Saturday, November 03, 2018
Laura Plansker made something beautiful
Growing up, my family was close to the Plansker clan; the oldest kid, Jeff, is my age and we played a lot of two man baseball when he lived down the block on Harvard Road in Detroit. He's done pretty well in LA as both a director and (more recently) the owner of a fascinating-looking store called "The Bloke." And this year Jeff's wife, Kaya Plansker, has been a huge help working with some of my St. Thomas students.
Jeff's sister Laura just made a gorgeous new video for one of my favorite artists, Neko Case. Here is part of what Rolling Stone had to say about it (and it is kind of fun that both Laura and I have been written up in the same magazine, even with very different vocations):
And here is the video:
Jeff's sister Laura just made a gorgeous new video for one of my favorite artists, Neko Case. Here is part of what Rolling Stone had to say about it (and it is kind of fun that both Laura and I have been written up in the same magazine, even with very different vocations):
Neko Case meditates on the colossal damage human beings have wreaked on Earth – from environmental devastation to animal extinction – with her profound “Last Lion of Albion” video.
Using handcrafted puppets and props, director Laura Plansker frames the clip around the tearjerking journey of the titular lion, who glides through a stream and gazes out at the remnants of our natural world: roses, waterfalls, butterflies, frogs, squirrels, rabbits and birds. Humans, meanwhile, send a rocket to Mars.
Case, in a statement, praised Plansker as “one of [her] favorite artists.” She continued, “I’ve loved her work forever; she‘s so skilled at using handmade figures and props to create surreal worlds. Her work perfectly balances humor and darkness in a way that breaks my heart. She has a way of making something so artificial so very alive. The turning of the lion’s head to look at the sky, or its own reflection makes me cry my eyes out. There is so much straight ahead compassion in Laura’s work, there’s no need to manipulate emotion of the viewer, it is the perfect balance.”
And here is the video:
