Art exists as a separate world since anything whatsoever can belong to it. This is precisely one of the arguments of this book.

Got Jacques Rancière’s new book Aisthesis: Scenes from the Aesthetic Regime of Art. I have to say that I’ve never really paid any attention to Rancière. In fact I don’t think I’ve ever finished any of his books that I picked up (sometimes out of curiosity, sometimes due to some research interest). This is appears to be some final word on the subject matter, so it could be interesting.

Listening in Paris

Whoever did this great service to humanity deserves a medal – great book on music and culture: Listening in Paris. One of the few books I have read cover to cover. Enjoy!

Dariusz Zejmo, ‘Venice’ 2011; oil on canvas; 39.5in x 39.5in

 

Here (and it’s only $2475)

Jeremy Mann, “Composition 133” – Oil on Panel – 36 x 36 in. – 25 CPW Gallery, New York

 

More art here.

Odilon Redon, Apollo’s Chariot

Kurt Schwitters, Elikan, 1925

I was just listening to this on the way to work – makes for a brilliant calm drive! My other favorite record is this and also this…

Articulate Silences

Italian composer Giacinto Scelsi is one of the most enigmatic and intriguing figures of 20th century music. Having suffered a breakdown following the Second World War, Scelsi began to explore the meditative qualities of sound almost as a form of therapy, sitting for hours at a time at his piano playing no more than a single note. This process of discovery constituted something of an epiphanic juncture in his musical development: Scelsi thereafter abandoned the serialism of his earlier compositions, taking this new appreciation of the intricate subtleties of sound as the starting point for all of his subsequent music. Rather than treating individual sounds as isolated, singular points, Scelsi’s music reimagines each tone as a pulsating, multidimensional entity, vibrating with mystical energy and sonorous depth.

Composed in 1965, Anahit is perhaps the fullest realisation of Scelsi’s ethereal vision: oblique in its esoteric sonic explorations yet generous in its harmonic…

View original post 624 more words

Today is the tomorrow you were promised yesterday…

There is something incredibly awesome and terrifying about totalitarian art (Boris Groys’ theories aside), isn’t there?

No Privacy

Bay area artist Lucas Murgida in Ghent, Belgium. Video here. Here’s the artist’s statement:

I added a mirror to 2 of the public/private male urinals in the city of Gent. Passers-by will get to share in the joy of public urination as a unwitting man relieves himself.

Yves Klein: Leap into the Void

Because I’ve always  liked this photo very much I thought I’d post it.  For some reason it seems very apropos to do so today.  Blech…how cryptic. Anyway, do have a look at this excellent resource, the Yves Klein archives.