keef

Here is a look at photographer Michael Brodies’s extensive documentation of modern day American freight-train riders. Since taking these images over several years, the photographer has stopped taking pictures, has graduated school, and is currently working as a mobile diesel mechanic.

Last year, the NYC Department of Records made available online almost a million photographic images of life in the city dating back to the mid-1800s.

Often the best interviews are really just conversations. Here Alec Baldwin has a discussion with Thom Yorke on WYNC’s Here’s The Thing.

File this under “truth is stranger than fiction.” Vice made a film profiling a guy who has been experimenting with injecting snake venom from a variety of cobras and vipers into his body for over twenty years. Insane.

Photographer Chris Arnade has spent several years documenting the people who live in New York City’s poorest neighborhood and not surprisingly where the best quality of heroin is to be found, Hunt’s Point. His deep commitment to revealing certain truths about the relationship between addiction, abuse and poverty is clear in a large body of work, as we can see his intimate rapport with the subjects. He simply sees them as “human beings,” people in a bad place and in need of help that probably isn’t coming. While most of America spends their Christmas and Thanksgiving holidays with their loved ones, Arnade huddles up in the cold, under highway overpasses with those whose lives are most destitute - 16 year old prostitutes, heroin and crack addicts, those that society would rather not recognize. Accompanying the photos of the flickr page for his Faces of Addiction series, are text entries that provide a greater understanding on the background of each image’s subject. This is some of the best photo-journalism that I’ve seen in a long time. More words and pictures from the series can be found on an accompanying blog. This one particularly poignant entry struck me hard. It gives insight into the creation of a prison class of people, and the design of a process made intentionally difficult to communicate with them.

This is too fantastic. Apollo Robbins, the world’s best pick pocket reveals some tricks of his trade to Adam Green for The New Yorker.

Nina Katchadourian has a rather peculiar, yet clever way to kill time on long plane trips. She locks herself in the plane’s bathroom and takes self portraits in which she imagines herself the subject of a 15th Century Dutch painting.

I adore Bryan Schutmaat’s photography. His eye for documenting people and places in America reminds me of William Egglston’s great body of work and of course of Stephen Shore’s Uncommon Places.

In 1974, Dominican immigrant Don Antonio Martinez started a small shop in New York City selling hand rolled cigars. Thirty-eight years later his son, Jesus, carries on the tradition. The shop combines craftsmanship with community, mixing equal parts work and play. It is the focus of the fourth installment in the Made by Hand series. Perhaps my favorite part of making this film is the way it expands the maker experience outward; it’s not just about the artifact, but about the people you make things with and for.

A friend just introduced me to the photography of Walter Iooss. This collection of his work represents some of finest sports shots I’ve ever seen.

Jay B. Sauceda is a fifth generation Texan. For this photo series, he shot fantastic portraits of something that you see a lot of in Texas - cowboys and cowgirls. Here is an added bonus, a poem recited by one of the cowboys during the photo session.

I was recently commissioned by Olli Salumeria to create a portrait film of their founder and namesake, Olli Colmignoli. I visted the team just outside Richmond, Virginia, to see how they make salumi. The salumeria brings the centuries-old craft of curing meats from the old world to the new, using pasture-raised heritage pork to make prosciutto and salumi as good as they make in Italy. I can attest to the delicious results first hand.

Last week, I released The Beekeper, the third film in the Made by Hand series. Local urban farmer Megan Paska has witnessed beekeeping as it morphed from an illegal (and possibly crazy) habit to a sustainable, community-supported skill. Mirroring beekeeping’s own ascendance, she found more than just a living: “This is the first time in my life when I’ve just felt absolutely on the right path.”

Earlier this week, I released The Knife Maker, the second film in the Made by Hand series. This time we pointed our camera at writer turned knife maker Joel Bukiewicz of Cut Brooklyn. He talks about the human element of craft, and the potential for a skill to mature into an art. And in sharing his story, he alights on the real meaning of handmade — a movement whose riches are measured in people, not cash. I can’t express enough gratitude for the inspiration, candor and friendship I’ve received from Joel.

I love this so much. Check out Edward Gorey’s previously unseen letter correspondence with a children’s author and the illustrated envelopes they came in.

Brandon Stanton’s photojournalistic project, Humans of New York is a wonderful idea in which he photographs portraits of people in the city and plots the images onto an interactive map of the neighborhoods he found them in.

Made by Hand: Our first film, and more to come

Thursday evening, we debuted our first film — on the Breuckelen Distilling Company — at Studiomates, the collaborative workspace in DUMBO, Brooklyn. Since so much of the inspiration behind Made by Hand has come from the creative community in Brooklyn, this was a special opportunity for us. We’re exceedingly grateful to the people of Studiomates — and the makers in Brooklyn and elsewhere who inspire us every day.

We’re pleased now to release our first film into the world; go and watch it now. Brad Estabrooke’s tale is one of knowing you could fail, and moving ahead anyway — perhaps the most important ethos of the handmade spirit. We’re thankful to Brad for also joining us last night and sharing his gin and company.

Our next film — on local knife maker Joel Bukiewicz of Cut Brooklyn — is in production now. Joel talks about finding himself at the intersection of the handmade and food movements (“I hit the jackpot,” he says) and more.

And as we head into the Fall, we’re talking to more makers in Brooklyn and nearby as we seek out subjects for subsequent films. Our hope is that you find these portraits as inspiring as we do.

Best,
Keef

Ulric Collette’s series of Genetic Portraits composites the faces of members in the same family to see how similar their genetic features may be.

(via kottke)

I just happened upon the work of Rennie Ellis, an Austrailian photographer whose work I had not previously been aware of. His unique brand of photo journalism spans from the 1960s until his death in 2003. Its probably best to use the following line from his site to describe his work.

Rennie Ellis was attracted to the unusual and eccentric, the bizarre and the erotic. His photographs can be confronting as a head-butt or infused with subtle and enigmatic nuances that pose more questions than they answer.

Here are a few more snaps from my time in Lisbon. The street images are around Bairro Alto and the butcher is at the Mercado da Ribeiro.

People In Lisbon

I recently spent time in Lisbon. These are a few snaps shot with my beloved Yashica T4. Top two photos shot at Mercado da Ribeiro. Third from top at Castelo de Sao Jorge and the last is at the Museu Calouste Gulbenkian.

Fun idea for a site - The Talks is a weekly updated short interview project with a range of cultural figures.

I’m quite pleased to announce the launch of Made by Hand, a new short film series celebrating the people who make things by hand - sustainably, locally, and with a love for their craft. Our first film, on the Breuckelen Distilling Company, is coming soon. See the film teaser. Follow us on twitter.

Lately, I’ve been completely fascinated with the process and results of collodion wet plate photography. The approach is quite primitive compared to contemporary photo techniques; so it would make sense that is produces images that feel as though they come from far in the past. Photographer, Christopher R. Perez makes particularly alluring portraits this way.

Zoran Lucic designed this retro-vintage style poster series honoring soccers greatest players to step on the pitch. If he put these on t-shirts, I’d buy all of them.

Rick Genest is not your everyday fashion model. The same could be said of Shaun Ross, an African American model who happens to be an albino. Here he is the subject of a fashion film created for Vogue Italia. Note to self - cast one of these gentlemen for a film.

The world is filled with people who have unusually strange ways of creatively expressing themselves. I just read about a man who decided to decorate his home with over 50,000 beer cans. And then there is the guy who creates temporary dust paintings on car windshields (also from Texas).  Color me inspired. I know that all those bags full of dust bunnies that I’ve been saving will one day find a purpose.

While doing research for a project, I came across TypArchive. The site is a collaborative image database of handmade letter signage from around the world. In other words, this is porno for graphic designers and type admirers.

Check out this wonderfully inspiring short interview with Frances Ford Coppola discussing risk, money, craft and collaboration.

While it may prove a bit “ballsy” to market a spirit branded after porn legend Ron Jeremy, I can’t say I’m interested in tasting the man’s potent liquids. I can just imagine the tag line, “for relaxing times, make it Ron Jeremy time.” The Hedgehog is certainly not the first celebrity to offer a line of booze; other’s include: Marilyn Manson, Dan Aykroyd, Dr. Dre, and Sammy Hagar who has been at it longer than any of the newcomers. For a more accurate and less glamorized perspective, check out this documentary on the most famous adult star ever to be filmed.

Alex Roman’s The Third & The Seventh is an entirely CG created visual landscape short film journey. The experimental piece explores the relationship between design, space and photography, as well as the constructs of man versus nature. Every frame of the project was made by him alone; very impressive. He must have a render farm the size of a city block.

I must admit that Captain Beefheart is one of those musicians that I’ve been told many times to check out and yet somehow just never did. This morning I read that he just passed away after a long fight against MS. That was the motivation it took for me read up and listen. Clearly, the world is now short one incredibly unique individual. In the early 80’s after being diagnosed with his illness, Anton Corbijn created a short film interview project with Captain Beefheart. David Lynch makes a few appearances asking questions too. Here is part 1 and part 2. Enjoy.

2010 - The world in photos.

David Lynch is a jack of all trades. He’s been making music in his spare time and just released two singles. I Know is eery and perfect.

I just came across An Incomplete Manifesto For Growth by design icon Bruce Mau. This list of advice is quite useful because it’s broken down into simple bytes.

Arise Black Man: The Peter Tosh Story is a BBC radio exploration on the life of the reggae legend.

Robert Marbury is a creative person with some rather quirky sensibilities. He is one of the founding members of the Minnesota Association of Rogue Taxidermists. When he isn’t working on taxidermy, he is designing other fun projects like handy pickup cards and photographing non-graffiti.

In typical Peter Saville fashion (3 years late), he collaborated as a manner of speaking with his friend Tony Wilson on one last FAC project. The Saville designed memorial is wonderfully appropriate.

Damien Echols has sat on death row for almost 16 years. The story of the horrible crimes for which he and two of his friends were accused is well documented in the film Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills. The West Memphis Three as they have come to be known are almost certainly innocent. Proof beyond a reasonable doubt is the measure for deciding one’s guilt in our criminal justice system. As the film details, there is no proof, only doubt in this case. A man’s life is on the line. Now that Echols has spent half of it locked away, he is seeking a new trial. The very fact that such a well publicized sham of a case has yet to have been reversed is appalling .

Here are thirty conversations on design with some of the most creative professionals out there.

Reuben Margolin makes kinetic wave sculptures. It’s even cooler than it sounds.

Who knew that Charlie Chaplin, Houdini, Elvis, and Einstein all had similar taste in letterhead? Each chose a rather minimalistic design with their name in sans-serif type placed in the upper left corner.

Remember John Turturro’s character Jesus Quintana in The Big Lebowski? Sean Dunne’s beautifully shot short documentary, The Bowler is about a real-life version of that guy.

Two men are in a race to be the first person to free-fall skydive from the edge of space to earth at a speed that would break the sound barrier. One is an extreme athlete with promotional financial backing from the beverage maker Red Bull. The other is 66 years old and has already had several attempts that have all literally failed to even get off the ground. Fascinating as it is, it seems to me that both men could be candidates for a Darwin Award.

Werner Herzog and Errol Morris have a very old friendship, as I’ve mentioned before. Both filmmakers just premiered new projects at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival. They also held a very humorous public conversation with one another on each other’s work

Douglas Trumbull is a film director and special FX pioneer best known for his contributions to Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner. In addition to being a five time Academy Award nominee and lifetime honoree, he also happens to be an inventor with many patents to his credit. It’s rather fascinating to know that while BP was failing to cap the Deepwater Horizon oil spill that they were responsible for, Trumbull was working on solutions. Here is a film on his fix.

What if futball legend Pele had scored his final goal on the Brazilian national team instead of the Cosmos? The short film 1284 sees Pele on the pitch at age 69 finishing his career off the way he’d have liked it. The project was produced by Fernando Meirelles and created in conjunction with telecom company Vivo.

Skeletal remains that have been discovered in a church are believed to belong to Italian painting master, Caravaggio.

This segment on David Suzuki’s The Nature of Things features Martin Gardner, a math and science writer who wrote a regular column for twenty-five years in Scientific American and published over seventy books. Gardner’s influence in these fields at applying recreational mathematics, magic, puzzles and games is absolutely fascinating. The episode covers everything from the math involved in the tiled pattern forms of M.C.. Escher’s work to perfectly shuffling cards in a sequence that brings you back to where you started.

Etsy is fantastic marketplace to find all kinds of handmade items created by individuals and small companies. Here is a short video on David Ellison, a wood worker and furniture builder who left his job in corporate America to work with his hands. Instead of paying a premium for mass produced furniture in a store, I went to Etsy and I’m hiring David to build me a unique platform bed.

People I Met One Day is a series of short scenes with young people who I met on a single day in New York City. The film captures a sense of youth, a struggle with one’s obligations and restrictions, and the search to find oneself in a city that encompasses everything. The footage was filmed during the height of the 2004 election season, and stored away as a time capsule of sorts. The film was assembled during the Fall 2010.

Here is a snap of a model that I shot ages ago.

When overheard, sometimes banal conversations are the most telling about someone’s character. Here is a choice selection from the White House Tapes. August 19, 1964 1:17PM - LBJ orders some new custom Haggar pants over the phone.

In 1909, Thomas Edison filmed Mark Twain at his Stormfield, Connecticut estate. The thought of these two cultural geniuses spending a day together for the sake of documentation only makes them both that much more intriguing as historical figures.

UK Channel 4 commissioned Lenka Clayton and James Price to create People In Order, a series of short portrait films that reveal something about life by arranging people in scales:

Age / Human beings from age 1-100.
Birth / 34 women arranged by length of pregnancy (weeks 4 - 41).
Love / 48 couples arranged by length of relationship (in descending order).
Home / 73 households arranged by income (400,000 - 3,240 pounds).

Nick Jakubiak is something of a bohemian type artist. He use to live on my block, where he spent a lot of time outside. Often he was to be seen smoking and painting pictures of his favorite places in the city, or people he had met. We’d shoot the shit from time to time. A few years ago, he made the move back to his home state of Michigan. I just had a look at his portfolio site and thought I’d share his work.

Few people would doubt that David Blaine is one of the finest illusionists ever. It’s when he started playing with reality that his stunts went to a whole other level. Here he discusses how he held his breath under water for 17 minutes.

Here is to remembering the life of Joe “The Great” Rollino, a Coney Island sideshow strongman who just passed away at the age of 104, after being struck by a car near his home. He was clearly a remarkable human being.

Here is the fascinating story of how two men who were wrongly labeled terrorists and imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay were reunited with a guard who befriended them. Their story was recounted in Michael Winterbottom’s brilliant film, Road to Guantanamo.

The people of Haiti need as much help as possible after an earthquake struck at the heart of their nation. The images of loss and suffering are heart wrenching. Here is a list of reputable NGOs who can immediately put your donation to good use. This is one of those moments in history where the world must do more than just sit back and watch events on a television. Lets be good to one another.

Several years ago, a friend showed me street-art by his ex-roommate, a woman who went by the named of SWOON. I was enamored with what I saw and it certainly was no surprise that in the immediate years to follow, her work would be championed by Deitch Projects and the Museum of Modern Art. Here she is featured in a segment from D.I.Y. America , a serialized show produced by Wieden & Kennedy, that features people at the forefront of America’s creative counter culture.

Simon Hoegsberg photographed ten New Yorkers and asked them to discuss what they think of their own faces.

Bill Moyers interviews The Wire creator David Simon on crime, politics and journalism. They cover a lot of territory about modern America. If you haven’t watched the most powerful show created for television, this interview will inspire you to.

The Selby curates images of creative people in their homes and their work spaces. Some of the more famous participants include Michael Stipe and Tom Wolfe.

Though is was originally published in the early 90s, this is still absolutely relevant. Steve Albini on The Problem With Music.

I’ve been hearing a lot about the work of Joel Bukiewicz lately. He makes handmade one of a kind kitchen knives out of his boutique Cut Brooklyn. Check out his story here and learn a thing or two about knives.

Here is a wonderful rare hour long interview with Alfred Hitchcock from 1973. His voice alone makes me so happy.

(via Kottke)

Everything that comes from the imagination of MIranda July makes me happy. Here she poses as background actors in scenes from classic cinema. I don’t think she’ll ever run out of fun ideas.

Kooky people with kooky obsessions and hobbies like the fellow in my previous post make me happy. I truly admire the spirit of people who live life marching to the beat of another drummer, even when that means driving a car that looks like a giant telephone. Here is the trailer for Automorphosis, a documentary on art car enthusiasts. On a similar note - check this out.

I remember once seeing something on TV about a woman who can swim long distances in extremely cold water. In fact, she successfully swam a mile in the frozen waters of the Antarctic wearing only the usual swim suite, goggles and cap. This ability is absolutely rare. I thought of her when I heard about the subject of Thomas Hilland’s short documentary Sweat - Timo Kaukonen is a four-time World Sauna Champion who enjoys sitting in the extreme heat that would cause other people serious skin burns.

Here is a wonderful interview with book designer, David Pearson of Penguin Publishing UK fame. He discusses his new venture - White Books is a small publishing project dedicated to releasing beautiful editions of classic literature.

While going through some notes, I came across a quote from Mark Twain that I am quite fond of.

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

Meet Ed Houben, a sperm donor who is responsible for 46 children and counting - lovely.

Alain Robert aka the French Spider Man has an odd hobby/career. He is an urban climber who has made a habbit of scaling skyscrapers without the aid of ropes. He has scaled 85 towering buildings around the world.

I’ve lived about a mile from Flatbush and Fourth Ave. for nine years and have never once seen the dancing traffic cop. Now I feel that my life in Brooklyn won’t be complete until I see him.

These ex-advertising creatives have turned lemons into lemonade.

While doing some research, I came across the death masks of a few historical figures. Some even date back to the 1300s. It’s truly fascinating to look at the cast of a person who lived several hundred years ago and realize that you are essentially seeing exactly how they looked in their final moments.

Check out interviews with some of the most established documentary filmmakers talking about their occupation at the Capturing Reality: The Art of Documentary site.

A few nights ago, I caught on television Brian Lehrer’s interview with DJ Spooky from a year ago. The timing coincided with Spooky’s book and CD of collected essays - Sound Unbound: Sampling Digital Music and Culture published by MIT Press. This very notion of sampling culture makes for a fascinating and timely discussion.

I’ve been looking for a new hobby and think I just found my inspiration in Rufus Hussey aka The Slingshot Man.

These are the United Steaks of America.

(via Swiss-Miss)

Whether or not you realize it, the corporate visual environment that you live in has at it’s best been designed by a few select people. Ivan Chermayeff is one of those people. With his partner Tom Geismar, he has designed the identities for some of the most known brands worldwide. He has done this with an intellectual sense of elegance and class that has always proved an iconic result. His identities for NBC, Chase, Mobil, PBS and Barney’s New York are all case in point examples. Here is an interview in which a very experienced Chermayeff gives greater insight into his work and process.

Gordon Parks is to photography as Jackie Robinson is to baseball, an African-American male who began the process of tearing down walls that should never have existed in his field. A collection of his work containing 4,000 prints and 20,000 negatives has just found a home at Purchase College - State University of New York.

I suppose that there is a certain amount of truth to the adage that every generation is bound to grow older and proudly talk about how things were different when they were younger. Looking back. I find that I often use film and music as a mile marker to help create sense memories of what a certain time or age was like. The films of John Hughs left a huge impression not only on me but probably everyone I grew up with. His work touched on a profound awkwardness and sense of aloneness in the world that comes with being a teenager. These films defined a generation. To me, they very much help to keep the memories of my childhood fresh.

Just a few years ago, I rented The Breakfast Club because my girlfriend had somehow never seen it, even though she grew up in the US during the 80s. She was definitely ambivalent about watching a film about a bunch of high school students. I couldn’t blame her. After all, the teen genre really has since offered nothing to speak of. All that I had to say to ease her doubts was that this film was a classic created by the guy who made Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. And by the end of film, she truly understood why this film is so important to me. Sounding a bit older and fulfilling that cliche that comes with age, I can whole heartedly say that they don’t make them like they use to.

In today’s NY Times, frequent collaborator Molly Ringwald reflects on her experiences with John Hugh’s who passed away last week at 59.

Bobby McFerrin puts a visual face on the power of the pentatonic scale.

The NY Times docu-photo series One in 8 Million takes a look at some of the unique souls that are New Yorkers. Get to know a few of them; Jesse Villanueva (a sneaker connoisseur), Alexandra Elman (a blind wine teaster), and Ed Grajales (the dictaphone doctor).

If you were given two to five years to live what would you do? A friend once shared with me the oddball reel of a young filmmaker named Patrick O’Brien aka Transfatty. His perverse sense of humor spawned projects with titles like Super Model Meat Sports and The Man With the Smallest Penis In Existence And The Electron Micro-scope Technician Who Loved Him. At the age 30, Patrick was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis which is commonly referred to as Lou Gehrig’s Disease.

On average, ALS takes two to five years to claim the life of it’s victim. Regretfully, there is currently no treatment to prolong life or subdue the terrible pain onset from ALS. In a bold move, O’Brien’s film work has taken a more serious turn as he has made it his life’s work to document his journey living with ALS. This trailer for the film is absolutely the most moving reminder I’ve seen in quite some time of the fragile existence of the human experience. I can’t urge you enough to get involved and donate to the Patrick O’Brien Foundation to see that this project sees completion.

While I’m not a member and have no authority in the matter, I have a few suggestions for nominees into The Sons of Lee Marvin. Staying with the theme of entertainers, George Thorogood and Gary Busey both seem like good candidates. Nick Nolte and Ron Perlman also get my vote.

Jacob Holdt is a photographer of Danish descent. He began hitchhiking across the US in the 1970s armed with a small camera. A theme emerged. His massive body of work includes photos shot around the world, but it is his intimate gaze into social class structure of America that strikes me as the most fascinating material.

Today, the oldest man in the world died at the age of 113. Henry Allingham was born in 1896 and lived long enough to see three centuries.

It would be impossible for society to appreciate the great works of modern architecture without the frozen image. It is in this way that architecture and photography are inextricably linked - a detailed record of an ever-changing landscape is etched in celluloid. Were it not for the camera, how else would future generations come to understand exactly the stature of the World Trade Center. Another example - most of us will never set foot in the Stahl House-Case Study House #22 (seen below) designed by Pierre Konig, however; many of us will experience it through the photos of Julius Shulman. The work of Julius Shulman particularly exemplifies this notion that a photographic document is the final detail to a great piece of architecture. Shulman passed away yesterday at the age of 98. Here is more on the life of Shulman from the LA Times.

(photo by Julius Shulman - 1960)

David Lynch has created images to accompany Sparklehorse and Danger Mouse’s new project entitled Dark Knight. Listen to the album here.

Before drawing with light became a trend for commercials and music videos, Picasso did it.

(via Today and Tomorrow)

I happened upon a fantastic interview clip from 1977 in which Iggy Pop talks about “punk rock.” Where have all the ambassadors of cool gone?

Perhaps you are ambivalent about social media networks. At the annual TED conference, Clay Shirky gave an interesting talk about how twitter and other social platforms have been utilized to overcome censorship and break news.

Wallpaper Magazine commissioned artist-photographer Robbie Cooper to make Immersion: Porn. The project examines how people interact with pornography and gives us the chance to watch them watching porn. Some people really do make rather odd expressions while in the moment.

(via kottke)

Documentary filmmaker, Errol Morris has been contributing to the NY Times Opinion section for some time now. Working within the same tradition, another documentarian - Alex Gibney is now maintaining a blog for The Atlantic.

1984, Peter Feldstein photographed the entire population of Oxford, Iowa (676 people). Twenty years later, he came back to update the portrait series.

Map the Fallen is a web-project that utilizes google earth to pay tribute to the 5700 US soldiers who have been killed in the line of service in Iraq and Afghanistan. Each soldier is separately profiled and plotted onto the map.

NY Times reflects in memoriam on my very dear friend and poet Craig Arnold.

Stephen Wiltshire is an illustrator unlike any I’ve ever seen before. Born with autism, Stephen is capable of drawing landscapes with exquisite detail all from memory.

Jim Jarmusch gave a wonderful interview for The Film Society of Lincoln Center and discussed the process of making his newest project, The Limits of Control.

Here is a blog dedicated to awkward family photos.

Mike Tyson was a polarizing figure of sports when I was growing up. Never before had such a monster stepped into the ring. He was simply terrifying and we, his audience looked forward to each match like a crowd eagerly awaiting the carnage at an ancient Roman gladiator spectacle. On one hand, he was a vicious brawler and on the other a very young kid thrust into a confusing world of celebrity, money and greed. After suffering a major upset, his career fell into a downward spiral. James Toback’s documentary film, Tyson allows the boxer to tell his own story. I’m particularly looking forward to seeing this film because it was edited by a friend. Read what the NY Times has to say about the film here.

My heart is heavy. My friend Craig climbed a mountain for inspiration, knowledge and experience. He didn’t come back. I want to share his voice and words. Here he reads one of his poems, Hymn to Persephone.

A CLOSE FRIEND OF MINE HAS GONE MISSING

As some of you may already know, my very dear friend and an exceptionally talented poet, professor and father, Craig Arnold, has gone missing on the small volcanic island of Kuchino-erabu-shima while on a creative exchange fellowship. An independent expert search and rescue group is on the island looking for Craig until the 9th, but the official search by Japanese authorities has been called off. They believe that military assets would make the search very efficient and effective, and we hope the consulate will move forward with the possibility of engaging local US military/DOD assets in the search at this stage. Please help us contact your local Congressional delegation and encourage them to support the consulate in this effort. PLEASE DO NOT CONTACT THE CONSULATE OR EMBASSY - THEY ARE BUSY WORKING VERY HARD FOR US AND WE NEED THEM TO BE ABLE TO DO SO, WITHOUT DISTRACTION. THEY HAVE BEEN EXCELLENT PARTNERS IN THIS PROCESS. PLEASE CONTACT SENATORS AND CONGRESSPEOPLE.

WE NEED EVERYONE’S HELP contacting their local congressional delegation and asking their assistance in encouraging the Fukuoka consulate to engage local US military/DOD assets on the ground in Japan. They have been thinking about it and we respectfully request them to move forward with that as quickly as possible. (To donate to the fund, please go to: http://tinyurl.com/cofj63)

Right now, what we need most is for everyone to contact your state Senators NOW:

http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

Calls and faxes are most efficient, e-mails are important too.

When contacting your Senators:

Please include a request for US military assistance from the local bases.

An example of a letter and of the kinds of things one might say over the phone are included below. Feel free to edit, but please take care not to give out inaccurate information. Thank you so much for your help.

Dear Senator _______,

I am writing to you to express my concern for an exceptionally talented American poet, Prof. Craig Arnold. He has gone missing on a small volcanic island in Japan called Kuchino-erabu-shima while representing his country on a U.S.-Japan Friendship Commission’s U.S.-Japan Creative Artists Exchange Fellowship. Craig, an experienced explorer of volcanoes, never returned to his inn after leaving alone to visit the island’s volcano for the afternoon. As a concerned constituent, I respectfully request that you please contact the U.S. consulate in Fukuoka and the U.S. Embassy in Japan and urgently request that they continue the search for University of Wyoming Professor Craig Arnold using local U.S. military and D.O.D. assets, specifically those on Okinawa.

Prof. Craig Arnold has made a profound, significant contribution to American arts and letters. He is also an inspiring and deeply caring father, brother, son, and much beloved by his family and his partner of six years, Rebecca. He is a generous and devoted friend and teacher to many. We have reason to be hopeful, as the small independent search-and-rescue team on the island has picked up Craig’s trail, and a little bit of rain has given us hope that he might not be too dehydrated. But time is of the essence. The island is small enough that an extended search performed by experienced searchers WILL lead to Craig’s discovery, but we understand that more searchers on the ground are needed immediately.

Will you please keep me informed of action being taken to continue the search? Thank you.

Sincerely,

Please join this facebook group to support the search effort.
Here is more on what you can do:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=73877053262&ref=nf

Here you can read Craig’s travel blog that he had maintained until the evening he went missing:

Michel Gondry has launched his official site. For only $19.99 you can email a picture of yourself and he will personally sketch your portrait. Another available goodie is a roll of toilet with Gondry’s doodles scrawled all over so that you can “wipe your ass with Michel’s good ideas.”

Kal Penn (aka Kumar from the Harold and Kumar cult films) has traded in White Castle for the White House. The actor has left a regular role on Fox’s House to join the White House staff as an Asscociate Director in the Office of Public Liaison.

French pole-vaulting champion, Romain Mesnil took to the streets in a naked fashion in an attempt to re-negotiate his sponsorship deal with Nike.

I snapped this photo in DUMBO a while back. It’s something of a note to self.

I’ve heard that the successful online shoe and apparel retailer, Zappos has a unique approach to hiring. Regardless of the job position, all employees must start off working on the phones providing customer service. At the end of this introductory training cycle, the candidate is then offered $1,000 to quit. You read that correctly; to quit. The idea here is that the company wants loyal employees, high productivity and low turner over. Google is also known for their rigorous process in which potential employees are asked to take aptitude tests. So with all of this in mind, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to know that Amazon is also concerned with maintaining a strong workforce. Jeff Bezos, the innovative CEO & founder of Amazon spent this week working among other wage earners in a Kentucky based distro-center to learn a thing or two.

D-Nice has put together a series of short docu-style interviews called True Hip-Hop Stories. Here is an episode with Monie Love and here is another with Sadat X of Brand Nubian.

Thirty year old Melissa Dixson is a self-taught taxidermist living in NYC of all places.

Today is Barack Obama’s sixtieth day in office as the President of the United States of America. He is doing the most impossible job at what may be the most impossible time. I was surprised to see how quickly he addressed many of my concerns ranging from Guantanamo Bay and the War in Iraq to issues of social change. Of course, the big topic is the economy. His proposed budget is an extremely progressive sign of landmark change. I suppose it’s fair to say that we all have mixed emotions about the economic crisis as we should, our President included. Putting all of this aside, Barack made history yesterday on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, as the first sitting US President to appear as a guest on a late night talk show. It feels really good to have a president that makes me laugh and smile. I simply can’t think of another Head of State known for his character and affability to Barack’s tune, and this is no small thing in leadership at times like these.

Peter Saville has long been one of the most inspiring creators for me. A few months back, I posted an interview in which he discusses his process. Yesterday, he did a Q&A session for the D&AD President’s Lecture and had some forthright answers:

What is wrong with design education?

Has the computer democratized design?

What inspires you?

What do you think of Bansky?

Fifty People - One Question: Where would I wish to wake up tomorrow?
Asked in Brooklyn & London.

Here is a teaser for a documentary on the one and only old school hip hop lyrical genius Big Daddy Kane. Now somebody has to make one on Eric B. and Rakim.

Here are a ton of high-res Marilyn Monroe photographs shot by celebrity photographer, Bert Stern. Be advised that these images are posted on a naughty NSFW site.

Julien Cottereau is Sick As A Dog.

Ed Ulbrich is the visual effects Executive Producer at Digital Domain and a frequent collaborator of film director, David Fincher. Straight out of film school, I had the pleasure to work with him. On several occasions, I found myself engaged in conversations with Ed about the future of filmmaking and the role technology will continually play. I was always inspired by his sense of enthusiasm and tenacity to be at the forefront of an inevitable shift. Over the last several years, he has lead a team of over 150 digital artists to create seamless FX for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Here he gives a TED talk on the long process of creating a digital Bratt Pitt that is both emotive and realistic.

At a young, I was exposed to a range of comedians beginning with Charlie Chaplin and eventually found myself watching Abbott & Costello, Laurel & Hardy, and of course The Three stooges. But one of the earliest truly potty-mouthed performers that I took notice of was of my grandparents generation, Don Rickles. Check out this documentary on “Mr. Warmth” the living legend of comedy.

David Lynch is also on twitter and indeed it really is him. Apparently he likes to update with weather reports for LA. I found two gems linked off his page. Here is a clip of David Lynch, the cowboy singing in a studio. And here, he talks about making art. Only Lynch would think to title a painting, Woman with Broken Neck and Electric Knife Speaks to Her Husband.

A dome is such a great shape to project a movie on. I think one day people will have domes in their homes. They’re magical. - David Lynch

Twittering with Shaq.

My friend and musical collaborator Erik Snyder is an extraordinary photographer. He recently went on a trip to Louisiana to shoot a project entitled Kingdom of Heaven.

Here is an interview with Grace Jones on her newest album and her recent collaborations including a forthcoming project with video auteur, Chris Cunningham. If their recent work together for Dazed & Confused Magazine is any indication, we are in for something naughty.

It was a collaborative experiment. It’s like having a baby.You know you need some sperm. These are my babies and I didn’t make these alone.

Plenty of people have claimed to have spotted Elvis. But really, I did see him. He wasn’t picking up his dry cleaning and I didn’t see him at the drive through car wash. Nor was this an apparition of him that had sizzled it’s way onto a slice of bread like Jesus toast. Elvis goes to my gym in Brooklyn. I had never seen him there before, so I guess we are just on different schedules. He looked great and thinner than many of us remember him. He still has a penchant for wearing oversized sunglasses indoors and sports the old zip up suite. I’d say he appeared to be in his late 60’s so the gym is doing him well since he was born in 1935. Honestly. I am not crazy. My girlfriend asked if I noticed him and pointed him out. My jaw dropped. Elvis goes to my gym, holy shit!

Martin De Thurah is a Danish filmmaker with a brilliant mind for creating striking, dreamy visuals. He arrived on the music video scene a few years back with a video for Carpark North in which angst ridden adolescents are seen spastically dancing, tussling, and flying through the rooms of their school. His work is often characterized by moody lighting, seamless special FX, and a painters eye for detail. In addition to videos, he has spent the last several years working on a handful of film projects. In this interview, Martin De Thurah discusses his video work and cinema endeavors. His reel can be seen here. Be sure to check out his latest video for Glasvegas.  Additionally, he talks a bit about that project here.

CREATOR INTERVIEW SERIES : DAN SULLY

Some people were born to do very practical things like solve mathematical equations or to put out fires and enforce the law. And then there are the others, the right brained folk. This is an on-going series of interviews with people who have chosen to spend their lives creating.

DAN SULLY is a UK-based music video director. He has become one of Europe’s most unique young voices creating promos for the likes of Elbow, Starsailor, and The Courteeners. His work recently earned top honors at the European Promax and World BDA Awards. He is represented by Flynn Productions.

Can you tell us a little about your filmmaking background. Did you have any sort of formal training?

I studied film at the University of Bournemouth, where I made a few shorts and one music video. I chose the course because it seemed to be heavy on the practical side of things - actually going out there and making stuff.  I’m pretty skeptical about formal trainings in general. I only learnt about filmmaking by making films, and obviously still learn loads with every project I do.  When I left Uni, I wanted to make films as soon as possible - I was really eager and impatient. I love music and at that time the only realistic avenue for getting any kind of budget as a young filmmaker was through record labels, so it seemed like the perfect kind of filmmaking for me to give a go. I emailed loads of labels, but eventually got a project by approaching an artist after a show. I made my first video for a record label at 21 and couldn’t believe it when it got played on MTV - that was for a UK hip hop artist called Jehst. That really spurred me on.

Are you drawn towards making visuals for particular kinds of music or acts?

Definitely. Music video directors always want to make music for their favourite bands, but it is sometimes more complicated than that. You may love an artist but may not be the best person to make them a video. I think every good director has a sensibility which can obviously match or mis-match the sensibility of an artist. I think you get the best videos when those sensibilities are in synch. I was lucky when I made the video for Howling Bells, as I consider their aesthetic to be similar to the kind of stuff I’m into. Whenever I write a treatment, I’m always trying to satisfy my own aesthetic tastes, so it can be an uphill struggle if the band’s aesthetic sensibilities rub me up the wrong way. But sometimes, if the track is right and it all clicks, I tend to drift off and have an idea of what I want to do pretty much straight away. I would love to make a video for Deftones or Interpol.  But I think I’m pretty easy to please. As long as the music has some sort of cinematic or visceral edge, I’m happy.

How did you initially come to work with Simon Raymonde’s label, Bella Union Records?

This was a fluke if I am honest. A friend of mine, David who works at MTV (where I have also worked for the past 5 years) was in touch with Simon Raymonde who explained that he was trying to look for a director to take on a low budget video for Howling Bells. David put him in touch with me and it all went from there. I was in the right place at the right time. That was my bit of luck I suppose. Making videos for Bella Union was a real privilege for me. I really respect Simon and love the label. I was so happy to be able to go on and make four videos in total for them.

What are some of the biggest influences on your creative process?

The kind of film I enjoy watching is when you can tell that it’s a talented crew - a good director and DP just bowling around shooting beautiful images in great locations with great art direction and well chosen cast etc…  I’m not as much into graphic or tricksy stuff, although I can appreciate that too. So, naturally I try to shoot the kind of videos that I like - rooted in strong art direction and good photography. I like taking an aesthetic and pushing it a little so that the film has its own identity - usually an extension of the art direction and sensibility of the band or artist. Some directors come from a graphics background, or a post background, or theatre or whatever - but I just locked myself away for years and watched films obsessively - so my first love is cinema and that has influenced what I like and how I approach videos I guess. Right now I love Roy Andersson and lots of Swedish directors actually, but recently I was also blown away by the film, The Beat That My Heart Skipped. I’d call that film a master-class in direction.

At what point did you start working with Flynn Productions and how has that changed the way you’ve been able to make videos?

Flynn got in contact after seeing the videos I did for Bella Union. At that point I was still unsigned. It was around June/July 2007. They were like ‘ok, we’ll give you a go’. It was incredibly exciting for me. I had been waiting for that moment for about five years, chugging away producing and directing low budget videos in my spare time whilst holding down a day job. Producing the videos myself around my day job was starting to turn my hair grey (literally!). I must mention that I did have some help in that time - people like Verity Wilcocks and Jules Powell stepped in and helped me when I needed it. But working with Flynn was exciting because it gave me that freedom to concentrate more of the creative side of things and I knew that Flynn was a good company. It seemed like it could be the beginnings of me starting a career making films professionally. The truth is that I started to make videos just as budgets have plummeted so it hasn’t been a walk in the park, but I am still positive for the future.

You’ve mentioned that budgets are falling. Yet in the last year, you’ve worked with some of the biggest acts on your reel, including Elbow and Starsailor. Perhaps you can take us through one of these projects. How did it come about? What was production like etc?

The Starsailor job was enjoyable because the idea came very automatically after listening to the track just a couple of times. Also, Carole the commissioner was very organized and gave me plenty of time to pre-produce and post produce the job. The only stressful aspect of it was the shoot, where I literally binned my shot-list after we started running over about four hours into the shoot. I pretty much busked the whole video from there on in, which was very stressful. But everyone involved in the shoot was great, including the band and it all came together in the edit.

Some directors are very hands on in the post process and even cut their own work. Can you tell us a little about your experience in this phase. Do you edit your own projects? How do you like the process to go? Is it a phase in which you like to discover or do you prefer to put the pieces together?

At this stage in my career I really love cutting my own videos. I tend to have a very exact idea of how each sequence in the video is going to be cut before I shoot the video, so a lot of the offline is just piecing those bits of the jigsaw back together. So far, I have cut all of my own videos apart from the video for Joe Lean and The Jing Jang Jong on which I worked really closely with Matt Nee at Flynn Post. That was a really positive experience and Matt did a great job. I recognize that there will come a time whereby, I will regularly collaborate with editors but at the moment I love that intense offline experience where you just shut yourself off in a small room for a few days and cut away until you’re happy. 

If budgets are shrinking, it must be hard to sustain a living on just videos. Are you involved in commercials or any other creative discipline?

I think nine out of every ten directors making videos today are involved in some other creative discipline. I don’t think that there is anything wrong with that per se, and it’s not impossible to make a living from videos, but you would have to be making at least one 20k video every month in order to survive in London and that kind of work rate is pretty rare. I’ve balanced making videos with working for MTV; I produce a music show called Gonzo for MTV TWO and direct some multi-camera shows and live music for MTV too (for Duffy, Glasvegas, Primal Scream etc…).  Commercial-wise, there have been a few initial rumblings about a few projects through Flynn and that is something I want to pursue.

What are some of the biggest challenges you face as a young director making videos in the UK?

Lack of time really… because whilst you try and establish yourself, you will always have to balance making videos with other work. But if you are passionate enough and hungry enough, then you will always make it work. I mean, I dedicate a lot of weekends and evenings to music videos at the moment, but I’m happy to keep grafting away for the time being. Also, low budgets mean that you have to be really creative in order to keep delivering fresh ideas.

What is your dream project to direct?

I would like to direct some raw, run-and-gun British features shot on film in London - on the streets that I see every day, featuring people like the people I know. I want to make a trilogy about Love, Work and Death… You know, nothing too big! I want to write the stories, workshop the scenes with actors and then take a small, tight crew and bowl around London shooting them. That would be my dream project right now.

Any advice or words of wisdom to other young filmmakers wanting to make video promos?

If you want to be a filmmaker just go out and make films. I know that sounds flippant, but it’s true. If you want to make videos, just go out there and shoot some music videos for anyone. Don’t worry if you don’t have any money - time is just as valuable.

View Dan Sully’s newest video for Starsailor’s single Tell Me It’s Not Over. See his other works here.

Part of modern civilization as we know it is that we exist in a designed world. Design has permeated every single facet of our lives. In recent history, the branding and products released by Apple are one of our most persistent reminders that our lifestyle is a choice of design. Earlier today, I was having a discussion about whether or not the auteur theory can be applied to a designer. Technology blogger John Gruber of Daring Fireball recently spoke about this very topic at Macworld Pulse. Had Steve Jobs never been so concerned with design, his company would never have flourished. For their iconic logo, Jobs turned to the great Paul Rand to put a visual face on his company. His understanding that to make a good product was not enough, that the product must be aware of the user and reflect upon the user was later echoed in a huge way when the company ventured outside of the computer business with the ipod. So perhaps Jobs really was the auteur all along and created a culture in which great creative talent was fostered. Much of Apple’s success is in response to the talent of one product designer in particular, Jonathan Ive. So then, where did Ive look for his influence? Well the answer is obvious; Ive has always clearly been affected by the work of Dieter Rams. Here is a video in which Rams reflects upon some of his most classic utilitarian designs for a modern world.

Over the years, I’ve heard many stories about how awesome my friend Howie’s grandfather is but never had the pleasure of meeting the man. He is 85 years old and just had surgery last year for clogged arteries. Oddly enough he is a better disco dancer than anyone I know.

At today’s inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States of America, the benediction speech was given by civil rights leader Rev. Jospeh Echols Lowery. The closing moments of his speech were just so perfectly uplifting at a moment like this.

Lord, in the memory of all the saints who from their labors rest, and in the joy of a new beginning, we ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get back, when brown can stick around (laughter). When yellow will be mellow (laughter). When the red man can get ahead, man (laughter), and when white will embrace what is right.
Let all those who do justice and love mercy say amen.

Audience: Amen!

Rev Lowery: Say amen

Audience: Amen!

Rev. Lowery: and amen.

Audience: Amen! (Cheers, applause.)

I recently found myself back in touch with a very talented friend of mine from the art school years with whom I had lost touch. While he always had a rather amusing dry sense of humor, I always thought of him for his natural born musical talent. Flash-forward several years, Michael Sanchez is now bringing his observational humor to the stage as a stand up comedian. Check out this short live performance; the Joy Division joke made me laugh so hard my lungs hurt. Michael’s show has a way of spiraling into an uncomfortable place, as only the best comedy can.

CREATOR INTERVIEW SERIES : JASON BOTKIN : PART 2

(interview continued from part 1)

Though SGF is located in LA and the roster of directors are all American, a great deal of the productions are for UK based artists and labels. How did this come to be?

When we first started the company Paul and I went to London to meet with labels and to look for a partner company or a rep. We met Alexa Haywood who was one of the first independent reps in the UK. She was repping FM Rocks, Stink. Another story that cracks me up - just before I went to London, I called Craig Fanning at FM Rocks to see if he would recommend Alexa. He basically told me that the UK market is a money pit and not to bother, again, cut to … 

Alexa is an amazing rep, she helped me build my company from nothing. Our first video was for a band named, The Glitterati. After that one British job followed the next, before we knew it we were big in Britain. For the first few years we were basically a UK music video production company in Los Angeles. USA / UK video markets are pretty different, it was difficult to crossover to American videos with UK bands on the reels. There were certain videos that we did that have worked well in both markets and we’ve used those over the years to make the transition. I’m really pleased now with the spread we have in both markets, I can’t imagine relying on just one. 

Is it a viable expectation for a director to make videos for a living?

Well, I guess that depends on how you want your DVD retrospective to look. It’s near impossible to make a living if your not willing to bend to market pressures every once in awhile. There are a handful of directors out there that can do less than hip, big budget acts and still bring some level of sophistication and artistic integrity to the project. I think Paul and Charles have been pretty successful walking that line. I would say that if your goal is to get into commercials you shouldn’t expect to make a living in videos first. With a few exceptions, I think career music video directors have a much harder time getting into commercials. To give you a better idea - I have one director out of five that makes his living off videos. 

Do you currently have any plans for feature film work or any other creative endeavors in the pipeline?

Sure, I’m actually developing a feature comedy about daytime TV actors. I’ll keep ya updated.

What projects are you most proud of and why?

I’m notoriously critical of the work that comes out of SGF. It’s really hard to make a great video, I can only count on a single hand the videos we’ve done that I think measure up. I’ve always been proud of Charles’ Duncan James video. That was a super cheesy song / artist (no offense Virgin) that was made into something much greater by the video.  Josh & Xander’s Jakob Dylan video was definitely a highlight last year. Paul’s first FFAF and Skye videos have always been dear to my heart. I was proud of Vince’s Editors video and Keith’s video for BPA wasn’t too shabby either. I have been fortunate to work with such amazing directors,  beats the hell out of rolling burritos. 

CREATOR INTERVIEW SERIES : JASON BOTKIN : PART 1

Some people were born to do very practical things like solve mathematical equations or to put out fires and enforce the law. And then there are the others, the right brained folk. This is an on-going series of interviews with people who have chosen to spend their lives creating.

JASON BOTKIN is the founder and Executive Producer of Streetgang Films, a premier music video production company that has produced work for celebrated artists ranging from Muse and Queens of the Stone Age to Jakob Dylan and Editors . He has been kind enough to take the time to discuss the business of making music promos with me as the first subject of the Creator Series.

Can you tell us a little bit about your background as a filmmaker and how you came to eventually open SGF?

Without going too far back I went to film school at Cal State Long Beach, with a concentration on directing. My senior film was in a few festivals including the Maryland Film Festival. Right after I graduated, I was offered the chance to partner with a good friend on a successful chain of Mexican restaurants in Seattle. It was just a two year commitment and I had some sizable student loans to take care of so I agreed to do it. I really enjoyed running my own business so when I returned to Los Angeles, I decided that I wanted to open up my own production company. I was attracted to the business model of commercial production - quick turnarounds on production, low office overhead and freelance labor. I got an office PA position with a commercial company named Cucoloris Films in Venice Beach. I quickly became head of production, working directly under stalwart executive producers, Linda Stewart and Bernie Wesson. After 4 years I moved out on my own and started Streetgang Films. Paul Minor was the first director, we both graduated from the same class at CSULB and had already done two videos together. It’s funny looking back at that time. I remember asking Paul just before we decided to quit our jobs if he wanted to do commercials or music videos, cut to…

How long has the company been around and what has changed since it’s inception?

The company started in 2003. The first few years were a wild ride for sure. Coming from a directing background I tended to EP more for the art and less for the business. We were eager to build the reels and to get noticed by commissioners. I don’t think we made our fees on a single job for the first year. I tried to keep my overhead low by doing all the office / accounting / vault work myself in my living room. We certainly had some rough spots, but somehow we always managed to squeak by. Eventually, it just started getting easier. I think production is really about longevity, it’s about being around long enough to prove to everyone that you’ve learned your lessons. We eventually passed a threshold a couple of years ago where the business was sustainable. Once I was able to secure the business financially it enabled me to find that balance as an executive producer between art & commerce. An EP from another company told me last year that my roster is known in the industry as a group of artists. As we were talking about money, he didn’t intend that as a compliment. I certainly could be rolling deeper but I’m proud that I’ve kept the doors open without the support of a commercial division while maintaining that kind brand identity.

How has the music video industry changed since you’ve been involved with it and where do you see it going?

Streetgang started in the salad days of music videos. I’ve never known the gilded age that everyone talks about. My whole business plan was about being a smaller, scrappier company that can survive in this type of environment. Admittedly, I have said a few times that things can’t get any worse, only to find that they most certainly can. However, I do think we’ve found a nice market niche. Most of my directors are influenced heavily by feature work so there is always an emphasis on production value regardless of the budget. I think there will always be a place for that type of work as there are artists that simply can’t be done on the cheap. I am learning however that there is more to life than lens flares. Keith Schofield is a director that is much more idea driven and I think he rounds out the roster nicely. Where do I see the industry going? It can’t get any worse than this, happy days are coming! 

How has the internet changed the way music videos are made?

As far as I’m concerned, it hasn’t changed much of anything. Label briefs have always asked for conceptual ideas that create “water cooler moments” while making sure that their artist looks great. We’re still filmmakers in the end, it doesn’t matter if it’s on your TV, internet, phone or Sundance - it still has to be cool.

(continued…)

I first took notice of Kris Moye’s film work when he created a video that felt like the work of Stefan Sagmeister set in motion. There was clearly something remarkable about this video for the track Heart Made of Sound by The Softlightes. In the year or so since Moyes shot the video, he has signed on for representation with The Directors Bureau and has continued to expand on his quirky vision with videos for the likes of Sia and Beck. Here, Moyes talks a bit about his process and the absurdity to be found sometimes when pitching on music video projects.

( via videos.antville)

This photo series for The Face, by the amazing fashion photographer Phil Poynter is a play on an old theme that will never tire. Shooting giant models ala Attack of the Fifty Foot Women is a recipe for fun. Maybe it’s the black and white film, but this spread reminds me quite a bit of David Fincher’s music video for the Rolling Stones track Love is Strong.

Grace Jones has always been a musician with a unique sense of self with a strong eye for bold aesthetics. Of course she had a fruitful career playing not only the muse, but also mother to the children of design and conceptual thinking genius Jean-Paul Goude. So, should we ever really expect anything short of other worldy from her? In her latest incarnation, Jones has immortalized herself as a bust made of chocolate on the cover of her latest record release.

In this interview, Iranian film director Abbas Kiarostami discusses everything from allegory in cinema to the responsibility of the filmmaker.

“What is reality? I think the origins of any fiction film has to be something real. Documentary film does not exist. The moment a director makes one simple move with the camera, or joins two different clips together, he has made a choice - whether it’s label is ‘fiction’ or ‘documentary’.”

Adjoining the introverted and eccentric life of Franz Kafka with the illustrative work of Robert Crumb makes for a rather peculiar read. The Fantagraphics release Kafka by Zane Mairowitz and Crumb is definitely worth picking up.

As I mentioned in my previous post, Bettie Page ushered in a new age of style and expression for women. The revival of pin up cultural seems to be bound to the modern cultural of tattoo art. For that very reason, I thought I’d share this photo layout of tattoo artist-modern day pin up Julie Becker. Though she is currently based out of LA, Becker is occasionally available for tattoo appointments in New York as well.

It is only in retrospect many decades later that we can really appreciate the walls that Bettie Page helped to break down. Though her intent may have not been to do so, Page’s successful modeling career of the 1950’s is certainly in part responsible for encouraging the sexual revolution tied to the women’s liberation movement of the 1960’s. Goodbye Ms. Page; you certainly will always be a cultural icon.

Peter Saville is certainly one of the most iconic designers of the last thirty years. The stylish designer who is probably best known for his collaborations with Factory Records speaks about his process and the creation of the Joy Division Unknown Pleasures sleave.

(via Kottke)

Everyone has a story to tell. This is a beautifully photographed short documentary film about Martin the Tailor. He is a Holocaust survivor who came to the US in 1947. Starting out as a floor boy, the endearing man would eventually own the very company that gave him his first job in this country. Martin’s success as a tailor has even lead him to the White House where he has created custom suits for US presidents.

Here is a fascinating documentary photo series from the time photographer Livia Corona spent with Mexico’s Los Enanitos Toreros (The Dwarf Bullfighters).

Many thousands of people have removed their clothing while gathering with complete strangers to participate in one of Spencer Tunick’s large scale nude photos. Signing up on his site to model sure would be an interesting way to get over any self-image issues one might have with their body. Maybe I should put this on my list of things to do before I die.

Square America is a web-archive of found snapshot photos dating from the 1890’s-1970’s. These extraordinary images present a unique window into the past.

A few years back, I worked on the design of the Criterion Collection dvd release of the documentary Hoop Dreams. Since then, I’ve wondered what has happened to the two young high schoolers featured in the film who had ambitions of rising from poverty to make it in the NBA. The Chicago Tribune has caught up with both men now in their mid 30s.

(via kottke)

Apparently it is indeed true that Hitler really did only have one testicle. You really do learn something new every day.

In conjunction with Google, Life Magazine has posted an online archive of photos spanning from the 1750’s to present day. Most of these images were never published.

While some people use the internet to sell their knitwear, others use it to sell themselves. A friend told me a while back that actor, musician and general wack-job, Vincent Gallo had a rather peculiar web-page in which he sells all kinds of items ranging from his childhood posters to his sperm. My personal favorite item is an out of print copy of the complete works of Marcel Duchamp signed by Gallo offered at $1,000.

Yes We Did 11-4-08

I’m kind of lost for words to describe this moment in American history. The joy that came last night when Barack Obama was announced the 44th President of the US was followed by a bit of disbelief as I got out of bed. After voting very early in the morning, I travelled to Chester, Pennsylvania to aid Obama’s ground operations in an effort to get out the vote. I had been to Chester a month earlier to sign up unregistered voters as the deadline drew near. Both of my experiences in this town were moving to say the least. It really isn’t until one engages with the people of a community quite so eonomically different from their own, that one can really even begin to understand what it’s like for them.

The city of Chester has great American history. It was first settled in 1645. The oldest public building still in use in this country is actually in Chester. Obama’s town headquarters is located directly opposite this building. It’s surreal to take a good look around and see what has happened. These structures have all the familiar feel of the colonial buildings that I grew up around in Philadelphia. The difference is that these buildings feel like they belong to the set of a post-apocalyptic sc-fi film in which people have been suddenly evacuated. The vibe is almost like an urban area 51. This was as picturesque as Chester got. Chester seems to be a place that utterly lacks opportunity. The average house hold lives well below what is considered the poverty level. Almost all of the factory doors that once provided jobs have long been closed. There are simply no opportunities. The town has been plagued with understandable drug and violence issues that come as a result of this kind of economic loss.

I went door to door in areas in which only two out of ten houses on a block might be inhabited. The vast majority of the population here is African American. I saw and I heard things that I have only read about or seen in passing. One person shouted out their window, telling me that they weren’t allowed to vote because they had been a recently released felon. My heart sank a little bit when I told him that he absolutely was allowed to vote, and that it was his right in the state of PA. Another person had asked me if they could vote, because they hadn’t participated in the primary. And yet another questioned whether or not they were allowed to vote for a Democrat because they were a registered Republican. This kind of disinformation is hard to understand. I saw children in diapers answering the front door when I knocked. I met children who looked at me with complete suspicion about my being in their neighborhood. I saw several graffiti murals dedicated to the young life of a fallen fellow gang member. I saw boarded up home after home after home. There were stray animals walking around looking for scraps.

And though I had been reminded by a few people that I certainly hadn’t put myself in the safest of positions, I had the power of one word on my side, “Obama.” The goal was to register voters and then get them to the polls. People who would otherwise have no reason to believe in government or even the democratic right to vote often smiled and thanked me for knocking on their door. They came out in record numbers and that is truly worth something. For the most part, I felt that my two days spent in Chester were color blind in how my fellow person interacted with me. I don’t know if tomorrow or the day after would be the same. Perhaps I would be less welcome. The entire experience makes me very aware that we do not have racial equality in this country. There will almost certainly be those who use this great victory to call the playing field equal, I do not believe it is.

Though we did make history. Now we know that we can do more than “hope”. We have reason to believe. Not just for the color of his skin but also for his honorable tireless campaign that has worked to unify us all, I am proud to call Barack Obama our next president. And furthermore, I believe last night was probably the most patriotic evening I’ll ever know; one in which I can proudly say I am glad to be an American. Yes we did.

My laudromat has lost their lease and now I have to start using the old spot again. The down side is that it is a longer walk and the lady who works there is a real grouch; I mean the type that kids are afraid to go near. On the other hand, her husband pictured below is one of those sweeter than sugar people that always has a smile plastered to his face. He once let me do a test shoot there at no charge. Time to go pick up some laundry. I wonder which one I’ll encounter today.

A night of booze and Halloween cheer has rendered me exhausted. I feel just like the guy in this photo I snapped a few years ago.

I took this photo of a young woman named Morgan in 2004. I still think she has fantastic face.

Jonathan Glazer was awarded an “Icon Award” for classic body of work at the first annual UK Music Video Awards. The presentation began with a short film in which his parents critique his work.

Chris Cunninham performed an exorcism of sorts on a resurrected Grace Jones. Film and music video auteur, Chris Cunningham fell off the creative map several years back. He had given up on promos and slowly turned out a few experimental films that seemed to be an arduous task. Rumors that he would make a feature film proved to be just rumors. And then he resurfaced with a tease; Cunningham shot his first music video in seven years for the breakout act The Horror’s - “Sheena is a Parasite”. Since then, Cunningham hasn’t released anything else. Although the buzz is that he has been working with The Horrors again; only this time in a different capacity as record producer. And now while we wait to see the results, Cunningham has teased us again with a rather disturbing photo spread that he shot for Dazed & Confused Magazine of none other than Grace Jones.

I’ve long been impressed with the oeuvre of designer-illustrator Deanne Cheuk. Her prolific body of work has had a tremendous impact on contemporary forms of illustration and animation, that has ultimately reshaped our creative atmosphere in both commercial and fine art worlds. This film gives more insight into who Deanne is, what makes her tick and where she sees her work going.

One of my favorite people in the world is a too talented for words animator that I met upon my arrival at art school in New York.  Cameron Baity eventually became my housemate and co-conspirator in a plan to rid the world of all that is bad and replace it with really creative smart stuff. Our home became a sanctuary for other idealists to drink like fish, play chess, and draw until their fingers swelled like sausages or til the sun rose (whichever came first). Our minds were filled with absurdity.

I worked deep into the night on a film about a man who comes to the realization that he is indeed the very fish that lives in his fishbowl. Cameron went to town on a stop-motion film in which his character had an existential discovery of his own; something about sound and growth. The character’s giant mouth was constructed from a metal wrist-watch band. I remember donating my toe nail clippings for the character’s oversized hands. I also can recall a project that was never fully realized. There was an animation that was concerned with an impish character possessing the largest set of testicles you’ve ever seen. He was a trapeze performer forced to perpetually swing or suffer the consequence of being eaten to death by demonic-muscle-men-things that waited below.

We were mostly quixotic in the kinds of work we wanted to make. So I was truly proud when I found out that Cameron recently directed an episode of Moral Orel for Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim. The series is concerned with a boy whose thirst for church and “soul insurance” is only matched by his father’s desire to spank his behind til it blistered red. Very well done Cam!

Here are 15 things Kurt Vonnegut said better than anyone else ever has or will.

This posting is to congratulate a friend and one of the brightest minds I know. Craig Arnold is a poet and a professor at the University of Wyoming in the MFA program. He is the recipient of numerous prestigious awards including: a Yale Younger Poets Selection, the Rome Prize, a Fulbright and most recently a US-Japan Creative Artists Exchange Fellowship. He has just released his second book, Made Flesh with Ausable Press. Best of luck in Columbia; next stop Japan. I wish I could be with you guys for the book release party, but am so glad I got to see you this weekend. We are truly fortunate to have friends like you and Rebecca. Damn Robin is getting tall; I wonder if he and I might one day join forces and start a very loud garage band.

Gus Van Sant is quite a prolific filmmaker. His newest project sees Sean Penn as Harvey Milk.

During last night’s Vice Presidential debates, Sarah Palin quoted Ronald Reagan in her closing remarks. The nature of the quote had to do with America’s freedoms coming under attack. So when exactly did the TV cowboy say this?  He said it here. I can’t wait for the sacrine sweet “Joe Sixpack” and her smug-fake-American-pie face to disappear back into the desolation of Wasilla, where she will be mauled by a kodiak bear the evening after husband is impaled on the horns of a large buck after he wipes out on his snow mobile.

I heard some great nicknames for Sarah Palin: Carbiou Barbie and Bible Spice. Its just bone chilling how appropriate either one is for her.

Tina Fey returned to SNL this week to once again perform the part of an uncanny Sarah Palin. This time around, she reenacted Palin’s well publicized interview with CBS TV host Katie Couric, in which the Governor struggled to put together a sentence belonging to the English language. I thought perhaps Palin might be simply misunderstood. Maybe she was actually speaking in tongues during the interview, guided by her pentecostal faith. After all, she does have a track record of calling on god to help her through political campaigns. But then I realized what her interview with Couric really reminded me of; Miss South Carolina in the 2007 Miss Teen USA Pageant. I guess that comparison isn’t too far fetched. I mean Palin is a former a beauty pageant queen herself.

The Sarah Palin quote generator. It’s really not funny.

My heart is broken. Paul Newman has passed away at 83. I feel personally saddened as if he were someone I knew so well. Perhaps this is a testament to his unmatched talents as a performer and a humanitarian. More than any other actor, I’ve long hoped that I may one day be fortunate enough to work with Newman. I think I really just wanted to get close enough to say “thanks.”

Here is an interview with designer-typographer Jonathan Barnbrook about his Remember Tibet project.

A photographer named Jack Radcliffe documented his relationship with his daughter Alison from the time she was a small girl for 32 years (1975-2007). We see an innocent child grow into a rebelling teen, and eventually a woman.

Peter Greenaway has long been one of my very favorite filmmakers. His experimentation and fascination with: language, books, painting, typography, design, cinema, theater and future forms of expression guides him to create in a language all his own. When considering his obvious desires to expand the visual language of film outside of cinema’s proverbial frame, it was no surprise to read that he had been working on some sort of online video game. What I had no idea of was that Greenaway has been up to much more than that. With the launch of his new official website, you can keep tabs on Greenaway’s lastest endeavors.

It seems that David Lynch will be hosting some sort of online competition. I wish I knew a little more about it. One place to stay tuned with information is this resourceful David Lynch fan site.

I’ve always believed that the great power that artists carry with them is the ability to evoke an emotional reaction from a stranger without even stepping foot in the same room. Nagi Noda’s whimsical work makes people feel good; it reminds us to use our imaginations no matter how wild they may be. As a young female artist she has truly defied obstacles and traditions while fully embodying the title “creative director.” With a vision all her own Nagi Noda has seamlessly slipped from one medium to another charming us along the way. So it is with a profound sadness that I share the work of Nagi Noda, whose life was cut way too short just a week ago at the age of 35.

Nagi Nada’s official website

Nagi Noda’s Music Video Work

Apparently, Christian Bale and Kermit the Frog have a lot in common.

My mother lives deep in the South; the important swing state of Florida to be exact. Several years ago she moved from a more liberal and socialist region of St. Catherine’s, Canada. She and her husband ironically made the move in search of better weather and a booming housing market to profit from. Instead they got hurricanes, an economic crisis and evangelicals. For all these reasons and more, I was so proud when my mother told me that this Labor Day weekend she volunteered her time at the local headquarters for the Obama campaign.

Here is photographer, Rachel Papo’s gaze at life in the military for young Israeli women.

At an age when social, sexual, and educational explorations are at their highest point, the life of an eighteen-year-old Israeli girl is interrupted. She is plucked from her home surroundings and placed in a rigorous institution where her individuality is temporarily forced aside in the name of nationalism. During the next two years, immersed in a regimented and masculine environment, she will be transformed from a girl to a woman, within the framework of an army that is engaged in daily war and conflict.
Almost fifteen years after my mandatory military duty ended, I went back to several Israeli army bases, using the medium of photography as a vehicle to re-enter this world.

100 Reasons why John McCain won’t be the next US President.

(via Airbag)

Andrew Bush’s pretty neat photo collection of people driving in Southern California from 1989-1997.

(via Boing Boing)

I came across this photo series of Kenadie Jourdin Bromley, a little girl born with a condition known as primordial dwarfism. Having never heard of the condition, the angelic looking little girl’s beauty reminded me of Ron Mueck’s sculptures in which he redefines human scale.

Here is a very cool site dedicated to constructing Marcel DuChamp’s life in a timeline.

Comedian and political satirist of the Daily Show, John Stewart is on his way to becoming America’s top journalist. I’m sure Stewart was humbled to find out where he stacked up against real TV pundits and then probably laughed his ass off.

Ten people with absurdly bizarre medical conditions.

For about two seconds, John McCain’s campaign ad “The One” created a stir. Aimed at the kind of fuck-nuts who actually believe in and look forward to “end times,” the ad uses their crazy evangelical secrete handshake codes and likens Obama to “The Dark One” himself (no pun intended). I find this quite disturbing on Mr. McCain’s behalf. Mind you, what’s more disturbing is the overwhelming number of people who believe these kinds of messages.

Tim LeHaye is a lunatic and the author of the unbelievably popular book series Left Behind, based on the end time prophecies. Terrifyingly over 63 million copies of this garbage have been sold. Not only does LeHaye bare a striking resemblance to many an interpretation of Lucifer himself (see below), but he also has some keen views on whether or not Barack Obama is in indeed the devil.

“I can see by the language he uses why people think he could be the antichrist,” adds LaHaye, “but from my reading of scripture, he doesn’t meet the criteria. There is no indication in the Bible that the antichrist will be an American.”

No shit Tim. He couldn’t possibly be the devil because you are.

When Olle Hemmendorff was commissioned as part of a group of artists asked to re-envision an icon of Nike Sportswear, he made a hamburger.

I came across the fantastical work of Ryohei Hase, a Tokyo based illustrator. I’d really like the painting below to hang above my couch; it would certainly make for a good conversation piece.

I guess when design guru Philippe Starck proclaimed design dead and announced his departure from design, he was only kidding. Apparently, his next big move is into the world of reality TV, where he will host a search for his studio’s newest employee.

Kafka expert James Hawes will be publishing the findings of his research on the author later this month. In addition to debunking many a myth surrounding the writers life, Excavating Kafka will reveal - to the dismay of many a scholar - Kafka’s interest in pornography.

(via Big Contrarian)

I’ve been hearing rumors for years about Alejandro Jodorowsky making another film. Apparently, developments are a reality and the cult director has been taking steps forward with concept art. The script is complete and will feature Nick Nolte and Marilyn Manson. Expect nothing less than genius.

Bill Wither’s voice has always given me the chills. It’s pretty unbelievable to think that the crooner that created classics like Ain’t No Sunshine When She’s Gone, Lean on Me, and Just The Two of Us simply fell off the recording map. A friend just forwarded me an interview with Withers in which he explains his career.  Additionally, here is an NPR radio interview with Withers.

Seth Kushner shot a photo series of people who live in Brooklyn for his book The Brooklynites. Apparently, if one wants to be a best selling novelist, they need to go by the name Jonathan and move to Brooklyn (Jonathan Lethem, Jonathan Ames, Jonathan Safron Foer).

Why is America Fucked?

Michael Cook is a Toronto based urban explorer. He maintains the website Vanishing Point.

This is a website about spaces that exist at the boundaries of modern control, as concessions to the landscape, as the debris left by economic transition, as evidence of the transient nature of our place upon this earth.

Check out an interview with Cook on BLDG BLOG.

Salvador Dali was once a guest on a TV game-show in which blindfolded contestants had to guess his identity. This clip is incredibly amusing and in a nutshell explains why I love Dali so much.

Nick Veasey is an x-ray photographer.

(via Coudal)

It’s time for a double dose of Kubrick related postings and here is round two. Telegraph has printed excerpts from a number of Kubrick’s letter correspondences throughout his career.

(via Daring Fireball)

Channel 4 UK commissioned a short, 3 minute film in which people talk about the impression on their lives made by Stanley Kubrick’s films.

(via Daring Fireball)

Artist Joshua Allen Harris has been using garbage bags to make large balloon animals that he places throughout the city.

A young man named Matt Harding has created the most uplifting dance in the world. He shot a 4 minute film in which he is seen dancing his little jig in different locations around the globe. Matt dances everywhere from Madrid to Mumbai, from Timbuktu to New Guinea too. The project started out as a little personal fun idea that evolved into a sponsored journey. Truth told, this web film evokes a certain kind of charm that Hollywood could never produce. With the democratization of means and distribution of projects via the web, the most personal of ideas can be conveyed and this is the heart of the magic here. Though the film has currently been viewed on youtube over 5 million times, I didn’t think anybody should miss this. More on the this surreal undertaking from the NY Times.

American swimmer Dara Torres is about to qualify for her fifth Olympics at the age of 41.

At a BBQ last night, a friend told me about the new website of avante-garde filmmaker and writer Jonas Mekas. Though in his 80’s, the site is testament to Mekas’ active career and passion.

Mekas has always been concerned with the preservation of cinema and the importance of bringing film to the people.  As a founder of The Anthology Film Archives, he has done just that. This is his foray into the modern world of the web. The site offers previews of work that can be downloaded for a modest fee. In addition to Mekas’ own films, works by other filmmakers including: Kenneth Anger, Marcel Duchamp, and Jim Jarmusch are available for download. The site is a wonderful example of how the web has put the power of distribution back into the hands of the creators.

For 18 years until his death, Hugh Crawford snapped a polaroid a day.

(via Patterns In the Sound)

Steve Albini is a musician and record producer. In the 90’s he was the go to guy for many bands seeking an honest and perfectly raw sound. His work with The Pixies and Nirvana never seems to tarnish. Here is a rather interesting interview of Albini discussing the creative nature of music, the current climate of the industry and more.

“I feel like things as they are have about as much awesomeness as they are capable of having. And you can’t imbue awesomeness into something that actually sucks.” - Steve Albini

So basically, you can polish a turd but it is still a turd. How many times have I wanted to say just that to someone? Here is more info on Albini’s recording studio called Electrical Audio.

(via Textism)

Jeremy Boyle once played in the Chicago based band Joan of Arc. His newest project is a duo that consists of a midi controlled guitar and drums. The instruments are mechanically played without the aid of a musician.

(via It’s Nice That)

In memorandum of George Carlin, the following seems quite appropriate.

“The most unfair thing about life is the way it ends. I mean, life is tough. It takes up a lot of your time. What do you get at the end of it? A Death! What’s that, a bonus? I think the life cycle is all backwards. You should die first, get it out of the way. Then you live in an old age home. You get kicked out when you’re too young, you get a gold watch, you go to work. You work forty years until you’re young enough to enjoy your retirement. You do drugs, alcohol, you party, you get ready for high school. You go to grade school, you become a kid, you play, you have no responsibilities, you become a little baby, you go back into the womb, you spend your last nine months floating…and you finish off as an orgasm.” —George Carlin

Elkie Vanstiphout is a young photographer, model, and musician from Belgium. I consistently saw photos of her posted on the image sharing site ffffound. With a closer look, I realized that Elkie’s moody photos were indeed self-portraits.

A friend forwarded me a link to the portfolio of painter, Fred Einaudi. His paintings definitely suite my tastes for the macabre.

Waking up to the news that George Carlin has passed away surely isn’t the start to the week I was looking for. RIP Mr. Carlin and we promise that we won’t forget to “be excellent to each other Rufus.”

Martin Ahlgren is a friend and truly brilliant director-of-photography. He has shot visually stunning projects for the likes of The Rolling Stones, Common, and Jet. Martin has launched a new web site with an extensive collection of work that includes his collaborations with directing greats like: Jonas Akerlund, Matthew Rolston, Robert Hales, and Floria Sigismondi.

The film world mourns the loss of special-effects guru Stan Winston; he’ll be missed greatly.

Musician and all around cool guy, David Byrne, has created a musical sculpture that converts an entire building into an instrument. There is nothing sonically intuitive about the instrument and therefore, all players are on equally unfamiliar ground with no musical advantage.

There truly couldn’t have been a more appropriate director than Anton Cobijn to tell the story of Ian Curtis and Joy Division on the silver screen. Though the film only was given limited theatrical release, Control is now available on DVD.

Mikael Kennedy is a Brooklyn based photographer. I recently came across this bluish series of his polaroid snaps.

Goodbye Bo Diddley.

Remembering Sydney Pollack.

Harrison Ford gets a chest waxing in the name of rain forest conservation.

Holy Motorhead!!! A documentary on Lemmy is in the works.

David Lynch accepts an unusual gift from a fan.

Hammer & Tongs is the moniker used to represent the work of producer Nick Goldsmith and director Garth Jennings. The two have collaborated on many successful music videos over the years for artists including Beck, Blur, Fatboy Slim, and REM. In 2005 they made the leap from videos to feature films with their adaptation of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. They have returned with their new film Son of Rambo; which follows two boys obsessed with Rambo: First Blood as they attempt to make a sequel with their video cameras.

I first saw Theo Jansen’s work featured in a BMW commercial. He is a Dutch artist who is obsessed with designing a new kind of nature. For twenty years now, he has been constructing skeletal beasts that are propelled by the wind. With each round there is an evolution to the design; Jansen plans to one day release these creatures/sculptures into the wild to fend for themselves.

Vintner Robert Mondavi passed away this week at the age of 94. Seen below on his 90th Birthday, Bob was looking pretty spectacular for his age. Tip your glasses everyone and lets pour a glass in his honor.

Alejandro Jodorowski is a cinema genius like no other. The success of his film El Topo made him “the father of the midnight movie.” His films have been described as political, surreal, offensive and psychodelic.  All of these descriptions are as accurate as they are false. His body of work has been created as a quest for truth and enlightenment. For decades his films were only available on pirated VHS dubs and were banned in many countries. Now a set of three Jodorowsky films and accompanying soundtracks are available including: Fando y Lis, El Topo, and The Holy Mountain.

Barnaby Roper is a fashion photographer and music video director. Natasa Vojnovic is a model from Belgrade. They collaborated on this short experimental fashion film in which Natasa bares all. She discusses leaving belgrade and what it means to be here in America.

The New Yorker just did a piece on Pascal Dangin, the world’s foremost image retoucher of fashion photography.

This absurd interview takes the piss out of how Charlie Rose does what he does. Rose interviews himself on technologies and the web in a what feels like a short Samuel Beckett play.

Famed director of films including Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Science of Sleep, Michel Gondry has fallen in love with cardboard.

Miranda July is a charming offbeat writer, filmmaker and artist. She truly has such a unique voice and way that she sees the world. Last year she released a collection of short stories called No One Belongs Here More Than You. Coinciding with the release of the book, July launched a pretty clever website in which she transforms her stove top into a dry erase board. The site is a great place to start. If you love it; buy the book.

An intimate photo-set of young American vagabonds (photographer unknown).

What assumptions do we think a total stranger might make about us? In this split-screen film we observe people as they observe other people. 

(via Ticklebooth)

Thom Yorke discusses Radiohead’s new video for All I Need.

Abe Kogan performed as a human cannonball from 1946-1980. He still dreams of flying.

Marilyn Manson has finally decided like so many other celebs to endorse his own product. The rocker was instrumental in developing his label of absinthe. And yes, its true that certain brands of true absinthe are now legal in the US. It is also absolutely false that absinthe will make you go looney more than any other type of spirit. That was all actually a giant smear campaign created by a threatened wine industry in France during the early 1900s.

Combining performance art and photography, illusion artist Li Wei produces some pretty extraordinary moments.

Oliver Ackerman is the singer and guitar player for A Place to Bury Stangers. The band has generated indie-cult status. In addition to playing very loud music, he is the creator of Death By Audio. Several years back, Oliver had the idea to sell his custom guitar FX pedals that he had designed for his himself. This fruitful experiment lead to something bigger. The very studio where he was working became something of a collective artists space that curates shows and provides bands with rehearsal and recording space. Picthfork has done a feature on Oliver’s brainchild.

Dede Kosawara, 37, has been referred to as the “Tree Man of Java.” Dede is covered in bark-like warts caused by the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV). This common virus is generally easily cared for. However, in Dede’s case an immune system deficiency has rendered his body unable to fight off the infection. Due to his inability to use his hands, he could no longer make an income and his wife left him. With no other choice, Dede began to make a living as part of a freak show.

The brighter side to this story is that Western doctors have taken an interest in his case and have begun to surgically remove the growths. Already 4 lbs of growth have been removed from his hands. More importantly, his spirits are high.

(Please be aware that the above links lead to rather disturbing images.)

Doug Aitken is a renowned multimedia artist who has worked with video installation, sculpture, and photography.  In 2006, he published Broken Screen: 26 Conversations. The book compiles conversations with artists in which they discuss their desires to work outside of conventional linear narrative forms. Aitken engages his fellow artists—including Werner Herzog, Ed Ruscha, Robert Altman, Kenneth Anger, Claire Denis, Amos Vogel, and Alejandro Jodorowsky—in discussion, as opposed to critical interviews. Below are some choice quotes:

“I almost feel like the process of filmmaking is a performance itself. The act of filmmaking becomes an extension of the performance on-screen.—Matthew Barney

“…I got fired again and again because people like Jack Warner, the cofounder of Warner Brothers, would say, ‘who has actors all talking at the same time?’ Well I haven’t had many experiences in real life where people don’t talk all at the same time. People don’t wait around for each other to shut up before they speak.”—Robert Altman

“…the notion of a beginning and an end is a rational formulation that I don’t use anymore. For me, life is not continuous. If I have a beginning and end in one of my films, its not a real beginning or end. These things don’t exist.”—Alejandro Jodorowsky

At the young age of 30, photographer Ryan McGinley has firmly established himself as one of the most celebrated fine art photographers of his generation. His current series entitled, I Know Where the Summer Goes is on display at New York’s Team Gallery until May 3rd. For this project inspired by nudist magazines from the 60’s & 70’s, McGinley hit the road with a group of models for the summer. Having shot 4000 rolls of film that resulted in 150,000 images, McGinley edited the show down to 50 photographs.

Sit down with your mugger. Buy them dinner and see what is on their mind; see what they want out of life.

The Miniature Earth Project is a website that illustrates statistical data about the world we live in on a small scale model. If our world were actually 100 people, these statics paint a portrait of how we could be defined as people.

Prince has been referred to as “The Purple Man”. Seeing that the performer has signed a deal worth almost $5 million to headline at this years Coachella music festival, he might want to consider changing his name to “The Golden Man.”

Controversial animation director Ralph Bakshi is best known for his cult classic Fritz the Cat. If you aren’t familiar with his work, think Robert Crumb as a filmmaker. Bakshi is also credited with elevating rotoscope animation techniques to new levels with his version of The of Lord of the Rings (1978) and American Pop (1981). The truth is that Bakshi is a rebel. He is literally the Cool World to a more mainstream Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

In recent years, Bakshi has spent the better part of his time working as a painter. He will be in attendance on Thursday April 17th for the opening of his work at the Animazing Gallery.

Last week I posted about Apple’s vigorous attempts to prohibit other companies that include non-profit organizations from infringing upon their trademark. Coincidentally, I came across this 1993 interview with Steve Jobs in which he discusses what it was like to work with Paul Rand on Apple’s identity.

Stefan Sagmeister and Hillman Curtis both are highly influential designers. Both are based out of New York City and both were given names that made them destined for success. In Curtis’ most recent episode of his video series on artists, he points his camera at Sagmeister who has just released a book of his work entitled Things I Have Learned In My Life So Far.

German photographer Walter Schels and his partner Beate Lakotta have created a collection of photos contrasting portraits of the dying with their image just after passing. The series entitled Life Before Death will be on display at London’s Wellcome Collection from April 9 - May 18. 

Errol Morris discusses Abu Ghraib and the importance of a photographic moment. 

Errol Morris discusses the role of the re-enactment as a means to investigate truth.

Morris’ newest film, Standard Operating Procedure opens in theaters April 25th. The film examines the Abu Ghraib torture incidents and the photos that serve as proof of the events.

Value your internet freedoms; and do so by staying abreast of the net neutrality wars that are taking shape. Damian Kulash Jr. is best known as the singer for OK GO. The band has become poster children for the idea that success can be generated through the internet. This is exactly why Kulash was asked to be a witness for the House Judiciary Committee’s antitrust task force. He wrote an op-ed for the New York Times talking a bit about the topic. This issue is not going away folks.

If you don’t know of Michael Pollan, perhaps you have heard of his critically heralded book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma. And perhaps this interview will persuade you to pick up the book. Pollan has a fantastic way of articulating the importance of understanding where our food comes from, and how our food affects our society socially, culturally, politically, and economically.

The people behind the success of American Apparel are no dummies. They have created what seems like an overnight clothing empire. They maintain a progressive work environment that provides educational opportunity and fair pay to their employees. Their simplistic stylish clothing is made from good quality materials and is manufactured entirely in the US. However, their CEO has made public his interest in orgies and the use of “the camel-toe” as a means to advertising (thanks Terry Richardson). I didn’t realize the extent of his silliness. The company is being sued by Woody Allen for using his image in a billboard campaign; apparently they didn’t even bother to get his permission first.

Controversial photographer Joel Peter Witkin is best known for his sepia toned images. Often employing the use of cadavers and societies “freaks” for models, his photos are created with painstaking detail. For the most part his work has been celebrated by the fine art world in museums and galleries by audiences with a taste for the macabre. Fashion designer Alexander McQueen, tipped his hat to Witkin’s odalisque when he created a filmed homage to show off his Spring/Summer 2001 collection.  I never would have expected to find Witkin’s work in a NY Times fashion spread, highlighting designs by the Louis Vuitton, Prada, Ralph Lauren and of course McQueen. This feature dates back to 2006.

Photographer Carrie Levy began to win applause for her work at a very young age. Her photos have been displayed in countless exhibitions around the world. She has published her work in several prestigious collections and produced a book including a documentary series on her family’s coping process from her father’s incarceration, entitled 51 Months. Levy has launched a beautiful gallery of her images. She also happens to be one of my favorite people in the world. Her collaboration on the design of the site with Mandy Brown, another one of my favorite people (& better half) proves that simplicity is key when displaying work.

Just another reason to like Barack Obama, he remembers the days of sweet 80’s smooth jams.

Philippe Starck, the famed designer of everything from tooth brushes to hotel interiors, has proclaimed “design dead.” I was sorry to hear of his post-midlife crisis. (via kottke)

I am greatly embittered by the war in Iraq. The US is 5 years deep into a quagmire situation that never should’ve taken place. While many politicians don’t mind thinking of American soldiers as pawns or collateral damage, they are real human beings with names, faces, families and friends. Our country is five years deep into this war and has just surpassed the mark of 4000 American soldier casualties. Featured in the NY Times online today is a memoriam to all of those who gave their lives entitled Casualties of War.

Film directors Werner Herzog and Errol Morris are both profoundly unique in the stories that they tell. Here is a conversation between the two in which they trace back their long friendship and discuss topics ranging from each other’s work to their experiences going together to visit serial killer Ed Kemper in prison.

Additionally, Errol Morris has a new documentary called Standard Operating Procedure releasing to theaters April 25th.  The film focuses on the events and photos surrounding the Abu Ghraib prison torture affair.

David Lynch has a thought or two about watching movies on your telephone.

Sculpture artist Michael Heizer is building a city in the middle of the Nevada Desert and it’s taking half of his life to do so. The NY Times featured the project.