This funny shot was taken when Roel van Tour helped me out with photographing the persuasion of depersonalization series for my Han Solo show some months ago.. Thanks Fret!
Niels Post, a friend I might have mentioned earlier, had told me about this new zZz video. I don’t want to start a moral argument here, but stuff like this tickles my senses. Now I’m not particularly fond of animals fighting just because humans think that’s cool. But just looking at the way the video tells the story of two men (zZz) in their studio or rather Art Laboratory, experimenting a lot with the forms two fighting cocks make on white paper when covered in paint, seems to justify the whole thing. Please notice that once again the Helvetica typeface seems to do its job and kind of smoothens out the horror taking place right on top of it. (One can organize a gang rape and get away with it only by seeing to it that the gang wears matching uniforms with the right words –preferably ebroidered– on carefully selected areas of the uniforms set in Helvetica (Bold). Apart from the fight being not really exciting (sometimes it looks like a somewhat friendly fight), it’s a pretty ok video and it ‘inspired’ me to writing this post on aesthetics vs. morality.
Weird how the senses work. When Niels had told me about the video I responded that I’m not too much into cock fights or any animal fights whatsoever, but immediately thought about the time me and the family (I was probably around twelve or so) went to see a bull fight somewhere near the french Pyrenees. Members of my family who shall remain nameless got into an argument about it as the whole thing was presented by a family member as ‘a bunch of guys goofin’ around and jumpin’ up and down the arena’, but in real life was as close to an actual spanish rite as could be. I was just plain struck by the danger and excitement downstairs in the arena. I don’t think we saw the whole thing (the actual killing), ’cause by that time the most emotional member of my family seemed to have ‘won’ an argument and we were safe and sound in the good old Citroën (french car) we drove back then. My guess is that if there hadn’t been a debate about it, I would have just sat there in awe until the very ending. I thought it was just awesome. The killing of that gruesome bull just felt fundamentally right. And who’s to say it isn’t, except for the opinionated masses?
So while understanding the attraction of witnessing animals getting killed by humans, my theory is this: If you don’t dig dog fights, why enjoy cock fights? or any set fights between two animals? I recently saw a guy feeding a praying mantis to his pet tarantula on Youtube. It was actually very lame, the mantis wasn’t much of a match for the spider (duh!). Still such a fight reminds me more of dog fights and cock fights than the bull fight I just described. I don’t know, a bull fight (as unfair as it is) feels less nerdy than one between two animals without actual human participation. I guess the next zZz video should be: the guys of zZz fighting bears covered with paint on top of a white blanket. I’d like to see ’em get it on. Or how about them fight each other? On meth maybe?!? I’ll come and drive them apart right before they kill each other myself. Hey, I wouldn’t want that to happen, their music kicks fucking ass!
The otherday I was checking out the SingerSweatShop in Rotterdam, which was great fun twice. So go there in the future. It is based in the first building which was build after the war on the Hoogstraat. Inside you can stil see the Letter S in stained glass. The S from the firm Singer. The entrance of the SingerSweatShop is located at the Zijl. Somebody told me that (that the entrance is there), and then he told me, that nobody knows where the ‘Zijl’ is. I replied well I know, cause my grandma used to live there before the war for a while… laughter.
Well this was history lesson number two of the Dutch Rotterdam GZA canon.
Can’t wait to see the film Der Baader Meinhof Komplex, which is about the left terror movement Rote Armee Fraktion (RAF) during the 60’s and 70’s in (West) Germany.
Late 70’s and early 80’s we had the RAR (Rock Against Religion) in Rotterdam, as you can see above on the picture. Only the difference was that they didn’t use any violence, it was more a gimmick.
The church was the burned down ‘rooms-katholieke kerk van de Allerheiligste Verlosser’ (in Rotterdam Crooswijk). Now it is a studenthouse complex.
The YES exhibition was supposed to end last sunday, but because of its gigantic success another whole week has been added to its existence. So, if you got a six pack and nothin’ to do visit showroom MAMA on the Rotterdam Witte de Withstraat and see what you think of it.
Thank you: Jan de Bruin@Ketel TV for diggin’ up the original files to this clip.
This saturday there’s a swell party at Zaal De Unie as the ConClub throws a good one starring Panico (a wild band from Chile), Parisian DJ/musician Cosmo Vitelli, In Flagranti (New Yorkian), dutch performance artist Gabriëlle Barros Martins and the film ‘Wild Combination’ about disco avant-freak Arthur Russel. Enough reasons to show up. Limited tickets available thru the ConClub website.
campaign design (HuMobisten, 2008)
client: Int. Film Festival R’dam & Kunstgebouw
October / November 2008
We were asked (for the fourth time) by the International Film Festival Rotterdam and the Kunstgebouw to design an identity for their annual educational project called ‘Meet the Maestro’. During MTM, a super talented and obstinate film director will be the focus of attention.
When it came out I already wanted to say something about this beautiful album, but then I forgot and there wasn’t a real reason in quite some time. As if I need a reason?! Well, I guess I somehow do. Anyway, what better reason than letting you all know about the Edison, a prestigious musical award, Benjamin Herman recently won for his album ‘Campert’. An album based upon the original score Herman made earlier for a documentary my friend Jeroen S. Rozendaal had been working on named ‘tijd duurt een mens lang’ about dutch poet and writer Remco Campert.
Many people know Herman as being the band leader of his legendary New Cool Collective and NCC Big Band, but the alto saxophone player Herman is above all a jazz cat. He’s the only young musician I ever heard who’s able to combine modern jazz with a sort of nostalgic or pure feel one has when listening to jazz dinosaurs Ben Webster, Charlie Parker or especially Sonny Rollins (who I admit is least of a dinosaur of the three but who still is born, unlike Herman, in the year 1930). His influences notably vary from Jaki Byard and Mischa Mengelberg to Defunkt’s Joseph Bowie or James Chance, but I somewhere overheard he recently is into Fleetfoxes as well. So I guess why he‘s such a great musician is pretty obvious: he simply loves all music, a quality seldom seen by at least the jazz musicians I know.
The moody ‘Campert’ reeks of fallen autumn leaves, stifled heart ache and the joy of einzelgangin’ and is already being compared to legendary jazz soundtracks like Miles’ ‘Ascenseur pour l’Echafaud’ and such, but it reminds me most of all of Gato Barbieri’s Soundtrack for ‘Last Tango in Paris’ (orchestrated by Oliver Nelson). Anyway, it’s just a really, really awesome record which can be played at least four or five times a week when the wheather’s right. Much respect for all musicians, but extra special credits go out to piano player Gideon van Gelder who genuinely plays with the subtlety of someone who does little, but is probably capable of lots.
