Handsome Furs with Guests

The Handsome Furs show on Sunday was definitely the best performance I have ever seen Dan and Alexei put on in New York. Dan kept reiterating how he is always nervous when he plays in new york. He had nothing to be nervous about, the crowd loved them. The Violins opened the night, I had never heard them before but they were pretty decent. The next “act” the comedians was the absolute worst act I have ever seen. The Handsome Furs played a nice full set with what I believe were three new songs. At the end of the show Dan invited Hadgi Bakara from Wolf Parade onto the stage to play the drums. After the final song with Hadgi still on stage he brought his laptop and plugged it in to the sound system. Hadgi threw picked up Alexei’s keyboard and pronounced he would playing the “Lil Wayne leak”. It was pretty funny ending of a great show.

Paskowitz

Last night Lynne and I went to the Gen Art Film Festival. I had no idea what it was or what happens, I just knew that I was going to see Surfwise and the short film called The Ladies by Christina Voros. Both were amazing films! I can’t find a whole lot of information about The Ladies but it was a very witty film about two sisters in their 80’s making a living as dressmakers in new york city.

Surfwise was made by filmmaker Doug Fray. This is a film about family and how a family can be shaped by one mans views on life. This film is one of the best documentaries I’ve ever seen. Dorian “Doc” Paskowitz raised a family of 9 surfers. He has 8 boys and one girl that all grew up in their 24 foot motor home. This film really shows how your family life can shape your views on life. This man is definitely an extremist but everyone probably wishes they had lived a childhood of surfing and truancy.

“Like many American outsider-adventurers, Dorian “Doc” Paskowitz set out to realize a manifest destiny dream. Abandoning a successful medical practice, he sought self-fulfillment by taking up the nomadic life of a surfer.  But unlike other American searchers like Thoreau or Kerouac, Paskowitz took his wife and nine children along for the ride.  Together, they lived a life that would be unfathomable to most, but enviable to anyone who ever relinquished their dreams to a straight job.

For better or worse, the Paskowitz Family proved that America may be running out of frontier, but it hasn’t run out of frontiersmen.”

Also remember tonight is Handsome Furs at Bowery Ballroom. Hopefully I will be able to take some pictures and maybe even a video if I remember and don’t get thrown out. I was looking for some new videos on the forums and I found one from Friday night in Philly. Terrible quality and not so great sound but its youtube. I appreciate hearing new tracks even if the quality is bad

So long Miami

It’s been a long and awesome week. I have been on location since Sunday, hence the lack of posting.

The weather has been outstanding, 85 degrees and sunny all week. One day it absolutely down poured for five minutes and then we had bright blue sky five minutes later. Working on South Beach seems like a much better way to go than vacation. Just a few snap shots from my point shoot. Busy weekend of Handsomefurs and Gen Art film festival ahead. Definitely shots from Handsomefurs on Monday.

and for all of you who are wondering what the hell is up with the last image “domicile”. Yeah that’s right Western Art and Architecture attendees it says DOMICILE. that rules. It’s the little things in life that make it worth while. And swimming in the ocean everyday and getting paid for it.

Cai Guo-Qiang extravaganza weekend

Last weekend I went with some friends to see the Cai Guo-Qiang exhibit at the Guggenheim museum. I had never seen this artists work and I knew next to nothing about it. I went in with a clean slate;almost. I had read an article about Inopportune: Stage One and I understood a little about his works but I didn’t know much about his early works.

Cai works in so many different mediums, he is definitely a multi medium artist. Everything from Gunpowder to goat fur. My favorite work from this exhibition was Head On.

Head On is a piece that consists of 99 wolves. The wolves are made out of papier-mache and fur. The above picture is not the installation at the Guggenheim. At the Guggenheim the wolves go around in a spiral up the ramp and end at the same piece of glass like pictured above. The interaction and ability to walk around and through this piece is the best part. Each wolf is unique, different colors, shapes and sizes.

His work almost fills the entire Guggenheim. This man has created so much work it is quite incredible. I am amazed at the enormity of his portfolio and the depth of his art.

The idea of using gunpowder to create is one of most amazing things i have ever seen. It is more than just the finished piece. The way that he creates the work is an art within itself. There were multiple projectors that showed films of how these were made.

How do you emulate a car bombing without actually blowing up cars? The guy who loves to blow stuff up has set himself the restraint not to. This piece that fills the entire open area of the Guggenheim is awesome. Just the idea of hoisting cars up in the air is great and then he adds flashing lights that emulate fireworks or explosions coming out of the cars.

I know a lot of my readers won’t be able to go visit this exhibit in person but if there is any possible way to, I definitely recommend it. If you can’t possibly make it to New York to see it there is an alternative.  This online exhibit has tons of information on it and the photographs are very well done.  Go Learn!

All images  from Guggenheim online exhibition site.

Roy Pedley and Mr.Isekes

Two photographs I have been working on from my grandmother. I visited her this weekend and she gave me some more names to put with photographs I have scanned.

This is a photograph of my grandfather (far right) and his mother Oma. The couple on the left are family friends the Isekes.

This is a photograph of presumably the same meeting as the above photograph. The man in the middle with the plaid shirt was a friend of my great grandparents Roy Pedley.

This is a photograph of my Great Grandfather Maurice, my Great Grandmother Else, and my great aunt Jane, and her sister Else. That would be my late grandfathers two sisters.

Total Eclipse

Keelay makes the sweetest videos.

HERE

side note: I was fighting to get a real video posted in the post but for some reason wordpress doesn’t like vimeo. I tried both syntaxes neither worked. so click it instead. its worth it.

Digressing to Pre-k

Anacondas

I have been watching a lot of Youtube lately.  Traveling to Philly for the weekend. More photographs to come.

Day workers and grandpa.

Photographs Not Taken:

Today I was driving in Brooklyn for work when I was almost pulled over and started photographing. In the area of Brooklyn I was in there are day workers. These people are usually illegal immigrants that work for a day rate for construction crews or landscapers. We were sitting at a light and acros the road diagonally were two day workers putting their hands up like they were boxing. Soon they were throwing jabs and ripping each others shirts. There were a few solid blows to the face before they were both on the ground.

Why didn’t I stop and photograph it? So bummed.

Creativity

How To Be Creative:

1. Ignore everybody.

2. The idea doesn’t have to be big. It just has to be yours.

3. Put the hours in.

4. If your biz plan depends on you suddenly being “discovered” by some big shot, your plan will probably fail.

5. You are responsible for your own experience.

6. Everyone is born creative; everyone is given a box of crayons in kindergarten.

7. Keep your day job.

8. Companies that squelch creativity can no longer compete with companies that champion creativity.

9. Everybody has their own private Mount Everest they were put on this earth to climb.

10. The more talented somebody is, the less they need the props.

11. Don’t try to stand out from the crowd; avoid crowds altogether.

12. If you accept the pain, it cannot hurt you.

13. Never compare your inside with somebody else’s outside.

14. Dying young is overrated.

15. The most important thing a creative person can learn professionally is where to draw the red line that separates what you are willing to do, and what you are not.

16. The world is changing.

17. Merit can be bought. Passion can’t.

18. Avoid the Watercooler Gang.

19. Sing in your own voice.

20. The choice of media is irrelevant.

21. Selling out is harder than it looks.

22. Nobody cares. Do it for yourself.

23. Worrying about “Commercial vs. Artistic” is a complete waste of time.

24. Don�t worry about finding inspiration. It comes eventually.

25. You have to find your own schtick.

26. Write from the heart.

27. The best way to get approval is not to need it.

28. Power is never given. Power is taken.

29. Whatever choice you make, The Devil gets his due eventually.

30. The hardest part of being creative is getting used to it.

31. Remain frugal.

32. Allow your work to age with you.

33. Being Poor Sucks.

34. Beware of turning hobbies into jobs.

35. Savor obscurity while it lasts.

36. Start blogging.

Thanks [aphotoeditor]

Also from him. NYT Sunday edition slide show. RYAN MCGINLEY. Rules.