Video / Maya Deren
In recent years, Maya Deren is probably the artist who has influenced what I do the most and two DVDs — Experimental Films (above) and In the Mirror of Maya Deren — are the best window you can find into her world. Experimental Films is a collected body of work while In The Mirror is a great documentary on her life and art. She transfuses film with dance and myth to create a personal vision of poetry on film. She focuses on all the elements of film — light and shadow, rhythm of editing, and the architecture of the frame, to create a choreography of film which includes the camera as a dynamic element to lay out a mythological groundwork, the focus of the inner reality turned outward. Her films make me froth at the mouth.
Also by ORVAR - MUM
Julian Cope’s book Japrocksampler gives you a strangely clairvoyant view into Japanese rock n’ roll, something that had before remained a puzzling enigma to me. Reading this book made me envious of Julian Cope for having had to do all this research — it sounds like taking a bath in sweet wasabi. The book reads like cross between a fascinating history tome and a crazy story some drunk tells you in a bar. [see also Laura Veir's favorite book, The Motel Life]
My parents gave me the Madame Bolduc 3-disc set L’Anthologie for Christmas after having heard her singing by chance in a record shop in Canada. The many photos on the cover of a classy, strong lady are of Mary Roseanna Travers, or la Bolduc, who is considered to be Quebec’s first singer-songwriter. It’s hard to put your finger on this music, it has a rootsy American folk feel to it, it may be even slightly Irish, but it comes with beautiful French vocals and jaunty accordion playing. It makes me happy. [see also singer-songwriter Regina Spektor]
Magnus Mills’ Explorers of the New Century
I bought this book because of it’s cover featuring bearded adventurers on the icy polar caps waving their arms in fright. And I got what I asked for in multiples. It’s a windy novel, a classic adventure tale, with an undercurrent of black humor that morphs into a surreal ethically twisted fairytale. I can’t say too much, but I am happy to be able to judge a book by it’s cover, at least once in a while. [read also Toby Nathaniel's take on A Song Of Ice and Fire]
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He may have played Kipland Ronald Dynamite (Kip) in Napoleon Dynamite, but Californian photographer Aaron Ruell is much more comfortable behind the camera. We interviewed him recently: You’re an actor, filmmaker, and photographer. Is there a continuous theme or tone in your work across these mediums? ‘I think there is a connection between my photography and what I do in film as a director. I notice a similar tone between the two. I’m not sure that I set out for consistency between the two, it just happens. I still have issues with calling myself an “actor”. I’ve only done two films, and it’s not something that I’m out there actively pursuing. Those projects just happen to find me, so I can’t say that there’s a connection there’.
No wave is alive and well, if Brooklyn duo Talk Normal are any indication. Drummer Andrya Ambro keeps things cohesive with surprisingly precise percussion, occasionally banging on such things as an electric guitar and an old iron pipe rigged with contact mics, while guitarist Sarah Register coaxes some unnerving and discordant noises from her axe and array of pedals. The two take turns shouting abstract and absurdist lyrics with voices like hi-tech valkyries from a futurist nightmare.
Our online store has been kicking along nicely for a while now, featuring prints by Andy Smith [pictured], tees by Das Monk and jewellery by This Charming Man to name a few. We have visitors from all across the globe and some of our pieces have been racing out the virtual door faster than we imagined possible. Aw, shucks! Now it’s your turn. If you design, create, or distribute products and artwork that fits with our style, and you’d like to see your goodies stocked on our shelves in time for Christmas, drop us a note introducing yourself and we’ll take it from there. Psst … we’re planning some Christmas gift ideas and subscriber offers too. We reckon you’ll like them.
Clara Kraetsch and Doreen Schulz are the designers behind the hot Berlin design label C-Neeon, which hit hard onto the fashion radar after winning the Young Designers competition at the Hyeres Festival. Read more
Installed in downtown Helsinki, CityWall is a multi-touch display featuring digital media arranged into themes and events. Read more
Ten Masked Men are a British parody band that does death metal covers of famous pop songs by Ricky Martin, Christina Aguilera, Madonna, and many others. One of my favorites is their cover of Justin Timberlake’s ‘Cry Me a River’. It’s epic.
DJ Spooky — That Subliminal Kid — is just about the deepest crate digger around, trawling the barrels of long-lost record stores for choice vinyl to spin in his wickedly dubby sets. He gave us the inside word last week on his eight favourite songs right now via our sister website, My Secret Playlist. This is what he had to say about Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry’s Panic in Babylon: ‘If there’s anything that the twenty-first century has told us, it’s that dub is the real original hip-hop. Lee Scratch even had to make it clear in 1965 by adding “Scratch” to his middle name. Take that, Grandmaster Flash!’ Read the rest of DJ Spooky’s Secret Playlist.
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Adult Hotel opens in Nanning, China
State-controlled news outlet Xinhua reports that a new ‘adult hotel‘ is opening in Nanning, the capital of Guangxi Province in southern China. Apparently state censors think homosexuals and tattoo parlors sully their nation’s image, but not establishments aimed at facilitating heterosexual unions. The owner is apparently worried his business will be perceived as a brothel. Hmmm. In any case, the photos of a staff member demonstrating the, uh, equipment is caption-worthy for sure.
I like Roots Manuva because he tells stories. I know that sounds simplistic, but honestly, have you noticed how rappers, certainly American rappers, have stopped narrating their lives and are purely focused on how great they are? I know, I know, hip-hop is all about word play, slang, and blah blah blah. Read more
Christine Callahan’s colourful photography
There is magic in these photographs by New York photographer, Christine Callahan. The vibrant colors and the beauty in the everyday give me the feeling that everything is going to be just fine. Read more
Florida-based artist, Andy Espinoza, studies at the Ringling College of Art and Design, majoring in Illustration. His paintings are beautifully conceptualised, rich in narrative and technically impressive. Of his work, he says: ‘I see each human figure as a unique challenge. I am coaxed to find the unique relationship between the shapes and tones that give the particular subject its subtle appeal and unrepeatable vitality. My paintings are not photographic representations of my subjects, but rather are my elaboration of what I find to be of value in them’. Read more
Pictures taken at just the right time
You don’t have to be a skilled photographer to take the best snaps: some just appear out of absolutely nowhere. This site has collected together some of the funniest, cruelest, most alarming — yet completely spontaneous — photos circulating the web. Thank god for other people’s suffering! Read more
We have a stack of CDs and DVDs to give away to a lucky new subscriber who signs up to receive our free weekly email publication between now and New Year’s Day. There’s 50 new CDs in the pile, along with a handful of DVDs. So sign up now and leave a message here telling us what album you hope will be in the pile!
This Powder Necklace features a pearlized Turbo Cinereus shell with tiny holes drilled into the bottom, filled with a sparkling silver-colored powder that when gently tapped, sprinkles a light dusting on the wearer’s chest. Designed by Stephanie Simek. Read more
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