JDClements » Art

Nataly Dawn: Your Welcome Reader

JDClements — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 04:45:16 +0000

During a recent red-eye trip back from Louisville, KY, I became completely fascinated with Rufus Wainwright’s version of his father’s selfish love song, “One Man Guy.” This fascination grew to a quick sickness somewhere between Mt. Vernon and Nashville, IL, at which point I had memorized all the lyrics, rolled the window down and was screaming them at passing drivers…it was 4 a.m. and I was cruising on a couple heavy energy drinks. Rough stuff.

So I was looking for some YouTube videos of Rufus this evening and came across an absolute gem: Nataly Dawn doing Rufus’s “Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk.” A quick search on the old interwebz revealed that Ms. Dawn has several projects. I don’t know about her other work, but her version of “Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk” is a “…a little bit sweeter / a little bit fatter…”

Brilliant. Your welcome reader:

Who Killed Amanda Palmer?

JDClements — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 03:00:33 +0000

On a recent junket in NYC I was able to take in the premier of WHO KILLED AMANDA PALMER, a murder mystery told in seven short videos. The experience, and it was nothing short of that, left me wishing that I had two lives to live. One to sacrifice to Amanda Palmer – let her do what she will with it, just allow me to be closer to her, and the other to follow the predetermined destiny of domestic and marital bliss that seems to be laid out for all middle class WASPs.

Thank goodness for artists like Amanda Palmer. Thank goodness for those bold souls who are willing to go out there for us. For if we can’t live the life; if we’re not strong enough or brave enough to be in it, then let us at least peer through the window a bit. Which is exactly what Ms. Palmer so graciously does in these seven videos. Though I understand that the images and themes portrayed in these videos are fiction; they are fantasy, we’re not really looking through a window, I don’t know if my mind really accepts the difference. I want the pictures and sounds to be true, and so they are…if only for the span of seven short videos.

INTRO

ASTRONAUT

AMPERSAND

RUNS IN THE FAMILY

THE POINT OF IT ALL

STRENGTH THROUGH MUSIC

GUITAR HERO

CREDITS/ANOTHER YEAR

The Stand: Still Redeeming After 30 Years (!)

JDClements — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 03:18:06 +0000

The Walking Dude: worn-down boot heels, denim jacket, and – of all things – a “How’s Your Pork?” button on his lapel. Making his way across a desert wasteland.

This is quintessential King. For nearly 40 years, King has deftly created worlds that are capable of walking a tightrope of absurdity and horror. Few writers are able to take on mammoth themes, such as Armageddon, and have fun with it!

I grew-up on King. I became an English major because of King. King was my respite sanctuary; my opiate escape in junior high school. And I think, that was the last time I read any of his work. Then, while moving some books, I came across an old, semi-illustrated, hardback copy of The Stand. Three quarters of the was through it, I found myself looking over my shoulder when I heard strange noises; I had to consciously tell myself that random coincidences were not necessarily an act of God.

It is very true that King’s writing is sometimes silly, sometimes perverse, and sometimes just off the mark. Here’s the rub: He doesn’t seem to care! We have to admire him though for that. King really is unafraid.

Stephen King has churned out something like 30 novels – and for what they are, most of them are quite redeeming. The English major in me wants to dissect the novels and show their lack of care for language – the man really does seem to dole out words like a spendthrift with dollars. But why? What’s the purpose?

King has a place on my shelf and I’m proud to put him there. Maybe like some older generation Y’ers might feel about J.K. Rowling. King aint Yeats, but I sure loved him. Still do apparently.

I’m very happy to have re-read The Stand after so many years. It’s still a good book, with well formed characters, brilliant premises and a cataclysmic ending that rivals anything else in its genre. Thank you Mr. King.

ED BOX(X) | Red Foxx: Beautifying?

JDClements — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 10:47:39 +0000


In 2007, St. Louis was tagged by a unique graffiti artist working under the nom de plume: Ed Box(x) - sometimes he uses two "x"s, ergo the parenthetical "x."  
6 Year Cigarettes, strange cat-faced men, and proclamations from Fred Sanford - these are the tools used by Box(x) to destroy and create.
Local photographer, AkitaSan, has captured some of Box(x)'s work. AkitaSan's pic of Box(x)'s cat-faced man, which appears at the top of this entry, was taken in my old neighborhood: Old North St. Louis. Luckily, my family has not incurred any financial losses due to vandals like Ed Box(x). My experience with graffiti is that of a spectator; it's never been a nuisance to me.
As a spectator, Box(x)'s work excites me. He goes beyond gang tags and "bling-y" gangsta imagery to present something far more poetic. For instance, take Box(x)'s 6 Year Cigarette. This work is little more than a two-dimensional cigarette about 20 or 30 feet long and about four feet tall. That's it. Just the cig and the title "6 Year Cigarette." It leaves you guessing,

Is it a statement? Or is just an idea he fleshed out on an East Saint Louis Wall? What if we consider that he painted it completely white? Does that mean something?        
To a casual observer like me, Ed Box(x)'s graffiti works on a number of levels. It embodies both destruction and creation; it's surreal, yet painted on a very real surface - a house, wall or train. The depth of contradictions in his work - both metaphoric and literal, elevate Box(x)'s graffiti to heights that 99% of his vandal-peers never achieve. That being said, I should also state that I'll break his f-n neck if I catch him painting anything in my community.

Power to the people . Mahalo.