Film Review
April 20, 2007 by JAN ALBERT
TEKKONKINKREET :
More than 10 years ago, Michael Arias read Taiyo Matsumoto’s cult-classic graphic novel, ‘Tekkonkinkreet’. Ever since, he’s dreamed of bringing it to life on the screen. Tekkonkinkreet is a play on the Japanese words for concrete, iron & muscle and the title is meant to symbolize the destructive power those elements have on the world of the imagination. This time, the world of imagination definitely triumphs. After 40 months in production at Tokyo’s Studio 4ËšC, Arias (who has lived in Japan for over 15 years), has created a beautiful story that combines cutting edge computer generated imagery with classic hand drawn character animation. It’s an intensely ambitious work of art that will feed your soul.
We are immediately plunged into a dizzying chase through “Treasure Townâ€, a futuristic city as densely imagined as (and deeply influenced by) anything in Blade Runner. We catch wonderful details on the smallest of street signs, even ashtrays, as two street kids, named Kuro (“Black”) and Shiro (“White”), lead a gang of boys trying to muscle in on their turf on a merry chase through underground tunnels and up into the air.
Kuro and Shiro live in an abandoned car and look out for each other as brothers. The only adults in their world are Yazuka gangsters who accept them as part of the firmament and a kind old street beggar who occasionally shares the public bathhouse. Making sure White, the smaller of the two, is properly dressed and fed, keeps Black focused and gives him a family to care about. For his part, White, a simple being, full of sunlight, keeps Black connected to the innocent child inside and tempers his anger at having to grow up way before his time.
Together, they’ve managed to adapt to this world that’s constantly shifting and changing around them in a resourceful and even, joyous manner. Then an evil real-estate developer (backed by extra terrestrial robots no less) starts to rip Treasure Town down around them.
Arias keeps the heart rending story that captured his imagination a decade ago at the center and surrounds it with a combination of CGI and beautifully hand drawn characters. Even the bad guys stand out; wonderfully quirky, world weary, hopeful, greedy, evil individuals with back stories and a growth curve. When some of these evildoers bite the dust, we are a little sorry to lose them. The lavish attention to detail will make viewers want to see the film again to catch all the goodies cramming every frame. Arias and his team took hundreds of photos of old world bathhouses, markets, abandoned amusement parks, and decaying street signs and sound designer Mitch Osias collected raw material in both New York and Tokyo to inspire the patina of Treasure Town. The icing on the cake is a great original score by the electronic music group, PLAID.
After Kuro and Shiro save each other’s lives countless times, they are finally, brutally separated and Shiro must battle the darkness within himself on a hellish black star in outer space. Curiously, this apocalyptic scene was the only section that fell a little flat for me — I think I may have been on sensory overload by the time we reached that point in the story– still, that’s a very small quibble about a film that I can’t wait to see again.
TEKKONKINKREET is the first film Arias has actually directed but he’s had a fascinating journey to this point. He taught himself programming and math and computer graphics for the most part; creating special effects for films like The Abyss, Total Recall and The Matrix, designing film titles and sequences for David Cronenberg, Jim Jarmusch, Spike Lee and the Coen Bros., helping visual effects pioneer Doug Trumbull develop the Back to the Future ride at Universal Theme Park, inventing and patenting “Toon Shaders,” a software, which helped lend 3-D computer graphics the look of traditional 2-D animation in Hayao Miyazaki’s Oscar-winning Princess Mononoke and Dreamworks’ The Road to El Dorado, and collaborating with the Wachowski Bros. on Animatrix, an anime extension of the first great Matrix film.
And now, he has become the first foreign born director to helm a feature length anime film in Japan — a story as sweet and hopeful and dark and compelling as any Grimm’s fairy tale.
For more background on Tekkonkinkreet and Michael Arias, check out:
http://search.japantimes.co.jp – there’s a great photo of MICHAEL ARIAS here !
www.ozoux.com/eclectic/archive/2006/04/26/tekkon-kinkreet-trailer
www.tekkon.net/site.html
Michael Arias will introduce Tekkonkinkreet at The Museum of Modern Art on Thursday, April 25th at 8:30.
The film runs at MOMA through Monday, April 30th. For more information, call 212-708-9400
or www. moma.org
OTHER ARTLOVERS POSTS/TEKKONKINKREET:
~PHOTO: TAIYO MATSUMOTO, MICHAEL ARIAS, and ANTHONY WEINTRAUB
~PHOTO: MICHAEL ARIAS at MoMA SCREENING
~PHOTO: MICHAEL ARIAS ARRIVES AT MoMA SCREENING
~HOMEPAGE ARCHIVE/THE BOMB/ARTLOVERS
~Tekkonkinkreet |
Posted in Movie Reviews | By Jan Albert | April 20th, 2007, 11:35am
(archival photo) DAVID ZWIRNER, center, at the Luc Tuymans opening,
DAVID ZWIRNER GALLERY, Chelsea
Oct 14, 2005
a view of the GORDON MATTA-CLARK dumpster multi-dwelling, seen from the back.
DAVID ZWIRNER GALLERY, March 31, 2007
Photos: Nancy Smith
‘Gordon Matta-Clark – Rirkrit Tiravanija’
March 21 – May 5, 2007
DAVID ZWIRNER GALLERY
. . . “featured in this exhibit will be a recreation of ‘Open House’, 1972, a work that, like much of Matta-Clark’s oeuvre, applies new meaning to abandoned and commonplace materials through the art of recycling. Originally located in the street outside 89 Greene . . . the dumpster held architectural fragments and construction-site detritus and was featured in Matta-Clark’s film of the same year, also titled ‘Open House’. In the film, the dumpster is converted into a makeshift living environment for the homeless… ”
(press release)
the complete set of photos from the 2005 LUC TUYMANS opening
more photos of the GORDON MATTA-CLARK installation
Gordon Matta-Clark is currently the subject of a major solo exhibition at the
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York. on view through JUNE 3, 2007
Whitney Museum
DAVID ZWIRNER GALLERY
-GORDON MATTA-CLARK/David Zwirner |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | April 18th, 2007, 12:42pm
(archival photo) RIRKRIT TIRAVANIJA on his way to the OLAFUR ELASSON opening last Spring, (2006)
at TANYA BONAKDAR GALLERY, Chelsea, NYC, April 28, 2006
Photo: Nancy Smith
Rirkrit’s current installation at Zwirner, a recreation of his ‘Untitled 1992 (Free)’ received ‘second place’ billing on the show’s 2 man card, (he got the smaller image on the back) – while GORDON MATTA-CLARK, got the star turn, full card image on the front – but it’s Rirkrit’s piece that is blowing everyone away, and it’s not just the free Thai food.
Watching the on-going construction was one element, but also how it finally evolved within the new DAVID ZWIRNER GALLERY space – was another. It looks like an Alpine ‘snack shop’ right smack in the middle of Chelsea, plus you get to see the new GEHRY building rising directly across the street !
The Gordon Matta-Clark piece, a reconstruction of his multi-dwelling, appropriate for broke artists or strung-out street kids – built within a container/dumpster is pretty good, too. It’s a lethal combination – the pairing of these 2 artists was inspired ! – the most magical show – that’s happened in a long long time. reminiscent of the early 80’s art scene glory days !
It’s definitely fun to contemplate the dumpster – while you sit and munch on free Thai food from the picnic-like open-air ‘take out’ joint that ‘Untitled 1992 (Free)’ has resurrected itself as. The original ‘Untitled (Free)’ was basically a food performance that took place at 303’s old space in Soho, a 2nd floor gallery space at the corner of Spring and Greene. At the time, it was a little bewildering for the general art public to walk into a gallery to be served food. But for the young artists of the early 90’s roaming Soho, it became a semi-hangout, with a chance to talk to the artist. It was also much smaller, only one or two tables, and it was pretty much Rirkrit himself making the food.
“For this exhibit, Tiravanija will make a ghost of the 89 Greene Street space in plywood. The kitchen – which will include the same stools, tables, cookers, pots, pans, and refridgerator . . ” (press release)
The Zwirner piece also incorporates another of Rirkrit’s aesthetics – the re-construction of specific interior spaces. The best known example being his show, in the late 90’s at Gavin Brown’s space on 15th St. in Chelsea, when he re-created the ‘shell’ of his East Village apartment, put in a fridge and invited people to hang out and graffiti on the raw wood walls 24/7. Erik Parker, one of the young artists who really got into the spirit of the piece, and did a whole wall, was discovered by then young 20-something dealer, Leo KOENIG, as a result.
At the core of Rirkrit’s aesthetic is the fact that the audience is invited to participate.
In the current piece the audience is asked to participate in a specific historical event – the re-creation of the 303 piece from 1992, . . and eat !
The new production benefits from the open-air aspect afforded by the former garage structure, that is one of the new ZWIRNER storefront galleries.
NEW YORKERS are loving it, and the momentum just keeps growing – its going to be a huge huge HUGE success. The 2 pieces, Rirkrit’s and Gordon Matta-Clark’s brought together, in this large indoor/outdoor/garage open space have just absolutely caught everybodies imagination.
GAVIN BROWN, Rirkrit’s dealer, is co-presenting this exhibit with DAVID ZWIRNER.
and he looked mighty pleased the last time we saw him . . this past Saturday for the DARA FRIEDMAN opening.
GAVIN BROWN, at the opening of DARA FRIEDMAN, ‘Tigertail’, GAVIN BROWN’s enterprise,
West Village, April 14, 2007
Photo: Nancy Smith
. . cooking up the Thai food – RIRKRIT TIRAVANIJA, ‘Untitled 1992 (Free)’ , co-presented by GAVIN BROWN’s enterprise and DAVID ZWIRNER, at DAVID ZWIRNER GALLERY, Chelsea, NYC.
running from: MARCH 21 – MAY 5, 2007
Photo: Nancy Smith, March 31, 2007
(first featured on the artlovers homepage – week of April 10, 2007)
the front of the card for: ‘Gordon Matta-Clark – Rirkrit Tiravanija’
“View during the filming of ‘Open House’, 98 Greene Street, New York, NY 1972”
‘Open House’, a short (and exuberant) film on the building of the MATTA-CLARK container /dumpster dwelling, is projected onto the wall as part of the installation.
It’s high spirits & rough cut images – mix well with the hot Thai food – served up in big steel cannisters on what is fast becoming a big street picnic in Chelsea.
more photos of both the Rirkrit Tiravanija installation, and the Gordon Matta-Clark dumpster & film projection, including some of the construction in an unfinished state: …JUST POSTED.
APRIL 2006 – THE SENSUALISTS – the original report on which the above photo of RIRKRIT first posted
David Zwirner Gallery
Gavin Brown’s enterprise
~RIRKRIT TIRAVANIJA/sweeps Chelsea/Gavin Brown |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | April 16th, 2007, 11:52pm
Film Review
April 16, 2007 by JAN ALBERT
TRUTH, JUSTICE & THE AMERICAN WAY AT THE MOVIES:
THE HOAX is a pretty good film that has a couple of great things going for it – A/ a great story and B/ a great performance by Richard Gere – yes, Richard Gere.
It’s about, as Al Franken might put it, LIES and the LYING LIARS who tell them. As it turns out, in this case, they’re not really such bad people – just wannabes reaching for their slice of the American Dream. It’s 1971, the dawn of the Watergate era, and far worse manipulators of the truth—the ones running our country and our corporations – will soon emerge.
The story, a true one, is the stuff of legend. Clifford Irving, a journeyman writer, frustrated by his inability to get major publishers to take him seriously as an A-list novelist, concocts a fantastic story they can’t ignore, and almost pulls off one of the most audacious cons of the 20th century. Although Irving’s only major book up to this point was called, FAKE!, which chronicled the career of the notorious art forger, Elmyr de Hory, (which might have given some people pause for thought), he somehow convinced McGraw Hill, the same publishing company that wouldn’t give him the time of day before, that world famous billionaire recluse, Howard Hughes, has anointed him as his biographer and authorized Irving to sell his memoirs. Soon, he is cashing checks for a million dollars and has got Life Magazine panting for serialized rights.
The film follows Irving as he pulls his best friend, a brilliant researcher, and his own wife, into the scam. It’s exhilarating to watch as this handsome charmer makes stuff up out of thin air and people he has always longed to impress buy it, hook, line and sinker. It becomes increasingly harrowing as the high stakes game spins way out of control, the players betray each other, and Irving can no longer keep track of his lies. Director Lasse Halstrom and screenwriter William Wheeler hint at manipulation by players way larger than these three, such as President Richard Nixon, and Howard Hughes himself (who hasn’t been seen in public for decades), emerging for just long enough to pull strings that will put millions more into his own bank account and send Irving and company to prison.
Details of this paranoid period, which sowed the seeds for our current reality of fake news, made up memoirs, and lies upon lies upon lies from our leaders — are skillfully layered throughout. Gere gets tremendous support from Alfred Molina and Marcia Gay Harden, but it’s really his show and he’s tremendously convincing. Gere goes deep within and way beyond the cocky sex appeal that’s been his stock in trade in the movies since he personified the “American Gigolo”. He brings real pathos to this entertaining guy who believes he “couldda been a contender†– a man simultaneously full of himself and hating himself. Richard Gere has always been a pleasure to spend an hour and a half with in the dark – if you catch my drift — but this time the complex man he caught on celluloid isn’t so easy to shake.
~The Hoax |
Posted in Movie Reviews | By Jan Albert | April 16th, 2007, 10:15pm
Film Review
April 16, 2007 by JAN ALBERT
BREACH is another true story of deceit, hidden lives and thwarted glory. Chris Cooper (Oscar winner for his supporting performance as an orchid thief in Adaptation and totally deserving of more awards for his performance here) is absolutely chilling as Robert Hanssen, the master spy who sold American secrets to the Soviets for 30 years and engineered the greatest security breach in US history before the Feds finally managed to out him in 2001.
Hanssen is no easy charmer like the Clifford Irving character in The Hoax. He is a middle of the road civil servant, a holier than thou, church going dude with a crucifix in his office and a dagger in his heart from having been passed over for promotion for so many years. He’ll teach them to pass over a genius. And so he becomes the worm burrowed deep in the shiny apple, eating away at the FBI’s computer networks, giving up American agents, and somehow justifying his choice as a necessary tough love lesson for a system that has become so blind to its own failings.
The film begins as a small team (led by the always stellar Laura Linney) gathers evidence to try to bring Hanssen down. Eric O’Neill, an FBI rookie from a deeply religious family is sent in to gain Hanssen’s confidence, posing as his new office clerk. Portrayed by a really solid Ryan Phillippe, the neophyte is alternately appalled and admiring as Hanssen intones the pillars that his FBI career should rest upon; “Faith, Family and Country.â€
Most of the action in BREACH is small. There are no mind-blowing car chases but director Billy Ray has crafted a truly nail biting thriller (Ray’s first film, SHATTERED GLASS, was another great tale of escalating deceit set in a newsroom. RENT IT!).
In fact, I’ll pay him the ultimate compliment: There were moments where the tension in BREACH was reminiscent of an Alfred Hitchcock classic. I genuinely feared for Ryan Phillippe’s well being at several points!
Two fascinating side bars: Socialite Nina Van Pallandt, Clifford Irving’s mistress and one of the people who betrayed his Howard Hughes scam to the authorities, ended up as a minor movie star in the after glare of the scandal, appearing with young Richard Gere in American Gigolo in 1980, and Eric ONeill, the real life character Ryan Phillippe portrays in BREACH, resigned his promising FBI career shortly after Hanssen’s arrest. He had seen enough!
check out the trailer:
www.breachmovie.net
~Breach |
Posted in Movie Reviews | By Jan Albert | April 16th, 2007, 9:56pm
. . why does mindless rampage killing of young college students in Virginia turn our thoughts to graphic design ? check out the following posts, and you’ll see why, . . in a heartbeat.
. . . starting with a nod to our own NYC college art students, thru a couple of card/invites and finally some (very) sweet, (very) new record & CD artwork. and one very fresh and (quietly) radiant SPACE 1026 installation in Brooklyn.
first up: a lot of young graphic design artist/undergrad students at SVA are intrigued by this site, called –
yokoland, out of Norway – its the work of 2 young graphic designers in Norway.
the above image is the 1st page, actually the cover, of an animated portfolio ‘book’ that opens up to show their designs, and which is featured on their homepage:
http://www.yokoland.com
young art students now make ‘books’ of their artwork, that they can easily stick under their arms and carry around, pretty much following in the Japanese tradition, rather than the old school – large portfolios & those god awful slides, of yore . . . this website gets the yokoland portfolio book/look – GLOBAL ! in a very lighthanded and lighthearted way.
the young SVA graphic design student who sent recommended the site, wrote:
“Hey check out this website.
It is the website of these 2 young graphic designers in Norway, their work is really
great yet they have a very undesigned website on purpose. just like artlovers !!
Look under latest projects and archive and check out some of their work.”
inspiration. enlightment. art. talent. thought. beauty will out. students rule. don’t draw your guns, draw your art. let light reign, not grief and sorrow for so many young sons & daughters of some very devestated parents tonight. . . America – what up ?
. . . “as we go up we go down . .” – yokoland.
http://www.yokoland.com
~yokoland.com/Norway |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | April 16th, 2007, 9:09pm
the card for: ‘Look Behind You’ – ‘Small Paintings by Over Four Dozen Artists’
a serious contendender for favorite show card graphic design of the year !!
(. . . as in show/exhibit card/invite …)
(also unattributed – graphic artists unite !! – get your illustration credits in print, even if its .. only 1/8 in. font size and on the back !!!)
UP-DATE: ANDREW JEFFREY WRIGHT did the card illustration !!! no surprise there – this kid’s talent is well known in many circles.
The show is still up, if you run and jump – you can catch it – the last day is this WED, APRIL 18
don’t expect too much, its just a small show, even though it has over 48 artists, and, in the front of what is essentially a T SHIRT & STREET GEAR/LIMITED EDITION TOY SHOP, but its still very interesting, and there certainly are a few very ‘swift’ & FRESH pieces, especially by some really new & some totally unknown artists – beyond the usual same old mainstream. (Sto and Kelie Bowman have some nice pieces ! in the show, as does Taylor McKimens.) also, don’t expect a bargain, just cause its in a street shop, Taylor’s small round shaped paintings are priced at $800 ea. !!!!
more photos of some of the artwork to post shortly
Giant Robot: 437 E. 9th Street, (bet. 1st Ave and Ave A) in the Esat Village
Giant Robot – www.grny.net
more photo s formthe installation to post shortly
~Look Behind You/Giant Robot |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | April 16th, 2007, 8:35pm
the best graphic design for a show card, still !!!
card designed by ERIK FOSS, with the help of LUCAS IRWIN – of “thunder dog design”
‘DRAW’ ran from Oct 28 – Dec 2, 2006 at FUSE GALLERY in the East Village.
curated by Fuse Gallery founder/director ERIK FOSS and CURSE MACKEY,
this big group survey show has legs ! It’s going on tour !
first stop was Austin, TEXAS , at Gallery Lombardi, MARCH 9 – MARCH 31, 2007 –
just in time to bring some real art to the big SOUTH X SOUTHWEST MUSIC FEST.
‘DRAW’ travels to London in June and onto Japan, Moscow and Beijing (TBD)
you can see the whole show on the Fuse Gallery website:
www.fusegallerynyc.com
P.S. the card’s designer is unattributed – will get back to you with that info . . . asap !
~DRAW/Fuse Gallery/on tour |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | April 16th, 2007, 8:03pm
american Sneakers side A finito – side B CIA
Finito and CIa are both sung by Jayson Scott Musson and produced by Steven Ward James.
“Both songs are from the full length album “Darts and Daggers” available for free download with the purchase of this record.
Don’t own a record player? Well, you should buy this record anyway because it’s an amazing picture disc record with artwork from the awesome Jim Houser.”
FREE NEWS
note: this 7″ was being distributed (for sale) at the SPACE 1026 opening at Cinders.
~american Sneakers/7″ art /JIM HOUSER |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | April 16th, 2007, 7:46pm
YACHT – OUR FRIENDS IN HELL – REMIXES BY YACHT
(artwork unattributed)
Copyright 2007 YACHT & STATES RIGHTS RECORDS
http://www.teamyacht.com
http://www.statesrightsrecords.com
YACHT: MEGA, CD + DVD
arts by e*rock & Matthew Chambers
all songs Copyright Yacht 2004 – Marriage Records #moo5
http://www.teamyacht.com
http://www.marriagerecs.com
~YACHT/CD art |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | April 16th, 2007, 7:13pm
