Last week I went for my monthly Second Friday walk through the heart of Williamsburg and wanted to do a post about some work I saw at Pierogi Gallery by Dawn Clement. It stood out among the work that I had seen that night, except maybe a painting by an artist that called me a thief for taking a photo. She jarringly reminded me that “it ‘s Copywritten!”. Anyway, back to Dawn Clement. I haven’t seen still life work that has actually put my mind to work in a long time, not unless I am looking through the history books. Using ink-based mural-sized drawings reflect on a small setup of objects that are setup in the room for you to observe, consisting of placed objects and some sculptures of her own. I noticed myself going back and forth between the setup and the drawing, the latter making me focus on the details of the objects and seeing them in new light. Check it out.

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This week, I thought I would write about a musician that I have been coming across on my way to work in the Union Square Subway Station. I’ve seen him a few times and is one of my favorite New York Metro musicians. The instrument he plays, the kora, is particularly sparkling and spirited and, for me, speaks well to the movement of people at rush hour, without making it more intense than it already is (I like the free jazz band that plays there, but it doesn’t exactly ease the nerves after a long day).  The song I’ve posted up here is called “Kadija” off the album titled “My Family- Mandinka Traditional music from Senegal”, featuring a number of musicians, including Béla Fleck. So I finally decided to pick up one of the cd-rs that he had for sale, and since I like it so much I wanted to share a piece of it with you. Unfortunately I cannot share the whole thing, but you can go to his site or pick up a cd-r of your own if you see him at 14th st.

Kadija

On my way back to New York from Christmas in Spain I stop by Valencia to see my friends Sara and Julio. They had just moved into a great new studio space in the neighbourhood of Ruzafa where they work on graphic design and photography under the name of Estudio Julio Alonso (or you can visit their new Tumblr here). For their first public event they created a few flyers that included Sara´s photographs. I had been wanting to share her work in Sociotree for a long time, and this series seemed like a great way to do it.

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From m-inspira, sweet type. Created by two young graphic and industrial designers from Valencia, Spain, the series of letters was created with sugar and gelatin and are edible.

(via colossal)

The time has come once more for the moment of the year that I look forward to the most. Where Santa comes racing on his synth-powered sleigh with low drones of sound blasting him in speed around the world. You will find in your fire place this year, a glowing, kryptonite-laden mix, digitally crafted by Cristian Subirá (aka Summer Recreation Camp).  I present to you, Merry Synthmas Volume II, as awesome as ever.

 Merry Synthmas Vol. II – Cristian Subirá

I have been chasing my friend Pablo for quite a long time asking him to make a mix for Sociotree. Music is one of his passions and he has introduced me to many Argentinean rock bands, so I was expecting a mix of a bit of Fito Páez and a bunch of Charly García. However, since last year he has been airing his own radio program dedicated to tango music: “The Death of Tango” at WPRB and so he has made a mix of tango songs. I don’t think Pablo feels the tango is on its way out, neither do I after going to some Tango events with him in New York and New Jersey. Maybe it is because of its seductive power, or its poetry, or because its popular origins that incorpore influences so diverse as African candombe, Cuban Havanera or cuplé. So if you always wanted to know the difference between a “tango” and a “milonga”, or the meaning of “lunfardo” you will enjoy this beautiful introduction to tango music accompanied by Pablo´s own commentary.

And if you are still thirsty, listen to The Death of Tango every week and join the Facebook page.

The Death of Tango Mix – Pablo Mosteiro

Awesome R. Black poster recently made for yesterday’s global day of action. I knew that I recognized his style and went on to find an amazing archive of his poster’s on his website. Here are just a few. And more on his site here.

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On a rather blustery and miserable night, I went to see some short films by Jonas Mekas, a local but world renowned filmmaker, as part of the Greenpoint Film Festival. The efforts of my friends to slush our feet through the wet snow were rewarded with a night of great films with Jonas present. “In Between” was my favorite film of the night, a choppy and fragmented diary of Jonas’ life in New York. Jonas is well-known for his involvement in the counter culture of the 60′s, having filmmed artists such as Allen Ginsburg, Andy Warhol, Salvador Dali, and catching on celluloid a very raw image of that time. He calls himself a Brooklyn boy, having lived in different parts of Williamsburg for much of his life. A segment of “In Between” called “Places I Used to Live” depicts Jonas revisting his past homes, one of them even being down the street from where I live now. Some of these homes were shown to have been reduced to rubble or fields of grass. Later, during the Q&A, Jonas talked about changing neighborhoods in New York while refering to the closing of the Mars Bar. He said “It’s not tragic.” I couldn’t help but think this feeling comes across his diary films. He let us know we should not despair when we look to the past, because the past is with us in every moment.

I wanted to do some posts about cool posters that I have seen at the Occupy Wall St live-in, and this one seemed particularly well made. Many of the signs and posters are being made on the back of pizza boxes and other cardboard boxes.
I over hear people talking about this movement everywhere in my neighborhood, mostly in a tone consistent with their political apathy, a real sickness of our time. I for one believe that there is something in the movement regardless of whether you agree with what they are doing or not. My only word of advice would be to go see for yourself, and I am sure you will be impressed with the spirit that is present at Liberty Plaza. More posters to come.