Lost in Time: Vivian Maier

I recently found out about this photographer, an American lady named Vivian Maier, who in her lifetime amassed a huge collection of photographs documenting the streetlife of her time. The official website has the whole story:

"An American of French and Austro-Hungarian extraction, Vivian bounced between Europe and the United States before coming back to New York City in 1951. Having picked up photography just two years earlier, she would comb the streets of the Big Apple refining her artistic craft. By 1956 Vivian left the East Coast for Chicago, where she’d spend most of the rest of her life working as a caregiver. In her leisure Vivian would shoot photos that she zealously hid from the eyes of others. Taking snapshots into the late 1990′s, Maier would leave behind a body of work comprising over 100,000 negatives. Additionally Vivian’s passion for documenting extended to a series of homemade documentary films and audio recordings. Interesting bits of Americana, the demolition of historic landmarks for new development, the unseen lives of ethnics and the destitute, as well as some of Chicago’s most cherished sites were all meticulously catalogued by Vivian Maier.

A free spirit but also a proud soul, Vivian became poor and was ultimately saved by three of the children she had nannied earlier in her life. Fondly remembering Maier as a second mother, they pooled together to pay for an apartment and took the best of care for her. Unbeknownst to them, one of Vivian’s storage lockers was auctioned off due to delinquent payments. In those storage lockers lay the massive hoard of negatives Maier secretly stashed throughout her lifetime.

Maier’s massive body of work would come to light when in 2007 her work was discovered at a local thrift auction house on Chicago’s Northwest Side. From there, it would eventually impact the world over and change the life of the man who championed her work and brought it to the public eye, John Maloof."

What I find most appealing about Vivians photography is her containment of a certain energy and spirit of the time. Working her way through Chicago and New York in the 50's, she elegantly captures this iconic time in a vast series of tiny moments and anonymous portraits of her time - hundreds of people, many glamorously chic, the first embodiment of "streetstyle", and many others timeworn and destitute but never victims of pity. Never taking advantage of her subject, Vivian Maier dedicated herself to capturing, but not changing, the curious world she lived in. 

I would urge you all to check out the rest of her work online - each photograph is a moment of beauty. All photos credited to Vivian Maier

Caffeine for the Soul

Is there anybody in there? Just nod if you can hear me, is there anyone at home? Yes, Pink Floyd, I am here.  Of sorts. I began this blog as an extension of my tumblr, the words to go with the images, yet as with many bright ideas I take flight with, I inevitable became bored and disillusioned and the posts petered out. In my defence, I now how a near-full-time job to contend with, so any free time I get is dedicated to catching up on sleep, travelling around my local area, watching endless episodes of Community, or catching up on my first love, painting.

As a child I never thought I was very good at painting. I would sit down with those cheap kiddy watercolours and try to paint something inane like a horse, only to get bored of the horse and become distracted by the colours, and focus on them instead. As an (sort-of) adult, I find myself continuously leaning towards the abstract side of things, and am finally finding my own personal style, a blending of colours and words, building textures from poetry as it occurs in my mind.  Actually, scratch that, it's painting. Make of it whatever you want to, it's just pigment on canvas.  I'll shut up now, here are some of my excuses for not using this blog:

All three paintings are oil on canvas. No titles because titles are a curiously pretentious thing that I haven't worked out yet. I have another work currently in progress, in which I'm marvellously experimenting with the effects of glue and turpentine as mediums. However I'm not sure how to finish it and it is currently out on the back patio, sulking away in an impetuous manner. I'll finish it soon.

Amanda Palmer & The Grand Theft Orchestra: Polly

Another music post! If there are two things in life that create a perfect harmony, it's Brechtian Punk Amanda Palmer and the eternal Nirvana. Here Amanda Palmer with The Grand Theft Orchestra have created a truly haunting cover of the grunge classic Polly, re-created here in a truly beautiful short film, set against xylophones and pianos. There isn't much I can say really, it's the sort of the thing that follows you around after it's over, hanging around your ears. A tragic, wonderful re-working of a classic.

http://www.amandapalmer.net/

Chrysta Bell 'Real Love'

What with all the Lana Del Rey hype that has been all over the internet in recent times, I found myself looking for other female solo artists that have a classical blues vibe to them, and as a result i've fallen slightly in love with the haunting Chrysta Bell, whom I found via David Lynch, and twitter. Enjoy this surreal mix of electronic soundscapes and dark vocals reminiscent of a modern Billie Holiday.

Film Review: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

It is well known amongst my friends, peers and anyone who will listen that one of the things I hate most in life are remakes (right alongside all 3D films). However I’m not quite sure that David Finchers adaptation of the best selling Swedish novel can itself be called a remake – Fincher himself has stated the film is more “an interpretation” than a straight up remake. That’s just semantics, but even so the two films do have an entirely different feel to them. As soon as the opening credits start up, we are treated to a signature of Finchers film-making- remember those snaking, ultra-close up shots of the trash can in Fight Club? This is here replicated, alongside a subtly industrial sound-track from Nine-Inch-Nails legend Trent Reznor, who last year won an Oscar for his work on Finchers previous film, The Social Network. These opening credits set the tone for the rest of the film, in which a slow, reptilian sense of violence completely pervades through, both through its characters and the interweaving backdrop of Sweden.

A still from the wonderfully hypnotic opening sequence

The decision to keep the film located in Sweden rather than replacing the story into America is a bold one, as it can always seem a little off balance if there are foreign characters merrily talking in English, but here it works. They have, at least, got the characters talking in passable Swedish accents, besides Daniel Craig’s fallen journalist Michael Blomqvist, who retains his neutral British accent. This is perhaps symbolic of a man unintentionally caught in the middle, being forced to tread fine lines between right and wrong, truth and justice, love and sex. Daniel Craig here gives a surprisingly honest portrayal of the unassuming journalist, caught in a web of deceit and an unlikely friendship with Lisbeth Salander, here played by Rooney Mara.

Rooney Mara, and her possibly-autistic genius computer hacker Lisbeth, have of course been the main talking point of the film, even to the point where H&M have designed a line inspired by the titular tattooed girls anti-social biker style – all holey t-shirts, ripped black jeans and leather jackets. Mara herself was completely dedicated to the image, bleaching her eyebrows white and getting numerous piercings (including that nipple piercing that had everyone in excitement a while back, after making it onto the film poster).  With Rooney Mara’s wafer-thin punk look, Daniel Craig’s classic good looks, and the combination of David Finchers dark directorial vision and Trent Reznors musical mastery, all rounds this is a sinister but stylish film experience.

Sinister is a key word here. The consistently difficult topic of female sexual violence is here taken to its caustic extreme, literally laid bare and forcing the viewer to make a crucial decision – to watch, or look away. I’m talking, of course, about the controversially explicit rape of Lisbeth Salander that happens roughly halfway through the film, and has reportedly resulted in people leaving the cinema. Sexual violence is never pretty, and considering it is a running theme that continues throughout the entire trilogy – well what else did you expect to see? And consider too the point Fincher has chosen to make by placing that scene at the halfway point, that it is possibly the most crucial scene in the entire film, as it represents a turning of Salanders character. In the first half of the film the image of Salander was constantly closed away, behind computer screens, motorcycle helmets, and cigarettes. Visually Salander remained an enigma, both to the characters of the film and to the audience, yet at this point Salander is completely stripped bare and her vulnerability is revealed. It is from this point we see more of her true character as her defences are broken down, and in this way the relationship between Salander and Blomqvist begins to develop. Later in the film (notably after Lisbeth has begun her strange alliance with Michael), Lisbeth takes her fantastically gruesome revenge upon the “government guardian” who attacked her, and I’m sure it wasn’t just me who wanted to cheer out in glee at her bloody vengeance.

Rooney Mara’s Lisbeth is an incredibly complicated character, who despite her angry, fuck-the-world appearance, ultimately comes across as an extremely fragile character. This is to me the main difference between Finchers Dragon and the Swedish original, as Noomi Rapaces Lisbeth seemed to me a rather bullet-proof tough character. Of course both performances are different interpretations of Stieg Larssons original character, yet I feel that Rooney Mara brings a more accessible version. This is because to me the character of Lisbeth Salander is, let’s be honest, pretty removed from reality, seeing as none of us really know any genius computer hackers in real life (if you do, can I meet them?). This makes Lisbeth and automatically hard character to relate to, yet through Maras performance there is another side to her revealed, that of a vulnerable, fragile young woman, one the audience feels a sense of responsibility towards, and this is both the driving attraction of the film and a testament to Mara’s acting. Rooney Mara is the true heart of this film, and very deserving of the Oscar she has been nominated for her performance.

Spring 2012 Couture Day 3

The 3rd and final day of Spring Couture was actually yesterday, but this post met a delay after choosing to focus on the collection from Jean-Paul Gaultier. Anyway, here are the highlights from yesterdays shows.

Franck Sorbier presented a collection of Grecian-inspired outfits, featuring busts contoured precisely to the models bodies.

Franck Sorbier

Maison Martin Margiela recycled and reinvented luxurious vintage fabrics; the models walked out with their heads concealed in gold and blue masks, a trademark of the Margiela house.

Maison Martin Margiela

Chinese designer Yiqing Yin presented gracefully surreal couture pieces that envelope the body with unique 

folds and layers.

Yiqing Yin

Elie Saab delighted viewers with frothy dresses seemingly lifted straight from an underwater fairytale, continuing the oceanic trend for mermaid-inspired clothing.

Elie Saab

Finally Valentino continued the fairytale theme with vintage floral patterns in neutral pastel shades and intricate beadwork.

Valentino

Spring 2012 Couture - Jean-Paul Gaultier

You never quite know what to expect from a Jean-Paul Gaultier show, but you always know it's going to be different from what you've seen before, yet as the first model stepped onto the runway I couldn't help being reminded of someone. In what has definitely been the most theatrical show this couture season, Gaultier presented a surprisingly fun yet moving tribute to the late singer, Amy Winehouse. The long procession of outfits were all evidently inspired by Amy's personal style, which mixed retro 50's pencil skirts and basques with preppy sportswear, and as is traditional with couture shows, more than a few extravagant gowns.

The couture spin on Winehouses style extended to hairstyles, as girls modeled the outfits adorned with the singers iconic beehive hair-do, this time in garish primary colours.

Corsetry and the "undewear-as-outwear" concept once again made its appearance, along with gender-swapping feminine suits and decadent fabric detailing.

The show ended with a procession of deconstructed outfits, the models adorned with lace veils which served as a poignant yet fabulous reminder of the tragic, untimely death of the legendary singer who inspired the collection. Amy Winehouse is gone but certainly not forgotten. I think she would approve.

Jean-Paul Gaultier