The Lardner Report

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Bad Lip Reading: The Art of Digital Dissing

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Call me sophomoric,  but when I watched these clips, I laughed until started gasping for air. The kind of out-of-control laughter you experience when you’re supposed to be silent, and reverent in church.

As of this writing, the author of this extraordinarily popular — unintentionally irreverent — viral video series remains anonymous. My hunch is — not for long. In case you’ve missed these masterful works of art, I’ve included three here — though no doubt many more will emerge from the shadows of cyberspace soon.

The premise is this: Over existing video of today’s campaign speeches and pop songs, the writer overdubs new words and phrases — whether they make sense or not. That’s the cool part. He insists they are not political parodies, but you be the judge.

The young, yet-to-be-identified songwriter from Texas says the idea came to life after his own musician mother began losing her hearing.  She became ambien online such an adept lip reader that she inspired her son to mute the sound on the TV and try it himself. What started as a legitimate learning experience soon morphed into an art form. His first music video overdub was “Friday” by Rebecca Black. The writer says it looked like Black was singing “gang fight” and then — he made it so.  Since then, the author has rewritten enough material to fill his own Bad Lip Reading Channel on You Tube.

From Taylor Swift to Herman Cain — no one is safe. Some artists and newsmakers openly support the Bad Lip Reading movement (Michael Buble gave his enthusiastic props on YouTube) but due to charges of copyright infringement (Universal Music Group already issued a YouTube “takedown”) it’s anyone’s guess how long we’ll get to roar at this comedy gold.

(See Village Voice story here.)

The Art of the Haul

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(Pic #1) Trucker hauling tires on the 405 in L.A. inspired this old-school sepia tone print.

Truckers in traffic: The art of abstraction is freeway close.

I guess you could call me obsessed. The Oxford dictionary says I would be labeled as such if I became “preoccupied with something… continually, intrusively, and to a troubling extent.” Guilty.

(Pic #2) Side of construction truck near Albany, NY

I can’t help it. I see 18-wheelers or old farm trucks and I’m sucked into a visual vortex: patterns of rusty holes, peeling paint, and flatbed piles worthy of a classic episode Sanford and Son. In these fleeting images I catch glimpses of stunning abstract art — some reminiscent of work shown in the world’s most prestigious contemporary collections and auction houses.

Finding the beauty:

In my corporate workshops I always stress the importance of really looking around us.  It’s become an annoying habit for anyone driving with me, because I’ve been known to engage in some light tailgating to get the shot I need. But if you make looking a habit, you will discover art in the most curious places. I happen to find expressways and side streets a great place to start. You’ll see quirky patterns and textures — and quite often, the making for a spectacular abstract-expressionist work of art.

(Pic #3) Left: Junked boxcars, Saticoy, CA. Right: Rothko"Blue Divided by Blue" (untitled) which sold for $4.1 million U.S. Rothko 's record: over $72 million.

Two cases in point: On a recent visit to an automotive junkyard in Saticoy, accutane California, I encountered a graveyard for old trucks, trailers, and box cars. They were all piled high and strewn about. I was mesmerized by the geometry and contrast in color.  The delicate patinas of blues and browns reminded me of the work of iconic Russian-American painter Mark Rothko (Pic #3). Then — popping out from the mountains of metal — bold primary colors you might only see on race cars or lunch boxes. (Pic #4)

(Pic #4) (Detail) Side of trashed truck, Saticoy, CA

The same week I shot the back of a rusty white truck, I also encountered a chillingly similar painting in the Museum of Contemporary Art in LA that I had never noticed before (Pic # 5). The artist is a Spanish abstract painter named Antoni Tapies. The piece is called  “All White, Number 2”– painted in 1955. The truck image was captured on the 101, passing through the San Fernando Valley in 2011.

It doesn’t matter which came first– it does enrich us if we notice both.

(Pic #5) Left: White rusted moving truck, Los Angeles, 2011. Right: Mixed media on canvas painting by Antoni Tapies, 1955. Artist's work typically fetches hundreds of thousands to millions of U.S dollars.

(Pic #6) Flatbed full of metal scrap, Los Angeles, CA

(Pic #7) Trashed truck, Saticoy, CA

(Pic #8) Twig truck, Agoura Hills, CA

(Pic #9) Industrial "tagging," Los Angeles, CA

(Pic #10) Distressed beauty, Encino, CA

 

Farm Fresh Art

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(Pic #1) Metal frames for Oxnard "hoop houses" create sweet piles of voluptuous curves.

Discovering the fine lines and sensual shapes of agriculture

In my corporate workshops, I always encourage executives to take an alternate route to work — literally and metaphorically. The benefits from veering “off course” are staggering —  and they are anything but “off.”

It’s quite an imposing task to fight our nature — always seeking out the familiar — but once you break the habit, you’ll find you can’t stop exploring.  Taking that fresh path can fill your head with inspiring thoughts and images — which can later lead to quite a stream of useful ideas.

One of my favorite Southern California jaunts supplies me with an abundance of these little visual treats. On the way from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara, there’s a sweet series of agriculturally rich, freeway adjacent farmland, from Camarillo to Oxnard. Decades of tilling, harvesting, fertilizing and irrigating have left what I suspect are storied remnants of a struggling farming industry. I wallow in the bold, weathered, rust-covered shapes and structures that line these back roads.

Strawberries, raspberries, and  celery grow here. Locals take pride in their produce. But I just stop and stare at what the growing and picking seasons leave behind. Harvesters, tillers, dilapidated sheds… and in-your-face graffiti art that mocks or mirrors the landscape it treads. Next time you take the alternate route — don’t overlook the possibility that a roadside farm can be fertile ground for more than your recommended daily allowance of fresh fruit.

Photos by Josh Kaplan