Digicuzzi

Augustin Lesage

2011-06-27T16:09:00.000-07:00

Augustin Lesage (1876-1954) was from Auchel in France where he worked as a coal miner beginning at age 14. At the age of 35 he heard a voice while in the mines telling him that he was to be a painter. A year later Lesage becomes involved with a circle of friends who are exploring the claims of spiritualism, a religious movement that had begun in the United States and was winning supporters in Europe. Through automatic handwriting Lesage receives a message from the spirits that the voice he heard in the mine was real and that he must paint.

He buys paint and brushes and orders what he believes to be a small canvas. What arrives is a canvas that is three meters long. The spirits tell him that he must not cut the canvas but paint the whole thing. Over the next two years Lesage works on the painting after returning from long hours working in the coal mine.

Lesage begins to practice healing with the help of the spirits and is prosecuted by the authorities for practicing medicine illegally but is acquitted. The following year he is deployed as a soldier in WW I. After the war Lesage returns to work in the mines and paints everyday after work. He develops a style of bilateral symmetry where the left side of the painting mirrors the right side. He claims that his painting is directed by the spirits and that he acts as a medium for their expression.

In 1923 Jean Meyer the publisher of the spiritualist journal La Revue Spirite becomes Lesage’s patron and he is able to quit working in the coal mine and devote himself to his painting. Lesage completed over 800 works in his career.

Fear of the Unkown

2010-07-14T21:51:00.001-07:00

Peppermill Berlin: "The Big Coup"

2010-02-28T16:48:00.000-08:00

Love the look and feel of this animated video done by Peppermill Berlin, for the German rail company Deutsche Bahn.

Movies in 5 seconds

2009-10-18T23:45:00.000-07:00

Well not exactly 5 seconds but pretty funny none the less.

Harrison Ford Family Man

2009-08-12T00:39:00.001-07:00

Its always interesting to see how stars fit into particular molds. Watch the video below and see if you can pick Harrison Fords.

Autodesk Internal Discussion

2009-08-08T18:52:00.000-07:00

After yesterdays Blog about Charlie Chaplin's film 'The Great Dictator'. I thought I might continue the theme of Nazi's and include a very funny youtube video mimicking an internal discussion at software giant Autodesk.

Autodesk own Maya, 3d Studio Max and recently acquired XSI/Soft Image (the big 3 in terms of 3d software programs). For users of these applications it raises a concern as to just what Autodesk's ultimate intentions are for these packages and just how they can possibly maintain proper R&D across all apps and platforms. I know with the takeover, XSI users were particularly concerned that their much loved software would be stripped of all its innovations and migrated over to Maya.

Anyway the youtube video makes use of the excellent German film "Downfall" to shed some light on the inner machinations of Autodesk.

What does this make all us Lightwave Users? England. Maybe Malta.

The Great Dictator

2009-08-07T20:56:00.000-07:00

Recently I watched Charlie Chaplin's film the "The Great Dictator". For those of you that haven't seen it definitely check it out. I have to admit that I was a little resistant to the idea of watching it at first, because I just wasn't sure if the humor of the film would hold up given how long ago it was made.

Anyway I needn't of worried because it is a very very funny film, even now. In particular the scenes with Chaplin and Jack Oakie who plays the part of a Mussolini inspired Napaloni - 'Dictator of Bacteria' are hilarious.

But more then just being a very funny film, 'The Great Dictator' was a frontal assault upon the insanity of the time as typified by the rise of Fascism. For those that believe that true art should always seek to liberate and never be complicit in the evils and injustices of the day, 'The Great Dictator' is a an inspiration and an absolute must see.

We tend to forget just how complicit the word was towards Fascism's and Hitler leading up to WW2.

Indeed with the Great Depression Fascism found fertile ground in places all over the world, not just Germany.

Chaplin met a lot of resistance to the idea of making this film from all angles (it was even banned in places like Ireland).

However with his own money he went ahead and made it anyway. I heard one interview in which they likened Chaplin as a modern day David taking on the might of the Nazi Goliath.

Interestingly it was the first film that Chaplin ever made in which he actually spoke. I think its rather poetic that such a famous silent film star chose to speak so bravely when so many around him chose to remain silent. A true artist and a remarkable film.

Italian Spiderman

2009-08-05T00:41:00.000-07:00

Was shown this recently and thought it was quite funny. According to Wikipedia:

"Italian Spiderman is a film parody of Italian action–adventure films of the 60s and 70s currently being developed by Alrugo Entertainment, an Australian film-making collective formed by Dario Russo, Tait Wilson, David Ashby, Will Spartalis and Boris Repasky".

If your into this type of thing then definitely check out one of my favourite (although short lived shows) Garth Meringue's Dark Place.

Worst Movie Ending Ever

2009-08-04T01:41:00.000-07:00

Now for an entry into the "What The F%*k?" category. This is an ending to a film called 'Student Confidential'. It's considered to be one of the worst endings ever. Marlon Jackson (Jackosn 5) is one of the actors, and the other evidently is the films actor/director Richard Horian. You try and work it out.

New Year's Eve Jump

2009-08-04T01:30:00.000-07:00

This is an amazing jump by Robbie Maddison in Vegas NY Eve 2008/09.

Beatles Cinematics

2009-08-03T03:00:00.000-07:00

Was shown this not so long ago and it blew me away. Its the opening cinematics to the Beatles RockStar game. I love the economy of animation and the way it all flows. The 3d in the Psychedelic phase is amazing. I think it was made by Pete Candeland and others at Passion Pictures. He had is hand in the Gorillaz film clips and you can definitely see the style.
To see it Properly Visit

http://www.thebeatlesrockband.com/cinematic.php

welcome do digicuzzi

2009-08-03T01:03:00.000-07:00

This Blog will be devoted to archiving some of the most interesting and inspiring stuff I come across on the web.