Sing, Sing, Sing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tK0IxYo1sSc

Goddamn I love Zoot Suits. 

I like boring things.

Genius, visionary, avant-gardist though he is, Andy Warhol is a bit of a dick. He is highly sexist, objectifying his muses relentlessly; in particular Edie Sedgwick, who ended up overdosing. "I am a deeply superficial person." That just about sums up his entire artistic agenda. Appearance. Appearance. Appearance.

Pure Gonzo

Ralph Steadman: cartoonist, writer, composer, magician with a pen and paper, creator of 'Gonzo Journalism.'

OM NOM.

 Once you've stalked enough photographers, you start to realise that the true creatives have something in their works that, try as you might, you can never imitate. It's an essence, a secret technique, a certain je-ne-sais-quoi-le-fuck-it-is that gives you the shivers and makes you wonder: why don't my photos look that good? I believe Peter Cagnacci to be on of these freaks of nature. My first impression was that perhaps he goes a bit overboard with Photoshop, but if you look close enough, you understand that this is the essence I'm talking about. The saturation and over-exposure make his photos ethereal. They draw you in and don't let you out. He is a wizard with photo editing programs - he can see potential in photos that noone else can and brings it out, BUT, he doesn't put much thought into the story behind the photograph. What are the photographs saying? To me, sometimes they don't say anything, while at other times I can tell they're trying but not quite getting the message across. But then again, perhaps that's part of the essence of his works: they're just photographs. Beautiful photographs. AMAZING photographs. Check them out and decide for yourself at http://www.petercagnacci.com/ and http://kidsdieyoung.tumblr.com/.

c/o Peter Cagnacci

Les Ballets Russes

Above are some costume designs by Alexandre Benois for the ballet "Petrushka" (1910). It tells the story of a puppet who is brough to life and "imprisoned", along with other dolls, by his charlatan master who makes him perform at fairs. He eventually escapes his prison, only to be slain by a Moor doll over his jealousy for their mutual love of a Ballerina doll. The story ends with Petrushka's (the puppet) ghost scaring his master away, leaving the audience to wonder who is "real" and who is not. I love the creativity, intricacy and colour that went into these designs. I'm off to see "Ballets Russes: The Art of Costume" - an exhibition in Canberra - next weekend. I can't wait to see these beauties.

I Hate Mondays.

Banksy. Street artist. Innovator. Genius.

His works are dualistic in that they are simplistic while simultaneously showing complexity. Simplistic in the sense that most of his pieces comprise one single illustration (or object in the case of his installations), and complex due to the intricacy of the illustrations (which is unusual for a graffiti artist) and his insightful yet entertaining social commentary. Even if you glance over one of his works, his message is clear. Take for example, his works along the Gaza Strip.

 The Gaza Strip borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about 41 kilometers long. Initially under Israeli control, the Gaza Strip was then transferred into the hands of the Palestinians in accoradance with the Oslo Agreement, thus between 1994 and 1996 Israel built the Israeli Gaza Strip barrier for its own security. The UN and many other international bodies consider Israel to be the occupying power of the Gaza Strip as Israel controls its airspace and territorial waters, and does not allow the movement of goods in or out of Gaza by air or sea. In these works, Banksy highlights the blatant denial of a basic human right - freedom of movement - which screams for government attention, yet almost lightheartedly echoes the struggle of the people.

Due to ongoing legal proceedings, Banksy has never revealed his identity. Which I think is an excellent idea. The longer he can evade paparrazzo attention and the toxic celebrity environment of drugs, alcohol and solicited sex, the better.

Cisum Ynkuf.

 Nathan Wind Photography: I love the energy in his photos, especially because it is musical,creative energy. He captures the spirit of the music in the facial expressions of the artists, and the black/white photography exaggerates this by focusing the audience's eye on the subject rather than the colour.

See more of his stuff at:

http://nathanwind.doctorfassman.com/takeshi/

Willett.

On inspiration: I had a creative writing teacher who said that the Zen of writing is "You don't know what you're going to write when you start, you just allow yourself to start." On change: In between albums, if you really want to do something and change yourself, it's like you're a huge ship, and you're trying to turn it around 180 degrees. It takes a while, and it takes a lot of work. It's terrifying but liberating. On being an artist: I'm learning about that now - what it is to be an artist in your life. To be constantly changing and to be able to kind of put on one mask for a while, then take it off and put on another mask, I've always disliked musicians who are so self-aborbed that they can't see out of themselves and the world around them. I've kind of liked people who are very aware that they are trying on a persona. On our generation: We're very good at being cynical, and reading people's bullshit. But I think we've lost the ability to be sincere. People will always e able to connect with music, because it really pulls on their heart. But if they can live their lives in a way where they feel love and can show love and heart, and not be sceptical and afraid of it, that's the heart of our generation.

*Excerpt from frankie's Issue #40 interview with Cold War Kids' frontman Nathan Willett.

Ba-ba-ba-ryshnikov.

                                              

This is Mikhail Baryshnikov, arguably the greatest ballerino of the 20th century. Take a long hard look. Go on, linger over those muscles. What drew me to ballet was its perfection and elegance - which Baryshnikov reflects in his poise, persona and silhouette. Having started ballet lessons for the first time at age 19 (and just after the release of Black Swan) I have received a lot of criticism regarding my interest in the art. Just for the record, I did not start ballet because I saw Natalie Portman prance around in a tutu and then get eaten out by some chick. I am in love with the movement of ballet - the seamless transition from chassé to arabesque to pas de bourré and, as previously mentioned, the elegance and perfection associated with it. Ballet requires immense fitness, balance, and coordination and it will be a long time before I'm on par with The Russian, if ever. For now, I'll just swoon. 

Etchings from a body tortured.

c/o Yours Truly