Thursday, December 22, 2011
[NOTE: We'll take a break from our current series for the next couple of weeks until the holiday season is over] Michel Gondry and Charlie Kaufman’s “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” considered as an example of Reconstructivist Art The aggressively intellectual, modernist and experimental inclinations of screenwriter Charlie Kaufman were synthesized with the dream-drenched [...]
Gene Luen Yang’s graphic novel American Born Chinese as an example of Reconstructivist Art. American Born Chinese centers around what at first seem like three very different narratives. The first is a superhero-themed retelling of a beloved classic tale from Chinese mythology, the story of the kung-fu practicing Monkey King. The second is a realistic, [...]
Artist Kehinde Wiley as an example of Reconstructivist Art. From Wiley’s commissioned show at the Columbus Museum of Art, which featured Columbus area subjects in the style of portraits from the museum’s permanent collection Wiley is an African American visual artist, known primarily for his lush, full-scale portraits of young urban African-American men in poses [...]
I’m not usually one to rave about a video game, but this simple, easy to play , quick to complete game changed my entire evaluation of the potential of video games as an art form. A dark, existential humanist parable about an office drone, the game uses a severely limited set of options and locations as a strength rather than a weakness
Kutiman’s “Thru You” as an example of Reconstructivist Art Perhaps the first great Reconstructivist artwork of the “do it yourself” era, Kutiman’s labor-intensive You-Tube mashup transforms and elevates the work of countless amateur musicians. In a world where sophisticated digital remixing technology is at the fingertips of millions, and where overproduced, prefabricated pop-music idols can [...]
Monday, November 10, 2008
Joss Whedons’ “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog” as an example of Reconstructivist Art Watch This Movie This internet-only mini-musical signals its reconstructivist leanings through the way it resists being dismissed as mere parody. Nod to Artifice: The movie is framed by the conceit that it is a series of video blog entries being posted by an [...]
Saturday, November 1, 2008
One of the most popular and successful movies of all time, Lucas’ “Star Wars” represented a return to classic storytelling after the more deconstructionist narratives of the 1970’s. Reconstructivist Elements: Nod to Artifice: The movie begins with a famous image of scrolling text “Long, long ago, in a galaxy far, far away” that not only [...]
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
“The Warriors (Ultimate Director’s Cut)” by Walter Hill and David Shaber as an example of Reconstructivist Art I’ve been a fan of this cult classic movie for years, but it wasn’t until viewing the 2005 “Ultimate Director’s Cut” that I realized the movie was originally conceived in a reconstructivist mode. Reconstructivist Elements: Nod to Artifice: [...]
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Jason Godeke’s “Unstill Lives” as an example of Reconstructivist Art A series of paintings by Jason Godeke, exhibited variously as “Unstill Lives,” “Construct Realities,” and “Object and Figure.” Reconstructivist Elements: Nod to Artifice: The paintings in this series focus on toy figurines, which are clearly artificial objects. Classic Structure: The paintings generally focus on classical [...]
Alfonso Cuarón’s “Y Tu Mama Tambien” as an example of Reconstructivist Art Cuarón’s movie broke records in Mexico, and was a worldwide hit, despite its racy and subversive material. Reconstructivist Elements: Nod to Artifice: The realism of the movie is broken periodically by weighty voice-overs which break into both the plot and the soundtrack. Classic [...]
The Fugees’ “The Score” as an example of Reconstructivist Art The landmark sophomore album that introduced the Fugees to a worldwide audience, and transformed many people’s conception of hip-hop. Nod to Artifice: The album was conceived as the soundtrack to a fictional movie (a theme explored in the music videos), and is introduced theatrically (“Columbia/Ruffhouse [...]
Wednesday, December 22, 2004
The Beatles: Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band as an example of Reconstructivist Art This ground-breaking work of psychedelic sound is considered by many to be “the best album ever released.” Nod to Artifice: The album is introduced through its first song as a concert being given by the fictional band of the title. In [...]
Wednesday, December 22, 2004
Tailsteak’s webcomic “1/0” as an example of Reconstructivist Art 1/0 was an unusual webcomic that ran for exactly 1000 strips, and that revolved around the often contentious relationship between the comic’s creator and his characters. Nod to Artifice: In 1/0, the strip’s creator is a very real presence within the strip, and his changing relationship [...]
Wednesday, December 22, 2004
Wyclef Jean’s “Mona Lisa” (from The Carnival) as an example of Reconstructivist Art Hip-hop impresario Wyclef Jean reinvented one of his earlier hits as this sentimental ballad from his multiplatinum album “Wyclef Presents the Carnival.” Nod to Artifice: Wyclef comments (hip-hop style) over the lyrics with self-referential comments such as “I never wrote a love [...]
Wednesday, December 22, 2004
William Goldman’s “Princess Bride” as an example of Reconstructivist Art Popular screenwriter and novelist William Goldman produced two beloved versions of his modern “classic,” which was one of the first true reconstructivist artworks. Nod to Artifice: Goldman appears frequently in the original novel, putatively as its “abridger.” In the movie, Goldman’s presence is replaced by [...]