why EVERYONE should watch L'eclisse now.

The reason I love L'eclisse so much is that it is the only actual film I have ever seen to have taken the medium’s artistic potential to such an extent, and that too in the most harmonious, successful way. This film is impossible to convert to any other medium. The film is full of artfully composed scenes, striking images, which tell way more than what is communicated through the script. Antonioni’s tactics range from the use of actors in still poses and strong visual imagery (like a broken piece of wood floating in water), to subtle messages that capture very particular emotions (such as awkward moments, and the internal turmoil and confusion that goes on inside a mind). From further back, his film can be seen as a representation of alienation and emotional isolation exacerbated by an increasingly mechanised society. His use of the EUR district in Rome as the backdrop perfectly complements these themes.


update: also the way the camera looks at everything like art is captured and that is good too.

ALRIGHT!

So I went to the Thursday night Artist Panel featuring
Mitchell Syrop, Bruce Hainley, Lisa Lapinski, & Mayo Thompson.
It was very interesting because I thought it was just going to be like a show and tell of Mitchell's pieces.
Later i realized it was a conversation and it was very odd. They spoke very quietly and it was mostly Mayo Thompson talking and criticizing. Lisa seemed very frustrated because Mayo was being sort of rude to her.
And only two questions were asked because of time and they did not really answer the questions either.
It was mostly Mitchell being compared to his rival I guess. I was just lost and trying to understand what they were saying and how it can relate to me as an artist.

College Night at LACMA

I had never been to LACMA before (as far as I can remember anyway), which is totally shameful for me to admit since I was born and raised here in LA county.  In fact, it had been several years since I visited a museum at all.  I don't know why I envisioned vast empty halls with very few visitors and a relaxing atmosphere to just dwell in and really absorb all the work on display.  College night at LACMA could not have been further from what I had imagined.  I was completely blown away by the crowd of young adults that turned up for the event.  It was a bit overwhelming at first, but I finally found my way to the In Wonderland exhibit where I was immediately enthralled by the paragraph of introduction printed on the wall of the entry hall.

I felt comforted by the fact that the artists whose work I was about to see shared the same connection I have always felt to Alice in Wonderland, since my mom had named me after that very Alice.  I moved forward into the exhibit with a renewed excitement, no longer affected by the pack of strangers surrounding me.  I wasn't familiar with the artists behind the first few works in the exhibit, but when I got to the fourth, I was forced to pause.  

Actually the work itself was so intricate that I had to stop for an extended period just to see everything that was going on in it, but then I read the placard next to it and saw the name Frida Kahlo.  I was shocked because I had never seen her work up close before and I realized why she was one among the relatively short list of artists whose names I knew of.  I couldn't imagine how long it took her to include so much detail in her work, and the results are truly breathtaking.  

Besides all of the works by Frida Kahlo, I was particularly impressed by Remedios Varo and Kay Sage.  Varo's masterful use of oil in creating beautiful texture and value contrasts was captivating, and Sage's play with shadows in creating space and depth was extremely stimulating.  

Overall, I really enjoyed the exhibit, and the mashed potato bowls were also amazing.