Thursday, April 12, 2007

....choreograph her teacup to synchronize with her dialogue....

beautiful new things:
music:

arvo part (paul hillier): da pacem, harmonia mundi.
these compositions are just so beautiful.


michael cashmore (with antony, john contreros & others): the snow abides (great title), dutro/jnanarecords.
another fine cd, especially for those interested in current 93 and antony. it is a shame it is so short.

books:

interviews with tarkovsky.


ozu, by donald richie, univ. of california press.
book from which the (blo)ated (g)oat title was derived: (....choreograph her teacup to synchronize with her dialogue....). this is a very pleasant read, especially the middle section which deals with ozu's formal ideas. it is always a pleasure to listen to or read donald richie; his enthusiasm is contagious, and his love of the details so wonderful.


the dark side of nature: science, society, and the fantastic in the work of odilon redon, by barbara larson,
penn state.

explores the influence of the great nineteenth-century scientific debates on one of france’s most important graphic artists. with copious examples of his work.


marco breuer: early recordings, aperature
stunning cameraless photos by marco breuer, mysterious and abstract.


andrew chalk: goldfall, faraway press (cd or lp)
if you are looking to move backward and forward through time, slowly and melodically, i would say to do so with the smooth sounds of andrew chalk.
this is his best work to date, a melancholic journey through the sublime.



things i would like, but have not been able to find the proper funds for:


leonardo da vinci: experience, experiment, and design, by martin kemp, princeton univ. press.
"annotations of da vinci's brilliant doodles, which range across a wide intellectual landscape from geometry and the effects of light on objects to human anatomy, perpetual motion machines, and leonardo's methodical preparations for the technical challenges of masterpieces such as the mona lisa and the last supper."


italy builds. l'italia costruisce, by g.e. kidder smith, reinhold.
surveys its native inheritance, then presents 50 postwar buildings by type. works by nervi, mollino, moretti, albini, ernesto rogers, etc.
i was recently in new york to look at kidder smith's library, and spent about 2 days with his collection, which was begun in the 1940s. this is my favourite book of his.