Speed of Life

From Kino studio: "A lost cat, a giant talkative frog and a tsunami help a bank employee without ambition, his frustrated wife and a schizophrenic accountant to save Tokyo from an earthquake and find a meaning to their lives in the animated feature Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman. Based on stories by acclaimed Japanese author Haruki Murakami (Drive My Car), the debut of composer Pierre Földes won the Jury Special Mention award at the renowned Annency Animation Film Festival. Tokyo, a few days after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Kyoko suddenly leaves her husband after spending five days in a row glued to unfolding earthquake footage on TV. Her helpless husband Komura takes a week’s leave from work and heads north to deliver a box and its unknown contents to two young women. His colleague Katagiri, a simple debt collector by profession and an awkward loner in life, returns home one evening to find a two-metre-tall frog asking for his help to save Tokyo from an imminent earthquake. T...

by Gregg Chadwick   Gregg Chadwick Tokyo (Shibuya Crossing) 30”x22” monotype on paper 2023 Since I was a kid, I have spent a number of holiday seasons in Japan. The time from just before Christmas to just after New Year's Day is a magical time in Japan. Families gather from around the country as students and workers take time off and return to their homes for celebrations of the season. The food is marvelous, the conversations are rich, and the moments are precious. My monotype on paper "Tokyo (Shibuya Crossing)" is an artistic nod to my memories of Japan. As we move into 2023, I wish you a Happy Year of the Rabbit! And I would like to wish a warm Happy Birthday to artist and filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki who was born on this day in 1941. Pixar animator Enrico Casarosa said, "Miyazaki has this uncanny ability to add a childish sense of wonder to his stories. He’s able to make us feel like little kids again."  Gregg Chadwick Spirited Away 60"x48"oil on linen...

In L.A.? Tomorrow night @hammer_museum presents  @aiww 's film "Human Flow" and Q&A with Ai Weiwei https://t.co/pFlTnIuLyD pic.twitter.com/zMsYYTTUAC — Gregg Chadwick (@greggchadwick) January 3, 2018

by Gregg Chadwick Gregg Chadwick Flor De Asfalto (for Sergio Arau) 56”x86” oil on linen 2017 With his music, words and images, Sergio Arau has inspired me to create a series of paintings that feature him as the main character in my painted movies. Rock Star, actor, director, screenwriter, and artist Sergio Arau has often performed while wearing gear honoring Mexico's most famous wrestling star El Santo (The Man In the Silver Mask). Known as lucha libre, Mexican wrestlers such as El Santo are defenders of the poor and vulnerable. By taking on the persona of the Luchador (wrestler), Josh Kun writes in Audiotopia: Music, Race, and America , Sergio Arau and his bands have mixed "the traditional with the contemporary, the rural with the urban, the American with the Mexican, the charro with the rockero."  My paintings in Luchador's Dream  carry Sergio Arau into a Los Angeles seemingly pulled from the lyrics of his songs or gathered from scenes of his f...

"The world is a dangerous place...not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it" -Albert Einstein In the light of the horrific, fascist, white-supremacist violence against peaceful folks in Charlottesville, Virginia on August 12, 2017, I find this film produced by the US War Department during WWII to be instructive. Clips from the film are appearing on social media sites. The full film is presented here. From IMDB: "Financed and produced by the United States War Department in 1943, and shot at the Warners studio, although it was distributed through all of the major studios' film exchanges and also by National Screen Services free to the theatre exhibitors: A young, healthy American Free Mason is taken in by the message of a soap-box orator who asserts that all good jobs in the United States are being taken by the so-called minorities, domestic and foreign. He falls into a conversation with a refugee ...

Thank you, Michael Bond. #PaddingtonBear pic.twitter.com/wDVOoReolF — Flavia Fazenda (@FlaviaFazenda) June 28, 2017 Michael Bond at home in 2014. He said of Paddington Bear: ‘He’s never put down or deflated. He has the naivety of a child and the sophistication of an adult.’ Photograph Courtesy: Geoff Pugh/Rex/Shutterstock Much more on Michael Bond and Paddington in The Guardian.

by Gregg Chadwick Ed Catmull's " Creativity, Inc. " is much like the films of Pixar itself: a balanced mix of sheer enthusiasm and careful planning. Catmull writes,"The thesis of this book is that there are many blocks to creativity, but there are active steps we can take to protect the creative process." Catmull writes about the history and vision of Pixar as well as the strategies and mechanisms that have kept the creativity flowing for an amazing run of great animated films - second only in my mind to the stunning work of the Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki and his Ghibli film studios. Cattmull's book is a must read for anyone involved in the arts. From painters, to writers, to actors, to musicians, to film-makers, to game designers - all will benefit immensely from Catmull's encouragement to embrace the unknown while learning to communicate creatively. Link here: Creativity, Inc 

by Gregg Chadwick Currently under production by the Oscar winning companies Breakthru Films and Trademark Films, the animated film Loving Vincent  delves into the life and art of Vincent Van Gogh. Each frame of the film is an oil painting on canvas that will lend a sense of immediacy and painterly touch to Vincent's story.  Loving Vincent is sourced from over one hundred and twenty of Vincent Van Gogh's paintings and from the 800 letters written by Van Gogh during his lifetime. The trailers below give hints of the animated feature to come. Enjoy!

by Gregg Chadwick   Generosity of Eye: Art Transformed into Education from brad hall  (Full Film) Generosity of Eye: Art Transformed into Education is a must watch documentary by Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Brad Hall that documents William Louis-Dreyfus, Julia's father,  as he explains why he decided to sell his bountiful art collection to benefit the Harlem Children's Zone - an educational program in New York, created by Geoffrey Canada to break the cycle of generational poverty for the thousands of children and their families in the Harlem community.  Julia is often on screen with her father and their scenes together are rich with familial affection. As Julia interviews her father about the art that William has collected over the years and the artists who have created it, she is often overcome with emotion as she discovers the depth of her father's passion for art and for justice. Geoffrey Canada, William Louis-Dreyfus, and Julia Louis...

by Gregg Chadwick Tonight, a stunning cover of David Bowie's Haunting song Space Oddity was released from space  by Commander Chris Hadfield on board the International Space Station.  The imagery is stunning, reminiscent of the film Moon directed by David Bowie's son Duncan Jones. Sometimes life really does imitate art, even while orbiting earth in a tin capsule in space. UPDATE: Since I posted this last night, Chris Hadfield's video has gone viral with over a million views and counting!   David Bowie's Facebook editors loves the clip stating," It’s possibly the most poignant version of the song ever created." Their Facebook posts continues : you may recognise the name of one of those involved in its creation. We’re talking about Chris's fellow Canadian, the lovely Emm Gryner, who was a part of the Bowie live band in 1999/2000. Here’s what she said on her blog ( http://smarturl.it/EmmBlog ) regarding her involvement: “The task was in front o...

by Gregg Chadwick At the Hanging Rock   by William Ford (1820–1886) 1875, oil on canvas, 79.2 x 117.5 cm Collection of the National Gallery of Victoria As March drew to a close, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street band played a concert that Australian music writers have lauded. I wish I could have been there to see Springsteen and the band rip it up at Hanging Rock.  Incident on 57th Street in Australia  Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band  Live at Hanging Rock - Second Night - 31-03-2013  Major international musicians often perform outdoor concerts at the Hanging Rock reserve. Leonard Cohen graced the venue in 2010 and last month Springsteen performed two shows at the conclusion of the Australian leg of his 'Wrecking Ball' tour. The musical venue at Hanging Rock is temporary and currently used about once a year for large concerts.  Though I have spent quite a bit of time travelling through Australia over the year...

Gregg Chadwick Mulholland Drive 30"x40" oil on linen 2012

Gregg Chadwick La Notte 14"x11" oil on linen 2012 La Notte,  my latest painting, was begun shortly after I returned from my latest excursion to Venice, Italy.  Venice, poised between sea and land, is a place where light, shade, color, and reflection merge and recombine in the city's watery environment. In this mirrored world, past and present seem to coexist. History’s shadows slide in and out of darkened alleys and slip along narrow canals. The color and light found in the artworks of the Venetian painters Bellini, Carpaccio, Giorgione, Titian, Tintoretto, Veronese, and Tiepolo, seen up close in the city of their creation, is always revelatory. These artist's artworks glow like light upon water. This effect of reflected, sparkling light bouncing off canals, is called gibigiane in Venetian dialect. The liquid nature of transparent oils glowing from within, as if light lived within the pigment, seems to fix this quixotic glow onto canvas.

  Please watch as 9 year old Caine Monroy, who built an elaborate cardboard arcade inside his dad’s used auto parts store, is about to have the best day of his life... A short film by  Nirvan , produced by  Interconnected . Hours Saturday: 8am – 5pm* Sundays: by appointment* * Appointments: to schedule a visit,  please call 323-225-5997 and ask for George.  Address Caine’s Arcade (located inside  Smart Parts Aftermarket ) 538 N. Mission Rd Boyle Heights, CA 90033 View Larger Map More at: Caine's Arcade Recommend 376 recommendations.  Sign Up  to see what your friends recommend. Visit Caine's Arcade on Facebook:

A tribute to the great Shakespearean actor John Neville, who died this week, and the magical  Terry Gilliam film, The Adventures Of Baron Munchausen , which stars John Neville, Eric Idle, Jonathan Pryce, Winston Dennis, Jack Purvis, a very young Sarah Polley, a teenage Uma Thurman, Oliver Reed, Robin Williams, Valentina Cortese, Sting, and a universe of all-star talent. John Neville as Richard II photo by Angus McBean, via Hurok Attractions The Adventures Of Baron Munchausen is the fantastic fable of an 18th century German aristocrat, his talented henchmen and a little girl in their efforts to save a town from defeat by the Turks. Their thrilling adventures include a trip in the gullet of a a giant sea-monster, a voyage to the moon, a dance with Venus who arrives on a half shell and an escape from death himself . A marvelous, under-appreciated film. Featuring music from the Michael Kamen score: The Munchausen Waltz . Thanks to    the screen siren  f...

by Gregg Chadwick The First Grader , a new film directed by Justin Chadwick and produced by Richard Harding and Sam Feuer, opens today May 13, 2011 in Los Angeles and New York. Since I wrote the following review in March, I have seen the film again and attended a marvelous question and answer session with Justin Chadwick, Naomie Harris, Richard Harding and Sam Feuer. I met Justin at that event and he mentioned that people were asking him if his brother had written a review of the film. Justin and I are not knowingly related but I am sure if you follow the genetic path you will find that there is a connection somewhere in the distant past. In honor of my artistic brothers and sisters and their beautiful film, The First Grader , I am posting my thoughts on the film below. I recently attended a pre-release screening of this poignant and numinous movie set in the Rift Valley in the mountains of Kenya. The First Grader, like Wim Wenders' Wings of Desire, seamlessly combines st...

by Gregg Chadwick The First Grader , a new film directed by Justin Chadwick and produced by Richard Harding and Sam Feuer, has been gathering cinema festival awards as it moves towards a May 2011 release. This week The First Grader won the award for best feature film at the Palm Beach Film Festival. I recently attended a pre-release screening of this poignant and numinous movie set in the Rift Valley in the mountains of Kenya. The First Grader, like Wim Wenders' Wings of Desire, seamlessly combines story and place to create an illuminating beacon for our time. The First Grader portrays the story of Kimani Maruge, an 84 year old Mau Mau veteran who helped liberate Kenya from the British. After the Kenyan government announced in 2003 that free schooling would be offered for all, Maruge, played marvelously by Kenyan actor Oliver Litondo, arrives at a primary school to finally get his chance at an education - long denied under oppressive colonial rule and unavailable to him since ...