© ARD / Alligatoah (via Youtube)
Ich mix’ uns Grippeviren mit Brausetabletten /
Nur wenn wir außer Gefecht sind, könn’n wir auch mal relaxen /
Ich verschiebe die Termine bis in alle Ewigkeit /
Viel zu viel zu tun für das bisschen Lebenszeit /
— Alligatoah feat. Felix Brummer – Beinebrechen
ardmediathek.de/video/friends-of-mdr-sputnik/friends-of-alligatoah
© Kirby Ferguson (via YouTube)
There is an element of explotation to all creatitvity, to appropriate is to take without permission —that’s creativity. You don’t ask others if you could do it, you just do it. Who would you ask anyway? It’s okay to take if you do it the right way.
As a foreigner very much into Asian –more particularly Japanese– culture, philosophy and design, cultural appropriation is a topic I’ve thought about quite a bit already —and even more so since I’m a father now, trying to be the best role model I can be.
Just like with his absolutely amazing series on remixing, Kirby Ferguson makes some valid points on this sensitive topic during his Farewell to Cultural Appropriation.
On a related note: Ferguson is bringing his 2020 series This Is Not a Conspiracy Theory to YouTube (for free). Episode one is available already, the other five parts will be released every two weeks. I haven’t seen it as of now, so I can’t tell you if it is any good, but given the recent track record of the filmmaker, I’m going to watch it for sure!
© The Beauty Of (via Youtube)
Some shots from one of my favourite movies, 2021’s fantastic interpretation of Frank Herberts Dune by Denis Villeneuve.
© Sigrid (via Youtube)
When the world is on your shoulders /
And the weight of your own heart is too much to bear /
Wеll, I know that you’re afraid things will always be this way /
It’s just a bad day, not a bad life
— from Bad Life by Sigrid feat. Bring Me The Horizon
Looking forward to the second album “How To Let Go” by Norwegian singer and songwriter Sigrid to be released on Friday, three years after her debut “Sucker Punch”.
© Polyphonic (via YouTube)
It’s absolutely mind-boggling to me that ‘Inside’ by Bo Burnham was released almost a year ago. But the dwindling of time asides;
After seeing the Special multiple times since its release and listening to the songs separately even more often, I still consider it to be one of the most notable pieces of art published in years. Not only is it an accurate reflection of the pandemic reality and the feelings probably most of us had or have to face as a consequence, but beyond that, I consider it to be one of the most spot-on dissections of (current) internet culture the entertainment industry has to offer.
As I have learned through the recently released video essay Bo Burnham, Arcade Fire, and the Infinite Dread of the Internet by Polyphonic, Arcade Fire –who have returned not long ago with a new single from their upcoming album WE, (tbr. in May)– have been criticizing the development plaguing the world wide web years ago, as well. Guess it’s time to give their albums ‘Reflector’ (2013) and ‘Everything Now’ (2017) a more considerate listening (again).
© Fame Focus (via YouTube)
Recently I received the beautiful behind-the-scenes book “The Art and Soul of Dune“, so I’ve been searching for and soaking in every making-of about Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi masterpiece I managed to get my hands on lately.
Besides the already mentioned amazing Sound of Dune, I particularly found this one about the practical effects and the huge challenges caused by filming in the desert quite interesting: Dune 2021’s “Sand Screen” Method VFX Breakdown
© A24 (via YouTube)
A beloved character gets his big-screen debut in this hilarious and heartwarming story about finding connection in the smallest corners.
Another wonderful Trailer from A24 —I’ve mentioned The Beach and Everything Everywhere All At Once not long ago, this time it seems to be more of a heartwarming –albeit still a bit weird– family film: Marcel The Shell With Shoes On.
A24 has a great track record lately: I’m still bummed I missed The Green Knight in the cinema, C’mon C’mon by Mike Mills is pretty high on my current watchlist, and the trailer for the new movie by Alex Garland, Men, looks –and sounds– great, as well.
© Patrick Tomasso (via YouTube)
As –hopefully– established already, I’m a huge fan of not only movies but especially cinema. And even though I’m not creating (very much) video content myself and I don’t think I will ever create something for the so-called big screen, I always enjoy learning about what makes a movie great and how it was archived.
Fairly recently I shared a wonderful video about the astonishing sound of Dune, this time it’s this great video essay ‘Why The Batman Is So Beautiful‘ by Patrick Tomasso about the visual grittiness of ‘The Batman’ by Director Matt Reeves and cinematographer Greig Fraser.
Related: If you are into movies and cinema yourself I recommend the documentary Netflix series VOIR. Produced by David Fincher and David Prior, it’s a wonderful ode to the big screen and the craft of filmmaking told through visual essays and personal stories of movie lovers.
© School Of Life (via YouTube)
Wabi-sabi refers to the beauty of the impermanent, the imperfect, the rustic and the melancholy. It derives not from the love of invincibility, youth and flawnessness, but from a respect for what is passing, fragile, slightly broken and modest.
I keep coming back to this essential principle of Japanese philosophy.
© KUMMER (via Youtube)
Ich wär gerne voller Zuversicht /
Jemand, der voll Hoffnung in die Zukunft blickt /
Der es schafft, all das einfach zu ertragen /
Ich würd dir eigentlich gern sagen /
Alles wird gut
— aus Der letzte Song (Alles wird gut) von KUMMER feat. Fred Rabe
© Krista Kim / Times Square (via YouTube)
Synchronized across 90 electronic billboards, a slowly shifting gradient of color washes over Times Square, creating a moment of calm amidst one of the most visually kinetic places in the world.
Kim’s peaceful digital reflection takes over Times Square as the world persists through a pandemic that has disrupted and transformed our everyday lives, mental health, and collective well-being for almost two full years. Using the technology of our times, she creates a communal space that allows viewers to decompress.
In February ‘Continuum‘ by artist Krista Kim turns the billboards throughout Times Square into a huge vibrant colorscape at midnight for an art series called ‘Midnight Moment’. What an absolutely magnificent way to use all of this screen estate.
timessquarenyc.org/whats-happening/midnight-moment-continuum
© Patagonia Films / Jordan Manley (via Vimeo)
Follow a group of skiers, snowboarders, scientists and healers to the birch forests of Japan, the red cedars of British Columbia and the bristlecones of Nevada, as they explore an ancient story written in rings.
I’m in love with the magnificent short documentary Treeline by Patagonia Films. Strongly recommend you to check out the other “films with Impact” the collective has produced “on behalf of our home planet” so far.
© Yuki Kawae (via Vimeo)
In traditional Chinese culture, the moon is a carrier of human emotions. The full moon symbolizes family reunion. Due to the Covid restrictions between China and the United States, my trip to see my family in Beijing, which was scheduled in early 2020, is on an indefinite hold. While waiting to go back for the past two years, I decided to create a video series with the general intention of bringing the moon down to me on the earth, inspired by a Chinese legend of the Han dynasty entitled, “The lake reflecting the divine moon.”
Every winter since 2020, I’ve filmed myself alone tracing moon patterns by dragging a suitcase on the snow-covered ground in the parking lot adjacent to my apartment building in Chicago, as if to create circular mantras suspended in a time of waiting. I also made two summer counterparts of the same ritual on a sandy beach by Lake Michigan. As long as I’m unable to go back to China, I will continue to film this same ritual in the summer and winter.
This installation by Yuge Zhou called Moon drawings reminds me a lot of the beautiful patterns Yuki Kawae draws in his zen garden —but in an entirely different dimension. Gorgeous, even more so when you know the background behind the piece.