oh night film and mealy isthmus lakes yes always neighs death too real avalanches veil eery love

the quiet things we could shout across a dead wheat field, and the passenger intercepting those transmissions, wearing a motorised fox head, but still smoking, somehow. I laid underneath it an old picture of my hair across a pillow because I had been feeling it as if it could turn from dust paper into bugs or sand into windy tree leaves. when I leave anywhere I could weep but my interrobangs usually blindside the guts underneath. we are so polite. we only quake in bathrooms or fireplace lounges or spooned against the night with silk blankets falling away and your nails suffering at the anticipation of your cannibalism. if we go clickety-clack then we can't take shit back. so you eat it up. the quiet things you should let out. 

97065

"you do know that, right?" Beth asked me, while in a Y-turn out of the farmer's driveway.  "You are a farm girl, you know that the catalytic converter could start this on fire again?"

I am not a farm girl but I did not try very hard to fight that image in Beth's head.  She knew very little about where I was from, other than that Oregon and Wisconsin share a federal government, have football teams and that my home state is quite cheeeeeeeeesey, and that my being overweight could have been prevented if I grew up in Oregon.  Because reasons.  

We were visiting farmers suffering from the drought.  These farmers agreed to push back their harvest for a F*** commercial.  In the world of numbers, the farmers would make the same amount of money no matter if harvest happened last week or next.  But, they did not know that they were agreeing to putting off harvest until the day their farms would go up in flame, soot, smoke.

----

cold cockd

sometimes - give permission to those you care for to get the fuck out of the samehand situation you share - sometimes tell people they can do what you are afraid you can't but of course you can - you are all-powerful, you are not just whims and worry.  you are the lantern and the lion and you have the choice to get yourself to where your kids are.  or, where they aren't.

the needs of fancy are only easily wrought,  BE G M E 
BEGI M E
GERM GNE 

KOLL
COT COXCOMB a selfsame, you don't have to be all you want to be in one year.  
give yourself the Pause and the pickling.  Kiss yourself.  put off the mastering of the egg drop soup technique
(or the ability to cout d'etat your family tree)

lately

itches urge on when obsession hits

when caffeine fuels you nothing else will do

mantras soldier on a day

breathy pop

candied erotica

haunting girl ethereal to the touch

we'll find what to like

weave a world for you

photo by Christopher Mckenny

the arrested fuck-all mindset grooved to and belied, it's like, yes you hate me but as tina fey says bitches get stuff done: it's a knife ready to enter the eyes for a longer than 9 second stare, it's laws that make us feel touched when we aren't and prevent murder in the long run, these are aspects we worry about. every day feels long but the years appear short, I forget to chronicle what it is I, a minute dust particle go through, the courses I avoid and subsequently the lives I neglect as each second passes. living is constantly not choosing something else. pain of the body is a short memory unless you are scarred then it's a story you can't forget. you add details to make it better, more like a dream narrative. if you were valued you'd be blue with gospel-blossom and a faithful smile with interruptions perhaps of your anger. but you float in between and refuse to see futures and you have episodes memorized that most people don't ever see. hear, let me listen to this, watch this, just in case: a human connection based on reference skill, not interaction, the farther apart the humans from your space the safer you are, you can't forget. you shouldn't forget. every one is an exploding drum.

Milwaukee Art Exclusive: Brian Hibbard

              Milwaukee Art Exclusive: Brian Hibbard

I got a chance to catch up with the artist Brian Hibbard. We met up at Prospect Colectivo to talk art. We started off with where he hailed from and what the art scene held for him in his hometown of De Pere, Wisconsin. He talked about his first studio space that he acquired at age 24. The Art Garage was its name and experimentation was the game, but we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Before the studio, this studious artist attended UW Whitewater. There he pursued an Art minor making it his mission to diversify his knowledge of art techniques and mediums. He was not dissatisfied saying:

“The teachers are really good there. I think they have a good art program.”

After, he returned home to begin his experimentation with his expression through painting at The Art Garage. By this time he was a big fan of New York City 70’s and 80’s artists, like Basquiat and Andy Warhol, who inspired him when creating his first exhibition at The Art Garage. Brian associates his style with these two artists the most, declaring Basquiat his favorite:

“He’s probably my favorite of all time. He just pumped out so much stuff in a short period of time. He started out with the graffiti. He did the word short poems, and then he moved into gallery stuff. He was just…he was like a mad scientist.”

He named the exhibition Big City Living where he displayed his work that had accumulated from 3 years in the studio. After this show it was time for him to move on to the next stage in his artistic career. Hibbard moved to Milwaukee where many opportunities awaited him. He told me about his shows in Bay View and Riverwest. 

“Me and my friend used to do live painting at bars. We had a friend, one bar owner, one night a week she would let us do live painting. Sometimes there was even live music to go along with it. It was called White Dog Black Cat.”

Brian spoke about his showings at the Cocoon Room when it first became a clothing shop here in Milwaukee. He also told me about Lu Lu’s Cafe, another space that he had exhibited in. 

“When I had my art work up at Lu Lu’s I sold like 7 or 8 pairings off the wall, shortly after I moved to Milwaukee. I thought oh wow. this is great. This is why I moved here.”

Hibbard has been very busy since he moved to Milwaukee and continues to be an active member of the art society here. After we spoke about all the places that he had exhibited we began to explore his work. He explained methods and compositions:

“Usually I start with no idea what so ever and then I spit out what is floating around in my brain, like whatever t.v shows I’m watching at the time, or whatever I’m doing, or whatever I last read about.”

We began to talk about individual pieces of works and one in particular really stuck out. Hibbard talked about how he grew up in a house full of male siblings and how self expression through art came to be his way of getting out what was on his mind at the time. His parents were fans.

“My parents always encouraged me to do art.” 

One painting in particular was the topic of discussion. There was a vomiting pig that he had painted using texture to emphasize the projection of the vomit by applying the pink paint very thickly where the vomit was first exiting the mouth. Hibbard saw this as a literal visualization of how he uses art as an outlet to express. Brian goes on to say:

“ That’s a literal translation of me getting my art out. Encouraging thoughts and emotions. It’s very therapeutic. it’s the best way I found to express my emotions. I’m not very food at verbalizing sometimes but I can get it out through my art work. It just feels good. I just like to do it.”

Before we got to his hopes and dreams for his art career we talked about what this artist liked to do for fun and where his favorite hang out spots in Milwaukee were. He listed off so many it was insane! Hibbard told me about the Carolina Jazz Club, Sugar Maple, Lu Lu’s Cafe, Seven Bridges trail, and Wendell’s Park. He also mentioned some of his favorite galleries like the Cocoon Room, the Hot Pot down at MIAD, the Intercontinental galleries, as well as the Pfister hotel residency. After telling me all this he added:

“ I’ve been getting into photography lately. I’ve done painting exhibitions, but I would like to do a photo photography exhibition some time.”

He then divulged his dream of being an interior design consultant. When I asked him what his dream project was he answered:

“Working with someone developing a new division who wanted art consultation for stylizing rooms or floors (office buildings).”

Lastly we talked about what was next on Brian Hibbard’s plate, in the near future. He told me about a show coming up, here in Milwaukee that focuses on artists who are often on the forefront of political issues, shining a light on certain aspects that newspapers don’t talk about. Hibbard talks about his two paintings in the show:

“ I have two paintings coming up in an show called Raise Your Voice in Jazz Gallery, in Riverwest. On April 22nd.”

He told me that his two paintings will be anti-war pieces and that one would be a drone painting.

“I think that’s something people don’t really talk about… We’re fighting wars with flying robots now. It’s like a video game. It’s bizarre.” 

Finishing off the interview I asked if he felt as if there was any hint of Milwaukee in his work. He grinned and replied:

“ Since I’ve moved to Milwaukee I’ve done at least one or two Milwaukee themed paintings with like a Pabst can, the Milwaukee art museum Calatrava…I’ve taken tons of Milwaukee photos!”

Finally he says:

“ I’m influenced by everything around me so it just happens(Milwaukee influence). I really like Milwaukee. They have MIAD, The Art Institute, UWM, a lot of colleges… if Milwaukee had the same weather as San Diego has, I’d be done looking.” 

You can check out Brian Hibbard’s work at his website hibbardart.com as well as in the upcoming show called Raise Your Voice, located at the Jazz gallery in Riverwest, on April 22nd.

I am in Portland until the 10th

i will never reek -- i am just one with her foot caught on the yarn on the ground
i spill nowhere over -- i have just that simple smile, the daily breadbody, the cottonmouth

today i tied that orange yarn to the kitchen chair for the cat to play with
while tidying in the first room, i heard a dolloping sound and the cat nearly tipped the chair over

it is lightening in milwaukee tonight, i know this because jon facebook'd me from his phone
and said so.  it started to rain during my nap today after i finished "On the Road"

I am listening to Parker's spotify playlist that is labeled "for me," it is not for me
but when I am not sure if I want to listen to the movie soundtracks like usual, it is for me

i gave my job 6 months notice and although i will always feel like i am abandoning,
i am weary.  i am weary of starting over but i feel just as if i will wake up from a 12 hour nap

benjamin is at work.  i hope he meets another woman -- or circle of women -- with a foreign name
i hope she explains to him when she uses words that may not mean a thing to him

how could neal cassady have been so remarkable?  can a man have the how-now power,
to be written about by so many?  was it a joke?  or, was it simply a recording out of love?

one time my dad was explaining to me the Eagles are the greatest band or whatever ever
(not nec. his opinion) and I said, "fuck the Eagles."  Now I always say fuck the Eagles.

I don't mean it.

    On these yawning evenings I think about how we fuck up when we try to live other lives, narratives that don't belong to us. When we try to grab the threads we were not born with, we are miserable. I am slowly learning big lessons. I create mottos to plant them in my brain. I talk to my dad about religious differences over a very nice and pricey meal, I watch him and his girlfriend silently disagree, I watch them become awkward, and then come back to their normalcy. I think of my  soul friend in Portland who is taking pictures and feeling out the streets, probably smoking, I am sure she says something shining and layered to at least 5 people a day. I am thinking about my best friend, who is at a wedding, and whether the wedding party will see the way he illuminates spaces around him or whether they will just see how handsome he is. I am thinking about my guilt. How it grows in a myriad of small seeds throughout the day. I try to avoid hurting my knees to sew them but my body knows patterns I wasn't aware of developing. I am thinking about my sister. Her very esoteric and burning hands and all the materials they've morphed: duct tape, yarn, paper, paint, ukelele strings, the ears of strangers. I am thinking of my little brother and his incredible history that weighs heavy and wise and I wonder what his shoulders feel like sometimes. I am thinking about my nieces who have the most interesting syntax. I am thinking about my oldest brother who clicks with me at the most unforeseeable times and it feels like an entrance to a wall most people don't see. I think about my ears, obsessive. I think about my eyes that scan and take everything in. I consider a decision to be kinder to myself, to allow these sponge-like phases to come and go. I consider opening my mail as soon as I get it but that's less likely to occur. I am thinking about love. And the spirit. And how much of my self itches for an answer and how some days it feels so simple as to feel silly I keep asking. But I inquire in the form of books, strangers on the bus, and opening my fear and pride, perusing them like old texts that should be respected. I think about love.

Milwaukee Art Exclusive: Cara Hutchison

             Milwaukee Art Exclusive: Cara Hutchison

I had a chance to sit down with a local Milwaukee artist by the name of Cara Hutchison. She was very excited to get into the interview, and so at this Starbucks coffee shop on the east side of Milwaukee we decided to jump right in. I asked her about where she was originally from and she smiled excitedly and began to express her feelings on her hometown New London, Wisconsin.

“ What I like most about where I came from is what I took for granted when I was there. It’s that small town feel. You can go out into the country and hangout in the woods. That’s something I really miss. I was kind of the odd ball kid, in New London, that liked art.”

 The conversation then turned its focus to the art opportunities available in Milwaukee. She goes on to say:

“ The things I like most about Milwaukee is the art scene and that I have all these art opportunities here. You get to be around these people who have the same interests.” 

We talked about how she comes to find this Riverwest art scene through the connections she made with other artists and professors while attending UW-Milwaukee. Cara expresses that networking in Milwaukee provided more opportunities for her than she would have found at home.

There were many things that inspired and sparked Cara’s interest in art. She first goes on to answer that exposing question: Why art?

 “It was always my gateway for expression. Some people write in journals and some people do poetry and what not, or they get into sports, and that’s like their therapy. Art was my therapy.”  

Passionately she addresses her adoration for art in saying: 

“You can always reinvent yourself in art. I can change it up, I can do whatever, I can experiment with things and if I don’t like it I can paint over it, or something. I can fix it somehow”

I got a chance to talk to her about her academic experience on the road to becoming an artist.

 “I studied at the lovely UW-Milwaukee. At that point my whole plan was going into graphic design. I took a graphic design course and I hated it. It wasn’t art for me. It wasn’t tangible enough. It wasn’t something I could get my hands dirty with.” 

Cara explains further why she had to turn her focus to a different subject on expression. 

“I’m not having the actual experience of making it (the art piece). When you make the mistake you have to figure out how to fix it. It’s not like a click, or undo…when you make mistakes it evolves (your work).” 

Lastly she adds:

 “I really liked UWM because I was exposed to almost every different medium.” 

As you see when we look at her pieces she is very adept at expressing her self through whatever medium she chooses to use.

Cara turns our attention to the connections that she had with the Door County art scene, and how tourists just love to go to Door County for the wholesome art experience. She says: 

“You’ve got all of the tourist that go up there so it’s a good market for sale. My real connection up there was the glass blowers. My roommate at the time (while attending UWM) was blowing glass and she was working with these two practicing artists.” 

Cara goes on to talk about how this leads her to Door County to live for a summer, and the new medium she experienced. 

“Through living in Door County briefly for a summer I got to work with them, so I got to blow glass with them.” 

When she described Door County’s location in Wisconsin she became really excited, with a big smile on her face she shouts:

“It’s up in the thumb!”

We then talked about who her favorite artists were right now she had a few favorites in mind. 

“ Stain glass windows with Frank Lloyd Wright, I have an interest in that right now. I’m teaching a lesson on that right now, so it is always in my brain.” 

She lists off some more qualifiers enthusiastically, such as Kehinde Wiley and Trenton Doyle Hancock. I asked her about her favorite galleries to visit in Milwaukee. Cara had one, specifically in mind. She mentions Art Bar with a big smile on her face, as being one of her favorite galleries in Milwaukee. 

“I like the Art Bar because they have a little theme (art exhibits) and they’re always switching it out.”

As the interview begins to come to a close we begin to talk about the things she likes to do when she’s not creating art. Cara goes on to say:

“I do like to take myself to brunch at Stonefly on Sundays. They’ve got art up all the time. So it’s nice to see art there. My favorite hangout spots when it’s nice out? I like to walk by the river, the river walk, and the lake. I like to go over by the Holton Bridge, over by the lakefront building.”

 She expresses her love of the scenery in these areas. Then she says: 

“The Bremen has become some kind of hangout spot for me in recent time because it’s close to my home.” 

She giggles as she hints at the fact that it is in short walking distance. Cara then throws in one more of her favorite spots. 

“I really like the Horny Goat too, because of the whole atmosphere of being outside, and they have a fire place.”

I then went on to ask Cara about a memorable reaction to her work. This brought up a beautiful story of artistic expression. She tells me the story of an assignment that she had in class where she was asked to read an article and then create a piece of work that expresses the conflict. 

“ The word in the article I highlighted was sandwiched. It was sandwiched in between.” 

Cara was addressing the issue of drug trafficking from countries like Venezuela and Columbia, through Mexico, to America. The article talked about how Mexico was sandwiched in between these distributing countries and America. Cara then creates this image of a sandwich spread apart with an American flag on the top bun. On the bottom bun was Venezuela and Columbia, these coke producing countries. She then illustrates money coming down from the American end and guns as well as bullets coming down from the South American end. Lastly, there is a tomato in the middle of all of this with the Mexican flag on it. She goes on to tell her the response of her professor.

“ I remember that one comment that I got from my professor. It was like never in the many years that he had been assigning this article had he ever had such a creative interpretation of that (subject) for a design. So I felt like I was really…flattered. That was definitely the most memorable one where I felt really good about what I had done ”.

Another memorable moment of Cara’s had to do with one of her art exhibiting experiences. We talked about her exhibiting at Inova Studio in 2011. She had all good things to say across the board about her interaction with this gallery. 

“ I thought it was a really nice show and I thought it was displayed well. Also, they kept the show going longer then expected so it did really well. It was very easy. I didn't have to worry about much. It was all handled, you drop it off, they put it up, and it was fine.”

To wrap up our interview I asked Cara about her dream project. She says to me: 

“ I think it would be really interesting to do something large scale, maybe something outside, like a mural. I would like to do a mural on the ground. I would love to do something having to do with fibers and having to do with outside, and somehow making that an interactive piece that people will interact with every day.” 

I finally asked her about traces of Milwaukee in her art and if she wants to ever have her work shown in any other cities. She chuckles and then calmly, confidentially says:

“Of course. That’s the whole goal right you want to get your art out there. You want people to be able to see it. You want to have them be effected by it no matter where they are.” 

She then goes on to disclose her feelings on expressing Milwaukee through her art.

“Everybody sees the art museum, everybody sees the U.S Bank building, everybody sees the Miller Park Studios, but I kind of want to get into those places that are gems in the local eye. You know, maybe something that not everybody sees every day. I want to highlight those places or those things that I see everyday.”

Cara Hutchison is a very talented artist who intends to continue creating art through her interpretation of the world she interacts with everyday. She’s a brilliant artist to look for in the future. When Cara is not creating art she is teaching forensic art to students in the Milwaukee Public School system. The Art Shore Salutes you and looks forward to our next interview with this magnificent artist.

howeverly,

i fear voting

will you help me get over my fear of voting

we can vote on what color this flower is

and every one will be okay

no one will get upset!

because purple is purple is purple

you define my jitters

and i stop jittering

you coalesce my questions

and i am mambaing

we are mambaing

or maybe salsaing

i, too, laugh a special laugh when around you

like close encounters of a hilarious kind!

your awareness is just enough stated

and we get along

mostly known to revisit a girl out of paper. trust, though, baby, is hope. is lonely. it's worth the surrounding water to look around with an empty mouth. how will tomorrow give me teeth, what new fresh hell. look coldly at yourself and shudder as the days ahead cuddle closer to you.

Dangers

There's a spectral beast outside your window. Waiting in the heckling, the coughing, the slow tread of huge cloaked crowds spreading their sick and their gossip around your apartment. The masses create a secret spiral. It locks you in, makes you afraid to open the door outside. You eat what's left of your wares and read the same books over and over. You are spectral, waiting for a slow hope to creep back in your body. The spirals in your hair curl over and over, afraid to relax from the apartment. You eat masses of creepy threads. You hold on tight to each one, unwinding in practicality, thriving in your mind palaces, the castles full of mead and beasts, skies of gossip and huge heckling crowds.

Veronica

                                                              

     Talk to me baby. Tell me what you’re feeling. You said you wanted me to come. Don’t you pretend you know how all of this would end up. I saw it in your eyes, and expectations were not in site. You knew that talking dirty to me on the phone would get me here and we both wanted to do this, but I could tell that you were scared. 

     Why you rushing me baby. It’s only us alone. I don’t want to die tonight baby, so let me sip this slow. I’ll give you what you called for. Just let me get in zone. I’ll be making love to her through you. So let me keep my eyes closed.I can’t see a damn thing. I can’t feel a damn thing, but I’m going to touch you right.

     With your louis V bag, tats on your arms, everybody wants you. You can have them all, but I got what you need. Girl I got your back. i got it all. I’ll give you something to live for. Yes I will.

                                          (These are phrases from various The Weend songs)

The Invasion

                                                              

                                                    

     The quagga mussels inhabiting Arizona’s Lake Mead are causing a dramatic change in the lake’s ecosystem, making it the very definition of a disturbance.  The quagga mussels established themselves in Lake Mead in 1988, after somehow being brought over from Eurasia. This invasive species has the ability to rapidly reproduce. They push out the native species that inhabited the area before them, thereby breaking the natural balance of the lake’s trophic level, or food chain. The native species simply cannot compete with the quagga mussels for resources so they are forced to move. The mussels create this “Clear Water Effect” where they filter out particles that are food for many other species in the lake.  The removal of these particles also allow for sunlight to penetrate deeper into the ocean allowing for toxic algae to grow in the lake. Lastly, these mussels create a slime build up that clog pipes as well as fishnets. Since the arrival of the quagga mussel species in America there has been a reported economic loss of five billion dollars. 

     An invasive species seems to be a human caused ecosystem disturbance. There are many examples of the idea to prove this theory. The first example is Asian carp brought over to America and placed in a body of water in an attempt to try and control plant life there. It then turns out that the Asian carp reproduces rapidly, and eats 20-40% of their weight in food every day. Native fish are then pushed out of their usual areas and smaller fish are even being eaten. That changes the balance of the trophic level, thereby creating a completely new problem than the initial one. Humans are then forced to try and find a way to thin the numbers of this invasive species through fish catching festivals or by monitoring food shops for Asian carp “trafficking”. 

     For the second example we will now turn our attention to Yellowstone Park.  A little while after Yellowstone Park is established humans determine that there are too many wolves in the area. They then decide to kill of the wolf species in that area. This allowed for the elk population to rapidly grow. Their consumption of the plants in the area went up until other native species were consequently pushed out. Luckily, by the reintegration of wolves back into that ecosystem the natural balance of the food chain was able to be restored. Actually, new species such as coyotes and foxes began to populate the area. It seems that every time that humans tried to control a particular ecosystem by the integration of a new species, or the removal of a native one, a new, more detrimental problem arisen.

     When it comes to the quagga mussels and Asian carp situation it looks as if we may have to eventually act on a national scale. It seems that in both cases these species have the ability to rapidly expand their territory and strongly disrupt the natural ecosystem. By doing so they create an environment that is harmful to nature and in many ways harmful to us humans. If these species continue to find their ways to more and more valuable water sources in America these affects may spill over into the ecosystems on land as well. 

     Many species use rivers, ponds, and lakes as sources for food, including humans. Since these invasive species begin to create health issues for land animals, there is only a matter of time before they would start creating health problems for us.  If some or all of these invasive species need to be removed from the water, then we should be doing whatever we can as a nation to restore a the balance back to a healthy  ecosystem, and also contribute time and resources to stopping these type of happenings in the future.

"Chosen" and "Chamakay" meditations on writing and whatever forever means for you

I work in obsessions, pretty much knead that shit too death,

but quietly. 

A cursory knowledge of everything 

one being has ever done,

and then barely speaking about it

to the chorus of my fellow 

routine-doomed-human-family

around me. 

But time and this chorus, this justly

formed bass and the clicks, 

the sweet and sad "I want to choose"

with the horns in the background,

while a sun lights up

his grandfather's house.

Family history style cavorting 

friends dancing against 

brick walls in your mind in your life

make something.

Make something like this that 

lasts, I tell myself. 

Some independent piece of work that will give some too-sad adult

an eternal feeling.

Just keep trying.

Keep writing.

The Art of Two Faces

                                                      The Art of Two Faces

     I’d like to place our focus on the film King Kong(1933). The composition of this film has two main elements that play a big part in what the spectators get out of this film. These two parts are the narrative and the illusion of the film’s reality.  In the reading The Role of Spectacle and Excess, by Leger Grindon, Grindon calls this ability to immerse the audience fully into the ideas and physical settings of the film the Spectacle. He then goes on to describe the effects brought about by the technology used to create the film’s visual and acoustic settings as a producer of Excess. Grindon defines the two ideas of Spectacle and Excess in his essay. 

     He defined spectacle as this ability to immerse the audience  into a film. What is  meant by this is that the narrative, visuals, and sound effects are all performing well enough to make the viewer believe that they themselves are actually in the film being viewed. For example, a film may give you a first person view of an intense scene in which the actor is facing some sort of danger. The audience might flinch or duck as a plane dives down at them, or scream when a man pops out from behind the door to attack a character in a film. Even though these spectators are not in real danger they react as if they are because of the affect that the atmosphere, created by the director, has on the viewer. Grindon believed that this made the audience susceptible to subconsciously absorbing the ideas being conveyed by the creators of the film.  If you control the film you control the audience. 

     Grindon’s essay then goes on to explain the idea of excess and its potential affects  on the audience and the film, excess being this reach for reality within a film through the use of special effects, causing the audience to reawaken from the trance that is the spectacle.  Through the over usage of the special effects in the film you then draw the attention of the viewers to just that, the special effects. This can then cause your audience to either miss the point you were trying to make through this whole new idea you created with your compensations, or the audience may shift their focus from your narrative to your creative process , because of it’s product’s bright presence throughout the film.

     King Kong is a great film to call attention to, because in this particular project the special effects play a big role in the way a viewer interprets this film. The film covers the story of a famous film maker going on a journey to create the best film ever seen by man. He builds a crew and sets out on an adventure to a fantastical island, where he plans to shoot his masterpiece.  He meets these African natives who worship this gigantic gorilla named Kong. He decides to bring Kong back to the city as an attraction, but Kong breaks free from his captors and causes problems in wanting of his love interest, the blonde lady. Eventually they kill Kong bringing an end to the film. 

     This film uses multiple special effects to bring to life Kong and his many adversaries, as well as the environment in which him, the natives, and the adventurers interact. Through the use of these effects on the film most of the attention is turned onto the Gorilla and the female actress. This completely changes the way one would view this film. Instead of focusing in on the predominantly caucasian male cast and their adventure, as would often be the focus in this time, we find ourselves looking at the creature and his interaction with the environments that he’s moving through throughout the movie. Kong and the main actress become the focus of the film and the main actors  become but props for Kong as he interacts with his new found love interest. The majority of the movie becomes focused on Kong and the lead actress due to all the special effects used to make him, the main focus, exist. Instead of the idea of the white male taming the big, black, highly sexualized gorilla, who intentions are conveyed to obtain the fair skinned blonde woman as his own, you get this story of a highly worshipped and feared gorilla god who will fight to keep close the woman he has chosen to love. In fact he loves her so much that the film shows us he is willing to die for her.

     Due to the use of these special effects to create a deeply convincing spectacle the director enhances the experience of the film to excess. This excess draws the attention to a completely different storyline that has the potential to change the idea of the roles that the individual character groups play in the film. In this way, trying to create the film’s captivating atmosphere through the use of special effects ironically creates a break in the illusionistic reality of the film allowing for reinterpretation from the viewers. It seems that the director uses this narrative as a way to create a film in a way that had never been done before. This idea turned his focus onto the creating of the film’s environment and off of the actual storyline of the film. So in this film’s case the special effects play a huge part in the way this film can be interpreted from beginning to end.

Ghengis Khan

                         

                                                          

     I was very interested to see how Ghenghis Khan was portrayed in the 2007 movie Mongols, as opposed to uncensored historical records. So I focused my research on finding out the culture of Ghenghis Khan’s time. I then used that information to historically critique the film. My findings were plentiful. The movie Mongols shows the story of Tedmujin as a young boy and his growth to a man, on the path to his universally known, conquering of mass parts of the eastern world. It focuses mainly on Tedmujin’s relationship with his wife Borte, his family, and his extended family. In the film he picks his bride at 9 and must come back to her in five years for the marriage ceremony. 

     Within those five years his father is poisoned and he is betrayed by his Uncle Targutai. Targutai decides to kill him, but his mother intervenes, reminding Targutai that Mongol’s customs state that it is shameful to kill a child or woman. Targutai agrees and vows to kill Tedmuji when he becomes a man. This gives Tedmujin enough time to escape as a child and meet his new brother Jamukha. Jamukha is his greatest ally and becomes his worst enemy. When Tedmujin grows up he goes and finds his wife, but as quickly as he can find her she is taken away from him by the Merkits. Temudjins father Esugei stole the wife of a Merkit, and so they repaid the favor. They were said to have the most beautiful women in all the clans. 

     He asks his new brother Jamukha to then help him get her back by going to war with this clan. Jamukha hesitantly agrees and asks Tedmujin for secrecy of the fact that he was taking his people to war over a woman. Tedmujin and Jamukha, as brothers, fights the Merkit clan and retrieves his wife back. This is where the main conflict comes to fruition. After the war Tedmujin then splits the bounty equally amongst Jamukha’s people as his second in command. They then comes to see Tedmujin as a generous leader. Meanwhile, Horte convinces Tedmujin that  he could never be leader as long as him and Jamukha resided in the same camp. 

     Tedmujin then decides to leave and many of Jamukha’s clan decides to go with him, including two of Jamukha’s brothers. This creates the main conflict of the movie as these two battle up until the climax in which shortly after the movie ends. The film is pretty authentic and pays great attention to detail in cultural occurrences. The film is shot using the Mongolian language. The director shows the mare milk often drank by Mongols in this time as the chosen drink in this film, as see it drank a lot through out the film. It was thought to give great strength to the rider. These are only a few of the authenticities present in this film. We will talk about some more later.

     Temudjin was known for many things. For example, his strategical movements in war. He was known to be very adept in battle maneuvers and often attacked with less military forces than the enemy, but often managed to prevail. The director shows this in the movie within two battles. Both of these battles are up against his brother Jamukha. The first is immediately after Tedmujin runs off with a large chunk of Jamukha’s army, therefore leaving Jamukha with no choice but to come after him. Greatly outnumbered  Tedmujin decides to find a high hill to be used as a bunker in which his archers can engage the massive forces approaching giving the women and children a chance to get away. Jamukha praises Tedmujin’s strategy in battle, but eventually defeats him and takes him captive. The second is in the final major battle of the film, which is the massive forces of Jamukha against Tedmujin’s highly out numbered warriors. Once again it is his strategy that wins out. He decides to send in his best swordsmen against Jamukha’s first wave. 

     Temudjin sends out his deadliest men on horse back with two swords out to meet them, with intentions to thin the numbers of the warriors in the wave. They do a great job at doing as much, but are over powered and forced to retreat, in which they lead the rest of the first wave into a trap filled with archers and sharp arrow tips. Sadly the story then takes a mystical turn in which as the the two armies are engaging it begins to thunder and all of the Monguls are afraid and thrown from their horses. This storm does not affect Tedmujin and so he is then praised by the soldiers on both side, thereby winning the war. I sadly because it was an ideal ending. It seemed like a disney movie, where evil is always beat out by some freak accident of nature. The moment just seemed to suck some of the life out of the film, but not enough to deem it a bad film.

     Snapshots of Tedmujin and Borte’s relationship can be found all throughout the film. The director then romanticizes certain aspects of their life and omits others. For example, there is a scene where Tedmujin and Borte are running from Merkit warriors. Temudjin is then hit in the back with an arrow. Borte then makes the decision for him to flee, by slapping his horse on the rear and staying behind to be collected by the Merkit clan. This is all in order to save his life. This segment is highly romanticized, due to the fact that legend has it, Temudjin’s camp was attacked by Merkits that out numbered his group greatly. 

     He then chooses to leave behind his wife and take his horse because of two reasons. The first was that a horse was regarded as a great spiritual significance in Mongol beliefs. The second was that it was believed that you could win wars with out a wife, but you could not win a war without a horse. he then decides to run away and then return, when he is strong enough to defeat his enemies. In knowing this part of the story it could be understood why the director decides to go with the more romantic approach instead. A hollywood audience would find the actual decision of Tedmujin a lot less great.

     While on the topic  of Tedmujin’s and Borte’s relationship, another thing that stuck out to me was the fact that the director didn’t really talk much about the children during Horte and Tedmujin’s relationship. Legend has it that When the Merkits took Borte away from Tedmujin the night he fled, That his father’s enemy took to bed with Borte. It was said that she was pregnant by the time Tedmujin got her back, and that the baby was in fact his father’s enemies. Tedmujin still claims the child as his own. The director kind of hints at this fact by showing Tedmujin and Borte in a tent after he has found her again. She is pregnant and the Merkits throat is slit. Jamukha stands at the door and looks in on the scene, looking first at Tedmujin, then at Borte, then at the man with the slit throat. He smiles as an underlying understanding that they had fought and risked their lives to save the girl, and she is now pregnant with the enemies baby. 

      Legend has it that everyone knew about the fact that Borte’s first born child was not Tedmujin’s. In fact, this idea was used, later, to strip away any chance of the first son’s claim to the Khan position succeeding Tedmujin. The director gives us hope by showing the two together for just a little while before she is captured. This hints at the fact that they did in fact have time to   consummate. Immediately upon arrival of Tedmujin into Borte’s tent he claims the baby as his own to Jamukha. He seems to try and fight off obvious reasonable doubt for romantic sake, substituting the  truth for a romantic storyline.

     

     The film stays true to the architecture, clothing, weapons, and religions of the Mongolians in the 13th century time period that is being portrayed. Many yurts can be seen throughout the film as the home of the chief, or his honoraries. For example, we often see Jamukha and Temudjin conversing in a traditional yurt throughout the first half of the film. A yurt is a nomadic mongolian dwelling. It’s circular and is erected by using collapsible wooden frames, and often uses wool felt to be placed on the wooden frames. The Mongolian weapons, often associated with the mongols of Temudjin’s times, are the curved sword, the spear, the battle axe, and the bow. All of these can be seen throughout the film in the many, amazing, gory battle scenes. 

     These would actually be carried on their horses as they rode. Mongolians were said to have usually had about four horses, for one man,  in which they could ride on their journeys to make sure no horse was overworked. This is not shown in the film, but an interesting fact none-the-less. The director chooses to show weapons, if present, always in hand when his characters are on horse back.  Three major items of clothing worn by the Mongols in the 13th century are their hats, Dels, and Boots. All of these are seen throughout the film to create this epic period, but in 2007. 

     If you take a look at younger or older Tedmujin, or Jamukha you will see a  traditional display of these items. Young Tedmujin and Jamukha wear a circular fur headdress that were made for children to wear, while the older two wear hats made for chiefs and Mongolian men in a position of power. They can also be seen wearing a Del, at their boy stages in the film. A Del is a loose, one piece, calf-lengthed tunic.  It has buttons on the right shoulder, long sleeves, and a high collar. As men they wear a Del as well, but with more colors and decoration inlayed. Lastly, although boots were said as having the toe turned up, the boots used in the film were made flat. 

     Some say that the boots were curled at the toe in order to keep a man from falling from his horse, but that was just a theory. I imagine the director didn’t really have to worry about that much, as he gives us these nearly close up third person, and first person, views.  If you look closely you will see he uses flat boots for his characters.  I guess you win some and you lose some. These elements; the architecture, the clothing, and the weapon portrayal, are a big part of what brings us into the scene of Ghengis Khans time. Through these elements we get a glimpse of what the director wants us to believe Mongol life was like in the 13th century. I believe the film team really did their research on the artistries present in that time, whether it was the yurts for the chiefs, or the hats for the children, the detail was excellently executed there.

     I think the director beautifully foretold many of the events to come through Temudjin’s subtle interaction with characters who would have a big impact on him becoming the legend that we know today. When Temudjin is captured by his Uncle Targutai the first time the decision is made for Tedmujin to be killed at an older age; or when he becomes “a man”. Targutai then asks for a Shaman witch doctor to watch over Tedmujin, to feed him and make sure he grows up quickly so that Targutai may kill him. Although the Shaman believes that Tedmujin will never forgive him. Tedmujin, in the end, actually does. Tedmujin then has a yurt for the priest built right next to his. Legend has it that a Shaman priest actually gave Tedmujin the name Ghengis Khan. Ghengis Khan means The ruler of all. The film ties the priest to Ghengis Khan through out.  Through the last gesture of Ghengis Khan to the priest, the director hints at the fact that this could in fact be the priest who gives Tedmujin the name he’s most famous for. 

     Another example is when Tedmujin is taken captive by Jamukha and is made a slave and is sent to Xi Xia to be sold. Here he meets the emperor who he in fact plagued and vexed for many battles. Ghengis Khan faced the army of Xi Xia many times outnumbered and came out victorious. The emperor comes across Tedmujin in the market and is told by his priest that Tedmujin will kill many of his men with a vast army. The emperor laughs it off, buys Tedmujin, and throws him in a cage. This leaves us with that sensational feeling that you get when you know someone great’s future. After researching Ghengis Khan for some time now I find this film very clever indeed , when it comes to depicting the story of Temudjin. I would recommend it to all who wants to know anything about the early life of Ghengis Khan. 

     In conclusion, through my research and watching the film numerous times I was able to historically break down this film and actually see why it is so genius. Through the use of Tedmujin and some of the key characters in his life the director was able to establish a brilliant plot based strongly on Tedmujin’s relationship with his uncle, mother, wife, and best friend/brother.  There is this struggle between two great men who are capable of ruling, but there can only be one to rule as Khan. The plot has no choice but to thicken, because not only are they men fighting for their right to lead, they are also close “brothers” as well. 

     The director shows us then, the inevitability of their closeness by showing us their will to rule and light attempt at trying to coexist. It is said that when it came to making all the biggest decisions in life Mongols listened to the women of the tribe. History tells us that Tedmujin had a strong relationship with his mom and heeded her words. She’s placed in the movie almost as a home base, she keeps him grounded with a mother’s love. Then we have the Uncle, who almost forces Tedmujin to fight to be Khan by threatening his life. This pushes Tedmujin into the relationship with Jamukha, the brother he becomes so fond of, but cannot keep peace with. In addition to this, the film seeks out authenticity in the showing of where these events would have taken place, the type of architecture that would have been lived in, what kind of clothes they would be wearing, and even the kind of animals they would come to interact with. Masterly mixed together, these components make up this brilliant movie that is Mongol.   

Bibliography

“All the Khan’s Horses” by Morris Rossabi, Natural History,, October 11th

“Land of Ghengis Khan. The rise and fall of nations.” by Hong-Key, Yoon, New Zealand Geographer, 1997,Vol 53(1), pp.57-58

“Mongolian Traditional Clothes”  Last updated Apr. 2013, 

http://www.discovermongolia.mn/country/Traditional_Clothes.html

“Ghengis Khan” Last updated Dec. 2013, http://www.history.com/topics/genghis-khan

Mongol, Directed by Sergei Brodrov, Live Action, 

Wangechi Mutu and Leonora Carrington

Graduation

                                               

                            
                                              

     You're in third grade. You've been told that when you reach 5th grade you'll Graduate and move on to middle school. You look forward to this day. It comes. You celebrate. It passes. You're in 8th grade. You've been told this is the last year of middle school. "You've gotten good grades. You're going to Graduate." You look forward to this. It's Graduation day. You celebrate. It passes. Your in High school, 9th grade. If you do what you're supposed to you will Graduate and go to college. You look forward to that. You do it. You Graduate. You celebrate. It passes.

     You're in college. "If you think critically and get good marks You'll be out of here in know time." says the dean at the orientation speech. You look forward to it. You think critically. You get good marks. You plan for a career. You've made it. It's Graduation day. You celebrate. It passes. You're at work. If you work hard for so many years you can retire and enjoy the paradise that is doing what ever the hell you want to. You look forward to something like it. You work hard. You become president of your company. You retire. You celebrate. It passes.

     Enjoy the moments that lead up to your graduations, what ever graduations they may be. Those moment are big chunks of your life. "Time passes in the constant state." James Blake (Overgrown Album) Just make sure you are happy and content in the moments that build up to the next ones. Always remember you are exactly where you're supposed to be.

Bria Myles and a tropical paradise, somewhere

to be this lovely and slink across the floor

in what I'm assuming are noiseless shoes

in the atmosphere only ocean ephemera

and in your mind a confidence in a gemini

nascence. the art of glittering skin

and looking back at the crowds 

that inevitably follow. 

a model. heavy hair curling 

in her fingers. the green sightless gods

pose no problems and a smile to charm 

her everywhere. it's not something

to begrudge such a curious

and intangible spirit. 

to be a follower 

instead of confident. 

everywhere in this 'verse

lives are trying to teach me a single

lesson

but I still envy the apparent

beauty and luxury 

of this woman in a white dress

and the sunlight loving her 

like it never could me

and the beach 

of course 

must be behind her

waving and waving

a steady source 

to reaffirm what she seems

to already know.