This Day ‘n’ Night video By Kid Cudi is fresh. The animations are great, and the song isn’t too bad either. Check it out. The drawings remind me a little bit of the concept art for Sleeping Beauty.

[vimeo]http://www.vimeo.com/3290313[/vimeo]

Last month WACTAC was ready to present 13 Most Beautiful Young Artists, a multimedia performance featuring original music performed live by 8 groups of young Twin Cities’ musicians. Unfortunately, on the day of the show we had 6″ of snow dumped on us and had to postpone the performance for a later date. Fortunately, we snuck in a tech check before the snow fell. Check out the photos.

[tylr-slidr userID="36154778@N00" groupID=""]http://www.flickr.com/photos/27628973@N03/sets/72157615600714017/[/tylr-slidr]

Blizzard, sleet, or snow, we hope to present the performance on Thursday night!

1. Witt Siasoco, is a really inspirational guy but he is nothing compared to Xavier Tavera.
2. I loved the session that dealt with the models because it was challenging. Why? I don’t know but I found it hard to stand in one position for like 1 minute. Lol.
3. The snacks were really…um….you can say…decent.

4. I loved how I got a hold of Meng and had to hold him like a statue for like 10 minutes. Even though my arms of buffness was going to break, I still hold on to him.
5. Animation is a great focus on photography and video because it is like a blending of both. The thought of doing a shot of me break dancing could be fantastic using animation. Lol.

Yeeleng Yue

Music Instructor/ Producer/ Rapper lol its for real

Here’s some photos from the second Polaroids, Prints, Projections class taught by Xavier Tavera. We started off the workshop by playing with the idea of a video portrait.

If you would like to see more photos check our flickr site by clicking here.

WACTAC favorite Spike Jonze directs the most highly anticipated film of the year (at least in my mind) based on the book by Maurice Sendak. One of my favorite books growing up, it is the story of every little boy’s imagination, and to be honest, I think most adult’s imagination as well. Sometimes we just want to go where the wild things are.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RY-dXsR_ZFg[/youtube]

Quick note, the art direction was done by COAX AWR (California graffiti legend). It looks like the young bucks are running things now.

Last night was our 13 Most Beautiful Young Artists performance, and I’d like to announce that although the date was changed and I believe we lost a few fans in the wake of the snow storm, we had a great show and a great turn-out.

The show started out a little late, as young people know that the best way to make a statement is to arrive fashionably late. All of the bands played great sets, which I was personally happy to see, as it was evident that they have gone through quite a process from the time we selected them to the final product. It was also interesting to see the different attitudes and outcomes that were produced from scoring films. Some people took a very traditional approach, matching the music to the action of the screen, while other created a soundtrack, with a song that reflected the emotions they percieved. Overall it was very cool.

Our next big project, “Don’t Sleep On It,”  is going to be phenomenal as well, so make sure to check in often for updates. In my 6 years working here, I think it might be my favorite idea out of the bunch.

Woah, photos

Here are some artists that we are looking to for inspiration for the Polaroids, Prints, and Projection class.

Robin Rhode

Animations

Robin Rhode. Still from “Untitled, Harvest”. 2005.

William Kentridge

Animations

William Kentridge The Doctors

Andy Warhol‘s Screen Tests

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzOtZg_Zrow[/youtube]

Cathy Opie

Catherine Opie, “Bo” (1991), from the series “Being and Having” © 2008 Catherine Opie, courtesy the artist and Regen Projects

Cindy Sherman

Unititled Film Still #14, 1978 Cindy Sherman © Metro Picture Gallery & Cindy Sherman

Bill Viola

Bill Viola, The Quintet of the Astonished, 2000. Colour video rear projection on screen mounted on wall in dark room. Projected image size: 140 x 240 cm. Bill Viola Studio, Long Beach, CA © Bill Viola. Photo: Kira Perov

Tony Oursler

Tony Oursler (American, b. 1957)
Keep Going, 1995
Projector, VCR, tripod, cloth dummy, videotape, 1995
Museum purchase, Kathryn Hurd Fund

Rineke Dijkstra

Kolobrzeg, Poland, 1992
Rineke Dijkstra (Dutch, born 1959)
Chromogenic print; 47 5/8 x 39 3/4 in. (121 x 101 cm)
Purchase, Roy R. and Marie S. Neuberger Foundation Inc., Jennifer and Joseph Duke, Gary and Sarah Wolkowitz and Anne Marie MacDonald Gifts, 2001 (2001.307)
© Rineke Dijkstra

Over the next month, 17 lucky teens are getting to learn about film, photography, video, and animation first-hand with local artist Xavier Tavera. With a final showcase here at the Walker Art Center on March 27, the next few weeks promise to hold some interesting surprises as each participant works towards their final project. Check back here regularly to get a behind the scenes peek into the madness or just to get your fix of art making by proxy.

The second session today is focusing on the subtle art of video portraiture (think Andy Warhol’s Screen Tests ). Or Sam Taylor Wood, who also rocks the still camera on an immobile subject. How still can you stay for five minutes? Stand in front of the mirror and give it a try . . . it’s harder than you think.

I’ve spent the greater part of an hour trying to figure out exactly how to make a Facebook FAN page, and I think I’ve finally got it. You may have noticed our Facebook account was disabled after Facebook informed us that we couldn’t have a regular profile. Thanks a lot!

It should be an easy way to let people know about events we’re hosting and all sorts of interesting information. Become a fan and we promise we won’t get deleted again.

SEARCH WACTAC in the search bar.

Graffiti and tattoo legends create a hand painted billboard for the new Fast & the Furious movie:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIYzpRPZMY0[/youtube]

[vimeo]http://www.vimeo.com/3705014[/vimeo] [vimeo]http://www.vimeo.com/3705205[/vimeo]

NEAT!

 Mustache March

Here’s a quick exercise that we did with Xavier’s friends La Changa, a rock and roll musician/entertainer, and Anselmo, professional clown.

Anselmo the Clown

[vimeo]http://www.vimeo.com/3612091[/vimeo]

Thursday, March 26, 6:30 pm
Walker Art Center McGuire Theater
Free Admission

Inspired by Andy Warhol’s Screen Tests and Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips’ 13 Most Beautiful . . ., the Walker Art Center Teen Arts Council (WACTAC) created 13 original films and commissioned young musicians to compose accompanying soundtracks. Join us for the resulting collaboration—a raucous night of live performance and film. Musical performances by Nakami Green, Daudi Long, MMMs, Henry Misa, Dylan Perese, Jon Mitchell and Denis Terzic, and Shallow Creek. For more info call 612.375.7683 or check out teens.walkerart.org