jESiO

Winterized

2012-02-09T15:24:00.000-05:00

Anna & Marek Strachan

There's lots to be said for February. It's cold but it's short and sweet. Above is what we're driving towards: green, climbing Spring. Below is where we've been. Grey and muted and monotoned winter--but beautiful nonetheless.

Daisy Chan

http://29.media.tumblr.com

http://shinysquirrel.typepad.com

tumblr

http://duelosoleil.wordpress.com/

http://www.fubiz.net/

Etsy: A View From A Pinnacle

http://lifeofpolarnper.blogspot.com/

http://www.fubiz.net

http://media-cdn.pinterest.com/

http://www.revisitedmatters.com/

TOOL

2012-02-05T13:56:00.000-05:00

I got to shoot Tool last Friday night. Super honor. Also was my first time shooting at Hampton Coliseum. This was a great opportunity and I loved it. The bummer of the thing was that I only got the first song to be up there. I unfortunately wasted a good 20-30 seconds switching out lenses, which flustered me. Also, they had heavy fog machine presence throughout the song so there was a haze over many of the pics.

I don't know if it was nerves, or lack of time, or the fog, but I'm not thrilled with the results. However, they are here nonetheless, as I was the only photographer there and I'd hate for there to be no record of it. I wish I'd been able to shoot more from further away, as the light show and art on the screens was definitely more visually rad than Maynard.

Stay tuned for a review on AltDaily in the coming days.

Love Local Music

2012-01-30T22:01:00.000-05:00

Greetings and Salutations. I've been working with the good folk over at Veer Magazine over the last couple of months as a member of the judge's panel for their upcoming Local Music Awards on February 15. By "working" I mean listening to lots of music and telling the powers that be what I'm digging....and interviewing local trio DJP & Mr T for their cover story about local bands and the show. Read it here.

OK Back to the Awards Show:

The contest works like this:

There's some judges (like me and many other bloggers, promoters, musicians, writers, DJ's, etc. involved in the local scene).

Those judges name a bunch of stuff we like.

Those results are tallied and sent out to YOU: the eyes and ears of 757 Music.

You vote HERE.

The judges also vote on those finalists--but with some fairness and rules so we can't just promote our friends and interests.

The results come in and are announced February 15 at The Naro. The show is going to be awesome. You should go go go if you're in town.

The performing bands are following the show's mantra "Love Your Local Music" and its proximity to Valentine's Day. Their only song requirement is that the title must contain the word "love."

Come! Enjoy some Starr Hill Love, some "Love Me Do" and some Love from your fellow music nerds.

Suburban Vid

2012-01-27T08:45:00.000-05:00

Here's an awesome video from local band Suburban Living shot around Norfolk. Enjoy the sound and then check out more of their sweet tunes here. It's so pretty.

2011Rox

2012-01-17T17:57:00.000-05:00

2011 was a fun year for music photography. Here's some of the best bands I shot last year.

Digging Up Bones

2011-12-18T14:49:00.000-05:00

Here's some artists I'm digging right now.

â€¢ Achab Flickr

Mimeographed

2011-12-07T13:48:00.000-05:00

Ron Gonsalves

My friend Alicia hit me up today with a picture of her street performing on Colley Avenue yesterday. Some would call her a mime though, to me, if you're not in the white makeup with the striped shirt, there is room for interpretation.

Alicia in Colley Avenue

Anyway, I'm stoked and inspired at her balls and whimsy and put together this little post of pictures of street performance and art inspired by it.

Aisling's photos on Flickr

Maria Pace-Wynters

Digital Art Gallery

Young busker circa 1897

Yard Dogs Road Show

jEScO jESiO jEScO jESiO jEScO jESiO jEScO

2011-11-23T07:37:00.000-05:00

Recently I learned my interview with Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia director Julien Nitzberg is the most read story ever on AltDaily. Nice to hear, nice accolade, sure. For me, the best part of that statistic is its subject. I really care about Jesco and co., both as individuals and as representatives of the hard-to-explain truth-myth hybrid I call Appalachia.

As more readers are exposed to this story on the White family, they are also exposed to all the stuff surrounding it. Debates continue to spark. Are they rebellious anti-heroes? Are they moochers and addicts? Obviously the answers to both of these questions is yes. They are. They are also exploited and aware of it and maintain their own sense of freedom within the parameters of lives they navigate, but to destinations predetermined by forces larger than even White.

We come from the same world: where you're addicted to Jesus or to the Devil and there's very little room for in-between in the minds of your community. Jesus may come with cleaner clothes and more money but he often comes with corruption and politicking after the final hymn, over ham and green beans in a townie's eat-in kitchen.

The Devil brings many types of fire. Hellfire, surely--a concept rarely punctured into sinners as they make their biweekly pilgrimages out of hollers and creekbeds to the post office and liquor store. This conviction is instead whispered among the do-gooders as though they were dandelion tendrils, whirring and buzzing audibly round their ears. This sinner doesn't make much eye contact. Keeps his head low and alert high, as confrontation in his world ends in bruised bodies, not egos.

Houses and Homes

2011-11-19T13:05:00.001-05:00

Friends or followers of jESiOwastaken know I shoot photography around the 757---and that it's largely comprised of bands (like the recent Flaming Lips concert ) or architectural angles. This post isn't really about that.

I'm trying to get a part time gig with my day job shooting Airbnb listings but don't have a fancy, schmancy portfolio....and I'm limited on real estate type shots. I should probably put one together at some point but seem to be doing okay (getting lucky) referring people to this blog.

Anyway, here are some pics from my, ahem, portfolio that are house-y or home-y enough to submit for entry. So, regular readers consider this kind of off topic blog post a necessity in my future happiness. And Airbnb photography department: let's talk!

Recognize this place? Thought you might.

And this guy? Yeah, he's my boss too!

Environment example

Pretend my husband wasn't there.

Fancy listings have fountains, no?

Who doesn't love hardwoods and houseplants?

Models aside, check out this loft in downtown Norfolk! Wouldn't you want to throw a party there?

So there's some random examples. A full monty of my blog photography can be found here. Also, I get published sometimes:

Gallery Show

Chalking of Ghent

Courtney freakin' Love

2011-11-18T18:29:00.000-05:00

Went to a wedding last month at New Canton Plantation in Church Hill, TN. This also marked another Airbnb trip for me. I got stay at Hannah's lovely little house in historic Abingdon. She was an actress and had all sorts of cool books and theater swag in the space. It was great because it allowed me to spend the weekend wondering around an 1840s plantation in between visiting The Trail Cafe and an operational mill from the 1700s. Here are some pics of the wedding and plantation. For the full monty, check out the Flickr.

This window is older than the Civil War. Like whoa.

The Atlanta based artist Bill Birdsong owns the plantation. His work and other fine art is on display throughout.

There was also a plethora of vintage photography.

I love these ladies.

And that gentleman.

We had full access to the mansion because we were family of the wedding party.

11/11/11

2011-11-11T17:39:00.000-05:00

Today is 11/11/11. Here are some of my favorite 11 inspired images.

Pulling the Voter Card

2011-11-08T15:34:00.000-05:00

We are privileged. We are lucky. We have fought. We will still. We have been heroes. We have inspired.

Mod Times

2011-11-03T09:49:00.000-05:00

Those crazy kids at Hardcore Norfolk are at it again. Tonight at Colley Cantina, you can arrive dressed in your finest mid-sixties Mod attire to take part in a video shoot for director Paul Unger. Unger and DJ Lord Thomas are throwing this party in part to participate in The Who's Quadrophenia Contest, in which the band judges a director's interpretation at the song 5:15 for a chance to win cash, a signed Fender, and publicity via the thewho.com.

Here's the event invitation and here is a teaser video Unger made:

This should be a really fun time for everyone involved. For good luck, I'll end with some of my favorite mod pictures.

N: Word.

2011-11-02T18:25:00.001-05:00

Saw a Facebook post just now asking for a cool local picture. I don't have a current one. I've been shooting sporadically and mainly bands lately. But I do have some favorites from previous blogs...just some things I've noticed in my frequent local wanderings...

*My city houses my people.*

Two things we got. Hula hoopers and Crosswalks.

Sticker on an old rusty trash can at Haven Creek boat launch.

Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts

Christopher Newport University

Waterside summer on a foggy day.

This was not Halloween. It was a spring night in the Freemason.

And here's something I made last week with some of my shots and amazing ones from other locals' work. It was inspirational to scour the internet looking for cool images of our city. I used the image in an introduction video to describe my city to the greater Airbnb community.

Beautiful. Flaming.

2011-11-01T20:57:00.000-05:00

Saw Flaming Lips Thursday. Took these pics and many more. Here's what's edited so far in no particular order. I'm going to organize them and such shortly (I'm travelling right now, xo).

Much appreciation to AltDaily for helping me make these pics happen.

We Could Be Heroes

2011-10-21T14:16:00.000-05:00

It's a Bowie kind of day.

So the days float through my eyes

We could beat them.

My heart's in the basement

...others must see the faker

Strange fascination, fascinating me

Forever and ever.

Glimpse

2011-10-18T10:57:00.001-05:00

I had to make a sign for work that had my market's name on it. I made this instead.

It takes the AltDaily t-shirt campaign I worked on last year (ie: Naw-fuk) a step further, as the assignment's purpose is to make an introduction between Norfolk and the Airbnb community.

Man, if only all our city pics were as cool as these. We'd be s-e-t.

(pics by me, John Cachero, Sam Shinault, ODU and Pilotonline, AltDaily)

Dolling

2011-10-17T16:34:00.000-05:00

I just discovered Funny Bunny, aka a designer in Sweden making dolls and fabric (and fabric for the dolls). Her stuff is cool and she's got an Esty and such...but my personal fave is her Flickr, where she occasionally shoots them in not-for-retail fashion. Here are some of my top picks:

Shower Scene Stealer

2011-10-17T08:52:00.002-05:00

(Not Psycho. Yet pretty freakin' Psycho.)

How have I not thought of this before? How great would the infamous shower scene from Psycho be as a costume? Um, so great.

Remember the scene? Here it is:

So, to pull it off, first just buy a cheap shower curtain and bloody it up:

And get a fake knife to put either on your chest or back:

Carry a bar of soap and add a ton of gel to your hair so it appears wet all night. Your partner can go as Norman Bates...which is easy as there's both "normal Norman," which is just regular clothes and a knife (and maybe a pill bottle labeled anti-psychotic?):

Or "psycho-Norman":

haha, isn't this toy awesome?

Pros:

-Easily identifiable

-Relatively cheap

Cons:

-Ever applied a fake knife to yourself? I've done a needle and it takes for-ev-er.

Only 2 weeks to go!

2011-10-11T22:05:00.000-05:00

Pic: 35th and Granby c/o pilotonline

West Norfolk is my

Folk

Naw

Fuck

Gets

You

Where

It's about pace more than race

And more than racing.

A hello is a hello is a hello

Is a welcome.

A dollar is a dollar is a dollar

Is a dollar.

I Am Not You

2011-10-07T19:31:00.000-05:00

I found an old poem I wrote in 2004.

I Am Not You

I don't have time to think about circumstance
It is what it-is-what it is important?
It's the same with consequence.
The life you plan is the life you miss.
Do that. You'll break down to this:
Even energy feels dormant.

I want to be full on more than dinner.
Let the scrapes-love-laughter-blood-
Lips that talk the tornado-
Eyes that flow the flood
Bring about an articulate simmer
Spiced with clove smoke
Love notes
Wisdom of the valid
Struggle of the beginner.
Stirred in my head, my heart, my toes
By the wind of the talks we nightly compose.
The waves of zeal
The craze of feeling.
This.

The cities, the pities, the goddamn committees
Why separate to juxtapose?
Then translate to re-compose?
"Add my ebbs, subtract your flows.'
Become what you deem you might've chose.
Really
You're as black as talcum
And as blue as a rose.

I am not you.

Take em as they come

2011-10-07T17:35:00.000-05:00

I am bored and haven't done a digital collage in a while, so I decided to tweak those annoying Facebook games about "the first three words" and see what I could come up with. I went to my Facebook and have selected the first three words I found and will now try to make a collage that incorporates them. The words are:
1. Flagman
2. Christmas
3. Sisters

Pics used are as follows:

1. Flagman: Olds 88 by Wayne Arteaga

2. Christmas: Illustration of Santa Flying from Featurepics

Framed

2011-10-07T16:58:00.000-05:00

Halloween Idea #16

So Halloween is approaching (thank God!). While this will not likely be the post to win me any "prettiest design" awards, I think the concept is really great for a costume and --best of all-- I can't find that it's been done before.

So the idea is to become a Warhol celebrity portrait for a Halloween costume. These portraits are iconic, and the first step would simply be to go a little nuts with your makeup and hair color. See some edgy fashion pics below for inspiration:

After makeup application, the next step is the frame. Just take an old frame from the thrift store and cut out whatever bad art it came with. Insert a technicolor or mildly neon posterboard in its place with a hole cut out for your head.

Above is a mass produced "Mona Lisa" costume but you get the idea.

Take a copy of Warhol's signature and print, cut, and paste to the lower corner and voila!

Pros:

-Art related

-Easy and unique

-A bunch of people can do it as a group costume

Cons:

-You're a frame head for the evening, so no cozying up to the bar if that's the kind of Halloween you're having

Only a few weeks to go!!!

iSAD

2011-10-06T15:05:00.002-05:00

Cha Chang!

2011-10-05T20:19:00.001-05:00

I saw this image on the cover of my friend's Dave Eggers' book and it blew me away (as the book is now doing, but I digress.) So I had to find out more about the image, called "Horsefly" and its artist, Daniel Chang.

His website starts simply with just this image and the words "Design for Humanity." (swoon)

I'm a sucker for images that seem to have the vibrancy toned down a bit without losing any of the color's integrity, which I think is my favorite part of Chang's work.

I also really love when artists take composition to its literal and obvious point. Chang's use of division on the canvas looks simple while remaining complex and mathematical.

And I really did the non sequiturs. The guitar pick above, the flamingo and sunglasses in works further up the blog. It's not random, yet its randomness makes me feel more grounded in my own insanities.

Olé!

2011-09-25T11:34:00.000-05:00

"Velvet Matador" by Rudy Panucci

The largest bullfighting ring in Spain's Catalonia is hosting its final bout. The region has voted to ban bullfighting after today's match. This is a good thing in terms of animal rights, no doubt. But don't you sometimes find things that are vintage or historic can be aesthetically beautiful while politically the opposite? I feel this way about all things corrida de toros. Here is some beautiful matador-inspired art I've found around the internet.

"The Matador of Toledo" by Emil Kazaz

"Matador" by Pablo Picasso

"The Matador" by Pablo Picasso

"The Matador" by Joan Miro

"Toro y torero" by Ramón Lapayese

"El Matador" by Noredin Morgan

"Matador" by Aharon Yakobson

"Matador" by Kiko Rodriguez

"Portrait of a Matador" by Fritz Scholder

"Red Bull and Matador" by Eric Olsen

"Matador" by Hakuku (via deviantart)

"Le Matador" by Pablo Picasso

Exhibitionist

2011-09-25T10:52:00.007-05:00

Today is "Visit a Museum for Free Day" in the US. I don't have the luxury, unfortunately, so I will instead share with you my top three museum visits over the last decade.

1. Dali Universe (at County Hall Gallery in London)

I saw this exhibit ten years ago. I did not realize it actually ran for entire decade and was just closed last year. According to its Wikipedia, the curators are looking for a new museum to host the exhibit as we speak. While it'd be amazing if a local museum like the Chrysler could have it, I'm sure it will end up in New York or Las Vegas if it ends up in the US at all.

What stands out most about this Dali museum versus a different one was its lack of obvious pieces. We've all seen Persistance of Memory a million times in books. We know what to expect. So to arrive and learn Dali illustrated an entire room full of works based on Dante's Trilogy was chillingly epic.

2. Musée Mécanique, San Francisco.

I stumbled upon this place in 2007. We were looking for the actual art museum, having searched topics like "San Francisco Museum of Art" and the like....and we were directed with the certainty Google provides to go to Pier 43 to find what we were looking for. Welp, there weren't any Monets, but there was Laughing Sal (above), and a cornucopia of other creepy, gorgeous, functional games dating back to the first days of Coney Island and Santa Monica Pier. This privately owned collection had been in the Zelinsky family since 1933 and after the city's art museum closed (we had the right address after all), generously swooped in and allowed their collection to be seen--for free, no less. I hope they never stop.

My personal favorite was The Opium Den, a diorama portraying people smoking the poppy and getting all kinds of lazy and intoxicated. They jerk and shake and look both sinister and desperate. Though a can't miss object at the museum, it's nonetheless a tad racist, if you ask me (as are a few other items). I just kept in mind they were created for a different audience in a very different time and this is a place of history, not judgement. If you're interested in more specifics, here's a great blog post I found regarding the museum.

3. Andy Warhol: The Celebrity Portraits at Bellagio Gallery of Fine Art, Las Vegas

Apparently this exhibit is back. Read here to find out about it. Weirdly, the article doesn't mention this same exhibit came to the very same museum from 2003-04 (which is when I saw it). It was great to see one of my favorite artist's work all in one place. It's not that difficult to see a Warhol, but to see many in a row, with narration by Seventies scenester du jour Liza Minnelli was funny and beneficial. She describes parties and situations with the subjects of the pieces and laughingly admits sometimes she can't remember details due to drugs and alcohol.

Vegas entrepreneur Steve Wynn owns an impressive Warhol collection so it's kind of funny his portrait ends up in this exhibit instead of his own museum over at The Wynn. It's also the only time I've seen Warhol's innovative (and extravagant) diamond dust up close and personal (seen in the above portrait of Joseph Beuys). Diamond dust portraits were a Warhol fad in the early 1980s where he would actually crush real diamonds into a rough paste to bring a sparkling element to portraits. Over time, he switched to broken glass to create the same effect.

An Albino? Palomino?

2011-09-24T14:54:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday Nevermind.

Avettlove

2011-09-22T20:38:00.001-05:00

Saw Avett Brothers the other night and took these shots (first few are of opening act Nicole Atkins & the Sea. They were like the sea--up, down, crushing, dull...just depended on the moment).

Stay tuned for a couple of these (or others) in an AltDaily article near you.

This isn't massively photoshopped...just the stage lighting.

HQ

2011-09-21T07:17:00.000-05:00

Took a work trip to San Francisco and (as is my way) I took more pictures of building angles and decor than anything else. Here are some results.

Summer Shining

2011-09-19T16:56:00.000-05:00

This turned out to be true. So I took the summer off from writing and photography and instead relaxed, travelled, and dug further into gardening and making my house more organic.

Stay tuned, though. I'll be back on a blog near you in the coming days.

Staircase

2011-06-22T06:40:00.000-05:00

Check out the latest in live Radiohead. Gotta love Live From the Basement.

Guyute Was the Ugly Pig

2011-06-18T14:28:00.000-05:00

I'm going to the first Phish show in a half decade tomorrow night. In high school, if you'd told me I'd ever go that long without catching a show, I'd have laughed in your phace.

I have a complicated relationship with jam. I, like many, adopted Widespread, String Cheese, et al. in the wake of Phish's hiatus as substitute good times, but quickly found myself being pulled more and more (and more) towards indie and altcountry. Though over time I listened to less and less "jam" as a genre, I still identified it as my favorite when people asked what kind of music I liked. And I believed that.

I used to regularly defend jam to Sony colleagues (where I worked in alternative music--jam was a joke to those guys.) "It's loose and interpretive," I'd say. "It's for people on acid," they'd retort. This would go on a bit until I was relieved of defendor duty by someone mentioning a band everyone could universally hate no matter what, like Nickelback.

I still saw every Trey show I could (highlights for me being his 2002 "Boogie on Reggae Woman" duet with Dave Matthews at Richmond's historic Landmark Theater and his conducting the Nashville Chamber Orchestra--complete with fireworks--at Bonnaroo 2006.)

When the boys reunited in 2009, the first three gigs were mere minutes from my house (at Hampton Coliseum). I had friends travel from all across the country to this. I tried to buy tickets but couldn't get them. I wasn't going to pay over price. My husband isn't a fan. Blah blah blah. Besides, by then my iPod was stacked with more and more new acts and my loyalties had long shifted to Radiohead as my #1.

Yet every time I got to talking with someone who likes Phish, or I randomly heard a song, I'd get warm inside and would immediately be doing a dance on the inside (on the outside too sometimes.) And I met new Phisheads. 21st Century ones who are in their 30s and have jobs like "eye doctor" and "stockbroker"...people who can't stand Disco Biscuits and all that janky prescription drug mess that comes with their fans. People who remember Hampton Comes Alive and Lemonwheel and Big freakin' Cypress and are excited to still see the whimsy and love and smiles that fans bring to the shows. In fact, just last night I ran into someone I attended the first Bonnaroo with ten years ago (now divorced and re-engaged and living in Lexington, KY) in town for the show. I hear stories like this often...the high school reunion vibe of the parking lot.

Weirdly enough, I just saw Widespread Panic last Sunday. They played a little over three hours and I left about halfway through the show. The first hour was exciting in a nostalgia sort of way...like "when I was younger I, too, got stoned and threw glowsticks in the air while twirling to this southern rock jam." But the music got repetetive and there wasn't a lot of inspiration coming from the stage. And certainly no Mike Gordon guitar riffs. As I realized this and gathered my things, a smile came over my face with the knowledge that in one week I'd be in a similar space/scenario but not enjoying it on the merits of reliving youth but on the merits of pure, undiluted enjoyment.

And as I sit here listening to "Birds of a Feather" live from November 1998, my foot involuntarily taps and I headnod in anticpation of tomorrow night's show. Unlike any other jamband (and many other bands of other ilk), I regularly and vividly remember the first time I heard many Phish songs. "Birds" was at the Virginia Beach Ampitheater in the summer of 1998. The lyrics made more sense to me than anything, which naturally had nothing to do with a certain sugarcube and subsequent Trojan War being played out via morphing clouds as I lay faceup on the grassy hillside.

"Can I live while I'm young?" are great, screamed,classic lyrics from "Chalkdust Torture" and I always think of The Beatles' "Why Don't We Do It in the Road?" when "Funky Bitch" starts. And on and on.

In the end, I was right and wrong. I'm not a jam fan. I'm just a music fan who happens to like Phish---a lot. Stay tuned for my review of the show, coming soon to AltDaily.

HalloRoo

2011-06-16T19:35:00.000-05:00

Halloween Idea #15

While attending Bonnaroo over the weekend, I had the greatest idea for a Halloween costume: Bonnaroo Attendee. Having just survived another music festival myself, I definitely have the wardrobe ready to go.

Would need:

-Wellington rain boots caked in mud
-Band t-shirt with strategic cut outs revealing an ironically 90s bikini top
-Bandana and oversized sunglasses
-Wristband
-Map/schedule
-Happily dazed look
-Spray tan or fake sunburn
-(Kudos to my friend Norm for providing this idea): iPod in pocket with creepy whisper announcing "molly. molly. molly. shrooms. molly" over and over again in a hushed, yet frantically needy manner.

Only five months to go!

PS: I get to don my Daria idea next month! My friend is having a 90s theme party so I'm excited to dig into the blog's costume vault for ideas! I'll post pics afterwards, for sure.

Singled Out

2011-06-16T19:14:00.000-05:00

I recently watched Tom Ford's directorial debut A Single Man. The film was quietly strong and surprisingly masculine. While Ford's day job as a fashion designer did him no harm in styling and framing some gorgeous shots throughout the film, I must say his eye is only half the package. He hit the nail on the head with this story of a suicidal man's perceived last day on Earth, allowing the viewer to experience (along with main character George Falconer) the vivid, clear beauty of "the normal day." Here are some of my favorite shots from the film.

Spreading Like Wildfire

2011-06-06T15:21:00.000-05:00

I recently wrote a review of my faves Today the Moon Tomorrow the Sun's new album Wildfire. The local paper just pulled it in, which is kind of awesome. Hopefully more people fall in love with these dudes as a result.

Covered

2011-06-02T16:32:00.001-05:00

A picture says a thousand words, or so the saying goes. It's a special feat when said picture is supposed to accentuate an actual thousand words, as is the case in magazine publishing. Here are some of the most memorable magazine covers in history, whose imagery has far surpassed the stories inside.

Above, the 1980 Rolling Stone cover, featuring John Lennon and Yoko Ono, photographed by Annie Leibovitz hours before Lennon was shot and killed in New York City. It's a striking image, but knowing the awful times that lay just beyond the camera's click makes it most memorable and poignant.

Less tragic is the 1997 Time cover where Ellen DeGenerses comes out of the closet, though there was an immediate backlash. She lost her top-rated sitcom around a year later. I so clearly remember seeing this issue at the grocery store and kind of being bewildered--both about the hooplah surrounding someone's personal life and at the negative reactions surrounding the announcement. There's still a long way to go in terms of acceptance for all people, but looking at this cover, it's easy to measure the growth in tolerance over the last fifteen years.

I wasn't alive in the proverbial summer of '69 so I don't actually remember this cover. However, I'm both a photography and travel nut, so to think about Neil Armstrong carrying a camera to the moon to shoot this picture of his partner Buzz Aldrin absolutely stuns me. Technology at its very best.

Here's another one I clearly remember. Cindy Crawford posing as George Washington on the inaugural issue of George magazine, the brainchild of John F. Kennedy, Jr. In a pre-blog world, the concept of morphing politics and pop culture was revitalizing, especially to those of us far removed from urban epicenters. And Cindy Crawford--you couldn't ask for a more precise representation of "cover model" in the 1990s. I wonder what amazing things this publication would have done (and evolved into) had JFK Jr. lived.

I just found this image today. It's by Roy Lichtenstein and was done in 1968 shortly after the murders of Martin Luther King Jr. and Bobby Kennedy. Merging pop art and in-your-face opinion, it's hard for me to understand how over 40 years later I still wake up to multiple stories of gun violence every single day.

I also remember a big brouhaha over this 1991 Vanity Fair cover. People were up in arms at the audacity a pregnant woman would have in exposing her body while in such an "unsexy" shape. Kudos to both Moore and Vanity Fair for having the foresight to recognize the beauty and balls behind this image.

I don't necessarily remember when this issue of National Geographic came out. I just don't remember a time where I wasn't familiar with it. This Afghan girls' striking eyes on an otherwise calm face gave more humanity to "the other" than more commonly used pictures of carnage and landscape. This was taken 26 years ago and we're still watching Afghan's young and old suffer so much brutality.

Tattoo Trailer

2011-06-01T11:14:00.000-05:00

The Hollywood version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is coming this December. I was skeptical when I first heard about this, having loved the original Swedish version so dearly. However, if it lives up to the trailer above, I'll totally stand corrected. And how 'bout that soundtrack? Karen O teaming up with Trent Reznor for a cover of Led Zeppelin's "Immigrant Song" straight outta 2011. I can't wait to hear more of it.

Auntie Em!

2011-05-26T13:55:00.000-05:00

This pic was taken near my hometown yesterday. Thought it was fitting to share as I inform you I most likely won't have a blog post up for the next few days. I'm going on an Appalachian Trail section hike (yes!) and it's currently not calling for a twister (probably yes!) Happy Memorial Day everyone!

Happy Birthday Bob

2011-05-25T22:46:00.000-05:00

Happy 70th Birthday to Bob Dylan. In its honor, I threw a birthday party at my house last night. Unfortunately, Bob didn't make it. We ate cake anyway and watched Don't Look Back.

Here are some of my favorite Dylan shots.

Ken Regan

totallyfuzzy.com

Ken Regan

First Photowalk

2011-05-20T16:47:00.000-05:00

The awesome photographer (and guy) John Cachero led me and many more photographers (and wannabes) along the streets of Downtown Norfolk last Sunday afternoon for his second annual photowalk. Stay tuned to AltDaily, as I'm going to interview him about all things photog, Norfolk, and such sometime soon.

In the meantime, here are some of my pics.

Here's one of all of us by John.

Hipstacubicle

2011-05-17T18:17:00.000-05:00

Hipstamatic can even make my cube look cool. I need glasses made from it.

Jayma Amaze

2011-05-15T20:07:00.001-05:00

So, I'm late to the game or whatever (probably because I don't watch Glee.) Anyway, congrats x 1,000 to my schoolmate Jayma Mays for scoring the female lead role in the upcoming Smurfs 3D movie.

Dr. Bluegrass

2011-05-13T14:36:00.000-05:00

I saw the legend himself, Dr. Ralph Stanley on Monday night. I took all these pics and wrote this for AltDaily (featuring input from local bluegrass players Sam Shinault and Brian Dobbins of the new band Two Dollar Bill Band.)

Inside Outside

2011-05-11T08:56:00.001-05:00

Sometimes when I go to friends' homes, I can't help but take pictures of their environments. Here are some from Monday night.

Posteroo

2011-05-10T21:59:00.001-05:00

Status Serigraph

I just got a Bonnaroo update that I'm stoked about! They're partnering with The American Poster Institute to do an exhibit of music poster makers. The exhibit features discussions with artists and focuses on the intertwining of art and music. I'm saw a gig poster exhibit at SXSW a few years ago and it was amazing. I also recently interviewed local poster designer Cassie Podish on the Quentin vs. Coen show for Bizarre Bytes recently. Here are some of the artists they'll be showing:

Pablo Honey

2011-05-09T10:57:00.000-05:00

Halloween Idea #14

I went to Virginia Museum of Fine Art's Picasso exhibit last week (on loan from the Musée National in Paris.) I'll do a proper art post on that soon. In the meantime, I noticed the gift shop was selling striped "Picasso" shirts for, like, a million dollars and thought it'd be a good Halloween costume contendor.

Striped shirt, paintbrush, cigarette. Pretty basic. Maybe add a bald cap?

Pro's:

-All I'd have to buy is a bald cap.

-It's art based.

Con's:

-Would people get it? I live in Norfolk, VA. People don't get much around here.

Only six months to go!

Art Over Here, Art Over There

2011-05-08T19:38:00.002-05:00

Last week was Art|Everywhere's opening night. Here are some highlights. You can view the rest of the pictures I took here.

More Mapplethorpe

2011-05-08T19:24:00.000-05:00

I just learned of yet another NYC exhibit I sadly cannot attend. Robert Mapplethorpe (whose work I like more every millisecond) is most known for his explorations of the underground S&M scene of 1970s New York. The reputation that came with that work leads him to be either popularized or devalued, depending on what critic you read.

This show is different. It asked fifty regular Americans from all over the country to look at 2,000 of his images and pick their favorite. They had to state why they picked the work and what it meant to them. Here's a slideshow where the choosers explain why. I found several pieces I'd never seen before.

Spankin' New Banksy

2011-05-05T07:04:00.000-05:00

To commemorate riots in his hometown of Bristol, UK, Banksy just released the above poster. The good news? It's $5. The bad news? It's sold exclusively at Bristol's Anarchist Bookfair this Saturday. I guess watching ebay Saturday evening could be a fun experiment in watching money grow on trees.

ST(o)P

2011-05-04T11:56:00.000-05:00

I went to Stone Temple Pilots last week. I took pics (here) and there's a review at the bottom of the post.

It was my second time seeing them live and Adam's third. The first time I saw them was about ten years ago and it was one of the best shows of my life. Adam was pretty much equally stoked.

We got there and opening band Rose Hill Drive were on fire! I mean, they really brought the crowd together and I walked out of there ready to download away. Stone Temp started and, well, they were "doing their job." They weren't bad and the DeLeo brothers brought their talent out full frontal. Weiland (whose heroin torso has sadly been replaced by a dad belly) didn't have any emotion or show any enjoyment. It was as if every dance move he tried was really done by a puppet master above the stage, with tiny invisible strings attached to his underarms.

He looked tired. He looked sober, too. It's weird to even think about wanting someone to not be, but he's not lost in a moment which makes watching him mediocre now when it used to be mesmerizing. Not a position I'd want to be in. Anyway, his voice is still top notch.

They played all the hits. He stood two feet from me singing my favorite song lyric of all time "Is it raining in your bedroom?" (Don't ask why it's my favorite, as I have no idea.) Bucket list: check. He didn't really speak or banter. At one point someone threw a beer on the stage and he kinda commented that "this ain't the county fair" and how dumb it is to waste beer in this economy. Hardy har har.

STP's new songs from Stone Temple Pilots (2010) were really good. Oftentimes when classic bands take an interlude to play the new stuff, that's when I head to smoke or make a phone call. Not here. They stood up to the old material in quality and in songwriting. Again, had they been performed with more enthusiasm, I think the crowd really would have dug it.

In the end, I get it a B-.

Sick Sad World

2011-05-04T09:07:00.000-05:00

I found the most awesome blog today called Sick Sad World. It contains all things Daria, including the entire playlist from every single episode. It also contains user-submissions of original art and acting inspired by Daria. I'm so stoked to start playing it. I'm also not the only one thinking a Daria-themed Halloween would rule. Here are some of the highlights:

Who didn't?

(I had one manicure ever: Junior Prom. This photo very well may have changed that.)

drama students recreate the first scene of episode 1

Some People Call Me Maurice

2011-05-02T10:39:00.000-05:00

Midnight Toker.

Went to see Steve Miller Band on Friday night. The above tapestry was the second best thing about the show, trailing only behind the stage set-up revealed upon its dropping. It was a bucket list kind of concert. I'd never seen him before, know a ton of his songs, and who doesn't like free beer?

The big surprise was Miller's backup singer (whom I will refer to as fatbald Wayne Newton.) This guy ruined the show for me. I cropped him out of my photos out of principle. He had a decent voice but worse dance moves than a toddler. Like a lot of older artists, Miller's voice isn't what it used to be. However, as much as it might suck to see Willie Nelson or Bob Dylan have to tone it down onstage, those artists would never consider taking a complete backseat to an unattractive, mediocre unknown. Wayne's dancing was so distracting, I found the only way to really enjoy the show was not to look at it. And Miller even let him sing entire songs solo! Whaddabumma!

Anyway, I took some photos...

A rare moment where Miller actually proves he's not a robot.

Very cool astrology-meets-rock backdrop (aka, the best part of the show.)

He can sing, just chooses not to.

Coming Up Roses

2011-05-02T06:28:00.001-05:00

pic: jESiO

Rose Hill Drive opened for STP last week and killed it. I learned last time they were in town it was opening for Government Mule, who are quite the departure from Stone Temp, so I was intrigued. The NorVa was packed. Making my way to the front row, a'ha moments were popping up on the faces I passed. No longer were they patiently waiting for the headliner, tolerating these unknown rock-n-rollers; instead they were really digging it.

From Boulder, these dudes have been compared to Zeppelin and Cream a lot. They've definitely got a psychedelic seventies thing going on, but it's definitively American, with it's straightforward riffing and metal harmonies. If I had to compare, I'd actually say Soundgarden meets KOL. Bands crop up like this from time to time (remember Wolfmother?), gain a bunch of buzz, and often are recycled into nostalgic one-hit wonderville. I don't see this for Rose Hill Drive, as they seem quite content to maintain solid tours and festival gigs (they've done Bonnaroo, Austin City Limits, Warped Tour and others.) They're definitely a buzz band if nothing else (though they have been for five years, being named a band to watch by Rolling Stone in 2007), though I've been buzzing for nearly a week on them and they were the opener. It's so rad when that happens.

Art|Everywhere Part Deux

2011-04-28T17:20:00.000-05:00

Art|Everywhere is back in just about 48 hours. Whew! I can't believe it's been a year already. Last year I got involved to a fairly low-key extent, but it was the catalyst for a lot of great things for Norfolk, and for me, over the rest of the year.

I'm assisting again this year, with a little more focused responsibility. I'm also excited to say I've already blogged about several of the artists already at various points in jesiowastaken's life...If you live in Norfolk, try your best to hit Granby Street up on April 30. Though the art will be up for two months afterwards if you can't make it.

Nichole Ashikis

Nicole Ashikis has been mentioned on here before, specifically when she was part of Love Looks Better in the Morning, the gallery show whose opening night I photographed back in late January. I love how she's unabashed when it comes to color and how her strokes are ragged and kind of have a controlled violence in them.

Amanda Page Stephens

I found myself helping Amanda Page with her installation yesterday and it's awesome. I (and most others, I assume) associate her with canvases--pieces you would hang on a wall. She's doing a complete 180 for Art|Everywhere that deals with mental illness and the ridiculousness of medical care/health insurance in America right now. So basically, I hot glued a bunch of pills to wire under her direction and learned a lot more than I expected to while doing it.

DAVMO

I wrote very recently about DAVMO...About how his piece remembering John Kohn is the coolest public memorial. He's so talented and I'm so stoked Harry's BBQ is going to become DAVMO's BBQ for a couple of months.

Beth Austin

Anyone who knows me (or anyone who doesn't but reads this blog) knows I love, love, love music photography and practice it myself pretty regularly. Beth Austin reminds me of myself...not stylistically, but in the sense that she's really trying to capture moments and is a real music fan and not all about the technical.

Clay McGlamory

Clay's a dude I smoke cigarettes with at Taphouse from time to time. I didn't even realize he was an artist, let alone a professional one, until a few weeks ago. Derrrr. His works are big and complicated and I don't even know where to start without sounding completely uneducated. And since I haven't seen any of his work in person, I don't want to tell lies. However, from what I've seen online, they're toweringly impressive. Glowing, glassy installations reminiscent of kaleidoscoped mosaics are never, ever a bad thing, ya know?

Lastly, here is a preview of the work done by Elyse Lovelace and Heather Bryant, called "Bird on a String." These are girls after my own heart, what with making a blog about their piece and all. I've mentioned Elyse before on jesiowastaken, but as a curator instead of an artist. She was responsible for the art show I went to in March where I fell head over heels for the work of Asa Jackson. We've also worked together on about a billion AltDaily projects over the last year, so I'm particularly partial/proud of this one.

Busknews

2011-04-26T17:06:00.002-05:00

WVEC Channel 13 interviewed me today regarding all the busking work I've been doing over the last year or so. The best part? We were done with the interview and the guy says "too bad there aren't any buskers out here right now" and, literally, two appeared at the end of the same block we were on. Karma!

Here's a link to their story as well.

F(EASTER)!!!

2011-04-26T16:23:00.000-05:00

I made some Easter dinner and had a little backyard jam for dessert (and took pics of course.)

Legalize It. Publicize It.

2011-04-25T14:38:00.000-05:00

pic: jESiO

Tomorrow's a big day, folks! SPIN (Street Performing in Norfolk), the pro-busking "group" I've been organizing for the last year is finally becoming legit. To make busking officially "legal" in Norfolk, the City Council will vote on the ordinance tomorrow night at 7pm. Click here to read all about the last year in busk, what started it, what continued it, where it's going. And if you're local, come out and support it!

thX

2011-04-21T16:51:00.000-05:00

This little blog met its 10,000th viewer today. To all of you who stop by and look at weird pictures I take or find, or weird things I write or imagine...danka! Art and music are a lifeforce as strong as blood and air.

About Time

2011-04-20T12:09:00.000-05:00

Margaret Kilgallen

The next year and a half in NYC are lucky times for all of us interested in grafitti art. For the first time in US history, a major exhibition of the history of street art (including artists' works, as well as photography and film surrounding the phenomenon) will be show. First at MOCA, Art in the Streets is showing the exhibit now through mid-August. Then a break...Then it's back March-July 2012 at the Brooklyn Museum (which is quickly becoming one of my favorite places in New York.)

Fab Five Freddy. Pic: Format Magazine

Futura 2000

The exhibit will feature artists like Fab Five Freddy and Futura (above) and photography/video from Terry Richardson and Spike Jonze (below.)

Pic: Terry Richardson

Juxtaopoz feat. Spike Jonze

The gallery (and curator) that started it all, Fun Galler/Patti Astor is essentially popping up in the middle of all this with works by Keith Haring and Jean-Michel Basquiat (whom they broke in the1980s, and whom are amongst my favorite artists of all time.)

Keith Haring with some graffiti.

SAMO post SAMO

Bunny Rabids

2011-04-20T10:42:00.000-05:00

Easter's coming up this weekend, folks. Enjoy some pics reminding us all how weird that can be if we let it.

I Get the Message Out

2011-04-20T05:26:00.000-05:00

What do you do to renew your city? I was asked that question as part of a video promo for the upcoming Renewal Art Show this Friday. See the video (shot by Nick Savides) below, which features me (quoting Rocky Horror!) and other creatives who try to make a difference.

About Renewal: The brainchild of Symphonic for the City, the show is always scheduled as close to Easter as possible and asks artists to submit work dealing with themes of creation, resurrection, and transformation. It's a juried show with all perspectives and mediums welcome. I'll post some of the work next week.

Stingray

2011-04-17T18:32:00.005-05:00

I found a different version of the bottom (before my edits) pic on Pinterest and played around for a minute. I'm kind of obsessed with Baldessari conception lately.

Sea Level: The Outtakes

2011-04-16T15:34:00.000-05:00

Some of my photos ended up on the ol' AltDaily (along with other photographers with more experience and such.) Nonetheless, it was such fun shooting around all the music last week, and some shots just weren't journalistic. I hated to see the outtakes not see the light of day.

There's a whole set of Justin Townes Earle midway through...

...with my little eye

2011-04-16T15:13:00.001-05:00

I took a walk around Colonial Place (my neighborhood) this afternoon...

Radio Free Europe, er, Norfolk

2011-04-14T11:40:00.000-05:00

It's kind of ironic I wrote the following after I wrote something similar about MTV/videos almost a year ago.

Local alternative station 96X committed suicide this week. Here's my take on it and other Norfolk music news in AltDaily's Groove Advisory.

Here's last year's MTV/WTF rant.

Who Ever Heard of Silent Art?

2011-04-14T05:57:00.002-05:00

It's almost time for Art|Everywhere, the second annual street festival, urban renewal, block party, rad rad time AltDaily, DNC, Grow Interactive, etc. throw down on the streets of Norfolk. This year's party starts April 30.

Above is a piece that will be shown by the artist Davmo. He's a contemporary artist from Va Beach whose work incorporates elements of pop, surrealsim, and contemporary sculpture.

John Kohn was an acquaintance of mine when he was the drummer for local band Superock and salesperson at Alpha Music, where I often worked when at Sony/BMG and where I also bought drum-related gifts for Adam.

Last year John decided to become a Norfolk police officer and, in December 2010, was fatally struck in the head during a training excrercise. The repurcussion of this on the Norfolk Police Department and the local music community are still being played out. Bottom line: it sucks.

Anyway, back to art. Davmo created the above to honor John. Art|Everywhere liked it and agreed. Then the owner of the building where it was to be shown balked and refused to allow it due to "politics." Davmo went to the local media (shout out to Jesse from AltDaily, who made sure to point out it wasn't anyone involved with the art show who wanted this taken down):

So, in honor of John and in support of Davmo, I'm going to juxtapose some of my favorite Davmo pieces with some Banksy police images. I hope you enjoy. I hope you come to Art|Everywhere. I hope you remember John Kohn.

davmo

banksy

davmo

banksy

davmo

banksy

davmo

banksy

davmo

banksy

We Had A Storm Yesterday

2011-04-13T07:03:00.000-05:00

pic: Andre Kertesz, 1927

It turned wet and dark quickly. We'd been thinking of planting vegetables.

pic: ynghrts

There was a party later. I was tired and torn between Nod and not.

pic: redbubble.com

Fun won. We sloshed out and were lost momentarily among esteemed Colonials

pic: blogchester.com

Though we know many are mere facade. From our vantage, their towered eyes command fantasy.

pic: durian tumblr

Rain don't hinder my dance, no, no.

pic: doves album cover

Rain won't hinder my dance.

Bowied

2011-04-09T19:01:00.000-05:00

pic: mt quits

It's been a month or so since Liz Taylor passed away and, as she's never been an icon I particularly related to, I didn't feel the need to bandwagon it and do a post. Today, though, I was looking at one of my favorite blogs, Nubby Twiglet, and she had found the above pic of Liz and David Bowie.

I freakin' love this picture! It's a side of Taylor I never thought existed.

Solo

2011-04-08T18:40:00.000-05:00

The first of many awesome shots from the Sea Level Singer/Songwriter Festival (going on now.) Justin Townes Earle blew my mind last night. I was locked in a tunnel of music in a way I hadn't been in a long time. I cannot wait to see him perform again. Stay tuned for more pics in the coming days.

Quentin vs. Coen

2011-04-08T09:58:00.001-05:00

Brian Methe

My interview with artist Cassie Podish and curator Eric Althen on Bold Hype Gallery's Quentin vs. Coen art show in Chelsea, NYC this weekend is now published. I wish I could just get to the city on whims. Congrats to all involved!

Herstory

2011-04-07T15:15:00.000-05:00

Okaaay!! The two articles I wrote on original Riot Grrrl and pioneer of all things femme punk and ziney are published.

Here's the review of her presentation.

Here's the Q&A she so graciously did with me.

Creature Comforts

2011-04-06T20:21:00.000-05:00

Inspired by the photo (below) from Juxtpoz's Detroit revitalization project, I made a new collage (above). Glare from the glass of the frame doesn't do it justice, unfortunately, but it looks pretty rad in my dining room if I do say so myself.

Click Click Boom

2011-04-06T06:46:00.000-05:00

I'm officially going to be shooting Justin Townes Earle's gig tomorrow night at The Naro (as well as other local gigs surrounding the Sea Level Singer/Songwriter Music Festival). Can't wait!!!

U dee zerv a brAke 2 day

2011-04-04T12:23:00.000-05:00

In finishing up my research for my upcoming Kathleen Hanna articles (there are now two!!!), I ran across the above picture on her blog. How creepily fantastic is that!?! Its' my Daniel McDonald, whose name I didn't recognize.

Like an artist after my own heart, he's mixing elements of pop culture and collage with weirdo-whimsy. Enjoy a couple more I found out there on the interwebs:

Weird Fishes

2011-04-04T11:08:00.002-05:00

Saw 2009's Fish Tank this weekend. All I knew of it was it was indie and involved teen angst. It slowly and subtly blew my mind. The basic premise has been done a kajillion times, so the power is in the nuance with this one, folks.

Fifteen-year-old Mia lives in an Essex housing project with her alcoholic, bitchy mother and equally miserable and cranky younger sister, Tyler. She has no friends, either. In the first "day" we experience with her, she's either verbally or physically attacked (or attacking) in four different situations.

Her means of escape is an abandoned flat where she practices hip hop dance. While there's an entire movement of young women dressing and dancing like this in Britain, for Americans, the closest relative you may recognize would be Lady Sovereign's tomboyish talent (complete with messy ponytail and sweatpants.) Mom's new (young) boyfriend, Conner, moves in and Mia's inner-turmoil begins to manifest as she hovers between wanting him to be her father and her lover.

The rawness in the acting was startling. Scenes that may seem unnecessary (an adults-only party in the living room shows us the naked truth about how Britain's working class relax: sad grinding in ill-fitting clothes with people they have to be drunk to stomach) are crucial. And even Mia's dream to be a dancer is ridiculous when looked at with common sense. She isn't very good. Conner's encouragement seems genuine, but we can never fully tell if he actually thinks she's good because he knows no better, or because he's caught in an encouragement-meets-desire conundrum.

Michael Fassbender (Conner) absolutely killed in this role. And Katie Jarvis (Mia) seems poised to win an Oscar next time out. She morphed into this waifish brat, showed us the sharp and stinging pains of being stuck in a deadend freefall, punched with real anger and cried real tears. She would have been a great Lisbeth Salander.

And the soundtrack? Holy moly. Bobby Womack's smoky version of "California Dreamin'" features prominently in the film, and is able to be as layered as any of the characters. It morphs from representing a family fishing daytrip to a darker, sexier example of escapism. The best in late 2000s hip hop is there with Nas's "Life's A Bitch" also makings itself heard loudly and clearly amid the chaos.

Now, afer deciding to write this, I research a bit and learn it won the 2010 BAFTA (the British Oscar) for Best Picture and the Jury Prize at last year's Cannes.

Disney Meets Dali

2011-04-01T10:56:00.001-05:00

Who knew this existed?!? Two of the most influential artists of the twentieth century (for drastically different reasons), Walt Disney and Salvador Dali collaborated on a 1946 animated short called Destino.

It was shelved until the early 2000s and is now available for all to enjoy on Youtube. So, ya know, enjoy.

Buzzing

2011-03-31T19:47:00.001-05:00

me (not really)/kris brownlee

I'm buzzing around like a crazy-bee lately. Thus, my post-per-week average has been a little low in March. If you come to this blog regularly, my apologies. Here's some of the really awesome things that have been sucking all my time (ie: that I've been very much enjoying the opportunity to work on.)

ANDROID

andra rosenberg/dj android in nyc

I interviewed local artist/stylist/DJ Andra Rosenberg for AltDaily. She's one of the most talented and motivated people I've ever met. She's responsible (via her six-year stint as The Wave's 80s Night DJ) for breaking down a lot of social barriers in our conservative lil Norfolk, especially when it comes to gender and sexuality. She also has insane, kickass, radballs taste in music.

And, we're friends. That's me and Andra (and our friend Grant, owner of the photo booth) at an event last year. She did hair, makeup (including mine), and DJ'd for it. I didn't stop dancing for very long. She just DJ'd The Chrysler Museum last night, which I'm sure was killer.

I encourage you to read the piece. Beyond the styling and music, she also unexpectedly became the pseudo-mom to her teenage sister two years ago when their father suddenly passed away. Transitioning from a prominent nightlife figure to a parent couldn't have been easy, though she makes it look that way.

CONCRETE

From the Honor Code/Squealer/Ancient Ruin show at Concrete

I also recently interviewed Stephanie Lou Hauge and Calum MacPherson-Smith, two of the three owners/curators of the new DIY space in Virginia Beach called Concrete (Grow Together.) These kids are 22 years old and running one of the most invigorating venues our region has seen in nearly a decade (last one I recall this good was Relative Theory, which closed its doors five years ago.)

Concrete's been doing some restructuring and are re-opening this month (April 15). I'll have my real feature on the space, its owners, and all things DIY published around then as well. I expect mucho greatness from these dedicated kiddos.

MUSIC FESTIVAL

justin townes earle

Another thing I've been active in lately is Tidewater Arts Outreach. Each April they put on the Sea Level Singer/Songwriter Music Festival in Norfolk. It's been a lot of fun getting to know these folks and getting even more involved in the local music scene. Last Saturday, I was one of the panel who willowed applicants to finalist spots for the Emerging Artist Showcase (dream come true...and there was wine.) We started with over fifty and ended up with ten. So so much fun.

Justin Townes Earle will be headlining the festival. It'll be good to see him in such an intimate setting (The Naro) before the show I'll attend this summer at Bonnaroo. I'm also (via AltDaily) planning the Emerging Artist Showcase official afterparty, which will feature my frequent blog subject, Mr. Phillip Roebuck himself. He's been on tour lately, so I'm hoping all of Norfolk will want to show up and welcome him home.

KILLER ART SHOW

Clint Wilson/O Brother Where Art Thou?

I'm also working on a story about next weekend's Quentin vs. Coen art show at Bold Hype Gallery in NYC. The show features talented, up and coming artists from around the country who submitted work based on either a Tarantino or Coen Brothers film.

Cassie Podish/Inglorious Basterds

I found out about this via Cassie Podish, whom I met when she did the design for The Rise Up! last December. She's totally freakin' great at design and I can't wait to see the rest of the pieces from her and everyone else.

RIOT GRRL LOVE

Me and Kathleen.

Last night I got to hang out with Kathleen-freaking-Hanna. I don't have words. Actually, that's a lie. I have about 9,000 words sitting in a document I need to whittle down to a readable feature by Monday. She is one of the most inspirational figures in music, women's rights, fashion, DIY, and on and on. I especially was lucky to ask her opinion on blogging and where she sees DIY going in the 21st century.

REVITALIZATION

pic: juxtapoz

Lastly, I've been getting more vocal in my support for the Norfolk neighborhood Park Place. Adam and I actually just put in an offer on a duplex fixer-upper on 30th Street, which we hope to fix up and rent out. I'm so lucky to have the chance to even own rental property, so doing it in a place I actively try to help revitalize makes me feel I'm putting my money where my mouth (pen? keyboard?) is, so to speak.

This is a piece I wrote yesterday comparing Park Place to Detroit and its demise-then-revitalization via art and culture. Check out what Juxtapoz has got going on there, it's something I want for The P.

THE END

Hopefully I'll get back on here more in April. Fingers crossed.

Score!!!

2011-03-28T07:08:00.000-05:00

Exciting news!!! On Wednesday, I get to interview DIY goddess/rock queen Kathleen Hanna. I'm so freakin' stoked/nervous/thrilled/pukey/grinface I can't stand it.

Keckin' It

2011-03-24T14:38:00.000-05:00

Not Rigby

You may recognize the above. It's the first piece of art I purchased (as in, not a poster from Ikea or a writing/drawing trade from a college friend kind of thing.) It's this blog's mascot, and those of you who know me in the real world also know that its framed, fatter twin hangs near the staircase in my home.

What you may not recognize is the artist, Michel Keck. I have been following her growth for about two years now and cannot wait to see where it takes her in the future. What's coincidental is I just mentioned/praised her a week or so ago in a post about art at the day job with no intention of doing a post just about her just yet. I'm in her "fanclub" or whatever, and have intended on sitting down to showcase her for quite some time. Today, I got notice she is debuting Michel Keck Fine Art in Lowell, IN this weekend. If I could make it, I'd be there in two shakes.

She's totally insane, you know. She does mixed media collages like the dog stuff, as well as other ones. Here's a favorite of mine (click here to see it blown up, it's so, so rad):

Hard Knock Life

She has a way of mixing colors and ideas in ways that make complete sense to me and I definitely plan on buying more of her stuff when I finally strike it rich. Perhaps I relate more to the above examples because I also collage or am more of a pop culture type versus an old school (or even art-educated) type. However, that doesn't mean she isn't talented in more formal or traditional ways.

She's equally, if not more, well-known and talented in the medium of abstract painting. I've read praise (and agree with it) stating most young artists are in some way representatives of their influences, whereas Keck is truly original. It's like you're seeing her pretty, organized, deranged mind with each new piece. She's American, she's pop art, and she's abstract expressionism, yet she's not Warhol or Pollack.

In fact, she isn't even represented by an agent or gallery. She's considered one of the world's most successful self-repped artists in the world today. From 2003-06, she sold original pieces on Ebay, where she regularly broke records (her high being $42,000 in one flipping month!) From there she opened her online store and her gallery. Now she's moving on up to her newer, better location and I hope to visit in person at some point. In the meantime, if you can't afford her multi-thousand dollar pieces, that's okay. She's got everything from mid-priced giclee prints (with original signatures) to postcards and iPhone skins. Girl's got skill, people.

FCUK

2011-03-24T10:39:00.001-05:00

The photography and set-up of the latest French Connection collection was born in my dreams.

Dimlit reminiscing of a long ago Guatemalan summer...My toes, too, feel those keys.

First rate third world beauty.

I've been the girl on the right once or twice.

Staging this, then pulling it off, real friendships must live within.

Models.

The Favorite Frida

2011-03-24T09:28:00.000-05:00

The Suicide of Dorothy Hale

I got in a conversation about Frida Kahlo a few days ago. Turns out I'm not the only one who thinks she's a killer costume. Two of my friends are planning on going as her this year (without having seen my blog.) Also turns out, even after decades and movies and all the rest of it that have happened since her lifetime, she's still overpowered by her husband, Diego Rivera's reputation.

The above painting, "The Suicide of Dorothy Hale" is my favorite Frida, yet most mentions of it are met with blank stares from my pals. The last time I broached it, the "New York" in this work was re-routed to a conversation about Diego's infamous 1933 Rockefellar Center mural debacle. Since most art fans (or Selma Hayek fans for that matter) know about the Riveras and communism, etc., I'm not rehashing it here. The story of a painting that somehow missed out on becoming a macabre, yet legendary, tale of American high society and woe is much more fascinating anyway.

Dorothy Hale

Dorothy Hale was an American socialite of the 1920s and 30s, who, after becoming widowed, spent the last several years of her life struggling with her place. She had extremely wealthy and powerful friends (and lovers), including the JP Morgans and members of the Roosevelt administration. She was beautiful and dreamed of being an actress, though sadly her talent was not as massive as her ambition. Perhaps more sadly, it was also further unbalanced against the successes of her good girlfriends Clare Booth Luce and Kahlo herself.

In 1938, Dorothy threw an informal "farewell dinner party", then went to the theater, then to a club with a large group of friends. She told everyone she was leaving, keeping specifics vague. She returned home around 1:15 am, wrote various suicide notes until dawn, and threw herself out the 16th floor window.

Luce, the editor, diplomat, wife of Time and Vanity Fair publisher, socialite, etc etc, was devasted by the loss of her good friend and almost immediately commissioned Kahlo to paint her portrait.

As you see above, a portrait wasn't exactly what she ended up with. Kahlo went as far as to smear "blood spatter" on the frame itself. Luce was horrified and refused to accept the painting, disregarding both her friendship and fandom of Kahlo. She commissioned the famous sculptor Isamu Noguchi to remove mention of her name from the work (Kahlo had written a little narrative regarding the whole scenario) and then had the painting hidden away for decades.

Eventually, she annonymously donated to the Phoenix Art Museum, where it still resides. I hear it frequently tours, though, and would love to see it in person one day.

Clare Luce Booth

For followers of Kahlo's work, "The Suicide of Dorothy Hale" is a vast departure from the angry or depressed self-portraiture often depicting Kahlo as ill, masculine, or broken. She sees flaws in herself and exaggerates them onto the canvas for all of us to admonish and admire. She's in vibrant, bright-yet-dark hues and often costumed and adorned with jewels or flowers.

Here, the Kahlo face is gone, but not the attitude. Hale is in her fine evening gown. Blood runs from underneath her but her dress and face are still beautiful and unbroken. The colors are lighter and brighter, with heavenly clouds that take on an angelic or bird-like presence. Unlike Kahlo's representation of herself, however, Hale is deceaded, morte, no more. Perhaps that's why (to me) it stands so far to the left of everything else in Kahlo's canon: it's prettier in its depiction of someone else's utter defeat and thus, it's rare presentation of Kahlo's strength of self, almost to the point of gloating.

Coal Miner's Daughter

2011-03-14T11:17:00.001-05:00

Halloween Idea #13

Music-themed, ridiculous sequined dresses, tie-in to some truth...All good reasons to consider Loretta Lynn as my March contender for Halloween 2012. I'll be seeing her live (!!!) in June so I'll get some more inspiration there.

Actually being a coal miner's daughter, and from two towns over from the infamous country feminist, I'd be drawing on my roots to an exent. No joke, though, the insanity of her dresses are really what's doing it for me.

Pro's: Musical tie-in, cultural tie-in. No wigs. Sequins. I own a guitar and mic. I'm fairly certain I'll be spending the time in New Orleans with Heather, who has gone as Dolly Parton on more than one occasion. Dolly & Loretta? Together again?

Con's: I could be in New Orleans, where it's warm. No need to waste an opportunity to wear something best seen sans coat and hat. Crinoline is itchy.

Only eight months to go!

Weg the Dog

2011-03-11T12:09:00.000-05:00

Hansel and Gretel

Here's another peek into the art collection at my day job, William Wegman's "Hansel and Gretel." Wegman is most famous for incorporating his dogs into his art. In fact, in 1982, the Village Voice named his dog Man Ray "Man of the Year."

This, of course, is prompting me to make Rigby AltDaily's "Woman of the Year" for 2012. She also looks good in art, so I feel she can accomplish this dream:

collage by me (jESiO)

Pets in art is a tricky, slippery slope. When done well, it's great, and I think Wegman's a prime example of that. Michel Keck, of course, rocks at it. (She does dog collage. I own the Boston Terrier piece used as mascot for this blog.) However, it can get gimicky real quick. The last few Stockley Gardens I've gone to (they're Norfolk's bi-annual art festival) have had mediocre, faux pop, dog and cat portraitists en masse. And more show up every time! Yes, everyone wants a cute pic of their pet. No, that doesn't mean a generic stencil of a dog and adding five colors in blotches counts as "art."

We only own the one Wegman piece above, but here are a few more examples of his work (aka: the right way to incorporate animals into art):

"On Set"

"Canon Aside"

Tunes

2011-03-10T18:32:00.001-05:00

collage by me (jESiO)

I've been writing a local music column called "Groove Advisory" for the past few weeks. I think it's starting to find it's legs. If you care to check it out, click here.

Asa Adore

2011-03-09T13:00:00.001-05:00

I went to a pop up gallery show at a sweet pad overlooking downtown Norfolk last weekend featuring the four artists chosen for the innagural building in the Hampton Roads: The Canvas project (which AltDaily helped start and my superstar friend Elyse Lovelace spearheads.) A portion of the proceeds of art purchased went to benefit the project and I'm told several pieces sold. While there, I sort of fell in love with the work of Asa Jackson.

Lucky for me, my favorite piece (above) is still available. Now as soon as someone wants to give me $1,000 (I'll work for it, believe me) I promise I will spend it on enjoying the lovely blues and disjointed shapes for a long, long time.

(It's not the best picture and the reds in the left corners are the wall it was hanging on and not part of the piece.)

Jackson is young (22 or 23) and lives in Newport News, VA. He's the driving force behind a movement known as True Face, which has artwork and clothing, as well as a large helping of community involvement.

The work reminds me of Basquiat in its delivery and use of sketch and vibrant tone. But it's got its own voice too. There's something very shantytown about it, with warm island or African (or a mix) vibes that shine out thoughts of hope and strength beyond the relative simplicity of primary color and shape.

Up to ten more buildings around town will be uplifted by local artists in the coming months, as this project continues. I'm so stoked Jackson was part of the first batch, as the press and precedent will fall more to this group than later ones. Hopefully this allows more people to see his work and him to keep pushing his technique and mindset further towards the ideal he seeks.

To see what I mean about Basquiat, click here and peruse the art within.

Sea In You

2011-03-06T17:02:00.000-05:00

I just found some pictures I took last summer. My super Jess Pleasant was visiting from Brisbane and we walked around our alma mater, Christopher Newport University for the afternoon. Then onto Va Beach for toes in sand, et cetera. What a nice surprise old hard drive!

BadLove

2011-03-06T16:46:00.001-05:00

So, a few weeks ago I promised my Tainted Love playlist. No joke, it's literally taken me this long to figure out how to move something from iTunes to Blogspot. The idea was songs about the dark side of love. Disfunction, obsession, swoonkings like Morrissey or The Cure. Raunch like "Drain You" or cries of desperation over synthpop. It was varied but mainly upbeat. Hope you dig.