Nunca New Mural In Berlin, Germany

"After a quick stop by London, UK, Nunca is now in Germany where he just completed this massive Berliner Punk mural for the Urban Spree Festival in Berlin. Nunca's frank and figurative work is characterized by a bright spectrum of colors and his use of hatching lines to give the forms volume and definition. Traditionally seen in old prints like etchings and woodcuts, the artist resourcefully uses this technique to cover large surfaces with skillfully spray-painted lines."
StreetArtNews
NUNCA

1939 New York in HD Color

"A just released, amazing film clip brings back to life the colorful life on the streets of New York City - from the summer of 1939, that's right you read right that's 1939. The color footage, which comes from Romano-Archives and was recently released on the Web, is 74 years old."
WJCT
1939 New York in HD Color (Video)

The Rite of Spring

Wikipedia - "The Rite of Spring ... is a ballet and orchestral concert work by the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. It was written for the 1913 Paris season of Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes company; the original choreography was by Vaslav Nijinsky, with stage designs and costumes by Nicholas Roerich. When first performed, at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées on 29 May 1913, the avant-garde nature of the music and choreography caused a sensation and almost a riot in the audience. Although designed as a work for the stage, with specific passages accompanying characters and action, the music achieved equal if not greater recognition as a concert piece, and is widely considered to be one of the most influential musical works of the 20th century."
Wikipedia
W - Igor Stravinsky
W - Sergei Diaghilev
Guardian: How Stravinsky's Rite of Spring has shaped 100 years of music (Video)
The Rite of Spring at 100 | Carolina Performing Arts (Video)
Slate (Video)
BBC: Did The Rite of Spring really spark a riot?
YouTube: "The Rite of Spring", The Mariinsky Theater Orchestra and Ballet, Maurice Béjart, Joffrey Ballet, Vaslav Nijinsky, Georges Momboye

2009 September: The Rite of Spring - Pina Bausch

A New Chapter of Dub - Aswad (1982)

"The strongest album of Aswad's CBS period, a powerful roots-and-culture program entitled New Chapter, was followed shortly by what would turn out to be the strongest dub album of several that were produced during the group's career. A New Chapter of Dub was produced by Aswad in collaboration with the up-and-coming dubmeister Mikey Dread (credited here as Michael [Reuben] Campbell), whose work as a radio DJ had made him a household name among London's West Indian expatriate population even before he began establishing himself as a top studio producer."
allmusic
YouTube: Dub Fire, Ghetto in the sky, Truth, Bammie Blow, Tuffist, Zion I, Shining Dub

Fitzcarraldo - Werner Herzog

Wikipedia - "Fitzcarraldo is a 1982 film written and directed by Werner Herzog and starring Klaus Kinski as the title character. It portrays would-be rubber baron Brian Sweeney Fitzgerald, an Irishman known as Fitzcarraldo in Peru, who has to pull a steamship over a steep hill in order to access a rich rubber territory. The film is derived from the real-life story of Peruvian rubber baron Carlos Fitzcarrald."
Wikipedia
Roger Ebert
amazon
MUBI (Video)
Fitzcardboardaldo: A Classic Film Recreated with Cardboard (Video)

2008 August: Popol Vuh, 2010 December: Aguirre, the Wrath of God, 2011 May: Abschied (1972)

Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea (2000) - PJ Harvey

Wikipedia - "Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea is the fifth studio album by English alternative rock musician PJ Harvey, released 23 October 2000 on Island Records. Recorded during March to April 2000, it contains themes of love that are tied into Harvey's affection for New York City."
Wikipedia
allmusic
YouTube: Good Fortune, A Place Called Home, Big exit, One Line, This Mess We're In

2009 November: PJ Harvey, 2011 May: Let England Shake

Hand Drawn Map of New York

"Hi everyone, so here is the Hand Drawn Map of New York that I've been working on for what seems like FOREVER! It was once again commissioned by the lovely Evermade.com and was just as hard as the Map of London, if not harder... Anyway, I'll let the images speak for themselves as I have lost the ability to think about anything other than buildings."
Jenni Sparks Illustration
Guardian: 10 of the best hand-drawn maps – in pictures
Daily Mail

Jorge Luis Borges

Wikipedia - "Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges (24 August 1899 – 14 June 1986), known as Jorge Luis Borges ..., was an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator born in Buenos Aires. His work embraces the 'character of unreality in all literature'. His most famous books, Ficciones (1944) and The Aleph (1949), are compilations of short stories interconnected by common themes such as dreams, labyrinths, libraries, mirrors, animals, fictional writers, philosophy, religion and God. His works have contributed to philosophical literature and also to both the fantasy and magical realism genres."
Wikipedia
Paris Review: Jorge Luis Borges, The Art of Fiction No. 39
The Poetry Foundation
The Garden of Jorge Luis Borges
NY Times
amazon: Jorge Luis Borges

2009 August: Jorge Luis Borges

Shaped on all Six Sides

"'Shaped on all Six Sides' is a fascinating mini documentary on the philosophy and craft of wooden boat carpentry, as told by boat carpenter Andy Stewart of Emerald Marine in Anucortes, Washington. The film was directed by Kat Gardiner."
laughing squid (Video)

Mike Kelley

Memory Ware Flat #35, 2003
Wikipedia - "Michael 'Mike' Kelley (October 27, 1954 – January 31, 2012) was an American artist. His work involved found objects, textile banners, drawings, assemblage, collage, performance and video. ... Kelley was born in Wayne, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit, to a working class Roman Catholic family in October 1954. His father was in charge of maintenance for a public school system; his mother was a cook in the executive dining room at Ford Motor Company."
Wikipedia
Gagosian Gallery
PBS: art21 (Video)
Whitney
BOMB 38/Winter 1992, ART
NYT: This Ranch in Detroit Is Not for Sale. It’s Art.

Johnny Cash- 4 Classic Sun Records

"4 Titles from Tex Ritter's Ranch Party. Classic Vintage Johnny, and Luther Perkins at his frightened best....."
YouTube: 4 Classic Sun Records

Saint Dominic's Preview - Van Morrison

Wikipedia - "Saint Dominic's Preview is the sixth solo album by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison. ... The diversity of the material on the album highlighted Morrison's fusing of Celtic folk, R&B, blues, jazz and the singer-songwriter genre. 'Jackie Wilson Said (I'm in Heaven When You Smile)' and the title track were blends of soul and folk, while lesser known tracks such as 'Gypsy' and 'Redwood Tree' continued to display a lyrical celebration of nature's beauty."
Wikipedia
W - Saint Dominic's Preview
YouTube: St Dominics Preview (1979, Dublin and Belfast), St Dominics Preview (1996), Jackie Wilson Said (I'm in Heaven When You Smile), Redwood Tree, Listen to the Lion, Almost Independence Day

The Maximus Poems - Charles Olson

"... He began work on his opus, The Maximus Poems, in the mid-1940s, and continued to expand and revise them until his death in 1970. Formally similar to Ezra Pound's Cantos, the Maximus poems are, in Olson's words, 'about a person and a place.' The person, Maximus, represents Olson's alter ego, and is named after the second-century Maximus of Tyre, as well as a fourth-century Phoenician mystic, and may also refer to Olson's impressive stature (he was six feet seven inches tall). The place is Gloucester, Massachusetts, or more accurately, the small town communal American life that Olson struggled to preserve."
Poets - Groundbreaking Book: The Maximus Poems by Charles Olson (1960)
I, Maximus of Gloucester, to You - Poetry Foundation
For The Birds
Arduity: Charles Olson and the Maximus Poems
amazon: The Maximus Poems
YouTube: Charles Olson NET film 1/2, NET film 2/2

2009 January: Charles Olson, 2009 April: Rockport Harbor, 2010 September: Charles Olson: The Art of Poetry No. 12, 2010 December: "In Cold Hell, in Thicket", NET film, 2011 July: Charles Olson: February 21, 1957, 2012 April: A Trip to Charles Olson’s Gloucester, 2012 June: In Which We Lather Our Sensibilities At Length, 2013 January: Mass.Charles Olson.

Hot Dog

Wikipedia - "A hot dog is a fully cooked sausage, traditionally grilled or steamed. It is typically served in a sliced bun, as a corn dog dipped in corn batter and deep fried, or as an ingredient in other dishes like beanie weenies. It is often garnished with mustard, ketchup, onions, mayonnaise, relish, cheese, chili and/or sauerkraut."
Wikipedia
The Brooklyn Hot Dog Company
America's best hot dogs
YouTube: How It's Made - Hot Dogs

John Renbourn - The Lady and the Unicorn

"Renbourn's last solo album for the next six years overlaps with his Pentangle work, featuring Terry Cox playing hand drums and glockenspiel, with future John Renbourn band member Tony Roberts and violinist Dave Swarbrick. The repertory consists of medieval and early classical pieces, interspersed with the expected folk material -- keyboard works from the Fitzwilliam virginal book (transcribed for guitar) stand alongside traditional tunes such as 'Scarborough Fair,' which turns up as part of an 11-minute track that also incorporates 'My Johnny Was a Shoemaker,' with Swarbrick at the top of his form on violin. The album is entirely instrumental, but as with other Renbourn releases, one hardly misses the vocals."
allmusic
anazon
YouTube: The Lady and the Unicorn 1970 [FULL ALBUM] 42:33

2011 September: Faro Annie, 2011 April: Cruel Sister (1970) - Pentangle, 2012 November: John Renbourn - Sir John Alot.

Coffeehouse

Café de Flore, Paris.
Wikipedia - "Coffeehouse, coffee shop, and café are related terms for an establishment which primarily serves prepared coffee or other hot beverages. It shares some of the same characteristics of a bar or restaurant, but it is different from a cafeteria. As the name suggests, coffeehouses focus on providing coffee and tea as well as light snacks. Many coffee houses in the Middle East, and in West Asian immigrant districts in the Western world, offer shisha (nargile in Turkish and Greek), flavored tobacco smoked through a hookah. Espresso bars are a type of coffeehouse that specialize in serving espresso and espresso-based drinks."
Wikipedia
W - Coffee culture

Go Home Productions

Wikipedia - "Go Home Productions (also known as GHP) is the alter ego of Mark Vidler, a producer/remixer/DJ based in Watford, Hertfordshire, England. GHP has produced well over 200 mash-ups since May 2002, many of which have been played on both national and independent radio stations around the world. GHP creations have been heard regularly on Xfm London's The Remix and The Rinse radio shows, and are heavily played on the New York City area station WFMU."
Wikipedia
Go Home Productions
YouTube: Supreme Evil (ELO vs The Supremes), Downtown Octopus (Petula Clark vs The Beatles), "Virgin O'Riley" (Madonna/The Who), Rock in black (Ac/Dc and Queen), Smells Like Rockin' Robin (Nirvana vs Michael Jackson), "Imagine The Band" (Lennon/Wings)

Duke Ellington’s Symphony in Black, Starring a 19-Year-old Billie Holiday

"In September of 1935 Paramount Pictures released a nine-minute movie remarkable in several ways. Symphony in Black: A Rhapsody of Negro Life is one of the earliest cinematic explorations of African-American culture for a mass audience. It features Duke Ellington and his orchestra performing his first extended composition. And perhaps most notably, it stars Billie Holiday in her first filmed performance."
Open Culture (Video)

2010 April: Billie Holiday, 2011 November: Duke Ellington - "It Don't Mean a Thing (If It Ain't Got That Swing)", 1943, 2011 September: "Take the A Train" - Duke Ellington, 2012 June: The Sound of Jazz (1957).

"Sessions at West 54th" 1997 - Patti Smith

"Recorded live on September 27, 1997 at the Sony Music Studios in New York City, NY for the 'Sessions at West 54th' television program."
YouTube: Beneath the Southern Cross, About a Boy, Wing, Don't Say Nothing

Mel Bochner: Proposition and Process: A Theory of Sculpture (1968-1973)

“Five by Four” (1972), of stones and chalk, “Theory of Sculpture” series
"The excellent exhibition of Mel Bochner’s mind-bending, defiantly modest early Conceptual sculptures at Peter Freeman is a post-Minimalist time capsule. It provides a startlingly real sense of the attitude and physical ethos of SoHo’s experimental, artist-generated beginnings in the late 1960s and early ’70s while showcasing some of the most singular art that the era produced."
NYT: A Calculus With Chalk, Stones and Walnuts
Peter Freeman, Inc

2009 September: Mel Bochner

Junior Byles - 129 Beat Street: Ja-Man Special 1975-1978

"A collection of four Junior Byles tracks from his post-Lee 'Scratch' Perry era and seven tracks from lesser-known artists like Rupert Reid, Pablo Moses and others, 129 Beat Street highlights some of the best cuts from the little-known House of Music studio operated by Dudley 'Manzie' Swaby and Leroy 'Bunny' Hollett. In addition to that unifying theme, all the classic roots tracks are held together by thumping bass, exquisite singing and strongly conscious Rastafarian messages."
allmusic
Blood And Fire
Wikipedia
YouTube: Junior Byles & Rupert Reid - Chant Down Babylon, Dave Robinson - My Homeland, Remember Me (Extended), Bim Sherman - Mighty ruler, Pitchy Patchy, Know Where You're Going, U Brown - So Long, Rupert Reid - See The Dread Deh

Jorge Rodríguez-Gerada New Mural In Vitry, France

"Cuban-American artist Jorge Rodríguez-Gerada just completed this brilliant and massive mural somewhere on the streets of Vitry, France. The intense beauty of Jorge Rodriguez- Gerada's artwork is heightened by the artist's obsession with picture surface- Jorge's pieces are painted directly onto our manmade environment, yet appear to spring forth so organically from the bubbling paint and crumbling brickwork. The artist stresses his artworks should work 'in harmony with their location.'"
StreetArtNews

2012 May: Identity Series by Jorge Rodriguez-Gerada

Ronald Reis

New York City: Washington Square Park
"Ronald Reis began taking photographs as a youngster with an Argus A2. ... Influenced by the work of Helen Levitt, Louis Stettner, and Cartier-Bresson, Reis became a passionate street photographer, honing his eye and his ability to compose and capture photographs on the fly. This decisive quality is reflected in his contact sheets filled with single exposures."
Duke: About the Ronald Reis Photographs Collection
Duke: Ronald Reis Photographs

Leroy Washington

"Little is known about Leroy Washington, who recorded several sessions between 1957 and 1961 for Jay Miller. He was recalled by Miller as perhaps his favorite blues guitarist. He only released a handful of sides, however, he had recorded a considerable legacy of material for Miller, which had lain unissued for decades."
YouTube: My True Life, Wild cherry, Hello Baby, I Don't Want Your Money, You Can´t Trust Nobody, Baby Please Come Home

New European Paintings Galleries, 1250–1800

Pieter Bruegel the Elder, ca. 1525–1569, The Harvesters (detail)
"The Met's world-renowned collection of European Old Master paintings from the thirteenth through the early nineteenth century have reopened after an extensive renovation and reinstallation. This is the first major renovation of the galleries since 1951 and the first overall reinstallation of the collection since 1972. Increased in size by almost one-third, the space now accommodates the display of more than seven hundred paintings in forty-five galleries, including one rotating special exhibition gallery."
Met Museum: New European Paintings Galleries, 1250–1800
Met Museum: Video
Met Museum:
A Tasting Tour of European Paintings

Bedford-Stuyvesant

"The result of three intense days of shooting in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn."
charles le brigand

Tom Johnson: An Hour for Piano (1985)

"Composer Tom Johnson rarely wrote musical pieces that existed for music's sake alone. Generally, they involved conceptual re-orientation on the part of the listener, often with language (particularly the language of self-reference) as the intermediary. With An Hour for Piano, the lovely, Satie-esque music is intended to be heard while the listener is reading Johnson's program notes which begin, 'It is important that you try not to allow the program notes to distract you from concentrating on the music.' Which, of course, they already have done."
allmusic
W - An Hour for Piano (Tom Johnson)
Lovely: An Hour for Piano by Tom Johnson
YouTube: An hour for piano (Part 1, Rzewski), (Part 2, Rzewski), (Part 3, Rzewski), (Part 4, Rzewski).

2011 February: Tom Johnson, 2012 May: Rational Melodies, 2013 March: Tom Johnson In Los Angeles

Roland Penrose - The Road Is Wider Than Long

"The manuscript of Roland Penrose’s narrative poem The Road Is Wider Than Long is an artist’s book, beautifully calligraphed with a style that reflects the changing mood of the poem and illustrated with his own photographs and collage. He had it bound in covers made of strong brown shoe leather, perhaps symbolic of durable protection. It is the chronicle of a shared journey and his gentle expression of his obsessive love for the woman of his dreams. ... The 'Lee' he refers to is Lee Miller who Roland had met in June 1937 at a wild Surrealist fancy dress party held by the daughters of the Rochas couturiers in their home while their parents were away. The party ended abruptly due to the unexpected return of Mons. et Mme Rochas who threw everyone out in the street, but Max Ernst with whom Roland had gone to the party knew the beautiful American woman who on that brief encounter had delivered to Roland what he later described as a bolt of lightning."
Musée de l'Élysée Lausanne
NPR - Much More Than A Muse: Lee Miller And Man Ray (Video)
Farley Farm House
W - Farley Farm House
Lee Miller Archives
W - Lee Miller
Farley Farm: Where Picasso came to tea

Theaster Gates

Theaster Gates, The Dorchester Project.
Wikipedia - "Theaster Gates (born 1973 Chicago) is an American Installation artist Social Practice artist. He lives and works in Chicago, Illinois. Gates' work has been shown at major museums and galleries internationally and deals with issues of urban planning, religious space, and craft. He is committed to the revitalization of poor neighborhoods through combining urban planning and art practices."
Wikipedia
Theaster Gates
Theaster Gates: The Dorchester Project
Kavi Gupta
Theaster Gates: The Rise of an Unconventional Art Star
Theaster Gates: 13th Ballad
vimeo: Theaster Gates: Dorchester Projects
White Cube: 12 Ballads for Huguenot House (Video)
YouTube: Interview with Theaster Gates

The Cult of Beauty: The Victorian Avant-Garde 1860–1900

John Spencer Stanhope, Love and the Maiden, 1877
"The Cult of Beauty: The Victorian Avant-Garde 1860–1900 is the first major exhibition to explore the unconventional creativity of the British Aesthetic Movement, tracing the evolution of this movement from a small circle of progressive artists and poets, through the achievements of innovative painters and architects, to its broad impact on fashion and the middle-class home. The superb artworks on view encompass the manifold forms of Victorian material culture: the traditional high art of painting, fashionable trends in architecture and interior decoration, handmade and manufactured furnishings for the 'artistic' home, art photography, and the new modes of dress."
Legion of Honor (Video)

BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music)

Duke Riley, Farewell, All Joys! More Fools Than Wise (2013)
"BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music) is a multi-arts center located in Brooklyn, New York. For more than 150 years, BAM has been the home for adventurous artists, audiences, and ideas—engaging both global and local communities. With world-renowned programming in theater, dance, music, opera, film, and much more, BAM showcases the work of emerging artists and innovative modern masters."
BAM
W - Brooklyn Academy of Music
NYT: Brooklyn Academy of Music
YouTube: That's So New York: Brooklyn Academy of Music 150th Anniversary, The Brooklyn Music School

The Superiors - "What Would I Do"

"This is another performance filmed for my now legendary documentary, 'The Strange World Of Northern Soul'. The Superiors were a New York group in the 1960s, led by Ken Williams, who also recorded 'Come Back' for Okeh. 'What Would I do' seems to have been their only real monster on the scene. Ken worked a lot with both J.R. Bailey, and with Van McCoy, two late but great geniuses."
YouTube: What Would I Do

2012 October: Northern Soul, 2012 December: The obsession that is Northern Soul, 2013 February: J. J. Barnes

Parking Garage Door Does Impression of Miles Davis’ Jazz Album, Bitches Brew

"Classic. And if you’re not familiar with the reference — Miles Davis’ 1970 experimental jazz album, Bitches Brew — you can catch it on YouTube, or snag a copy online. H/T Kottke"
Open Culture (Video)

Atlas of Remote Islands - Judith Schalansky

"The Atlas of Remote Islands by Judith Schalansky is an extraordinary book – an armchair exploration of some of the world’s most remote and fascinating places. It is fascinating, illuminating and extremely beautiful. - An exclusive interview with the author of the Atlas of Remote Islands."
The Island Review
Intelligent Travel
Literary Review
amazon
Google

"Private Idaho", "Give Me Back My Man" - The B-52's

Wikipedia - "'Private Idaho' is a single released by The B-52's from their album Wild Planet. The single was their second Billboard Hot 100 chart entry, at #74. The single also peaked at #5 on the US Hot Dance Club Play, along with previous single 'Give Me Back My Man' and 'Party out of Bounds', both from Wild Planet."
W - "Private Idaho"
W - "Give Me Back My Man"
YouTube: Private Idaho 1980, Give Me Back My Man

2008 October: The B-52's
2012 October: The B-52's -1