Baraka Stigmata::Breathing and Bleeding

Twitter Updates for 2009-12-23

2009-12-23T23:12:19Z

this is the snapshot of now: http://mtile.us/treyj/12-22-2009 #
Taking a break from pch drive on the beach in Santa Cruz. West Coast = best coast. #

Mirrored from Supercontinental.

Twitter Updates for 2009-12-22

2009-12-22T23:19:08Z

this is the snapshot of now: http://mtile.us/treyj/12-21-2009 #

Mirrored from Supercontinental.

Twitter Updates for 2009-12-21

2009-12-21T23:18:54Z

this is the snapshot of now: http://mtile.us/treyj/12-21-2009 #

Mirrored from Supercontinental.

Mattress Wallet and Gun-Shaped Baby Carriage

2009-12-21T00:20:40Z

Real: The Mattress Wallet. Touted these days as “a more secure place to keep your money.” What gets me about this is that they even included the DO NOT REMOVE tag.

Not Real, Sadly: Shi Jinsong’s Gun Shaped Baby Carriage.

Currently on exhibit in Milan, the description (found via designboom) states:

through his razor-sharp sculptures and related works, shi jinsong initiates a dialogue, at once menacing and ironic, between the forms of mythic chinese culture and modern
day globalization. the here featured work is part of the series ‘na zha’, a sort of brand name for an outrageously unsafe line of baby products.

Meticulously assembled in stainless steel from intricate mechanical drawings, they include a deadly carriage; a sadistic cradle; a sinister walker; and a malicious, multi-part toy complete with needle-tipped pacifiers and dismembering abacus. Baby boutique confronts its ’shopper’ with a radically strange and seductive ‘product’, lethal luxury designed to reveal the forces that dominate our lives in unimaginable ways.

One of the currents I love in contemporary art is the way that artists are using industrial and commercial processes to create science-fictional, alternate-universe artifacts that illuminate hidden aspects of our world as well as suggest possibilities of worlds yet undreamed.

Mirrored from Supercontinental.

Twitter Updates for 2009-12-19

2009-12-19T23:12:11Z

this is the snapshot of now: http://mtile.us/treyj/12-18-2009 #

Mirrored from Supercontinental.

Twitter Updates for 2009-12-17

2009-12-17T23:12:00Z

this is the snapshot of now: http://mtile.us/treyj/12-16-2009 #

Mirrored from Supercontinental.

Twitter Updates for 2009-12-16

2009-12-16T23:08:08Z

@surlysimian I think that's why they're so pissed off. in reply to surlysimian #

Mirrored from Supercontinental.

Twitter Updates for 2009-12-15

2009-12-15T23:09:36Z

RT @photobomb » Leave My Monkey Brethren Be! http://bit.ly/5xtfT5 #

Mirrored from Supercontinental.

Origami of ZEE FUTURE

2009-12-15T22:21:13Z

A couple of weeks ago, I saw a movie called Between The Folds, about the world of modern origami. This shit is bananas.

I.J. Fedora by Robert Lang

This hat by the way, is folded using a crease pattern. One sheet of paper.

Origami scorpions with individual scales. Origami that looks like clay sculpture. An origami tower that rises and falls with a human touch. Origami designed on computers as the expression of high-level mathematics (also see below). New techniques like “crumpling” and the crease fold. I wasn’t prepared to be all that impressed, but the shit blew my mind. I recommend following links from the artists’ section for a moment. It’s pretty goddamn fascinating.

Computational Origami by Erik and Martin Demaine

Branch 89b by Vincent Floderer

Then I see this report:

Stanford scientists are harnessing nanotechnology to quickly produce ultra-lightweight, bendable batteries and supercapacitors in the form of everyday paper.

Simply coating a sheet of paper with ink made of carbon nanotubes and silver nanowires makes a highly conductive storage device, said Yi Cui, assistant professor of materials science and engineering.

And this brings it all together:

What’s more, you can crumple or fold the paper battery, or even soak it in acidic or basic solutions, and the performance does not degrade. “We just haven’t tested what happens when you burn it,” he said.

Yes. Monster-batteries of origami, powerd by nanotech. Future, DO NOT DISAPPOINT ME ON THIS.

Mirrored from Supercontinental.

Twitter Updates for 2009-12-13

2009-12-13T23:09:15Z

4 of 5 stars to Code of the Street by Elijah Anderson – http://bit.ly/W6cCc #
I'm #reading Seven Days in the Art World by Sarah Thornton – http://bit.ly/8IeqKc #
I'm #reading All the Shah's Men by Stephen Kinzer – http://bit.ly/8PHRLy #
I'm #reading The Art Of Rebellion by Christian Hundertmark – http://bit.ly/7klTDZ #
I'm #reading Life Inc. by Douglas Rushkoff – http://bit.ly/857TM0 #

Mirrored from Supercontinental.

Twitter Updates for 2009-12-07

2009-12-07T23:23:02Z

RT @laughingsquid FDA Holds Up Delivery of iMac Thinking It Is An Actual Apple http://bit.ly/9348U8 #
http://icio.us/mqd4au #
try this again: A Brief history of the Golden Legacy series of afrocentric comics that my uncle Ezra Jackson drew. http://icio.us/mqd4au #

Mirrored from Supercontinental.

Twitter Updates for 2009-12-05

2009-12-05T23:10:06Z

RT @GreatDismal: RT @LittleMonsta: City of Shadows http://bit.ly/I7FNd photos by Alexey Titarenko #

Mirrored from Supercontinental.

Twitter Updates for 2009-12-01

2009-12-01T23:18:14Z

I seriously used to think about shit like this with Minesweeper. http://xkcd.com/667/ #

Mirrored from Supercontinental.

Twitter Updates for 2009-11-30

2009-11-30T23:18:38Z

@tamawil hopin you feel better. Fight dat bug! #
new favorite palindrome: "Satan, oscillate my metallic sonatas." #
(Hmm. Why not?) Win a new Macbook Pro on Cyber Monday 2009. Details here: http://bit.ly/29rFES #

Mirrored from Supercontinental.

Twitter Updates for 2009-11-25

2009-11-25T23:27:26Z

I can tell I'm liable to accept the illusion of progress over the real thing b/c I'm still playing Mafia Wars. #

Mirrored from Supercontinental.

Twitter Updates for 2009-11-22

2009-11-22T23:26:00Z

@hethfen thanks for the link! in reply to hethfen #

Mirrored from Supercontinental.

Twitter Updates for 2009-11-21

2009-11-21T23:07:16Z

Future Friday 02: Five Futures for Hip-hop: http://wp.me/pxhw1-8z #

Mirrored from Supercontinental.

Future Friday 02: Five Futures for Hip-hop

2009-11-21T04:28:23Z

Originally posted at T-Rex Arms.

(two in an intermittent series of very quick thoughts about possible futures; see the other one here)

Since hip-hop has repeatedly been declared dead for at least a decade, I decided to widen the terms of debate a little and put together five variations of where hip-hop might be headed. Go with me on this, and see if you think I’m not entirely full of shit.

One. The Jazz Funeral.

In this scenario, hip-hop still exists, but its time of innovation is over; it follows the model of jazz and classical music, becoming a museum piece. A Museum of Hip-Hop is established, elevators play Three Six Mafia over the PA and hip-hop clubs cater to increasingly older patrons who dress up in throwback jerseys and expensive kicks for a night out. They yell at younger folks to be quiet so they can hear the lyrics.

The preservationist crowd of hip-hop holds sway here, so most programs of hip-hop end up sounding like what was being made from about 1987-1995; KRS-One basically turns into Wynton Marsalis, which is disturbing to some but a relief to others. To the vast majority of people, this is what becomes known as hip-hop; the left-field stuff and the pop that didn’t age well eventually survives only in the studies of academics. Despite this, the vast amount of recordings are preserved and some people finally put up money to take care of the aging musicians’ medical needs.

Two. Outta Sight Outta Mind.

Here, hip-hop dies as far as pop music is concerned. You’re now more likely to hear a country or blues song on Top 40 radio, albeit with breakbeats underneath. All those who were in it for the money scatter like cock-a-roaches and the entire culture fades back underground. The character of American hip-hop, much like its counterparts in places like Chile, Croatia, Kenya, and Palestine, becomes explicitly a music of resistance, reflecting the political consciousness of the disenfranchised.

10 years later, catching the media and the powers that be completely off-guard, a revolution emerges, started by waves of New Yorkers marching up to city hall and setting it on fire once yet another politician buys his way out of term limits. Of the old guard, Dead Prez and Immortal Technique are involved, as are Paris and the Coup, but oddly enough, Common is nowhere to be found. Under the new regime, those deemed to be traitors to the cause – Flava Flav, for example, or Soulja Boy – are executed by firing squad.

Three. 3030 Project.

A group of programmers in the suburbs of Detroit perfect algorithms to make perfectly simulated hip-hop (seeded with pieces of Tribe Called Quest, J Dilla, DJ Quik, and Large Professor, among many others) generated entirely by robots. Some musicians, such as Danger Mouse, Dan The Automator, Diamond D, Q-Tip, Dr. Dre, and Waajeed are able to get cushy consultant positions to help improve on the algorithms. The rest end up driving cabs (word to Cappadonna).

Four. After Life.

Hip-hop just exhausts itself. After the last of its obsessive admirers die, it isn’t mourned — the general populace only remembers Flo Rida, Will.I.Am, 50 Cent, and Eminem’s last three albums. Much like Shakespeare or Beethoven, it takes centuries for the true luminaries of rap to be appreciated.

Five. Second Wind.

After more than thirty years of existence, and despite numerous op-eds, articles, and even albums trumpeting the death of hip-hop, it continues along an unexpected path. It manages to evolve and change. This new resurgence creates a music which is as radically different from the Sugar Hill Gang as a Mozart symphony is to an atonal piece by Schöenberg, but similarly can be shown to belong to the same family tree.

The current crop of radio-friendly artists are outdated seemingly overnight, and if you grew up in the Golden Age of hip-hop, well, there’s no avoiding the fact that this is your grandkids’ music, not yours. But then, you reflect, that’s probably the way it’s meant to be.

I think the roots of these futures are, to some extent, with us and happening right now (OK I admit, contrary to appearances, we don’t seem to have any actual robot MCs, but there are experimental DJ machines at MIT).

Which one of these, if any, do you think is most likely to dominate? Why? Was there an outcome you’ve thought of that I completely overlooked?

Shout it out in the comments or holler at: secretlion@trexarms.com.

Mirrored from Supercontinental.

Diego Da Vuelta

2009-11-19T10:14:59Z

Finished this a couple of weeks ago, as an experiment in taking a simple sketch and outputting a digital piece in Adobe Illustrator. I also posted a version of the drawing on Mojizu, which is a site for character designers. If you’ve never heard of it, it’s worth checking out. It’s fun to look at the wide range of styles on display. Here’s the final piece, and the sketch will be after the jump:

And the sketch:

Not bad, for a test run.

Mirrored from Supercontinental.

Twitter Updates for 2009-11-18

2009-11-18T23:07:33Z

Headed out to drink and draw with Floating Island cru @ tha Blackthorne;, 834 Irving; roll thru if you wanna get creative #

Mirrored from Supercontinental.

Twitter Updates for 2009-11-17

2009-11-17T23:17:08Z

@sydtek re: yr tweet from thurs: yes indeedy. it was stuart candy. good stuff. in reply to sydtek #
@jaybeans yes, tomorrow we are doing the drink'n'draw, but it will be at the Blackthorn on 9th/Irving. #
Man, did I just reply to a tweet from Thursday? I am bad at Twitter sometimes. #
@sake1derful yo man, I think you live farther in the future than I do. I do deserve the F- tho. I'ma go back to tying messages to pigeons. in reply to sake1derful #
@sake1derful Haha yeah, you'll have to tell me how that goes in reply to sake1derful #
(via @harryallen) RT @garrytan: Record companies are gonna lose their archive catalog copyrights. http://post.ly/CmX4 #
RT @Chali2na: RT @BootsRiley: What you do is the real indicator of what you believe. What you say you believe is merely interesting. #

Mirrored from Supercontinental.

Sixty Foot Ghost

2009-11-17T18:58:37Z

Apologies for the lack of posting the last couple days. I’m trying to get on a daily blogging game up in here, but… sometimes I slip. Mea culpa. Onwards.

Via Laughing Squid, I present to you Sixty-foot Ghost, a site-specific art installation by Todd Freeman and Meg Perec. Installed at 47 Commerce SW in Grand Rapids, MI, it includes a drawing of a giant squid, allowing viewers to experience the creature at its proper scale, and a collection of related objects and books with information.

From the artists’ work statement:

Large animals captivate like few other beings can. They are deified, hunted, consumed and catalogued. While our culture has seemingly amassed a working knowledge of all living species on the planet, one of the world’s giants has successfully eluded the scientific community for centuries. Save for a few partially decomposed specimens virtually nothing is known of Architeuthis dux, the Giant Squid. Architeuthis is a 60 foot ghost, moving unnoticed through deep and dark.

Our representation of the giant squid was conceived out of a need to see the animal for ourselves, beyond pale museum subjects or small renderings in books. At life size, the true scale of Architeuthis becomes clear, a massive, unfamiliar animal deserving of the same fascination and wonder owed to any whale, elephant or dinosaur. Our intent is to bring the myth into a gratifying real space, and give the viewer a chance to be confronted with one of the largest and most secretive animals to ever live.

I love the way this installation uses the entire space, yet it’s not busy; it still focuses your attention where they want it. It has a calming, ghostly atmosphere to it. I also resonate with the notion of bringing “the myth into a gratifying real space”, creating a fictional representation that manages to ground the reality of the thing being depicted.

In a way, although I’m often using overtly sci-fi or cartoony elements in my work, that idea — of bringing a myth or an abstraction to life — is something I strive to incorporate. At some point I’ll probably post some college work in that space. Sixty Foot Ghost also reminds me that it’s been a while since I’ve done an installation. I’ve been working digitally so much, it’d be nice to deal with physical space.

Consider that foreshadowing.

Much more detail on Perec and Freeman’s installation can be found here.

Mirrored from Supercontinental.

Supercontinental Picture Show: Shatner Poetry Edition

2009-11-14T20:51:49Z

I hope you didn’t think Walken was the weirdest celebrity stuff I had. Oh no. We start light, with William Shatner reading the disjunctive poetry that was Sarah Palin’s farewell address.

Then… this video, which explores the burning question: Why is Captain Kirk climbing a mountain?

Hahaha. I love that shit.

Mirrored from Supercontinental.

We Wear The Mask

2009-11-14T20:26:51Z

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11.12.09, originally uploaded by zoetica.

Zoetica Ebb posted this up on Flickr the other day. I love the mask makeup, sure, but even more the way it combines an element of fantasy with a sense of urban dislocation.

Mirrored from Supercontinental.

Twitter Updates for 2009-11-13

2009-11-13T23:08:44Z

@jaybeans it's quite the conundrum. #
Danny Trejo. Robert de Niro. Steven Seagal. Don Johnson. Jeff Fahey. MACHETE. 2010. Fuck yes. #
Going to see a futurist. #

Mirrored from Supercontinental.