1. Loup Blaster
She's my new favorite animator. I saw her music video for Clap! Clap!'s song "Playfulness," and then I saw it ten more times. Her work is colorful, playful (yes), and wholly unique. She's also a VJ and a refugee activist in Calais, France. And she's like, maybe two years older than me.
Clap! Clap! - '(P) Playfulness' Official Video (Black Acre) from BBBlaster on Vimeo.
2. John Singer Sargeant's Painting Techniques
This semester I'm taking an oil portrait painting class. I took one painting class over the summer—my very first (unless you count high school)—and I quite enjoyed it, though we used acrylic.
The class was extremely, extremely difficult at first. I consider myself more or less proficient in observational drawing, thanks to my rigorous first year at MCAD, but observational painting is an entirely different matter. And portraiture, in particular, is so tenuously formed that a single brash swipe could undo hours of careful work and planning.
My teacher was mostly incompetent, if I'm to be honest, and I didn't really learn much from her in the first few weeks. You know, the stagnant I'm-terrible-at-art-and-will-never-be-better-ever phase that all nascent artists go through. But the John Singer Sargeant article helped, even if it was filtered through a secondary voice. So if you're interested in oil painting, read it, yo.
My teacher was mostly incompetent, if I'm to be honest, and I didn't really learn much from her in the first few weeks. You know, the stagnant I'm-terrible-at-art-and-will-never-be-better-ever phase that all nascent artists go through. But the John Singer Sargeant article helped, even if it was filtered through a secondary voice. So if you're interested in oil painting, read it, yo.
3. Crimson Peak, directed by Guillermo del Toro
It was a fantastic film. Go watch it, if you're into pulpy, campy, terrifying, visually rich gothic romance-type stuff. Like Edgar Allen Poe mixed with
But honestly, I was mostly into it for the clothes.
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| Ahhhhhh the hand belt!! |
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| So epic. So evil. |
Here's an article with interviews of some of the film's costume designers.
My friend brought an entire fucking miniature cake to the theater, because it was her birthday earlier in the week, and she just pulled some metal forks out of her bag and we just ate it, right then and there. The cake ended up in my lap and I accidentally had probably 60% of it. I also stole a slushie.
4. Angel Olson
Cold weather is nigh, and with grey skies and bitter winds comes sadcore. Welcome to my new favorite sadcore artist. (I don't think she's literally sadcore but my friend called her sadcore when I showed her to him and it was funny because it's too true!!)
5. HarvardX Neuroscience: Poetry of Perception
I am obsessed with this series from HarvardX Neuroscience, particularly the animation by CalArts student Brian Smee. I love neuroscience, and I love animation, and now that I have seen an institution elegantly combine the two subjects into a beautiful, sensual, and educational creative piece of art, my life's purpose has been vicariously fulfilled.
I've watched this video maybe ten times, because it's beautiful and I'm very inspired by it.
Part 5/8: Poetry of Perception from HarvardX Neuroscience on Vimeo.
6. Oliver Sacks
I knew Oliver Sacks was a very prominent figure in both the neuroscience and the pop science/culture communities, and I knew a bit about him, though I'd never read any of his books. When I heard he passed away, I decided that I'd better educate myself and see why this man and his approach to science/medicine/life was so celebrated. I found free PDFs of The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat and Musicophilia—I've been reading the first on my laptop in class, and the second on my phone on the bus. I started an internship at the end of last month, so I spend quite a bit of time on the bus now.
Like many great writers, including DFW and Nabokov, his work is easy to read and easy to understand, but you feel smarter and richer for just being exposed to both the plethora of information and analysis he provides as well as the brilliance in his syntactical simplicity. I am about halfway through both books and have found them entertaining and delightful to read. And it doesn't hurt that in my head I imagine Oliver Sacks' lilting British voice narrating throughout.
If you're interested in having the PDFs, feel free to email me or something. Or just dig around—you'll find them.
My screenwriting teacher gave a lecture at school about American illustrator J.C. Leyendecker, whom I'd never heard of until then. He was a classically trained illustrator known for his famous Arrow Collar Man advertisements and Saturday Evening Post covers. For decades he was the preeminent American illustrator and led a lavish, quintessentially "roaring twenties" lifestyle, but he eventually fell out of favor towards the end of his life. He also lived with his favorite male model, and it's speculated that they were lovers. Obviously.
What beautiful male specimen. His work feels fresh an entire century later, and I'm inspired by his level of craftsmanship. I also don't know anything about the history of illustration, so he was interesting to learn about.
If you're interested in having the PDFs, feel free to email me or something. Or just dig around—you'll find them.
7. J.C. Leyendecker
My screenwriting teacher gave a lecture at school about American illustrator J.C. Leyendecker, whom I'd never heard of until then. He was a classically trained illustrator known for his famous Arrow Collar Man advertisements and Saturday Evening Post covers. For decades he was the preeminent American illustrator and led a lavish, quintessentially "roaring twenties" lifestyle, but he eventually fell out of favor towards the end of his life. He also lived with his favorite male model, and it's speculated that they were lovers. Obviously.
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| His work is famous for its homoerotic undertones. I can't imagine why. |
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| and also for the confusing gazes. ALWAYS the GAZE |
What beautiful male specimen. His work feels fresh an entire century later, and I'm inspired by his level of craftsmanship. I also don't know anything about the history of illustration, so he was interesting to learn about.
