To transpose themes of ambition and paranoia from the Medieval Scottish highlands to the present day, Washington DC makes one hell of a fitting locale. With success coming at a steep cost, the play revolves around the notion that there’s a price to pay for ambition and that past deeds will always catch up with you. When Macbeth murders the king and takes the throne, he is wracked by guilt, and Lady Macbeth is driven mad. With his conspiring wife, the two decide that fate isn’t enough - they have to act if they want the crown. More importantly, Burn After Reading shares many thematic similarities with Macbeth.Īs a refresher, Macbeth concerns an ambitious Scottish general who receives a prophecy that he shall become king. But with the Coens’ signature bleak outlook, there’s more than enough of a damper to keep this from being a clear-cut romp.
For one thing, it’s a laugh-out-loud black comedy. Sure, the film doesn’t fit within the standard parameters of a tragedy. And while there are many outstanding and celebrated films in their oeuvre, there’s a certain underrated gem from 2008 that is perhaps the biggest precursor to a Shakespeare adaptation: Burn After Reading. This makes it all the more tempting to revisit the tragedies, comedies, and tragicomedies that populate the Coen Brothers’ filmography. Indeed, The Tragedy of Macbeth, which features Denzel Washington and Frances McDormand as the iconically cunning couple, is a long time coming for McDormand and Coen, as noted by our own Luke Hicks. With the arrival of Joel Coen‘s take on William Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the classic tale is once again at the forefront of popular imagination. But when you see a good tragic hero, whether they are venerated as such or not, you can recognize them. Burn After Reading features stunning photography, including many images that have never been seen before.There are some instantly recognizable tragic figures, and there are others that take more time to cement their status in the genre. Graffiti art, unlike its younger cousin Street Art, has both a huge underground and above ground following, built up through decades of evolution and advancement, with practitioners who are still true to the origins and codes associated with this most confrontational of artforms. Burn After Reading is accompanied by insights from some of the leading personalities of 21st century graffiti art who discuss their thoughts, observations and perspectives, offering a unique look into this much misunderstood genre of art. The highest production values possible and a zen-like dedication to perfection merge to create a book that will be revered as a stunning tribute to the beauty of graffiti art today. The imagery compiled within is the result of 5 years of exhaustive travel and documentation. Make no mistake - this is no dim-witted collection of mediocre fan snaps. RomanyWG, compiler of bestselling photography book Beauty in Decay, is this time found behind the lens breaking new ground in bringing to life both the craft and creativity of modern day urban painters.
The past 10 years has seen an explosion of interest in graffiti.
Burn after reading professional#
Burn After Reading, published by CarpetBombingCulture, is the end result of a unique meeting of styles when high end professional photography meets cutting edge graffiti. Collected here are 256 pages of the best. So, until the revolution of consciousness when our leaders will simultaneously attain enlightenment and put up or shut up, budding muralists need to find legal walls.
Sadly these murals take too long to create for the illegal stuff to proliferate. Mural graffiti, although it may be unfashionable to say so - is impressive at least in part because it's really bloody difficult to do it well. Graffiti, whether legal or illegal, is sometimes beautiful and sometimes ugly, but given time it can be breathtaking in its skill of execution.