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Congratulations to our instructor Kathleen Rugh! She just recieved a grant from the NY State Council on the Arts. Kathy is an extremely intuitive and dedicated instructor, we are proud to have such a hard working woman in our crew here at BkC.
She will be screening a few of her films this Tuesday night:
CoWorker Projects is pleased to present video works by Kathleen Rugh including I Remember That They Existed, But Not What They Were, Staring Back, Light Leaks #1 Excerpt, andLight Leaks #2 Excerpt.
Kathleen Rugh is a filmmaker and photographer based in Brooklyn, New York. Her artwork centers around an interest in our methods of perception. Through her work she searches for a deeper awareness of the places that easily get overlooked in our daily routine. Through her filming she uses a range of film stocks, cameras, and shooting techniques as a means to draw attention to the camera and film medium as a device for visual translations rather than something that offers a truthful document. The work also acts as an examination of how our surroundings can affect us on a psychological or emotional level. The films relate more to our perceptions and unconscious reactions rather than merely mimicking how we see the world.
Kathleen Rugh’s films have been exhibited in screenings and galleries throughout the US and internationally, including the Edinburgh International Film Festival, EXiS Experimental Film Festival in Seoul, Korea, the Antimatter Film Festival in Victoria, BC, the Chicago Underground Film Festival, the Milwaukee Underground Film Festival, and the Athens International Film and Video Festival. She recently received a grant through the New York State Council on the Arts’ Electronic Media & Film Finishing Fund grant program administered by the ARTS Council of the Southern Finger Lakes. Rugh completed an MFA at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston/Tufts University.
Alchemy With ASTROCATZ: Thoughts on Doc
The Appalachian Mountains induce a healing transformation in your body and mind that stays with your no matter what city you move to. I was born in Watauga Hospital in Boone N.C. in 1983 and went on to spend my early 20’s romping those purifying mountains. As a result I have always been drawn to bluegrass music and would like to think it runs through my blood.
I think my first memory of hearing master guitar picker Doc Watson was riding up highway 321 with another N.C. folk singer Jesse Stockton listening to old recordings. Doc Watson was not only one of the greatest influences for generations of folk and rock guitarists, he was the root and heart of the Appalachian Mountains. Bob Dylan was once quoted saying “the fellow can play the guitar with such ability… just like water running.”
Blind since he was an infant he once told interviewers “that had he not been blind, he would have become an auto mechanic and been just as happy.” I remember seeing him at the local Boone grocery store shopping for produce with his wife Rosa Lee Carlton. The way he calmly searched for the perfectly ripened piece of fruit was so humble and beautiful.
Somewhere in a parallel universe Doc and his son Merle Watson are on a mountain playing together again.
Last year a life size statue was dedicated to Doc in Boone N.C. and he requested that inscription read precisely: simply “Just One of the People.”
RIP Doc Watson 1923 - 2012
We see a lot of photographers flock to Dumbo and take the same picture of the same bridge day in and day out. So it brings us no small satisfaction to find people who search for new ways to see their world.
Unfortunately Tumblr is a vortex of endless reblogging, and therefore it’s nearly impossible for us to attribute this photo to that person.
If anyone knows, please tell us!
(via daeths)
SHOOTING WITH WHAT YOU GOT: iPhoneography
So here at BkC we’re pretty big on do-it-yourselfing. Sure, having a lot of sophisticated equipment and a hodgepodge of cool gadgets and gear may help you in some ways, but more often than not we find it can bog you down. So many decisions to make, so many (expensive) things to break, and sometimes we find ourselves hamstrung by too much choice. Know what we mean? When the world is your oyster, you might find yourself wishing for a stuffed clam, or maybe even an avocado sandwich.
That’s why the iPhone is such an interesting tool. First of all, there are precious few features on the device itself. It’s a consistent size and shape. It does a pretty serviceable job with both photos AND video, and you can stash it pretty much anywhere. Oh, and you can make phone calls and listen to tunes and do your taxes on it if that’s your thing. But let’s just address the camera portion for just one second…
For what it is, the camera is quite remarkable. Equipped with a wide-angle lens (about 30mm if you’re used to old film cameras) and semi-automatic focus/exposure control (tap to focus, set exposure), this camera won’t win awards for versatility, but that’s kind of the point. Sometimes limitations can spur the creative mind, and working with a very simplified device can be advantageous for getting “the shot”. You know the one we’re talking about.
Think back for a moment on cameras that have really captured the imagination of a whole generation of people. The Brownie. The Instamatic. The Polaroid. Think about it… what made them ubiquitous?
It was precisely the simplicity, the ease of use, the beauty of minimal design… You may call it lack of features, but we feel it is exactly that absence of confusing dials and buttons that allows the person operating it to work fluidly, to adjust to its known idiosyncracies, and to “feel” the experience more. These cameras have immediacy, and they have cultural impact through their sheer ubiquity. Artists like William Eggleston and Stephen Shore once exploited this quality in their early color photography work, and the controversial reaction continues today.
What the iPhone adds to these iconic cameras is wireless sharing. And a ton of cool post-production apps.
In iPHONEOGRAPHY 101, Justin will take you on a trip down photomemory lane, sharing a brief slideshow history of snapshot photography over the past 50 years, and discussing what makes the iPhone so unique and full of potential. We’ll use our favorite picture taking app, ProCamera, which has a few killer feature that you’ll actually use. We’ll talk Instagram, Tumblr, apps that don’t suck (and are free), and do a lot of shooting inside and out. It’s an ambitious 3-hour workshop, and it’s totally fun.
And also it’s totally discounted… normally $75.00, you can sign up for iPhoneography 101 for just 49 bucks.
iPhoneography 101: Sat, June 2, 4:30 - 7:30 pm
(also don’t forget to check out DIY Printmaking tomorrow night from 6:30 - 9:30 pm!)
ARTHUR RUBINSTEIN plays Rachmaninov’s “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini” (1950)
Tom Griscom is one of the most positive humans I have ever met and is fortunately one of our instructors here at BkC. He was recently featured in the San Francisco Chronicle delivering these words of wisdom:
- Take risks. Do things outside of your comfort zone. You hate to see redundancy in someone’s work.
- Treat everything as subject matter. Have a world view and fit your subjects into how you see the world.
- Be interested and engaged in the world. You will find that everything you come across could be an interesting subject to photograph.
- Don’t worry about “style” so much, just expand your vision and your style will follow.
- Inspiration really does change from time to time.
- Choose what works best for what you are interested in at any given time, the way a painter or a musician does. They change their styles and methods constantly. They evolve.
- Understand how to use the tools you have to make the most expressive work you can. Intent will dictate how you use the tools.
- Take a photograph a day - treat it like getting up and going to the gym.
“And always remember what Malcolm Gladwell said - ‘anybody can be a master of anything if they put in 10,000 hours.’ ”I believe this to be true about everything in life.” Check out the full article here.
Photographs by Tom Griscom, to see more visit www.tomgriscom.com.
Stefan Sagmeister on HAPPINESS
Just a couple hours from the BK, NY-based graphic designer Stefan Sagmeister has his first museum show: “The Happy Show”. Stefan Sagmeister fills the entire second story of Philadelphia’s ICA with paragraphs in Sharpie, video installations, interactive installations, infographics, and huge blown up monkeys (seen above). Many people may know him for his creative blend of typography and imagery, the album covers that got him started (Rolling Stones, Talking Heads, Lou Reed, OK Go, etc.), or his live video of his studio on his blog (http://www.sagmeister.com/) that only makes you feel a little bit creepy. This exhibition focuses on his happiness rules to live by, some of which you can only see when you participate in them (much to the museum guards amusement). Definitely worth a visit if you are ever in the area, plus Philly’s ICA is freeeee!
Alchemy with ASTROCATZ: Immortals & Artists
Sometimes I worry about what I would be like if I didn’t have a sister to raise and teach me everything I know today. My sister is very much a supernatural artist and goddess who has always lead an honest avant-garde lifestyle. I grew up with her painting my face in war paint and spinning me around, making hand puppets to vent about this strange world, and always ALWAYS dancing. She gave me my first Portishead album, taught me astrology, and continues to influence and scoop me up from any dark point in my life.
She married an equally magical, brilliant artist who made our family make sense for the first time. Jimmy O’Neal is by far the most interesting person I have ever encountered and I am only scratching the surface here. Trust me I will definitely post more about these two once I find the right words.
For now watch this video about my Brother Jimmy O’Neal and his opening this month at Bill Lowe Gallery in Atlanta. Bill Lowe describes Jimmy’s work as “nectar of the gods” it gets a tad sexual which is always fun.
“Jimmy O’Neal defies artistic categorization. His fascination with the time-space continuum draws him to all corners of arts and sciences. The metaphysical works that result are peripheral evidence of the worlds that lay beyond our conscious mind and perception.” - Brad Thomas curator of the Museum of Davidson College.
Astrocatz
PHYSICS!
PRINCE RAMA “15 Minute Exorcise”
Last night these girls, the Larson sisters, led our people at Rabbithole through a psychaerobic dancercize session before disappearing in a haze of glitter.
Recommended.
Two records Shadow Temple and Trust Now are released through Paw Tracks. The rest you can find here.
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