Here are a few more pictures and words about LOLA fest 2010. (Part 1 is here).

This tank/candy/paint thing was one of the few visual art installations at LOLA. It wasn’t all visual though, because it constantly radiated sounds of distorted voices and music, like a broken toy. I found it kind of awesome.

I took a closer look at the plaque near the other tank (see here), which contained some hidden gems. Look at that last line.

Let’s forgive the unwieldily abuse of dashes and the implication that flowers are capable of drawing meaning from various fields. Instead, let’s look at that last part. “…gives dramatic visibility to tank while reminding Londoners why it there.” Seriously? If you’re going to be putting a sign up in a public place for all of London to see, isn’t it worth taking 5 minutes to proof read? Visual artists don’t need to master their words like they do their paintbrushes, but they could at least avoid caveman-speak.

This guy from Fond of Caribous Leaf Tiger Leaf Bird was wearing his hat inside-out. It’s either the next cool-thing-to-do or … not.

Closing out the festival was Text of Light, featuring Lee Ranaldo. The band pumps out improvised noise while an (unrelated?) experimental film from the 70s plays behind them. Ranaldo is one of the best guitarists of all time, having co-founded Sonic Youth, so I expected, you know, a little guitar playing. All I got was this:

I’ve seen quite a few “noise” bands like this before, and after a while, I sorta get it. It’s not appealing in the same way music is, but it is another way of pleasing the mind through the ears. In a more indirect route though, because the sounds are not inherently pleasant. More like nightmarish. This experience, it’s like a horror film for the ears.

OH ALSO: I finally got a chance to run into the famous Forest City Fashionista, who I rudely interrupted while she chatted with James Reaney, who wrote a London Free Press article about LOLA, which I am in. Or at least one of my crappy tweets is in.

All in all, I had a blast volunteering at LOLA. Many thanks to Titus Ferguson for successfully heading up the digital team. I’m already looking forward to next year.