Art & Life

SUBLET OUR PLACE: WINTER TERM 2010

2009-10-15T10:53:00.000-07:00

Classy place for 2 people for the winter term

A day in Venice

2009-05-10T12:35:00.000-07:00














*Sorry for the format of this post, technical problems...
**Click on the photos for full resolution

When I wake in the morning love..
 And the sunlight hurts my eyes..
 And something without warning love.. 
Bears heavy on my mind..

Today was like almost every other day I've
experienced over the past two weeks. I wake
up around 8:10 am for my routine shower in
my washroom which has no shower stall. Using
too much body wash I spend extra time using
a squeegee to mop the suds and remaining water
down the drain. Trying to brush my hair, I
curse my Quebecker barber and notice how
the increased humidity of Italy has made
my thick hair even denser. Taking my polo
off the hanger from which my clothing was
drying, I get dressed and pack my notes
and camera along with water and a sweater
for later in the day. Entering the kitchen,
my roommate Vikki has already made me bitter
coffee off a stove top, using a metal
coffeemaker. I complement this with yogourt
and Italian Cheerios, which in Italy are owned
by Nestle and taste less sweet. By this time
it's about 9 and I leave Vikki and my
other roommate Julia for work. On the
way we meet Lila and take the same 20 minute
walk that we do everyday, down from the
Santa Croce area of Venice towards Dorsoduro.














Passing the Academia bridge
I sometimesget the privilege
of seeing exquisite gondolas
parked close by. Noticing that
today was a particularly
warm day, I thought about
how I could reflect the heat
in writing. The warmth
combined with the heat
of the moment made me
want to blog, something
I hadn't done in over
a month. I began to think
of a song by Twista
that I had heard in Italy
a few years ago. The song
was about a lovely day with a
soulful hook sung by Anthony
Hamilton. What was it called
again??

I step through the Peggy's
secret, discrete,
entrance, typing in
the same secret code that
I do everyday. Vikki signs
us in, writing down
our names, and the time (9:20).
We make our way thorough the
sculpture garden, passing by
the same sculptures we do everyday,
Marino Marini's Pamona, a Sentinal
by David Smith...

Today was going to be fun. Because
of the weather, more tourists
would rather find themselves
at the beach instead of indoors
at the museum. For us as interns,
less people means less problems.
I look at the daily schedule for
this interns posted outside our
staff room just to confirm what
I already knew from the previous...
I was to sell tickets. This is my
favorite job because I can sit on
my ass all day instead of standing
which I do when I guard the rooms
of the museum. This means no
answering questions about the
peculiarities of the collection.
No "What am I supposed to see in this"
(from a British man referencing
Picasso's On The Beach, no this
was a serious inquiry and he so
was impressed with my reply
I had to give the same answer
to his wife). No "this title
detracts from my enjoyment of
the piece" (from an woman from Ottawa,
referring to Jackson Pollock's
Circumcision my thoughts, in the words
of Unforgivable BITCH I DON'T KRRR).
No, today all I'd have to do was practice
my French and move my hands accross
a touch screen. The morning went by
quickly and before I knew it I found
my self leaving for lunch with Claudio.
Walking towards a supermarket at Zattare,
I take in the sun. The same song keeps
playing in my head.
And the sunshine hurts my eyes...
It's called Sunshine by Twista feat. Anthony Hamilton.
What ever happened to Twista anyway?

Usually I pack my lunch the night before
but today I decided, or should I say
was forced, not to, because of my lack
of food. This wasn't a problem, for 4
euros I brought 2 peaches, ciabatta,
and 100 grams of San Daniele prosciutto
along with a drink. Walking back to a peer
over the grand canal I meet with a few
other interns to enjoy our meals and continue
tanning.

Arriving back at the musuem in time to put
my peaches in the staff room's refrigerator,
I return to my post behind the ticket
counter. The influx of visitors has been slow and
I have time to sketch out a view
of the museum from the grand canal
based on the cover of
the collection's catalogue.

Four hours pass, and Patrizia, the
woman in charge of selling tickets,
lets me leave 15 minutes early to go
help with the closing of the museum.
I move around the temporary exhibition
(mostly works by Jason Martin) and
clear out straggling visitors. I then
stand in the garden showing the
remaining vistors where the exit is.
One of them tells me to calm down in
Italian. After all the visitors have
left the museum, I help put
burlap sacks over the paintings not
protected by glass. This task is called
"pjs" and I candidly put the museum to sleep.

It's about 6:15 pm and
I find myself walking
with my coworkers towards
the same grocery store
where I brought my lunch.
The song stays in my head
and I start to think
about where the original
sample came from. I pick
up a lot of cold cuts
from the store, 6 small
roles of bread, beer,
hand-rolled ravioli,
olive oil, apples,
"breakfast juice," and Italian chocolate,
a diet without enough fruits and vegetables.

I carry my groceries back to my apartment,
which hurts my back and arms. Getting back
I put on my wifebeater and do pullups. Then I
research the sampled track. The artist, Bill
Withers (Just the Two of Us, also,the original
acoustic rendition of Ain't no Sunshine) the
song I'm looking for: Lovely Day.

Nothing could be more fitting.

Correspondence 2

2009-04-20T20:35:00.000-07:00

Hardcore Girls

Lynda Benglis. Untitled (detail from Artforum ad). 1974.

"For the invitations to her exhibitions Benglis used images of herself in various gender roles: posing like a man with her car, or in a pin-up style, submissive feminine role, for example." - from The Artist's Body ed. by Tracey Warr and Ameia Jones

Infamous in the history of modern art the history of feminist studies, this advertisement in Artforum has been called "brutalizing and exploitative." One thing's for sure, in the mid 1970s Benglis was a "hardcore girl."

Flash forward to October 2008...

The rapper Rye Rye might define herself as "hardcore." Probably not in the same explicit way as Benglis did. Project Bassline are pretty hard as you can probably tell by this REMIX that pairs Rye Rye's lyrics with some dirty bass synths.

Stay hard

Our House Music Society Podcast

2009-04-06T08:55:00.000-07:00

Check my mix out http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=292415506

(if the above link asks for an application, choose itunes)

If you don't like podcasts, you can just download my mix by itself click here

The podcast is free.

Kulture Klash handles the first hour, while I provide my services for hour two.

1. Above & Beyond pres. Oceanlab - On A Good Day (16 Bit Lolitas Remix) [Anjunabeats]

2. Jerome Isma-Ae - Smile When You Kill Me [Jee]

3. Jerome Isma-Ae & Roy Stroebel - Vila Nova (Max Graham Remix) [Electric]

4. Liluca - Naam (Paul Keeley Remix) [Discoteca]

5. 16 Bit Lolitas - Ceres [Hope]

6. Dinka - Wildfire [Unreleased]

7. Calvin Harris - I'm Not Alone (Deadmau5 Remix) [Fly Eye]

8. Jody Wisternoff - Starstrings (Dabruck & Klein Mix) [unreleased]

9. Lazee - Hold On (Adam K & Sohna Mix) [Data]

10. Adele - Hometown Glory (Axwell Remode Mix) [Pacemaker]

11. Attic - Release Me (Kevin Sunray Remix) [Unlove]

12. Pryda vs. Kanye West - Lockdown in Miami (Durkin & Kelly Mashup; Kulture Klash Edit) [unreleased]

DJ Phonix Guestmix

1. The Letter [Popmuschi Club Mix] - Disco Dice

2. Dopamin - Robag Wruhme

3. Sunshine Lover [James Braun Remix] - Small

4. House Arrest [Dub Mix] - Eric Smax & Thomas Gold

5. Tween Me & U feat. Blagstarr - Nadastrom

6. California Love [Big Na$ty Remix] - 2Pac

7. A Milli [Nadastrom Remix] - Lil Wayne

8. Turbo Love [Tough Love Edition] - Bag Riders

9. Monkey Business [DJ Bam Bam Remix] - DJ Dan

10. Rock On [Mondo Remix] - DJ Tom

11. Tearing Up This Club - 2 Bit Thugs

12. Homecoming [DiscoTech Remix] - Kayne West

13. Hustle Up [Albin Myers Remix] - John Dahlback

14. Everybody In There Place [AC Slater Remix] - The Prodigy

15. Stay The Same [Alex Metric Remix] - autoKratz

16. Kids [Pet Shop Boys Synthpop Mix] - MGMT

17. Lemon Head [Crookers Remix] - Clark Able

18. Smash Disco [Vandalism V8 Mix] - Vandalism

19. Gangsters & Models [Start The Violence! Remix] - DJ Wool

20. Space [Klaas Club Remix] - Micha Moor

21. Paper Planes [Alan Astor Remix] - M.I.A. feat. Wreckx-N-Effect

22. Lonely - Player Player

23. Ugodzilla - U-God

24. Buzzin [AC Slater Remix] - Shwayze

25. Coming Up - Collin Hobbs

26. Pof Pof - Electrojuice

Ouch

2009-04-04T16:08:00.000-07:00

Ouch!

Correspondence 1

2009-04-02T23:00:00.001-07:00

Felix Gonzalez-Torres created Untitled (Billboard of a Bed) in 1991. This image of his empty bed was displayed in 24 different locations throughout New York City. We have stumbled over a milestone in what is often mislabeled 'queer art.' For the first time, a famous institution, in this case the Museum of Modern Art, sponsored a gay artist and facilitated his success in conquering the urban epicenter that is NYC. Private and public spaces are merged as we enter into a setting of intimacy whilst being in the rustling theater of the city. The display is a commemoration, mourning the loss Torres' lover Ross, but it is also mourning the loss of freedom from interference. Many have forgotten the 1986 Supreme Court ruling that made gay men have no rights against police invasion of privacy. In 1996 Felix Gonzalez-Torres died of an AIDS related illness.

In 2006 Axwell (above) used the vocals of M.I.A.'s "Bucky Done Gun" and the instrumental of Digitalism's "Zdarlight" to make the mash-up Bucky Done Zdarlight. Instead of turning to the institution for support like Torres, superproducer Axwell gathered other people's music to create his own. The 'activist' rapper M.I.A. and electronica group Digitalism are fused into a new entity. When Gonzalez-Torres died, Axwell was coming into his own as a performer and composer, playing at gay clubs throughout the world. What if Torres could hear M.I.A.'s voice over the edgy synth and guitar of Digitalism? Gay culture moved from the bedroom to the dance floor in the 10 years proceeding the death of Torres. The intimacy of the scene remained, and both exposure and acceptance have grown. Looking at the concealed layers of song and art has provided us with a narrative. This isn't about 'gay art,' would you have know that was a gay man's bed if you saw it in person, or that Axwell's claim to fame involved playing at gay night clubs?

I didn't.

Sometimes things you love just have more connections then you think. I'm going to discuss with you two things which correspond and why it is they work together. The material being discussed will never be that similar, because there will always be a boundary between visual art and music. I'll never find out what either of these things are, but enjoying the two together makes me happy.