The Kuroshio Sea

Kuroshio Sea - 2nd largest aquarium tank in the world - (song is Please don't go by Barcelona) from Jon Rawlinson on Vimeo.

Let it finish loading before you push play. Watch it in the dark, full sized on the biggest screen you have available. It's breathtaking.

The Kuroshio Sea is the world's second largest aquarium. It is at the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium, located in Okinawa, Japan.

The film was shot by Jon Rawlinson, a Canadian filmmaker.

It reminds me of futuristic cars going down the skylanes at various altitudes in sci-fi movies, but in a nice cerulean outer space. Everything is so graceful: the little fish, the manta rays, the whale sharks, even the scuba diver. The song ("Please Don't Go" by Barcelona) is a little cheesy, but it works. I would have chosen a song with an epic feel by Sigur Rós or M83. What would you have chosen?

Argyle Smile in Print!

Hello friends.

Please check out this article on some of my very talented friends, Argyle Smile.

http://www.ocweekly.com/2009-07-23/music/locals-only/

I interviewed the director of their music video a few months ago if you remember.

Check out Argyle Smile and a few tunes of their new Tipsy Turvy EP on their myspace at http://www.myspace.com/smileargyle.

Best of luck to all of your professional, romantic and creative endeavors,

-jc del barco ii

fan/friend/excited

Animals Not Welcome?

Hello.

Sorry about the hiatus, reader(s). Life has been extremely busy and good!

Today I found two articles that deal with wild animals not belonging at certain locations.

1: The government hunt for late Colombian druglord Pablo Escobar's hippopotamus has been called off. He had a male and female hippo imported from Africa a while back, which then escaped his private zoo and had a kid in the wild. The governement shot the male dead and animal rights activists gave them enough guff to convince The Man to figure out a way of relocating the mother and it's calf intact.

Read the full article here.

I don't know if this makes me proud or ashamed of being half Colombian. Eitherway, I wish the best to the mother and calf. Though Colombia is a long way from home in Africa, I think the gorgeous landscape would be more exotic and fruitful for a hippo.

2: San Diego judge orders seals to be chased out of the kiddie pool cove. The Children's Pool was made to be a safe swim area, but the seals were keen on it and sort of strongarmed their way onto the turf, or sand rather.

After a turfwar between humans and seals, the judge decided

enough was enough and that the seals were to be chased out of the pool, or else Children's Pool officials would be fined.

Read full article here.

I reckon there will be some bloodshed.

Naive as it may be, I really just wish that San Diegoans, Colombians, Hippos, Seals, etc. could all just get along and play nice. Just last week my roommate Alex and I were trying to figure out how to adopt a koala that is willing to wear a diaper.

Well, this post was useless, just caught my attention to see so much Human/Animal conflict in today's modern world...

The world needs something unifying. Something good. Something Bear...

-jc del barco ii

animal/human/machine

Irate Panda Blog: Summer Prompt

Hello Friends,

My good friend Sebastian Pardo (http://iratepandaboss.com) is launching some summer play today!

He selected a handful of friends to contribute to the project, I got to be one of the selected!

We recieved a prompt: "What is summer to you?"

We were free to submit whatever we wanted in response.

Check out works from Thomas O. Bailey, Daniel Kaufman, myself, and a few others this week. Each day will feature a new submission!

Check it out at http://iratepandablog.blogspot.com

Thomas' submission is up.

-jc del barco ii

friend/noisemaker/summerlover

Farewell Runty, My Dearest Cat

Runty,

Though most people never thought much of you, I always vouched for you. Kitty gave birth to you on June 14th, 2005 in our house in Covina. Out of the litter of 5, you were clearly the most incompetent kitten. The siblings pushed you away from the teet and we picked you up and put you back in the action. When you and your siblings were learning to walk, we would line you up in a line and have races. You were always last. We found homes for your siblings, but I wanted to keep you. Small, slow, and silly, you were the best little girl in my eyes.

I liked coming home on weekends from college so I could play with you. You were skittish with most people, but you came to me with a kind meow and a quick rub on my leg. I felt like you knew that I loved you even though you were probably a retarded kitty. To be honest, I felt like I had to look out for you. It's probably why I liked you so much.

Don't get me wrong, I love your mother, Kitty, but she can kind of come off as a bitch sometimes. Her affection was exclusive and she was like the pretty girl at school that a boy was lucky if she glanced at. Nobody really took you seriously, but I liked you all the same. I was always excited when you wanted to play with me. Usually my excitement would scare you and you would run off.

Remember that one time I put you in the pillow case and you freaked out? I'm sorry if it bothered you, I was just teasing you.

I remember coming home late many nights and seeing you on the roof looking up at the sky, waiting for someone to come home and let you in the house. I credit you for getting me into stargazing and astronomy. There really is alot to look at in the big black night sky.

Runty, you weren't really good at being cat, but you had a good heart. I remember when you almost won the fight against the grasshopper. You were gnawing on it and I was watching and proud that you made a kill, yet it still managed to hop away with one leg. I hope it's other leg didn't scratch the roof of your mouth. You sure did cripple that son of a bitch.

I will say, you kicked up your sass when we got Bruce Wayne. You put that big silly dog in his place. I was proud to see you carry yourself well in the face of danger, even though Bruce had no cruel intentions.

I'm sorry you were scared when the family moved out of the house. You spent every day of your life at that house, so it's no surprise that moving made you scared. I don't know why you had to run off, but I miss you. I'm going to miss you sleeping on my bed and annoying me. I'm going to miss your little chirps and skittish ways. I will always miss you and I will always love you. Kitty hasn't been the same.

Good luck, Runty. You are the nicest little girl I have ever known.

much love,

jc del barco ii

Chinese Cat Grows Wings. Seriously.

Where do I get one?

It's fantastic. It was a genetic mutation that has happened a few times before in cats. Evolution is at it again! The cats are beating us to the real world of the X-Men. Imagine a hairless cat with wings? It would look like a little vampire cat demon. 

Birds don't stand a chance anymore. People with allergies be alarmed! Cats will own the skies.

-jc del barco ii

cat lady/stoked/!?!

Interview with Saint Motel

4/20/2009- The Troubadour. West LA.
I stroll on by after work and a drink to watch some old pals perform. The internet has been enticing me with rumors of a 3-d concert for only $7. The Troubadour is one of my favorite venues, balancing nicely between divey and quaint. Upon entering, I am offered a pair of 3-d glasses. For those of you that know me, you know I'm a fan of 3-D glasses. Things were off to a good start. I missed a few of the opening bands because I was mingling with a few friends from college and talking to the main act of the night.

Saint Motel is at it again.

These four boys started up in college down at Chapman University sharing film school classes together a few years back. I have fond memories of receiving alcohol from AJ before I was old enough to have a sip on my own. and have successfully transferred their success and following into LA. Nice classic rock and roll with a modern pinch of indie and pop, their cutting edge sound, good looks, and charisma make them a great Los Angeles up-and-coming band to follow. The venue was postered with 3-d art work to encourage the use of the glasses and compliment the awesome projections upon the stage. After the premiere of their latest music video, the boys take the stage and get the crowd moving. The show was fantastic.

I got a chance to hold a phone interview with lead singer/guitarist AJ Jackson and guitarist Aaron Sharp about a week ago. Sadly bassist Dak Jones and drummer Greg Erwin weren't available. Here it goes (more or less):

(AJ agreed to call me at 9pm to do the interview).

9:03pm:

JC: AJ, can I call you back? I'm buying fish tacos.

20 minutes later.

I receive a phone call from AJ. I hear voices in the back ground. People are laughing. I think I hear AJ and Aaron talking to some female friends. I hear something about whiskey. I think they are at a bar.

JC: Where are you guys?

AJ: Aaron and I are in the car. We just got back from our friend's premiere thing. Greg and Dak couldn't make it so it's just Aaron and I.

JC: Oh cool. Well. Let's do this. In a few sentences, tell me about the history of Saint Motel.

AJ: Aaron, you wanna take this one?

I hear Aaron in the background.

Aaron Sharp: Sure. AJ was born. Aaron was born. Greg was born. Dak always has been and always will be.

JC: Fair enough. How do you guys go about writing your songs?

AJ: Usually a bit different each time. We practice in our space in downtown LA.

AS: We just start with ideas and take it from there. We always have ideas, it's just a matter of focusing them.

JC: What are some of your influences? Music, film, food, any sort of inspiration?

AJ: Dragonshark. We don't eat it too often because it's endangered. Also, Beethoven's 7th Symphony 2nd movement.

AS: Tell him Erick Satie. Erick Satie. Tell him. Beautiful music...

AJ/AS: E. R. I. Erick. C. Satie. K. S. A...

I don't know how to respond to any of this.

JC: Tell me about the 3-D show. How did you think of this? How did it come together?

AJ: We had lots of help. We have a lot of friends that are really supportive and help us get these events going. We wanted a visually mind blowing event for the 4/20 day. We like projection art, but we wanted to take it even further... make it a sort of event. 3-D art. We were able to get a bunch of these 3-D glasses from a surplus store too.

AS: I think we hit new concert levels.

JC: I agree. That was awesome. So you premiered a new music video that night as well. With your projection art and music videos in mind, tell me about your visual art elements.

AJ: Well, some of us were film students. We try to create as much visual content as possible. We love making sketch comedy stuff, candid videos, and music videos. It's so available to make this stuff. Sometimes a pain in the ass, but we like it.

AS: We always have music video ideas. We have a big pool of ideas. Ideas aren't the issue, it's just a matter of time, resources, and focusing on a single idea or theme.

JC: Do you guys like black licorice?

AS: No.

AJ: Not really, but I'm trying to get into it because i hear it opens up your throat and clears your vocal channel.

JC: I recommend anise flavored liquors. Ouzo, Absinthe, Sambuca, Anisa, or even Jager will do the trick. How often do you guys practice?

AJ: Almost every night.

AS: Maybe like every other day. Probably like 4-5 nights a week. I'd say around there.

JC: Well, you guys definitely have your stuff together. It sounds great live. Tell me a bit about Saint Motel's near future.

AJ: Uhhhhh we have a show down at the Chapman Cecil's this month. We are playing a Father's day show at the Viper room on June 12th. Oh, we are also doing our Preschool Tour 2009 this summer. We're going to perform at different preschools. Play some good shows. Gonna record more. Hopefully more music videos to come.

JC: Preschool Tour? Exciting!

They start all cheering loudly. More people are in the background. It is getting noisy. I'm pretty sure they are at a bar now. I decide to through them a curveball.


JC: Do you guys ever fight? Like fist fight?

AJ: We emotionally fight.

They get serious for some reason. I feel confused because I meant for the question to be a joke. Aaron takes the phone.

AS: I would say sometimes it's mental warfare. Sometimes we fun fight? We have never physically harmed each other.

Awkward.

JC: Hey Aaron! I was just gonna ask you to grab the phone. I'm glad you took initiative.

AS: How are you, JC?

JC: I'm fine. Aaron. Tell me about your dream show. I know it's hard to follow up an awesome 3-D show, but if you could play any concert anywhere with any other performer what would it be like?

AS: (Immediate response) The moon with Bowie. Ya. Just Bowie. Wait, is there an opener? Like a three act show?

JC: Sure. Whatever you want.

AS: Hmmm. No. Just Bowie. AJ just ordered a scotch and the bartender gave him a double!

They're definitely at a bar.

JC: Are you guys drunk?

AS: Greg probably is, wherever he is. Dak probably is too, but trying hard to act like he's not. I'm not. AJ just has scotch.

(Sidenote: I love scotch.)

JC: Well, I think I'm out of questions. Anything you want to add or ask?

AS: AJ, do you have any questions for JC? JC, Do YOU like black licorice? I have a feeling you're a lover.

JC: I am. I am also convinced you can figure a person out by the way they answer this question. Thanks a lot for the interview guys. This was fun. Hope to see you live again soon. Have fun tonight.

AS: AJ, JC's is leaving! Ya man, thanks. This was fun. Take care.

AJ: Bye Juan Carlos Del Barco el Segundo.


Phone interviews are difficult but fun. Keep updated with Saint Motel on the interweb.

http://saintmotel.com/

http://www.youtube.com/user/saintmotelvideo (AJ was upset that /saintmotel was taken)

http://www.vimeo.com/saintmotel/albums

http://twitter.com/saintmotel

http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/pages/SAINT-MOTEL/9122571522?ref=ts

http://www.myspace.com/saintmotel

Make sure to keep up with this band. I have a feeling they will get far and being on their good side will get you money, cars, and ladies (I'm still waiting for it though... patiently... too patiently). I'm never wrong with these hunches. Never.

-jc del barco ii

concert goer/black licorice eater/fan

Interview with Christopher Richmond

I got the opportunity to go to the opening of "Open for Business" at the Guggenheim Gallery at Chapman University last Monday, April 13th, 2009. Artists included Patrica Burns, Jessica Riga, Sydney Snyder, and Christopher Richmond. About a year ago, I did a little review of Chris Richmond's show "I'm A Real Group Show". This year, I got the opportunity to interview Richmond himself about his art show which included 12 large portriats of his father and photo exhibit, As far as opening mail is concerned. This exhibit included a nice arrangement of photographs of unopened mail against black. Very interesting and fun to look at. I thought there was a good use of space. I'll let the man expand on the work himself. Here it goes:

JC: Hello Christopher. In a few sentences, please describe your installation.

Christopher Richmond: The images in As far as opening mail is concerned are displayed as a loose grid filled with gaps and varying size prints, to reflect the complexity of awareness and the nature of existence without signifiers to place them in context.  

The photographs in this work are not windows into a known world—a souvenir of an exotic land, the face of a lover, a landscape, or a documentation of objects. Rather, the content of this work is like the knowledge concealed in the photographs of mail, and is not based upon any concrete information that is known.  The meaning in this installation lies as much in the photographs as it does in the recesses of the photographs.  This is hard to do in a few sentences (and there lies yet another one).

JC: What were your influences? Are they all artists, does film, music, or anything nonrelated ever influence you?

CR: Roni Horn, Hans Peter Feldman, Felix Gonzales Torres, Charles Ray, and an ever-expanding list.  Usually when I look at these artists though, I don’t feel like they influence as much as they give you permission to do something.  I also read a lot of theorists like Michel Foucault, Hal Foster, Jean-François Lyotard, and Fredric Jameson.

JC: Is there anything you are unhappy with in this installation?

CR: Yes.  But I would never write it down.

JC: Mystery. As far as opening mail is concerned is presented very nicely. I want to ask, why mail?

CR: I am interested in the process of mail and its nature. As initially conceived, the project was to be about only these letters as displaced objects and signifiers for the knowledge and information concealed within because legally I could not open nor keep the letters, so I photographed them and sent them back to the sender. As I continued, however, I began to see that it made sense to think about other objects in a similar fashion.  Why mail?  Mail is a physical means of communication.  This interests me.

JC: What were your father's thoughts on the piece? How did you approach him about posing for the work?

My father was and is very supportive.  Granted, I didn’t inform him what I was doing when I took his picture, however, he sat down each and every time and stared at the camera without pulling teeth.  What were my father’s thoughts on the piece?  You’d have to ask him.

JC: Was your mother jealous at all?

CR: I took one unflattering portrait of my mother two years ago, and she hasn’t let me take another photograph of her since.  She was delighted to stay out of the limelight.

JC: Explain those older photographs in your display. I was a bit unfamiliar with them.

CR: The obituaries?  I think you are referring to the obituaries so I will talk about them.  I am fascinated by the obituaries of old type-cast actors and stunt men who made their living doing the same part or same act over and over again for public display.  I found it very interesting that the photographs of them playing these parts were selected for their obituaries and not images of them at home in their day-to-day life.  After reading their obituary I felt denied a certain access into the real life and their real character.

JC: Did you steal mail? That's a federal crime I think.

CR: I am not a crook.

JC:  Hm. Do you like black licorice?

CR: No.

JC: I went to your exhibit, "I'm a Real Group Show" last year. How have you seen your work progress since then? Your work then focused on photographing hallways. Do you like shooting objects, locations, or portraits?       

CR: I am interested in reception and perception—enacting a loss of control in the world.   My practice is a consequence of what the work does in the world.  The relationship between the viewer and the work is a driving force.  The content of the work changes—portraits, location, objects—as my interests evolve, however, my work always aims to create pieces that challenge the viewer to re-align his awareness of physical phenomena in order to investigate how we live and interact with objects and events often scene as ones outside of the realm of artistic inquiry. 

JC: What is next for you?

CR: I will have my first solo show this June at Vienna’s C17 Gallery featuring old work and a new video installation.  I am very excited to travel.  After that I will move to Los Angeles and thrive like a bear cub in the wild.

JC:  I like bears. You're also a cinematographer. Tell me a bit about your film work and your art work. Do they compliment each other or conflict?

CR: They are in harmonious disarray with one another. 

JC: Thank you, Christopher.

CR: Thank you.

Christopher Richmond is from San Diego. He is finishing up his last year at Chapman University with a degree in film production, ephasis in cinematography, and a minor in art. 

Prints of his work are available for sale. If you are interested in purchasing, please contact him via e-mail at cyrichmond@gmail.com. You can also see his work that was selected for the shortlist for Germany’s Szpilman Award at http://www.award.szpilman.de/best08.html.

-jc del barco ii

interviewer/critic/curious