the pruitt-igoe housing project, as all housing projects tend to be, was a complete and utter failure. in fact, wikipedia calls it "one of the most infamous failures of public housing in American history." designed in 1951 these massive blocks of concrete intended to house 2,870 families. white people were to live in igoe and black people were to live in pruitt.

the movie "koyaanisqatsi" shows mesmerizing footage of these apartment buildings being demolished in 1972. the footage of which, i have to say, is quite haunting and memorable.

when reading the wiki, i was astounded to discover the fact that the architect who designed this complex is the very same architect of the world trade center!

both buildings and their destruction leave indelible marks upon the american psyche. though the pruitt-igoe housing is less known than the now permanent idea of the world trade center, both represent major, major instances of failure in america, and the west in general. ideologically, both constructions were designed for opposite means: one to house the poor, the other to house the "capital" of america. worthy of note, the wiki adds, "Cultural theorists have suggested that the demolition of Pruitt-Igoe marks the death of modernism and the start of the postmodern age."

while following the various links at the bottom of wikipedia's page i discovered housing units like this from all over europe that trace the rise and fall of these structures: from idealistic, communist origins to dictator-prescribed concrete cities and high capitalist constructs. (a fine example is in romania where systematization resulted in the erasure of a national history and the farce of hunger circuses - which now house shopping malls.)

Posted by k at 08:22 | Comment (1) | Trackbacks (0)

want to see what an atomic bomb does within the first few seconds of detonation? check out this link. these few photos are mesmerizing. it looks like a star. it's beautiful. contextually speaking, it's horrific. i think this is what informs my fascination with the images.

via eyebeams's reBlog

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ahhh, my affinity for video art. it's (video art's) mythic beginnings sprang from nam june paik's portapak captures.

he died two days ago.

it seems we have reached a point in time where those artists who had pushed the envelope within the context of the artworld...who had re-defined the way in which art is categorized/defned...those artists are now leaving us. where does this leave us? i find that within myself, my recollection of these people doesn't seem so far away; but they are now quite finished with this world. this seems an appropriate time for reflection. an appropriate time for grabbing onto this ever-evolving world and making use of all of it's possibilities...in this world where mass media is a primary force in the shaping of our understanding of what we ingest.

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this article discusses all of the possibilities inherent in LA's downtown renovation. a trillion new condos, large institutions staking their claim downtown. is this really a good thing?
perhaps.
but for whom? who benefits?
the article quotes:

"The area has 6,000 homeless people, the most concentrated population of the destitute in the western United States."

so...my question is , what happens to these people? where do they go? the article says nothing of what happens to them, it just speaks upon what will be built in it's place.

on an entirely related note: i know that in the past 4 years or so LA's art scene has (in-part*) relocated in or near downtown. this makes sense. rent is cheaper. the location provides more opportunity for creative spaces to exhibit. but, honestly, if we take a look at history, this is not terribly uncommon. this sort of business took place during the 80's...a time in which then president reagan reigned supreme. sure, artists used the politics to fuel the creative fire, so to speak; yet still took advantage of certain class structures in order to establish their place within a seemingly avant garde locale.

what does it mean mean to "build up downtown."

it just seems to me that building up downtown would mean that one would have to consider ALL of those things that make up that area. destitute included. create solutions, not just pretty flower-covered band-aids. one day, these things are going to boil over and we will no longer be able to make it look pretty in print. i would have thought that things would be bad enough already, but perhaps we have a couple more decades to go.

*i say "in-part" because it seems as though the other area in which there is a large migration of art folks seems to be the west-side. notorious for it's status as an upper class area, it almost seems an appropriate side of the same coin. yes?

via archinect

Posted by k at 22:29 | Comment (1) | Trackbacks (0)

this is : the memory archive.
and this post by marshall poe (the director of MemoryWiki) is about finding the real truth behind history and how memory can contribute to more than a bit of what really happened during historical events. it's about actual lived experiences as opposed to the history that is dictated to you through a variety of institutions. i certainly agree with him that in today's world, where one is afforded the opportunity to make things public via internet, it does provide an invaluable resource to the development of a truthful history.

on that note, i recently read an essay about early television and women's roles within. the author used oral history as a means to researching how things occurred from the perspective of the women that were involved. by speaking and interviewing the participants, the author attempted to change the way in which we understand the reasons and motives behind many television shows that are, in today's perspective, seen as wholly oppressive for women. i like this style. it works. these memories change from person to person and our view of the past becomes a sort of prism by which we can expand our understanding of things that were hitherto regarded as written in stone.

via kuro5hin

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i took myself and my book out to breakfast this morning. sat outside, enjoying the gentle sun and the breeze. while eating my favorite egg and cheese sandwich and drinking coffee, a little sparrow (i adore those birds) kept hopping from the table next to me then to the ground, closer to me, then to my own table. it just sat watching me and hopping around. obviously it knows it's a prime food area, but i was quite amused to see it get so close...those little jittery birds.

on the way home, walking on a sidewalk that is covered with overhanging trees, a piece of pear fell on my head. then another fell at my feet. i stopped to find the source of this fruit assault. up above was a little squirrel just eating away at the pears (aplenty) on the tree. mr. squirrel stopped to wink at me before returning to his meal.

i smiled and continued on my way home thinking, "i should really share this."

Posted by k at 15:34 | Comments (3) | Trackbacks (0)

pardon me, but your aura is ringing.



a seemingly appropriate post-video post; this article discusses the growing popularity of using the human body as a circuit for powering wireless electronic devices. talk of a cell phone that works via electric skin currents certainly seems interesting. unfortunately, the true advantages of this technology isn't really explored in this newsweek article (surprise surprise) and instead focuses on making commerce easier. but the possibilities DO abound...for example, the idea that the technology can be used to make hospital patients' stats monitored without being connected to wires and plugs n' stuff is getting close.

perhaps this wireless conductivity may be the answer to luke's less "computer-y" ambitions for make a baby?

via networked_performance

Posted by k at 15:10 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)

we've finally finished our video on luke fishbeck's project entitled make a baby. it may be short in length, but a lot of care and effort went into it. brian and i decided to use this holiday weekend to clean up and (ahem) perfect the audio/video settings for final output.

feedback is always welcome..in fact, it's encouraged.
(please give feedback?!)

Posted by k at 20:14 | Comments (4) | Trackbacks (2)

for my birthday this year my friend christina gave me a card with the most amazing design on it. since then that card has become one of my most cherished items. well folks, i've finally found the artist. nikki mcclure creates most of her work from a single sheet of paper. using an x-acto knife she carves out the designs.
she's a pretty nifty gal:

Nikki McClure lives in Olympia where she primarily makes papercuts. Her work also includes shadow installations, sung word performances, and collaborations with her woodworker husband. She has self-published or hand printed several books and has shown her work from Tokyo to Sweden. She illustrates for magazines such as the Progressive and Punk Planet. A self-taught artist, she received her BS and BA degrees from The Evergreen State College with a focus on Natural History. She has also recieved an Artist Trust/ Washington State Arts Commission Fellowship award. Her work revolves around ideas of community and sustenance.

she's also a musician on the kill rock stars label.

Posted by k at 09:49 | Comments (2) | Trackbacks (0)

the StartleCam is a wearable video camera that senses when the wearer gets excited. it starts to record when it registers changes in the skin's conductivity. it finds patterns that indicate a "startle response." down at the media laboratory at MIT, super-gals jennifer healey and rosalind picard have created this camera in order to create a visual counterpart to our psychological processes.

via networked_performance

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this little guy sprouts out with a message. you get free custom printing if you order 5000 or more.

do i smell an installation proposal?

via cool hunting

Posted by k at 18:59 | Comments (2) | Trackbacks (0)

genius*.
it's been quite some time since i've seen "a woman under the influence." i am well aware of le tigre's song about cassavetes. i am also aware of kathleen hanna's (le tigre front woman) move from essentialism to third wave feminism. and i totallly respect that. i love what le tigre stands for, what it does for women by way of empowerment. those lyrics are so, so wonderful. however...i cannot support the implications that the before mentioned song implies....at least as far as cassavetes is concerned. i've just watched this movie again and this movie is phenomenal. it's commitment to realistic life circumstances is beyond belief. in the same turn, it's aside to what can happen when one shirks normative societal behavior is exaggerated...but i feel that it's exaggeration is pointed. i am rambling. just watch the movie.

I'm very concerned about the depiction of women on the screen. It's related to their being either high- or low-class concubines, and the only question is when or where they will go to bed, and with whom or how many. There's nothing to do with the dreams of women, or of woman as the dream, nothing to do with the quirky part of her, the wonder of her. I'm sure we could have made a much more successful film if A Woman Under the Influence had depicted Mabel's life as being rougher, more brutal; if it made statements so that people could definitely take sides. But along the way, I'd have to look at myself and say, "Yes, we were successful in creating another horror in the world." I don't know anyone who has had such a terrible time that she doesn't smile ever, that she doesn't have time to love, open her eyes, think about the details of life. Something [wonderful] happens all the time, even at the height of tragedy. I wanted to show that too.
—John Cassavetes

*i only use genius in reference to the song. i think genius is an outdated word that is misogynistic in it's conception.

Posted by k at 21:53 | Comments (2) | Trackbacks (0)

actually, this patent for the ipod (or some lesser mp3 device), uses brainwave frequencies to "control the mind." but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. brainwave frequencies have fascinated me for years. here's a list of each standard frequency and what it can do for your state of mind:

• Delta Waves ( below 3.5 hz )
  This is the frequency range associated with deep sleep. People do not dream when they are in Delta sleep.


• Theta Waves (  3.5 hz to 7.0 hz )
  This is the frequency range associated with a hypnotic, deeply relaxed states of consciousness.  Lucid Dreams are more prone to occur in theta. The mind is in a twilight state and is prone to free association resulting in amazing mental images. Many PSI phenomenon are noted to occur in theta such as remote viewing, out of body experiences, and astral projection.


• Alpha Waves ( 7.0 hz to 13.0 hz )
  In Alpha, we are awake, but relaxed. Alpha is sometimes described as the 'daydream' state as most daydream activity occurs in persons while in alpha. There are many reports suggesting relationships between people with Fibromyalgia, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, ADD, AD/HD, and other maladies, that may suffer from excessive Alpha with little Beta activity during the normal waking day.


• Beta Waves ( 13.0 hz to 40.0 hz )
  Beta is associated with the fully awake, fully focused mind. High beta without alpha is associated with stress, anxiety, high blood pressure, and similar issues.

Posted by k at 15:26 | Comments (2) | Trackbacks (0)

min tanaka established the body weather farm. a collective of dancers live in a village outside of tokyo. they do the hard physical labor required to keep the farm functioning while taking this process and using it to feed their dancing practices. the project is about sharing and the interpretation of the environment through the body.



i have an album by derek bailey and min tanaka. it documents their improv performance in an abandoned, glass-ceilinged building in paris. bailey plays acoustic guitar while tanaka dances naked. you can hear his feet shuffling about the floor and can imagine the contortions of tanaka's body by the way bailey plays guitar. all i need to know is that a. there is an improv performance between two people b. one is playing acoustic guitar and the other is dancing naked and c. they are in an abandoned building. though the sounds are subtle and simple, the basic circumstances surrounding the performance enrich my vision of that space. this, too, seems to be about sharing and the interpretation of the environment through the body.

Posted by k at 13:26 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0)

read the article


via eyebeam

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