LABYRINTH of FOREVER: Doorway for the Spirit Chasers

So I'm doing it again. I've entered the annual Art For Progress competition: Clash of the Artists 2010 and I need YOUR VOTE!  

It's a small annual global contest with a handful of competitive categories: Visual Art, Music, Film, Fashion, DJ, and Creative.  I've put a video in the Creative category.   Some of you may remember I won this back in 2008 with a video presentation of my photo series SPLIT.  

This video is a new edit of work I directed (shot by Fury Young) last Spring.  I prepared a treatment and scripted scenes for this a couple years ago, originally to be part of my CrowDeD series.

I then adapted it for a projection piece used in a 30 minute dance performance at Nina Buisson's Avant Garde Festival in June 09'. 

It's a much shorter edit now, at 7 mins, with the new title, LABYRINTH of FOREVER: Doorway for the Spirit Chasers. Mystic Urchin supplemented it with some great text too! I hope you like it. 

Please click the links to vote - when you get there, scroll down on the Art for Progress Creative voting page to find my video.  Thanks y'all!


NOTE: You will be sent a confirmation email with link that you need to click on or your vote won't go through. 


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VOTE FOR THIS VIDEO


LABYRINTH of FOREVER: Doorway for the Spirit Chasers from SeBiArt on Vimeo.

|excerpt|

the promise of forever frightens us,
threatening to bury us
in an immeasurable matrix
of darkness…

hold to your frequency
to live forever


~Mystic Urchin~

CREDITS:

Art and Film Direction by Berette Macaulay

Performers in Order of Appearance:
Maki Shinagawa
Cristal Albornoz
Berette Macaulay

Shot by Fury Young

Text by Steve ‘Urchin’ Wilson

Painting and Costumes by Cristal Albornoz

Additional photography SeBiArt

Film, Sound, and Text Editing by Berette Macaulay

A SeBiArt Production.

*Add'l Behind the Hidden Gate colour foto inserts I promised in a recent post.

RELATED JOURNEY POSTS: 

I Friggin WON!!! Ha - I got support like Obama!! lol! (Feb 2008)

Avant Garde Festival (May 2009)

Behind The Hidden Gate (Jan 2010)

"I'm On a Horse" LOL

I just got this and had to share.  "The Man Your Man Could Smell Like"  smells like the best damn advertising in a while. It's good for repeated guffaws. I'm not sure what I'm more amazed by - the smooth set transitions, or the unwavering seductive aplomb of actor Isaiah Mustafa throughout this crazy single-shot ad!

Check it out, and how they did it. 

"Did You Know"

 

The making of Old Spice's commercial: The Man Your Man Could Smell Like - an interview by Leo LaPorte of TWIT with the hilarious writers Craig Allen and Eric Kallman of Wieden + Kennedy [ad agency] to find out how they did it.)

Ku to Clear the View

There is need to sway
Naked Rhythm summons blues
Wind and Whispers dance.

~Mystic Urchin~

"Life is a theater - invite your audience carefully. Not everyone is spiritually healthy and mature enough to have a front row seat in our lives. 

There are some people in your life that need to be loved from a distance.  It's amazing what you can accomplish when you LET GO, or at least minimize your time with draining, negative, incompatible, not-going-anywhere relationships/friendships/fellowships!

Observe the relationships around you. Pay attention to: 

Which ones lift and which ones lean? 
Which ones encourage and which ones discourage? 
Which ones are on a path of growth uphill and which ones are going downhill?  
When you leave certain people, do you feel better or feel worse?  
Which ones always have DRAMA or don't really understand, know and appreciate you and the gift that lies within you? 

When you seek growth, peace of mind, love and truth, the easier it will become for you to decide who gets to sit in the FRONT ROW and who should be moved to the balcony of your life.  

You cannot change the people around you....but you can change the people you are around! Ask God for godly wisdom and discernment and choose wisely the people who sit in the front row of your life."


writer unknown


thanks for passing this along Chuchi! 




SOMEWHAT RELATED JOURNEY POST:  The Ongoing Attempt (2007)

The Wanderer: An Old Path to Renewal

A few days ago I did myself the therapeutic favour of visiting an old friend and explorer, Colette Garrick, owner of THE WANDERER* - a peaceful and alluring  haven of colour, art, ancient metals and jewels, pottery,and crystal wonder.

She - a beautiful, inquisitive, and generous spirit.  For years, Colette's nomadic journeys have sparked local interests in the decorative pieces and amulets she collects from cultures around the world; hence 'the wanderer'.

When I was in high school I spent so much time here, and also spent much of my student fortune on crystals and silver rings that I collected seemingly by the pound.  

Having lived away for so long now, I've drifted far from so many aspects of my past.  It was truly a soulful treatment to pass through these gates again, and I walked out with a spirit quartz (from South Africa) and a colour treated Aqua Aura - scintillating stones believed to be imbued with the energy of peace, purity, and community...to keep clear the channels of creativity. Score!

The extra treat was this painting by Kacey Ferguson.  I HAD to get it.  His technique is incomprehensible, but it was his imagination I found to be absolutely irresistible.

I learned too that Colette grew up under the thumb of the recently deceased Albert Huie (1920-2010), known as the "father of Jamaican painting".  She shared a cathartic goodbye/thank you letter she wrote after his passing, which brought to life a couple of odd memories I had of him: his smooth knocked knees always revealed by his long working plaid shorts, and

the pronounced angle of his right forefinger knuckle - made permanent from years of pressing the paint brush to the canvas.


I didn't know him well, but I did spend 1 year of my life sitting for him every Saturday when I was 18.  Me, a figdety troublesome subject who refused to remove my panties, and him a jovial and patient older artist excited by youthful energy, yet unrushed by it.

I wanted to share this some time ago, but I decided against it after hearing of his death. And, well, there was great trepidation about posting the nude too - though Huie's impressionistic nudes have always been celebrated here.  

Anyway, dear Colette furrowed those distinctively arched brows of hers and instructed I post away.  And as another friend added, "If you are feeling like you want to put the Huie paintings up on your blog, don't let your tits get in the way. :-)" Haha - thanks Justin! Here goes:

Albert Huie nude and portrait

*If you're ever in Kingston, Jamaica, you must visit THE WANDERER:

3 Queensway, Kingston 10, Tel. 876-926-6071

Also hit the link at the top for a YardEdge interview with Colette. 

NB. Photographer of Huie pic unknown.


 

SUPPORT POST: Valentine Couture

A bit for the day of love, and a bit for fashion. 

It's fashion week - and while I don't actively follow this scene anymore, I was inspired to share stuff from two New York girls of mine. 

First, an extraordinarily talented designer, Prizy Sebastian, who has an event happening today at the Waldorf Astoria.  If you're in New York -  check it out. You've seen her work in my portfolio before - from the Deadly Sins* shoot we did a couple years ago.

About Prizy Sebastian 

Next there's the innovative artist, visual worker ,and  fashionista - Lili, who's combing all the FW events to bring the best picks n' tips to her readers at: UnoCosa'S Scrapbook.  She and her partner, Velizar, are also genius graphic artists whose sense of design and styling makes my head spin.  I've had her on my blogroll for a while - but the timing was perfect to highlight her incredible endeavors in the blogosphere.  Check her out. 

 * from Deadly Sins with Prizy Sebastian 

and Lisa Sellers Jewelry

I'm off now to spread some light...Happy Valentines Day my lovelies

" ...a happy life consists in tranquility of mind."  ~Cicero~     

Find A Quiet Seat...

...and get yourself sorted. 

(Advice to self really, but yeah, to you too my dears.) 

Dear Chanticleear [with Flowers for McQueen]

I must say I'm proud to know this very talented young poet, Matthew Hittinger,  whom I met some years ago at a friend's party.   I'd like to share a really fun and clever piece he wrote shortly after this meeting which I always enjoy reading...and not just because he named me in it. Heehee.  Seriously check out his site - he's really a gifted, saucy, and fun writer.  


http://matthewhittinger.com/

And here's a garden visit for you too, and flowers for the tragic passing of another clever and saucy talent, Alexander McQueen. Quite shockingly, he hung himself today.  And surprisingly, I can't find any major news articles about it yet - but the fashion industry is spinning and screaming from the loss of this unique, daring, and fearlessly creative genius.  

Wanna Create? Get Yourself a Genius

I've been known to nag and complain a bit about the pressure and frustration  of living as a creative, or artist, or...or... as an irresponsible, aimless, indulgent crazy person - ooops, there went the guilty voices again.  Yes, that tenuous balancing act of living creatively, and somehow surviving while trying to convincingly appear to be sane and somewhat responsible.  Hmmm. 

Well a friend of mine just sent this on and I HAD to share it.  Thanks Nicky - you got it.  Elizabeth Gilbert (author of Eat, Pray, Love) sharing some sound and funny advice on how to keep creating in a safe bubble by getting yourself a genius!  Uh - let there be light.

RELATED JOURNEY POST:  What Is It To Live Creatively? (2009)

Ku Of Truth

Done this before, but never explained.  Every now and then I'll be posting 'Kuz'...Haikus that is...as seen occasionally in my quote box to the right.   Most of them are written by Steve Wilson nee Mystic Urchin, but all writers are welcome!  If you've got one - send it along, I'll post it along with a SeBiArt image that compliments it. 

Quick Haiku Definition: Japanese style of poetry using 17 moras (or syllables), formed in 3 metrical phrases, usually about nature's seasons.  In English, the verse is shown as 3 separate lines of 5, 7, and 5 moras. The skill here is economic verbal expression in creating imagery and mystery we can feel.  We here will break the Japanese rules a bit by making the Ku about whatever strikes the mind and heart. Fascinated?  See more HERE.

  Enough adieu. To this week's Ku. 

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Its an unsung truth
There is beauty in heartache
Proof of recent love


~Mystic Urchin~

Let Go II: Ties That Bind

foto of Watches from MINE OBJECTS series

Speaking of letting go, my father, Berthan Macaulay QC, died a little over 3 years ago and it has been difficult to decide what to do with all his clothes and shoes.  When it happened, I think I lost my mind for a solid year, simply not knowing how to process it - except to deny, to focus outwardly, race against time and ahead of ambition, be an emotional support for my mother, and stop sleeping...literally. But in so doing I went to sleep psychically and spiritually for the past two - withdrawing from ... well ... everything, and really only by mid-last year (09’) did I finally wake the hell up to a new world feeling like an orphan. 

It's SO important, where possible, to create and journal when you’ve experienced any loss or dramatic change in your life - SO important.  Many layers of the 'self' are fighting to either be featured or buried on a daily basis.  I think the only way that my grief and resulting changes have manifested is through my photographic work. But finally I'm starting to speak up too, and interestingly that has softened my sight  (or in photog talk - POV) quite a bit.

After all this time, my mother and I reached an emotional and spiritual agreement to unpack, sort, and donate my fathers things to the survivors of Haiti’s earthquake. We felt this was right.  He always loved Haiti, was concerned about their future, and admired their historical achievement as the 2nd independent country in the West, in 1804 [ the  US was the first in 1776) - and for being one of the few nations in the diaspora to openly, boldly, and defiantly maintain their African heritage in the West, despite being  exploited, misunderstood, unsupported, and segregated.  

 

Berthan Macaulay QC

from MINE OBJECTS

I've been shooting a collection of personal stuff, including some of my father's things as part of a photo series, MINE OBJECTS, that I started a year ago. Here's a few, along with ones taken in the last days.
 

also from MINE OBJECTS

 

from just packing up and letting go: 

 

 

Related Journey Posts: The Ongoing Attempt, Sept 2007

                       Let Go: While Haiti Cries, We Must Try

Check out this great NEW YORK TIMES Opinion ARTICLE for a quick historical overview:

To Heal Haiti, Look to History, Not Nature by Mark Danner

Behind the Hidden Gate

Because I never did show you.

This is the first set of a no-frills view of images I have lying around. My friends and fellow collaborators Nina Buisson and Devin Pullins got together to do this shoot with me last summer - intended to be a part of Nina's Avant Garde Festival show at JUDSON Memorial in New York. A handful were used in an onstage projection as part of the show, but most of these never saw the light of day, until now. 

NB: You will need to update Flash Player to view this.  If viewing from Facebook - please click 'Original Post' to see slideshow.
 

I'll post the other set of colour images when I get a few finals sorted. For those of you following my work - you'll notice that the light, abstract period I'm currently in, directly followed this work. The images were created using a similar lighting style as CrowDeD and other dark and isolating portraiture methods that I  employed up until Summer 2009. Things started to get more colourful as my travels began last year in Germany.  (Yes, I've yet to post my video diary - but I will, one day.  haha! )

Concept and Design:

Berette Macaulay and Nina Buisson with commissioned painting by Cristal Albornoz

Title by Nina

All Photography by Berette Macaulay

Location:

Millenium Studios (arranged by Artistic Dir. Devin Pullins)

Make Up: By Margherita Tisato and Cristal Albornoz

(Devin's Make up Designed by Berette)

Costume: Cristal Albornoz & Maddy Kebedjs

RELATED JOURNEY POST:  Avant Garde Festival (May 2009) 

Allegories on Winds of Desire...

...it blazes over seas through the skies burning holes in God's air incinerating all realities and still...


I can't touch you...

...but I remember how you feel.

-------

You.

    Where.

          It.

              What.
                    Who. 

                         The object.

What sends you blindly ploughing forward in a most focused action toward the object of your desire?

Some have defined desire as Will, but does it will your actions towards fertile ends?  Does it consume you or fill you with life? What makes it increase? Does it cease if gratified? What could kill it; how might it die, and should you let it? 

According to Aristotle, there is no movement without desire, though he did concede that not all movement is toward a creative or useful end. I'm constantly, selectively, and frustratingly in the tug of choosing what makes an object worth my drive - especially as an artist.

If desire is the will to drive forward, then as Plato and Socrates offer, it is reason that puts a driver in the seat, and without one there will be fruitless befuddlement.  But what about people who push against the limits of caution, control and good sense,... and succeed?  Are their experiences happy accidents or examples to the rest of us?

Sometimes desire is necessary to move, indeed, but other times it is often distracting and crippling.  When is the distraction constructive or destructive?  A diversion can sometimes lead us to better experiences that we may have otherwise and unwittingly  circumvented - especially when it is supported by passion and belief! [see Treatise on Human Nature, David Hume] 

As Eastern philosophers (particularly Buddhists) posit - impulses of desire or cravings are the cause of destructive suffering and spiritual paralysis, and thus should be quelled. Nirvana is after all, the happiness of nothingness...the extinction of suffering, caused by covetous living. [see Siddhārtha Gautama].  Some Western ideals and morals propel this too - hence the negative connotation of desire as some sort of rude and impractical temptation that will destroy your soul; and those who believe this suffer from guilt when in wanting, immobilized in contrition yet promised eternal salvation.

But without desire, there would be no astounding discoveries; no risky experiments that lead to practice and ritual; no triumphs in the face of adversity; no love against all odds; and certainly no impossible dreams fulfilled.  As such, shouldn't we advise each other the way we do a child?  

I believe that desire is the elixir of life; it lends possibility to the unimaginable, and sets standards for excellence in everything. This driving force is necessary, and the other - cognitive reasoning, can either help to organise and channel it, or hinder it in fear - and thus whose counsel should be managed with care.

photo by Nina Buisson

"I'm youth, I'm joy," Peter Pan answered at a venture, "I'm a little bird that has broken out of the egg...So come with me, where dreams are born, and time is never planned. Just think of happy things, and your heart will fly on wings, forever, in Never Never Land!"

Fly little children, fly!

Except for the um...obvious exception by Nina Buisson (taken in Central Park, NYC) - I took these photos in Colorado within a 5 minute period - an unbelievable sunset blazing fire across the skies, scorching the clouds and changing the heavens so fast it seemed impossible.