Giant Robot Store and GR2 News
Eugene, OR– The DisOrient Asian American Film Festival of Oregon opened on April 29th for the sixth edition, and Goh Nakamura and I are attending to show “Surrogate Valentine.” It’s my third time attending the festival, and it’s fun visiting with old friends and making some new ones. I’ve also been able to catch up on some movies! The Centerpiece screening this year was “The House of Suh,” a gripping documentary produced and directed by Iris Shim. The film tells the story of Andrew Suh, who is currently serving a 100 year sentence for murdering his sister’s fiancee in a much publicized case that scandalized Chicago in the mid 1990′s. Through extraordinary interviews with Andrew, his relatives, and even the brother of victim Robert O’Dubaine, Shim deconstructs the crime and explores the fractured family relationships that may have shaped Andrews eventual transformation into a murderer. Andrew’s sister Catherine Suh does not appear on camera but haunts every frame of the film. The method by which she convinced her brother to murder Robert O’Dubaine is not revealed until the final third of the film, and I wouldn’t dare talk about it here…but I was struck by the fact that Andrew Suh still seems convinced that his sister would never lie to him. I was also very moved and fascinated by the appearance of Kevin Koron, the victim’s brother. The director mentioned in the Q & A that Koron’s participation in the film was understandably met with great resistance by the rest of the victim’s family, but his personal testimony is crucial to establishing who Robert O’Dubaine was. The portrait that emerges, while secondary to the film’s overall focus on the Suh family, is sad and undeniably moving. “The House of Suh” has been acquired by MSNBC FIlms and will be broadcast later this year in a truncated 44-minute version. See the 90 minute version if possible, but the story is worth watching in any available format. \”The House of Suh\” Trailer
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When times are tough, Giant Robot works harder to bring the best in asian pop culture and awesome merchandise! Working hard at Giant Robot throughout the week, I’m looking forward to a relaxing weekend of doing ….NOTHING. And the best way to do nothing is to plop down on my bed and doze off in a huge pile of pillows and plushes! I’ve collected so many plushes, and I’ve learned that they make the best pillows. Recently, Giant Robot has received so many new plush dolls with each one more cuddly and soft than the previous. Click the photo above or the link below in order to check out all of our plush dolls: Giant Robot – Plushes Don’t forget to check out the recent introduction of the plush Pecanpals to our online store! These plush dolls are the newest release from Noferin, the creators of Jibibuts! The Pecanpals are characters that live on Carrara Island, an island that rises majestically from the Pacific Ocean with sharp mountain peaks on one side and thickly forested plains on the other. These characters have so many stories waiting for them! But in the meantime, these super soft plushes are available for everyone to enjoy!
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The last time Alex Zhang Hungtai came through L.A., he was on tour opening for Dum Dum Girls but didn’t get to play because their gig was a fancy hotel event. Nonetheless, I grabbed that chance to meet him. He’s a longtime Giant Robot reader, mutual follower of filmmakers Jon Moritsugu and Wong Kar-Wai, and a new friend of mine. Alex’s taste in cinema is actually pertinent to any discussion about his music since I think both aesthetics come through in his lo-fi but fully conceptualized work. On the current Dirty Beaches tour, which just went down the West Coast as is heading across the U.S., he’s headlining for the first time. I arrived just as Neverever was ending. I’ve seen the post-girl group band open for other shows and I’m a fan. Then, as the second band was going on, I realized that I neglected to put my SD card back into my camera after downloading its contents. Sorry, Bell Gardens. Your first and last songs sounded lovely but I had to run home. What I saw of the set did provide an interesting contrast to the headliner, though. Bell Gardens uses at least six members including strings and horns to make a pristine pop sound. After they broke down their mountain of equipment, Dirty Beaches set up only a vintage amp, some pedals, and a guitar on a floor to weave together a fuzzy concoction that clouds ears and melts hearts. Not even a mic stand, since Alex either holds his vintage stick while he strums or puts it in his back pocket. The set was short and solid, and the bulk of it was his noisier work. Fans of his prettier songs had to wait through more abstract pieces to get them. While the washed-out sounds of Suicide and cool of Elvis are usually cited as touchstones, the live set also recalled Chip and Tony Kinman’s Blackbird (early ’90s, post-Rank and File and waaay after the Dils) project with the mix of mechanical beats, avant guitar work, and emphasis on vocals that lies somewhere between crooning and Krautrock. What could be a cold combination turns out to be raw, direct, and very human. Alex’s onstage persona is like an un-undead Lux Interior or Guitarwolf off speed, although when he humbly asked couples to slow dance to “True Blue” traces of Hawaiian Pidgin emerged… After the show, we went to Good Shine Chinese Food in Monterey Park for some late-night Taiwanese dishes since Alex expects to eat nothing but sandwiches between the coasts. I had the pleasure of meeting his friend and filmmaker Zoe Kirk-Gushowaty as well. Dirty Beaches wrote a score for her documentary Practical E.S.P., which investigates “the boundaries of verbal communication through equine facilitated therapy.” Between her work and Alex’s experiences and opinions on new music all over Beijing, Taipei, Singapore, and everywhere else–not to mention our favorite movies–we had a lot to talk about between bites. I have no double Alex will kick ass...
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GRSF is now closed. I sent out twitter messages with photos throughout the day and it was a beautiful one in the Bay area. It went by fast. I have to thank all involved. You know who you are! Above: That’s a hardcore Uglydoll customer with a skate deck that he just purchased.
Kimberly Chun who I met ages ago at APE. She used to make zines and now writes for publications in the bay.
Giant Robot is proud to host a BBQ, lecture and signing with Ryan McGinness in support of Sketchbook Selections: 2000-2011, his upcoming publication from Gingko Press. This special event will take place on May 27 from 7-10 p.m. There is no guest list or ticketing required, but signing will be limited to McGinness items purchased at GR2. Ryan McGinness Sketchbook Selections: 2000-2011 BBQ, lecture, and book signing Friday, May 27, 2011, 7-10 p.m. GR2 2062 Sawtelle Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90025 http://gr2.net/ (310) 445-9276 This special event will take place on May 27 from 7-10 p.m. There is no guest list or ticketing required, but signing will be limited to the new book and other McGinness items purchased at GR2. Ryan McGinness is an American artist known for his extensive vocabulary of graphic drawings that use the visual language of public signage, corporate logos and contemporary iconography. He uses this imagery to create paintings, sculptures and environments. He studied at Carnegie Mellon University in Pennsylvania as an Andrew Carnegie Scholar and interned at the Andy Warhol Museum. McGinness’ work can be found in permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego, Cincinnati Art Museum, MUSAC in Spain and the Misumi Collection in Japan. Giant Robot was born as a Los Angeles-based magazine about Asian, Asian-American, and new hybrid culture in 1994, but has evolved into a full-service pop culture provider with shops and galleries, as well as an online equivalent. For a full schedule of McGinness’ LA projects: http://www.ryanmcginness.com/losangeles.pdf For more information about the event, GR2, or Giant Robot magazine, please contact: Eric Nakamura Giant Robot Owner/Publisher eric@giantrobot.com (310) 479-7311
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