The Sound of Surrealism

Isn't it fascinating how our brains have trained themselves to interpret reality? All we're doing is inputting vibrations from the environment. Somehow this assault of stimuli is translated into electrochemical signals and sorted into networks, popping out the other end as sound, color, and meaning. (It's magic! ...fucking magnets...)

After awhile we get pretty used to how things are supposed to sound, look and feel. I mean, we've built up a lifetime of experience to tell us what is or is not physically possible. And that is why surrealism rocks so hard. I like to think of it as the art of stomping on your expectations. Ironic, absurd, subconsciously extracted- call it what you will. Sometimes it means transcending reality by drawing inspiration from internal reservoirs (ex: dreams). Sometimes it means messing with the fundamental laws of nature (ex: melting clocks). Sometimes it means disturbing you on a fundamental level, forcing you to question what exactly it is that you've been experiencing all along.

So, here to wake you up from this perceptual operating system we call reality, I present Zeitguised, a 3D motion-design group, self-described as "the strange, obscure twin of contemporary zeitgeist imagineering." I found their videos browsing through Vimeo staffer's favorites (a very redeeming way to waste time, for sure).

This audio-visual candy comes from a six-act (but only three-minute) exhibit they aired for the opening of the Zirkel Gallery. It presents a hyperrealistic fusion of plants, human bodies, textures, sounds and architecture. Watch it fullscreen. With headphones. Relax let yourself travel to a reality controlled by sound waves and fueled with lysergic acid diethylamide. Delicious.

First up, the original Peripetics. And because I so love the way they describe themselves, this is an "installation of an irreversible axis on a dynamic timeline."

Don't worry, there's more : Peripetics Ex Machina features scenes, outtakes, and iterations of the exhibition that didn't make it into the final cut.

(and that is why I want to learn 3D modeling)

Other gems among their work include Room Zoo, commercials for the Toyota Aygo & Yaris TVC and Untitled Geometries: Booleay. They remind me a lot of ATTIK's work on the new Scion ad campaign, but that's a whole different can of worms (/blog post).

Honestly, I'm curious how watching these videos makes other people feel. After all, that's the best part about perception, maaaaaaan. Even when presented with the same stimuli, we all walk away with our own personal gut-feelings. Brilliant or nonsensical, you decide!

: : : : : Want MORE Zeitguised? Visit their portfolio, blog, or videos

And I've decided to make playlists again.Partly because it's fun to think of songs that are conceptually linked to posts and partly because I like documenting what I'm listening to. Unfortunately, seeqpod is dead and buried and took all of my previous playlists with it. So it goes. Cristina-from-the-future, this is for you.

The Sound of Surrealism

Alan Parsons, Beyond the Wizard's Sleeve, Chemical Bros, Lemon Jelly, MM MMM GOOD.