Month: January 2016

Ernest Haas

Photographs by Ernst Haas

Ernst Haas (March 2, 1921 – September 12, 1986) was a photojournalist and a pioneering color photographer. During his 40-year career, the Austrian-born artist bridged the gap between photojournalism and the use of photography as a medium for expression and creativity. In addition to his prolific coverage of events around the globe after World War II, Haas was an early innovator in color photography.

His images were widely disseminated by magazines like Life and Vogue and, in 1962, were the subject of the first single-artist exhibition of color photography at New York’s Museum of Modern Art. He served as president of the cooperative Magnum Photos, and his book The Creation (1971) was one of the most successful photography books ever, selling 350,000 copies.

Many thanks to http://canadianbeerandpostmodernism.tumblr.com as the source of the “Frigidaire” photo (Paris 1954) and for reminding me what a great photographer Ernst Haas was. The second image is a self-portrait of Ernst Haas taken in 1945.

Troye Sivan, “Happy Little Pill”

Troye Sivan, “Happy Little Pill”

Troye Sivan Mellet), better known as Troye Sivan (/trɔɪ sɨˈvɑːn/), is a South African-born Australian actor, singer, songwriter, and YouTuber. As an actor, he played young James Howlett in the X-Men film X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), and most recently has starred as the titular character in the Spud film trilogy. Sivan also regularly makes YouTube videos, and as of 26 September 2015, has over 3.6 million subscribers and over 203 million total views.

On 15 August 2014, Sivan released his first major-label EP, entitled TRXYE, which peaked at number 5 on the Billboard 200. The lead single from the EP, “Happy Little Pill”, reached number 10 in the Australian charts. On 4 September 2015, Sivan released his second major-label EP, Wild. His debut studio album, Blue Neighbourhood, was announced on 14 October and released 4 December.

Sivan is openly gay. He came out publicly via a YouTube video on August 7, 2013, three years to the day that he came out to his family.

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/)

Jim Morrison: “Your Feelings Are a Part of You”

Photographer Unknown, (Standing in Echo Pond))

“People are afraid of themselves, of their own reality; their feelings most of all. People talk about how great love is, but that’s bullshit. Love hurts. Feelings are disturbing. People are taught that pain is evil and dangerous. How can they deal with love if they’re afraid to feel? Pain is meant to wake us up. People try to hide their pain. But they’re wrong. Pain is something to carry, like a radio. You feel your strength in the experience of pain. It’s all in how you carry it. That’s what matters. Pain is a feeling. Your feelings are a part of you. Your own reality. If you feel ashamed of them, and hide them, you’re letting society destroy your reality. You should stand up for your right to feel your pain.”

-Jim Morrison, The Doors

Alfred Palmer

Alfred Palmer: Three Paintings of English Quarrymen

Fascinated by their expertise and strength the quarrymen became the subject of some of Palmer’s finest paintings. The men are shown at their work, with muscles straining under the effort of working the huge blocks of stone. One of the quarrymen, Victor Bower, who came from a long established Dorset family, sometimes helped Palmer with these imposing compositions. Sometimes the figures were set in bright sunlight against a background of brilliant sky or the ever-present sea. As with his painting The Bathers, Palmer’s favoured composition consisted of a trio of men which endorsed the dramatic effect of their activities.

Gustave Roud

Gustave Roud, “Swiss Farmer”, 1940, Photo Series

Poet and photographer Gustave Roud was born in 1897 in Saint-Légier, in the canton of Vaud. In 1908, Roud, along with his parents and sister, moved to a farm in Carrouge inherited from his maternal grandfather. He and his sister would spend the rest of their lives living there. In high school, Roud studied the classics and took classes with the renowned Swiss conductor Ernest Ansermet and the Swiss-French writer Edmond Gilliard. Roud went on to study at the University of Lausanne  where he obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree. During this time, Round translated the poems while also actively participating in a number of literary journals.

While living a solitary life in his family farm at Carrouge, Roud maintained numerous friendships with artists, poets, and other intellectuals such as writer Charles ferdinand Ramuz and poet Maurice Chappaz. Gustave Roud also mentored the young Philippe Jaccottet, who would late become one of Switzerland’s most accomplished poets.

Road, considered one of the greatest poets of Romandy, the French- speaking western part of Switzerland. In his poetry which is dedicated to the Swiss landscapes, he attempts to create the preception of a lost paradise.