Top 10 grimoires | The Necronomicon at #9. Hail Yog-Sothoth!
Month: April 2009
Versum – Fluor by Tarik Barri
Regular readers will know I’ve enthused before over the electronica of Robert Henke, aka Monolake. The Monolake site recently resumed its monthly free downloads and the offering for this month is a 9-minute piece of abstract video by Dutch artist Tarik Barri. Fascinatingly immersive, this is like a 360º view of the Star Gate from 2001: A Space Odyssey accompanied by ambient drones and rumbles. Henke and Barri are planning on touring this audiovisual experience with a couple of dates already announced on Barri’s website.
Previously on { feuilleton }
• Moonlight in Glory
Arthur Tress’s Hermaphrodite
Hermaphrodite behind Venus and Mercury (1973).
We had Austin Spare and absinthe yesterday. Looking at some of Arthur Tress‘s photographs today I was reminded me of one of Spare’s hermaphrodite studies (below). The photo is from a series, Theater of the Mind, which Tress created during the 1970s.
Gynander: Mutation by Besz-Mass (1955).
Previously on { feuilleton }
• Czanara’s Hermaphrodite Angel
Austin Spare absinthe
An Austin Spare pastel (?), Astral Body and Ghost, from the collection of Cyclobe‘s Ossian Brown adorns the label of this edition of Absinthe Brevans. Would the artist approve? Do we have to ask? He spent much of his life haunting pubs and I’d be very surprised if he hadn’t tried absinthe when he was a young Decadent. Absinthe Brevans A.O. Spare is €35 from Absinthe.de.
Via Further.
Previously on { feuilleton }
• Fata Morgana: The New Female Fantasists
• Absinthe girls
• Austin Spare’s Behind the Veil
• 8 out of 10 cats prefer absinthe
• Austin Osman Spare
Soundsuits by Nick Cave
No, not the Australian singer. Soundsuits are wearable artworks by an American artist, dancer and fashion designer. Bigger pictures here while the Jack Shainman gallery has details of a recent exhibition.
Metal armatures adorned with a range of objects including painted ceramic birds, flowers, brass ornaments, and strands of beads, top the figures and serve as headdresses that activate the sculpture and provide a visual and textural contrast to the soft bodysuit. Soundsuits, named for the sounds made when the sculptures are worn, are as reminiscent of African and religious ceremonial costumes as they are of haute couture. A multitude of references bring to mind not only disparate cultural traditions but they also highlight Cave’s diverse background and artistic training. Cave studied and danced with Alvin Ailey and created his own clothing line which he featured in a shop he opened and ran for ten years. He is as interested in fashion and cultural, ritualistic and ceremonial concepts as he is in politics, a domain that has always been part of his work as demonstrated by acts of collecting and reconfiguring elements and concealing the identity, race, and gender, of those who wear his suits.