In the Labyrinth

Gabe Askew: Grizzly Bear Meets CG

Check out this terrific little animated video by artist Gabe Askew which has become an instant hit on the net. Askew created a fan video of the band Grizzly Bear's song, "Two Weeks." It's a really astonishing work of animation -- the images are gorgeous (and funny, such as the coffee drinking rabbits) and the whole piece flows effortlessly in concert with the song. You can read a fascinating interview  on  CGDigg with Askew where he discusses the elaborate process of producing the film -- including the task of creating all the images and the textures first by hand. All I can say is I hope to see more from Gabe in the future -- a feeling echoed in the many, many adulatory responses to the video. (And do let the video load first -- it's worth the wait!)

*video appears here with the artist's permission.

The Battle Over La Diablada, the Devil's Dance.

The Wall Street Journal has reported on a fascinating battle brewing in the Miss Universe pageant going on in the Bahamas over the right to wear a costume related to La Diablada, a Latin American folk dance that is performed as part of pre-Lenten Carnival and signifies that battle between St. Michael and a pack of Devils. Karen Schwarz, the current Miss Peru, is wearing the costume in the pageant over the strenuous objections of the Bolivian government and citizens, who claim the origin of the dance in the small Bolivian town of Oruro. However, both Peru and Chile claim the tradition of the Devil Dance as well -- and a former Miss Universe from Chile wore the costume way back in 1983 and 1989 during the pageant.

There are parts of this international uproar that are somewhat humorous such as "In a show of support for Ms. Schwarz, some Peruvian lawmakers recently lumbered out of their cubicles and tried performing the whirling devil's dance in front of Peru's Congress." Not to be undone, " A Bolivian expatriate group has scheduled a protest, including a performance of La Diablada, Friday morning in front of the Peruvian embassy in Washington."  And it's no wonder that Miss Schwarz, bearing the weight of the 35lb horned headdress, describes her costume as "Diabolically Beautiful." (I wonder if she's planning on intimidating the judges with her whip?)

The Wall Street Journal article offers an interesting history of the ritual -- and also, of course, the economic impact of "owning" such a traditional ritual on tourism. You might also like reading the BBC online's article on the controversy as well.

Visiting the Sick

I am off at the hospital this week helping my mother. The chemo treatments beat her up and left her a little worse for the wear. But she seems to be getting better and so we are hoping she will be home by the weekend. I should return early next week.

Terri Windling's Autumn Special: Originals and Prints at a Steal of a Price

Terri Windling is having a terrific Autumn sale of some of her original paintings and a nice selection of signed prints at very, very affordable rates! Stop by her ETSY store and have a peek. The original painting of the Bunny Girl above is half-priced! What a steal. Check it out soon as the sale ends October 31.

Pierre Ménager, the Little Nun, and the Streets of New Orleans

For periods of time between the 1940s up through the 1960s my grandfather Pierre Ménager would live in New Orleans (where he had relatives to look after him if need be) and where he painted watercolors and produced some beautiful wood block prints of the city. Pierre often peopled his street scenes -- a peddlar and a cart, a man walking out of a building, a woman with a bundle on her head, and a special favorite, a little nun in lovely cornette (I think probably a Sister of Charity). The watercolor above is echoed in two woodblock prints below produced in 1969:

  

 

I am not sure why the third image appears to be a reversal of the other two images -- perhaps a proof of some kind?  Though perhaps it is a different view of the street, coming down from the other direction? -- and still the little nun occupies the center (well just off center to make it more visually dynamic). But she is there, approaching with her white wings.

And since I was in the mood-- here are a few more images of New Orleans--prints Pierre often did quickly and on the cheap whenever he needed a quick way to make money. Above is a damaged photograph from 1958 of Pierre's prints, hanging out on a fence. On the back of the photo he has written: "Trying to Make a Sale on Pirates Alley. New Orleans 1958".

 

 

 

Special thanks to cousin Blanche for sending me the image of the painting at the top of the post. And I always like to ask, if anyone out there has a Pierre Ménager painting and would be willing to send me a photograph of it, I would be grateful and delighted to put it up on the blog. I will add, however, that I am unable to give you an estimate of what the painting or sculpture is worth -- a number of you have asked, but I admit to being clueless on that score. I just love the work because it's from my grandfather.

Gaiteiros de Lisboa and João Lemos: Fantastical Music, Art, and Instruments

I have to give a special thanks to artist João Lemos (of whom I have posted on before here)  for introducing me to a terrific Portuguese band, Gaiteiros de Lisboa. While their music compositions are based on traditional Portuguese and Galician folktunes (heavy on the powerful voices of the bagpipes and kettle drums), they have fused traditional music with all kinds of musical innovation -- including the creation of original one of a kind instruments. The band produces a unique sound -- that can shift in a moment from deeply mythic in the nasal whine of bagpipes and reed-type horns, to middle-eastern as drums and reeds are complemented by a spectacular instrument made of huge pipes and tapped with a paddle to produce a hollow-throated percussion, to baroque as the band combines men's voices, pan pipes, and a french horn.

 

It was almost impossible for me to choose from among the many videos which ones to put in this post! But I chose two: "O fim da Picada" atop the post which gives one a good view of the remarkable percussive instrument with its huge pipes and paddle stopper; and "Sarandillera" below which is a lovely piece for voice, various pipes and french horn. But I also recommend Lenga-Lenga for its killer trio between chant, pipes, and some really fierce drumming, and Chamarrita du Pico, a traditional dance piece.

But let me return to my friend João Lemos,who recently helped luthier and instrument inventor of the band, Carlos Guerreiro, to create a gorgeous new little table organ -- complete with faun and nymph attending on the instrument. João sent me some photos of the process from sketches to instrument:

  

 

Additionally, João has done wonderful art work for the new Gaiteiros de Lisboa CD, Sátiro (which I don't think is available yet in this country unfortunately but can be found here.) Have a peek at a sample of the drawings from the cover and the interior liner notes:

 

Gaiteiros de Lisboa also has a MySpace page and a Face Book page where one can become a fan.

Something "Fishy" at the White House

 I read the White House blog post on how to counter-attack and discredit those "fishy" dissenting voices in the Health Care (or as it is now known as the Health Insurance) debate and was pretty much shocked to my freedom-loving bones at this suggestion in the fifth paragraph (emphasis and italics mine) from White House poster, Macon Phillips:

"There is a lot of disinformation about health insurance reform out there, spanning from control of personal finances to end of life care.  These rumors often travel just below the surface via chain emails or through casual conversation.  Since we can’t keep track of all of them here at the White House, we’re asking for your help. If you get an email or see something on the web about health insurance reform that seems fishy, send it to flag@whitehouse.gov."

I have had many emails and conversations with friends over this issue -- and I could be considered in the dissenting camp, though I believe my information to be correct, insightful, and necessary to a healthy debate. However, in the interest of sparing many of my leftist, liberal, and moderate Democrat friends (and a few Canadians) the obligation of reporting me, I have already emailed the White House and offered myself as an example of "fishy" thinking.

I am of course interested in hearing from anyone who feels they can aptly defend this peculiar (and I'd say sinister) request by the White House to name the names of dissenters in the debate. 

"The corruption of the best things gives rise to the worst.”  David Hume.
Art: "Signing of Constitution," by Howard Chandler Cristy, 1940

Back to School: Madrid, NM

As many regular visitors to the blog know by now, I am working my way through an incredible treasure trove of photographs of life in Madrid, NM between the 1920s to the late 40s (with thanks to Pinky Werner's generosity for the disk!). The town, for all intent and purposes, died around 1952 when the mine, which was the main source of income for the families that lived there closed. Given that the new school season is about to start, I thought I would share the handful of class photos from Madrid. Madrid's Old School educated children up to 8th grade and after they attended Cerrillos High School. During the Depression the New School was built by the WPA that included a four year accredited high school. You can see all the photos in the new album, (right hand sidebar.). And clicking on the photo above should give a larger view of the New School and its teachers and students.

 
Where ever possible, I have tried to include information that came with the photos. Katheryn Huber, daughter of Oscar Huber who owned the mine (and most if not all of the businesses in Madrid) appears in a few of the photographs. I have been receiving wonderful emails from grandchildren of folks who worked, married, and lived in Madrid and am hoping that they may be able to help me identify more of the faces in these photographs.

New Bitey and Brackenwood T Shirts from Flash Animator Adam Phillips

I am a huge fan of master flash animator Adam Phillips, who has created one of the most engaging animated characters, Bitey -- a sort of rough-faced satyr who lives in Brackenwood and is always getting into trouble and danger. Phillips' short films are breathtaking for the sheer speed and intensity of the action. Phillips has won numerous awards for his flash animated films -- and the most recent Bitey film, Waterlollies, won the Newgrounds Tank Award for Best Film, 2007. Newgrounds is one of the most dynamic website communities for emerging and experienced flash animators.  Check out one of the early Bitey films below, "littleFoot":

Then go to Newgrounds to see the latest installment in the Bitey escapades Waterlollies, and while you are there, check out Prowlies at the River and the speed-chase of YuYu, which was intended as an extended scene to "little Foot" and has a killer soundtrack by Pogues whistle-player Spider Stacey. It is so hard to believe that Phillips has created these films out of Flash animation...just astonishing work. (It takes a bit to wait for it to load on Newgrounds -- but worth it for the excellent quality of the film).

Happily for his fans, Phillips has created two new t-shirts to celebrate the success of Bitey and Brackenwood. I couldn't resist ordering one for myself.

The Beastly Bride: Tales of the Animal People, edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling

Here's a sneak peek at Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling's forthcoming YA anthology The Beastly Bride: Tales of the Animal People which is due out next spring -- with its gorgeous Charles Vess cover (and some lovely black and white interior art). I have a short story in the anthology, "The Monkey Girl" which is an adaptation of a Sudanese tale (from the Kordofan people). And oh, what an amazing collection of writers are here! From very talented new writers (Shweta Narayan), unexpected choices (Lucuis Shepard was a surprise for me!), international writers (Hiromi Goto and Johanna Sinisalo), terrific poets (Jane Yolen, Nan Fry, and Jeanine Hall Gailey) and just some of the best writers in fantasy literature (Ellen Kushner, Delia Sherman, Gregory Frost, and Marley Youmans.) I feel really lucky to be in such solid company -- and kudos to Terri and Ellen for what promises to be another fabulous anthology.

If you are at all curious, I have written elsewhere about my admiration for the tale of "The Monkey Girl" in an essay for Kate Bernheimer's anthology Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: Women Writers Explore Their Favorite Fairy Tales. You can find it online here, at the Journal of Mythic Arts.