World of Ease

Archive for the ‘Art’ Category

It’s sometimes a little difficult to understand exactly why some movements have to begin with such pretense. Some might call it style, some call it artistic temperament, but that’s not all that fair to other artists, who take great pains to not add extras to their identities in order to become more well-respected. But film is film, and there are always a few degrees removed from consensual realities in film, and it seems to rub off on the filmmakers. Fellini, though, was strange and interesting because he was in love with life, and Kieslowski is still up for an award for perhaps the most humble genius who lived. It’s not his fault that he had a complicated Polish name.

Copenhagen has a genius, and he’s been making incredible films for enough time that the genius is going to stick, and there’s thankfully many more years ahead for Lars von Trier . True to the label of avant-garde filmmaker, the von was something that he picked up in film school, and fortunately, he picked up much more, or he would be permanently removed from the artist’s bench in the world court for being precious.

His films are a strange way, perhaps, to bring visitors to the city, but they do. There are plenty of things that a hotel in Copenhagen can offer visitors, and luxury and enjoyment are very high on the bill.

For Trier , his story is unusual enough that we discover that he was not allowed to enjoy things while he was growing up. His very permissive parents gave him just enough free reign so that he could see where the edges of his mind took him. It’s taken him deep into the heart of contemporary culture, in all of its complexities, and all of its secrets. It’s not necessarily a nice place, and he’s not necessarily a nice man, but he’s revealing some very urgent truths that speak to a people who live right now, and they might live right here.

There is an ongoing trend when it comes to making over your own car or truck and this involves the particular style that is being popular, again. Buying new wheels for a truck typically involves choosing the best new model and largest tire and wheel package you can find. However, more people are opting for a more historic look and actually prefer the look of vintage wheels . This is a recurring trend in clothing, hair styles and other social aspects, but it is becoming increasingly popular to try and make new model vehicles appear more vintage looking.

Of course older vehicles are also seeing a resurgence of popularity and greater numbers of people are being seen driving around their restored project vehicle. Those cars and trucks used to spend endless years in the garage or backyard though in recent years more people have actually gotten their restoration vehicles to the point of legal operation and are driving them around. This has, in part, inspired other car and truck owners to want to emulate this vintage look in their own automobile. Another contributing factor is the number of vehicle make over shows and the extant of possibilities that technology allows for in vehicle restructuring.

These all lead average car and truck drivers to seek a new look for their vehicle and one of the easiest ways to achieve a new look is to find a vintage looking wheel and maybe add some detailing. One thing that hasn’t changed is the amount of pride people put into the appearance and functioning of their vehicle. Cars have long been considered to be the extension of one’s personality and as society embraces all aspects of vintage designs , it is guaranteed that this will translate into the appearance of one’s car or truck. And what was considered vintage twenty years ago to your parents is the new vintage for young drivers. Welcome back to the 1980s .

Making a trek through London’s ever-evolving art scene, it’s sometimes difficult to shake off the influence of Damien Hirst. There are some who revere him, and others who despise him, but there are few who can doubt that this artist has made a mark on the physical as well as the mental spaces that contemporary art occupies. Visiting London is always a heady experience anyway, where leaving the comfortable hotels always put one face to face with some remarkable works of human achievement. There are also the sounds and the smells of the city to contend with, and they all serve as reminders that this historical moment has as much potential as the last one.

The art world may sometimes be perceived as living high above the rest, where works are created out of sheer inspiration, fed by the generosity of the muses, and lifted somewhere out of time into permanence. Then again, every generation produces a new core group of artists who, like Damien Hirst come to undermine the notions of art and artists, suggesting that the link with the eternal is as tenuous here as it is anywhere else. There is something real and tangible in the life of a human being, and the artists who can tap into their own mortality seem better equipped to address the real questions that art always poses.

Hirst, one of this generations bad boys , might be the original bad boy, an old incarnation from decades gone by re-encased in new skin. The themes are the same eternal ones, constantly questioning the temporality of existence. His fame, or infamy, these days doesn’t stem so much from his ability to shock, with animals soaking in formaldehyde, but from the outrageously expensive prices on his art objects. Diamond-encrusted skulls that sell for millions of dollars do bring up the question about art as commodity, and those are certainly strategic. But there are still the same questions that come from any other work, where we wonder what it is we’re looking for in visual pleasure, and what we might be trying to purchase. Through all of this, there lurks the specter of Joe Strummer, whose punk attitude and premature death are themselves worthy of evoking these same questions.