Heidi's Blog

Flight of the Conchords

Heidi — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 20:27:27 +0000

Seriously I think these guys are amazing. Their lyrics are witty, observational and basically off the hook. The most endearing thing I find is that their style remains accessible. They rip off basically every type of music out there, guess you could say they make complete nonsense, but there’s something really exciting about taking the micky out of everyone. And unlike some counterparts like Tenacious D or Jon Lajoie, the comedy is lubricated by the fact that they stay away from any specific genre. (That’s right I said ‘lubricated’)

In this clip they’re protesting the racist ways of their grocer played by the hilarious Aziz Ansari. Hilarious!

All the Fine Young Cannibals

Heidi — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 19:55:40 +0000

There are no rules...there is no limit...IN THE LOVE-HUNGRY WORLD OF THESE YOUNG SOPHISTICATES!

Director: Michael Anderson

Writers: Rosamond Marshall (novel); Robert Thom (screenplay)

Cast: Robert Wagner; Natalie Wood; Susan Kohner; George Hamilton; Pearl Bailey; Anne Seymour; Jack Mullaney; Onslow Stevens

A young couple Chad and Sarah run into problems when Chad’s father dies and his indifferent son is left without a penny. In addition, Sarah’s pregnant and leaves Chad and her family to find a better life.

The film drags on with that old melodramatic pace. The screenplay is also nothing spectacular and the acting over the top, but I find that these outdated elements are the charm of watching old school cinema.

The real life couple Natalie Wood and Robert Wagner have a natural chemistry that the director didn’t take advantage of. There are quite a few examples of this movie being slightly fresher than the ‘moral melodrama’ which was the stuff of cinema in those days, but the film isn’t consistent in its controversy. The soulful Pearl Bailey who by many accounts near saves the film plays Ruby, a black singer who’s mourning the loss of her lover. Chad and Ruby find solace in each other which was a brave move for a film-maker in those days, but the racial issues are mentioned and never developed. Bailey remains an appendage to the film despite her immediate ability to rivet the screen. Understandably, the irresistibly young and beautiful white actors take center stage.

Put simply, the film tries to do some very cool things in some very lousy ways. The characters are flat , the accents are horrendous and the costumes are predictable. That being said, it’s too easy to underrate this film. The melodrama remains charmingly nostalgic and the story, which is by no means happy, has a more tangible representation of love than some contemporary films.

Watch it if you’re into the real sh*t.

Cover Girls

Heidi — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 12:53:59 +0000

One of the avenues in which I prefer to work is a crowded and complex field. Most of my mentors have warned me against it citing the fact that these sort of images are seen everywhere as a reason for me to stay away from them. I see this as an asset. What could be more exciting than taking the most common images and making work. Perhaps because of their frequency, they can never be new, but I couldn’t think of a more inviting challenge.

Using imagery from popular magazines and adverts, the semniotics become something rather familiar. Attempting my own ‘Twiggy’ or using the text ‘Maybe she’s born with it’, I explore the extents to which these public forms are appropriated and personalized. These icons are available to almost anyone and as much as they are presented from the creative world, they become a new set of raw materials for the viewer/artist and a new set of manifestations is possible. Nicolas Bourriaud best theorizes this phenomenon as post-production in his book of the same name where he analyzes the recent development in the art world where artists have moved towards a more diverse array of raw materials which include existing works by other artists, existing objects and so forth.

Here are some examples of how I appropriated today’s imagery and incorporated it into my own private practice.

Maybe she's born with it...

My own personal twiggy.

Cover star.