Just Remember This Word: Muto
Friday, March 13, 2009
I was in an artistic funk and came across this from one of my pro audio friends on Facebook. I was completely blown away and re-inspired. Good art always picks me up and drives me to move on with my own creativity. It helps me cut through the day job and chores, and set aside time and energy to go back to my first love. Wow. MUTO also has a book out and I'm wondering if I could buy it in the U.S. Any suggestions? Borders doesn't have it.
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OliviaB.
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Its like watching life evolve....that life is a continual creation, That it has no opposite and no matter what happens its all just change....like at death, 'we' just be-come something else.
And yes...what was this person taking? What an amazing imagination!
oh and on another note, i feel like this artist was on shrooms or acid while creating this.
i think the end, starting at about 6:00 is symbolic of what humans are doing to nature, in my opinion. he takes advantage of the 'wings' given to him by nature (wings may symbolize finite resources or perhaps crops such as corn)... he "discovers" them, and then becomes greedy and eats them... and in the process mutates them, and ruins them (these resources) and turns them into something evil (perhaps how humans are taking advantage of corn, and cattle, etc, and are exploiting them... and right now these resources are "making us fat" and we think are helping us.... but we don't realize that by doing this we are only slowly killing ourselves.... we're self destructing. this self destruction can take many forms, and here it seems to take the form of bugs.... who knows how long it will be until we create antibiotic resistant bacteria that kills us because of how we are force feeding corn to cattle, which acidifies their normally pH neutral stomachs, and therefore creates bacteria that are acid resistant (our acidic stomachs are usually our barrier against disease/ harmful bacteria) which they pass onto us when we eat them... or, more obviously, it could symbolize our overuse of finite fossil fuels, which we convert into greenhouse gases, which could also one day kill us) anyway that's what the end reminded me of... how we're exploiting nature... and that will one day end up killing us.
The artists says, "JUST REMEMBER THIS WORD: MUTO", Muto = "I change", in Spanish, it was filmed in Brazil. Fractals, butterfly wings, four/six legged creatures, man like figures recreating themselves.
Metamorphosis = change of structure or shape, particularly, transition from one developmental stage to another, as from larva to adult form.
The artists gave us his interpetation in the title. Art truly is simple and that is the beauty of it.
BLU is Awesome! Watch a cool piece of art. I showed this to my professor in my conceptual art class, and now for our final project we are doing a stop flash animations (inspired by MUTO).
I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say its about people's transformation through life. As for how each aspect is represented through metaphor I'm not quite sure, but like the six legged creature that walks from the house to reproduce. possibly family life? Also when the old man eats the paper, could be retirement. Of course it might mean nothing and all just be cool imagery.
Since "everything bores me"? Who said everything bores me? Is it all or nothing/ black or white for you?
Ninth9ower. In that Case. Why bother to carry on living then. Since every thing bores you. Why Eat, Why Drink, Why Go To Sleep, Why open your Eyes, You have effectively become boring.
Do i hear you Screaming Noooooooooooooooo. You bore me. I'm gone LMAO
Oh yeah great animation. I posted it to my face book lol
I think the message is that as we pass from day to day we essentially are intrinsically the same but over time there is an incremental change. Eventually we transform and become someone other than what we were in the past. We take in and digest new experiences, causing us to become a new entity, yet the fundamental components are essentially the same. This process continues throughout life. The hands represent our interaction and manipulation of our surroundings. We project ourselves onto our environment, on display to all, until we die, leaving a composite of our total experience, projected as graffiti (the motif representative of our imperfect selves) on a nondescript wall. A tiny element of a big ever moving city scape. The experience of the all encapsulated in the one. Another ironic statement is that the guy ends up in the fetal position, the experience of a lifetime making him into a new born being, ready to grow again.
I am intrigued by the outpouring of artistic imagination. Is this person on drugs! Furthermore, how many times do you need to say "individual transformation" in and through a different idiom to make the point. Is the idea to convey transiency or monotony?
The viewing left me alienated, as do most city scenes. So many people and so lonely.
This is a photo-montage. It is just one picture superimposed over the other.
Besides this, after about one minute of being intrigued, I got bored. Why? Because I didnt want to know "what happens next?" It`s the same thing with a good literature - if you dont want to know what happens next - you don`t read on.
hypnotizing, confusing, entertaining, inspiring. i like it. i like it a lot.
@dabu This is true... and a better known example couldn't be found than Jackson Pollock. He set out with the actual intent of creating art without meaning or even the artists hand in the way. Of course, the argument can then be made that his intent on creating meaningless art was conveyed in this expression and that therefore his works *did* have meaning - whether an experiment or a commentary, something drives the artist to "create" to begin with. Sure, the meaning as you say can be lost - or rather not be obvious or even explained (putting footnote at bottom [1]), but I'm certain something can be observed and taken away from all art. I suppose I'm delving into existential side of art rather than the literal too with these statements though - being an artist though, they all meld together for me.
Apologies to nympho, you're not a dumbass - just please try not to make innacurate statements about well known and respected artists.
Most importantly, kudos to the creator of this video. I can't start to imagine how much work this must have taken - and in the final product, I'm glad to see that it has all payed off for you!
[1.] Rothko gave up on explaining his pieces, he felt that keeping silent allowed viewers to take away something deeper after looking at his pieces than a shallow explanation of design or history - he let his work speak on its own.
@timuchan I agree with you on art meaning something, but for all artists in the world some things can be created without any actual thought which may not give complete meaning to their finished work.
Now for this video; I think that this was pretty awesome! The music and the background noises totally worked so well with everything! This guy must have been tripping on the need to create! T_T i love the willpower and the determination of "the artist" (i mean all artists) when it comes down to creating their work.
@nympho If you think that Picasso's paintings didn't mean anything then you clearly have NOT studied or been educated about him, his lifestyle or his work. His paintings all had meaning, many of them were very deep and terrifying (i.e. Guernica). Educate yourself.
P.S. Expression has meaning dumbass.
This is amazing. I can not imagine the amount of time this took. I wonder if they had permission to do this.
Greg
http://profilesblog.com/2009/03/lose-stomach-fat/
Interesting. It asks alot of questions. Reminds me of the Jesus parable where He says -
"By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire." - Matt. 7:16-19
What kind of fruit do our lives bear? It also demonstrates how we undergo metamorphasis (sp?) continually. We are always changing internally, even if we aren't aware of it. Sometimes we are.
What are we changing into? Is it something beautiful? Is is something distorted and repulsive?
Amazing the amount of work that had to have gone into executing this. T
The spider image was almost nightmarish and unexpected, though.
I think its totally awesome,,,,,If it has to mean something,,,,what I think it means is;
"""""""""""""""" life goes on""""""""""""""""""" as it always has,,,
Everything does not have to mean something,,,,,,,,,,for example,,,PICASSO,,,,do
those paintings need to mean something.??????????????,,,,,,,,,,No ,,they don't !!!
Paintings as well as specific Graffitti are an expression,,,,
D.D. as in my initals....or i could say ,,my initals MUST mean something,, ! !
Respect is due here, what an amazing film, how many hours did they put it to creat this? this takes my love of graffiti art to a whole other level! the bar has been well and truly raised!
(linkback) Wow! or Meh? Thousands of graffiti stills captured to make unbelievable video [VOTE] - http://www.pikk.com/9d390
This represents the artists distractions.
I have always admired the way Visual Artists represent themselves. I have had many vis-arts friends and I admire their tenacity.
It's like the visualization of somebody's freaky dream, that's what I'm reminded of. As creepy and weird as the video concepts may seem, you gotta give the artist credit, that's freakin awesome. It's one thing to create art on a blank slate, but to create it on, in and over the world aroudn you? now that takes talent.
First of all, I think the meaning of a piece of art lies within the individual. Everyone (both artist and audience) can find their own meaning in a particular piece. Sometimes the meaning is complex, and sometimes it's as simple as "This is incredibly beautiful." Either way, I think the purpose of art is to inspire thought.
Secondly, my personal take on this piece was that it speaks to the idea that the body is merely a vessel for the mind, and the body can adapt to suit the mind's needs as the mind evolves. Thus, the physical evolution of man is secondary to and resultant from the evolution of thought.
If I could give any advice to Blu it would be to lay off the energy drinks. You are a mad scientist. That rattled my skull.
http://www.twitter.com/DrVelvetPhd
This blew my mind
I thought it was absolutely incredible.
Do I know what it means? No. Do I know what Kubrik's 2001 means? Nope, and that is also a mind blowing piece of art.
@grift I love graffiti, and I think every city should set aside a place devoted to graffiti art--some place in the mainstream. My thought when I watched this clip was that Muto did the graffiti, too (can't say now why I thought that--I guess because it seemed similar in style to the way he draws)
YOU MUST BE ABLE /WILLING TO CONSUME YOUR OLD SELF FOR YOUR NEW SELF TO EMERGE.
This is definitely weird. But interesting. I think it's trying to make a point about humanity, and how finally we end up killing ourselves through our own actions. And maybe also saying that we're all the same in some way, being born from other people, and even though we change, in the end we'll eventually be nothing. Not sure if that even makes sense.
All I can say is that I've watched this video over and over, absolutely entrancing.
There was definitely a theme resulting from people coming out of other people, perhaps trying to better themselves? They think they're doing a good job, but they end up finishing themselves off. Especially in the moment when the man is reborn with wings, and promptly tears them off and eats them. Though he grows as a result, what has he lost in order to get there? It's something the artist perhaps wants society as a whole to remember - what are you giving up in order to change to be 'more successfull'?
Disturbing and brilliant at the same time. This was posted on Vimeo about 10 months ago.
Btw, MUTO means "I change" in Spanish.
As for the painting, it could very well be that the artist used water based paint, so it could be washed off later. If not... I didn't see any special graffiti that was erased. Besides, most graffiti is temporary anyway.
This is definitely something to watch again and again... amazing work!
love it.. love the music its like very click n cuts i guess!!
it's woooooooow
was anyone else as upset as i was that he basically erased a generation of graffiti art? i'm a fan of graffiti and feel that, at least some of it, is a form of self-expression, as opposed to simple vandalism. For example, the amazing piece by Blu, would be huge piece of graffiti. Coming from a hip-hop background, I understand that people tag over other people's works sometimes as a sign of respect, sometimes as a challenge, sometimes because there's no more space on the walls. But I was watching this video, and while it was absolutely amazing and awesome, it also infuriated me, just a bit, that so much work and effort by other graffiti artists were being covered in white paint.
i know some of the posters on this site felt that this piece of art covered the "blight" that is graffiti, but in essence, it's the same thing. it's all paint, on wall, to express the artist's individualism (or conformist nature, whichever float their boat). i wish more people would see graffiti more as an art than an attack on the senses. there are some places in some countries where graffiti is rampant, and no one complains, e.g. many Europeans countries. in these places, artists are allowed to experiment and grow. of course there will always be vandals and rebellious children who paint to speak out against whatever authority they need to speak out against, but isn't that the heart of hip hop? isn't that the goal of the art form itself? i suppose, if people were to accept graffiti as a valid art form, then it's whole purpose goes away. (whoops, i think i just rebutted my own argument).
anyway, at the very least, people who don't comprise "the man" could respect graffiti a bit more.
Obviously it's really cool and what not, but that had to be a TON of white spray paint. Do u think his finger got cramped up after a while?
That was insane! And bizarre, and disturbing, and amazing, and wonderful all at the same time!
@dcgrrl I like the side discussion too :) I don't think all artists work to communicate a meaning, but inevitably a meaning evolves (like the piece). Sometimes the meaning may be a reflection of what the artist is feeling as they create, or the cultural influences that are felt in their creations. It can be a statement on the affairs of the world, or of one person. It can be a motivator for change, or a historical artifact, or a depiction of our society's norms of beauty: but inevitably any art will have meaning.
I think it has been said, but art is what you feel when you experience it. This piece will illicit a different feeling the next time I watch it just like different songs effect my mood differently when I hear them. The involvement in the piece by the individual is the ultimate end to a great piece.
I think highonjoy hit the nail on the head. This seems to be inspired by the evolution of life, the individual and society, working to improve and adapt and yet eventually being subjected to the inevitable. And maybe a bit of Q*Bert.
I'm also enjoying the side discussion that's evolving here, perhaps it's something else to chew on... does art have to MEAN something? I don't think all artists work to deliver a message, but by Blu's efforts of putting this on the Web, there's certainly an interest to share the work.
I'm impressed by the fact that this work seemed to be leaving a blank slate behind, erasing Blu's work and the graffiti that was there before. That's a nice way to improve society.
I can't help but note that Blu's canvas was environmentally friendly, reusable, yet this work has already lived on for at least a year, regardless of what's happened to these walls and buildings.
That is what is RIGHT with the internet.
i have no good words to describe this. i found it amazing. fascinating. creepy. incredible. to think of both the process and the result...i love this.
I thinks it's one of the most moving (pun not intended) pieces I've ever seen. This is awesome on a level unlike anything I've ever seen. Im not so sure what it's supposed to mean but I know how it made me feel afterwards, a strong sense of admiration for the incredible people responsible for it and gratitude for sharing it with all of us.
This film seems to tell a hundred stories through it's abstract nature. I see this as people making their way through life changing and adapting to circumstances, being influenced by each other. Marking their marks in their little corners of the universe. Exposing their true nature. Being consumed with technology and then breaking free to experience life once again. Seemingly being swallowed up by circumstances only to emerge as something new. In the end, the inevitable. Fascinating.
I really enjoyed this. It's so mesmerizing! At the same time, it's very bizarre. But good! :)
it's about personal growth taking it's course. Do your thing and let everybody else find the beauty in it.
I love the fact that if you look at it backwards it does almost the same thing, and the music is even more alive, guys this is a piece of art, I mean duh right? Coming from a graffiti background, and now involved with the web.. There's no better way then spending the days than to do such a great service (when allowed) -- Guys was this legal???
The question posed was 'What does it mean'? That is a silly question. What does "Starry, Starry Night" mean?
Good art goes beyond message. Watching this for me was an experience. Awe and appreciation and delight mixed with the banality of the city scape - the kind of environments I drive by every day.
I would have to say that this piece evokes in me the mystery and magic of life's gruesome and beautiful march - made all the more astonishing as it was carved from a wall with spray paint.
This was like a modern version of those primitive cave paintings.
Oh, and I agree with WEEZY below, we ARE what's wrong with the internet. Sorry 'bout that Weez.
-Rainn
in response to weezy, what does it matter WHEN something was first put online or found to make it cool or interesting? its just as neat now as when it was first available a year ago.
as the previous post shows, the message continues here. why not just animate it? because Process is paramount. creation in the open, in real-time-lapse, adds another crucial layer of observation. true to its creative commons nature.
First of all. This is amazing work:) I just can't imagine how much work & effort went into this. In my opinion, it makes me feel of life. Life is 2 short- we all have to discover and make our own mistakes. Added 2 which, our lifes are so short- how can one possibly learn fast enough from our mistakes 2 be ready 4 what's coming when we die. Because what's left behind means nothing but dust and ashes in the next world.
this was on digg a year ago. they are the last to get anything on the internet. what does that say about you failureS? (via digg: made popular 305 days ago)
you failures are just now seeing this? you are what's wrong with the internet. step your game up, you little bitches
It is as if it is our lifes journey. We evolve as we grow. We grow through the life we give, and the little deaths inside. Sometimes we offer ourselves to the bigger picture, yet at others we just let our head spin around. In the end there is death, but then the death is the beginning of something else.
Great work indeed.
I think it certainly means all of those things about art, yes. But as a teacher, I think it also shows us that to really make an impact in the world of art, one must be patient and dedicated. I can't imagine the amount of work it took to complete this work, and the patience required before being able to see the finished product, but the artist was willing to commit to the process, and that is admirable.
Now I understand. MUTO is ATOM spelled wrong backwards and all things come from atoms and then go back to atoms just like SMUT can be relieved by TUMS. I now have faith in art.
whooooaaa... i think I get it. It just goes to show you how creation takes place right in front of your face. And it is happening all the time. You have to make yourself the observer and the only way to do that is to just sit back and be one with all there is. You don't know that you've created this moment just by looking, just by observing. If you hadn't seen such a thing, it would have never existed.
Extremely creative. My take on it: The aliens have landed and are finding it difficult to assimilate in this crazy, chaotic world--it's called CULTURE SHOCK.
Wowey Sowey my jaw is dropped with amazement for the whole video. Watch out creativity Blu Blu is on!
maybe that we travel many different paths, some that lead us into dirty holes and some that will make us feel like giants. I think it's also sending out a message for unity and the fact that in a way we are influenced and created by the people around us, good evil etc...I liked it, its spoke of evolution and thousands of different things that could have all kinds of different meanings.
it means there are too many people and not enough trees and for crowding the world, we will die in the end
Art in whatever form is a living and evolving being that frees itself from the artists mind to become something that will make people think.
I think the artist is trying to say that Q*bert was an awesome video game
This is wonderful. I'm not sure there really is a message other than to let your mind explore what it can create free-form.
There is nothing to figure out. The only meaning that exists in this piece. Did you understand the first Nirvana song you ever heard? Have you ever listened to the Bitches Brew of Miles Davis and others? Can you understand the meaning behind most Animal Collective Songs?
The real gift in this piece, is that it inspires thought. Just like when I was a kid and I would ask my parents "What happens next?" They would always look at me with almost the same perplexity, but for some reason they always got it. But for themselves.
To try to sway what someone will think because of your own interpretation takes away from the experience that they might have. If I had listened to all of my friends that didn't want me to leave the country because New Zealand sucked, I never would have had the experience to follow me for the rest of my years (However long that is).
So just watch the awesome video. Movement on a camera. Let the rest be yours
It ws like a combo of Aliens, Toy Story, and the Mummy. It was cool though. I think we all go through metamorphosis something like that as we go through life. I often say I feel like I'm a cat with nine lives because I have had so many lives roled into one. Yes, it's not a typo. I have had so many roles in my life. Rainn talks about how he would die if he couldn't act. But aren't we all actors on the stage of life. We have so many roles to play and so many persona's. It is necessary to be effective with all the different populations we interact with. If I acted like I did with my preschool aged kids in public it would be strange. Like applauding when they poop in the potty. The I go to a prayer circle and I'm able to commune with the sacred. It's amazing how we make it through the day constantly changing our persona's. Pretty awesome really, the animal such as a bird has one or two songs to sing it's whole life. A lion gets to hunt, eat, sleep and mate. Of course, I am being superficial. Animals do so much more especially when they are domesticated. They take on many of our human characteristics. the initial part of the video made me think of how we are one soul with many bodies kind of think...it was made of all hands that was able to squeeze through what looked like a mail hole. I like the gem hidden within and then that gem seemed to take over a bet to much and go to his head. Maybe the ending showed going from the ego to the humble skeleton of our body. We are all the same.
that was crazy that must have taken forver he'd have to get every move down
i have this thing for animations you do the same thing he did but on the computer and it's really hard and only for kids ( like me ) and thats only on the computer
Metamorphosis? Transformation of the body or soul through the mind? Or vice-versa?
In any case, this was so fantastic in a mutant warped kinda way, that I can't decide if I like it or am disturbed by it.
Brilliant.
wow! i do not even know where one begins to make something like this! Definitely entertaining!
The thing about any art form is that we bring to it what we already have inside of us, and what we get from the art form is what we bring to it--BUT perhaps expanded, modified, turned insideout/upsidedown, transformed by our encounter with the art.
I saw it as a metaphor for the expanding of human consciousness, and art is THE manifestation of consciousness. Existence is cyclical--birth to death, but the death of any thing is what makes possible the birth of a new thing.
Loved the music. :)
Existence itself seems to be a nesting doll, with hidden surprises inside. Or maybe that's better described as the toy surprise, a nut of consciousness that is given from one stage to another and like a virus or a plague, can spread and evolve (love the teethdogs!). But that evolution, so wonderfully random with all the spiky boxes shown, can be wide reaching and varied, yet always return to some semblance of the beginning which cannibalizes itself and peels down to the core before turning itself inside out.
The conveyances of the mind can travel but can sometimes just come back to the start. Is it about the journey or the wiping away of what has come before that is symbolized by the white paint? And does the frogman eat what he does because he needs to, wants to, can't resist, or decides that he can't walk past without taking it all in? Or is this a cute homage to rampant postmodernism? Ditto for butterflyboy and his wings - does he keep himself from flying because he has not done so before?
I like the parallels with evolution and the emptiness that is paradoxically represented by progression. And the QFoot!
Maybe it means nothing and there is no message. Maybe it's just an anomaly of the mind. A free-flow of thought created at random by the brain.
Maybe I'm way off base, but to me it seemed like it had to do with the spreading of thoughts and ideas (since he used lots of heads, and that one guy's brains fell out and developed into a catepillar that then made a cocoon, and I think eventually became a butterfly-man)...it would make sense to me anyway that heads/brains would symbolize thoughts and ideas.
Maybe something like how an idea can spread and each person can interpret it in their own way and add to it and change it into something else completely - the idea takes on a life of it's own...I don't know...that's just what I got out of it...
Or maybe he was just really bored and felt like painting.
Wow, that's amazing. My thoughts: Out of the destruction and end of something comes something new. If you think you are at the end of all your options, know that from within you through the creator can flow new options and new life.
that was really cool. i think either there is no meaning and it was only made to be an amazing project, or it has to do with cycles of self destruction the human goes through throughout evolution. i dont kno it was definitely awesome tho
I really really think it means that there should be more trees and less people.
I think this is a classic "look what can be accomplished" piece. It CAN be done, that sort of thing.
Amazing. I would've never even thought of someone else even thinking of doing something like this.
People who do this picture by picture art... ARE AMAZING... Not just for their art, but for their countless hours and determination they put into these things! Holy crap man! I mean, you know at one point he was like "psh fuck this!" but he kept going... that's a true artist right there.
I think the message is that art is everywhere and art comes out of art. And that without art, no new art would be created. So basically, that art evolves :]
Just my two cents.
@starkate999 cool! be sure and mail us a link to it at contribute(at)soulpancake . com when you're done with it
Amaaaziiinnngngngnngnggg.
SO cool.
Its inspired me to create a piece loosely based on the idea =)
Love It...Love Rainn Wilson and his team at Soulpancake for the vision and guts it takes to make this site work and it works. An open conversation about the big questions and everyone is not going to get it, but its ok âMany are called, but few accept.â Keep doing what you do.
Love wins, Art isâ¦.......
Anthony
the message is in yourself. find it inside.
or just enjoy the experience. no questions asked.
its just incredible. loved it.
I got lost in trying to figure out if it was a message towards population control.. Or just a bunch of random thoughts...
Maybe it's an ad for twitter?
DISCUSSION TOOLSET
When I first watched this video I felt that it had more of a relationship to drawing than film. Looking at both Blu and artists like David Ellis it seems that the focus is so strongly on the physical process of creating drawings and painting that they almost defy being filmic. Davis Ellis refers to his works as motion painting. However by putting the work into an animated form and essentially bringing it to life a narrative is created however ambiguous that narrative may be. The video strongly signifies all aspects of change and metamorphosis, does anyone know of an animation that contains no narrative?