Francis Bacon at the Met

Q: "Why not paint a rose?"
A: "A rose is very mortal. When you see a rose, this beautiful rose that in a day or two is dying, its head is falling over and its withered. So is there a great deal of difference between a rose and my subject matter, really. I don't think there's anything horrifying about my subjects." ~ Francis Bacon


The audio tour was extremely informative, and I got to hear the artist talk himself. He loved to used this still-frame from Eisenstein's Battleship Potemkin. And I almost cried when I saw the triptychs he made after the death of his criminal lover. There is so much going on beneath these terrible corrupted surfaces.

Also, Michelangelo's first painting (at 12 years old!!!) is also a must see at the Met, while you can. I couldn't find a photo of my favorite demon, with the most hellish asshole ever. 


And I forgot/didn't know that they played classical music in the evenings in the lobby.

Lincoln Center - After the Storm

Dance Reanimation & SYTYCD 103

Nijinsky was one of the greatest ballet dancers of all times, but unfortunately he danced before the rise of film and went crazy at 29. So all we have are photographs of his famous work "Afternoon of a Faun." This French artiste named Comte made a few 30 sec movies about Nijinsky, animating thru the computer several old photos into an 'old film.' Remarkable in its idea, but it could really benefit by some basic animation principles.

And of course my pick of the week: Randi & Evan dance contemporary to "Koop Island Blues" choreographed by the overly-talented Mia Michaels.

Columbus Circle

To sketch in a public space is divine.

And if you are looking for a quick sci-fi read, try "Childhood's End" by Arthur C. Clarke. Sci-fi from the 1950s is always fun because sometimes the writers totally miss the concept of the computer and all their spaceships are piloted by vast vacuum tube robots, haha, which gives the story a nice retro-future feel. I like how Clarke touches on concepts of alien-contact, utopia, and racial memories. :-D

SYTYCD 102

This is not the couple I voted for, but they make for the more interesting sketch. I am a fan of Kupono and the Ballerina

Apocalypto

I watched Apocalypto about a week ago and I was blown away by the alienness of the Mayan culture.  How did Mel Gibson put together something so beautiful (he didn't, the costume designer did).  Anyway I really wanted to put some sketches together for tablet practice and I finally found time to finish.  The designer said they made all the color dyes out of natural plants found in Mexico.  And she faked all the jade, which was a status symbol.  These girls in the movie are the laughing debutantes of that gristly culture.  Amazing.  I think the coolest part are the jade-teeth and the 'scarification' which I had never heard of before.  Colour me Aztec.

PS - this commercial was too cool to pass up

Some Arts

Movies:
I went to a screening of $9.99 tonight, which is a Isreali-Australian claymation film by the cool NYU Tatia Rosenthal. It reminded me of the Dekalog, but only because it involves the community of one apartment building. Very cool, slightly creepy, slightly funny. Lots of philosophical points to dive into if you want. Sadly much too short, only about an hour long. It opens on Friday and you all should go see it, I think they are getting drinks after somewhere. Thanks to ASIFA East for making me feel like a VIP and letting me bypass a horde of movie-goers, with my cute +1.

Books:
I raided my parent's bookshelves in Massachusetts yet again and picked out some literature for summer reading (ie, to pass the time on the 7 train). I just finished "Tender is the Night" by Fitzgerald a few days ago. Wow, to be young and American and rich in the 1920's. When you achieve a certain social status, you can afford to delve into interesting psychological problems. Plus I loved each and every sentence of that book. Here is an example:
"Intermittently she caught the gist of his sentences and supplied the rest from her subconscious, as one picks up the striking of a clock in the middle with only the rhythm of the first uncounted strokes lingering in the mind."

"Fine Art" Comes to Queens
I finally had the chance to stop by 33rd St Rawson station on the 7 train, which is a stop away from where I get off. I had heard there was some art installation "raising awareness about the environment" and I was intrigued only by the possibility of there actually being art in my neighborhood. You can check out what the art was supposed to look like here but of course, my neighborhood was too ghetto for art and I believe someone slashed it. Haha, that's ok. We Queensies (?) will keep it rough thank you very much.

Giselle

Whole in the Wall

Aye dios mio. I went to the Helenbeck Gallery today on 35th n 10th to see "Whole in the Wall" which features great graffiti artists like Banksy and Blek le Rat. If you have time and are willing to trek out to some new part of the city, I suggest you go see it. Here are a few photos to give you a taste. There is just one room where they combine graffiti art with fabulous 17th cent french art, but it is totally worth it (free admission! open till june27th) the regular exhibits are well worth looking into as well.
Thanks to Gabby for conjuring up an address for me when my technologically-outdated newspaper clipping was blown away and I couldn't find the gallery.

SYTYCD 101

SYTYCD Fan Art! I'm trying to practice my tablet drawing skills

These youtube videos tend to be short lived, but here is it anyway. I have been a little busy with Borzoi-walking (more on that later) so I haven't had time to update my many ideas OR watch my favorite show: SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE. So enjoy this great Jazz number choreographed by Wade Robson about 2 crash dummies in love, danced by Kupono (the Hawaiin) and some girl. And music by GOLDFRAPP "felt mountain"

Discobelle.net

A little video sent my way from my LA sister. It's like Fantastic Planet + Justice.

BIRDY NAM NAM - THE PARACHUTE ENDING - CLIP OFFICIEL


Then I was just reminded that any Fischerspooner music video is great.

I <3 MGMT

So cartoonbrew.com finally tells me something i find exciting:

MGMT finally made a music video for "KIDS" which is my favorite song ever! And it's my family ringtone, which always puts me in a good mood to talk to my parents.

Here is proof of my utter devotion:


I remember when I first heard the song. It was on my techno Pandora music station, and I was offput at first by the sound of little kids. Now that I see the music video, I think they are totally fucked up. That poor kid... Check it out here

http://www.whoismgmt.com/kids/

The animation is pretty cool, reminds me of Super-Jail. But to be honest, I liked the Electric Feel video a lot better. Its like, Midsummers nite + college party.

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2384/2419243198_fc0491dd0a.jpg
so cute i'll forgive them for screwing up my embedding

Happy Harry Toons

I was chillin with my fellow intern and we were looking up funny Watchmen stuff on youtube and I showed him the "Saturday Morning Watchmen." Then we looked up for HarryPartridge videos and they are all great. It turns out that he also did "Irving the Socially Awkward Bee" which is also great and all the real animators at Anim-Collect watched last week. So here's a link and check out this hilarious animator.

The Future

Finally! Can you imagine a world of technology where no controllers are needed?

The HD version doesn't fit in my blog so I recommend you open it in a new window!

Gardening

For several years I have enjoyed tending to my little garden in Massachusetts. At first I found it a chore, so I would make up a story to go along with my actions. Finally, this weekend, it occured to me I had the facility to put it down on paper. Here is small peek:



NEWS UPDATE!
My new internship at Animation Collective has come to a swift end. Production on "Eloise in Africa" has been put on indefinite hold and all interns have been let go. I answered 5 phone calls, delivered 3 letters and created this blog during my time here. I will now update my resume.

Up!

I saw Up! today, in magical Disney 3D. (If kids were inspired by Disney Princesses, how are they handling 3d movies today?) I actually got caught up in the movie. Great action, very exciting. Two scenes I liked: The beautiful awkward moment when the young boy talks about his father and his step mom. And a hilarious moment when the Alpha-dog talks for the first time. I was laughing really loudly, but that might have been because the Pixar short in the beginning was hilarious and put me in a good mood. Pixar should get an award solely for the credits, because they make them beautiful and interesting every time.

A great review of the movie. Google Botero:
"In time Carl and Russell, an irritant whose Botero proportions recall those of the human dirigibles in “Wall-E,” float to South America where they, the house and the movie come down to earth. Though Mr. Docter’s visual imagination shows no signs of strain here — the image of Carl stubbornly pulling his house, now tethered to his torso, could have come out of the illustrated Freud — the story grows progressively more formulaic. " - NY TIMES

And now for something completely different: