Brooklyn, You’re So Cool and You Know It (Revised)

      This past weekend was as good of a weekend as any to hit the road and head a thousand miles east to take in some culture. In between Chomsky lectures in Massachusetts and the last nights of restaurant week in Philadelphia lives the music scene in New York. So to New York I went, Brooklyn to be exact, Williamsburg to be exactly exact (that nondenominational depends-on-how-many-people-on-the-street-are-in-skinny-jeans-to-really-decide area between Bushwick and Williamsburg to be annoyingly doubly exact).  You wouldn’t be able to miss experiencing art you’ve never seen or heard of in Brooklyn if you tried, which made this weekends goal of doing so, fairly easy.

      Friday at 929, on the set list for tonight we have Princess Chelsea, a New Zealand act who attests her music to be something around the area of "the soundtrack to an old Disney movie meets Kraftwerk /Enya in a 60s production of Les Mis set in space" Which is a surprisingly accurately description, but judge for yourself. Up next the super-disappointing SUPERCUTE!  They're a bubble-gum, happy, super-happy, female harmonizing, ukulele playing, indie-pop trio who vowed to never write songs about boys, opting instead to write about candy!!!!!! (Weee!!) The night ended with Pikachunes (the obvious winner of the most obscure band name of the night award) a scrawny kid with a laptop in hand instead of an instrument and a voice reminiscent of Joy Division in his mouth with witty interludes instead of stage presence. I’m fairly certain I fell in love with this last one by the end of the night.

Pikachunes along with the nights opener Princess Chelsea are on tour with Lil’ Chief Records from their native New Zealand to spread their quirky stylings with the world. As my hipster senses almost explode from over-stimulation I send thanks to 929 for housing these two performers as I will now remain on the lookout for Lil’ Chief shows here in Chicago.

The super cute ladies of SUPERCUTE!

929,  located off the JMZ Myrtle Broadway stop has over the years become a go to spot for those ever-supporters of unknown music Brooklyners or just those who want to pretend they’re a Brooklyner for the night (me).  Not every show is a winner, (SUPERCUTE!  You’ve kind of insulted me, if you insist on being shallow, at least be deep about it.), but every show is an experience and you’ll be sure to find yourself putting those faux combat boots to use on the dace floor.

If you ever find yourself unfulfilled by the venues in Logan Square or the fringe shops in Pilsen venture out to this, in their own words, ''music & art space in Brooklyn, NY run by space cats who focus on supporting unique, inspiring, emerging independent artists on Earth'' to get your hipster needs filled and feel cool about it, because you’re in Brooklyn and that is just about the coolest place in the world. 

Brooklyn, You’re So Cool and You Know It

This past weekend was as good of a weekend as any to hit the road and head a thousand miles east to take in some culture. In between Chomsky lectures in Massachusetts and the last nights of restaurant week in Philadelphia lies the music scene in New York, Brooklyn to be exact, Williamsburg to be even more exact (that nondenominational depends-on-how-many-people-on-the-street-are-in-skinny-jeans-to-really-decide area between Bushwick and Williamsburg to be annoyingly doubly exact).  You wouldn’t be able to miss experiencing art you’ve never seen or heard of in Brooklyn if you tried, which made this weekends goal of doing so, fairly easy.

      
Friday at 929, on the set list for tonight we have Princess Chelsea, a New Zealand act who attests her music to be something around the area of "the soundtrack to an old Disney movie meets Kraftwerk /Enya in a 60s production of Les Mis set in space" Which is a surprisingly accurately description, judge for yourself. Up next SUPERCUTE!, a bubble-gum, happy, super-happy, female harmonizing, ukulele playing, indie-pop trio who vowed to never write songs about boys, opting instead to write about candy!!!!!! (Weee!!) The night ended with Pikachunes (the obvious winner of the most obscure band name of the night award) a scrawny kid with a laptop in hand instead of an instrument and a voice reminiscent of Joy Division in his mouth with witty interludes instead of stage presence. I’m fairly certain I fell in love with this last one by the end of the night.

Pikachunes along with the nights opener Princess Chelsea are on tour with Lil’ Chief Records from their native New Zealand to spread their quirky stylings with the world. As my hipster senses almost explode from overstimulation I send thanks to 929 for housing these two performers as I will now remain on the lookout for Lil’ Chief shows here in Chicago.

the super cute ladies of SUPERCUTE!

929, located off the JMZ Myrtle Broadway stop, has over the years become a go to spot for those ever supporters of unknown music Brooklyners, or just to those who want to pretend they’re a Brooklyner for the night (me).  Not every show is a winner, (SUPERCUTE!  you’ve kind of insulted me; if you insist on being shallow, at least be deep about it), but every show is surely a fun experience and you’ll find yourself putting those faux combat boots to use on the dace floor in no time.

If you ever find yourself unfulfilled by the venues in Logan Square or the fringe shops in Pilsen venture out to this, in their own words, ‘’music & art space in Brooklyn, NY run by space cats who focus on supporting unique, inspiring, emerging independent artists on Earth’’ to get your hipster needs filled and feel cool about it, because you’re in Brooklyn, and that is just about the coolest place in the world. 

A Space for Dwelling at Columbia College

 (Anna Katherine Peters, Memory Archive (detail), 2011 

     A fascinating thing is the tendency we have to form bonds with things outside of ourselves; nevertheless often is the case that our obsession with possessions displays itself to us. Even more fascinating is the power some have to transcend those personal feelings: the love, the comfort, the anxiety, the angst and the frustration of the strong bonds we form with the outside entities of people and objects (those things that create a home) -- to people unknown to them. As a frequenter of Columbia Colleges Congress building (located on Congress & Wabash in the South Loop of Chicago) I have stumbled through many showcases within the C33 gallery, yet never has an exhibition moved me as ‘Dwelling’ has. Despite some minor flaws (broken televisions, ouch) I suggest many and all to go out to this campus-based space and see where they dwell as an audience and within the Dwelling.

      ‘Dwelling’ the current exhibit showcased successfully achieves this aforementioned transcendence. Advantageous of the endless medium formats for which to display expression available, the fourteen students presenting their work in the space truly grab hold of the viewer upon entering. The dim lighting and –on face value- confusion of objects, video, photographs, text, and sculpture deliver the message that you have stumbled upon something that is compelling you to receive it, and receive it you will. As you move through each piece a sense of appreciation will dawn on you. From the irrational urge we are all stricken with to escape from the comfortable, to the anxiety blanketed fear of losing, to the awkwardness that comes from being so attached to something you can never truly understand – the emotions risen in all of us from dwelling are brought forth and projected throughout these pieces in this small gallery.  

     A great example of this is the work of Carrie Schneider. A series of flat screens measuring around twelve inches are placed in sequential order on the southern wall of the room. Within each of the five screens plays a short circling video clip.  In one a visual depiction of what seems to be a daughter and mother embracing one another on a couch, yet the daughter is overly latching to the mother, in an almost desperation, as the mother attempts to loosen the constraints. Another depicts a daughter in the shower as her father washes her hair. The discomfort of the ‘what is going on here’ quality is immediate. The walls of the shower are black and frigid, the daughter is above the age appropriate to have her hair washed by her father, and the stoic face of the girl as well as the anonymous body of the fathers arms leaves the feeling of coldness within the midst of, what would be, a very intimate act. These video depictions speak to a major theme gathered from the entire exhibit. The videos take an in depth perspective of the many feelings one may have, the desires to still be taken care of, although past a certain age when we are aware it is not socially acceptable.

     What to do with such feelings arisen from dwelling that remain after we have moved on becomes the question. Most often we repress them until an outlet is created to let those feelings out, that or we go see people who have already done so at the C33 gallery on the first floor of Columbia’s 33 E Congress building from September 5^th – October 19^th.  

 (Olga Chernysheva, Windows (still), 2007)

 (Stephanie Del Monte, Untitled, 2010)

Binary Thumbs

Thumbs  Up:

Yukio Mishima

Nominated three times for a Nobel Prize Japanese writer, director, and creator of political social movements Mishima’s writings progress an open culture and alternate perspective of the social conditions of our world. He highlights this importance -that it is our world- through dismantling the socially created distinctions between cultures, nationalities, castes and classes forcing the message that no matter your agenda, what we are dealing with is not yours but ours.  And Phillip Glass scored his biopic!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  watch the trailer!

Thumbs Down:

Those ‘Worlds Dumbest Criminals’ television shows

Productions of this nature catalyst the perpetuation of the space and disconnection within our social world. They allow the space to deter the acquisition of healthy social behaviors and perceptions of those outside of oneself, instead reducing manys existence to mindless frivolity and living with a for-your-entertainment purpose.