Merlin James

"... In recent years Merlin James has made paintings often on semi-transparent supports, and with picture frames that are integral to the work. These quasi-conventional frames, and the stretcher bar structures partly visible through them, may be fabricated from humble, seemingly salvaged materials, pressed into service as ‘fancy’, high-art objects. Extending James’s long-standing investigations into the nature of painting, the works continue to feature his particular erotic, topographic, architectural or abstract motifs – images that both function as elements in his aesthetic experiment and build to a poetic account of human experience."
Contemporary Art Daily
Sikkema Jenkins Co.
frieze
Art Critical

NEIL YOUNG Part 1 – Thoughts On An Artist / Three Compilations

"I don’t remember hearing Neil Young’s music much when I was growing up, although I was probably aware of some of his most popular songs like 'Southern Man' and 'Heart of Gold.' It wasn’t until I was 12 or 13 and began listening to rock radio stations (as opposed Neil Young Photo (circa 1968)to Top 40) that I started hearing his music more frequently. In 1979 you couldn’t go 30 minutes without hearing one of his new twin acoustic & electric songs, 'My My, Hey Hey (Out Of The Blue)' or 'Hey Hey, My My (Into The Black).' Even though I enjoyed them, it would be years until I owned any of his albums, remaining content to hear his songs occasionally on the radio. For some reason he’s never come close to being one of my favorite artists, yet I’ve liked him enough to accumulate 45 of his albums."
KamerTunesBlog (Video)

2008 February: Neil Young, 2010 April: Neil Young - 1, 2010 April: Neil Young - 2, 2010 May: Neil Young - 3, 2010 October: Neil Young's Sound, 2012 January: Long May You Run: The Illustrated History, 2012 June: Like A Hurricane, 2012 July: Greendale.

Mento

Wikipedia - "Mento is a style of Jamaican folk music that predates and has greatly influenced ska and reggae music. Mento typically features acoustic instruments, such as acoustic guitar, banjo, hand drums, and the rhumba box — a large mbira in the shape of a box that can be sat on while played. The rhumba box carries the bass part of the music. Mento is often confused with calypso, a musical form from Trinidad and Tobago. Although the two share many similarities, they are separate and distinct musical forms. During the mid-20th century, mento was conflated with calypso, and mento was frequently referred to as calypso, kalypso and mento calypso; mento singers frequently used calypso songs and techniques. As in Calypso, Mento uses topical lyrics with a humorous slant, commenting on poverty and other social issues. Sexual innuendos are also common."
Wikipedia
Mento Music
YouTube: MENTO gave birth to Reggae, Early Theodore Miller-Mento Music, Authentic Mento Band, Count Owen and his Calypsonians - Melody D'amour, Walk & Talk - Bedasse w. Calypso Quintet, Honeymoon - Bedasse with Local Calypso Quintet, Lord Power - Penny Reel, Rum & Coconut Water - Hubert Porter and The Jamaican Calypsonians

Saving Basquiat: Seeing the Art Through the Myth-Making at Gagosian

"With over 50 paintings, 'museum-quality' is probably the term you'd use to describe Gagosian’s Jean-Michel Basquiat show, which has been drawing rock-star crowds to West 24th street since it opened. But really, it might be better to call it 'warehouse-quality.' The show is overwhelming and difficult to write about, partly because there doesn’t seem to be any idea behind it at all; the works are hung neither by chronology nor by theme. They are merely a spectacularly impressive collection of largish Basquiats from a number of private collections. In this way, the show replicates the tragedy of this artist’s short and chaotic life, where the feverish buzz of celebrity came to overpower any assessment of the works as individual objects."
Blouin Art Info
Gagosian: the works

2009 August: Jean-Michel Basquiat

Frida Kahlo’s Wardrobe unlocked and on display after nearly 60 years

"When she died, her husband Diego Rivera ordered her clothes be locked up for 15 years. When Diego passed three years later, a philanthropist, art collector and old friend of the couple, Dolores Olmedo became the manager of their houses. She kept all of Kahlo’s belongings secretly guarded under lock and key for decades until she too passed away in 2004 and the fashion time capsule of an icon; a treasure chest, was finally unlocked. Defiantly beautiful, tenacious, and veracious, Frida Kahlo was and still is one of the most revolutionary and influential women in modern culture. The Mexican artist, known for her surreal self-portraits, emblematic of her indigenous Mexican culture, her great love for her husband and her tragic disability, are still celebrated in exhibitions and retrospectives around the world."
messy nessy chic (Video)
W - Frida Kahlo Museum
Frida Kahlo's Fashionable Wardrobe Open To The World Through ‘Appearances Can Be Deceiving' Exhibition (Video)

2008 April: Frida Kahlo
2008 May: Diego Rivera

Evoca1 New Mural In Río San Juan, Dominican Republic

"Miami-based Evoca1 recently stopped by Dominican Republic where he dropped this gorgeous new mural somewhere on the streets of Río San Juan, a municipality in the María Trinidad Sánchez province. The Dominican painter tries to merge art and humanity together. He started the ‘Sketches for Mankind‘ project to raise awareness of local and world wide issues through his art, all while raising funds to aid the needs of the homeless community in Miami. Check back with us soon for more by Evoca1..."
StreetArtNews

Mapping Manhattan

"'New York blends the gift of privacy with the excitement of participation … so that every event is, in a sense, optional, and the inhabitant is in the happy position of being able to choose his spectacle and so conserve his soul,' E. B. White memorably wrote in his 1949 masterpiece Here Is New York. And indeed what a canvas of glorious shared eclecticism Gotham is — city of cats and city of dogs, city of beloved public spaces and beloved secret places, of meticulous order and sparkling chaos, but above all a city of private memories woven together into one shared tapestry of belonging. Maps, meanwhile, have long held unparalleled storytelling power as tools of propaganda, imagination, obsession, and timekeeping."
brain pickings
Map Your Memories
NYT: Manhattan of the Mind
amazon

"Love Is a Beautiful Thing" - Al Green

Wikipedia - "Seth Swirsky wrote 'Love Is a Beautiful Thing,' which was recorded by Al Green for his 1995 album Your Heart's in Good Hands. The song also appears on his 2002 Love, The Essential Al Green Greatest Hits Collection. It was Green's last charted single (#56 in the UK)."
Wikipedia
YouTube: Love is a Beautiful Thing

2011 April: Al Green

The Story Of The Turban

"The Story Of The Turban is a documentary by BBC Television which traces down the history of the turban in the Sikh religion. It shows how the British Sikhs fought for its freedom, for its existence, for wearing it without fear. In September 2011, Sikhs from all over Britain gathered in Parliament Square to protest. The focus of their concern was the turban. Since the terrorist attacks of the 21st century Sikhs believe their turbans have singled them out for discrimination. In a case of mistaken identity the Sikhs claim they’ve been wrongly regarded as religious terrorists and subjected to increased airport security searches."
punjabiportal
YouTube: The Story of the Turban

Ben Durham - Text Portraits

"Ben Durham’s drawings are currently on view at the Nicole Klagsburn Gallery through February 19th. All images have been graciousely provided courtesy the Nicole Klagsburn Gallery. The subjects of Ben Durham’s portraits are friends, classmates and acquaintances from his childhood in Lexington, Kentucky. In a ritualistic daily process, the artist combs the Lexington police reports for familiar names and faces, collecting their mug shots and arrest records. Ranging from petty theft to violent crime, these records represent the climax of a troubled past. Drawn on thick handmade paper, the Text Portraits are comprised of Durham’s memories of the subject, resulting in an eerily accurate picture composed entirely of text."
Glasschord
art21 - Inside the Artist's Studio: Ben Durham
Smithsonian Institution: Text Portraits

Reno and Smiley

Wikipedia - "Reno and Smiley were a musical duo composed of Don Reno and Red Smiley. They were one of the most acclaimed duos in country (now bluegrass) music of the 1950s and early 1960s. ... They met in 1950 while playing with Tommy Magness and the Tennessee Buddies. During this time period, they played frequently at different venues such as the El-Tenedore Skating Rink in southern Virginia. The first records that Don and Red made together were with Tommy Magness in 1951 for Federal Records, a subsidiary of King Records."
Wikipedia
W - Don Reno
W - Red Smiley
YouTube: Love Please Come Home, I'm Using My Bible For A Roadmap, 1957 Earliest Known Footage, There`s Another Baby Waiting For Me Down The Line, Down Yonder, I´m Talk Of The Town, I Know You're Married But I Love You Still, Some Beautiful Day, I Wouldn't Change You If I Could, Tell Me Why My Daddy Don't Come Home, Get behind me Satan

Who Is the Dandy Man? The Congo Subculture Uncovered

"When you think of silk handkerchiefs, pink corduroys, tweed and double-breasted tailoring, would you associate such a style of dress with some of the poorest slums of Africa? What you’re looking at is the phenomenon of Sapeurs, a subculture of extraordinarily dressed dandies from the Congo. In the midst of their war-torn slums, these men dress in tailored suits, elegantly smoke on their pipes and stroll the impoverished streets in immaculate footwear. Dandyism or sapologie in this case, is not a fashion trend. In some of the farthest corners of the earth where true dandyism exists, it serves as something closer to a religion; a code of living."
messy nessy chic (Video)
Les Sapeurs: Gentlemen Of The Congo
YouTube: Gentlemen of Bacongo by Daniele Tamagni

Street of the Iron Po(e)t - Henri Cole

"My little apartment in the Latin Quarter is on the Street of the Iron Pot (rue Pot de Fer), which I’ve renamed Street of the Iron Poet. I had to clean for many days before I felt comfortable, but now it is home, and I am searching for a tea kettle and a toilet seat. My neighborhood on Montagne Ste.-Geneviève—a hill on the Left Bank of the Seine in the Fifth Arrondissement—is full of students, bookshops, bars, and cinemas, and has the feel of a village."
New Yorker: Street of the Iron Po(e)t - Henri Cole, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VI

Disquiet Junto Project 0065: Piano Overlay

"Every Disquiet Junto project is about restraint, and yet every Disquiet Junto project is also about risk. Specifically, it’s about musicians taking the risk of sharing work that might not fit their overall impression of their own musical approach, and it’s about musicians taking the risk of sharing work that might not feel complete, given the nature of the given assignment and of the tight deadline. But the Junto is a risk from a broader vantage, too; in my role as administer of the group, I occasionally take risks by challenging my philosophical sense of the group’s defining characteristics."
disquiet (Video)

Deep Ellum Blues (1985)

Honest Joe's Pawn Shop, Deep Ellum, 1959.
"Deep Ellum is a place -- a part of Dallas, Texas. Deep Ellum, along with its legendary music scene built by the likes of Blind Lemon Jefferson, Blind Willie Johnson, Lead Belly, and Bill Neely, all but disappeared with the construction of Central Expressway in the 1950s. This film is one of three short films in the Living Texas Blues series which explores the 1920's and 1930's night life in Dallas through the music of Bill Neely."
folkstreams (Video)
Southern Spaces (Video)
Classic Americana: Deep Ellum Blues
"... At the time, you could find gun and locksmith shops, clothing stores, the Cotton Club, tattoo studios, barber-shops, pawn shops, drugstores, tea rooms, loan offices, domino halls, pool halls, and walk-up hotels. On its sidewalks you could find pigeon droppers, reefer men, craps shooters, card sharps, and sellers of cocaine and marijuana."
W - Deep Ellum, Dallas

Polaroid Mosaics By Maurizio Galimberti

"Marurizio Galimberti is an Italian born photographer who creates abstract mosaic portraits with Polaroid film. By shooting and arranging the Polaroid’s into grids, Galimberti’s subjects become abstract, giving the viewer a multiple dimensional perspective of each subject."
FS (vimeo)
yellowtrace
Maurizio Galimberti
Dillon Gallery
YouTube: Maurizio Galimberti featuring Sveva Alviti, polaroiders @ Sarezzo 2011: pola art attack!

Brian Keane & Omar Faruk Tekbilek - Beyond the Sky

"Reuniting the innovative duo of Brian Keane with Omar Faruk Tekbilek, Beyond the Sky comes across as an even more adventurous excursion than their two earlier recordings, Suleyman the Magnificent and Fire Dance. The listener is transported to exotic regions of the Mediterranean, including Turkey, the Middle East and North Africa....Amidst the Middle Eastern harmonies, the listener catches whiffs of Moroccan and even Afro-Cuban or South American styles, in a unique marriage of musical cultures."
allmusic
amazon
YouTube: Kolaymi, Chargah Sirto, Selemet, Beyond The Sky, Your Love Is My Cure, Bridge

Pet Shop Boys - Pandemonium Tour

"Pandemonium: Live at the O2 Arena, London, 21st December 2009, commonly referred to as simple Pandemonium, is a live album by English electronic duo Pet Shop Boys, released on 15 February 2010 as a CD/DVD combo. As indicated in its title, it is a recording of a live concert at The O2 Arena in London on 21 December 2009, as part of the duo's Pandemonium Tour."
Wikipedia
YouTube: Pandemonium Tour 1:38:13

Zarina: Paper Like Skin

"Zarina: Paper Like Skin is the first retrospective of the Indian-born American artist. Born in the northern Indian city of Aligarh, in 1937, Zarina Hashmi, who prefers to identify by her first name, has spent the majority of her life outside of her native country. Her largely abstract aesthetic is woven together with an acute political consciousness, originating in early recollections of Indian Independence and the 1947 partition demarcating the border between India and Pakistan, which resulted in the violent displacement and deaths of millions of people. Zarina’s oeuvre explores themes of diaspora, nostalgia, and memory."
Guggenheim
NYT: Reveling in the Multicultural Possibilities of Paper
Hammer (Video)

Movement In Light: The Cinema Of Man Ray

"Man Ray was a multimedia artist best known for his portrait photography, yet despite his fame an often overlooked aspect of his work is his successful and progressive role as a filmmaker. Man Ray made a significant contribution to the cinema of the 1920s during rapid developments towards the establishment of art film. He transferred his pioneering methods in photography to the moving image and despite his sometimes diffident attitude toward filmmaking, his four main films remain influential and explore the artists' lasting preoccupations with light, the kinetic, and the object. The result is a body of work that is technically innovative and visually striking."
The Quietus (Video)

2008 December: Man Ray

The Novels of Renata Adler

Gary Indiana - "Renata Adler's newly reissued novels, Speedboat (1976) and Pitch Dark (1983), consist of anecdotes, vignettes, jokes, aphorisms, epigrammatic asides, and longer passages of prose—eclectic inventories of consciousness. Their immediate effect is that of a flea market in Samarqand or Ouagadougou, where the items on display (vintage clothes, military decorations, photo albums, broken appliances) are fractionally different enough, in style and provenance, from their cousins at the local swap meet to look like artifacts of an alternate universe. Adler’s eye and ear for the peculiar are unmatched in American letters. Adler herself is regarded as peculiar in literary circles; her reluctance to publish anything is almost as legendary as Fran Lebowitz’s writing block."
Bookforum
New Yorker: Welcome Back, Renata Adler
New Old Works by Renata Adler
The Believer

2012 September: Renata Adler

Banshee

Banshee (1897 painting)
Wikipedia - "The banshee .., from Irish: bean sí ('woman of the sídhe' or 'woman of the fairy mounds') is a female spirit in Irish mythology, usually seen as an omen of death and a messenger from the Otherworld. In legend, a banshee is a fairy woman who begins to wail if someone is about to die. In Scottish Gaelic mythology she is known as the bean sìth or bean-nighe and is seen washing the blood-stained clothes or armour of those who are about to die. Alleged sightings of banshees have been reported as recently as 1948. Similar beings are also found in Welsh, Norse and American folklore."
Wikipedia

Barbara Nessim

"... Internationally-renowned artist, illustrator and educator Barbara Nessim has been a vital contributor and influential trendsetter in the art world over the past several decades. With an extensive resume of accomplishments and a portfolio of work that go beyond one's ability to mention, Barbara has always been visionary in her thinking, and unprecedented in her creativity. Inspired by her mother, a clothing designer, Barbara put herself through college by supporting herself as a freelance fashion illustrator in the Garment Center."
Barbara Nessim
W - Barbara Nessim
Guardian: Barbara Nessim at the V&A - in pictures
NYT: Illustrating Her Own Narrative
vimeo: Barbara Nessim: An Artful Life

Sly & Robbie Taxi Connection live 1986

"Sly & Robbie Taxi Connection live 1986 with Ini Kamoze, Half Pint and Yellowman. Live on The Tube in the UK 1986."
YouTube: Sly & Robbie Taxi Connection live 1986
amazon

Golden Age of Science Fiction

Wikipedia - "The first Golden Age of Science Fiction — often recognized as the period from the 1938 to 1946 — was an era during which the science fiction genre gained wide public attention and many classic science fiction stories were published. In the history of science fiction, the Golden Age follows the 'pulp era' of the 1920s and 30s, and precedes New Wave science fiction of the 1960s and 70s. The 1950s are a transitional period in this scheme; however, Robert Silverberg, who came of age in the 1950s, saw that decade as the true Golden Age."
Wikipedia
YouTube: Isaac Asimov Recalls the Golden Age of Science Fiction (1937-1950), The Golden Age Of Science Fiction -- Jive Aces

Acts of Voicing: On the Poetics and Politics of the Voice

Tim Etchells: "Void Story", 2012
"... Acts of Voicing deals with the aesthetic, performative, and political significance of the voice from the vantage point of visual art, dance, performance, and theory. The exhibition centers on the agency and performativity of the voice. The aim is to examine the resistive the disciplined, and the disciplining voice—those voices that are heard and others that are not. Fighting to have one’s voice heard is as much of a topic as the power to silence someone or to force them to speak."
e-flux
Württembergischer Kunstverein Stuttgart
Württembergischer Kunstverein Stuttgart: Press Pictures
frieze
YouTube: [1973] "Not I" (Samuel Beckett)

2012 March: “fathoms from anywhere”
2009 November: Samuel Beckett
2010 April: A Piece of Monologue
2011 June: Film (1965) - UbuWeb

Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire

Wikipedia - "The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York City on March 25, 1911, was the deadliest industrial disaster in the history of the city of New York and resulted in the fourth highest loss of life from an industrial accident in U.S. history. It was also the second deadliest disaster in New York City – after the burning of the General Slocum on June 15, 1904 – until the destruction of the World Trade Center 90 years later. The fire caused the deaths of 146 garment workers, who died from the fire, smoke inhalation, or falling or jumping to their deaths. Most of the victims were recent Jewish and Italian immigrant women aged sixteen to twenty-three; of the victims whose ages are known, the oldest victim was Providenza Panno at 43, and the youngest were 14-year-olds Kate Leone and 'Sara' Rosaria Maltese."
Wikipedia
The 1911 Triangle Waist Factory
NYT: Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire (1911)
PBS - Photo Essay: The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire
YouTube: The Triangle Fire

Oskido

"The son of a Zimbabwean politician and born in the Oukasie township (near Brits, South Africa) in 1967, little Oscar was schooled in his father's home country (Rhodesia at the time), only returning to SA in 1987. The early 90's found him selling boerewors sausage rolls outside the Razzmatazz nightclub in Hillbrow, Johannesburg, sneaking his way inside the club to spin the closing sessions and slowing down American house tracks to a tempo that 'Africans could dance to'. One night, the resident DJ didn't pitch up... and the rest is history."
RA
YouTube: Oskido presents Black Motion ft Jah Rich "Banane Mavoko", Dj Fisherman ft Dr Malinga, Oskido, Mampintsha, Danger, & Dj Tira "izinja sondela", Oskido ft Candy & Mabhiza "Tsa Mandebele, Professor " Jezebel " ft. Oskido, Dr Malinga ft Oskido " Jika "

Little Johnny Taylor

Wikipedia - "Little Johnny Taylor (born Johnny Lamont Merrett; February 11, 1943 – May 17, 2002) was an American blues and soul singer, who made recordings throughout the 1960s and 1970s, and continued public performances through the 1980s and 1990s. Born in Gregory, Arkansas, United States, he is frequently confused with his contemporary and near namesake Johnnie Taylor, especially since the latter made a cover version of the song that Little Johnny Taylor was most famous for, 'Part Time Love' (1963), and the fact that both men began their careers as gospel singers."
Wikipedia
amazon: Little Johnny Taylor
YouTube: Somewhere Down The Line, Everybody Knows About My Good Thing, Pt. 1 & 2, I Smell Trouble, ZIG ZAG LIGHTNING, You'll Need Another Favor

Rap Lyrics Become Street Poetry. For Reals.

"How’s this for the realness; remember when Q-Tip rapped, 'Street poetry is my everyday'? Well you can thank street artist Jay Shells for taking that sentiment to its logical conclusion with his series of so-simple yet so-fresh street signs featuring rap lyrics at their specific geographic locations. More than 30 in all, the rap quotables by Jay-Z, Nice & Smooth, Mos Def and more were captured by ANIMAL in all their lyrical glory. This is right up our alley."
egotripland (Video)

Gardner Museum Heist Case Might Crack

"Twenty-three years ago this week, two thieves walked into Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and made off with thirteen works of art valued at a half-billion dollars, including paintings by Rembrandt, Vermeer, and Manet, and sketches by Degas. The FBI calls it the largest property heist in history, and it remains officially unsolved. But the agency used the anniversary to announce developments in the case."
Studio360
amazon - The Gardner Heist: The True Story of the World's Largest Unsolved Art Theft
WSJ: Clearer Picture of Art Heist (Video)
W - Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

The Meters

Wikipediav - "The Meters are an American funk band based in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Meters performed and recorded their own music from the late 1960s until 1977. The band played an influential role as backing musicians for other artists, including Lee Dorsey, Robert Palmer, and Dr John. While The Meters rarely enjoyed significant mainstream success, they are considered, along with artists like James Brown, one of the progenitors of funk music and their work is highly influential on many other bands, both their contemporaries and modern musicians working in the funk idiom."
Wikipedia
amazon: The Meters
YouTube: Live 1974 - Look-Ka Py Py / Jungle Man, Ain't No Use, Chicken Strut, Cissy Strut, Hey Pocky A-way, Funkify Your Life

Pina Bausch - "The Seven Deadly Sins"

"The Dance Session is strictly speaking not the session of dance. 'The Seven Deadly Sins' by Kurt Weill and Bertold Brecht and her dance company have come up with the most destructive show one could have ever imagined to see on the German stage. It goes without saying they are doing this quite consciously. This show is not only absolutely unpretentious in terms of scale or humor. It totally lacks any outward luster. This performance is poor, infinitely sad and yet charged with enormous energy… In contrast with Brecht who spoke about seven mortal sins, Pina Bausch focuses on one – renting out female flesh. It is by no means limited to the all too old theme of a woman’s degradation to a sellable pleasure article that can be obtained through fluttery or by force. Neither has it anything to do with emancipation. - Die Welt, June 18, 1976"
"The Seven Deadly Sins" by Kurt Weill and Bertold Brecht
Tanztheater Wuppertal - Die sieben Todsünden (The Seven Deadly Sins)
NYT: "The Seven Deadly Sins" and "Don't Be Afraid"
W - The Seven Deadly Sins (ballet chanté)
[PDF] Brechtian Traces in Pina Bausch's Choreographic and Cinematic Work
blip: Dance Not Dance: Pina Bausch (Video)

2008 May: Pina Bausch
2009 June: Pina Bausch 1940-2009
2012 August: Pina Bausch Costumes

Outsider Art

Wikipedia - "The term outsider art was coined by art critic Roger Cardinal in 1972 as an English synonym for art brut, 'raw art' or 'rough art'), a label created by French artist Jean Dubuffet to describe art created outside the boundaries of official culture; Dubuffet focused particularly on art by those on the outsides of the established art scene such as insane-asylum inmates and children. While Dubuffet's term is quite specific, the English term 'outsider art' is often applied more broadly, to include certain self-taught or naïve art makers who were never institutionalized."
Wikipedia
What is Outsider Art?
NYT: Feeling Right at Home on the Fringe
Philadelphia Museum of Art
YouTube: The Outsider Art Fair 2012

Spalding Gray (Monologue) "A Personal History of the American Theatre"

"Spalding has all his early summer stockplays, and experimental works on large cards, shuffled. He chooses one at a time and tells an associated story. Very low key and Excellent! ... jb. Alive From Off Center."
Spalding Gray
UbuWeb (Video)

2011 November: Spalding Gray