Otto Dix & Alfred Kubin

These two created some morbidly awesome art, as I discovered today at the Neue Gallery. Today was the last day of 'From Klimt to Klee: Masterworks From the Serge Sabarsky Collection.' I really loved a set of 4 Otto Dix ink drawings that were placed together next to his 'Mother And Child' painting. I flipped through the exhibit book in the museum store to see if they were in there (and if the book was worth buying), but sadly, no. The top right one depicted a sex murder, the victim being a male. The bottom right piece was 'Woman in a Feathered Hat', I believe. The bottom left one was of the same woman, but with a demonic face. I don't remember the top right picture in the series! I can't find these images online. I've seen Otto Dix stuff before, but never like this. An internet search also revealed his intense war art.

Alfred Kubin's stuff is mostly grey, macabre fairytale-like illustrations. He has very interesting depictions of women that can range from empowered, evil, and victimized. The pieces I saw almost always have a theme of death. There was one piece entitled 'Female Suicide' that had an Ophelia-esque body floating along a river, with a fish reflection beneath the water, perfectly mirroring the body. I found the others online:

'The Last King':



'Return to the Womb' or something...the one I saw seemed to have a less evil face!:



'Earth: Mother of Us All':



Here's a good NYT review of a previous Alfred Kubin exhibit at the Neue Gallery/

As a German-culture-and-arts in-the-early-20th-century nerd, I absolutely loved the Neue Gallery. They have a great collection of poster art, even a few Fritz Lang's! There are two gorgeous cafes that are modeled after Austrian cafes of the time. The museum also has a beautiful collection of decorative arts.

Oh, and I saw her.:

ODD BLOOD

I'm obsessing over this album. Yeasayer could have easily (not actually, though) followed the same formula as on the first album, and I would have loved it. Music critics show favor based on progression, and the men have created a new incarnation of their sound. Yeasayer could really blend any combination of genres, and it would work beautifully. This album is based on synthetic, electronic effects. And, as the New York Times pointed out inconceivably, there are love songs on this album. I would naturally take these two points done on a sophomore album as a selling out, but it's anything but. Apparently the men were recording in a Peter Gabriel bandmember's farm in Woodstock, with tons of crazy equipment to test out. I'm glad they did. There are some unexpected sounds that are so satisfying to hear. I'm really digging 'The Children', 'O.N.E.', and 'Love Me Girl'. Nothing is mediocre or bad on this album, I have to say. The layers and layers on these tracks will take many listens to appreciate fully. Can we talk about the crazy rhythms as well?! 'Strange Reunions' is exceptionally well-crafted in its meter shifts between 5/4 and 6/4. That shit must have taken HOURS to compose and practice to the perfection I saw in their amazing live album release show two nights ago. Yeasayer hasn't given up the elements that make them who we think they are. There are still the global music influences, the gorgeous vocals, and the extraordinary art direction. They're fucking great songwriters. There are definitely poppier, dancier tracks on this album that could make them break out like '1901' did to Phoenix. I'm sure they wouldn't mind the success :)

The men break it down themselves.

Seeing them live and listening to Odd Blood has inspired me to get back into my music, though that simply means practicing my carnatic vocal, yet they make me feel like I can do something further with it than what is traditional. aka this album is inspiring.