Ed Schrader Reports: Superstorm 2012

Ed Schrader is now a weatherman.  Check his Tumblr page to watch video updates on the "Superstorm" Baltimore and surrounding areas just experienced.  We may be hit by another storm tonight, so stay tuned to Ed for the latest.

Boombala Video Cabaret 3

From Sam Shea, Boombala Curator;

Boombala is an experimental video series showcasing local video artists. Our quarterly shows provide a nest to explore the many configurations of the moving image. We screen new shorts, video art, animations, performances, films, and installations.

WHEN

Sunday, July 8th 

Show at 8 PM

WHERE

The 5th Dimension
405 W. Franklin

VIDEOS BY
Cricket Arrison
Jimmy Joe Roche
Maude Kasperzak
Stephanie Barber
Andy Storrs
Rick Rab

Renee Clark
Sigrid Lauren
Brendan Sullivan
Karen Yasinsky
and the Valuable People Organization

VIDEO PERFORMANCES BY
Tom Borax
Josh Van Horne
Kristen Anchor

INSTALLATIONS BY
Alex Deranian
Justin Kelly

Westing - Jason Meyer

Last week "Westing" by Jason Meyer opened at the new D Center, which is partnering with the ICA (Institute of Contemporary Art).  A few words from the press release sums it up;

"Poppies"

"Taking its title from an old word meaning westerly progress, Westing presents an early-career survey of Jason Meyer’s sculpture. Meyer combines intensive processes with his curiosity and material sensitivity throughout works that date from 1999 to the present."  The sculptures blend the artificial and the organic in really interesting ways, creating things that look of the natural world that certainly aren't and vice versa.  A field of "Poppies" greets you when you walk in the front door made of coaxial cables.  Steel wires crawl down a wall like roots spewing from electrical housings with "Dendral".  Electrical wiring and lights cling like vines in the piece "Aside from the Pleiades".  These 

"Dendral"

are just a few of the works that meld the natural and the human-made with inventive uses of material.  Jason Meyer has recently relocated to Baltimore, and with work like this it appears he is going to be an asset to Baltimore.  The beautifully curated and cleanly 
displayed show certainly bodes well for what the D Center and the ICA have in store for us as well.  Gallery hours are Saturdays and Sundays from noon to 4pm, and the show has been extended to run through Artscape, ending the 22nd of July.  The D Center is at 16 W. North Ave., in Baltimore, MD.

Spinto Band: Everyone Got What They Wanted

Baltimore's own Phil Davis directed me earlier this week to a video of the Spinto Band in their Deleware recording studio doing what they do best - crafting appealing rock music.  Director Nate Johnson just uploaded it, and it is a high-quality look at these indie veterans.

The Spinto Band: Everyone Got What They Wanted from Nate Johnson on Vimeo.

SCAPESCAPE 2012 Lineup!!!

Flyer design by D.J. Rice

In the Summer, Baltimore loves to attend big festivals comprised of too many local bands to possibly see at once playing in the streets.  In that tradition comes SCAPESCAPE, the new but already burgeoning last word in Baltimore music festivals.  This year happens August 30th - to September 2nd and is being thrown in conjunction with the Station North Arts & Entertainment District, with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts and the William G. Baker Memorial fund (the group responsible for the Baker Awards).  Festivities will be the conclusion of the month-long Station North Arts Festival, and there will be multiple art showings as well as the music.  The main stage will be in the parking lot on Charles Street next to the Metro Gallery, across from the Charles Theater.  The Metro Gallery and the Windup Space will both be hosting Scapescape stages as well.  So the Scapescape peoples have released two digital flyers, which ought to be appearing in print soon.  Check out the lineups below, and expect bands to be added and more details to follow.

Flyer design by Adam Smith

Videopolis 2012 Recap

For 6 months out of every year, I'm thinking about Videopolis, the film and video installation show and performance festival the Metro Gallery holds in May.  This year was great, and in an effort to properly document everything there are a series of videos that cover the highlights.  If you didn't get to see the show, you still can get an idea of what we were up to.  Thanks to all who participated and I'm already looking forward to next year!

Congratulations Felipe Goncalves!

I just wanted to congratulate our pal Felipe Goncalves, Baltimore painter and generally nice guy, for being featured in the #100 issue of New American Paintings this year.  He was the only Baltimore artist to be included in the issue, and one of the paintings featured happened to have made an appearance in this very blog not so long ago.  Nice work, sir!

Olivia the Sea Turtle

Virginia Warwick is an artist in Baltimore that currently is exploring the narrative of her alter ego, Olivia.  Turns out Olivia is a sea turtle, and the performances are brilliant.  She was at the Metro Gallery last week, and the video is below.  Enjoy.

New Beach House Video: Lazuli

Baltimore darlings Beach House just put up their newest video, and the first from their newest full-length Bloom.  The track, Lazuli, is the second single from the album and a strong voyage into their signature sound of dreamy pop, colliding cheesy synth sounds with their lush guitars, keys and Victoria Legrand's vocals.  The video is their second directed by Allen Cordell, and is a heavy trip focusing on a trio of characters that experience what seems like a series of cinematic moments of physical transcendence.  Throw in enough ambiguity to make David Lynch blink, some special effects that look great, superb cinematography of the band playing against hipster-symbolism-collage (props to DP Richard Kim) and you've got a great video.  After a string of, frankly, disappointing Beach House videos it is nice to see a good one.  Let's hope the newly found focus on craft continues with their visual fare.

The Wire: The Musical

Funny or Die dropped this bomb on us.  Coming to the Player's Theater!

The Wire: The Musical with Michael Kenneth Williams from Michael Kenneth Williams