dessalles

[Photo: view of Tom Sachs' Lunar Module (2007)]

In attempt to update this space more than once a month, and short of hiring a blog coach, I’ve decided I’m just gonna throw out a bunch of stuff I’ve seen around recently. I didn’t want this site to turn into yet another link blog, but alas, an occasional aggregate of links to people, places and things is the easiest way to ensure some regularity. And so we start off with….

A band called Yeasayer is set to blow up. From “Brooklyn”, they have a way of channeling bits and pieces of Phil Collins, Peter Gabriel, Fleetwood Mac and Paul Simon in a style that doesn’t challenge your generational integrity (if you’re under the age of 35). The debut, to be released on October 23rd on We Are Free Records, is called All Hour Cymbals and it’s really, really good. As usual, you can check their M-Space for more audio.

[Yeasayer - 2080]

[Image: Lebbeus Woods, Terrain, 1 of 3 (1998-99)]

BLDGBLOG has got a nice and short interview with Lebbeus Woods. Interestingly, author Geoff Manaugh and I share something in common: Woods is the first architect we became familiar with. In fact, I believe the first architectural publication I ever read was Woods’. Also noted in the article is the launch of Woods’ personal site. It’s got a really great chronology of his selected works that’s definitely worth your time.

[Image: still from Toshio Matsumoto's Mona Lisa (1973)]

Merzboy Goes Conceptual is a fantastic blog I just learned about. The author introduces and discusses experimental and avant-guarde film (mostly Japanese) - something I know absolutely NOTHING about. The best part is that he doesn’t just write about the the works but, if not easily available elsewhere, he rips and uploads them so you can watch them yourself (go internet!). My first encounter with Merzboy was via his post about Toshio Matsumoto - an amazing, Japanese, experimental filmmaker. Merzboy has graciously made available 8 of Matsumoto’s films (1961-87) - and he’s promising more to come. Gah! So many!

[Photo: view of Tom Sachs' Lunar Module (2007)]

Not sure how I came across it but I found myself taking a look at the portfolio site of Kiel Johnson. Johnson seems to be the Tom Sachs of cardboard (Sachs is a long time favorite of mine since I learned about him in a 2001 interview in Index Magazine). Like Sachs, Johnson constructs scale models of everything from submarines to air traffic control towers. And having not checked in with Sachs in a while, I took a trip to his site to see what he’s been up to; and go figure, the man has outdone himself again with his latest exhibition, SPACE PROGRAM. It’s running through October 13th at the Beverly Hills Gagosian. From the press release:

In addition to the huge, intricately built lunar module that is the centerpiece of SPACE PROGRAM - replete with such classic Sachsian features as a fully stocked booze cabinet, toolkit, and soundtrack necessary for survival on an alien planet - visitors will find a fully functioning mission-control unit. On a grid of monitors, the liturgy of space exploration unfolds in a live demonstration by Sachs and his team, involving countless rituals and procedures, from instrument checks to moon-walking and sample-collecting to splash-down. Thus the gallery becomes a sort of reliquary of both the material traces and special effects of the artist’s encounters with the terrible sublime.

[Photo: from Yoshiyuki's series, The Park (1971)]

Speaking of “terrible sublime”, VVORK points to a series of photos, titled The Park, by 1970s Japanese photographer Kohei Yoshiyuki. The collection is on show at the Yossi Milo Gallery in NYC until October 20th. My hands are getting carpal-ly on me so I’m going to jump to the copy and paste:

[...] taken in Tokyo’s Shinjuku, Yoyogi, and Aoyama parks during the 1970s, Mr. Yoshiyuki used a 35mm camera, infrared film, and flash to document the people who gathered there at night for clandestine trysts, as well as the many spectators lurking in the bushes who watched—and sometimes participated in—these couplings. With their raw, snapshot-like quality, these images not only uncover the hidden sexual exploits of their subjects, both homosexual and heterosexual, but also provoke questions about our own attitudes towards surveillance and voyeurism.

The New York Times has a good audio slideshow about the exhibit.

And finally, Ben Hammersly directs us to this musical masterpiece by the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain: