Those French Films

Les Chansons d'Amour (Love Songs)


Naissance des pieuvres (Water Lilies)


Le Voyage du ballon rouge (The Flight of the Red Balloon)


and two German:

Vier Minuten (Four Minutes)


The Edge of Heaven (Auf der Anderen Seite)

I Don't Care

There's an odd feeling I get when I finally realise that a person who's been taking over most of my thoughts, has an entire other life in which I don't exist. Then I also realise that there are over 6 billion people in the world and I am just a minuscule dot living in a city of 3 million. I wonder what would happen if I simply disappeared like a candle that's been suddenly snuffed out.

A few days ago, I stayed up eating greasy Mexican food with Haeri at a 24 hour joint until 4:30am. We laughed until our stomachs hurt creating stories and character backgrounds from a newspaper ad we had discovered in Red Eye: a hidden jewel featuring yearbook-like portraits of workers from some sort of property firm. We're planning to do a serial graphic novel on them. It's going to be knee-slapping great!

p.s The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford is a beautiful film.

p.p.s. I have a 12 page art history on Las Meninas paper due tomorrow. I'm only on page 6 and my eyes hurt from staring at the computer screen. I fear I will be blind by the time I turn 55.

The Polaroid Kidd

Amazing photography using mostly Polaroids by Mike Brodie (only 22), otherwise known as The Polaroid Kidd. I've known about him for a while so I don't know why I waited until now to post his work. He travels around with a group of photogenic nomadic young adults and documents their lives.

This is what he says of his photos: "Most of these folks were once inhabitants of a small beach side community in Bugress, Maine. Most being adopted children and middle class run-aways. But their shanty little homes were giving the town a bad image and were forced to be leveled to make room for a blanket of high rise condos. So I guess the handful of Polaroids I have of these people would be the only true documentation of the diaspora of this once thriving group of whatever you want to call em."








Links: Portfolio

Morning Rituals

Golden Cage

p.s. We scour the earth searching for objects and ideas to verify and justify our existence.

Little Zoo

The Little Zoo Flickr photoset by Esoule

Hello April,

this summer I will draw more portraits. Last fall, each of my friends came over and we had portrait days. They read aloud from childhood favourites like The Giver and Little Women, while I sat in front of them with my drawing board running a 4B pencil against a piece of bristol. My brother and my dog sat intently listening to the various passages being read and asked questions (not my dog). The foot of my hand turned gray with pencil lead and our fingers smelled like tangerines.

p.s. I daydream about a (non-existing) person who will play with coloured paper, build houses out of cardboard, and enjoy the aroma of freshly curled wood-shavings.

p.p.s. Two days ago I had a dream that I watched a man being hanged near a tram station somewhere in what seemed like Europe. The sky was a gloomy gray and they had covered his head with a pale yellow potato sack. I started yelling and tried to help him but by the time I got him down, he was dead. I have such vivid dreams; they scare me.

Mastering Morality

Mastering morality begins with an affirmation with what is good and what is worthwhile.

"The noble type of man experiences itself as determining values; it does not need approval; it judges, 'what is harmful to me is harmful in itself'; it knows itself to be that which first accords honor to things; its is value-creating."

Søren Kierkegaard

Adaptation

scle·ro·sis
\sklə-ˈrō-səs\ | noun | 1846
1: pathological hardening of tissue especially from overgrowth of fibrous tissue or increase in interstitial tissue; also : a disease characterized by sclerosis
2: an inability or reluctance to adapt or compromise

"It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change."

Charles Darwin

People I'd Like to Meet

In no particular order:

1. Paula Scher
2. Milton Glaser
3. Bauhaus crew (Walter Gropius et al.)
4. Saul Bass
5. Vladimir Nabokov
6. Leo Tolstoy
7. Yves Saint-Laurent
8. Julian Schnabel
9. Wong Kar Wai
10. Peter Brueghel
11. Ingmar Bergman
12. Ludwig van Beethoven

Several months ago, I had this great urge to write a letter to M. Yves Saint-Laurent and mail it to his address in Morocco.

1:12am

a. My bad habits and neuroticisms erode the lining of my stomach at night. The dark circles under my eyes are the only evidence.

b. Your smirk causes my bones to fold at the joints and I collapse on the floor: a mass of pale bone, muscle, tissue strings, and nerve endings.

c. I was born at two pounds with a head of blonde hair, a pair of oversized ears, and brown skin. My mother was horrified.

Over the years, my hair has turned into what stylists like to call: a lovely shade of chestnut brown. Unfortunately, my ears take up 1/3 of my head and my skin has turned into a sickly white pallor. I brush orange hued blush against my cheeks in the morning: the colour of health. But in reality, I never take my vitamins and eat French Fried Onions straight from the can. (My body is six pounds heavier and my thighs jiggle when I walk.)

d. Recently, I have decided that I'd like to be an art director. I want full control over every aspect of what I design. Hence, I must start thinking about grad schools and MFAs. I also really need to start building up my portfolio.

p.s. I am finished with the catalogue of literary clothing descriptions and am now looking for the perfect cardstock cover. Or I might just stick with a plain paper cover.

p.p.s. I need CS3.

Brain Drain

My brain is slowly dying away. Art history notes and documents on the histories of capitalistic cities are eating at my brain as my creativity is slowly being sucked out. My hands are aching to told a pencil, which they haven't done since several months ago when I finally realised my inability to draw. (My pencils are being eaten by moths at the bottom of my desk drawer.)

But I have grandiose plans for the summer: print, create, make, experiment! I plan to be in Print Magazine's 20 under 30 someday (before I'm 30, of course.)

1. Self-publish a book of excerpts and images on awkward moments.
2. Self-publish a book of descriptions of clothing in literature.
3. Self-publish a book of friends' favourite literary characters.
4. Design and print a poster.
5. Experiment with box frames and glass.
6. Experiment with wood and bone.
7. Interview Grandma about her childhood in N. Korea.

(These days, it's become a habit for me to cover my right eye with my right hand and open my mouth in horror. I am young, restless, and too old for these petty emotions and mood swings that creep up behind me.)

p.s. My parents are trying to lift our dog's self-esteem by telling her that she doesn't need to learn tricks and that she's smart as she is. She cocks her head to one side and gives them a blank stare. I cringe with embarrassment and jealousy.

Los Primos Mexicanos

About a week ago, my cousins, Hannah and John came to visit my family from Guadalajara. They're only few years older than me, so we all, including my brother, get along very well. I've especially been getting closer to my Hannah. We have a lot of common interests and we grew up in very similar circumstances as our parents are Korean missionaries in UBF. We've visited each other back and forth over the years and had some drama between us but now we seem to have matured somewhat.

The First Marriage is for Practice: One of the first things we did was watch the film Persepolis. It's based upon the graphic novel of the same name by Marjane Saptrapi about her childhood and coming of age in Iran during the Islamic Revolution and her subsequent move to Vienna.

I rarely say this but I have to admit that the film was a tad better than the novel. It was (obviously) more lively and exuberant. The filmmakers did a great job of transitioning the style of the novel into the film. (Of course, I'm sure it helped that the author co-wrote and co-directed it). The film's animation was clearer and simpler making it a lot easier on the eyes compared to the novel's drawings. And though the animation was simple, it was utilized in an very imaginative way (reminiscent of old Soviet animated films from the 70s and 80s) using a mostly black and white palette and bold lines that made it as captivating as the story.

One of Hannah's favourite quotes from the film was: "The first marriage is practice for the next one." stated by her loving opium-addicted grandmother. And Marjane's life is full of practices as she tries to find her place amidst the rise of Islamic fundamentalism and the violence and wars that surround her everyday life. With the support of her intellectual left-wing parents and her discerning grandmother, Marjane tries keeps her head and her independent spirit high.

Hannah and I were both deeply struck by the film. We were able to relate completely to Marjane's life, especially her struggle to find her herself and her identity as a woman and an Iranian. Being easily swayed by the various ideologies swirling around her, she shifts like a chameleon through the very polar cultures of Iran and Vienna and from one group of friends to another. She also shifts through changes within herself: emotionally, mentally, and physically from childhood to adolescence, and from adolescent to adulthood. But throughout all these changes, Marjane is constantly reminded by her grandmother and parents to find never forget where she came from and to always keep her integrity no matter what the situation. Persepolis is a very personal film. It's heart-breaking, bleak and brutally honest but it's also funny, thoughtful, and poignant: everything that growing up is. Links: Official website, Interview with Marjane Satrapi, Film trailer, Press Release.



Alien Creatures: While waiting for the car to warm up, I began listening to Aoki Takamasa and Tujiko Noriko's 28. (My cousins asked me how I knew when the car was finished warming up; luckily for them, living in a warm country, they don't understand the hassle of driving in cold weather.) Hannah who was sitting next to me asked me to change the music because she claimed it sounded creepy. Actually, many of my friends have commented about how creepy they sound. I guess they're an acquired taste... Both Aoki and Tujiko are experimental electronic artists from Japan who now live in Paris. Though they have known each other for years, 28 is their first collaboration and I'm hoping they'll make more albums together. It's a unique combination of synthetic beats and glitches along with Tujiko's voice that is oddly affecting and tranquil. 28 consists of only eight songs but the beauty of the songs make it well worth the purchase (or download...) and for those who enjoy more experimental music, it's a must listen to album. Links: Fat Cat Records, Aoki Takamasa's website, Tujiko Noriko's website.



The Lone Road: A few days later, I went to Chicago Comics in Boystown with my cousins and Richard. Richard has been developing quite an obsession for Adrian Tomine's work so I invited him along (he wrote a review on Tomine's first novel, Shortcomings on his blog.) Our original plan was to go bookstore-hopping from Chicago Comics to Quimby's to Myopic but we, of course, ended up leaving our homes late and stayed at Chicago Comics longer than planned.

While browsing through the various sections, I found Anders Nilsen's Dogs and Water. I had read an excerpt of it in the 13th issue of McSweeny's and really enjoyed the subtle complexity of the piece. Dog's and Water is about a lone boy who travels through a deserted road in a seemingly dangerous area with a teddy bear as his only friend. While walking, he encounters a herd of caribou, pack of dogs, and what looks to be a military mission gone wrong. The boy is constantly walking ahead, searching for something. Dogs and Water seems to reflect the journey of life we all take and the various people and events we stumble upon along the way. Nilsen said in a recent interview, "I’m more hoping that the images I use are evocative for people. I guess I think of it as the existential condition." Like the boy's existential condition, we don't always know what we're looking for or where we're even going but only thing we can do is we continue to move forward.

I love Nilsen's ability to capture movement even through his sparse drawings because they are detailed enough so that they don't appear too empty nor too crowded. And the repetitiousness of the images made me feel as though I was moving through a series of story broads. You can tell he has a very skilled and steady hand; to a certain extent, his images remind me of some of Matisse's work. Based in Chicago, Anders Nilsen's has become one of my favourite graphic novelists and I highly recommend this book! Links: About.com Interview, Read Yourself Raw profile, Drawn and Quarterly.

Before we left, Hannah purchased Persepolis and Rich got some Optic Nerve comics. John didn't seem to find anything he really liked. We also stopped by some shops in the area and then walked over to Bolat to try some African cuisine for dinner. I'd write more about the restaurant but Rich summed it up pretty well in his blog so go there for more information.

Typecasting

The film Helvetica is a new documentary all about the much loved and much hated typeface of the same name. The film also looks at the importance of typefaces and its' impact on graphic design and our visual culture. I, for one, love the font; it's modern, clean, functional, and visually pleasing. Helvetica is premiering in Chicago on the 15th at the Gene Siskel Film Center. I've already made plans to go see it with a couple of friends. Links: Official site, Chicago premiere info

Trains of Thought

It's funny how memories of an old friend creep up on you, usually in the form of a smile or a laugh, while you’re lost in a train of thought, unaware. It’s like they are secretly following the tracks, prowling in your head so that when a relating thought comes up, they can quickly hop up onto the boxcar. And it’s always the long forgotten friend, the one you haven’t seen or had contact with for years.

Just last night while lying in bed, waiting for sleep to arrive, M.’s smile came to mind. M. who, just after a few minutes of meeting me during our high school orientation, linked her arm around mine. M. who, just after a few days of knowing me, gave me a large birthday card in which she filled the entire inside with her glittery pink handwriting. M., who after another few days, invited me out for cake to a small foreign bakery and showed me the apartment building that had been her first home. M. with her giggly laugh, and sweet, friendly personality. She was the type of person whom one could talk on the phone with until 2am or sporadically go with to a street fair.

During my 3rd year of high school, she was suddenly gone for a few weeks. Worried and wondering what had happened, I asked several people in school but no one seemed to know where she was. When M. finally returned a few days later, she smiled and casually said she had been sick in the hospital. Later that day on the second floor landing near the swimming pool doors, she told me privately, she had been staying in the psychiatric ward. Her parents took her there after she had angrily exploded on them during dinner. She was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

After that, somehow, she slowly seeped out and gradually vanished that I didn’t even notice until I began missing her. A friend told me the summer after graduation, while we were passing by our high school, that her family had moved to Florida. I was surprised and sad by M's abrupt move and even more so that I hadn't been informed of it earlier.

Once in a while, she climbs on to my trains of thoughts; I see her face when she smiled, and I remember my immediate liking for her. I also remember that I now have no idea where she is…

Simple & Detailed

Currently, my two favourite illustrators are: Fernanda Cohen and Hanna Konola. Both their works are vivid, playful, and confident. Their illustrations are also unique, untainted by the recent trend of monotonous fashion illustrations e.g. Jason Brooks, Delicatessen.


I don't remember how I discovered Hanna Konola (left) but I loved her illustrations from the moment I saw them. They are simple and at the same time, bold and expressive. She's only a few years older than me but I feel like she is far more talented and accomplished than I am!

I discovered Fernanda Cohen (right) through Tashen's Illustration Now. Her detailed images tell so much about people and society with a slight humous undertone. In Illustration Now, she states: Illustration should always complement both words and imaginations blocking neither one of them. As an illustrator, my major challenge is to capture the bare message of a subject, and deliver it in a clear and visually captivating container.

Other sites: Hanna Konola's official website, Hanna's Flickr

Economical Lines

Several months ago I purchased Illustration Now by Taschen. It features some of today's supposedly best commercial and editorial illustrators from all over the world. There are some really great inspirational artists in the book, while other seem to be added due to popular consensus... While looking through Illustration Now, the artist that struck me the most was Mica Okada from Japan who calls herself Micca. The drawing below is by her. I love Micca's simple yet subtly detailed illustrations and her careful economical use of line and colour by leaving out certain "unnecessary" parts that the viewer can fill in for themselves.


p.s. I found a Japanese website that uses some of her illustrations. Another website called Starfactory displays some of her work. I also saw an artbook called Mondofragile2 at a comic book store, which features more of her artwork and other great illustrators from Japan.