Artist: Camille Pissarro
Title: Les boulevards extérieurs, effet de neige ( Exterior boulevards, snow effects )
Year: 1879
Early Goya painting
November 2, 2009 - Leave a Response
Artist: Francisco Goya
Title: Winter ( The snowstorm )
Year: 1780
Le Renard
November 1, 2009 - Leave a Response
Artist: Gustave Courbet
Title: Le Renard ( The fox in the snow)
Year: 1860
Happy Halloween
October 31, 2009 - One Response
One of the last works of this great artist before he took his own life.
Artist: Bernard Buffet
Title: Squelettes travestis ( Travestite skeletons )
Year: 1998
Death
October 30, 2009 - Leave a Response
Memories
October 1, 2009 - Leave a Response
A man rakes leaves into
a heap in his yard, a pile,
& leans on his rake &
burns them utterly.
The fragrance fills the forest
children pause & heed the
smell, which will become
nostalgia in several years
Artist: Jim Morrison
Untitled
Hey guys… I’m back.
September 9, 2009 - Leave a Response
It took longer than expected, but now I’ve recovered fully. I’ve had the worst spring/summer in my life, but I believe it made me stronger so I guess what they say is true.
I won’t upload this blog as often as I used to, however. I simply decided to concentrate on quality rather than quantity. In the upcoming days I will decide what to do and how to do it. I am thinking about deeper showcases. I might throw in some more personal comments as well. I think I’ll update this blog weekly or once every two weeks or something like that, but with a stronger content. Since I will talk about fewer artworks, I might focus on those I love the most ( cinema and music ) but I won’t forget about everything else. I might also add some new “lesser” categories. As I said, I still have to think about it, so it might take some time. But anyways…
Let’s get this motherfucker started again. 
Will be back
March 17, 2009 - 2 Responses
I have become very sick over the last weeks and it will take some time until I come back here. My life is not in danger, but I must concentrate on my health at this time. This blog will not be updated until I feel 100% healthy. I believe that this blog will be updated again by the end of April, but it could go as far as June. I will not give up on this blog, I swear!
Fear
February 28, 2009 - Leave a Response
Do you run away from your fears?
Or do you turn around and fight them?
Artists: Massive Attack
Song title: Angel
Album: Mezzanine
Wikipedia article on Massive Attack
Going Out West
February 27, 2009 - One Response
Artist: Tom Waits
Album: Bone Machine
Year: 1992
Wikipedia article on Tom Waits
Le Fumeur
February 25, 2009 - Leave a Response
Do you ever stop and think about various things one after the other,
As if your thoughts were coming and going,
Like smoke in the air?
Artist: Paul Cézanne
Title: Le Fumeur ( The Smoker )
Year: 1885
Ryan
February 24, 2009 - One Response
Chronos
February 22, 2009 - Leave a Response
Chronos is a 1985 IMAX film made by acclaimed cinematographer, Ron Fricke. Through his time-lapse and slow motion collection of images captured all around the world, Fricke, with Chronos, analyses and questions the notion of time itself. It is an experimental and abstract film which forces the viewer to interpret what he sees in his own way.
Here is my review of Chronos I wrote on IMDB a long time ago.
” Space, time and matter. While the first might have started at the birth of the universe and the later is created and destroyed everyday, time stands alone. It cannot be undone and if there is anything that can resist time, it is time itself. In this sense time is the most mysterious. Is it even real? Is it only a creation of mankind to explain the beginnings and the ends? In Greek Mythology, Chronos is known to be the god of time. In this sense, Ron Fricke is trying to unite both conceptions of time through vast, open spaces and closed, personal areas. In his film, he tried to put the matter and space in perspective, showing that time had a greater influence.
When it came out, Chronos was considered as a very advanced, an “ahead of its time” kind of movie. The ground breaking Koyaanisqatsi was nearly 5 years old. The technical attributes of the movie were far greater than what could be found in popular, conventional cinema. The synthesized music was relatively new to the world and Michael Stearns was already establishing himself as both a leader and a pioneer in the ambient music department, even creating a particular instrument for the film. And of course, when Chronos came out back then, similar movies were hard to find.
Needless to say: Chronos relied heavily on the overall technology of 80′s.
Nowadays, the technical attributes found in Chronos have been beaten by other movies. Music can now be created with complex, yet easy to use programs by using extremely effective computers which can produce an almost infinite number of sounds, effects, etc.. And finally, there are many similar movies nowadays, and we can find time lapse captures everywhere from typical Hollywood movies to televised advertisements.
This now leads people to believe that this movie is unoriginal, lacking depth and that the music is not good. As ironic as it sounds, Chronos is slowly being killed by time itself, whether it be real or not. But that does not mean that the movie is now bad today. Of course, there are obstacles that the viewer must surpass in order to view the movie and to think ” Let’s compare it to other movies in the 80′s “.
When criticizing this movie, many people will compare it to Baraka ( which was made many years later, must I add ) and automatically point out the obvious: It’s always the same areas, the music is always the same, the overall “message” is lacking.
Fricke didn’t have the budget he had for Baraka. Stearn’s music was innovative and fresh at the moment and yes, there is a “message” in Chronos, you just didn’t take the “time” to see it.
In Baraka, the message concerning spirituality and humanity is easier to understand for a simple reason: Ron Fricke did it on purpose. The most important religions and areas of the world are shown. The whole movie is made in a way to connect with the entire world. In this sense, Baraka is a movie about the Earth and its inhabitants and what is around and beyond it. You will notice that in Baraka there are things you can easily understand and point out while there are others more obscure themes that you might not even notice.
Chronos is far more complicated for the viewer. While Baraka is still an experimental film, it is not an abstract film. Chronos is both an experimental and abstract film. In this sense, it is way harder for the viewer to acknowledge Chronos to actually have a meaning and to make something out of it.
This shows how Ron Fricke truly is a mastermind when it comes to giving other people the opportunity to come out with their own interpretations of his movies. A short comparison with Geoffrey Reggio ( Fricke’s partner ) can be made. While Reggio builds his movies on a specific message which make the viewer think after watching the films, Fricke chooses to make the viewer think while he his still watching. Most viewers will often try to find a meaning to Chronos after watching it or they will try to associate a specific series of scenes.
Of course, Chronos is not as good as Baraka. I believe everyone can agree on this. But everyone should all agree that Chronos was some sort of cinematic homework for Fricke. Not only was it his first own film, but he was also stepping on a different kind of path than Reggio’s. He actually found his own path, his own style, a cinematic trademark. And for this originality and advance in film, Chronos deserves to be considered as a good movie. Not the best, but one of the good. “
Wikipedia article on Ron Fricke
Saga
February 21, 2009 - Leave a Response
Artist: Saga
Title: Don’t be late
Album: In Transit ( live version ), Silent Knight ( studio version )
Wikipedia article on In Transit
Grand Duc
February 20, 2009 - Leave a Response
Artist: Bernard Buffet
Title: Grand Duc ( Eurasian Eagle Owl )
Year: 1958
Wikipedia article on Bernard Buffet
