Released October 11th 2010
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Paul Sharits, T,O,U,C,H,I,N,G, (1968)
Sharits was a member of the Fluxus movement. I prefer this still to the actual film, which is also good, but doesn’t survive well in its YouTube incarnation, hence its absence. It appears ancient and mystical, like a cave-painting, where limbs become elongated and coloured in bizarre, necessitated approximations.
Whereas, I know nothing of the film from which this next still is taken, I just thought my friend Susie might like it, since it contains a 70s leotard and an overall video-matic grain that appeals to nostalgic VHS-lovers.
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Nam June Paik, Global Groove (1973)
What a mesmeriser! A performance that incorporates Bela Lugosi, Orson Welles and a loony guy you might see down the local supermarket; only fitting, considering the power of the electronic, snake-charming sound that hums behind the shrieks.
Which reminds me… this looks fun (if less confrontational than Alan Vega)…
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Untitled; circa 1950
The title of this post comes from one of my favourite Joni Mitchell songs. I was prompted to use it by this painting from another artist that helped define California in my mind, Richard Diebenkorn.
I love the looseness of this splodgy gouache sketch.
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Sink, 2008
Mamma Anderson’s paintings remind me of Peter Doig and Luc Tuymans in the way they heighten a sense of reality into an uncanny state. The colours are plain but startling, and this splodgy picture of a kitchen reminds me of my Nana.
Here’s a version of the song that inspired this post’s title, by the way…
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