Last week MOMA put up this short, that deals with how we relate to art, and how we view the world around us, in an artistic way. I love this concept, because it gives everyone a relationship with the art world, beyond just having a favorite song that comes on the radio. Art is an expression of what we see, hear, touch, and smell, in the everyday world, and it usually deals with subject maters that are close to us all.
I see art everywhere, from the beauty nature, to the way a folding chair is designed. This video calls us back to the places where art is in its natural state and then sends us out away from the museums with a new outlook on the way the world becomes art before our own eyes.
Yesterday tickets went on sale to the Austin City Limits Music Festival. I have been attending the festival, in Austin, for three years. I never know what to expect when I go to ACL. I have gone to the festival, knowing many of the bands on the lineup, looking forward to their shows. Last year I wasn't real thrilled with the lineup but I have to admit, each year, at the end of the festival, I have been happy with the performances. One of the great things about ACL is, whether you know all the artists or you are just a fan of a few bands, you are going to be surrounded by great music all three days. I promise you will walk away, a fan, of a band, you didn't even go to see.
According to austin360.com some of the artists rumored to be in the massive lineup are Pearl Jam, Beastie Boys, Dave Matthews Band, Kings of Leon and Ghostland Observatory. Keep in mind, all kinds of rumors fly around until the official lineup announcement. Some of these rumors are good guesses and some of them are wishful thinking by fans hoping for a comeback tour. It seems to be part of the ACL fun trying to figure out who will be in the lineup.
On March 22 the Olafur Eliasson's exhibition "Take Your Time" closed at the Dallas Museum of Art. This exhibit was a fascinating collection of work by the artist. I personally had a chance to experience this exhibit a few months ago at the DMA. I felt as if I was in a giant science experiment. Each installation had something in it that engaged a different sense or feel. The brilliance in Eliasson's art is, that it is incomplete without the viewer.
This exhibit was truly a once in a lifetime experience for me. Hopefully you had a chance to see "Take Your Time" but if you did not I put some links below that will give you a good idea of what this exhibit was all about. Enjoy!
When I was a kid I used to love to press play and FFW at the same time. This instantly made the music more fun. Suddenly it would sound as if the chipmunks were singing my favorite songs. I could get the same effect when I would take a deep drag off of a helium balloon and then say something to my friends. This always got instant laughs. We loved the idea of something being smaller. Something being so tiny that it even sounded different. Most of the the things that we find joy in, in life, come in bite size pieces, not huge packages. I think this is something that we had a better grasp on when we were kids. We knew, back then, that if we could hold something in our hand or find a way to look down it, all at once, we could instantly understand it. This week I have been studying a photo process that creates this same effect, visually.
Tilt/ shift photography is a technique used to make the subjects in images appear to be model size. Most of tilt/ shift photography is accomplished with spacial lenses shooting from aerial positions. The process is to take an image that would normally be in full focus and blur parts of the image to create depth of field. This draws attention to the subject in the image, as if you were looking at it through a magnifying glass. The ironic thing about tilt/ shift photography is, in shrinking down the subject and drawing your attention to a single object within these vast spaces, you actually come away with a better understanding of what you have just seen. Below are some great examples of this technique that I have found on the web. Remember the images and video are completely real, they are not models.
Although, true tilt/ shift photography takes a skilled eye and special equipment, there are a few ways to have a little fun even if you are not a pro. Tiltshiftmaker.com is a web application that allows you to create some tilt/ shift images with your own photos. I tried this site out and it works! Your results will depend on how well your image is suited for this filter. Follow the instructions on the site and you should have pretty good luck. Once you develop an eye for this type of image you might try to create the same effect in a photo studio program like Photoshop™. Below are some of the photos that I created at tiltshiftmaker.com and with Photoshop™. Keep in mind I did not originally compose any of these photos below for this effect. Enjoy!
The other day I was sitting in the studio when the little red light on my blackberry started to blink. After watching it buzz and vibrate across the desk I checked it to see what was up. It was a message from my wife. She said she just got a new record in the mail, that had the coolest cover. She would not even attempt to describe it. She said "you just have to see it". When I got home and she showed it to me I couldn't wait to hear it. I knew that if the same creativity and craftsmanship went into the music that this would be an excellent record.
A Welcome Sound
The Welcome Wagon is a project by Presbyterian pastor the Rev. Vito Aiuto and his wife Monique. It is not just a great looking album, it also sounds great. The beautiful, traditional, Christian, folk lyrics mixed with The WW's original sound makes you think of old time, Sunday morning service. Except you could only wish your church was this cool. A lot of instruments and voices were used on this record, that, along with, a masterful production from singer/ songwriter Sufjan Stevens, gives us and album with something for everyone. The track "Sold! to the nice rich man" has a big pop, country sound that would be right at home on an eight track, CB radio, combo player. There are also a few surprise covers on this album; The Smiths' "Half a Person" and The Velvet Underground's "Jesus".
Get on the Wagon
This is one of those albums that does not quit from the first track to the last. I would highly recommend this album on vinyl. Don't worry, it comes with digital downloads. Or you can buy the "not as cool" version on iTunes™.
If you are like most people you are now buying most of your music online, using a service like Apple's iTunes™. These music services have revolutionized the way we consume music by giving us more choice and convenience. I am amazed buy the variety that I find online, when I am searching for music. Most of the time I have one of those "Oh I remember that song" moments. Online music has started and revived many artist careers. It has given us access to artist that we might have never heard of and some that we have completely forgotten about. But in this digital age, when everything that can be recorded in ones and zeros is at our fingertips, other, more physical, things are slipping away.
The B Side
For those of us who grew up listening to cds, cassette tapes and vinyl, but in the last few years have converted our music library into digits, something has not felt right. We look down at our iPod™ and see what the album cover is supposed to look like, but beyond that we do not have anything tangible. Also, most digital libraries are not made up of albums but of tracks bought piecemeal, online, for 99 cents. We are not hearing the music like we are supposed to. A whole, two sided, album offered continuity, deeper cuts, and track placement that linked each song to the next. Instead of owning the works as they were originally composed by the artist, most digital libraries are made up of top 40 singles. It is the equivalent of owning a museum with paintings of Mona Lisa's smile or focusing in on one brush stroke in van Gogh's "The Starry Night." You are not seeing the full picture.
Back on tracks The record companies have started to address this problem. About a year ago the independent record companies started releasing vinyl with digital downloads attached. This trend has become very popular and now most of the major artist including The killers, Coldplay, Radio Head, Beck, and just about anyone else who has released an album in the last year, have released their album on new vinyl. This is truly having your music cake and listening to it too. Every album I have bought lately has been on new vinyl. I still use the digital downloads for my iPod™ and computer but I like listening to the vinyl version when I can. Vinyl sounds great and looks cool. The analog warmth coming through the needle gives the music more weight and presence than the cold digital tracks.
Put the needle on the record It is simple to start your vinyl collection. Most major electronics stores have started selling turntables again and I will post some links to places online that sell new vinyl. Your iTunes™ library will stay full of digital tracks and you will also have the vinyl to listen to and look at. Perfection!
This is a good source for new and used records. If you are not interested in the digital tracks and just want the vinyl you can usually find it here for a good price.
You won't find everything you are looking for at Waterloo online but if you ever get a chance to go to one of their retail locations, take it. It will take you back to the days of going into a record store, not knowing what you are looking for and coming out with something you are completely in love with.
One of Sony’s awesome new production tools is its PMW-EX1. This HD cam has been on the market for a short time and is already turning heads in the production industry. What doesn’t Sony turn heads with in the world of HD equipment these days though, right? This information is taken from Sony’s website.
XDCAM EX - New Generation HD Recording System
The PMW - EX1 is the first in a new range of professional HD pro ducts - called XDCAM EX - which record on to memory - based SxS ExpressCard media. Designed from the ground up to exploit the ultimate high performance of SxS PRO memory cards, the PMW - EX1 combines a state - of - the - art, non - linear XDCAM work flow with simply the best HD quality yet seen in a compact camcorder. It is also the first hand held camcorder to carry the legendary Cine Alta 24P brand with multiple frame rate recording capability such as 59.94i, 50i, and native 23.98P, as well as being 1080i/720P switchable.
There is also a choice of a 35Mb/s High Quality mode or a 25Mb/s, HDV 1080i compatible mode. To take advantage of this high performance recording capability, the PMW - EX1 uses a n all - new imaging system consisting of three 1/2 - inch type CMOS sensors, each with an effective pixel count of 1920x1080 to produce images in full HD resolution. In addition, there's a purpose - built Fujinon Professional HD 1/2 - inch 14x lens and a unique dual focus ring mechanism.
In fact, there are innovations in every detail of the PMW-EX1, from its IT-friendly MP4 file recording to advanced creative features, such as selectable gamma curves and 'Slow & Quick Motion' capability.
To maximise recording time, the PMW-EX1 has two memory card slots which means with a pair of 16 GB SxS PRO memory cards, it can record up to 140 minutes of HD footage.
I have shot on professional Sony HD models for several years now and can tell you that they shoot a stunning picture. The colors are just so incredibly vivid that the overall quality really is surprising. The camera settings, such as the auto and manual iris control, focus, gain, and audio, allows you to set up shots and spend time getting crisp clean images and sound while having fun taking shots (when good mics are setup and being used of course) .
I saw this video of a West Texas sunset that a friend of mine, James Lane, shot with his Sony PMW-EX1. Keep in mind he did not spend much time tweaking settings. He was working and just set the camera up and let it run. Enjoy!
The Cultural Experience is a collaborative effort of communicating issues related to education, marketing and advertising, graphic design and video production, communications and journalism, floral design, creating culinary masterpieces, health and sports while seeking a truly missional lifestyle between myself, my greater half, valued colleagues, friends, family and various authors that contribute to our pages. This will be an open dialog for entertainment, politics, religion, the arts, sports, serious issues, and causes that unite us all.
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