Gunhill Road – I Got a Line in New York City

An evening pause: Something a bit different. As noted on the youtube webpage, the visuals here “were created by human artists tapping into the assistance of leading-edge generative AI.” Normally I find the fad to go to AI to do our thinking and creativity for us to be more than appalling, but in this case it is clear the artists guided the art, and then fitted it well to the music.

Hat tip Bob Robert.

David Bull – David’s Choice

An evening pause: Hat tip Cotour, who admits “This is a bit different.” I agree, but it gives you a flavor from the past when a new technology first met art, to produce something beautiful but new. From the youtube webpage:

The next in our ‘David’s Choice’ series, where Tokyo-based woodblock printmaker David Bull introduces some of his favourite prints. This time, the print(s) being featured are from the old Doi Hanga Company, and are two different scenes of the Kagurazaka district of Tokyo. The designers were Tsuchiya Koitsu, and Noel Nouet, and the prints were originally published in the late 1930s.

Disney – Four artists paint one tree

An evening pause: This short was aired in 1958 on the Disney children’s television show, Disneyland. I emphasize children because this is the kind of material I was offered as a child.

Today it would be considered too sophisticated, and definitely unacceptable because it doesn’t indoctrinate the young on the importance of “racial justice.” My god, all the artists happen to be white!

Yet I know from experience that kids under six would love it just because it is fun to watch the artists work, while older children would find the narration by the artists themselves fascinating. I can say this with confidence because I am certain Disney showed this clip more than once, and I saw it multiple times as a child, watching it with pleasure at different times and ages.

And then there’s the main point. As Walt Disney himself says in the opening, “Don’t imitate anyone. … Go forward with what you have to say, expressing things as you see them. … Be yourself.”

Taking back the arts to make them meaningful again

Link here. The essay first outlines the destructive corrupt and meaningless consequences of postmodernism on the arts:

The systematic undermining of the arts were a prerequisite for the Marxist goal of cultural disintegration. Before elitists began decreeing blatantly absurd claims such as mere words can magically transform men into women, or that Jeffrey Epstein killed himself, our cultural institutions replaced art with artifice. What they call “art” is an empty mimicry, lacking substance and significance.

The result has been absurd museum exhibits where garbage, literally garbage, is lauded as great works of art

The essay then describes a new and booming movement in the artistic community, dubbed remodernism, focused on restoring art to its more laudable place in the human heart.

In 2000, two English painters, Charles Thomson and Billy Childish, codified what they called Remodernism, an insurgency against the manipulative and destructive Postmodern status quo. Remodernism acknowledges the purpose of art: an inclusive means of spiritual communion and connection. This inspiring message is particularly in sync with the values of the United States.

Remodernism is the latest iteration of the American character: ordinary people working as explorers and inventors, optimistic, self-reliant and productive. A Remodernist artist formulates expressions of personal liberty to convey higher meaning, personal growth, and connectivity.

Remodernism sees art as a conduit for shareable moments of beauty, enjoyment, comprehension, and truth. Assembling these elements together approaches a state of grace, the ultimate expression of the love bestowed on us by our Creator. We are called to follow His example.

In other words, the goal of art should to be raise us up, rather than tear us down. I couldn’t agree more.

As they say, read it all.

London and art

Trafalgar Square

Yesterday we took the train to London and settled into a really super modern hi-tech hotel dubbed “The Hub by Premier Inns.” It is also the crummiest hotel I have ever stayed at. I picked it because it was well recommended and was located less than a block from Trafalgar Square, shown on the right. And yes, it is new and fancy, with motion-controlled LED lights and fancy touch buttons and aps to control everything. It is also tiny, cramped, the controls are too limited and too difficult to decipher, even for a science journalist like myself. I suppose I shouldn’t complain, as it was reasonable in price considering the location. I still dislike the hi-tech nature of the room that only ended up limiting our convenience and comfort.

And the hotel didn’t even have an ice machine!

National Gallery in London

Today we wandered about the square, watching the street performers (buskers in British lingo) and admiring the statues and sights. Then we went into the National Gallery to enjoy some of humanity’s greatest art, as were a class of elementary school children as shown in the picture on the right.

The museum was packed with people from everywhere. I saw Japanese, Chinese, and Israeli tour groups. I saw people of all types clearly from London, including several school groups like the one to the right.

Interestingly, these crowds were all found in the permanent exhibits. One temporary exhibit we wandered through, art by an modern abstract artist by the name of Sean Scully, was practically empty.
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The greatest electronic music of the fifties and sixties

Link here. Many of these could easily be an evening pause, other than the fact that they don’t have visuals. If you want to get a feel for the beginnings of electronic music, check them out. The styles range from space music to jazzy. The sampling even includes the electronic music from Forbidden Planet (1956), one of the best science fiction films ever made. I have put one as an example below the fold.
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