Neville Brody

With over one hundred years behind the brand, the exhibition celebrated two things vital to Converse’s heritage of storytelling– words and type. “Off Canvas” showcased the work of international and local artists notorious for their artistry of words. Culling from the diverse worlds of graphic design, art, and graffiti, the installations revealed communities and canvases where China’s emerging scenes in indie music, art, fashion and skate are based. The work of artists Benny Luk (Hong Kong), Ying Yonghui (Shanghai), Nod Young (Beijing), Neville Brody (London), Ben Eine (London) and Niels Shoe Meulman (Amsterdam) compose a map that includes the quaint Wudaoying Hutong to the packed streets of Xidan to the art district of 798/D-Park to the façade of the live music venue Mao Livehouse.

Brody is known to many for his cutting edge digital typography and graphic design that helped define the lasting pop culture aesthetic that he still redefines today. As the general public has learned from that time in the 80′s the choice and usage of typography contains many hidden messages. Brody once said, “Typography is a hidden tool of manipulation within society.” Neville Brody studied graphic design at the London College of Printing from 1977 until 1980. In the early 1980s Neville Brody became art director at Fetish Records. Belonging to the fringe music scene, Neville Brody experimented with new typefaces, informed by ideas drawn from the subculture. Neville Brody mixed fonts, ignored typeface sizes and standard distances between lines, interspersing fonts with decorative elements. From 1981 until 1986 Neville Brody was art director at “The Face” magazine, for which he designed a distinctive typography that inspired magazine producers and designers worldwide.

The film was shot and produced by Petter Eldin of Studio Stare in Shanghai, an amazing group of visual storytellers we hope to be featuring more of on the Independent Media Channel.

This 9-minute film documents one of the fastest-growing and most effective forces combating climate change: organized grassroots movements. Centering around efforts to overturn California’s historic global warming legislation, the film highlights how community organizations and networks throughout the state played a crucial role in mobilizing the vote in immigrant and low income communities to defeat Proposition 23, making the case that equity-based and community-driven solutions are essential in bringing about the deeper restructuring of societies to confront the climate crisis.

For more information about the film and grassroots organizing to combat climate change, visit the film’s website, http://wherewelivefilm.org/

“The hardest part was peeling away these layers of fear…”

Video Direction: Wormintruder aka: Shiloh Jenz
Music: Prospero’s Ritual (Jez Velasquez & Lathan Jeremy)
Animation Sequences: WormWood Productions – Wormintruder & Sign69

Posted to the Independent Media Channel Group on Vimeo (–>)

wormintruder.com
sign69.com
aterriblemind.com

Audio | Luper’s theme by Sandra Chechik – Tulse Luper Journey – Additionnal voices.
Loops for Lupercyclopedia’s project.

‎”Nous isolons de la complexité immense du réel quelques éléments, nous créons le plus souvent, une série en extrayant ces éléments-là de cette immense complexité.”
Christian Dotremont

So, it can be said that Seymour’s approach to the concept of beauty, or an analysis of current day thinking on the subject of aesthetics, comes from the perspective of product design; at the same time various people would say, a gifted field of endeavor, one of the driving forces behind capitalism and therefore a veiled and corrupt form of seduction, and something that we either intentionally or subconsciously persuades us many times a day. I watch a lot of the TED talks as so many people do because of the inspired and revealing comments from the chosen speakers. Seymour knows his field, and he does a good job putting into perspective how the context of an image, a motorcycle, or any object or person affects our emotional reaction to “beauty.” Many other perspectives in the field of aesthetics to explore; but this is a good entry point, and while the academic perspective can be quite dense, Seymour explores it an a humorous and interesting way. (Re-published under a Creative Commons license.)

Video: Isabel Perez Del Pulgar & Roland Quelven.
Music The Song of Sirens: Sofia Koubli.
Vocal improvisation: Chrysa Tsaltampasi.

Roland Quelven
vimeo.com/rolandquelven
mubi.com/garage/films?user_id=383715

Sofia Koubli-Music/Sound Design

Isabel Perez del Pulgar – La Dama Roja.
vimeo.com/perezdelpulgar

Chrysa Tsaltampasi
myspace.com/chproject1

“Locomotive”, the most recent addition to the mosaic screen installation in the foyer of Place des Arts, is a fantastical portrayal of a human machine.

The context resembles an elaborate organic dominos game. It begins with a musical impulse and is accompanied by an inexorable advancement of light.

Human flesh makes up a patchwork of glittering metallic members – which have the luster of new pistons and bolts – engendering a hybrid mass.

Caught in awkward tension, the bodies quiver in suspension, the movement becoming increasingly intense until released by the passing impulse.

The carefully synchronized three-dimensional chain reaction of image, sound and light dehumanizes the body while simultaneously makes us smile. Uncomfortable yet intrigued, the eye of the passer cannot turn away from the machine. The complexity of the work lies in its ambiguity of being funny, monstrous, and sensual all at the same time.

The totality of this intriguing puzzle is best seen by taking a step back. However, in order to observe and appreciate the detail of the movement, it is equally engaging to advance forward. Each gear, wheel and suture plays its role to tie the whole piece together.
For this project, in lieu of creating a work that is intrinsically promotional, Place des Arts has taken the risk of acting as a sponsor and distributor of this purely artistic and cinematic endeavor.

Conceived with the intention of using the proposed space – its limitations and constraints – in the pursuit giving life to a custom made creation, “Locomotive” highlights the artistic potential of the mosaic screens in the foyer.

Work in progress. It will be live very soon.

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Réalisation: Thibaut Duverneix
Conception: Thibaut Duverneix & Mathieu Léger
Assistante à la mise en scène: Ashlea Watkin

Production: Departement
Production déléguée: Antler Films
Producteur Exsecutif: Sach Baylin Stern
Producteur: Josh Usheroff

Direction Photo: Christophe Collette
Maquillage: Anicko Bouchard
Direction artistique: Mathieu Léger
Montage – Post Production – Colorisation: Thibaut Duverneix

Composition de la musique: David Drury
Production de la musique: Christian Olsen & David Drury
Contrebasse: Sage Reynolds

Interprètes:

Allison Blakley
Victoria Diamond
Jérémy Fiset
Milan Gervais
Emily Gualtiery
Lael Stellick
Andrew Tay
Ashlea Watkin

Assistant Caméra: Mariane Laporte
Machiniste: Max Robert
Électricien: Christian Mouzard
Assistant de Production: Mathieu Lefrancois-Gauvreau
Stagiaire: Hans Bobanovits
Technicien Imagerie Numérique: Alexis Vanier
Intégration Watchout: Thibaut Duverneix & Philippe Larocque

Un grand merci à:

Place des Arts
Sophie Labelle
Samuel Rigaux
Lucie Ladhui
Cinepool
Cineffects
Département Caméra
Scapin Staging

Concept, director, producer, camera, editor & postproduction: Borja F. Alexandre
Acting: Martina Anguera Tamayo, Nuria Tamayo, Sergi Venteo, Henna Koskinen
Director of photography and camera: Daniel Ospina
Music: “Nina de Bronze Trencada” by Minimal 21 [Nuria Tamayo, Sergi Venteo & Uri Codina]
Steadycam: Carlos Izquierdo steadycam.tk
Production assistant: Jaime F. Alexandre
Make up: Gloria Tamayo

Special thanks: Eduardo Cabriada

Shot in Barcelona & Tarragona with EOS7D + 2 MarkII. 2011