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Plain Jane or Fancy Pants?
I’m a rather plain girl in the sense of THINGS. Function beats form any day as far as I’m concerned (this, of course, excludes a previous post concerning my unhealthy affinity for shoes), ensuring that I will never be counted amongst the infamous and (for unknown reasons) publicised “Gold Diggers” of the world, which is surely a very real concern for any young woman of the 21st century. It took me ages to switch over to the “smart” phone, which only lasted about a year; as soon as it was possible I reverted back to a “dumb” phone – as long as it calls, texts, does math (because I can’t),…
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Chicago and Picasso
I have to admit, I’ve had a bit of a crush on Chicago for a long time. Not because it’s cold or windy, or for any of its sports teams. I’m not a fan of deep dish pizza; hot dogs gross me out for the most part. Al Capone is pretty big to speak of, I suppose, but mob ‘outfits’ strike me as excessive and silly. One positive note thus far: I’ve heard amazing things about O’Hare International. Oh, and since the Chicago Fire of 1871, the city rightfully boasts superior urban planning. So what is it that has me perpetually itching to check out this mid-western city for an…
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A Realm of Contradiction
Asia: The mystery of the Orient. Exotic people, exotic clothes, and exotic food. Parasols under cherry blossom trees. Staggeringly beautiful pagodas with highly delicate ornamentation. People who are short of stature, but high in courtesy. Humid jungles. Roll upon roll of luxurious carpets. Fragrantly perfumed air enveloping crowded market stalls. A medley of spices waiting to be unleashed. OR Asia: Hot. Humid. The short, staccato clamour of horns punctuating the incessant drone of traffic. An acrid stench of mingled fumes and durian pervades the air. Masked and hooded figures driving with abandon, giving rise to the adrenaline rush of death-defying acts of crossing the street. Street food at every corner,…
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“Give a Girl the Right Shoes, and She Can Conquer the World.”
– Marilyn Monroe* Shoes! Glorious Shoes! (If I may be as bold as to twist Oliver’s words a little…) As nearly every teenage girl and woman will tell you, shoes are fantastically important. Mainly, because they’re just fantastic. But think about it, the love of a good or pretty shoe (the best combine beauty and comfort) is reflected throughout history. For the purposes of this blog, history includes fairytales… Where would Cinderella be without her glass slipper? Where would Puss be without his boots? Hermes would have been a great deal less effective as a messenger god without his winged sandals. And the Old woman who lived in a shoe?…
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Living Marble Masterpieces
I grew up about an hour outside of Philadelphia – a hub of culture, art, and United States history. Being introduced to the arts and science (I still, in my late twenties, love to touch things in the Franklin Institute) at a young age, Auguste Rodin’s sculptures are amongst my earlier memories. I always stared at them the longest and hardest, waiting for them to breathe. You should also know I stood quite a distance away because works like Adam (bronze, modelled 1880-1881) are fairly frightening for a ten year old. It’s said that marble is the most flesh-like material; naturally cold and hard, it needs to be warm and…
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Rome, ville caméléon ?
Rome est symbolique, culturelle et éternelle. Si la ville de la Dolce Vita de Fellini attire toujours aujourd’hui des milliers de touristes c’est parce qu’elle fascine par son passé, par ses vestiges antiques et par sa nourriture (il est bien connu, au niveau gastronomique que l’Italie est une valeur sûre). Qui a-t-il de plus agréable, après une journée de visites, que de déguster un gelato assis sur les marches de la Piazza di Spagna, ou de boire un apéro à la tombée de la nuit, en regardant le spectacle de la rue, les hommes d’affaires ultra gominés en costard-cravates, chaussures cirées ayant terminé leur journée, les italiennes, féminines à souhait, les…
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Edward Hopper: The Man, The Mystery, The Muse
Edward Hopper, the man of many movements. Whether it be romanticism, realism, symbolism, or formalism, Hopper has covered them all. I am not going to analyse which oeuvre he was best suited to, nor to which he owes the most allegiance. Instead I am going to try and find the man behind the paintings…. Ok, let’s fast-forward Hopper’s life a little… and hello Josephine! A fellow artist and former student of Robert Henri (a past teacher of Hopper’s), Josephine Nivison was ‘The One’. She was the Simon to Hopper’s Garfunkel, or the Kate to Hopper’s Wills if you want to be a little more current. Model, Manager, Life-Companion, she truly…
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Die Metamorphose der Skulptur
Ein Kunsthistoriker muss in seinem Leben mindestens zwei Bücher gelesen haben, die Bibel und Ovids Metamorphosen. So oder so ähnlich begann einer meiner Professoren ein Seminar zu den Göttern, Helden, Nymphen und Verwandlungen, denen man in den 15 Büchern der Metamorphosen begegnet. Und es ist doch immer wieder erstaunlich, wie uns diese Geschichten über Jungfrauen verfolgende liebestolle Jünglinge, einen triebgesteuerten Göttervater und seine eifersüchtige Ehefrau, die schöne Mutter des Liebesgottes und den Helden am Scheideweg nicht nur die Welt erklären, sondern uns auch einen wunderbaren Zugang zu den Meisterwerken der Kunstgeschichte gewähren. Nicht nur in der Malerei, sondern auch in der Bildhauerei ist das Wissen über die griechischen und römischen…
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We’re all living in America, America is wunderbar…
Amerika galt lange Zeit als das Land,in dem Träume wahr werden. Doch ist das heute noch genauso? Wofür stehen die Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika heute? Was verbinden wir mit Amerika? „We’re all living in America, Coca-Cola, Wonderbra, We’re all living in America“ lautet der Refrain des von der deutschen Rockband Rammstein 2004 herausgebrachtenSongs Amerika. An anderer Stelle wird der Refrain durch „Coca-Cola, sometimes WAR, We’re all living in America, America is wunderbar“ variiert. Im Songtext heißt es dann: „Lasst euch ein wenig kontrollieren, […] Musik kommt aus dem Weißen Haus, […], und wer nicht tanzen will am Schluss, weiß noch nicht, dass er tanzen muss!“. Es sind sowohl die banalen…
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Jasper Johns – symbole de la fierté américaine ?
Le Whitney Museum a créé une exposition autour du thème du patriotisme. Le travail de nombreux artistes américains, comme Hopper ou Charles Ray, est présenté afin d’étudier l’expression du sentiment de fierté de la nation. Comment l’art provoque-t-il une émotion qui provoque chez le spectateur le sentiment d’appartenir à une nation ? En cette période de jeux olympiques, le thème est plutôt bien trouvé, surtout dans un pays construit autour du patriotisme. Les visiteurs ne manqueront pas. Les toiles de Jasper Johns sur le drapeau et le continent américain paraissent être les meilleurs témoignages possibles de ce sentiment. Quel meilleur symbole que le drapeau de son pays ? Cependant le choix de…
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