Nov 21 2024
Born Björk Guðmundsdóttir on this day November 21, 1965, Björk, an internationally acclaimed singer, songwriter, and composer, has consistently pushed the boundaries of music throughout her illustrious career. She first gained global recognition as the lead vocalist of the Sugarcubes, an alternative rock band known for their eclectic sound that meshed punk, pop, and electronic …
Nov 17 2024
The animation industry has been graced with many talented artists, but few have left a mark as profound as Walter Peregoy. His work spans several decades, with his contributions enriching the repertoire of giants such as Disney and Hanna-Barbera. Peregoy’s unique approach to color and design revolutionized the way animation was perceived and continues to …
Nov 13 2024
Seasons, made in 1969, with its beautiful stop-motion animation, is one of the most beloved Russian short films. Seasons was directed by Yuri Norstein and Ivan Ivanov-Vano, set to the music of Tchaikovsky. The detailed stop-motion animation, much done with delicate lace, features a couple gliding through the seasons, all set to brilliant renditions of “October” and …
Nov 06 2024
Today we have another wonderful Yuri Norstein film, Hedgehog in the Fog. Norstein is best known for this animation, as well as his Tale of Tales. Hedgehog in the Fog was directed by Norstein, written by Sergei Kozlov, with music by Mikhail Meyerovich. It was produced by Soyuzmultfilm in 1975. It is the story of a hedgehog and a bear cub who …
Oct 30 2024
Night on Bald Mountain is a film set to the music of the same name by Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky, and arranged by his fellow Russian composer, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. The film was created by the inventors of pinscreen animation, Alexandre Alexeieff and his collaborator Claire Parker. Alexeieff was born in Kazan, Russia in 1901 and died in …
Oct 23 2024
Viy is a significant artifact in the history of cinema, particularly in the context of Soviet film. Released in 1967, it is widely regarded as the first horror movie produced by the Soviet film industry. The film is based on a horror novella by Nikolai Gogol, a renowned Russian-Ukrainian author whose work has been foundational …
Oct 21 2024
Julian Cope, a prominent singer-songwriter, musician, author, and antiquarian, has been a revolutionary figure in the music industry for more than four decades. Born in Wales on this day October 21, 1957, Cope first made his mark as the frontman of the neo-psychedelic band The Teardrop Explodes in the late 1970s and early 1980s. With …
Oct 18 2024
Born on this day October 18, 1903, Albert Frey is widely recognized as a master of Desert Modernism. Born and educated in Switzerland, Frey’s architectural skills were honed under the tutelage of Le Corbusier, a pioneer of modern architecture. However, it was upon his move to the United States, and specifically to Palm Springs, that Frey …
Oct 16 2024
Last week we had an introduction to the Brumberg Sisters, and this week we have another great film by the duo, featuring one of the scariest characters of folklore, Baba-Yaga. While this fairy tale, and others, portray her as a child-hunting witch, there are some different renditions of Baba-Yaga. In Slavic folklore, Baba-Yaga is typically …
Oct 14 2024
William Larson is a name that resonates in the realm of contemporary photography. Born on this day October 14, 1942 in North Tonawanda, New York, Larson is recognized for his pioneering work with conceptual pieces and his innovative use of sequential images to explore themes of time, movement, and change. His profound understanding of the photographic …
