GRAF IS DEAD

A Mournful Note from Cory Oberndorfer.

I always hate to be the bearer of bad news, but in the world of popular culture all good things must come to an end. Perhaps you all remember the height of Snoop Dogg's "izzle" talk. First it was clever and funny and unique to Snoop. Then everyone jumped on the bandwagon. Then one day I heard the "izzle" death knoll in the form of Fran Drescher's annoyingly screachy voice in an Old Navy commercial. Don't remember? Here's a remix of that moment.

Restizzle in Peacizzle Snoopizzle Speakizzle.

Unfortunately I must announce the news that another fad is quickly nearing its demise. Graffiti. But before you get too weepy, realize that the graffiti boom has had quite a long run. What we know as modern graffiti raged in the mid to late '80s as artists covered entire New York commuter trains. The graffiti culture has always been tied to subculture movements like hip-hop, punk and skating. Then along came Banksy. In recent years he has been gaining international attention with his guerilla art movement, often armed with only a can of spraypaint, a stencil, and a humorous yet biting message.
But then the suits took notice. People like graffiti. Paint drips = street cred.
Don't believe me? Walk into any Urban Outfitters, a store that quickly eclipsed Hot Topic as the largest offender of retailers selling out a subculture phenomenon. In Urban Outfitters you are sure to find graffiti influence on everything from tennis shoes to t-shirts, but most importantly you will find no fewer than a dozen books on graffiti. For a while I enjoyed the fact that street art was becoming available for public viewing. I was even excited recently to see Vanina Holasek Gallery in New York's Chelsea district presenting a show of Banksy's work. As I stood in the gallery looking at the price list of his work I realized that no matter how it's presented, the rebellious nature of his work was dead to me.
Then, several days later I found an even stronger message that graf is dead. It came in the form of a Rambo movie poster for Stallone's new movie. Yes, the 61 year old actor is cashing in on yet another sequel in the form of John Rambo, gratuitous defender of the oppressed, voice of the little man, and co-opter of hip stencil street art.


Need more proof? The Sundance Film Festival has long encouraged the voice of the creative artist. In recent years they have branched beyond film to include other sorts of media arts. In January they will be hosting the Graffiti Research Lab as they present L.A.S.E.R. TAG. L.A.S.E.R. Tag is a Weapon of Mass Defacement (WMD) that gives individuals the power to communicate their thoughts on buildings, ski slopes, and snowbanks, using a 60-milliwatt laser and a big-ass projector. The G.R.L. will bomb screenings, party events, and other random targets for the duration of the Festival. I'm sure these hard core subversive street artists weren't lured into the festival by the promise of big money at what is known as the largest and most expensive Hollywood shopping mall. I'm sure their messages and technology won't be exploited to sell the latest vodka or designer underwear. I'm sure they'll "keep it real".


But who knows...maybe I'm wrong.

The Rock 'N Roll Lifestyle (documented)

Cory Oberndorfer

I was fortunate enough about a year and a half ago to catch a screening of a film at Sundance called Everyone Stares: The Police Inside Out. It was composed almost entirely of archived footage shot by The Police drummer Stewart Copeland on his Super 8 camera. Over twenty years after the dissolution of the band, Copeland began sorting through reels of home videos made from early in the band’s existence up until their very last photo shoot. It reinforces the “life on the road” standard for touring musicians. A life of performances, photo shoots, traveling and, after success, throngs of adoring fans and groupies. All of this is done with an entourage of bandmates, roadies and organizers. The opportunity to play with Super 8 is obviously a pleasant distraction.
The film itself does not formulate too much more than home movies documenting moments in time. The playful nature overshadows the opportunity that would have been available to provide an intimate look inside one of the biggest bands of the time. Instead, we see a few guys just goofing off, enjoying their celebrity. This was reinforced during Copeland’s Q & A session, where he seemed to still be living in the time when he was a celebrity and relished in his stories of fame, wealth and women. His solipsistic attitude explained why the camera was focused on him during most of the film.
The film did not disappoint my expectations. It provided a healthy dose of nostalgia for those who grew up enjoying the band’s music and is more than likely one of the instigating factors for their current reunion tour. More than anything, Stewart Copeland merely passed on his “pleasant distraction” for 74 minutes.

Eighteen months later, The Police have kicked off their world tour, selling out large venues and enjoying their moment on top once again.

One day in late June I wandered into Frank Pictures Gallery in Santa Monica, California. The gallery was displaying a show of photographs taken by Andy Summers, The Police’s guitarist. Recalling my experience the year before, I was looking forward to a fun little experience with a musician and a camera. Instead, I found an artist who invested care, time and understanding to his craft. During his time on the road, Summers took some 25,000 pictures with his Leica camera. It is obvious that he found a sort of focus (pun not intended) with his camera. Rather than filming his existing world, Summers created his own universe from the world around him.
From the 32 photographs in the exhibit, the life of a musician is certainly documented in an expected fashion, but the execution of the photography transcends the mundane standard. Today, photographers have the luxury to snap off thousands of pictures and review them to find the few that turn out (I count myself among the guilty). However, Summers’ Leica forced him to plan his compositions and invest greater care in each image. Do these pictures only promote the sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll stereotype? Certainly. But the results also capture an intimacy that can only be told from the inside. It’s photographs such as these and Annie Leibovitz’s that define the era of music. Cameron Crowe and John Toll were certainly influenced by these artists when they filmed Almost Famous.
Needless to say, the photographs of Andy Summers filled the void that Copeland did not even attempt to enter, and for those wondering, Summers is lugging around camera equipment on his current world tour.



Everyone Stares: The Police Inside Out is available on DVD.
I’ll Be Watching You: Inside the Police 1980-83, a book of photographs by Summers printed by Taschen is soon available, including over 600 photographs.

Cory Oberndorfer reviews Luc Besson's Angel-A at Sundance

The French film Angel-A by director/screenwriter Luc Besson made its American premiere at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival. The film tells the story of Andre, a down-on-his-luck con man who owes way too much money to a smoother, more fashionable criminal that Andre can only dream of emulating, is ready to end it all by leaping off a bridge into the Seine. Fate intervenes, however, in the form of Angela, a leggy blonde in a minidress, who jumps into the river before Andre. He saves her, and then blames her for thwarting his own suicide attempt. As an apology, Angela agrees to help Andre with his financial problems. So begins the tale of Angela and Andre as they eat, drink, and dance their way through Paris. Before he knows it, Angela makes Andre see that he is stronger, braver, and smarter than he thinks and even that he is capable of love. All he needs is someone to love him back.

Besson has a strong resume of action films including Nikita, Leon, The Big Blue and The Fifth Element. With Angel-A, he makes an uneven transition to more heartfelt storytelling, creating a character based on his own insecurities. The premise of the film is definitely nothing new (It’s a Wonderful Life comes to mind), but Besson still shows his flair for capturing imagery in a way unique to a tired genre.

The film was presented in black and white. This choice could be mistaken as a tip-of-the-hat to the film noir genre (complete with criminals and moral ambiguity), but the black and white becomes one of many not-so-subtle metaphors for opposing but complimentary elements (good & evil, yin & yang). The short, ugly criminal plays against the tall, beautiful angel. One cannot find love and the other loves too much. One continues to repeat mistakes while the other has all the answers.

While the story may be elementary, Luc Besson infuses the film with plenty of action and humor in beautifully composed shots. The city of Paris becomes a secondary character with both its scenic historical landmarks and its seedy underground. The unseasoned actors’ performances were obviously aided by direction from Besson who, as the cameraman, was never more than a few feet away from the action.

Overall, Besson presents a film that is easy to digest with little thought and blends a sentimental, timeless story with filmmaking choices unique to the expected genre. As he ages, Besson’s reflection upon his own life breathes a more personal depth into the characters he creates and will likely affect future films.


*parts of the film’s description were taken from the festival catalogue