WRLD: Oil fields, comics, curmudgeons, Kaurismaki, Pynchon, tanks, and ALTO!
Watching, Reading, Listening, Doing (WRLD) is an experiment in paring down artistic input/output into quick summaries to refer back to. Disparate inputs help create interesting output. Let's see what's been in the blender lately.
Reading
Charles Burns continues to amaze me with his unique vision in the 2nd installment of his darkly original, narrative-shifting trilogy - The Hive. Highly recommended.
The ASMP Guide to New Markets in Photography was worth reading for the 50 concise photographer biographies. Judy Herrmann's values analysis exercises are also quite good. The remaining material is a high level overview of changes in the photography industry, but the advice is rather general. Worth checking out from the library for photographers of all levels. May be of particular interest to photography students who don't already understand the industry.
If you enjoyed David Hurn and Bill Jay's On Being a Photographer, you might try tracking down Occam's Razor. What was true about the art world 20 years ago is even more true today. The photography world needs an articulate curmudgeon like Bill Jay to stay honest. I wish the photo blog world had half of his wit and insight.
Watching
Aki Kaurismaki's Le Havre blew me away. A bohemian shoe shine man protects an African refugee from being deported. Those of you familiar with Kaurismaki's long history of dour films will be surprised how uplifting Le Havre is. And the cinematography is fantastic. Highly recommended.
I really enjoyed this Thomas Pynchon documentary with music by The Residents. The film is a goofy speculation about Pynchon's choice to remain out of the public eye. Word on the street is that a new Pynchon novel called Bleeding Edge may be released this year.
Another excellent holiday gift (thanks ss!) was Cul De Sac. In 1995, a 35 year-old plumber and ex-soldier from suburban San Diego dug an 18 foot hole in his back yard looking for gold. Apparently meth was involved. He ended up stealing a tank from the National Guard and went on a rampage crushing cars before the police opened the tank and shot him. A really interesting meditation on the decline of the post WWII 50's suburban dream.
Listening
ALTO! is a three piece band from Portland, Oregon with Derek Monypeny on guitar, and Steven T. Stone / Kyle Reid Emory on drums /electronics. Somewhere between krautrock, outrock, progrock, and experimental. Listen to side one of the album on ALTO!'s Bandcamp page, download a track for free, or name your price to buy the whole album.