1) FILM/TELEVISION
KID 90 - DOCUMENTARY (Hulu)
I recently watched the documentary Kid 90, a film made from the video tapes of Soleil Moon Frye, who is famous for playing the child character “Punky Brewster” in the same titled television show in the 1990’s. Soleil was notorious for carrying a video cassette camera around with her all the time, documenting her life on television and off of the tv sound stages with her various friend groups of young actors stars and famous names such as David Arquette, Balthazar Getty, Brian Austin Green, Stephen Dorff, Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Jenny Lewis, Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonathan Brandis, Mark Wahlberg, Charlie Sheen, Danny Boy O’Conner, among others.
I’m not here to critique how good of a documentary this was, but what I will say is that it was a very interesting look into a time capsule of famous faces and interactions. The emotional grip comes from the amount of suicides that this group of friends encountered between their social circles, and definitely shows how fragile a young Hollywood spotlight career can be on a psyche.
Here is the trailer for Kid 90:
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2) MUSIC
TINLICKER - (Dutch Electronic Group)
“Tinlicker is a Dutch electronic music group from Utrecht, The Netherlands, comprising Micha Heyboer and Jordi van Achthoven. Formed in 2012, they have released music on labels such as Anjunadeep, mau5trap, Astralwerks, and Armada. They have played festivals such as Mysteryland, Creamfields, Tomorrowland, and Ultra.” - Wikipedia
Electronic dance music came into my life on a regular basis when I started DJ’ing in Los Angeles in the mid 2000’s. It was a speed ramp of a learning curve, as I tried to consume as much as I could, so that I could provide the best beats as possible for the dancing crowds in front of me. And since this style of music was not just U.S.A. based, but world-wide, I had a lot of work to do. I continuously kept finding artists outside of the United States that I really vibed with. Europe was a big draw for me, including the likes of Paul Oakenfold, Armin van Buuren, David Guetta, Eric Prydz, and Martin Garrix and Tiesto, two Dutch based DJs and music producers.
Enter Tinlicker, another Dutch based duo that have taken my eardrums by storm. Their vocals and melody structures lean on a serene, beautiful vibey texture that let the beats carry it effortlessly throughout each track. These guys are gaining popularity year in and year out, and should be household names across the planet very soon, if not already, within the electronic dance community.
If you have the time, here is the full set from “Anjunadeep Open Air: London at The Drumsheds” concert:
Website: https://www.tinlicker.com/
3) ART
VANESSA PRAGER - (American Painter)
Vanessa Prager’s paintings cannot be cheap to make. She uses enough paint on one canvas that would constitute 100 paintings by another artist in her field. She uses a unique style of painting that creates a massive texture of dried, abstract oil.
“The Huffington Post described the works as "densely layered paintings, with pigment applied so thickly it forms its own topography", elaborating that, "various strokes of color – a ribbon of white like a squirt of toothpaste, a sharp sliver of green like a fish darting by – come together to form different visual narratives."
Vanessa’s work is a wonderful experience of color and fluid texture, and truly enables the viewer to lose themselves for periods of time staring into one painting. Several of her works actually incorporates subtle images of faces or usually female bodies within the depths of the oil. Here are some examples of her work:
Website: http://www.vprager.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vanessaprager/
4) BOOKS/WRITING
PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON - (American Screenwriter / Director)
P.T.A. is widely known for his cinematically engaging films with intense character explorations. I’m not sure how many people actually know that he writes his films as well. Yes, There Will Be Blood, Licorice Pizza, The Master, Phantom Thread, Magnolia, Punch-Drunk Love, Boogie Nights, Hard Eight, all written by Anderson. A couple were based on books including (“There Will Be Blood” - Oil, by Upton Sinclair).
How does someone write for the screen? How do you conjure up the characters for the story, and create dialogue for them? Those are questions every screenwriter wants to master. Here is a video where Paul Thomas Anderson tries to explain some of those ideas from his wondrous mind, and his thoughts on screenwriting:
5) PHOTOGRAPHY
ALEX PRAGER - (American Photographer, Filmmaker)
Does the last name sound familiar to you? It should, because I just profiled Alex’s sister, Vanessa, two categories up from here. That’s right, artistic power siblings.
Alex Prager’s photography has truly captivated the modern stills scene. She has created a body of work that is original, appealing, and downright special. Most of her scenes focus on the human subject, faces in particular. You will find images that are colorfully staged versions of chaos and anxiety, and some that are a retreat into isolation amongst the crowds. Alex does a fantastic job of creating a simple looking scene at first, but when you dive into the photo, you find the magic in the details. There can be so much to take in as the viewer, leaving you with something to digest and spend time with, rather than blowing by another framed photo on the wall of a museum. Take a gander for yourself, it’s a treat.
Cultured Article on both Vanessa and Alex Prager: https://www.culturedmag.com/article/2016/12/21/alex-prager-vanessa-prager
Website: https://www.alexprager.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexprager/
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