James Baldwin in Turkey
A new exhibit at the Brooklyn Public Library examines Baldwin's time in Istanbul
Fragments
A bamboo stand with cicadas
For now, this.
On a hike in Platanillo, Costa Rica, this morning and found the path blocked by a stand of bamboo trees. Sound on to hear the cicadas.
Welcome to the B-movie
Mandate, my ass
Gil Scott-Heron said it decades ago.
The idea concerns the fact that this country wants nostalgia They want to go back as far as they can-- Even if it's only as far as last week Not to face now or tomorrow, but to face backwards
Again, again, again
Exploding art terms
I bought a 1960s-era dictionary of art terms on eBay
Lately I've been buying lots (as in: large group of) of art books or random vintage books on secondhand marketplaces. This dictionary of art terms was irresistible. The collage started 9 months ago, and I decided to add to it.
A moment in awe of Ryuchi Sakamoto
Watching a Ryuchi Sakamoto performance of async, and it’s almost magical watching him work. The lightness, the near trepidation he seemed to feel when playing the pianissimo accents of the opening, as though he might land just a little too hard on one of the keys and ruin everything for a lack of sensitivity. He touches the keys, but just. A whispered note. Beautiful. The opening credits, a simple black background with his name in white, appear on screen. Soon he begins looping. And the opening, haunting keys linger as organ sounds underneath the electronic soundscape Sakamoto takes such delight in creating. Everything he does is so physical. He leans over the piano with a guitar slide, and makes the most haunting sounds.