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Daily Dose

Daily Dose Pick: Eating the Universe

By Chris Kompanek on

Documenting the use of food in art over the past 50 years, Eating the Universe features a series of illuminating essays and provocative photographs.

The book chronicles the Eat Art movement — focusing on the food of necessity, as opposed to epicurean art — from its emergence in a small Düsseldorf gallery frequented by Joseph Beuys to the opening of Daniel Spoerri’s Eat Art eatery in 2009. Spoerri, who’s considered one of the most renowned (if not yet famous) artists of the 20th century, is featured prominently in the book, along with a diverse group of creators that also includes revolutionary performance artist Marina Abramović — whose endurance piece “The Onion” is captured in all its vivid glory. … Read More

Daily Dose

Daily Dose Pick: Favela on Blast

By Chris Kompanek on

Super-producer Diplo’s Favela on Blast film explores the vibrant music culture of funk carioca, which has been emanating for two decades from the poorest streets of Rio de Janeiro.

The DJ and Mad Decent founder traveled to Rio with Brazilian filmmaker Leandro HBL to capture the MCs, DJs, and dancers in action, bumping and grinding their way to euphoria. Electronic ’80s funk combines with bossa nova, samba, and other traditional Brazilian influences to create an impossibly bombastic sound, with songs like “Wanna Fuck?” appealing to the primal nature of desire — often leading to massive street parties that threaten to shift the power to the people of the favelas. … Read More

Daily Dose

Daily Dose Pick: Winnebago Man

By Chris Kompanek on

Ben Steinbauer’s penetrating documentary Winnebago Man explores the story behind the viral-video sensation of “the world’s angriest RV salesman.”

Jack Rebney’s foul-mouthed (and hilarious) outbursts during a sweltering industrial shoot in the summer of ’88 first found an audience when his disgruntled crew members passed tapes around the office — leading to underground VHS circulation that grew over the years, finding its way to Steinbauer in 2002 and later to YouTube. The director was so taken by Rebney that he hired a private investigator to find him (and his pitbull Buddha) and filmed his experience. … Read More

Daily Dose

Daily Dose Pick: Living Climate Change

By Chris Kompanek on

Promoting positive thinking about the future, Living Climate Change uses creative videos and design to envision the world of the coming decades and how creativity can effect global change.

A project of design company IDEO, the site includes inventive video shorts that range from the earthy (mycologist Paul Stamets’ “6 Ways Mushrooms Can Save the World”) to the philosophical (Dutch artist Ap Verheggen’s “Climate Change Equals Culture Change”). It also recently teamed with DESIGN 21 for the Living Climate Change Video Challenge, calling for filmmakers to capture their “vision of a future shaped by climate change, as we move along the path toward reduced carbon emissions.” … Read More

Daily Dose

Daily Dose Pick: Great Directors

By Chris Kompanek on

Ten prominent directors, from David Lynch to Catherine Breillat, step in front of the camera to talk about the overlap between their films and lives in Angela Ismailos’ penetrating documentary.

This 90-minute gem delves into indie icon John Sayles’ secret life as a Hollywood screenwriter for Jurassic Park and other blockbusters, Bernardo Bertolucci’s unique take on the infamous sex scene in his groundbreaking Last Tango in Paris, and Lynch’s chance encounter with Mel Brooks. These revelations are joined by others from French badass Breillat, Agnes Varda, Richard Linklater, Todd Haynes, Ken Loach, Liliana Cavani, and Stephen Frears. … Read More

Daily Dose

Daily Dose Pick: The Sneaker Coloring Book

By Chris Kompanek on

Daniel Jarosch and Henrick Klingel’s coloring book for grown-ups features 100 of the most popular sneaker designs from 1916 to the present.

The book opens with a brief history on the evolution of the “sport shoe” — tracing its origins from Charles Goodyear’s invention of vulcanization in the 1840s to its role in hip-hop and skateboard culture — but dedicates the vast majority of its pages to detailed, full-page silhouette drawings ranging from Adidas to Vans.

The 18 major brands covered provide ample opportunity to re-imagine classic designs with your own bold colors, and each sneaker is removable for framing or fridge posting. Plus, the high-quality art paper means you don’t have to stick to just crayons. … Read More

Books

Daily Dose Pick: The Godfather Family Album

By Chris Kompanek on

Photographer Steve Schapiro’s colossal 444-page Godfather Family Album is filled with oversized behind-the-scenes photos that vividly capture the making of Francis Ford Coppola’s quintessential gangster trilogy.

Schapiro, on assignment for Life magazine, was granted unique access during production to shoot Pacino, Brando, De Niro, and crew at their most candid and sometimes downright zany moments — such as when Coppola’s mother surprised the cast one morning dressed as her son. Text from Mario Puzo, Peter Biskind, and others completes the picture, detailing the fascinating filmmaking process, including negotiations between Coppola’s intrepid producer and a powerful New York mob boss. … Read More

Daily Dose

Daily Dose Pick: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Undead

By Chris Kompanek on

Featuring an original score by Sean Lennon, Jordan Galland’s inventive debut feature is equal parts slacker comedy and vampire showdown, with a healthy dose of Shakespeare.

The film stars Jake Hoffman as Julian, a twentysomething unemployed director whose life is a blur of one-night stands, until he’s offered a job directing a nocturnal twist on Hamlet — written by an actual vampire. Literary pun title cards like “Job Interview with a Vampire” and “As I Lay Undying” punctuate the fast-paced scenes with whimsy, while the appearance of familiar faces like Devon Aoki and Ralph Macchio further propel the enjoyable satire toward future cult-classic status. … Read More

Daily Dose

Daily Dose Pick: Micmacs

By Chris Kompanek on

Amélie and Delicatessen director Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s Micmacs merges slapstick comedy with social conscience and political satire to create a film that’s both visually stunning and darkly hilarious.

A near-death experience catapults a video-store clerk on a zany quest to bring unscrupulous arms dealers to justice; along the way, he falls in love with a contortionist. The caper is Jeunet’s strongest film to date, a rich visual experience exploring the collateral damage of war via its group of bizarre and colorful misfits. … Read More

Daily Dose

Daily Dose Pick: Howtoons

By Chris Kompanek on

Billed as “the world’s greatest DIY comic website,” Howtoons combines the talents of a comic-book artist, inventor, and toy designer to present eye-popping instructions for turning everyday objects into cool contraptions.

Science guru Saul Griffith (along with partners Joost Bonsen and Nick and Ingrid Dragotta) makes narrative-driven comic strips that fuse the freewheeling adventure of Inspector Gadget with the nuts-and-bolts fundamentals of Mr. Wizard, teaching kids of all ages how to create homemade devices including speed demons, spring-loaded chopsticks, and robofingers. … Read More