The active number of participants in this year's Young Curators Forum at Yogyakarta proves to highlight the promising growth of Indonesia's art world. In this opinion piece, Mitha Budhyarto continues her musings of curatorial practice in Indonesia.
As a fan of George Orwell, I was more than excited when Penguin released an edition of the dystopian classic, , that perfectly represented one of the story's core issues: censorship. Though I already owned a copy of the book, I immediately signed into my Amazon account and ordered the latest one anyway. I convinced myself that purchasing it was just my way of appreciating the work of one of my favourite authors.
But when I found out that , another major dystopian novel by Ray Bradbury, was turned into a unique piece of art by designer Elizabeth Perez, I started to question my own motivation for buying the new 1984 edition by David Pearson. Was it really an appreciative gesture directed at the author?
From an aesthetic perspective, Perez's design is indeed eye-catching despite its simplicity, but the way in which she combined the story's main point—the horrors of living in society that burns books—with the physical book itself is what makes it interesting. The "1" in the title's "451" is replaced by a match that one can actually strike against the book's spine. Yes, this edition can actually be set on fire! Unnecessarily extreme though it may seem, it is impossible to deny the design's conceptual success.
Though I didn't purchase Perez's edition, I found myself returning to the question of appreciation. What is the true source of my fascination towards these books? Is it the author, the story, the design, the designer, or a combination of all four? More importantly, what will the answer reveal?
While great books deserve all the appreciation it can get, how many times can a book (cover) be re-designed until the story no longer becomes the reason that people talk about it? For any work of literature to become less important than its outer crust is a tragedy, but it would be unfair to say that the quality of a book's design has no impact on the reading experience. My idea of a good design is one that reminds readers of a good story, one that can symbolize rebirth. But designers, as well as readers, should not forget that the story itself hasn't changed—meaning that it is important to consider the time in which it was written. Perhaps this is the only way we can all truly respect the author without limiting our own creativity.
What do you think? Is there a purpose in re-designing book covers? To what extent should designers explore their visual interpretations of stories from the past?
The things you learn in life eh? First I learned that , from is indeed the current president of legendary jazz label . Then I saw that the dude (with the push of ) recently released a long-lost live recording of the late at the in 1973. The performance, spread over 7 tracks, represents Donald Byrd at one of the best moments in his career, the grey area between his post-bop days and his more funky period. Unfortunately the recording cannot be embedded, but you can listen to the whole thing (and read the write up by Don Was himself) by clicking on the link below.
Personnel:
, Trumpet, Fluegelhorn, Vocals; , Trumpet, Vocals; , Tenor Sax, Flute; , Tenor Sax, Soprano Sax; , Electric Piano; , Synthesizer; , Electric Guitar; , Electric Bass; , Drums, Vocals; , Conga, Percussion.
As Red Light Radio are busy providing some good music at 5 Days Off, brings you Mr. J-Baggs, Lantei, Mitchel & Elis from , Yuri 's increasingly popular and finally with live and acoustic, interviews with and
This piece of news is stolen straight from the good people at . News has it that flawed soul-genius by the name of has recently teamed up with recently for a live show at New York's while fans like me sweat and bite their fingernails over the impending release of , D'angelo's long awaited follow up to 2000's .
As proof that this gig took place, you're able to scroll through the videos above and excite yourself for the new album release.
1) Go Back To The Thing / Let Me Have It All (Sly & The Family Stone cover)
2) Cosmic Slop (Funkadelic cover)
3) Woman’s Gotta Have It (Bobby Womack cover) / The Line
4) You Caught Me Smilin’ / Africa Talks To You “The Asphalt Jungle” (Sly & The Family Stone covers)
5) Tell Me If You Still Care (The S.O.S. Band cover)
6) Our Love Has Died (Ohio Players cover)
7) The Root
8) Really Love
9) Alright / Mother’s Son (Curtis Mayfield cover)
10) New Position (Prince & The Revolution cover) / Africa
11) Lady (encore)
While we patiently wait for M.I.A.'s latest album, Matangi, to be released (with a mid April scheduled release) we can listen to this mix she made for Kenzo's Paris fashion show. The 8 minute and 27 seconds-long mix is a banger from beginning to end, with a selection of bass-heavy songs mixed together, culminating in M.I.A. spitting a dope braggadocios verse that will most likely appear in Matangi.
Backstage Life Bareng Grrrl Gang di Episode Kelima Vindy Ngapain?
Tahun ini Grrrl Gang mendapatkan kesempatan untuk menjadi salah satu line up di We The Fest 2019, dan Vindy diperbolehkan untuk mengikuti aktivitas mereka.
Tahun ini Grrrl Gang mendapatkan kesempatan untuk menjadi salah satu line up di We The Fest 2019, dan Vindy diperbolehkan untuk mengikuti aktivitas mereka.
Son of another Indonesian great, multi-instrumentalist-Jack Lesmana, Indra Lesmana is a child prodigy who learned how to master the keys at a young age, with his first performances done at the age of ten to an audience of hundreds and thousands, and his first album released when he was 12 years old. From child to adulthood, Indra Lesmana has dedicated his life to music.
With currently over 50 albums released, his musical endeavors are not restricted to jazz, Indra Lesmana has also released a multitude of critically acclaimed pop records, winning a BASF Award for his meaningful pop numbers. Currently busy promoting the first LLW record, LLW being his modern jazz trio with bassist-Barry Likumahuwa and drummer-Sandy Winarta, Indra Lesmana spared some time our of his busy schedule to talk to W_Music about some highlights from his three decade-long career, LLW, and leaves the viewers and aspiring musicians some words of wisdom. Enjoy!
[featured caption="W_Music Series Vol.05: Indra Lesmana"]
[/featured]
Invent Your Future
Temukan siapa dirimu dan bagaimana karaktermu menentukan arah masa depan.
