Visual Loft

December 11, 2012

What women watch: Forcano, Erwitt, or Do not become a nun

Para R

Do not become a nun, for God's sake!

Eugeni Forcano, Flushing (1961)

Eugeni Forcano, Complete surprise (1961)

Elliott Erwitt, Bakersfield (1983)

December 9, 2012

Ted: White trash names

This is just awesome.

Ok, ok, I went out once with a German girl called Mandy, people knew and people bullied me for that.

* * *

– White trash name, guess.

– Mandy... – No. – Marilyn... – No. – Brittany... – No. – Tiffany... – No. – Candice... – No.

– Don’t fuck with me on this, I know this shit. – Do you see me fucking with you? I’m completely serious. – OK, speed round, I’m gonna rattle off some names and when I hit it, fucking buzz it. – You do it, I will tell you. – You got me? –Yeah.

– Brandi Heather Channing Brianna Amber Sabrina Melody Dakota Sierra Vandi Crystal Samantha Autumn Ruby Taylor Tara Tammy Laura Shelly Shantelle Courtney Misty Jenny Christa Mindy Noëlle Shelby Trina Reba Cassandra Nikki Kelsy Shaunna Jolene Erlene Claudia Savannah Cassie Dolly Kendra Colleen Chloe Devon Emmylou... FUCKIN' BECKY??

– Nope. – Wait, was it any one of those names with a Lyn after it? – Yes!

– OK: Brandy Lyn, Heather Lyn… – Tammy Lyn. – FUCK!

December 7, 2012

Nuns at the museum: Cunningham, Glinn, Cartier-Bresson, de Andrade

Imogen Cunningham, Nuns at a Calder exhibition (1953)

Burt Glinn, Two nuns watching an Ad Reinhardt painting (1964)

Henri Cartier-Bresson, The Dance (1965)

Alécio de Andrade, The Three Graces (1970)

December 6, 2012

Perfection: "Life Cycles"

Ok, I know this is two years old already, but I just had notice of it yesterday. And I had to watch it twice because this is just perfect.

Every single frame, every sound, every cut, every word, every jump, every slow motion feature, every single detail is plain perfection.

December 5, 2012

Saul Steinberg

The New Yorker just disclosed the cover for the next issue (December 10). It's a blast! Saul Steinberg, who passed away in 1999. This guy was a genius. His Stool Cats are a masterpiece, by the way.

"La Notte" is full of wisdom

Antonioni! Who else?

Kiss me, stupid

Joel Meyerowitz, New York's New Years Eve (1965)

Last week I saw a couple of street cleaners kissing passionately. They looked sort of indigenous, and so I got impressed, since I hadn't any recollection of Mexican natives kissing that way. It seemed to me a bit Hollywoodesque, some sort of foreign ("Occidental") stuff, rather than genuine indigenous.

I started perusing this issue, when I found this video with the same theory, but regarding Africans. It's worth watching.

December 3, 2012

iPad protoype

In July, there was a big fuzz as a prototype for the iPad was revealed, the so called Apple 035, which goes back to 2002.

But there is another prototype in The Phantome Menace, the first episode of Star Wars (1999). Just check it again, if you have forgotten it by now.

Being a cyclist

I have always used a bike as my main vehicle. I have never had an own car. And everyday, some stupid car driver thinks or rather feels that I am –that cyclists are– a plague and the worst enemy to be annihilated. On Tuesday it was a taxi driver, yesterday it was a 60-odd year old man, the day before yesterday it was a bus driver, and so on...

One hundred years after Ford T, drivers get stuck in paved highways. Yes, mobility has done its revolution, but the costs are immense. We need a change. Cyclists are doing it on their own, so show respect and solidarity.

December 2, 2012

Three Graces: Raphael, Leonard Nimoy

December 1, 2012

On towers

Devil's Tower

Today I had an intuition: we could write (a) History according to the kind of towers we build, since it seems an universal feature.

Why do we build towers at all?

For protection. To reach Heaven and God. For a challenge. To get a better technological signal. Church towers, soldier towers, TV towers, even chess towers.

Here a visual essay.