Nick Cave Soundsuits, Courtesy of Jack Shainman Gallery
Artist Nick Cave has been using his wearable Soundsuits in performances, collaborating with locals to create dynamic visual and aural sequences that are unlikely to be confused with the output of the other musician with the same name.
Nick Cave Soundsuits: Untitled, 2009 Digital c, print, Courtesy of Jack Shainman Gallery
By Aaron Barr
'Braindrop' - Photo by Marc Whalen
At the Escape to New York festival in Southampton earlier this month, I found myself sitting inside a 17-foot tall sculpture called Braindrop alongside it’s creator, Kate Raudenbush, and a mix of good friends and strangers. With eloquence and charm, Kate explained her inspiration for the artwork and how to best experience it – from the inside, lying on one’s back, looking up into the vortex – which reveals a surprisingly breathtaking, kaleidoscope effect.
Kate Raudenbush is a New York City-based sculpture artist who uses symbolism for social commentary and self-reflection. Integral to her work is the public’s participation, so it was nothing short of kismet that we found ourselves, friends and strangers alike, conversing and sharing, while inside a huge steel drop of water.
Photo by Bodgan Pedovic, EXIT Photo Team
This weekend, concertgoers in the hundreds of thousands will venture into a gorgeous 17th century Petrovaradin fortress perched on the right bank of the Danube river in Novi Sad, Serbia for four days and nights of music from around the globe.
Stages are scattered in various locations throughout the fortress, from grass covered moats through stone tunnels to expansive courtyards – that create an incomparable music festival experience.
Illustration by Luke Wilson
Alexis Georgopoulos, or ARP, follows up 2007’s In Light with The Soft Wave, out September 7, 2010 on Smalltown Supersound. Recorded as Georgopoulos relocated from San Francisco to New York, The Soft Wave is expansive in scope, unfolding like a collection of short stories or filmic vignettes, each piece building upon the other. Whereas In Light was made with only vintage analog synthesizers, The Soft Wave incorporates guitars, piano, flute, and Ebows to create a dense brocade of sound. Georgopoulos even steps up to the mic for the gorgeous centerpiece “From A Balcony Overlooking The Sea”, calling to mind classic John Cale and Brian Eno along the way. Though Georgopoulos still has a knack for creating environments in which you want to recline, hammock–style, he’s also peppered The Soft Wave with soft blasts of blissed–out fuzz. Recorded to 2–inch tape, it’s warm glow and blown–out formalism will undoubtedly appeal to a broad, sophisticated range of tastes.
N.E.R.D. rolling around the California desert in their custom Rolls Royce
Previous coverboy Pharrell Williams has been busy, he’s in two new music videos. After multiple teasers by director Fro Rojas, N.E.R.D.’s “Hot-n-Fun” music video featuring Nelly Furtado off of the upcoming album Nothing has been officially released. Pharrell is also featured in the first single “ADD SUV” off of Uffie’s very first album, Sex Dreams and Denim Jeans. Apparently, riding around in cars with the top down is the thing to do this summer. Watch the videos after the link.
Photo: Ruud Baan/Bernstein and Andriulli
M.I.A.’s third album “/\/\/\Y/\” drops July 13th, 2010, and leading up to the release is a flurry of media attention. The latest development is a less than flattering write-up in the New York Times by Lynn Hirschberg full of thinly veiled barbs. The singer responds in true M.I.A. fashion, tweeting the writer’s mobile phone number and inviting people to “CALL ME IF YOU WANNA TALK TO ME ABOUT THE N Y T TRUTH ISSUE.”
The Observer catches Hirschberg’s response to the M.I.A. tweet. The author says, “It’s a fairly unethical thing to do, but I don’t think it’s surprising… She’s a provocateur, and provocateurs want to be provocative.” Hirschberg also finds the tweet “infuriating and surprising.” Despite the various messages from people trying to connect to M.I.A., Hirschberg will keep the same mobile phone number.
Look for M.I.A. on the cover of our next issue, hitting newsstands June 14th, 2010. Inside she waxes about the state of the music industry, saying “You can’t just turn everything you’re doing into encouraging other people to be product buyers,” she continues. “It’s fucked up because I have to make music and ultimately, everyone should hear the music. But people have to buy it for my label to be happy. I just feel like everything is being consumed by corporations. It’s such a thin line for me, because they help me get [my music] out to more people, but I don’t want to be in there.”
Subscribe to SPREAD | ArtCulture via RSS
Subscribe to SPREAD | ArtCulture by Email