Smalltown Djs Rye Rye Remix

Here it is: a new Smalltown Remix for the clurbs. This one is of the latest Rye Rye jam called Sunshine.

Sunshine (Smalltown Djs Remix) - Rye Rye feat. MIA (direct link)

Sunshine · Rye Rye feat M.I.A (Smalltown Djs Remix) by Smalltown Djs

Blog #25: Tim Hawkinson vs. Yinka Shonibare

Ok so this is horrible of me to say but I might as well be honest. When we were watching the video of Yinka Shonibare I quickly noticed that his head was constantly tilted to one side. I assumed this was because he was a deep and broody artist who was tilting his head either in a condescending matter OR because he was really thinking to figure out what his art was about. So after several minutes I started to tilt my head in a mocking fashion...just then we got a full-body shot of the man aaand turns out he was disabled. Douchebag = Alaggio. That'll teach me.

As an artist, Yinka seems most known for his work with outfits resembling 18th century garb. This was the colonial period when the slave trade was at its peak. There is a level of ambiguity left to his work as well. While the construction of these costume pieces is very much Colonial the fabrics used are strikingly similar to the bright vibrant patters used in tradition West African garb. Also the outfits are placed upon mannequins which strip the wearers of any ethnic identity. Therefor it is important that Yinka's pieces never been worn by a live model as that person's race would take away from that cultural ambiguity.



With my piece, the presence of two living models was imperative. It actually didn't matter what race the models might be, just as long as there was a male and female. Yinka's work plays off the very absence of a body while simultaneously addressing the race and class issues on a multitude of levels. Both the garb and the fabric comment on the ostentatiousness of both cultures while wreaking with a certain level of irony with the period style of the clothing. Some say "you are the clothes you wear". How does that apply to this work i wonder.

 Another artist we were introduced to was Tim Hawkinson. His work also deals with the body but in a much different way than Shonibare. As stated before, Shonibare's work lacks the body and requires its implied presence. Hawkinson's work tends to resemble the body or really...body parts. In almost every piece he has done there is a certain grotesque element of bodily functions. His piece Zoopsia reminds me of organs hanging above our heads and the fact that they emit sound makes me think of gas...(could be that I'm suffering from a horrible case of bloating as I write this)... But another piece of his that I believe was made with some sort of gyrating red ink pen looks disturbingly a lot like intestines.  Hawkinson's work fascinates some because of how complex and organic his work appears while often being made from simple inorganic materials.

A few of his pieces can also be considered transformation pieces but also fall into this category of body art. For example one of his pieces was a feather and an egg made from his own hair. So in a way his work forces the viewer to ponder our mortality, our repulsion by our own bodies when distorted or dissected. The familiar and yet unfamiliar. This is one of the things that both artist share: the tendency to make us reflect on our bodies, what defines them, and how our bodies define us.

Artist 15/20: Tom Clark

"I try and present each statue with a dignity that comes from a life worth living". This is a quote from an artist who whether I like it or not has greatly influenced my home. Why some people collect little animal figurines, or beanie babies, this man's sculpted figurines are what litter my house. They were the collecting addiction my mother suffered from. Though I can't say I don't appreciate them. I attribute my very down-to-earth view of magic and fantasy to her vast collection of gnomes. Every single one of them indeed has an expression of utter contentment with their tiny and simple lives. These aren't your average, tosh, Travelocity, garden gnome but a very specific style created by a single man. Tom Clark.

Tom Clark isn't just limited to gnomes. He's done over 1000 figurines including figures from history, myth and literature. However, because it is the work that has most influenced me, I'm only going to focus on the gnomes. Much of his work ties seamlessly into the book, The Secret Book of Gnomes, by author Wil Huygen and illustrator Rien Poortvliet. This book also inspired the short-lived television series the World of David the Gnome...whom I'm sure in turn inspired the Travelocity gnome. They all have the pointy hat, wool or burlap cloths, and typically have a long white beard (assuming they're male). But an odd thing to consider is that according to the mythology, these are NOT figurines but life sized sculptures of gnomes.



Now now, I know because of the general collectability of his works that they once again fall under Kitsch but what are you going to do. They made my mom happy. Her name is Naomi and her nickname is Gnome or Gnomie (though she will always be Mom to me). And even though I'm a sap for saying this; when my mom was happy I was happy. So needless to say I hold a great amount of appreciation for Tom Clark's work. If I recall correctly his sculptures are typically made from some sort of plaster made from acorn shells. Because of this they are always the same brown hue. I'm not sure I've ever heard of another artist using this material. But his gnomes are never conventionally beautiful. Not only is his work very rustic looking but I've never seen a figurine of his that I might consider "sexy". But the important thing is just the jolly expressions they all have and that really does make them beautiful in their own right.

Artist 14/20: Stan Winston

I've featured a blog about Jim Henson who, in some respects, is very similar to my next artist. His works could easily be considered artistic masterpieces as they stand but the twist with this man's work is that his artwork moves! The movement makes his work complete since his prerogative as an artist is to make his pieces deceive us into believing that they are alive and real. Such was the work of Stan Winston.


If you've seen any of the blockbusters from the past 20-30 years than you're familiar with his work. It is because of winston that we have such creatures ingrained into our culture such as the ALIEN, Terminator, Predator, Edward Scissorhand, and the Dinosaurs from Jurassic Park. He worked around puppetry, prosthetics, face makeup, machinery, and CGI to create a special effects empire and in his career has garnered 4 oscars. Winston is sort of the opposite of Jeff Koons in that he doesn't design the look of these creatures. His job is to figure out how to make them and make them work.


While his works might seem varied they all have a certain element in common which is appears to be the intention of scaring us. Most of his work was on movie monsters. They range from the alien, prehistoric, to robotic. He was particularly great in taking advantage of our fears of being hunted, our mistrust of machinery, and seeing something of our own human evils in the monstrosities he created. He and I share a number of things in common being that he originally persued being an actor but in order to make ends meet, he began working as a makeup intern for Disney. He found his little niched in the entertainment industry which is something I envy.

Blog #24: Arnzen Drug Displa

So one of our assigned blog topics was a trip and critique of a display of some kind. Quite honestly, most of the local museums and such were closed in my hometown. But the shoppes were quite busy. There is this one store on my town's mainstreet called Arnzen Drug. It's a locally owned pharmacy, electronic, and useless nicknack store.

The windos have always humored me as it is cram filled with kitsch collectibles; porceline cats, glass wind chimes, stuffed animals, religious memorabilia. From the look of this display window you'd never guess they sold drugs. This got me thinking about the specific need for a display window to either really advertise the quality of a stores merchandize or if anything else trick them into thinking you sell really cool stuff.

I can't really say if Arnzen Drug does either of those. Some of those window objects have been there for years. Clearly no one is interested in them enough to buy them. In my opinion there is so much else the store has to offer. And in terms of display, there doesn't seem to be any structure, theme, or method to the madness that is that window. Whatever the owners consider most appealing and where ever it might fit seems to be the way it's set up.

the lovely Ms. Hurley

I recall a past schoolmate of mine by the name of Brianna Hurley. She reminded me very much of current classmate Maria Garth in that she could easily be classified as "vintage". She had a magical eye for cool things in thrift stores and created a neo 1950's style that was all her own. Now there was a shoppe about 2 blocks away from our dorms in NYC called OFF BROADY. It was a vintage store run by an old woman who wore big hats and an endless pile of jewelry. I recall having passed the shoppe several times but due to the poor display, thought it was a gawdy costume shoppe. The manaquinns were dressed in outfits that were mismatched or just too period/old to be trendy to anyone in the city. However, one day after I had returned to the city, I passed the shopped and was amazed at how the display window had changed. It now actually looked like a legit fashion store. The plastic girls were now wearing very posh outfits with matching accessories. Very nice jewelry was on display as well as hats. And I remember thinking, Brianna would LOVE this place. Well the display window had done its job of sucking me into the shoppe to see what else was new. In general the shopp was more put together and organized in terms of semi, formal, or casual wear; warm or cold wear and so on. And there in her usual chair with her big had, 16 strands of pearls wrapped around her neck, and a cane sat that old woman. She hadn't changed at all. But as I looked behind one of the counters I saw a familiar face that explained A LOT. It was Brianna! She had started working there and because of her creative directing, she had truly revitalized that store to appeal to a younger cartell and apparently had increased business by over 40%!!!.

Despite my digression, Arnzens (as it's locally called) is one of those stores that may suprise you with what it has and because it's a business cornerstone to the community it doesn't have to worry about "slow business". Nonetheless, I think THEY might be suprised with what a little sprucing up could do. Do a holiday window painting! Mix the displayed merchandise up a little with regards to the seasons! I actually believe that because it is just a frequented store and a staple to the community that it is their civic duty to set the tone of the town. Really push that modern commercialism mixed with holiday cheer in our faces. Show us toys, an electric train set, and that anamotronic Santa this Christmas! Get us excited about the holidays! In NYC that's actually a big thing. No matter what you're selling, the creativity of a store's window display is really what got people coming in. And because of this I have been tricked into a store! oh yes. Their window display featured nothing they really sold but because I went in there, I took the time and browsed.