RVA Magazine Articles

MOOSE: The Art Of Cleaning / Reverse Graffiti

ian — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:19:18 -0500

This is the definition of defying convention through innovation; armed with a wire brush, cleaning supplies, and the occasional powerwasher, Moose leaves the traditional tools of graffiti at home. His works, created by selectively removing the grit, grime, shit and carbon that collects on urban surfaces like algae in an unkept pond, range from personal projects to commercial advertising and embrace a leave-no-trace mentality while making big marks.

Via Wooster Collective and Environmental Graffiti.

DAILY REVIEW: Our New Nation

anthony — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 12:12:59 -0500

Our New Nation
Familiar Faces EP
Self-Released

I’m a long time fan of this band’s live show, but Familiar Faces is the first time that a recording has ever done them justice. This five song EP is for fans of all things poppy, snotty, and fast - think Screeching Weasel, only faster, or the Pink Razors around the time of the First Degree 7”. Songs like the two-chord anthem “Oh No” and the woah-oh-laden “Bang-a-Rang” make this one of the most promising pop-punk releases Richmond has seen in years. Pick it up at one of their shows if you like summer, bubble-gum, and cookouts.- Carl Athey

VCU vs Ken Cuccinelli

pjsykes — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 20:43:31 -0500

It has only been eight days since the last rally... this time it was a little more personal. Our own Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli is trying to roll back progress just as DC legalizes gay marriage. In case you missed it here is a link to the letter that includes the following...

"It is my advice that the law and public policy of the Commonwealth of Virginia prohibit a college or university from including "sexual orientation," "gender identity," "gender expression," or like classification, as a protected class within its non-discrimination policy, absent specific authorization from the General Assembly."

50 photos from VCU

Please send Cuccinelli a letter and/or a phone call!

Office of the Attorney General
900 East Main Street
Richmond, VA 23219
(804) 786-2071

Venn Diagram Re: Wu-Tang Clan.

ian — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:52:44 -0500

The World According to Sam Chivers

anthony — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:17:01 -0500

In looking over Sam Chiver's artblog you can see that he is constantly evolving his ideas. The blog runs back to 2008 when he was screenprinting women vampires and fire mistresses, painting anonymous happy faces over old magazine photos, cut out collages of complete abstract landscapes to now doing digital work for clients from bands to corporations that combines all of this elements. I dont know how young Sam is but the progression from optimistic experimenter to making-a-living professional can be the most interesting period of an artist's career and his is on display at www.samchivers.com.

$BLINGO$ vs BINGO

anthony — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:48:19 -0500

Our friends Brandon and Karen host BLINGO! every Thursday at Sticky Rice. Its speed bingo with prizes.

Walrus TV: Futura Interview from The Run Up

anthony — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 10:12:16 -0500

I've had to be real patient. It all didnt happen right away. Even in the midst of the whole gallery art world I thought this was the greatest thing in the world, but there was more. -Futura

Known for pioneering a more abstract style of graffiti writing, Futura played a major role in the NYCs graffiti scene of the 70s. As the popularity of graffiti art flared in the 70's and 80's, Futura's work was shown alongside artists such as Basquiat and Keith Haring. As his style developed, he began designing, and has collaborated with numerous artists and companies, including The Clash, Supreme, and A Bathing Ape. Get an inside look at his workspace and his love for b movies, video games and, apparently, all things Sony in the interview from "The Run Up", available to the public for free for the first time on Walrus TV. via WalrusTV

Electric Tickle Machine at WEIRD

anthony — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 09:52:41 -0500

The second episode of WEIRD and New York Deli is happening this Saturday and features Electric Tickle Machine out of New York and Sprankle Sprankle of Richmond, VA along with deejays JFKreuz and ETM Members. Free to the public; NSFW image (titties!) below the break.

From GayRVA: Attorney General Requests VA Colleges Remove Non-Discrimination Policies for LGBT

ian — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 15:48:53 -0500

In a bold move certainly geared towards appeasing his socially conservative constituents, Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli issued the following advice to the General Assembly:

“It is my advice that the law and public policy of the Commonwealth of Virginia prohibit a college or university from including “sexual orientation,” “gender identity,” “gender expression,” or like classification, as a protected class within its non-discrimination policy, absent specific authorization from the General Assembly,” Kuccinelli wrote.

We disagree for a variety of reasons, however we'll defer commentary to GayRVA as they've collected statements from Equality Virginia and the VA ACLU.

TRON Legacy

anthony — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 09:45:32 -0500

Fresh off of his Oscar win, Jeff Bridges has a slew of movies coming up including the next installment of the cult classic TRON.

For those that don't know TRON was centered around the arcade craze of the early 80s and starred a young Jeff Bridges as a programmer who goes into a video game to destroy a master program that has gotten out of control. The story was soild but what made it stand apart was the combination of movie making and 3-D technology. Where 3-D objects interacted with actors for the first time on screen. TRON set the bar back in 1982 that still holds up well even now.

The Barista and Lone Wolf Answer Your Questions Richmond.

ian — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 16:19:43 -0500

The heavy wine drinking, embittered but charming ladies at Café Darkness are sharing their quick wit with RVA. Want advice from the Barista or The Lone Wolf? Email cafedarkness@gmail.com and see your answers featured on the site.

Dear Cafe Darkness,
My boyfriend/husband/real doll insists in participating in Mustache March. He and bunch of friends have all thrown $20.00 bucks in to see who can have the most rad mustache by March 31st. He's literally in it to win. The only problem is when I think of mustaches I think of gross, early 80's porn and hanging out in a van down by the river. What can I do to get through it?

Sincerely,
Hating Mustaches in Manchester

Dear 'stache hater,
Our first inclination is to tell you to cease and desist sexy times until that lip duster is gone, but then that is also punishing the victim, no? Instead you need take a more Pavlovian approach to Mustache March. The first step is to get as many pictures of Tom Selleck and Burt Reynolds as you can. Then, with pictures in hand, watch a little soft core porn. Nothing too freaky-just a little Skinamax action. Switch between your Skinamax and Tom, Skinamax and Burt-but more Skinamax and Burt because he's a total badass. Eventually you'll start to associate awesome 'staches with the sexy. You'll no longer be repulsed by it, but turned on by it. Before you know it, you and your boyfriend/husband/real doll will have the best March ever!

Dear Café Darkness,
Ever since The Jersey Shore, my boyfriend won’t stop wearing Ed Hardy. He claims he’s only wearing it ironically, but the other day I caught him coming out of Atlantic Tanning, and last week he started using protein supplements to get “juiced up muscles”. I love my boyfriend but I can’t take it anymore. What should I do?

Sincerely,
Fist Pumps in the Fan

Dear Fist Pumps,
You’re in a bit of a situation. We can relate to what your boyfriend is going through. We caught Jersey Fever last month at one of the theme parties we went to, and even went so far as to wear Bump-Its and “beat the beat” a few times in da club. Luckily, some friends got all intervention on our asses and showed us there is a fine line between loving The Jersey Shore and living The Jersey Shore. We recommend you throw away all Ed Hardy apparel and hair gel immediately. Destroy any “house music” he may have collected, and, most importantly, remind him that a juiced up life is no life at all. Good luck to you.

Dear Café Darkness,
I feel like this has been the winter of my discontent. I’m over it and want it to be 'donezo'. How can I make it through these last few weeks without going bananas?

Sincerely,
Nada Mas in the Northside

Dear Northside,
This has been a bitch of a winter and we think everyone in the RVA is ready for spring. People are driving like assholes and tempers are short. If we eat anymore cheese whilst watching bad reality television we may not fit into our spring fineries! Our recommendation to get through the last few weeks of the winter is simple: drink your way through it. Pretend it’s the Holidays if need be to justify drinking every night. By getting hamboned on a consistent basis, these last few weeks of winter will merely be a blur of red wine, cigarette hangovers, and being late to work. Plus also, come spring you’ll have a great base for day drinking out of doors. Cheers!

Daily Fix: Bowie and Lennox covering Queen's Under Pressure (Freddie Mercury Tribute)

ian — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 11:44:40 -0500

This is David Bowie, arguably the sexiest man ever to live, and Annie Lennox doing a sound check before a concert paying tribute to Freddie Mercury. George Michael can be seen in the wings, further taking the amount of talent on the stage to ridiculous proportions. Is it possible, I wonder, to have a more androgynous pairing than Lennox and Bowie?

MORE DAILY FIX VIDEOS: LIVE EDITION
Queen Radio GaGa (LIVE)
Bjork Atlantic (LIVE)
Nirvana In The Pines (LIVE cover)
Dropkick MurphysThe Dirty Glass (LIVE)

IN THE BLACK & WHITE: 019 - TITLE TRACKS

pjsykes — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 06:46:37 -0500

Title Tracks
03.02.10 Gallery 5 - Richmond, VA

Title Tracks "Piles of Paper "

Title Tracks "Steady Love"

Title Tracks is a John Davis solo project that formed from the break up of his last band Georgie James. He played every instrument on the debut full length "It Was Easy" save for the saxophone and guest vocals by Tracyanne Campbell of Camera Obscura. Live John has enlisted Nick Anderson (Aloha) on guitar, Michael Cotterman (The Loved Ones and Kid Dynamite) on bass and Andrew Black (The Explosion, original break beat 7"s) on drums.

Though John is probably still best known as the drummer from the Dischord band Q And Not U, which led the last big wave of DC bands, many of his other projects gained him a lot of notoriety. In high school he founded Shute, his own record label, and split released music by his first band Corm with Dischord. In his spare time somewhere between playing with Corm and/or Q And Not U, John also ran his own interview fan zine called Held Like Sound. Currently he still finds time for his own weekly radio show called 1 2 3 4 More More More on my favorite internet radio station WOXY.

Title Tracks blog
Title Tracks on myspace
Ernest Jenning Record Co.

more IN THE BLACK & WHITE

FOUND: a mixed-media art presentation

pjsykes — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 19:10:48 -0500

I first met Joanna McGlothlin four years ago as the wife of my boyfriend’s drummer. But I soon learned she was more than that—an amazingly talented artist and crafter who also plays music. Her style to me is warm, vintage, homemade and Victorian but also something completely modern and eclectic. She gathers together scraps of paper, tape, photos, ribbons and other bits of ephemera to create really beautiful art.

Joanna, who has been doing her art in its current form for about five years, has been showing her collages and art pieces in her own Lynchburg community for some time. PJ and I were really pleased to bring her to Richmond so her work can be admired by new sets of eyes.

Inspiration comes from all around. She enjoys taking photographs in Lynchburg, especially at her “favorite spot,” the Old City Cemetery and looking at photos of abandoned buildings on flickr. To be amongst antiques and relics of the past also inspires her to be creative. She says, “one of my favorite things to do to get inspired is to visit Estate Specialists here in Lynchburg. Wandering among belongings that may have once been important to someone but weren't important to those they left behind fills me with that nostalgia.”

Her work is presented under the collective title “The Harding Street Assembly Lab,”
named after the street she and her husband Nathan once lived on in Lynchburg. She said, “Many nights were spent in the basement of that tiny house surrounded by friends, creating music or making things. Eventually the music was recorded and while working on artwork, Nathan coined the ‘Lab’ to name the place the recording was done.”

The Harding Street Assembly Lab (HSAL) is also a record label that Joanna and Nathan run, which has put out several 7” with bands from both the burgeoning Lynchburg scene and other places. While they have been putting out music for years, often with fantastic handmade packaging, this is the first time they’ve “legitimized [their] hobbies” by putting a name and financial backing behind the label.

“My main role in [the label] is design, construction & assembly of the artwork, as well as financial consultation on a release by release basis,” Joanna explained.

The following image is HSAL 02 - The Late Virginia Summers, which features Joanna's artwork paired with her husbands music. The 7" was partially recorded two floors bellow her art studio in their Lynchburg home.

Joanna McGlothlin’s show “Found” is hanging at Harrison Street Coffee Shop through March and Harding Street Assembly Lab records are available locally at Deep Groove Records or you can get them direct from www.hardingstreet.org

Other links:
Lynchburg Estate Specialist
The Old City Cemetery
The Harding Street Assembly Lab art blog

The new Born Ugly is out on the streets.

anthony — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 14:49:33 -0500

The guys at Born Ugly have put out of their newest issue. Check it out at bornuglymag.com.

OOOH PRETTY! From Spy Films: Nuit Blanche, a slow motion black and white short film.

ian — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 10:54:51 -0500

Shot on one of those Phantom slo-mo cameras everyone was hyped about a few years ago, the latest from Spy Films is fantastic. Slow motion can be overdone, but it can also turn the mundane into the fascinating if done right. This film is neither; dramatic, contrasty black and white shot digitally with an old-school aesthetic (think 1920's) leads to a great little short, a silent film set to music, revealing a wordless moment between two strangers.

Local Bike Videos via RVAfixed

anthony — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 21:27:26 -0500

The videos speak for themselves. Check em below the break.

More information via RVAfixed
photos via The Grime

Daily Fix: OK GO! This Too Shall Pass: Marching bands, Michel Gondry, and Rube Goldberg all mixed into one

ian — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 11:01:24 -0500

Inspired by the work of Michel Gondry, utilizing the Notre Dame Marching Band, and reminiscent of a Rube Goldberg Machine, these two videos own. For examples of a Rube Goldberg, check the video beneath the break!

MORE DAILY FIX VIDEOS: BRASS EDITION NO BS BRASSMichael Jackson's Thriller Gogol Bordello American Wedding RDJ2 Let There Be Horns

Star Wars Adidas

lauren — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 15:38:22 -0500

Thirty-three years after the release of the first Star Wars movie, cinematic master of merchandising, George Lucas has teamed up with Adidas and released a series of sneakers and apparel that are based on themes from the original three Star Wars films. To check out the slide show click here.

I think some of these designs are a little overstated but I think they are totally fun. I love the kind of retro look of the Darth Vaders. The orange in the Luke Skywalkers is just right – a great representation of his flight suit. The Millennium Falcons, X-Wings and AT-AT’s have the kind of grungy look you would expect to represent those machines. I was hoping that the AT-AT's would be a little more literal, maybe a boot of some kind, or something that better signifies “All Terrain Armored Transport.” The Yoda kicks are great colors but don’t really have the weathered look that Yoda has. Maybe distressed leather would have been to obvious. The New T.I.E. fighter high tops are sort of just a souped-up version of the old ones, but the silver is a nice touch.

Themes they slept on: R2D2, C-3P0, Chewbacca, Boba Fett, Ewoks, Darth Maul, Obi-Wan Kenobi

Themes I am glad they slept on: Jabba the Hut, Jar Jar Binx, Count Dooku, Darth Sidious

Would you wear these kicks? Leave a comment below.

Lauren Vincelli
Lauren@rvamag.com

Unconventional Art Opening: Moy Yat, A Martial Renaissance

ian — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 14:15:16 -0500

To view artwork by Grand Master Moy Yat, please join us for an exhibition at our school (1324 W Main St) on Friday March 5, 2010. For additional information on Kung fu classes please call 804-497-7555 or contact us on the web at www.kungfurichmond.com.

The Renaissance era, 1300-1600, was a time in history when the human spirit evolved, creating and communicating a deeper understanding of life. The complex and dynamic observations in art and science of this period stretched the limits of human perception and abilities. Likewise, Ving Tsun (pronounced “Wing Chun”) kung fu uses a scientific approach in training, maintaining a relaxed and natural feeling that is both visual and physical art.

Martial art creates a refinement of human motion that trains the mind and develops an automatic protective instinct. It is the pursuit of freedom and harmony with others that drive the martial artist to practice, affecting positive change in their self and their environment. The combat training of the Ving Tsun system enables the human body to develop a centerline and the ability to navigate through obstacles and opposing forces. The centerline is a guiding principal, and core to the practice of forms and two person exercises. Students begin studying the symmetry of the human body and develop a visual and graphical means of understanding different motions.

This idea of visual training is reinforced by the use of symbols in the form of “chops”, Chinese characters carved in stone. These seals are used to communicate important information about kung fu, such as family lineage and important principals. These “chops” were carved by the late Grandmaster Moy Yat, also a master seal maker, after being commissioned by his teacher, the Hong Kong Grandmaster Yip Man (famous teacher of movie legend Bruce Lee). Yip Man sought to preserve the Ving Tsun lineage and the Kuen Kuit (core teachings and sayings) by having Moy Yat set them in stone for future generations. Our kung fu family prides itself on this person-to-person connection that allows us to trace our origins back ten generations to the Shaolin temple in southern China.

In addition to bringing the Ving Tsun System from Hong Kong to America in 1973, Moy Yat was an accomplished painter and sculptor. His works, created under the name Moy Go Yan, included oil and water color paintings, Chinese calligraphy, as well as stone and wood carvings. His art served to communicate Chinese culture and history and to show the simple beauty of nature and the human form. The instructional quality of his artwork can be seen in pictures of training devices and weapons, as well as the striking portraits of himself and his teacher Yip Man. Moy Yat proved himself to be a Renaissance man, and authored several books on the Ving Tsun system, including blue prints for construction of the wooden dummy and long pole.

Ultimately, it is the quality of martial arts practiced in today’s generation of students that is Moy Yat’s legacy. By passing the system down, unchanged by one’s own limited experience and ideas, it has passed intact from human to human over hundreds of years. Each and every practitioner creates living art in their kung fu practice and application of the Ving Tsun system to their daily lives. Becoming a better human being and working to help the community is the key to living as both a Martial and Renaissance artist.