Heaven to Hell

Love the fact that Taschen publishes high quality art books and provides an outlet for artists and subjects that traditional/mainstream publishers do not. See my add if you have some time!

love the camera work..and all the people input. the music really pumps up the piece! GL.

please check out my pod, 'big brother." thanks.
peace~kendall

Ditto. Loved the images, camera work and music. Well put together and a great subject. Good luck. GL.

I admit it. You got me with the promise of female flesh.

But what is this clip about? A special event put on by an art book publisher's retail store. My question to the producer of the film is what makes this place so special? Is it the appearance and design of the retail space? or is it the boldness or risks taken by the publisher in the selection of titles published?

Ultimately you, the producer have to show me what sets this publisher apart. And it certainly shouldn't just be appearances... or a good boob job.

J

Taschen offers great products, but this POD ...IS A COMMERCIAL. This seems like mainstream media posing as indie.

I will refrain from getting into the obvious and deserving diatribe that should follow the ignorance of those last two comments. "Taschen has great products"?? Spoken as if we were talking about Fisher Price or General Mills! This POD is about current culture, current contemporary art, artists and their distinguished distributors. There is no way in the world this POD comes close to being a commercial. Are you kidding me?? I think jengo's vision and desire to expose contemporary artists to the viewer created public is blissful, energizing and colorful. It holds its own artistic finesse in tandem with the brilliance of the artist it features. As far as it being about flesh...I can't even believe I'm going to address this comment but...perhaps it's about what inspires the artist?? The beauty, the muse that gives life to the creations that grace book shelves to museums around the world. How is that simple fact not the single most obvious and crucial part of this piece? I can't even wrap my brain around what in the world those last two comments are even about? In fact, I don't think the authors are completely sure themselves.

That is all the airtime I will give to that.

Jengo this piece is wonderful, thoughtful and brings back to the surface the chic mystery of contemporary art and its supporters. This piece speaks for itself and for its producer on so many levels. You should be very proud of this piece and I applaud you for not just showing the political healthcare needs of our nation in your pieces but expanding your mind and your scope to the arts community which, obviously, fights the most mundane battles of those less cultured on the daily basis. You truly have a vision that is diverse and your PODS execute that vision with beauty and grace. Brava!

This is a great bookstore. I remember a visit there at some point when I was back east. Books and Boobs (on a female or trans) are a fascination and it would have been great to hear more people talk a bit more about why they are at this event and what the artist's work is about. I was more interested in the visitors to the store than the owner talking about his store. It is a great little video anyway and It is difficult to talk about a store or "product" without people reading it as commercial. I think you did a good job and could just tweak a bit. GREEN LIGHT from me.

I'm very confused as to why this pod is a staff pick.
It is empty and offers nothing--nor is it about art in any way. It's not funny, smart, interesting...nothing? --Sorry to be so harsh--

colorful, the music was hot, maybe not human interest story, but it is what it is. GL by me.

check out my human interest story

In God's image

Mark Angelo

thank God for open-minded viewers...you're absolutely right. Not everything has to be about Iraq, poverty and strife. This piece is really great - I had to come back to comment twice!! I feel I must defend the right for Art to be in the mainstream media just as much as any other topic.

Loved it! Wish we had a place like this where I live!

The store looks great. Good job on the pod also, nice content, editing, flow.

"Sallyride" comments that remarks I made were ignorant and uncultured, and that Taschen should be defended and praised for exposing contemporary artists to a contemporary audience.

Perhaps "Sallyride" is confusing the store's mission and merchandise with what can be readily seen in the short film we saw. Maybe Taschen does carry books of recent, underexposed artists. If they do, more power to them. Is that discernable in the film? Maybe in a brief flash at the very beginning of the clip. I admit there were some names on book covers that I don't recognize. But the vast majority of the short film consisted of shots designed to promote the hipness of this business. It is, by its design, a promotional piece.

And if "Sallyride" would look at her own comments, and stop deriding those of us who simply disagree, she might find that a perspective different from her's might have some merit.

On the "female flesh" issue, I would dare say most artists aren't drawn to silicon breast implants as part of their artistic expression. But I could be wrong. Artists, as I understand them, look to express something about the essences of human experience, not the theatricality of plastic surgery. Clearly, as intriguing as a good boob job may be, it's at the store and ultimately on the screen to attract viewers' eyes. Period.

And I must say, I don't think I'm ignorant and uncultured in art or in filmmaking. I do have a degree in fine arts from Brandeis University, where I studied under Paul Georges and Peter Grippe, and I did go to the graduate program in film production at USC, and currently work at a major studio in its editorial department. I may not be a bona fide "expert" in the matter, but I wouldn't call myself ignorant.

J

Thanks everyone for chiming in. I appreciate all the feedback. I don't normally like to comment on my own work, but since this seems to be stirring up somewhat of a debate, I thought I'd address one thing:

If you listen to the comments made by the people interviewed in this pod, you will hear what sets Taschen apart.

Enjoy!

David Lachapelle once told Amanda Lepore that what makes her fitting to be his muse is her body. Mainly because she looks like the fictional big breasted bombshell that he used to draw pictures of in highschool.

Just thought I'd throw that fact in the "Female Flesh" issue that seems to be arising here.

That was really interesting. I'm not going to read through the giant discussion that has apparently taken place around this pod, but I will say that the reason I watched this for the first minute was only so I could figure out why it was the staff pick. It's very slow, and there are lots of shots that seem to continue past the camera movement, past when they've made their point, and into just being long for the sake of padding the legnth of the piece. Maybe they're interesting to someone who is already really into the subject matter, and I feel like that's the problem - it assumes more common knowlege and more interest on the part of the viewer than most would have. The 'why should I care?' question isn't answered until about halfway through the pod. Also, fading out the music to silence and then bringing another beat in is awkward, and adds to the feeling that the whole pod is dragged out.

Even by the end though, questions of who is this, why should I care, and where is this, are barely answered.

I know I'm very critical but I think that with some tightening up this could be a much better pod - more like what your average TV viewer will understand and want to keep watching after 30 seconds of techno and camera movement with absolutely no context.

Feel free to comment on my recent pod, 'Eats Shoots and Plays Music' as revenge for this comment :)

there is certainly a bit of controversy here. in any event, i will say that this pod does a nice job of highlighting a book store which is exposing art and literature to the public.

here in LA, the LA Times just announced it is canning the Sunday Book Review section and moving the reviews to a bundled section in the Saturday paper where there is a smaller circulation. it's all about ad revenues for the publisher. but it's at the expense of culture and fresh thinking.

and speaking of "thinking"... i invite you to watch my pod "Against"

I just don't understand the staff picks. Most of the time I think they are weak. And usually the pods never go any where. so if this is what the taste of current tv's is _ I think they have very little insight into what is really good.

Very dissipointing looks like commericals I produced in my first year in production class.

Except if you think a icon of lots of cleaveage and disco music is cool.

I feel there is some other political agenda working inside current.

political agenda? please stop all the hackneyed blather.



this is a wonderful pod.



Way to go!

Thanks, Jenny.

The question remains, what is the central message of this pod? Judging from the summary, directly under the viewing screen, there are two messages. LaChappelle's book, presumably of photography, and Taschen's efforts in forward-leaning publishing.

If the theme of the pod is LaChappelle, why don't we see more of him or his work? If the theme is Taschen's brave new publishing, why don't we see more examples of it's innovative publishing choices.

What we do see are trappings of excess and success: long lines, limosines and a provocative display of Amanda Lepore's ample cleavage. And as eye-candy goes, why not?

To me, the main point in good filmmaking, as in good writing, is to present your theme, develop it and do something with it. If you wander around, off-theme, you get a vague, unfocused end-result. Filmmaking is not a random process. Its beauty is trying to convey something that's both coherent and works from the gut.

This could be a great short film if it makes up its mind what its central focus is.

J

dannyk said:

"this pod does a nice job of highlighting a book store which is exposing art and literature to the public."

It is as simple as that.

Thanks for continuing to watch!

Oh... So artsy fartsy. You gotta be oh sooo uber hip to be an artist.

Well made.

I agree with the comments jsburman had to make and I think what he is saying is an important thing. This could be easily achieved by another cut... deciding just on what the core is and cutting the rest. be brutal. having said that, I do think this is really well made! the editing is very nice. and the lighting in the store is really sweet... i can see their faces! yes. good job. I really love the subject, very interesting. makes me want to go there (really). GL.
Please check out my pod, I'd greatly appreciate your pointers. :]

nice pod!
would like to have a taschen store in Venezuela...
maybe one day

Cheers

cool pod!! i think i might check out LaChapelle's work now! :D GL!!

BTW. check out my new VCAM
www.current.tv/watch/24410879

you caputed the spirit of this event. you gotta love Amanda.

if you get a chance check out my story on a unique art museum: "a midwest oasis"

Awesome. People in line for BOOKS!!!!! :-)
Thanks for this.

K

It seems like this piece is torn between two subjects/ideas. On the one hand, its about David LaChapelle, on the other hand its about the Taschen bookline/store. I think the piece needs to decide between the two subjects, because currently, it seems to just glaze over both. Volumes could be written about LaChapelle's work. And there's probably way more to Taschen as well.

What was the story? Not quite sure. Lots of random footage. A little bit about the bookstore. A little bit about this author. A little public opinion (which I love) about both the author and the store. And some random girl (guy?) with big cleavage. Audio and lighting was decent, though. Not ready for TV. Sorry.

It's good to see a bookstore dedicated to art.
A GL for your PR.
Check Out my pod "Gallery 291".

nice and straightforward, seems like current airs these type of pods i gave it greenlight.

check out my pod and tell me what you think. "A window to my world" is about my life with an inborn genetic disorder

Its cool to see Amanda & David hanging out... I've never heard her talk so that was a treat. This one picks up really well in the middle and ends great. Glad to see it cause there seems to be very little about style on Current. GL! I enjoyed it.

i think i'm going to go check out the store after watching this pod

interesting profile, very Current TV.

This was really interesting, I liked it a lot

Nice! GL
It was cool to see a Magritte book on the shelf with "The Liberator" on the front - my fav!

ok, like the music:)...if you get a minute - please review The Kitchen Killer - heres the : link

Interesting profile told with great momentum.

This piece seemed whimsical and not in a 'good' way. Somewhat disjointed and marginal camera and editing work. I never got a feel for the bookstore or its customers.

I don't understand why people are greenlighting this? In sympathy for the store perhaps? The red lighting, the awful music and those atrocious zooms killed it for me. And then we have a bunch of book-worms telling us why they shop at Taschen. Yawn.

I like pods like this that cover places for artists and book lovers to unite and hang out. Nice artsy, NYC style camera work and editing. The store seems great, when I have time next weekend I think I'll check it out.

When you have some time, check out my first pod