The Masked Movement
Shout out to me mucka Meeko for linking me up to the recent interview in the Guardian with my main man Alan Moore, in relation to the symbolic use of V masks by participants in the ever growing global protest movement.
Shoutout
Just wanted to make you aware of a project my former Invisible Players colleague, Don Letts, has been commissioned to produce, focusing on the clothing brand, Fred Perry, and its cultural relevance in the UK from the Mods in the 60’s to Britpop in the 90’s, and right up to date via their association with Amy Winehouse, whose designs for the brand continue to be released, with the full blessing of her family, following her untimely death last July.
Mr. Brainwash
LA based Mr. Brainwash has really got the art world in a whirl – some still believe he’s a lucky man who made the grade, whilst others suspect a puppet who can see the strings? Behind all the smoke and mirrors you’ll find the Bristolian street art enigma himself, Banksy, whose wonderful Academy Award nominated documentary ‘Exit Through The Gift Shop’ (2010), casts Thierry Guetta / Mr. Brainwash as an unexpected cause célèbre.
Astrid And The Exis
Stayed in a mad hotel last Friday, the Karim Rashid designed Nhow in Berlin. If you like pink, then this is the place for you – it’s literally everywhere. Not really my cup of tea, all a bit garish and, as someone put it ‘Barbie girl in a Barbie world’, but certainly somewhere you’re not going to forget in a hurry. Described as a ‘music and lifestyle hotel’, you can have guitars and keyboards delivered to your room, and the upper section of the building houses two recording studios, which are run by the company that manage Berlin’s legendary Hansa studio (best known for David Bowie and Iggy Pop’s patronage in 1977 - ‘Heroes’ and ‘Lust For Life’, both recorded there, and ‘Low’ and ‘The Idiot’ partly recorded).
The Mindscape Of Alan Moore
It’s only three months since I blogged about ‘Getting My Dylan On’, setting the wheels in motion for a voyage of discovery that took a turn in a direction I hadn’t anticipated, into the world of ‘Watchmen’ and onto the author behind it, feeding me full of impressions and insights as a whole new vista opened up.
Everything Is A Remix
Thanks to Vinz on the Brownwood forum I came across this fascinating illustration of how nothing created is truly original. Looking at music, film, literature, science and technology, ‘Everything is a Remix’ is a four part series of visual online shorts produced by Kirby Ferguson, a New York-based filmmaker.
Three From Seven
‘Seven Samurai’ (1954), directed by Akira Kurosawa, is widely acknowledged as one of the greatest films ever made. Set in Japan in 1587, it’s the story of a village of poor farmers who hire seven ronin (masterless samurai) to protect them from bandits who will return after the harvest to steal their crops. Kurasawa, widely regarded as Japan’s greatest director, would go on to make other essential movies, including ‘Throne Of Blood’ (1957), ‘Yojimbo’ (1961), and ‘Ran’ (1985), but ‘Seven Samurai’ remained his defining work.
Watching The Watchmen
Having now got a copy of the three and a half hour long ‘Ultimate Cut’ of the film, I know that my original copy of the DVD, an hour shorter in length, is now redundant. The whole problem with making ‘Watchmen’ into a film was how do you cram so much into so little time, so it stands to reason that the longer it is, the more detail you get.
Reading The Watchmen
24 years after it was first recommended to me by my mate Kermit, I’ve finally read ‘Watchmen’, the 1987 graphic novel by the British pairing of writer Alan Moore and illustrator Dave Gibbons. I knew it was going to be something special, so, suffice to say, its right up there for me, a really substantial piece of work with its powerful cast of archetypal characters - take a bow Rorschach, Dr Manhattan, Ozymandias, Nite Owl II, Silk Spectre II, The Comedian, Silk Spectre, Nite Owl and all those in supporting roles who collectively served to knit together what’s been for me, in these past few weeks, an ever-unravelling gift that keeps on giving.
All Along The Watchmen
It’s funny on how one thing can lead to another – those seemingly unrelated connections I’ve previously mentioned colliding to reveal exciting new avenues of exploration. Following on from my recent ‘Getting On My Dylan’ post (https://blog.gregwilson.co.uk/2011/06/getting-my-dylan-on/) I finally got around to watching the film adaptation of the classic Alan Moore / Dave Gibbons graphic novel, ‘Watchmen’.
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