You know how the intro shot of any movie in New York starts with a helicopter’s view from above the city? I love that. It feels grand. Now you can start off your own day with the same kind of drama. Just set your laptop to this site: http://www.pixelcase.com.au/vr/2009/newyork/ and then when you wake up, turn over and take a look. You’ll feel like you’re starring in your very own movie. Which of course you are. Make sure to go into full screen mode (lower right) and click on the various “tours” (lower left). Then just let ‘er fly.
Danger Mouse is the guy who did that mash-up album of The Beatles’ White album and Jay-Z’s Black album. He’s back with another album ensnarled in controversy, called “Dark Night of the Soul.” But you knew all that. The album is a who’s who of musical and cultural importance; from The Shins’ James Mercer to The Strokes to Sparklehorse to Iggy Pop to. What was strange was that David Lynch’s name was also attached to it. That didn’t ever seem to make sense. Well, now, because of some potential lawsuit, the album has been released but with, get this, no music. That’s right, it comes with a blank CD. One guess what you’re supposed to do with that thing as, oops, the songs have somehow all turned up online. The thing you might not know is that there’s a show opening tomorrow night (May 30th) of David Lynch’s photographs that appear in the music-less album’s attached book. The show is at the Kohn Gallery on Beverly and is also called “Dark Night of the Soul.” And the music playing in the background will be, you guessed it, the unreleased music of Danger Mouse and crew.
The chaos of it all got me thinking about David Lynch movies, shows, photos and weather reports. It’s all stream of conscious. It doesn’t move in a linear fashion, or even in a temporally correct kind of way. Instead it meanders in and out of environments and realities, the only thing you have left to hold onto are themes, which you eventually come to realize, are the most important thing anyway. It seemed weird for him to be involved in a music project from the beginning, but now that it’s all so confusing, it’s actually starting to make sense.
Here’s where you can listen to the album
Here’s the gallery opening info
Here’s David Lynch’s weather report
I’ve had this story rolling around in my head for years…
A girl takes a photography class in college. As part of a class assignment, she grabs a suave freshman student to sit for her on a sheet-covered couch, siting against a wall, etc. Natural light fills the room, perhaps a bit over-exposed but nice – the subject smiles and is unusually comfortable and relaxed in front of the lens. The pictures capture something but she dismisses it and goes on to major in psychology.
29 years pass, the girl has her own practice, and that guy in the picture suddenly turns up as the President of the United States. What are the chances? She rummages through her garage, past old yearbooks and that first Nikkormat SLR. She wipes the dust from the viewfinder. Then, under a stack of old records and letters, she finds a proof sheet. It’s him.
Continue reading ‘“The Obama Photographs” Why does real life keep stealing my best ideas?’
“Lighting is everything.” My Mom taught me that at an early age. It wasn’t an art lesson, it was a beauty lesson. But it was an art lesson, too. After all, how you light your subject determines a lot.
Then, when I got into drawing, my Dad sat me down with his long-time friend, Lee Chapman. At the time, Lee lived in a beautiful sprawling house with a pool, up in Laurel Canyon. He was an ad guy, but his true calling was fine art. We had his paintings in our house and I had already heard many stories about his drawing and illustration skills before I had met with him that day. It was intimidating as hell. “So, you like to draw?” I remember him asking me. “Let me show you something.” Continue reading ‘Lighting is everything.’
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