Monday, March 24, 2008

Cute as a…

Monday mornings are, let’s be blunt, complete crap. Nobody likes them, nobody looks forward to them. Just ask Garfield or the coffee mug on your co-worker’s desk that screams “I hate Mondays!” at you ever time you walk by. So, what better way to ease into your work week than with something sublimely silly. When you have a spare 5 minutes, please allow Miranda July to show you “How to Make a Button.” Watch to the end, it’s worth it.


Something about that just made me smile. Silly. Simple. Surprisingly sweet. If you’re familiar with Miranda, you know the multi-hyphenate (writer-artist-musician-actress-director) is an oddball in the best sense of the word. She is also bisexual, which is really neither here nor there but might account for the cute tie she has on in the video. My exposure to her has been limited mostly to her 2005 debut film “Me and You and Everyone We Know.”

But watching her little instructional video reminded me how much I enjoyed the off-beat and original charm of that film. So I started to poke around and found a link to a website Miranda created last year for her collection of essays, “No One Belongs Here More Than You.” Again, I urge you to click and keep clicking (31 clicks in all) until the end. If you don’t enjoy it, I’ll buy you a ham sandwich.*

They say art, like obscenity, is in the eye of the beholder. Just ask Marcel Duchamp and the world’s most famous urinal. Miranda July makes art and there’s nothing subjective about that. It might not be up your alley, but it is always interesting. And, really, what more can you ask for from a Monday morning?

*Legal Note: Ms. Snarker more than likely won’t actually be able to buy you a ham sandwich. Why? 1) she has about $3 in her wallet and 2) ham sandwiches don’t mail well.

9 comments:

Lezlie Mac said...

Well, can't watch the vid for now...

But monday mornings like these, I like: Easter monday = French holiday.
Yay ! Religious cultural backbones sometimes have upsides !

Miranda July is odd and off-radar, and yet just totally cute. And maybe from another planet.

Thanks Ms. Snarker for the morning goodness :)

Unknown said...

Thanks for this. How sweet and cute!

Anonymous said...

"Macaroni"

She tickles me silly. Thanks for sharing all the July goodness.

Slym said...

Very cute. Brought a smile to my face.

spat said...

Hilarious! I love the frame where all the burners are turned on on the stove.

Forget the ham sandwich, can we start every Monday with a helping of this kind of humor?

Miss Lady said...

i absolutely ADORE miss miranda july. she is so my hero. i strongly recommend picking up her book. fantastic. also, check out this collaborative art project: http://www.learningtoloveyoumore.com

Sinsational Shasta! said...

You don't find references to Duchamp on the other blogs.

Amanda said...

Wow I don't know who she is but she's adorable. What a cute concept and now I really want to read her book.

Amanda

Anonymous said...

Ok, so it's officially Tuesday morning as I am writing this, but what a cute way to end my time before heading off to slumber away the few remaining hours before I'm back up again.
Miranda July ranks up there on my list of lovely, quirky and original people.
This was indeed a sublimely silly, yet very amusing tale of how buttons come to be.