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Sonar Base

Another Metropolis remix (above).

The complete, newly restored Metropolis (1927) will be showing locally at the Crest Theatre in Sacramento, September 11 and 12, 2010.

Found via Alex R. Trujillo

Tags: cool finds, design history, music by steve
1 comment . . .

‘The film’s title is an allusion to Tatlin’s Tower. This animated short by Theodore Ushev is like a whirlwind tour of Russian constructivist art and is filled with visual references to artists of the era, including Vertov, Stenberg, Rodchenko, Lissitsky and Popova.’

Brilliantly done! From 2006.

Tags: cool finds, design history, education, typography by steve
no comments . . .

Tatlin’s ‘Tower of Babel’

‘Tatlin’s Tower or The Monument to the Third International is a grand monumental building envisioned by the Russian artist and architect Vladimir Tatlin, but never built.’

Article here.

Tags: design, design history by steve
2 comments . . .

Lady Gaga with The Bolshoi Ballet

A trailer (above) for a performance you’ll never see – because it’s already passed.

Some info here. And the trailer was released four months after the event.

So.

Just enjoy.

Tags: art, cool finds, design, music by steve
1 comment . . .

Gaga, Mercury, Metropolis

Queen’s Radio Gaga. From 1984.

The video features public domain footage from Fritz Lang’s Metropolis (1927).

Metropolis’ New Tower of Babel; click for larger version/jump

Also in 1984, producer Giorgio Moroder updated Metropolis with a rock score – controversial for some purists. Queen’s Freddy Mercury contributed Love Kills to the soundtrack (video below); though unrelated to the Gaga single.

So far, Moroder’s new wave-esque version (due to music licensing) hasn’t been officially released on DVD. But in comparison to the original (which got a complete restoration just this year), Moroder’s music, color tints and enhanced sound fx result in a totally different, very 1980s film experience.

Tags: design history, music by steve
no comments . . .

Constructivism: Never Odd or Even

‘Constructivism was an artistic and architectural movement that originated in Russia from 1919 onward which rejected the idea of ‘art for art’s’ sake in favour of art as a practice directed towards social purposes . . . this video is part of the ‘Palette’ project and pays homage to Constructivism.’

Bill Hooper’s Never Odd or Even, video by Mark Garvey.

Tags: art, design history, music by steve
no comments . . .

Constructivist

Student-made trailer for a mock exhibition at the MoMA. Featuring Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew.

Tags: design history, education by steve
no comments . . .

Kurt Schwitters’ Primiti Too Taa

‘an excerpt from the poem Ursonate (Sonata in primitive sounds) by Kurt Schwitters (1887-1948)’

Created by Ed Ackerman and Colin Morton, 1986.

Found via Typophile

Tags: cool finds, design history, typography by steve
no comments . . .

Pssst: Jeanne Décoratifs preview

Here’s a sneak peek of some of the PROUNS-inspired dingbats that will be part of my upcoming Jeanne Texte font package.

The basic letterforms are now in technical review at Psy/Ops and I hope to have the new fonts completed and available by end of year. Crossing fingers.

Jeanne Texte is my sequel to Jeanne Moderno, which is available thru Psy/Ops, MyFonts and Ascender. Webfonts via Typekit.

Tags: fonts, illustration, mehallo merchandise, typography by steve
1 comment . . .

Bowie + Picasso, interpreted by Stéphane Evezard

Short animated film produced in 2004 by Paris8 University masters student Stéphane Evezard. Based on Bowie’s Pablo Picasso; from the album Reality.

Visit Stéphane’s site here.

Found via Jeanne Mehallo

Tags: art, cool finds, music by steve
1 comment . . .

Paul Klee invents Twitter, 1922

‘The ‘twittering’ in the title doubtless refers to the birds, while the ‘machine’ is suggested by the hand crank’

Paul Klee’s Twittering Machine (Die Zwitscher-Maschine). Oil transfer drawing on paper with watercolor and ink on board with gouache and ink borders. 1922.

Tags: art, cool finds, design history by steve
no comments . . .

Reclaimed swastikas

No symbol polarizes more.

The swastika – originally an icon for well-being – was perverted into something profane by Adolf Hitler and the Nazi party.

Controversial artist Raša Todosijević took the form and turned it on its ear – with different interpretations, it creates other contexts. Raša was born in Serbia in 1945, after World War II. More of his work is posted here.