The humor pours all over this piece without one drop landing on irony.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Sal Gets Called for Jury Duty
The humor pours all over this piece without one drop landing on irony. Enjoy this quotable piece of humor that can be shared at home and in the office. Cat humor that runs through the channels of frame shifting, local humor, incongruity theory, truth as humor, as well as satire on American government and judicial systems.
Tuesday, January 05, 2010
The Artists Joke by Jennifer Higgie
featuring texts by Andy Warhol, Dave Hickey, Henri Bergson, Bruce Nauman, Marcel Duchamp, Pablo Picasso and others.
Below is a review of The Artist's Joke written by Megan Milks:
The standard postmodern claim about popular culture is that its emergence dissolved the distinction between highbrow and lowbrow culture. If highbrow is emblemized by, say, avant-garde visual art and lowbrow is emblemized by, say, screwball comedies, then it’s no wonder that the early 20th century ushered in a domino set of art movements fueled by any of multiples strains of humor, beginning with the Dadaists in 1916. What is surprising is that so little of 20th-century art criticism has focused on humor in art.
This paucity of critical interest in the comedic is not limited to art criticism; I’ve noticed it with regard to experimental literature, most of which, in its linguistic and formal play, is quite obviously invested in expressing a sense of humor. Yet, when a university class discusses, for instance, Gertrude Stein’s circuitous repetitions, to describe how funny her use of language is seems somehow absolutely trifling; a discussion James Joyce’s behemoth wit in Ulysses seems beside the point when there are 800 pages of unfamiliar allusions to get through; Walter Abish’s alphabetical picaresque, Eunoia, becomes immediately intimidating only because no one reads it out loud (what a riot!).
For whatever reason, a divide remains: we tend to see the avant-garde as lofty and anemic of humor, and we tend to see humor as somehow beneath Great Art. This, despite the numerous jokes that tattoo the walls of the most preeminent art museums. Duchamp’s urinal is a joke, for instance. More so than many other artists’ jokes, its punch line is recognized as the joke that it is. We might laugh out loud at his smirk to the institution; we might chuckle at the absurdities of the Dadaists, the audacity of Fluxus and Pop and the contemporary culture jamming they have inspired, and yet, art is still seen as Very Serious. No laughing in the museum, please.
The Artist’s Joke, an anthology of diverse writings on the intersection of humor and art, seeks to challenge that perception. In fact, from the dozens of writings excerpted here, it looks like numerous folks have already challenged that perception; to read them here collected together, it seems obvious that a study of the artist’s joke has been a long time coming, and that it is absolutely essential to a study of 20th-century art.
Edited and with an introduction by Australian art critic Jennifer Higgie, The Artist’s Joke begins with Henri Bergson’s essay, “Laughter: An Essay on the Meaning of the Comic” from 1900 and moves vaguely chronologically from there, with excerpts from Freud’s Jokes and Their Relation to the Unconscious (1905) and Warhol’s The Philosophy of Andy Warhol (1975), Duchamp’s Anthology of Black Humour (1940) and the Guerrilla Girls’ The Advantages of Being a Woman Artist (1988, from the poster of the same name), among many, many others.
The anthology is organized into four sections that cover, respectively, the period from 1900 to 1940, which saw Dadaism and Surrealism emerge as rejections of bourgeois reason and rationality; the ‘50s and ‘60s, which saw the Fluxus and Pop Art movements use humor to poke fun at consumer culture; the ‘70s through the early ‘90s, which saw a rise of feminist artists using satire and wit to disrupt authority; and the mid-‘90s to the present, which has seen a number of diverse and expansive approaches to using humor in art. Perhaps unusual for a book on art, it is almost all text; even its few visual complements are textual, full-page blowups of excerpted passages. But, of course, this is a book collecting writings about humor in art, and as such it’s not that interested in presenting the art itself.
The texts included cover a wide range of forms and content. Andrea Fraser’s “Official Welcome” monologue is a script; there are a few interview excerpts, notably with Zurich-based artists Peter Fischli and David Weiss; a prose poem by Picasso; a short work of dark fabulist fiction by British novelist and painter Leonora Carrington; an excerpt from an unpublished scatological film script by Nathaniel Mellors; a short comic essay by David Sedaris; and an analysis of L.A. laughter in Ed Ruscha’s work by Peter Schjeldahl. That, of course, is only the tip of the iceberg. But, then, the iceberg might be just a wee bit mammoth, in a problematic way.
With 50 texts in only 225 pages, the average number of pages per text is four and a half. As one might imagine, many of the texts included have been sliced and diced. If the entries seem truncated, well, they are. Helene Cixous’s landmark essay “The Laugh of the Medusa”, for example, has been cut from 19 to three pages, and the majority of everything else is a two- to five-page excerpt from a longer piece. Consequently, the book feels more like a sampler than a full-on anthology, as though you’re previewing the mp3s before buying them. Moreover, there’s very little supporting commentary to bind all of the works together. We get a seven-page introduction, and then we’re off to whirl through 50 excerpted texts with no further context offered.
I’m grateful that Higgie managed to put all of these wide-ranging writers and artists in one place, grouped together appropriately and umbrellaed under a hugely fascinating, under-discussed theme, but I’m always one to prefer lengthier, less choppy excerpts, each introduced by biographical and/or critical context. This is a minor complaint, however, considering that Higgie accomplished the great feat of collecting Claes Oldenburg, Barbara Kruger, Kara Walker, and Freud all in one place, and managed to evoke some laughter while she was at it.
Monday, January 04, 2010
Danzig's Book Collection (side by side remix)
Danzig's Book Collection and Danzig's Book Collection (ReMake) are finally together in one side splitting video!
Sunday, January 03, 2010
Night of the Day of the Dawn of the Son of the Bride of the Return of the Revenge of the Terror of the Attack of the Evil, Mutant, Alien, Flesh Eating
Hellbound, Zombified Living Dead Part 2: In Shocking 2-D
(part 1 of 8 on YouTube)
Filmmaker James Riffel took George Romero's classic "Night of the Living Dead" and wiped the soundtrack clean to redub their own dialog, score and sound effects.
You have to watch this multiple times to appreciate the brilliance of dialog placement within the context of the original film.
(part 1 of 8 on YouTube)
Filmmaker James Riffel took George Romero's classic "Night of the Living Dead" and wiped the soundtrack clean to redub their own dialog, score and sound effects.
You have to watch this multiple times to appreciate the brilliance of dialog placement within the context of the original film.
What is S.I.M.?
I entered the Studio for Interrelated Media at the Massachusetts College of Art in 2004.
I intended to go back to art school to purge my emotions to a creative medium. I had personal experiences that I wanted to divulge through art: my parents divorce; the abuse from my stepfather; my inner struggles fighting depression.
When I stepped through those doors sat down in the Tower Auditorium the first piece of artwork I saw was this video.
Now I just make art that's funny.
This video was created by Matt Moore and David Schlafman.
I intended to go back to art school to purge my emotions to a creative medium. I had personal experiences that I wanted to divulge through art: my parents divorce; the abuse from my stepfather; my inner struggles fighting depression.
When I stepped through those doors sat down in the Tower Auditorium the first piece of artwork I saw was this video.
Now I just make art that's funny.
This video was created by Matt Moore and David Schlafman.
Humor Analysis: the Mistake (Full 27 min.Episode)
A Study of the Mistake (a Live Broadcast television event)
(27 min)Â
Preview: Humor Analysis: The Mistake
This is a preview from a live broadcast show I produced. The entire episode is available in the above post titled: Humor Analysis: The Mistake. The entire episode gives you a context for how human error at any degree can be the basis for humor.Â
 It is an element that can be delivered in several forms. It can be a powerful wasy to execute a meaning.
 Enjoy.
The Olde Tyme Playboy
Top Shelf Variety Show was a cable access show out of Newton Massachusetts. It was produced by now videoblog pioneer Ryan Hodson, Jesse Ferrel, and James Bernardinelli.
The show was awesome. They had really creative bits and used the television variety format well. The guests were ludicrous to ridiculous. Ryan, and Jesse anchored the madness down with their straight performances as hosts.
Sometimes I wish Ryan would just get off her videoblogging high horse and do community television again. In this segment The Olde Tyme Playboy comes by for some high performance art antics.
whether|man
When I saw a few of this artist's videos posted on DVblog.org, I knew I had to include it here on Humor As Art. It goes without saying that timing, delivery, artistry, composition , and content are all well represented here which makes this performer's video work (whether|man Andrew Schneider) Humor As Art, or Art As Humor.
After you watch the above video watch all his videos at whether|man
Commiting a Federal Offense on Television
This was the time that I commited a federal offense live on television.
It's Just Talk
Click to Play
A few weeks ago myself Casey Moran, Caitlin Roy, Emily Geanacopolous, and Leela Pahl entered ourselves into Boston's 12 Hour Film Race.
We put up a vailiant effort and our results follow. Our results immedietly dropped us into the final judging rounds of the 12 Hour Film Race, and the decision lays in the hands of you the internet viewers.
I'm not going to try to sway your vote. I'm just going to ask you to vote.
In the meantime enjoy our entry. It's Just Talk.
T Model Ford
click here to download
He's 82 years old. When we approached the house his wife immedietly got up and went into the house to get him up. I joked, "Are there a lot of northern white folk that come randomly stopping by?" She laughed and confirmed.
T-model was laying in bed and his eyes widened at the sight of two young white kids stopping by his bedroom. In his southern drawl he uttered, "Hey, you wanna play?"
"No, I don't play." I said.
"Dja want me to play fo ya?"
"Sure if you don't mind."
"Grab that gitar case and ampifier, and I'll play for ya. Jus let me get my pants on."
I didn't even have to twist his arm. He played for an hour. Often playing the same songs over and over - here is edited footage of one song that he did twice, I edited the 2 versions together. Sometimes mixing the songs together, sometimes having the one version standing on it's own.
JOB LIVE #6: The Feast of Flesh
&
come by the show to talk about the latest installement of Feast of Flesh the multimedia zombie show happening at the Coolidge Corner Theatre this Friday April 13rd at Midnight.
George Kuchar-Hold Me While I'm Naked (1966)
I remember my first film class. It was a Super 8 class with Luther Price. I was a snotty nose teenager wanting to make comedy films. Luther taught us how to process our own film and put emphasis on the straining the batch of chemicals to it's last potential.
Well we saw a lot of experimental films in that class. At the time a lot of them past through my memory. Except Hold Me While I'm Naked from George Kuchar. There was a lot of talk about the way George used light and color and exploited the 16mm saturation of color. Although that was very important to the film, I was more interested in the delivery of the film. George Kuchar was filming a melodramatic sequence which pulled you into the drama effectively. He also showed you his directing techniques in the form of a performance within the film. George combined music and his fantastic exploitation of his directing to execute a hilarious pathos on both himself and his talent. Key scene: George holding the bird on his finger. Cinema's greatest capture of the pathetic nature of sniveling poetics.
Here is YouTube's destruction of Hold Me While I'm Naked in two parts. I suggest trying to find this picture yourself and attempt to watch it projected or on your television.
See also: I, An Actress
Part 1
Part 2
Well we saw a lot of experimental films in that class. At the time a lot of them past through my memory. Except Hold Me While I'm Naked from George Kuchar. There was a lot of talk about the way George used light and color and exploited the 16mm saturation of color. Although that was very important to the film, I was more interested in the delivery of the film. George Kuchar was filming a melodramatic sequence which pulled you into the drama effectively. He also showed you his directing techniques in the form of a performance within the film. George combined music and his fantastic exploitation of his directing to execute a hilarious pathos on both himself and his talent. Key scene: George holding the bird on his finger. Cinema's greatest capture of the pathetic nature of sniveling poetics.
Here is YouTube's destruction of Hold Me While I'm Naked in two parts. I suggest trying to find this picture yourself and attempt to watch it projected or on your television.
See also: I, An Actress
Part 1
Part 2
Ethnic Humor Overview
It's somewhat of a controversial thought but I believe in ethnic humor. I believe (get this) it can actually bring harmony to racial tensions. Ethnic humor is everywhere across this globe. Humans love to make "the other side of the camp" feel humiliated and inferiors. It's part of being. What's interesting is the reasons why certain people make fun of other certain people. There's anthropological, historical, societal reasons why many jokes are told about others. A great book: Ethnic Humor Around the World talks about all of these things in depth categorizing it through regions.
I also stumbled upon this today:List of Ethnic Slurs
That's right, an alphabetized list of many ethnic slurs, and their historical context.
In my opinion a must have for any aspiring humorist. OR artist.
I also stumbled upon this today:List of Ethnic Slurs
That's right, an alphabetized list of many ethnic slurs, and their historical context.
In my opinion a must have for any aspiring humorist. OR artist.
The Dark Bob
Bob & Bob were a performance art duo who for 5 years made art together. They performed together, painted together, lived together, sometimes slept together. They were a driving force of the Perforamance art scene in Los Angelas in the 1980's. They would give art the business and gave business the art. Bob & Bob together created mutilated mutated portraits of business executives, financiers, and wall street tycoons in marker.
Very little is written or documented (that I have found) of Bob & Bob. When I was going to the School of the Museum of Fine Arts and I performed in a performance class, the big trend at the time was to reference other artists for you to look at instead so that you could emulate their style and use the reference in your artist statement. Well, one of my teachers told me to look up Bob & Bob. I took out a book from the school library. I read it 3 times. Then I tried to look for it on the internet. They were all out of print. A few years later after I dropped out of the school, I returned to that library and stole the Bob & Bob book. It was that important to me.
Now the Dark Bob has been posting old clips on YouTube from back in the day. The above clip is like a promotional video except the Dark Bob gets sidetracked from fans of his early work with Bob & Bob.
Check out the Dark Bob's website, he's still writing and performing - it seems he's good friends with Andy Dick!
The Dark Bob
You can buy some of his cd's here: MITB RECORDS
Jamie O'Brien: LIVE #3 (re-edit)
Anna Feder, Director of the Boston Underground Film Festival stops by to talk about curating films of the bizarre. Jamie confronts her about his video submission to the festival that was rejected. Anna fades in and out of a fake English accent.
Previously Broadcast live on CCTV
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