Rituals of the Body: Marina Abramovic and Yara Arts Group
Olena Jennings05.08.10
Olena Jennings recently attended two performances, Yara Arts Group’s Scythian Stones at La MaMa E.T.C. and Marina Abramovic’s The Artist is Present, which is still running at New Yok City’s MoMA until May 31st. Viewers flocked to Abramovic’s show to witness the arduous physicality of her task (and perhaps some to experience a titillating squeeze through a couple of live, naked, statuesque women). Jennings, whose work focuses on Ukrainian tranlations, explains some of the ancient ritual body symbolism in the the two pieces that are culled from various ethnic origins, from Abramovic’s native Serbia to Turkey and beyond.
Success is not an Option: Postmodern Crime and Comedy in L.A.
Jim Ruland05.07.10
James Greer’s enviable big league career began as a music critic of such a high order that, well, shoot, he was asked to throw down the pen to play in one of the seminal rock bands at the fin/turn of the siècle. Then he wrote their biography (talking about Guided by Voices here, dream job). His debut novel Artificial Light unraveled the Kurt Cobain realm of rock star mythos, and in his sophomore novel from Akashic, Greer succeeds, with dark stunning wit, the story of The Failure – "Guy Forget…a harebrained scheme addict of the highest order." Jim Ruland reviews.
Music: Mi Ami
Casey McKinney05.04.10
Speaking of disco (in light of Francia’s Imelda Marcos piece) music was supra-fun for a while there, not long ago, as bands were rediscovering the…
Music: Super Furry Animals: Dark Days/Light Years
Casey McKinney05.04.10
Welshmen Super Furry Animals never cease to delight. They first had me with an infectious ode to Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky in Rings Around The…
When Disco Was the Soundtrack to Martial Law: David Byrne, Fatboy Slim and Imelda Marcos
Luis H. Francia05.04.10
During the 1970s, disco was wildly popular in the Philipines. Imelda Marcos had a dance floor complete with mirror ball built on the roof of the presidential palace and when visiting New York made appearances at Studio 54. Fittingly David Byrne’s double album musical biography of Imelda is backed by the clubby beats of Norman Cook/Fatboy Slim. While Luis Francia finds much to like in the music, he asks whether the project called for a darker edge. Is Here Lies Love an epitaph for Imelda’s tombstone or for those of the unknown numbers killed by the Marcos regime?
A Real Boy At Last: A Discussion with Artist Oscar B. De Alessi On Youth Culture, Representation, and Suicide
Jesse Hudson05.02.10
Baudelaire once claimed, "Woman is the opposite of the dandy." Artist O.B. De Alessi begs to differ. By combining figures like Oscar Wilde, Goethe’s Werther, Michael Jackson, Hamlet and a cat with the ability to predict death, De Alessi has crafted herself into a highly accomplished dandy with the added modern accoutrements of internet celebrity and suicidal ideations.
Party for Cryptic Latest McSweeney’s Tonight In SF
Casey McKinney05.01.10
New McSweeney’s Party Tonight In SF
Music: Bobby Conn
Casey McKinney04.30.10
So I keep harping on ‘old news’ here in some music recommends… hell Jack Hanley keeps putting Grateful Dead videos up still on Facebook so… and…
Art: Jesse Bransford : The Jungle (for Norma), works on paper
Casey McKinney04.30.10
Am stoked about this show. Two favorite persons and artists, Jesse Bransford and Karsten Krejcarek, made a journey together to the jungles of Peru…
Impermanence Opening at Hendershot Gallery
Michael Louie04.30.10
Former Barcelona resident, Fanzine contributor and Fanzine buddy Jess Shaefer just got a new gig as gallery director at…
