Tag Archives: futurism

Week of March 2X, Two Thousand 14.

 

Status post watching a documentary about Big Star.  They influenced some bands i really love like Teenage Fanclub and Whiteout.   The documentary was a bit of a bore after the first 30 minutes, but I think it was made for those religiously dovoted to them.  I like some of the tunes…..like “Thirteen” which i always associated to Teenage Fanclub while ignoring the fact that it was a Big Star tune!  Yeah nice one, man.

Check out this article about microengravings onto a grain of sand!  Wicked.

http://thecreatorsproject.vice.com/blog/creating-sand-castles-with-a-single-grain-of-sand

 

My delightful wife bought me a Crosley record player and i’ve been hunting down obscure and favourite records over the past few weeks; culminating in a renewed interest in findings all of those weird Elephant records released on vinyl only in the late 90s.   This is the UK band Elephant, based out of Brighton.  Yes nobody knows who they are it seems.   One day, Ingo Graham (singer wearing lipstick in every promo photo i’ve seen) will come out of hiding and me a superstar though….and i’ll have those rare old records!

On my birthday (March 1st) my wife took me to the Guggenheim to check out the magnificently huge Futurism exhibit.  It sort of bothered me to see ordinary people falling in love with Futurism, but at the same time it made me overjoyed to see SO MUCH Futurism exhibited in one location.  A spectacular show for people such as me who have been fascinated by Futurism for such a long time.  You must go see it! (on until September 2014)

http://www.guggenheim.org/new-york/exhibitions/on-view/italian-futurism-1909-1944-reconstructing-the-universe

futurism-guggenheim

What record am i most excited about!?  Well i’ve pre-ordered the Killing Sound EP on Blackest Ever Black which comes in a limited edition Double 12″.  The record is sold out now, but definitely worth hearing!  Dark, dusty, frosty dub-influenced ambient drone.  Yes please.  It’s kind of obscure…so much that i can’t even find a soundclip online; but trust me i have the EP already on MP3 and it is stunning!

http://blackesteverblack.bigcartel.com/product/killing-sound-i-killing-sound-i-blackest028-2×12

blackest028-packshot

Car culture may be ridiculously shallow and mundane; but that doesn’t stop ME from enjoying my 120 miles of driving i do every day in my, well…badass 2013 BMW 135is.  320hp and mighty, mighty quick.  Been doing donuts all winter with my snow tires on! come on!  I won’t talk about ‘other’ cars much here anymore, but i will definitely talk about what i drive…..because it’s what i live with.

bmw-135is-snow-iedei

 

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The Boulevard.

“The Boulevard” by Gino Severini (c. 1911).  A part of the glorious Futurism movement.

the-boulevard-by-gino-severini-1911

src:  jacobcharleswilson

 

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Gli Addii

“Gli Addii” by the legendary Umberto Boccioni, circa 1915

umberto-boccioni-gli-addii

src:  artinvest

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art of the day. Dynamism of an Automobile

1912 painting by fantastic Futurist painter Luigi Rossolo entitled “Dinamismo di un’Automobile”.  Futurist paintings are often just stunning, and this one is no exception!

Russolo was also famous for introducing sound experimentation into the Futurist art movement—-actually performing concerts in 1914 using boxes and sound sources—leading to arguably the first experimental ‘noise’ concert. Apparently their Milan show ended in fighting and a bit of a riot.  World’s first punk show? Sounds like it.

src: peacock’sTail, jvhDesign

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Giacomo Balla: “The Speeding Automobile”

From the Futurist art movement of Italy, early 1900s.  Superb. Futurism is my favourite art movements, full of amazing post-cubism modernity, but with a whole lotta attitude, and emphasis on the motorcar.

Balla_Speeding_Automobile_Futurism_IEDEI

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Balla: Speed Of The Automobile

FILE UNDER: petrolhead art.

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I’ve long been an admirer of Futurist art —it was truly punk ahead of its time.  It offended many, was overstated, full of creativity, offensive, but in many ways gorgeous in its honesty, boldness, and artistic integrity.

Balla had originally written the founding manifestos of the Futurist Movement, in which #4 out of 10 was:

“We declare that the splendor of the world has been enriched by a new beauty: the beauty of speed. A racing automobile with its bonnet adorned with great tubes like serpents with explosive breath … a roaring motor car which seems to run on machine-gun fire, is more beautiful than the Victory of Samothrace”

an inspiring piece of writing for the 1920s i gotta say….accompanied by this tangential, interesting, and cryptically simple piece of art entitled “The Speed Of The Automobile” (translated into english…)

For more information about Futurism, and the rest of the 10 initial manifestos, visit:

http://cscs.umich.edu/~crshalizi/T4PM/futurist-manifesto.html

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