“In my series disassembly, I have used old items that are no longer by the masses and often found on the street curbs heading for disposal. All of the items in the photographs were in working order. The interesting part was the fact that they were all so well built, and the parts were most likely put together by hand. I envisioned all the enjoyment these pieces had given many people for many years, all to be replaced by new technology that will be rapidly replaced with half the use.”
In the early days Crasstalk was a backwater with few visits but so many great things to share. To help bring some of those early posts to light we present Crasstalk Classic. Our first classic post goes all the way back to December 2010 when Coffee and Cigarettes brought us the amazing Gentlemen of Bacongo about the exquisitely dressed gentlemen in the book from Daniele Tamagni. Now go relive the magic.
Everyone who knows me is aware of my severe weakness for well dressed men, and African accents. Pair those with my fondness for great photography, and you’ll understand why I’m currently lusting over this book by Daniele Tamagni. Full of amazing photos featuring members of the Congolese cultural movement called Le Sape, this book is a must have.
Well hello there, cuties! Welcome to the Crasstalk writing clusterfuck. If you have an author’s account or are planning to write in the near future, you are in the right place. Tonight we are going to try to get everybody ready to post or to improve your posts if you already are. I am going to try and cover some basic issues about the mechanics of posting, but I also want people to kick around some ideas and coordinate with one and other if you are working on related topics. I will be around for the next few hours and will occasionally add to the post, so refresh your screen now and again for new announcements. I will be in the thread so feel free to asks questions, but since I am drinking some delicious beer tonight look for the last 20 minutes or so to consist of my sending you bunny pictures and typing I love you guys in all caps through my drunken sobs.
All right, let’s get to work. First, everyone of you need to go and read this now. Yes, you! I don’t care if you read it yesterday, take 5 minutes and look it over again. I’ll wait.
Ok, so now I want to post something for those of you who are new to Word Press. First, click on this link and bookmark it. This will answer 99% of your questions about creating a post. Also, if you have never posted watch this video to help get you started.
Ready? Great! Now that you have Word Press mastered you are set. Now, let’s move to the next issue. What the hell are we going to write about? There are no content limitations for the most part and there are no assigned beats. Write whatever you are passionate about. Don’t feel like you have to have some amazing topic to get started. Write about what you find interesting and your enthusiasm will probably spread to your readers. Don’t be afraid to take the plunge. We are all pretty nice over here. Also, the beauty of Word Press is that if you really hate it you can just take it down. Take a deep breathe, you are going to be good at this.
So let’s go ahead and throw out a few ideas for each other and try to give each other some feedback so everyone can develop their ideas. Please post ideas if you have them, or if you want to see what people think about a topic. Also, I know several of you have similar interests, so maybe you can work together to come up with some stuff. I know there are a lot of TV fans out there, so we can try to come up with what shows you guys want to cover.
Here are a few things that myself, Dogs, and Meat want to stress:
Please try to take the time to write up good material. You don’t have to write a novel, but you are making this for our community, so give them something good.
Please don’t over post. Everyone who is taking the time to write here deserves to have their stuff seen.
Don’t be a jerk commenter to people who are just getting the hang of this. I should not have to add any more to this.
Let us choose the categories for the posts. It is necessary to keep the front page looking orderly.
Make sure you have a thumbnail image for every post. You must load the image into the media library and link it from there. You can not just copy the link from the internet.
Ask of if you have any questions are need help. The admin types here are doing this because we really enjoy all of you guys, we are here to help.
I am going to post a few links to some good stories that have been posted in the past. Please take a look at them because I think they will really help you.
Ok, let’s get to it. Post your questions, ideas, irrational fears below and we will all try to make sense of this.
Quick note: If you are interested in a certain topic, put that word first in your reply so others can find you. Second, please thank Coffee and Cigs for being our sexy secretary this evening.
New Update:
I am putting some topic threads below. If you are interested in those topics, put a reply in the disscusion so I can see who is who. Also, I noticed no one said thank you to Coffee and Cigs for taking notes. Don’t make me take the cute bunny pics away.
OK. I am going to take a break for a minute. Please take a brief dance break.
Also, I could really use a few news items for tonight’s overnight open thread. Send ’em if you got ’em.
Update: I think we have had a productive night. If you are reading this late still feel free to add comments and sign up under a topic section. I will check this post in the next couple of days to see what people are thinking and what they are interested in. I think the next step will be to have some posts for each section so we can help each other develop our posts. I will try to get that started in the next week. In the meantime, please feel free to put up posts and get started if you haven’t already. Let us know if you need help.
It has been an honor to serve with you all. Together, we will win the internet.
In honor of the most obnoxious holiday ever created, I thought I would showcase an artist who’s work bends traditional gender roles. In the majority of art, no matter the medium, subjects are almost exclusively heteronormative. So when I see the work of an artist like Jonathan Solo my mind whirls. His goal is to make you uncomfortable, to make you think about his work, his subjects. Adding in his own experiences with death, addiction, and personal struggles, his works are unique to his feelings at specific points in time. About his work in his own words…
“Strict polar gender identifications have been used to control and confine us, even persecute us, for millennia. We are at last breaking out into a fuller appreciation of the breadth and power of the multi-dimensionality of the gender spectrum.
My work explores the vast space between those rigid gender identities, through fine graphite renderings that are then cut and reapplied to birth a new identity. I am moved by the remarkable brave individuals I encounter who are exploring uncharted territories. They risk so much by just expressing their true selves, breaking free from the highly constrained paradigm of male vs. female. Lately I am fascinated by the existence of Intersex people and their unique histories and trajectories.
I blend elements of images from hyper-real sources like pornography and fashion with those of everyday people, juxtaposing female and male aspects. I then lens these with subtle distortions to generate an underlying visual tension in the overall image. After intricately rendering them in graphite on paper, I then excise each key element and reassemble them into the final layered composition. My goal is to evoke both a resonance and confrontation with viewers of my work.”
Ronit Baranga is an Israeli artist whose sculptures and tableware range from creepy to whimsical and hit every rung in between. Her creations give inanimate objects life, with mouths, fingers and faces. All strange and nameless.
Baranga studied Psychology and Hebrew Literature, but realized art was where her love lay. After graduating Haifa University, and Tel Aviv University with her degrees, she migrated to Bet Berl College to begin her studies of Practical Art. Ever since, she has been shooting out impressive works of art. Unfortunately Baranga has only shown in Israel and Italy so seeing these works up close is not yet a possibility for most of us. I’m sure the photos of these pieces are nothing compared to viewing them in person.
When you think of the Renaissance, you probably think of da Vinci, Michelangelo, or another Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. You should also think of Albrecht Dürer, and not just because he was pretty face. He was also a theoretical mathematician who applied his findings to his art, making leaps and bounds in representing the scale and proportion of his subjects.
Ask any art student what the most difficult thing is to draw and 9 times out of 10 you will get “hands” as your answer. Dürer nailed them. And since figurative art apparently wasn’t challenging enough, he painted landscapes, religious iconography, plants, and architecture. He studied animal forms and reproduced them in previously unimagined detail. Not satisfied with simply painting, Dürer created woodcuts and copper engravings to make prints. He made a couple of astronomical maps, too. Oh, and he was a published author on geometry and human proportions in art.
So, yeah. Leonardo et al. were geniuses, but Dürer was geniuser.
I’ve been obsessed with the amazingly hilarous site Regretsy for the past few days. After going through hundreds of back pages, looking through the worst shit human hands have ever created, I found myself inspired to find some Etsy artists whose work I wouldn’t be ashamed to display in my home. I’ve shared a few of my favorites below. Continue reading →
Guy Bourdin is the photographer that all modern fashion photographers should be judged off of. A protégé and close friend of Man Ray his work is part surrealism, part pin-up, part fashion. His eye for color, framing, and negative space makes his photography absolutely extraordinary.
