Erich Sokol, PLAYBOY (January 1996)
Saturday, December 31, 2022
Friday, December 30, 2022
Tawnee Stone
Modeling Appreciation
The internet help make porn more accessible. It use to be one had to drive to the adult bookstore to purchase or rent porn. I was one who didn't care for renting because the last thing I wanted to do was return to the adult bookstore after doing my deeds. So, internet porn made life much easier.
While searching one evening in 2001 for porn, I remember finding Lightspeed Girls. Lightspeed Media was founded by Steve "Lightspeed" Jones, and his site featured barely legal 18+ girls. One superstar was Tawnee Stone.
The petite 5'3" brunette was considered "a successful pioneer of the single-model per website style," after joining Lightspeed in 2001. Years later, she still ranks top 25 on CoedCherry.
I think for me, four years older than Tawnee, she had that "girl-from-next-door" look: innocent, petite, and very pretty.
Born on December 30, 1982 in Plano, Texas, Tawnee Stone (real name: Tammy Saris) grew up outside Chicago. In 2001, she graduated from Crystal Lake High School and moved to Phoenix, Arizona to attend Arizona State University.
Ten years after appearing as a Lightspeed model, Steve Jones went to social media and announced the death of Tawnee Stone. As he reported, Tawnee had been killed in a car accident. Fans went to internet forums to share theories as to what may have happened.
A couple of years later, however, Tammy Saris (aka Tawnee Stone) tweeted "Still live [sic] and well, Happy New Year :)."
It was later revealed by Steve Jones that it was a joke and that he only planned to have his created character, Tawnee Stone, "alive" for 10 years.
Supposedly, she is happily married with two kids.
Source:
https://www.reddit.com/r/HisMajestysHarem/comments/s9wtgl/born_tammy_saris_in_texas_the_girl_who_came_to_be/
https://deadorkicking.com/tawnee-stone-dead-or-alive/
https://forums.nasioc.com/forums/showthread.php?s=55c4baeb69233512ae0f7f6e4828629a&t=1169221&page=8
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2540840/
Monday, December 26, 2022
Maurice Utrillo
Art Appreciation
Born on December 26, 1883, Maurice Utrillo was a French painter from Montmartre quarter in Paris known for cityscapes.
There is a fascinating history on Maurice, when he was a baby. His mom, Suzanne Valadon, was the model for artists Berthe Morisot, Renoir, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, and Edgar Degas.
As told by Diego Rivera, "After Maurice was born to Suzanne Valadon, she went to Renoir, for whom she had modeled nine months previously. Renior looked at the baby and said, 'He can't be mine, the color is terrible!' Next she went to Degas, for whom she had also modeled. He said, "He can't be mine, the form is terrible! At a cafe, Valadon saw an artist she knew named Miguel Utrillo, to whom she spilled her woes. The man told her to call the baby Utrillo: "I would be glad to put my name to the work of either Renior or Degas!'"
In 1904, Utrillo took up painting, at the suggestion by his mother. He drew and painted what he saw in Montmartre. By 1920, his work garnered international attention. A few years later, the French government awarded him the Cross of the Légion d'honneur.
Lapin Agile (c. 1911-1914)
Montmartre, rue du Mont-Cenis (1934)
Place Jean-Baptiste-Clement (c. 1918)
Sources:
Wikipedia
Sunday, December 25, 2022
Saturday, December 24, 2022
Friday, December 23, 2022
Wednesday, December 21, 2022
Stipe, Merchant, and Bragg sing Prine's "Hello in There"
BoingBoing recently published an article by writer Jennifer Sandlin that celebrated R.E.M.'s debut EP Chronic Town's 40th anniversary. An additional treat was another article where she shared a live performance video featuring Michael Stipe, Natalie Merchant, and Billy Bragg singing John Prine's classic "Hello in There" in Glasgow. As explained by Natalie Merchant, the performance was "a first concert stop before heading to the former Soviet Bloc just after the collapse of the Berlin Wall."
Source:
https://boingboing.net/2022/12/18/40-watt-club-in-athens-georgia-celebrates-the-40th-anniversary-of-debut-r-e-m-ep-chronic-town.html
https://boingboing.net/2022/12/18/michael-stipe-natalie-merchant-and-billy-bragg-sing-a-john-prine-classic-in-this-live-performance-from-1990.html
Tuesday, December 20, 2022
2007: Two Paintings Stolen, But Later Recovered, from MASP
On December 20, 2007, two paintings were stolen from the São Paulo Museum of Art (MASP): The Portrait of Suzanne Bloch by Pablo Picasso and O Lavrador de Café by Candido Portinari.
The Portrait of Suzanne Bloch, is an oil painting done during Picasso's Blue Period of Wagnerian opera singer Suzanne Bloch, sister of violinist Henri Bloch.
Brazilian artist Candido Portinari's O Lavrador de Café is an oil painting depicting a black worker in a coffee plantation standing tall holding a hoe.
As reported by Reuters, thieves broke into the MASP just after 5 AM using hydraulic jack and a crowbar. The heist lasted three minutes. It was reported, at that time, the two paintings were worth about $55 million dollars. Picasso's painting alone was said to be worth $50 million.
The two paintings were recovered a few weeks later by São Paulo police.
Portrait of Suzanne Bloch (1904)
O Lavrador de Café (1934)
Sources:
Wikipedia
https://web.archive.org/web/20071230164038/http://uk.news.yahoo.com/rtrs/20071221/ten-uk-brazil-picasso-d3877cb_1.html
http://virusdaarte.net/portinari-lavrador-de-cafe/
Monday, December 19, 2022
Sunday, December 18, 2022
Saturday, December 17, 2022
Friday, December 16, 2022
Thursday, December 15, 2022
Tuesday, December 13, 2022
Clue
Film Appreciation
Perhaps one of my favorite films starring the amazing Tim Curry, Clue was released on December 13, 1985.
The mystery black comedy film, which is based on family board game, takes place in 1954 with six strangers arriving at a secluded mansion. The butler, played by Tim Curry, assigns each individual a pseudonym at their arrival: Colonel Mustard, Mrs. White, Mrs. Peacock, Mr. Green, Professor Plum, and Miss Scarlet.
John Landis and Jonathan Lynn created the cult classic which featured a star-studded cast, which included Tim Curry, Eileen Brennan, Madeline Kahn, Christopher Lloyd, Michael McKean, Martin Mull, and Lesley Ann Warren. Although the film received mixed reviews and performed poorly in the box office, the film received a cult following, which continues today.
Source:
Wikipedia
Monday, December 12, 2022
Sunday, December 11, 2022
Victoria Alynette Fuller
Art Appreciation
Blogging this was a bit challenging because I didn't know whether to focus on the model or the artist. So, I'm going to do both. 😀
Victoria Alynette Fuller was the centerfold PLAYMATE tucked inside the January 1996 PLAYBOY. I remember that issue because it not only provided a cover and photo spread of Pamela Anderson, but it also included a review of 1995 PLAYMATES. Oh... and there were also intriguing articles and interviews of Dennis Rodman, Conan O'Brien, and a young Johnny Depp.
But it was Stephen Wayda's photos of Victoria that caught my young-self's attention. The 5' 8" blonde hair blue eyes epitomized "the California girl."
Born on December 11, 1970, Victoria was discovered by a Playboy scout while modeling. As explained in the PLAYBOY write up by Bob Daily, "She sent her photograph to PLAYBOY twice without success."
In her PLAYMATE DATA SHEET, her ambitions included "owning a beautiful home, displaying my artwork in a gallery, and learn something new everyday."
She explains, "I've been drawing since I could hold a pencil... My dream is to display my art in a gallery someday, where everybody dresses up and drinks champagne and admires my work. And then they buy everything."
The photoshoot features her in nude stockings and high heels, a pink feature boa, knee-high pink boots, leopard lingerie, corset under bust skirt, and nothing but paint. The paint ones are my favorite because she it shows a playful side as she squeezes paint out of a tube onto her naked chest and paints it on a canvas -- I wonder if she sold that painting.
After her centerfold, Victoria received a licensing contract with PLAYBOY that allowed her to use trademarks like the Rabbit Head Symbol and Bunny Costumes. She launched THE MARK, a large collection that included original oils and limited edition prints.
PLAYBOY catapulted her art career.
Source:
Playboy, January 1996, volume 43, number 1
Wikipedia
https://www.victoriafuller.com/about
Saturday, December 10, 2022
Friday, December 9, 2022
Tuesday, December 6, 2022
Album Cover: The Rolling Stones - Beggars Banquet
Album Cover
Album: The Rolling Stones - Beggars Banquet
Released: December 6, 1968
Cover Art Designer: Barry Feinstein
Source: Wikipedia
Monday, December 5, 2022
George Shepherd
Art Appreciation
Born on December 5, 1784, George "Sidney" Shepherd was a British topographical, architectural and landscape painter.
He lived in France up until the start of the French Revolutionary War when he moved back to Britain in 1793. At the age of 19, Shepherd was recognized by the Society of Arts with the silver palette.
He was a contributor to John Britton's The Architectural Antiquities of Great Britain, vol IV, and provided illustration to Charles Clarke and Rudolph Ackermann.
In 1831, Shepherd was a founding member of the New Society of Painters in Watercolours (now known as the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours).
Aldermaston (1819)
Red Line Square (1815)
The Serpentine, Hyde Park
Sources:
Wikipedia
Wikimedia
https://www.carters.com.au/index.cfm/item/785765-george-shepherd-1784-1862-red-line-square-w-c-1-1815-watercolour/
Sunday, December 4, 2022
Rudolf Hausner
Art Appreciation
Considered "the first psychoanalytical painter" and "psychic realist," Austrian artist Rudolf Hausner was born on December 4, 1914.
At the age of 17, Hausner studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna from 1931 until 1936. He was then drafted into the Austrian Armed Forces. After the German annexation of Austria (Anschluss), his painting was banned from being exhibited by the Reich Chamber of Culture and considered degenerate art.
In 1941, Hausner was drafted into the German Armed Forces, but dismissed a few years later by the Wehrmacht (the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany). He was employed as a technical draftsman in the armaments industry.
Following World War II, Hausner returned to Vienna and resumed work as an artist. Along with Edgar Jené, Ernst Fuchs, Helmut Leherb, Wolfgang Hutter, and Fritz Janschka, he founded a surrealist group in 1946. Around this time, he produced metaphysical art (pittura metafiscia) and psychoanalytical art. A characteristic of his painting technique was the use of translucent resin oil paintings over underpainting of acrylic paints.
Hausner exhibited for the first time in a group exhibition at the Österreichische Galerie Belvedere in Vienna, which opened the door to international exhibitions. He gave lectures and accepted guest lecture positions in Hamburg and Tokyo. In 1959, he co-founded the Vienna School of Fantastic Realism.
From 1966 until 1980, he was a guest professor at the University of Fine Arts of Hamburg, and taught at he Academy of Fine Arts Vienna since 1968.
Self-Examination, 1984
Gelber Narrenhut, 1974
The Ark of Odysseus, 1948-1956
Sources:
Wikipedia
http://www.johncoulthart.com/feuilleton/2007/02/05/the-art-of-rudolf-hausner-1914-1995/
http://www.artnet.com/artists/rudolf-hausner/
Saturday, December 3, 2022
Friday, December 2, 2022
Thursday, December 1, 2022
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