Beautiful Losers
Beautiful Losers chronicles a loosely knit group of “street” artists who conquered the commercial and fine art worlds. Featured artists include Ed Templeton, Geoff McFetridge, Shepard Fairey, Margaret Kilgallen, Harmony Korine and others, all of which embody a punk-DIY spirit. Most interesting is the connection between contemporary art and skateboarding. If you are snickering you’ll swallow it when you immediately recognize the work. These artists (some of them anyway) are paid large sums to sell you diet cola. As a teen, Templeton was my favorite skater. I never liked the lines of his paintings but thrilled over the lines he cut with his skate. In the interim, his work has grown by light years. N-ville’s favorite cringe monger H. Korine is mostly on good behavior, filming his talking head shots in Fannie Mae Dees Park. He laments the lowered crime rate. Tricky implications of outsiders becoming insiders are glossed over, but Beautiful Losers is an inspiring film that can enlighten people as to where the art and design that surrounds them originated.
I assume the title of the film, and the group show it accompanied, is borrowed from Leonard Cohen’s great novel of the same name. Do it… yourself.
Get Crafty
Check out books on Hipster Crafts
Crafty hipsters have to start somewhere. What better place than the library to learn how to make your own wares. Find books on sewing, knitting, decorating, and more on our book list.
Junebug
See Amy Adams in the best role of her career in this underrated Southern indie film.
-Beth
Brian Eno: 14 Video Paintings
By Brian Eno
Most know Brian Eno as a high demand music producer and as the artist most responsible for popularizing what we now call ambient music, but Eno is multimedia artist that has always had his fingers in a lot of different pies. Through the years he’s created, or provided music for, a number of film and video installations. Featured here are his “video paintings” Mistaken Memories of Medieval Manhattan and Thursday Afternoon. Both are formal explorations of the video medium itself, calling our attention to its intrinsic characteristics; e.g., its dreamlike visual distortions and ghost halo afterglow. Melt into your couch for a slow motion eye-brain solo meditation, or just sling this DVD in to serve as living painting during your next party. Find out what that high definition TV is good for besides seeing the sweat drip off athletes.
- Bryan
Daniel Eatock: Imprint
By Bednarek, Nicola
Daniel Eatock’s art/work is a thing of whimsy and Zen insight. His self-designed retrospective Imprint will have you laughing out loud. A master wit and visual contextualizer, he’s a post-Warholian ninja. His designs and concepts will inspire you. His egotism should annoy you. He gave me a great idea for how to make a bed frame on the cheap. Message to any negative ninnies who are dismissive of Eatock’s work: quit your job and do what he does. He likely gets paid more and has more fun while he is doing it. You’ll never think about car batteries the same way again.
- Bryan
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