Top artistic works of the 2010's

I originally was going to break this down to different articles. But it's already 2020 so better late than never I guess.

When this decade began I kinda didn't expect much. There's a lot to be said for the lack of cultural innovation in our world at the moment. A few (marvel) films dominate the film houses (much to the chagrin of film snobs everywhere). Music is almost NEVER performed or recorded with actual instruments anymore. Actual substantial social discourse is suppressed by a culture increasingly incapable of taking critical feedback. But the list of works below are definite exceptions to the rule.

However, the idea of meshing visual art, music, and film is just too interesting to not explore given the subtly and vastly different landscapes that define where we started in the 2010's and where we ended up. Some of these works are majorly important, some are just relevant to me personally, some both. This is in no particular order, So I'll keep the intro short and sweet and jump right in:

Dustin Yellin - "Tryptich"

I encountered this mammoth piece of artwork around 2015 when I went to Savannah and I visited the SCAD museum of Art. He painstakingly builds these lush worlds using hand cut and painted materials sealed within panes of glass, thus building truly immersive environments. He takes painting to a completely new level, and I really wish I had the time and resources to do anything half this good.

Swervedriver - "I wasn't Born to Loose You" (2015)

There's a sun soaked optimism that permeates this record that you rarely find in rock music. The sonic landscape on this record is filled with atmosphere and an appropriate amount of musical tension. The band put out another album later in the decade, "Future Ruins" that's similarly great. However, this album gets the top spot for it's high quality song writing, focused performance, and writing. Adam Franklin made a huge comeback and a delightfully joyful listen with this album.

Kehinde Wiley - Portrait of Barrack Obama 

Kehinde Wiley has done a fantastic job of melding classical art with contemporary subject matter. He manages to portray African American culture in the dignified, heightened and, elevated status it deserves, without sacrificing the identities of the subject matter themselves. Subjects are presented as they are without fear or compromise. He also has a fantastic sense of pattern and color. His presidential portrait is easily the most contemporary (outside of the JFK portrait) but portrays the strong and humble nature of the president. You also get a glimpse of the subject in his native home of Hawaii. It's a beautiful statement on nature and man's relationship as well. 

Tool - Fear Inoculum (2019)

This album couldn't be more timely. Released after a 13 year absence. This album is a very long winded meditation on removing fear from the psyche of the listener. It's a reaction against the environment of fear that has permeated the last two decades. Over 13 incredibly dense songs, you get a very cathartic progression. I would like the band to operate within some level of restraint on their next album (if there is one). 

Blade Runner 2049 (2017)

This was an idea that basically no one was behind when it was announced. Denis Vigilante made such a beautiful piece of art and surpassed everyone's expectations with this film. The movie is meditative, sprawling, and very personal at the same time. It flows extremely well with the original film and builds upon the mythos remarkably. There are tons of nods and subversion to the original story. This film also painted a very stark and bleak vision of the future of our planet. The performances are especially emotionally resonant and even grow the depth of what had already inhabited this world. 

David Bowie - Black Star (2017)

Released just a few days before Bowie's passing, Black Star is arguably his most experimental in years. There are a lot of lyrical themes of mortality running throughout. The thing is no one knew David was even ill. A mix of Jazz and experimental rock permeate this album. It's visceral and uncompromising, and one heck of a way to cap out an amazing life and career. So long Starman. 

Marina Ambomovich - The Artist is Present

There's a moment in the documentary of this performance that I was actually unintentionally present for. This performance piece marked the culmination of years of intense, energetic, and expressive performance art. Whereas the work she did as a younger artist was much louder and in you face, this was days of quiet contemplation. She shared quiet moments with hundreds of people over the course of this installation. The movie on Netflix is definitely worth the watch for context. To be honest, when I saw this I had no idea it would be so important or what the context of her past work was. My first impression was "what is the pretentiousness?" I was proven way wrong. 

My Bloody Valentine - MBV (2013)

This album literally broke the internet when it came out of nowhere. This album had a longer production time and is arguably better than Fear Inoculum (but a pretty different musical genre). This album followed up 1991's iconic "Loveless." This album was a bit pieced together over a number of years over two decades. However, one day it just appeared out of nowhere. Some songs have hints of Loveless, but there's a progression as you get through the album. It just gets more chaotic and experimental. Let's hope we don't have to wait another couple decades for a follow up from Kevin Shields and co. 

Scott Pilgrim Vs. the World (2010)

This movie came out right around the turn of the decade. I wasn't entirely sold on it at first... but over time It's really grown on me. The mixture of comic, video game, and film is really interesting. Also, Scott as a character (as well as with the women in the story) doesn't really fit a traditional character archetype. He's a guy who's utterly clueless about his impact on the people around him. The movie is a pretty deep meditation on relationships (yes even for a movie about a guy going on a date with a younger woman while playing dance, dance, revolution). Also, this was my first introduction to Aubrey Plaza, who is still a major celebrity crush of mine. 

Courtney  Barnett - Tell Me How You Really Feel (2019)

I got to the point just before this album came out that I was ready to pack it in and give up on contemporary music. I was trudging through a maze of awful synth pop and psuedo hip hop infused "indie" bands. Here comes this spunky, tiny, and shy looking Australian woman with loads of piss, vegemite, and vinegar. I respect the hell out of this album. She sings about things women normally don't actively vocalize, but need to say more often. That and this album rocks. I haven't heard anything by a female lead band this engaging since Sleater-Kinney's "The Woods". I really want to hear more music from this artist!

Michelle Wolf's Press Correspondence dinner speech (2018)

Not exactly a movie, song, or visual art per se, but comedy and social commentary play a huge role in creativity. For all intents and purposes this was a performance of sorts. She broke right through the social barrier bs that was going on at the time, and with tons of wit and charm. She called out the current POTUS and the press out on their faults rightly and viciously. It was damn funny too. She refused to be silent or be a victim, and I have to respect the hell out of her for that. and unlike Ricky Gervais, she didn't come off as bitter or spiteful in the process. 

Danny Boyle's "Trance" (2013)

This movie is a total mind f***. I know it got kind of critically panned, but I really loved what this movie was aiming for. It's total cinematic candy for an artist like myself. What I really liked was the shifting perspectives of the characters in the movie. If you watch it multiple times, you begin to notice the narrative changes in some odd ways, but it's indicated by fractured reflections. That was really clever film making. The movie is jarring and intense towards the end. It's easily Boyle's most underrated films ever.

Meow Wolf

This Artist collective out of Santa Fe, NM is really making a splash and really turned whole idea of a museum in on their head. It's bright, visually loud, but substantial. I haven't been here yet (I haven't had a desire to travel to Santa Fe in years because I used to get deathly Ill when I visited in high school). but I admire the hell out of what this group accomplished. 

Brian K Vaughan's "Saga" and "Paper Girls" 

Vaughan has been one of my favorite if not my favorite comic writer since the late 2000's. His work is really deep in terms of character development. These books lean a little more into the humor than his previous works, which can be a bit on the heavier side (like Pride of Baghdad, omg).

Saga melds a lot of pretty risky and risque subjects pretty effortlessly with really fun and relatable characters. He takes contemporary culture, politics, and humor and implements them into these fun, weirdly kinky at times, and vibrants alien worlds. It's definitely not a book for children. but if you stripped all the weirder adult stuff away, it could totally work as a new take on star wars. We were left on a pretty cliff hangy moment before the end of the decade, so we shall see where it goes. 

Paper girls is (probably) Brians answer to the backlash he probably got for writing some aspects of arguably his best work, Y: The Last Man. In this book he takes the perspective of four young girls who are friends that ride a morning paper route together. They suddenly get sucked into a time vortex, and a lot of weird, weird stuff happens. One of his best assets though, is the artists he works with. Three out of the four of his best originals series' have all been female artists. I am just about to get to the end of this book. It's still relevant, but in more subtle ways. He really addresses  the age old conflict between generations in strange and wonderful ways. The end of this story, as usual, poses some really interesting philosophical questions. 

Speaking of Brian's work...

Brian K Vaughan's "Y: The Last Man" and "Ex-Machina" have bold fascinating conclusions. 

These are two of the boldest, smartest, funniest, interesting stories to every be put into a graphic comic series. "Y" follows a young, out of work magician and his pet monkey as they travel around the world to find his girlfriend and solve the mystery of how almost the entire male population of the planet just dropped dead from a plague one day. The way this book concluded was equal parts frustrating, but equal parts satisfying in It's ambiguity. Almost NO writers have the guts to end a story this well, and in a reasonable amount of time. You are NEVER going to get this kind of result with the Walking Dead, though they should take a cue from this book.

"Ex-Machina" or soon to be a film titled "The Great Machine" with Oscaar Isaac, follows the heroic exploits and of "Mitchell Hundred." He begins the story with an accident that gives him a mysterious ability to communicate with complex machines. Then he decides to make "real tangible" change and runs for Mayor of New York after subverting the second plain on 9/11. This book was a hard hitting product of it's time. It has everything. and this story does a really smart job of subverting the tropes of it's genre without falling into comparisons with Watchmen. More than anything this treats it's characters like real living human beings with flaws and intelligence in equal measure. When something bad happens to them, you really feel it (especially in book 4, dear lord). 

The more interesting portions of the book delve into political intruige. Then just when you think you are reading the west wing, weird ass science fiction stuff starts to happen. By the end of the book your opinion of Hundred changes vastly, and he becomes a very different person. Again, very satisfying writing to round out a fantastic series. 

Let's hope the 20's have work that's half as interesting and compelling. Let's get back to taking more risks!