Jean-Léon Gérôme

French painter and sculptor, Jean-Léon Gérôme, was considered a controversial with his "politically incorrect" artwork.  Below are some examples of his work.  

Read more about Gérôme and his art here.

The Cockfight (1846)

The Virgin, the Infant Jesus and St John (1848)

The Serpent Charmer

Sources: Wikipedia; http://www.jeanleongerome.org/

Aerosmith F.I.N.E. -Music Appreciation (A Retrospect)

I thought I would start a commentary of some sort of my experience in music appreciation.  No, this isn't the boring class of Classical Music Appreciation 101.  This is more of a reminiscence of my youth listening to music.  Okay, stop the yawning.

I'll start with Aerosmith, since that was a rock group I fell in love with at an early age.  Yes, I liked Rag Doll and Dude Looks Like a Lady.  Perhaps I'll comment on those and its effect as a kid taking an interest in girls on a later blog.  But then again, my mother-in-law does read this blog. 

Anyhoo, I thought I would start with Aerosmith's F.I.N.E.  I couldn't find the music video of F.I.N.E. but I did find their performance at Woodstock 1994--which will somewhat help make my first commentary easier.

First of all, what was I doing in 1994?  I had graduated from High School and thought I knew it all.  I felt freedom at my fingertips, only to later realize that it wasn't real but a figure of my imagination.  The Woodstock 1994 album was probably one of my favorite albums I got.  In fact, I played Aerosmith's performance several times over and over again, because the transition from Draw the Line to F.I.N.E to me was simply awesome.

Why did I choose to comment on F.I.N.E?  Clearly for the lyrics.  Did I know what an EMHO woody or a Whip crackin' floozy was when I was a teen?  No.  But now I do.  Of course, there is the obvious acroynm for F.I.N.E. which is "F**ked Up, Insecure, Neurotic, and Emotional."

Wow, the lyrics that were playing on pop radio and on MTV at the day were pretty risque.  No wonder my mom use to make me turn off my music or change the channel.

Paolo Ventura's Winter Stories

New York City based artist, Paolo Ventura, presents Winter Stories. Fueled by his memories as a youth growing up in Milan, Paolo's director-like art, which he refers to as "invented worlds," include sketches, model building, and photography.

You can read more about his work here and here.  Below is an amazing video of Mr. Venturas creations.

Paolo Ventura on Winter Stories from Aperture Foundation on Vimeo.

Paolo Ventura: Winter Stories

Kate Breakey's hand-colored photographs

Renowned Austrialian artist Kate Breakey's artwork will be a part of the Wittliff Collections exhibition from August 26, 2010 to February 4, 2011.  The gallery is located at the Albert B. Alkek Library at Texas State University-San Marcos. 

You can read more information regarding her beautiful artwork here and here.




Source: Hillviews, Texas State University-San Marcos, Vol. 40 No. 1, fall 2010

Soundsuits

Chicago artist Nick Cave using twigs, tin toys, buttons and fur to create what he calls "Soundsuits." When worn, the outfits makes sound.

You can see more of his amazing creations here and here.

Nick Cave: Meet Me at the Center of the Earth

Cell Phone Towers. Where?

German photographer Robert Voit, presents his work of cell phone towers disguised as trees. 

More of his photography can be viewed here.

Sen. Al Franken draws the U.S. States