Apparently, I never actually posted this link. So here is the Stephen Malkmus interview that I praised so tepidly.  It's alright.

This story from the Wall St. Journal gets more interesting as it unfolds.

I just sent out the week #2 media assignment; so look for that in your email.  So far only two students have posted on the Proc2Synth2 site.  (So you two are currently my favorites.)  I have gotten reactions for the first media assignment from 2 (different) students.  Both were spot on.  (So you two are also currently my favorites.) 

I also sent out a separate document that is designed to help you write an "Art Proposal".  Please read that at least once before class.  I will have hard copies for those of you who like paper.

Here are some extra recommendations for the week:

1. 11/5/13: this story about a food truck chef and entrepreneur has almost all of the themes of the class contained in one interview (especially the importance of starting from yourself and where you are but also the importance of looking for synthesis).  The audio version is much better than reading the transcript.

2. I head this story this morning and just thought "wow" (Ice Music Festival)

3. I strongly recommend the movie Over Your Cities Grass Will Grow.  It is about Anselm Kiefer and it does a fantastic job of communicating his aesthetics and it does it almost completely silently.  I kid you not I think I watched 38 minutes before heard any voice or dialogue or before even seeing a human being.  If this does not sound like your kind of thing, its ok if you skip it but if you have the patience for slow and quiet, this movie is for you.

here is a preview:

4.  nyartbeat's 'not quite a review more a preview' of the recent KAWS exhibition (but it just came down).  Check out the gallery page, KAWS at Mary Boone- though it is unsatisfying due to lack of installation shots (i think the show may be just the four pieces but you have to admit that the two sculptures are impressive).  

5. Here is an interview with Stephen Malkmus, formerly of Pavement.  The interviewer is not great, many of the questions are a little to inside-baseball or cliquish, and Malkmus is never particularly forthcoming, but nonetheless their are some interesting thoughts in there.

Here is a recent video by Malkmus, the song and the video are both subtly clever:

6. I have been thinking about Jim Jarmusch, and the movies Deadman, GhostDog, and Broken Flowers.  They are all about being true to yourself, and knowing who you are, but he usually argues that the pursuit of identity is complicated and that we can achieve authenticity through the adoption of someone else's identity.  

here is the preview to Broken Flowers:

In response to Brittany Twilley's post about album covers, I have a few more examples: some I from albums I enjoy, some from ones I knew about and a few that were a surprise to me.

artwork by Raymond Pettibon (we will be looking at him)

Both of these are by Takashi Murakami, an artist that is emblematic of many of themes of this class.

Kanye again, this time with artwork by George Condo.

Here are a few examples of albums i was not aware of:

                                                             

Banksy
                                                                        

Damien Hirst

                                                                                  

.....and surprisingly this is also Damien Hirst, though I'm not sure how hard he was working.

Welcome to the first day of Process to Synthesis.  Classes start on Monday, so I will see everyone in the art history room at noon.

This blog has been under construction for nearly a year and obviously there is still lots to be refined and added.  Consequently, I am sure there will be many changes through out the semester.  However, there is much that you can explore now and in the first week of class.

I would start with the "Course Overview and Outline" page and then the "Assignment Description" page.  But feel to explore all the pages even the ones that are obviously not yet complete.  At the bottom of the "Weekly Media Assignments" page is a link to the full list of Youtube playlists.

Speaking of links; I will primarily use this part of the blog (the front page posts) for recommending a set of links.  Here is a set:

First off, a remembrance of Amiri Baraka, of whom I have always been ambivalent but still one of America's most prominent contemporary poets.

Second, this story about an illustrator in South Carolina is really nice and it totally relates to some of the themes of the course: process, daily practice, engaging with the world at large, and engaging and challenging yourself.

The director of this video worked on the film Tree of Life (I think as cinematographer) and consequently the visuals are extraordinary.

Here is a link to Youtube if you want to see this on a big screen (the bigger the better)...

I recommend this review of a recent Christopher Wool exhibition- though i think to really understand his work it is best to do some extra research.

here is his website, http://wool735.com/cw/home/, and here is the gallery's exhibition page.

Besides Gagosian's page, you could also check out the Guggenheim's page and press release, the Wikipedia page, the NYtimes story, and of course always do an image search.

Here is a youtube gallery talk by Mr. Wool, he doesn't start talking till 3min 15secs into the video.