Banksy’s Anonymous Call for Action

Here is a research paper I wrote for my Writ 340 class... enjoy? (I am usually uncomfortable sharing my writing, so I am impressed that I actually posted this.)



I found this video after I wrote my paper. It is an interesting companion to my paper.

As a result of globalization, consumerism has defined a new economic model that thrives on the specificity of supply and demand. This public consumption has challenged many products including art, which has far departed from traditional subjects and presentation spaces in order to offer accessibility to the general public. This departure has established new artistic narratives rooted in the method of display paired with the subject. Due to the increased access and production of art there is an excess of artwork. This mass production creates a constant visual spectacle for the masses. This is seen through most products like shirts or magazines, and also public spaces like billboards and public transportation vehicles. This visual spectacle has been acknowledged by theorists and artists alike, and now creates the new dilemma of how to wade through the mass production for an established meaning often clouded by advertisements. Guy Debord, a Marxist theorist, acknowledges how consumerism is defined by the spectacle, and how with the rise of this consumerist culture, the social experience is defined less by production and more by marketing and mass consumption (Debord 12). Art is abused for the purpose of this spectacle and when paired with institutional “relations of power,” recognized by French philosopher Michel Foucault, the public suffers from exploitation in order to serve economic and social interests (Clifford 139). But this exploitation remains primarily because of the masses’ inaction and indifference to the established systems.

Banksy, an anonymous British graffiti artist, has found a successful solution to this dilemma of power relations and visual spectacle that has resulted from mass production and the established structural systems. He uses graffiti art that is controversial both in subject matter and application to express his criticism of this current system. Banksy boldly calls attention to this spectacle and the political establishments of modern society through the practical use of graphic silhouettes and iconographic imagery in public spaces in order to address the frequent exploitation and inaction in society.

Banksy’s work is well known but he remains anonymous in order to focus on the narrative of his work and not its author. Consumerism runs on branding, by-lines, and labels in order to sell an object through public identification. There is a huge emphasis on the value of a name so Banksy’s anonymity not only brings intrigue to his work but also emphasizes his purpose of recognizing the spectacle that results from mass consumption. There is little the public knows about Banksy’s personal life, but his political and social opinions are clearly expressed through his artwork like in his Happy Chopper piece, Fig. 1, where he adorned a war time helicopter with a bow and a cheerful phrase in order to create a satirical image that allows for public shock or recognition of the negative subject (Banksy, Wall and Piece 38).

Fig. 1. Banksy, Happy Chopper. 2003. Wall and Piece. Banksy. New York: Random House UK, 2007

Banksy has created other, similar images that target political institutions, human crimes, and mass consumed products. Though anonymous, he maintains an active website (see <http://www.banksy.co.uk>) and he has published a book in order to make these critical images even more public than they already are.

Banksy began his graffiti art at young age, and with his experience and he learned how to perfect his techniques, like silhouetting, allowing for his current success in conveying his ideas. In his book, Wall and Piece, Banksy recalls a time when he was eighteen and almost got caught trying to paint “LATE AGAIN” on a passenger train (Banksy, Wall and Piece 13). While hiding from the cops he saw some stenciled text and realized that stencils would improve his graffiti time and allow him to make large bold work that would easily express his ideas. From that point, Banksy perfected his method of graffiti through the development of silhouette-like art. In 2001, Banksy began receiving international attention because of his public stencil work that revolved around “creating art that interacts with its environment - and usually with a satirical, often political, bent” that “exists somewhere between Marcel Duchamp and Houdini” (Fahy 4). James Fahy is accurate in his characterization of Banksy. Banksy is defined by his unconventional methods and critiques of production like Duchamp, and with his Houdini like skills he covers public canvases with his political satires. This description is mildly obscure, but then considerably specific considering the anonymity of Banksy.

These characteristics along with his anonymity provide a unique dimension for establishing a public narrative filled with questions and irony. Banksy states that “it takes a lot of guts to stand up anonymously in a western democracy and call for things no-one else believes in – like peace and justice and freedom” (Banksy, Wall and Piece 35). Though a hyperbolic statement, it is part of his manifesto to call attention to abuses in culture whether it is exploitation or inaction. There are other people in the world who preach similar ideas, but few have successfully expressed this through art in a way that is absorbed by the public as something more than artistic spectacle. Graffiti art is risky because of its illegal nature, but the risk allows for a public image that will gain many spectators.

Banksy’s art criticizes injustices in society and his covert actions reinforce his messages. Michel Foucault recognized that through the disciplinary training of a political system subjects will act in accordance with the norms to serve economic and social interests (Foucault). It is an established society that exploits the individual and allows for institutions to grow, like the fear created in the panopticon, an architectural figure developed by Jeremy Bentham (Foucault). The panopticon is a prison-like structure and within the structure there is an area where it is possible to survey every prisoner, but the prisoners cannot see the guards making it impossible to identify when one is being watched (Foucault). This fear and uncertainty is the reasoning behind why the general public does not violate governmental laws. This same government fuels monopolies and subordination, eventually leading to public inaction and numbness. Banksy sees the injustice in this fear and as a result creates images like Fig. 2 where a British Royal Guard, the Queen’s guard, is peeing on a wall in order to question and ridicule the system and it’s power.

Fig. 2. Banksy, 2002. Wall and Piece. Banksy. New York: Random House UK, 2007

Banksy challenges the state’s exploitation and the public’s inaction through his work’s humor and irony to identify injustices. These are large claims, but the general “relations of power” that Foucault calls attention to is present in multiple scenarios and Banksy addresses this relationship by displaying his art in multiple locations in order to publicly encourage action more broadly. Banksy cites the following Emo Philips quote as his personal manifesto:

When I was a kid I used to pray every night for a new bicycle.
Then I realized God doesn’t work that way,
so I stole one and prayed for forgiveness. (Banksy)

The quote is both simple and direct, like his art, and it is precisely what Banksy emulates in his work, movement for change rather than inaction so wrongs can be identified. Banksy recognizes that “A lot of people never use their initiative because no-one told them to,” so Banksy has become a guerilla street artist in order to be a driving force to encourage action or at least recognition of certain conditions (Banksy, Wall and Piece 21).

Banksy presents his political messages through a variety of artistic mediums, but his most well known work is his graphic silhouette-like graffiti. The use of silhouettes in Banksy’s work is essential considering the risk of graffiti art. With experience, Banksy has found that stenciling silhouettes expedites his work and provides him with more opportunities and locations to adequately display his satirical work given the risk. Silhouettes have a diverse history; some historians dating the technique back to Egyptian and Greek artistic styles, but despite the complicated history, silhouettes generally remain associated with simple European portraiture and not graffiti (Knipe 206). The name “silhouette” was derived from Etienne de Silhouette, King Louis XV’s finance minister. The minister was highly conservative and his stringent monetary tactics established his public reputation as cheap, and as a result cheaply made things were labeled a la Silhouette (Knipe 204). The value of silhouette portraiture was lost with the invention of the camera, but the technique has remained in art and is now being modified in application as seen in Banksy’s graffiti strategy.

Silhouettes are valuable because of their simplicity and “cheapness”, but they are also important for a spectator’s quick recognition and interpretation of the art. In art, there is often the assumption that more detail is better because it clarifies the subject with specifics. However, minimalist art is reduced to fundamental features, identifying the core of the subject for identification. The clarity of the work is up to interpretation, but with a silhouette, similar to minimalism, “nothing is obscured by irrelevant lines… no figure-ground organization is necessary, nor is any special set required by the observer” (Crowley 303). The “cheapness” of silhouetting, identified with its history, is not only practical financially but it ties back to Banksy’s critique of consumerism and “relations of power” (Clifford 139). This “cheap” graffiti art becomes part of the spectacle and with its content, but eventually rises above and actually ridicules its means. Banksy uses public spaces to display his art, so simplicity allows for quick identification of objects in a fast paced environment. Though easily recognizable, silhouettes can also mask certain elements, creating an evolution of meaning through increased observation. Due to the simple form of a silhouette, people assume what the image is but with a closer look finer details can be realized.

Kara Walker is a studio artist, but she utilizes silhouettes for this very purpose of evolving meaning in a simple image. At first glance, Walker’s work seems romantic and poetic with childlike silhouettes channeling historical caricatures. Her trees set a stage for “stock” characters involved in a fairy tale, but when observed more closely disturbing elements become apparent causing discomfort in the spectator through sad realizations of cliché stereotypes and harmful race and gender realities (Pinder). For example in Kara Walker’s Cut, Fig. 3, the black silhouette appears to be a graphic image of a girl dancing, but then once realizing the finer details the spectator is aware of the suicidal action of the subject cutting her wrist.

Fig. 3. Kara Walker, Cut. 9 April 2009 .

The silhouettes allow for the stereotypical historical associations, but when paired with sexual and grotesque imagery additional narratives evolve. Walker uses recognizable antebellum clothing for quick reads of her silhouettes. Banksy utilizes public icons like Mickey Mouse, children, The Mona Lisa and other similar images for quick recognition like Walker, but also to put emphasis on his unique social commentary.

Banksy uses silhouettes because of the ability for additional concepts to evolve and with his use of contradicting elements he calls attention to current societal conditions. Upon first glance of Banksy’s Bomb Hugger piece, Fig. 4, a cute girl is easily recognized, but with an extended look it is realized that a bomb is in her arms.

Fig. 4. Banksy, Bomb Hugger. 2003. Wall and Piece. Banksy. New York: Random House UK, 2007

Similar Banksy works include: a tank with a megaphone on top, a religious icon with a halo circling a gun, a British Royal Guard spray painting the anarchy sign, and the iconic Che Guevara image repeated but slowly melting away. These images are always bold and eye catching, appealing graphic art for the masses, but the combination of conflicting elements establish critical narratives that identify current conditions. Bomb Hugger critiques current events of war and how war is perceived through the media, affecting children. The Che Guevara piece, Fig. 5, calls attention to mass media and how many people purchase this iconic image on products, but the meaning is lost through the excess of production.

Fig. 5. Banksy. Wall and Piece. Banksy. New York: Random House UK, 2007

Banksy put the collection of images on a bridge above an area in London that sold Che products

These satirical images challenge the viewer to consider the connotations not only of the image but its location, which adds meaning when recognizing nearby landmarks or local historical events. Banksy has artwork in the south that relates to racial issues as well as social problems that were addressed with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina (Banksy). The images are eye-opening and make a strong statement about human establishments. By making these images public they are unavoidable and often shocking considering the circumstances, whether it be the location or the subject. Like Banksy’s particularly controversial piece where he painted a KKK member hanging in a noose on the side of a Chevron station in Alabama (Fahy 4). This strategy is similar to how Debord aimed to redefine conditions in order to show reality. Debord presented a concept called the dérive, which is an example of seeking truth and transforming social order. Acknowledging that spectacles are a denial of life, the dérive aim to wander in order to study a terrain or create “emotional disorientation” to construct “real” situations (Theory of the Dérive 52). They simply do unconventional things to confuse and awaken people to “reality.” Banksy does not believe that people are disillusioned like Debord, but Banksy does believe that his public graffiti can help construct change in action and reaction by awakening people to harsh realities.

Graffiti allows Banksy to criticize and challenge society through his subject and application. Banksy recognizes the controversy of graffiti but believes that “despite what they say, graffiti is not the lowest form of art… it’s actually one of the most honest art forms available. There is no elitism or hype, it exhibits on the best wall a town has to offer and nobody is put off by the price of admission” (Banksy, Wall and Piece 8). Knowing the possible power of graffiti when used appropriately, Banksy even encourages others to participate. For a series, Banksy stenciled traditional type on public walls “legalizing” graffiti like in Fig. 6 (Banksy, Wall and Piece 60).

in order to clearly articulate his statement about “the endless recycling of an icon” and how people wear and absorb revolutionary products but never take any actions themselves (Banksy, Wall and Piece 47).

Fig. 6. Banksy. Wall and Piece. Banksy. New York: Random House UK, 2007

Soon after he stenciled these signs, the walls were covered with graffiti showing the true structural power of public institutions as discussed by Foucault. This series identifies how the masses are aware of guidelines and yearn for extended self-expression but remain idol unless cued to act. Often Banksy displays satirical images to critique wrongs in society hoping to encourage action, but give the existing numbness sometimes Banksy takes the extra step to call for it like Fig. 6 or in similar work where he stenciled text stating, “Designated Riot Area” (Banksy, Wall and Piece 67).

Banksy is widely appreciated, but even those that do not respect his work are unable to ignore his messages because of the techniques he uses that incorporate graphic imagery and public spaces. Banksy has identified his own manifesto but his ideology is more appropriately defined by a quote from the Indian Mystic Osho, “Creativity is the greatest rebellion in existence.” Banksy sees the injustices in society, formed through consumerism and governmental control that spawns a public numbness. Banksy uses his creativity and unique graffiti method to rebel and to encourage rebellion. He adds to the visual spectacle present in society in order to criticize it through his satirical images. His method and his imagery are both ironic in nature to call attention to societies wrongs. Though anonymous he is able to make a call to action or at least awaken the public.

Works Cited

Banksy. 20 March 2009 .

Banksy. Wall and Piece. New York: Random House UK, 2007.

Buzzell, Colby. "I Am Banksy." Esquire Dec. 2005: 198-204.

Clifford, Michae. Political Genealogy After Foucault Savage Identities. New York: Routledge, 2001.

Crowley, Miriam E. "A Puzzle-Picture in Silhouette." The American Journal of Psychology 65 (1952): 302-04. Jstor. University of Southern California. 23 March 2009 .

Fahy, James P. "Breaking the Banksy." Birmingham Weekly 11 Sept. 2008, 12th ed., sec. 2: 4-6.

Guy Debord. “Theory of the Derive.” The Situationist International Anthology. Ed. And trans.
Ken Knabb. Berkeley: The Bureau of Public Secrets, 1981 (no copyright). 50-54, 372.

Guy Debord. The Society of the Spectacle. Trans. Donald Nicholson-Smith. New York: Zone Books, 1994. 11-24

Kara Walker. 9 April 2009

Knipe, Penley. "Paper Profiles: American Portrait Silhouettes." Journal of the American Institute for Conservation 41 (2002): 203. Jstor. University of Southern California, Los Angeles. 23 March 2009 .

"PART THREE: DISCIPLINE 3. Panopticism." Michel Foucault: Panopticism. 22 Aug. 2001. Cartome. 2 Apr. 2009 .

Pinder, Kymberly N. "Missus Kara E. Walker: Emancipated, and On Tour." The Art Bulletin 90 (2008): 640-49. ProQuest. University of Southern California. 23 March 2009 .

we have momentum

One night last year while partying with my next door neighbors the topic of business came up. Usually a taboo subject while having fun, it somehow became increasingly interesting as my neighbors began to reveal their surf business called Momentum. I immediately told Mark and Matt that I am a graphic designer and that I would love to work with them. That night spawned an awesome work relationship that has continued to grow. With Momentum I have designed many (many!) shirts given my primary role as design director, but I also helped in organizing parties and other promotional things. Recently, Mark promoted me to COO, so I will be doing a lot more in the future.

My work may be interesting to read about, but this post is primarily to congratulate the two Momentum founders, Mark and Matt, for being featured in the LA Business Journal!! In the article, these two sexy men recapped their passion for surfing and how it grew into their entrepreneurial relationship. Read the article and be impressed. Go Momentum!

ctrl-c, ctrl-v, Disney

A few sites have recently posted the same video showing a compilation of Disney animated sequences that identify the fact that Disney has character templates. The Dark Roasted Blend blog wrote this about it - "Some sequences were used as templates, and I don't see a problem with that... This is however a valuable glimpse into the animation kitchen of Disney's dream factory." I essentially agree. The Disney animators are only copying their own work, however, it does make you consider some Disney animated classics in a different light. My friend Andrew told me about this video while at Disneyland this Sunday. It shocked me at first, but knowing the difficulty of animation it is somewhat understandable. Also, this video is a reflection of today's society - pessimistic and skeptical. This video would not have been made in the prime of Disney animation. It was too beautiful and precious. I could totally be wrong, and this copying could be a known fact, I just ramble... Either way, interesting video.



Looks like Disney characters have the same dance instructors.

unwigged and unplugged

and undoubtedly one of the best concerts I have been to!

(my photo, I was only a few rows away from them!)

Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, and Harry Shearer recently reunited to go on tour playing an all acoustic show focused on the fictional musicians they created in This is Spinal Tap and A Mighty Wind. I bought the tickets a few months ago when I found out about the tour. I didn't know who I was going to go with, I just knew I had to go. This is Spinal Tap and A Mighty Wind are brilliant mock-umentaries that beautifully combine comedy and great music. I enjoy both the rock and folk music they sing in these films, but above all I appreciate their dry-wit humor and its subtleties. For example in Spinal Tap the same bass notes are played by multiple musicians.

David St. Hubbins: Can you play a bass line like Nigel used to on "Big Bottom?" Can you double that? You might recall the line's in fifths.

These comedians played off this joke when performing for the Live Earth concert with 20 bass players. AKA: "every bass player in the known universe," including Foo Fighter's Nate Mendell and Metallica's Kirk Hammet. The humor in their films/performances not only includes musical satire but their characters also add a huge amount of comedy. For example, consider the shirt below. Here is the dialogue that accompanied this shirt in the film:

[Marty compliments Nigel on his tee shirt]
Nigel Tufnel: You like this?
Marty DiBergi: It's very nice. It looks like hollow wood.
Nigel Tufnel: This is my exact inner structure, done in a tee shirt. Exactly medically accurate. See?
Marty DiBergi: So in other words if we were to take all your flesh and blood...
Nigel Tufnel: Take them off. This is what you'd see.
Marty DiBergi: It wouldn't be green though.
[Nigel points at Marty]
Nigel Tufnel: It is green. You see how your blood looks blue.
Marty DiBergi: Yeah, well that's just the vein. That's the color of the vein. The blood is actually red.
Nigel Tufnel: Oh then, maybe it's not green. Anyway this is what I sleep in sometimes.


I bought this shirt at the concert. Awesome!

The concert contained this kind of humor but everything was "unwigged and unplugged," meaning the men were out of character and the show was acoustic. It may sound less entertaining because their ridiculous characters added to the humor of their films, but actually it was more amusing because it allowed for more comedy and an easy transition between songs. There was no opening act, so the men just came out and began the show.

They started essentially like this:



They performed a good amount of songs including a folksy version of The Rolling Stones' Start Me Up and a sexy jazz version of Big Bottom.





If the songs weren't funny enough, the men included a few little comedy routines, like awarding one lucky guest in the audience a special chance to experience Spinal Tap in 3D. Sounds cool, but it was basically the audience member standing in front of the stage in 3D glasses while the guys performed a song and waved their arms in front of his face. Absolutely brilliant!

At another point in the set they read from a NBC document stating what parts of Spinal Tap were inappropriate to air on TV. They started reading - 5 minutes in... 11 minutes in... The entire movie was deemed inappropriate, understandably in some points, but the document and the way they read it was hilarious.

I enjoyed every aspect of the concert and I laughed the entire time. My face even hurt after. It was a fantastic experience and I could easily write another book post, well, this is already pretty long but I will hold back and fondly remember my night with Spinal Tap! Joel and I deemed it epic!

Here is Keith Olbermann's report of the tour:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

raz the wonder kitten

blog assignment


At USC, I am currently in the Writing 340 class for visual and performing arts. Given that it is a writing class, we obviously write a lot, but one of our most recent assignments was a group project. The purpose of this project is to have people from different disciplines collaborate and create something. Honestly, anything. Several projects were presented this Thursday. Two were films, but with very different approaches and techniques, making it difficult to even compare them.

My group also presented. Our group name is team blAWESOME. It is meant to be a combination of blaw and awesome, but when spoken it sounds like blossom. Unfortunately. We also have two alternative names - The Disciples of Feagin and the Feaginites. Both inspired by our teacher, Feagin, if you couldn't tell.

So, who is team blAWESOME?

Allison the actress.
Brian the filmmaker.
David the game designer.
And me, Katherine the graphic designer.

We were unsure about what to do with all our talents, but after a short discussion we decided to make a video game. Nothing cooler, right?! But we had no idea what the game would be about. We all have very different interests and experiences with video games. We decided to sit on the idea and about a week later we began the most bizarre brainstorming session ever. Below is our thought process. I included this exact copy in our PowerPoint presentation and before I began speaking, the slide was greeted with an eruption of laughter because of the ridiculousness of the content.

OK, here we go:

cats vs. dogs OR pirates vs. ninjas

what about cat ninjas vs. dog pirates?

I want the cats to have wolverine claws! We need laser eyes!
what about an alley cat? roaming the streets? cat in the big city?

what if the cat was frozen and then had to deal with modern times?

like a pre-historic cat?

like a saber-tooth tiger? or kitten!!

And that is how we arrived at saber-tooth kitten.

From there we decided on a basic plot, which Brian refined and greatly improved. There are no longer vampires or pterodactyls in the Arctic.

Now with a plot I could do some design. However, I know nothing about designing video games. I own many, but I have never considered designing for one. I work with text and images. Static things. Sometimes I have to create illustrations, but rarely. Ahhhhh video game art! I wasn't sure where to begin, so I started with my favorite program, Adobe Illustrator, and drew some ice with the pen tool. No big deal. Ice is rigid. My design worked.


But then came the saber-tooth tiger kitten. My tablet is at home so I had to draw with my laptop mouse. Probably the worst idea ever, but I made it, an illustrated saber-tooth tiger kitten! Below is its evolution. I had to rework it because the first one was bug eyed, awkward, and it looked like Garfield. The second one looked a little like Simba, but way less cute. So I merged the two and got our protagonist, Raz!


Wooooo I did a cute little vector illustration! I thought I was done, but then David requested different images so he could make Raz move in the video game. I had no desire to redraw this thing four more times, so I used the direct select tool in illustrator and just moved the legs around. That is why the positions are a little odd, but they worked well enough for the game.


Allison did some character research for Raz in order to prepare for a voice over, but we never actually got around to recording her voice. (With these projects, there is no established end. Presenting unfinished pieces was acceptable).

Then David took all our work and coded a video game. A working video game, well kind of. It has a few kinks. But when we busted out the game for our presentation and played it, the class got so excited. I have never had so much fun giving a presentation. David and I may actually work to complete the video game.

Best group project ever. We are blAWESOME!

it was only Coachesterday...

Finally! Here is my EPIC Coachella recap. Woooooo!
**all photos in this post are mine

I got back from Coachella Monday morning at 2 am and have been busy catching up on school. So sorry for the delay.

I thought it was best to title this blog post with one of the brilliant Coachella puns that Eric, Erin, and I came up with on our trip. (Ok, they aren't technically puns, they are compounded/blended words, but I shall call them puns.) What triggered this manic pun-fest? The new Coachella iPhone app.

Ok back track > before Coachella my iPhone broke. My beautiful white 16 GB techno-gem. The right side of the screen became a worthless dead zone preventing me from unlocking the phone. I could receive calls and text messages but I couldn't do anything about it. My iPhone was in a painful coma. Also, this all happened on my 21st birthday. What a disaster. The next day, the day I was leaving for Coachella, I went to the iPhone store hoping something could be done. I explained my problem and then *poof* they gave me a brand new phone for free. No questions. Replaced. Fantastic! I now had a functional phone so I could contact my friends at Coachella. I went with Eric and Erin but I had some other friends that I wanted to meet up with in Indio. Now, with my new working iPhone I was able to download the Coachella iPhone application. The application included a set times schedule, an interactive venue map, a friend finder, a Coachella photo uploader, and the infamous Coachooser. The application bombed, completely worthless (I used paper print outs for the set times), but it left us with the word Coachooser. Fail. Worst pun ever. So we came up with better ones:

Coachillin' like a villain

Coachellin' like a felon

Coachestery (Paul McCartney inspiration)

Coacheleanor Rigby (Paul inspiration again)

Fauxchella (inspired by the knock off Coachella shirts being sold on the street)

NOchella (inspired by the 3 inch moths we had to dodge at night on our walk home)

Other random ones that simply formed out of the trend:

Coachelementary

Mr. Coachangles (Eric laughed. but Erin booed this one. I love it.)

and more...

There were many I came up with that were utter fails. I almost added Coache- to any word. Kind of like how USC adds SC to everything. SCampus, SCard, voteSCount, and other terrible ones like SCamp. That camp sounds like a disease.

Anyways, so Coachella. Life changing as usual. No big deal.

I spent a fortune on food and water. I got sunburned. My ears were assaulted by loud music for 3 straight days. My legs lost their function from never-ending walking, standing, and dancing. BUT I would do that every weekend because of the pure awesomeness of the experience. I love music, so seeing so many incredible artists in one weekend is ecstasy. I would have suffered even more for the experience.

Here are the bands I saw:

Friday

We Are Scientists
Steve Aoki
The Hold Steady
The Ting Tings
The Black Keys
Conor Oberst and the Mystic Valley Band
Franz Ferdinand
Leonard Cohen
Beirut
Girl Talk
The Crystal Method
Paul McCartney

Saturday

Liars
Drive By Truckers
Michael Franti & Spearhead
TV On The Radio
Calexico
Fleet Foxes
Thievery Corporation
M.I.A.
Band of Horses
The Killers
MSTRKRFT

Sunday

Friendly Fires
Shepard Fairey
Okkervil River
Lupe Fiasco
Lykke Li
Peter Bjorn and John
Yeah Yeah Yeah's
My Blood Valentine
Public Enemy
The Cure

Yes. That is quite a list. Each artist was amazing. I was not disappointed by any of them, well, besides Shepard Fairey. When I saw Shepard Fairey on the line up I was confused. He is the brilliant designer behind Obey. Fairey was recently in the news because of a battle with AP over his Obama image. My response to that would require an entirely separate blog post, but hopefully you read about that. Anyways. I saw Fairey on the line-up and I was super excited, but what would he do? I love the man because of his design. I even own his book, Supply & Demand. Would he do spoken word like Henry Rollins did on Saturday? Live art design? What? Well, he DJs, but very very poorly. He selected good songs, even some great classics. It was refreshing to hear some classic rock mix with modern music in a DJ set, but he transitioned between songs with a few scratches and some poor fades. Terrible! As an artist, I was so happy to see Fairey in person. As a music connoisseur, I was insulted. However, given that Fairey was at Coachella, he designed a limited edition poster for Paul McCartney. He made 500 prints and signed them all. And I bought one!! Eeeeeee so happy!!! Remind me to get that framed.

Back to the rest of the music, the good music. I would review each set, but I saw a lot of bands and reviewing each would take too much time and my blog post would become a novella. Below are a few thoughts about a few performers. Don't judge the selections, it doesn't reflect my favorites. In fact, some of my favorite performances aren't listed below like Franz Ferdinand because there is nothing particularly exciting for me to say besides - that was fantastic, good stage presence, sang some good songs... That is not fun to write or read.

--

Lykke Li is a cute blond Swede with a lot of spunk. She has a great sound and an incredible stage presence, probably even better than a lot of the big bands I saw. Her energy was contagious and Erin and I discussed that we want to be her! We even practiced her dance moves. I honestly forgot she was playing at Coachella and I am glad that Eric and Erin reminded me and we went to her set.

Peter Bjorn and John is always great. I saw them at Coachella two years ago, but this set was particularly fun because it was a "Swedish smorgasbord" (A quote from Peter, the lead singer). Robyn, another Swedish singer, joined the set for a song. Then a few songs later Lykke Li showed up again! Woooo pale white Swedes in the California desert during a heat wave. It was fantastic. A good collection of my favorite Swedish imports minus Ikea.


The Yeah Yeah Yeah's are crazy. We showed up and a giant eyeball was on stage. A+ for set design. When the concert started, Karen O, the lead singer, came on stage in what looked like a metallic fish scale curtain with green tights. It was pretty outrageous, but I could tell she loved it. In fact she barely stopped smiling. Her happiness was adorable. I love when musicians love their job. Musicians are performers, working for the audience, but when they love what they do, their passion comes across and it is generally a better experience.


My Blood Valentine assaulted my ears... even with earplugs. My Bloody Valentine is considered one of the loudest bands in the world. Their performances have ranged from 120 - 132 decibels (from what I have found online). During Friday and Saturday I saw plenty of people wearing earplugs just because of the constant noise they would be experiencing. Those few were smart. I am not too concerned though. When I start losing my hearing there will be bionic ear transplants and I will have hearing like a mouse (apparently they have great hearing). However, on Sunday, things were different. Coachella was even passing out free earplugs. Then I remembered My Bloody Hearing, I mean Valentine, was playing that day. Erin, Eric, and I talked about the decibel level the entire day. We were both concerned and anxious. We eventually decided to stay as far away from the stage as possible but still within view. When they started playing, WOW! So loud and we were easily farther than a football field away. Then they reached their last song and it ended with about 15 minutes of non-stop noise!! Ahhhhh. Good thing I had earplugs.

Public Enemy with Flavor Flav. Enough said. Yeah Boy!!! Hahaha what a joke.

The Cure was incredible. It was exciting to see the influential English rock band along with Robert Smith, the lead singer, and his iconic goth look. They sounded great in concert. I still can't believe I saw them! Just like Heaven.

The Crystal Method was awesome!!!! The electronic music duo mixed up a storm. We were dancing like crazy. I really wanted to see them, so unfortunately we had to leave Paul McCartney for a little bit. I felt somewhat sacrilegious for leaving the main stage, but it was totally worth it. Half way through our time there, two robots came onto the stage. I was super excited. I love robots! Who doesn't? Then after some cool dance moves they took off their suits and it was the hip-hop group LMFAO! They rock the beat and rock the show. In my closest group of friends at SC we always play these two specific LMFAO songs, they are like our anthems. Because of that, I freaked out when they were on stage. Then all my regret about leaving Paul vanished.


Paul McCartney is legendary and so was his performance. However, I feel like he was drunk. Some of the things he said were a little ridiculous. "We are going to ROCK the rooof toonighTT Coachellaaa!!!" Ok. Thanks Paul. He started off with some Wings songs. It was good, not quite what I was expecting. Drive My Car was stuck in our heads all weekend for some reason. I also enjoyed Got to Get You Into My Life. Like I said earlier, we left for a little to see The Crystal Method. Sorry Paul. When we returned he sang Birthday from the Beatles White Album. I am pretty sure he sang that for me. My 21st was the Wednesday before. I forgave Paul for wishing me a happy birthday two days late. During his performance, I heard some of my favorite Beatles songs and he did two quality encores.

Right after the first encore we all thought Paul was done. He walked back stage, then back on, then he started singing Yesterday. Nathan, my friend who was working backstage, then texts me. Here is the exchange:

Nate: He fooled me. Dammit.
Me: Hahahaha. He is such a tease!
Nate: Who does he think he is?
Me: Paul McCartney!

You gotta love The Black Keys! Their performance was great and I think they are highly under appreciated. I love them in particular because they have a classic rock edge that I find so sexy. Most of the bands I listen to are classic rock bands, so it is refreshing to listen to a new band that shares that sound. They kind of sound like Screamin' Jay Hawkins, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and The White Stripes thrown in a blender.

I have never listened to Michael Franti & Spearhead. Well, maybe I have, but I know nothing about them. We went to see them in concert because Erin's alternative hippy mom told us to. When we arrived we felt a great energy in the crowd and we couldn't stop dancing. They created this great warm environment of love and happiness. As lame as that sounds it is true. It felt great being in that crowd. Apparently the lead singer is a peace activist. I felt it.


Fleet Foxes was INCREDIBLE. I would have to say probably my favorite performance of the weekend. The sun was setting, the temperature was perfect, the stage was beautifully lit, and the entire crowd was filled with fans. Given that it is a music festival, often people will venture into crowds to see artists that they don't really know. Sometimes that results in indifferent spectators that don't really add to the energy of the crowd. That often disappoints me because I love the power of music to emotionally change a person and if they don't respond it makes me sad. When Fleet Foxes came on stage I fell in love with the lead singer because of his plaid shirt and his bushy beard. He looked like my guide in Yosemite. I secretly called him Mountain Man. He was amazing. When Fleet Foxes started singing, their haunting harmonies gave me goosebumps. Whenever the lead singer talked, I could tell how insecure he was and it was great to see that kind of vulnerability on stage. All around, it was a beautiful performance. PS - the lead singer Robin Pecknold is only 23! Husband?


M.I.A. was ridiculous. Loud, energetic, insane, colorful, funny, and fantastic. The set and costume designs were great and bold. I particularly loved the glow-in-the-dark accents on the clothing. The non stop dancing was so exciting. The stage was one big giant party, especially when M.I.A allowed a bunch of audience members on stage to dance with her. Security was freaking out. She also gave out horns to the crowd. Sorry correction, she threw out horns and said, "My Lawyer said you will sue me if I hit you." Hahaha she is crazy. She was also an incredible performer and had a great set list. She recently gave birth so I was even more impressed with the outstanding show.


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Well, I am pretty sure I have reached novella length, but here are a few funny anecdotes before I stop writing:

We saw a root beer float vendor at Coachella but it was in the 21 and up food area! Not fair, plus it is root beer not real beer! Eric and I are 21 (both with the exact same birthday!) but Erin is not. In order to get root beer floats we went to the ID check place one extra time and gave Erin our extra wrist band. (Oooh admitting to illegal activity - I am wild). So we got in line for the 21 and up food area and our plan was foiled, they carded Erin again. She talked with security and said, "I just want a root beer float, no beer! I got this band only for that purpose. If you want you can escort me to the root beer float stand..." That didn't fly. Instead she waited outside and we brought the root beer float to her.

We inappropriately called our walk back to my car the "border crossing" because of the dirt road and the fact we had to somewhat squeeze between a fence and a wall to enter the lot. There was an actual entrance but too many cars were moving through it. Unsafe!

I have a ridiculously bad tan right now from being in the sun all day for 3 days.

I laughed at every DJ that mixed music from the musicians that were at Coachella performing live. "Hey DJ, nice M.I.A. song selection. Oh Wait, I saw her live last night. Play something else!!!"

We spotted the worst spelling mistake EVER on a van at Coachella - you snoze you loze. NOchella!! Fail!


There were several fantastic art installations/giant constructed crazy things! Epic high-five!



Ok, I am going to stop writing. Summary: fantastic weekend. A wonderful escape from life and I miss it so much!

seduction assistance

Dating is never easy. In fact it is utterly frustrating. The solution: Sundance Channel's Seduction Assistance. Whether you are a hopeless romantic, a perverted sinner, an emotional disaster, or an aggressive cougar, there is an assistance guide for you. I am an emotionally stable person. I do not have any serious personality flaws besides being a little awkward and strange. However, I am incapable of flirting. My demeanor is unaltered by different individuals. Though an admirable flaw, it is a complete hinderance for dating. Given that fact, I have disected the Seduction Assistance guides and as a result I have gained incredible insight into dating. With my personality, I have determined that the tactical approach is best (below). With my disability, my actions have to be strategic and calculated, and this guide gives me hope. Modern dating needs "high-tech weaponry and expertise," and I am prepared to bring it.

artist's statement

blog assignment


When the people closest to me see an item that is both funky and nerdy sprinkled with whimsy and sprayed with color they always say, "that is so KP." This KP quality is difficult to define but recognizable like when a person has a certain je ne sais quoi. This quality is ever present not only in the items I buy but also in the art I create. I am not implying that my work has that appealing x factor, it just has the KP factor. The reason this factor is sometimes difficult to identify is because I don't have a specific style or medium. I do not have series or work tied together by some artistic motif, instead my work is connected by my personal aesthetic. I am attracted to unique but balanced and simple compositions with clever applications of colors. Being primarily a graphic designer, I am also guided by a subject and a purpose. This additional guide creates a puzzle for me where I have to find an adequate solution for my given project that also fits my personal aesthetic. I design by trial and error in order to find the right KP factor to satisfy my designated end. My technique is very calculated but also very freewheeling, but no matter the means, my end is always colored by KP.

off to coachella >

it's going to be a GREAT weekend.

what I don't want for my birthday

It's my 21st birthday today and a few people have asked me what I want. I don't know what I want, but I can tell you what I don't want...

I don't want a PediSedate.

It is suppose to distract kids with video games while they are being drugged for oral surgery. No game could distract me from that thing on my head. That head piece looks like a My Little Pony Hannibal Lecter mask.


I don't want a Speak n' Spellbinder.

Speak n' Spell + plastic instruments = bad idea.

Dane Cook accurately described the Speak n' Spell in one stand up routine:

"I couldn't spell when I was a little kid, I couldn't spell.
So my parents were all concerned so they went down to the uh toy store.
They bought me a little red box called Speak... n' spell.
You remember that? Speak n' spell?
They shouldn't have called it speak and spell.
What they should've called it was Speak... Like the Devil!"

So, imagine the devil speaking from your Rock Band Guitar. Talk about a cure for a video game addiction. However, I do appreciate the idea.

I am in love

will Paul Rudd.

I have always enjoyed Paul Rudd, even back in his Clueless and Friends days, but this video sold it. I am in love now. It's odd that Sesame Street would do that. Well, they tend to make good things overly cute. Like when Feist was on:



Anyways back to dreaming about Paul Rudd. That video is amazing because -

1. He is wearing an earth costume (GO GREEN!) that only reveals his forearms making his limiting dance moves absolutely adorable.
2. His lip snarl and sexy rendition of "Earth Rocks" trumps those muppets by far.
3. His comedic genius. His subtle actions are priceless. The Huffington Post put it well - "infectious joy and self-deprecation can't help but make you laugh."

His sexy dancing can even make Jon Stewart laugh, a lot.



Random thoughts >>

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Stop the drama over the Obama dog! There are bigger issues at hand. Ahhhh I hate the media. I almost cried during the Inauguration when one station spent a good half hour with a writer from Harper's Bazaar in order to discuss Michelle's outfit. We have a new president and you want to talk clothes? Or remember when Obama was in his "honeymoon" period and several stations covered his diet and his exercise routine. Jon Stewart had a nice response to this earlier this year:

Random News station: "Obama likes herbal tea, trail mix, and guacamole"
Jon Stewart: "We have all been to a grocery store, this isn't news. This is news - Barack Obama eats only bugs."

Thank you. Trivial news is pointless especially during our current situation. Well, then again, this trivial stuff is more entertaining than the economy, and actually it is helpful because the economy runs on confidence and if all the public sees is economic failure then things will spiral out of control. But current news - Pirates! Not awesome, but then awesome.

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So, Sir David Attenborough, the narrator of BBC's brilliant series Planet Earth, has recently become more vocal about the need to reduce the population to help protect wildlife. Predictable but too funny. I do agree, a continuously growing population does have ill-effects on the environment, but their proposals are in line with China, the only different is that they are requesting not mandating a limit to family size. Also, this organization, Optimum Population Trust, is focused in the UK. I am pretty sure that island is not the biggest threat in terms of population and environmental damage. Their three aims all start with the phrase "to advance," but how have I never heard of them before? Hmmmm


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Worst case scenario - you have swallowed the Higgs Boson, the God Particle, what do you do? Follow Michael Rottman's 10 steps or die. This is a real threat. Be prepared.

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Nooooo I followed a link and it was to something entertaining on Twitter!! My hatred is dwindling. I was convinced that the triviality of Twitter was worthless (kind of a redundant statement but true), even for an internet addict like myself, but things of interest/value can be found. Damn. Ahhh I love MythBusters. I am glad they keep only "human food" in their fridge.

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Countdown - 1 day until I am 21!

happy Easter...

from Larry "The Peep" Craig!

It may be inappropriate to joke about Craig and his cruising for sex on Easter, but you have to admit that is an incredibly funny picture. The Huffington Post online has complied some political peeps and some other random peep dioramas for your springtime enjoyment.

This morning I drove home to enjoy a beautiful Easter service with my parents. I am not sure what I believe, I have my ups and down with faith, but I do know for sure that I will always support my church in Pasadena because of it's progressive work. It applies religion to real things in a good way, usually liberal and political, which I love. My church does not encourage conflict, which is often the real world application of religion (depressing I know!). My church pushes for gay marriage, peace in the Middle East, community, pro-choice, kindness and acceptance.

Ed Bacon, our rector, gave a wonderful sermon today. He mentioned Rowan LeCompte, the man who created most of the stained glass windows in the National Cathedral. Bacon spoke about the recent NPR story on LeCompte, and told the following quote:

When asked if he believe in God, Mr. LeCompte responds, "I believe in kindness and love, if that is God, then yes."

I agree with LeCompte. I also believe in kindness and love. Often I am turned away from religion because of negativity and hate, which is completely contradictory with the foundation of religion. I continue to support my church because is remains more open and kind than most religions I have experienced. That is unfair, it isn't the religion. It is the people who practice it. At today's service we even had some of our innerfaith friends attend. Oh, and Kenneth Turan was there too!

Here are two fantastic quotes I tend to identify with when considering religion.

"Lighthouse are more helpful then churches." - Benjamin Franklin
"I believe in God, only I spell it Nature." - Frank Lloyd Wright

I believe that most of religion is a show. Secular humanists are generally right in their views, but religion has an additional power of organizing people into a community. So, if done right, religion has the power to do great transformational things. Unfortunately, it often doesn't. For example consider the cartoon below from someecard.com.

That is one of the problems I have with Lent. People give up soda or other superficial things and don't really change or reflect on anything! It is like a vegetarian who refuses to eat meat because of how they treat animals but doesn't actually advocate for reforms. I try to buy good products - organic, fair trade, environmentally friendly... to encourage better treatments of animals and the environment, but I still eat A LOT of meat. The market is built on supply and demand and if you don't demand something better it won't happen. Anyways, back to God. So, that is why I don't give anything up for Lent. I just try and reflect and am better about things. Do good things instead of starting the Christian equivalent of failed New Years resolutions.

Here is my favorite Easter related e-card from someecards.


Really hard-hitting. I love it. If you want to know some of the history about why peeps and pastels are associated with zombie Jesus (phrase courtesy of my friend Zack, absolutely genius!) check out this article. It is pretty interesting.

The best part of Easter today was seeing my dad's illuminated manuscript suspenders. Classic. Literally.


Enjoy your peeps.

can I have it rare?

I typically watch movies while designing on my laptop, it provides a good range of background sound/entertainment but this multitasking is only possible if I have seen the movie before, otherwise I am easily distracted. Like today. While going through the free movies on TV I discovered Vampire In Brooklyn. That title was intriguing enough, it sounded like Underworld meets NY, but then I read the first name in the cast - Eddie Murphy. Eddie Murphy movies usually painfully include lots of characters played by Eddie Murphy. Which was true for this movie, but this movie is not Pluto Nash, it was actually watchable because it passed that fine of line of so-bad-it's-good entertainment.



I love vampires and the sexy dark culture associated with them. In fact, I pretty much am one - my canine teeth are ridiculous long, I am pale, I like working in the dark... I also love most vampire movies. My favorites including - Interview with a Vampire (incredible!), Underworld, The Addiction (Christopher Walken!), Dracula: Dead and Loving It (Oh Mel Brooks. I almost put down Young Frankenstein, but then realized - not vampires), The Lost Boys, Dracula (1931), Shadow of the Vampire (Willem Dafoe and John Malkovich!), and Bram Stoker's Dracula with Gary Oldman.

Gary Oldman is one of my favorite actors and I am convinced he can do no wrong even if the movie itself is terrible. In each movie, he completely transforms himself, almost making him unrecognizable. In The Contender he plays Shelly Runyon, a ruthless balding politician. In Harry Potter he plays Sirius Black, Potter's poised and pretty badass godfather. He plays a terrorist from Kazakhstan in Air Force One. Oldman is also in one of my favorite movies, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, a crazy existential play inspired by two minor characters in Hamlet. Oldman is absolutely brilliant.

Despite my love for vampires and my frequent appreciation for absurdly bad movies (like Vampire in Brooklyn) I still cannot get myself to appreciate Twilight. My sister made me watch it in theaters, but I have no respect for vampires who sparkle. So wrong. But I managed to sit through it because of Robert Pattinson's sexiness. Oh yeah. PS - he plays Dali in one of his upcoming films. Less sexy for Pattinson, but interesting subject!




Considering my discovery of Vampire in Brooklyn, I will leave you with as awesome Eddie Murphy song.



I almost posted his Boogie In Your Butt song, which includes such fine lyrics as -

I ain't puttin no boogie in nobody's butt
That's nasty, man
What you talkin about
Puttin boogie in people's butt
Are you out yo mind or something?
Could go to jail for doin something like that

But I will leave that wonderful discovery up to you and your internet.

adobe is good for procrastination

I created the two designs below while avoiding two research papers and numerous other assignments. The photo is of a glass of water in my apartment. It looks bizarre because I used Ikea ice cubes and we all know how strange Scandinavian ice cube trays can be. I can't wait until the semester is over so I can create more art. One thing that has been tearing me apart recently is my dissatisfaction with my own art. I need to redesign KP. Meep.