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SQUARES BY RICHARD ANUSZKIEWICZ
Artists who make a career out of minimalism always seem to fascinate us. Interestingly enough, those artists behind some of the most iconically minimal works didn’t always begin with that particular aesthetic in mind. Before Mondrian was working in primary colors, he was painting landscapes. Before the soup cans, Warhol was illustrating children’s books. I suppose sometimes you have to do a lot to do a little, or more specifically, you have to try a lot of things, before stripping your craft down to what really feels essential.
One such artist is Richard Anuszkiewicz, who along with artists like Victor Vasarely and Bridget Riley, became one of the foremost figures in Op-Art, as the style rose to prominence in the ’60s and ’70s. Most centrally, Anuszkiewicz’s work focuses on bright colors, lines and geometric shapes and the interplay of those basic elements in the viewer’s visual field. A better way of elucidating that point might be to suggest simply looking at one of his pieces up close, and noticing the optical effects. Since it seemed only appropriate to keep things simple with this one, below is a brief collection, all squares, from Anuszkiewicz’s famed op-art period.
August 15, 2011
ASAP ROCKY – “PESO”
There’s something very peculiar about Asap Rocky. Perhaps it’s his hazy, weed-induced raps that resemble something one would normally hear out of Houston. However, Rocky’s from Harlem. Or perhaps it was the girl in the “Purple Swag” video with the golds in her mouth, or the high fashion co-signs interspersed throughout Rocky’s lyrics. Perhaps it’s the juxtaposition of it all. Or dare I say, the swag? Regardless, Asap Rocky’s in effect and we’re listening. With two singles under his belt, and his debut mixtape LIVELOVEASAP on the way, this might be the first, but not the last time you’ll hear the name Asap Rocky.
August 14, 2011
THE NECKLACE NEBULA
There’s something vaguely inspiring about these images. Maybe it’s the mere fact that an entire solar system, nine light years long, can be reduced in our visual field to resemble a necklace. Maybe it’s something about the vastness of human potential, and how the Hubble Telescope, a human invention can give us a glimpse at something so far away. Or maybe it’s that cliche saying that looking into the sky is like hopping into a time machine, replaying events that unfolded thousands of years ago. All my Sagan-inspired, amateurish description aside, the Necklace Nebula, recently captured in all its glory by the Hubble Telescope, is a pretty extraordinary sight. Read on for some more official insight.
August 14, 2011
LONDON CALLING: YOUTH REBELLION IN THE UK
Martin Luther King once famously said, “a riot is the language of the unheard”. Watching numerous reports surfacing over the past week from the UK’s capital, I think it’s safe to say that the presence of Britain’s youth has been felt, even if their rallying cries haven’t always been articulate. One side of the story comes from England’s conservative politicians and high society, who might suggest that the riots are the product of eroding family values, and an underclass of urban youth bent on wreaking havoc on polite society.
Another, and probably more convincing story, however, might take into account vast disparities in income equality, widespread economic turmoil, an unruly and often despised police force and massive spending cuts, which decimated funding for youth programs, among other things. One Guardian article highlighted the fact that 44% of children in London’s Hackney Borough now live below the poverty line. The article also evoked a recently popularized African adage on British social media: “If the young are not initiated into the village, they will burn it down just to feel its warmth.” A series of events like this one is rarely simple enough to frame easily. But the discussion is important. And hopefully the images below can help to provide some context.
August 13, 2011
JAY-Z & KANYE WEST – “OTIS”
By now, I feel like most of us are coming to appreciate Watch The Throne for what it is. Two artists, arguably at the top of their industry, coming together to make music. Is it classic? I suppose only time will tell. Although when you’re walking down the street and you hear “H.A.M.” and “No Church” coming out of two different cars in the same three block radius, it’s hard deny the influence these two artists have. Last night the duo dropped visuals for “Otis”, much to the delight of bloggers and hip hop fans worldwide. Jovial in essence, it seems like Jay and Yeezy aren’t worried about too much these days. And that’s the way it should be.
August 12, 2011
PORTRAITS BY ANJA
Undeniably chic, and pleasantly suggestive, the illustrations of Belgium born illustrator Anja Van Herle serve to capture the essence and flavor of high fashion from the 70′s. Painting many of her pieces on wood using acrylic paint, Anja’s women are not only intriguing but sexual. But then again that’s only my interpretation. “I’m constantly delighted by the various interpretations my work receives,” states Van Herle. “For some, a subject may be pensive, while to others it may be seductive or confrontational. Part of the viewing experience is for a viewer to attach his or her own emotional meaning to a work.†Juxtaposing the facial expressions of her work with vibrant color and light, Anja’s illustrations express a variety of feelings that play with the meaning of femininity and high fashion.
August 11, 2011
PROJECT NIM: THE CHIMP WHO WOULD BECOME HUMAN
Where do we draw the line between human and animal? For anyone who’s ever felt they connected, communicated with, or understood a pet or another animal, it’s a question you’ve probably explored before. For Nim Chimpsky, exploring the complexities of that question shaped every aspect of his life. Originally conceived by Columbia professor Herbert S. Terrace in 1973, Project Nim placed Nim, a chimpanzee, in a human family, raising him in many ways as a child, in an attempt to refute linguistics expert Noam Chomsky’s theory that language was inherent only to humans.
Project Nim, released just a few weeks ago in select theaters traces the story of Nim, his family, and the pseudo-scientific research that came to characterize the study as a whole. That Nim had an lasting, immense emotional impact on the people around him makes his story powerful. The impact the study had on Nim, on the other hand, make his story disturbing, a testament to the limits of scientific inquiry, or simply a cautionary tale about the implications of truly delving into such a complex question. Either way, this is looking like a must see. Hit MORE if you need more convincing though.
August 9, 2011
TO THE CHILDREN OF TROY
I’m not sure I ever quite realized how dope the library was when I was younger. I had my card, and occasionally I’d stop by with my folks and sift through the endless supply of volumes available at one of a few Berkeley branches. This of course, was the early ’90s, and soon enough, AIM, and Napster would take their place next to TV, executing an effective coup d’etat over my fledgling attention span. Now, in the era of Kindles and iTouches, spending cuts and budget issues, libraries are in trouble nationwide. I suppose that’s why this project struck a chord.
In the spring of ’71, the town of Troy, Michigan would see its first public library open its doors. In an attempt to show local kids the value of libraries, and the enjoyment theirs could bring them, an ambitious librarian named Marguerite Hart devised a plan. Sending out thousands of letters to famous and influential public figures, Hart was humbled by the response, receiving letters, each addressed to the children of Troy, from dozens of cultural icons, including Dr. Seuss, Isaac Asimov, Saul Alinsky and EB White, to name a few. Below are a few of the letters in their original form. Might be time to do something like this.
August 9, 2011
NEON INDIAN – “POLISH GIRL”
Let me preface this by saying this shit is just too groovy. Last summer, I got the chance to catch Alan Palomo’s Neon Indian project take over a corner of North Beach, alongside Janelle Monae at SF Weekly’s All Shook Down festival. I had heard Psychic Chasms, including “Should’ve Taken Acid With You” and of course I was well aware of his standing alongside Toro and Washed Out as the supposed luminaries of an impending chillwave movement.
What I hadn’t quite anticipated was how dope the show would be. I had this moment where I looked around, and saw pretty much only sunshine, clouds of weed smoke, and smiling faces, and I got the idea in my head that they might just be around for a while. And now, after the critical conflation that attempted to squeeze those three artists into an imaginary box, Neon Indian has, like the other two, found their own unique stylistic niche. And “Polish Girl”, leaning as much toward ’80s analog synth as it does dreamy pop, is a perfect example.
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Download: Neon Indian – “Polish Girl”
August 9, 2011
KOBE AT 16
I’ve really gotta pat myself on the back for keeping these Kobe posts to a minimum on the Bowties. You know how much of a fan I am. And I also know how much some of you hate him. But polarizing figures can be compelling, hence why we choose to celebrate them. Conducted during his junior year of high school, this short interview captures Bryant in the midst of his teenage years. Captured five years before he touched his first championship ring, and eight years before the incident in Eagle County, this video now serves as a relic of the past. Gaining significance through hindsight, it’s crazy to see where he started, but even crazier to see what he’s become.
August 8, 2011
WHAT THE INTERNET IS DOING TO OUR BRAINS
An excerpt from Nicholas Carr’s The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains.
In 1964, just as The Beatles were launching their invasion of America’s airwaves, Marshall McLuhan published Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man and transformed himself from an obscure academic into a star. Oracular, gnomic, and mindbending, the book was a perfect product of the sixties, that now-distant decade of acid trips and moon shots, inner and outer voyaging.
Understanding Media was at heart a prophecy, and what it prophesied was the dissolution of the linear mind. McLuhan declared that the “electric media” of the twentieth century–telephone, radio, movies, television– were breaking the tyranny of text over our thoughts and sense. Our isolated, fragmented selves, locked for centuries in the private reading of printed pages, were becoming whole again, merging into the global equivalent of a tribal village. We were approaching “the technological simulation of a consciousness, when the creative process of knowing will be collectively and corporately extended to the whole of human society.” Even at the crest of its fame, Understanding Media was a book more talked about than read. Today it has become a cultural relic, consigned to media studies courses in universities. But McLuhan, as much a showman as a scholar, was a master at turning phrases, and one of them, sprung from the pages of the book, lives on as a popular saying: “The medium is the message.”
August 5, 2011
DRAKE – “HEADLINES”
If Drake really “hates singles” as he expressed a few weeks ago, he’s pretty good at churning them out. Though “Headlines” isn’t exactly your typical, industry-standard single. More than that, it’s one side of Drake’s musical and lyrical identity magnified and distilled. Triumphant, self-congratulatory and yet somehow reflective and even introspective. “I think I’m too strung out on compliments, overdosed on confidence” he tells us, before telling us “I had someone tell me I fell off, ooh I needed that”.
If “Headlines” basically functions as a forum for shit-talking, a few lines suggest that he has the wisdom not to buy into his own hype blindly. Once again, this is Drake doing what few other megastars not named Kanye are capable of: making unfathomable fame feel human.
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Download: Drake – “Headlines”
August 5, 2011
ESCAPING THE KARAOKE WORLD: A DAY WITH REBEKKAH CASTELLANOS
Chatting over a cup of gelato, I recently had the chance to talk with Rebekkah Castellanos about life, her pursuits, and Lil’ Wayne among other things. A native of Diamond Bar, California, Rebekkah has immersed herself in the realm of photography and visual arts, already building an impressive portfolio for herself at the ripe age of 19. Even better in person, Rebekkah is as just as impressive when she isn’t behind the camera, as her demeanor reveals the comfort she has in her craft and her abilities. A joy to be around, I’m sure this is not the last time you’ll hear Rebekkah’s name around these parts. Read on for a conversation with Rebekkah Castellanos.
August 4, 2011
