I’m a fan of Carson McCullers and John Huston’s 1967 film interpretation of Reflections in a Golden Eye is excellent. The performances by Elizabeth Taylor and Marlon Brando add new dimension to the novella, but for me the real star is Zorro David in his sole screen role as Anacleto. The first time I saw this scene I was enchanted. I only wish he’d acted in more movies.
This is the archive of bits published on April 2009
Niney the Observer’s Classic. I can listen to this song all day and all night.
A friend of mine sent me this capture of a web form. We both agreed that what at first appears to be a terrible mistake is actually a pretty interesting piece of accidental design. Think about trying to fill this out. There’s ambiguity, but if the user is forced to make a choice, there’s no reason s/he shouldn’t be able to make the appropriate selection. The extraneous elements might leave you wondering about the possibility of subtle variations in what appear to be redundancies.
Since web design has been taken over by functional concerns we haven’t seen enough of this sort of experimentation. I am always excited to see media that challenge the audience, that allow for ambiguity, uncertainty, and interpretation, and I think this does just that. This reminds me of the sort of web work I used to see a lot of in the 90′s, back when there was experimentation and no one was very concerned with monetizing through click conversions.
Additionally, the rhythmic quality of the radio buttons is actually interesting. My friend suggested that its actually somewhat musical, a notation or musical score perhaps? If someone was able to decode it and assign some sort of aural meaning I can imagine a very listenable melody coming out of this. I can only believe this is an accident, especially since it would take a lot of work to do a thing like this on purpose, but I’d like to think that someone would go to the trouble.
A game designed with TSFIM that teaches pre-schoolers about project management processes. Based on Chutes and Ladders, its practical, educational, and fun!
This is the Wolverine movie I actually want to see. This edit is incredible.
Gérard Paris-Clavel has long been one of my heroes. I first became aware of him as a member of the legendary studio Grapus. I’m inspired by his unwillingness to compromise his values as a citizen and human while working in the graphic design industry, unarguably a vile cesspool of exploitation and social abuse. He’s one of a handful of designers who’s practice engages critically as well as formally, seamlessly creating an exchange between content, author, audience, history, and society. He’s constructed a thorough body of criticism that challenges the mechanisms of image/meaning/signs in contemporary society. I strive to emulate this approach to making in my own life. Basically, I love this man’s design and I love his brain even more.
This transcription of one of his lectures is from the long out of print book Design Beyond Design, edited by the also great (and destined to be discussed on this site) Jan VanToorn. I post it completely without permission. If you are an agent of the VanEyck Academie, Mr. VanToorn, or Mr. Paris-Clavel and you’d rather not have people read this, please let me know and I’ll remove the post. If you ever find a copy of this book, please send it to me as I don’t have one myself.
And finally, thank you Santiago for letting me photograph these spreads so many years ago. Hope I didn’t hurt your book.
Spread 1
spread 2
spread 3
spread 4
Throbbing Gristle are performing in New York tonight. I’m too excited to think about anything else.
Its hard to explain my love of this group.
I don’t think there are many casual Throbbing Gristle fans, I’ve never heard someone say “oh yeah, my friend put one of their songs on a mix. I kind of liked it.” I can’t recall ever hearing a Throbbing Gristle track played in public.
They are role models for me, examples of how people can live (not just perform, but actually live) creatively and uncompromisingly in the face of mainstream/mass culture. Most musicians fall into one of two categories: Performers who are just pretending on stage, and performers who have made enough money to pretend wherever they are. This isn’t the case with TG. They’re just people, but they have made it ok to not be “ordinary” people.
I find it telling that their music hasn’t been successfully co-opted like virtually every one of their contemporaries. I can’t imagine “Hamburger Lady” being used in a commercial or as the stirring soundtrack to a movie. Even though its thirty years old, their music isn’t nostalgic for me, its the music that I want to hear today. Its intellectual, its visceral, its primitive and complex, its smart, vulgar, brutal, and caressing all at once. And I’ll bear witness tonight.
Hot on the Heels of Love
Discipline