A fine art, film, history and literature site oriented to, but not exclusively for, the gay community. Please be aware that there is mature content on this blog. Information on images and links to sources will be provided if known. Enjoy your visit and please subscribe.
Photographer Unknown, (The Leather Sofa)
“I have an idea that the only thing which makes it possible to regard this world we live in without disgust is the beauty which now and then men create out of the chaos. The pictures they paint, the music they compose, the books they write, and the lives they lead. Of all these the richest in beauty is the beautiful life. That is the perfect work of art.”
―
Andy Warhol, “$”, 1981, Acrylic and Silkscreen Ink on Canvas, 229×178 cm, Private Collection
“Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of water, light and shadows. Select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul. If you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic. Authenticity is invaluable; originality is non-existent. And don’t bother concealing your thievery – celebrate it if you feel like it. In any case, always remember what Jean-Luc Godard said: ‘It’s not where you take things from – it’s where you take them to.’ “.
-Jim Jarmusch
Artist Unknown, (He Descended Upon Them from the Clouds)
“Calm, ‘the tranquil force’, his face marked with gentleness, the Imam Musa al Sadr seemed to come from nowhere….By his charisma, he obliged his enemies and friends alike to venerate him, to respect his clairvoyance. His credibility was never questioned, in spite of the rumors concerning his origins….He appeared like a creature not only of another kind but of another essence. Had they not seen him come up in a canoe they might have thought he had descended upon them from the clouds.”
– Fouad Ajami, The Vanished Imam: Musa al Sadr and the Shia of Lebanon
Kenji Kawai, “Mezame no Hakobune”
In my humble opinion, a great modern day composer.
Vulkan, (Bathroom Sinks)
Kenji Kawai, Inner Universe, “Ghost in the Shell”
The Ghost in the Shell (Kokaku Kidotai) is a 1995 animation film based on the manga series of the same name. It was directed by Mamoru Oshii, written by Kazunori Ito and Masamune Shirow who wrote the comic series. It starred Atsuko Tanaka and Iemasa Kayumi.
It was later redone as a live actor movie in 2017 directed by Rupert Sanders and starring Scarlett Johansson, Michael Pitt, and Juliette Binoche. It was filmed at locations in New Zealand and China.
In this post-cyberpunk iteration of a possible future, computer technology has advanced to the point that many members of the public possess cyberbrains, technology that allows them to interface their biological brain with various networks. The level of cyberization varies from simple minimal interfaces to almost complete replacement of the brain with cybernetic parts, in cases of severe trauma. This can also be combined with various levels of prostheses, with a fully prosthetic body enabling a person to become a cyborg.
The main character of Ghost in the Shell, Major Motoko Kusanagi, is such a cyborg, having had a terrible accident befall her as a child that ultimately required that she use a full-body prosthesis to house her cyberbrain. This high level of cyberization, however, opens the brain up to attacks from highly skilled hackers, with the most dangerous being those who will hack a person to bend to their whims.
James Ayer, “Lakota Horseman”
My paintings are more than just a slice of Native American history. They are the result of years of research combined with personal exploration and observation. I study historic artifacts, research customs and rituals, and marry these with my understanding of the struggles of modern Native American cultures. In the face of inevitable change, my mission is to honor the customs and beauty of traditional cultures through my paintings. – James Ayer
Memorial Day
Memorial Day is a federal holiday in the United States for remembering the people who died while serving in the country’s armed forces. The holiday, which is observed every year on the last Monday of May, originated as Decoration Day after the American Civil War in 1868, when the Grand Army of the Republic, an organization of Union veterans founded in Decatur, Illinois, established it as a time for the nation to decorate the graves of the Union war dead with flowers.
By the 20th century, competing Union and Confederate holiday traditions, celebrated on different days, had merged, and Memorial Day eventually extended to honor all Americans who died while in the military service.
On Memorial Day, the flag of the United States is raised briskly to the top of the staff and then solemnly lowered to the half-staff position, where it remains only until noon. It is then raised to full-staff for the remainder of the day.
Memorial Day observances in small New England towns are often marked by dedications and remarks by veterans, state legislators, and selectmen.
The half-staff position remembers the more than one million men and women who gave their lives in service of their country. At noon, their memory is raised by the living, who resolve not to let their sacrifice be in vain, but to rise up in their stead and continue the fight for liberty and justice for all.
Images from Gettysburg, Normandy, Aisle-Marne, Brittany, and Meuse-Argonne cemeteries.
Photographer Unknown, Spiderman
Russell Elliot, “Around”
Directed by: Zoe Rain: zoerainphoto.com
Choreography by: Kuperman Brothers: kupermanbrothers.com
“Around” recorded at ArtPeace Studios in Nasvhille, Tennessee
Mix/master by Duff Harris in New York, NY.
The Avener, “To Let Myself Go” Featuring Ane Brun, From the Album “The Wanderings of the Avener”
Ane Brun is a Norwegian songwriter, guitarist, and vocalist of Sami origin. Since 2003 she has recorded eight albums, six of which are studio albums and one live DVD. She has lived in Stockholm, Sweden, since 2001, where she writes, records, and runs her own label.
Frederico Sciuca, “Crysis”
Federico Sciuca is a photographer from Trieste, Italy.
His website is https://500px.com/federicosciuca.
Director Jim Taihuttu’s “Wolf”, 2013, starring Marwan Kenzari
WOLF is a crime thriller that offers a look inside the world of a new generation of hard criminals that is increasingly present in the big cities of Europe. In the grey desolation of an anonymous ghetto young kick boxer Majid (Marwan Kenzari) quickly makes a career for himself inside and outside of the ring, thanks to his iron fists. As his star rises, the two worlds of the ring and organized crime collide as he becomes deeper entangled in his own ambition.
Written and directed by Jim Taihuttu, it is good film, though based on a story line that has been done before, with a particularly tense feel to it. The film is a no sympathy criminal character study of a man’s self-destruction. It was filmed in black and white in the Netherlands by the Dutch production company Habbekrats. A good film to seek out, particularly if you enjoyed watching Nicolas Refn’s three “Pusher” films or Audiard’s “Un Prophete”.
More information and trailers are at http://wolfdefilm.nl
Five Artworks by Yuri Shwedoff
Yuri Shwedoff was born in 1991. He graduated in 2008 from the painting department of the Moscow Academic Art Lyceum of the Russian Academy of Arts. Also in 2008, Yuri Shwedoff was nominated for the Medal of the Russian Academy of Fine Arts for a series of works “Suzdal.” He has currently graduated from the Moscow State Academic Art University in Surikov and has become a member of the Moscow Union of Artists. He has done work for Amedia and MOSFILM and had been lead artist for NARR8 from 2014 until February of 2014.
Howard David Johnson, “ The Archangel Gabriel and His Trumpet: Oil on Canvas
“ I’ve often thought that some of the most fantastic creatures and visions in all of the literature of mankind were found in the sacred texts of active religions. Sensitive subject matter to say the least. Few artists in history have even dared to attempt to paint these symbolic visions because of the controversies surrounding them… While I’ve been studying legends, myths, and traditions of the ancient Orient for new illustration projects I’ve also been studying William Blake, Moreau, Rochegrosse, Delville, and the Symbolic artistic tradition. In my paintings, I have endeavored to realize decadent mythology and sacred religious texts in my photo-realistic paintings with the same style of vision and reverence they showed in their works .”
–Howard David Johnson