2009/11/04
2009/11/02
2009/11/01
Robert Mapplethorpe: A Season in Hell / Opening and Performance by Patti Smith
“Drawing on the Catholic culture of his upbringing, Mapplethorpe was inspired to make shrine-like works out of a broad range of materials, from menʼs underwear to prayer cards. However these works, both formally and substantially, become transformed more into objects of fetish than images of devotion, revealing the incessant influence of his religious background on Mapplethorpeʼs life and art, and his irreverent and rebellious relationship to it. As Mapplethorpe himself said ‘A church has a certain magic and mystery for a child…. It still shows in how I arrange things. Itʼs always little altars.’ … Later in his career Mapplethorpe became more renowned for his photography, yet the themes of Heaven and Hell, the sacrehis work.” (Excerpt from the press release).
Robert Mapplethorpe: A Season in Hell / Opening and Performance by Patti Smith. Alison Jacques Gallery, London / UK. October 13, 2009.
2009/10/29
life for all creatures
Dian Fossey (January 16, 1932– December 26, 1985, Virunga Mountains, Rwanda) was an American zoologist who undertook an extensive study of gorilla groups over a period of 18 years. She observed them daily for years in the mountain forests of Rwanda, initially encouraged to work there by famous paleontologist Louis Leakey. She was murdered in 1985, possibly by poachers. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dian_Fossey
The conservation of ecosystems is an imperative in the individual ethical existence on this planet. Humans that fail to see this are not aware of what is mostly and truly important.
Religion -as well as most of our cultural heritage- manage to deviate ethical action only in favor of humans, totally failing to fulfill the ethical mission of the "spiritual" motives.
2009/10/27
2009/10/26
Jenny Holzer
"Jenny Holzer is considered as one of the most popular contemporary artists. Holzer is known for her use of words and ideas in public space. In 1982 she publicised her statements and aphorisms (”truisms”) on one of Times Square’s gigantic LED billboards, in 2008 she created a site-specific light projection for the newly renovated facade of the Solomon R. Guggenheim museum in New York.
Fondation Beyeler in Riehen near Basel, Switzerland, is now presenting Jenny Holzer’s first large sale exhibition in a Swiss museum. The focus is on recent works, some of which have never before been shown in Europe. On display are Jenny Holzer’s famous LED installations, combining poetic, socio-critical, and political texts and visual effects, as welll as paintings and sculptures. The exhibition is supplemented by a selection of works the artist has chosen from the Beyeler Collection (Giacometti, Picasso, Malevich, Bacon).
The presentation of Jenny Holzer’s work is not confined to the museum space. The show extends outdoors to the public space. Jenny Holzer conceived light projections on key buildings and sites in Basel and Zürich. These will only be on view on special nights.
The exhibition has been conceived in close cooperation with the artist and the MCA, Chicago, and curated by Elizabeth A. T. Smith and Philippe Büttner. The exhibition at Fondation Beyeler runs until January 24, 2010.
Jenny Holzer at Fondation Beyeler in Riehen / Switzerland. Opening reception, October 31, 2009."
2009/10/21
the women of flamenco
From the book "Mil Besos" by the Colombian photographer Ruven Afanador.
Exhibition in Sevilla, Spain.
2009/10/19
2009/10/12
2009/10/06
2009/10/05
Zahm's sells sex
Beauty shoot by Paola Kudacki from Purple Magazine on Vimeo.
Purple editorial on guess what?: accessories.
Because there is nothing better than wear a winter hat while envisioning your self dangling from a rope...
Zahm knows that sex is on, specially when it comes from France.
the effortless Stella McCartney
Another superbly beautiful collection from Stella. So simple yet totally sophisticated:
she is one talented woman and at this time the only fashion designer that seems understanding everyday fashion.
2009/10/04
How thought this was a good idea?
"Hot pink, orange and flashy, with an overworked heart motif".The reviews for the Lohan collection are in: super cheesy is the word. How can anybody not distinguish between good looks (well sort of) and ability to design clothes?! If Lilo is reckless enough to take this assignment how comes that everybody else seems to be gullible enough to think this will work? Ungaro has reached some weird creative bottom here. What happens when you mix Hollywood shallowness, New Jersey glam aesthetics, and Corporate greed: here it is.
here is the review from Women's Wear Daily :
"Lindsay, it ‘s time to get serious about reviving the acting career. After just one season, one show, Mounir Moufarrige’s Lindsay-plus-one experiment is off to a troubled start. Lindsay Lohan, the house’s “artistic advisor,” and designer Estrella Archs, (who probably got the job in part for her willingness to sketch in Lohan’s shadow, and probably took it for its high-profile heritage) made their joint debut on Sunday in an effort that was, quite simply, an embarrassment.
To be fair, there was something of a “Mean Girls” motif at play; the fashion world, or at least its old-fashioned, traditional arm, greeted the Lohan appointment with endless snickers and rolled eyes. Its members expected, perhaps even hoped, for the proverbial train wreck. And so it came, a collision of fashion, controversial celebrity and massive publicity which resulted in the most frenzied door scene we’ve seen in years, especially at the geezer-venue Carousel du Louvre, as well as a beefed-up photographers pit.
As for the clothes, they looked cheesy and dated, as has often been the case during chez Ungaro’s post-Emanuel revolving door of designers. Hot pink, orange and flashy, with an overworked heart motif relentless in its execution, the collection displayed none of the promised younger side Lohan was supposed to deliver. Nor in a million years would one guess that the lineup was designed by one young woman and “creative directed” by another. Glitter heart pasties all around, ladies?
For Lohan, she’ll weather the criticism, hardly her first or her juiciest, and move on when her contract allows. But Archs has her work cut out for her. Backstage after the show, she said the collection “had to be designed very quickly.” Perhaps that was the problem. This storied house has been in disarray for years, and though Archs’ debut provided no indication that she’s up to the challenge, she should be given the chance to find out without a younger, non-skilled judge with theoretical veto power hovering about. (Let’s just say the ladies’ joint bow didn’t radiate chemistry.)
No one ever said that fashion design is brain surgery. It’s a different discipline altogether. But it is indeed a discipline and a commercial art, a fact variously muted and underscored by the celebrity infiltration of the last decade. And like brain surgery — yes, like brain surgery and all disciplines at which people work for years to develop proficiency — it has its rare geniuses and capable practitioners, all of whom must possess talent, skill and dedication. Being a young, pretty, controversial woman who looks good in clothes and photo ops just isn’t enough."
2009/10/03
clothes, myths and neomedival realities
French vogue editorial
Balmain SS 2010
"The Middle Ages are the civilization of vision, where the cathedral is the great book in stone, and is indeed the advertisement, the TV screen, the mystic comic strip that must narrate and explain everything, the nations of the earth, the arts and crafts, the days of the year, the seasons of sowing and reaping, the mysteries of the faith, the episodes of sacred and profane history, and the lives of the saints (great models of behaviour, as superstars and pop singers are today, an elite without political power, but with great charismatic power)". (81-82)
The underlying identity presented in collections such as Balmain this year expand on ideas of the ever changing neomedival superstar, but all these myths are built and supported by the strong language a postmodern medieval character that feels at home in mega cities and enjoys an exciting night life; a strong woman in times of uncertanty and cultural clashes. Balenciaga, Rick Owens, Ann Demeulemeester, Haider Ackermann, Alexander Wang and now Balmain seem to understand this medieval myth very well.
"
What then is the American, this new man? He is either an European, or the descendant of
an European, hence that strange mixture of blood, which you will find in no other country.
I could point outto you a family whose grandfather was an Englishman, whose wife was Dutch,
whose son married a French woman, and whose present four sons have now four wives of
different nations. He is an American, who leaving behind him all his ancient prejudices
and manners, receives new ones from the new mode of life he has embraced, the new government
he obeys, and the new rank he holds. (54)
Crevecoeur further defines becoming an American as one who has been accepted into the great Alma Mater where "individuals of all nations are melted into a new race of men" (55). Nevertheless, most Americans cannot withdraw from defining themselves with their distinct cultural heritage; i.e. Italian-American, Turkish-American, Irish-American, African-American and so forth. In our neomedieval age, it is becoming more difficult to speak of borders which seem to be dispersing, paving the way for globalization. English as an international language, the ever-increasing use of the internet, a sense of collective insecurity are all indicators of border-dissolution. This, in turn, provokes the urge to search for stability, to search for roots. In the case of the American, an unconscious return to medieval Europe. (7)When Europeans immigrated to the new land, their timeline was severed from Europe only physically. With the Declaration of Independence, America consciously denounced its separation declaring that "these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved" (online). Even though ties with the Crown were politically split, on the spiritual, or unconscious, level there still exists a deep longing for the motherland, a return to medieval England. This might seem as a way of attempting to reconstruct the detached timeline. In other words, even though the umbilical cord was cut, the infant through the unconscious longs to return to the womb. Hence, the phenomenon of adapting the past of the motherland, creating an idealized version, a fantasized version of medieval Europe and portraying it as its own, seems only logical."
Brazil appeal
Brazilian Tayane Leão Wins Supermodel Of The World
14-year-old Tayane Leão, born in the northern state of Pará, beat over 5 million girls from 44 different countries yesterday in Montenegro, and became the new Ford Supermodel of the World. She won a US$ 250,000 two-year contract with Ford Models on top of the R$ 150,000 contract she signed when she won Ford Supermodel Brazil back in November.
Tayane is the second Brazilian to ever win Supermodel of the World. The first one was Camila Finn back in 2004.
2009/10/02
2009/09/30
2009/09/28
nobody on identity
nobody on identity, originally uploaded by Maria Horn.
An excellent scene from deadman, one of my all time favorite movies.
This is only a fragment, Nobody talks about his life marked by a lack of group identity,
excellent stuff.
"This film is generally regarded as being extremely well-researched in regard to Native American culture.[6]
Dead Man is also notable as one of the rather few films about Native Americans to be directed by a non-native and offer nuanced and considerate details of the individual differences between Native American tribes free of common stereotypes.[7] There are intentionally unsubtitled passages in the Cree and Blackfoot language exchanges in Dead Man, which were left untranslated for the exclusive understanding of members of those nations, including several in-jokes aimed at Native American viewers.[6]"
"Gary Farmer makes a cameo appearance as Nobody in Jim Jarmusch's subsequent film Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai, in which he repeats one of his signature lines of dialog, "Stupid fucking white man!""
2009/09/26
2009/09/20
RL ressesion style
Interesting approach to this collection; the vernacular of hard times Americana : very romantic.The silhouettes are beautiful, the overkill of denim no so much.
2009/09/17
FEAR LOADING & DIVERSION TACTICS
"if one were to watch Fox News or listen to Rush Limbaugh -- as millions do -- one would believe that the burden of the ordinary American taxpayer, and the unfair plight of America's rich, is that their money is being stolen by the poorest and most powerless sectors of the society. An organization whose constituencies are often-unregistered inner-city minorities, the homeless and the dispossesed is depicted as though it's Goldman Sachs, Blackwater, and Haillburton combined, as though Washington officials are in thrall to those living in poverty rather than those who fund their campaigns. It's not the nice men in the suits doing the stealing but the very people, often minorities or illegal immigrants, with no political or financial power who nonetheless somehow dominate the government and get everything for themselves. The poorer and weaker one is, the more one is demonized in right-wing mythology as all-powerful receipients of ill-gotten gains; conversely, the stronger and more powerful one is, the more one is depicted as an oppressed and put-upon victim (that same dynamic applies to foreign affairs as well).
It's such an obvious falsehood -- so counter-intuitive and irrational -- yet it resonates due to powerful cultural manipulations. Most of all, what's so pernicious about all of this is that the same interests who are stealing, pillaging and wallowing in corruption are scapegoating the poorest and most vulnerable in order to ensure that the victims of their behavior are furious with everyone except for them."
Fragment of a superb article on Salon.com
The article here
Proenza Schouler bright lights
Interesting palette and juxtaposition of textures by Proenza Schouler.
I have not been very impressed by the NYC 2010 SS collections. To much of the same themes: either a hyperfeminine pastely boxy frumpy old lady shape that seems to sell very well, or totally Alexander Wangesque Americana rock nostalgia sometimes taken in to trailer trash sublimation... I do prefer the later.
2009/09/16
capital strength
SOURCE: SALON"Women now control $12 trillion of the overall $18.4 trillion in global consumer spending," and as a predicted 200 million additional females enter the global workforce over the next few years, that number's just going to get bigger"
Who wins when women buy? Everybody
It’s no secret that women have buying power. We already purchase roughly 85 percent of the goods and services in the United States, from clothes to cars. But that’s just been the warm-up.
According to the new book “Women Want More: How to Capture Your Share of the World’s Largest, Fastest-Growing Market” females are on the brink of an even bigger global economic revolution. As we maintain our spending power while gaining representation in the workforce and narrowing the income gap, we are, according to co-author Michael J. Silverstein, “the greatest single force for economic recovery.”
The book, by the Boston Marketing Group’s Silverstein and Kate Sayre, is essentially a guidebook for marketers, but the research that went into it is fascinating to anybody who ever spends money. How powerful are the female purse strings? The authors say that “women now control $12 trillion of the overall $18.4 trillion in global consumer spending.” And as a predicted 200 million additional females enter the global workforce over the next few years, that number is just going to get bigger.
So while we may still have to fight for our right to wear pants and keep our jobs while lactating, it’s easy to do the math on this one. When women have financial clout, our status not just as consumers but human beings on the planet rises.
An August study from Goldman Sachs on “The Power of the Purse” notes that women are “notably more likely to buy goods and services that improve the family’s welfare" (splurging on stuff like "higher-quality and protein-intensive food," healthcare and education), and that having more women in the workforce creates “a virtuous circle” of long-term overall financial growth. It also “underscores the importance of girls’ education and health, and strengthens the case for women to play a meaningful role in local and national politics.” And as Rana Foroohar and Susan H. Greenberg point out in this week’s Newsweek, with economic power comes a whole host of perks for everybody, from improved worldwide literacy rates to lowered population growth. Who said money can’t buy happiness? It just depends on who’s spending.
2009/09/13
2009/09/11
Colorful
Very unique collection of coloration photography, click on the images to go to the collection.
2009/09/03
Shoes, to rule them all
If you are into dominating high profile heads of state or everyday Orks, here are some options brought to you by GIAN MARCO LORENZI -right from the infinite depths of darknesssss.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Blog
- MARIA H
- Compilation of aesthetic manifestations beyond compliance, bring us emancipation.