cloud deck

headbanging is an art form

2009-06-17T12:59:00.012+08:00

picture was just to capture some attention.

Now, We move on to the true purpose of this post...

I'm in the middle of getting tickets to a concert at Fort Canning Park on August 10th. I've never been so excited for a show...and so psyched...

Below are youtube links to one of my favourite pieces and a live version. You know there are songs that you are temporarily infatuated with and you play them 153 times in a week, thereafter you become entirely sick of them. Then there are songs that have tremendous playback quality and have been your favourites for years. This is one of them, for me. The layman will know it better as 'the instrumental piece' featured in 300's trailer.

Turn up your volume.

Just like You Imagined (Live)

Everything I want in a epic concert is here...sick composition, dirty bass line, awesome atmosphere, lightshow, headbanging, body-rocking, crowd surfing...and...TRENT REZNOR. Cannot. Go. Wrong.

Just Like You Imagined

Ignore the video, it's the audio you want to pay attention to.

SO EXCITED CAN'T WAIT...

We didn't start the fire

2009-05-20T18:41:00.003+08:00

I loved my dream last night. It was one of those kinds of dreams where everything was crazy vivid and surrealistic and rebellious-funny. A friend and I were sneaking around a white-polished straight-cut corporation (I knew it was a school and we were in the general office) trying to obtain a mystery form. We had entered the NO ENTRY zone and we were skirting cameras, picking locks and checking rooms.

Then, as all dreams do, it morphed from stealing documents to breaking into a clock tower, still within the school compound. The adrenaline rush was crazy; because I knew I was rebelling and that I would be punished for it. What added to the excitement was that it was essentially a liberation mission to free all the stressed and frazzled students in the school.

My friends distracted the 'guards' and I banged my way into the clock tower. I charged up the tower and tried to find the clock. Instead I found a microphone. I knew the microphone was connected to every single room in the school compound, and that if I talked, anyone could hear me. I had a radio in my hand, a guitar in the other. (I could hear the shouts of angry teachers outside the clock tower) I fumbled with my radio and, with a burst of triumph, blasted the liberation song throughout the entire school compound. Everywhere, students started singing and dancing. The song was like ecstasy. I heard noises behind me and the radio jammed to a stop, so I tried frantically to reproduce the chord riffs with my guitar. A teacher suddenly appeared to my right, raised a shotgun and gunned me down.

I've never broken any major rules or sneaked into forbidden compounds, but at least I can do it in my dreams.

Below is the youtube link to my liberation song. This song played so vividly in my head throughout the dream. As I ran around frantically trying to break into the clock tower, it was already playing in my head, as if screaming: I AM YOUR ULTIMATE GOAL. BLAST ME. I AM YOUR ULTIMATE GOAL. BLAST ME...

We didn't start the fire - Billy Joel

I love this song.

Here's a singaporeanified version. I've given you the censored version because the original has Hossan Leong dancing.

The Soundtrack of Your Life

2009-05-01T23:43:00.008+08:00

Here's an ingenious self-entertaining game everybody must try if they want to have a quick laugh (and boast the eclectic-ness of their music library).

Before we start - thanks to the wonderful leung yan for this! I got it from his blog, he got it from a friend's facebook.

rules of game play:

1. Put your music player on shuffle.
2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer.
3. YOU MUST WRITE THAT SONG NAME DOWN NO MATTER HOW SILLY IT SOUNDS!

Here's Kimbie's ULTIMATE SOUNDTRACK FOR LIFE: ...........drumroll..........

"Noona is very pretty."

IF SOMEONE SAYS "IS THIS OKAY?" YOU SAY?
Honky Fonky - SaReGaMa & Hamelin Bérengnier (Funky.)

WHAT WOULD BEST DESCRIBE YOUR PERSONALITY?
How Deep is your Love – Take that (...means I'm deep. Philosophical and deep.)

WHAT DO YOU LIKE IN A GUY/GIRL?
Breathe – Rebecca St. James (HAHAHAHA)

HOW DO YOU FEEL TODAY?
Cry Me a River – Justin Timberlake (Fairly accurate…)

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE PURPOSE?
My Girls Ex-Boyfriend - Relient K (Omg. I’m such a loser.)

WHAT IS YOUR MOTTO?
Tell Me On A Sunday - Andrew Lloyd Webber (procrastinator.)

WHAT DO YOUR FRIENDS THINK OF YOU?
Come To Praise You- Fatboy Slim vs P Diddy (Yay)

WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT VERY OFTEN?
Only Hope- Mandy Moore

WHAT IS 2+2?
Dance Hall Drug – Boys Like Girls

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF YOUR BEST FRIEND?
Deewana Hai Dekho - Alka, Sonu, Kareena (HAHAHA my best friend ezz eendian.)

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
House at Swamp Bottom - Joe Hisaishi (Not a rich dude.)

WHAT IS YOUR LIFE STORY?
How I Won The War / Blue Blood - Computer Perfection (wheeeeee)

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GROW UP?
Break Myself - Something Corporate (HAHAHA I'm so schizo)

WHAT DO YOU THINK WHEN YOU SEE THE PERSON YOU LIKE?
21st Century Kid - Jamie Cullum

WHAT DO YOUR PARENTS THINK OF YOU?
Forrest Gump Suite - Mike Strickland (hahaha)

WHAT WILL YOU DANCE TO AT YOUR WEDDING?
Ask About Me - Girl Talk (ZOMG A LOOPY SICK DJ TRACK)

WHAT WILL THEY PLAY AT YOUR FUNERAL?
Lookin' Good - Jamie Cullum (HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA…?)

WHAT IS YOUR HOBBY/INTEREST?
Cemeteries Of London - Coldplay (...zomg...)

WHAT IS YOUR BIGGEST SECRET?
The Point of No Return – Andrew Lloyd Weber (Yep. I'm actually a keeper of a secret portal into a mysterious dimension.)

WHAT IS THE WORST THING THAT COULD HAPPEN?
Frontin’ - Farrell featuring Jigga

HOW WILL YOU DIE?
White Winter Hymnal - Fleet Foxes (Awww so nice.)

WHAT DO YOU REGRET?
Smile - Nat King Cole

WHAT MAKES YOU LAUGH?
Everyday People - Nicole C. Mullen (hee)

WHAT MAKES YOU CRY?
Somewhere in My Memory {Main Title From Home Alone}... – John Williams (Oh man nostalgia definitely)

WILL YOU EVER GET MARRIED?
Vindicated - Dashboard Confessional (Hmm.)

WHAT SCARES YOU THE MOST?
Over And Over - Nelly

DOES ANYONE LIKE YOU?
Hang Up - Madonna (:()

IF YOU COULD GO BACK IN TIME, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?
All I Need - Radiohead

WHAT HURTS RIGHT NOW?
Where The White Boys Dance – The Killers (haha what the)

WHAT IS THE TITLE OF YOUR LIFE SOUNDTRACK?
Noona is very pretty - SHINee신인 (HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA)

I invite everyone with a penchant for illogical and silly things to make a soundtrack of their life as well. Feel free to post in under comments!

Superhero fancies

2009-05-01T18:56:00.004+08:00

Sorry that I haven't did a post for some time; been feeling 'out of it'. Anyway, I really like these renderings of superheroes by Anthony Lister. The subject is certainly kitschy, but he makes it look modern and fun. Do check out his other works- they have a certain freshness and appeal because of his style of blending watercolours with other mediums on a clean white background.

To put a face to the cartoon...

2009-04-28T21:23:00.001+08:00

We have
Dan Castellaneta, Nancy Cartwright, Yeardley Smith, Hank Azaria, Harry Shearer

Susie

2009-04-19T00:54:00.003+08:00

Heyy guys. i think most of you should have watched Susan Boyle on Britains Got Talent by now. but if you havent, YOU HAVE TO.

heres why.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxPZh4AnWyk

YOU NEED TO WATCH IT. do not be lazy and not click on it.

she took Les Miserables I Dreamed a Dream, and made it her own.

I dreamed a dream in time gone by,
When hope was high and life, worth living.
I dreamed that love would never die,
I dreamed that God would be forgiving.
Then I was young and unafraid,
And dreams were made and used and wasted.
There was no ransom to be paid,
No song unsung, no wine, untasted.

But the tigers come at night,
With their voices soft as thunder,
As they tear your hope apart,
And they turn your dream to shame.

He slept a summer by my side,
He filled my days with endless wonder...
He took my childhood in his stride,
But he was gone when autumn came!

And still I dream he'll come to me,
That we will live the years together,
But there are dreams that cannot be,
And there are storms we cannot weather!

I had a dream my life would be
So different from this hell I'm living,
So different now from what it seemed...
Now life has killed the dream I dreamed...

haha my jaw literally dropped when she started singing.
talk about cynical. talk about superficiality.
within that 3 minutes, she gained the respect of thousands of people across the world.

maybe dreams do come true =)

Support ScrawlBooks!

2009-04-16T22:26:00.005+08:00

Hi people, I'm sorry I waited all this while to finally start posting; I'm really not artistic at all so it's hard for me to come up with something to contribute to this place :| but, I have a super artistic classmate whom you all know, Wendy!

Wendy has started her own blogshop, ScrawlBooks, selling charming handmade notebooks. Here are some of my personal favourites:

- From the tanned collection

- From the fabric collection.

These notebooks are hand made and only a very limited number of notebooks are made for each design (in fact, most designs are one-of-a-kind!) Wendy is in fact running a one-man show, but you wouldn't be able to tell just by looking at the blogshop. She's doing an amazing job, so please do support her by purchasing one of these beautiful notebooks for yourself or contributing to ScrawlArt (this is such a fantastic idea; one artsy blog should help out another!) or simply drop by and leave some feedback or encouragement on her tagboard.

It's not easy to start up a business, no matter how small, so please help her keep this going or maybe even grow it into a bigger business! Then years from now we can all say, you know Wendy the designer who makes those awesome intricate handmade notebooks? I knew her when she was just starting out! :D

And KIM, please be inspired by this to start your art shop soon too okay! :)

♥
Jiafang.

Discussing the Divine Comedy with Dante

2009-04-14T11:37:00.006+08:00

Discussing the Divine Comedy with Dante ---- this link Provides 'answers'
Dai Dudu, Li Tiezi, Zhang An, 2006, oil on canvas

Out of a 100, I recognise about 42 individuals. Tried to look for the Dalai Lama but he was nowhere to be found.

Then I remembered it was painted by the Chinese.

All that you are

2009-04-04T17:23:00.000+08:00

The Cinematic Orchestra feat. Fontabella Bass

"It's music for the eye, not the ear." Pianist Murray Perahia

2009-04-02T16:21:00.012+08:00

I was on a forum trying to find the 'world's hardest piano piece'.

Came across this:

A forum user: That is not music, that is art.

Jokes aside (although as an art piece, it really is very refreshing), you wouldn't want to play Conlon Nancarrow's Tango?
Trust me. Looks can be deceiving.

nor

Iannis Xenakis's Evryali

Modern Art

2009-03-28T19:36:00.000+08:00

Thought this is funny and so true.

Never put a blanket over an owl

2009-03-28T16:06:00.003+08:00

Mr Ross Noble - Randomist

Mr Noble bases his comic routine on improvisation, randomisation and surrealism with a stream of consciousness delivery. Watch it to understand it.

Most endearing accent ever!

Urban existentialism.

2009-03-22T22:16:00.003+08:00

Have you ever had the sudden feeling of surreality when you're in the midst of a city? When you're standing on the street, sitting at a cafe, or just looking out of a window, do you suddenly feel as though everything seems to be somewhat alien, or perhaps existentially remote? That all the concrete buildings around you seem to be odd forms that uniquely define the worldly space which you inhabit? That the word "city" seems to hold much more to it in terms of an inexplicable understanding or feeling that transcends description in language?

I recently begun exploring film photography - Lomography, specifically - and I find that film photos seem to be able to capture that feeling of urban surreality. The photos above that I posted were taken on my first ever roll of film, and they aren't exactly the best photos, but hopefully, they will be able to convey what I mean. Of course, as T.S. Eliot says in The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock,

It is impossible to say just what I mean!

Lacroix, La Coeur de la Couture.

2009-03-21T22:45:00.004+08:00

I went to the Christian Lacroix: The Couturier exhibition today. It's hard to explain how excited I was, and I really did love the exhibition - went through it twice! And I don't suppose that was enough. Thankfully, the exhibition lasts until mid-June.

In any case, I took a handful of photos, but I won't show them all here because it wouldn't be fair to those who haven't seen the exhibition. What I can show is one of what I feel is the best photo out of the many I took:

The real reason why I am writing this post, however, can be found in what Lacroix said in a 1998 interview with L'Journal d'ESMOD about his work with costumes in theatre:

"On stage, everything is symbol, effect, illusion; the costume must speak from the moment the actors, dancers or singers set foot on stage, assisting them physically by being comfortable, but also spiritually by underlining their acting and their role's character."

In a contemporary world where art has long stepped beyond the threshold of postmodernism, one wonders if the elaborate costumes of Lacroix still hold any more relevance to art. What has the avant-garde movement taught us? What can it still teach us? Does avant-garde still have anything to teach us?

Today, the stages of theatre are all minimalist - they are all barren theatrical deserts in a stark, clinical white, with perhaps the occasional block to perhaps represent a chair, a table, or even a rock. Even period pieces are rife with anachronisms; a recent production of Pride & Prejudice that I watched featured spot-on period costumes, but a suspended series of empty, black photo frames; during the interval, characters in their Victorian garb swirled onto stage, and then proceeded to dance in a contemporary, Broadway fashion.

It seems almost impossible for us to understand history without reinterpreting it into our own terms. We don't even understand the eighteenth century any more - not without pretending that Darcy and Elizabeth lived in the twentieth century. The world that has broken itself free from tradition is now hopping along at a supersonic pace, seemingly fixed on an irreversible path towards the eternalisation of history in fanciful photowork, plastic replicas, and scripted tours.

The real irony of modern museums is this: in our quest to resurrect history, we have injected our own plastics into its veins and vested it in our own synthetic fabrics, but history ultimately remains a dead, lifeless corpse.

2009-03-21T21:36:00.001+08:00

oh sheeeeet.

i never knew my previous post was that long. oops =)

hi. this is jun.

2009-03-21T21:03:00.003+08:00

hi. this is jun.

i usually dont blog here cause i have a blog.

but ill like to talk about two arty farty events i did this week. (wait digress a bit. the boys in st andrews have never heard of the term arty farty. and im talking about the ART boys how weird)

i went to watch Les Contes d'Hoffmann on tue.
an opera in french.
i liked it.
you know all those posters around with this girls face that looks kinda creepy?
thats the opera.
i love stage costumes. always forever so pretty!
and the singers had such GORGEOUS voices. totally enchanting!

erm. but it was a rather dark tale.
all the main characters died.
about this hoffmann person and the three loves of his life.

anyway.

second arty farty event.
shu, yilin and i went for - Christian Lacroix the costumier.
HE IS SIMPLY AMAZING!
everybody please please please do go for this exhibition!

erm by the way hes a fashion designer and this exhibition are his costume designs.
they literally take your breath away and made the three of us go, "WOW."

its on till 7 june and for us poor students admission is free!!!
so all you lazy people if you have never step foot in the national museum before in your entire life this is ONE exhibition worth going for.

and while im on this thread i forgot i actually went for a third arty farty event i went to 8Q (yes again). the exhibition thats on right now is quite cool actually. the works are works of local artists who went overseas to make a name of themselves. now their works are back in sing for this one special exhibition so yeaa do go =) the exhibition is called @ home abroad. its on till july as well. with works from people like jason lim and erm... jason lim. and more =)

"This is not a Print!" is also still on till july i think. all the famous pop artists works, basically jasper johns, david hockney, claes oldenberg, john newman, roy lichtenstein that gang. worth taking a look too. because these are internationally reknown artists and it issnt every day that their works come over.

singapore needs more of such exhibitions!

and if you dont know where 8Q is, or what it is, you really truly suck.

anyway back to Christian Lacroix.

take a look at his spring collection.

http://nymag.com/fashion/fashionshows/2009/spring/main/europe/womenrunway/christianlacroix/#slide2&ss1

just imagine his costume design. A LOT MORE DRAMATIC.
and his sketches are simply stunning! his water colour technique is soooooooooo good! now i want to go and learn water colour too. like seriously im gonna search for a course and go learn haha.

his bio.

Christian Lacroix designs clothes that are glamorous, expensive-looking, and unapologetically dramatic. Such an aesthetic implored fame on the French label, which eventually came to epitomize the eighties through the designer's use of sumptuous fabrics (velvet, satin, taffeta) and overlapping patterns (patchwork, stripes), all of which left buyers clamoring for more. However, for such a momentous name in fashion, Lacroix fell into the industry by chance, as he spent his childhood in Arles, France and enjoyed attending bullfighting events, and then went on to study art history with dreams of becoming a museum curator or costume designer. Yet, he was destined for high fashion.

after going to this exhibition, I WANT TO DO FASHION DESIGN TOO!!!
haha.
maybe i was destined for high fashion too.
just that i havent discovered it.
yet.
hahaha.

sighh. you dont know how many times we sighed while looking at his works. partly because they were so good and also partly because they were so beyond us. (we would take forever to reach his standard)

anyway, his shows curator was fantastic too =)

if theres anyone who wants to go visit any of these arty farty places, i can go with you!!
yayy.
okay. end of my first post.

The Cinematic Orchestra

2009-03-20T23:02:00.007+08:00

i just came back from jazz-electronic outfit The Cinematic Orchestra's gig at Esplanade Concert Hall

the moment the sound hit me on their first piece...i was this close to crying. My eyes sort of scrunched up and my lips trembled and i had to put my hands to my cheeks to get a hold of myself. Seeing one of your most respected bands live...drives the happiest pain through your chest.

(I wonder what will happen to me if radiohead do come down to singapore. Probably would drown in my own tears.)

Burn out - the song that drove me to tears.

Evolution - they didn't play this song today, I wish they had. The jam is so sick.

i have to commend the drummer tonight...Luke Flowers. He was absolutely amazing. If I ever become a famous performer, I want to be like him when I play live. The drumset is his playground; and he plays like the happiest person in the world.

All Things to All Men - another song i wished they had played. Absolutely haunting, I can't even begin to describe.

What a night.

Untitled

2009-03-18T16:52:00.003+08:00

The topic of titles (that sounds almost oxymoronic) in art is so intriguing that I'd like to write more about it. I think it's extremely thought-provoking that one can exhibit something simple like a snow shovel as a work of art, and title it 'In Advance of the Broken Arm', which is what Dadaist artist Marcel Duchamp did. In this case, the juxtaposition of the title with the object reveals new insight into the form of an otherwise mundane household object. In fact, one could extend this line of thinking to claim that the work exists solely because of the title conferred on it. Without the title, it would cease to exist and would be returned to its original status as a readymade.

You call this an arm?

From this, we can see that the function of titles is by no means limited to mere description of a work, as it traditionally has been. Titles can be mentally challenging, asserting a relationship between two obviously different subjects. Even leaving a work untitled, or for that matter calling it 'Untitled', can take on a meaning or significance. With the title as a tool in addition to the paintbrush, artists have even greater creative liberty with their works today.

Titles.

2009-03-17T00:11:00.002+08:00

( source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/21365978@N04/3191034200/in/pool-filmdatabase )

This post is an informal continuation of my fellow writer's earlier post on long titles for artpieces. The title of the photo above was given as The imagination is not a state: it is the human existence itself (W. Blake). One wonders: do particular quotes seem to encapsulate certain ideas that are reflected in the pieces of art that they are attached to? Could we perhaps take a quote that seems to say nothing at all about a piece of art, juxtapose the two, and then uncover some possible correlation or meaning that links the two?

Perhaps you could try that with your next work of art, be it a photo, a painting, a sketch, a design, a poem, a piece of prose, or even a novel. New lesson of the day: incongruity is the source of ingenuity.

Art in one's immediate environment

2009-03-15T16:21:00.002+08:00

A telephone booth is transformed into an aquarium in this work of art by Benedetto. What a brilliant idea! Why didn't I think of that before? In art terms, such works could be called 'interventions', presumably because the artist does not create a work from scratch but 'intervenes' in the appearance of his or her surroundings.

Another interesting work by the artist- shelters in the form of colourful, oversized hats. Why not? They certainly bring cheer and colour to the muted palette of this town, as well as being kitschy and fun to sit under.

Other works of his- a completely-whitewashed hotel room and a forest with a 'floating' formation of leaves. I wonder what purpose the numbers serve- as a landmark, perhaps?

ear dope

2009-03-14T18:32:00.007+08:00

little warning: could keep you awake at night
although i actually love this video

Bjork - It's in our hands

additionally...some dope for your ears
that's what i like to call it

Nujabes (feat. Five Deez) - Latitude

i think these 2 videos reflect 25% of what yilin mentioned in her older post, where stealing is advocated. That loopy mindtrip sample was originally ripped off another song, German rock outfit To Rococo Rot's Die Dinge Des Lebens.

On a side note, i like reading the posts of others, mulling over it and following up upon it in my own way and with my own observations. Call it stealing if you will, but that's largely encouraged here. ;)

Are you a movie buff?

2009-03-13T19:20:00.004+08:00

If so, you'll like these paintings by Justin Reed. They are renditions of famous movies including Pulp Fiction, Jaws and American Psycho. I love how accurately he has captured the way the characters look and the setting. My favourites are these two (The Dark Knight and Kill Bill Vol. 1 respectively) :

I'm starting to feel the creeps just by looking at these. They'd make great posters for a screening room (if I ever have one in my future house). Check out his website for more.

Zero 7 "Destiny"

2009-03-13T17:20:00.006+08:00

Turn up your volume by a lot

the best thing about interpolated rotoscoping (which is basically this technique you see here: filming a video digitally and then tracing over every still manually)
is that you expect the animation to be...well, as you normally expect animation to be. The surprise thus, when you see how real those human movements are, hits hard. Every detail counts, eyes flitting down, heads turning, bodies shuffling...its just as leung said, only in video form.
I think this video resonates with the human core when we follow these everyday 'snapshots' (thanks leung) of people on the train. You're suddenly moved by the vividness of their lives.
The video also does make single people slide a little further down into depression.

keep your volume up

Just what is it that makes Artists give such long titles to their Works?

2009-03-10T13:11:00.006+08:00

Damien Hirst's The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living

Richard Hamilton's Just What Is It That Makes Today's Home So Different, So Appealing?

Marcel Duchamp's The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even

Do long titles make works seem more witty? Poetic? Impactful? Or are artists simply too darn bored? I wonder.

Snapshot poetry.

2009-03-08T17:16:00.002+08:00

no it's ok, she said
with a cigarette
hanging
on the edge of her mouth
through the curls of smoke
i thought i saw her eyes turn downwards,
thinking of nothing

Our memories play like a series of snapshots - scene after scene after scene. When we remember something, we remember the little snippets of conversation, the occasional swear-word, isolated actions that we can't seem to erase from our minds, and the seemingly trivial visual details that stand out at a particularly difficult moment. They say that literature is about life, and certainly must writing also be about life. Poetry is a particularly effective method of captivating these little snapshots of life: with poetry, we can deconstruct a scene and break it down into the parts that really do matter at that point in time. It's much like a jigsaw puzzle: though some of the pieces may seem to feature nothing interesting, or look almost exactly like any other piece, without them, we can't finish the picture.

The next time you write a poem, think about this: which piece of the puzzle, no matter how uninteresting, has been forgotten by your poem?

one man's poisson is another man's poison

2009-03-07T16:48:00.003+08:00

I cannot see her tonight.; I have to give her up; So I will eat fugu.

Yosa Buson, 1716–1783

I advocate stealing (not in the conventional sense)

2009-03-07T16:38:00.004+08:00

It's my first post on this blog, and I'm wondering what to write. So I thought I'd start with showing this interesting manifesto by independent film director Jim Jarmusch.

From Today and Tomorrow

In the art world particularly, new works may be provocative but hardly shocking or groundbreaking as almost everything has been tried and done before. This does not mean that works with an art-historical basis are less worthy of admiration. Picasso brashly churned out his own versions of Manet's paintings; Francis Bacon took everything from a film still of Sergei Eisenstein's The Battleship Potemkin to a Rembrandt painting to stop-motion photography as his inspiration. In fact, there's an exhibition in Paris now displaying Picasso's paintings and the Manet originals that inspired them together.

Importantly, these artists did not blindly mimic but used the existing material as springboards for the development of their own work. Anyone who has seen Picasso's work will know that his style is vastly different from Manet's. It is the formal harmony of Manet's paintings that he learned from and adapted, developing a new style of his own comprising disjointed forms in compositional tension and excitement. As quoted, "It's not where you take things from- it's where you take them to."

I wonder what will capture my imagination today?

an archipelago of stars

2009-03-03T12:05:00.004+08:00

i love impressionism in literature.

I bathed in the Poem of the Sea

impressionism - to me - is the 'impression' that a couple of words strung together can 'impress' upon you.

Sweeter than the flesh of sour apples to children

(To the lit student, a more consciously stylised subset of imagery)

It's the fuzzy visual your mind sort of wraps around when you see

Dawn rising up like a flock of doves

It's the lingering emotion that your soul nudges at whenever you

Ferment the bitter rednesses of love!

It's the secret world you try to mould together with the scene of

Glaciers, suns of silver, waves of pearl, skies of red-hot coals!

Some people don't like literature because it's not 'tied-down', it's not real, it's not practical.

That's the exact reason why I love it so much. When put together, the words don't have to follow the strict rules of English syntax or grammar. Their only role is to evoke the harshest, most vivid and most intense feelings in the reader

star-infused and churned into milk...

Foam of flowers rocked my driftings

entranced in pallid flotsam

Drowned men sank backwards into sleep!

A boat as fragile as a butterfly in May.

Le Dormeur du Val

2009-02-23T23:58:00.008+08:00

C’est un trou de verdure où chante une rivière
Accrochant follement aux herbes des haillons
D’argent ; où le soleil, de la montagne fière,
Luit : c’est un petit val qui mousse de rayons.

Un soldat jeune, bouche ouverte, tête nue,
Et la nuque baignant dans le frais cresson bleu,
Dort ; il est étendu dans l’herbe, sous la nue,
Pâle dans son lit vert où la lumière pleut.

Les pieds dans les glaïeuls, il dort. Souriant comme
Sourirait un enfant malade, il fait un somme :
Nature, berce-le chaudement : il a froid.

Les parfums ne font pas frissonner sa narine ;
Il dort dans le soleil, la main sur sa poitrine
Tranquille. Il a deux trous rouges au côté droit.

Octobre 1870
Arthur Rimbaud

The Sleeper in the Valley

It is a green hollow where a stream gurgles,
Crazily catching silver rags of itself on the grasses;
Where the sun shines from the proud mountain:
It is a little valley bubbling over with light.

A young soldier, open-mouthed, bare-headed,
With the nape of his neck bathed in cool blue cresses,
Sleeps; he is stretched out on the grass, under the sky,
Pale on his green bed where the light falls like rain.

His feet in the yellow flags, he lies sleeping. Smiling as
A sick child might smile, he is having a nap:
Cradle him warmly, Nature: he is cold.

No odour makes his nostrils quiver;
He sleeps in the sun, his hand on his breast
At peace. There are two red holes in his right side.

October 1870
Arthur Rimbaud, age 16, approx 40 years before WWI

Who ever said Wilfred Owen was the first?

the smell of birthdays

2009-02-20T22:21:00.015+08:00

Let me introduce you, friend,
to the true face of hip hop music.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
what slips many people's minds is that 'hip hop' does not only refer to a music genre. like all good researchers do, I shall now refer to Wikipedia and quote faithfully: "Hip hop's four main elements are rapping, DJing, graffiti writing and breakdancing." Hip hop is a cultural movement; hip hop music is what you hear on the radio.

Or at least, that's what you think it is.

If you had read my fluff entry, you'd know my thoughts on (and embarrassing vices of) mainstream music. 50 cent and Snoop Dogg aren't 'fluff', but they subscribe to the same ideals fluff does. For example, marketing strategies to generate the most sales are prioritised over the music itself. This results in the same freaking songs produced every same freaking time.
For example (to be rapped to a steady beat): "All mah homies in da club/we gone bring this shit down/I like it when you do that shorty/lemme XXXXX you shorty" and other embarrassing shit like that.

You'd be surprised how many hip-hop artists are ashamed of their 'colleagues'. The only one I can think of who went mainstream was Nas. Rapped his heart out to a genius organ-bass sampling of In-a-Gadda-Da-Vida by Iron Butterfly. Haha. I feel stupid typing this and you feel stupid reading this, so why not listen to it instead.

In-a-Gadda-Da-Vida by Iron Butterfly. Listen to the first twenty seconds to hear the sampling.

Hip Hop is Dead - Nas. Lyrics illustrate his disapproval of the current hip hop scene.

So that was Nas. Went mainstream with his disgust which ironically turns his argument upon himself. While he condemns modern-day commercialised hip hop and their constant allusions to sex, violence and drugs, he's not exactly a Gandhi himself. Seems very violent to me.

That's why I reserve the main point of this post (YES I am a long-winder) for a man and DJ/producer i respect to the ends of the earth, name of Nujabes.

I think I'm correct to say the origins of hip hop came from soul music? Jazz or some sort? Yes, Wikipedia just confirmed it. None of that club rubbish. You certainly hear the jazz/blues influence in Nujabes' music.

Here is one of the more impressive songs in his collection. At first listen, you'll go: "...HUH?" Or: "...ok...." It's not a BANG-impressive song. But man, this song is perfection on all levels. The flowing melody of the guitar - the crazy beat - rapper Cise Starr OUTDOES himself here. His rhythmic timing is...jaw dropping, to me. His choice of lyrics are...mind blowing. The song is wrapped up in this perfect bow and everything fits. You get that real rare nowadays.

In this line you can see a hint of his opposition to mainstream hip hop:
"while you're fucking a bitch, i'm making love to my miss"
And instead of your gyrating-hips act, we have lyricism!
"She's a compilation of my minds representation
Of a representative
Representing an excellent revelation of time and dedication
Never impatient"
...WHO THINKS OF THIS KIND OF THING?
Lyrics will do you good

Lady Brown - Nujabes (Feat. Cise Starr)
"She smell like a happy birthday on a thursday."
This piece is like liquid summer.

And so, in closing, i hope I have opened your eyes, if just a little. While we continue to listen to mainstream hip hop, let's be aware of this little underground movement. I leave you momentarily with words of wisdom from our very own Snoop Dogg:

"I smack up the world if they rude to you (Ehh...)
'Cause baby girl you so beautiful..."

Best lyric-writer, ever. I say this without a hint of sarcasm. Without the slightest hint.

fluff crush stuff

2009-02-18T16:02:00.007+08:00

latest news from kim's desk/deck:

my 20-min-old last.fm radio just flicked to "Crush" by David Archuleta; and I was struck with a momentary soppy, floppy happiness. You know, the kind where you wish with all your heart to eat ice cream after lunch and you're afraid your friends are too full to do so so you shut up and then someone says: I feel like eating ice cream and a *MOMENTARY SOPPY FLOPPY HAPPINESS* hits you. yeah, something like that.

this is a very telling confession, because if YOU, READER, know your cloud-deck administrator well enough, you'd be well aware that she is adverse to Cheesy, Mainstream and Manufactured.

But sometimes anything goes yeah. you abandon your lofty principles for a moment of fluff.

There's something wired in the human being that makes us all susceptible to fluff, though to different degrees. What I mean by 'fluff' is any ready-made, carbon-copied, commercialised thing constructed by a fixed set of laws.
Laws that sometimes can go: put a hunk together with a heart-breaking voice, soppy lyrics, pop rhythms and bright chords and you got yourself a winner. (Time to CASH-IN)

Fluff has to be likeable, because it was invented to sell. It works on formula so money-makers can recycle it whenever they wish and ensure continued flow of moolah. Go listen to songs produced for American Idol finalists.
Check out
"I Believe" by Fantasia Barrino
While we're at it let's be patriotic and listen to
"I Dream" by Taufik
On second thought you can just note their inspring titles.

Let's now analyse "Crush".

We start with piano chords and that weird drum effect thingy which sounds like mechanical humans clapping their hands. When David says: "Ooooooh" you know immediately that this cheese was made to sell. While the piano part is nice enough the lyrics really aren't very good. I should correct myself by saying that the lyrics were written under circumstances that do not support its critical evaluation. It's as though the writers of the song (who are NOT David Archuleta) wrote them with the following mindset: I'm just going to write this so badly that anyone who thinks of criticising it is wasting their time and will look like a goon.

fluff usually has nondescript, bland verses. To illustrate my point I shall give you a personal example. I'm known for being able to recognise titles 3 seconds into the song, or even 3 beats (note 3 beats may take a second to last). When Jamie played this song for me one day I said: "mmph. Nope. Don't know it." Then, came the chorus.

I don't know how these music producers do it, but the choruses of fluff songs are engineered (I say engineered because I sincerely believe the chord progressions are mathematically devised to ensure optimal fiscal returns) in such a way that they lodge themselves in your ears and never come out. I recognised the song immediately and practically bellowed into Jamie's ear that YES I DID KNOW THIS SONG AND YES I DID LOVE IT.

Because I do! After paragraphs of analysis of fluff and the dangers of fluff, ultimately if your ears tell you you like something, then there's no hiding it. The moment our little David launches into the chorus of Crush, a stupid smile just breaks across my face, my eyebrows do some wiggling and there's no taming them.

Be proud of fluff. But only sometimes.

Crush - David Archuleta

P.S.
Additionally I admit "I Believe" by Fantasia is not bad at all, but "I Dream" by Taufik is very bad.

P.P.S.
I know what I like about this chorus
- The ecstatic lift of the melody
- The offbeat of the Drums.

P.P.P.S.
Off to listen to it again

A fuji christmas

2009-02-14T11:25:00.003+08:00

Today was a very profitable day.

2009-02-05T23:12:00.005+08:00

we devised a plan for the art shop; something sorely lacking in the past year... until today.

we shall have LOGBOOK. we shall BUY logbook.
we shall have TREASURER
we must start to pool materials/art resources/mediums, although that builds up progressively
we shall have ART MEETING next sun 14 which will be
CONSTRUCTIVE -- christmas cards TO BE COMPLETED. (we started on them in year 2007 by the way). oh no guys. i hope my work next week doesn't involve weekends. :( additionally
we are to START DESIGNING and begin work on file covers, cloth bags, customised journals and shrinky earrings. don't know what shrinky earrings are exactly. only jun does.

we shall make this art meeting REGULAR. meaning once a week, if not fortnightly.

for your inspiration people, your phrases of the day!:

fluff chortling elephants
royal imitation
starry elegy
cranberry blessing
crying lotus
fuzzy literature
cerulean chorus
salad chorus

,

and me.

foamy whale grace

2009-02-02T17:26:00.004+08:00

in response to an earlier post...

recycled hongbaos may just serve your purpose one day

2009-01-29T19:45:00.006+08:00

While we're all in the red packet mood...

here's something "REALLY MAGICAL" i did with recycled hongbaos

- hongbao-birthday-card that creams the pants off everyone who sees it.

i recycle everything; including clothes tags. might make an uber card one day.

kidman dreaming

2009-01-27T13:50:00.013+08:00

titress

2009-01-26T20:05:00.002+08:00

Just a random thought, for my first ever contribution!

I think perception is important. Important enough to be foundational in our appreciation of whats around us.

One's perception determines the interpretation of what one sees, hears, feels, smells and tastes. This is known as sense perception, to be more specific. Without proper sense perception, one will never be able to fully appreciate the true (or lack of) beauty of things they encounter. But then again, do you really need perfect taste buds to truly enjoy fried, crispy chicken? do you really need a perfect sense of hearing to know that chirping birds sound better than gunshots? Would you not know that shit is unpleasant if you had a blocked nose?

I think what your senses tell you, and what your mind tells you, are 2 different things (pardon me for the weird english).

Your senses send impulses to the brain to alert the brain of whatever you have encountered. But how one reacts to it differs among different people. Does everyone have different kinds of senses? everyone still has the same 5 senses (6, for some). But I think opinion also plays a role. Opinions differ among people, which probably explains different interpretations between people. One man's David Cook is another man's David Archuleta. Tastes differ among people.

SO WHY DOES TASTE DIFFER AMONG PEOPLE?

I think that is the question.

Truly the rambling of a bored NSF

pants

2009-01-26T14:09:00.001+08:00

polka-dotted apple competition

2009-01-25T14:23:00.005+08:00

did an experiment with some of you guys: collected

1. a visible noun eg. apple
2. an invisble/abstract noun eg. competition
3. an adjective eg. polka-dotted

put them all in excel and shuffled them around a little.

PHRASE OF THE DAY:

Foamy whale grace.

makes sense!

P.S. ...what does this stand for? Anybody know?

2009-01-25T00:34:00.004+08:00

POST-SCRIPT?! i'm going to pull an oscar on this blog's initiation.

eh. thanks to bingxin for her suggestion: 'elephant'. major inspiration.
thanks to nujabes who put me in the mood. more bout that later.
thanks to the song 'cloud age symphony' which gave me cloudy impressions.

And while we're on the subject, although I sort of insulted Van Gogh there, he's really great, really. I love him. So i'm gonna give him some noob love by posting pictures for all those out there
wh o think Van Gogh invented the telescope.

salutations

2009-01-24T22:30:00.005+08:00

it is the birth of cloud deck, but not the start of our artistic musings!...

Welcome.

Here, we shall
draw, design, doodle, post doodles, listen to music, write poetry, take photographs,
feature photoshoots, share crazy videos, gossip, spur on the random movement, engage in
complete ludicrosy, make general comments on life.

We are observers of life and cloud deck is our observatory. And i believe that anyone who can observe anything of any kind...can engage in any kind of art. No matter how often you fail at pictionary. Or how the picture of your mom on your mother's day card consists of three strokes. Or how your bear looks like an alligator. or a piece of tapioca.

if there's anything I want to accomplish here and now and in the future, it's to have every person regardless of race, religion, gender, excuse to participate in something I like to call A-R-T. Art is not an elite movement, it's not just Van Gogh. It's everywhere around us, if we just pay a little more attention.

So. To prevent my introductory post from sounding like a US college essay, I shall end

and wish all viewers happy observing from cloud deck. Be like the elephant. He is a good elephant who, while waiting for a taxi, observes and appreciates his surroundings. He is an exemplary role model