This is a real treat.
There isn’t a bad tune on the Living Black! LP by Charles Earland.
But this one is my favourite

Cheers for the heads-up, Coach.

On this occasion, I arrived some nine hours late to the party.

Well done to B-.


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Although the quiz question was rather literal, I heartily applaud efforts by anyone here who encourages others to be curious, think more, and explore beyond the ghetto that is "urban art".

Members who lack that curiosity or willingness to broaden their horizons are at a disadvantage. This, even within the context of the urban art and street art genres — which frequently allude to or riff on works from other artistic movements and creative disciplines.

The likes of, say, Banksy, Pejac or Blek le Rat often cannot be fully understood (and therefore fully appreciated) if the viewer is oblivious to their art historical, socio-political or cultural references.



One straightforward example:


1.  In 1940, photographer Barbara Morgan created perhaps the most famous image of the modern dancer and choreographer, Martha Graham.

That photo is from Graham's ballet performance of Letter to the World — based on the love life of the American poet Emily Dickinson, and named after her poem, This is My Letter to the World.






2.  Morgan's photo was the source image for the series of screenprints Andy Warhol created in 1986, titled Letter to the World (The Kick). These were part of a portfolio published by the Martha Graham Centre of Contemporary Dance, Inc., New York to commemorate its 16th anniversary.








3.  In 2006, Blek le Rat resurrected his own image, Dancer (which he appears to have originally created and used in the late 1980s), releasing a spraypaint-on-canvas edition of 3.

[This was later followed in 2008 by a couple of screenprint editions published by The Black Rat Press.]






Note the 90° clockwise rotation. Whereas Martha Graham was kicking backward using her left leg, the Blek le Rat version makes the dancer look like she's kicking upward with her right leg. The result is awkward to my eyes. And unimpressive compared to Morgan's photo, along with Warhol's various takes on it.

It is conceivable that Blek le Rat's different composition was due to him being mistaken about the correct orientation of the dancer. More likely, however, this was his conscious attempt at reinterpreting and giving new meaning to the image.



The wider point is that any Blek le Rat fans who are clueless about dance, photography and Pop Art will not actually be in a position to ask the question in the first place.

Now, this is hardly a big deal if we're talking about novice art enthusiasts. But it is regrettable in cases where such ignorance happens to be shared by more experienced collectors.


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My default recommendation, therefore, is that people continue to push themselves to be ambitious and proactive in their learning. To cast their net beyond what they find easy or immediately engaging.



I am reassured by the fact I sometimes even follow my own advice.

Of course, approaching an unfamiliar area is often intimidating. So it's worth keeping in mind that fortune favours those among us who are able to overcome this initial mental hurdle — by just taking the first (unsteady) steps onto new territory. Getting to grip with the basics of a subject matter also does wonders in terms of building confidence. And enthusiasm. It really helps to foster an even greater interest in the relevant field.

This has certainly been my own experience when trying to become educated about both the Rococo movement and the Pre-Raphaelites. I remain painfully, embarrassingly clueless, but that has always been the fate of eternal students. It is a constantly awkward, humbling, yet nevertheless rewarding process.


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Circling back to the Memphis Group*, a 2012 quote from an SFGATE.com article* made me chuckle:

Perhaps most misunderstood and openly loathed, however, was Memphis, a school of design that was a riot of color and materials that often overwhelmed a piece's original intent, a shotgun wedding between Bauhaus and Fisher-Price.


As already indicated by Coach, this Italian design and architecture group was named after the Bob Dylan song, Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again — which apparently played repeatedly in the background during their first meeting. Separately, besides Memphis, the song title refers to the city of Mobile, Alabama. My understanding is that, depending on the context, "mobile" in Italian can refer to "furniture" (e.g. "Salone del Mobile" translates to "Furniture Fair").


I wouldn't have too much of this style in my own home, but do enjoy its playfulness. Moreover, one may sense a cheerful Fuck you sentiment, possibly directed at the traditional design world, which is very appealing to me as well.


There follows three additional photos, in case they also help to pique the interest of forum members. The pieces below were among the 100 lots auctioned by Sotheby's London on 11 November 2016 from the Ettore Sottsass and the Memphis Group former collection of David Bowie.









See all 100 lots here:

www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/2016/bowie-collector-part-iii-design-ettore-sottsass-memphis-group-l16149.html


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Lastly, for a contemporary example of the Memphis Group's influence, and a somewhat forced tie-in with "street art", check out the projects of Camille Walala*, including the Splice building she completed in 2015 near Old Street tube station in East London:

Thank you met. I did not know that mobile can mean furniture in Italian. Very interesting.
There was a substantial exhibition of work by the Memphis Group at the MK Gallery recently. It was excellent

Going back to Mets (as always) very informative post.

After clicking through the link to the Sothebys Bowie collection auction, I can safely say I would kill for lot 446!

That is a beauty...and to think, Bowie would have sat and played records on it 🤯

and said also...

woo eeh ah ah!!!

Nice, I saw them maybe 81-82 Peppermint Lounge NYC Halloween night, great!

Ryo Fukui - My Favorite Tune

Toumani Diabaté



Bombino

REM New Adventures in Hifi, 25th Anniversary edition. Brilliant album, one of the bands best albums.

ah REM...



saw them in Glasgow in 1984.. came on .. a bit late .. at 0030 - finished at 0230..

..

..catch this while it's there (for some reason it never lasts more than a couple of months on yt)



the vibe on this is ... influential in so many ways.