Joseph Beuys, I like America and America likes me (coyote), 1976
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Sunday, March 26, 2006
Sunday, March 19, 2006
queen bitch.
Who can find 5 things wrong with this picture?
...Give up? Or did you find more than 5? Well, let's have a look...
1. Gwen Stefani sucks as a musician, artist, and icon.
2. Oh, the white queen! Gwen is given a disturbing racist dominance in the photo with her white outfit, white skin, and flowing blonde hair, while the dark-skinned, dark-haired, dark-dressed Japanese women are posed around her like servants. Servants to what? She certainly doesn't need any help being an overrated, pompous tart.
3. Parading around America in supposedly 'Harajuku'-style outfits with four Japanese girls on leashes would make one think that Gwen's solo album was more Japanese influenced. Instead, the record is more reflective of America's own brand of obnoxious R&B-pop-crap. Why isn't she wearing FUBU jackets and being flanked by young black men?
4. Usually, rock stars trying to show off their iconic sex-symbol status surround themselves with members of the opposite sex (remember Robert Palmer?). If Gwen were really trying to make a statement about gender and ambiguous sexuality in the pop music world, I could respect that. But I don't think she is. She just comes off as a creepy lesbian dominatrix.
5. Gwen's whole "gang of silent Asians who back up my ego and illustrate my creative decision" thing reeks of old fashioned imperialism. When David Bowie found himself influenced creatively by figures such as Klaus Nomi and Lindsay Kemp, he brought them to the forefront while collaborating with them, acknowledging their presence in his art. Gwen is posing more like a conquistador, enslaving the natives of a foreign land and bringing them back to America so they can be used as props in her stage show. "Look what I have discovered! Don't they make me look good??"
But don't take it from me. Take it from Yoko Kukuri, a free, non-silent girl who had this to say on a web thread about Stefani's song Harajuku Girls:
"I am usually liking Gwen Stefani but this song is horrible!!!! even if it is dedicated 2 japanese girls. I myself am japanese and I feel like she is letting our culture down!!! please no"
There you have it. The desperate plea at the end says it all- "please no".
Here's a bonus one:
6. Gwen Stafani isn't Japanese. Bitch.
.
Who can find 5 things wrong with this picture?
...Give up? Or did you find more than 5? Well, let's have a look...
1. Gwen Stefani sucks as a musician, artist, and icon.
2. Oh, the white queen! Gwen is given a disturbing racist dominance in the photo with her white outfit, white skin, and flowing blonde hair, while the dark-skinned, dark-haired, dark-dressed Japanese women are posed around her like servants. Servants to what? She certainly doesn't need any help being an overrated, pompous tart.
3. Parading around America in supposedly 'Harajuku'-style outfits with four Japanese girls on leashes would make one think that Gwen's solo album was more Japanese influenced. Instead, the record is more reflective of America's own brand of obnoxious R&B-pop-crap. Why isn't she wearing FUBU jackets and being flanked by young black men?
4. Usually, rock stars trying to show off their iconic sex-symbol status surround themselves with members of the opposite sex (remember Robert Palmer?). If Gwen were really trying to make a statement about gender and ambiguous sexuality in the pop music world, I could respect that. But I don't think she is. She just comes off as a creepy lesbian dominatrix.
5. Gwen's whole "gang of silent Asians who back up my ego and illustrate my creative decision" thing reeks of old fashioned imperialism. When David Bowie found himself influenced creatively by figures such as Klaus Nomi and Lindsay Kemp, he brought them to the forefront while collaborating with them, acknowledging their presence in his art. Gwen is posing more like a conquistador, enslaving the natives of a foreign land and bringing them back to America so they can be used as props in her stage show. "Look what I have discovered! Don't they make me look good??"
But don't take it from me. Take it from Yoko Kukuri, a free, non-silent girl who had this to say on a web thread about Stefani's song Harajuku Girls:
"I am usually liking Gwen Stefani but this song is horrible!!!! even if it is dedicated 2 japanese girls. I myself am japanese and I feel like she is letting our culture down!!! please no"
There you have it. The desperate plea at the end says it all- "please no".
Here's a bonus one:
6. Gwen Stafani isn't Japanese. Bitch.
.
the removal of anxiety.
The website for Blackbook Magazine has a featured dialogue between two of my favorite artists, Jeff Koons and Matthew Barney. Read it here.
Barney has several good things to say about his own creative process (and his experiences in modeling), but I am able to identify more with Koons's statements, if I consider my songs to be my 'sculptures'.
Ushering in Banality, by Jeff Koons
film still from Cremaster 1, by Matthew Barney
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The website for Blackbook Magazine has a featured dialogue between two of my favorite artists, Jeff Koons and Matthew Barney. Read it here.
Barney has several good things to say about his own creative process (and his experiences in modeling), but I am able to identify more with Koons's statements, if I consider my songs to be my 'sculptures'.
Ushering in Banality, by Jeff Koons
film still from Cremaster 1, by Matthew Barney
.
the Hit, and soup.
Remember when I mentioned a song I recorded with my cousin down in LA? Well, the song can now be heard on Caws Pobi's myspace page. Bend an ear.
Also, if there is anyone in Corvallis that does not have my Brettrospective book of cartoons, there are a few for sale at Interzone cafe on Monroe. Supplies are limited!
And it just so happens that Interzone is right across the street from a new soup shop that opened not too long ago. The soup there is good, and I endorse the place, but Cody and I had the idea of opening a soup restaurant on Monroe a loooong time ago. Someone must have overheard us.
I just typed in the word "soup" into Google's image search, and it brought up the pictures above. Go here to learn about pixel tiles and the art of mariosoup. If you are an art nerd like me, they probably remind you of Alfred Roller's Vienna Secession posters.
.
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Remember when I mentioned a song I recorded with my cousin down in LA? Well, the song can now be heard on Caws Pobi's myspace page. Bend an ear.
Also, if there is anyone in Corvallis that does not have my Brettrospective book of cartoons, there are a few for sale at Interzone cafe on Monroe. Supplies are limited!
And it just so happens that Interzone is right across the street from a new soup shop that opened not too long ago. The soup there is good, and I endorse the place, but Cody and I had the idea of opening a soup restaurant on Monroe a loooong time ago. Someone must have overheard us.
I just typed in the word "soup" into Google's image search, and it brought up the pictures above. Go here to learn about pixel tiles and the art of mariosoup. If you are an art nerd like me, they probably remind you of Alfred Roller's Vienna Secession posters.
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Monday, March 13, 2006
Royal Robertson.
Today I stopped by the OSU bookstore to check out the new art books, and I found a fascinating little book about How to Look at Outsider Art. For those of you who aren't in the know, Outsider Art is a loose term used to group together art created by social outcasts, the homeless, the mentally ill, children, or anyone else lacking academic art training or working outside the established fine arts world. Primitivism is often linked with Outsider Art.
Flipping through the book, I was really struck by the art of Royal Robertson. Robertson was a sign painter in Louisiana who's drawings jump between his interest in futuristic fantasy and his obsession with his adulterous ex-wife, Adell. There is certainly something tragically funny about his art, but I also feel that his drawings represent the fundamental compulsion to express, a compulsion felt by every artist. Robertson's emotional turmoil over his lost wife drove him to create his art, and while his aesthetic taste for streamlined spaceships and castles dominate his visual style, the anger he felt towards Adell is an ever-present theme. His personal fantasy world becomes a bizarre mix of cosmic imagery, bitterness, biblical threats, and calendar-like numerical grids. (click for a larger image)
.
Today I stopped by the OSU bookstore to check out the new art books, and I found a fascinating little book about How to Look at Outsider Art. For those of you who aren't in the know, Outsider Art is a loose term used to group together art created by social outcasts, the homeless, the mentally ill, children, or anyone else lacking academic art training or working outside the established fine arts world. Primitivism is often linked with Outsider Art.
Flipping through the book, I was really struck by the art of Royal Robertson. Robertson was a sign painter in Louisiana who's drawings jump between his interest in futuristic fantasy and his obsession with his adulterous ex-wife, Adell. There is certainly something tragically funny about his art, but I also feel that his drawings represent the fundamental compulsion to express, a compulsion felt by every artist. Robertson's emotional turmoil over his lost wife drove him to create his art, and while his aesthetic taste for streamlined spaceships and castles dominate his visual style, the anger he felt towards Adell is an ever-present theme. His personal fantasy world becomes a bizarre mix of cosmic imagery, bitterness, biblical threats, and calendar-like numerical grids. (click for a larger image)
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Sunday, March 12, 2006
Monday, March 06, 2006
everyone is famous for fifteen people.
So what's the deal with this Myspace thing? How come everyone is jumping on the bandwagon and creating their own stupid little page? And how come Caws Pobi has 40 friends while I only have 21?
Shucks, kids. Everyone is jumping on the Myspace bandwagon because that's what the internet is all about: information. Since the dawn of man, the world-wide-web has always been the easiest source of information on products, places, public icons, music, academics, economics, entertainment, porn, stadium mud buggies, crazy hats, jazz flute, and everything else. Thus, it is a logical step that it become your premier source for finding information on random people.
It was Momus who first said the "everyone will be famous for fifteen people" quote that I love so much. It suggests a leveling of the social spectrum brought about by the age of information. Fame become relative. The more you know about people, the more interesting/famous they become to you. Regarding his song The Age of Information, Momus wrote "Maybe the new transparency will mean a new tolerance for the complexities of human behavior. Nixon got impeached when people heard his secret tapes, but the more people learn about Clinton's immorality, the more they seem to like him." If this is getting too far from the subject of Myspace, let's all look at some lyrics from the song:
...Your reputation used to depend on what you conceal, now it depends on what you reveal.
...Somebody's hand is in your tin of Netscape magic cookies, but relax: if you're an interesting person, morally good in your acts, you have nothing to fear from facts.
...These are different times, now the bottom line is that everyone should prepare to be known. Most of your friends will still like you fine.
You are given the free opportunity to customize a profile of yourself, complete with pictures, interviews, hobbies, pet names, favorite song, favorite works of art, who you'd like to meet, what kind of food your dog likes, or how often you sneeze, all in the anticipation that people you know (or people you don't know!) will read about you and become fascinated. There are many who really become quite narcissistic with the whole thing, such as the guy I love to hate, Number1Hater. This guy isn't on TV or even radio because, seriously, he's a complete tool. But he's got 253987 friends, and to all of them, he's famous.
In contrast, I give you this girl, who has set her profile to 'private'. Apparently she doesn't want to be famous. Myspace is a useful networking tool, allowing you to arrange a small (or large) online community with which to keep contact with and alert of events or gatherings, so creating an extensive profile is optional. But it makes you wonder; what aspects of this girl's life is she so afraid of revealing? Perhaps she just created the page to poke around at the profiles of her friends while she chooses to remain anonymous, closed and uninteresting.
webspace...
...myspace
When I first created my profile I didn't see much of a point to it. I took my time making it look visually pleasing, but when I was finished it simply gathered e-dust. I didn't need to update it, because nothing about me was changing very drastically. It wasn't until I found the 'music' section of Myspace that I really saw the significance of the whole system. If you're an amateur musician, the one thing you need is an easy way to get your music and your band info to the world. And here it is: an easy-to-make profile that allows you to upload 4 songs for visitors to listen to. It's simpler than a band homepage; more like an apartment-page. Small, practical, and cheap, not to mention easily refurnished. A musical act without the website expertise to build a homepage can easily 'rent' a Myspace site and start networking. The best and most addictive part of this whole thing for me is browsing through other musicians pages. By searching for other experimental groups in Oregon I discovered the strange songs of Anbot Rodroid and Antonio Granite. I mentioned that Caws Pobi has 40 friends, and 12 of them are strangers and musicians who apparently found my music interesting enough to invite me to be their friend. How refreshing to know that there are other unfinanced young people making great music! You're finished, MTV! I prefer Squeeze Me I Squeak and The Stan McMahon Band to your boring bands!
.
So what's the deal with this Myspace thing? How come everyone is jumping on the bandwagon and creating their own stupid little page? And how come Caws Pobi has 40 friends while I only have 21?
Shucks, kids. Everyone is jumping on the Myspace bandwagon because that's what the internet is all about: information. Since the dawn of man, the world-wide-web has always been the easiest source of information on products, places, public icons, music, academics, economics, entertainment, porn, stadium mud buggies, crazy hats, jazz flute, and everything else. Thus, it is a logical step that it become your premier source for finding information on random people.
It was Momus who first said the "everyone will be famous for fifteen people" quote that I love so much. It suggests a leveling of the social spectrum brought about by the age of information. Fame become relative. The more you know about people, the more interesting/famous they become to you. Regarding his song The Age of Information, Momus wrote "Maybe the new transparency will mean a new tolerance for the complexities of human behavior. Nixon got impeached when people heard his secret tapes, but the more people learn about Clinton's immorality, the more they seem to like him." If this is getting too far from the subject of Myspace, let's all look at some lyrics from the song:
...Your reputation used to depend on what you conceal, now it depends on what you reveal.
...Somebody's hand is in your tin of Netscape magic cookies, but relax: if you're an interesting person, morally good in your acts, you have nothing to fear from facts.
...These are different times, now the bottom line is that everyone should prepare to be known. Most of your friends will still like you fine.
You are given the free opportunity to customize a profile of yourself, complete with pictures, interviews, hobbies, pet names, favorite song, favorite works of art, who you'd like to meet, what kind of food your dog likes, or how often you sneeze, all in the anticipation that people you know (or people you don't know!) will read about you and become fascinated. There are many who really become quite narcissistic with the whole thing, such as the guy I love to hate, Number1Hater. This guy isn't on TV or even radio because, seriously, he's a complete tool. But he's got 253987 friends, and to all of them, he's famous.
In contrast, I give you this girl, who has set her profile to 'private'. Apparently she doesn't want to be famous. Myspace is a useful networking tool, allowing you to arrange a small (or large) online community with which to keep contact with and alert of events or gatherings, so creating an extensive profile is optional. But it makes you wonder; what aspects of this girl's life is she so afraid of revealing? Perhaps she just created the page to poke around at the profiles of her friends while she chooses to remain anonymous, closed and uninteresting.
webspace...
...myspace
When I first created my profile I didn't see much of a point to it. I took my time making it look visually pleasing, but when I was finished it simply gathered e-dust. I didn't need to update it, because nothing about me was changing very drastically. It wasn't until I found the 'music' section of Myspace that I really saw the significance of the whole system. If you're an amateur musician, the one thing you need is an easy way to get your music and your band info to the world. And here it is: an easy-to-make profile that allows you to upload 4 songs for visitors to listen to. It's simpler than a band homepage; more like an apartment-page. Small, practical, and cheap, not to mention easily refurnished. A musical act without the website expertise to build a homepage can easily 'rent' a Myspace site and start networking. The best and most addictive part of this whole thing for me is browsing through other musicians pages. By searching for other experimental groups in Oregon I discovered the strange songs of Anbot Rodroid and Antonio Granite. I mentioned that Caws Pobi has 40 friends, and 12 of them are strangers and musicians who apparently found my music interesting enough to invite me to be their friend. How refreshing to know that there are other unfinanced young people making great music! You're finished, MTV! I prefer Squeeze Me I Squeak and The Stan McMahon Band to your boring bands!
.
Saturday, March 04, 2006
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