Video Sundaes: Animated Music Videos

Hello friends, I know I've been a bit lax, but I promise I have good reasons lying around here somewhere. Many art-related ramblings and photos to post later, but for now here is a collection of music videos I dig that feature animation of some kind. (Chad VanGaalen not included, since he already got his own post.) I hope you enjoy them!

"Knowing the Things That I Know" by The Blow. Adorable. 'Nuff said.


"Flowers" by Emilie Simon. One of my all-time favorite music videos- it's a cute song with gorgeous stop-motion animation with stylization reminiscent of Tim Burton's and Tom Selleck's work.

"Schwarz zu Blau" by Peter Fox. I don't listen to his music, but I saw this video during a class presentation on contemporary German music. I don't really like the monkey thing, but I love the concept of graffiti coming to life and interacting with different drawings and such on the walls of a city.


"Year of the Dog" by The Lovely Sparrows. Again, don't listen to the music, but I dig the look of this video, with its carefully-rendered cut-paper technique. Thanks to the "Best Videos of 2008" list at the excellent Music for Kids Who Can't Read Good.


"Myriad Harbor" by The New Pornographers. They're one of my favorite bands, and they usually make pretty weird music videos. This one's got the band trapped inside of Dan Bejar's swirling, seemingly alive mane of hair. Love the use of color here, and the simple, uncluttered shapes.

Video Sundaes: Bruce Nauman

I visited the Museum für Gegenwartskunst in Basel, Switzerland recently, a small but lovely space for contemporary art. There were a few Bruce Nauman videos on display and I was reminded how much I really enjoy his performance pieces. They're very simple and personal, and often related to his body or movement in some way. Often he is having a bit of fun, just playing around with expectations of what was considered art, or discovering new ways to relate his body to a certain space.

Stomping in Studio (1968). I don't know why, but this is one of my favorite video performances. It's so simple, yet so mesmerizing to me. I think it's the repetitive sound.


Pinch Neck and Walking in an Exaggerated Manner Around the Perimeter of a Square (1967-68)



Violin Tuned D.E.A.D. (1968)


Art Make-Up (1967)


I think next week I'll do some less kooky fare. Maybe some music videos?

Mixin' It Up With Some Videos

Greetings, fair readers. I have been thinking of possibly doing some sort of weekly post of videos I like- short films, performance art, music videos, movie clips, etc, probably related by theme or artist. Just something simple like the Chad VanGaalen post. I think it'd be encouraging for me to have a regular feature here since otherwise I just post sporadically. Thoughts? Please let me know!

We'll try it out today, with some Rebecca Horn performances. I've been studying her in my "German Art 1968-1990 class and I really enjoy her work. After being basically completely bedridden for a year or so, she took to creating body extensions out of soft materials like felt, as she could easily sew in bed. Her pieces from the 70's explore her relationship with her body and its relationship to its surroundings. I find it really interesting and beautifully personal. She also transforms simple and familiar objects into things uncanny in her installations and sculpture. There are some more videos and photos of her performances here.

Berlin, 1974: Segments "Touching the walls with both hands simultaneously" and "Twinkling"



A series of "Art Machines" shown in Basel in 2008. Hers is the first, but they're all very interesting.


Circle for Broken Landscape Installation
rebecca horn

Chad VanGaalen Animation

I've been meaning to share these superbly-animated music videos from Canadian singer-songwriter Chad VanGaalen. Aside from being an excellent musician, he's a talented animator and artist, incorporating fanciful colors and creatures with flowing, inter-connected movements. It's pretty trippy, and completely fascinating. He's worked on all of his own music videos and album covers, as well as those of a few other artists. Love his music, love his art- check him out already!




"Clinically Dead" (the first video and song I found from him, and still one of my favorites)


"Flower Gardens"


"Red Hot Drops"


"Molten Light" (this one is a little bit graphic, just fyi)


Holy Fuck- "Milkshake"

The Whitney: Alexander Calder's Paris Years

To me, Calder's name has always denoted whimsy and innovation. I got to see that and much more in Alexander Calder: The Paris Years, 1926-1933 at the Whitney. Loaded with wire portraits and figures, abstract sculptures and paintings, sketches, illustrations, film footage, and of course Calder's Circus, the exhibit is an exciting and busy experience.

First I was met with a wall full of contour-drawing-like wire faces of his friends and some famous people. Many were hanging, slowly spinning and casting crazy intersecting shadows. The shadows of Calder's wire pieces are a big part of the fun, so I think they should always be highlighted. Unfortunately the lighting didn't make for the boldness I would have liked, but still a cool collection of unique portraits.

Several rooms were dedicated to his abstract sculpture, many of which mechanical in some way or hung to encourage movement. Not too many mobiles, as I believe he began working on those more in the 30's. He seemed fascinated by the interaction of line and sphere, even devoting a series of large paintings to abstract studies of the subject. (I had never really seen his paintings before so I found these particularly interesting.) There were also some paintings and cartoons relating to the circus, which remained a pervasive subject for Calder.


A lot of miscellaneous wire sculptures were on display, including portraits of the singer and dancer Josephine Baker and an cute movable fish bowl. His understanding and use of line is marvelous. Several of them were abstract, complex, and movable, which was cool but I wish I could have seen them in action. There was a video showing one in motion but I was left to imagine how the rest functioned, which was too bad.

The largest room was a showcase for Cirque Calder, with several pieces of the set arranged in a glass case beneath videos of the pieces in motion. There were tight rope walkers, a bucking bronco, a belly dancer, a lion tamer, and various other excitements. Each wonder was mainly composed of wire and bits of fabric.

The walls were lined with even more circus-related sculptures and preliminary sketches. There was a small viewing room with a video of Calder performing his circus in the 1961. It is adorable. He operates his many delights with deftness and joy, controlling them with string and wire to entertain an unseen but laughing audience: a very early example of performance art. His ingenuity seems boundless, engineering scenarios I couldn't have imagined. One of my favourites was a large wire woman to whom small birds sailed down on plastic strings. There was also a little man who could smoke a cigar and blow up a balloon.

All in all it is a lovely exhibition, a testament to an incredibly talented man's gleeful imagination and penchant for entertaining. The sheer amount of pieces is very impressive, ensuring visitors a lengthy stay. I saw several children there and they seemed to be having as much fun as the adults. It's only up until Feb 15, so get yourself there as soon as you can! You can watch the circus video below.

Poster Boy is Caught, or is it a Stand-In?

Doesn't the NYPD have more important things to do, instead of stomping out street artists? Good luck, Poster Boy!