Genesis - I can't dance

Music Appreciation

Music videos during the late 80's and 90's were heavy on fashion and style. For example, George Michael's bleach torn Levi's in Faith or the hip hop style in Bell Biv DeVoe's Poison. The ad placement in music videos was perhaps the smartest thing to do since it caused kids, like me, to ask our parents to buy the various styles.

Phil Collins and Genesis decided to highlight this "false glamour" in their video I can't dance.
Released on December 30, 1991, the song, reached top ten on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.

The music video is best remembered for Phil Collins' parody of Michael Jackson's solo dance at the conclusion of Black or White, which was released a few weeks before I can't dance.

Previous Blog on Genesis' Land of Confusion.

Sources: Wikipedia

Grant Wood

ART APPRECIATION

Grant Wood is best known for his iconic painting American Gothic, which depicts a farmer and his daughter in front of a farm house with a gothic window in the American midwest.

Arbor Day, another popular painting of Wood, is featured on the back of the 2004 American quarter coin.

The Iowan studied many styles of painting techniques, during his time in Europe, and took influence from Flemish artist Jan van Eyck. 

Wood was associated with an American realist art movement known as Regionalism, which focused on rural life and the American heartland.

You can see more of his work HERE.

American Gothic (1930) via badarthistory

The Appraisal (1931) via dailyartfixx

Arbor Day (1932) via paintedocean

The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere (1931) via americanculturaltreasures

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

Camille Pissarro

Art Appreciation

Danish-French Impressionist Jacob-Abraham-Camille Pissarro was born in the Island of Saint Thomas on July 10, 1830.

Pissarro was considered a great contributor to the Impressionism and Post-Impressionism movement. He studied in Paris under master artists such as Gustave Courbet, Jean-Francois Millet, and Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot. Corot inspired him to paint "en plein air," however, unlike Corot, Pissarro finished his paintings outdoors to give it a realistic feel.

Paris hosted annual government-sponsored juried exhibitions known as Salon where artists presented their work to the public. During the late 19th century, the Salon adopted traditional French paintings standards that had to be followed in order for an artist to exhibit their work--focus was on subjects, religious themes, and portraits not landscape and still life. Because of this conservative standards, many artists, especially those who exhibited their work at the Salon in the past, were rejected.

Pissarro, along with a group of young artists, which also included Claude Monet, were dubbed "impressionists," by the conservative Académie des Beaux-Arts, the host of the Salon. Because of negative public perception, Napoleon III sponsored a concurrent exhibition known as the Salon des Refuses, where the public could compare the "officially acceptable" art with those that were refused.

Pissarro, also known affectionately by his peers a "Papa" for his even temperment and calming influence, participated in all eight Salon des Refuses exhibitions from 1874 to 1886.

You can see more about his history and work HERE.



Boulevard des Italiens, Morning, Sunlight (1897) via abeautifulbook

Peasant Girl Drinking Her Coffee (1891) via artportraiture

Pissarro, Hay Harvest at Éragny (1901) via melbourneblogger

Self-portrait (1898) via dailyartist

Sources: John House, "Impressionist Masterpieces." National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1985; http://dailyartist.blogspot.com/2011/02/camille-pissarro-july-1830-10-november.html; http://www.camillepissarro.org/; Elke Linda Buchholz, "Art: A World History." Abrams, New York; Wikipedia

Albert-Auguste Fourié

Art Appreciation

Neo-impressionist French artist Albert-Auguste Fourié was known for his elegant paintings of women bathing. He is also recognized for his painting depicting Gustave Flaubert's Madame Bovary on her death bed.

A Wedding Banquet at YPort via stilllifequickheart



The Death Bed of Madame Bovary (1883) via teainateacup

Nude by the Fountain via conchigliadivenere

Sources: http://universdesarts.fr/biographie/1943/fourie-albert-auguste.html; Wikipedia

Paul Delvaux

Art Appreciation

Surrealist Paul Delvaux is known for painting female nudes in architectural and landscape settings. Born near Huy, Belgium on September 23, 1897, Delvaux' experience of law and architecture and his love for literature can be observed in his paintings.

Many of his paintings can be creatively freighting, presenting pale nude females along with skeletons and aristocrats. Interestingly, a commonality in a lot of his paintings also include the moon and a bald old man with steel rimmed glasses observing.

You can see more of his work HERE.

robes de mariée (1976) via lisathatcher

The Garden (1971) via wikipaintings

Sleeping Venus (1944) via tate.org.uk

The girls from the provinces (1962) via crossfish.rssing.com

Sources: http://www.delvauxmuseum.com/; http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/paul-delvaux-994; http://nudeart.cc/Paul-Delvaux.html; http://lisathatcher.wordpress.com/2012/05/24/paul-delvaux-surrealist-you-have-when-you-dont-have-a-surrealist/; http://twilightstarsong.blogspot.com/2010/11/arty-farty-friday-paul-delvaux-nudes.html

Larry Pierce

Photography Appreciation

I came across several of Larry Pierce's photos while flipping through a travel brochure for Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

I couldn't decide which of his photos I liked most. All his captures told a story, whether its a skier rushing down a snowcliff or through a forest, or capturing wild horses rushing through the snow.

Then I visited his website, and there tons more gorgeous photos. I couldn't decide.

via Wyndham Vacation Rentals

via Pittsburg Post Gazette

via Steamboathorses

You can view more of his amazing captures HERE.

Sources: http://www.larrypiercephoto.com/; http://steamboathorses.com/horsebackriding/
; http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/sectionfront/life/slide-em-cowboy-steamboat-springs-lives-up-to-its-western-vibe-with-cowboy-downhill-211076/; http://resortquest-specials.blogspot.com/2010_12_01_archive.html

Joe Bowler

Art Appreciation

Joe Bowler is a self taught illustrator and impressionist artist from New York. His first works were published in Cosmopolitan, Collier's and The Saturday Evening Post, and he was named Artist of the Year in 1967 by the Artists' guild of New York.

I came across Bowler's work while surfing impressionist art. The first painting that caught my eye was Morning Wade, which is of a nude woman enjoying the waves. It's as if Bowler wanted to share with the viewer a memory he had experienced. It's absolutely beautiful.

Then I came across more of his other amazing work. Other paintings caught my eye. For example, Whistlers Daughter, a painting of a young ballerina sitting on a chair as if waiting to be called. The detail is amazing. Then there is one of a young mother and her baby enjoying the beach, titled A Keeper.

You can see more of his work HERE.

No Love via americanartarchives

Whistlers Daughter via americangallery

A Keeper via anoldgrumpandabeautifulperson

Morning Wade via solitaryshibboleth

Resting via thefineartnude

Bell of the Ball via art-mirrors-art

Sources: http://www.joebowler.com; http://impressioniartistiche.blogspot.com/2012/08/joe-bowler-children.html; http://www.americanartarchives.com/bowler.htm; http://www.celebratehiltonhead.com/article/630/getting-inspired-with-joe-bowler