The Head of Raymond K – Bottom Union

theheadofraymond
The Head of Raymond K (2006, 25.3 MB, 2:50 min.)

“Did any of this happen? Should I quit drinking coffee?
Do I exist? Am I only a construct in the mind of some insane norwegian?
Should I quit my job? Change my head?
These are only a few of the existential questions you might ask yourself
when you venture into the head of Raymond K.

Part 2 of 5 from Bottom Union

Jordan McKenzie – Serra Frottage

serra_frottage
Serra Frottage (2009, 13 MB, 3:17 min)

Whenever I’m travelling through, or near to London’s Liverpool Street station
I try and make time to pass by the wonderful Richard Serra sculpture,
Fulcrum, at the Broadgate end.
I really love it, one of the most successful pieces of public art I’ve
ever seen.
I mentioned this to a friend and he sent me a link to this piece,
one of a series of ‘minimal interventions’ by Jordan McKenzie
who clearly also um – –loves– – Serra’s work.

Puzzleweasel – ‘Cvon’

Puzzleweasel
puzzle (2006, 19.2MB, 3:51 min)

Puzzleweasel is the sonic output of Peter Dahlgren.

Klaus Lang –Zwillingsgipfel

suess-map 2b
Zwillingsgipfel (2007, 122 MB, 8:02 min)

The music of the Austrian composer Klaus Lang ( not to be confused
with fellow Lang composers Bernhard or even David) is both very strange
and very beautiful. It’s a world where the tiniest gesture, the smallest
variation or nuance has great weight and presence. It’s no intellectual game
or posture though, but something, certainly for me, deeply affecting.
See what you think.
Bizarrely, I believe (and I’m open to correction) that “Zwillingsgipfel”
translates as “Twin Peaks”.

Wendy Keenan – 3 Movies

legbones
legbones (2011, 1MB, 1:11 min)

outtake
outtake (2011, 0.2MB, 10 secs)

dawnchorusorspeakingintongues
dawnchorusorspeakingintongues (2011, 0.6MB, 33 secs)

The only things I know about these three pieces is that they
were posted to the Netbehaviour list on Saturday last, that they
were shot on a cellphone and that they are …well… quite odd.
Almost disturbingly so, but in a thrilling way too:
to be so offhandedly minimal, so cavalier about any technical considerations
and still to make something with this sort of punch…

Morrisa Maltz – MoFone commercial

mofone_commercial
MoFone commercial (2011, 8MB, 1:31 min)

First of two pieces this week from the very talented Morrisa Maltz,
this one is a commercial for some kind of art-phone venture she seems
to be involved in.
Whilst I might pass on the product, I’m stuck dumb by the glorious
verve and insouciance of the ad.
It’s interesting – her personal work is very identifiable ( in a good way, I
hasten to add, and, as you’ll see later this week it moves onwards).
This is utterly different but also a really really neat bit of film-making,
suggesting deep reserves of skill and smarts as well as vision.

Brian Bress – undercover

undercover_web
undercover (2007, 59 MB, 13:21 min.)

by Brian Bress.

The Summer of Van Torre – Human Dog

vantorre7
European Vacation (2005, 25.6 MB, 2:18 min.)

vantorre9
Morning Routine (2005, 44.3 MB, 4:34 min.)

The Summer of Van Torre was hugely popular in 2005 in video blogging circles.
The wepisodes recount the life of Jon VanTorre, each week bringing him closer
to total cardiac arrest with Ether Baths, Spider-Man Nightmares, and Meat Sandwiches.
The series (which began in 2001) was presented online in 05 by Human Dog.

Here is an interview (2005, 67.5 MB, 13 min.) by Josh Leo with writers & directors
Jon VanTorre, Michael Schwartz and Chris Weagel.

Monochrom – The Earth Has Been Destroyed

The Earth Has Been Destroyed
The Earth Has Been Destroyed (2010, 194MB, 5:06 min)

Something new from the splendidly sideways Austrian art/mischief wranglers
Monochrom is always welcome and this piece is no exception.
Absurd ( Popcorn for Chrissakes!!), just about hanging together,
but hanging together artfully nonetheless; even a little bit chilling too.

Other Monochrom stuff on DVblog.

The Smith Family

#1
#1 (2007, 1MB, 56 secs)

#2
#1 (2007, 1MB, 57 secs)

In 2007 I ran a little competition on my site centred aound
a musical setting I had made of a tiny poem by my friends and
collaborators Robert Roth & Carletta Joy Walker for
their magazine “And Then”.

I invited remixes, either musical or visual, of the song and
these two pieces, both utterly barking & delicately poetic at one
and the same time, came winging their way from the Smith Family
in Germany.
Wonderful!