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After Hours with Paradigm

God of Dice 2 is just one of a series of films that attempts to find the sweetspot between Stan Brakhage and MTV, appropriating audio and visuals— blending high-brow and low-brow into a trippy and enjoyable mess.

 

I'm calling what happened last night an experience because it wasn't just an event, it was an experience that only Paradigm and Dover Street Market would be able to create. That is, something inspiring, intimate, and thought-provoking.

 

 

At some point in time, Nemo Librizzi’s business card officially declared him as the Hotel on Rivington’s “Superintendent of Luminous Detail”. I didn’t ask for his business card when I met him last night, but a superintendent of luminous detail still seems like a fitting description for all of his work. He’s a jack of all trades, an artist of all mediums. He’s tagged subway cars, made books, designed hotel sound systems and lobbies, and now, he’s created a series of intriguing experimental film.

 

“God of Dice 2” in a weird way is highly biographical. It’s a small peek into the way Librizzi’s brain works— a snapshot of his thoughts, what catches his eye, and what moves him. The film flowed from nonsense to political commentary to uncomfortability to nostalgia. The room moved from laughter to silence, and then to laughter again— because the humor in an aerobics dance video synced to a "Fuck You” symphony by Millie Jackson is definitely heightened when watched in Dover Street Market surrounded by some of New York’s most influential artists drinking nice wine in some extremely nice clothes.

 

 

 

During a discussion led by DJ Stretch Armstrong, host of NPR's show Whats Good with Stretch and Bobbito, a woman raised her hand, “Thank you, this gave me hope” she said.

 

Hope might seem like a strange verb to attach to a  piece that Librizzi say’s is more meant to be “thrown on in the background like a fireplace”, but she isn’t wrong.

Each song and video clip projected different emotions to the viewer, and I often found my mind wandering to a different memory in time. Though some of the longer clips, such as the full Willow Smith music video at the end of the film or the Andy Warhol film test, a prolonged clip of a woman’s motionless face paired with a song by MOP, may have been self-indulgent, I was thoroughly interested the entire way through— wondering why Librizzi included the clip or song. I have a tiny attention span, so that is an incredibly difficult task to achieve.

 

 

I felt like I was pulled into Librizzi's inner clique of friends— learning about his larger fears (global warming and the current political climate) and his process (full days worth of watching youtube video after youtube video and downloading whatever catches his eye). The pretentious aura that often humidifies events like this was lacking entirely, leaving only brilliant discussion and the beautiful presentation at the forefront.

 

 

Basically, what I'm saying is that when Paradigm says they're throwing an event at Dover Street Market, they aren't messing around. Last night was an experience that I doubt can be recreated easily, but I'm sure their next event, June 12th, will be comparable.

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