October Favorites

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. 

Here's her tumblr. Here's the music video I'm currently obsessed with:

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. 

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.

Ahhhhhh the hand belt!!

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.

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.

His work is famous for its homoerotic undertones. I can't imagine why.

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. 

April Favorites

April was a dull month punctured with brief moments of intense dread, anxiety, stress dreaming, and a general sense of uneasiness. I didn't have time to cultivate many pop culture obsessions, and for that, I am truly sorry.

Mommy

On a brighter note, I finally saw Mommy by Xavier Dolan!! And it was EXACTLY AS AMAZING as everyone had said it would be!!!!!! I actually watched it with my brother and my dad (17m, 60m) and they both loved it as well, so I'm certain it appeals to a broad demographic of humanity. It made me feel so many different and powerful emotions, most salient among them the appreciation for life. The joie de vivre. (Ugh, I know, I need to stop.)

If you are like me and have been scouring the Internet for an English-subbed version but have not yet found one, feel free to PM me on any one of my various social media sites and I can forward you a link.

I didn't get a chance to do any screenshots, but here's the lovely, beautiful, cinematographically-impeccable trailer:

Ingmar Bergman

I purchased a Hulu Plus account several months ago and only really watched a few things before I let it fall to the wayside (you know, how school gets in the way of life, man). But on weekends, when I hang out with my boyfriend who also loves pretentious films, we watch a lot of Ingmar Bergman.

For my most dedicated followers (I'm sure there are many of you), you may remember my having seen Fanny and Alexander over Christmas Break. Since, I've seen Wild Strawberries and Through A Glass Darkly. It's typically harder for me to pay attention to film and TV that's filmed in black-and-white, because I'm such a spoiled Gen Xer, but all his shots seem so carefully considered and all his characters are so interesting and realistic that I never get bored. I still think Fanny and Alexander is my favorite, but both Wild Strawberries and Through A Glass Darkly moved me.

Orange is the New Black

I'm always late to the party with TV shows. I finished the first season in a few days and I've been playing it while animating stuff. It's fun and wacky and reminds me of a funnier Lost, what with its diverse cast of characters and pre-prison flashbacks. Apparently my dad and my brother have also watched it and enjoyed it, long before I ever decided to delve into it. Sigh.

Miscellany

I did get a chance to see a few films  at the Minneapolis Film Festival. One was Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter and the other was Black Coal, Thin Ice. Both were breathtaking in terms of cinematography, and both certainly matched my April mood of intense dread/anxiety/stress/dreamness/unease. I certainly recommend them. I also had the chance to interview a filmmaker from my school who makes amazing experimental documentaries and who also showed a film at MSPIFF.


The Voyage of the Soul- Not Life Alone. from Marie Ketring on Vimeo.

I've only got this Public Domain Review article that examines the development and philosophical/psychological implications of the color black in paintings throughout history. I used it as inspiration for a series of drawings I did about the universe that I have not yet photographed, but rest assured I will get around to that in about two weeks when I have to clean and move out of my apartment.

I've also started cultivating a repository of images that will inspire future color palettes in my work. I'm very much concerned/nearly obsessed with color. I gather these images mostly via Tumblr and Cargo Collective, and I DON'T have any sources, though if any readers are interested I am sure you are more than able to perform a reverse Google image search. So, I guess, with that, here's some eye candy in this eclectic and aimless blog post:

March Favorites

This month's installment of favorite stuff! This month at school was incredibly busy, so I didn't really have time to do very much of anything, so I apologize for the small-ish and video-heavy list of faves.

Late Night Work Club

In my exploration of non-mainstream animation, I've stumbled upon an animation collective that makes beautiful, unique, independent, non-traditional animations. And I am utterly obsessed with them. I'm trying to make my final animation project look like their works, even though I lack the skill and the technical ability to make it work. But I'm trying.

A few of my favorite members are Caleb Wood, Charles Huettner, Alex Grigg, Erin Kilkenny, and Jake Armstrong. I'm sure I would love all the others as well, but I just haven't had the chance to look very much into their work.

Some Vimeo favorites:


Mountain Ash from jake armstrong on Vimeo.


Tower Block. Loopdeloop from Alex Grigg on Vimeo.


But I'm A Nice Guy from Scott Benson on Vimeo.


Little Wild from caleb wood on Vimeo.


TOTEM from caleb wood on Vimeo.


Phantom Limb from Alex Grigg on Vimeo.


The Jump from Charles Huettner on Vimeo.


Spit Ball from Charles Huettner on Vimeo.

I am obsessed with Caleb Wood. I was actually going to see his show at the Trylon, um, today, I believe, but I forgot that I would be on Spring Break. And I am currently in Colorado, so. It's disappointing, but I hope I get a chance to see him present his work in the future!

Emily Kai Block

I found her through Vimeo's feature on female filmmakers and animators (I am obsessed with Vimeo, as you can probably tell) and I fell in love with her almost immediately. She's primarily a music video director, and she's made some of my favorite videos from some of my favorite artists: Grimes' "Oblivion," Lorde's "Yellow Flicker Beat," Grizzly Bear's "Yet Again." I've always been very interested in music, which directly translates into my fascination with music videos, and I've always wanted to make art for musicians, be it T-shirts, album covers, or music videos.

I am jealous of her life and of her friendships with some of the most popular musicians of today, and I aspire to be her one day. I've seen the "Oblivion" music video probably 50 times, so here it is:


Grimes - Oblivion from Emily Kai Bock on Vimeo.

February Favorites

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January Favorites

Each month I will be posting a list of my favorite things — general things that I experienced or saw or read or whatever. Things I was inspired by and will become a part of my personal collection of interesting, random things that I can draw upon when I want to seem cool or erudite.

Parks and Recreation

I have been watching a lot of Parks and Rec. I think I finished upwards of four seasons in about two and a half weeks. (Yes, I know I'm a little late to the party.)

Edouard Manet

One of my favorite painters from history. I first fell in love with Modernism as an artistic movement two years ago when I took a class at UCLA with art historian George Baker, who was probably the best teacher I have ever had, ever, in my life. I didn't really like Manet before, since I thought his work seemed unfinished and boring, but Baker was so extremely passionate about Manet (and about art history in general) and I learned so much from him.  

This quarter, at MCAD, I'm currently taking an art history course in Modernism onwards. We just finished our lecture on Manet and the Impressionists last week, and my love for him was reignited.

Al Jarnow

We learned about him as a stop-motion animator in my media class, and I did a presentation on him. Here's an amazing documentary on his work:


Asymmetric Cycles: The Work Of Al Jarnow from numerogroup on Vimeo.