Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Shoot your partners
Just did the authors portrait shoot for our book, SHE’S OUT THERE! Below you can see my co-conspirators, Amy Sewell, the author and Heather Ogilvie, the editor.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Egg and circuses
I went to the Whitney Museum here in NYC principally to see the William Eggleston show, but I figured since I just dropped $15, I might as well take a peek at the Calder show. I was not a huge Calder fan- I liked the idea of the mobiles, but they left me a little cold.
However, I was blown away by this show of his wire sculptures and home made machines. The most amazing thing was how some of the sculptures moved, or were made to mimic real actions. His most famous, his most complicated and his grandest series of these was what was called his circus. Like a real circus, Calder had a series of animals, trapezes, tents, performers- sword sallower, lion tamer, clowns, bareback rider, a chariot race, etc.
They had a video of old footage of Calder performing his circus- the performers and big top environs that he stored in a series of suitcases, and traveled with between NY & Paris performing this one man show.
The film has him on the floor, pulling strings, blowing tubes, making music and noises as he makes the animals & performers come to life. A trapeze artists swing back & forth, then suddenly plunges off the swing and catches onto another bar, all due to the skill & perfect timing of Calder pulling and releasing strings, like a puppet master and magician all in one.
One of the highlights was a strange knife thrower flinging a series of small swords, daggers and other sharp implements at his equally fantastical assistant. The absurdity builds, until he finally misses- “fatally” injuring his wire assistant, who is then carried away by two equally whimsical wiry attendants, carrying her body off stage on a stretcher.
In an age of CGI special effects, I was surprised at how the children at the museum sat enthralled by all this, in spite of the lack of English words, and the low tech quality of the film projection.
And Eggleston? Egg is god, but he is also the devil in the details. Mundane yet profound, after seeing his work you can’t help but see his images everywhere you walk, which can make you think that you too could make those kind of images by the pound.
However, I was blown away by this show of his wire sculptures and home made machines. The most amazing thing was how some of the sculptures moved, or were made to mimic real actions. His most famous, his most complicated and his grandest series of these was what was called his circus. Like a real circus, Calder had a series of animals, trapezes, tents, performers- sword sallower, lion tamer, clowns, bareback rider, a chariot race, etc.
They had a video of old footage of Calder performing his circus- the performers and big top environs that he stored in a series of suitcases, and traveled with between NY & Paris performing this one man show.
The film has him on the floor, pulling strings, blowing tubes, making music and noises as he makes the animals & performers come to life. A trapeze artists swing back & forth, then suddenly plunges off the swing and catches onto another bar, all due to the skill & perfect timing of Calder pulling and releasing strings, like a puppet master and magician all in one.
One of the highlights was a strange knife thrower flinging a series of small swords, daggers and other sharp implements at his equally fantastical assistant. The absurdity builds, until he finally misses- “fatally” injuring his wire assistant, who is then carried away by two equally whimsical wiry attendants, carrying her body off stage on a stretcher.
In an age of CGI special effects, I was surprised at how the children at the museum sat enthralled by all this, in spite of the lack of English words, and the low tech quality of the film projection.
And Eggleston? Egg is god, but he is also the devil in the details. Mundane yet profound, after seeing his work you can’t help but see his images everywhere you walk, which can make you think that you too could make those kind of images by the pound.
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