Certain mediums of art seem annoyingly democratic. Everyone with a camera thinks he’s magically become a photographer; with Final Cut, a director; with Serato, a DJ. Similar thinking goes with collage. With Photoshop and Google Image Search—or for the stubbornly analog, glue and old magazines—one has all the needed tools to rip new meanings out of old contexts. How does one break any new ground as a combiner of things, while also presenting a distinct voice and vision? The designer Mark Weaver relies on rules. Confining his canvases to a few well-chosen elements—confident typefaces, unpeopled landscapes, period portraits, severe architecture, geometric shapes, arcane charts—he builds a sense of mood and mystery that floats quietly toward the surreal.
Sleigh Bells have drawn heaps of critical attention in no time flat. What could be the appeal? That, as they told an old colleague of mine, everything is glossy but something is off? I think you can trace it to the collision of sensibilities between Derek Miller, a guitarist from a Florida post-hardcore band, and Alexis Krauss, who’s worked as a schoolteacher, wedding singer, session vocalist, and teen member of a girl group. Miller offers varieties of primitivism: homemade beats plus squeals and squalls of roughly guitarlike noises. Krauss, on the other hand, boasts a diversity of talents that reflects her diversity of experience. This goes for both her voice—an instrument that can switch gears on a dime—and her body—an instrument that, in the fiery tradition of Joan Jett and Karen O, fastens into an ecstatic state that feels at once confronting and inviting. Stirring together ferocity and feminine innocence, this 24-year-old whirlwind of sound and motion launches out bratty roars and lusty moans, graceful hand gestures and dizzying hair whips, keeping stillness and silence at bay, the not-so-calm core within Miller’s maelstrom of brute riffs and booms.
Some are bothered by Sleigh Bells’ use of an iPod in their live show. I wonder if these people are troubled by Beach House’s prerecorded drum tracks. Frankly, I don’t see the issue. A live act need not conform to some eternal template of rock-band roles. Here we can zero in on the two true sources of action. Or in the case of “Ring Ring,” above, one live center plus one warmly looped center.
Photo credits: Will Deitz, Pitchfork; James Ryang, NYT.
My first homemade Christmas card in a while! I printed out a few and, once I work on my folding technique, I can send them out. Can you guess who is who?
We’ve been having a few busy but fun weekends. This last one, we celebrated two engagements. Sunday, Kevin drove down from Austin to spend the day with us. We had an AMAZING meal at Oporto and we usually order the same dishes, but, since he doesn’t eat meat, we tried the baked brie (whole brie cheese wrapped in pastry with walnuts and herbs, served with fig preserves, honey, crackers, and fresh fruit) for the first time. It is so delicious.
Even though it barely stuck to the ground, it was nice to see some snow. But that also meant a crazy school day with lots of requests to conduct class outside!
The Suitcase Series presents in glorious detail the lives of select artists and designers. The books are image-based, full of artwork, sketchbook pages, beautiful photographs and artifacts from where the artists live and work. The book becomes a precious souvenir of a creative journey shared between the reader and the artist.
Some things I never get tired of: seeing artistic processes, unique & inviting homes, or anything with a hand-drawn/hand-made quality. This book does it all, and Camilla Engman is the perfect subject. I’m still a little sad I never got my hands on the reused porcelain collection, but they are beautifully documented in the book!
I’ve been slowly working on this linoleum block as a demo piece for my students and hopefully to include in the zine. After printing this proof, I see there’s still a good amount to carving to do. Back to work I go.
So I thought I could sneak the engagement party into my sister’s graduation party this summer, but it never was meant to be. However, I am very happy we did have one this week because it gave me a chance to meet BJ’s dad, to see his mom and brother again, and to thank all our family members for their support. If only I had another week off, because this has not been a break at all! There has been a ton of cleaning, renovations, errand running, and late nights. Whew. Here are a few images I was able to capture.
I removed all the hideous vinyl wallpaper, painted, and hung some of my and my sister’s artwork.
Carrot mini cupcakes with cream cheese frosting
Serving tea with lots of whispered directions from the elders :) (pic by Quynh)
Still a little teary-eyed from my speech. Why am I so emotional!?
Every year, I look forward to getting my brother and sisters’ Christmas list in my mailbox. They’re super fancy-like with images and direct links to buy the item online kind of fancy. But the best part is getting to read the explanations and descriptions for each item as well as the banter that comes afterwards. This year, the lists arrived a few weeks before Thanksgiving- a little early don’t ya think?
I’m not sure what I want this year, but I put together a few items that I think would be nice to give. Up first, paper goods:
![camilla-big-sell-sheet[1]](http://nest.rckshw.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/camilla-big-sell-sheet1.jpg "camilla-big-sell-sheet[1]")
