everything is ok

Dormant Blogs Sux

2011-03-15T17:44:00.000-07:00

So here is a video clip, of what I have been up to, over the last few months...

Warrior One

2010-11-18T06:23:00.000-08:00

London duo, Warrior , are djing at The Pod, Dublin this Saturday night with Nic James. I decided to ask Irish-born, Warrior Eno, some questions.

A.M. -- How does London inspire you?
Warrior Eno -- as a good friend once said to me "when your tired of london, your tired of life"

A.M. -- Warror is a yoga position, do you have another favourite?
Warrior Eno -- legged king pigeon of course

A.M. -- What do you think of doing a film score for the film artist Anne Maree Barry?
Warrior Eno -- i think its pretty exciting! have been a fan of her work for quite some time

Check out their sound cloud here. Eno has kindly given Together Forever as a free download - just click on the player. My personal favourite is their Foals This Orient, official remix. Listen below - epic.

Foals - This Orient (Warrior One remix) by warrior one

'She took music lessons and twirled a baton' - Badlands (1973)

2010-11-08T10:23:00.000-08:00

I could write a post similar to what you can read in Sorry I haven't posted but I have decided not to.

Rialto Twirlers is screening at the 55th Corona Cork Film Festival this Saturday at the Cork Opera House, at 2pm.

I once worked as a bar tender at The Cork Opera House and The Half Moon Theatre. In 2002, my Fine Art BA Degree Show, contained 8 large scale black and white prints of an empty Cork Opera House. These were printed by myself, in the darkroom, at The Limerick School of Art and Design. I remember my eyes hurt for days.

Image of The Cork Opera House from my 2002 BA show

IT's TECHNO O' CLOCK

2010-07-02T00:53:00.000-07:00

I made this vid for Nick V at Mad Decent a few months ago. I shot the footage in 2008, when Diplo was djing at The Electric Picnic Music Festival. Shot on my camera phone it captures the elation of being in a crowd and getting your mind blown by music. The edited footage goes really well with Nick's mix.

Track list:

Dun Dun - Uzvaras Trissturis
Nathan Fake - Narrier
Das Glow - Cathedrale
Marcel Dettmann - Viscous
SIS - Break Down
The Alps - Petals
Booka Shade - This Is Not Time
Solomun - Forever
Para one - Kiwi
The Caretaker - False Memory Syndrome

We Gets LOw

2010-06-22T00:43:00.000-07:00

This is an OLD blend/bootleg that I put together on the decks circa 2006/2007. The former-man-about-Dublin-town, Skkatter, engineered and tidied it up. It's kinda girly and a bit hot - just like something I would make if I did this type of thing full-time.

WE GETS LOw by AM8B

Skkatter then went off to Berlin where he djs here and here . He is back in Dublin this weekend and playing at one of my favourite bars - The Bernard Shaw, on Saturday night. Download his Shaw Funk mix here- it's rather good.

Bronco BullFrog

2010-06-01T13:37:00.000-07:00

If you did not get to see Rialto Twirlers at The LAB last month, you will now be able to see it once again, on the big screen. Rialto Twirlers (2010) is screening before the 'first film Mike Leigh should have made', Bronco Bullfrog (1969) at The IFI, Temple Bar, Dublin from June 11 - June 17.

Four decades after a fleeting initial release, one of British cinema’s great lost treasures returns to view, after the original negative was literally rescued from the bin at a film lab. Barney Platts-Mills’ debut is a soulful, unpatronising portrait of young peoples’ lives in East London’s transition from terraced housing to high-rise anomie, blending the authentic vibe of Shane Meadows with Mike Leigh’s deadpan wit. Developed out of acting workshops with local kids, it’s essentially an ill-starred romance between a welder’s mate and a schoolgirl – whose would-be posh mum’s disapproval sends them sheltering with his crooked, none-too-bright pal (the eponymous Bronco). Shot in crisp black and white, dressed in the latest Mod gear, it’s a poignantly familiar story of constrained lives, yet put together with a complete lack of dramatic fakery, totally believable performances from a largely non-professional cast, and an overall time-capsule feel that’s simply captivating. Notes by Trevor Johnston

IFI IRISH SHORTS

This screening includes Anne Maree Barry's Rialto Twirlers, 6 minutes, 2010

To book your tickets online click here

Rialto Twirlers / Untitled Baton Twirling Project

2010-05-28T08:43:00.000-07:00

Installation still at The LAB, Dublin ©Anne Maree Barry

The last day of my exhibition Rialto Twirlers, The LAB, Foley Street is tomorrow. So, check it out if you haven't. I also became aware of a feature film in development, working title - Untitled Baton Twirling Project (2011) - it's star is Jessica Biel. So I presume it is a Bring It On type of affair.
Anne Maree Barry - surfing the zeitgeist.

Second Square To None

2010-05-19T09:42:00.000-07:00

Below is an interview with Sunken Foal, aka Duncan Murphy, that is featured in Second Square To None. Second Square to None is a collective, whose aim is to provide a forum for experimental and noise music - as well as ambient, downbeat and electronica in Dublin.

In the interview, Duncan explains the rational behind the sound(s) he made, for my experimental short film 'Crag Hill'.

What are your reasons / motives for making music, and how you arrived at this style?

This piece was written as a soundtrack to a film by director Anne Maree Barry called "Crag Hill". One element of the narrative that stood out to me was the inability of the protagonist to decipher the water and wind surrounding her, i.e.: the rain. The film expresses the confused state of the character so this drove me to place her in an aural backdrop of water droplet configurations. I recorded 128 drips into various sized containers and then set about arranging them into different mathematical patterns. The drips could be cycled through consecutively at a varying range of rate up to note frequencies so that tonal timbres could be achieved and manipulated. These experiments were then convolved with a variety of recordings (impulse responses) which contained volatile but harmonic qualities. All of this was intended to echo the character trying to perceive the phenomenon of rain over the time it took to make the journey "home".

What sort of environment it is intended for (home listening, really loud in a meat lorry, or whatever!) / intended effect on listener?

The film is intended as a gallery piece but I played the soundtrack on my headphones while I was at mass last Sunday eating stacks of communion down the back of the church and it really worked.

What sort of equipment you use (e.g. computer, hardware, home made gear, circuit bent stuff etc.) do you use to make your sounds?

I used a pair of large diaphragm microphones to record the drips and the PotPourri Max/Msp object "el.player~" by Eric Lyon to control them. A Yamaha CS30 and Rat guitar pedal to create the impulse responses.

Any memorable noise-related incidents/ interesting gig anecdotes?

I once played a live gig in the Croft in Bristol on top of a brand spanking new pinewood coffin complete with crucifixes. It's affect on the sound quality was negligible.

Info on upcoming gigs, preferred web address, releases etc.

Venetian Snares - May 19th Crawdaddy
www.myspace.com/wesunkthefoal
http://www.annemareebarry.com/

Rialto Twirlers - LE COOL

2010-05-13T05:35:00.000-07:00

Click on the link above for full details.

"Give Us A Twirl" TOTALLY DUBLIN 68

2010-05-04T05:34:00.000-07:00

You know how while watching Bring It On (because your 16 year old sister and her giggling friends made you, and certainly not on your own, in the dark, at four in the morning on Megavideo) your sympathies lie not with the Kirsten Dunst cheerleader team of perfectly-groomed white bread pansies, but with the finger-snapping, shit-talking City of Compton girls? We've yet to have the pleasure of viewing Anne Maree Barry's Rialto Twirlers, a video exhibition of a majorette troupe from everyone's favourite LUAS stop, but we're fairly certain its subjects are about to join the Compton Clovers in our hearts. A collage of image, sound and music Rialto Twirlers is an experimental film-making project with a most substantial core - its socially explorative goals as intriguing as the process and presentation.

Rialto Twirlers runs from the 6th until the 29th of May at The Lab, Foley Street, from 10am - 6pm.

Bring your own batons.

Anne Maree Barry - Solo Exhibition @ The Lab

2010-04-27T10:04:00.001-07:00

The LAB, brought to you by Dublin City Council, is pleased to present:

Rialto Twirlers – Anne Maree Barry

Preview 06/05/10 / 6.00pm to 8.00pm

Curated by Gavin Murphy

07.05.10 - 29.05.10

In her exhibition Rialto Twirlers Anne Maree Barry presents an effective study of time, movement, image and sound, an amalgamated performance, that holds within it a narrative of contemporary urban Dublin. Young people growing up in the inner city area of Rialto find a space for themselves through creatively engaging in majorette groups, a traditional feature of the social landscape in working-class areas. Not as acrobatic as their American cheer leader counterparts or as military as their marching bands founders, the Rialto Twirlers are a creative fusion of hard graft, skill and energy that is a product of a pluralistic age in which anything is possible. For a year Barry shadowed the Twirlers. At majorette competitions she observed the aesthetic visual qualities of their physical forms and interaction within a specific performance space, their vibrant colours and energy, symmetry and order, urban music sounds and sense of community. Barry was sufficiently integrated into a precious and hidden subculture to create this choreographed documentary film based on her observational experience of the group.

The intention of Anne Maree Barry's work is to convey her own unique film making style in documentary or fictional format, in order to blur the boundaries between art and everyday encounters. This, her latest work combines in a collage of image, sound and music, held together by the movements of the performers. Experimenting with the power of narrative by exploring other elements of film, Barry emphasizes this interplay of image and sound, rhythm and gesture, rather than reliance on plot mechanics. In collaboration with composer Duncan Murphy the soundtrack assembles a collection of tone washes and rhythmic clusters that were collected during a series of the Rialto Twirler’s performances. The project also included Mark Bryan, a Philadelphia music producer who remixed the music for the successful cheerleading film Bring It On, and was invited by Barry to lead a workshop with the Rialto Twirlers, which is documented in this exhibition.

Anne Maree Barry is a film artist based in Dublin, Ireland. She attended the Limerick School of Art and Design, BA Fine Art 2002 and the National College of Art and Design, Dublin, MFA Media 2004. In 2006, her first experimental short film was the winner of Best Irish Short at the Darklight Film Festival, Dublin. Recent screenings and exhibitions include: Stranger Than Fiction Documentary Film Festival, Irish Film Institute, Dublin; The Jameson Dublin International Film Festival; New Film at Cake Contemporary Arts, Kildare; Straylight, The Light House Cinema, Dublin; Birr Arts Festival; Except, Bologna; Oslo Screen Festival; Heavier-Than-Air Flying Machines Are Impossible, The Red Stables, Dublin / Jim Thompson Arts Center, Bangkok; and Competitive Landscapes, Sara Meltzer Gallery, New York. Barry was awarded a New Work Award and a Travel and Training Award from the Arts Council in 2007. Studio/Residency Awards include Studio 468, Rialto, awarded by Common Ground, Project Studio Award, Temple Bar Gallery and Studios and Cill Rialaig Artists Retreat, Ballinskelligs, Co. Kerry.

The Lab, Dublin City Arts Office, Foley Street, Dublin 1.

Short Films @ Stranger Than Fiction

2010-04-13T02:29:00.000-07:00

Click on the image for a full description of short films at the Stranger Than Fiction Documentary Film Festival, Irish Film Institute, 12.15PM April 18th.

Boat Dreams

Director: Sasha Andrews

Duration: 8’ 25’’

A Man & His Mountain

Director: Geoff Brooks

Duration: 8’ 46’’

If These Walls Could Talk

Director: Anna Rodgers

Duration: 12’ 53’’

Bye Bye Now

Director: Aideen O’Sullivan & Ross Whitaker

Duration: 14’ 50’’

Out Of Mind

Director: Kate Mc Carroll

Duration: 15’

Alibi

Director: Darren Bolger & Caroline Campbell

Duration: 13’ 3’’

Kate

Director: Gráinne Mc Guinness

Duration: 10’

Rialto Twirlers

Director: Anne Maree Barry

Duration: 6’ 20’’

One Less Car

Director: Barry Hamilton

Duration: 15’

Rialto Twirlers @ Stranger Than Fiction Documentary Film Festival

2010-04-12T03:56:00.000-07:00

Rialto Twirlers is screening at the Stranger Than Fiction Documentary Film Festival at the Irish Film Institute, Dublin this Sunday 18th April at 12.15PM. It is part of the festival's Short Film Programme:

Interested in seeing the work of the future generation of documentary filmmakers? Then make sure to catch the Short Film Programme. Featuring a selection of the finest short documentaries from across Ireland, interspersed with a selection of international gems, every year this programme presents films made with a variety of styles on a wide range of subject matters – there’s truly something for everyone!

Another Still Films production Alibi directed by Darren Bolger and Caroline Campbell has also been selected for the Short Film Programme.

Rusko Di Cali Anthem

2010-03-27T03:52:00.000-07:00

I heart the new Rusko track. You can download it for free at Mad Decent --> Clik here
The above pic is Rusko and I hanging out last year in Dublin. Nice fella. :)

Turtle Power!

2010-03-25T05:20:00.000-07:00

I am actually going to shoot Tessie on the RED someday. Brilliant Boredom.

DATA 40.0 @ The Joy Gallery RedSpace (feedback)

2010-03-05T02:19:00.000-08:00

Anne Maree Barry speaking at DATA 40.0

I spoke about the Rialto Twirlers project and film at DATA at The Joy Gallery last Friday. It was actually about time I spoke at DATA as I have been going to meetings since 2002, although recently I haven't been to many - too busy editing ;). I had not been to the Joy Gallery/Red Space before and was pleasantly surprised - they have a really good set up. Their aim is to focus on experimental art, music/art cross collaborations and new media work.

You can check out more information on the night here

and a blog review from Grace McEvoy aka Green on Light

**I did take off my coat after the first five mins of speaking :)

Rialto Twirlers Test Screening

2010-02-19T05:30:00.000-08:00

lighthouse cinema test screening - photos taken with nokia e63

Myself and Nicky went to the Light House Cinema this morning to test Rialto Twirlers.

IT'S THE BOMB!!!

You still can get tickets here: http://jdiff.ticketsolve.com/shows/23497715/events

Big Thanks to everyone involved:

The Rialto Twirlers
Kim Donahue
Lee Graham
Tara Kiernan
Sarah McCoy
Shelly Sheridan

Directed by
Anne Maree Barry
Produced by
Nicky Gogan
Director of Photography
Tim Hood
Music Composer
Duncan Murphy
Edited by
Anne Maree Barry
Production Manager
Glen Collins

Assistant Producer
Sinead Ni Bhroin

Sound Recordist
Mark Barry
Focus Puller
Simon Culliton

Grip
Richie O Connor
Lighting/Gaffer
Alba Valles Novella

Production Assistants
Roisin Geraghy
Olly O Neill
Claudia Tormey

Sound Mix

John Fitzgerald

Ardmore Sound

Grade and Online
Eugene McCrystal

Special Thanks to:
The Rialto Twirlers, Denise Lucas, Caroline Hollywood, Siobhan Geoghegan, Noel McDermott, Frank O'Grady, Harper O' Grady Estate Agents.

Rialto Twirlers is supported by The Arts Council, Common Ground and Still Films

Image Magazine & Anne Maree Barry

2010-02-16T03:10:00.000-08:00

In her new film, Rialto Twirlers, below, screened to acclaim at this year's Dublin Film Festival, visual artist and filmmaker Anne Maree Barry captures the eponymous Dublin-based majorette troupe preparing for a national competition. It's a deceptively simple notion, one resulting in a captivating, superbly assembled whirl of sheer syncopated fabulousness. Barry's observational work captures, in her words "a creative fusion of the hard graft, skill and energy associated with our pluralistic age in which anything is possible". It's a fascinating, joyful work from an intriguing young talent. www.annemareebarry.com

Rialto Twirlers @ The Jameson Dublin International Film Festival

2010-02-01T09:42:00.000-08:00

16 MM Test Footage Rialto Twirlers from Anne Maree Barry on Vimeo.

Whilst I update my website, (there are bandwidth issues) I have decided to upload some test footage/sketches I made with the help of Kate McCollough in 2008. These were made one sunny May evening, at a workshop at The Firestation Artists Studios. Initially I was going to shoot Rialto Twirlers on film but instead I made the cost-effective decision to shoot on the RED. I am very pleased with the results.

Funnily enough, Kate McCollough is highlighted at JDIFF through the Irish Talent Spotlight Section and Rialto Twirlers is screening at said festival.

Tickets for Rialto Twirlers are available here >>> http://jdiff.ticketsolve.com/shows/23497715/events

I will actually be updating this blog over the next few weeks, very 2004, but I will keep my words to a minimum.

Christmas Party Shenanigans

2009-12-20T08:07:00.000-08:00

We went to Fuck Buttons after our Still Films/Darklight Christmas Party. Great night.

HaPPy H0Ls

2009-12-18T07:17:00.000-08:00

I made this wonderful Christmas display last night. In the 80s, in Ireland, those weird metallic-like decorations (see big star) were everywhere. I got the star for €1 in the Ilac Centre. I am looking forward to 2010 - it's going to be a challenging but fruitful year, I remain confident.

BIG LOVE TO YOU ALL.

A.M. xx

L Vis 1990

2009-10-29T05:44:00.000-07:00

I don't blog as much as I'd like to these days, however, when I find something that is really worth sharing I stop editing and go for it. Nic James - one of Dublin's finest DJs and resident of Toe Jam at the Bernard Shaw, told me about L-VIS 1990 a few weeks ago, mumblings about being an old man at a gig with youngsters/hipsters but gushing about a great young DJ that makes his own crazy music videos. Nic James was correct with his trend predicting as L VIS 1990 has the most exciting 'sound' I have heard in a long time. Hyper Bass draws on all 'aspects of dance music that have really inspired me over the last 6 years. Electro, Breaks, Dub step, B-more, Booty Bass and Drum & Bass… its all about the energy.' ( L VIS 1990 via Electrique Boutique )Hyper Bass does express an energy infused amalgamation of genres and subgenres with tribal drum beats thrown in for good measure.

What's interesting to me and to the ethic of this blog, is the cut and paste aesthetic of LVIS 1990's videos. The visual is synching to the sound and tempo of it, something I am aspiring to create in my own work. DJ Yoda uses popular references (eg. The Simpsons) in his live 'multimedia' shows but what visual sources does someone use whilst playing a sound that is essentially 'new'?

'the bass music sound is a lot more complex and varied. I have this thing in mind for my AV set. There is a Japanese film called Tetsuo, a really dark, hyperactive, industrial film about guy whose body mutates into to a machine…There are some incredible visual snippets that I'm going to try and match to my sounds. Its gonna be intense audiovisual assault!'

Have a look here at United Groove as a recent sample of work:

L VIS 1990 is playing at The Button Factory, Dublin on December 4th.

Zombie Land

2009-10-16T08:13:00.000-07:00

After a difficult week, I went to see Zombieland. If you follow this blog you may have guessed that I am kind of fond of the living dead. I loved Max Brooks book World War Z and am currently reading Pride and Predjudice and Zombies. (It funnily enough puts me to sleep at night) I could list Columbus' (the narrator and main character of the film) rules for surviving zombie land, however, I am going to return to the theme of this blog and look at the director of the film, Ruben Fleischer's music video back catalogue.

A select few:

1. Kid Sister's Pro Nails featuring Kayne West

2.Dizzee Rascal- Stand Up Tall

3.Dizzee Rascal - Fix Up Look Sharp

4.MIA - Galang

5.Wiley - Who ate all the pies

Fleischer's music videos may not be ground breaking, but all have a slick aesthetic and contain some nice shots. My favourite music video, of the few I selected is Stand Up Tall (2007). Here we can see Dizzee becoming 'a man', confident in his own performance and lyrics. Have a look at Fix Up Look Sharp (2003) for a visual comparison.

Crag Hill (2009) @ Straylight - The Darklight Film Festival's Art Programme

2009-10-06T01:35:00.000-07:00

Crag Hill - Video Still © Anne Maree Barry

Crag Hill heaves to-and-fro. Through it’s expansive greenery comes a figure. A barefoot girl in a yellow dress walks towards the camera. She speaks about a road and a moment of clarity. Crag Hill explores issues of displacement and attachment to a particular event in the filmmaker’s life. It is a surrealist infected story blending truth and fiction.

Crag Hill is the second collaboration between Anne Maree Barry and the artist Sunken Foal. Sunken Foal has recently contributed to the online music project Relay Project, commisioned by the Model Arts and Niland Gallery, Sligo.

Crag Hill will be installed in a room on the lowest floor of the Light House Cinema by screens 1+2 from this Thursday the 8th of October until Sunday the 11th.

The launch of Darklight is on at 7pm at The Court Yard Restaurant, Duck Lake, Smithfield, Dublin. Please private message me if you would like an invite.

***Update

2009-08-20T02:44:00.000-07:00

I have been quite busy and creative lately, so excuse my absence. I also have been reading instead of going online at night - who would have thought that this past time would induce sleep and relaxation?

Music I am currently listening to:

Major Lazer, of course, saw them last year at Carnival (suckers!)

James Pants - saw him at Sonar 09

Empire of the Sun - for moody floaty contemplation whilst I make work

Doorly, Joker, Rusko, Skream - dubstep flava of the moment...Rusko's mix of Amanda Blank's new track is awful - actually I hate the line ' i might like you better if we slept together' - don't go gaga Amanda...

Projects:

In Post Production on my documentary short Rialto Twirlers

Filming my experimental short for Straylight as part of Darklight 09 this weekend - still of location above

Working with Sunken Foal on both soundtracks - very exciting.

Where you can see my work now

Where you can see my 'dear diary' thoughts and day to day incidents: AM8B

**new official website coming, when I'm really bored - (November at a guess)

The Wire Bible

2009-04-29T02:05:00.000-07:00

Yeah, yeh, i've finished the series ages ago guys. (smug smile) What if McNulty had being called McCardle?It would have enforced the Irish stereo-type even more. Click on the images below for initial character descriptions. I am particularly fond of the description of Herc - 'dumb as a box of rocks and an anabolic steroid addict to boot.'

Tweet Tweet

2009-04-27T14:39:00.000-07:00

Looking forward to Soundtrack 09 at the Tripod May 31st. Nice mix here from Rusko, that I found by following Seth Rogan's twitterings. Nothing left to say, just listen.

all grown up

2009-04-23T01:56:00.001-07:00

This track has been out a while, but wow, look at Ciara. I love the rawness of My Goodies, however this is channeling a more J Lo and Beyonce sound plus Gaga styled pants. The more I listen to it the more I kind of like it - talking about love sex and magic is way more fun than being a poker face.

crystal maze

2009-04-22T06:49:00.000-07:00

I don't know if anyone remembers the show but this Easter gift reminded me of it.

this is where i wander

2009-04-16T01:38:00.001-07:00

Boy 8 Bit

2009-02-12T09:53:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow night Mad Decent's Boy 8-Bit will be playing with Nic James at the Twisted Pepper. If you've been anywhere near the internet in last couple of years you will have heard some of his many remixes or even seen him playing guitar for the Black Ghosts.

The music kicks off at 11 and I have some space on the guest list if you want to email or text me.

Also on the night will be Reach in the Basement and Alphabet set in the Mezz. For more information have a look here.

I also found the gem below on You Tube. Diplo gets hit by a toilet roll at 1min 29, whilst Boy 8 Bit throws an inflatable crocodile into the crowd before the 'roll' incident. ouch.

bubbly bubbly

2009-02-11T04:07:00.000-08:00

Latest craze in London town. I hate the sound of the genre 'funky' house but this track has got mine and others attention.

poke her face

2009-02-04T04:04:00.000-08:00

More intelligent than the Venga Boys but just as playful. Humming this in the studio - I suppose toddlers/young girls are more sophisticated these days. ma mum ma ma (?)

Lady Gaga - Poker Face from bahtiyar gencer on Vimeo.

Vengaboys - Boom Boom Boom Boom
Uploaded by Xiryl

Boom Boom Boom, Venga Boys, 1998

the streets

2009-01-26T04:37:00.000-08:00

I would have liked to have met Mike Skinner last night and have chatted to him about John Gray's Straw Dogs, the book I am reading at the moment. However, it was not meant to be (interview here from o.m.m.). Instead I got the footage below at the gig at the Olympia.

Mike Skinner was already barefoot, a random girl had to be taken off the stage, he took off his top and climbed on the amp.....what followed made a dull January much better.

Leading Lights

2009-01-08T07:51:00.001-08:00

The January/February edition of Film Ireland is edited by: Nicky Gogan, Paul Rowley and Derek O'Connor. Last month Paul Rowley asked me to send in an image that encapsulated my relationship with film and write about it. I did just that. Film Ireland is available to purchase at Film Base, Dublin or you can read extracts here - Film Ireland

dance wiv me

2009-01-07T05:03:00.000-08:00

Dizzee Rascal and Calvin Harris - Dance wiv me (2008)

My favourite song and collaboration of 2008. Due to lack of good films on television over the holiday break, I watched music videos on The Box and various MTV channels. Flicking past the MTV dance channel I began to notice the current trend in euro-dance videos of 'empowered' females dancing in their underwear whilst tormenting an 'idiot' male - usually tied up or in some kind of dilemma. Similarly in the Guru Josh Project video Infinity (2008) the female protagonist hits a brick wall with a sledge hammer - in her underwear of course. I find this depiction of women unsettling and unnecessary. I also am dubious of the Kid Cudi's Vs Crookers video of Day 'n' Night.

Cudi said the following on his website on Dec 5th:

'SEE, THIS IS ONE OF THE REASONS I HATE THIS INDUSTRY….MUTHAFUCKAS GET CONTROL OVER YA MUSIC AND YA IMAGE AND DO WUTEVER THE FUCK THEY WANT TO DO WIT IT….THIS CROOKERS VIDEO WAS NOT APPROVED BY ANYONE ON MY TEAM….WE JUS EXPRESSED TO THE PEOPLE WHO SHOT THE VIDEO AND TOL THEM WE DIDNT LIKE IT AND WANTED TO TRY SUTTIN DIFF, NEXT THING U KNO WITHIN HOURS ITS ALLLLLLL OVER THE FUCKIN INTERNET….NOW, SUTTIN SEEMS FISHY HERE…..ID B WRONG TO START PUNCHIN MUTHAFUCKAS IN THE JAW BONE (AND IM REALLLLY NOT A VIOLENT PERSON, I HATE VIOLENCE ACTUALLY) BUT DATS HONESTLY HOW I FEEL RITE NOW….PEOPLE R TAKIN SUTTIN I CREATED, SUTTIN DATS SPECIAL TO ME AND PUTTIN IT OUT CUZ THEY WANT TO…'

and on Dec 30th Cudi said this:

'I WASNT SAYIN I DIDNT LIKE THE CROOKERS REMIX OF MY SONG (I LOVE DAT SHIT ACTUALLY), I WAS ONLY MAKIN REFERENCE TO THE MUSIC VIDEO…

AND ALSO, AFTER SEEIN PEOPLE EMBRACE THE VIDEO IM NOT MAD ANYMORE…JUS A LIL DISAPPOINTED THAT SHIT WAS HANDLED WITOUT MY CONSENT….BUT WATER UNDER THE BRIDGE I GUESS'...

I wrote a post here in October championing Kid Cudi's work. I was aware that there was some trouble with the video for Day 'n' Night - Mad Decent mentioned it here. However, I realised the video must have been approved, after viewing it on the Box over Christmas.
I saw Kid Cudi as an artist that would not compromise his work - I am disappointed.

CUDI - HOLD MY JAR - I'M GONNA DANCE WIV DIZZEE.

Kid Cudi Vs Crookers - Day 'N' Night (2008)

Guru Josh Project - Infinity (2008)

happy holidays

2008-12-22T05:27:00.000-08:00

If I learnt something at piano lessons all those years ago - I would have posted something similar to this....
Happy Christmas - let the gorge fest begin. (if it hasn't already...)

Love A.M.

Living my Life faster

2008-12-15T02:11:00.000-08:00

Living My Life Faster - 8 years of JK's Daily Photo Project from c71123 on Vimeo.

I stumbled upon this on YouTube last night and subsequently went to Jonathan Keller's website.
I have requested a night cream and eye cream from Santa to keep my skin supple, so this body of work kind of interested me - the aging process documented in eight years.

I told you that pork was unclean

2008-12-09T07:17:00.001-08:00

I spotted the above, on a post-box on Ormond Quay, Dublin, after having my lunch at Soup Dragon.

Photo by A.M. - shot on her motorola phone.

bring it on!

2008-12-08T03:39:00.000-08:00

As part of my Rialto Twirler project, and film, Mark Bryan the American Cheer Music producer is coming to Dublin, this Wednesday to make an exclusive remix for the Rialto Twirlers majorette troop. Mark is co-owner of Cheer Music School- where he teaches members of Cheer leading troops all elements of music mixing for routines. He has tutored and mixed Cheerleading Mixes for thousands of gyms across the U.S. His excellence was recognized when the producers of the Cheerleading Film Bring it On (2000, Peyton Reed) asked Mark to mix the music for the routines in the film.

Dr. Jonathan Ilan of A$$quake and I will be interviewing Mark later in the week. This interview will be screened at a seminar/dialogue evening at my studio, in the new year.

Below is a clip of the final routines from Bring it On. Who is better - East Compton Clovers or Rancho Carne Toros???

The Rialto Twirler Project and Film is kindly supported by the Arts Council, Common Ground and Still Films.

beardyman

2008-12-01T05:19:00.000-08:00

I missed Beardyman at Twisted Pepper on Friday, due to other commitments. I heard he was crazy - beatboxing/mixing gabba and various other genres plus adding in some Venga Boys toddler songs. This is only a skill that I can aspire to. Below is a clip of Beardyman on Lily Allen and Friends. I like her interview technique - I don't know why she was getting so much slack from the press and critics.

good vibes

2008-11-29T04:57:00.001-08:00

My favourite shop front - Capel Street, Dublin.
Photo by A.M. taken sometime in 2007.

2.Pac 4 eva

2008-11-27T07:23:00.000-08:00

Demolition progression of Chamber Court, Cork Street, Dublin.
Photo by A.M., today 11.00a.m.

little boots

2008-11-25T04:28:00.000-08:00

I love how Little Boots integrates the stylophone into her track Meddle. She also does a great version of Wiley's 'Wearing My Rolex' - see video below. A star is born.

Little Boots - Meddle (acoustic version)

Little Boots - Wiley's a fun guy and I know it! - Rolex cover

tear the fucking club up

2008-11-24T10:09:00.000-08:00

This Cody Hudson print can be purchased on one of my favourite sites - Turn Table Lab.

thingy

2008-11-20T11:06:00.000-08:00

I've lost my voice, have a killer sore throat, am staring blankly into space for no apparent reason - i am ill. The clip below makes me laugh though. It captures nepotism, egotism and the struggle to succeed..

Heavier than air flying machines are impossible

2008-11-20T10:31:00.000-08:00

Cliona Harmey, Seneca (2006)

Heavier than air flying machines are impossible is an exhibition of video works by artists working in Ireland. Selected by artist-run space Pallas Contemporary Projects, it now returns from Thailand, for its first screening at The Red Stables, Dublin.

The exhibition includes video work from Aideen Barry, Anne Maree Barry, Daren Bolger, Cliona Harmey, Gavin Murphy, Kelly O Connor, and Fiona Whitty.

Saturday 22nd and Sunday 23rd November 2008, The Red Stables, St. Annes Park, Dublin 3
Artist discussion and screening: Saturday 22nd November at 1pm. Followed by reception.

art in the domestic space

2008-11-12T03:50:00.000-08:00

I really like what curators Mary Grehan and Claire Meaney are up to in Waterford. Having previously worked with them on the exhibition Passengers they asked me did I have new work for Trick or Treat. Trick or Treat aimed to explore the domestic space as a context for viewing art. I submitted Anamnesis. In Anamnesis, real and fictitious stories merge, to create a piece of work that could have supernatural qualities. Above are installation shots of Anamnesis and other works installed in Claire Meaney's house, on Wilkins Street, Waterford.

The exhibition also included work from Aileen MacKeogh, Stephen Brandes, Emer Gillespie, Jane McGarrigle, Kim Cunningham, Sean Lynch, Bern Roche Farrelly, Dan Monks, Anthony Costine, Sharon Kelly, Mary Grehan and Claire Meaney.

Oslo Streets

2008-11-10T03:13:00.000-08:00

bike envy

My work was screened here at Cinemateket

Things that caught my eye in Oslo. I cannot recall seeing anyone out of the ordinary fashion-wise, but I did meet a Portuguese guy with a great mustache.

Oslo Screen Festival

2008-11-09T05:50:00.000-08:00

Highlights of the international video art festival included Beside the pond - Min Lan, China and Super Smile - Effie Wu, Taiwan. Both works were quite annoying but perhaps that's the reason I haven't forgotten them. My own work Anamnesis was presented on the second day of the festival. It surprised some viewers as they believed it was shot on 16mm which it wasn't - kudos for me. The best video award went to Coagulate, (2008) Mihai Grecu which was produced by Le Fresnoy. Below is a clip from the film.

Obama!

2008-11-05T03:38:00.000-08:00

Coco Tea's Barak Obama is on Nic James' recent mix. An interview with Nic on the Bodytonic website can be read here . You can also download his mix as a podcast from the Bodytonic site. Swing those hands in the air now.

dolfatimine

2008-10-31T03:55:00.000-07:00

I have been busy documenting the build up to the halloween parade in Rialto/Fatima/Dolphins Barn tonight. The Night of the Dark Angel is a collaboration between the Fatima Regeneration Board, Macnas and the local community. It also has comedian Des Bishop (a resident of Rialto) in a starring role. The theme of the parade is actually quite profound:

the undead are ruling a dictatorship that governs Rialtovania and their mission is to destroy spontaneity, creativity and any sense of enterprise. They enforce this through iron-fist rule and by prescribing Dolfatimine.

Expect alot of zombies, stilt walkers, zany floats and basically terrifying kids that you probably would run from normally, if in Rialto. Above is a promotional tool that E4 are using for Charlie Brooker's Deadset. Go to here and terrify your Big Brother loving friends (if there are any fans left?).

Anamnesis @ Screen Festival, Oslo

2008-10-20T11:26:00.001-07:00

I am going to Oslo this weekend as my experimental short film Anamnesis is having it's third screening at Screen. The festival is the first international video art festival in Oslo. After a brief period of living in Sweden in 2003, it is great opportunity to return to Scandinavia, whilst at the same time presenting my work. The opening party is being held at Sound of Mu (where Irish act Somadrone played during the Summer) Aparantly, DJ Zuzu and DJ Kreismyr will be playing some fresh sounding genres: Central Asian underground, chaabi, Turkish psychedelia, Caucasus-folk, African chaabi, benga, highlife and juju. Should be an interesting weekend.

Survival of the skillful

2008-10-17T07:14:00.000-07:00

After the recent discussion on specific 'Irish' dance moves here it seems only fair that I share zombie survival tips from Max Brooks. Brooks wrote World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War which has self-contained stories from various people about the war between the human race and zombies. World War Z begins from the point of view of a Chinese doctor witnessing the first cases of a plague that seems to mysteriously resurrect the newly deceased as infectious cannibals. Within a year the world is full of packs of ravenous undead. Americans flee to refugee camps in Cuba whilst Europeans transform medieval castles and weapons for defense. Ireland and Cuba seem to be self sufficient due to their island status, however, these zombies can swim and frequently attack boats at sea and even submarines - no where is safe.

Below is a clip of Max Brooks speaking at a university in America. The clip does not really contain any crucial survival tips but gives you an impression of the passion Brooks has for his subject matter. My tip is to brush up on your d.i.y. making skills. Unfortunately education/music does not help when killing or protecting yourself from zombies.

Coffee Pot

2008-10-09T10:36:00.001-07:00

I didn't realise the popularity of Cajmere's (an alias of Green Velvet) 'It's time for the Perculator' until I had a search on You Tube - it's a big wedding track apparently. It is also my new ringtone. I saw the first funny below on Mad Decent and then found the other clip as my search widened. The girl in the second clip is really doing the perculator dance 'properly'.

I am going to a Majorette Competition in Tallaght this Sunday (not as a competitor... as part of my documentary Rialto Twirlers) so I will be looking out for any 'percolator' type dance moves. It might be interesting to know what dance moves Irish girls practice outside of organised groups like the majorettes. Do kids here do the rolex sweep - or is that simply a U.K. phenomenon? American and U.K. youths seem always eager to put their dance moves on You Tube without embarrassment. I'll make it my mission to find some information regarding what Irish teens do on Sunday.

Butterfly's Wing

2008-10-08T04:16:00.000-07:00

Mercury Rev - Butterfly's Wing (2008)

This is beautiful. I found it on Pitch Fork and whilst I wouldn't normally listen to Mercury Rev this strangely hypnotic video has got me kind of interested. A cat with butterfly wings flies through landscapes akin to those in Hero or Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, this hybrid creature subsequently submerges into the hidden depths of the sea.

The piece is directed by Dirty UK a collective that specialises in high end 3D and 2D animation. Dirty UK have directed videos for the Magic Numbers and The Fratellis (bands I don't listen to either) and completed post production on Chromeo's Bonafied Lovin. Butterfly's Wing is certainly bringing the collective some well deserved attention.

Chromeo Bonafied Lovin from VICE Records on Vimeo.

dance to start the party

2008-10-07T06:22:00.000-07:00

International Dance Party! The full length video of this crazy and funny party machine! from Niklas Roy on Vimeo.

The interactive machine International Dance Party is a complete party in a box. With its internal radar, the machine senses and evaluates dance activity of surrounding people and transforms into a mobile disco the more the audience dances. I doubt this invention is going to cause a stir in club promotion but it could work at a festival/art party - you can rent it soon via the website.

hot boy

2008-10-02T14:13:00.000-07:00

KID Cudi's music is described on his official website as 'the next level of music in our generation and for generations to come'. Cudi (originally from Cleveland, Ohio) fuses alternative rock, hip hop and occasionally R & B, to form feel good and emotionally honest records. He is signed to Fools Gold (A-trak's label) who also work with Chromeo, Jokers of the Scene, Kid Sister and Nacho Lovers, to name just a few. I think Kid Cudi is about to explode in popularity, his music is great, he looks hot and seems really likeable especially when compared with musical predecessors such as Tricky. Below is an Kid Cudi interview with the wonderfully named Gak City and click here for a link to his mixtape.

Sound Wave

2008-10-02T04:06:00.000-07:00

Jean Shin - Sound Wave (2007)

Jean Shin's Sound Wave can be currently viewed at The Museum of Art and Design, New York as part of an exhibition 'Second Lives'. Shin is best known for transforming left over objects such as computer keycaps, glass bottles, lottery scratch cards, perscription bottles into into site specific installations.

Records were melted and sculpted to form a cascading wave, dotted with bursts of colorful labels. The resulting structure speaks to the inevitable waves of technology that render each successive generation of recordable media obsolete. The piece also aims to physically manifest the ephemerality of music as well as one man's musical tastes, as represented by his personal record collection.

Now you know what to do with your record castoffs. Personally, I like holding a record, fingering through them, casting them aside until I select the right tune to put on my Fidelity record player. I still download music, listen to it on my ipod but there is something more precious with the latter action I have described. Shin's piece is gimmicky but kind of fascinating to look at - there is a sense of some kind of loss. When I looked at her previous works on her online portfolio I realised there is more depth in her work, than I initially thought.

Nic James - Club Rap Mix for POGO

2008-09-27T06:47:00.000-07:00

Here is the new Nic James mix-tape recorded for his Saturday night residency at POGO. Download it here (YSI) it's cool.

Tracklist:

Tittsworth feat Kid Sister and Pase Rock – WTF

Fully Fitted/xxxchange – 100 million

Wiley – Wearing My Rolex

Santogold – Shove It (Switch mix)

Steve Angelo & Laidback Luke - be (dj Sega remix)

Evil nine – All the cash (Mumdance Remix)

A-Trak – Say Woah

South Rakkas Crew – Get Mad Again (dj Sega remix)

Elephant Man – We Ketch Dem

Fambo – Pon Di Pole

Mr. Evil – She Waaah

Sean Paul – Don’ tease me

Thunderheist – Jerk it

Say Wut – Go Part 2

Top Billin – Starlyte

Treasure Fingers – Cross the Dancefloor

Treasure Fingers – Cross the Dancefloor (Curses remix)

The Count and Sinden – Beeper (Fake Blood Mix)

The Count and Sinden – Beeper (A-Track Mix)

Sunship feat Warrior Queen – Quits (Sinden mix)

Lil’ Wayne – A Milli (Scottie B)

Skream – Midnight Request Line

Benga & Coki – Night

Dizzee Rascal feat Bun B & Pimp C – Where’s da G’s

Dude & Nem feat Twista– Watch My Feet (remix)

Jay-Z feat Bun B & Pimp C – Big Pimpin

Coco Tea – Barak Obahma

Anthony B – God Above Eveything

MIA feat Bun B & Rich Boy – Paper Planes (remix)

ba bye

2008-09-25T06:39:00.000-07:00

Season Five of The Wire is coming to an end on TG4. I keep missing episodes but I just got the DVD in the post so I'll be filling in the gaps over the weekend. I am really looking forward to watching it despite having discovered some distressing plot points regarding Prop Joe, Omar Little and Jimmy McNulty. I am currently attempting 'Wire-amnesia' and expect I will be left aghast when I actually watch the scenes...

David Simon was in Dublin recently giving a talk about the Wire at the IFI. I would have liked to have attended but at the time I was getting a bit tired of hearing about the Dickensian brilliance of the Wire, although, it would have been great to hear Simon discuss non-Wire projects - he is an inspirational writer.

I think the avalanche of positive press that arrived with the start of season five jarred a little with the slightly strained serial killer plot and the increasingly irritating McNulty and Freemon. I'm hoping the hype I've heard about the final episodes being some of the best ever proves to be true - I should know by about midnight on Sunday...

Below is a clip from the Washington Post as part of Down to 'The Wire': It's a Wrap for Gritty TV Series - the full article can be read here

Cosmopolitan Bass

2008-09-24T14:42:00.000-07:00

Trellick Tower, West London. Designed by Erno Goldfinger
Photo by A.M. (aug 2008)

Ghislain Poirier released Cosmopolitan Bass (Zshare) here on September 9th. I was reminded of this mix from my previous post Brooklyn/Crumlin. The mix brings back, fond memories of Carnival (and more) as it has an eclectic mix of hip-hop/ragga/bass and more from all over the world : Montréal, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Jamaïca, Sweden, France, Burkina Faso, South Africa, Haïti, Barbados, Trinidad, UK, Senegal etc. (ra ra)

Tracklist :

1. Smockey - Relaxe, c'est ici le paradis feat. Dicko Hamadou
2. Danny Breaks - The Jellyfish
3. Nickodemus - The Global Village
4. Smockey - I-Yamma
5. Aloe Blacc - Patra Mia
6. Frer 200 - Ce mec
7. Admiral T - Otantik (Ghislain Poirier Remix)
8. Mali - Métrizé tchad aw
9. Chedizek - Me Nah Run (No Borders Riddim)
10. Sixtoo - Jackals And Vipers In Envy Of Man : Track 2
11. Ghislain Poirier - Mic Diplomat feat. DJ Collage (Remix)
12. Daara-J - Dub Plates 2
13. Raggasonic - Original feat. Desmond
14. Rodney P - The Nice Up
15. Imposs - Mwen Te Mouri
16. Alison Hinds - Thundah
17. Admiral T - Gwadada (Juice Remix)
18. Tiwony - Ghetto
19. Ghislain Poirier - No More Blood feat. Face-T (Megasoid Remix)
20. Petter - Fresh feat. AFC
21. Peter Miles - One Time feat. Menshan
22. Kulcha Connection - Mem Bagay
23. Timbuktu - Känn Pepp feat. OBFK
24. Admiral T - OK feat. Saik
25. Kulcha Connection - Kanpe
26. Fénomen 10'Gla - Sauter
27. Skepta - Sweet Mother (House Mix)
28. Maskinen - Alla Som Inte Dansar
29. Pepe DJ - New Game
30. Assassin - $$$
31. Skepta - Sweet Mother
32. Ghislain Poirier - Blazin Riddim
33. Tony-O - Durrty Mouf
34. Krys - Big tune du carnival
35. Machel Montano - Madder Than That (Ghislain Poirier Remix)
36. Ego System - Motella feat. Little Freddy, So Fast
37. Criollo - Carnicero
38. Awadi - Rosa
39. Omnikrom - Été hit
40. Mokobé - Mali Forever feat. Salif Keita
41. Sibot - Badder Than feat. Teba
42. Maga Bo - Analyse d'amour feat. K-Libre (Ghislain Poirier Remix)

Brooklyn/Crumlin

2008-09-24T13:47:00.000-07:00

'Brooklyn Anthem' Team Shadetek - feat. 77Klash & Jahdan

Awful video but a track that I have liked for a while. When I am at home in Rialto, listening to it, I like to exchange the word Brooklyn to Crumlin.

'Crumlin, wild like a zoo,
Crumlin, bad man-a-pass thru...'

I do prefer the wonderful Ghislain Poirier's remix of the track - have a listen here.
Boomp3.com

This post is dedicated to Paul Rowley - It's like this in Brooklyn everyday, isn't it?

bull island

2008-09-24T04:09:00.000-07:00

I took this photograph, after my sea-swim last Sunday. The sun went behind the clouds and the sky had a menacing air. There was also a group of teens in the water. I could not help thinking of a water version of Texas Chainsaw Massacre or a scene from George A. Romero's Land of the Dead, where zombies emerge from the sea. Below is one of my favourite You Tube clips, an excerpt from the Italian director Lucio Fulci's Zombi 2.

The Mona Lisa Curse

2008-09-22T08:54:00.001-07:00

The Mona Lisa Curse, the first film in Channel 4's three-part Art and Money season, is a timely polemic by internationally renowned art critic Robert Hughes that examines how the world's most famous painting came to influence the art world. I watched The Mona Lisa Curse before the fantastic Whale night on BBC 4. I did go for a swim in the sea earlier in the day - so i'm not a total culture/couch potato. Robert Hughes does not understand Damien Hirst and harshly critisised him and the buyers of his work. He also cannot comprehend the amount of money his work sells for. Hughes turned a millionaire/buyer of Hirst's and Warhol's work into a babbling teen unsure of why he even purchased the said artists works. This was entertaining to watch but I'm sure the buyer had the last laugh as Robert Hughes exited the room - he has $$$$$$$$$$, there does not appear to be a recession among the rich. Here is Germaine Greer's response to The Mona Lisa Curse which was featured on todays Guardian

Germaine Greer Note to Robert Hughes:
Bob, dear, Damien Hirst is just one of many artists you don't get
Germaine Greer
Monday September 22 2008
The Guardian

Watching Robert Hughes shape up to Damien Hirst has been fun, but it would have been more fun if Hughes had been able to lay a glove on his quarry. The critic swung wildly but the artist was always beyond his reach. Hughes claims to be astounded that Hirst's 35ft statue Virgin Mother could be worth £5m and yet be made by someone "with so little facility". What is touching about Hughes's despair is that he thinks that artists still make things. It's a long time since Hirst actually made an artwork with his own hands. A more cogent criticism of his installations might be that the quality of the craftsmanship demanded by Hirst is really not very good. The shelves and cabinets in Pharmacy (1992) were sloppily fitted and poorly finished, but they still sold for £11m. The first time I saw Mother and Child Divided (1993), with bubbles of gas clinging to the decomposing carcasses of cow and calf, and took a good look at the structure of their vitrines, goosebumps stood up on my skin. I had a momentary vision of the whole setup exploding, showing the onlookers with floods of formaldehyde, shards of plate glass and a blizzard of jet-propelled cow parts.

Hirst is quite frank about what he doesn't do. He doesn't paint his triumphantly vacuous spot paintings - the best spot paintings by Damien Hirst are those painted by Rachel Howard. His undeniable genius consists in getting people to buy them. Damien Hirst is a brand, because the art form of the 21st century is marketing. To develop so strong a brand on so conspicuously threadbare a rationale is hugely creative - revolutionary even. The whole stupendous gallimaufrey is a Vanitas, a reminder of futility and entropy. Hughes still believes that great art can be guaranteed to survive the ravages of time, because of its intrinsic merit. Hirst knows better. The prices his work fetches are verifications of his main point; they are not the point. No one knows better than Hirst that consumers of his work are incapable of getting that point. His dead cow is a lineal descendant of the Golden Calf. Hughes is sensitive enough to pick up the resonance. "One might as well be in Forest Lawn [the famous LA cemetery] contemplating a loved one," he shouts at Hirst's calf with the golden hooves - auctioned for £9.2m - but does not realise it is Hirst who has put that idea into his head. Instead he asserts that there is no resonance in Hirst's work. Bob dear, the Sotheby's auction was the work.

I have known Hughes and liked him all my adult life, but I have also disapproved of him pretty consistently. I was present when he was the after-dinner speaker at the Royal Academy dinner four years ago, when he was so dismissive of any art that was not drawing, painting or carving, that I suspected him of tailoring his speech to fit what he took to be the conservatism of the academicians. I could hardly imagine that he had turned his back on all the most important movements in 20th-century art or that he was still in love with the figure of the great master whose sensibility is finer, sentiment more noble, hand more divinely driven than those of the rest of us lesser mortals. No wonder Jake and Dinos Chapman put so much energy into defacing Goya, I thought, and stumped off home.

Everybody loves it when Hughes goes off on a rant about the schlock of the new, but he is too easily seduced into blaming the wrong people. A Hughes label is crafted to stick fast to its victim. As long as that's only Julian Schnabel, who is gifted enough to survive both over-valuation and under-valuation, there's not much harm done. Hughes's love of Lucian Freud is a different matter, based as it seems to be in a perception of kindredness of spirit. He denies any pretension to moral superiority, but his condemnation of art he refuses to understand is entirely expressed in moral terms, which leaves no alternative but to see Hughes promoting himself and his favourites as morally superior. What he is most impressed by in Freud's work is, after all, its laboriousness. Hughes doesn't understand a good deal of art - doesn't get Basquiat or Baselitz, for example. What is being presented as aesthetic sensibility is, in fact, moralism, of a kind that has always bedevilled innovative artists. Sorry, Bob, but you're a stuckist, after all.

Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited 2008

Dublin Culture Night 2008

2008-09-18T00:34:00.000-07:00

I am giving a talk on 'how music videos are influencing my current collaborative practice' at Studio 468, St. Andrews Community Centre, Rialto, Dublin tomorrow at 7.30pm. This is part of Culture Night. Expect a discussion about Len Lye to M.I.A. and the phenomonon of certain dance moves being uploaded to You Tube i.e. The Rolex Sweep, Dutty Wine, Baltimore club dance moves etc. For more information about Dublin Culture Night visit www.culturenight.ie

'Boyz' M.I.A. 2007

'Trade Tattoo' 1937 Len Lye

new new studio

2008-09-16T16:04:00.000-07:00

I have been awarded a studio project residency at Temple Bar Galleries and Studios in Temple Bar, Dublin. I moved in last week and already feel very spoilt. I have been mostly reading, listening to records and dancing to all my freshest MP3s, on my i-station. There are residential apartments directly across from the studio and a 'ta Ta ta' tourist shop. If anyone has seen me dancing, hopefully you got a good laugh - I probably look like Tom from Sweathearts rather than Amanda. Serious work (not workouts) coming soon - the dancing, is just part of my 'settling in' period.

This record player belonged to my mum in the 80s. It's my new friend and I waited two weeks for a brand new needle for it.

amanduh sweat stain

2008-09-11T11:53:00.000-07:00

I discovered today that Amanda Blank is part of Sweathearts (courtesy of Climaxxx) an imaginative trio, that will try anything for good comedic publicity. They posted some great workout videos last year. I think other band members - Rose and Tom - are the brains behind this project - Sweathearts - Amanda appears blank (sorry) in all of the sweat workout clips - a replacement Amanda also appears in the final work out installment. Below is a clip of their rehearsal art space in Philadelphia and my favourite sweat work out session. One hopes that Amanda will keep doing her own thing, pushing boundaries with her rhymes and dirty reason - I will be disappointed if she goes down the novelty art route. However, Sweathearts are much better than bands with similar traits (e.g. Noah and The Whale) as they are genuinely more fun - however, I just simply like my sound, a bit rougher.

i can kicks burger

2008-09-11T07:50:00.000-07:00

I actually found this on Mad Decent whilst looking at photographs from Major Lazer. Diplo is obsessed with it almost as much as “I like Turtles”. Expect to hear it on a future mixtape from Diplo or perhaps it is the humble beginnings of a new hipster trend? Who can kicks burger higher? Coming to The Bernard Shaw soon....

deadliest catch

2008-09-04T15:14:00.001-07:00

Deadliest Catch was my nickname at the Electric Picnic due to my attire at night - my jacket kept out countryside dampness and helped during the flash flood on Sunday night - I was dry. I had not heard of my name sake - the Discovery Channel programme Deadliest Catch - until last weekend - it follows events that happen aboard fishing boats in the Bering Sea during the Alaskan king crab and Opilio crab fishing seasons. A fifth season has just been commisioned.

'the crew is working in soul crushing temperature's with no end in sight - they are getting closer to the edge'...

Electric Picnic Round up (b) Diplo

2008-09-04T14:24:00.000-07:00

Word from Diplo is that Major Lazer will be happening again next year. I had met him last October after he dj-ed at the Guinness Storehouse, however, on this occasion we spoke more. 'Keep making those videos' was the last thing he said to me - I am suitably inspired. Below a pic of me and him desaturated (we were both quite sweaty and it was the last day of the festival) and a video of balloons that fell from the heavens during his killer set.

99 red balloons...

A.M. & Diplo

bs

2008-09-04T04:27:00.000-07:00

[i don't have time to do a 'flashy' gif]

On Saturday 13th September i will be djing at the stupid hip Bernard Shaw Pub in Portabello, Dublin alongside n n n n nic james.
I'll be playing a post electric picnic poop set including tracks by artistes such as Santogold, Count and Sinden, George Clinton, Benga and Chromeo .

It's everyone's favorite price 'FREE!' so come along early and stay late-ish... set time is 8.00pm to 12.30am.
say hello and buy me a g&t and i'll play your request.

http://www.bodytonicmusic.com/about/bshaw/

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=161476597

Major Lazer

2008-08-27T06:03:00.000-07:00

Major Lazer - Venue

Such a great day. Red Bull know how to put on a free event, or at least know how to pay people who know how to put on a free event. Diplo, Switch and a host of other DJs and MCs played at a skate park beside train tracks on the corner of Portobello and Acklam road. The first tune Switch played was Creator and when the vocal dropped, out came Santi White - the place went crazy. The tunes were too much for the speakers and towards the end the system seemed to blow. Silence for about 15 minuites until the hoot of a passing train was joined by a trademark Diplo airhorn and it all began again. The party ended and everyone headed off into the visual and aural excitment of carnival itself, passing different sound systems every few minutes and losing your friends in the crowds, just because you needed to dance there and then.

Santogold - sings Creator live

Diplo+Switch in the background whilst a beautiful dancer and camera man get close

eye malfunction

2008-08-22T13:30:00.000-07:00

Blk Jks were quite interesting the other night. Their sound was an amalgamation of different genres rolled into one. It actually was quite rock(ish). Not a big crowd there but entertaining none the less. I had an eye-malfunction - where my sight resembled a scene from a nameless film, where the protagonist is wildly drunk/hallucinating and his point of view is out of focus. I was wearing a wink for most of the night, however, I doubt anyone noticed.

for lou (-_-)

2008-08-22T10:34:00.000-07:00

Sweet Peas.

carnival time

2008-08-19T07:37:00.000-07:00

Less than a week to go. The Heatwave is hosting Major Lazer on Monday 25th- a carnival launch party for Switch and Diplo's new dancehall project. The two producers have been busy in Jamaica recording x-amount of Jamaican artists and their album is out soon. (rave man a rave)

If I can get through the crowds, I may also stop by Radioclit's Soundclash system at Dimitri's Pub. Marina Vello will be there - it appears that she is doing quite well since her departure from Bonde De Role. Below is a clip from April at the Old Blue Last.

blk jks

2008-08-15T05:33:00.000-07:00

I am looking forward to this gig next Wednesday August 19th, courtesy of Foggy Notions and the impressionable Choice Cuts team. Diplo has already signed them to Mad Decent. Their 'dub-fuelled psychedelic Afro-blues' should provide a welcome escapism from the dreadful Irish Summer weather.
Click here:blkjks

gardening works

2008-08-14T02:36:00.000-07:00

I was not brought to art galleries when I was a child/young teen - it was to garden centres. It was a Sunday routine that I detested, which surprised my mum as she believed I had a somewhat artistic temperament. I used to walk along the little walls which divided the plantations testing my balance which relieved some boredom. In April, I decided (with the aid of a housemate) to weed the front garden of our house and plant seeds. The Oak tree and scented geranium had been planted by another house mate over 18 months ago but it looked sparse. I planted sweet pea and nasturtiums. I plan to plant violas for some winter colour. Riveting information, but a sort of achievement for me (or my mum - she finally made me understand why one would garden). Some before and after pics below. (The before pic is taken with a motorola phone.)

animal instincts

2008-08-12T15:34:00.000-07:00

Thunderheist, Jerk it. (director Go That)

Santogold, Lights Out. (director Rob 'Whitey' McConnaughy)

Thanks to [dave] at suck my art for bringing That Go's winning entry/portrayal of Thunderheist's Jerk It to my attention. Chicken aside and the soundtrack, it has the some similar shots and energy that I envisage my documentary short with the Rialto Twirlers as having. Thunderheist have a nice blog roll going on in their site which I kind of like:
Thunderheist
A similar fashion animal pattern theme is running through Jerk It and Santogold's Lights Out. I am sure this is all just purely coincidental. Animal print is just so punk rock i guess.

font biter

2008-08-10T05:38:00.000-07:00

Having seen Noah and the Whale's video for 5 years time I could not help think of the font Futura and Wes Anderson's films. Having looked at the video for 2 Bodies 1 Heart, Noah and The Whale are obviously keeping to the same theme as Anderson. They also appear to have the same cast and crew - visually branding the videos. However, it is unmistakably a Wes Anderson trait, although it works with Noah and the Whale's twee folk sound. Typographically, Anderson uses Futura (and altered versions of Futura) as his house font. Though it’s not as omnipresent in The Darjeeling Ltd as it has been in many of his past films (Rushmore, The Royal Tennenbaums, The Life Acquatic), it does appear on some key elements such as the Louis Vuitton luggage insignia and many of the train amenitites.

holiday obsession

2008-08-03T04:34:00.000-07:00

I was obsessed with this escalator in Albufeira, Portugal. A dystopian vision of the future. JG Ballard may like it - a shopping mall fixture intertwined with the landscape, with sudoriferous lobster-like tourists being transported up and down it. The monotony of it is quite inspiring.

holiday snaps

2008-08-01T06:00:00.000-07:00

NEW PROSTATE CANCER DRUG NOT AS GOOD AS 'THE WIRE'

2008-07-30T14:58:00.000-07:00

I found this article on the Daily Mash - The Daily Mash. It sums up the bombardment of articles (especially from the Guardian and Observer, although the Saturday Irish Times magazine had an insightful interview with Aidan Gillen) championing The Wire in recent weeks.

DJ Maxximus

2008-07-05T04:24:00.000-07:00

I am going on annual leave tomorrow. Portugal is the destination - after spending a considerable amount of time there in 2004 and a visit to Cascais and Lisboa in 2006, I am now going further south to the Algarve to a little fishing village - for some sun-baking, eating fresh fish and lots of fruit. After nearly ten days of this routine, I am getting a train up to Lisboa and going to Lux to see DJ Maxximus as a birthday treat. DJ Maxximus is a producer of grime, bass and dub-step who is djing all over Europe this summer. He is bubbling - get ready.
DJ Maxximus

dj maxximus mc soom-t mg 77 mental groove

Darklight Festivities & Paddy Considine

2008-07-05T03:11:00.000-07:00

A great festival this year - high lights include Crispin Glover' s (AKA Crispy Lover, as we fondly called him) slide show performance, Guy Maddin's My Winnipeg (currently showing at the I.F.I.) and Paddy Considine's Screen Training Ireland masterclass. Paddy was in conversation with Michael McElhatton, well known here for his portrayal of Rats in Paths to Freedom. This Q+A should soon be available on Paddy's website which is run by the lovely Gareth Roberts - it also includes a forum where his films are discussed and Paddy is even on there himself...Have a look here:Paddy Considine

A.M. @ The YouTube Salon - Darklight Launch

Simon Flanagan, Paddy Considine, Gareth Roberts

A Grizzly Nic James + Paddy Considine

Paddy Considine flanked by two drunken proteges

Gareth Roberts @ The YouTube Salon

You Tube Salon @ Darklight 2008

2008-06-25T07:02:00.000-07:00

I am delivering a mash-up of my favourite YouTube clips at the Darklight Film Festival Launch at Filmbase, tomorrow evening, at 9pm. Expect clips like the one below and music videos I have already critiqued on this blog. The YouTube salon was an experiment in a communal screening environment inspired by Web 2.0 (user controlled content), and might be a hint of how we enjoy our social cinema time in the future. The director Eoghan Kidney is the driving force of The You Tube Salon at Darklight.

Anne Maree Barry @ Darklight 2008

2008-06-25T06:21:00.000-07:00

Anamnesis (2008) is screening on Sunday June 29th at 2pm at The Light House Cinema, Market Square, Smithfield, as part of the Dark Shorts programme at this years Darklight Film Festival. I have fond memories of the 2006 festival, as my experimental short Covered Road (2005) was the winner of Best Irish Short. My grin was so big that evening that I looked like a South Park character. (not Cartman)

A.M. @ The Bernard Shaw

2008-06-25T05:56:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday went very well. I made people dance which is only a good sign. I had my set quite organised (since I am beginning this new venture) but altered it considerably when people began dancing with gusto. I shall upload a mix of this set over the next few days - my main focus this week is Darklight festivities.

nic james & anne maree @ The Bernard Shaw this sat june 21st!!

2008-06-19T08:05:00.000-07:00

Thats right - club rap connoisseur A.M. is djing with the one and only Nic James this Saturday at the Bernard Shaw, Portobello, Dublin. Get ready for the Nic James 'bounce' as David Kitt likes to call it and from Anne Maree you can expect some rump shaking bump making tunes. Also included is an audio visual installation - interesting cat soldier visuals, air horns and gun shots.
BANG!

No no No No no no

2008-06-18T15:46:00.000-07:00

The second majorette competition of the year was held last sunday - a pom pom event. I have noticed a shift in the music the majorettes' are dancing to - the current trend is rock-a-billy. However, Flo Rida and Rihanna are still quite popular. My own team - the Rialto Twirlers performed to 2-Unlimited's No Limits, which actually sounded good on the old PA system - Or perhaps I had eaten too many sweets and was also tired of repeat plays of Michael Sembello's Maniac (on the dancefloor).

Ice - Cream

2008-06-12T06:36:00.000-07:00

I was over at Suck My Art and [dave]'s post Buff Nuff, with a chuckle-out-loud video of Roots Manuva's new single Buff Nuff, reminded me of one of my favourite tracks of late - Waxmaster's rework of Soft Tigers' Ice Cream. The original version of Mr. Ice Cream and it's video, whilst containing an element of nostalgia and humour similar to Buff Nuff does not have the same impact as the Waxmaster's rework. Have a listen and watch here:

boomp3.com

Soft Tigers - Mr. Ice Cream

Roots Manuva - Buff Nuff

1000 James Joyce Walks

2008-06-11T16:00:00.001-07:00

I went on a James Joyce walking tour last year and my very first blog Tourist in Your Own City describes it. I highly recommend the walking tours, especially if one is a long-term resident in Dublin, as it distances oneself from the daily hum drum routine of walking down particular streets.

Conor McGarrigle's 1000 Joyce Walks is an international participatory art project which will stage 1000 walks, re-enacting scenes from Ulysses, in cities throughout the world to celebrate Bloomsday 2008. Participants will use the Joyce Walks website to remap routes from Ulysses to their chosen city in the world, create a map which will guide them on their walk, document their walk and use the mashup generator to create a record of their walk which will be saved in a searchable database with each mashup being embeddable.

The project is not only a celebration of Bloomsday, facilitating users to re-enact scenes from Ulysses in the tradition of Bloomsday in Dublin (differing in the crucial aspect that these walks can take place in any city in the world and are not limited to the streets of Dublin), but also acts as a tool - based on the Situationist Dérive- to navigate urban space in a new and unexpected way, creating a day of psychogeographical exploration with 1000 interventions in 24 hours across the globe. Joyce Walks seeks to reframe the everyday act of walking in familiar streets by overlaying a virtual layer of meaning onto real space enabling the user to create temporary location based interventions and temporary social spaces which tactically insert themselves into the urban environment allowing users to inscribe a new set of meanings onto the very fabric of the city.

To sign up or contact Conor regarding the project (only four days to go) click here:
Stunned

Studio 468 Move Out

2008-06-11T15:31:00.000-07:00

Everything cleared out...

View from the studio

Studio contemplation view

Studio garden walk ways

My artists residency at Studio 468 at St. Andrew's Community Centre, Rialto in association with Common Ground came to an end last week. I am now studio-less - which kind of sucks. However, my documentary short with The Rialto Twirlers is progressing at full speed - exciting times.

kitty kat jumps

2008-06-11T14:37:00.000-07:00

Steve Reich

2008-06-04T15:56:00.000-07:00

I found this interview over on Pitchfork .I was introduced to the work of Steve Reich in art school by one of my tutors, Sean Taylor, who once gave a lecture on sound and contemporary classical music. Recently, music has begun to inform my practice directly. My documentary short concerning the Rialto Twirlers primarily focuses on rhythm, movement and colour. I have been thinking about the soundtrack for quite a while now and how it will compliment the visual - perhaps by using a continual sound and shifting the rhythm by their hypnotic movements.

Steve Reich:Part One

Steve Reich:Part Two

kitty kat

2008-06-04T15:20:00.000-07:00

My neighbour's cat visits most days. I fed her fresh butter roast turkey from Marks and Spencer's, one morning, and since then, our relationship transformed into food-love (I am her treat feeder). She jumps to my window, from a window at mid level between the ground and first floor of my house. Its a complicated move and quite high but she completes it with ease. I tried to feed her salami from Lidl today but wisely she chose not to eat it. Clever cat.

Competitive Landscapes @ Sara Meltzer Gallery, New York - Screening Documentation

2008-06-03T04:51:00.000-07:00

Screening documentation of Competitive Landscapes at Sara Meltzer Gallery, New York. By word of mouth, a 70 year old Irish woman living in New York, for the last fifty years, attended the screening. Apparently she was heart-broken afterwards - a recollection of a time forgotten in the midst of the urban New York landscape.
Many thanks to the great Joey Huertas - who was my eyes at the screening.

Anamnesis (2008) at Sara Meltzer Gallery, New York

Flow/Loop - Dennis McNulty

Curator Nicky Gogan

Competitive Landscapes - Programme

All pics by Joey Huertas

Paddy Considine @ Darklight 2008

2008-05-26T03:50:00.000-07:00

Words cannot express my excitement regarding Paddy Considine's special Darklight/Screen Training Ireland Masterclass at Darklight 2008. He also is introducing a screening of Shane Meadows' modern masterpiece Dead Man's Shoes, which he co-wrote and stars in. The screening also features Considine's directorial debut Dog Altogether - see clip below. I wrote about the visceral qualities of Dead Man's Shoes in a January post called Docu-fiction and it would appear that Dog Altogether contains similar attributes. Joining Considine at Darklight '08 is Barry Ryan, the Head Of Production of Warp's new offshoot Warp X, who will be participating in a low-budget filmmaking symposium. Darklight have not announced their full programme yet, but their new website with programme highlights can be seen here - Darklight

In addition, I have a plan - which is to get Paddy to autograph my DVD cover of A Room For Romeo Brass and a graphic novel I have of Dead Man's Shoes. Subsequently I will either faint with shyness or babble insanely about how much I liked his mustache in Hot Fuzz.

Paddy Considine Interview at Edinburgh International Film Festival 2007

Competitive Landscapes @ Sara Meltzer Gallery, New York

2008-05-20T15:50:00.000-07:00

Anamnesis (2008) gets its first screening at the Sara Meltzer Gallery, New York, next week.

Competitive Landscapes

........................................................................................................................................................................................................

Recent film and video from Ireland

Curated by Nicky Gogan and Paul Rowley

THURSDAY 29th MAY 2008

Screening starts 6:30 pm sharp

Sara Meltzer Gallery

525-531 W 26th Street, New York NY 10001

www.sarameltzergallery.com

Image: Anamnesis Anne Maree Barry. 2008

In the gallery foyer

Dennis McNulty - flow/loop

Screening Programme

Garrett Phelan - Competitive Landscape

Anne Maree Barry - Covered Road

Christine Molloy & Joe Lawlor - Joy

Vivienne Dick - Saccade

Patrick Jolley - Hereafter

Niamh Murphy - Let me be frank

Anita Delaney - December 2006. Version 1

Anne Maree Barry - Anamnesis

Competitive Landscapes is a collection of moving image works by contemporary Irish artists. The Ireland of today presents us with a radically renovated social landscape - a country transformed by fifteen years of economic boom, unprecedented immigration, and an uneasy peace in the North. Against this backdrop a vibrant art scene has also grown over the last decade. Some of the works in the programme explore the residue of this history, ideas of recall and re-enactment, some collapse these narratives and timelines into contemporary contexts. The programme brings together a diverse collection of Irish artists; from Vivienne Dick who first came to prominence with her No Wave Super 8 films shot in New York in the late 1970's, to artists such as Anita Delaney and Niamh Murphy who are showing their first videos here.

For more information on the artists go to

http://www.desperateoptimists.com

http://www.annemareebarry.com

http://www.garrettphelan.com

http://dennismcnulty.com/

http://www.anitadelaney.net

Curators

Nicky Gogan set up the Darklight Film Festival in 1999 to provide a platform for Irish and international artists and film makers through screening programmes, exhibitions, seminars, and an international touring programme. Nicky worked as curator of exhibitions at The Digital Hub and is a founding member of DATA, the Dublin Art and Technology Association, a development group to encourage creative dialogue between film, art, and technology.

http://www.darklight.ie

http://www.data.ie

Born in Dublin, based in Brooklyn, Paul Rowley works primarily with film, video and photography. He has worked in collaboration with Memphis born artist David Phillips since 1998. David and Paul were recently commissioned to create a permanent multi-screen artwork for LAX airport, and were awarded the Glen Dimplex Artists’ Award, the Irish Museum of Modern Art’s annual contemporary art prize. Paul also won the 2006 Irish American Arts Awards, in both the under 35 category and the overall prize.

http://www.condensate.net

Nicky and Paul’s first feature film, a documentary called Seaview, was shot in Mosney, Ireland’s Coney Island - a former holiday camp which is now used as a holding center for asylum seekers. The film premiered at the Berlin Film Festival in February.

http://www.stillfilms.org

Ghislain Poirier

2008-05-20T14:28:00.000-07:00

J'ai hate de rencontrer Ghislain

Labelled as 'global ghetto tech' Ghislain Poirier djs at Kaboogie, Traffic, this Friday. I included his remix of Brooklyn Anthem - Team Shadetek - on my Missognus Mix. The Montreal-based producer's blend of ragga, hip-hop and grime beats are quite infectious - if this gig is as good as Buraka Som Sistema (Crawdaddy, Oct Bank Holiday Weekend 2007) then I better wear my trainers.

Ghislain Poirier - My Space Link

Ghislain Poirier - Blazin feat. Face T