"Moonrise Kingdom" and "The Harder They Come"

It might have been at the beginning of year, can't remember....but when I heard Wes Anderson was ready to release a new movie, I was chomping at the bit; it finally made its way to Indy last month.  Wes took a different creative path with this one. He's utilizing a very muted color palate, like some faded Polaroid photo found in a shoe box, and he's toned down the quirky factor with the characters. MK is not "The Royal Tennenbaums" or "The Darjeeling Limited". Steering away from the art ascpect, Anderson is able to capture that pre-teen innocence in Suzy and Sam. This is not about sex, but about finding someone who "gets" you.  Coming from very different  backgrounds, and against all odds, they have found each other and they're not letting go. It's not a coming of age movie - it's the opposite. It's a movie about staying true to your beliefs and staying young and free.

Gary had a Cult Night Movie during the week and his choice: "The Harder They Come".  I'm a sucker for movie made in the early '70s anyway. I'm always calling out the names of cars, like some kind of Automobile Rainman. Really good story, sound track, and camera work. Just like the characters in "Moonrise Kingdom", Ivanhoe Martin hung on to his dreams, albeit, his story had a different sort of ending.

Cult Movie Night @ Gary's - King Kong + The Searchers

Since I hadn't been to a Cult Night @ Gary's in months; it was time to go. He was showing "King Kong" and "The Searchers".

Confession - I actually had never seen either of these films before. For me, "King Kong' stands the test of time. The scenes on the island with Kong fighting any number of pre-historic creatures were very realistic and gruesome; Fay Wray was simply beautiful. For me, Victor Wong as Charlie the Cook stole the show. Playing a stereotypical  Chinese ship's cook, he bestowed wisdom and insight to deaf White-man ears.  It's Charlie who quickly makes the connection between the Islander's bracelet he finds on deck and the whereabouts of Ann. The scenes of Kong on stage in New York looked pretty darn realistic to me too. His escape route through the city left a swath of destruction.  If this had happened in the present day, Carl Denham would've been sued by the City of New York for all the damage caused by Kong.

Movie #2 was "The Searchers". Filmed in VistaVision widescreen, you really get a sense of the vastness of the desert; lovely 50's postcard-like scenes. John Wayne can act. He plays Ethan, a civil war vet, who returns home to his brother's house. There's weird tension between Ethan and his sister-in-law. We joked about Ethan's quasi-flirting with the way-too-attractive Martin character, played by Jeffery Hunter, who interestingly enough, turns out to be the guy who decided not to film an additional pilot of Star Trek after playing Christopher Pike in "The Cage".  Ethan and the men folk respond to a neighbor's call for help when his cattle are stolen; it turned out to be a trap. People are killed, the house is burned, and a couple of the girls are kidnapped by Comanches. We later learn it's a revenge move by Scar. Ethan vows to find Debbie, the only one left to survive and spends the next several years, with the help of Martin, tracking her down.  Maybe there's a reason he won't give up looking for Debbie that had to do with the tension between his sister-in-law earlier?

This is not a Cowboys and Indian movie. I realize that's sort of what the movie poster would have you believe. There are very well developed, believable characters. John Wayne plays an asshole.  My fav character was Mose Harper, played by Hank Worden.

Both movies stand the test of time. Each is a classic in its own right and should be on everyone's Must See Movies Before You Die list.

I brought a hummus/bean dip concoction. I took a can of garbanzos and a can of white cannellini beans. I added tahini, lemon, garlic, olive oil and threw it in the food processor. I also added jalapeno sauce for some heat.

Rest In Peace, Sigmund

Master Sigmund, aka Muncher Man and my baby boy, passed on to the great scratching pad in the sky yesterday. No, he was not named after that famous Austrian neurologist; he was named after this guy:

I miss you, Sig Munch.

Mayans Were the First Graphic Artists

After reading a recent article in the New York times about the discovery of a ninth-century-workshop of Mayan scribes in Guatemala,  I realized these guys were the original graphic artists; beautiful, simple, powerful line work. Please note: The National Geographic Society, which supported the excavations, will describe the research in the June issue of its magazine.

I think it's funny that they have to mention, "Rest assured, however, that nothing written on those walls foretells the world coming to an end on Dec. 21, 2012, as some have feared through a misinterpretation of the Maya Long Count calendar." HAHA! Like they'd have the guys in mural painting bootcamp  practicing that. 

The article also mentions The Horse's Mouth, an odd movie staring Alex Guinness who plays what appears to be a rather bawdy artist who finds a wall that yearns to be painted on; I've added it to my Netflix queue.



Like a bunch of guys in the 70's, my brother had a Mayan calendar belt buckle in high school. I found it a few months ago while going through a junk drawer. Apparently you can buy these things new from Amazon. Who knew?

And...funny enough...I've already been invited to a "We'll All Go Together When We Go" movie night @ Joe and Brian's on December 21 to celebrate the Mayan calendar end of the world. I voted that we watch Apocalypto.  Prediction - Mayan wear - all things Mayan - will pick up steam as we approach that date.

Stutz Artist Annual Open House

This past weekend was The Raymond James Stutz Artists Open House.  It's always a treat to navigate your way around the enormous Stutz Building. That little van is adorable!

Not really a good photo, but it sort of captures what Open House must mean for these folks. The guy in this studio created photographs of these vintage doll heads on black backgrounds. You can see the heads on the back shelf. The window above displays the warehouse look that is Stutz. Flowers and drinks in front signal guests are coming for Open House.

This was taken in a jewelry studio, but the cat stole the show.

 

My favorite piece, Pink Moon,  by Adam Collier Noel. It appears to be a mixed media/image transfer of some sorts. I've always been fascinated by image transfers; they seem so magical. I found his Etsy shop of prints.

 Photo taken right outside of Lydia Burris' studio.  I remember seeing her mother's work over the years and just wishing I could do that.  Her mother Catherine Burris was a painter and assemblage artist, among other things. I didn't realize she'd passed away until this morning. I remember going to an art show at the Columbus Commons and actually getting to see Catherine's work up close. Her husband, and I realize now a young girl who must've been Lydia, were watching over Catherine's pieces. I stopped by to comment how beautiful I thought Catherine's was. The husband told me that, "Some people think it is scary and some people think it is beautiful."

First Friday April - Chimaera's Attic

Finally getting around to posting pix from First Friday. I hung out exclusively in the Fountain Square area, primarily the old Murphy Building, for Chimaera's Attic. You can see Maryanne Nguyen's "Gold Chained Hearts vs. Pearls" on the left in the picture above. The long white object is actually a very intricate paper cutting by Jacqueline Picardo. The never ending construction (over a year now) was never ending. I was disappointed to see that part of the construction involved replacing the grungy, worse for wear side walks with spiffy new Mall of America/Tourista looking side walks. Ugh. That well worn-ness is the attraction of Fountain Square.

This is a view to the street from a second floor glassless window.

The Old Murphy Building is a smelly creaky affair. Maryanne Nguyen has a cosy studio in the corner. I recognized her white collar worker animals from her Etsy shop. That's also her work on the left in the first picture.

It's the juxtaposition of art and decrepit building that gives the Murphy Art Building its appeal. Painting above by Stacy Novak.

I really liked this guy's hoody. I couldn't tell you what he looked like from the front. He may have had a third eye for all I know. My eyes kept going to the back of this jacket. The picture does not do it justice. It's a vibrant pink silk screen with a lot of detail on a cool black hoody.

These guys had pretty much setup camp in the corner.

Trying to capture the griminess that makes the Murphy Building rock.

Movie Night @ Alex's

Two Czech films this month @ Alex's - "Little Otik" and "Lunacy". Based on the folktale "Otesánek" by K J Erben, "Little Otik" is the the story of a childless couple, Karel and Božena, who "adopt" a tree stump baby and descend into baby madness when it comes to life. The couple cannot conceive and the husband sees babies everywhere. In fact, when they buy a little cottage in the country, the husband begins to clear out the trees, he takes a root and jokingly carves it into a baby to present to his wife. This joke backfires, as the wife immediately starts playing mommy and baby. Things spiral out of control when Little Otik comes to life. The neighbor girl, Alzbetka (Kristina Adamcova) figures out early on that everything is not as seems with the couple. Her character is the one stable person in this very indulgent, adult-baby world, but even she slurps her eggs and succumbs to Otik's needs.

Everyone wants everything right now. Božena decides to fake her own pregnancy, but can't wait the full 9 months. Alzbetka becomes sympothetic to Otik after he is locked in the basement for killing and eating the cat, the postman, and a social worker. This reminded me of the Night Gallery episode "Brenda". (I just loved that series as a kid, btw)

One of my fav reoccurring scenes were the ones with Alzbetka's dad on the couch after work drinking booze and watching commercials; he was clearly hypnotized by the media blitz. There was this constant mouth/food/slurp theme throughout the movie.

Here is a painting by Ana Bagayan titled "Little Otik".

It turns out there is also a restaurant in East Berlin called Little Otik.

The next film, Lunacy:

Pavel Liska plays Jean Berlot, a young, but mad lad, returning from his mother's funeral. He hooks up with the Marquis de Sade (Jan Triska) during one of his bad dream episodes while staying at an inn in the country and proceeds to go about the country side in a carriage. Jean is doomed from the start; his very cadaverous skin tones foretell that things will probably not end up well for him. They soon arrive at an asylum where the inmates and keepers have switched places. It seems the staff have been tarred and feathers and imprisoned in the basement. Charlotte played by Anna Geislerova, who is both beautiful and mad, convinces Jean to help free the captive staff members.

I loved the fog, overall dampness, and the dancing meat segments. Yes - I said dancing meat segments. Between each scene section we were treated to a piece of stop motion raw meat madness and calliope music. I can still here that music in my head. I kept glancing over my shoulder as I walked veeeery slooooowly past the meat counter this morning at the grocery store.