Watch: Milk Nasty

University of Kansas graduate and Cal Arts character-animation student TJ Fuller has released his first animated short. Undeniably influenced by America’s Golden Age of Animation, Fuller also pays homage to the brilliantly off kilter John Kricfalusi‘s pacing, playful grit, and dark humor while molding a unique creation for which only Fuller can take credit…or blame for.

posted by: Scott Starrett

Watch: Resolved

Resolved (2007) is a 90 minute documentary from director Greg Whiteley which employs many of the storytelling devices you come to expect in a standard documentary. However, rather than relying on innovative techniques, Resolved intrigues with its subject matter, taking us inside the challenging world of high-school debate.

The story begins with Matt Andrews and Sam Iola from from Highland Park High School in University Park, Texas. Matt and Sam are contenders for the nations highest debate honor, the Tournament of Champions (TOC). Matt is a talented underclassman and Sam is a seemingly infamous debate star capable of defeating private schoolers and winning the TOC.

As the policy debate topic changes between seasons in the film, from U.S. support of the United Nations to a debate about racial profiling, Whiteley begins to change his focus to Louis Blackwell and Richard Funches of Jordan High School in Long Beach, California, the reigning state champions. These two decide to move from the generally regarded spread (speed reading) and flow style of debate, popularized within the last forty to fifty years, to a three tier system about the structure of debates, race, and personal experience. As Whiteley follows these two young African Americans through “the circuit,” the inequities and dogmatic traditions of favoritism show their face. Louis and Richard utilize the philosophy of Paulo Freire to debate the status quo of debate amongst their predominately white adversaries. As African Americans they attempt to expose the standard policy debate format as inherently racist, and make it to the TOC all at the same time.

Whether interested in debate or not, it’s easy to see that this documentary centers more on our compulsory education system and systematic inequalities than it does on bickering geeks. It’s inspiring to watch Louis and Richard set out as revolutionaries in the strict world of information overload that has become high school debate.

Listen to the NPR coverage of Resolved here

posted by: Scott Starrett

The New York Times Knows Something We Don’t

We witnessed the birth of the world wide web, and since its inception we’ve seen Moore’s law of exponential growth take hold of the technology, manifesting itself into the high speed information exchange that exists today. For many of us the easily accessible information might as well be an enormous playground, but some see it simply as a threat to the status quo.

At the forefront of the anti-internet fear mongering we find pundits, journalists, and newspaper companies doing everything from condemning the blogosphere to flat out admitting their fear of extinction. These reactions aren’t shocking, they’re akin to telegraph operator’s distaste for the telephone and the 35 mm purist’s cries of blasphemy when digital photography was introduced. Canon and Nikon couldn’t afford to head those cries, and now polaroid has ceased production of its famous film. Although unfortunately technological paradigm shifts can result in layoffs and bankruptcies, it’s impossible to imagine the world today had the machine-breaking Luddites prevented mechanized looms from revolutionizing the garment industry.

The New York Times on the other hand is heading in the right direction. Rather than condemning the internet’s accessibility, the Times is accessing its site to mine data for its own benefit. Nieman Journalism Lab obtained a memo sent out to NY Times reporters and we now have access to a list of the 50 most frequently looked up words by NY Times readers online. At the top of the list is the Latin word su generis, roughly meaning “one of a kind.” The site has an application (query.nytimes.com) that allows readers to highlight a word and obtain the definition. Some of the words are relative to current events like swine and pandemic, while there are also words that every American should know like glut, and others like neologism that are all too appropriate.

As far as we know the New York Times didn’t intend for its audience to know about this memo, it was created to give reporters insight into their reader’s vocabulary based quandaries, but it may in fact have a different effect. This could be the perfect campaign for transitioning into the inevitable mass media makeover. The memo going viral not only informs those of us not aware of the query.nytimes.com application, but it also gives NY Times readers confidence in the paper’s ability to harness access to online information. Along with being easily accessible, up-to-date, and multi-media capable, it looks as though the digital news media has found another leg up in the information industry. However, on the plus side for newsprint editions, I tried smearing Silly Putty all over my computer screen and when I pulled it up all I got was some dust and a few finerprints.

You can see the full New York Times 50 most inquired about words here.

by: Scott Starrett

Shut Up and Do It: Light Painting

If you’re trying to explain the medium of light painting to someone these days, the easiest way is to bring up “those Sprint commercials.” Not to take away from the incredible work done by the Brickyard VFX team that created the ad spots, but Sprint’s advertisement agencies did not invent light painting. Although I couldn’t discover the origins of the process, Pablo Picasso made light paintings as early as 1949 and the medium has been utilized ever since.

Pablo Picasso Light Painting

A few weeks ago some of us from The Rathaus, and Rathaus friends, collaborated on some light paintings of our own (the angel and devil above). We decided to focus on human models and use the light as adornment. A fire provided us with our primary light source and the rest was left up to the models and the painters.

If you’re looking for a way to create art outdoors after dark, try the light painting medium. And if you get any keepers send ‘em in to The Rathaus (info@therathaus.com), we’d love to see what you all come up with. If we get enough images we might just have a follow up post to work with.

For some amazing examples and variations on the theme of light painting check out this site and these videos:

Fiveprime.org

Artist Shout Out: Neil Krug

Images from Krug’s book Pulp

Here in Lawrence, KS (Rathaus headquarters) we are proud and fortunate to give a shout out to full-time promo director and recognized artist Neil Krug. The 25-year-old currently resides in Lawrence, but his name and his art have traveled internationally.

Krug works with Range Life Records artists Dri and White Flight, and recently directed British electro pop band Ladytron‘s video for the newest single “Tomorrow.” Since being featured on Fecal Face, BOOOOOOOM, and Changethethought, among countless other sites, Krug has made headway in the artistic blogosphere and is currently in the process of releasing two projects. First is a book of photos called Pulp, a collaboration with super model Joni Harbeck coming out later in 2009. Second, Invisible Pyramid, is a feature film said to have just wrapped production in Death Valley, California in May and set for release this fall.

Krug cites Robert McGinnis, Tanino Liberatore, Alejandro Jodorowsky, 70s Giallo cinema, and the Leone spaghetti westerns of the late sixties among influences. His photos evoke a deep sense of visual depth and compositional consideration, and while the work sometimes inspires discussions of appropriation and the “fetishization of Native Americans” it more often brings forth words like beautiful, amazing, and wonderful. Krug’s photos seem to pull a moment out of fiction, making every detail both revealing and esoteric.

Neil Krug’s site is under construction, but his work can be viewed in-depth here.

posted by: Scott Starrett