Tuesday 27 September 2011

"Hi, the name's Pat Bateman."

This is probably not the kind of image you want to think about before you snuggle down to sleep at night, but for the past week or so Bret Easton Ellis' American Psycho has been my bed time read. Many a time i have seen this photo of Christian Bale portraying the novel's protagonist Patrick Bateman, yet i have not seen the film (which was released in 2000)-i always like to read the book first.

The book is terrifying, unsettling, disturbing and depressing for a number of reasons alongside the fact it features a serial killer who goes around murdering innocent people. Set in Manhattan in the late 1980s, the city is host to some of the richest of the rich, the Wall Street bankers and financial executives who are all sickeningly obsessed with designer labels and see themselves as almost invincible. Many are completely oblivious or uncaring towards the dark, upsetting elements of the city and even their own lives; everyone is drifting hazily through the fog of consumerism and the constant need to be better so that even the most obvious problems are swallowed up.

Ellis cleverly blurs the lines between violence and sex, but is also great at creating a mood and atmosphere...some pages are filled with adrenaline yet others almost have a dreamy surrealism. I felt the same way whilst reading one of the authors other works, Less Than Zero, a novel which gives a rather bleak portrayal of the "MTV generation", a wasted youth.

If all these deep literary techniques and themes fail to appeal to you, then if anything else Pat Bateman's character has some funny moments that have made me laugh out loud-but maybe i have a wierd sense of humour...

Anyway, i'm going to end this post because staring at Bale's blood spattered face of manic laughter/screaming is really creeping me out. See ya!

Sunday 25 September 2011

Boys Boys Boys

I start work experience today (I say today because it's 1:34am, God knows i should be sleeping) at the free men's weekly magazine, Shortlist. Apart from being in my usual terrified/nervous state of mind, i am also extremely excited. A career in journalism is what i'm hoping for in the long run, so being given the opportunity to spend time at a great publication like this is amazing.

What i'm particularly hoping for is being able to spend some time in the fashion department...my almost religious following of street style blogs such as The Satorialist, Street FSN and Jak and Jil has recently made me very interested in men's styling and how that translates over into female clothing too; i see men's clothes as almost simpler, re-inventions of the classics. However, suit cuts and the details of tailoring go way over my head...

But anyway, i'm looking forward to a great, informative week! I'll leave you to enjoy the image below of my favourite well dressed man, Brad Goreski.

Thursday 15 September 2011

Click Click











Photography has always been an interest of mine. Something I always struggled with in Art A Level was capturing my ideas and imagery with painting or sculpture, my thoughts never came out exactly how I had imagined them. Taking photos is a great way of just capturing the moment (as cheesy/cliché as that sounds) without having to worry about application, technique or blending...

I particularly love film, I like that the photos don't come out as clean and precise as with digital. One of the main problems I had with a photography course I completed earlier this year was it was very heavily focused on photoshop-I think with too much editing, the image moves too far past it's original appearance and mood. At the moment i'm just playing around with kodak disposables, but hopefully for christmas i'll get a proper film camera!

I took all the photos in this post, if you want to see the rest of my stuff then go here :)


Round and Round

Mad Men - The Carousel from Josip Kostic on Vimeo.


You may be wondering why I decided to call my blog The Carousel- i'm not that big a fan of the fairground ride, it was actually inspired by this scene in Mad Men, from the last episode of season 1.

I've recently become a big fan of the show- as well as being visually beautiful, all the characters are so multi faceted, and underneath the glamour of the constant whiskey on the rocks, smoking in the office and fabulous 1960s clothes, a lot of the plot lines are quite dark. I love Betty Draper (played by January Jones who is so stunning) who is the tragic, troubled housewife, and Joan (actor Christina Hendricks = drop dead goregeous) who knows how to use her sexual power as a woman in 1960s America. Set against a time where consumerist culture is rising and some of the best artists (i.e. Rothko) are breaking through, the show really has everything I love about history, art and fashion.

This scene shows Don Draper at his advertising best, making a pitch to Kodak. It's all about nostalgia...