Plus9 (-15) Plus? - neat links from 2009

Prikliouchenia Kitaïtchat (The Adventures of the little Chinese, 1928, directed by Maria Benderskaya, Flash Video 17:28). "...Within the initiatory journey of two children lies a fine lesson in geopolitics done Soviet style. Apart from this political demonstration, the patched-up puppets stroll through the décor with incomparable poetry. The charm never fades. This masterpiece is a treasure trove of creative invention carried by an attention to detail and a quest for perfection." From Europa Film Treasures.

Celeur Jean Hérald, André Eugène & Guyodo – The Sculptors of Grand Rue, Haiti. "...Grand Rue is the main avenue that runs a north-south swathe through downtown Port au Prince from Bel Air and La Saline to La Cimetière and Carrefour. At the southern end of Grand Rue, amongst the labyrinthine warren of back streets that line the avenue, is an area that traditionally has produced small handicrafts for the ever-diminishing tourism market. This close-knit community is hemmed in on all sides by the makeshift car repair district, which serves as both graveyard and salvation for the cities increasingly decrepit automobiles.
The artists Celeur, Eugène and Guyodo all grew up in this atmosphere of junkyard make-do, survivalist recycling and artistic endeavour. Their powerful sculptural collages of engine manifolds, TV sets, wheel hubcaps and discarded lumber have transformed the detritus of a failing economy into bold, radical and warped sculptures. Their work references their shared African & Haitian cultural heritage, a dystopian sci-fi view of the future and the positive transformative act of assemblage."

Skeeter Davis... Heartbeat (.mp3 audio 02:12) and... Well.... All Right (.mp3 audio 02:22). From the album Skeeter Davis Sings Buddy Holly (1967, RCA Victor LSP-3790, Produced by Felton Jarvis).

Chargesheimer... Zur Frühschicht (Im Ruhrgebiet) (ca. 1955, vintage silver print). From the exhibition Chargesheimer 'Chargesheimer' at Galerie Priska Pasquer in Cologne. "...Chargesheimer (Karl Heinz Hargesheimer, 1924-1971) belongs among the most outstanding artists of his generation - as photographer, sculptor, stage designer and director. The press called Chargesheimer a 'restlessly proliferative creative spirit' and an artist 'who loves to provoke.' Chargesheimer began his career in 1947 as an independent photographer for various theaters in Germany. Towards the end of the 1940s he was in contact with the photographic group 'fotoform.' In 1950 he participated in the 'photo-kino' exhibition in Cologne and also in the legendary exhibitions of 'Subjective Photography' in 1952 and 1954.

Fred Kirby and the Atomic Train Band... Atomic Power (.mp3 audio 03:09). The original - penned days after the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Not as popular as The Buchanan Brothers' cut of the same tune.

Pentti Sammallahti: Selected Photographs at Nailya Alexander Gallery in New York. "...Pentti Sammallahti was born in 1950 in Helsinki, Finland. His career in photography began in his youth, and from the age 21 he exhibited both abroad and in Finland. Sammallahti taught at the University of Art and Design in Helsinki for 17 years, retiring when he received a 20-year grant (1991 - 2011) from the Finnish government, an unusually long endowment which is no longer awarded. Sammallahti was honored to be included among the 100 favorite photographs in the personal collection of Henri Cartier-Bresson, which was the inagural exhibition for the Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson in 2003. His work has been exhibited world wide, and he was given an extensive solo exhibition at both Houston FotoFest in 1998 and in 2005 at the International Festival in Arles, France. As a teacher he has had an enormous influence on a whole generation of documentary photographers in Finland." More Works by Pentti Sammallahti at PhotoEye Gallery.

Lori Nix: Small Dangers (31 color photographs) at Zone Zero. "...Lori Nix’s photographs, saturated with color and infused with a dark sense of humor, turn the notion of the traditional landscape on it head. Painstakingly created in miniature, her constructed scenes depict a detailed world where all is not as it seems. Public spaces dedicated to history and science (and a few intimate spaces) lie deteriorating and neglected while nature slowly takes them back.
In her series, 'The City' as well as her previous works, Nix emotes the clash between catastrophe and beauty to depict their co-dependence. She gives the viewer an incidental advantage by offering fenced in tragedies that inherently raise awareness and inspire reflection on our everyday actions and means of survival." Brilliant! Number 9 - "Ice Storm" - just gets better with time. More at Lori Nix Photography.

Kansas Joe and Memphis Minnie... When The Levee Breaks (1929, Columbia 14439-D .mp3 audio 03:12).

Weegee Speaks from the album Famous Photographers Tell How (1958) at Boogie Woogie Flu. "...I will walk many times with friends down the street and they'll say 'Hey, Weegee. Here's a drunk or two drunks laying on the gutter' I take one quick look at that and say 'They lack character.' So, even a drunk must be a masterpiece!" Via PCL LinkDump. Also... The Imp-Probable Mr. Wee Gee - the 1966 nudie comedy starring famed crime photographer Weegee.

Stephanie Chernikowski: Images from the Blank Generation at Morrison Hotel Gallery.

The Sadist (1963, directed by James Landis) starring Arch Hall Jr. "...This is believed to be the first feature film based on real life serial killers Charles Starkweather and Caril Fugate. Mainstream Hollywood would not produce films inspired by the pair until a decade after this one. A number of films were inspired by the duo (some very loosely) and included such major examples as Terrence Malick's Badlands and Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers."

Wanda Jackson... Tears At The Grand Ole Opry (1955, DECCA 9-29514 .mp3 audio 02:23). From WFMU's On The Download.

The Tornados... Jungle Fever (1962, DECCA F11494 .mp3 audio 02:14).

Bucharest Below Ground by Poul Madsen (2008). "...A multimedia documentary about the life of homeless families and drug addicts who find refuge in abandonned sewage pipes in central Bucharest." More... Works by Poul Madsen at his personal site.

Jan Svankmajer... Kostnice (The Ossuary) (1970, Krátký Film Praha, Flash Video 10:05). "...A non-narrative voyage round Sedlec Ossuary, which has been constructed from over 50,000 human skeletons (victims of the Black Death)."

Photographs from Pol Pot's Secret Prison (1975-79) - The Tuol Sleng Museum of Genocide, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Also... The Conscience of Nhem En (2008, Farallon Films). "...The Conscience of Nhem En explores conscience and complicity in the story of a young soldier responsible for taking the ID photos of thousands of innocent people before they were tortured and killed by the Khmer Rouge."

Judy Nylon & Crucial... Jailhouse Rock (.mp3 audio 03:48). From the album Pal Judy (1982, On-U Sound ON-U LP 16).