Egoïste No.15

 Paolo Roversi photographed Russian model Natalia Vodianova for a spread in the magazine: Egoïste No.15.  After looking through his other works I've decided that this photographer is one of the classiest, most talented photographers I've seen yet.  His photos tell a story and have a mood to them that most photographs nowadays do not.  His Italian origins probably help this fact quite a bit.  

Check out his website -- http://www.paoloroversi.com/

Piercing Blue

"The Blue Pond is located in the left bank of the River Bieigawa, southeast of the town of Biei in Hokkaido, Japan, about 2.5 km northwest from the Platinum hot springs at the foot of Mt. Tokachi. The pond gets its name from the unnaturally bright blue hue of its water. With tree stumps protruding from the surface of the water, not unlike Lake Kaindy, the Blue Pond has an ethereal and enchanting appearance."

http://www.amusingplanet.com/2012/08/blue-pond-in-hokkaido-japan.html

Frozen Still

 

Shinichi Maruyama is a Japanese artist who was born in Nagano.  After studying in Chiba he moved to New York where he continued his "Water Sculpting" career.  These sets of photos I've decided to display come from two of his lines -- Water Sculpture and Kusho.  

 

Enjoy these unbelievably perfectly timed photographs of water being alternated and captured in mid-air.  Maruyama describes his work in the following passages which can be found on his website in their entirety.  PLEASE watch the video at the end -- it's truly phenomenal.                                                 

http://www.shinichimaruyama.com/statement

 

 

Water Sculpture (The clear water photos)

I am fascinated by the fragility and incompleteness thatexists with all things beautiful.
I throw water into the air, and in mid-flight it changesshape constantly, being pulled by gravity and burstingwith surface tension.In each moment, the water becomes a beautiful figure which
can be defined as a “part man-made and part natural” sculpture.

Kusho (The black and white water photos)

As a young student, I often wrote Chinese characters in sumi ink. I loved the nervous, precarious feeling of sitting before an empty white page, the moment just before my brush touched the paper.
Once your brush touches paper, you must finish the character, you have one chance. You must commit your full attention and being to each stroke. Liquids, like ink, are elusive by nature. As sumi ink finds its own path through the paper grain, liquid finds its unique path as it moves through air.
Remembering those childhood moments, of ink and empty page, I fashioned a large “brush” and bucket of ink. Each stroke is unique, ephemeral. I can never copy or recreate them. 

“a decisive moment”, [that] I can’t fully understand... until I look at 

these captured afterimages, these paintings in the sky.

Dance into Color

David Anjelo

                  I just stumbled onto these beautiful acrylic paintings by David Agenjo (via ModernMet where I get most of my blog-post ideas from!!!) who is a self-taught artist born in Madrid but living and working in London. He has a number of prints and several original works available over on Saatchi Online.  How gorgeous are these?  The color scheme, the movement, the flow, the way the paint is piled on top of each other rather than being completely blended.

Holiday Films

 

 The Family Stone: An uptight, conservative, businesswoman accompanies her boyfriend to his eccentric and outgoing family's annual Christmas celebration and finds that she's a fish out of water in their free-spirited way of life.

Four of my very favorite Christmas-Season movies...

All descriptions from IMDB

Love Actually: Follows the lives of eight very different couples in dealing with their love lives in various loosely and interrelated tales all set during a frantic month before Christmas in London, England.

The Nightmare Before Christmas: Jack Skellington, king of Halloweentown, discovers Christmas Town, but doesn't quite understand the concept. 

The Holiday: Two women troubled with guy-problems swap homes in each other's countries, where they each meet a local guy and fall in love.

Real Live Flesh

Tune-Yards: Real Live Flesh
Taken from the Tune-Yards video session
Recorded at Platts Eyot for 4AD Sessions
'Real Live Flesh' is taken from the expanded release of their debut album, Bird-Brains

After being in the queer-burlesque performance I could not get this song out of my head.
Beautiful and eerie.
On repeat.

Take a break.

 I just finished my Senior Thesis and could not appreciate photographer Glazastik Finch's photos any more than right now.  These adorable children made my day that much brighter.  I hope you appreciate them as much as I did!!  Almost Winter Break 2012.

LET'S GO!

 http://www.photodom.com/member/glazastik

I'm back.

Audrey Hepburn Vogue 1955

Cloud Atlas

“My life amounts to no more than one drop in a limitless ocean.
Yet what is any ocean, but a multitude of drops?”
― David Mitchell ―

Cloud Atlas (2012)
Directed/Written by: Tom Tykwer, Andy Wachowski, Lana Wachowski
Based on the novel by David Mitchell
Trailer ‎2hr 44min‎ - ‎Rated R‎ - ‎Drama‎

"An exploration of how the actions of individual lives impact one another in the past, present and future, as one soul is shaped from a killer into a hero, and an act of kindness ripples across centuries to inspire a revolution."

I watched this movie last night and was blown away. 
The actors did a brilliant job portraying multiple characters in different roles.
The special effects were phenomenal.
It left me with a filled but heavy heart.

I definitely recommend it.    

Sk8er Boi

For no particular reason whatsoever;

please enjoy random photographs of skaters.

Drawing outside the box.

The Shen Wei Dance Company certainly takes dance to a whole other level by incorporating ink and paint into their piece.

If you have the time, just youtube them or lounge around their website.
Truly magnificent work, even if you're not a dancer.

"Shen Wei Dance Arts is internationally recognized for its interdisciplinary cross-cultural performances, which have been described as “breathtaking, powerful, and riveting” (The Boston Globe) and celebrated for their “gorgeous visual imagery” (The London Times). Each work unveils an original movement vocabulary combined with elements of film, theater, new media, and visual art."   

 http://www.shenweidancearts.org/

Fall Break 2012

For this year's fall break the girls and I will finally be hitting up the infamous city of Nevada.

Excited?     Yes.

Nervous?      Yes.

Sick?      Yes.....  :(

But I will fight through my cold and make the most of it.

Enjoy "Life of the Party" as a shining example of what will be running through my head as I walk through every bar/casino/club in vegas.

#SwagSwag

A touch of Italian

 About a year ago LACMA had an exhibition by fashion designers (and sisters) 

Kate and Laura Mulleavy of Rodarte. 

"Rodarte: Fra Angelico Collection shows ten extraordinary gowns inspired by frescoes (mural paintings on walls or ceilings) painted by the early Italian Renaissance artist, Fra Angelico, and as well as the Baroque sculpture, Ecstasy of Saint Teresa, by Gian Lorenzo Bernini." 

How utterly beautiful are these?