This fucked me up. It also brings up some of the questions of where ethics and art converge. For me, that argument always brings up the incredibly controversial and possibly borderline psychotic work of Marco Evarissti. Here, it’s examined again by Danish filmmaker Andreas Iversen.
Via Antville
Psyop is the shit. One of my top three animation shops in the world, Psyop constantly turns out innovative, beautiful, purposeful, integrated work. They’re bad ass. Case closed.
Apparently “Crow” is a few years old but it just went up on their Vimeo a few days ago. Directed by Marie Hyon and Marco Spier for MTV MHD, is a tight, light, black, white, and all around stunning piece of work. Behold it in all its glory:
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Douglas Coupland is a genius. I’ve read everything he’s ever published, and he was one of the first authors who transitioned me from a sort of education-based reading automaton to an actual passion for how pop culture, modernity, and the beauty of everyday details can me imbued into writing. I love this man with all my heart.
As a promo for his latest novel, “Generation A”, his upcoming sequel to his groundbreaking novel “Generation X”, Toronto’s own Crush delved into Coupland’s chaotic, eccentric, frenetic, brilliant mind. A pseudo-interview; they’ve evolved it to the next level by interspersing it with imagery and dialogue from “Generation A”, elements of which I don’t think will make total sense without reading the book. It’s like a short film/advertisement/pop art/literary study. It’s functioning on so many levels it makes me giddy.
Marry me, Douglas Coupland.
Argentine street artist Blu made huge waves on the net a while ago with his incredible street art/stop motion vido “Muto.”
His latest is a collaborative piece with David Ellis. It looks like this would take forever. Even if it’s not your aesthetic, you can’t help but be blown away by the intensity of the process…
Via @MarcDSchiller
Following up on the radness that was “Supernova”, yesterday Siggi Eggertsson released “A Growing Pile Of Work”, a stellar vid made by using After Effects to piece together more than 400 images Eggertsson created between 2003 and 2009.
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I discovered Makoto Yabuki’s “White Box” through two very reliable sources: my boy HXFOUR sent it to me and I also saw it on Kateopolis’ epic Vimeo Channel.
This is like a visual toy box of everything I love: spontaneous colour, pencil crayons, bird song, clean white rooms, and anything to do with Japan.
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I realize that I’m a massive dork. But I can’t help it. Following an important day in the life of a large stuffed bear (named “Bear”), Robert Kilman and Safwat Saleem’s “And Everything Was Alright” is one of the most poignant and lovely shorts I’ve ever seen.
There’s a purity of emotion connected to children’s things. Kids live in a universe so fully realized to them yet still nascent to grown-ups. Sometimes we forget how deeply we felt when we were little. Bear is an amalgamation of a memory and a reality; is he young but living in an adult world, or is he old and continues to nurture his dreams despite his life? I think it’s both. Bear is an adult embodiment of our childhood inner-life. We carry those dreams with us no matter how old we grow or how far away they seem.
The sweet simplicity of this short broke my heart and then quietly fixed it again. I have been this bear. I know this bear. And I, too, have searched for my rocket ship…
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Part of an integrated series experiences to totally bring the story to life, “An Everything Was Alright” also shines as a children’s book, online, and an art exhibition.
Call me a pussy, but I just cried like a baby watching this. In a similar vein to Chris Milk’s amazing “Last Day Dream”, Radi0lab and Will Hoffman’s “16: Moments” delivers a bombardment of visual poignancy that’s a bit overwhelming. But in a good way. Like being drawn under by an ocean wave. Or blown out of a cannon. Or eating too much wasabi.
See, I get all emotional because at times like this you realize how universal these glimpses are. People really are very much the same. I had a sort of visual-synaesthesia episode watching this: I tasted parts, I touched others. I was only watching a lap top screen, yet I could smell things.
Powerfully engaging. Like taking your whole life and strolling it past a long hall of mirrors. When I looked I saw things I was, things I am right now, and things I will be…
Via No Zap
I have a mild obsession with Japanese vending machines. I also have a mild obsession with things that light up. Throw in some experimental French electro-ambient, and I’m sold. Easy as that.
This was shot in Tokyo; Japanese vids always looks so sharp. The quality of the light is so austere and tight, like the light can cut. Seriously, the Japanese are putting something in their lightbulbs: extra tungsten or awesomeness or something only they know about. Sound artist Carsten Nicolai directed this vid for Alva Noto‘s “UNITXT u_08-1”, featuring the voice of Anne-James Chaton.
Here’s the thing: Carsten and Alva are the same person. Carsten Nicolai is the man, Alva Noto is his musical persona. Thought they both have their own website. Gotta love Germans…
I immediately love all things Scandinavian. Swedish VFX designer Marko Ljubez’s “Wintermoon” is “a project that was born out of the dark Scandinavian winter.”
And that’s all I needed to know.
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Ljubez’s website is pretty stellar, including lots of interesting behind the scenes info into his work as a 3D artist and digital matte painter at stopp. That stuff is basically geek candy. Tasty. But I especially love his Photoshop Freestyle Sessions, where he dreams up fucking unreal images like “Cloud Boy”:
Via No Zap
shape+colour 