indian melancholia & a knock on the window pane
ali akbar khan(melancholia since 01/2008)(music):-sundaram balachander: magic music of india, 1963 (indian veena player)-sundaram balachander: sounds of the veena, 1967-sundaram balachander: man from madras, 1968-pandit vishwa mohan bhatt: saltanah (with simon shaheen), 1997 (hindustani guitar player [guitar is modified with the addition of several drone strings and eight sympathetic strings and
drifting upward due to a slight increase in the magnetic field
spiraling electronfrom an atlas of typical expansion chamber photographs, 1954by wolfgang gentner, heinzmaier-leibnitz and walther bothefound in the book objectivity, 2007 by lorraine daston and peter galison
it was a scarcely human presence-rather that of a peculiar bat fluttering here in the twilight that rose over the earth
julien gracq: balcony in the forest,1958 (librarie jose corti) & 1959 (george braziller, inc.)jacket design by william and caroline harrishalf dozing already, he listened calmly to the forest growing.(page 106)there was a subtle silence in the blockhouse now, the silence of keen eyes, which weighs less than that of straining ears - it was the silence of a workroom absorbed in delicate needlework.
there is something going on in the sky like a decomposition, like a corruption of the air, which remains as still as ever
john ford: the long voyage home, 1940(dp: gregg toland)the only spot of light in the ship at night was that of the compass-lamps, lighting up the faces of the succeeding helmsmen; for the rest we were lost in the darkness, i walking the poop and the men lying about the decks. they were all so reduced by sickness that no watches could be kept. those who were able to walk remained all the time on
the sea: void, darkness, mysterious, not a sound
the bay of arcachon and lighthouse on cape ferret, 1871seascape by moonlight, 1873-76 (both images from manet and the sea, by juliet wilson-bareau and david degeneryale university press 2003)after sunset i came out on deck again to meet only a still void. the thin, featureless crust of the coast could not be distinguished. the darkness had risen around the ship like a mysterious emanation from
Why were you born when the snow was falling? You should have come to the cuckoo's calling Or when grapes are green in the cluster, Or, at least, when lithe swallows muster For their far off flying From summer dying. Why did you die when the lambs were cropping? You should have died at the apples' dropping, When the grasshopper comes to trouble, And the wheat-fields are sodden
of bees, bells, and glass skies
františek vláčil: údolí včel (valley of the bees), 1967a few fragments from a film where the visuals are easily the most breathtaking elements and moments of sound seem to echo bell tones, reminding me somehow of the beautiful percussive drones found in the work of zürich-based sound artist, jason kahn......and a humbly recorded bell tone excerpt (looped) from this film can be downloaded here.((
coordinates what is heard and what is seen
leighton pierce: my person in the water, 2006pierce was a musician before he was a filmmaker. he made musique concrete and became attracted to film in part because "there was this problem with musique concrete; once you've constructed this music electronically on tape, what do you do at a concert? it's very awkward sitting in an auditorium listening to a tape". once he began to work with
waters are black and swirling.....
around me: i stand on the shorethe waters are black and swirling.....our eyes so fixedthat the darkness surrounds usunnoticedand we are drowned by the loss of lightunnoticeddavid tibet......he suffers this anguish and abandonment inthe horror of the night.....blaise pascal, penseeswhat shadows we are, and what shadows we pursueedmund burke, 1780(from the sleeve notes of the inmost light by
Labels:
current 93,
darkness,
drone,
music
14 words whose enunciation lasted 5 seconds
classic books (number 3):exercises de style by raymond queneau, editions gallimard 1947 (1958 translation by barbara wright)in a bus of the s-line, 10 metres long, 3 wide, 6 high, at 3 km. 600 m. from its starting point, loaded with 48 people, at 12.17 pm., a person of the masculine sex aged 27 years 3 months and 8 days, 1 m. 72 cm. tall and weight 65 kg. and wearing a hat 35 cm. in height round
a bird falls, the grass grows dark
john james audubon, snowy owlwhat sustains it, half-open, the clarity of nightfall, the light let loose in the gardens?all the branches, conquered by the weight of birds, lean toward the darkness.pure, self-absorbed moments still gleam on the fences.receiving night, the groves become hushed fountains.a bird falls, the grass grows dark, edges blur, lime is black, the world is less credible.octavio
we live, as we dream - alone...
victor hugo, the vision ship 1864-65(images contributed by gossamer)we penetrated deeper and deeper into the heart of darkness. it was very quiet there. at night sometimes the roll of drums behind the curtain of trees would run up the river and remain sustained faintly, as if hovering in the air high over our heads, till the first break of day.the offing was barred by a black bank of clouds,
for some men live in darkness
closing sequence fromgeorg wilhelm pabst's the three penny opera, 1931music by kurt weill from the play by bertolt brechtcinematography by fritz arno wagnerrelated business:(cds):-lotte lenya sings kurt weill's the seven deadly sins & berlin theatre songs(lenya's 1957 recordings of sins and 1955 recording sings berlin theatre songs)-lotte lenya sings weill, the american theatre songs (recorded in
a deep grave surely
"The stillness was that of a deep grave, save for the raindrops, falling light as thistledown, with a faint, monotonous sound like a whisper that dies and begins again and dies there behind the wet, glistening trunks."~J. P. Jacobsen, Marie Grubbe, 1876
angelic language has nothing in common with human language,
classic books (number 2):imagining language: an anthology, edited by jed jasula and steve mccaffery, mit press 1998includes:-richard head and francis kirkman: canting vocabulary, 1665 (compact lexicon of rogue idiolect)-robert desnos: rrose sélavy, etc., 1923-john dee and edward kelley: enochian table, 1581-1589 & the enocian call, 1581-1589-emanuel swedenborg: the angelic language, 1768 (blog
...songs are sung
some new items:-edvard munch: the complete graphic works by gerd woll (harry n. abrams 2001)-joseph cornell and the ballet by sandra leonard starr (castelli feigen corcoran 1983)-joseph cornell by diane waldman (george braziller 1977)-george de la tour by jacques thuillier and fabia claris (flammarion 1993)-anni albers: pictorial weavings (mit 1959)-austerlitz by w.g. sebald-the shadow-line: a
it does not permit itself to be read (interval of a glance)
david lean: oliver twist, 1948, dp: guy greenas the night deepened, so deepened to me the interest of the scene; for not only did the general character of the crowd materially alter (its gentler features retiring in the gradual withdrawal of the more orderly portion of the people, and its harsher ones coming out into bolder relief, as the late hour brought forth every species of infamy from its
Labels:
darkness,
edgar poe,
film,
literature
Darwin, who was born into a large family that for two generations had been scientists, engineers, industrialists, and well-to-do landowners, and yet who, despite his genius, was a sufferer of neuroses, constant illnesses (he vomited every afternoon at four), a kind of hysteria that took the form of gasping and palpitation, and seizures of depression in which he wept uncontrollably.- Guy
normalcaffeineLSDmescaline1)"Nourished on the blood of a schizophrenic, a spider weaves crazy webs."-Guido Ceronetti, The Silence of the Body2)During the 1950s, a swiss pharmacologist named Peter Witt conducted a set of experiments in spider doping. He found that the spiders spun uniquely cockeyed webs depending on which substance they had ingested.-images and Peter Witt information from the
there amid murmurs, insinuations, visual thunder
stéphane mallarmé, photograph by félix nadarit seemed to me that i was looking at the form and patterns of a thought, placed for the first time in finite space. here space itself truly spoke, dreamed, and gave birth to temporal forms. expectancy, doubt, consternation, all were visible things.... there amid murmurs, insinuations, visual thunder, a whole spiritual tempest carried page by page to
transcending the universe, time, etc.
spinning trees from andrei tarkovsky's ivanovo detstvo, 1962(best of 2007)music:-3/4hadbeeneliminated: theology (soleilmoon recordings)-amiina: kurr (ever records)-asher: in camera (homophoni)-asher: untitled composition (for b) (leerraum)-asher: the depths, the colors, the objects & the silence (mystery sea)-william basinski: shortwave music (2062)-william basinski: el camino real (2062)-the
i wish all fields were paper
Miserere my Maker o have mercie on me wretchstrangelye distressedcast downe with sinne oppressedmightelye vext to the souls bitter anguisheeven to death I languishe,yet let it please thee to earemy ceaseless cryingemiserere, I am dyinge.anonymous- thank you Antonia ( http://oneinten.blogspot.com/)
mouchette and some french field recordings
robert bresson: mouchette, 1967mouchette soundtrack briefly availableexamples of french field recordings: the work of yannick dauby,sound artist:select discography:-songs of a few cicadas from taiwan, kalerne temporary editions, 2007-songs of a few crickets from europe, kalerne temporary editions, 2007-songs of a few amphibians from taiwan, kalerne temporary editions, 2007-février, cherry music,
He had a strange affinity with animals of all sorts, an eerie ability to get along amazingly well with them. At the zoo, lions and tigers would take one look at Buster's unsmiling face and come to him immediately.- Tom Dardis, KeatonBeneath his lack of emotion he was also uninsistently sardonic; deep below that...for those who sensed it, there was in his comedy a freezing whisper not of pathos
fire, void and ashes
the presence of fire in the void, monte hellman's two-lane blacktop, 1971 words from pierre restany's book yves klein: fire at the heart of the void
only, the fruit still has to avoid being eaten
some examples from robert motherwell/george wittenborn's documents of modern art (1944-1972), covers and typography by paul rand.titles include:guillaume apollinaire: the cubist painters (1944)piet mondrain: plastic art and pure plastic art (1945)lászló moholy-nagy: the new vision (1946)louis henry sullivan: kindergarten chats (1947)wassily kandinsky: concerning the spiritual in art (1947)jean
days of heaven (thirteen)
terrence malick: days of heaven, 1978cinematography: néstor almendros with additional work by haskell wexler, camera operator: john baileyhieronymus bosch: the temptations of st. anthony
mysterious and invisible
last film of 2007. filmed in 2 parts. part one with magic hour, fireflies and piano. part two with wasser and light. sound discovered and realized by asher and rendered by m swiezynski.early version available briefly here.
spinning camera in berlin alexanderplatz
crowd images from the boxing sequence in rainer werner fassbinder's epilogue from berlin alexanderplatz, 1980.the camera spins around and around from the center of the ring, picking up ghostly images of the cheering crowd. camerawork by xaver schwarzenberger.
…all these adventurers, fairy tale princes, sea pirates, and magnanimous criminals, I don’t complain that they have passed on but I would wish that they might find with every new orbit that life affords us successors on whom the whole sum of love and belief dedicated to them might be carried on.- Ernst Junger
...from aft came the tunes of the band....
(iceberg)...from aft came the tunes of the band..... the ship was gradually turning on her nose - just like a duck that goes down for a dive. i had only one thing on my mind - to get away from the suction. the band was still playing. i guess all of the band went down. they were playing autumn then. i swam with all my might. i suppose i was 150 feet away when the titanic, on her nose, with her
Labels:
drone,
film,
gavin bryars,
music
E is for elephant
The elephant is only a huge beast, but he is the most worthy that lives on the earth and has the most sense. I want to tell you about a characteristic of his honesty: he never changes females and loves tenderly the one he has chosen, with whom he nonetheless copulates only every three years, and that only for five days, so secretly that he is never seen in the act. But he is seen, however, on
ford at fox
ford at fox: 24 films from john ford’s years with twentieth century fox where he made more than 50 films from 1920 through 1952includes:disc 1: what price glorydisc 2: my darling clementinedisc 3: how green was my valleydisc 4: tobacco roaddisc 5: grapes of wrathdisc 6: drums along the mohawkdisc 7: wee willie winkiedisc 8: young mister lincolndisc 9: prisoner on shark islanddisc 10: steamboat
Labels:
book collecting,
books,
film,
john ford
scarce sufficient to afford a dish of hodge-podge
classic books (number 1):don quixote by miguel de cervantespart one first published in 1605, part two in 1615in a village of la mancha the name of which i have no desire to recall, there lived not so long ago one of those gentlemen who always have a lance in the rack, an ancient buckler, a skinny nag, and a greyhound for the chase. a stew with more beef than mutton in it, chopped meat for his
"Who knows," says Euripides, "if life is not death, and death life?" Plato in one of his dialogues puts these words into the mouth of Socrates, the wisest of men, the very man who created the theory of general ideas and first considered the clarity and distinctness of our judgments to be an index of their truth. According to Plato, Socrates almost always when death is discussed says the same, or
When my mother died I was very young,And my father sold me while yet my tongueCould scarcely cry 'weep! 'weep! 'weep! 'weep!So your chimneys I sweep, and in soot I sleep.There's little Tom Dacre, who cried when his head,That curled like a lamb's back, was shaved: so I said,"Hush, Tom! never mind it, for when your head's bare,You know that the soot cannot spoil your white hair."And so he was quiet
This running against the walls of our cage is perfectly, absolutely hopeless.Ethics so far as it springs from the desire to say something about the ultimate meaning of life, the absolute good, the absolute valuable, can be no science.What it says does not add to our knowledge in any sense. But it is a document of a tendency in the human mind which I personally cannot help respecting deeply and I
When I am dead, my dearestWhen I am dead, my dearest,Sing no sad songs for me;Plant thou no roses at my head,Nor shady cypress tree:Be the green grass above meWith showers and dewdrops wet;And if thou wilt, remember,And if thou wilt, forget.I shall not see the shadows,I shall not feel the rain;I shall not hear the nightingaleSing on, as if in pain:And dreaming through the twilightThat doth not
"Could I be a Punch? The Punch of my childhood you know - his spine broken in two, his nose on the floor between his feet, his legs and arms rigidly spread in that attitude of profound despair, so pathetically droll, of toys tossed in a corner ... This evening I seem to be within a corner, spine cracked, nose in the dust. Would you kindly scrape together the poor devil, put him tenderly in your
a mystery drone soundscape journey along the shores of an unfathomable glistening sea....
yui onodera: suiseimoljebka pvlse: driftsondchristopher willits + ryuichi sakamoto: ocean firesigur rós: heima steinbrüchel: basisnew music:-yui onodera: suiseiand/oar, 2007so far, one of my favourite discs of 2007, simply beautiful and delicate, produced and designed by dale lloyd, one of his (and/oar) best yet.(suisei is a work composed from field recordings and pump organ. with suisei, each
magic hour two, images of heaven
images of heaven, 2007magic hour number two by m swiezynski (starring mouse and midnight [les chats],the lightowlers, langston and arthur de eriomém)shot using a nd filter, drone techniques, 6 actors, the setting sun,and shooting methods devised for shooting such actresses as greta garbo and marlene dietrichall titles from francis a yates' the art of memorydedicated to the late friend and actor
Marc Vaughn Moore 1.22.69 - 11.26.04
Each departed friend is a magnet that attracts usto the next world.- Jean Paul
not from this world
Karl Erb was the illegitimate son of an assembly line worker. His childhood and adolescence were sad and poverty-stricken. He was misanthropic, introverted and tended to inordinatethrift and self-sufficiency. He was an autodidact and had analmost fanatical love for his mother. He was the greatestEvangelist (in Bach's "St. Matthews Passion") and the mostspiritual, angelic lied and oratorio
( as defined dreams of moments sometimes )
antonella de messina: the annunciation, 1476determined moments from recent dreamsokreślane momenty od niedawnych snówsince a short time defined moments dreamszaczynając od (od czasu; od tego czasu, jak) krótki czas określał sny momentówfrom beginning ( since; from this time, as defined dreams of moments ) short time (sometimes)od rozpoczęcia ( zaczynając od (od czasu; od tego czasu, jak); od tego
To a Little GirlSleep on, little oneAll is well.Better to die thusThan go to Hell.Life is cold and hardDeath is sweetMany the traps are setFor wandering feet.Would I could die as thouHast done this dayIn childish faith and loveBe ta'en away.Rest, my little oneFlowers on your breastSafe in the cold earth's armsEver at rest.Katherine Mansfield, written at the age of 15- thank you, Antonia
rue de vaugirard, 1909 at yale
m swiezynski: rue de vaugirard, 1909, 1998recent screening at yale university school of art (november 5, 2007) of an older video by the unrecognized polish film-maker.this video was originally shot on 16mm, then transferred to video, then back to film and finally to video again (under the spell of lucier's i am sitting in a room). slowmotion techniques were used for visual accuracy, and a contact
the most beautiful man alive
"His dress and appearance were those suggesting a released convict...He wore, habitually, a rusty black coat with a crumpled black silk stock, his throat destitute of collar, a costume which his muscular frame and immense chest made singularly and incongruously hideous, above it a countenance the most sinister I have ever seen, dark, cruel, treacherous with eyes like a wild beast's. He reminded
Christ's body, in the instance of the eucharist, is the most delicate and precious morsel that ever existed in the world. But some say it was Cleopatra who ate that morsel when she swallowed a pearl worth more than two hundred fifty thousand écus with a sip of vinegar. Others say it was that greedy emperor who ate the phoenix, or who was made to believe that he had eaten it for his dinner.
było ciemno, gdy noc w cieniach (pogrążona), it was dark as night in shadows
joseph cornell: box with bird's nest and oak gallscornell study centerfrom joseph cornell navigating the imaginationdirty skylight window (or rainy day effect dim light)-then very conscious of mechanics of light coming thruor by a table very bright...stained hands with black ink not minding(page 15)-also a sequence of being on a couch and looking outas though over a river at night & up at the
(Thoreau's essay Cape Cod :)"...You should read the first few pages particularly, about starting a walking tour along a beach after a shipwreck, with people pulling out bodies and packing them in coffins.After describing the scene he saysOn the whole it was not so impressive a scene as I might have expected. If I had found one body cast upon the beach in some lonely place, it would have affected
From these random slips, it would seem, that Pierre is quite conscious of much that is so anomalously hard and bitter in his lot, of much that is so black and terrific in his soul. Yet that knowing his fatal condition does not one whit enable him to change or better his condition. Conclusive proof that he has no power over his condition. For in tremendous extremities human souls are like drowning
certain (of) the good humour of the duck
duck hunter falls out of boat; drowns , goop joe's poultry pages by joseph cornell (made for his family) on view at the sfmomahumour and the sublime. the noise was quite rambunctious at the cornell show, so i put on my headphones and i persuaded my ipod to act randomly by blindly pushing the buttons, and she chose to play akira rabelais/harold budd's as long as i can hold my breath, which i was
navigating the berlin alexanderplatz
the first image from rainer werner fassbinder's berlin alexanderplatz, 1980joseph cornell: navigating the imagination by lynda roscoe hartiganthis week (and last), i was able to aquire two of the greatest items imaginable, (and to see the joseph cornell exhibition at the sfmoma).both this film and cornell's work have been guiding lights for me over the last 15 years or so (berlin alexanderplatz
13 images of walking through fog from werckmeister harmonies (some related to the young death trilogy)
béla tarr: werckmeister harmonies, 2000shot length: 3.2 minutesone of the many long walking shots found in werckmeister harmonies, and, not unrelated to movements/moments found within gus van sant's young death trilogy, esp. gerry, 2002:shot relates to tarr's 5 minute shot in werckmeister harmonies (half of which is spent on walking) found 1 hour into the film, with jános and the professor
He came to believe that a normal, honest human being could not be a professor. It is the academy that gave him his reputation of impenetrable abstruseness; never has a man deserved a reputation less. Disciples who came to him expecting to find a man of incredibly deep learning, found a man who saw mankind held together by suffering alone, and he invariably advised them to be as kind as
"What are the dead for us, if not - first and foremost - books? Among all forms of prehistoric religions, the strangest and most difficult to understand in our own day seems the cult of the dead, the constant presence of the dead in every aspect of life. To a prehistoric man, in contrast, our strangest and most mysterious form of worship would be our use of books. Yet these two forms of believe
13 images of cow movement from sátántangó
béla tarr: sátántangó, 1994shot length: 7.7 minutesbéla's (films) seem to be a successful and authentic departure , a wholly other cinema beginning over again. a cinema that needed to come from outside our western culture, a lost rosebud, one of the many directions cinema might have taken before we sold ourselves down the river.béla's creations use static full figure landscapes, as if referencing
13 images of furniture destruction from sátántangó
béla tarr: sátántangó, 1994shot length: 3.1 minutespieter bruegel: the harvesters, 1565pieter bruegel: the peasant dance, c. 1568pieter bruegel: peasant wedding, c. 1568(number 1 in a series of béla tarr image posts)
Labels:
art,
bela tarr,
film,
pieter bruegel
"...the palest stain of their passing..."
"He hoped obscurely that she could save him,but he did not even know from what."~William Gay"...for the first time in his life he became aware of loneliness."~John WilliamsFrom the very fine found photos collection by Barry O'Connor(http://palest-stain.blogspot.com/)
trains in cinema, or fludd's memory system
new train film by matthew swiezynski: fludd's memory systemavailable for a brief preview here (all titles from frances a. yates' fine book the art of memory)related images from robert fludd's the macrocosm, 1617 & 1618:the great darknessthe appearance of lightthe division of the waterslet there be lightanselm kiefer: fur robert fluddfor more information on robert fludd, see joscelyn godwin's book
new stockings just to please you...
"Oh," she said: "Casey, it's been so long since I've seen you."Here," she said: "just a kiss to make a body smile."See," she said: "I've put on new stockings just to please you."Lord," she said. "Casey, can you only stay a while."(...)"Oh," she said: "I suppose you seldom think about me."Now," she said: "now that you've a family of your own."Still," she said: "It's so blessed good to feel your
In the morning of his days he was handsome - sleek as a raven, sprightly and spirited, and was then much caressed and happy. [...] It was once his hard lot to fall into the hands of Skinflint, a horse-keeper - an authorised wholesale and retail dealer in cruelty - who employed him alternately, but closely, as a hack, both in the chaise and for the saddle; for when the traces and trappings used in
I wish I was a mole in the groundYes I wish I was a mole in the groundIf I's a mole in the ground I'd root that mountain downAnd I wish I was a mole in the groundOh Tippy wants a nine dollar shawlYes Tippy wants a nine dollar shawlI come o'er the hill with a forty dollar billBaby where you been so longI been in the bend so longYes I been in the bend so longI been in the bend with the rough and
revenants
"Man whistles past graveyard on his long walk home.Imagines that his own heart stops and his hands getcold. But like in some Ambrose Bierce story he hearsthe church bells tone and the unbearable sound ofnails driving home the coffin lid - his coffin lid! -and he sees 2 white horses poised in the line. Coffingets lowered with golden chain. He shudders. Getshome, hugs his kids." American Primitive
trains in cinema, part 3
philip d'antoni: the seven-ups, 1973alan arkin: little murders, 1971elliott gould on the nyc subway, covered in bloodhal ashby: bound for glory, 1976bernardo bertolucci: il conformista, 1970stunning train sequences (one quite artificial) photographed by vittorio storarocharles brabin: the valley of the giants, 1927clarence brown: possessed, 1931one of the most spectacular sequences in film
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