Surrealism style was big in Japan I think. When Japan was at the height of its Imperial power, their ruling elites began collecting western art. And Western Art during the 1930s was Surrealism art, and Salvador Dali and all his wackiness.

So this odd formula of Being Fancy = western art = surrealism was established. I guess surrealism really made a huge impact on Japanese psyche that it never really went away. Perhaps the war-torn Japan of 1950s and 60s found solace in the dreamlike feel and disturbing images used in surrealist works. Now that I think about it, that sure describes what Japanese movies are like nowadays.

It also helped that Surrealism kept strong all the way up until the 1960s. So every time the Japanese checked on Western art, there was still Surrealist works to be found, so the odd formula stayed as well.

At least that's my theory.

>> ^ChaosEngine:

First up, that footage is amazing. "terrifying yet beautiful" couldn't be more accurate.
But now, full-on grouch mode....
Overall, the video kinda annoyed me. The slow motion is over used and robbed of it's power. I would rather have seen at least a few shots of the guys riding in real time.
The editing also irritated me. I wanted to see the outcome of a few of those bails.
Finally the music, especially the start, just ruined it for me. I actually stopped the video at the start because I thought there was a glitch in my soundcard or something.


I'm not a big fan of surfing, but I found this video mesmerising for the very reasons you dislike it: the slowmo, editing and above all music makes it unreal, dreamlike ('twould've been shite without HD of course). Different strokes for different blokes and blokettes I guess!

Comment hidden because you are ignoring dag. (show it anyway)

What can I say - I enjoyed it. Maybe because I had really low expectations - for the first half, I thought I was watching a crappy supernatural thriller. The plane crash was a scene right out of one of my nightmares. Alex Proyas, the Director (Dark City) shot it beautifully - in a dreamlike way. It really was like watching a dream - the plane crash and flaming moose being just a couple of examples of that. >> ^dystopianfuturetoday:
Also, I've got a bone to pick with dag. Although you generally have great taste in movies, Knowing was fucking horrible. Fuh. King. Whore. Ih. Ball.
Issy and I had some friends over, and I said "Hey, I've got Knowing on DVD from Netflix."
"It got bad reviews"
"A friend with good taste recommended it"
Then we started it up and, like.... WOW. The plot, the twists. Yikes. The best part was the flaming moose...<

Yah, Pilger is right on target. As long as Obama makes people smug and content. The harsh reality isn't useful to those in a dreamlike Obama rapture. Obama > thinking.

I guess you could point to Obama's political platform before he was President, you could say he had only the best intentions, however I fail to draw that fine a line.

I mean, he's following George Bush's plan to get us outta Iraq, and he's getting deeper into Afghanistan. The dragnet wiretapping still stands, etc. WHERE'S THIS HOPE STUFF? IS IT HIDING IN A WHITE HOUSE CLOSET?
Ultraconservative Israelis hate Obama, I must give him credit for that. I think.

Here's another clip that shows how Obama is opposed to anything the medical industrial complex doesn't want.

watch at 2:35 seconds, "the intentions of the white house are to please the insurance companies...moveing more and more away from pleaseing people to pleasing insurance companies."

The SALVIA Experiential Rating Scale

Level - 1 "S" stands for SUBTLE effects. A feeling that "something" is happening, although it is difficulty to say just what. Relaxation and increased sensual appreciation may be noted. This mild level is useful for meditation and may facilitate sexual pleasure.

Level - 2 "A" stands for ALTERED perception. Colors and textures are more pronounced. Appreciation of music may be enhanced. Space may appear of greater or lesser depth than is usual. But visions do not occur at this level. Thinking becomes less logical, and more playful; short-term memory difficulties may be noted.

Level - 3 "L" stands for LIGHT visionary state. Closed-eye visuals (clear imagery with eyes closed: fractal patterns, vine-like and geometric patterns, visions of objects and designs). The imagery is often two dimensional. If open-eyed visual effects occur, these are usually vague and fleeting. At this level, phenomena similar to the hypnagogic phenomena that some people experience at sleep onset occur. At this level, visions are experienced as "eye candy" but are not confused with reality.

Level - 4 "V" stands for VIVID visionary state. Complex three-dimensional realistic appearing scenes occur. Sometimes voices may be heard. With eyes open, contact with consensual reality will not be entirely lost, but when you close your eyes you may forget about consensus reality and enter completely into a dreamlike scene. Shamanistic journeying to other lands--foreign or imaginary; encounters with beings (entities, spirits) or travels to other ages may occur. You may even live the life of another person. At this level you have entered the shaman's world. Or if you prefer: you are in "dream time." With eyes closed, you experience fantasies (dream like happenings with a story line to them). So long as your eyes are closed you may believe they are really occurring. This differs from the "eye candy" closed-eye imagery, of level 3.

Level - 5 "I" stands for IMMATERIAL existence. At this level one may no longer be aware of having a body. Consciousness remains and some thought processes are still lucid, but one becomes completely involved in inner experience and looses all contact with consensual reality. Individuality may be lost; one experiences merging with God/dess, mind, universal consciousness, or bizarre fusions with other objects--real or imagined (e.g. experiences such as merging with a wall or piece of furniture). At this level it is impossible to function in consensual reality, but unfortunately some people do not remain still but move around in this befuddled state. For this reason a sitter is essential to ensure the safety of someone voyaging to these deep levels. To the person experiencing this the phenomenon may be terrifying or exceedingly pleasant; but to an outside observer the individual may appear confused or disoriented.

Level 6 - "A" stands for AMNESIC effects. At this stage, either consciousness is lost, or at least one is unable to later recall what one had experienced. The individual may fall, or remain immobile or thrash around; somnambulistic behavior may occur. Injuries can be sustained without pain being felt; on awakening, the individual will have no recollection of what he/she did, experienced, or said in level 6. People cannot recall what they experience in this very deep trance state. This is not a desirable level, because nothing can latter be recalled of the experience.

From http://www.sagewisdom.org/usersguide.html very informative and educational source. Level 5 is where I go when I use it.

rougy, I've also used Salvia a couple of times, and for me it also seemed like exploring other dimensions. It's too bad though that the recollection of a Salvia experience is always dreamlike and I really need to do it again to get that aha moment of realization again.
Best I can explain it when I use it is that what I see around me is my room extends into infinite copies of itself in every direction, each copy slightly different. Then I - though the concept of I is completely gone at this moment, total ego loss - drift further "up" and oversee it all as some twirling unzipping fractal of which I am a part. It really is indescribable.

'Tis actually a baby Lamb and, for a pop group of an Evangelical Christian background (from the southern United States no less), the imagery has overt "religious" implications.

Moreover, I feel obliged to mention that this song has a rather ardent appreciation within the modern Evangelical culture - interpreted through a vastly different paradigm than that of its author (maestro Neil Finn). I've heard this song performed at everything from youth camps to evening Worship services.


Between the imagery of the woman (Ms. Nash) giving the Lamb to younger little girl, the strange dreamlike imagery of airplanes & parachutes, as well as the "freedom" and "peace" imagery (normally associated with socio-political activism), I gather this video represents an expression of the zeal of American religious culture towards "ministering" towards the "fallen world" of Western materialistic indulgence.

...or it could just be something that sounded cool/hip/artsy on paper, and seemed "deep" enough to convey a vague "message" without becoming overly didactic.

"love to pull the blankets up to cover my ass," love that song for she does have that dreamlike whiny quality, eh....."Kicked a Boy's" a good song for you wumpus...

Winterzauber, "Winter Magic"

More info from the artist's website: http://www.p-geist.de/start.html

Multimedia art in Zurich: A restaurant is turned into a work of art

english version (translation Julie Draper)
Zurich, 11.27.2005

Beginning at sundown from 11.27 through 12.31.2005, the historically protected building housing the Lake Side Restaurant in Zurich will be transformed into a 450 sqm. three-dimensional video art installation.

It is the work of Berlin-based multimedia artist Philipp Geist, a rising star in the young art scene. Together with the symphony orchestra OBC Barcelona and the Finnish sound ensemble Pan Sonic, Philipp Geist appeared as a video artist at the opening of the Sonar Festival in Barcelona in 2004. He was represented at the Dissonanze Festival in Rome, at Clubtransmediale in Berlin and at the Mutek Festival in Montreal which is renowned for new media. His video works have been exhibited at important international art institutions including the Central House of Artists (CHA) in Moscow, the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) in London, the National Gallery in Warsaw (Zacheta), at the opening of the Pinakothek der Moderne in Munich – and now for the first time in switzerland.

For his work in Zurich, the 29 year-old Berlin-based artist deliberately avoids the use of canvases and instead projects directly onto the concrete building façades and windows which have been prepared with a special projection foil. Every evening, visitors can expect to see a selection of images alternating between purist, dreamlike and intangibly fragile compositions. The starting foundation for all of Philipp Geist’s work is video material solely filmed and produced by himself. Geist finds the subjects for his work in everyday things like hairbrushes, leaves, raindrops and curtains. He releases these objects from their usual setting and places them in new visual and correlated contexts by employing special camera and video techniques using motion blur and superimposition.

Especially for Winterzauber (Winter Magic) in Lake Side, Philipp Geist went in search of wintry, Christmasy motifs which attempt to break the link to consumption and indulgence, and instead direct visitors’ attention toward the pure aesthetic component that is all too often obscured by the kitschy madness of Christmas.

It is in this way that a ride along the highly commercialized Oxford Street in London takes on a completely new appearance as it is seen through a window pane. Distorted by the raindrops at night, it allows viewers only a vague impression of the twinkling Christmas lights. Microscopic close-ups give sparklers, burned down candles and snowflakes an element of diversity that would have remained unappreciated by the human eye without the aid of technology.

By opting to use the three-dimensional, defined structure contours as projection surfaces instead of canvases, Geist increases the motifs’ abstraction while simultaneously regaining depth and diversity. In this way, Geist initiates a dialogue between the historically protected architecture, his artistic work and the people going in and out of the structure: The visitor himself becomes part of the projected image on the threshold between the inside and outside of the building.

Geist allows a wintry world to emerge in front of visitors’ eyes. The subject matter and motifs, although familiar, astonish with their size and unusual presentation while altering the observer’s perception and challenging conventional viewing habits.

Given that the opening of Geist’s work will coincide with the first day of Advent, it will be intriguing to see how he uses his playful, artistic interpretation to approach winter and Christmas themes. One thing is for certain: Visitors will be able to immerse themselves in a tranquil, wintry, dreamlike world of lights.

"Winterzauber" 2005 at Lake Side
Videoart installation by Philipp Geist
open daily from 11.27 - 12.30.05, 6:00 pm – 12 am
12.31.05, 6:00 pm – 5:00 am

I think someone posted this to the sift recently... not sure if it made it out of the queue. Pretty fukn sad really, you can tell the kid is trying to annoy the shit out of tigger. But the bottom line is, fake reality parks like Disney land are only there to reinforce the dreamlike state of most American citizens and anyone who chooses to find employment there does so at their own peril.