Archive for May, 2006

The Return of The Grumpy Old Woman From Hell

by Suzanne on May 28th, 2006

Kate Chase Norcross – Sixth-plate, ca. 1858 – via The Daguerreian Society – click to enlarge

Maienwind
Mutwillige Mädchenwünsche
Haben Flieder
Niedergebogen,
Blauen und weißen.

Wie Tauben sind sie weitergeflogen,
Mit Wangen, wilden und heißen.
Hoch in warmen, schelmischen Händen
Haschender Sonne
Geschwungene Strahlen.
Hellbehende Wonne
Weißer Kleider
Weht.

Mutwillige Mädchenwünsche
Haben sich Flieder
Niedergebogen,
Blauen und weißen, -
Sind weitergezogen …

(Peter Hille, 1854-1904, aus: Blätter vom fünfzigjährigen Baum)

INTERNA

I. Thee Shoppe will stay online – if you like it or not. Just try to ignore that pink tab on the nav bar if you have a problem with it. New artists will be added soon. You could do me a favour by visiting my rather vast artist link list and select a few artists you’d like to order prints from in the future.

II. The choice of artists will remain the same, i.e. I won’t add internationally famous and commercially “successful” artists to the shop because

a) they don’t need my support to sell their artworks.

b) I’m legally not entitled to sell their prints since most of them have their own representatives.

c) you don’t have the kind of money it takes to buy such editions anyway.

d) trust me on this.

III. I won’t charge any commission. Just because I’m Swiss doesn’t mean I’m a capitalistic bastard. You can stop sending me emails about my part in the “Nazi Gold Affair” now – I wasn’t really in charge of the Swiss government back then. However, these people would love to ~~shred your letters~~ hear from you:

Schweizerische Nationalbank (SNB)
Börsenstrasse 15
Postfach
CH – 8022 Zürich
SCHWEIZ

IV. Thank you for your kind attention.

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MOVING IMAGES

Still from The Olde Headboard

• The Olde Headboard – Another adorable video for Rasputina. I’d love to find out who directed this clip. Any ideas? It looks quite Sigismondiesque to me…

• The Curious Passions of Sergeant Bertrand – Stand-alone short film from Bret Wood’s feature movie Psychopathia Sexualis in which a case of necrophilia is dramatised through Victorian-style shadow play. Click on ‘The Curious Passions of Sergeant Bertrand’ on the right. Very Blanquetesque.

• The Tale of How – An enchanting animated short story produced by the Black Heart Gang (via the amazing WurzelForum).

• The Eraser – Beautifully cryptic promotional flash website for Thom Yorke‘s new album.

• Smells like a Ukulele – For those of you who still haven’t seen the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain‘s hilarious interpretation of Nirvana’s pièce de résistance, watch this now.

PSYCHICK LITERATURE OV THEE DAY

Moles and Their Meaning (by Harry De Windt, Pearson, 1909)

(via Neatorama)

NEW E-BOOKS

• Arnold Böcklin (by Heinrich Alfred Schmid / German / Illus.)

• Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town (by Cory Doctorow / English)

• War and Peace (by Leo Nikoleyevich Tolstoy / English)

PSYCHICK WEBSITE OV THEE DAY

Endless Zoom Photo Mosaic – An addictive shockwave photo mosaic project – similar (but far better) to the ZoomQuilt project.

(via BoingBoing)

RECOMMENDED EXHIBITIONS

• Art School Confidential at Lizabeth Oliveria Gallery in Los Angeles, USA.

→ Vernissage: May 27, 2006 | Featuring: Daniel Clowes, Caitlin Mitchell-Dayton and Charles Schneider.

• Tara McPherson‘s A Rock Concert Poster Retrospective at BLK/MRKT in Culver City, USA.

→ Finissage: June 1, 2006

• Blaine Fontana‘s Aadizookaan at Gallery Nineteen Eighty Eight in Los Angeles, USA.

→ Vernissage: June 3, 2006

• Alternate Realities – Paintings by Travis A. Louie and Robert Craig at Roq la Rue Gallery in Seattle, USA.

→ Finissage: June 3, 2006 | Preview show | Discussion at ArtDorks

• Gottfried Helnwein‘s Face It at Lentos – Kunstmuseum Linz in Linz, Austria.

→ Finissage: June 5, 2006 | Portal Kunstgeschichte review

• Group Show Number One at Corey Helford Gallery in Culver City, USA.

→ Finissage: June 5, 2006 | Featuring: Sylvia Ji, Caia Koopman, et al. | Preview show

posted in Belletristica, Exhibitions / Openings / Signings, Eyecandy, Interna, Moving Images 10 comments

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

by Suzanne on May 27th, 2006

Do you like tentacles? Do you love fancy headgear? Are you getting bald? Great!

This is your ticket to instant web fame. Partake in the web’s greatest meme.

All you need is a cephalopod and a camera. We don’t care whether the creature is alive or not – as long as it has tentacles. Place the cephalopod on your head (or on your neighbour’s kitty if you’re camera-shy), take a photo and email it to me.

The best entry wins a ~~stolen library~~ book by Jules Verne ~~in Swahili~~. Yay!

Here’s the insane(ly creative) Matt Jones and my humble self showing you how it all works:

Off you go!

posted in Interna, Tentacles / Cephalopoda Comments

Tacheles

by Suzanne on May 18th, 2006

I’ve been pretty frustrated about this blog/website and the work I put into it for quite some time now.

I’m aware that I had such phases before and that they’re only natural for an unprofessional blogger, but I fear I’ve reached a new low point with the opening of Thee Shoppe that I was so enthusiastic about.

Here’s what makes me ~~sad~~ furious: Up to this point, I got over three dozen readers (sic!) emailing me to ask whether I get a commission for selling prints and only a handful of actual print orders. I’m sorry to say that I fail to understand the implication of such questions. No, I don’t get a commission even though I’m broke as fuck – I do this because I’m convinced that some of my friends are very talented artists who deserve a wider audience.

I’m not writing these lines to hear encouraging words from any of you – I’m only writing to tell you that I need to think things through.

Don’t expect me back before Ascension Day.

Yours,

Suzanne

posted in Interna 35 comments

Mit Haut und Haar

by Suzanne on May 11th, 2006

‘Und natürlich war in Paris der Gestank am größten, denn Paris war die größte Stadt Frankreichs. Und innerhalb von Paris wiederum gab es einen Ort, an dem der Gestank ganz besonders infernalisch herrschte, zwischen der Rue aux Fers und der Rue de la Ferronnerie, nämlich den Cimetière des Innocents. Achthundert Jahre lang hatte man hierher die Toten des Krankenhauses Hôtel-Dieu und der umliegenden Pfarrgemeinden verbracht, achthundert Jahre lang Tag für Tag die Kadaver zu Dutzenden herbeigekarrt und in lange Gräben geschüttet, achthundert Jahre lang in den Grüften und Beinhäusern Knöchelchen auf Knöchelchen geschichtet. Und erst später, am Vorabend der Französischen Revolution, nachdem einige der Leichengräben gefährlich eingestürzt waren und der Gestank des überquellenden Friedhofs die Anwohner nicht mehr zu bloßen Protesten, sondern zu wahren Aufständen trieb, wurde er endlich geschlossen und aufgelassen, wurden die Millionen Knochen und Schädel in die Katakomben von Montmartre geschaufelt, und man errichtete an seiner Stelle einen Marktplatz für Viktualien.
Hier nun, am allerstinkendsten Ort des gesamten Königreichs, wurde am 17. Juli 1738 Jean-Baptiste Grenouille geboren.’

(aus: Das Parfum by Patrick Süskind – Tom Tykwer’s movie adaptation of this unforgettable book is currently in post-production. You can watch the teaser here.)

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