A spontaneous hair appointment led me into the brilliant and sunshiney apartment of Kelly Clipperton; hairdresser by day and photographer and music-maker by night. I inquired to one of the photos hanging in his apartment and was pleasantly surprised to find out it was his.

His photos come to life with a raw sexuality and entrance the viewer with a feeling of slight voyeurism; who is watching, and who is being watched?
Toying with sexual and gender identities, Kelly photos beguile and enforce controversial opinions on both political and societal ambiguities concerning the LGBT community.

Kelly iterates on his personal website:

“I’ve spent much of my life trying to figure out how I fit into the pastiche of socialization and creativity. In this ever increasingly detached world, I search for community and a sense of belonging even more than in my youth. That effortless fit into your tribe.”

Going on to describe his photographs as:

“[...] an extension of my need for order and an expression of want for togetherness. Uniforms, resemblance, balance… In each image there is a slight element of distress, which enhances the notion that no matter what goes wrong, continuity will pull you through. In my darkest of dark places I see the simplicity of uniform to be lifesaving.”

His most recent music video, which he sings and directs, deals directly with such topics:

Click here to view the embedded video.

One of those minds that people crave to get an inside view of; where roads don’t play straight and songs don’t drive forward, Mitchell’s mind is a constant creative and spontaneous wonder, and he has invited YOU to come along for a ride.

The debacle of ‘vlogging’ as an art form is subjective, and I, too, am speculative. However, after subscribing to Mitchell, and watching his videos for a few years now, I will admit: it is hard to deny that his ‘vlogs’ are anything but artsy and full of that symbolic ‘more’ we always crave whenever the artsy mind takes a peak into logically ’simple’.

Along with his best friend, Kyle, Mitchell pulls together the narrative of his life, the complexity of the human mind, the simplicity of a clean and clear stage and the intrigue of flipping through the surface pages of someone’s diary. ‘livelavalive’ is not a menage of fuzzy, unsteady home videos, but the dealings of a truly artistic mind.

His most recent video, a collaborative, and somewhat comedic monologue on what it is to be in love:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Art Jargon & Analytic Perspective:

Aimee Mullins has turned her body into a blank canvas; literally recreating herself from nothing and achieving the impossible. How many times doctors must of told her that she would never be able to run again, I can’t even imagine. Aimee’s recreation of herself is inhuman and industrial and a monstrosity that alienates the human body from the non-human body, BUT, Mullins takes an approach that we often fail to look at: that the monstrosity, the inhuman occurring within industrialization, can be turned into a positive force.

The ‘monstrosity’ coincides with that which is not human, that which is monstrous and unknown. No doubt, Mullins’ would fall into this category as an amputee, a cripple- she lacks the body parts which make her ‘human’. The technological equipment and motivation to complete the impossible is a philosophy of the industrial society- the ‘commodity’ has created her LEGS.

On another note, Mullins is turning the abject into an art form, and not even an uncanny one at that. The photos of her modeling with Cheetah legs, and wooden carved legs have sex appeal! She is altering the way that society views the ‘monstrous’. When the internal is stabilized, the external becomes stabilized by default. Mullins’ internal stability has given her the power to not only accept how her external body’s physicality, but the ability to turn the body into anything that she wants it to be. This is a completely new way of looking at a ‘disability’- the woman has turned herself into someone who has potential superpowers!

Auto-Tune the News:

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Original:

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There really isn’t much to say about this. It’s just a music video that uses the Iphone and it’s many many capabilities as the theme. Check it out if you want. I wouldn’t. Because you find the song sort of sticking in your head………………….the bastards.

Click here to view the embedded video.

I panicked. But was then pleasantly surprised to find this beaut: a hyper-realistic missed connections wet dream.

Wailing violin introduces us to a “fleeting moment between two strangers” created by cinematographer Arev Manoukian.

Who knew a long Parisian stare could lead to so much breaking glass? And who doesn’t love a good, long, intense and romantic-to-the-point-of-being-over-dramatic slow-mo sequence? What an exchange — stellar scene, indeed!

…

* PS: If you don’t know the MTL version of Nuit Blanche but are going to be around 514, here’s the basics. I’ll see YOU at the MAC.

She’s always been creative and powerful and amazing, but I think she’s REALLY hitting her stride and getting into some monumental shit right now.

The best part? She wears one of Alexander McQueen’s crazy sea-monster get-ups toward the end of the video. The song was premiered during the finale of his Spring 2010 show and clearly his genius plus her genius equals AN ABSURD LEVEL OF GENIUS.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The other day, I very innocently looked at one of my favorite blogs, Sea of Shoes, and saw that Jane Aldridge recommended Dario Argento’s 1977 movie “Suspiria”. Because Jane knows her shit, I obviously watched it.

And came about THIS close to breathing into a paper bag.

Sure, it was a Halloween-themed post, but I never would’ve guessed at how fucking terrifying this is. It’s almost David Lynch-esque in it’s nightmarish quality- it’s like any horrific thing can happen to anyone at any time. But somehow it’s a thousand times more scary. No, “scary” doesn’t even come close..I would say devastating. Why did I keep watching? Because it also happens to be one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. The set and compositional frames and explosive music are all completely mind-blowing. DAMN IT! Why couldn’t it have been some ugly, stupid thing that I could just turn off easily??!

In case I’m just being a sissy though, you should just watch it (but maybe don’t..) Here’s a clip:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Shawn Knol is a photographer, but you won’t find his pictures very easily.

Stop-motion video is Shawn Knol’s outlet of choice and each clip brings the naturally aesthetic pleasure of a set of consecutive photos, set to a pleasing soundtrack.

My favourite of his videos is Methylene Dream. This piece shows the progress of Methylene dye dropped in water.

Click here to view the embedded video.

I really enjoy this video because Knol uses a kaleidoscope of coloured dyes to make it all the more visually appealing.

And because the video is composed of individual photos one after the other, Knol can alter the order in which they appear. This effect makes a good impression when the video alternates from the photos chronologically to the reverse order.

Stop-motion gives such a different effect from regular video; it almost feels like a dream, which explains the title of Knol’s Methylene piece.

I also recommend Knol’s Oil in Water creation. The video is less visually appealing than Methylene Dream, but the soundtrack paired with the stop motion feels like a a day spent laying in the grass.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Take a gander at his other works too, they’re quite a feel-good and relaxing show.

The Quibbler

Anything a capella usually just seems so nerdy to me that it actually makes me uncomfortable. BUT- I just found this clip of Suzanne Vega singing “Tom’s Diner” (PLEASE TELL ME YOU REMEMBER THAT SONG) with no music, and I’m freaking out a little bit. It’s almost too much awesome for my body to absorb. She has the most amazing, husky yet pretty voice, and the cleverly over-simplified video is so perfect for the song. LOOOVEEE!

Click here to view the embedded video.