Jim Flora inspiration

I have gotten a lot of compliments on the postcard I designed for ASIFA last month. Volunteering once every month to put together the cards, I sometimes forget just how many people see those cards. Some months are more work than others, and I don’t do it alone, but it has been nice to receive so many compliments this past month. To give credit where credit is due I was inspired by the work of Jim Flora. He is probably best known for his 1940s-50s Columbia Records album covers. His album cover art and music-themed works were put together in a great book The Mischievous Art of Jim Flora.One of my favorite pieces was the album cover below.

As soon as I saw it I just had to pay homage to Jim by incorporating his 3 headed character into a design somehow. ASIFA-East’s postcard for March was that design. Thanks to everyone who enjoyed the card and thanks to Jim for inspiring me.

Jack Beers Story

Another of my recent favorite films is Holes in my Shoes, directed by David Wachs. The documentary tells the story of Jack Beers, a boy raised on the Lower East Side at the start of last century who led the life of 10 ordinary men. At a young age he was known as “New York City’s Strongest Boy,” he went on to help build Radio City Music Hall and erect the spire of the Empire State Building after teaching himself engineering by reading books on the subject at the NYC Public Library. He them moved south to work on a project for the US government during WW2. These accomplishments alone would have been enough for anyone else, but not for Jack. He started a new career in film and ended up acting in over 200 films, all while overcoming a terminal illness, raising championship dogs, and mowing the lawn. The only down side of this film is that watching it may make you feel as though you need to get off you butt and start doing something.

Young at Heart Documentary

Over the past year I have been voraciously watching as many documentaries as I can. I started filming my own documentary last year with my partner in crime Linda Beck, but more about that at a later time. This weekend I saw the documentary Young@Heart on PBS and it was FANTASTIC. It was everything a good documentary should be. It follows the final weeks of rehearsal for the Young@Heart Chorus in Northampton, MA, as they get ready for their world tour. The chorus’ average age is 81, and the film follows all the highs and lows associated with people of that age. One of the best parts of the chorus is their unexpected choice of music to perform such as The Clash, Coldplay, James Brown and Sonic Youth.
They are performing in Brooklyn this fall and I for one will be there to see them in person. Young@Heart in END OF THE ROAD opens in New York and runs April 21-May 2. Ticket information is available by phone 718 254 8779 and on line.