RANDOM WEDNESDAY: Miscommunication Almost Leads to an Orgy...

Tamara McLaughlin & Shanay De Marco

via Hired Goons

Igo = Better Be Alive

Music Appreciation

Released on November 18, 2022, “Better Be Alive” marks a standout single from IGO’s debut solo album. Written by Igor Walaszek and Jakub Jaworski, the track captures the dynamic energy and genre-blending style that has come to define Walaszek’s work. 

Best known as one half of the electronic duo Bass Astral x Igo and for his collaborations across Poland’s music scene, IGO uses this track to further shape his solo identity—balancing rock vocals with electronic textures that feel urgent and reflective.

The accompanying music video, directed by Michał Oziewicz, brings the song’s spirit to life through a surreal and visually striking narrative. Featuring Polish freestyle dance duo Nicole Hoff and Oskar Szymkowski—known as LOCZNIKI—the video follows Nicki, a video game NPC who wakes up to the unexpected messiness of the "real" world. 

What begins as an isolated journey gradually transforms into a liberating experience of movement, culminating in a final dance sequence that includes LOCZNIKI, IGO, and a cast of dancers. The choreography, rooted in the popping style, conveys both disconnection and awakening—mirroring the track’s emotional arc.

Sources:

https://iglorecords.com/

https://loczniki.com/

https://youtu.be/OeZxVdOzgb8

Yoga: Lauren - Relaxing Yoga Stretch Before Bed

via SeniorShape Fitness 

Dance: Jóhann Jóhannsson – 'Flight From The City' from Orphée

Choreography: Ivana Borsje

via Ivana Borsje 

Spinners: Paola Di Pietro - Deep House (Sunset Session)

via Paola Di Pietro 

Wayne Thiebaud

Art Appreciation

Wayne Thiebaud was born Morton Wayne Thiebaud on November 15, 1920, in Mesa, Arizona, though his family moved when he was just a baby—settling in Southern California, mainly Long Beach, with interludes on an uncle’s ranch in Utah. 

He grew up in a Mormon household; his father held various jobs—mechanic, real-estate, etc.—while young Wayne developed early interests in illustration, cartoons, and commercial art. In high school he worked odd jobs and spent summers apprenticing in animation at Walt Disney. 

In his early career, Thiebaud studied at San José State and Sacramento State, finishing his BA in 1951 and MA in 1952. He taught art at Sacramento City College, and in 1956-57 took a leave and went to New York City. While there, he met artists like Willem de Kooning and saw the work of proto-Pop artists Robert Rauschenberg and Jasper Johns. That time sharpened his ideas about form, color, and subject matter, especially how everyday objects might be portrayed with new visual weight. 

Thiebaud’s style is notable for its heavy pigment, exaggerated or sharp color contrasts, strong shadows, and a sense of both realism and heightened formality. He often isolates commonplace items—cakes, pies, pastries, lipstick tubes, etc.—presented in neat rows or with rhythmic spacing. Over time he expanded beyond those still life and “confection” motifs to include figure painting and landscapes, including cityscapes, street scenes, hills, mountains, and California’s varied terrain. 

His later works often explore space, distorted perspective, and color planes, yet retain that core attention to surface, texture, and the everyday. Among Thiebaud’s best known works are many of the still lifes: Cakes (1963), Bakery Counter (1962), Pies, Pies, Pies (1961), Drink Syrups (1961), Eight Lipsticks (1964), Three Strawberry Shakes (1964). In the landscape and street-scene vein, works such as Sunset Streets (1985) and Flatland River (1997) are often mentioned. Also later paintings of mountains (e.g. his Sierra Nevada series) and city views sustain his recognition. 

Cakes (1963)

Bakery Counter (1962)

Pies, Pies, Pies (1961)

Sunset Streets (1985)

Sources:

Wikipedia

https://www.acquavellagalleries.com/exhibitions/wayne-thiebaud3

https://journalpanorama.org/article/wayne-thiebauds-california

https://www.theartstory.org/artist/thiebaud-wayne/

https://mymodernmet.com/wayne-thiebaud-paintings/

https://www.sfmoma.org/artist/Wayne_Thiebaud/

https://brooklynrail.org/2014/11/artseen/wayne-thiebaud-nov

https://pastimesinc.com/art-history-101-wayne-thiebaud/

https://www.gratzgallery.com/artists/wayne-thiebaud

https://www.artnews.com/list/art-news/artists/who-was-wayne-thiebaud-bay-area-figurative-art-cakes-1234665954

https://www.lesliesacks.com/artists/wayne-thiebaud/biography

https://www.berggruen.com/artists/wayne-thiebaud

https://vec.crockerart.org/blogs/24-facts-about-wayne-thiebauds-early-life

https://ccplonline.org/blogs/childrens/14211-2/

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Wayne-Thiebaud

https://achievement.org/achiever/wayne-thiebaud

MODELING: Juliana

Model: Juliana

Photographer: Arkadiy Kozlovskiy

via Art Recaptured