If you, like me, had never heard of Conrad before you may think him a bit strange upon first watching the movie. Indeed I definitely thought and still find myself to wondering whether or not Tony Conrad is insane. As a minimalist film maker, musician, and artist, Conrad’s works are about as minimal as it gets. His musical works involve holding long, half-step dissonant notes for periods of time that are meant to make listeners somewhat uncomfortable. One of his most famous movies, The Flicker, is just a black and white flickering screen for feature length.

If you find these things to be real art that takes actual skill, that is fine. Many people, as evidenced by the film and the good sized crowd that turned out, would agree with you. I just couldn’t help but laugh at the crazy qualities of Conrad. While this may seem like a bad thing, it actually helped to get over some of the less inspired film making choices. The movie goes into standard documentary fair, consisting primarily of talking heads interspersed with shots of Conrad’s music, films, and art.

And while I found myself chuckling at nearly every endeavor of Conrad’s, there were sections of the movie that were undoubtedly meant to be humorous. As Conrad walked around Lincoln Center bemoaning the composed dominance of the New York Philharmonic, he sighed and said “I hate it here…it’s so depressing.”

Conrad’s hatred of so-called high culture is shown in every single one of his projects. Just as a way to one-up Andy Warhol’s 24 hour movie, Conrad wanted to make a film that would last 50 years. The problem he ran into though, was that no film could be able to perpetually run and remain intact for 50 years. Conrad gets around this issue by creating Yellow Movie. To me, Yellow Movie is just a large painting made up of the color yellow. To Conrad and his fans though, the fact the the painting fades throughout its 50 year “run time” makes it a slow changing, minimalist-inspired film.

The minimalist sensibilities hit a peak at the end of the film, when Conrad is standing in the middle of traffic, directing the passing vehicles. One woman walks by him, sees him talking to himself and asks “Are you ok?” Yes, I think Conrad is fine. He just has a different way of looking at the world. Some of us just think he is a little bit strange.

The post Witching Hour: Tony Conrad: Completely in the Present @ FilmScene 11/5/16 appeared first on KRUI Radio.

For those who, like me, thrive on that outlet, it is a new kind of Hell to have zero idea what to do. There is no algorithm for creating a next step, no formula for coming up with something else to make happen. This doesn’t just happen in writing, it can happen in art, in life, at the office, anywhere that requires some kind of procurement of an idea. It can cause procrastination, questioning of life choices/oneself, and many internal crises. More than just feeling a block on one aspect of my life, I feel a sense of being completely blocked off from the way I see the world best and the way that I communicate with myself. As you can imagine, that feeling sucks.

I wish that I could refer to a definitive list of ways to overcome these feelings, but I don’t have that magical list. I have no idea how to get over that block. I’m slowly figuring it out, but the big fear is that it will never be an issue that is resolved. I’m an art major and will probably always continue writing. If it is not an issue that goes away, my career will probably suffer.

Perhaps it’s an inspiration flaw. When around fellow artists or writers, the phrase “drawing inspiration” constantly comes up, and maybe the real problem is that I have no idea how to do that. I am writing this on a deck on a house in the country with a beautiful view, and I am still struggling to come up with the words to put in this article. I constantly listen to podcasts that make me see/think about things differently, and I still can’t translate that into an idea. I have an amazing group of friends that will always talk about ideas and theories and anything else. Yet, somehow, I am still struggling. I know that there are others as confused as I am when somebody says they spent some time looking at the sunset and got a brilliant idea for a piece. How come somebody else can so easily read a quote from their favorite author and suddenly be set to go again?

Then comes the real question in this long string of “what ifs” that come from being blocked. Am I really an artist if I don’t know how to draw inspiration? Am I really a writer if I’m struggling to write about, of all things, my greatest passion? Am I kidding myself even trying, or is this something that everybody goes through constantly?

But of course, I’m not kidding myself. Every artist has their block, which is why it can be so damn hard sometimes. We create, and our well-being is based on the quality of our own work and how other people perceive it. Qualifying myself as an artist or a writer only depends on how I value my own work and therefore how I handle this writer’s block. So far I’m handling it by brainstorming more ideas for articles, and coming up with ideas for a potential new column. I’m trying to write more when I have the chance about whatever I can. I’m trying to come up with things that I could draw when I have the chance to sit down and draw them. I’m thinking of projects I could try for the intermedia class that I am taking in the fall. So far it’s a lot of thinking about things and experimenting, which is something that everybody has to do. It connects me to myself more than being blocked off could even disconnect me from myself. It is a comforting thought.

So, step one for getting over this writer’s block is to do what seems natural: write a column about it and post it on the internet. I’ve been working on this for weeks, and now I’m done with it. Maybe this will make it easier to sit down and write about Frida Kahlo, or comic book/graphic novel art, or synesthesia, or the capitalistic side of the art industry, or aesthetic, or the concept of an album, or whatever else I want to write about. I am excited to see what I come up with after this block is gone, and I hope that it is all created soon.

[SHAMELESS PLUGS: here are my Instagram and Twitter if you would like to keep updated on what I’m doing next]

The Looking Glass is a bimonthly column that aims to analyze and share different aspects and forms of art. It will focus on different artists, writing, music/musicians, exhibitions, etc. Along with this, the column will ask questions and point out interesting controversies. Art is a constantly flowing and vast part of our society and culture that we are all submerged in daily, and discussion about the medium is a critical part of a full understanding and open mind.

The post The Looking Glass: Blocked Off appeared first on KRUI Radio.

I instantly felt ashamed because of course music is art. I can’t believe that my first thought was that it wasn’t. I’ve played the cello for eight years of my life, and I feel nearly the same connection to classical music as I do to art, so why do I not automatically think of it on the same level?

Sometimes I forget that studio art isn’t always the first thing that people think of when they hear the word “art.” There is so much more to the art world than that. Poems, music, paintings, etc. There is so much to be said about those things created out of thin air and a person’s thoughts. But if that’s the case, what isn’t art?

Liberal arts – areas of study (such as history, language, and literature) that are intended to give you general knowledge rather than to develop specific skills needed for a profession.

Studio art – the making of visual art (such as paintings, drawings or sculptures), contrasted to the study of art history.

Fine art – an activity requiring great skill or accomplishment.

All of these definitions are so entirely broad. The Liberal Arts College at the University of Iowa is lumped together with sciences, so does that mean that science is art? Math? Engineering? Based on the definition of liberal arts, it looks like it all would, depending on how it’s taught/learned. Fine art could mean anything that is done well that requires skill.

Combine all of these definitions together and you get the definition that makes sense: anything that you can try.

But this is different than I’ve ever thought about it before. I made an entire post (kind of) about this and specified that I don’t like thinking about art as something defined or set in stone. Mostly because I don’t think that something so vast should be defined, but also because if I think about it too much it freaks me out. I always say that I love what I do, my art, my paintings, my drawings, my photos, the thought process behind it all, and everything that goes along with it. What if I could replace the words “paintings”, “drawings,” and “photos,” with any words pertaining to any profession and have it mean the same thing? What if all that we ever do in our lives is art?

No. For some reason, I don’t believe that.

Because, like I’ve said, I have such a hard time believing that everything is art. I think that art is a case by case classification, that we can’t have a checklist of rules that helps us define something so intricate. I think that there’s a thin line, and that line is passion. That is something that I think most people can accept.

Say a civil engineer is trying to design a building that won’t fall during an earthquake. This engineer really cares about this because their hometown was just struck with a series of earthquakes that destroyed almost everything. This person finally achieves what they’ve been working on and decades down the line sees that building finally constructed. That would be their work of art. After putting so much passion into anything, it’s hard not to see it that way.

An anthropology grad student travels to India to do some fieldwork. They could have chosen to study sexuality or gender roles or kinship, it doesn’t matter. After they finally live with the people they’ve read about and have become fascinated with, they put together the notes they took, the interviews they conducted, all of the other research they’ve done and they create their thesis. That would be their art. They put passion, thought, and love into what they did.

A composer writes a symphony about someone or something they love. An artist creates a great way to get over their anxiety. A mathematician discovers some kind of cool math thing that they worked for years to discover. Someday someone could cure cancer. All of these things are works of art. People put their heart into them and they mean something. Someone, somewhere, at some point in time, was passionate about something and made something happen because of it, and that is what I think art should be. Not a series of vaguely defined terms.

Things that we hate, as I’ve already kind of touched upon, are art. Things that we love are art. Things that we ourselves are not passionate about are art, but as long as someone was at some point passionate about them they are. This is something that I am going to struggle with remembering, but if you’re anything like me you will look at this as another beautiful part of this gigantic world of art. There is now just more to marvel at, wonder about, and discuss. I am excited to see things this way.

The Looking Glass is a bimonthly column that aims to educate, analyze, and share different aspects and forms of art. It will focus on sharing and analyzing different artists, works of art, exhibitions, etc. Along with this, the column will ask questions and point out interesting controversies. Art is a constantly flowing and vast part of our society and our culture that we are all submerged in daily, and discussion about the medium is a critical part of a full understanding and open mind.

The post The Looking Glass: What Art Entails appeared first on KRUI Radio.

The featured photo collection was entitled “X-Offenders,” and most of the photos were taken 40 years ago, in 1976, when Persky still lived in Greenwich Village and was just beginning her career as an artist. Entirely by coincidence, in this 40th anniversary showing there were forty photos on display.

Most of the prints hung around Persky as she spoke chronicled a time in her life when she was in a relationship with Gary Valentine, the bassist for Blondie in the 1970s. As a result, many of the photos featured Blondie’s founders, Debbie Harry and Chris Stein, in their most organic settings.

Persky decided on the name “X-Offenders” for the exhibit because “X-Offender” was the name of the debut single that Valentine had written for Blondie. The collection acted as a tribute to their time together, and Persky’s time with Blondie as a whole.

The photos were up close and personal; many were head shots and all seemed honest and raw. The prints were almost as raw as Persky herself– when she opened up the talk to audience discussion she confidently said, “If you ramble, I will cut you off like a cancer.”

Though this exhibit was focused mainly on 1976 and Blondie, Persky also talked about life as an artist in general. She emphasized the importance of being true to oneself and creating. “What you create is so much more important than anything else,” she said, “Just keep making the work.”

Creating is just what Persky has been doing since she was a teen in Greenwich Village. She discussed the first play that she acted in, written by HM Koutoukas specifically for her, and her stint as a writer for The New York Rocker.

What seemed to create Persky’s genius was her environment. She spoke of the influence that Greenwich Village had on her upbringing often throughout the hour. It was a place of artistic creation for people of all sorts, though “the Village was empty back then.” Greenwich seemed to be a hub for creation.

Persky described walking out on the streets of New York to find props and materials for her artistic endeavors. “All of the stuff we used was just trash that somebody brought in, but then again, we were trash that somebody brought in.” The artists of Greenwich made art of anything and everything they had.

Throughout Persky’s talk, she was brutally honest and open. The range of topics she discussed spread from finding out she was weird at the age of five, to traveling to Los Angeles with Blondie for one of their first major gigs. It is clear that she has had a life full of adventure and experience.

This morning’s talk was an insightful and exciting view into the daily endeavors of a person with a true talent for art, as well as a vehement appreciation for the impact that art has on our world.

The post Mission Creek: X-Offenders Artist Talk @ The Englert Theatre 4/8/16 appeared first on KRUI Radio.

IMPORTANT PLEASE READ: Hey! My name is Logan, I am taking over this column for Ali so things will be a little different around here from now on :)

Getting asked stupid questions about my tattoos and piercings is in the top ten reasons why I have a resting bitch face.

One of the many daily struggles of having multiple tattoos and piercings is being bombarded with stupid questions. For example ever since I got my first tattoo I’ve been asked the question, “Did that hurt?” at least

once a day from some random person that proceeds to try and touch my tattoos. I understand that as

humans we are naturally curious but that does not give us the right to touch another person without their consent or ask stupid questions that you could answer yourself. Of course getting a tattoo hurts! You are getting a shit ton of tiny needles poked into your skin fifty to three thousand times per minute! But it is not an unbearable amount of pain. Do you really think I would have more than one tattoo if they really hurt that bad?

Heavily tattooed people know this struggle and we have no problem with you asking questions about our ink but please do not be ignorant about it. We do not mind if you touch them just as long as you ask first, we also do not mind if you ask the meaning behind them just as long as you do not mind if there is not one.

That is another struggle within itself. I hate when people who do not even have a tattoo say that all tattoos need to have a meaning behind them. Not all tattoos need to have some sort of deep, philosophical meaning behind them. Over half of mine I got done just because I liked the way they looked. Tattoos are an art form, I am paying the artist to put their artwork on my skin forever. It is just like going to a gallery and purchasing a painting or drawing that you love.

As for my piercings, especially my septum, I get asked more than once a day if hurt or “Why would you ever do that to yourself? No guy is going to like you with that in”. First off, why would I want to be with someone who did not like me for who I was or what I looked like? but we will

save that for a different time. Yet again of course getting my septum and nostril pierced hurt, they are putting a huge needle through my nose, but it wasn’t any worse than getting your ears pierced.

Another question I hate getting asked about my tattoo and piercings is, “How do you expect to get an actual job with those?”. Well first of all, I can cover up all of my tattoos and my piercings are not permanent. Obviously I am not going to keep my septum ring in forever, and as for my nose piercing, I know multiple older people that have very successful jobs and still have it in. More and more people are getting tattoos; in fact we are the majority now so all you people who do not have one get with the program (totally kidding, but if you are thinking about getting one just do it). It is becoming more acceptable to have them even in the workplace.

Just because I have tattoos doesn’t mean I am not a nice or respectable person. Tattoos do not make us ugly, irresponsible or mean. In fact all the people that I have encountered that have tattoos and

piercings are some of the kindest people I have met. So the next time you think about judging people based on their appearance or asking them questions that may make them angry or disrespected just don’t do it. Please and thank you.

The post Reasons for the Resting Bitch Face appeared first on KRUI Radio.

While this column normally discusses my experiences with negativity on campus and in our world, I’ve decided to try something new. Each month, I’ll write a profile that highlights someone I feel actively works to decolonize our minds and world. Don’t worry, you’ll still read my irate rants each month, too. This column’s going:

Bimonthly.

Anyway, the first profile will feature a talented, fearless jazz artist named Esperanza Spalding.

First, let’s establish how fucking amazing this woman is.

She started writing music before she started school, and she played all sorts of instruments at a young age. She joined her local symphony playing the violin and became concertmaster of the Chamber Music Society of Oregon at age 15. If that’s not enough, she started college at age 16, graduated, and became the youngest faculty member ever hired at Berklee College of Music at age 23.

Since then, Spalding has played with world-renowned artists like McCoy Tyner, who played in John Coltrane’s Quartet, Prince, who needs no introduction, and many more. In 2011, she pissed off teenage girls worldwide when she beat Justin Bieber for a Grammy in the category of Best New Artist (although she had been making music professionally since 2006).

Here’s a really great article in the New Yorker all about her badassery.

Now that we’ve sufficiently established that she’s incredible, we can talk about a few of my favorite songs written and performed by Spalding.

“Black Gold” is an anthem dedicated to young black boys and men which becomes clear in her lyrics. “Hold your head as high as you can… Little man,” begins the song and the singers repeat this line throughout the song as a reminder. She even admits that this may be hard because “not necessarily everyone will know your worth.” This message is SO SO important when our country witnesses the hateful rhetoric and violence directed towards black people daily. She affirms young black men with the repetition of the phrase “you are black gold.” Listen to the inspirational song below! The music video is great too! I like to imagine Spalding singing this song to Tamir Rice before he died.

Although “Black Gold” is my favorite upbeat, sing-in-the-shower song, “Land of the Free” sends an equally powerful and bold message. The opening lyrics, “Finally, we’ve exonerated Dupree” refer to the wrongful conviction and eventual exoneration of a black man named Cornelius Dupree, who spent 31 years in prison after being wrongly accused and imprisoned for crimes he did not commit.

She sings “Five fifths an innocent man but the court only saw three” which refer to the 3/5th’s Compromise in 1787 where black people only counted as a fraction of a person in terms of civil rights, and less than that in human rights. This song is basically her musical question that asks how this country can even call itself “free” when its justice system steals a man’s life like that. Spalding brings our attention to such serious issues in her music, actively working against the narrative that is fed to us from many news outlets and people.

Spalding has so many more incredible songs that address important issues like self-worth, being mixed race, her woman-ness and more, but alas, I will only discuss one more song.

“Endangered Species” discusses, as you may have gathered from the title, the pressing issue of climate change and how humans have led to the destruction of animal habitats and species. Spalding personifies Mother Nature literally as a maternal figure with whom we haven’t spoken in a long time, and speaks of the threat we pose to her when she sings “she’s in danger too.” It’s a pretty dark song, but again, politically engaged and so important.

Esperanza Spalding actively works to decolonize and desocialize us from the Eurocentric false narrative that the rest of the world feeds us, and she does this work through music. Here’s a playlist with some of her live performances, but not all of them! Be sure to do your own YouTube searching to find more.

Check out her website to keep up with her incredible music!

The idea of “decolonizing our minds” comes from writings of the author, feminist and social activist bell hooks. She encourages us to critically examine every thought and action, free ourselves from the coercive ideologies, and overcome the impacts of structural oppression. This bimonthly column will analyze spaces and times where and when we can pause and make strides in this arduous process, and also highlight figures who are helping us to decolonize ourselves. 

The post Decolonize Your Mind: Listen to Esperanza Spalding appeared first on KRUI Radio.