friday july 18th 2008
‘Smile Through Your Fear & Sorrow’: The Dark Knight Theatrical Release Today
Tom Waters
After almost three years of anticipation, the wait is over. The Dark Knight (the second installment in Christopher Nolan’s hard, gritty, realistic re-boot to the Batman iconography) hits theaters today and the box office may not live to tell the tale. Heath Ledger, sadly, did not.
Director Nolan insisted on cramming as much of Ledger’s swan song of a rollercoaster tour de force of a performance as the Joker into the film as he could by way of obligation, and a cacophony of critics are crying out for a posthumous Oscar for the Australian born actor who died earlier this year from an accidental overdose due to mixing antidepressants with sleeping pills.
What a sad, strange legacy it’s been. Cesar Romaro. Jack Nicholson stoned out of his gills so that he could let go sanity wise and throw himself with abandon into the role. C.J. Jung might have a thing or two to say about the Joker archetype. The Fool. Portrayed in turns as a campy clown or a homicidal lunatic, th…
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thursday july 17th 2008
Batman: The Resurrection Of Ra’s Al Ghul
Tom Waters
Ra’s Al Ghul has never been my favorite enemy in the Batman entourage. It always seemed like a cop out that they came up with a character, who just showed up hundreds of years old with a magical vat of life-juice (perfect for coming back from the dead with) and a built in army of lethal assassins. Yawn. I guess that falls under the precarious argument of suspension of disbelief in the comic realm (which should be sky high at all times but my b.s. meter goes off occasionally).
Despite all this, I was attracted to The Resurrection Of Ra’s Al Ghul (DC Comics, 2008) because (as with films), I follow the writers, and you can do a whole lot worse than Grant Morrison (Arkham Asylum, Doom Patrol) & Paul Dini (who has single-handedly created the Batman & Justice League Animated Series empires). Unfortunately, they weren’t the only two geniuses who showed up to the party. Too…
Elena Cala Buscarino
At the age of 14, Larry III began working on his father’s steel commissions. During high school summers, Larry was involved in moving Griffis Sculpture Park to Ashford Hollow and then erecting and installing the sculptures. There was great excitement in the early years in Buffalo at both the Sculpture Park and Essex Street.
"My father would have these huge projects, and I worked for him in the summers," Griffis said. He taught my brother Mark and I how to work with steel, how to fabricate it and how to bend it. Think Birds Excited Into Flight on Bidwell Parkway. I've been in this for most of my life." Though, when pinned down for an answer, Griffis says his favorite medium is bronze, he has extensive experience with many different mediums.
Griffis recalls a five-minute sketch his father made on a napkin that became a summer-long lesson in fabrication for him. …
wednesday july 16th 2008
Batman: 5 Beautiful Days & 6 Glorious Gotham Knights
Tom Waters
DC Comics is incredibly perceptive at playing into movie tie ins. Since the release of the 1990 cult hit Batman, they’ve given birth to three different animated series for the caped crusader (Batman: The Animated Series, Batman/Superman Adventures and finally, The Batman), released a small horde of figurines ranging from the outlandishly expensive limited edition runs to the mass market children’s baubles, and they’ve had the foresight to coincide each live action film with a direct to video animated feature length film. Just last week, Batman: Gotham Knights ($29.99 for the two-disc collector’s edition and $19.99 for the single edition) hit video and comic store shelves. Think Heavy Metal meets The Animatrix meets the caped crusader. Think brilliant meets the mundane.
This anthology of new vignettes blends the…
tuesday july 15th 2008
Batman: Jekyll & Hyde (only the kid in me likes it)
Tom Waters
Out of Batman’s entire rogue’s gallery of villains, Two Face appears to be a character that writers enjoy sinking their teeth into for a good story. Paul Jenkins got a good running start with Batman: Jekyll & Hyde (DC, 2008), but he should have left his incisors in for a bit longer.
The mini-series (compiled in this handy dandy graphic novel) explores the very nature of duality in Harvey Dent (who turned into Two Face. And if that’s a spoiler, you’ve been under a rock since Batman Forever) as well as the human side of Batman: Bruce Wayne.
Wayne Enterprises is funding a scientific study on duality. A seemingly sensible scientist finds a way to split the inherent double nature of all sentient beings and isolate one of them, killing off the other.
In the meantime, Harvey is losing a life-long battle with his other half (and not necessarily the better one). Throug…
buffalorising
You've seen the advertisement* on the left side of our page for a few weeks now, and this Friday the wait will be over. Op Art Revisited will open at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery this Friday, July 18. (AKAG Director Louis Grachos will be leading the sneak peek tour at 6:30PM on Thursday the 17th!)
Op Art Revisited is comprised entirely of works acquired by the Albright-Knox over the last 50 years, and most of the works in this presentation entered the collection shortly after their creation, exemplifying the Gallery’s tradition of buying artwork, some have said, “while the paint was still wet."
Victor Vasarely’s Vega-Nor (above), created in 1969, was the gift of Gallery patron Seymour H. Knox Jr. in 1969.
The definition of op art (short for optical) is that of a form of abstract art that gives the illusion of movement by the precise use of pattern…
Eric Crittenden
For the last ten years or so, I have been traveling around with my friend Jeff Garbaz and his Garbaz.com Visual Screens as a cameraman. Whenever the opportunity presented itself, I would set the camera aside, grab my sax and sit in with the worlds best artists such as Michael Franti, Moe, G-Love & Special Sauce, KDTU, Bob Weir and now Mickey Hart. These sit-ins would eventually lead to me cutting my latest record called Blu, featuring Eric “Kraz” Krasno and Rob Wasserman on a couple tracks. For more on all that hoopla, you can check out 1crittenden.com, but this all about playing with Mickey Hart who is the featured performer at this week's Thursday at the Square.
Nelson Ledges Quarry Park in Ohio is more than just a diamond in the rough. As if the spring-fed quarry, serene setting, hiking…
Melissa Lockwood
For those of you who have never practiced art, have put it on hold or want a new medium or technique to add to your already honed abilities, consider taking a refresher course soon. The following list leaves you little excuse not to.
Art Classes In Buffalo:
Artsphere Studio & Gallery 466 Amherst Street Buffalo, NY 14207 (716) 876.7188 artsphere@verizon.net
Buffalo Arts Studio 2495 Main Street, Suite 500 Buffalo, NY 14214 (716) 833.4450 www.buffaloartsstudio.org
CEPA Gallery 617 Main Street, Suite 201 Buffalo, NY 14203 (716) 856.2717 www.cepagallery.com Photography and Digital Media/Graphic Design classes available Most classes are $125-$150 for me…
Todd Schoepflin
I owe my friend Ron a beer. Or ten. I’m so happy that I took his advice to join the satellite radio craze. The radio I purchased (on my friend’s recommendation) has an awesome feature that allows me to record songs that I like. No more downloading for now. Instead, I get to store songs immediately as I hear them on the radio. The following are some songs I’ve recently recorded to my digital library. I really like these songs and am wondering if anyone else does. The first list contains songs by artists that are new to me so I’m wondering if anyone can recommend other good songs by them.
“Anyone Else but You” by Moldy Peaches “Balloons” by Foals “Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa” by Vampire Weekend “Constructive Summer” by Hold Steady “Hummingbird” by Born Ruffians “I Woke Up Today” by Port O’Brien “Lolita” by Throw…
monday july 14th 2008
The Tragic Comedy Of Mr. Jack- Batman: The Killing Joke (20th anniversary edition)
Tom Waters
It’s well beyond the point of debate that Batman: The Killing Joke is one of the most powerful, important graphic novels in the history of comics. For a one-off, Alan Moore and Brian Bolland nailed it.
The Joker origin story was originally released in 1988 and it is a testament to the tale that a 20th anniversary hardcover was released this year with a fresh coat of paint. Rather than dust off the old galleys, DC had the superb sense to task artist Brian Bolland with re-coloring the original artwork in the manner in which he would have wanted, and the results are astounding. The new hardcover edition is more chilling, more horrifying, and a hell of a lot more gorgeous than the original masterpiece ever was.
For the uninitiated, Killing Joke truly is one of the best Joker stories ever told. The cover pull quote from Tim Burton deifies the tale by proc…
