Music for Creating

I’ve been in an inspirational rut this spring. Empty notebooks lying everywhere, unused film stored away in a closet, an embarrassing amount of art materials left unsorted. It’s unsightly, really. The only thing that seems to kick my ass out of the ditch during a creative crisis is music. I, like some of you, thrive ...

“Girl With Death Mask,” Frida Kahlo

Frida Kahlo’s 1938 painting “Girl with Death Mask (She Plays Alone)” resides in Nagoya City Art Museum in Japan. In it, the girl is wearing a mask one might see during the Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos) in Mexico. The Day of the Dead is on November 2nd, where those living commemorate ...

A Non-Scientific Pro-Con Type List for Summer Music Concert Attendance

I have been told by quite a few people that I am too practical, and this seems to manifest itself most obviously when I plan events in advance and/or have to spend money.  Music concerts require both of these; although I love music and would gladly see a different artist each weekend, this is not, ...

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Why Realism Matters

During my first painting class here, my teacher once asked a student what she thought of a diptych still life by Antonio López-García. Her response was immediate and confident: “It’s boring.” In some ways, I suppose one really can say that a painting of a few carnations in a glass qualifies as boring. The painting contains no drama or engaging narrative. While the successful accuracy of López-García’s work may impress some people, most contemporary artists and art lovers are more interested in originality than traditional technique. The problem with the painting is probably the fact that it’s a still life of a few carnations in a glass, when the artist could instead have painted an abstract statement about his medium. It’s conventional.

Great Novellas

My summer goal for 2011 is to read David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest. For three years now it’s sat on my shelf under The Brothers Karamazov and above Ulysses. It will be a great book, I’m sure, but there are reasons why it needs to be read this summer and not in September when I’m ...

Neko Case’s Noir

I’ve been on a serious Neko Case kick lately. Maybe it’s the weather or restlessness, but that rough-around-the-edges voice has been stuck in my head for days now. Originally from Tacoma, Case performed in a number of punk bands while attending university in Vancouver. One band, however – the “country super-group” Cub and the Weasels ...