Wednesday 29 December 2010

Jonas Burgert



The deep, dark, magical and vibrant work by Jonas Burgert

Gasper Noe's "Enter The Void"



Havn't seen a movie so disgusting, dazzling, delirious, delicate and over all mind blowing in a long long time.
I think watching the movie gives very close effect to taking LSD. The story follows a messed up teenage boy living in Tokyo that got involved with drugs and got shot down by the police. The Tibetan's Book of Death then play the main role of the movie and we look through the eyes of that boy soul, decending his body and go through the process to his new life. At the end of the film, I felt the distinct between my own conciousness and my physical body. it fucks me up so bad, thats how powerful a movie could be! salut to that!

watch the trailer

Isaac Julian's Ten Thousan Waves


I recently went to Hayward Gallery (South Bank)'s new exhibition "MOVE". The exhibition gathered works centered around body art/performance art from the 60s to the present day. This includes amazing interactive installations Tania Bruguera, William Forsythe,Robert Morris, Bruce Nauman, Yvonne Rainer, Simone Forti and big archive of recordings and videos for the audience to browse through...
but none of these works was not the reason I paid 8 pounds to get in...It was the UK premiere of Isaac Julian's "Ten Thousand Waves".
I spent 50 minutes submerge myself in the beautiful scenaries, emotions, narrations, and the physicality of the piece. It was a massave 9 screens installation where the viewer could walk around the room and get different perspectives from the same story.
The film itself was about people who trying to strive for better lives. Often I felt like they were related ghost stories...there's something very mystical yet urban about them

"Ten Thousand Waves"
really transgresses genre boundaries, and eventally as it takes the audience to another space and time, it also transgresses the sensations of reality. highly recommended.

Friday 8 October 2010

Another Man Magazine A/W 2010




Another Man Magazine A/W 2010

The new issue of Another Man magazine is themed "Altered States".
With very interesting articles and interviews including Matthew Stones phrasing Joseph Beuys as a style icon, bringing back Brion Gysin's tripping Dream machine, new projects by tattooist Horiyoshi the Third, mysticism in the art of Angelbert Metoyer, Shamans Essay (EXTREMELY RELEVANT! SURELY ONE OF THE THINGS THAT GOES ON MY "I WISH I WROTE THAT" LIST!!!) by Tim Blanks, conversation between the occult icons: AA Bronson and Daniel Pinchbeck, etc.

The mixture of content was very engaging, although almost every article left me begging for more. (being a mass magazine, it's understandable that they wouldnt go in depth with such heavy topic) Nick Knight's photoshoot with the artist Duo- Lucy McRae and Bart Hess, was stunning and presents a perfect aesthetic to go along with this issue. Eventhough he was on the cover, Keith Richard was surprisingly outshine everything else in the magazine.

Overall, Another man has picked up the bits and pieces of esoteric spirituality and printed them out in style. Is this an evidence that Shamanism has officially made a come back into our mainstream media?

Wednesday 29 September 2010

David Byrne's ILÉ AIYÉ (THE HOUSE OF LIFE)


I just watched this documentary from 1989 yesterday and, wow, what an inspiration it was to my project!

Ilé Aiyé is David Byrne's breathtaking 1989 documentary on Candomblé, the African-influenced spirit cult of the Bahia region of Brazil.

Ilé Aiyé explores the ways in which Candomblé has influenced the daily life and culture of the people of Brazil in music, art, religion, theater, food, dance, poetry and more. Ilé Aiyé uses experimental film techniques, music, and cultural observation to express the life and rituals of Candomblé and the symbolic manifestation of the Orishás, the deities which represent the wide range of natural and spiritual forces. The rhythms of the sacred drums and bells, a dance of spiritual ecstasy, offerings and sacrifices, divination and the visitation of the Orishás through trance are all part of the color and life of Candomblé.

Sunday 15 August 2010

Friday 13 August 2010

Alessandra Exposito



Mix media sculpture from skulls by Alessandra Exposito

Saturday 31 July 2010

Mongolian Shamanism



I just came across a Youtube channel of a Hungarian Assistant Professor sharing his finding of his field research of the social phenomenon of the Shamanism in the contemporary Mongolians.

In this video, titled 'The Mongolian Shamans' Spring Rite', he described the ritual as follow:
short clips taken at Eej Mod in Selenge aimag on April 5, 2009. They show apprentices of the well-know Mongolian zairan Byambadorj circling the sacred "mother tree" until attaining a state of altered consciousness.

Rick Bartow




Personal experiences and cultural engagement inspire Rick Bartow's drawings, paintings, sculpture, and prints. He is deeply involved with his family and community. Myths from around the globe, especially Native American transformation stories, are the heart of much of his work. Observations of the natural world: hawks, ravens, coyotes, self-portraits, and eagles populate his iconography. He is well known for astute interpretations of literary, musical and visual arts.

Friday 30 July 2010

Nick Cave

Nick Cave Lecture at Fowler Museum, Jan. 9, 2010 from Fowler Museum on Vimeo.



“To me, everything outside of myself is community. I don’t see myself as an artist but as a humanitarian using art to create change. My hope is that these new Soundsuits will cause people to find ways to live with each other, extend our compassion to other communities, and take care of our natural resources. If I can create an opportunity to bring people of all creeds, identities, and interests together, then I am doing my work,” said Nick Cave.

Nick Cave
's Soundsuits echo the tradition of the tribal shaman, from its craftsmanship in the making, performative quality of its implementation, and its effect to the communities involved.

Fischerspooner



Lastnight I went to Fischerspooner show at Bed Supperclub in Bangkok. The band started as a collaborative art performance by Warren Fischer and Casey Spooner. Drawing their inspiration from various culture, futuristic sounds and avent garde visual language, I was expecting quite an urban-shamanic show from the 600 bath ticket.....Too bad there was nothing of them things as it was just a Dj set. boo.

Thursday 29 July 2010

CROSSROADS by Addminimal



Stunning art direction/ fashion shoot titled 'CrossRoads' from 5th edition of Species online Magazine by Addminimal creative (by Adriana Gerasimova).
The images talk about travelers and how seeing different parts of the world help you acknowledge your own uniqueness. A strong emphasis on cultures and body decoration somehow remind me of a familiar theme.....

Jilly Hawkhead's Scupture for Travelling



Camberwell College of Art's graduate show last month was nothing but ordinary. It was truly refreshing to see the students' talent shine in various (including the unexpected) kinds of media. The BA(Hons) Drawing department in particular took me by surprise with their artistic attempt to 'draw' in so many disciplines. From traditional pencil on paper, to collages and sculptures, to installations as their final pieces.

Jilly Hawkhead
's work, among the course alumni, was my favorite. Her work took over a small room in a corner and turned it into "Shamanic Flight Center", a place where participants can plan and book their flight to the spirit world!
A very tongue-in-cheek approach to talk about Shamanism and its commercial twist in today's world. She's surely getting a thumb up from me.

You can follow her at her Shaman-In-Residence blog.

Jackson Pollock




Recently I've read a post describing Jackson Pollock (January 28, 1912 – August 11, 1956) as an 'example of Artist as Shaman in the modern world'. Interestingly, the writer brought up a few connections of Pollock's art work and the study of Shamanism, i.e. Pollock's interested in Jungian psychoanalysis and his strong link with the Native American Art. The writer also described the his paintings to be 'Shamanic' as the artist described his untraditional process of painting to be done in a subconscious level.
Indeed, Pollock's swirls and splashes were exquisite expressions coming for deep and raw place within the artist soul, reflecting the inner respond to what was going on in the world at that time. There's no doubt that his master pieces change the face of contemporary art forever as it explore another level of artist's mind and speak a new language of visual that will last generations...

But, a question remains: Did Jackson Pollock really talked to spirits?

Thursday 17 June 2010

Terence Koh



Terence Koh
is one of today's most controversial contemporary artist. Working across various media, Koh’s work often involves the theme of spirituality in contrast with the quirky provocative cultural satire. He also is well known for his ritualistic performance pieces, in which he adopt the role of a modern day shaman, exploring the value of existence and belief in the contemporary through its icons. An art star, fashion icon, and a living esoteric myth, Terence Koh is a truly example of an urban shaman, breaking down the modern society's rationalists idea - one art piece at a time.

Thursday 10 June 2010

Garl and Coo



Although receiving a lot of attentions via their "avant garde" fashion collection, the dou Garl and Coo offers more deeper content in their artistic work which spread through various media including films, exhibitions, art objects and print publication.
The duo, comprising fashion designer Jasmin Isabel Eckerle and artist Marcel Singer, drawn their inspiration from resurfacing the Black forest's myth and its natural essence. This results in tribal aesthetic, dark, grounded and mysterious nature within their pieces.

Wednesday 9 June 2010

Cameron Jamie




Cameron Jamie brings art and anthropology together in his explorations of various fringe rituals shown in his work. Along with his drawings and installation, Jamie's films stir up a lot of attention. The artist’s acclaimed film trilogy explore 3 different underground, uncanny culture. The first video was the 2003 "Spook House", a montage of amateur haunted house in LA. Second one was the 26 minute video “Kranky Klaus," that he travelled to an Austrian village of Bad Hofgastein to document local St. Nicholas feast day traditions. Lastly, his 'most violent film according to the artist', "JO"(2004) is an exploration of patriotic rituals, it combines footage of a Fourth of July hotdog eating contest in New York with French celebrations of Joan of Arc.

His current exhibition will be at Gladstone Gallery until the 12th of June. It includes various sculptures and drawings, which the artist created as he was inspired by the carving technique used in the creation of Perchten, ornate wooden masks from the Alpine tradition.

Björk's Earth Intruders



Music video by Björk performing "Earth Intruders", the lead single from her latest album "Volta".

AA Bronson school for young Shamans





AA Bronson's latest exhibition at the John Connelly presents, New York(January 10 - February 16, 2008) goes back to his collaborative roots, and, as always, did not fail to intrigue its audience.

As the only remaining member of the "General Idea" collective, Bronson continues to work with the group's main theme of pain and healing in his solo career. The exhibition was partly the retrospective of Bronson's 40 years work as an artist, showing the transformation of himself through his work and perspective development. The pieces shown in this part of the gallery include ‘Mirror Sequence’ series (1969–70), Evidence of Body Binding (1970) and various portraits. The suggestion is that Bronson’s ‘self’ is an amalgamation of the circumstance and people that surround him.

He continues to illustrate this notion of self in references to others surround him in the second part of the exhibition, showing his various collaborations with the emerging 'young shamans'. Displayed in this part were the shamanistic works such as Christophe Chemin's film The Gold Room (showing artist's attempt to levitation), J.X. Williams' assorted objects for driving the evil spirits, Michael Dudeck performance, Item Idem's Louis Vuitton shaman dress, tribute to Joseph Beuys, and the notorious 'Glory Hole' collaboration with Terrence Koh.

This exhibition, overall, captures the essence of Bronson's work which, as discribed by the curator Bill Arnheim, ‘interweaving of tantalizing pleasures and profound trauma’. It also highlight the shamanistic element presenting in today's contemporary gay art practice.

Saturday 5 June 2010

Michelle Knowles



Michelle Knowles is a Brisbane based artist who made sacred out of everyday mundane. In her objects and performances, Michelle references various esoteric occult beliefs, including shamanism. Her recent book "Shamania" documents of a body of work which explores the shamanic object in contemporary art in varius media from performances, art objects, sculptures, and digital stills. (via)

Monday 31 May 2010

Pattie Brooks Anderson


Although she mainly paint, I find her 'Goddess of Flight' among other jewery-like creations very interesting. Pattie also runs the 'Creative spirit within' workshop, offering art therapy and connection to your spiritual and creative side within.

Black Shaman box



UNION Los Angeles’ Black Shaman box. Inspired by mountain men, trappers, fur traders, Plains Indians & Native American culture, the Black Shaman Box set is composed of a 24ml custom blend black amber balm tin, an 18″ seed bead necklace, a hand-binded leaflet, a leather medicine/amulet bag containing a small piece of tumbled South African Sugilite, an original Buffalo nickel, a Moss Agate stone & a booklet of 1 1/4″ special edition ZigZag rolling papers. Available at Union (110 S LaBrea Ave., Los Angeles, CA.) Retail $80.00… Limited quantities.

Sunday 30 May 2010

The Modern Primitive


I recently came across a book called "The Modern Primitve", written by V.Vale and Andrea Juno. It complie a great body research materials on this new cultural movement. As nicely summarised by Steve Mizrach, the Modern primitive believe in uniting of past and future. "For them, there is no contradiction between past and future", said Mizrach, as he explains the notion of time being circle and elements of what considered 'primitive' (interconnectedness, spiritual liberation, etc) are intergrated with the sensibility of the 'modern'. The Modern Primitives are famous for their body distortion, modification and getting in trance through pain. There's a lot of Shamanism refference in their ideology (i.e. the rituals, ecstasy, invasion of the body to 'purify', to extreme accliams like Shamanism has a basis in quamtum mechanics, etc) . In this book, there are interviews with famous artists suchas Fakir Musafar, Anton Szandor LaVey and essays by the likes of David Levi Strauss and Wes Christensen. It is indeed a must read for people who interested in alternative spirituality within modern context.

Rough Trade


saw this at Rough Trade record shop in Bricklane. Does anyone know which band is this promotional piece is for? 100% amazing.

Saturday 29 May 2010

Sha Sha Higby


Having observed the art of Noh masks in Japan during 1971, studied dance and shadow puppet making in villages of Indonesia, and widely traveled through southeast asia, there's no surprise to see a great deal of esoteric cultural elements in Sha Sha Higby work. She creates mystical performances and sculptures with intricate "masks" and movements, exploring the theme of identity, state of consciousness, rituals, social duties, and Shamanism.

Friday 28 May 2010

Sarah Blasko



Sarah Blasko's latest album "As Day Follows Night" was released in Australia on July 10th, 2009. Winning various awards including the prestigious ARIA awards, Blasko is set as the new raising star from the down under. The visual elements of her music video from this album shows obvious connections with native American shamanism. Here are stills from her videos (from upper left, clockwise):'All I Want', 'No Turning Back' ,'Bird On A Wire', and 'We Won't Run'.

Carlos Castaneda



As I was reading A. Znamenski's "The Beauty of The Primitive", a particular historical character in the 1960s interested me. A man who is claimed to be "the grand father of the new-age", but at the same time, has been called a fruad by his fellow scholars. His publications sat inbetween the line of anthropology account and purely fictional. Throughout his life, Although he accliamed the status of a scholar celebrity, his true identity remains a mystery. Some said he brought the mainstream light to Shamainsim, and some said he exploited the ancient sacred. Overall, Carlos Castaneda inspired millions of people to search for their spiritual rivival. His book, "The Teaching of Don Jaun:A Yaqui Way Of Knowledge" (1968), was a best seller and remains a bible to many naive alternative spiritual seekers today.This documentary by BBC reveals the great controversial involving Castaneda's validity within his work, his personal life, his false claim of being a shaman, and the death of his follower, wife and adopted daughter, Patty Parton.

Thursday 27 May 2010

Danis Rouvre



Works by the Paris based photographer Danis Rouvre.

Wednesday 26 May 2010

Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present.



From March 10th -May 5th, the residents of NewYork and art enthusiasts from all over witnessed one of the most prolific shaman/artist of all time, in action, in their very own MOMA. During every hour of "The Artist is present" exhibition, Marina Abramovic were there, sitting at a table in silence, and museum guests could sit across from her and stare. (A great amount of people broke into tears during this experience.) Her persona, charisma, aura, or may be simply her presence, has captivated her audience with something beyond their own understanding. People left the exhibition with various responses, from disturbed to liberated, but one thing they all had in common was that they 'felt' something.
Active for almost four decades, Abramovic has contributed and shaped what Contemporary Art is today. Among the participants were some similar faces, Terence Koh, Lady Gaga, Michael Dudeck, Tehching Hsieh, and AA Bronson.

Monday 24 May 2010

Psysalia Psysalis Psyche


Music video of "Titan Arum", performed by Japanese band Psysalia Psysalis Psyche, in collaboration with the artist/avant garde florist, Azuma Makoto.
The titan arum or Amorphophallus titanum (from Ancient Greek amorphos, "without form, misshapen" + phallos,"penis", and titian, "giant") is a flower plant with the largest unbranched inflorescene in the world.

Zhang Huan


The Evening Standard has regarded him as an only honest heir of Joseph Bueys in the 20th century, Zhang Huan presents the spiritual yet contemporary, political yet personal and subtle yet provoking work, like no other in his league.
"When I was young, in the countryside of Henan, living with my grandmother and uncle, whenever it came time for the New Year, we would go to the cemetery and invite my deceased grandfather and ancestors back to the house to spend the New Years holiday with us. Before eating, we always had to place some of the food and offerings in front of the images of our ancestors as a sacrifice. We had to wait for them to finish eating before we started. When I was young, I would go to the temples with my family and light incense and pray to Buddha. Even though at the time I didn’t really understand it, it was already part of my life."
Mysticism, Spirituality, Human body and Buddhism are the common heme through out Zhang work. His recent works include creating sculptures, images and installation from incense ash from temples in the Jiangsu-Zhejiang region.

Sunday 23 May 2010

Florence and the machine


A still from Florence and The Machine's music video for "The Dog Days Are Over". This song original video was released back in 2008, although the new version has been made with more "neo-tribal" aesthetic.

Phyllis Galembo


Absolutely amazing photographs by Phyllis Galembo.
Galembo has been photographing people from various cultures with vibrant creative costumes. From Nigeria, Africa, Haiti, Morocco, Jamaica, to Cuba, his camera has captured pure magick.

Masks


via Kanye West Blog. (some cool tribal shit is going on there.)

Kelly McCallum


"Do you Hear What I Hear" by Kelly McCallum
Sculpture Victorian taxidermy fox, 18ct gold plated maggots Collection of R20th century gallery & Andrea Schwann

Michael Dudeck



As his website's titled "Michael Dudeck- Witch Doctor", Shamanism has been an interest for a Canadian performance artist, Michael Dudeck, since his involvement with an environmental organisation and working with "a bunch of witches who were saving the forest". According to Dudeck it was a "powerful and artistic"experience. Graduated from University of Manitoba School of Art in BFA, Dudeck is become more and more well-known for his intriguing and ritualistic performance art. His recent show includes a collaboration with AA Broson's "School fo Young Shaman" (where he sat in an installation surrounded by sage, holding a fish for 3 hours.), and currently he his helping Marina Abramovic in her latest show at MOMA, "The Artist is Present".

Introduction


My first trailer about the Urban Shaman project. It was projected along with a performance to a group of MACD students.

Fever Ray - When I Grow Up

I/tem Idem



Paris-based artist IT/EM IDEM.more

Joseph Beuys





"Joseph Beuys is like a patron saint of shamans in the art world" - AA Bronson(2008)

Since the 60s, Shamanism has spread into the mainstream notion of spirituality and become creative inspiration for artists in very field.
In I Like America and America Likes Me (1974), German artist Joseph became one the pioneers of artists who adopted the character of shamans within their work.
His reknown “action” took place at the Rene Block Gallery at 409 West Broadway in New York where, for three days, he lived and interacted with a coyote in a cage.
According to Beuys, during the second world war when he served as a German pilot, he was shot down over the Crimea.
He then was saved by a group of indigenous people who covered him in animal fat and felt, gave him shelter and looked after him until he recovered.
In relation to his, we can see felt and fat becoming a reoccurring elements in his works, symbolizing survival and being primitive.

Friday 21 May 2010

GAGAKOH!



The self-proclaimed Shaman/Artist Terence Koh performed with the current music industry's biggest pop icon, Lady Gaga.

Followers