April 27, 2015
April 26, 2015
A Brief History of John Baldessari (2012)
"John Baldessari is an artist who is perhaps most famous for putting colored dots over the faces of subjects in photographs, although he has also done other things ranging from sculptures to text on canvas. This short film interviews and explores him as a man and an artist - sort of."
April 25, 2015
Philippe Lanfranchi - Christian Dior: The Man Behind The Myth (2005)
"It’s 1947. France is in the midst of reconstruction after the war. Although fabrics are being rationed, a young designer wins the world over to his daring vision of feminine elegance. He once again establishes Paris as the capitol of fashion. His name, Christian Dior, is destined to reach the realm of myth.
"This man, however, who so completely changed and glamorized haute couture from 1947 to 1957, contradicts the extroverted, flamboyant image the public has of fashion designers. Christian Dior, never comfortable with his celebrity, was a reserved, conservative man who hadn’t even considered working in the fashion industry. The events that led up to his role as “director of dreams for high society” astonished him more than anyone. He was a down-to-earth, humble man who treated the 900 employees of his large company as family. They were the ones he worked with to make the creations he so enjoyed drawing a reality.
"What are the roots of Dior’s impeccable taste? What inspired his dynamic creativity and amazing success? His childhood in Normandy, the everlasting image of his mother’s elegance, as well as his love of flowers, art, and architecture, help unravel the mystery of the man behind the myth."
April 23, 2015
April 21, 2015
Gustav Holst - The Cloud Messenger Op. 30
"This piece is the largest of the 'Indian' works Holst composed between 1895 and 1914. It is based on the 'Meghaduta,' an epic poem by Kalidasa, the Indian poet. Holst once said that the translation of this poem took him seven years to complete, 'seven happy years, of course.' Holst didn't complete this translation alone though. There was a similar translation used by R. W. Frazier in his book, 'Silent Gods and Sun Steeped Lands,' of which Holst owned a copy.
The Cloud Messenger is about an exiled poet from Central India who sends a cloud toward the Himalaya Mountains to relay a message of love to his wife, who is lonely. There are great moments of dance laced throughout the piece, which serve to symbolize the cloud listening in on the dances in the temples of the holy city. In the end, the cloud delivers its message by speaking softly into the sleeping ear of the poet's wife."
April 20, 2015
April 18, 2015
April 16, 2015
April 14, 2015
April 12, 2015
Alan Moore - Northampton College (2013)
"Alan Moore visited Northampton College to read an extract from his book, 'The Mirror of Love' marking an inspiring end to a variety of activities and events that took place throughout February to celebrate LGBT History Month. Alan then gave an exclusive interview to students and some fantastic advice and personal insights on what it takes to be a writer."
Soft Cell ft Cindy Ecstasy - Torch
"As the story goes, Cindy Ecstasy was a drug dealer. Her moniker came about from what she supplied: Ecstasy. In 1981, it was a drug for the nightclub elite. Hence, the name Cindy Ecstasy. Somehow, someone came up with the idea of having Cindy sing back-up on many of the classic Soft Cell tracks. That way she’ll always be around. A decade after Cindy weaved her chemical spells, Ecstasy became known to the general public."
April 06, 2015
BBC HARDtalk - Alan Moore (April 2012)
"You have to remember that the comics industry was set up in the 1920s by Legs Diamond, Meyer Lansky, it was set up as a cover for bootlegging… I’m talking about the original gangsters, as I believe the young people like to phrase it these days, the Meyer Lanskys and the Legs Diamonds. The ethics of the comics industry have not changed since those days when they were cheating Jerry Siegel and Joe Schuster, who were two teenagers from Cleveland, who had created Superman, and National Comics…they waited until Siegel and Shuster were going off to fight in the Second World War. And then they told them that 'we need to own the characters while you’re away, but you’ll get them back as soon as you return.' These are the ethics that the industry runs on, they’ve not changed significantly in 70 years."
April 05, 2015
Easter Rockets on Chios, Greece
"Every year two rival churches in the town of Vrontados fire tens of thousands of rockets at each other across a small valley as part of an easter celebration. This 'rocket war' lights up the night sky and is an amazing site to behold (and a somewhat dangerous one)."
April 04, 2015
A love of the fantastic, grotesque and absurd
"Ellen Jewett, a talented sculptor based in Canda, creates unbelievably detailed and delicate-looking handmade clay sculptures of creatures that look like they’d be right at home in our wildest dreams (or nightmares)."
April 02, 2015
Star Wars: Music By John Williams (1980)
"This BBC documentary takes a look inside the world of John Williams, with excerpts from Jaws, Star Wars, Close Encounters Of The Third Kind, and The Empire Strikes Back."
April 01, 2015
How To Get Your Shoes Shiny - James May's Man Lab
"Grubby shoes? Then you are not a man. But don't fear, we've flown in Platoon Sgt. Mark Buckingham to set the bar for shiny shoes. So shiny he can see the queens face in them."
Lower Dens: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert
"The music of Lower Dens is dark but spacious and hypnotic, with swaths of feedback and echoing guitars. At the heart is Jana Hunter, a Texas-born, Baltimore-based singer and songwriter whose delicate voice haunts every song. Watch the band perform its blissed-out songs in an intimate set at the NPR Music offices."