Music Appreciation
In 1981, Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe collaborated together to form the English pop duo The Pet Shop Boys.
After the success of their first album Please, Tennant and Lowe introduced us to their second album Actually, which is listed as one of 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
Released in 1987, What Have I Done To Deserve This featured British pop star Dusty Springfield and reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Source: Wikipedia
Thursday, August 30, 2012
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Saturday, August 25, 2012
Adrian Gottlieb
Art Appreciation
Adrian Gottlieb is a young American painter and portraitist known for using Verdaccio and classical oil painting techniques. His subjects are depicted using the naturalist style that makes paintings look almost life-like.
You can see more of his work HERE.
Adrian Gottlieb is a young American painter and portraitist known for using Verdaccio and classical oil painting techniques. His subjects are depicted using the naturalist style that makes paintings look almost life-like.
You can see more of his work HERE.
Saturday, August 18, 2012
George Tooker
Art Appreciation
George Tooker was an American artist known for his paintings that captured social realism. The majority of his paintings were of people living in poverty and struggles in society. His paintings were somewhat mythical and poetic with a sense of haunting and apprehension.
Perhaps a good example of a painting that expressed that sense of dread and unease is "Government Bureau" where people wait to speak with pale looking bureaucrats behind frosted-glass partitions. Or the haunting image in "Landscape With Figures" where masklike faces poke out from individual compartment boxes.
The English Lit graduate from Harvard, received the 2007 National Medal of Arts for “his paintings that combine realism and symbolism, transforming scenes of American life into iconic images. His metaphysical works reveal man’s journey from despair to triumph.”
Sources: http://www.nea.gov/news/news07/medals/Tooker.html; http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/29/arts/design/george-tooker-painter-capturing-modern-anxieties-dies-at-90.html; http://weimarart.blogspot.com/2010/11/george-tooker.html; http://bajoelsignodelibra.blogspot.com/; http://weimarart.blogspot.com/2010/11/george-tooker.html; http://dreamersrise.blogspot.com/; http://www.progressiveliving.org/artists/tooker/george_tooker.htm
George Tooker was an American artist known for his paintings that captured social realism. The majority of his paintings were of people living in poverty and struggles in society. His paintings were somewhat mythical and poetic with a sense of haunting and apprehension.
Perhaps a good example of a painting that expressed that sense of dread and unease is "Government Bureau" where people wait to speak with pale looking bureaucrats behind frosted-glass partitions. Or the haunting image in "Landscape With Figures" where masklike faces poke out from individual compartment boxes.
The English Lit graduate from Harvard, received the 2007 National Medal of Arts for “his paintings that combine realism and symbolism, transforming scenes of American life into iconic images. His metaphysical works reveal man’s journey from despair to triumph.”
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Government Bureau (1956) via Weimar |
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Landscape With Figures (1965-66) via Dreamers Rise |
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The Subway (1950) via Weimar |
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Guitar (1957) via Bajo el Signo de Libra |
Sources: http://www.nea.gov/news/news07/medals/Tooker.html; http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/29/arts/design/george-tooker-painter-capturing-modern-anxieties-dies-at-90.html; http://weimarart.blogspot.com/2010/11/george-tooker.html; http://bajoelsignodelibra.blogspot.com/; http://weimarart.blogspot.com/2010/11/george-tooker.html; http://dreamersrise.blogspot.com/; http://www.progressiveliving.org/artists/tooker/george_tooker.htm
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Will Smith - Men in Black
Music Appreciation
Fifteen years ago, I remember being excited about watching Men in Black. It paired Tommy Lee Jones, best known for his role as Marshall Samuel Gerard in The Fugitive, and Will Smith.
Will Smith was fairly new to film; although he did have two hit box office movies (Independence Day and Bad Boys). Before he became a movie star, I was a fan of his music and the TV series, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
SIDEBAR: Check out DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince's Rock the House album.
The coolest thing about the movie, which was also incorporated in the music video, was how they brought to life aliens with use of CGI.
And, yes, I did buy Ray-Ban Predator 2 sunglasses and dressed in black after the movie came out.
Source: Wikipedia
PREVIOUS POST: http://photographywritingandmore.blogspot.com/2011/05/dj-jazzy-jeff-and-fresh-prince-parents.html
Fifteen years ago, I remember being excited about watching Men in Black. It paired Tommy Lee Jones, best known for his role as Marshall Samuel Gerard in The Fugitive, and Will Smith.
Will Smith was fairly new to film; although he did have two hit box office movies (Independence Day and Bad Boys). Before he became a movie star, I was a fan of his music and the TV series, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.
SIDEBAR: Check out DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince's Rock the House album.
The coolest thing about the movie, which was also incorporated in the music video, was how they brought to life aliens with use of CGI.
And, yes, I did buy Ray-Ban Predator 2 sunglasses and dressed in black after the movie came out.
Source: Wikipedia
PREVIOUS POST: http://photographywritingandmore.blogspot.com/2011/05/dj-jazzy-jeff-and-fresh-prince-parents.html
Saturday, August 11, 2012
Francine Van Hove
ART APPRECIATION
I'm not sure how I came across Francine Van Hove's paintings. I probably stumbled across Van Hove's work while researching Antonio Guzman Capel or realistic oil paintings.
The Parisian contemporary painter and illustrator uses oil, pastel and charcoal in her work. And like Antonio Guzman Capel, many of her realistic paintings captures the subject in private intimate settings.
Perhaps a common characteristic in her paintings, which I personally like, is the use of mirrors and reflections, such as the one of a young girl looking at herself in a tri-fold vanity mirror titled Argus (2006).
You can see more of Van Hove's work HERE.
Sources: http://www.francinevanhove.blogspot.com/; http://www.nouvellesimages.com/Francine-Van-Nieuwenhove-(Van-Hove)_id~artistes_aut~AUT002152; http://www.artistsinpastel.com/2009/12/francine-van-hove.html; http://www.artnet.com/artwork/425444539/139/francine-van-hove-le-grand-tabouret.html; http://www.francinevanhove.com/
I'm not sure how I came across Francine Van Hove's paintings. I probably stumbled across Van Hove's work while researching Antonio Guzman Capel or realistic oil paintings.
The Parisian contemporary painter and illustrator uses oil, pastel and charcoal in her work. And like Antonio Guzman Capel, many of her realistic paintings captures the subject in private intimate settings.
Perhaps a common characteristic in her paintings, which I personally like, is the use of mirrors and reflections, such as the one of a young girl looking at herself in a tri-fold vanity mirror titled Argus (2006).
You can see more of Van Hove's work HERE.
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Sources: http://www.francinevanhove.blogspot.com/; http://www.nouvellesimages.com/Francine-Van-Nieuwenhove-(Van-Hove)_id~artistes_aut~AUT002152; http://www.artistsinpastel.com/2009/12/francine-van-hove.html; http://www.artnet.com/artwork/425444539/139/francine-van-hove-le-grand-tabouret.html; http://www.francinevanhove.com/
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Scorpions - Wind of Change
Music Appreciation
Ranked by VH1 as one of the Greatest Artists of Hard Rock, Scorpions, the band from Hannover, Germany, gave us the rock anthem "Rock You Like a Hurricane" and power ballad "Wind of Change."
The song celebrated Glasnost, a policy that was introduced by Mikhail Gorbachev as a to reform the stagnant Soviet economy. Glasnost called for an increase in openness and transparancy in government institutions and activities. The effects of this new policy eventually brought down the Soviet Union and ended the Cold War. Remember the Berlin Wall?
Source: Wikipedia
Ranked by VH1 as one of the Greatest Artists of Hard Rock, Scorpions, the band from Hannover, Germany, gave us the rock anthem "Rock You Like a Hurricane" and power ballad "Wind of Change."
The song celebrated Glasnost, a policy that was introduced by Mikhail Gorbachev as a to reform the stagnant Soviet economy. Glasnost called for an increase in openness and transparancy in government institutions and activities. The effects of this new policy eventually brought down the Soviet Union and ended the Cold War. Remember the Berlin Wall?
Source: Wikipedia
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
The Contralto
Art Appreciation
Imagine the elegance of the art deco operatic sculptures, known as "The Tenor" and "The Contralto," at the end of the reflective pool leading to the Hall of State at the 1936 Texas Centennial Exposition at the Dallas Fair Grounds.
Unfortunately, the original sculptures, which were designed by Lawrence Tenney Stevens, disappeared soon after the 1936 expo--it is thought the original sculptures may have been made by plaster. Recently, David Newton recreated the sculptures that helped complete the restoration to the spectacular elegance of yesteryear.
This photo was taken on April 21, 2012 in Dallas, Texas, US, using an HTC PH44100.
Sources: http://www.dallasnews.com/news/community-news/dallas/headlines/20091203-Esplanade-Fountain-at-Fair-Park-expected-6927.ece; http://www.dallasparks.org/FairParkNews/Spring2007/FPStory2.html
This photo was taken on April 21, 2012 in Dallas, Texas, US, using an HTC PH44100.
Sources: http://www.dallasnews.com/news/community-news/dallas/headlines/20091203-Esplanade-Fountain-at-Fair-Park-expected-6927.ece; http://www.dallasparks.org/FairParkNews/Spring2007/FPStory2.html
Monday, August 6, 2012
Generalizations
"All generalizations, including this one, are false." - Mark Twain
Source: "Guilt by Association," Uncle John's Heavy Duty Bathroom Reader, 2010, Pg. 102
Friday, August 3, 2012
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