Olive | The movie

December 10, 2011 / / 1 Comment

Shot entirely on a Nokia N8 by independent filmmaker Hooman Khalili, Olive opens next week in over 2000 US cinemas on Dec 16th (without the backing of any of any major studio).  Full reviews and info on the making of the movie + trailer can be viewed at http://olivethemovie.com. No doubt Nokia will reap some kudos from this, but the film’s director said of Nokia “that they just sent me the phone”  and that “after March of 2011 I never heard from Nokia again, they disappeared”.

In an interview with Wall St Journal Khalili said the process was not that simple

“There was a lot of things making this nearly impossible for us,” said Khalili.

The Nokia N8 shoots in high resolution, but before Khalili and his crew could start filming, they had to hack the phone to turn off the auto focus and the auto zoom.

“The camera thinks it knows what you want to focus on, but it doesn’t know,”   @Wall St Journal

This was also shot before the advent of 35mm lens adapters for phones so the team had to create rigs that allowed lens attachments for the phones used in the making of the movie.

The movie was independently financed by former Facebook CPO (Chief Privacy Officer) Chris Kelly and  stars Academy Award (twice nominated) actress Gina Rowlands who agreed to do the movie purely on the audacity of the concept.

The following 480p trailer is hosted on YouTube, where sadly, the kiddie experts who haven’t the vaguest idea of the implications that this project carries, post the traditional, nay required, poorly informed comments.

Hats off to Khalili for this adventurous undertaking.

Leonardo in London

December 5, 2011 / / 2 Comments

“Just as Leonardo’s Last Supper followed a Leitmotiv of triples (three windows; groups of apostles in threes) to honour the Trinity, so there should be three triumphs in connection with the remarkable exhibition of his work at the National Gallery in London: “Leonardo da Vinci: Painter at the Court of Milan”.

As it happens, the triumphs are unmistakable in two parts of the enterprise. The curator Luke Syson’s achievement in gathering together nine of Leonardo’s 15 surviving paintings is an astonishing feat. It seems extremely unlikely that such generosity among the scattered owners of these masterworks will be repeated in the foreseeable future”……..

Read here

Reunited, sort of: the Louvre’s (left) and the National Gallery’s Virgins are installed on opposite ends of the fourth gallery, making it impossible to get more than the vaguest idea of how Leonardo changed his mind over the years.

Art on shifting sands

December 5, 2011 / / No Comments

“The Guggenheim is certainly not cancelled,” the US ambassador, Michael Corbin, told me. “It’s just delayed due to cash flow problems and the Arab Spring”. This was at an exhibition of Middle Eastern artists hosted in the residence to show his general support for the role that art is playing in Abu Dhabi policy. There were more signs of official approval for the idea of art. A huge red ball is appearing in surprising places, such as the Zaha Hadid-designed bridge, and in shopping malls. This is an installation by Kurt Perschke to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the founding of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).”- The Art Newspaper

Read more

Tony Shafrazi admires the Kids’ Zone

image courtesy of Art Newspaper

Going Global

December 4, 2011 / / No Comments

Rewired Creative Arts network goes global on the 12th December 2011.

I’d thought about postponing this for a few months but since just about everything is in place, why delay?

Stronger together.

If you are interested to be a part of getting this community off the ground, click on the rewired icon over on the right sidebar.

Strength in numbers

December 2, 2011 / / No Comments

Stage 3 of the R.E.W.I.R.E project is live. Rewired is a social networking and micro blogging site for K-12 Creative Arts teachers in NSW. Create an account and set up your own page.

Blog, create groups, participate in forums, chat live with other members, post photo’s, embed or post video content, upload files, embed WordPress content, stay up to date with network activity with Mobile and desktop apps etc. Above all it’s free, and when eventually opened out to national and international membership has the capacity to cater for up to 10,000 teachers. Share with, support and strengthen the Creative Arts teaching community.

Join here