Month: October 2018

Cecil Beaton

Photography of Cecil Beaton

Cecil Beaton was a British photographer and designer best known for his elegant photographs of high society. Working within a cinematic approach, his black-and-white images are characterized by their staged poses and imaginative sets. Beaton’s costume and stage designs won him three Academy Awards, including one for the 1964 film “My Fair Lady”.

Born on January 14, 1904 in London, United Kingdom to a wealthy family, Beaton went on to study at St. John’s College in Cambridge, but he left before finishing his degree. He was mostly self-taught as a photographer, though he did study in the studio of photographer Paul Tanqueray. During World War II, Beaton’s focus shifted to documenting the realities of war throughout the United Kingdom and Europe, forging a prolific and varied career.

“Be daring, be different, be impractical. Be anything that will assert integrity of purpose and imaginative vision against the play-it-safers, the creatures of the commonplace, the slaves of the ordinary.”- Cecil Beaton

Note: Cecil Beaton’s self-portraits shown: Overhead shot with Mick Jagger; self-portrait standing on stepladder

See April 2, 2022 article in the archive for a more complete biography.

Insert Image: Cecil Beaton, “Self Portrait”, 1930, Silver Gelatin Print

Karl Hofer

Karl Hofer, “Jüngling am Fenster (Youth at the Window)”, 1933, Oil on Canvas, Museum Wiesbaden, Germany

Born in 1878 in Karlsruhe, Germany, Karl Hofer was a painter notable for his extensive contributions to the German Expressionist movement. Figurative, conservatively rendered working-class Germans most often adorn his canvases, with his subjects and style varied over the course of his career. The classical portraits of his early years gave way to politically charged Expressionist figures, which, during the Nazi regime, were denounced as “degenerate art”. These finally morphed into his Cubist-inspired compositions of post-war life.

Hofer received little recognition during his early career, and never joined an Expressionist painting group like Die Brücke. By the end of his life, however, Hofer was considered one of the greatest German painters of his time, and his works can now be found in many collections around the world, including the Art Institute of Chicago, The Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the Kunsthalle Mannheim in Germany.

Source: artqueer

Calendar: October 28

A Year: Day to Day Men: 28th of October, Solar Year 2018

The Wayfarer

October 28, 1726 was the publishing date of Jonathan Swift’s “Gulliver’s Travels”.

“Gulliver’s Travels” is a prose satire written by Irish writer and clergyman Jonathan Swift, who later became Dean of Saint Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin. The book, a satire on the human nature, is Swift’s best known full-length work, written in the style of a traveler’s tale.

In 1713, Jonathan Swift joined with writers, Gay, Pope, Arbuthnot and others, to form the Scriblerus Club, an organization of writers interested in using satire in the popular genres of literature. Swift was assigned to satirize the ‘travelers’ tales’ literary genre and to write the memoirs of the club. From Swift’s correspondence, it is known that he started writing Part One and Part Two of “Gulliver’s Travels” in 1720; Part Four was written in 1723 and Part Three was written in 1724. After making amendments to the existing writing, the book was completed by August, 1725.

“Gulliver’s Travels” was an obvious satire of the Whig party, the political faction that was in control of the government at that time. It is likely that Jonathan Swift had his manuscript recopied so that his handwriting could not be used as evidence against him if the authorities wished to prosecute. This had happened to him earlier when some of his Irish pamphlets criticizing the government were seized.

In March of 1726 Jonathan Swift traveled to London and delivered his manuscript secretly to publisher Benjamin Motte, who used five printing houses to speed the printing. Motte, recognizing a best seller but fearing prosecution, cut passages and altered the worst offending ones, such as court contests and the citizen rebellion in part three. The first edition was published anonymously and released in two volumes on October 28, 1726 at the price of eight shillings.

The Irish publisher George Faulkner printed a set of Jonathan Swift’s works, which included “Gulliver’s Travels”, in 1735. The new printing of the story was done by using the manuscript given to Benjamin Motte, but without Motte’s annotations and amendments. This printing is regarded as the ‘editio princeps’ of “Gulliver’s Travels”, the first printed edition that previously existed only in manuscript form which could be circulated only after being copied by hand. The only exception to this publication of the work was an added piece by Swift, complaining of the changes done by Motte.

The book was very popular upon release and was commonly discussed within social circles. Public reception widely varied, with the book receiving an initially enthusiastic reaction with readers praising its satire, and some reporting that the satire’s cleverness sounded like a realistic account of a man’s travels. As popularity increased, critics came to appreciate the deeper aspects of “Gulliver’s Travels”. It became known for its insightful take on morality, expanding its reputation beyond just humorous satire. It was, however, sharply criticized by the Whig party.

Walter Mason

Natural Photography by Walter Mason

German artist Walter Mason offers an interesting perspective on the natural world surrounding him. He examines relationships between natural elements, re-arranging and pulling them apart to put them back in new positions. The results are profound time-based-art sculptures that highlight the fragility and beauty of the environment. His careful geometric positioning of objects in space create surreal scenes that highlight the simultaneous complexity & simplicity that can often be found in nature.

Calendar: October 27

A Year: Day to Day Men: 27th of October

Shirt of Stars

October 27, 1955 was the release date of the film “Rebel Without a Cause”.

“Rebel Without a Cause” is a 1955 American drama film, filmed during the Eisenhower years in the United States, and directed by Nicholas Ray, who became an important influence on the French New Wave in film. The film was an attempt to explore the differences and conflicts between the generations, and the emotional lives of middle-class teenagers.

Although the rights to author Robert Lindner’s book “Rebel Without a Cause’ were acquired, an entirely new script by Irving Shulman and Stewart Stern was used for the film. The film starred James Dean in his last role as the lead character Jim Stark; Natalie Wood as Judy; Sal Mineo as John “Plato” Crawford; and Jim Backus and Ann Doran as Jim Stark’s parents.

“Rebel Without a Cause” was one of James Dean’s three major films which included the 1955 “East of Eden”, for which he was nominated for Best Actor; and the 1956 released “Giant”, for which he was nominated posthumously for Best Actor. “Rebel Without a Cause” was the last film James Dean starred in before his early death in a car crash. Just before his death, his agent Jane Deacy had negotiated a six-year, nine film deal with the Warner Brothers Studio.

The film was in production from March 28 to May 25 in 1955. Originally considered just a B-movie, the initially filming was in black and white film stock. When the studio recognized the star significance of Jame Dean, filming was switched to color, with many scenes being reshot. It was shot in the widescreen CinemaScope format, a recent introduction to film making.

“Rebel Without a Cause”, known as an epochal story of a new non-conforming generation in the 1950s, was also a gay-positive cinema landmark. It was filmed in an era when homosexuality was still a crime in many parts of America; the Motion Picture Production Code censors of the era had a long list of forbidden topics, irrespective of the manner in which they were treated. In the spring of 1955, a Production Code memo was sent to producer Jack Warner with a reminder that it was vital that there be no inference of a questionable relationship between the characters of Plato and Jim.

“Rebel Without a Cause” is considered as the first in mainstream films to depict gay desire. James Dean’s character Jim becomes both friend and fascination to Sal Mineo’s Plato, a lonely younger kid who is obviously gay. Most of the references, due to the era, are non-verbal: the pin-up photo of Alan Ladd in Plato’s school locker, the looks of adoration Plato gives Jim, and late in the film a coded declaration of love from Plato to Jim. The film marks a turning point in film’s and society’s attitude from one of hostility to tolerance and support of gay life.

“Rebel Without a Cause” was nominated for three Academy Awards: Sal Mineo for Best Supporting Actor; Natalie Wood for Best Supporting Actress; and Nicholas Ray for Best Writing of a Motion Picture Story. It was entered into the National film Registry in 1990. As a side note, the film upon its release was banned in New Zealand out of fears it would incite teenage delinquency (released one year later with scenes cut out).