7 – 10 October 2010 Church Street, Parramatta
Adam Celeban, Joe Blanck and Anton Pulvirenti at Chalk 2009
Pavement art, Spoken Word, Music, Body Painting and more! This year's theme is
' 'The Blueusr, music, colo emotions
Take part i n Art Activ ities
FREE EVENT
Find out more at chalkurbanart.com
Hosted by:
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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
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our story on Parklife was awesome! It’s always been my favourite of the summer festivals and reading stories like this really get me excited for the October long weekend!! I’m an avid fan of the vibe that festivals bring to town. The whole season is amazing and the summer days come alive with the atmosphere of thousands of music fans. Sun, Sounds, and beer…I survive winter each year to reach this point and you’ve captured the vibe brilliantly!! Keep ‘em coming!
Dear Editor, I’ve been a fan of Tim Burton films for years, and I was happy to see the August cover of your magazine featured his work. I learned a few things about the extent of his creativity, and I look forward to visiting the ACMI to see the exhibition and participate in a few of the workshops. Thanks for paying proper tribute to one of the most talented artists alive. I personally think you should contact them and be allowed a free ride around the streets of Melbourne in the Batmobile for featuring such a great article! Steven Holliday
Matthew Peake.
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As a firm believer in the green movement, I appreciate that I can get an e-copy of your magazine and read it on my tablet whenever I want.
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Dear Editor, I have been a reader of your magazine since the first issue, and I look forward to downloading each issue and reading it while I travel. As a firm believer in the green movement, I appreciate that I can get an e-copy of your magazine and read it on my tablet whenever I want. I loved the “Go Green: 5 Top Eco-Friendly Products for Your Work Environment” article in the August issue. I have already ordered mine, and I think it’s the best US$30 I’ve ever spent. Christine D.
Aesthetics Now is proudly supported by
Dear Editor, Loved this story on Parklife as I have been to the last 8! Looking forward to this year’s line up, especially as this is their 10th birthday bash. Would love to see more interviews with some of the acts before the big event! Will there be more to come? Elle Chagaris
Dear Elle, We will definitely be featuring some more of Parklife’s amazing artists performing at their 10th annual music festival! This month we sat down with Tord from the Wombats who loves Parklife just as much as you. Make sure to stay tuned for our October issue where we take an exclusive behind the scenes peek at Parklife while it unfolds all around Australia! Simone Colosi Managing Editor
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Make sure to stay tuned for our October issue where we take an exclusive behind the scenes peek at Parklife while it unfolds all around Australia!
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ALL READERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO WRITE TO US. HAVE YOUR WORDS PUBLISHED BY SENDING YOUR EMAILS TO letters@aestheticsnow.com
CONTENTS SEPT 2010
VOLUME 4
FEATURES 18
INTIMATE OBSERVATIONS
Alyssa Monks has released her 2010 series and invites Aesthetics Now readers to preview her paintings and be taken on an intimate journey through the collision of creativity and emotions.
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AMI JAMES: LOVE.HATE.TATTOOS
Ami James from Miami Ink invites you to get to know him off the screen where he talks to us about his inspirations, apparel line and ultimate love for tattoo art.
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THE ART OF TRUTH
Her voice is strong and her mind is powerful. She is Zaki Ibrahim and she is on a mission to create change through her musical beliefs.
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A REPLICA OF ORIGINALITY
Discover the musical force penetrating through Jamaica airwaves with a sound unlike anything this musical country has heard.
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STREET ART, YOUR ART
In the lead up to the Australian Poetry Festival, Jess Cook and her guerrilla warfare take to Sydney’s city streets making a stance through the installation of temporary art.
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MANIFESTO FESTIVAL OF COMMUNITY & CULTURE
Throughout the month of September Toronto comes alive with Manifesto festival or arts. If you don’t know now you know; this is definitely an event not to be missed.
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THE WOMBATS
Tord from the well known trio talks to us about his upcoming journey to Australia for Parklife in October
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FROM ‘THE HARDER THEY COME’ TO ‘BETTER MUS COME’ BEATS, ‘BABYLON’ AND CULTURE IN JAMAICAN FEATURE FILMS This month we take a look at Jamaica’s amazing cinematography and some of the memorable films that this beautiful country has featured.
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TRUTH BEHIND INCEPTION
If you have not yet watched the film then you really are missing out on one of the most mind buzzing pieces to hit the big screen this year. Take a seat in our cinema while we take you behind the scenes of the science of Inception.
COLUMNS 5 MINUTES WITH...
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WHAT’S HOT & WHAT’S NOT
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HOW TO PAINT WITH LIGHT
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POETRY IN MOTION
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BOOKMAN REVIEW
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Spend 5 minutes with a member of the Aesthetics Now team and get to know who the personalities are behind the Visionary Squad names.
Things that make you go ‘oooh’ and the things that make you go ‘ugh’.
Learn how to paint with light with this interesting photography tutorial.
The collaboration of two artists working together to bring visual imagery to poetic words.
Amusing Ourselves To Death by Neil Postman.
IF THEY COULD TWEET 106
If they could tweet, what would they say? Here’s what we would love to see when we log onto Twitter each day.
CREATIVE SPACE: TOP RED PRODUCTS OF THE MONTH 108
Latest trends, funky ideas, creative styles; see what items we feel are ideal to enhance our creative space.
WE RECOMMEND 109
Take a look at our top recommendations in all areas of the arts.
EDITORIALS LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 5 Read their thoughts and share yours.
VISIONARY SQUAD EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT Editor in Chief Neville Ewers
Managing Editor Simone Colosi
Copy Editor The Apostrophe
Art Director Neville Ewers
CONTRIBUTORS Allison Charmaine Analisa Chapman Andre Hall Billy DeCola Cardinal Spin Che Kothari Christian Bortey Dutty Bookman Joao Encarnacao Justine Henzell Katherine Verendia Manifesto Documentation Team 2008/2009 Manifesto - Festival of Community & Culture Monique Gilpin Palm Picture Ryan Paterson Email info@aestheticsnow.com Website www.aestheticsnow.com Š Aesthetics Now 2010. All rights reserved. Material in this publication may not be reproduced in any form without permission. Requests for permission should be made to info@aestheticsnow.com
SPECIAL
F F O % 5 2
IM E O N L Y T D E IT L IM
0414.780.232 876.442.4989 347.435.1568
www.leighcooney.weebly.com leighcooney@hotmail.com
POLO CLUB www.poloclubmusic.com www.myspace.com/poloclub
INTIMATE OBSERTV ALYSSA MONKS
VATIONS
The best part is there is always more to figure out in paint epresenting a narrative, Alyssa Monk portrays a specific place and emotion through her paintings, leaving you with a sense of empathetic detachment. She specialises in photo-realistic art and focuses on the different characteristics that glass, water and the human figure have as they interact in natural formation.
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While at a glance her pictures may look like an intimate photograph, do not be fooled, as this New York fine artist has spent many years perfecting her craft to replicate emotional souls dancing within their painted canvas. This month Aesthetics Now caught up with Alyssa to take a deeper look into her paintings and how her style has developed in her 2010 series. We also spoke with her about her personal feelings towards her art and how her love for water upon human flesh has governed the progression of the amazing work she produces. AN: How did life and growing experiences translate into a passion for art and painting? I always drew. As a child I had tons of "how to draw" books and they kept my attention for hours. I copied pictures from magazines and drew my mother while she slept or anyone who would sit for me. By 9 years old I started my first oil painting class. I remember loving the smell of it instantly. I just kept doing it because I liked it. it was like a world I could escape into I guess. That became more and more true as I got a little older. Once I started college and graduate school, though, it was all I could do to learn it inside and out. It was like a form of OCD, I was never satisfied and always trying to figure out how to make it better, more real, realer than real. I don't know exactly what makes a person feel this way, that they just want to keep doing something for so long, so much, and so intensely, but eventually it makes a difference and the medium becomes facile and fluent. It’s like struggling to learn a foreign language until you can speak it better than your native tongue. Then maybe you can really say something. The best part is there is always more to figure out in paint. AN: Was there ever another option outside of art? Not really. I knew since I was 12 this is what I'd do, but I wasn't allowed to go to art school and couldn't just major in fine art at a liberal arts university either. I double majored in Fine Art and Psychology, but eventually gave up the psychology and took up an Italian studies minor (it was mostly completed anyway). That seemed to satisfy the parents. I always worked different admin or food service jobs through school, and got some good offers along the way. but I kept turning them down and knew I could always go back to that if I had to. I'd be fine with that. The goal was to paint, so whatever that took, I'd do it. As I was saying before, the need to create an illusion became and obsession
until after graduate school. Once I felt I could do that pretty well, I began to push past it to make it more engaging and interesting for myself. It is a natural inclination to deconstruct something in order to really understand it, so I began searching out ways to deconstruct this idea of illusionism, while still feeling that rush of creating space and volumes out of colored dirt and oil that has its own body and texture too. Water found its way into my peripheral vision very organically in these last 6 years as it was always the hardest thing I could think of to paint. It was a challenge I took on with trepidation and excitement and began to use it as a filter through which to see these distorted figures. I was absolutely fascinated by the possibilities. From there its been experimenting with as many substances and elements I can find to further obfuscate the form and find abstraction in realism. AN: How did the concept of your art evolve and what process do you follow in choosing which portraits to paint into artworks? I guess the first part of this question is above. As for the second, I spend a lot of time thinking about new scenarios to set up and experiment with. Once I get it set up and a model to splash around in the water (lately), I shoot about 4000 pictures. From there I wean them down over time. That part takes awhile. I crop, recolor, collage, and sometimes reverse images to make a composition that starts to approach something interesting to me.
I began to searching of ways to deconstruct this idea of illusionism, while still feeling that rush of creating space and volumes out of colored dirt and oil that has its own body and texture too. AN: Can you explain your fascination with the human body and the way it interacts with water? My father is a surgeon and I was always fascinated with what he did. If someone needed stitches, I was there to assist at the office. Maybe that is part of my fixation with the body. It really feels like this mysterious complicated organism that we take for granted all the time but has so many amazing functions and capabilities. It’s resilient and delicate, malleable and the reflectivity and transparency of the skin is just a painter's dream. Plus psychologically, what can we relate to more than the human form? It makes us feel our own mortality as well as invincibility. It can make us see our potential and our vulnerability. For me, there is so much to explore about the human body as a channel through which to create a voice. I spoke about the water element above, but in addition to that, water or any substance acting on the flesh and body further describes the texture and qualities of it. Water is like light in that way. You can see metal is metal because you put light on it and it’s reflective. When you wet something, or put it
Water has its own properties and misbhaves in a way that creates unexpected color or form to further complicate the whole image too. underwater, it says something more about the qualities of that something. But at the same time, the water has its own properties and misbehaves in a way that creates unexpected color or form to further complicate the whole image. There are pockets of realism among sheets of abstract randomness that sometimes seem like patterns. For me it’s interesting to sustain the tension between the two. AN: There is a certain intimacy between the subjects in some of your pieces yet other paintings reflect withdrawal and seclusion, what fuels that drive to depict emotions in the way that you do? I actually do not try to portray a specific emotion in my work. I feel that the emotion happens in spite of or even in response to the painting process itself. Trying to push it too hard always feels melodramatic or contrived to me, and therefore easy to dismiss or difficult to really relate to. I don't ask my models to do anything specific in terms of an emotional portrayal. I tell them to make themselves as comfortable as possible and do what comes natural during the time of the shoot. Laugh if you feel like laughing, if something is uncomfortable; don't be afraid to show it. Feel like yourself more than anything. I actually love those moments where a facial expression is just approaching an emotion, but not quite realized yet. It’s the moment in between definite emotions that is most interesting to me because there is so much potential in that split second. It just keeps going, suspended on a loop without a beginning or end. AN: Who and what inspires you? There are some great painters working now that get me so excited about painting: Vincent Desiderio, Eric Fischl, Jenny Saville, Alex Kanevsky, Emily Eveleth, among others. They are all doing things with paint that I just can't get to the bottom of and I love that. I have a lot of friends who are painters, whose work really inspires me, as well as my students’. Ultimately, the paint itself gets me excited. Mixing big piles of it, feeling it under my brush, watching it do the variety of unexpected things it does makes me want to keep going. I sometimes take pictures of the paint on my palette to keep me there. AN: Do you remember your first piece and how it made you feel upon its completion? I remember the first big painting that I felt really connected to in the process and the outcome. I was 16. I struggled with it for a very long time and changed it a million times. It was the first time I really felt that dialogue between what I did to the picture and responded to what it said back. It is a conversation, not always an easy one, but that's what makes it keep going. To this day, I enjoy that dialogue, and even feel a little disappointed when it's over. The process is the best part; the completion is just the end of that intense conversation. The final strokes of paint on the surface is the consequence of all these moments suspended over time. I take a few minutes to enjoy that, but it’s never as good
as the moments themselves. AN: Any particular piece or reaction to a piece that you hold considerably close to you? There are many, especially recent pieces, that I feel something good about. But the first ones I really feel I hit something new and surprised myself (so much fun), were my diploma paintings from graduate school. I was learning, discovering, experimenting, taking things apart, and pushing in different directions. At the end of it I couldn't remember how I even did it, which was surreal and exciting. The reaction was amazing, but strange because I had been so surprised myself. I realized you have to work without attachment or expectation to really find something new.
Just make more work. Make it better and stronger than the last. Keep making work. Make work that you believe should exist about things you care about and know about. AN: Any upcoming series that our readers should look out for? I'm working on a show for David Klein Gallery this October. AN: Any words of wisdom that you can pass on to emerging artists to inspire them to keep going? Well, the one tip I can share is that no matter what the issue is or problem or situation, the answer is probably in the studio. So skip any frustration and feeling down or desperate. Just make more work. Make it better and stronger than the last. Keep making work. Make work that you believe should exist about things you care about and know about. Make work that is sincere and that you genuinely think is important. Make work that challenges you and keeps you humble. Seek the criticism of others and learn from it, but do not make work to please your audience primarily. Of course, pleasing them is a good thing once you (your first audience) are pleased. Be generous always, and appreciate everything you have. No, it isn’t easy. Finish everything you start. For more information on this photo-realistic goddess and to view past years of her painted work visit her at http://www.alyssamonks.com/.
A
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AMI JAMES
BY ALLISON CHARMAINE
OVE. HATE. TATTOOS
TATTOO ART IS FOR A DIFFERENT TYPE OF PERSON. I JUST KNEW AT 13 IT WAS THE RIGHT ART FOR ME
Israel. 15. 1992. Love. Hate. Tattoos. These words might seem random to you, but to Ami James of Miami Ink fame, these words are just a part of his life’s rich tapestry. This Israeli-born American attributes his love of tattooing to a foundation based in art and drawing, saying: “Tattoo Art is for a different kind of person. I just knew at 13 it was the right art for me.” After getting his first tattoo at the age of 15, Ami resolved to become a tattoo artist; a dream that would lead him to become an apprentice at the store Tattoos by Lou, in 1992. It was under Lou’s tutalage that Ami studied his craft, eventually opening his own store in Miami 305 Ink with co-owner Chris Núñez. The show Miami Ink, which undoubtedly increased the popularity of both the store and the resident artists, featured its owners Ami and Chris, as well as a host of memorable (and not so memorable) characters. The store was eventually renamed Love Hate Tattoos and relocated next to the original ink shop which became a retail store for the DeVille Clothing which he also co-owns with Chris Núñez. In addition to the tattoo parlour, he also co-owns Love Hate Lounge, and the Ami James Jewellery Company which features the Love Hate Choppers Jewellery Line. With tattoos and jewellery conquered, what else is there to do? Create another clothing line that represents not only his personal style, but his passion for art. In that vein James has created the Ami
James Ink Collection which features ladies and men’s clothing patterned in a distinctive design reminiscent of the vivid tattoos that made him famous. In the spirit of art and the variety of media artists use for selfexpression, Aesthetics Now had eight questions for Ami James: AN: Tattooing is a fine art; it takes the same skills and patience as any other art form. Why is it so important that tattooing is seen as an art? AJ: Art is Art whether it goes on the skin or a canvas. It may take different set tools but they both take skill. I would hope the world could appreciate that. AN: How does it feel knowing that your tattoos have changed people’s lives in the past and caused them so much happiness? AJ: The goal is always to give a person everything they could hope for in a finished piece. It is not always possible but when it happens it is overwhelming and priceless. AN: Is there any particular tattoo that has been memorable for you? Why? AJ: The Koi Fish tattoo in very enjoyable for me. Doing this over the years has allowed me to grow as an artist and to see my milestones and progression. AN: Is there a tattoo on your body that means something really important over the rest? What is it? AJ: It is not really one tattoo that has meaning. They all have separate stories with different feelings. But they are all important. AN: Can you tell us a little about how you moved over into apparel? AJ: It felt like a natural progression as an artist, to find a new medium.
ART IS ART WHETHER IT GOES ON THE SKIN OR ON A CANVAS. IT MAY TAKE DIFFERENT SET TOOLS BUT THEY BOTH TAKE SKILL. I WOULD HOPE THE WORLD COULD APPRECIATE THAT
I FIND MY BIGGEST INSPIRATIONS FROM MY TRAVELS. AN: Your talent for tattooing as well as your passion and drive have fuelled you to great success. What is it like to wake up each morning knowing that your job is actually something you love? AJ: It feels like a blessing. The worst thing I can think of for myself is going to work in a cubicle every day. So I'm thankful of the direction I have been able to go, and of the success I have found, and I continue to work for. AN: Any inspirations or greats that have guided and encouraged you along the way? AJ: I find my biggest inspiration from my travels. It is mother’s milk to me. AN: What words of encouragement can you share with young artists, especially those who need that little push to let them know not to give up? AJ: Unfortunately, not every artist is going to make a living of it. That doesn't mean you should stop doing what you feel is your Art. It does mean you should put things into perspective. And continue, but always for the reason of growing and increasing your skill. Never just for success or money. The moment you feel you have achieved your best possible, is the day you should consider stopping. For more information on Love Hate Tattoos visit: www.lovehatetattoos.com and to view Ami James’ regularly updated blog, go to: www.ami-james.com
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Dream as if you'll live forever, live as if you'll die today James Dean
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Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for Epicurus
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www.fuzz.it fuzz@fuzz.it
5 MINUTES WITH
Name: Simone Colosi Position: Managing Editor of Aesthetics Now Magazine Dream job: to travel the world as a creative ambassador for the youth and encourage them artistically Concert you would love to attend: Chris Martin... I don’t even need the rest of the group... he alone knocks my socks off! Top song currently on your iTunes list: On Melancholy Hill - Gorillaz You have 1 hour to spend with a famous deceased. Who do you choose and why? Without a doubt, Salvador Dali. I would live in a pig pen for a month just to know how his brain worked for half a minute. Something you have heard at some point in your life that you will never forget: A very close friend of mine once told me “Real artists don’t colour between the lines, they create their own”… enough said! What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear these words: Alyssa Monk: Ambiguous and daring style. Miami Ink: Tattoos are something that I think needs more appreciation on an artistic level. Ami just goes to show how a concept can be executed in such an artistic way. Zaki Ibrahim: An artiste that stays true to her beliefs regardless of success. She is so down to earth and so real with her goals. Crimson Heart Replica: The unique talent that is becoming more frequently discovered throughout Jamaica. Guerrilla Poetry: Temporary street art focused on visual and literary art. Manifesto: An event targeted at bringing young talent together to experience and enjoy art in its rawest form. Parklife: Australia’s biggest and hottest music festival in the lead up to summer (on my side of the world!). Vibe will be crazy! Finish the following sentences: My memory of my first artwork… I think I was about 7 in Mr Condon’s class in school. I drew an underwater spaceship with a tail (because there is water in space apparently) and surrounding it was metallic purple and blue marbelled paints with glitter. I was so proud of it at the time but if I look back on it now the spaceship has the same physical resemblance of sperm. I really like… willow trees! Call it some weird kind of fascination but I MUST have a home that has a willow tree and on old wooden swing in my backyard. My newest fad… my BB. I’m in day 3 at the moment and trying to decide what to graffiti on its hoodie case (yes folks I lost the original case after day one) It’s Friday night, I’m most likely to… head to Stanley Street Station and drink a glass of sweet wine in the midst of good music, art, food and great company. My most recent bout of inspiration came… funnily enough I was sitting in a doctor’s surgery a couple of days ago and an elderly man was beside me with a young child. He was showing him a magnifying glass and explaining how he would use one when he was in the Vietnam war to start a bonfire as the sun was setting each night. My colleagues would describe me as… the ‘Aussie’. I think I’ve also be known as having Compulsive Stressing-that-everything-is-going-to-get-done-on-time Disorder. I’m also the one who leaves every interview and event saying ‘Ok this was the most inspirational thing ever’… But without me they would be lost :) If I could stand on stage in front of an audience of young artists and share some words of encouragement I would say… take the time to find your comfort zone and then challenge yourself to break away from it to explore new ideas. At the end of the day you have a message and you need to find the courage to communicate it the way it is inside your mind because it is of no inspiration to others if you keep it buried there. Develop a tough exterior because people are going to love your work whilst others will hate it, and if you aren’t open to criticism from day one then you need to learn to deal with it because sometimes the hardest comments are a tough form of love that will inspire you to progress as a person and artist.. Believe me, I know this from experience. Also, enjoy what you do because it’s that passion behind your work that gives you greater results… we are fortunate that art is something we do because we appreciate concepts and their executions, so carrying that extent of gratitude each day makes the whole experience so much more worthwhile.
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1LOVE MOMENT
BIG BANG BIG BOOM
GUARDO DA MIGNOTTA
On August 17th at 1pm the world joined forces for 3 minutes in a celebration inspired by Bob Marley’s vision of hope and unity. People all over the globe were asked through many mediums to join the 1Love Moment and send a worldwide vibration of elevation and help spur a paradigm shift of energy.
The suspense is over... Blu is at it again. What better way to start your day than to sit at your laptop and be hit with another one of Blu’s animated masterpieces. With 10 minutes or artistic eye candy Big Bang Big Boom is sure to leave a usual lasting Blu impression.
Not only has this artists illustrations been a favorite of the Tank Theory team who recently printed one design on their t-shirts, but these strong pieces of art have been popping up all over the place enticing art lovers to get creative and experiment with loads of colour.
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BP USES PHOTOSHOP
Shame on you BP! Doctoring photos of your response to the largest oil spill in US history is not cool at all. What’s even worse is that your graphic arts team not only faked scenes of assistance but also made tonnes of errors in the process... back to school guys to renew those diplomas.
GROUND ZERO PROTEST
RKELLY’S PREGNANT
There are so many things wrong with this. Protests at the Ground Zero site where signs were waved high in the air by supporters who associated Islam with blood in relation to a gathering in celebration of burning the Quran... what ever happened to taking note from Miss Universe contenstants and wishing for world peace?
On August 17th at 1pm the world “Girl you make me wanna get you pregnant, Lay your body down and get you pregnant, Knock you up, pregnant, Knock you up”. These are the lyrics to R Kelly’s newest song Pregnant. First a child pornography trial and now lyrics to encourage the youth to breed... all we can say is a big shame on you!
THE ART OF TRUTH
ZAKI IBRAHIM
WORDS BY DUTTY BOOKMAN “Following your personal truth is not the easiest task.” These words of wisdom from a good-natured, gap-toothed goddess are a suitable introduction to her artistry. “Do what your mind and body tells you to do. Don’t look for any outside validation.” Zaki Ibrahim is unquestionably a young black woman within, even if the colour of her skin doesn’t readily inform the average onlooker. This affirmation was guided from a very early age by her father, a pioneering South African who was the Managing Director for the renowned Bush Radio community station in Cape Town. Zaki grew to become a skilled hairdresser, in the process developing into a conscious lyricist, and her life journey has allowed her eyes to behold various parts of Mother Earth. The biography on her website jests that she has the world’s longest legs, stretching
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What I wanted to do was just kinda be like ‘I’m coming from here, here and here, and I’m doing my thing by saying THIS - ZAKI IBRAHIM
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from Canada, where she was born, to South Africa. Her wit is far from limited to the virtual domain though; friends and acquaintances are well aware of her light-hearted, comedic nature. Seemingly, she doesn’t try too hard. (In response to a question about being overseas, she cleverly retorted, “Where’s overseas again? What is that?”) With regard to her different experiences around the globe, she recalls a recent trip to Nairobi as a standout moment. Attending a film festival, she was caught by surprise when she noticed some young artists performing on a stage. She liked what she saw and worked her way from the bleachers through the crowd, trying to locate a stage manager. When she found the appropriate official, she introduced herself and expressed her desire to showcase her own talent. “What I wanted to do was just kinda be like ‘I’m coming from here, here and here,’” Zaki explained to AN. “‘And I’m doing my thing by saying THIS!’” With that confident go-getter display, she was instantly granted some stage time. That’s just how things tend to be for the highly irresistible. It almost isn’t
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We love Zaki and support everything she does. We miss her energy in Toronto now that she is in South Africa. - CHE KOTHARI
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necessary to discuss her songs because the light she exudes guarantees a certain minimum quality in any material she chooses to produce. Music lovers ought to be content with her mere existence and the fact that she uses her vocal chords to channel a beautiful vibration into this terrestrial realm. But fine... let’s talk about her music. Zaki Ibrahim’s recently released single, ‘Money (King Britt Remix)’ is a prime example of this woman’s body-and-soul-moving capabilities. The video is aesthetically pleasing as well, taking nothing away from the musical experience. One of her personal favourites is ‘Daylight,’ which her fans popularly demand whenever she performs. Ibrahim’s aura on stage tends to generate an organic flavour. One person who readily agrees is Che Kothari, whose Manifesto Festival of Community and Culture is one of the biggest calendar events in Toronto. Zaki was a local headliner for the inaugural staging in 2007. “She has a heart filled with so much genuine and pure love that comes out in her music, and her relationship with her band members on stage fills any audience with a rhythm that lasts for weeks,” said Kothari. “We love Zaki and support everything she does. We miss her energy in Toronto now that she is in South Africa.” She misses them too and believes festivals like Manifesto
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It is hardly surprising that she has been compared to Santiago, the main character in the literary classic, The Alchemist
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are important platforms for aspiring artists. “The whole vibe of Manifesto is just a huge uplifting vibe... I think I’ve been to all of them,” she recounted. “It’s inspiration for everyone. It just really represents art and really doing it.” The “doing” is definitely Zaki’s preference and she does big things. In fact, she operates in “do” mode so much that she hardly thinks. She could actually be considered a proud non-thinker! It’s a nifty trick that she learned when initially exploring her music-making talents. During her very first drum lesson she was told, in no uncertain terms, “you can’t think.” She would internalize that sentiment and keep it with her until present day, presumably without thinking about it. “If you’re too cerebral about your music writing... it’s gonna be something else,” she warned. And nothing disturbs her more than being something other than Zaki. Even when she was invited to participate in a Michael Jackson tribute, which involved doing group moonwalks and other coordinated impersonations of the icon, she decided against it. With that temperament, it is hardly surprising that she has been compared to Santiago, the main character in the literary classic, The Alchemist. Self-actualization appears to be her only commitment. Displaying a keen awareness of herself, she keeps the blood pumping in that heart on her sleeve. Truth be told, Zaki Ibrahim just wants to be the most honest representation of her own soul.
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If you’re too cerebral about your music writing... it’s gonna be something else
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Photography by Che Kothari
A REPLICA OF ORIGINALITY BY RYAN SMITH
In a climate renowned for cultivating the cream of the crop of the Reggae genre, Crimson Heart Replica is a hybrid specimen, born of traditional musical talent and fostered with a devotion to uninhibited creativity. The unique sound harvested is hardly comparable to her stereotypical counterparts, allowing for the carving out of a niche market where one can enjoy the deliciously emotional fruits of her labour. How mildmannered Katherine morphs into mouldbreaking rocker CHR, we thought, would make for interesting reading. AN: Can you tell us a little bit about growing up in Jamaica and how you developed a love for music? CHR: I grew up in Jamaica with a father who played bass for a Reggae band called Kotch, and who also has superb taste in all sorts of awesome music. There was no going around being majorly influenced by music; I’d beat on Dutch pots while my dad worked out to Mambo Kings, Santana. C and C Music Factory, Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder... just to name a few. My mom always gave me the freedom to be as creative as I wanted to be. From as early as two years old she allowed me to wear the same green pants for about a year... I insisted on it.
AN: What would you say has influenced you in creating the unique sound that we hear when we listen to your music? CHR: Relationships and heartache. Not to sound too fuckin Emo or nothing but it’s true. Partying as well, getting drunk after a break up, and writing a beautifully pathetic love song with the saddest chords and lyrics u ever heard but can’t stop pressing repeat coz you relate to it so much. AN: Can you tell us about that unique sound? What is it that makes you stand out in the way that you do? CHR: I don’t try to stand out; it just happens that way I guess. I wrote all these songs in my room, alone, thinking no one would ever hear them but always feeling like they should be heard. My sound is a blend of so many different styles of music. I sing like I’m in love, with the strength of a punk rocker. It’s weird but it works :) AN: Any particular song that holds a special place amongst the others? Why? CHR: Gosh that’s like asking a parent which child is their favourite! But I’d have to say “Beautiful Mistake” and “Where it hurts” mean a lot to me just because I feel them the most no matter where I’m at in my life. Every song I write has a story behind it
When I’m onstage the shy, socially inept, introverted, awkward Katherine takes a back seat to the charming, charismatic Katherine who says whatever she feels to hundreds of people she barely knows
but those two to me really hit the nail on the head. AN: You have recently been performing quite a bit in Jamaica, how does it feel when you take to the stage? CHR: When I’m onstage the shy, socially inept, introverted, awkward Katherine takes a back seat to the charming, charismatic Katherine who says whatever she feels to hundreds of people she barely knows. I love performing! I’m really on stage. Just give me a beer, mic and my guitar and I’m good :) AN: Anything particular thing a fan has said to you in the past that will stick with you forever? CHR: A grown man once confessed a childhood tragedy to me after a performance. He was in tears the whole time and he said "I had to tell you because I thought to myself if she can be up there singing those songs, it’s ok that I went through what I went through”. He said he had never even told his parents. I felt honoured and even started crying myself. Very overwhelming the power music has. AN: What/who inspires you and why? CHR: My heart inspires me and the things that make my chest get tight. Also, butterflies in my stomach. It’s like, anything that makes me want to throw up can be great material for a good song! In terms of people though, my family inspires me... just making them proud is fucking awesome! AN: Can you tell us a little about your poetry and how that developed? CHR: I’ve been writing poetry since prep school. My dad probably has saved every poem I ever wrote when I was a kid. It was escapism at first and then I realized
I had a genuine knack for it and hell, I loved writing and reading my writing and thinking "damn I just
All my efforts are fuelled by my God given talents and my undying drive, and yet I’m still nowhere near where I want to end up as an artist or a business woman. But I’ll be damned if I don’t die happy and without regret. wrote that?" I think it all boils down to me finding different forms of expression. I’ve always said that I’m a writer before I’m a musician. AN: Was there ever a developmental process where you had to adapt to the idea of expressing your most personal thoughts with other people? CHR: Nope. Most of the time I just write on the spot and then I send it to my fans. I don’t believe in proofreading or censorship. People are way more appreciative of you and your work when it’s in its rawest form. AN: Why is art, and in particular music such an important factor in developing societies? CHR: Society needs art and music, without it there would be no colour... there would be no life to this life. Even someone who can’t draw or write a song can understand the importance of art and music. We need art in the same sense that we need anarchy and war; a balance, a way to communicate frustrations and passion. I’m not one to speak much on society though. Society is the kind of thing that also creates boundaries and I’m not a fan of those. AN: Anything upcoming events or projects that our readers should look out for?
CHR: ALTERED FRIDAYS @ JONKANOO LOUNGE is my latest project as a promoter. Other than that I’ll be in Jamaica loving up my scene... and I take pride in calling it MINE. It’s ours, it belongs to anyone who feels like they don’t fit in in Jamaica but we still love our country. I’ll probably have lots of shows coming up as well. Who knows, I’ll go where the music takes me. AN: Our readers are young artists just like yourself, any words of wisdom you can give that they can carry with them on their journey through creativity? CHR: It might sound corny but if you believe in yourself enough you can do anything! Take it from me. I never went to college and never graduated high school. All my efforts are fuelled by my God given talents and my undying drive, and yet I’m still nowhere near where I want to end up as an artist or a business woman. But I’ll be damned if I don’t die happy and without regret.
Society needs art and music, without it there would be no colour... there would be no life to this life. Even someone who can’t draw or write a song can understand the importance of art and music
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We continue to shape our personality all our life. If we knew ourselves perfectly, we should die. Albert Camus
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krolyn.morin@gmail.com www.lynli.ultra-book.com www.krolyn-morin.blogspot.com www.www.flickr.com/photos/krolyn
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The identity of one changes with how one percieves reality Vithu Jeyaloganathan
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HOW TO PAINT
WITH LIGHT Tutorial reference by Joao Encarnacao
Ever looked at a photo where an object is painted from light yet the rest of the image is in total darkness? This tutorial will show you exactly how it’d done! So let’s get creative with our SLR camera and shoot some unusual yet very cool photos.
THE BASICS For this project the shutters speed of the camera is a very important component. Cameras record light onto a sensor or film by opening the shutter curtain, and letting light in. In most cases the speed is usually within fractions of a second, as you can see in your camera’s shutter speed reading (eg. 1/160 seconds). The speed of the opening depends on the amount of available light surrounding your object of photography.. If the ambiance is dark, it may be that your exposure will take a few seconds. This is known as long exposure. We will use these long exposures to create our photos. We will be working with exposure times of 3, 4 minutes and more.
MATERIALS
SETTING UP YOUR ENVIRONMENT
So here is what you need to successfully paint light within your photography: a tripod, a light source (small flashlights work best), a remote shutter for the camera (wired or wireless), dark clothes and a SLR camera
We are going to paint a picture with light, so the settings of your environment all depends on your creativity and background. Choose a location that can be darkened or alternatively shoot at night. We will need the environment to be very dark, in order to achieve long exposure times. Setup your camera on a tripod, think about the desired scene, and compose accordingly. We will now do a little test, to see the aperture that we will need for an effective shot. Set your camera to Manual, shutter speed to 30 seconds, lowest ISO possible, and set an aperture of f/9. Start taking the photo, walk in front of the camera, and position yourself at a distance of roughly 5 meters (16 feet) in the scene. Take your flashlight and just move it around trying to aim at the camera. When the photo is complete, check if the image is too bright or too dark, and adjust the aperture based on the outcome. Remember that it’s best to have it a little darker and then punch it up in processing than to have burned whites in the image. After getting the desired settings, it’s time to shoot.
THE PHOTO
You should now wear dark clothes, because this way you won’t be seen in the final photo. With the camera set on Manual, turn the dial all the way until you see Bulb.
What Bulb does is open the shutter when you first press the remote release, and upon the second click it closes. In the meantime, the shutter is open, and the camera is taking the photo. Every light source in the composed scene will be present in the final photo. Let’s start by making a house. Remember that you will be drawing out of thin air, and you probably won’t be able to do it right on the first try. This takes some getting used to, and some spatial awareness. Draw the major lines first; walls, roof, chimney. Move on then to the door and window. Make a tree beside the house. Make a moon. Add some stars. The more details the better!
OUTDOOR VARIATIONS There are infinite possibilities for this technique, and the more you practice the more elaborate your creations will be. Try using different colored lights in order to achieve interesting patterns. Interact with your background. If you have a swing, draw a stick man sitting on it. If you have a wall, draw a lizard climbing it.
This is a bicycle made with a normal flashlight. Notice that it was darker outside, so less details are visible, but it emphasizes more the drawing.
In this example Joao used a skate ramp to make a light skater. As you can see, even wearing black, it is possible to see some part of him in the photo.
EDITING
This all depends on your personal taste, as the editing on these photos isn’t much different from the average editing of any images that you would slightly want to change. Please remember that long exposure photos tend to be a little noisy (with grain), so you should have noise reduction software. Also it’s good to add a bit of contrast to the scene, since there will be a lot of light coming in the camera during exposure.
TIPS Search the internet for “lightpainting” images to pick up some ideas of the possibilities. Use mental references to make your drawings; if drawing a square, memorize where you started, to make sure you finish at the same spot.Use visual aids to build your lines. Make a rough sketch on paper prior to making it on camera, to get a notion of how it will appear, and where you must start. And remember, you get a lot better with practice, don’t expect do get it perfect the first time around.
INDOOR VARIATIONS
Even if you don’t have much space, or you don’t want to go outside, there are still some cool things to do at home. All you need is a dark room, the right accessories and a creative mind. This photo was created using a bottle and colored gels in front of the flashlight. Same technique as above that uses the Bulb setting. The bottle was lit from behind with the flashlight. It is actually the same bottle, but since the background is totally dark, it allowed me to do the scene one half at a time.
Myrtle Pennington Mulpila 139 x 137 cm Jap 006391
Spinifex Artists 30 July - 25 August
Tjaduwa Woods Yampie 138 x 124 cm Jap 006394
Lennard Walker Kurualla 143 x 137 cm Jap 006387
47 High Street Fremantle Western Australia 6160 Phone: (08) 9335 8265 Email: japingka@iinet.net.au www.japingka.com.au
Makinti Napanangka
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STREET ART, YOUR ART By Neville Ewers
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raffiti and street art is of particular concern to residents of the city of Sydney, Australia. The city has implemented numerous services to counteract what they see as an overwhelming problem. Street art is still evident throughout Australia regardless of social, economic or cultural status of the community but has recently become synonymous with crime, defacement, property vandalism, and every other word that would give the impression it’s solely an act of insubordination by rebellious youth. The Sydney Graffiti Management Policy is quoted as saying “Graffiti adds to an atmosphere of neglect and urban decay, and distorts perception about the actual level of crime and safety”. Although this is potentially factual, Graffiti and Street Art are one of the most open artistic forms; as much a contemporary statement as the early Dadaists painting on urinals to make bold statements against World War I. In some neighborhoods, graffiti is one of the few creative outlets for youth expression. We won’t get into a debate though on who is right or wrong, but rather about how to make the obvious
wrongs right. Token Imagination has taken the issue of street art in Sydney and spun the rules around on the policy makers. Guerilla Poetry is a project bred under the combination of two arts, literary and visual, to bring forth a quirky Public Literary initiative. It takes temporary graffiti as gorillas and poetic thought bubbles migrate around the city through public interaction. As Jess Cook, the Director for Token Imagination told us â&#x20AC;&#x153;we first tested the concept of temporary graffiti/poetry in 2008 for the fantastic 2042 Street Art Festival. As lovers of street art and all things public... we wanted to contribute something that would not permanently damage the area whilst providing entertainment.â&#x20AC;? The use of magnets allowed not only for the work to be easily removed, but for the public to participate in the choreography of the project as they could move the pieces around the city at their own leisure. The public were free to take a bit of the art with them, their own tangible souvenir from the project, while also doing the cleaning up of the city on their own in the process. The
As lovers of street art and all things public... we wanted to contribute something that would not permanently damage the area whilst providing entertainment. pieces in turn went from visual street art to functional home decor as over time it became apparent that once people took them down, they were bring taken home and placed on refrigerators and stuck in other places around the house. This year, the team decided to take the project a step further for The Australian Poetry Festival by inviting a range of creative minds from across the city including artists, poets and designers to submit a concept. The term ‘Guerrilla’ in itself is also synonymous with “crime, defacement, vandalism, and every other word that gives the impression it’s an act of insubordination by the rebellious” as we had previously described street art, but to be frank, that is exactly what it was… guerilla. The unconventional is what makes creativity so dynamic, and what made To k e n
Imagination immensely excited about this concept. “We thought well, let’s go guerrilla and play off the trend of covert creations” Jess told us. “So we added a bit of Token humour and produced brightly coloured mini sculptures from plaster and the speech bubbles featuring the winning submissions”. Injecting fun visual works in the public space is nothing new to Sydney, already familiar with the likes of I Heart Kings Cross knitting project and Guerilla Gardeners. For the first time, however, Guerilla Poetry actually facilitates you taking the installation home with you and making it your own. There are also the Golden Gorillas sitting around the city waiting to be found, where the 4 lucky folks who locate the statues
They are visually pleasing objects that can put a smile on someones face... will earn themselves a dinner at the awesome Stanley Street Station. For those, I am PERSONALLY on the hunt for. Unlike so many competitions out there, Token made this a totally free, totally open project. There were no limitations, no word counts, nothing but the interpretations of creative minds rather than what Jess described as “regimented instructions”. “One bubble in particular we fell in love with was “Please don’t burst my” by Immanuel Suttner,” related Jess. “The reader really becomes engaged in the words as they become the speaker, naturally participating. Immanuel submitted around 20 bubbles, we’re looking forward to encountering more of his work.” Guerilla Poetry has in many ways played an integral role in promoting this year’s Poetry Festival. This comes as no coincidence as the project was strategically placed in the lead up as a means of creating awareness. “In some ways I guess it is just really quirky advertising” Jess told us. “They are visually pleasing objects that can put a smile on someones face... usually folks don't associate that with poetry but as the name of the festival suggests we are interested in 'inventing the tradition', finding new ways to increase access and audience development for Australian Poetry”. As a poet and writer herself, Jess delved into the importance of the literary arts and how it needs to be embraced and nurtured. “Language is what we use every day… so I always find it funny that spoken word is still a bit out there”. She continued, “English is for everyday use; with increase in travel and development of technologies we are encountering so many more sounds, accents, jargon, slang, hybrids and greater access “to having our voice heard”. These are all tools for a spoken word
artiste... to twist and tango with all these influences and to create their own special blends. The art form is moving more towards multi forms of engagement from animation, visual, guerrilla, music, sound to video blogging and street theatre... but what remains is the human voice and I think that's what we are really drawn to.” We implore you to go out and check out the streets lined with art and poetry, and if you are not in Sydney… start a similar project in your town/country; it really is an experience for the public and everyone involved.
There are also the Golden Gorillas sitting around the city waiting to be found, where the 4 lucky folks who locate the statues will earn themselves a dinner at the awesome Stanley Street Station.
GUERTILLA POETRY 5 QUESTIONS I feel my heart expand when people come to me and tell me I touched them in some way, because it means I have managed to connect with them on a level I would never have been able to if I wasn't writing and performing. Another of our faves from Guerilla Poetry was Candy who performed at the Winner Annoucement at Stanley Street Station, a bright young poet who has been writing since the tender age of 10, and transitioned to performing art and spoken word at 19. She sat down with us for a couple minutes recently to discuss art, spoken word, inspiration and so much more. AN: Can you tell us a little about the importance of spoken word as an art form? Poetry, spoken word, performance poetry and even hip hop (there are many opinions about which came first!) are so important today. In a world where sharing emotion, ideas and opinions that people are passionate about is frowned upon and in a world where connection through art has been lost to MTV and the dumbing down of popular culture, this art form of words, performance, storytelling and sharing needs to be pursued by as many people as possible so that we can all engage again, reconnect and share. We are all living so separately that it's important we rediscover the joy that comes from listening to something live (beyond the joys of live music) and hope that it stimulates the creative mind, discussions and open dialogue as well as hitting the heart a little...
We are all living
so separately that it's important we rediscover the joy that comes from listening to something live
AN: What fuels your ability to write and how do the words pour out? Unfortunately I am not the sort of artist that can sit down and decide that now is the time to write. It comes spontaneously. It can be stimulated by an emotional experience like love, or hearing someones story or by something I witness. It can be a reaction to a feeling or something I read about in the news etc. I often feel a poem coming on. It's a hard feeling to describe. Random sentences will enter my mind over a couple of days and I will write these down, then suddenly, one day, I will be overcome by the absolute need to write and I will pull out those sentences and write frantically for an hour before something starts to form. Then it becomes a process of refining, editing, refining, editing and so on. After that, and just as importantly, I spend time on the delivery. Memorizing so that I can play with it. Playing with the sounds of the words, movement, those sorts of things. For me, the performance aspect is just as important as the poem itself. I need to convey the underlying emotion of a piece through the performance – it can be exhausting and depleting but if I feel that I can deliver it as I felt it at the moment (say an argument in a relationship or the emotions I feel when someone tells me a particularly harrowing moment in their life) then I am happy. AN: Who and what inspires you? I am both inspired and horrified by humanity – this is where I draw my inspiration from and could perhaps say that humanity is my muse. As a collective we are capable of so many negative actions but then on a personal level it is easy to see we are all just trying to get by the best ways we know how. Life's beauties and tragedies are abundant – how could one not draw inspiration from it? Besides this, I am always inspired when I am around other artists – whatever the medium. I try and learn from them, engage with them so I can be better at my art. I think one of the artists who inspires me most would have to be Frida Kahlo. The way she wore her pain and portrayed it amazingly in her work. I have been to the house she grew up in in Mexico and looked at her paintings and tears have come to my eyes – that a painting can evoke such emotion is amazing; imagine what performance poetry can do! Travelling inspires me. I have done a lot of travelling so far and hope to do a lot more. Meeting
UPCOMING SHOWS: Inventing the Tradition: 7th Annual Australian Poetry Festival: Description: Pushing Boundaries: Junction and Disjunction. Candy Royalle performing alongside Michael Farrell and Paul Magee Date: Saturday 4th September 2.30 - 3.45pm Ticket Price: Full Festival Pass $80, Weekend Pass $60, Saturday Only $40 (Concession pricing available). Venue: Rex Centre, 58 Macleay Street Kings Cross Further details: http://www.poetsunion.com/apf/2010 The Sydney Fringe Festival: (Be quick, limited ticket sales so they will
people in their countries and environments, overcoming language barriers and engaging with people I would never have had the opportunity to meet in Australia has been one of the most inspiring aspects of my life and I have written quite a few pieces because of it. From Jamaica to India and Albania to Belize I have met amazing individuals and had some pretty hairy experiences that have enriched my art. Lastly, I draw inspiration from the strength and love of the people I surround myself with who are all amazing individuals. AN: Any particular piece or reaction to a piece that you hold considerably close to you? Recently I performed at a festival in Cairns called 'The Winter Solstice Festival' but as it turned out it was a huge doof (an outdoor bush rave). The audience there was amazing and I think I can attribute that partly to the fact that they were indulging in mind expanding substances – those audiences are always my favorite, (laughs). Anyway, at the end of one of my shows, a woman came up to me with tears in her eyes, and hugged me. She said that I articulated for her, things she had never been able to articulate and it made her realise that the things she was going through in her life were things other people had experienced and she didn't feel lonely any more. She told me a little bit about what she was going through and I could tell that when she walked away she was happy. I suppose those reactions are one of the main reasons I do what I do. I feel my heart expand when people come to me and tell me I touched them in some way, because it means I have managed to connect with them on a level I would never have been able to if I wasn't writing and performing. I have since written a piece about this which I perform occasionally. AN: Any words of wisdom that you can pass on to emerging artists to inspire them to keep going? Now is an amazing time to be a performance poet. It is finally becoming a recognised art in Australia and drawing ever larger crowds. All I would say is; always write with honesty, be diligent to your art in that you must always represent yourself and what you are doing with respect, and spend as much time exploring the delivery of your pieces as you did writing it – people are engaged by more than just words...
sell out fast…) Description: Candy Royalle: Love Spectacular is an hour-long journey into the euphoric highs and the dark depths of love from one of Sydney's best loved performance poets. Using song, storytelling and poetry, this one-woman show draws on the personal experiences of Candy and her intimates. At times confronting and sexually-charged, this intense show will take its audience to the brink and back... Date: Sunday 19th September 6:30pm and Monday 20th September 8pm Ticket Price: $20 or $16 Concession Venue: Madame Fling Flong, Level 1, 169 King St Newtown Further details: http://thesydneyfringe.com.au/shows/candy-royalle-love-spectacular
Che Kothari | Founding Executive Director "The 4th Annual MANIFESTO Festival of Community & Culture is less than a month away and I am hellllllla excited! MANIFESTO was born out of nothing but pure and honest love; a love that was inspired and fed by the artists in this city [Toronto] that have such raw and innate talent which manifest themselves into beautiful modes of self/collective expressions. I have always been deeply moved and infused with energy from the artistic rhythms that this city produces and collectively something needed to give or else I was going to burst. This love that birthed MANIFESTO has and will only continue to grown and extended its points of inspiration and its inward and outward reach. This years festival invites some of the world's best kept secrets to share the platform we have created and will connect them to our hidden and not so hidden Toronto gems. Reaching numbers of 40,000+ over our 7 day festival is not a surprise to me with the types and calibre of storytellers voices
we have always wanted to create a platform for. And as we get closer and closer to reaching our goals, our mission and mandates remain stronger than ever, to: Connect, Cultivate, Create, Communicate & Showcase. For all those who we are blessed to have in attendance this year, please make the most of what we have created for you as you are entering a week long of festivities which is an art piece in itself, so indulge in all its wonder... feel the vibrations of being a kid again and be free. For all those who will not physically be in attendance we hope you feel the pulse of positivity and love we aim to spur. We also hope you can carry it on. Send that energy onto others and back to us through whatever form of artistic expression you choose to manifest. As the strength of our positive pulses of energies grow, more unified and interconnected, I have no doubt that again soon our entire world will be enveloped in love."
Mayor David Miller | City of Toronto â&#x20AC;&#x153;Through the festival and its other initiatives, Manifesto strives to improve sustainability within the youth arts sector, in turn fuelling the economy and helping to nurture healthy communities by contributing to the careers and livelihood of local artists, arts organizers, community groups and tourism. Perhaps most importantly though, Manifesto has ignited and continues to inspire a new generation of artists and leaders dedicated to creating social change through arts & culture.â&#x20AC;?
What We Do Manifesto is more than just Canada’s leading urban music, arts & culture festival. It is a movement, a city united, a creative call to action, a love letter to hip hop history, a new chapter in its future... It is a message to the world -
Create. Connect. Cultivate. Communicate. Showcase.
“Almost any superlative could describe the groundbreaking Manifesto Festival.” NOW Magazine
2007
M
anifesto Community Projects is a nonprofit grassroots organization working to unite, energize, support and celebrate Toronto’s vibrant and diverse music and arts community, and find innovative ways of working together towards common goals. We aim to provide a platform and the resources needed to advance the growth of the arts as a tool for positive change on the individual, community and city level. The critically acclaimed Manifesto Festival Of Community & Culture features five days of incredible events across the city, culminating in a massive free outdoor concert at Yonge & Dundas Square in the heart of downtown Toronto. Growing to be arguably Canada’s largest hip hop festival in just three years, Manifesto brings together hundreds of artists & performers with thousands of attendees to showcase our city’s talented arts community and strengthen its foundations by building a collective sense of pride and possibility. Through art exhibitions, dance competitions, workshops, free outdoor concerts, film screenings, networking opportunities, seminars, a pop-up arts market, and much more, Manifesto creates a powerful and engaging experiences and provides opportunities for young artists to grow. Manifesto’s point of origin lies in hip hop culture - in its spirit of ingenuity, raw creativity, and people power, but we strive to stay out of boxes and create a platform with the potential to act as a catalyst for cross pollination, collaboration, and the growth of new forms in this city of wildly talented people.
Bilal Concert Our art show brings together some of the top Toronto, Canadian design, photography and new media to create a blowout show of epic proportions that leaves visitors buzzing - at Revival Bar
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Film Festival that inform and inspire - connecting Toronto with the history and contemporary cutting edge of the global movements we’re a part of - at Royal Cinema
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Art Exhibition Our art show brings together some of the top Toronto, Canadian design, photography and new media to create a blowout show of epic proportions that leaves visitors buzzing - at Airship 37
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NYC Meet Toronto Hot off the heels of Manifesto’s bus trip to throw down at the Brooklyn Hip Hop Festival, this event will see NYC’s freshest talent come represent in Toronto for a jam-packed collabo showcase at the Great Hall. Big! - at Great Hall
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So Much Things To Say Our Saturday conference brings together movers and shakers, artists, thinkers, and young people in Toronto’s urban music & arts sector for keynote presentations, a media event, networking, and collaborative dialogue that will electrify the whole city - at Ryerson U
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Canada Pro 2010 Our dance event has grown into one of the top national break dance tournaments. Top crews from across Canada and the US put their skills to the test in this high energy battle for cash prizes and bigtime bragging rights - at Manifesto Warehouse
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The Main Event Sunday’s full day outdoor block party combines all elements to transform Yonge & Dundas Square into Toronto’s hip hop heart backed up by a free concert featuring Canada’s rising stars, top talent & special guests - at Yonge & Dundas Square
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Official Afterparty Manifesto always closes things out with a big bang - treating our audience, artists, staff and supporters to a legendary afterparty that is always, well... legendary - at Hard Rock Café
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Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re making history. Make it with us.
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By connecting hip hop, the community, the business sector, and public leaders with dialogue, music and fun, Manifesto shows Canadians of all generations that it is possible to work together towards creating a better society.
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Her Excellency Michaëlle Jean Governor General of Canada 2008
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This epic summerending extravaganza transformed the city into a bonafide artistic playground. blogto.com
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With a crowd twice as big, Manifesto might have to move City Hall back to accommodate next year’s show. Now Magazine 2009
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Images by: Toy Factory Haikus by: Neville Ewers
BOOKMAN REVIEW
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The art and science
of television is explained
so clearly that the reader simply has to exercise his or her literacy in order to grasp it.
Here’s a book that, despite being dated, can hardly be considered outdated. The timelessness of it suggests that Neil Postman wrote Amusing Ourselves to Death: Public Discourse in the Age of Show Business realizing that he would not be on Earth to witness the full manifestation of his suspicions. A trend is a trend though, and the discerning author seems to have accurately forecast the gross misuse of 21st century media from his 1985 point of view. Amusing Ourselves to Death argues that humans were once coherent consumers of information. Lengthy texts were the norm and people routinely focused on intellectually stimulating material for as long as it took to comprehend the subject matter. The 17th century introduction of the printing press in North America, for example, ushered in a new type of intellectual discourse among the European settlers. A troubling deviation saw its beginnings with the advent of the telegraph and the photograph. Postman explained that the telegraph did wonders for connecting geographically disparate locations. People in the north could now learn in a few short sentences that there was a hurricane in the south a few days prior, and southerners could gain bits of knowledge about the latest developments in the industrial north. What concerned Postman was that these fragments of news did little to change the price of rice. He felt that the vast majority of telegraphs did nothing much to stimulate mental development. It was mostly just amusing for people to know the trivial happenings in places they’ve never been. Photography’s introduction then enhanced the visual stimulus to what was fast becoming a bombardment of unnecessary information, more often than not. News sources were simply concerned with the speed at which they could collect and distribute information – any information – that was not easily accessible to the people who consumed their news. As a result,
“
The programming was emotionally pleasant, and when in doubt about its pleasantness, it was almost always regarded as amusement.
”
”
people were ultimately being fed entertainment. The industrial age was giving way to an age of information, but the information was tending away from being informative and towards being just for show, like it or not, and the vast majority absolutely loved it. Indeed, this new culture of information sharing was embraced by United States society. The culmination of these two things – telegraphy and photography – was the mighty television monitor. Hyper entertainment assaulted the senses of sight and hearing and held people hostage; the peculiar thing was that people happily volunteered their minds into captivity. The simple reason – the programming was emotionally pleasant, and when in doubt about its pleasantness, it was almost always regarded as amusement. From then on, it was smooth sailing for the media controllers. Techniques for mass control continued to be refined until present day. Postman, had he existed on the planet today, would in all likelihood shake his head disapprovingly at what humanity has done with the Internet. There is a great irony about this book’s existence. The art and science of television is explained so clearly that the reader simply has to exercise his or her literacy in order to grasp it. Sadly, it also requires the ability to focus on one subject matter in thesis form – in this instance, more than 170 pages including an introduction and foreword. It sounds simple in theory, yes, but this might be too much to ask of members of a generation whose era is, in great part, defined by high-speed information intake. The very thing that Neil Postman warns about is the very thing that makes people so comfortable in confusion today – that they are likely to consider the sustained coherence of his book to be a mental disruption.
In the lead-up to Parklife 2010, Aesthetics Now will be bringing you exclusive interviews with some of the amazing artists currently located around the globe soon to be trekking to the Land of Oz. This month hear what Tord from The Wombats has to say about the creative trio and the upcoming explosion of musical bliss. The Wombats is part of the 10th Anniversary Parklife line-up, which also features Missy Elliot, Groove Armada, The Dandy Warhols, Soulwax and more, all staged by Fuzzy Events. Tickets and more information available at www.parklife.com.au We spoke to Tord from the successful group about music, the loss of their beloved mascot and their upcoming trip to Australia. AN: How did the formation of The Wombats come about and how did the name develop? Tord: Well I moved to Liverpool 7 years ago and met Murph and he knew Dan from earlier, we hit it off and we decided to write some songs together. We basically started there and had fun with a few gigs and ended up recording for a while, then before we knew it we were touring around the UK together as a band. As for the name we used to call each other ‘stupid wombats’, and honestly I don’t really know why. We kind of just received a phone call one day because we were making a poster and
were asked if we had a band name. We all looked at each other and were like ‘Hey lets just put The Wombats down’ and it kind of just stuck. We considered changing it but it never happened. AN: If you could describe The Wombats in 3 words what would they be? Tord: Fun, energetic, wild AN: You’re travelling around Australia later in the year for Parklife. Tell me a little about what you know of the event and how you feel about travelling to Australia to celebrate our culture of music with us here. Tord: We are really looking forward to it. Australia’s audience reaction is one of the best and we have always had an amazing time when we have performed over there. This is basically going to be the first gig after our first album so it will be the first time for us to get to try some of our new stuff. We are all really excited about trying some different things in front of Australia’s audience. AN: When I say Parklife what is the first thing that pops into your head? Tord: I think of Australia straight away, i think of the festival is going to be crazy because I have seen the line up and it is...wow AN: Any words of inspiration for our readers to encourage them to continue striving to pursue their creative goals? Tord: Never give up! I suppose to the people who do art and in particular music, you really need to not give up. Be prepared to let go of alot of the things in your life for a while to be dedicated to this. Everyone will approach it differently but always be willing to go somewhere with it so keep going. For more information visit www.thewombats.co.uk
THE WOMBATS
Parklife, the ultimate festival of all music festivals is hitting Australia with an unimaginable force once again! From Saturday September 25 until Monday October 4, where ever that it is you may be situated upon these shores, let yourself dive into sensory overload as the electronic/indie beats pound through your core.
FROM ‘THE HARDER THEY COME’ TO ‘BETTER MUS COME’
Words by Analisa Chapman June 5, 1972. A Jamaican audience eagerly anticipates the premiere of the island’s first feature film , The Harder They Come. And they came – in droves. Hundreds of persons swarmed and literally broke the doors of Kingston’s Carib Theatre, all seeking to secure a seat, stall or spot at the 8 o’clock show to catch a piece of visual history. The reported crowd and pandemonium was such that not even the country’s then Prime Minister, the Hon. Michael Manley, was able to attend that night’s official ceremony and screening of what had been touted as “Jamaica’s first full length motion picture (and to seal the deal) in wide screen and colour”. When the chaotic stampede settled, however, the feet of those remaining began to move in a different manner as the film’s opening credits rolled to the beats of “You Can Get It If You Really Want” and introduced Ivan (Jimmy Cliff) on his journey from rural Jamaica to ‘city life’ and perceived opportunity in Kingston. In fact, the film’s music-driven storyline and soundtrack account for much of its success and role in reflecting and promoting Jamaican culture. In the post-independence (August 6, 1962) era, Jamaican music began to take on new tones and styles but remained the key form of expression of the working class. As Cliff (who by then had attained local and international acclaim as a performer with hits like ‘Wonderful World, Beautiful People’ in the late 1960s) has noted, “while the middle class and upper class fly to Miami and New York, the working class depend on the Sound System”. Directed by Jamaican Perry Henzell, The Harder They Come
The Harder They Come Poster courtesy of Justine Henzell
reflected this impact of and need for music; and the desire, not just for survival, but for a better life. It also struck a chord with the story of many an aspiring singer and musician with the fact that, despite independence, oppression and exploitation took a different form, as ‘hungry’ performers signed away their talent
BEATS, ‘BABYLON’ & ‘BAD MAN’ IN JAMAICAN FEATURE FILMS
Better Mus’ Come Poster courtesy of Storm Saulter
“
While the middle class and upper class fly to Miami and New York, the working class depend on the Sound System
”
and livelihood to those who held power, and ‘Babylon’ (a term often used in reference to ‘the system’ and ‘the police’) tried to keep the down-trodden down. Apart from the now classic Cliff songs, Henzell’s selection of other songs for the film such as Desmond Dekker’s 1967 hit, ‘007 (Shanty Town)’, complemented the themes and social plights depicted in the film and also highlighted the ‘rude boy’ culture that had been increasingly gaining traction in the mid-1960s. Co-written by Henzell and Jamaican playwright Trevor Rhone, The Harder They Come is known more for its raw talent, spirit and execution of its ‘country boy-turns ‘rude boy’ rebel’ plot. The fact that films such as Rider on the Rain, Paid In Blood, Apache Rifles and Sicilian Clan were playing that night at nearby cinemas, was a clear indication of Jamaicans’ fascination with gangster dramas, action flicks and Westerns, and style and bravado in general. Back then, seeing Jamaicans talking to the silver screen was a normal part of the cinematic adventure – an art form worth the viewing of the uninitiated. By capturing such glimpses and aspects of local life, The Harder They Come contributed to the cycle of ‘Art imitating life, imitating Art’. Much of the initial promotion and local success of The Harder They Come therefore came from Jamaicans’ desire to see themselves ‘larger than life’ on the big screen. Despite local support, however, the film laboured for international commercial success. “It was a slow process”, recalls Henzell’s daughter Justine, noting the 30-year span within which the film evolved as a “cult classic”, primarily through the white college market. During that period the late Perry Henzell would also labour with creating his more uneven follow-up feature film No Place Like Home (originally started in 1973), which due to financial constraints, damaged footage and other problems, was not publicly screened until 2007. By July of 1975, however, there was more talk and less music as The Harder They Come co-writer Trevor
Ricky & Kemale - Better Mus’ Come courtesy of Storm Saulter
Rhone assumed the writer’s and director’s chair with the comedy, Smile Orange. Instead of ‘rude boys’, there were ‘rude’ men whose weapon of choice was reserved for the ladies, and silver tongues instead of silver bullets were used to escape from sticky situations - namely with Ringo (Carl Bradshaw) as the likeable hustler, waiter and self-proclaimed ‘C-Man’. Armed with a stronger storyline and dialogue, Smile Orange took a satirical view of the Jamaican tourist industry where ‘Babylon’ had an American accent and the aim of the working class was to the “exploit the exploiter”. The ‘beats’ re-assumed control in 1978, however, this time with a more conscious vibe and talk of the “I and I” as drummer Leroy “Horsemouth” Wallace, and a who’s who of Jamaican artistes filled the screen, in
Rockers with Greek director Theodoros Bafaloukos. With lots of reggae and and a plot in between, “Horsemouth” uses his rasta-blazoned bike to rebel against the system and sell and push the music of the people, while “Dirty Harry” hijacks a DJ booth to overthrow Soul music with Rockers music. Not a Harder They Come copy cat, Rockers’ own cult appeal has been mainly through the natural dialogue and vibe of its characters, while maintaining the love affair with the ‘rebel with a cause’ story and a solid soundtrack featuring the musical rebels of the day, including Peter Tosh and Burning Spear. There was, it seems however, no love lost for Jamaican feature films in the early 1980s, as Lennie Little-White’s Children of Babylon about “making love while searching for love” with underlying themes of colonialism encompassing ‘Babylon’, seems mostly remembered by those who saw it for its sexual content. 1982’s Countryman relied on the music and charm of Jamaica but not much else, while not even the mad man’s hilarious babels that “pum pum is worse than the tyranny of colonialism” in the adaptation of Anthony Winkler’s ‘The Lunatic’ was enough to turn a tide that had been waning for some time. It was not until 1997’s Dancehall Queen written by French-American editor Suzanne Fenn, British director Don Letts and Jamaican producer Ed Wallace, that there was a real resurgence of interest and hype in the Jamaican feature film, this time realising the dreams of Third World Cop courtesy of Palm Pictures
“
With lots of reggae and a plot in between, “Horsemouth” uses his rasta-blazoned bike to rebel against the system and sell and push the music of the people
”
street vendor Marcia (Audrey Reid) through a Jamaican dancehall queen competition. Directed by Letts and fellow Brit Rick Elgood, Dancehall Queen broke local box office records, brought music and a tamer version of dancehall culture to the forefront for international and general audiences, and spawned a few classic lines such as Priest’s (Paul Campbell) chillingly delivered “Walk and live, talk and bomboclaat dead”. Motivated by the commercial success of Dancehall Queen, Palm Pictures churned out the less characterdriven and even more locally successful Third World Cop two years later, this time turning Campbell from ‘bad man’ to ‘Babylon’ with the lead as maverick police officer “Capone”. “I rate it as more of an exploitation film...a “Dirty Harry” kind of thing”, comments Jamaican director Chris Browne who directed and co-wrote the film with Fenn and Chris Salewicz. Third World Cop also reflected the evolution of the ‘rude boy’ to ‘bad man’ culture and spawned a number of ‘Ja-merican’ gunman flicks over the years, including the aptly-titled and
infamously-bootlegged, Shottas, Rude Boy: The Jamaican Don and the very forgettable Fire. “Ultimately people make films that people want to see”, notes Browne on past stereotypes, despite a few divergent casualties along the way, of Jamaican films. “Urban films are cheaper to do...it’s just basic economics.” With this year’s upcoming release of Betta Mus’ Come directed by Jamaican Storm Saulter, the ‘bad man story’ and ‘Babylon’ are revisited in what is described as an ‘urban love story set against the backdrop of political turmoil’ set in the 1970s. “The aim is not about making the bad man the hero”, says Saulter but “to also [balance it]...and give him a face..so that you understand the motivations behind his actions in a social, economic and political context”. The motivations behind and description of the film, which is not music-driven, do not seem concerned with following the ‘tried and true formula’ for mass appeal, yet Jamaicans’ love of good ole’ gunslinging showmanship has not waned since the emergence of The Harder They Come in the 1970s. With Betta Mus’ Come set in that decade and the nature of the titles of the two films, comparisons between Betta Mus’ Come and The Harder They Come will ensue. Whether such comparisons are warranted remains to be seen, as is the future of Jamaican feature films.
Ras David is surrounded - Better Mus’ Come courtesy of Storm Saulter
Cyril (Glenn Morrison) gets ready to test his new techniques in 1975’s Smile Orange courtesy of Palm Pictures
TRUTH BEHIND INC
WRI
“
They say
the biggest
trick the devil ever played was making the world believe he doesn’t
”
exist.. ..
If by some stretch of the imagination you are yet to see Inception, we recommend you watch the movie prior to reading this article. It contains spoilers for a very good movie and to be truthful, nothing I say after this will make much sense to you. Where science and art come face to face, there is a general idea that we lose the aesthetics behind the creation when we begin to connect the two. Historical intellects such a Leonardo da Vinci, of course would find themselves bewildered by this casual bifurcation. We will very briefly discuss what realistic aspects are needed to understand the nature of artistic perception in Inception which could either intensify or thoroughly kill your aesthetic sense for the film. Then again, they say successful art inspires varied interpretations; the ambiguity behind art makes it that much more interesting, and Inception has surely captured that aspect. An eccentric Dom Cobb runs off to the nearest bathroom, washes his face and frantically spins the top he carries around in his pocket. The spinning top falls on its side, and Cobb presumes to calm himself down. This is a scene from Christopher Nolan’s thriller “Inception”. Leonardio Di Caprio plays the role of Dom Cobb, a skilled thief who has mastered the art of “Extraction”. Extraction consists of stealing his target's secrets that he would otherwise never have access to by infiltrating their dreams and finding valuable information. Now whether you believe Nolan’s film is an epic masterpiece or a huge clusterfuck of random B/S (excuse my French), it’s hard not to think deeper into the concepts brought to the screen by Cobb and his team of mind thieves, and in true Inception style I say to you – “We must go deeper”. The spinning top Cobb carries around at all times is his way of telling when he is in a dream or in reality. Silly me always thought we pinched ourselves to tell if we were dreaming. While the idea of entering a dream state so realistic the subject can’t tell the difference is purely science fiction, there are technologies that suggest that extraction might be possible someday.* In April, Adam Wilson, a University of Wisonsin-Madision biomedical engineering student posted a twitter status update by merely thinking about it. The message, “using EEG to send tweet” was a very slow, time consuming effort accomplished by looking at an on screen keyboard, staring at it and thinking of each letter individually. A far cry from actually finding ideas in the mind but it is a start. Another touchy topic Inception dives into is “Dream Control”. This is another issue which is, in terms of the film, purely science fiction, but has a close relative in reality. The term is “lucid dreaming”. I have found myself in this situation; I can only imagine many of you have. You realize you are dreaming, and try to impact what happens in the dream. Taking control of my dream generally results in waking from the dream state and repeatedly failing at going back to the dream to complete what I just saw (frustrating, especially when your dreaming of let’s say… Halle Berry *sigh*). My personal favorite concept is Inception itself. Inception is the allegedly impossible task of implanting an idea in someones mind via dream-sharing and making them think it is their own. Since seeing the film, I’ve found myself daydreaming about the power I could have if I can implant ideas into someones mind. “Mr. Gates, it’s in your best interest to deposit 5 Billion into Neville Ewers’ bank account”. Now in terms of the reality behind it, evidence shows that people can actually learn new things while they sleep. A publication by Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School released in May of this year stated that **“It
CEPTION
ITTEN BY NEVILLE EWERS
is now well established that post learning sleep is beneficial for human memory performance”. I suppose Cobb’s idea to “go deeper” in order to put an idea in someones mind was never really necessary, was it? A more important question would be why didn’t Cobb just perform Inception on whoever had the power to throw out his murder case? So, what is real? We could look at a number of incidents in the film to decipher what Nolan was trying to bring across. Audience perspective of course plays a major role in what Inception really is about, and we figure that was in fact the aim. Still some things don’t add up. How exactly does drawing a two minute maze show that you are prepared to create a brand new virtual world? Why do all the mercenaries on all the levels have such horrible aim? Why is it Cobb’s kids never age, or ever change clothes even when he gets home? Nolan also plays on the idea that humans only use 10% of their brain power, a myth in its own right. I’d like to hope during his 10 years of research to produce the film he found this bit of information and is only playing with the fact it’s actually not a fact. These are all interesting faults, maybe intentional faults. So where does this leave us? At the edge of our seats, although we realize it’s all a fictional film potentially inside a fictional world in the fictional mind – did that make sense?. (What? Fiction in fiction? We must go deeper) If we were to be realistic, it is safe to say the entire movie is a dream. Yes, every scene is a fat fake. These factors might not seem far-fetched right now from a Hollywood standpoint; the impossible happens every day on screen. Yet, imagine I wrote a script in which a master mathematician finds a method to divide by 0 – yeah, it’s kind of like that. In the film, Cobb’s spinning top is his totem to tell what is real, so what exactly is there for us the viewer to tell? There isn’t one. “How did we get here?” a simple question Cobb asks Ariadne during her first “dream” sequence. He goes on to explain in a dream you never see or remember the
beginning. Well how did we get to that point in the movie, there are no transitional scenes. You see Cobb; you then see something else somewhere else, a totally different scene… then it happens again, and again. They say the biggest trick the devil ever played was making the world believe he doesn’t exist. Well the biggest trick Christopher Nolan ever played was making the world believe he made a real movie with consequences and stakes. While inside the theatre watching the movie, a colleague beside me told me it was way too complex and confusing, so she took the time to have herself a light nap while I got sucked into Nolan’s story. Funny part was, she was doing exactly what I and everyone else in the theatre were doing – dreaming. If you find it odd that I have completely ignored his subconscious psycho wife Mal in all this, it is no coincidence. Being on the run after your wife commits suicide by jumping off the opposite side of the building in which you stand is pretty silly. As much as I hate the fake forensics found in the CSI and Law & Order series, I’m pretty sure a real forensic team can tell the difference between a jump verses a push, especially when you are on OPPOSITE BUILDINGS! Any murder charge brought to Cobbs would have been thrown out of court with the judge tweeting “LOL”. Then again, with no murder charge, no movie... so I suppose it’s a necessary evil. Just to close… I think it should be put out there that American citizens don’t get their passports stamped when they re-enter the country – I am sure Nolan is aware of this. The Next Nolan film I see, I’m carrying a condom to the theatre, as I refuse to have my mind raped like that again with no protection. With all that said though, I still loved the movie ...5 stars :) Read more on references below * http://nitrolab.engr.wisc.edu/blog/?p=39 **http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20417102
if only they had by Neville Ewers
TheRealMrMarley @CColumbus legalize it and I advertise it 6 minutes ago via web
CColumbus @TheRealMrMarley What is that wonderful “special spice” you put in your brownies about 8 minutes ago via TweetDeck
JimiHendrix white girls, white girls everywhere (@ The University of Colorado) http://4sq.com/cY7wfL about 15 minutes ago via Übertwitter
JohnWBooth @AbeLincon you can’t begin to imagine about 20 minutes ago via web
AbeLincon Killer play with the wifey later tonight, 100% awesome about 23 minutes ago via web
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Darwin I really hope @Joanrivers isn’t the next state of human evolution #shudders about 1 hour ago via ÜberTwitter
WillShakespeare iPad testing today. All this technology and still nothing more productive than my feather pen. about 1 hour ago via Übertwitter
MGarvey If I had a dollar for every b/day wish I got on twitter, the Black Starline would be heading out on it’s millionth voyage by now about 1 hour ago via ÜberTwitter
Biggie - If someone don’t shut up @iamdiddy… I will have to… and we both know what happened the last time I sat on you about 1 hour ago via web
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BUY (RED) SAVES LIVES TOP 5 RED PRODUCTS IN THE FIGHT AGAINST AIDS 1 DELL MINI Available at Dell Design Studio at www.dell.com/art, this Inspiron Mini now ships in (RED). Not only is it supporting the fight against AIDS in Africa by sending a $20 portion of the proceeds from sale to the Global Fund, but this product has now been tailormade to also suit the art industry in all its creativity. The awesome team at Dell came up with the brilliant idea of commissioning global artists to create exclusive artwork for Dell Design so you can now customise your Mini to your very own personality.
2 ALL STAR HI Converse have made their comeback over the last couple of years with numerous colours and designs exploding into store windows ensuring the ease of getting your own originally designed pair. Now (RED) have joined the bandwagon with their new “I heart ____” series of foot ware, allowing you to wear your heart on your shoe. For those extra creative minds that want to go that step further, you can now build your own paid with the “MAKE MINE (RED) option.
3 iPOD NANO Apple just got so much hotter by supporting the Global Fund to eliminate AIDS in Africa. Sporting a very sexy video camera and a FM radio with Live Pause, this red aluminum finished product will make all of your friends envious. The new Apple iPod Nano is available in stores throughout the US, UK, Japan and Canada but can be shipped to over 25 other countries. Get your hands on this red hot product before they sell out.
4 HOTLIPS RINGS This sterling silver ring found in the US and UK, designed by Solange Azagury–Partridge is pretty hot if we must say so ourselves. Covered in translucent red lacquer this Special Edition ring is a must have in support of AIDS elimination. Every time you open your wallet Solange opens her generous heart and donates 50% of her earnings to the fund.
5 DIPTYQUE CANDLE Made from Rooibos; a combination of red bush tea and fair trade vanilla, this beautiful scented and even more beautifully packaged candle in its African wax print design can be found worldwide through Diptyque retailers. What’s great about this product outside of its aesthetics is that each time you purchase one, proceeds from your candle will be sent to providing medicine to those with HIV in Africa.
WE RECOMMEND THE TOP 5 IN ARTS WORTH CHECKING OUT
LITERATURE: Pygmy – Chuck Palahniuk
1
A provocative portrait of Imperialism (thinly guised as consumerism) gone horribly wrong, Palahniuk (of Fight Club fame) pushes the literary envelope with his latest offering. Pass the collection plate around – Pygmy articulates what many wish upon the degenerate society of the United States of America, in unleashing the tiny terror that is Agent 67 and his comrades unto an unsuspecting suburban middle-American neighbourhood. His mission – effect the Apocalypse. Whether or not our world is transformed into a Utopia or is left to languish in dystopian disarray is for you, dear reader, to discover.
THEATRE: Glow
2
Dance and technology collide in this hugely inventive performance featuring the latest in multimedia technology. “In GLOW, light and moving graphics are not pre-rendered video playback, but rather images constantly generated by various algorithms responding to movement,” says Chunky Move’s Artistic Director, Gideon Obarzanek. This performance utilises a sophisticated video tracking system as a digital landscape generated in response to the dancers’ movement. The bodies’ gestures are extended by and in turn manipulate the video world that surrounds it, rendering no two performances exactly the same.
ARTIST: Salvador Dali
3
His work is none other than a reflection of his intensely surreal imagination so it’s no surprise that any piece of art produced by Dali is of a level of absolute brilliance. Incorporating numerous media such as his repertoire of film, photography, paints and sculpture this Spanish artist’s surrealist and cubist movement will continue to inspire with limitless boundaries. For those that don’t know, look him up – he’s the artist with the flamboyant moustache which he used for many years as a paintbrush.
FILM: Män som hatar kvinnor (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo)
4
If you’re in the mood for entertainment with subtitles (without animated Japanese characters), then this Swedish adaptation of the eponymous novel by Stieg Larsson is your ticket to that Scandinavian adventure you’ve been meaning to embark upon. The first of a trilogy set to be released this year, the film chronicles the exploits of young hacker antihero Lisbeth, as she joins forces with disgraced journalist Mikael in unravelling the dark secrets of the well-to-do Vanger family. Impressive body art aside, Lisbeth intrigues with her complex personality and troubled past. Foreign language cinema is the new black – don’t be caught out.
ALBUM: Tomorrow Yesterday As their first official album launches in CD stores across the globe you can’t help but tune in to the sounds of Tomorrow Yesterday. If Chivalry is not your cup of tea gentleman than I suggest you buy this for your special lady as this beautifully composed album is a tribute to all the women of the world on behalf of their men. On the other hand, if chivalry is your thing but you just suck at it then just hit ‘play’ and take some tips from this classical groups 9 lustrous tracks.
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Each atom of the Holy Spirit is intelligent, and like all other matter has solidity, form, and size, and occupies space. Orson Pratt
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alexlong222@gmail.com http://xela222.tumblr.com/
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Meditation brings wisdom; lack of mediation leaves ignorance. Know well what leads you forward and what hold you back, and choose the path that leads to wisdom
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Buddha
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There are only two kinds of freedom in the world; the freedom of the rich and powerful, and the freedom of the artist and the monk who renounces possessions
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Albert Camus
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The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion
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Albert Camus