Jon Balke
I just purchased two albums of the group Batagraf, which Jon Balke is the leader. It is called a percussion group and fuses percussion, vocal and electronics. Nice stuff. Batagraf on Presto Music
Arts
Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!
Finished this “classic” a few nights ago. Feynman is quite a story teller and if you haven’t read this and like zany, bongo playing Nobel winners, it’s for you. I wasn’t sure what to expect but he writes in short stories about his life and his opinions on a lot of subjects, he is brilliant … [Read more…]
Disruptions : stories by Steven Millhauser
Disruptions : stories Steven Millhauser 12/15/2023 This collection was my first book by Millhauser and I liked it a lot. He has a unique viewpoint, mostly 1st person narrative and the scenarios he creates are quite bizarre. The story “After the beheading” is, as many of his stories are, set in a community. This one … [Read more…]
Loosed upon the world : the Saga anthology of climate fiction edited by John Joseph Adams.
Comment on the genre of “climate fiction,” which now, in late 2023 is pretty well defined, this entry suggests it has been around for centuries but gained momentum around 2010. Cli-Fi (Climate Fiction) The Wikipedia entry for Climate Fiction contains this: “Technologies such as climate engineering or climate adaptation practices often feature prominently in works … [Read more…]
Out of Bounds: Japanese Women Artists in Fluxus
A review of a Fluxus retrospective from the New York Times. Through Jan. 21 at Japan Society, 333 East 47th Street, Manhattan https://www.japansociety.org/arts-and-culture/exhibitions/kazuko-miyamoto
Video tape wrapped bamboo pole installed – 10/01/2023
I have had this very long bamboo pole for almost two years, I’d estimate it at just under 30 feet. Today, I wrapped it in video tape and attached two long streamers. The video tape was from one of the old style 8 hour video cassettes and there was still about 1/4 of the reel … [Read more…]
The Art of Hamad Butt
In The Guardian is an obituary of artist Hamad Butt and a review of his work. Fascinating and dangerous, Butt was one of the Young Brits who, having died in 1994 of AIDS, didn’t receive as much exposure as his peers. So why haven’t we heard of Butt before? His lack of visibility is … [Read more…]
Books in 2023
Last half of “Bleeding Edge” by Thomas Pynchon 01/06/2023 – Done – enjoyable. Checked out “Rising : dispatches from the new American shore” by Elizabeth Rush from the library – good account the present impact of rising seas on a few areas in the world and a cautionary tale about the future. She’s an excellent … [Read more…]
Michael Snow, Prolific and Playful Artistic Polymath, Is Dead at 94
He was a painter, a musician, a photographer and a sculptor. But he was best known for experimental (and often contentious) films like “Wavelength.” New York Times, Jan. 6, 2023 “I am not a professional,” he declared in a statement written for a group show catalog in 1967. “My paintings are done by a filmmaker, … [Read more…]