Avant Garde | the avant guardian

By paul boshears

Is hip hop, like a Miyazaki film, an exploration of “the forgotten future in the past”? To be considered really Real and hard as a rapper is to recount what just happened around the corner and to reaffirm the pursuit a naïve set of symbols. Dave Berman, in his epic poem Self-Portrait at 28... »

popop\/\/the mother of all funk chords

By paul boshears

I CELEBRATE myself, and sing myself, And what I assume you shall assume, For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you. Walt Whitman, Song of Myself The ceaseless chattering on YouTube can get pretty solipsistic. While there is the lipservice given to the democratic tendencies present in allowing everyone to publish themselves online for everyone... »

art v. entertainment \/\/ throwdown with avant garde

By ari g

While sitting at the corner grocery, enjoying a vitamin water and a good conversation with a friend, our discussion found its way to Eric Bogosian. It came as a bit of a surprise to learn that Mr. Bogosian currently plays the police chief on Law and Order: CI. You see, the Bogosian that I... »

commodity fetishism gone right \/\/ come as you are, toronto

By rachel simhon

Ah, freshman year in college. Freedom from the oppressive schedules of high school and parental supervision, talking until the break of dawn with newfound friends, bad cafeteria food, worse laundry hassles, goateed professors in corduroy jackets, testing the limits of binge drinking — and of course, plenty of sexual experimentation. My higher education kicked off... »

still life with karen genetta

By avantorg

Fashion photographer Karen Genetta jerryrigged her first studio in her parent’s basement as a teenager and hasn’t put the camera down since. She describes her style as OCD meets minimalism plus a dash of goth, which seems apt, as her work is still, sculptural, and sometimes a little dark. You can see evidence of her... »