April 13th, 2009
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Here is this weeks documentary pick.

 

Winner of the Special Jury Prize at the Hot Docs International Documentary Festival, Without
The King tells an astonishing story of Africa’s last absolute monarchy, the Kingdom of Swaziland. King Mswati III, a distant figure out of touch with his home and country, rules by decree and lives a life of luxury together with his 12 wives, while his subjects suffer from crushing poverty and the world’s highest HIV infection rate. With unprecedented access, we
meet headstrong first wife Queen LaMbikiza, eldest child and teen rapper, Princess Sikhanyiso, King Mswati himself, as well as many Swazi citizens who are plotting his downfall. Filmmaker Michael Skolnik captures the birth of a nation’s revolution, and the dawning awareness of a
young Swazi princess as she realizes the contrast between her impoverished country and her lavish lifestyle.

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April 12th, 2009
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sharahughes2

 

Brightly colored paintings that contain rainbows and taxidermied indoor bear fountains are always good in my books. I like Shara Hughes‘ works for their subtly ironic & clever references to painting & performance and artifice.

 

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April 12th, 2009
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taradonovan

taradonovan2

 

I recently discovered Tara Donovan’s work and was blown away by her microcosmic creations that reference organic forms. Using mundane objects such as simple plastic buttons or number 2 pencils, she finds beauty in multitudes. Like schools of fish banding together to seem much larger than they are, Donovan transforms the singular and ordinary into grand and ostentatious.

April 11th, 2009
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rachel_harrison_glamour_wig

 

I don’t know why I think Rachel Harrison’s sculptures are so funny- they’re such simple sculptures. Joke shop faux-appendage (silver wig, plastic nose), mundane commercial element (cardboard box, ladder) and rough-hewn painted (polystyrene?) form.

 

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April 11th, 2009
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inez_vinnod

I love these playful photos that escalate the idea of hand puppets to new and surprising heights. If you’re not familiar, Inez van Lamsweerde & Vanoodh Matadin are a photography duo from the Netherlands known for their high fashion photography and artworks. This series is coquettish/seductive, masked/revealing all at the same time.

 

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April 11th, 2009
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11_reynolds07

Some incredibly and bizarrely detailed photography by Tommy Reynolds. These photographs are able to get across reynolds’ concept, but are still seemingly candid. Personally I enjoy how these photos highlight the beauty behind a mess. 

 

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April 11th, 2009
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luckymcraebarthess1

 

Weird-beard grow your own crystal colored bath foam appendage fashion. Ephemeral bubble garments? Bizarre sculpture? Yes. Collaboration between Lucy Mcrae and Bart Hess.

 

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April 10th, 2009
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combined

B/D was lucky enough to receive two new books in the mail today. Here’s me and Fei in the office with completely anonymous bookfaces hanging out with our boss, who happens to be a wizard and was so excited by them he conjured an ephemeral ball of light for the occasion. Anyways, the first is Keegan McHargue’s “Foibles,” from Seems Books, and the second is “Creative Space” by Francesca Gavin from Laurence King Publishing.

 

More descriptions and images after the jump!

 

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