art – Page 14 – Girl Who Would be KING on Life, Style and INSPIRATION.

Art, Architecture, Culture, Girl Who Would be King

Art/Culture/Music – you always need a back up!

IF YOU ♥ MUSIC you need to watch these two docs – both are on Netflix

I just watched a fabulous documentary called 20 Feet from Stardom and I highly recommend it to anyone who has ever loved and listened to music – so that means YOU & everyone else. This is an Oscar-winning film by Morgan Neville that is long overdue and super fascinating.

Do the names Darlene Love, Táta Vega, Judith Hill and Lisa Fischer mean anything to you? Chances are you’ve never heard of them before but chances are you have heard them before. Heard them sing that is! Many times & on famous songs and hit records. They are the back-up singers, otherwise known and relied on as being indispensable to the recording industry. The unacknowledged unsung heroes – very much appreciated by the front runners of the industry but don’t get the credit from the general public that they so deserve. Although Darlene Love was recently & finally inducted into the music hall of fame by Bette Midler.

Neville talks to the big players like Bruce Springsteen, Stevie Wonder, Mick Jagger and music producers about the mind-boggling talent of these women and how much they respect them and rely on their support. Infact, most of them sing as well or better than their superstar counterparts.

It is not without sadness but it is also about greatness and possibility. Bittersweet.

Okay, I don’t want to give too much away except to say once again, you NEED to see this documentary if you love music. That’s all!

WATCH 20 feet from Stardom trailer:

I also really liked:

THE MEDICINE OF MUSIC and one Man’s Amazing Journey

Glen Campbell I’ll Be Me

While on the subject of music docs here’s another interesting one I recently watched (even though both have been out for a while now) on country singer & music legend Glen Campbell who was sadly & unexpectedly told to hang up his guitar after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2011 as he set out on an unprecedented tour across America. Instead of the original intended 5 week tour, it went for 151 sold out shows over a year and a half while being documented as his “Goodbye Tour” as he and his wife decided to go public with his diagnosis and illness. Alzheimer’s is an unpredictable, very common disease and it is great to see his family back him up with support, love, laughter and of course music (3 of his kids play on stage with him). It is interesting, educational and heartfelt.

Interesting Tidbits: Bet you didn’t know that Glen Campbell played with the Beach Boys? Yes, he did on occasion.

My friend’s talented daughter has the priviledge of recording at his son’s (Cal Campbell) home recording studio in California and said he is a lovely man.

GLEN CAMPBELL I’LL BE ME Official Movie Trailer

Directed by James Keach

Have you seen either?

Art, Architecture, Culture, Girl Who Would be King

Art/Culture – East Side Cultural Crawl

Enjoying ART & CULTURE on Vancouver’s EAST SIDE

In it’s 19th year now, this year marked the biggest ever for the Vancouver Eastside Cultural Crawl, with artists showing off the best of their craft, and thousands of people in attendance.

The crawl has grown from what started out as only three buildings and a handful of artists to over 80 buildings and almost 500 artists. Last year was the very first time I attended and I couldn’t believe the diversity of art and the number of people. It was very lively and educational. It was a good example of what this city has to offer for ART’s sake. We have quite a few talented artists to be proud of.

The crawl began on Thursday November 19th and ran through until Sunday, the 22^nd giving the public four days to check out the various work of these artists in all the locations for free.

'Pieta' by sculptor David Robinson, one of the artists whose studio is open to the public for the Eastside Culture Crawl. (David Robinson ) — **‘Pieta’ by sculptor David Robinson**

The massive building at 1000 Parker has the densest collection of artist studios on the map every year and so starting the crawl experience here is always advisable. Not only was there something magical about this building on the opening night of the crawl (crowds were thick and fast with energy, studios full and artists ready to chat) but to cover as much ground as possible, Parker Street gives you that solid start.

**Zoe Pawlak | Show Me with Your Eyes | Parker Street Studios**

There’s a lot to take in – so much to see.

Tanis Saxton's sculptures have been referred to as visual poems that inspire and often leave the viewer with a thoughtful stillness. Taken from website — **Tanis Saxby sculpts ethereal works of art. They have been referred to as *visual poems* that inspire and often leave the viewer with a thoughtful stillness. Taken from website.**

There really is something for everyone’s taste and budget. If you missed it, there’s always next year.

If you attended I’d be interested in your comments

Art, Architecture, Culture

Feel-good Friday: DANCE

It’s a little like a love affair It starts out great, makes you feel good and then there are a few bumps along the way. You begin to doubt yourself. You settle in, become comfortable with the same steps and work into a routine. But if you want to improve your dance and keep things fresh you have to always evolve and work at it. You have to be eager to take it one step further to keep it interesting and alive. And to make the leaders want to dance with you.

Anyway, that’s my little analogy of the dance

You just can’t take a crash course to be a tango dancer in a movie – Robert Duvall

Dancing is not only social and good exercise, it makes me feel good. But I’ve been lax in going regularly for a long while now and I feel like I need to improve. With tango, it seems so easy but you never quite feel like you’ve mastered it. It is said that it takes a lifetime. Well since I have some time left I started lessons with one of the best instructors – Nadia of “Strictly Tango.” She spends several months a year in Buenos Aires. She’s professional but makes it fun, doesn’t miss a beat, watches your posture, corrects you on the spot and her dance space is incredibly appealing – the most ambient dance space for learning in Vancouver. Her base is ballet – actually the best base for any dance. She’s lovely. (See a short bio below). I already feel a big improvement. But I have a looong way to go.

“A good dancer is one who listens to the music…We dance the music not the steps. Anyone who aspires to dance never thinks about what he is going to do. What he cares about is that he follows the music. You see, we are painters. We paint the music with our feet.” – Carlos Gavito

Nadia's dance studio — Nadia’s dance studio (and photo above)

I also started taking West Coast Swing – opposites attract! Think Patrick Swayze in Dirty Dancing (but not as dirty). I took West Coast Swing years ago but was travelling and didn’t continue when I came back and forgot the steps. It’s more funky, casual but lots of fun and the music is upbeat…a mix bag of rockabilly, country, blues and current pop music – club style dancing with a partner. The opposite of tango although there is a mixer where both dances are incorporated into the evening which should be interesting. My instructor Pamela Podmoroff is one of Canada’s top competitive dancers – but she knows HOW TO TEACH. A rare package. She’s fun, friendly and patient. Both of these classes are gender balanced.

A good reason to dance West Coast Swing – CHECK OUT this short video:

Strictly Tango with Nadia (BIO):

Nadia’s love affair with dance began early, with lessons in classical ballet at age ten in her home country, Iran. By the time she was fourteen, she’d earned a scholarship to study ballet in New York City. By nineteen, she was the youngest company soloist of the San Diego Ballet. Even when university studies and a successful career as a high school teacher demanded her focus — and took her from the United States to Canada and on to New Zealand— Nadia continued to teach ballet at the urging of her students. Her love of dance also took her to Cuba on three occasions, where she studied modern dance. In 2000, back in Vancouver and ready for a change, Nadia put dance on centre stage again, devoting herself full-time to her own studio, the Forufera Centre for Dance.

The Dancing King

My sis took this recent pic of me in the kitchen. Me at my most natural.

Have a great weekend

Art & Culture

Rolling with Emilio PUCCI

I’m not so sure what to make of this…but would it be so wrong to hang a skateboard on my wall as an ART piece? I mean we hang masks, why not a skateboard?

Emilio Pucci Limited Edition Skateboards — **Emilio Pucci** *Limited Edition* **Skateboards**

I can ice skate and rollerblade, but I have never skated on a board and my dog barks at anyone who does. But if I did (and was still in my 20’s or under), I would be attracted to this limited-edition Pucci skateboard collection.

It wouldn’t be the first time a luxury brand has put its stamp on a recreational item (Chanel surfboards, Alexander Wang pool toys, Louis Vuitton golf bags, the list goes on). It is, however, the first time a brand tapped art students to reimagine its archives as something entirely new for the younger set. The resulting street decks are emblazoned with seven graphic takes on Pucci’s classic, color-happy prints. And while each one easily qualifies as an enjoy-from-afar art piece, they’re constructed from scratch-resistant Balkan beech wood and equipped with durable, trick-friendly wheels—in short, they’re meant for riding.

Instead of a traditional announcement, Pucci collaborated with NOWNESS on a short film to break the news. HERE:

https://www.nowness.com/story/emilio-pucci-orange–juice-skateboard

maybe I'll stick to the ART scarves — maybe I’ll stick to the ART scarves which not only fame your neck but can also be framed on your wall.

Art & Culture

ART – Gogh Figure! Splendor in the grass

CROP ART?

One of Vincent van Gogh’s olive tree paintings has literally sprung to life, reproduced as a large, growing field in Minnesota. Last month the Minneapolis Institute of Art (Mia) unveiled a 1.5-acre work of crop art by Stan Herd, a Kansas-based artist who has planted many earthworks around the world, including a re-creation of one of Leonardo da Vinci’s sketches of gliders. Commissioned by Mia to celebrate the museum’s centennial, this most recent piece replicates van Gogh’s “Olive Trees,” one of 15 known paintings of the trees the artist produced in the fall of 1889. That specific work actually hangs in the museum, but Herd’s has sprouted on a site belonging to media firm Thomson Reuters, near the Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport.Herd has cultivated the field since spring, and his sprawling artwork will remain on view through the end of the fall. Prior to the planting, he had to carefully determine which specific plants and soils to incorporate in order to best represent van Gogh’s particular palette. The painter’s brushstrokes, too, demanded the mowing and digging of many serpentine paths.“You can see this is darker, so I’m planting these kind of more verdant, green plants, he explained in a video about the crop artwork’s creation, pointing at a gridded version of the painting he used as a plan.

“The amazing thing about van Gogh’s painting is that there’s not a single straight line in the whole canvas,” he added. “Everything is organic and curved and flowing, and it’s like a pulse.”

The result, just slightly muted in tone, is impressively faithful to the original painting. Mia chose the site specifically so planes arriving to the airport will pass it, so you’ll be able to see it from above if you’re flying into the city — just be sure to choose a seat on the left.

Source: Claire Voon for hyperallergic.com

Photos: all images courtesy Minneapolis Institute of Arts unless otherwise stated

Food + Drink

Giving Thanks to Artful Food

FOOD and ART are two things to be thankful for in this life

Hannah Rothstein, “René Magritte” (2014) (all images courtesy the artist, via hrothstein.com) — Hannah Rothstein, “**René Magritte**” (2014) (all images courtesy the artist, via hrothstein.com)

Plating the two together is an interesting concept as you can see from these images from San-Francisco based artist Hannah Rothstein, as she proposes answers to the burning questions about How Famous Artists Would Plate Thanksgiving Meals.

Hannah Rothstein, “Andy Warhol” (2014) — Hannah Rothstein, “**Andy Warhol**” (2014)

Have you ever wondered what Vincent van Gogh’s Thanksgiving spread would have looked like? Probably like this:

Hannah Rothstein, “Vincent van Gogh” (2014) — Hannah Rothstein, “**Vincent van Gogh**” (2014)

Would Jackson Pollock have been as gestural in his deployment of gravy and cranberry sauce as he was with his paints?

Hannah Rothstein, “Jackson Pollock” (2014) — Hannah Rothstein, “**Jackson Pollock**” (2014)

Would Piet Mondrian have been as thoughtful in his doling out of mashed potatoes and turkey as he was with his reds, blues, and yellows?

Hannah Rothstein, “Piet Mondrian” (2014) — Hannah Rothstein, “**Piet Mondrian**” (2014)

The results range from appetizing to off-putting, but in most cases Rothstein has done a good job cooking up culinary visual styles associated with each of the artists.

Hannah Rothstein, “Mark Rothko” (2014) — Hannah Rothstein, “**Mark Rothko**” (2014)

Would the GIRL who would be KING make sure she fit every possible food group on her plate?

GIRL who would be KING, 2015 — **Certainly she would! GIRL** who would be **KING** (2015)

What’s on your plate?

HAPPY CANADIAN THANKSGIVING!

Art & Culture

ART in a Heartbeat

Balloons always remind me of birthday parties or open houses. A cause for celebration!

An art installation of 100,000 white balloon clusters, sculpted into the shape of magnificent clouds…or one glorious bubble bath.

Let me explain….Covent Gardens has commissioned French artist Charles Pétillon, famous for his playful balloon ‘invasions’, to create his first ever installation in a public space called “Heartbeat.” A pulsating light beams into the installation a little like a heartbeat which is meaning to indicate the notion of Covent Garden as one of London’s most central structures.

An incredibly photographic display. Wish I were there to see it in person. But just like a heartbeat…..it has come and gone.

And just like a heart…balloons break

Photo: d. king (Kits Beach)

Other photos: google images

THINKAboutit

muddling with ART: a Robot that can paint like Van Gogh???

If only I could paint ~~period~~ like Vincent Van Gogh….if only I were a Robot

Technology is moving forward at lightening speeds and it always fascinates me as to what the next “thing” will be. The following is a recent article from International Business Times UK that I found intriguing but disturbing. I wonder how artists will feel about this.

Researchers from the University of Tubingen (in Germany) have developed an algorithm that allows an artificial neural network of computers to accurately learn how to paint just like famous artists.

In June, Google revealed that it had built sophisticated image recognition software that enabled its robots to see shapes in images, and that the AI neural networks had come up with some really crazy and psychedelic “inceptionism” images that applied the faces of dogs onto people’s heads and inanimate objects.

Artificial neural networks are inspired by the human brain and are designed to simulate the way neurons behave when they are shown a sensory input, such as sound or images. Besides image recognition, the technology is being developed as a way to greatly improve weather predictions as well as medical diagnosis and detection of breast cancer.

Creating masterpieces in under an hour

But now German researchers have gone one step further, designing a deep learning computer algorithm that is able to distil and understand the essence of how a great masterpiece is painted, in terms of style, colours, technique and brush strokes.

When a photograph is fed to the computer, the computer can then turn the photo into an artistic painting using the painter’s signature style, be it the work of artists like Van Gogh, Edvard Munch, Picasso or JM Turner.

The algorithm teaches the computer how to identify and separate the style and the content of images, so while the buildings and layout of the image stayed the same, the colours, lines and “local structures” changed to emulate the famous work of art that had been imputed into the system.

Using a series of paintings that included Van Gogh’s The Starry Night, The Scream by Edvard Munch and The Shipwreck of the Minotaur by JMW Turner, the computer produced surprisingly beautiful results that still retained many elements from the original photograph.

No similar artificial system able to understand art

“In fine art, especially painting, humans have mastered the skill to create unique visual experiences through composing a complex interplay between the content and style of an image. Thus far the algorithmic basis of this process is unknown and there exists no artificial system with similar capabilities,” the researchers write.

“The system uses neural representations to separate and recombine content and style of arbitrary images, providing a neural algorithm for the creation of artistic images.”

The open-access paper, entitled “A Neural Algorithm of Artistic Style” is published on the Cornell University Library repository.

The researchers concluded: “In light of the striking similarities between performance-optimised artificial neural networks and biological vision, our work offers a path forward to an algorithmic understanding of how humans create and perceive artistic imagery.”

What do you think about all this? Pretty amazing right?

Source: Mary-Ann Russon http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/

Food + Drink

Art & Food – a MoMA worthy restaurant

If museum worthy art can be exhibited in shopping malls then it seems only fair that restaurants follow suit. This could be a new trend but one that not every restaurant can afford. Which comes first, the art or the food?

The ART

At the Atlas restaurant in Atlanta (located in the St. Regis hotel, Buckhead) you might wonder if you’re eating in a museum. Hanging on the walls are original works by some artists you may have heard of – Francis Bacon, Marc Chagall, Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, and Vincent van Gogh, all from the Lewis Collection, one of the largest private art collections in the world.

If you look closely you will also see two of Atlanta’s historic artifacts: a program from the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize dinner honouring Martin Luther King, Jr., (the youngest person and first Georgian to receive the prize); and a letter from President John F. Kennedy to Atlanta Mayor Ivan Allen, Jr., recognizing his leadership during the Civil Rights movement.

The DECOR

From the green-tiled exhibition-style kitchen and outdoor terraced garden to the elegant private dining space and polished bar, every detail of Atlas has been carefully planned.

The FOOD

This chef-driven restaurant brings an unparalleled culinary experience to the Capital of the South with a focus on curating fresh ingredients from local farms. Atlas celebrates the very best in seasonal American cuisine with European influences. Together, consulting chef Gerry Klaskala and chef de cuisine Christopher Grossman have crafted a daily changing menu driven entirely by partnerships with a collection of more than a dozen farms.

Atlas’s menu covers various regions. The potato-leek clam chowder offers a taste of New England, and ginger-marinated black bass takes Asian inspiration. There are Southern dishes as well: braised leg of Alabama rabbit, roasted White Oak Pastures chicken, and oat-crusted Blue Ridge trout, to name a few. Sounds impressive!

*Anything bone seems to be the old-meets-new trend of late, worthy of a post of its own. Bone broth and bone marrow (my grandmother used to make this) and I’ve been doing the same lately. But getting back to the restaurant…

The menu appears like the food may not be outdone by the art, but we’d have to make a trip out just to be sure. I may be doing exactly that so I’ll let you know.

A collective kitchen with an enviable art collection – you’ve got to love it!

Art & Culture

Art & Fashion – the ART of Shopping

Who says that art should be only relegated to museums and galleries?

20 ELEMENTS, JOEL SHAPIRO — 20 ELEMENTS, Joel Shapiro

Many coffee shops and restaurants (even some hair salons) like to display art from unknown artists, and if we’re lucky we can sometimes find work from celebrated artists we know of, in select high end design/furniture shops. There’s Art and then there’s Art!

I enjoyed looking at Picasso’s while dining in a restaurant in Las Vegas. Mind you, it was the Picasso restaurant at the Bellagio and yes, his original paintings are displayed throughout the restaurant. An art gallery within a restaurant. But renowned art in a shopping mall? When have you seen that?

We already know that art and fashion have something in common. But do we dare draw the line between art and shopping in a mall?

NorthPark Centre in Dallas, Texas is no ordinary mall. I’ve been there and as far as shopping in a mall goes (a mall is not my favourite place to shop or hang out), it’s a cut above. This year the centre is celebrating their 50^th anniversary, and in conjunction is hosting an exhibition this fall called “Art Meets Fashion.”

Raymond Nasher, who built NorthPark, and his wife, Patsy, were big collectors and proudly displayed the works they acquired throughout the shopping concourse because they believed that art should be seen, and not just in museums and galleries. Their daughter, Nancy Nasher and her husband, David Haemisegger, have given their promise to ensure that this mission lives on. They’ve expanded the NorthPark collection and helped to transform the shopping centre into one of the most visited public gallery spaces in America.

So… (apparently it’s not proper to start a sentence with so….but I say “so what?”) now you can buy your Louis Vuitton or Gucci with a side of Roy Lichtenstein or Frank Stella. How nice is that?

Now, if only every mall was like this…what a wonderful art world it would be!

What do you think about this?