Category: Art

Delicatessen With Love

Posted by Alison – May 9, 2013

This is a story of grandmas around the world and their best dish. Entitled “Delicatessen With Love”, the project took photographer Gabriele Galimberti to 58 countries, where he photographed grandmothers with both the ingredients and finished signature dishes. The results are breathtaking.

Julia Enaigua (71) La Paz, Bolivia Queso Humacha (vegetables and fresh cheese soup).

Isolina Perez De Vargas (83) Mendoza, Argentina Asado Criollo (mixed meats barbecue).

Maria Luz Fedric (53) Cayman Islands Honduran Iguana with rice and beans.

Serette Charles (63) Saint-Jean du Sud, Haiti Lambi in creole sauce.

Inara Runtule, (68) Kekava, Latvia Silke €(herring with potatoes and cottage cheese).

Normita Sambu Arap (65) Oltepessi (masaai mara) Kenya Mboga and orgali (white corn polenta with vegetables and goat).

Marisa Batini (80) Castiglion Fiorentino, Italy Swiss chard and ricotta Ravioli with meat sauce.

Appealing to their natural cooking care and their inevitable pride in their recipe, common factors to all grandmothers in the world, Gabriele persuaded them to do their best in the kitchen. This means moose stake in Alaska and caterpillars in Malawi, delicious, but ferociously hot, ten-spice-curry in India and shark soup in the Philippines. (I’m most intrigued by the iguana, myself.) If my grandmother had been included, I’m not sure what she would have made: potato salad? Custard pie? Those are some of my favorites, at least.

[Via]

Abstracts

Posted by Alison – April 29, 2013

These days, abstracts really float my boat. I would fill my apartment with abstract paintings if I could — mellow abstract expressionist landscapes; wild, textural meditations, à la Jackson Pollock; and even housewares like Ashley G’s Char-Bea line of abstract home goods (that duvet!). I’m especially fond of Chen Williams’s resin bricks; they remind me of toffees, and I just wanna bite into them.

From top: Chen Williams; Lon Brauer Studios; Char-Bea by Ashley G duvet; Todd Hunter; scarf by Klara D; Ginette Fine Art; Chen Williams; Ying Li.

Grayson Perry’s “Map to Nowhere”

Posted by Alison – April 26, 2013

I’m finally reading Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall, and I can’t put it down; when it comes to history, I’ve become a developed a bit of a royal obsession, and Henry VIII is one of the most fascinating. Narrated by Thomas Cromwell (who’s usually made out to be a bad dude and is eventually beheaded, spoiler), the book chronicles Henry’s break with the holy Roman empire to divorce Catherine of Aragon and marry Anne Boleyn — and all the religious mayhem, persecution of witches and heretics, Lutheranism, and deaths that followed. It was a very provocative time to question religion, I’ll say that much.

Which brings me to artist Grayson Perry: inspired by Thomas More’s Utopia (who also plays a big part in Wolf Hall), he created his own version of the gorgeous, flattened Medieval maps of heaven, hell, and the earth like the Hereford Mappa Mundi — the largest medieval map known to exist. The result is a complex illustration filled with symbols, messages, and lots of tongue-in-cheek references. It also looks really cool.

As the British Council of Visual Arts wrote,

“Perry’s personal world view encompasses a cacophony of ideas and preoccupations, with ‘Doubt’ right at the centre. The artist’s alter ego Claire gets a sainthood, while people pray at the churches of global corporations: Microsoft, Starbucks, Tescoes. Tabloid cliches abound, each attached to a figure or building: ‘the new black’, ‘kidults’, ‘binge drinking’, having-it-all’… While Perry adopts a medieval confusion of scale and proportion, the diagrammatic style is as adamant as its religious forerunners. Beneath, there is a drawing of figures on a pilgrimage, set in a realistic landscape. They are at final staging post before making their way up to a monastery at the top of a mountain beyond, which is hit by a beam of light, coming from the artist’s bottom.”

In the video below he explains his ideas for the “Map to Nowhere.” P.S. Grayson Perry also curated the Tomb of the Unknown Craftsman exhibition at the British Museum — I wish I could have seen that!

Nat Geo Found

Posted by Alison – March 26, 2013

I’ve been a little bored with the internet lately. Everything kind of seems the same, you know? Stripes, maxi skirts, etc. But then I ran across Nat Geo Found, a curated Tumblr from National Geographic’s archives showcasing rare photos from the last 125 years. The thing that really makes me stampy? (Read: Excited enough to stamp my feet and make the neighbors mad.) They’re selling prints! And they’re affordable! Seriously, wow. I’m personally a huge fan of the seahorse above.

Phoebe Wahl

Posted by Alison – February 26, 2013

I recently ran across Phoebe Wahl’s illustration, and I was immediately smitten with her style — it’s so familiar and seems like something out of a folksy 1970s storybook. I also love the many woman-positive pieces; I wish I’d seen her Valentine’s Day illustrations — which read “Be your own valentine” — a few weeks ago. Always a good message.

Lia Melia

Posted by Alison – November 12, 2012

]

Painter Lia Melia is a master of the abstract landscape (my favorite). Paintings of an ocean? I’m all over that. So beautiful.

On Decay

Posted by Alison – April 9, 2012

What is it about mold? Decay. Rot. Growth. Seeing something comes from — well, nothing — never fails to amuse me. The last time I checked the fridge, I’ve got some green beans. Two weeks later, there’s a wooly hamster living in my crisper. Said rodent will eventually make its way to the trash, but not before I’ve analyzed the mold and, y’know, sniffed it a bit.

Beyond the ephemeral nature of produce, I’m quite smitten with the still lives of Klaus Pichler. His One Third project explores the idea of consumption and wasted food — according to a UN study, one third of the world’s food goes to waste. Living in New York, I believe it. Go halfsies.

[Via]

The Twenty Four Hour Woman

Posted by Alison – March 21, 2012

So I’m kind of in love with the Twenty Four Hour Woman. She’s an everywoman: installing an air conditioner, fixing a toilet, blow drying her hair…all in the nude. And I gotta say, her hair (and wobbly bits) make me very happy. Artist Scott Lenhardt describes his inspiration on his Kickstarter:

Twenty Four Hour Woman is a one-a-day calendar not unlike the popular Far Side calendars of the ’80s. It’s a simple idea that is meant to celebrate the woman caught in the act of whatever it is she is doing, one day at a time. This nude series started as an exercise a few years ago in my studio as a way to warm up my brain, get my hand moving and help ease any seriousness that might have been floating around. Each day of this 5″ X 4″ (approx.) tear-off calendar contains a different little drawing of a naked lady doing something different for every day of the year. I have spent the last year and a half illustrating the limitless list of activities and tasks and have done my best to do so with love and honesty.

Far Side inspired? Sign me up! Support Scott’s calendar on Kickstarter. Let’s make the Twenty Four Hour Woman a reality.

 

The Missed Connections of Sophie Blackall

Posted by Alison – February 7, 2012

Living in New York is a funny thing; in my six years here, I’ve become quite accustomed to living in ways that I never really imagined while growing up in Iowa. While I might have once casually scarfed a sandwich in the relative privacy of my car, living in New York affords no such luxuries: I eat my pizza on the street, Liz Lemon-style. It may be messy, but it just feels good, and where else am I going to go?! Just as my body is now my packhorse — there’s a reason I carry a big ass bag! — living in public has become a way of life.

Love for my city washed over me after watching Etsy’s profile of artist Sophie Blackall, most well known for her Missed Connections series of illustrations. Trawling Craigslist can be a sordid thing, but there are some tender moments to be found; the New York City subway system makes up most of the “Did you see me?” ads posted daily. While some may be seeking the one who got away, I just enjoy taking in the scenery. It’s still crazy to me that people from every walk of life come together, converse, and stand armpit-to-nose every day, while still managing to provide one another with a level of civility and concern that isn’t often attributed to a city this diverse and large.

In short: I love New York. Consider this a valentine to my adopted city.

The Life Report

Posted by Alison – January 8, 2012


Isabel Bishop, American painter and printmaker, 1902-1988.


Doris Caesar, American sculptor, 1892-1971, in her studio.

Betti Richard, American sculptor, born 1916, in her studio.


Helene Sardeau, American sculptor, 1899-1969, at work in her studio.


Florence Julia Bach, American painter and sculptor, 1891-1978.

Brenda Putnam, American sculptor, 1890-1975.

“All my life I knew I was loved and protected but it did not prepare me for life and what was ahead of me. The tragedies, the disappointments, the challenges and how to live with them were difficult.

“At 85, I think about life differently. I can look at my past life like watching an old silent film. I can’t change anything but I can remember and wonder and think about what if I was more prepared, stronger, wiser, more experienced. Then something inside of me says ‘forget it, try to enjoy the rest of your life.’

“That is what I am trying to do. I don’t want to waste precious days still ahead of me.”

— Regina Titus

New York Times columnist David Brooks recently reached out to readers over 70 to contribute to a new project: The Life Report. Encouraged to share life stories, failures, joy and wisdom, this collection of narratives really resonated with me; the excerpt above from 85-year-old Regina Titus left me feeling hollow, sad, hopeful, and most of all, that it needed to be shared.

I’ve really enjoyed reading every story collected. Read more remembrances at The New York Times.

And aren’t those photos amazing? More portraits of twentieth century female artists can be found via the Smithsonian Institution’s Flickr.

Man Ray Portraits

Posted by Alison – November 30, 2011

Can you believe these portraits are from the ’20s? Man Ray was definitely ahead of his time — and it doesn’t hurt that his subjects were the most avant garde artists, poets, writers and thinkers in the city. Oh, Paris in the ’20s…I can only imagine. (And I still haven’t seen that Woody Allen movie! On my list.)

[Via Mondo Blogo]

In the Beginning It Was Humid

Posted by Alison – October 18, 2011

With a title like In the Beginning It Was Humid, how could this book be bad?

All humidity talk aside, Bastien Aubry and Dimitri Broquard’s collaborative art book finds inspiration in outsider art, handicrafts and ceramics — all subjects I can’t get enough of, obviously. Gotta pick up a copy of this book.

[Via]

Stef Driesen

Posted by Alison – September 11, 2011

Oh, to be able to paint such ghostly abstracts! If I were an artist, I’d study at the school of Stef Driesen.  [Via]

Google Earth Carpets

Posted by Alison – September 5, 2011

Designer David Hanauer finds beauty in the aerial abstraction of Google Maps — specifically, the urban morass of Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Not content to merely soak in overhead shots of pools and freeways, Hanauer began creating collaged patterns that quickly transitioned into carpets. What a novel concept! These beautiful rugs are available for purchase on his website.

[Via Flavorwire]

Kara Gunter’s “Trial by Fire”

Posted by Alison – August 15, 2011

I first came across Kara Gunter’s smoke-fired ceramic eggs on Etsy. Intrigued by the premise, I looked up her website and the art project where the eggs originated, entitled “Trial by Fire.” I was not disappointed: the salt, smoke and ceramics are like candy to me! Kara’s artistic statement explains her motivations:

According to fire ecology — the study of fire and its relationship to living organisms — fire is a necessity for propagation. Certain plant life has evolved to depend on fire as a means to clear out the old and dying so new life can take hold. Seeds are split open by the heat, and the ground is fertile with ash.

Trial by Fire explores themes of devastation followed by the cycle of rebirth. Referenced are eggs, seeds and cast away skins, all signs that the metamorphosis has begun. Salt, also attributed with purifying and preservation, suspends the moment of purity in time, holding the cycle’s completion in stasis.

The majority of the work created for Trial by Fire, utilizes fire in some way in its fabrication. Clay must be exposed to extreme heat to become vitreous. Furthermore, clay work has been stained with fire and smoke in the smoke-firing process. Paper and wood have been blistered and scorched with fire.

So beautiful. Many of the pieces are now for sale on Etsy.

Jaako Pallasvuo

Posted by Alison – July 28, 2011

I’m majorly digging on the work of Jakko Pallasvuo. Beautiful paintings.

[Via]

Miss Chris

Posted by Alison – May 23, 2011

 

 

I’m excited to present my friend Mickey Duzyj’s latest comic. Mickey’s interest in the race track, eccentric figures, and the lives of losers and misfits often crosses over into his work, and “Miss Chris” is no exception. This mystery minicomic tells the story of a chain-smoking, cross-dressing bartender with a dark past who works the bar at the local racetrack. Does a life of decadence conceal a monstrous injury, or can Miss Chris prove that his ugliness is only skin-deep?

And this is just the beginning. This story is the first of a longer series of stories about the racetrack, where more characters who work and hang out there will be revealed. Trolls in place of jockeys? Opium-addicted horses? I can’t wait.

Gauguin Re-envisioned

Posted by Alison – May 22, 2011

 

 

I’ve fallen deep into a Gauguin black hole, which led me to this photo recreation of his famous “Spirit of the Dead Watching.” And yep, that’s Naomi Campbell, circa 1992. Beautiful.

[Via]

Pictory: The Stories of Handmade

Posted by Alison – April 25, 2011

 

If you’re not familiar with Pictory Magazine, you should be. (Pictory = picture + story) This collection of curated galleries and stories document love, loss, family, travel, and our lives and culture in big, gorgeous photos. Anyone can submit a photo story on the continually changing social documentary themes, then the best work from the community is curated into polished photo essays.

I was recently part of the curation process — on behalf of Etsy — for a collaborative project with Pictory on the subject of “handmade” and the art of craftsmanship. The virtual gallery is now live. Here a few of the winning entries to whet your appetite. Beautiful stuff.

 

Watercraft by Heather Perry

Carefully, methodically, and very precisely, Buster Prout of Bowdoinham, Maine, constructs a gunning float, a boat used for hunting duck. This model is specific to Merrymeeting Bay. Buster Prout is the last of the bay’s gunning float builders, and for each full size boat he crafts, he creates a precise and tiny model, exactly 1/8th scale. He is a gentle man, with an artist’s hand. They are elegant crafts, and a good sculler can move the float through the rushes silently, and sneak right up on the birds. At best, a hunter might bag a limit. At worst, one spends a day in a remarkable place, in this handmade, remarkable boat.

 

What Lives in the Body by Meera Sethi

Once a week for two years, I have sat down at a table in a natural history museum, picked up a scalpel and a pair of tweezers, and—gently, carefully, meditatively—created a study skin out of a bird, or two, or three, that has been killed by its unsuspecting flight into a window of a skyscraper. On this day I prepared a Wilson’s flycatcher (a slight, somewhat unprepossessing bird notable for being new to me and for turning out well despite being incredibly small), a Savannah sparrow, and a Gray-cheeked thrush. They were all good to me; no one’s skin tore, no one’s wings sat crookedly. It was quiet, without even the radio on to disturb the hush, and there were no visitors all day. I felt restored when I left.

 

Fur Trade by Harriet Andronikides

For the past 40 years, my father has been working as a furrier in the Garment District in New York City. This neighborhood was once the heart of the fur industry, thriving with craftsman from all backgrounds and nationalities. However in the past decade, the craft of making fur coats and accessories has vanished, leaving my father as one of the last few artisans left in the Fur District. The sewing machinery, tools, and collection of coats themselves are a beautiful example of American craftsmanship.

Wisdom

Posted by Alison – April 24, 2011

Eighties Art

Posted by Alison – April 17, 2011


 

 


 


 

 

 

 

 

I am so addicted to the ’80s Art tumblr. Kenny Scharf, geometric, colorful goodness.

Weekend!

Posted by Alison – April 16, 2011

This cat’s expression says it all. In this case, “all” meaning “let’s get manicures and eat olives and maybe root through a dumpster afterward.”

[Via Atlantic Treefox]

We Are All Animals

Posted by Alison – April 11, 2011

 

 

 

 

 

 

Long before I was a cat lady, I was a dog person. And I still am. I grew up with dogs, I empathize with dogs: I love dogs so strongly and deeply that some people can’t understand it. But I do. I’d do anything to save one, to rescue one from an abusive owner or to make sure that it was safe and well-fed. In fact, I can’t even read or watch even the most casual story about animal cruelty because it upsets me so, so much.

And that’s where Martin Usborne’s “MUTE: The Silence of Dogs in Cars” comes in. Far from portraying abusive situations, he wished to observe the emotions that dogs feel upon being left in the car. An hour or a minute, the dog has no idea when its beloved owner is returning, and this brings out a lot of potential angst, insecurity, sadness and anger. I was really moved by the results (especially knowing that these were fictional situations). Here he explains the thoughts behind his project.

I was once left in a car at a young age.

I don’t know when or where or for how long, probably for fifteen minutes only. The details don’t matter.  The point is that I wondered if anyone would come back. It seems trivial now, but in a child’s mind it is possible to be alone forever.

Around the same age I began to feel a deep affinity with animals — in particular their plight at the hands of humans. I remember watching TV and seeing footage of a dog being put in a plastic bag and being kicked. What appalled me most was that the dog could not speak back. Its muteness terrified me.

The images in this series explore that feeling, both in relation to myself and to animals in general. The camera is the perfect tool for capturing a sense of silence and longing: the shutter freezes the subject for ever. The dog is truly trapped.

When I started this project I knew the photos would be dark. What I didn’t expect was to see so many subtle reactions by the dogs: some sad, some expectant, some angry, some dejected. It was as if upon opening up a box of grey-coloured pencils I was surprised to see so many shades inside.

[Sent to me by my lovely friend Diana.]

Tat Dreams

Posted by Alison – April 11, 2011

I’ve had the tattoo itch as of late…it might be time to finally commit to my all-seeing eye tattoo. Or antique lace. Or…so many other things!

Looking at all of the evenly spaced tattoos on Liam’s chest — inked there by the talented Thomas Hooper — makes me realize how much more I like the spaced strategy (vs. having sleeves). It’s so much more traditional…you never see old men with full sleeves: just one or two on the bicep or forearm, Popeye style. I can dig.

[Via]

Laura Carlin

Posted by Alison – April 6, 2011

 

 

 

 

 

Illustrator and ceramicist Laura Carlin just slays me. The simplicity of the bowls, with the patterns and glazes — you would be sickened by the contented noises I’m making right now. Clucking, I am.

Boulevard

Posted by Alison – April 4, 2011

 

 

 

 

 

 

When I first came across photographer Katy Grannan‘s work, I was immediately struck by the sadness of her subjects. Grannan has spent the last few years wandering the streets of Los Angeles and San Francisco, seeking out subjects for whom life has been hard and despair has been plenty. These stark portraits make up her recent body of work, Boulevard. In an interview with Daily Serving, she says:

I definitely did not want the series to be a parade of despair, nor am I interested in smiley happy people (family photo albums are already filled with those pictures – this has always irritated me). Each one of these photographs is like a short story and part of that narrative, of course, is the part where they’re working with me to make a photograph on the spot, right after we’ve met. The dynamic is different every time, but it’s almost always a lot of fun. People really get into it, and it requires a generosity and openness to be part of this process, to dance on the sidewalk in front of traffic, to wave at strangers honking. And I love the spirit of someone like the eighty year old woman who still wears bright lipstick and eyeliner – she deserves to feel gorgeous, and she is. Or the eighty year old man that handed me his business card that read ‘International Playboy.’ These are the people I want to know better. But of course, all of our histories are complex – there is disappointment, shame, loneliness, and there’s also joy. I want all of it to exist, messily and awkwardly, in the photographs. Because that’s life.

And isn’t that what all existence is? Messy. Awkward. Optimistic.

[Via]

Spinning Under Moonlight

Posted by Alison – March 16, 2011

Julia Sherman‘s performance, photography and video art pieces are provocative and cross tons of genres. (I’m a huge fan of her long-form piece investigative piece on handmade wigs for Orthodox, Hasidic and African-American women, ”She Goes Covered.“)

This beautifully captured performance piece, entitled Mother of All, is explained as such:

“In the Kabbalah it says that unmarried women are forbidden to spin under the moonlight, as it is seen as a brazen display of one’s sexual potential. In the piece, there is an emphasis on the rhythmic, hypnotic motion of the spinning wheel and the movement of the body.”

Vacation Thoughts

Posted by Alison – March 10, 2011

I live vicariously through Grass Doe’s beautiful, outdoorsy photos. I need a vacation, bad.

Bingo

Posted by Alison – March 2, 2011

 

 

 

 

 

“Time ticks by; we grow older. Before we know it, too much time has passed and we’ve missed the chance to have had other people hurt us. To a younger me this sounded like luck; to an older me this sounds like a quiet tragedy.”

“…And then I felt sad because I realized that once people are broken in certain ways, they can’t ever be fixed, and this is something nobody ever tells you when you are young and it never fails to surprise you as you grow older as you see the people in your life break one by one. You wonder when your turn is going to be, or if it’s already happened. “ — Douglas Coupland’s Life After God

Photos by Andrew Miksys.

[Via]

 

Peeling Like A Day-Old Sunburn

Posted by Alison – February 16, 2011

I think I could live with any paint color on my walls if it was peeling (even cream or mustard yellow, and that’s saying a lot for me). Decay means that a building has been aged like a wizened, stinky cheese — my favorite. Here’s to rooms that show their years.

Photos by Venetian Bird

Related Posts with Thumbnails