Monthly archives:February 2017

  • AFP Music: Interview with Why?

  • 7 years ago
  • We recently caught up with musician, singer, song writer and visual artist Yoni Wolf to discuss the new album from his band Why?.  Moh Llean will be released on March 3rd, and is the band's first release since 2013's Golden Tickets. What was the band’s motivation/inspiration for the latest album, “Moh Llean” and how is it different than the band’s previous releases? I can't say there is ever a specific motivation or inspiration. We are artists and we are drawn to making art in whatever state-- from whatever space we find ourselves. This one was no different, though of course it ends up with its own feel and identity based on our changes and developments as humans. Is there a particular story you wanted to tell or message you wanted to send with “Moh Llean.” I would say that whatever the album conveys thematically, it does so naturally without pre-conceptions or agenda.  That said, I think it is an attempt at openness in the heart and acceptance and peace. How did the hip hop element of the band’s sound come to be? Are you guys hip hop fans? Classic or modern day hip hop? Or, was it organic? I started out as a rapper. Hip hop is at my roots and core.  I don't think this album is very hip hop though. Tell me about the band’s creative process. Do you work remotely or do you go off to the woods to write together as a group? I wrote most of the stuff myself. My brother Josiah and I produced and arranged the stuff together.  We have a couple musicians-- [...]

  • A Celebration of the Unusual and Seldom Seen

  • 7 years ago
  • Founded in 1962, Film Comment has long been the critical voice of art-house and independent cinema, while also offering thoughtful coverage of more mainstream movies. The Film Society of Lincoln Center, which has published the magazine since the 1970s, annually presents the Film Comment Selects festival, which runs this year from Friday, Feb. 17, through Thursday, Feb. 23. Now in its 17th year, the festival screens movies that are not generally shown elsewhere, mixing the new and noteworthy with older, sometimes forgotten films that deserve another look. The scope of the festival is demonstrated by its opening night films: a premiere of Stéphane Brizé’s A Woman’s Life, an intricate adaptation of the Guy de Maupassant novel; and an Ultra-widescreen IMAX presentation of Terrence Malick’s trippy Voyage of Time, a visual and aural treat. The festival also features a four-film tribute to recently deceased cinematographer Raoul Coutard and revivals including 1972's The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds and rarely seen 1962 short On the Harmfulness of Tobacco, both directed by Paul Newman. Here’s a look at a couple of other films to be screened: Bitter Money, Wang Bing’s rambling, fly-on-the-wall documentary about Chinese migrant workers, is sometimes a tough slog. His loose, observational style doesn’t always serve the stories of his subjects—various individuals who have traveled to Huzhou to work in the city’s garment factories—nor does it consistently[...]

  • Wearable Art: Everything You Need To Know About Kanye West Yeezy Season 5

  • 7 years ago
  • Returning to New York Fashion Week this season is none other than Kayne West, debuting his fifth season of Yeezy for Adidas. The collection featured oversized sweatshirts, slouchy outerwear, and utilitarian trousers -- all restricted to neutral tones. See some of the looks for yourself. https://twitter.com/theyeezymafia/status/831979870066466826 West's presentation of looks also included the kickoff of the much-Instagrammed Calabasas line, Refinery 29 reports. Photo Credit: AKM-GSI The 15-minute showcase took place at Pier 59 Studios -- an old-line NYFW locale -- and attracted celebrities including his wife Kim Kardashian, sister-in-law Kylie Jenner, LaLa Anthony, Teyana Taylor, Hailey Baldwin and more. https://twitter.com/lala/status/831987657177702401 Cameos from models included Luka Sabbat and Amina Blue, and the show marked the launch of Halima Aden -- the Somali-American stunner who is IMG Models' first hijab-wearing model. https://twitter.com/Edward_Enninful/status/831968901168820226?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw The rapper/designer with Teyana Taylor Photo Credit: Walik  Check out more looks from the showcase below.

  • Shakespeare Production to Raise Funds for Arts Education

  • 7 years ago
  • Modern Rendition of Cymbeline to Premier this April at NYC’s Historic Theatre 80 St. Marks Director/Producer Alexis Confer and Art for Progress Founder Frank Jackson are proud to announce their upcoming production of Cymbeline at Theatre 80 St. Marks this spring. This production will use the classic language of Shakespeare, but approach the Bard’s “fairytale” with a modern lens. The audience will be transported to a world floating between the blurred morality and frenetic energy of a Vegas-like kingdom and the stark, colorful beauty of the American Southwest. In order to bring a fresh, nuanced and uniquely comedic performance to the stage, the company is intentionally made up a variety of performance backgrounds from musicians to stand up comedians, from classically trained Shakespearean actors, to improvisers. Led by Confer’s direction, the tight-knit cast has done several Shakespearean shows together in 2015-2016 - Twelfth Night and A Midsummer Night’s Dream produced by OFFLINE Productions and Much Ado About Nothing produced by Art for Progress. Most importantly, the goal of the show is to create a great live performance experience while raising awareness and funds for arts education. All profits from the show will go to Art for Progress’s programs for children and young adults - helping to empower NYC’s young artists. Art for Progress’ Arts Education Community provides under-served youth with dynamic artistic programming that promotes reflection and self-expres[...]

  • Wearable Art: N. Hoolywood In Hot Water After NYFW 'Homeless' Collection Scandal

  • 7 years ago
  • File this fashion endeavor under : WTF. This week, as part of New York Fashion Week, Japanese label N. Hoolywood presented to the world a Fall 2017 collection inspired by homeless people. Yes. Homeless people. Whether or not N. Hoolywood was channeling Derelicte à la Zoolander, it's safe to say this fashion label's fetishized "ode to street people" was done in poor taste. Photo: Imaxtree Ill-assorted chairs and benches wrapped around a circular runway. The models bundled up in overcoats and jackets and holding what looks like trash bags, lumbered down the pathway in somber time. To round out their looks, some models had their legs wrapped in plastic bag like material. As Daisuke Obana delineates in show notes: "As our designer traveled the cities of America, he witnessed the various ways in which people there lived on the streets and the knowledge they have acquired while doing so. His observations of these so-called homeless or street people revealed that them [sic] to be full of clever ideas for covering the necessities of life. Space blankets or moving blankets can be fashioned into coats for cold days, and plastic bags can double as waterproof boots when it rains. This season features designs that embrace their unique style of combining traditionally contrasting elements, such as unconventional layering or senses of color, along with experimental sizing." Photo: Erik Maza on Instagram In reality, there are over 600,000 homeless people in the United Sta[...]

  • Portrait of the Artist as an Iconoclast

  • 7 years ago
  • Tomer Heymann’s documentary about choreographer Ohad Naharin, Mr. Gaga: A True Story of Love and Dance, begins with a rehearsal scene in which a dancer falls backward repeatedly, as Naharin encourages her to “let go.” This painstaking (and literally painful) process is familiar to most dancers and anyone who’s witnessed the art of making tough choreography look easy. In the case of the iconoclastic Naharin, artistic director of Israel’s Batsheva Dance Company and founder of the Gaga (no relation to Lady) movement technique, the choreography is both incredibly demanding and extremely rewarding, as his dancers and audiences can attest. Mr. Gaga, which delves into Naharin’s creativity as well as his personal life, includes interviews, archival footage and many performance clips. The result is a visually thrilling and soul-satisfying portrait of a remarkable talent and individual. Born and raised on a kibbutz, Naharin was an instinctive dancer as a child, influenced by his music-loving mother Tzofia. Home movies show bucolic kibbutz life as an idyllic setting for a creative child. Later, Naharin served as an entertainer in the Israeli Army, during which time he first began to create dances. The choreographer, who narrates much of his own story, explains how the “absurd theater” of performing for soldiers influenced dances such Sadeh21. We also learn via an early interview that he began dancing because of a family tragedy, a dramatic story that will be revisited later in th[...]