kevathens, 15. April 2007, 14:47

res.com is down - for good, it seems.. more info here
In tangentially related news, São Paulo banned billboards recently (pix). (via BBoing)
         
what happened to res? i never received my last issue. i'm pissed.
         
Jonathan Wells moved on from RES to something called flux. The last RES mag says, "We will relaunch a new RES publication in 2007, looking ahead to a second successful decade of existence, but as of press time, there is no precise publishing timetable."

Curiously, RESfest 10 still has no dates for LA and NY.

Paulo idea: Replace some of the empty billboards with commissioned public art.
         
Stunningly brilliant!

"Come the new year, this city of 11 million, overwhelmed by what the authorities call visual pollution, plans to press the "delete all" button and offer its residents unimpeded views of their surroundings."

And it's angering advertisers!? Who gives a mutherfuckin shit!

My hats off to the people of Sao Paulo. This is a radically progressive move and I commend it overwhelmingly. The actual boards should come down though, as the stills (with missing ads)suggest a need for something 'else'. Art is a cool idea kev, but where does the line get drawn between art and an artists' product? And what happens when an artist wins a commission and Cheverolet sneaks in and pays them ten fold to paint a truck? Also, part of the desire to take down the ads was an interest to eliminate visual clutter. Would an abundance of 'art' not come across as clutter as well?

Overall this is a really really awesome decision and thrilling news to hear. Thank you for that.
         
now there's an example of public policy. awesome.
"We live in a consumer society and the essence of capitalism is the availability of information about products." whine on, wanker.

yeah jobs will be lost. mcjobs. good riddance.

"I think this city is going to become a sadder, duller place," said Dalton Silvano, who cast the sole dissenting vote and is in the advertising business. "Advertising is both an art form and, when you're in your car or alone on foot, a form of entertainment that helps relieve solitude and boredom."
case closed.
         
Lusk: Hopefully there is support/funding for the removal of those poles. (I agree, it does all become graffiti at a point.)

I think it's a good idea to put the ad-men in check once in a while, and I think this is an issue whose time has come. I don't advise this for the heart of Shibuya or Times Square, though. But they may want to take a cue from Las Vegas eventually (where cash is more sincerely celebrated).

Hopefully Fricke or Reggio can do a "life returning to balance" someday.
         
I reckon they ought to fill every single billboard frame with a different photograph of the sky.
Perhaps it will make the town look like boxy swiss cheese.
         
'course, the idea is soo 2005... (don't miss the qtvr's)

fortunately, são paulo's own know a thing or two about decorating public space.
         
KEV: I recommend you perusing some Hindi theology concerning the 4 stages of development including our present stage, the KALI YUGA:

en.wikipedia.org

Fricke or Reggio making a film does little to help 'restore balance'.

Also interesting historical note. The symbology used for said stage (and most hindi ceremony and literature) was a big influence on the design of the swastika.
         
? Music video is my religion (in some ways, though certainly not every one).
         
kev, my wife is receiving her masters degree in autism and behavior disorders. i think it is a good thing that you are speaking publicly about this, as it will increase awareness.
         
Bless me! or your wife! I feel so encouraged. I wish someday to write a book, if not about this (a la) then about mv. There are many reasons to feel encouraged.
         
okay, so who do i call to complain with regards to res now? i'd only just renewed my subscription...!
         
ty (&k): amanda baggs' ballastexistenz.

i've had to rethink autism (and a whole lot of other things, profoundly), reading her.
         
6ixty: You may want to try Palm Pictures.
         
Kev, I'm just back from Tokyo and I wouldn't change a thing about the chaotic iconographic overkill.

Also, in regards to aspberger's syndrome I'd suggest you watch this sometime:

en.wikipedia.org

Be careful though, as it's mentally scarring. The creator of the series used it on one levell, despite being about giant robots, to exorcise his own feelings about Japanese fetishization and institutionalized autism. The movies may be the most psychotic things I've seen commited to film animated or otherwise.

Sucks about Res... I hope Jesse and Sandy landed on their feet.
         
Yeah I was actually about to make the same post about RES. At first I was optimistic about their "reorganizing," but I've emailed them several times and never gotten a response. I'm a little dissapointed because I had just bought a year's subscription and I only got one issue before they went under. They'll be missed but somebody else will come and fill the void (specialten?).
         
res... : (

good memories.
         
to say it's dissapointing is to put it mildly. i suppose i should have taken their increasingly sporadic output as a sign not to renew my subscription

*sigh*

what happened with res exactly? did they just lose interest?

kevathens: thanks. will shoot palm pictures an email even though not really sure entirely how they can help. otherwise will see if i can chase down the res distributers and see what's up.
         
6ixty: See my reply to tyler, above. RES Media Group is a part of the Palm family.

otaku: Yeah I guess this was my Evangelion. I'm almost embarrassed to post the site's original title, but perhaps that can help ppl understand a bit of what type of realm autism sometimes inhabits, at least from what I, and I suspect other Aspies, have experienced. I could be wrong.

Good luck with the flood, btw. (This is the last I'm mentioning AS for a while. Let's get back to the mv's.)
         
i helped book res and uk's eclectic method when they did the apple campus here in the sf bay area. we played a show and talked it up about res 10 the following season. we had our eyes set on alternatives to palace of fine arts in sf (the tradition) like yerba buena. budget was the issue.

then the festival tour kickstarted and they never finalized a date for sf, the original(?) res office headquarters. i called and texted john turk and jeremy boxer a few times after i noticed john wells credit in the last issue was missing. no avail. then i found out friends that worked in the nyc office have also moved on. (i did notice my name under '10 years of thanks'!).

i loved res and resfest. i have to admit that my impressionable young mind was completely blown away by the roster of features they had. in fact, cinema electronica and videos that rock, as well as their featured movies, inspired and influenced my own yearn to make short form cinema, which i now do...years after volunteering, interning, and eventually coordinating for resfest.

i am deeply saddened. resfest in peace.

: (
         
res.com is up again - as is the teaser site for flux.