Tell the Truth are street musicians. I have seen them on stage and in coffeeshops or bars but when I see them on the street I know they are at home. They wail out ballads that pull me into the depths of an emotive struggle for understanding the knot of reality, relations and experience. Their music is challenging - the vocals will pierce anyone's wall of cool, digging into your ears, only to apply a sensual massage once there. The guitar is passed back and forth, along with vocals that harmonize or push off of each other, building into a completely shared expression - two people as one voice that echoes through the city.
listen to more at myspace.com/tellthetruthpdx
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Wednesday, August 05, 2009
Trash Art and Animation from Himay Rivera
Himay, aka James Hacker, is an artist based out of Boise, idaho. Most of what I have seen of his work is visual, sculptural recycled trash art. He installs art boxes in various locations around the city which are made from found materials, which are usually interactive in some way to create motion or action inside. Recently I was pointed to his youtube page where he has a number of short animations posted, and a full length process documentary in 5 parts.
The animations are all stop motion, utilizing found materials (mostly toys) to create the world his characters inhabit. These worlds are multi-textured from the various materials used and have a depth and magical quality. The one below tells the story of a summer kayaker. Another follows an isolated commuter. In one particualrily awesome video a doll on a skateboard performs a series of street-skating tricks, with the fluid motion of a skate video.
His documentary, 'Wal-Merica', documents Himay's process creating a 3 dimensional representation of the US built from materials found in the trash and thrift stores. The video series follows the construction of the huge piece, its display at an earth day fair (as documented by the local fox affiliate), one night where community members gather to party and appreciate their response to the piece and finally its deconstruction and dissemination back into recycling bins and the fabric of our waste culture. I watched the whole thing in one sitting. His passionate effort is truly inspiring, and overall it brings his ideas about our culture out in a way that is fun, unpretentious and easily accessed. This is what makes me love art. Totally badass.
View more of his flix at youtube.com/himayrivera
The animations are all stop motion, utilizing found materials (mostly toys) to create the world his characters inhabit. These worlds are multi-textured from the various materials used and have a depth and magical quality. The one below tells the story of a summer kayaker. Another follows an isolated commuter. In one particualrily awesome video a doll on a skateboard performs a series of street-skating tricks, with the fluid motion of a skate video.
His documentary, 'Wal-Merica', documents Himay's process creating a 3 dimensional representation of the US built from materials found in the trash and thrift stores. The video series follows the construction of the huge piece, its display at an earth day fair (as documented by the local fox affiliate), one night where community members gather to party and appreciate their response to the piece and finally its deconstruction and dissemination back into recycling bins and the fabric of our waste culture. I watched the whole thing in one sitting. His passionate effort is truly inspiring, and overall it brings his ideas about our culture out in a way that is fun, unpretentious and easily accessed. This is what makes me love art. Totally badass.
View more of his flix at youtube.com/himayrivera
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
