Pole Dance: Rachael in the Sky - Atlantic Pole Championships

 

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Cosplay is an Art: KATSUCON 2023

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Gottardo Piazzoni

Art Appreciation 

Swiss-born American landscape painter, Gottardo Fidele Piazzoni was best known for his California landscape paintings, many of which featured the Golden Gate Bridge and the Bay area. 

Born on April 14, 1872 in Intragna, Ticino, Switzerland, Piazzoni immigrated to the United States in 1894 at the age of 15. After training with Tonalist painter Arthur Frank Mathews at the Mark Hopkins Institute of Art, Piazzoni trained at the Académie Julian in Paris. 

After three years, he returned to California and begun his career as an art teacher. He shared a studio with fellow painter Xavier Martínez and was good friends with Impressionist Granville Redmond. 

Piazzoni's paintings are characterized by their attention to detail and accurate representation of the natural landscape. He was known for his ability to capture the mood and atmosphere of the California landscape, particularly the foggy, misty conditions of the Bay Area. His use of light and color was also notable, as he often used a limited palette of blues and grays to convey the moody atmosphere of the coast.

Piazzoni's work was popular during his lifetime and continues to be highly sought after by collectors today. His best-known public works is said to be the 14 murals that was originally displayed at the San Francisco Public Library headquarters -- 10 of the murals are now displayed at the M.H. de Young Memorial Museum. 

His paintings can be found in many museums and private collections, including the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, and the Crocker Art Museum.

The Sea (1931)

The Land (1932)

Sources:

Wikipedia

https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/THE-NEW-DE-YOUNG-Controversy-over-Piazzoni-2659444.php

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Kasey Chase

Acting Appreciation

When I write these blog entries, I do my due diligence in researching the person who is the subject. With this particular entry, the more I got to know the subject and the story the more heartbroken I became. 

Desire Robart (aka Kacey Chase) was born on April 13, 1991 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She graduated from Elma High School in Elma, Washington in 2009. Soon after graduation, she moved to California and entered the adult film industry. 

Her young, sweet natured, petite 5'4" frame, with a cute pout, and the girl-next-door vibe was sought-after by the industry to play that school girl and teenager daughter role. 

She performed in many adult films in a four year time span. Most of her work was girl-on-girl scenes, and later in her career, she opted for more glamour-based and solo productions.   

She retired from porn and is said to have worked as a horse keeper and enrolled in the culinary arts program at Schoolcraft College.

On June 13, 2018, she married her baby's daddy, Shane Cholewa. Soon after their marriage, Shane had unexpected surgeries on his legs. 

Then a couple of months after that, Desire fell into a coma. She passed away on November 20, 2018 at the age of 27. It is suspected she may have overdosed.

A year later, on September 16, 2019, her husband, Shane Cholewa, passed away at the age of 26.

Sources:

https://mikesouth.com/porn-deaths/ex-adult-performer-kacey-chase-has-passed-away-30936/

https://www.pornhub.com/pornstar/kasey-chase

https://pornstardeaths.com/kacey-chase/

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3655946/?ref_=nmbio_bio_nm

http://en.girlstop.info/models.php?name=Kasey-Chase

https://babesrater.com/person/6442/kasey-chase

https://www.pornpics.com/pornstars/kasey-chase/

http://promo.foxes.com/pics/Kasey-Chase_-_Redhead-inserts-Dildo-in-Anus-n-Pussy?PA=2576081

https://www.bcfhshores.com/tributes/Shane-Cholewa

https://www.facebook.com/roundpizzasquarebox/

Imogen Cunningham

Photography Appreciation

Born in Portland, Oregon on April 12, 1883, Imogen Cunningham was a pioneering American photographer known for her black and white portraits, botanical studies, and nudes. 

From an early age, she showed interest in photography. She bought her first camera via mail order from the American School of Art in Scranton, Pennsylvania at the age of 8. 

In 1903, Cunningham studied at the University of Washington in Seattle, where she developed her technical skills and began experimenting with different photographic styles. 

After graduating, she worked for photographer Edward S. Curtis in his Seattle studio, and was instrumental in helping Curtis document American Indian tribes for his book, The North American Indian.

She became a sought-after photographer after gaining recognition for her portraitures and pictorial works. In 1913, her photographs were exhibited at the Brooklyn Institute of Arts and Sciences. 

In 1917, Cunningham moved to San Francisco, where she became involved in the city's thriving artistic community. She gained a reputation for her innovative and experimental work that included portraits of famous artists and intellects like Frida Kahlo and Ansel Adams. 

Cunningham began focusing more on botanical photography in the 1920s. She produced a series of stunning images that showcased her mastery of light, composition, and texture. One of her iconic works was Magnolia Blossom. In 1933, Cunningham founded the California Horticultural Society in which her images were used as studies. 

Later in the decade, she turned her attention to street photography and industrial landscapes. In 1945, she was invited by Ansel Adams to accept a position as a faculty member for the art photography department at the California School of Fine Arts. 

Despite her success, Cunningham faced many obstacles as a female photographer in a male-dominated field. Yet, she continued to produce innovative and groundbreaking work throughout her long and prolific career.

One of the most cherished moments was when she was interviewed by Johnny Carson on the The Tonight Show in 1976. A delightful exchange between Carson and Cunningham about her assignment from Vanity Fair was received with laughter and applause from the audience: 

Carson - "[Vanity Fair] sent you on an assignment to take pictures of Ugly Men."

Cunningham - "And I did Cary Grant."

Carson - "Did you consider him an ugly man?"

Cunningham - "No. He convinced me that he wasn't."

Magnolia Blossom, Tower of Jewels (1925)

Frida Kahlo Rivera, San Francisco, 1931

Stan, San Francisco, 1959

Helene Mayer, Canyon de Chelly 3, 1939

Sources:

Wikipedia

https://www.imogencunningham.com/

https://samblog.seattleartmuseum.org/2020/04/magnolia-blossom-tower-of-jewels/

http://www.photographywest.com/pages/cunningham_trust.htm

https://www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/cunningham/index.html

https://www.imogencunningham.com/artworks/categories/52-nudes/

Paul Henry

Art Appreciation

Paul Henry was an Irish painter who was widely regarded as one of the most important Irish landscape artists of the early 20th Century. Born in Belfast on April 11, 1876, Henry spent his youth in County Down in Northern Ireland. 

At the age of 6, Henry began drawing regularly, while studying at Methodist College in Belfast. At the age of 15, he moved to the Royal Belfast Academical Institution.  He studied art at Belfast School of Art, then the Metropolitan School of Art in Dublin before going to Paris in 1898 to study at the Académie Julian and at Whistler's Académie Carmen, where he was influenced by the French Impressionist movement. 

While in Paris, he met artist Grace Mitchell. They would marry in 1903 and return to Ireland in 1910. After living on Achill Island for about nine years, they moved to Dublin. There he became one of the founders of the Society of Dublin Painters. A few years later, he separated from his wife and married his second wife, artist Mabel Young.

Henry's paintings were heavily influenced by the landscapes of Ireland. His style was characterized by a bold use of color and a distinctive use of light. The use of color was affected by his red-green color blindness. 

Henry's paintings were highly regarded during his lifetime, and he exhibited regularly in Ireland and the UK. He was also awarded a number of prestigious prizes, including the Gold Medal at the Paris Salon in 1931.

The Potato Digger (1915)

A Sunny Day, Connemara (1940)

On Achill Sound (c. 1942)

Sources:

Wikipedia

https://www.wikiart.org/en/paul-henry/the-potato-digger-1915

https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/homes-and-property/fine-art-antiques/worthless-paul-henry-paintings-sell-for-143k-each-to-irish-and-us-bidders-1.4669475

https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2020/44-fitzwilliam-square-works-from-the-estate-of-the-late-patrick-kelly/paul-henry-r-h-a-r-u-a-on-achill-sound

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/irish-impressionist-paul-henry-paintings-storage-unit-180978528/

Anzhela - Open Space

Model/Artist: Anzhela Markelova

Videographer/Artist: Casual Causal

Music: Dream Sequence by Kendall Miles

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