Elisa Bridges

Modeling Appreciation 

I remember receiving the December 1994 Playboy edition and being at first excited for its thickness. The Gala Christmas Issue featured Bo Derek, a blonde bombshell best known for her role in the romantic comedy 10, opposite Dudley Moore. Plus, the issue had some good articles -- no joke. 

And in the middle of the issue lived the centerfold of Elisa Bridges, a petite brunette who -- based on the Playboy write-up -- preferred being one of the guys and doing guy stuff. 

In her photo spread, she's wearing a sexy one-piece monokini, a cute school girl outfit, lace tops, and the sexy small red dress featured as her centerfold. She loved lovely. A dream. To me, the image of a perfect companion.

Unfortunately, there is a tragic and sad story about this young model. A story one would expect in a crime-drama or even a challenge on Grand Theft Auto.

The five-foot brunette was born in Miami on May 24, 1973. She was raised in Texas, and graduated from Marcus High School outside Flower Mound, Texas. Her mom was Cuban-born and her father worked for an oil company.

After appearing as Playmate of the Month, she appeared in several video productions from Playboy Home Video until 2002. She was sought after and men loved her.  With fame, darkness was a plenty with prescription and illegal drugs. 

"Elisa Bridges, Miss December 1994, died Feb. 7 [2002] from natural causes in Los Angeles," is the statement Playboy posted on their website. 

"Natural causes," was the empire's assessment. However, the LA Coroner's Office determined accidental overdose. The report said her death was caused by acute intoxication by the combined effects of heroin, methamphetamine, meperidine, and Alprazolam. 

Elisa died too young. 

Sources: Wikipedia, https://www.ocweekly.com/natural-causes-6385292/

Comedy: Christopher Titus - White Supremacy (A Rebuttal)

Comedy Appreciation

Best line:

"If you were supreme, Brian Kemp Brett Favre Kramer, maybe you could live in a world that didn't threaten your sad belief that you were better than someone of another color. Let's go through history, every race of people has done it as good as Whitey -- Latinos, Asians, Blacks, every single one has done it. I will say this, Whitey did steal their ideas most of the time and make the most profit of it. And that's Critical Race Theory."

Source: christophertitustv

Pole Dance: Billie Eilish - Bellyache

Choreography: Miglena Lafchieva

 via The Pole Dancer

Cosplay is an Art: Dutch Comic Con 2022

 

via Sevenblade - Cosplay Cinematics

Fashion is DEFINITELY Art: Kyrgyz mountain women collaborate with fashion designer Stella Jean

Stella Jean is a Black Italian fashion designer who recently collaborated with Kyrgyzstan women to create a contemporary design incorporating traditional Shyrdak felt stitching. 

As Stella explains, "This collaboration is about an equal exchange of skills and knowledge, combining traditional craftsmanship from Kyrgyzstan with Italian design."

Check out the fall-winter 2021-2022 woman collection HERE.

Source: Stella Jean Official

Janet Fish

Art Appreciation

Contemporary American artist Janet Fish is known for her realistic still life paintings. Many of her paintings include elements of transparency, reflected light, and overlapping patterns.

Born on May 18, 1938, Fish grew up in Bermuda surrounded by many artistic influences. Her grandfather was the Impressionist painter Clark Voorhees.

As a teenager, she was an assistant of sculptor Byllee Lang. She attended Smith College concentrating on sculpture and printmaking, and studied at the Art Students League in New York. After graduating from Smith College, she did a residency at The Skowhegan School of Art. 

Fish then enrolled at the Yale University of Art and Architecture where she changed her focus from sculpture to painting. In 1963, she became the first woman to ear a Master of Fine Arts from Yale's School of Art and Architecture.

Her first solo show was at Farleigh Dickinson University in Rutherford, New Jersey. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally. And her works are included in some of the nation's important museum collections, such as Art Institute of Chicago, Dallas Museum of Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, and National Gallery of Arts in D.C., to name a few.

Black Bowl Red Scarf

Raspberries and Goldfish, 1981

Sasha with a Bowl of Candy, 1988

Sources:

Wikipedia

https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/482633

https://www.mmoca.org/learn/for-teachers/teaching-pages/janet-fish

Juan Rulfo

Photography Appreciation

Born on May 16, 1917, Juan Rulfo was a Mexican photographer and author of two very important literary works: Pedro Páramo (1955) and El Llano en llamas (1953). The primary subject of his works focused on the Mexican people and landscape. 

After his parents died, Rulfo was raised by his grandmother in Guadalajara, Mexico, and he grew up during the Mexican Revolution and Cristero war. 

After graduating primary school, he attended secondary in a seminary. He moved to Mexico City where he entered the National Military Academy. 

He attended Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, where he began writing. He later advanced his career and traveled throughout Mexico as an immigration agent. This is probably where he had the opportunity to photograph what would then become a visual setting for his literary works.

Sources: Wikipedia, https://bristolatino.co.uk/art-focus-juan-rulfo-photography/