BEAUTY: (Virtual) Furniture--Kaveh Najafian

Virtual architect/designer Kaveh Najafian has used AI text-to-image program Midjourney to create a series of virtual chairs...which seem more like thrones. Some would seat a magical spirit king or queen of the woods, and others would certainly seat an alien from another world, or even dimension.

https://www.instagram.com/contingency_plans

It's Pool Weather!

Digital artist Massimo Colonna has revisited his past swimming pool series with some views of fanciful Brutalist architecture. There's been a renewed interest in this style of construction and these images are enticing...I think I want to take a swim in the second image down. I like the palms and the steps into the water.

https://massimocolonna.com/

Prints of these images are available exclusively through The Cool Hunter.
https://thecoolhunter.net/brutalistpoolseries/

"The Flow" by Markos Kay

Markos Kay is a digital artist who has created the generative short film "The Flow." This astonishing short film tracks the building blocks of our reality from M-branes to Quarks, Quarks to Hadrons, Hadrons to Nucleus, Atoms to Molecules, and finally Biomolecules to Organelles. Although the film tracks concepts in quantum physics and quantum mechanics, you don't necessarily have to understand the concepts in order to appreciate the unimaginable, staggeringly small nature of everything we are seeing. We currently do not possess any ways of seeing things this small and such ideas are based on mathematic models of reality.

"The evolutionary play of quarks and electrons resulted in nuclei and atoms. The computational outburst of atoms resulted into molecules and star systems. The intricate relationships between molecules created the fascinating entities of DNA, proteins and membranes. The interplay of which created the many species of cells, which through an inherent need to reduce their entropy and ensure their propagation would congregate into organs and advanced interacting organisms. These organisms would grow interfaces that would mirror their predecessors, and in a game of survival of the fittest would evolve complex processing capabilities creating virtual worlds, artifacts and cultural codes.

The Flow looks at the supervening layers of reality that we can observe, from quarks to nucleons to atoms and beyond. The deeper we go into the foundations of reality the more it loses its form, eventually becoming a pure mathematical conception. The Flow visually imagines physical processes that we are unable to directly observe with any imaginable medium, while referring to modern physical theories and scientific visualisation processes. It alludes to ideas of digital physics, complexity and information theories as well as the concepts of universal Darwinism, emergence and supervenience. The Flow is Bohm’s holomovement, the universal flux.

These visualisations are not based on actual scientific data, but are visual representations of scientific theory. The aim is to challenge current scientific iconography by presenting a more complete picture of physical processes, based on current theory. The form and movement of these visualisations is generated by 3D computer simulations of particle systems, fluid/soft body dynamics and spherical harmonics. These simulations create an unpredictable dynamic motion that is recorded by a virtual camera, that refers back to the stochastic processes that drive complexity theory.

Using biomorphism to evoke a sense of life, the microscopic-biological visual language portrays these invisible entities as active organisms, as embryonic processes of reality and life. They are presented as a seamless stream of interacting information, each layer building the next in a continuous everchanging state of flux. We ourselves are made out of these interweaving layers of reality, which makes us informational entity complexes.

The Flow proposes a paradigm shift, from a fragmented understanding of reality to a conceptually unified viewpoint of the inner workings of the universe. Through this new viewpoint one can discover patterns within the stream of reality but also raise the question of whether reality stems from a single unified field, like the implicate order or a holographic projection. This viewpoint also allows us to postulate how this flow unfolds into increasingly complex levels of interaction and how it gives rise not only to genetic information but also to entire cellular systems, consciousness and culture."

http://www.mrkism.com/flow/

BEAUTY: CG Art--Alexis Christodoulou

The photorealistic imagery of Alexis Christodoulou shows fantastic spaces that are dreamlike, enticing...I want to explore each of these places, rest in a conversation pit in a pasture, lounge by the water in a cave or quarry, descend the stairs into les fleurs immortelle...

"From a lifelong fascination of digital worlds and 3D graphics from playing video games a boy, Alexis became frustrated with the lack of modern aesthetics represented therein. The images he creates are a simple extension of this desire to see fantastic spaces come to life that echo a more modern and clean aesthetic."

https://alexiscstudio.com/

"Perfect World" by Katie Melua

This video for Katie Melua's "Perfect World" touched me deeply. It reminds me of the true, unconditional love I felt from my mom, and the state of innocence of childhood. She has been gone for 14 years now and I miss her still, every single day.

You're precious
I can't stand seeing you cry
It hurts
Watching you get what you don't deserve
I tell myself
You don't belong in this rough life
You should have a perfect world
You should have a perfect world

You're too gentle
And much too quick to forgive
Every slight
And blow you've ever been dealt
Well who knows
If the world will ever deserve you
You should have a perfect world
You should have a perfect world

And who knows
If the world will ever deserve you
You should have a perfect world
You should have a perfect world

http://katiemelua.com/

Exquisite video images by Karni & Saul of the BAFTA-award-winning Sulkybunny:
http://www.sulkybunny.com/

Just watched...

..."The Jungle Book," Disney's remake of their cartoon adaptation of Rudyard Kipling's books. Directed by John Favreau.

I barely recall seeing the animated 1967 version of "The Jungle Book" when it came out. I was around four years old and Poppy, my name for my great uncle, took me to the theater where I promptly fell asleep on his lap. Ya know, when you're four, that happens...but I certainly know the characters and songs from the show. It is part of the general popular culture. So when an actual live version of "The Jungle Book"--well, live with computer graphics--was announced, it seemed to be a good idea. And as it turns out, it is a splendid idea.

Computer graphics or CG have come light years in a short period of time. CG characters in the past tended to feel oddly floaty--their movements were annoyingly delayed, human faces tended to look alternately doughy or stiff, and the physics of how an actual person or body moves was slightly off (and it can still be that way...before "Jungle Book," I saw a trailer for Spielberg's newest film "The BFG" and while it might be a cute film, the giant looks all wrong). But the computer graphics of all the main animals in "The Jungle Book" are literally breathtaking. There are a few background animals that have that floaty sense to them, but all the leads are simply gorgeous: rendered completely realistically with each hair, each eye, each paw, each hindquarter looking real. I was quite unexpectedly moved at seeing animals who look so realistic speak English and behave in such human ways. I adore anything with fur and seeing Mowgli with his wolf mother, father, and brothers was, for me, very poignant and touching, taking me out of the story somewhat, making me think of the reality of animals and the reality of their world... I think the creators of this version of "The Jungle Book" probably had this poignancy in mind while filming. But I can't imagine they meant to take me out of the story the way I was...which I fully acknowledge has everything to do with me and not the film.

And it is this near-perfect realism and ravishing production design (the different locations from open veldt to lush jungle are all beautifully dream-like) that made me notice some schisms. First, I think it is an odd choice to include two of the musical numbers from the 1967 animated version, "Bare Necessities" sung by Baloo the Bear (voiced with lovely and amusing restraint by Bill Murray) and "I Wan'na Be Like You (The Monkey Song)" sung by King Louis (voiced by Christopher Walken). It's one thing to hear these songs in the 1967 animated musical context, and to see them sung by cartoon characters but they have absolutely nothing to do with the realism the current film strives so hard to create. The 1967 version was a musical, so I have no quibble with that but this version is not a musical and to see and hear these magnificently rendered creatures break into a Dixieland Jazz song is beyond incongruous. Especially when there is no Dixieland Jazz anywhere else. (Since we are being asked to believe in the veracity of the setting, it begs the question, "How did Dixieland Jazz get to the deepest, darkest jungles of India about 40 years before its invention to begin with?")

The second thing I noticed goes a little deeper and probably beyond the control of the filmmakers, and that is that, with a close-up portrayal of these completely realistic animals and their individual societies, cultures, packs, and relationships, the difference between animal and man was at once large and small. It's always been assumed that Kipling's "Jungle Book" stories were and are thinly veiled social and political critiques. But more immediately, they function as allegories and fables. And in any allegory or fable, an animal almost always has human characteristics. In this way, an author, whether Aesop or Kipling, can make wry, pointed, pithy comments about human nature without addressing any real human beings. It is easier to accept our foibles and flaws when they are pointed out in an indirect way. But again, because of the precision and exactitude with which the animals are presented in this most recent "Jungle Book," I saw the human-like characteristics of the animals as incompatible with how the writers of this version wanted things to be: animals are wary of man, told to stay away from man villages, and that man is destructive, and hunts for sport. Yet Shere Khan the tiger (voiced here by Idris Elba) is a jealous, vindictive murderer. And Louis is a sadistic ego-driven rage-aholic. Some might accuse me of overthinking it, but I was really struck by the disparity of the nature-documentary quality of the animals and the human ego quality of their behavior. Aside from some primates who have been seen committing murder, and perhaps Orcas who we know do kill for the fun of it, the animal kingdom is gracefully ego-free. "It's a dog-eat-dog world" we say. "It's a jungle out there" we say. But generally, the only time real animals kill is for food, or to protect themselves or their young from becoming food. On a deep level, it was disappointing for my psyche to feel that these lovely animals were behaving just like the worst aspects of human beings--I mourned that fact. And I know that if the CG rendering team had not made them so spectacularly life-like, I would not have had that feeling.

But I do not want to leave you feeling that I disliked the film overall. Certainly not. It's a visual splendor and the pace is perfect for an adventure story. Also of note is the wonderfully fine performance of newcomer Neel Sethi as Mowgli. To think that this eleven year old boy spent many weeks acting all by himself on a green screen set (probably along with some motion capture actors) and came up with such a charming, sensitive, varied performance is extremely impressive.
Recommend? Yes.

http://movies.disney.com/the-jungle-book-2016

"Animation" by Young Juvenile Youth

Singer/songwriter Yuki and producer Jamapur are Young Juvenile Youth, a Japanese music group.
This is a new song "Animation" which will be released on iTunes later this month, the 27th of April, 2015.
The camera swings like a pendulum, hypnotizing...the song slowly pulses...and Yuki's softly urgent voice murmurs...

http://www.yjymusic.com/

Boundaries

"The Boundaries which divide life from death are at best shadowy and vague. Who shall say where the one ends, and where the other begins?"
--Edgar Allan Poe

The Future Landscape of London

Filmmaker Jonathan Gales calls his short film "Megalomania" a "response to the state of infrastructure and capital." Why call it "Megalomania?" That word means a mental illness marked by delusions of greatness, wealth, power, and grandeur.

London has, over the last 20 years or so, experienced, and still is experiencing a boom in its skyline. Witness the construction of monuments like the Millennium Dome and 30 St. Mary Axe (also referred to as "The Gherkin"). And nearing completion in Southwark near London Bridge is The Shard (seen below), a Renzo Piano-designed 95-story, mixed-use building that, even in its present unfinished state, is currently the tallest building in the EU. It is scheduled to open to the public this year, in June, 2012.

But the London of this film seems to be far off in the future...a cautionary tale indeed. This is a future where the money has run out, there is no more room, half-completed structures are torn down to make way for other, newer buildings, and people have to create make-shift habitats out of old buildings. It reminds me of current day Hong Kong or even Dubai, a city possessed by a true architectural megalomania, over-reaching and delusional. Just look at the disaster that is the Burj Dubai, or the Burj Khalifa as it is now known.

".The Third & The Seventh."

This heart-stoppingly gorgeous, non-narrative, thematic film by Alex Roman is a meditation on architecture as art, where we see several famous buildings (Mies van der Rohe's Barcelona Pavilion, Frank Gehry's Guggenheim Bilbao Museum, and Calatrava's Milwaukee Art Museum) in a day dream of slow motion beauty. Please do yourself a favor and click the full screen option.

Now, here's the kicker: it is a FULLY ANIMATED CG FILM.

http://www.thirdseventh.com/

"Nuit Blanche"

Directed by Arev Manoukian
http://www.arev.ca/

BEAUTY: Photography--Claudia Rogge

Claudia Rogge's mesmerizing use of digital layering in her photography creates dizzying patterns of people and movement. The scenarios are rife with conflict and invoke ideas of governments, wars, religions, and humanity.


http://www.claudia-rogge.de/

Just watched...

...“9” written and directed by Shane Acker.



This animated feature produced by Tim Burton follows a group of nine burlap rag dolls in a post-apocalyptic retro future. A war between AI (artificial intelligence) machines and mankind results in the destruction of every living thing on earth. During this war and shortly before the human race and indeed all life is destroyed, a scientist discovers a way to create life—or rather to impart pieces of his own life force into a set of rag dolls made of burlap and found objects. He wants life to continue. “We had such potential. Such promise. But we squandered our gifts. And so, 9, I am creating you. Our world is ending. Life must go on,” he says.

The little dolls must use their wits to battle a killer machine called The Beast and ultimately the source of all AI hostility and cause of the destruction of mankind, a machine called The Brain.

The look of the film is surely Burton-esque, and the animation is quite nice with a lot of lovely detail, along the lines of Pixar’s delightful and touching “Wall-E,” but despite the sweet earnestness of the little dolls, the story seemed a tad derivative. The war between man and machine reminded me of the premise of “The Matrix” series. Some of the machines in “9” even resemble the attack machines that characters in “The Matrix” called Squiddies. Setting the war in a sort of alternate past-future was a nice touch too, but that seemed to come from something else as well. World War I tanks and World War II planes battling deadly futuristic machines seems like the sort of mash-up that we saw in “Watchmen.”
Still the story was entertaining enough but lacked sufficient content to feel like an actual story. With a running time of seventy-nine minutes, it flies by, feeling more like a short film, promising more to come when it is fully fleshed out.

Recommend? Um…I guess so…if nothing else in your Netflix queue.

Fragrances by Comme des Garçons

The brilliant Brothers Quay have created a short film for Comme des Garçons' June 2010 launch of a new fragrance called Wonderwood. It is classic Brothers Quay, featuring stop motion animation and nature imagery, but mixed with a new, wavy, fun-house-mirror optical style that is reminiscent of some of the iamamiwhoami videos.

And after discovering Wonderwood, I came across this gorgeous promotional video titled "Mnemosyne" for a scent called Daphne, a 2009 collaboration between heiress, artist and fashion icon Daphne Guinness and Comme des Garçons. Co-directed with David Parker, Guinness says that the film is not strictly promotional but a stand alone art piece merely inspired by the fragrance since it does not show any graphics or logos and does not mention the perfume.

Comme des Garçons website