Happy Halloween!

All the deliciously spooky artwork above is by Abigail Larson. You can see more of her beautiful and creepy images here.

Head's Up David Lynch Fans!

I just learned today that filmmaker and visual artist David Lynch, director of surrealist classics such as Blue Velvet and Eraserhead, will be displaying his photography at an exhibit called Dark Night of the Soul during Miami's Art Basel week, which runs December 2nd through the 6th. It will be held at Our House West Of Wynwood (O.H.W.O.W.) gallery located at 3100 NW 7 Avenue Miami, Fl 33127.

The exhibit includes over 50 original photographs by David Lynch that will be accompanied by a soundtrack bearing the exhibit's same name. The music was written by Danger Mouse and Sparklehorse's Mark Linkous and features an eclectic mix of performers such as Iggy Pop, Suzanne Vega, the Flaming Lips, Frank Black - lead singer of the Pixies - and more.

Unfortunately, due to some kind of legal complication, the album is not available for purchase. But NPR has the entire soundtrack available online for free here. That link also provides more information on the making of the album.

P.S. - Here's a big treat for Lynch fans: O.H.W.O.W.'s Web site says that several of the photographs displayed at the exhibit will be available for purchase. For more information go here.

Hello Friday

* Photograph of silent film star Louise Brooks in the German classic, Pandora's Box *

Top Five Vampire Movies of All Time

Halloween is just around the corner, which means candy, horror and lots of women parading in slutty costumes. Seriously, have you been to Party City lately? Even their 'kid friendly' costume collection includes Playboy school girl outfits and naughty French maids.

But in honor of a more 'traditional' aspect of Halloween, here are my picks for the top five best vampire flicks ever made:

5. Night Watch
Put your favorite anime or comic book in a movie then throw in the Matrix, Lord of the Rings and viola! That's Night Watch. Here's the scoop: it's the first part of a Russian trilogy that centers around the old fashioned good versus evil theme. But lines blur and good really isn't that good. The main character - the 'hero' - is an alcoholic vampire. A note to the wise: watch it in the original Russian language with subtitles. The dubbing is horrible.

4. Let the Right One In
Another foreign vampire movie but this one isn't for the squeamish. There are plenty of scenes that are graphic and bloody. But that's how a vampire movie should be! The plot centers around a young girl, a vampire, who is isolated from most of the world due to her blood-sucking urges. Then, during a visit to a wintry playground, she manages to befriend another kid. And that's when the dead bodies begin!

3. Shadow of the Vampire
What do you get when you place both John Malkovich and Willem Dafoe in a movie? True genius! Shadow of a Vampire is a fictional account of the making of Nosferatu, the first vampire movie ever made. So the film is basically a homage to Nosferatu and contains one of my favorite movie quotes:

Our battle, our struggle, is to create art. Our weapon is the moving
picture. Because we have the moving picture, our paintings will
grow and recede; our poetry will be shadows that lengthen and
conceal; our light will play across living faces that laugh and
agonize; and our music will linger and finally overwhelm,
because it will have a context as certain as the grave.
We are scientists engaged in the creation of memory
...but our memory will neither blur nor fade.

2. Bram Stoker's Dracula
Simply a gorgeous film with lush colors, costumes and fangs! Gary Oldman portrays Dracula as a creature possessed by both beauty and horror. Ultimately, the film is a romance between night and day, love and madness and obsession and tenderness. It's a film that appeals to a wide audience beyond vampire lovers.

1. Nosferatu
Just because this is the FIRST on-screen depiction of a vampire and it's a film that still sends shivers down my spine. Truly a classic.


Honorable mentions: anything starring Bela Lugosi and Interview With the Vampire, which didn't make the list because Tom Cruise playing a vampire just isn't cool.

Consider the Frost Art Museum Soon

This past Friday I ventured over to the Frost Art Museum for the opening of The Missing Piece: Artists Consider the Dalai Lama. It’s a wonderful collection with over 40 artists focusing on “the idea of art as an interpretation of, and a catalyst for peace,” according to the Museum’s Web site.

The opening had a large crowd and featured free fortune cookies and white wine to accompany the lust art, which was poignant and palpably rich. My eyes eagerly devoured the images of the Dalai Lama, ancient cross-legged Gods, reclining blue Buddhas and Laurie Anderson!

That’s right folks, the musician, performance artist and all around bad-bass, Laurie Anderson, has a video installation at the show and it’s quite ingenious. But that’s all the commentary I will provide. I don’t want to ‘ruin the surprise’.

Another highlight: a painting by the Spanish artist Salustiano García Cruz called Reincarnation. It was painfully beautiful to look at. Actually, it reminded me of a line from a cheesy TV show I used to watch as a teenager called My So Called Life, where the main character of the series states, “You’re so beautiful, it hurts to look at you.”

In a perfect universe, I would be rich so that I could purchase Reincarnation. The painting is a shade of shocking and absorbing red – a color that evokes passion, violence, blood, desire, etc. What’s more, the far left of the painting bursts into a portrait of a young Asian girl with a slight green undertone to her face, causing the painting's red shade to burn more brightly.

The caveat: the opening was packed so I wasn’t able to fully embrace all the art displayed. In fact, the entire third floor of the exhibit is almost completely lost from my memory - such a shame. It featured the photography of Cuban husband and wife Eduardo del Valle and Mirta Gómez. The couple captures images of Mexico and the Caribbean, often displaying the colors and shapes that adorn those regions.

All in all, it was a wonderful exhibit and experience. I highly suggest hitting it up. Here are some helpful details: entrance is gratis, parking is free on the weekends, the museum is closed on Mondays and the exhibit will run until January 10, 2010.

Man Ray Wednesday

Man Ray
‘Solarisation’
1931

I Love the 80s - Volume 11

I love Ashes to Ashes, definitely one of my favorite Bowie songs. Plus, the video is in my top five for best music videos ever made.

David Bowie - Ashes To Ashes