically when I was first learning to write; my parents didn’t emphasize my spelling “properly” until I was about 11, but instead, let me spell words how I wanted. I traveled up to KU with one of my home schooled friends, Walter Morris, and our assignment was to write a story about a painting that featured some morbidly obese people. Here is what I wrote (verbatim):
the pinzon family by Fernando botero
wuns ther wus sum bulbous pepel and a bulbous dog thay wer very hapy then sudently thay relisd that thay shood stort eteing mor leen food but thay wor so udiktid to ther ushuwol ritchuwol that thay nevr did win thay got to fat to wok thay got srvins to kery them but thay soon got way to hevy and thay got even hever so thay had to mak ther flor much stroingr but befor thay kud do ineething thay got so fat thay fel rit aslep
the end
In case you had trouble with any of those words, here is a translation:
The Pinzon Family by Fernando Botero
Once there was some bulbous people and a bulbous dog—they were very happy. Then, suddenly, they realized that they should start eating more lean food, but they were so addicted to there usual ritual that they never did. When they got too fat to walk they got servants to carry them, but they soon got way to heavy (and they got even heavier) so they had to make their floor much stronger, but before they could do anything they got so fat they fell right asleep.
The End
If you are curious, here are some examples of Fernando Botero’s paintings:
http://www.1st-art-gallery.com/Fernando-Botero/A-Family-I.html
http://www.1st-art-gallery.com/Fernando-Botero/A-Family-Una-Familia.html
http://www.1st-art-gallery.com/Fernando-Botero/A-Family-II.html
http://www.1st-art-gallery.com/Fernando-Botero/A-Family.html
http://www.1st-art-gallery.com/Fernando-Botero/A-Family-III.html
http://www.1st-art-gallery.com/Fernando-Botero/Colombian-Family-1999.html
http://www.1st-art-gallery.com/Fernando-Botero/Family-Scene-1969.html
http://www.museumsyndicate.com/item.php?item=4934
1.1.09 by Cypy + 99 comments!
Note: this article was copied from an email I sent out to a few people in November
Sometimes the more someone knows about a certain subject, the more critical they are of it. I have recently been watching many movie trailers, for upcoming films. Some of them are creative and make me want to see more, some are simply dozens of small “action” clips from the film, slapped together in no particular order, and others are halfway between the two, not particularly impressive, but not nauseatingly horrendous. I would like to direct your attention to two of these:
- Watchmen
- 2012
Have you watched those trailers? Now I would like to direct your attention to these:
- Koyaanisqatsi (1982) Director: Godfrey Regio, Music: Philip Glass
- The Shining (1980) Director: Stanley Kubrick
If you couldn’t tell, the Watchmen trailer used the music from Koyaanisqatsi and the 2012 trailer used the soundtrack from The Shining trailer. I think the music used in The Shining and Koyaanisqatsi is exceptionally good, but when it is used in new trailers and cut short and modified, it only makes me think of how bad the new movies look in comparison to the classics.
Extended analogy:
My dog, Rusty, dies, so my parents buy me a new puppy. I like the puppy, until my parents start comparing it to my old dog and insisting that the puppy is just as good (”look, he even has the same soundtrack, isn’t that cute?”). The puppy might be pretty nice, but I miss ol’ Rusty.
-Cypress
P.S. No dogs were harmed in the making of this article.
P.P.S. I recommend watching all of Koyaanisqatsi when you have an hour or so to spare. It is wonderful.
