Fashion is DEFINITELY Art: Louis Vuitton Cruise 2024

Artistic Director: Nicolas Ghesquière

via Louis Vuitton

The Only Guy in the City with a Milkman

We've always heard the joke about the milkman. Usually it implies an affair that resulted in the woman giving birth to a child that isn't her husbands. 

Of course, the joke is one-sided because it focuses on the woman's infidelity.  However, unfaithfulness works both ways, and according to the General Social Survey (2023), men are more likely to cheat than women. 

But we all still get a chuckle when joking about a child that looks nothing like their biological father as the milkman's. 

 

Buck Brown, PLAYBOY (November 1994)

Dave Matthews Band - Stay (Wasting Time)

Music Appreciation

I have a summer playlist I created on a music streaming service that I titled "Dave Matthews Band Radio," and as you may guess the playlist is mostly Dave Matthews. It's a great listen, especially while outdoor grilling.

There are many songs I enjoy listening to but this particular one provides a carefree summer vibe, celebrating living in the moment. Dave Matthews Band's song "Stay (Wasting Time)" was released on June 28, 1998 as a single from their third studio album Before These Crowded Streets. The song features The Lovely Ladies (Tawatha Agee, Cindy Myzell, and Brenda White King) on background vocals.

The song showcases the band's signature fusion of rock, jazz, and folk influences, with an upbeat tempo, and infectious guitar riffs. The lyrics is about enjoying life and embrace the simple pleasures of life. 

Directed by Dean Karr, the music video captures the essence of the song. The video intersperses scenes of people, mostly Blacks, enjoying various activities exemplifying the carefree spirit of the song during summertime.  

Sources:

Wikipedia

https://songmeanings.com/songs/view/1005/

https://www.songfacts.com/facts/dave-matthews-band/stay-wasting-time

Album Cover: Bon Jovi - These Days

Album Cover 

Album: Bon Jovi - These Days

Released: June 27, 1995

Photography: Mark Seliger

Art Direction / Art Work:  Margery Greenspan

Design: Frank Harkins

Models: Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, David Bryan, and Tico Torres

Dance: Chris Brown - Juice

Choreography: Jungwoo

via mu:tudio 

Eleanor Norcross

Art Appreciation 

Eleanor Norcross was an influential American painter, best known for her paintings of Impressionist portraits, still lifes, and genteel interiors. She is said to have made significant contributions to the art world in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. 

Born on June 24, 1854 in Fitchburg, Massachusetts, Norcross afforded a privileged education, graduating from Fitchburg High School, then attending Wheton Female Seminary. She went on to study at Boston's Massachusetts Normal Art School, where she earned a teaching certificate. She taught drawing in the Fitchburg schools.

In 1878, Norcross studied art in New York City under William Merritt Chase at the Art Students League of New York. A few years later, she moved to Paris and became a student of Alfred Stevens. He would have a huge influence in her art. An impressionist, Norcross developed a distinct style using vibrant colors, delicate brush strokes, ability to portray reflections and textures, and an emphasis on capturing the play of light and shadow.

Her father provided Eleanor a comfortable living, with the agreement that she not sell her paintings. He felt women should give their works away and not enter into the male dominated art business. 

A generous philanthropist, she donated some of her works to Wheaton College, she established the Norcross Foundation, which funded scholarships for art students and contributed to the preservation and promotion of art institutions. Additionally, the art she collected and the paintings she made became became part of the Fitchburg Art Museum. 

Woman in a Paris Garden

Still Life with Parrot

My Studio (1891)

Sources:

Wikipedia

https://fitchburgartmuseum.org/eleanor-norcross/

https://freedomsway.org/story/eleanor-norcross/

https://www.sentinelandenterprise.com/2013/07/31/salute-to-women-eleanor-norcross-artist-leaves-enduring-legacy-in-fitchburg-museum/

https://www.jstor.org/stable/23929956?seq=1

Milt Hinton

Photography Appreciation

Photography documents important moments in history. Something Milt Hinton realized after going through the 60,000 plus photos he took while traveling with jazz bands across the country and recording with renowned jazz musicians in studios. 

Born in Vicksburg, Mississippi on June 23, 1910, Milt Hinton (aka "The Judge) was an American jazz bassist, bandleader, and photographer. He played with some of the most prominent jazz musicians such as Cab Calloway, Benny Goodman, and Lionel Hampton. 

At the time, blacks in the south experienced extreme poverty and racism, and lynching was common as blacks were targeted by white racists. To escape this, Milt was sent to live with extended family in Chicago, at a very young age. This provided him the opportunity to encounter diversity among blacks and experience the abundance of music, especially jazz.

For his thirteenth birthday, he received a violin. While in high school, he played violin in the school orchestra and learned several brass instruments. After graduating high school, he attended Crane Junior College and received work as a freelance musician around Chicago. 

In 1936, Hinton joined the Cab Calloway Orchestra. During his time with the Orchestra, he took part in recording sessions with renowned jazz musicians.  

Around that time, he began taking photographs. His first camera was a 35mm Argus C3, a low-priced mass-produced camera. He would later move to a Leica, then a Canon 35mm range-finder, and Nikon F. 

Throughout his career, Milt captured many iconic images of jazz musicians and other celebrities. He is considered one of the most important photographers of jazz musicians and his photographs have been featured in many books and exhibitions.

Cab Calloway with kids and winner of the 

'Calloway Quizical,' Providence, R.I., c. 1938

Dizzy Gillespie, Grande Parade du Jazz, Nice, France, c. 1981

Louis Armstrong, Seattle Hotel Room, c. 1954

Billie Holiday (last recording date), 

recording studio, New York, 1959.

Sources:

Wikipedia

https://casualphotophile.com/2020/01/17/four-lessons-learned-through-the-photography-of-jazz-bassist-milt-hinton/

https://putthison.com/jazz-style-behind-the-scenes-photographs-of-milt-hinton/

https://www.npr.org/2005/04/10/4583452/keeping-time-the-photos-and-jazz-of-milt-hinton

https://milthinton.com/