BSDFF 2009 Review:  Saturday February 14th

February 13th through the 22nd, The Wilma Theatre was overrun with filmakers, volunteers, and fans of the documentary film.  I was one of the fans (and volunteers), and here I’ll be sharing with you thoughts from some of the almost fifty films I saw this year.  The festival is growing and getting better every time, and I’m proud to have been a part of it once again.

Today the Hawk Takes One Chick directed by Jane Gillooly, 2008

Even in poverty and chronic fatal illness, the people in this film are able to find snippets of happiness.  The singing by the children was incredible, the cinematography amazing. It’s great to see that the gogos are trying to educate the young.  It was also surprising to me that those doing the testing and processing of test samples did so without eye protection or gloves.

Bonecrusher directed by Michael Fountain, 2008

Lucas the father is Bonecrusher, and Lucas the son follows his father into the mines for a life fraught with the dangers of coal mining.  The women behind the men were largely silent in the film, while Fountain focused upon the relationship between the father and the son in this compelling story where mining overshadows all aspects of life in this small West Virginian town.

There is a beautiful scene in Bonecrusher where Luke has just been honored at a little league  softball game.  He’s been a huge advocate of and volunteer for the softball program all of his life.  The camera cuts away to a train pulling coal cars.  As the whistle whines, we are reminded that mining permeates every aspect of the Dante, West Virginia people’s lives.

In A Dream directed by Jeremiah Zagar 2008

Heartbreakingly beautiful film. Isaiah  Zagar, responsible, by his count, for over 100 murals, 7 buildings and 7 alleyways in Philly, opens himself, and his family, up to us intimately and without looking away.  The film truly was a “mysterium tremendum”.  Amazing.

In a Dream official site

Gogol Bordello Non Stop directed by Margarita Jimeno, 2009

Having heard of Gogol Bordello, and heard some of their music before, I was glad to be able to see what all of the fuss is about.  The film is about what happens when you start following your dream and doing what you believe in.

It would seem that these guys must be seen to be believed, and I cannot wait to see them live.  The film captured a lot of that energy, fun, love of life and good times.

on Facebook

on Youtube

American Swing directed by Mathew Kaufman and Jon Hart, 2008

Plato’s Retreat is the backdrop for a story that was really about the loneliness and egotism of Plato’s owner Larry Levenson.  Kaufman and Hart have fashioned a compelling film using archival footage from Plato’s, talk show appearances by  Levenson , and interviews with members and employees  of Plato’s.

Watch the American Swing trailer

via Wooster Collective.

In Search of the Hobo Railroad Artist

Last night Monday night at the Zootown Arts Community Center, Debby Florence brought in an amazing filmaker,Bill Daniel, who screened his short film that was 16 years in the making.  We were lucky to have him, as his biodiesel van had broken down at the Orange Street exit, and he had to hoof it over to the ZACC for the screening.

From the website:

Who is Bozo Texino? chronicles the search for the source of a ubiquitous and mythic rail graffiti– a simple sketch of a character with an infinity-shaped hat and the scrawled moniker, “Bozo Texino”– a drawing seen on railcars for over 80 years.  Daniel’s gritty black and white film uncovers a secret society and it’s underground universe of hobo and railworker graffiti, and includes interviews with legendary boxcar artists, Coaltrain, Herby, Colossus of Roads, and The Rambler.  Shooting over a 16-year period, Daniel rode freights across the West carrying a Super-8 sound camera and a 16mm Bolex. During his quest he discovered the roots of a folkloric tradition that has gone mostly unnoticed for a century. Taking inspiration from Beat artists Robert Frank and Jack Kerouac, the film functions as both a sub-cultural documentary and a stylized fable on wanderlust and outsider identity.

The only CD I ever checked out of a library that I never returned was “My Life in the Bush of Ghosts”, the David Byrne/Brian Eno collaboration. (After many overdue notices arriving in the mail, I went down to the library, told them I’d lost the item, and paid for it. they now have another copy in their stacks). I loved MLITBOG for a lot of reasons, the layered sounds, the samples, the beats, the moods that it created. At the time, I was already familiar with David Byrne’s solo work as well as his work with The Talking Heads, but I had only heard about Eno. Since then, I’ve come to love Eno and his work with a variety of other musicians, including his production work with Devo, Talking Heads, Jane Sieberry (now Issa, who, like Reznor, gives her music away for free) and especially James and the “Laid” and “Wah-Wah” albums. Eno, the “non-musician”, is most known for his prolific catalogue of ambient music, including the fantastic “Music for Airports”, as well as being an amazing record producer and contributor to such movies as David Lynch’s “Dune”.

Eno has always been fascinated by technology and how to twist and bend it for his own purposes. He’s experimented with generative music, music that composes itself, and has branched out into visual art as well, creating a computer game that generates a possible 77 million paintings, chosen by Eno himself. He is currently working on the soundtrack for the multi-player game Spore, “that allows a player to control the evolution of a species from its beginnings as a multi cellular organism, through development as a sapient and social land-walking creature, to levels of interstellar exploration as a spacefaring culture.” [Wikipedia].

I’m here to make the case that Trent Reznor is the new Brian Eno.

Reznor got his start in Cleveland creating what would become Pretty Hate Machine by himself after-hours at the Right Track Studio where he worked as an assistant engineer and janitor. He became proficient at manipulating sounds and bending technology to his own purposes as well, just as Eno learned to do. He’s produced many record albums, including a handful for Marilyn Manson, as well as the phenomenal “Natural Born Killers” soundtrack and the “Lost Highway” soundtrack. His subtle contribution to Tori Amos’ “Past the Mission” on her “Under the Pink” album showed how quiet he could be when he needed to be. It was also the first time I can remember hearing him sing quietly while someone else took the spotlight.

Reznor’s original music from id Software’s video game “Quake” was long one of my favorite ambient pieces of music to load into iTunes when I needed to get some work done and didn’t want to be disturbed. He expanded his fascination with technology and its possibilities with the release of “Year Zero” and its companion alternate reality websites/reality game and subsequent user-submitted art in 2007.

Eno once predicted that music would one day become user-modifiable constructs, and imagined a day when future generations would look at past generations in wonder, asking in wonder, “you mean you listened to the same music over and over?”. Reznor took that idea and ran with it, releasing “The Hand that Feeds” from his dismal “With Teeth” 2005 release as a multi-track Garage Band download that fans could get for free and remix as they pleased. His newest release “Ghosts I-IV”, was released in a variety of formats, including a free torrent seeded by NIN itself. “Ghosts” was released as with a Creative Commons license (no copyright), and Reznor announced yesterday that the tracks can be used to participate in a NIN sponsored film festival on You Tube.

Talk about user generated content.

The album itself is supurb. I’d love to hear Eno’s thoughts on it. Those of you who haven’t hear it, go grab it at NIN’s official site and give it a listen for yourself. Grab the torrent if you’re familiar with the technology.

“Ghosts” ranges from smooth and quiet piano to the heavy muddy guitar and keyboard laden layers we’ve come to expect from Reznor. I’m looking forward to what people come up with, and might even make a contribution myself if I can find some time along with everything else I have going on.

NIN Ghosts Film Festival on YouTube

In the meantime, in the spirit of documentaries and creativity, I wanted to share a video I found recently. Regular readers know that I am interested in street art and graffiti. I’m also interested in the imperminance of art. And, ultimately, I’m interested in making art for art’s sake. But, we live in a capitalist society, right? And Shakespeare’s got to get paid, son, so I try to make affordable art.

The video is a documentary created by Ana Alvarez-Errecalde and FILMCHICK PRODUCTIONS about Jorge Rodriguez Gerada, a street artist that creates huge murals of familiar figures in the neighborhood. Then, after creating them, they slowly vanish over time. Beautiful.

[via Wooster Collective.]

Not sure what’s up with the formatting, but please scroll down for the video.

I was tagged by The Front Range.

…Jobs I have had in my life:

1. Funeral Director’s Assistant
2. Park Ranger in Yellowstone National Park
3. Landscaper
4. Software Tester

…Movies I?ve Watched Over and Over Again:
1. Jaws
2. Cinema Paridisio
3. Avalon
4. Tommy Boy

…places I have been:

1. Nags Head, NC
2. NYC
3. Truckee, CA
4. The Grand Canyon, AZ

…places I have lived:

1. Akron,OH
2. Gardiner, MT
3. Bozeman, MT
4. Cuyahoga Falls,OH

…TV Shows I Watch (usually via DVD, as I don’t own a TV):

1. The Sopranos
2. Family Guy
3. The Simpsons
4. Futurama

…Radio Shows I Listen To:

1. Little Steven’s Underground Garage (locally at 6PM on 103.3 FM, The Trail, Sunday nights)
2. This American Life (usually via podcast)
3. Car Talk
4. A Prairie Home Companion

…Things I Look Forward To:

1. 01.20.09
2. The Big Sky Documentary Film Festival
3. Selling my car
4. Buying a house

…of my favorite foods:

1. Italian/ Lasagne
2. Sushi
3. Mahi Burritos
4. Steak and Roasted Veggies

…places I would rather be right now:

1. Hawaii
2. New York City
3. Soaking in a hot spring
4. Italy — specifically outside in an olive grove somewhere warm

…people I Email Regularly:
1. My ‘ole man
2. The OG
3. Amy
4. Clients

…People I tag next

1. I am
2. so bad
3. at memes
4. No one gets tagged

As an unknown artist, I’ve tried to utilize a number of the free online tools available to me to get my name out there. Plenty of pay-per-use services are also available, but here I’ll highlight the free services with which I’ve had experience.

1.  Deviant Art – Pros: ability to make prints of submitted art, ability to comment on other artists’ images, Creative Commons license possible, social networking, tagging possible, Cons: Does not support RSS, Batch uploads not possible, upload process takes too long: uploading one image required 6 clicks, Title limited to 30 characters, checkboxes behave as radio buttons in the Fullview Size section, if dropdown menu option is changed in Fullview Size section, checkbox becomes unchecked/cannot add watermark to fullview/original size, ads present on free accounts (not sure about paid accounts), did not use other features enough to make a judgement

2.  Flickr – Pros: supports RSS feeds, 3rd party application/add-ons supported, ability to print supported, Creative Commons license possible, social networking, ability to link photos externally without repercussion if done properly, ability to easily add notes to photos, ability to moderate comments, ability to comment on others’ photos, social networking, batch editing, flagging photos as safe, moderate or restricted, ability to flag photos as photo, screenshot, or art/illustration, ability to hide photos from public searches, ability to add HTML descriptions to photos, ability to geotag and tag photos Cons: tied to Yahoo! account, unlimited uploads require a paid Pro account

3.  MySpace – Pros: supports RSS feeds, bulletins, social networking, ability to comment on others’ sites, ability to moderate comments Cons: No nudity in the photos section. No batch editing/deletion of photos. UI not at first intuitive to move photos between albums

4.  Montana-Artists.com – Possibly the least friendly of all sites reviewed here, which is a shame, as it has the potential to be something great.

Cons: submitting artwork is completely un-intuitive, the first step being to “submit artwork”, but there is no option to upload an image until after submitting details about the image being considered. The message that displays after the first step in submitting a piece of artwork for inclusion on the website is: Your new artwork has been submitted, and will be reviewed by one of our Quality Control Specialists to verify that the information entered is appropriate and acceptable. If their [sic] is a problem with the information, you will be contacted by our staff to provide a more suitable substitute. You must also upload at least 1 digital image file to the web site manually. Please send us the highest quality material that you can. The web site will resize the artwork. If you are sending a photo, slide, negative, diskette or CD please send them to: (no address is listed) Once this has been completed, one must upload an image, and even when the image has been uploaded, it does not display on the site, but must be approved by an admin.

5.  Picasa – Never used, not enough information to make a judgement, though it seems somewhat useful. Support for direct export from Mac’s iPhoto seems to be a benefit.

6.  Missoula Cultural Council Artist Directory – Pros: free directory listing, easy interface to post listing, anyone can suggest an artist Cons: One admin responsible for approving all submissions, submissions are not immediate

7.  Digg - Used infrequently, not enough information to make a judgement. Supports RSS.

8.  Facebook – Used infrequently, not enough information to make a judgement

9.  Blogger – Pros: friendly and intuitive interface Cons: yourname.blogspot.com instead of yourname.com

Have others of you had similar or different experiences with any of the above sites? Can you warn us against sites not listed here? Can you recommend sites not listed here? Give reasons, rants and raves in the comments.

Every day most of us are challenged to use our creativity in some fashion. Maybe we need to become a magician and meet an impossible deadline, or figure out how to make six rolls of sod cover an area that needs eight rolls. Or maybe we’re staring at a blank computer screen, a new text document page open, cursor blinking, awaiting our fingers to touch the keys in a stroke of genius to write that winning proposal, that amazingly heartbreaking poem, the next great American novel or a Grammy Award-winning song. The blank canvas awaiting paint. A glob of clay awaiting shaping. A difficult conversation with a spouse or mate. Whatever creative challenges we each face during our daily lives, sometimes we get stuck, find ourselves in a rut, and allegedly unable to get to the next level. We are uninspired. How do we inspire ourselves?

Recently, I received an email from a friend asking that very question. “How do you find inspiration to create?” he wanted to know. He was embarking on a new project and had hit a wall. I thought that it was courageous of him to ask someone like me, an unknown artist on the other side of the country, for advice. I’ve been thinking about it for a while, and I’ve talked with other musicians and artists and asked them where they find their creativity and inspiration when they’ve got a block. I’ll focus this How to Find Inspiration article towards artists, but it can be applied in many different walks of life.

1. Deep Observation. Of self, of your surroundings, your thoughts, goals, successes and failures. I like to start outward and work in. Grab a notebook or sketchpad and head to a place that inspires me. Sometimes it’s out in nature, near a river or up in a mountain. Other times, it’s as an unnoticed face in a crowd as I people-watch. I write down thoughts and ideas as they come to me, and I go back later to reflect on the initial bursts of idea in more depth. I think about how the external themes I’ve recorded may apply to me, and then eventually ask myself how those themes can be expressed with intimate personal depth but still apply as a universal truth.

2. Other Artists. When I feel uninspired, I go to the library and sit on the floor with art books sprawled around me. I always like to choose some favorites, and a few that are unfamiliar. I keep a notebook of ideas that sometimes includes rough sketches of an idea, but always a line or two about a project I want to start. Sometimes, it isn’t the library, but the Internet where I look at inspiring artwork. Drawn!, Flickr, DeviantArt, PhotoJojo, a random Google search, The Wooster Collective, or even a place like Bighappyfunhouse. In the case of my friend, the musician, I’d try head to the record store and browse via the headphones music with which he’s unfamiliar. Ask friends to make mix CDs of new music that they’ve been listening to with which you may be unfamiliar (so that you can use it as a jumping-off point for your own creativity, of course, not to pirate music. And, if you like the stuff on the mix CD, go out and buy the original). Go see some live music of bands or genres with which you aren’t familiar. Always explore the unknown genres of art, music, whatever when finding yourself uninspired.

3. Other Types of Art. If you are a visual artist, go listen to some live music or see a play. Watch a ballet. Check out some performance art. On a budget? Check your weekly independent newspaper, often there are many free cultural events happening around town that you can take in and help fill your creativity cup.

4. Collaboration. Nothing fuels creativity like collaborating with someone else on a piece of art or a project. The major challenge when collaborating is to let go of all expectations, and allow the process to create the art along with you. It’s one of the most challenging things I’ve ever tried, but when it works, it’s a lot of fun and also very rewarding. One of the big problems for many folks when collaborating, including myself, is not only letting go of expectations, but also of ego. When you collaborate, you have to be humble and open to new input and the ideas of others.

5. Experimentation. I work a lot with collage and abstract paintings. A while back, I was tired of the art on my walls that I’d made, and tired of what I was producing. I had some huge canvases that I’d gotten for free, some time on my hands, lots of paint, and no ideas. I decided to try something I’d never done. They reason I think that the paintings were successful is that I gave myself permission to fail. Sometimes in life you may think that you do not have that luxury, but, as James Joyce said, “A man of genius makes no mistakes, his errors are volitional and the portals to discovery.” By experimenting and playing, I found some things that worked that I knew I could apply in the future, and things I didn’t like so much that I likely won’t try again.

6. Deadlines. Sometimes, there is no way around it. You have to git-r-done and you have a specific cut-off point that if you miss it, you could die. Figuratively, of course. The death might be one of public embarrassment, missing a deal at work, or closing doors in the future. Last year, I wasn’t feeling particularly motivated to make art, so I created for myself a deadline. I agreed to do an opening in June with a very short notice. I pulled it off, and the June show lead to a July show, which led to an August show that bled into September. With each show, I learned something about the process of putting a show together, but I also found myself feeling more creative and making more art.

7. Money. There is no way around it, Shakespeare’s got to get paid, Son. There will always be rent or a mortgage to make, car insurance, utilities, groceries. A person needs money to live. And sometimes when I know that I can make money by making a certain piece of art, that motivates me to make the art. If, after I’ve made it, I think it has any less passion or is in any way inferior to my other work, I don’t continue down that path. But money can be a strong motivator and inspiration.

8. Nothing. Sometimes there is absolutely no way I can get motivated or inspire myself. It’s at those times that I “just show up”, as was suggested in The Artist’s Way. Show up at the page. Write. Paint. Collage. Sing. Whatever your chosen art, show up at your specific “page” everyday and make your art. Practice makes perfect, and repetition breeds habit. Habits breed lifestyles, and if you are an artist, it is a lifestyle choice. I met Garrison Keillor once at a reception in Akron, Ohio after having heard him speak, and, at the time, I fancied myself a writer specifically. I was not focused at all on making visual art. I asked him, “What advice do you have for an aspiring young writer?” He said, “Write.” That’s it. Do it every day.

This list is, of course, not an exhaustive list. It’s a jumping-off point and can easily be added to. I invite you, especially artists, to share in the comments what inspires you to create, and how you become and remain inspired.

Meanwhile, here’s a pic of what happens after the following mathematical equation is completed: Gravel + High Speed Bike + Sharp Turn = ROAD RASH/Swollen Face

I look and feel much better today than I did yesterday, the day after the accident. The mirror effect is a result of having watched the below video and something that Mothersbaugh said about symmetry. [scroll down to watch]