another take on 'handy stuff to have around'.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
image #9 - bug out bag #1
Sorry, I don't have the captions. This is a fairly serious bug-out bag. Probably what is known as a '72-hour' bag.
image #8
Less firepower, but more sharp things in this 'pocket dump'. I'm sure he/she has a very good reason for the emergency single 'lifesaver'. I love this stuff.
image #7
From edcforums. These folks tend to be fairly serious about being prepared for the vicissitudes of daily life. If you were to ask this person why they carried not one, or two, but three separate pocketknives, they would probably be able to give you a very well-articulated rationale. Seriously.
image #5 - how to carry stuff
How do you carry your stuff, like Kwai-Chang Caine, as you wander across the ruined landscape? A modern high-tech backpack is probably more practical, but the dusty heavy-duty leather shoulder bag, like the ones formerly issued to mail carriers, definitely has more panache.
image #4
No food, no water, but his two swords are all he really needs. The extremely violent-capable drifter with a hidden heart-of-gold, which really gets him into trouble.
The late Toshiro Mifune was made for this role in Akira Kurosawa's 'Yojimbo', from 1961. Clint Eastwood played the same role as a western gunslinger in one of Sergio Leone's Spaghetti Westerns ('For a Fistful of Dollars'?), and Bruce Willis played the role again in 'Last Man Standing'.
First assignment for DMF 203, Spring 2011 - thematic images
I want to work with the concept of the 'lone urban drifter', as experienced in any of a number of American art forms, whether it be film, or literature. This figure appears in many western films, as well as the post-apocalyptic genre, and, to a certain extent, certain noir characters of the 30's-through-50's, as well as Kurosawa's ronin in the film 'Yojimbo', and also 'Sanjuro'. This specific boy-and-his-dog character was an invention of writer Harlan Ellison (this image is from the 1975 film of the same name), but is also mirrored in the 'I am legend' character of Richard Matheson. I am also intrigued by the concept of personal 'kit', and what these characters choose to carry around with them, and it's current manifestation of concepts in 'EDC' (every-day-carry) gear (as espoused in www.edcforums.com), as well as more full-blown 'bug-out-bags' of the modern-era survivalist.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
set design for scene #4 of 'Das Rheingold'
The final scene takes place back at Wotan's place. The scene on the floor is a partial reproduction of the garden at Versailles. The completed dream castle in the background, depicted on the hanging panels, is of the Robie House, by Frank Lloyd Wright. The construction sign advertises castle construction by the construction firm of 'Fasolt und Fafner'. The twin giants are now depicted as identical versions of 'Der Golem', from the 1920 silent film version starring Paul Wegner. Freia, the embodiment of feminine ideals (yaddah, yaddah, yaddah) is an early version of Barbie. I would love to see a costume designer do Barbie and Golems. Loge is not on stage, nor is Alberich, but Wotan has compelled Alberich to give up the Rheingold, in order to be released. Alberich gives up the gold, but places a curse on it. Fafner and Fasolt compel Wotan to give up the gold, in order to release Freia. Fafner and Fasolt now have possession of the now-cursed gold. The twin giants bicker over the gold, and Fasolt kills Fafner. Loge remarks how truly lucky Wotan was to no longer have the cursed gold, and ring.
set design for scene #3 of 'Das Rheingold'
Alberich has fashioned a ring from the Rheingold, which, foretold by the prophecy, makes him all-powerful, and a trifle megalomanical. When you are godlike, it can be tempting to insert your facial countenance into old Western Lash LaRue-like movie posters, well, just because you can. Alberich has used the powers of the ring to enslave minions of office workers, to do his endless bidding. Loge, dressed as a no-nonsense businessman, enters from stage left, 'descending' from a pair of rolling ladders. This is not truly a Dante-esque version of hell, but for the enslaved office workers with only fetid water in the water cooler, and very short lunches, it might as well be. Loge, playing on Alberich's ego, tricks Alberich into turning himself into a helpless toad, whom he grabs and takes back to Wotan, in order to make Alberich give up the Rheingold.
set design for scene #2 of 'Das Rheingold'
Wotan, the most powerful of the gods, is at home with his wife, Fricka. The two giants, Fafner and Fasolt, are building a dream castle for Wotan. Wotan is looking forward to the new digs. Wotan has told them that their payment will be Freia, the embodiment of feminine beauty and love, etc., etc. Freia is Fricka's sister, and neither Freia nor Fricka is very happy about the arrangement. Loge, Wotan's right-hand man, has found out about the Rheingold, and has offered that to the twin giants instead, which the giants will accept. In the meantime, the giants are holding onto Freia. Wotan dispatches Loge to Alberich's under-mountain lair, to try to get the gold.
final assignment - set design for scene #1 of 'Das Rheingold' by Wagner
The three Rhein maidens mainly hang out and protect the Rheingold, which can only be stolen by someone who has renounced love. The Rhein is represented by a series of wading pools strewn across the front of the stage, filled with translucent plastic balls representing water. There is enough room between the pools for someone to be at the edge of the stage, if desired. There are a few simple cutout plywood pieces representing mountains. Next to the Rheingold is a kleig light with a gold filter, throwing a golden 'aura' in the background. Alberich is traditionally represented as 'an evil dwarf', but I prefer the character to be a spurned nerd/geek. The Rheinmaidens tell Alberich about the gold, because it can only be stolen by someone who has renounced love, and they deem him to lustful to do that, but after they reject his advances, he renounces love, and steals the gold.
final assignment - essay
All of these assignments have been educational and challenging, but I think the previous assignment – storyboarding – was one of the most enjoyable to me. Analyzing the Toyota commercial really gave me a chance to see how it was done by professionals; tight, concise, and a complete narrative, all without facial expressions of any kind by the main character. It’s amazing how much one can convey by a sequence of 1-3 second shots. I probably enjoyed storyboarding ‘Das Rheingold’ by Wagner the most, since I allowed myself to relax and enjoy my take on it, which was both extremely oversimplified, as well as a heavily edited version of the interaction of the characters. There was a lot of room for simplifying the interactions between the characters, since the opera itself is unbelievably mired in detail. I recently watched a video on youtube with the famous chorus from ‘Die Valkryie’, with subtitles. There are eight women onscreen, and much of the singing dialog is about keeping their horses from jostling each other too much. I was also inspired by the oversimplification of the old ‘Classics Illustrated’ comic book series, with 1200-page literary tomes reduced to 20 pages of half-tone illustrations. When I was talking to Miles about ideas for the final project, he showed me some of the set designs done by David Hockney. I decided to do set designs for a non-traditional version of ‘Das Rheingold’, by Richard Wagner, which is the first of the set of four operas comprising ‘The Ring of the Nibelungs’, which took Wagner 30 years to complete. I did some drawing, but because of my limited drawing skills, I felt that I could convey much more effectively my design concepts by moving towards more digital imagery manipulation. If I would have limited myself to only drawing, the visual differences between the twin version of the Golem, and the Barbie they hold for ransom, would have been too subtle to appreciate. Interjecting different cultural references was part of the fun of this.
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