patti smith | dream of life

Dream of Life is a plunge into the philosophy and artistry of cult rocker Patti Smith.This portrait of the legendary singer, artist and poet explores themes of spirituality, history and self expression. Known as the godmother of punk, she emerged in the 1970s, galvanizing the music scene with her unique style of poetic rage, music and trademark swagger.

We follow this multitalented and private artist over 11 years of international travel, through her spoken words, performances, lyrics, interviews, paintings, and photographs.

via sphinxfilmswelike

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1. Adaptable (lemon/turquoise) - 2006 - a flat structure can transform into a 3D sculpture. Artist: Gemma Smith. You can find more of her work at the Sarah Cottier Gallery. hat tip Today and Tomorrow
2. It’s a happy trend. Increasingly, we’re seeing museums launching dynamic online exhibitions to accompany their exhibitions on the ground. In the past, we highlighted the Tate Modern’s panoramic tour of Mark Rothko’s work. And now we point you to The Life and Work of William Butler Yeats, an online exhibition created by The National Library of Ireland. When you enter the tour, you can scan through 200 artifacts & manuscripts and “attend” three in-depth tutorials exploring the evolution of three major poems (‘Sailing to Byzantium’, ‘Leda and the Swan’ and ‘Nineteen Hundred and Nineteen’). You can also listen to Yeats, one of Ireland’s towering poets, reciting his famous poem ‘The Lake Isle of Innisfree.’ To listen, click “Areas” on the bottom navigation, then click “Verse and Vision” on the center menu, and then the audio will begin to play. You can read the text of the poem here. Finally, you’ll find more Yeats poems in our Free Audio Book collection.
   1. ggratton says . . . | September 16, 2009 / 7:58 am:
      Thank you for highlighting the amazing Yeats site. I've been telling my colleagues that this site is the promise of the internet realized.
   Yeats painting by Barrie Maguire
   via openculture.com
   via @victorgodot
   Enter the tour here
3. Have you ever felt drawn to a particular painting, sculpture, or handmade thing but you weren't quite sure why? It could be that the item was made by an artist who infused his or her chi into the work. The spirit energy per say of the artist; focused emotional energy implanted in the piece while it was being made. The artist puts an impression of his spirit and mental energy into the work. Even with all the best technique in the world, a painting that lacks chi also lacks a certain vitality, that kind of ephemeral underlying energy that draws me to some work. via Modern Art Quotes
4. Break Free from the Tyranny of the Clock

   Why should you change things? Because the clock is meaningless — we follow it without really realizing why. We follow it because we’ve been raised to believe we should, and because those who control us (bosses, corporations, schools, etc.) set schedules we must follow. The clock, then, is a means to control us — and that, in my book, is as good a reason to break free from it as any.

   For tens of thousands of years, human beings didn’t have clocks. They lived, amazingly, by the sun and the moon and seasons and the needs and rhythms of their bodies. The clock is a very very recent invention, and even more recent is our modern society’s slavish adherence to the dictatorship of the clock. Only very recently have we been forced to work from 8 to 5, and to go to school and follow a very rigid class schedule. Only very recently have we become obsessed with tracking and making use of every minute, so that we have things to do when we’re waiting for other things to happen. Only recently did we begin to lose our humanity, begin to lose the art of conversation and the art of listening to our bodies, begin to lose sight of what’s really important and begin to become robots. I’m as guilty as anyone else, but as I simply my life I begin to question the culture that surrounds me and wonder why it is that I feel so pressured to do things so quickly, by a timeline or schedule set by others, to be so productive when what I really want is to be happy. Have you ever felt that way? I know I’m not alone. I have a solution, and it’s not original I’m sure but it surely isn’t as common as it should be: break free from the clock. Get in touch with the rhythms of life, of your body and of nature. Be more relaxed and reject the notion that time rules us. The Benefits of Being Free of Clockhood Now, I’m not saying that we should throw our clocks and watches away (though I don’t own a watch) … I’m not saying we should all quit our jobs and go live in the woods. I know that my reality is different from most people, as I’m my own boss — but ask yourself, is it possible for you to be your own boss? And if not, is it possible at least to find a job where you can set your own schedule? For many people, it is possible. For others, you won’t be able to live all the tenets of this manifesto, but you can change smaller things, here and there. Article continues here. Reblog via Zen Habits | hat tip Jakob Lodwick

5. Gysin said, "...it gives an extended vision of one's own interior capacities, which could also be overwhelming."

   Featuring the first UK showing of Gysin's rarely-seen painting, the 16.4 metre-long Calligraffiti of Fire, his magnum opus and final work. Gysin (1916-1986) had a lifelong fascination with the juncture of word and image, and Calligraffiti of Fire (1985) is the culmination of a long series of works inspired by hieroglyphics and calligraphy. He studied Japanese and Arabic calligraphy, and evolved his own style of word/image glyphs, supple as flames or tendrils of smoke. Calligraffiti of Fire embodies Gysin's explorations of his inner visions through the 'flicker' effect, and permutations of his personal calligraphic signature. The painting is meant to be 'read' from right to left. The show also includes a working Dreamachine fabricated to Gysin's specifications, as well as Gysin's paintings and drawings, and photographs by Gysin, William Burroughs, Ira Cohen and others. The exhibition runs concurrently with Royal Academy's Burroughs Live (GSK Contemporary), Riflemaker's Life File, featuring Burroughs' illustrated private files, and Maggs Rare Books' show of Barry Miles' collection of Burroughs and Gysin photographs. A radical cultural visionary, visual artist, writer and performer, Gysin introduced his lifelong friend, writer William S. Burroughs, to the techniques of "cut-ups" and "permutation". Together, they experimented in sound and image, using collage, tape recorder, light painting, writing and film. Their work has had a pervasive influence in the arts and on underground and popular culture, affecting figures such as David Bowie, Patti Smith, Genesis P. Orridge, Keith Haring, Michael Stipe, and Bill Laswell. In the '60's, Gysin created the Dreamachine, which he described as "the only work of art designed to be seen with closed eyes" and a "drugless psychedelic experience". The Dreamachine rotates and through a flicker effect, evokes brainwaves which can produce spontaneous waking dreams. Gysin said, "...it gives an extended vision of one's own interior capacities, which could also be overwhelming." It was his point of view that those "interior capacities" are the next art form, superceding painting. Gysin's works are in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, New York, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Centre George Pompidou, Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris and numerous private collections. October Gallery first showed Gysin's work in 1981. Calligraffiti of Fire is curated by Kathelin Gray, and produced in collaboration with The Academy of Everything is Possible. For further information on Brion see www.briongysin.com via October Gallery Dreamachine photo by tim2ubh Dreamachine Dreamachine booklet 10111 How to

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