Category: Art

  • What is Gutai? Gutai without being Gutai~

    Ku:Nel - Yu AoiA couple of days ago, I posted a random post as a quickie. I had found a photo (pictured on the right) that I hadn’t seen before, and that led me to one of the most interesting quasi-pseudo-intellectual post on any Japanese idol I had ever read.

    Some might differ… Yu, an idol? Give or take~~~

    I hope you do find that post as interesting as I did.

    Here’s an excerpt:

    “If you follow Yu Aoi through Japanese popular culture, you find that, over and over again, she’s cast as an advanced, soft being, a quirky, childlike, expressive, kind-hearted fairy, modestly unaware of her own beauty and unwilling to use it in power games.

    …”

    Now, if you haven’t found that post in your quest for more Yu Aoi, and are not interested by that statement. What’s wrong with you?? Ha!

    Really, do give it a read.

    What’s fascinating about it is the reference to Gutai, which got me asking what Gutai is and what it’s all about. Sure, that Wiki article just simplifies it all… so if you want to get into it, head over here to read The Gutai Manifesto.

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  • Because I don’t blog enough Chinese Music…

    and Chinese in general.

    Taking example of Julz’ K-pop YouTube list – But then MTV Iggy is not as cool, LOL – I decided to make a 12-song playlist in YouTube… mainly because I didn’t wanna upload anything here. Plus, as much as I love my cassette playlists via MixWit~~~ watching videos is way cooler.

    The thing is, you gotta watch ALL the videos, and watch them in order because there’s a reason for me putting the songs in that order. LOL’ It’s the vibe. The videos I chose are cool to watch, music is great.

    Hope that you enjoy them. And I am looking for more Chinese musicians and groups… out of this world music. Not simply pop. That’s a reason I didn’t name it MandoPop or Cpop list. ;P – Music like Faye Wong who is still not back, though Fayenatics are abuzz~~~

    [iframe width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/videoseries?list=PL577C724FFC4EC7DC&hl=en_US”]

    1. Faye Wong – Jiang Ai (To Love)
    2. Lee-hom Wang – Gai Bian Zi Ji (Change Me)
    3. Bibi Chow (Zhou Bichang) – WOW
    4. David Tao – Hei Se Liu Ding (Black Tangerine)
    5. Jay Chou – Fa Ru Xue (Hair-like Snow)
    6. Chris Lee (Li Yuchun) – Shao Nian Zhong Guo (Youth of China)
    7. Jay Chou – Dao Xiang (Rice Aroma)
    8. Chris Lee (Li Yuchun) – Cha Sheng (Poor Student)
    9. Bibi Chow (Zhou Bichang) – Wei Le Ren Shi Ni (Just to Meet You)
    10. Lee-hom Wang – Zai Mei Bian (Beside the Plum Blossoms)
    11. David Tao – Gui (Ghost)
    12. Faye Wong – Bu Liu – No Staying

  • Romance on Taiwan Edition with English Subs

    Behold!

    I don’t know about YOU, but I just found out that YesAsia is listing Don’t Laugh at my Romance on a Taiwan DVD release with English subtitles.

    Don't Laugh at my Romance - Taiwan DVD

    Title is Bu Yao Chao Xiao Wo Men de – Xin? – after all, there’s a heart there. In that  case, it would translate to Don’t Mock our Hearts… which is pretty close to Don’t Laugh at my Romance. Why is this important? Because it has English subtitles… and it’s a good film.

    English fansubs were released a while ago… so it’d be interesting to see how wel those stand up to these.

    Also, it might be the only official release with English subtitles~~~ so who knows?! Maybe with luck, I could get away with buying an American release with subtitles. *fingers crossed*

  • Cotillard in Dior’s Lady Noire

    Ooh la~~~ looking at Marion walking in those heels hurt me. LOL

    Marion teams up for a viral/short film/commercial… but I can’t help but swoon. *swoon* – She does look gorgeous… total gorgeousity in those shots of her face. And wait~~~ wait for the ending. 3P

    Dior's Lady Noire - Marion Cotillard

    Video and captures below the break~~~
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  • Richard Phibbs’ Celebrity Portraits

    I spent nearly 3 hours photographing my cousin today, so I spent yesterday looking at some photos, many of them belong to Richard Phibbs…

    Richard Phibbs

    The whole page belongs to him LOL… so I ended up shooting Black & White. ;) – Celebrities included there are Tobey Maguire, Tim Robbins, Christian Bale, Rihanna, Peter Dinlage, Lenny Kravitz, Jude Law, Jimmy Fallon, Jason Schwartzman, Ethan Hawke, Ben Stiller, and Adrien Brody.

  • Cannes Film Festival – Then & Now

    62e Cannes Film Festival - 2009

    If it’s Hip, it’s Here has a great post taking a look at Cannes Film Festival, which is about to finish over the weekend… loads of films, some apparently extraordinary… others dividing the critics with controversy, just another year in Cannes~~~ If you really wanna know some of what’s been going on (celebrity-wise), head over to Lainey’s ramblings on what’s been going on there~

    Anyway…

    Check out some of the Hollywood classic photos after the break, including Ingrid Bergman, Natalie Wood, Sophia Loren, Grace Kelly, and Geraldine Chaplin.

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  • Maps of the Sounds of Tokyo Trailer!

    In original audio!!!! LOL

    Because I hate dubbing in general, but I have something against Spain’s Spanish dubbing… You can probably say it’s because of those “black market” Dragon Ball Spanish-dubbed videos my cousin used to buy. Ha!

    Anyway, trailer is not okay for work or public places… *TV announcer’s voice* Viewer discretion is advised.

    Map of the Sounds of Tokyo is directed by Isabel Coixet, who also worked on My Life without Me (with Sarah Polley), and you can read all about it LOL over at Nippon Cinema which has an article translated by me.

    Of course, I’m a fan of Rinko Kikuchi (or check out my comments (comment #2) on how she was snubbed), so this pretty much goes to my list of ‘want to watch’ ~~~ hopefully this year. Also, Rinko Kikuchi has a bunch of new projects… including that horribly-delayed Brothers Bloom picture with Rachel Weisz, and Mark Ruffalo… and a Japanese remake for Sideways *legasp!* I don’t want to have bad feelings about it… and the fairly-recent announced Norwegian Wood with Kenichi Matsuyama.

    [iframe width=”560″ height=”349″ src=”https://www.youtube.com/embed/Epbvqqisads?rel=0″]

  • Tokyo! on Blu-ray and DVD~

    Though trailer seems to refer to the UK release, Amazon.com has it listed as June 30th, and while the Canadian DVD is set for the same date, the Blu-ray release has a July 7th release. The film is already out through Amazon France
    , and Amazon Japan.

    check more stuff below the break
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  • Jounetsu: Yu Aoi

    Who rocks? Well, commenter aoinohoho~~

    He found the interview I was looking for… almost half a year ago. O.o
    Only it’s divided into two, and has Chinese subtitles instead. Video embeds after the break!

    Show is called Jounetsu (Passion) and they followed Yu around when shooting some Hula Girls, promoting Honey & Clover, getting her driving license, renting/buying films to watch, kid Yu, etc etc… the segment aired on September 2006.

    Yu Aoi - Jounetsu Profile

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  • Machu Picchu Post – French Animation with Peruvian Flare

    Years… well, maybe a year ago – I ranted Peruvian animation not being compelling enough. I have also ranted about how tired I feel of 3d animation (most of the times), but there are times when I have to talk about things because they are important to note.

    Machu Picchu Post is an animated short from Clement Crocq, Margaux Durand-Rival and Nicolas Novali. They are French, and did their whole Machu Picchu Post style reference from research. Research!!! Research is so important, and this is why I ultimately decided to blog them.

    I have always found Alpamayo (and most recently, the team in charge of the Dolphin story blah blah) to be lacking research, not storywise (though I beg to differ sometimes) but on execution. Of course, you don’t only research styles, textures, colors, etc… you also research movement, and light quality. It’s not enough to just HAVE the best computer equipment… you also go on field trips, you do experiments.

    Anyway, this is my brief rant. French animation students (and now animators) are creating more compelling animations regarding Peruvian culture. Here’s the video: