THE MACHINE from Bent Image Lab on Vimeo.
A film by Rob Shaw (2009)

As a parent, the bus is pretty cool too, cause you get to hang on to your child, have them on your lap. No seat belts, no separation. If something passes by on the other side of the bus and it’s not crowded, you can just go there and look at it. It’s a pretty radical change from the normal constraints of a car…

We got out on third and went into the museum. And I have to admit, somewhat abashedly, that this was my first time since the new building, expansion, and renovation (May 5, 2007) that I have been there.

What a pleasure. So big and open and clean and full of light. So much room.

We didn’t linger…not with the kids. It was straight up to the Calder exhibit which was number one for me as I’ve always loved his work.

The space and the limited number of folks there Saturday morning was great. We could all walk anywhere we pleased pretty much around the big painted circles demarcating boundaries below the mobiles. Dylan was pretty into it, Lila was asleep at this point I think, and Jill and I were daydreaming around with all the shadows and shapes moving along the walls. So many flowers everywhere and celestial bodies.

It’s so wild to see an object with multiple lives. the object itself and then the dynamic life of moving shadows. There are some amazing pieces in this exhibit.

It is supplemented with some photos of Calder working; portraits of him in his chaotic studio set in calm NY farm land. But to top it all or really to provide a glimpse of Alexander Calder himself was the movie showing in the back room. Jill fed Lila and Dylan and I plopped down right on the floor rapt with joy and wonder at this amazing movie of him performing his traveling circus.

The man’s joy for and attention to life rollicks around this film and it’s “characters” wire, cork, cloth figurines made mobile, suddenly incarnate with the pull of a string. It’s impossibly ingenious and joyfully intoxicating. I recommend going if only for this film…but of course you’d get to see the work too. Watching this, one understands that Calder is a figurative master. He evokes the movement and shape and muscles of a trotting horse or the barbell-lifting strongman with wires and wheels. Amazing.

Alexander Calder performing le cirque

I’ve included links to a very similar version to the one they are showing @ SAM, but it’s not the same at all. Much of the effect is lost and I recommend soaking in the man’s work and then seeing le cirque!

Calder Le Cirque Clip 1
Calder Le Cirque Clip 2

Movie info from YouTube: “Carlos Vilardebo’s 1961 film of Alexander Calder’s “circus,” an intricately assembled performance piece played out by handmade characters including jugglers, sword swallowers, clowns, and animals. These figures, crafted from a collection of “cork, wire, wood, yarn, paper, string, and cloth,” were each assigned a series of movements and manipulated by the artist to perform specific circus acts. With performances held at various locations in Paris and New York through the mid 1930s, Calder’s circus helped to establish him in avante-garde circles. Jean Cocteau, Joan Miró, Fernand Léger, Piet Mondrian, Le Corbusier, Thomas Wolfe, and André Kertész were among those who saw the celebrated Cirque Calder over the years.AAA “

The Paramarker
The paramarker talks about his new gear.

Mark sent around a film today…Cruise-azy! And about skiers! It’s from a site called extranormal.com: “if you can type, you can make movies.” Cool.

http://www.anabenaroya.com/ — art of Ana Benaroya.

http://www.behepp.com/ — Photos, findings, and art of Elizabeth Heppenstall.

http://silhouettemasterpiecetheatre.com/ — the silhouette art of Wilhelm Staehle. (Good quips on his twitter page too!)

In this video (thanks Ben!), Danny MacAskill takes things to another level entirely. Parkour meets streets trials riding. Gonsalve brothers, Rad Al, where are you now?? You’d all appreciate this one!

The “more info” write up from “inspired bicycles” who posted this vid on YouTube:
inspiredbicycles
April 19, 2009
(less info)

Filmed over the period of a few months in and around Edinburgh by Dave Sowerby, this video of Inspired Bicycles team rider Danny MacAskill (more info at www.dannymacaskill.com) features probably the best collection of street/street trials riding ever seen. There’s some huge riding, but also some of the most technically difficult and imaginative lines you will ever see. Without a doubt, this video pushes the envelope of what is perceived as possible on a trials bike.

Credit to Band of Horses for their epic song ‘The Funeral.’ You can find out more about the band and their music at www.bandofhorses.com…

A little research told me more about this band, but also more about this unforgettable, incredibly emotive voice with a wavering tremelo and soulfulness that reaches right down to your heart and once there is tender with it, compassionate, empathetic with your yearning and desires. And this is the voice of Antony Hegarty.

So the Hercules & Love Affair album, after two listens, is good. It’s interesting and I look forward to seeing how it ages. I’ve read it described as new disco which is accurate enough. Antony sings on about half the songs.

But what it really brought to mind was Antony’s stunning performance of “If it be your will” in the documentary/performance film about Leonard Cohen called I’m Your Man. This performance was the clear standout best of the film for me. Brought tears to my eyes. It was so unexpected. I had no idea who this sexually ambiguous person in a Robert Smith getup was at all, but boy could he belt it out. Just bowled me over and washed me clean. Enjoy!

the film quality is pretty stunning.

—Giora

Couldn’t agree more…

The Man Who Skied Down Everest is a documentary about Yuichiro Miura, a Japanese alpinist who skied down Mt. Everest in 1970. He skied 6,600 feet (2000 m) in 2 minutes and 40 seconds and fell 1320 feet down the steep Lhotse face from the Yellow Band just below the South Col. He used a large parachute to slow his descent.

—YouTube synopsis