FILE UNDER: a timely note from your art world resident ‘sign’ reader !! and accidental star gazer !!
just for the record: there was a huge huge sun storm yesterday, JAN 24, 2012.
no joke – it made national headlines. hot, hot and more hot !!
maybe that’s why flame-yellow winter jackets – are all the rage.
“An immense blast of plasma (?) spewing from the sun is set to bombard Earth today (TUES JAN 24, 2012) with the strongest radiation storm since 2005, prompting a rare warning from US weather officials and even a plan to re-direct certain high-flying planes.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency issued a watch for a geomagnetic storm . . . expected to reach Earth . . . (yesterday).
As a precaution, polar flights are expected to be rerouted . . . according to space.com.
The storm could also affect the power grid.” – NEW YORK POST, pg 2. Tues Jan 24, 2012
YIKES !! we’re under sizzle attack – from our own sun !! . . . . holy Batman !!
needless to say all that white snow that arrived this past weekend – is long gone. just a figment of the imagination ?
talk about auspicious celestial and “mythical” powers at play !!
you can watch the resultant light show – over SWEDEN !! – via state-of-the art digital camera !!
and, WOW . . . dig that cabin – in the sun !!
watch: powerful solar storm sets off amazing Northern lights show . . . “Lights over Lapland” photographer CHAD BLAKLEY – caught the footage !!
talk about , . . fire breathing dragons – in the sky.
p.s. while you are there – you can also watch: ancient galaxies caught on camera, too. next video down, right hand side.
p.s. I also stand corrected re: the use of the term ‘imagination’ in the 2nd previous post – below !!
with reference to dragon myths. ‘imagination’ is formally defined as “the formation of a mental image of something NOT real or present.” though it also means . . . “CREATIVE POWER” and “RESOURCEFULNESS”, huh ? go figure. (THE AMERICAN HERITAGE DICTIONARY).
wherein lies the English language dilemma. if you can imagine it – it doesn’t rule out the possibility of it having happened !! dudes. I mean if you can intuit – you might have been informed. and let’s leave it at that.
ok. like how ?
by dreams, old folk wisdom, celestial night sky activity. etc. etc. small everyday signs. tea leaves ? patterns. visions. magic mushrooms. i.e. the stuff of our civilization, just saying.
I mean who I am to say – dragons did not exist ?
if gods existed, as in Greek myths, or angels, as in the Bible – let me tell you, dragons did breathed fire in the skies. . . and not just in paintings and literature.
case in point : below !! VINTAGE PRESCIENT – from the 70s !! of JAN 23, 2012 – OR – WHAT !!!!!!!!
and yeah I picked it up a few weeks ago – at a JERSEY CITY thrift shop !!
THE HOW AND WHY Wonder Book of STARS – (!!) and, note the price: 69 cents !!
written by NORMAN HOSS – Illustrated by JAMES PONTER.
Edited under the supervision of Dr. PAUL E. BLACKWOOD, Washington, D.C.
text and illustrations approved by OAKES A. WHITE, BROOKLYN CHILDREN’S MUSEUM, BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.
yep, its from the hood – though overseen by Washington D.C. !! resident.
published by GROSSET & DUNLAP, NEW YORK – this is the 1972 printing.
the book was originally copyrighted in 1960 !!
the green light must be from night vision camera ?
and yes !! – that’s our modern-day hero – SATURN !! forefront and center – the only known planet with rings !!
and does that sun flare (!!) – not look like two fighting red Chinese dragons, going head-to-head , or what ?
and, didn’t that just happen – yesterday ?
just saying.
and yeah do the web research: the quest begin begins . . . why is the color red so important in Chinese culture !!
and, good luck !!
so . . . someone wanna tell me – they didn’t see ‘dragons’ – huge solar flares – in ancient China. ha. for sure.
and oh yeah. about the the constellations moving . . . picture the pin points of the constellation map as if on a thin mylar sheet over the map of the earth’s sky. it can move, like a third level transparent navigation bar – but the original ‘birth’ impulses remain stationary.
and that is why astrology and tarot cards, too – go figure – are still in synch.
though of course as the pin point star, as in ancient constellation navigation diagram is moving – come on, where’s the surprise – we all know – the stars do travel – it must mean something.
and of course future generations – of astrologers – need a wake-up call on the new alignment.
this movement of the celestial zodiac symbols must mean something. maybe that’s the new world – !! – the Mayans were talking about.
maybe a big celestial time lock – as in a top-notch combination lock – just opened up ? beats me !!
who am I. I’m just a 21st century artist. watercolor at that !!
BUT yes, the stars and the planets, and whatever the hell else is out there – moons, comets. you name it, solar flares affect us. directly, and by extension . . . our destinies. not to mention our moods and struggles. aggressive war times vs. peaceful agrarian times. dark ages and renaissances.
it’s kinda funny what they say. the more things change, the more they stay the same.
from the solar storm of yesterday – it’s pretty obvious in tangible terms (as opposed to magic or astrological terms) -that the heavenly bodies, exert forces on earth and its denizens. and so yes, just like in the old days – we try to make sense of our lives and chart (safe) paths with our observed knowledge of the skies. just as our most ancient collective global ancestor did. with their zodiac charts and ‘myths’.
once greatly debunked . . . as ‘magic’ these ancient wisdoms – have been made more real in our lifetimes – by the actual tangible effect, such as the solar flare had yesterday – our modern wireless power grids, etc. (!!)
that’s a great irony, think about it.
and yes, these wisdoms were debunked in this book. so, if you are still with me, star fanatics – hooray for the collective unconscious of the internet web – and the New York City art world !! – to right things !!
the wireless world web – the new star gazers: ‘bowl’ of choice !!
if you read the science pages, as well as the art reviews, you’ll know what I mean.
we’ll give the vintage ‘STARS’ book above – the parting words . . .
“SATURN, [one of the 4 giant planets along with with Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune] is the most spectacular planet of all . . . to see through a telescope. This is because of its remarkable rings. These are bright, thin bands around the equator of the planet. The entire ring system is 171,000 miles across from the outer to the inner edge, but probably no more than ten miles thick.” (!!)
(I’m thinking optical computer drives . . . dispensing knowledge – if not celestial LSD. but hey, that’s just my imagination.)
“It has been determined that the rings are made up of separate tiny particles, each moving in its own orbit. ” . . . seriously, try to get your head around that.
“They are probably ice particles averaging a tenth (!!) of an inch in diameter. In addition to its rings, Saturn has ten known satellites.”
all I know is – from time immemorial – SATURN was seen as the universal, or really, earthly – “re-boot” – when it passed by closest to our earth, on it’s 30 year orbit.
SATURN is also know as FATHER TIME, as well as the super god of agriculture and justice – key moments and concepts in our pre-history . . . because of the planet’s ‘enlightening’ effect when it passed closest – and resultant decline as it moved away. that 30 year cycle was understood in ancient days – through the (ground) rules of agriculture.
i.e. you sow seeds. you cultivate. they grow, you harvest, you eat. the end, an annual repeat on earth.
these truths be self-evident to our ancestors who almost all – worked the land.
probably as well, in olden times to live to see Saturn, at any point, but esp to be 30 – if you were born in a Saturn phase – was quite a milestone. because most likely most earthly primate human inhabitants – did not. live so long. thus Saturn came to be feared – and symbolized as the old man with the scythe out to get ya. tarot cards, anybody.
where’s Jung when we really need him. . . . trapped in a dirty old man’s movie circa 2012 – yes . . . ‘A DANGEROUS METHOD’. whatever. Keira Knightley, seriously I really wish you well.
multiply that by the agriculture-based rule of: you reap what you sow, if you had been bad – judgement was coming. some peoples call that: karma. and I sure hope it exists. cause if you’ve ever been wronged – it’s a very comforting thought re your enemies.
just enough comfort to get you through – another earthly day !!
~vintage . . . SATURN !! |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | January 25th, 2012, 11:50am
WISHING EVERYONE AN EXTREMELY AUSPICIOUS YEAR of the WATER DRAGON – CHINESE NEW YEAR 2012 !!
. . . PETER D. GERAKARIS
see: PETER D. GERAKARIS
see: PETER D. GERAKARIS – WORKS ON PAPER
PETER D. GERAKARIS, ‘AQUARIUM III – WATER DRAGON MONTAGE’, 2012. Pen, ink, watercolor and gouache on paper with digital montage.
~HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR – FROM PETER GERAKARIS |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | January 23rd, 2012, 1:23pm
MAURIZIO CATTELAN, Photo: PIERPAOLO FERRARI, c/o GUGGENHEIM
presented in conjunction with the closing weekend of ‘Maurizio Cattelan: ALL’ . . . yes, the show is coming down – this weekend.
the GUGGENHEIM PRESENTS ‘THE LAST WORD’ – a MAURIZIO CATTELAN FINALE – TO-NITE !!
a SEVEN-HOUR FINALE
starting SATURDAY JAN 21, at 6 PM & running thru the night, which would be SUNDAY JAN 22 . . . closing at 1 AM !!
Peter B. Lewis Theatre, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York
5th Ave at 89th St
ADMISSION IS PAY WHAT YOU WISH. CASH BAR after 8 PM. the ‘ALL’ exhibit will remain on view for program attendees.
CO-ORGANIZED BY: SIMON CRITCHLEY, Hans Jonas Professor, the New School for Social research – & – NANCY SPECTOR, Deputy Director and Chief Curator, Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation and the curator of ‘Maurizio Cattelan: ALL’.
read more: ‘The Last Word’ – Maurizio Cattelan Finale.
YOU !! – CAN WATCH A LIVE STREAM – OF THE EVENT – !! – To-NITE beginning at 6 PM EST at: ustream.tv/guggenheim
~’THE LAST WORD’, MAURIZIO CATTELAN, ‘ALL’ Finale, to-nite !! |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | January 21st, 2012, 7:56am
‘MIE’ – by ERIC WHITE, 2012. oil on panel, 10 x 8 in. part of the big portrait show opening to-nite at FREIGHT+VOLUME.
‘MIE: A Portrait by 35 Artists’ – OPENS To-NITE – SAT – JAN 21, 2012 / 6-8 PM
CURATED BY NICK LAWRENCE and MIE IWATSUKI
the show runs JAN 21 – Feb 25, 2012
FREIGHT +VOLUME – 542 W.24th ST – CHELSEA
p.s. wow. the first snow – you know, the real white stuff – in the city today !! it was looking more like Spring in winter, otherwise. no big storm – just a steady but gentle snowfall – but thick, thick enough to hold shape on the ground. nice. it’s still falling white, as of this morning. maybe we’ll get 5 or 6 ins. by noon !!
all good. all magic realism . . . including Eric’s painting. all earthly vibes in sync. at least in NYC.
Eric White’s surreal, eerie and ‘crystalline’ portrait . . . the perfect blow-out refractory image for an extremely auspicious weekend – bookended as it is, by the return of planetary wanderer the hi-octane Saturn this past Friday, and the start of the Chinese New Year, the all-powerful Year of the Dragon, this Monday !!
if the year of the dragon wasn’t already the most imperial of the 12 signs in the Chinese zodiac, imagine the kick start it gets – from this celestial alignment.
all the other Chines zodiac signs are earth-bound bio, in fact farm animals . . . except the sign of the dragon – which is mythic, and all-powerful, larger than life, the stuff of emperors – springing as it does from the arts, or better put: the visual and poetic realm of the imagination !!
i.e. the mind of man. the creative impulse.
in Western culture – think flying fire-breathing dragon x 1,000 – as in the myths, not to forget the flowering of Western literature – of King Arthur and Sir Lancelot, the cult of Camelot, the magic of Merlin and the questing knights of the round table.
in the visual realm: medieval tapestries and rock crystal vessels – anyone ?
as they are saying. . . The Year of the Dragon will breathe fire into the human spirit. and the return of Saturn initiates a new cycle of re-boot, ‘nourishment’ and justice. put them both together – and that’s not a bad way to go forward – no matter how you cut it.
UP-DATE: MONDAY 12:14 AM
ERIK WHITE has a very interesting portfolio of work up on his website, see: ERIC WHITE: images
including a big gray piece with large surface floating yellow disks, titled ‘FOYER’ – with its obvious reference/homage to DAVID SALLE.
they range from the classic ‘two tone’ gray ‘Hollywood’ realist painting – ‘THE DRIFTER’ . . . to the almost, basically ‘two tone’ – blue ‘crystal’ psychedelic ‘HEAVEN CAN WAIT’ – which seems to be the painterly source or starting point for the ultra-recent (!!) 2012 portrait of ‘MIE’.
ERIC WHITE, ‘THE DRIFTER’, 2009. oil on canvas, 40 x 60 ins. image c/o ERIC WHITE: images
ERIC WHITE, ‘HEAVEN CAN WAIT’, 2008. oil on canvas, 24 x 24 ins. image c/o ERIC WHITE: images
note for hyper realism super fanatics:
I even noticed a reference/homage to the hyper realist 303 Gallery painter, TIM GARDNER – and his family childhood ‘photo’ portraits, albeit with ‘spores’ – on another site.
array of small paintings by ERIC WHITE from his 2004 solo show, ‘Who Are Parents’ – at EARL McGRATH GALLERY, NYC.
it would be the small ‘family photo’ portrait of the young boy in the striped shirt . . . . . no ?
just saying. it’s interesting to see the dialogs develop in his work, and then take off.
UP-DATE: WED JAN 25, 2012 – CORRECTION !!
WOW. I STAND CORRECTED – TALK ABOUT HYPER REALISM !!
NO, that’s NOT an array of small paintings on a wall – that’s a PAINTING of a small array of canvases on a wall !! ha. you done got me.
ERIC WHITE, ‘Collusion: Angst’ 2003. oil on canvas, 24 x 24 ins.
nice job.
ERIC WHITE was raised in Michigan, and got his BFA (1990) from the RHODE ISLAND SCHOOL Of DESIGN. After a decade-long stint in California, he made his way to New York City, where he currently lives and works. according his CV he has been teaching at SVA since 2006.
~ERIC WHITE does MIE !! . . and up-date !! . . . and correction !! |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | January 21st, 2012, 7:39am
getting back to the young, with-it, and truly happy crazy creative !!
of course the best and most funniest !! move clips to surface – this year – are the Portlandia series – no offense, DIYers and gender benders !! if you hear your roommate falling over with laughter, at their laptop – it’s because they’ve tuned into the truly hysterical Portlandia universe, which manages to be witty, outrageous, and yet not really that mean-spirited, and goes down easy. way easy. it’s a rainy day – mood breaker. visual popcorn for the creative pros, that’s for sure . . . super fun, for everybody else. the laughs just keep on coming.
this spoof of America’s fave alternative lifestyle city, and mecca to the new age hordes – Portland, Orgeon – was brought to life, wouldn’t you know it – by three super wicked funny SNL, SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, as in NEW YORK CITY !! – alumnae: FRED ARMISEN, CARRIE BROWNSTEIN, and JONATHAN KRISEL. Krisel is the man behind the scenes. Fred and Carrie, also co-creators and co-writers – just waltz off this planet – with their various Portlandia caricatures.
Lucille Ball, and Desi Arnaz . . . can finally rest in peace, and . . . move over.
Portlandia plays current shows on the IFC channel, which also spools past episodes !! – and the whole back series has also just come out on Netflix instants, too.
just, don’t ever call me NANCE !!
CARRIE BROWNSTEIN and FRED ARMISEN – classic !! in Portlandia – forever !!
image: IFC
I think that about . . . . says it all !!
image: IFC
so here’s a great web cruise for a so-cold, let’s stay inside day, start with: PORTLANDIA, IFC
so, don’t miss the great cast bios !! watch the clips and get background info – it’s big fun fan site !!
and while you are there. . . root around a bit, and sign up to have your site – pickled, too: we can pickle that !!
and yes !! that is local Lower East Side hero from way back in the hood – 80s: and now big Empire Broadway honcho – STEVE BUSCHEMI – on the ‘PORTLANDIA: Customers Only’ episode.
though . . . . . if pressed.
yes, if pressed, if I had to pick out one all time fave – I’d have to go with: PORTLANDIA: Put a Bird on It !!
but really every episode is ace. . . from ‘Dumpster Diving’ to bring ‘Your Own (shopping) Bag’ !! Portlandia – it just keeps on giving. Portlandia – rules.
in fact, I say Fred Armisen, (who plays Obama on SNL), and Carrie Brownstein – should take over for Barack and Michelle, for real . . . for a day or two, at the very least. get things back on track.
and when the Oscars get boring – you know where to turn.
PORTLANDIA – BOOM BOX !!
designed by DKNG Studios – on: IFC – PORTLANDIA website/POSTERS !!
MATT BUA – are you diggin’ it ?
p.s. the planet SATURN squares up with Earth – tomorrow – the 20th of January, 2012. no doubt about it. god of agriculture and all. ha.
in a new age nutshell: you reap – what you sow !!
and, yeah. I’m waiting big time on that – but maybe I shouldn’t be holding . . . my breath.
and oh, yeah . . .
the HSMG – Handcrafted Soapmakers Guild (!!) is holding their 15th annual conference in Portland, Oregon – this May 9-11, 2012.
just saying . . .
it’s a long story, let’s just say the DIY web query began with: dropped bar of soap down the toilet, how to fix ?
~PORTLANDIA !! |
Posted in Movie Reviews, The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | January 19th, 2012, 9:38am
from VANITY FAIR – JUNE 2011
photo: VANITY FAIR, June 2011
Yves Saint Laurent in his living room, Rue de Babylon, 1974. inset: Saint Laurent fitting a model, 1961.
below: Saint Laurent and his longtime companion and business partenr, Pierre Berger in 1983.
see: VANITYFAIR.COM
in an interesting little ‘HOT REELS’ article – published last JUNE 2011 – VANITY FAIR scribe A. M. HOLMES writes that not only is this film, ‘L’AMOUR FOU’ , “Pierre Thoretton’s directorial and documentary debut” but, more dramatically . . . “the two Pierres (filmmaker Pierre Thoretton and YSL partner PIERRE BERGE) were introduced by Thoretton’s former mother-in-law, actress CATHERINE DENEUVE, (!!) in the 90s.”
he goes on:
“Sometime later they began meeting for lunch every Thursday to talk about life. The portrait that emerged from their conversations is an intimate, elegiac celebration of the two lives intertwined”.
elegaic, as in sorrowful, yes. celebration ? no.
“The film begins with Yves Saint Laurent’s announcement, amid popping flashbulbs, of his retirement, in 2002; from there it cuts to Berge’s eloquent observations six years later at Saint Laurent’s funeral . . . and follows Berge through the sale of hundreds of art objects the two men collected over the years.
Berge, who was always behind the scenes, comes across as almost regal in his stoicism, his philosophical determination to separate the objects from the man. ‘I show that — but I don’t believe a word of it,’ Thoretton says. ‘Despite what he says, it’s just not the way he is. Selling everything was part of the grieving process. The memories were too large to live with . . .’
In 2009, Christie’s oversaw the ‘Sale of the Century’ at the Grand Palais, in Paris — the auction of the Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Berge Collection, which netted in excess of $450 million.
Berge’s reaction to the film, Thoretton says, was profound. ‘He cried. He said Thank you. And he said he’d learned things about himself that he didn’t want to talk about — because they were things he didn’t like.'”
yeah, like maybe he should have let Yves smoke a little medicinal weed ?? !! or bike ride ?
or, give it all away – in Saint Laurent’s lifetime – and run a school for under-privileged kids ?
beats me. but, about that house in Morocco . . . .
and yeah, it was kind of obscene to see him so unhappy, surrounded by so much wealth. I mean some people are happy just with one plant blooming in their kitchen window. I think after awhile the essence maybe gets lost in the numbers.
maybe he should have come to New York and rocked the contemporary scene. what they were collecting was so fusty and staid, anyways. this seemed to be a collection entirely devoid of life. L’amour fou, crazy love ? looking more like suffocating love, to me.
~more on: L’AMOUR FOU . . . |
Posted in Movie Reviews, The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | January 18th, 2012, 12:22pm
and the winner is: BILL CUNNINGHAM !!
both documentaries – ‘BILL CUNNINGHAM NEW YORK’ (2010) and ‘L’AMOUR FOU’ (2010) – are now out on NETFLIX INSTANTS.
‘BILL CUNNINGHAM NEW YORK’ – A FILM BY RICHARD PRESS/DIRECTOR & CINEMATOGRAPHER
‘L’AMOUR FOU’ – A FILM BY PIERRE THORETTON/DIRECTOR
REVIEWED BY NANCY SMITH, JAN 16, 2012
both of these fashion-world documentaries played to small audiences, when they were premiered – but maybe it’s time to check them out on the home screen – via Netflix.
one is the story of (growing) local NYC legend, the New York Times fashion photographer BILL CUNNINGHAM, still going strong at 83 !!
the other is the story of the fashion giant, YVES ST LAURENT who died in 2008 at the age of 72.
apart from the fact that the New York City film – is the better watch, the edit is better – sharper. the films are a study in contrasts. here you have BILL CUNNINGHAM a true fashion paparazzi – with a long trajectory to some sort of fame – for himself – as opposed to his famous subjects. with very little in the way of material goods, just him, his endless files of 35 mm photos, and his bike. which he still rides with great gusto and vibrancy through the streets of New York – in search of the newest trends and it-girls !!
and YVES ST. LAURENT who despite, or maybe because of an early rocket-ship career, with the resultant overabundance of material wealth and acclaim, a period of overabundant and out-of-control hard partying that he had had to put behind him, and enough possessions, homes, and artwork to initiate a serious auction – was tormented, depressed, burnt-out – and dead by 72.
Bill Cunningham is portrayed as the archetypal loner.
Yves is remembered throughout this film by his long time lover and business partner, of over 50 years, PIERRE BERGE – who in fact narrates this film – and sets its sad tone and depressive talking points.
BILL CUNNINGHAM, today. or rather at 81 in 2010. and yeah he’s still out there, on his bike !! with his (film) camera around his neck – as vibrant and sharp as ever . . . maybe it’s that bike that keeps him so fit !! his critical eye, honed on the streets for decades – is renown for a top-notch trend-catching take – that still can’t be beat. and maybe that’s also what keeps him so driven, and sprightly. chasing the talent and the scene.
tell me about it !!
ANNA WINTOUR has a few nice cameos in the film. the most striking thing she says, besides “we all dress for Bill” !! . . . goes something like this:
“we all went to the same shows, but Bill would see something, we didn’t – and then sure enough 6 months later – it was the biggest trend.”
you couldn’t say anything better bout an on-the-scene 24/7 photo street stalker !!
in the film Bill says, cutting edge fashion is just out there for the taking, on the street – all the time. it’s just a matter of being able to catch the moment. and the clues, it’s called: radar.
it’s also interesting to note that he had hands-on skills. He worked as a ladies’ hat maker – in fact he was a very stylish and accomplished milliner in the 50s – when he was in his 20’s in NYC. according to BILL CUNNINGHAM/WIKIPEDIA, his photographic career in the New York Times took off – when quite by accident he took some photos of a woman on the street in a coat that had caught his attention, despite it being “quite plain”. the woman ? GRETA GARBO !! . . . and “as a result of a chance photograph of Greta Garbo – he published a group of his impromptu pictures in the New York Times in December of 1978” . . . that would have made him: 50 !! late bloomer or what . . . if he’d been born any later – he’d probably have to settle for being a blogger. but maybe not, he made some interesting and very fiercely intelligent connections early on, and – well, you’ll just have to watch the film – for the lowdown on that !! DETAILS and WOMEN’S WEAR DAILY, included.
there’s also another golden info nugget in that WIKIPEDIA article, that goes . . . as a result of that chance photo of Greta Garbo, with which he began his long series of “impromptu photos” – that still run in the Times, ‘On The Street’, and his high society party column, ‘Evening Hours’, both in the Saturday Style section – Arthur Gelb, his editor has called these ‘impromptu’ photos . . . “a turning point for the Times because it was the first time (!!) the paper had run pictures of well-known people without their permission”.
so Bill lives very simply, and happily – alone – with only a cot to sleep on set up among his treasured photo-filled filing cabinets. and p.s. no hard drives for him !! hard copy, only. it’s fun to watch him work on the negatives, processed in a local neighborhood store, no less. and later on, banter with his ‘digital’ newspaper assistant – as they do the final lay-out.
one of the most fun subtexts of the film . . is people trying to determine if he shares a wealthy background with his more famous subjects – as he gets along so easily with them, NOT !! but another entertaining nugget is when the film watches as he cautions some major mogul – at what appears to be a big museum function: “careful, one handshake could mean a new wing.” !!
a very impressive first time project by New Yorkers, RICHARD PRESS and PHILIP GEFTER, you can read more about them and the other talent behind-the-scenes, here . . . ZEITGEIST FILMS
you can watch the trailer, and for sure . . . cruise the lively website: here . . ZEITGEIST FILMS . . . BILL CUNNINGHAM NEW YORK
a young kickstart genius by anybody’s standards – YVES SAINT LAURENT – was truly a rocket scientist. look at that face. he could be walking around Williamsburg, if not national reality TV shows, today. though the math seems unbelievable, he was only 17 !! when in 1953 he won a major Paris fashion competition, and not too much afterwards – – he was heading the house of Dior !!
the archival clips of him in the film – are astounding for his sensitivity and intelligence. and shyness.
later on he personally attributes his great debilitating depression to the fact that he came to power so soon, and missed out on some freedoms, along the way.
though of course there are pix of his ground-breaking chic chic fashions, as well as archival clips and contemporary interviews with his muses !! – this is not a ‘VALENTINO, THE LAST EMPEROR’, and too bad.
but it is something else, and maybe that’s ok, too. it’s a love poem of a very sad nature from his long time partner PIERRE BERGER, who is in fact telling the story. it’s a bit of a sad story . . . despite all the fame and glory, and houses and possessions. maybe there’s a moral in there, I don’t know. maybe they should have taken up – bike riding !!
cause you sure can’t take it with you !!
and it’s a lot of work – to unload !!
and funnily enough – nothing really caught my eye – as super great art, even as the decorative arts go. but hey, about that house in Morocco – !!
the young and radiant YVES SAINT LAURENT. . . burnt out by his 70s. but by some standards (McQueen) that was a good long ride.
they don’t seem to have a film website – but you can catch two trailers, here’s the first . . . YVES ST LAURENT – ‘L’AMOUR FOU’.
. . . . .
and here’s: the second . . . YVES ST. LAURENT – ‘L’AMOUR FOU’.
ALL PHOTOS – FROM THE OFFICIAL FILM WEBSITE (CUNNINGHAM) and YouTube (ST. LAURENT).
~BILL CUNNINGHAM vs. YVES ST LAURENT |
Posted in Movie Reviews, The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | January 17th, 2012, 12:24am
MARILYN MONROE vs. YOUNG ADULT
YOUNG ADULT WINS !!
but only – by a single strand of bleached blonde hair.
the determining straw: which is the best movie as a whole – both female leads: MICHELLE WILLIAMS and CHARLIZE THERON – are the stuff of stars.
‘MY WEEK WITH MARILYN’ – DIRECTED BY SIMON CURTIS and STARRING MICHELLE WILLIAMS
‘YOUNG ADULT’ – DIRECTED BY JASON REITMAN and STARRING CHARLIZE THERON
REVIEWED BY NANCY SMITH. FRIDAY, JAN 13, 2012
Don’t get me wrong, a lot of my movie pals thought MICHELLE WILLIAMS didn’t rise to the part. I beg to differ, I don’t agree with that at all . . . I thought she, Michelle was raw magic, pure incandescent and absolute Marilyn – in all her shatteringly brilliant facets. c-h-a-r-i-s-m-a.
t-a-l-e-n-t.
looking back I was thinking, maybe I feel so in love – because I saw ‘MY WEEK WITH MARILYN’ at the new NITEHAWK CINEMA in Williamsburg, after a typical Brooklyn weekend brunch, that is: whatever – and a couple or . . 4 Bloody Mary’s !! more importantly we got there early and NITEHAWK ran this incredible series of archival clips of the real Marilyn before the movie started, with no other distractions, ads or coming features to steal the thunder, I mean: wonder.
they even showed newsreel clips of the original London press conference that starts ‘MY WEEK WITH MARILYN’ , and is featured at the start of the film’s official trailer as well. and then NITEHAWK even went on to unspool numerous and really wonderful, totally enchanting archival clips from the original 1956 film, this 2012 movie is constructed around – the 1956 British production: ‘The Prince and the Showgirl’, featuring MARILYN MONROE and SIR LAWRENCE OLIVIER !! and of those clips, the most notable was …. the footage of the real Marilyn Monroe’s swanky swell solo dancing scene – in the shop !!
also duplicated delightfully – in the movie, at hand. it’s a bio – get it ?
so, long story short, when Michelle Williams hits the screen as Marilyn – departing her plane into the ‘fan’ driven madness of that 1956 press conference – you have had the ‘real’ celluloid Marilyn in focus, not the mirage in your mind – and maybe that helped me sync the visions . . . into one.
but no, just now, watching the trailer on the film’s official website weeks later, the magic was still there. the ravishing MICHELLE WILLIAMS was MARILYN MONROE – no doubt about it. no ifs, ands or buts – and I’m not allowing room for dissension. if the glass slipper fits, then wear it !!
where the film goes weak – is in how the (mostly very famous) ensemble of actors who support the plot – just go wooden. you can catch it in the trailer if you look hard. one dead give-away is DOUGRAY SCOTT – who really doesn’t make it as Arthur Miller. that’s for starters.
EDDIE REDMAYNE doesn’t totally inhabit his role, either. neither does KENNETH BRANGH as SIR LAWRENCE OLIVIER, nor DAME JUDI DENCH, nor even EMMA WATSON. the only supporting character who took hold – was JULIA ORMOND as VIVIEN LEIGH !!
ok. EDDIE REDMAYNE was good. he held sway in most of his scenes. but, just.
so what happened here, why the rest of the cast – didn’t take flight is hard to tell. did they want to deliberately tap these guys down to double-up on Ms. William’s glow ? if so, they hadn’t had to. was it the director, I don’t know. I just know usually the Brits can carry off a period piece like this, no sweat. it’s a piece of cake to them. they do it all the time and pretty swell, too – esp on the small screen in countess mysteries and costume dramas, so what happened ? put it this way: it’s not ‘The King’s Speech’ which is kind of the exact opposite to this – where you go in thinking you’ll have a boring ole time – and you come out in shock and awe.
watch the trailer, you’ll see the shock and awe in Ms. William’s performance – it could light a house on fire. but it’s like it’s nowhere to be found in the degree called for, anywhere else.
the movie’s website bye the way, is excellent in a totally British way . . . details the narrative, and explains film’s ‘conceit’ – definite worth the whole ‘site’ tour.
watch: the trailer, here – and check out the website, ‘MY WEEK WITH MARILYN’ !!
MICHELLE WILLIAMS is MARILYN MONROE, with DOUGRAY SCOTT as ARTHUR MILLER behind her – arriving in Britain in 1956 to make the ‘The Prince and the Showgirl.’
yeah – you only wish – she could melt in your mouth.
this is MICHELLE WILLIAMS – pretty much just the way her mythical M.M. character was – incandescent. the movie is based on a wonderful true story, and you can learn all about it – on that previous link – to the film’s website.
now, ‘YOUNG ADULT’ – delivers the whole package. could it be the young and up-and-coming, move-over !! director: the Montreal-born JASON REITMAN ? (hello Montreal – my hometown, too !!)
I bet the fab and way gifted writer/producer DIABLO CODY had something to do with that, too. I even notice JOHN MALKOVICH in the credits as a producer. ha. In fact there were a total of 5 producers, and 3 executive producers on this film – so, I guess it takes a village of talented people to make a great movie. maybe there was more ‘script’ for the cast to hold onto. maybe it was cast to perfection. I don’t know. I just know – it takes off, and flies solid and true all the way through.
CHARLIZE THERON is MAVIS GARY. to watch her tuck her little lap dog into it’s pink traveling bag, carefully and quickly duck its tiny head under the zipper, and then zip it up, with one flourish – – is to see Mavis having done this, and done it, her entire life. there is no entering a disbelief zone, you are already on the other side.
well, and yeah PATTON OSWALT as MATT FREEHAUF, o.k. the cripple – is incredible. . . as he watches Charlize/Mavis deconstruct and unravel . . . PATRICK WILSON is more than pitch perfect as Buddy – the big lug of an old flame Charlize/Mavis never really put behind her. but my fave is ELIZABETH REASER – as his new wife. and wouldn’t you know it – the coolest fem band drummer in town !!
if you want more on her part, read the DIABLO CODY quotes on the movie’s website !! “She’s really cool, she’s in a band. She sends Mavis over the edge.”
I also really liked the young COLLETTE WOLF, in a difficult role – as Matt’s kid sister, Sandra – who just adores Charlize/Mavis – and gets to give her those famous last words: all’s that’s wrong with you is – you gotta get yourself back out of this town . . . and, can I come along with you ? ( !! )
yeah, for sure: check out the website, though it’s trailer is very brief, short and pretty. the filmmakers’ bios, statements, and the film background texts – are very good.
CHARLIZE THERON as MAVIS GARY, if looks could kill . . . you’d be dead.
yep. CHARLIZE THERON as MAVIS GARY is about to throw a major fit and ruin the little baby’s naming ceremony !! big time. and yep, her nemesis, ELIZABETH REASER, as the new Buddy love – wife and baby mama – is just about to – you know what !! spill that red wine all down Mavis’ new silk dress. fab. fab, and more fab. hard role, Ms. Reaser pulls it off – just the same way she plays those drums – and that’s the reason ‘Young Adult’ wins, the supporting ensemble cast – is incandescent, too.
IMAGES FROM – THE OFFICIAL WEBSITES.
~M.M. vs. Y.A. |
Posted in Movie Reviews, The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | January 13th, 2012, 12:58am
SHERLOCKE – WINS !!
‘SHERLOCKE HOLMES: A GAME of SHADOWS’ – DIRECTED BY GUY RITCHIE, STARRING: ROBERT DOWNEY, Jr. and JUDE LAW
‘A DANGEROUS METHOD’ – DIRECTED BY DAVID CRONENBERG, STARRING: MICHAEL FASSBINDER, KEIRA KNIGHTLEY & VIGGO MORTENSON
REVIEWED BY NANCY SMITH, JAN 12, 2012
‘SHERLOCKE HOLMES: A GAME OF SHADOWS’ – is one sequel that does not quit. In fact it is so good – it leaves you panting for the next. Fast paced, with a great story – tons of action, way romantic settings, and imbued throughout with a dense and gifted production in every nook and cranny – it is a movie for all movie fans across the spectrum, but esp for quick-minded visual artists and graphic designers, to say the least. even the credits roll – with sheer audacity.
The sets are astounding, set in 1891 London – the mad crazy street scenes, esp turn-of-the-century Chinatown in London !! just rush into the solitary overgrown madness of the famous detective’s home office – without missing a beat, and the visual rush just keeps on giving. . . the breath-taking high mountain villa, built over a waterfall, is that a real place ? – is just jaw dropping.
the acting is sublime and the ensemble cast just mesh into one black velvet cape of a caper. not to mention that every time Robert Downey, Jr. and Jude Law come on screen – which is pretty much always !! – your heart does skip a beat. Magnetic, charismatic, totally taking over the plot and bringing these old literary characters to life again. A rich, ripe, ironic and true – cinematic magic life. It’s not so much that you get involved in the emotionality of the movie and the characters – it’s that you are swept up and surprised and damn well entertained !!
the seamlessness of Guy Ritchie’s movie – he is so better off without Madonnna, is he not ? – is shadowed itself – by a bookend set of wonderfully seamless !! visual puns, pulled off by Robert Downey, involving a full body camo suit of the most curious nature – – and that’s all I’m going to say. The trailer and the film clips might be consumed by the fierce acrobatic action scenes, but yo any artist, in any creative endeavor or field – of any stripe !! – is gonna fall hard for this one – esp in the final frames, ha. wicked. good one, couch potato, NOT !! RITCHIE !!
ok. hint: it involves a hood and some good ole Victorian upholstery.
post script: one review I read put the movie down – because it was “unbelievable”. my godz, to say that is to really miss the point. that’s what it’s really all about. get over that notion – fast. or miss a brilliant movie-making feast. the action is over-the-top – it is a thriller. and even the more so for being an historical thriller at that. but you can ride it, you can suspend your disbelief, and the plot does tie up rather outrageously, but in essence: neatly !! that’s the brilliance of the Conan Doyle stories, after all. and that’s why the foxy Sherlocke Holmes lives to see another – day. mile high rushing mountain water falls notwithstanding.
and if you like to follow that path, for sure hit IMDb – and scroll down to their Did You Know ? section. where they lay out some of the film’s anachronisms, continuity slips, ‘crew or equipment visible’ – caught by sharp eyed historian and/or film buffs. as for me, I’m still digging the running gag on Jude Law’s hand-made knitted scarf, and Downey’s book end scene-stealing – camouflage stunts !!
and p.s. although of course everybody is making, or trying to make media-wise, a big deal of the great gypsy tarot card reader NOOMI RAPACE plays, duh. I thought the low-key RACHEL McADAMS pulls off a terrific, totally believable, and graciously under-played humorous rendering of the long-suffering wife of Dr. Watson. who not incidentally makes being thrown off a train racing across a miles high bridge into the rushing waters below – well, a bit far-fetched – but absolutely and most maddeningly charming. well, that’s the walloping ride of a great movie, for ya – in a fast plunging, and most extravagant – nutshell.
bet Steven Speilberg wishes he could still make movies like that.
watch the trailer: ‘SHERLOCKE HOLMES: A GAME of SHADOWS’
ROBERT DOWNEY, Jr. in one of his disguises, this one – be it ever so tacky !! – it’s a wicked brilliant fast-paced game of shadows, after all.
JUDE LAW, who else could partner with Robert Downey, Jr. and come out – so on point ? droll is the word.
and, yeah. ya gotta love that hand-knitted rag of a scarf around his neck . . . tres beau. nice detail, wonderful production, absolutely top notch.
on the other hand, ‘A DANGEROUS METHOD’ – is absolutely the worst movie I have ever had to sit through, period. except for maybe some contemporary boring and way over-wrought French films. the worst production. the most boring adaption of an historically vivid moment that ever ruined the big screen. the production skills are zilch. the acting is even worse. the narrative is stiff and, I think annoying, is too kind a word for what goes on here.
once you’ve seen VIGGO puff down on his first cigar – you’ve seen it all. and I mean – he isn’t even good at that. they should have shown him doing Freud on coke (cocaine) – now that would have been not only a bit more dramatic and real !! but it would have given Viggo something to get into. acting range-wise, Ms. Knightley is just plain annoying, setting a most un-delightful tone that miscarries throughout. not to mention that she comes across as just plain ole desperate. her accent is the pits. no, she does not a Jewess, make. her jaw wrenching fits made me want to flee, right then and there . . . and if her movie-career can recover from this fiasco – I’d be very surprised. I mean unless you think seeing her full on naked, tied up to the 1920 era bedposts – is the cat’s meow ? ok. so she has her real breasts, is it just me – or does that not in itself a movie – make ?
MICHAEL FASSBINDER is such a woody one-dimensionally flat Jung – that he doesn’t even make it to wormy and deceptive. His performance was so un-nuanced and so un-inspired – it made me want to come home and throw out all my Jung books, and I mean that, tarot card manuals and all. there goes his rep, Jungian hi-end highly illustrated coffee table books be damned. and if cigar smoking ever had a chic – well, no longer. and for sure, take that Freudian clause – off your professional Dr. shingle, pronto.
the only thing that revived me after this clueless and stagnant hoax of a cinematic drama – was catching a real New York City – deli egg cream. and that’s not funny. or Freudian.
the only thing ‘dangerous’ about this movie is that the audience doesn’t come equipped with real rotten tomatoes to throw at it. what a ghastly over-written flop. if the guys who made this misfired production show up at the red carpets – shame on them. and throw the tomatoes – fast and furious.
watch the trailer: ‘A DANGEROUS METHOD’.
MICHAEL FASSBINDER as JUNG, and VIGGO MORTENSON as FREUD, and that’s about as good as this movie gets. once you’ve see Viggo chomping on a cigar – he doesn’t even seem to like it – you really don’t want to see it over and over again . . . not to mention with nary a facial variation, or even a big breathy exhale – to add a little old European spice. ‘A DANGEROUS METHOD’ is like an endless edit gone bad . . . way bad. boring and dumb. curious it could have been, big legends going down here.
so, don’t even bother – except possibly if you’ve got a taste for some celebrity S & M porn, in which case it’s rich fodder for hardcore KEIRA KNIGHTLEY fans.
ALL IMAGES COURTESY – THE OFFICIAL FILM WEBSITES.
~SHERLOCKE HOLMES vs. JUNG & FREUD . . . |
Posted in Movie Reviews, The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | January 12th, 2012, 10:38am
NOAH LYON LAUNCHES HIS NEWEST BOOK – THE COMPLEXITY of STUFF – a signed & numbered self-published RETARD RIOT project !!
this THURS JAN 12, 2012 – from 6-8 PM – at PRINTED MATTER – WITH SPECIAL APPEARANCES – by GG ALLIN and OL’ DIRTY BASTARD.
the book – in a limited edition of just 100, retails for $18.
each book is signed & numbered.
it is a hand-made, artist-produced staple-bound indie book, well, I guess that’s a zine !! – comprising of 32 pages, 8.5 x 5.5 in.
from the NOAH LYON FAN CLUB & PRINTED MATTER:
‘THE COMPLEXITY of STUFF’ began as a couple of staples and 32 blank pages. Through the use of acrylics, collage, and the occasional(ly) sharpie (!!) NOAH LYON has transformed it into something that appears cartoonish, but that would melt your brain if you tried to read it as a comic.
SO PLEASE join us in the dead of winter to contemplate death and other humorous topics such as racism, police brutality, sports, food, ninjas, end times, and ice cream.
NOAH LYON is a painter and provocateur who has a (well-known) fondness for using and abusing copy machines. His ubiquitous RETARD RIOT zines and buttons have topped the PRINTED MATTER best seller lists for many years. Noah lives in Brooklyn and Scandinavia with his wife Maria and their brand new baby girl – Elsa !!
PRINTED MATTER – 195 TENTH AVE – BTWN 22nd & 23rd STREETS.
and yeah, check out Noah’s website: the ever wild & animated: RETARD RIOT !!
and MOST DEF !! – scroll down NOAH’S BUTTON PAGE !! – WHERE YOU WILL FIND A MOST ENTERTAINING, SHARP(IE) GRAPHICS !! and very to-the-point animation !! – under: SUPER BADGES !!
and, yes !! – all !! – intended !!
~NOAH LYON BOOK LAUNCH at PRINTED MATTER – THURS !! |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | January 11th, 2012, 1:56pm
