Currently listening to...

..."Vessel," an amazing track by Siouxsie Sioux sound-a-like Zola Jesus, from her most recent release "Conatus."

http://zolajesus.com/

It's Time, Part Two

A favorite lie the Radical Christian Agenda likes to tell is that legalizing gay unions will somehow "destroy the institution of marriage", even though they are very vague on exactly how they think that will happen. Of course it won't destroy anything (letting women vote did not "destroy the institution of voting," and letting black men and women eat at the white lunch counter did not "destroy the institution of eating"), but they have to tell some sort of scary, apocalyptic lie to support their fear-based, bigoted view, and distort the truth. And that truth is that legalizing gay unions will only strengthen families, as shown here in this incredibly moving short film, "The Wedding Dance."

The maker of this film, Elliot London, is seeking funding to make a feature about bullying. He intends to give proceeds from the film to organizations that help protect LGBT kids from bullying. Donate by visiting this site:
http://www.indiegogo.com/myfriend

BEAUTY: Interiors

Manhattan-based interior designer Glenn Gissler has a fantastic eye for art and placement. I love how so many of his projects include arresting modern paintings or drawings, including a bed-side Louise Bourgeois sketch in the third image down. I would love to go with him sometime to source for art...


http://www.glenngisslerdesign.com/

BEAUTY: Ceramics

UK artist Anna Barlow is apparently a master of ceramics. She creates stunningly life-like ice cream treats entirely rendered in porcelain. These pieces suggest ideas of preposterous excess, consumption, and gluttony. Her fascination with food is detailed at The Bicha Gallery's website:

"Anna Barlow has always been fascinated by the way we eat food, especially by the rituals around celebrational or indulgent treats that have developed; the way they are assembled, displayed and then eaten. She is also interested in how food tells a story of the people and place it’s in. A full stand of ice creams could suggest a hot day or treats abandoned for some mysterious reason. The beauty of food left to melt and ooze holds a fascination for her. It is something that is usually over looked and temporary but this can be captured and frozen in time with clay and glaze. She has focused on ice cream as it is such a momentary and yet memorable treat that most of us have experienced and therefore can evoke memories of sensations and tastes, as well as prompt a fantasy of desired indulgences."


Top to bottom: Group Of Baby Bears; Mr. Much Too Much; Super Tutti Sundaes; Sweet Heaven On Earth

See her work through London's Bicha Gallery website:
https://secure.bicha.co.uk/annabarlow/profile.html

BEAUTY: Art

German graphic designer Catrin Welz-Stein uses found images from vintage photos and illustrations to create something entirely new and enchanting. She cites "surrealism, fairy tales, folklore and medieval times" as her inspiration.


Top to bottom: After School; Captured; Farewell; It Happened In The Moonlight; Silent Night; The Speaking Clock; Time To Say Goodbye; Watch Out

She does not have a dedicated website but she has a gallery page on Red Bubble.
http://www.redbubble.com/people/catrinarno

Sweet

Happy Valentine's Day

iamamiwhoami: "sever"

Jonna Lee's iamamiwhoami project released a new song and accompanying video today. Called "sever," the song is lovely and floaty--somewhat of a somber affair--and the video displays the imagination and production values of all the past iamamiwhoami videos.

In an empty high-rise apartment, with sea birds from the "kin" teaser circling outside the windows, the iamamiwhoami woman (I believe this is the Mandragora born from the white pot of dirt in "20101104") dances with a shaggy creature who may or may not be there. Is this the grown up version of the baby shaggy creature with Jonna Lee in the "clump" video? Recurring motifs: white interiors, stacked cardboard boxes, and a character in underwear.

It has been noticed by some fans that this Mandragora caresses her belly--might she be pregnant?

If you are unfamiliar with iamamiwhoami, do yourself a favor: go to their YouTube channel and watch all of the videos in sequence... and watch this mythical, abstract story of the Mandrake root unfold.
http://www.youtube.com/user/iamamiwhoami/videos

Currently listening to...

...the enchanting "Into The Sun" by Weekend Players. Such a shame they only recorded one album, 2002's "The Pursuit of Happiness." Rachel Foster's voice always makes me swoon... like silk velvet covered with honey...

BEAUTY: Art

Adrienne Dagg works in a figurative paradigm but there is something so lovely and almost otherworldly about her use of paint. Her style is intense and lively. Just look at those delicious colors, all yummy and present, like cake frosting. Yet she does not let the medium overwhelm the image. She says in her mission statement, "As I paint I let my materials show their tactility while working to keep these mediums from overcoming and dominating the image. Like the mark making of the early impressionists, my work is a balancing act between maintaining a loose hand and keeping the marks laid down controlled and deliberate."

Top to bottom: Fluidity; The Body; Daydream; Pigeonhead; Laurence

http://www.adriennedagg.com

BEAUTY: Interior

Alketas Pazis of Athens, Greece, runs Temporary-Showroom, a prop house for the filming industry (he has contributed to over 950 commercials and film productions), specializing in locating, rescuing, and reclaiming mid-century modern and industrial antiques. His home, immediately adjacent to his business, is also a perfectly curated collection of pieces that have been salvaged from hospitals, schools, gymnasiums, factories, and other such public, industrial spaces. It reminds me a cleaner, more stream-lined version of a set from a Brothers Quay film. It is such a specific, look... the look of a collector and his collection... a kind of neat and organized wunderkammer.

Here are some shots of Temporary-Showroom, which is virtually indistinguishable from Pazis' own home.

http://www.temporary-showroom.gr/home