Hans Mertins: Art Deco in Guatemala

I’ve just received a copy of a book about my grandfather’s work “Hans Mertins: Art Deco in Guatemala” written by Aníbal Chajón a publication from the Center for Folklore Studies of the University of San Carlos in Guatemala.


The book contains a compilation of all of his works, from his scenery creations for silent movies in the Golden age of Hollywood, to his jewelry designs, architectural, and sculptural art deco creations. His work was characterized by his fusion of traditional Mayan aesthetics with Art Deco style, quite unique for the time.

There will be an official presentation of the book by its author Anibal Chajon, the University will be giving away a hundred copies of his book for free for the first 100 people that show up, please send me an email if you are interested in attending or if you want a copy of the book.

Kill Your Timid Notion

Had the opportunity to attend some incredible performances during The Kill Your Timid Notion 2008 (KYTN) Experimental Film and Music Festival. Featured performances by Bruce McClure, Paul Sharits and Andrew Lampert all of them were extremely interesting, vibrant and unusual.

The first screening was by Andrew with a bizarre mixture of acting, strange dialogue and weird 70’s images. He looked like a mad man playing around with projectors, screens, dialogue and the audience. It was undoubtably a very unique performance!

Bruce McClure gave us a stunning performance with a troop of modified 16mm projectors blasting B & W loops that creating abstract forms that slowly transformed into a circle with a 3D effect created by overlapping projections. The music was superb, brutal sounds and loud white noises that made my right ear numb. Well, after all Bruce used to play chess with John Cage, he must have picked something back then.

Next came Paul Sharits with “Shutter Interface”, a piece created by using two projectors that blended together twittering frames that seemed to dance into a perfect palette of colours. Together with the chaotic beeps and sounds it took me through a hypnotic visual journey of memories and ideas.

The festival was organized by Arika known for their experimental music, film and art events and festivals they are based in Scotland. Hope to see more of their great events and festivals in the near future!

Makoto Shinkai On-stage Interview

It was great to join the conversation with Makoto Shinkai “The New Miyazaki”, at the British Film Institute. Some of his early work was displayed during the interview, most of it created with his laptop…

He talked about his struggles trying to become an manga animator while working in Falcom. He also mentioned the great influence of “Castles in the Sky” and the importance it had on his career. The interview ended with a brief explanation of his latest work “5 Centimetres per Second” which consists of thre three short films titled “Oukashou”, “Cosmonaut”, and “5 Centimeters per Second”. A love story told in three different perspectives concerning the adversities of time, people and space.

Grandpa’s Impressionist Paintings on Auction

My uncle stumbled upon some of my grandpa’s impressionist paintings on E-bay. His original name was Hans Mertins but he used to sign his paintings under his artistic name: Juan Mertins. He was a known artist in the San Francisco area during the 1920’s, he used to paint backgrounds for films back in Hollywood’s golden age.

The piece has all the characteristics of his early paintings and his name on the back. This specific painting was exhibited at the Golden Gate International Exposition (GGIE) 1939, which was held on San Francisco’s Treasure Island in order to celebrate the opening of the city’s two new bridges. The Fair ran from February 18 through October 29 in 1939, and from May 25 through September 29 in 1940.

Wols Sketches and Etchings

He explores the beautiful complexity of nature creating miniature elusive worlds and fantastic landscapes using natural surreal forms. Alfred Otto Wolfgang Schulze perfectly uses abstract forms and delicate lines but maintains a very minimalist structure. A few of his etchings are now being exhibited in the TATE Modern. The etchings are located in the third floor in the 4^th room within the Dream and Poetry exhibition. I try to visit them twice per month, hoping they stay here longer.

Lynch and Donovan @ London Film Festival

David Lynch and Donovan discuss the creative process and how meditation has informed their work respectively in film and music. Sadly I could not book the tickets early but I plan to visit the festival this weekend. Especially interested in the Experimeta - Cutting edge cinema, artists’ film and video and the avant-garde. And Yes, of course I will be attending the panel event: “Is the Internet Killing the Film Critic?” - A thought-provoking discussion on the power of internet, film criticism and globalisation - looking forward for this…

Surreal Things

Since high-school I have been fascinated with Surrealism and Surreal Things. During that time a friend of mine Cheske could paint exact copies of Salvador Dali’s most famous paintings. I enjoyed the fact that those paintings came from the deep realm of the unconscious and that most of them explored dreams and most importantly the irrational.

The guys at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London have an exhibition of Surrealist Things. From performing arts clothing, furniture, jewels to incredible paintings. It’s a must see if you are in the London area. By the way there is also a small nice collection of surrealist paintings, books and movies in the Tate Modern museum. They are showing a few black and white surrealist films which are really enjoyable. Check their website for additional information here.

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