Showing posts with label Universalism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Universalism. Show all posts
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Friday, January 7, 2011
Lady Dior's Universalism
Sometimes trying to impact too many markets, even in this globalized economy, isn't that great. Sadly I feel like Dior abused the rather charming concept of their first Lady Dior campaign, turning Marion Cotillard into an impersonal looking model/doll and their bags into cheap commodities.
After Marion Cotillard clutching to her life (read her black Lady Dior bag in Paris) on the Eiffel Tower, Marion Cotillard singing with Franz Ferdinand and strolling with nostalgia (read her red Lady Dior in NYC) along the Hudson River and Marion Cotillard in Shanghai dealing with drama (read her blue Lady Dior), here is the video version of Marion Cotillard with her grey Lady Dior too photoshoped to look not like herself in London's Eye.
Dior presents Marion Cotillard as a cabaret star/muse/healer/saint and proud owner of the grey Lady Dior as well as Dior pens and Dior flasks in London and all in grey.
Monday, November 1, 2010
Koyaanisqati - The Existence of a Past Everyday
On the premise that facebook hinders honourable graduation, during my MA I refused to get an internet connection. Consequently most of my free home time was animated by a UCL library video collection binge. An eclectic - very francophile, Scandinavian savvy and sound oriented - but nonetheless impressive collection.
Among the Bergmans, Vilgot Sjöman and Éric Rohmer, I rented all of the Qatsi trilogy after a Post-Colonial Visual Culture class during which the last film, Naqoyqatsi (2002), was torn apart for its condescending universalism. Still I got really obsessed with Koyaanisqati (1982) - the first in the trilogy - and watched it twenty times over a weekend (London can be very rainy). Sometimes as background (a Philip Glass soundtrack) music, sometimes as a whole, sometimes as extracts, sometimes as loops, sometimes to observe what the 1980s everyday looked like: what were the colours of billboards or on planes? What forms were cars and trucks taking? What were lighting systems like? What was makeup like? Technology like? Outfits like? Hairstyles? Glasses? Traffic systems? Smoking habits?
Among the Bergmans, Vilgot Sjöman and Éric Rohmer, I rented all of the Qatsi trilogy after a Post-Colonial Visual Culture class during which the last film, Naqoyqatsi (2002), was torn apart for its condescending universalism. Still I got really obsessed with Koyaanisqati (1982) - the first in the trilogy - and watched it twenty times over a weekend (London can be very rainy). Sometimes as background (a Philip Glass soundtrack) music, sometimes as a whole, sometimes as extracts, sometimes as loops, sometimes to observe what the 1980s everyday looked like: what were the colours of billboards or on planes? What forms were cars and trucks taking? What were lighting systems like? What was makeup like? Technology like? Outfits like? Hairstyles? Glasses? Traffic systems? Smoking habits?
While aspects this 'experimental' documentary are sometimes condescending (the title of the film does translate as Life Out of Balance) and underneath its 'objective' looking images has a clunky and at times desperately unsubtle social comment, my curiosity for the everyday overruled all of it....
Yesterday I was in nyc's midtown eating soap in a front window - it felt like television. And watching people on their cellphones bustling around reminded of my obsession for this 'experimental' documentary by Godfrey Reggio with music by Philip Glass:
Yesterday I was in nyc's midtown eating soap in a front window - it felt like television. And watching people on their cellphones bustling around reminded of my obsession for this 'experimental' documentary by Godfrey Reggio with music by Philip Glass:
How did people look when they lived without cellphones?
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