Faraway So Close
I told Brother about visiting the Yves Saint Laurent exhibit and he switched almost immediately to one of my favorite designers John Paul Gautier. "He's been doing some really weird stuff lately," he said.
"He always does weird stuff," I said, but realized I hadn't checked in on the latest collections.
So I watched his Spring Haute Couture collection, an homage to Amy Winehouse, which was really quite charming and slovenly. Best, at the end, the models came out for the final parade missing their skirts... parading around in their underpants while rehab played. I thought it was very funny and perfect. Gautier has always had a strong fetish element and there was something about deciding to take slovenly a step further to slutty, which felt both very loving and a kind of sad commentary at the same time. That they were all given veils at the end also seemed telling. But I can't quite put it into words.
Then I had to watch his Autumn Ready-to-Wear and he used The Velvet Underground's Waiting for My Man, which was also not without its irony. This made me go down the youtube rabbithole, somehow I ended up watching scenes from Faraway So Close Wim Wenders sequel to Wings of Desire. I've been thinking about this film --- in which I identified quite strongly with Cassiel, its fallen character --- a lot lately. Both in terms of discovering rock 'n roll and all the other sensual vices that make us oh so human.
I don't really have words for this either, but if you click through the links I promise some really interesting images. I think it has something to do with psychically switching over from being an observer to a participant. I've needed a lot of extra sleep lately, including naps.
One of the moments that has always struck me in Wings of Desire is in the club after Cassiel fails to convince a human from committing suicide. He is standing against the wall of the club and the flashing lights create this shadow... go to about 9:20 on this clip and watch until the end. It probably doesn't have much impact without the rest of the film, but his torment, and his shadowed self are lit up so gorgeously. Really, what this film is about is the images more than the conceptual aspects, which at this point in my life seem a bit heavy-handed.
Film trivia: cinematography on this film was done by the legendary Henri Alekan who worked with Cocteau on Beauty & the Beast (among other things) a must-see for any cinephile.
A little less art-farty, U2s homage video for the title song Stay to Faraway So Close.
It was such a big deal, the Wall and everything. And now it feels so long ago... all but forgotten. Like everyone has forgotten that the world was once divided in this way.
"He always does weird stuff," I said, but realized I hadn't checked in on the latest collections.
So I watched his Spring Haute Couture collection, an homage to Amy Winehouse, which was really quite charming and slovenly. Best, at the end, the models came out for the final parade missing their skirts... parading around in their underpants while rehab played. I thought it was very funny and perfect. Gautier has always had a strong fetish element and there was something about deciding to take slovenly a step further to slutty, which felt both very loving and a kind of sad commentary at the same time. That they were all given veils at the end also seemed telling. But I can't quite put it into words.
Then I had to watch his Autumn Ready-to-Wear and he used The Velvet Underground's Waiting for My Man, which was also not without its irony. This made me go down the youtube rabbithole, somehow I ended up watching scenes from Faraway So Close Wim Wenders sequel to Wings of Desire. I've been thinking about this film --- in which I identified quite strongly with Cassiel, its fallen character --- a lot lately. Both in terms of discovering rock 'n roll and all the other sensual vices that make us oh so human.
I don't really have words for this either, but if you click through the links I promise some really interesting images. I think it has something to do with psychically switching over from being an observer to a participant. I've needed a lot of extra sleep lately, including naps.
One of the moments that has always struck me in Wings of Desire is in the club after Cassiel fails to convince a human from committing suicide. He is standing against the wall of the club and the flashing lights create this shadow... go to about 9:20 on this clip and watch until the end. It probably doesn't have much impact without the rest of the film, but his torment, and his shadowed self are lit up so gorgeously. Really, what this film is about is the images more than the conceptual aspects, which at this point in my life seem a bit heavy-handed.
Film trivia: cinematography on this film was done by the legendary Henri Alekan who worked with Cocteau on Beauty & the Beast (among other things) a must-see for any cinephile.
A little less art-farty, U2s homage video for the title song Stay to Faraway So Close.
It was such a big deal, the Wall and everything. And now it feels so long ago... all but forgotten. Like everyone has forgotten that the world was once divided in this way.