HOME     BLOG VIEW     ABOUT     CONTACT     SUBSCRIBE

Night Tide – Typography

OceanViewApts

Night Tide, Directed by Curtis Harrington. US 1961, 35mm, b/w, 84 min. – I start with the typography of Night Tide, not because it is special in itself or a beautiful execution of script, but, more for its clumsy portentous attempt to sell the melodrama of the action. Acting like a petulant child incapable of not giving away the ending, these titles just spell it out. And lucky for us because the story line of boy meets girl and girl turns out to be mermaid under the spell of the dreaded "Sea People", probably needs all the help it can get. The more time I spend with Night Tide, Curtis Harrington's iconoclast Art Film, the more I find a sincere ardent cinefile hard at work. Shot on the Santa Monica pier (and adjacent Venice ... [Read more]

Taking Shape

006764f1v1

Taking Shape: Finding Sculpture in the Decorative Arts March 31-July 5, 2009 Decorative art has never held my attention much beyond its obvious cosmetic appeal and nod to a seemingly more gentile societal behaviors, but the show Taking Shape: Finding Sculpture in the Decorative Arts, mounted  by the J. Paul Getty Museum and Temple Newsam House has changed all that. I now find myself knee deep pondering craft. These impressive objects, dislocated from their original context, leave behind their supporting role and occupy the art arena as autonomous sculpture. Distraction This is the underlying premise of Taking Shape. But this context of autonomy, as somehow a more potent or significant, higher purpose for sculpture feels like a ... [Read more]

Midnight – The Final Fashion Show

EveningDress_3

There are still fashion moments from the film Midnight that just cannot be ignored. Stephanie's (Hedda Hopper) toga like hostess gown, is the picture of poise. Simone's (Elaine Barrie) extreme, underwater like affair, hat choice is daring. And the "Baroness Cherny", slips into this "negligee", half lamp shade and precursor to a swinging Laugh-In style mini, you have to love. Saucy or Demure? Next is Colbert's charming evening dress for the country. The sleeves play a part all on their own. They frame and lift, a delightful choice for the dance. These sleeves always maintain their lighter-than-air loft and like Colbert herself, never appear crushed nor deflated. After the ball, one needs to face the day with a crisp breakfast ... [Read more]

Shipwrecked – A Response

600a

Agreed. Wooster Group's Sci-Fi mashup of Cavalli opera La Didone offered little sense of transcendental satisfaction for the die hard opera lover (of which I am one!). And really the whole conflation felt gratuitous. But as sheer entertainment...I had a great time! First off RedCat feels the perfect spot for this kind of hyperactive performance. Wooster really makes the most of all the technology available. The sound is amped and so are the cast, ready at any moment to take one for team Wooster. Probably my favorite performance was Scott Shepard as sir Piggy. He ran around snorting and grunting executing one prat fall after another, all the while clinging to his ukulele. When at last he is shot down, he belly flops onto a table ... [Read more]

Santa Barbara Quay

qlight_1grid

Walk Lights, Santa Barbara Harbor, California © Nancy Cantwell ... [Read more]

Through the Forrest, Blue

blueforrest_1

Road to Mount St. Helens, Skamania County, Washington © Nancy Cantwell ... [Read more]

Through the Forrest, Green

greenforrest_2a

Road to Mount St. Helens, Skamania County, Washington © Nancy Cantwell ... [Read more]

California Academy of Science Museum, Golden Gate, San Francisco

horzontalfoursome

What draws me to this work is the contrast in texture. One gets to experience the fuzzy turf rooftop, the glossy, sparkly interior dome, then the smooth velum like dioramas and finally the brittle exterior entrance. I have come to feel that very few photographs can be seen as single or standalone statement. Relationships are the key to resonance. The Rooftop photos alone are awkward, but together they form a gentle curve, a hint at infinity. Our antelopes and zebras co-exist, the stealth and stolid attributes are two sides of the same coin. There is a collusion between the fractured ceiling and the faceted dome that the quartet of pictures makes plain. An eminent sense of shelter, with its foreboding saw like edge, becomes a shaded refuge ... [Read more]

A Shimmer of Possibility

ne31

“a shimmer of possibility: Photographs by Paul Graham” is on view through May 18 at the Museum of Modern Art. I had been unaware of his body of work before I read this review in the NYTimes and being very intrigued decided to rectify that circumstance. After spending some time on Paul Graham's site I am now excited by the non-linear approach of his books, an strategy he calls "filmic Haiku". His work bypasses mere road work documentation and pursues vernacular accidents to "replicate the episodic, Chekhovian experience". Fine Deal! So I passed these treasures onto my friend Paul Cabanis whose work has quite a similar bend. Paul doesn't oft answer my emails with more than one word responses, but this time he spent some time in ... [Read more]

OutTake – All Together

outtake_strip

"OutTake" is a series of work originally shot in 1984 and re-photographed in 2008. These new photographs, taken of Polaroid lighting tests from the original sessions, are intended to be seen as a strip and have been posted on TQ in sequence starting from right to left. The aging Polaroid gel remnant gives each "new" print a particular frame and focus. OutTake identities have a matter-of-fact quality. They lack the, "psychological insight" to which the original, formal, silver prints had aspired. The unique identiy of the sitter has been supplanted by the unique identity of the print. Released from their original agenda, these new portraits become free to take their place alongside "no one".            Click on the Photo to ... [Read more]

OutTake – Shinzen Young

shinzenyoung

© Nancy Cantwell ... [Read more]

OutTake – Edith Morgan

edithmorgan

© Nancy Cantwell ... [Read more]

OutTake – Stephen Reichard

stephenreichard

© Nancy Cantwell ... [Read more]

OutTake- Blonde Youth

blonde-youth

© Nancy Cantwell ... [Read more]

OutTake – Molly Rhodes

mollyrhodes

© Nancy Cantwell ... [Read more]

OutTake – Ken Cohen

kencohen

© Nancy Cantwell ... [Read more]