Car Art

I am not a car person-I’m the type of person who says ‘the blue car’, never the make.
A Chrysler and a Bentley look exactly the same to me. A sports car is a sports car, weather it is a Porche or a Saturn.
I have theories about people who spend too much money on cars or that drive military style vehicles in the city...if you are interested in knowing them, email me.
I plan to never own a new car- although I have.  The depreciation is staggering enough to have made me reform. 
My first car was a white 1982 BMW- My grandmother drove it once a week for about twenty years before I got it- It served me well.  When we moved to the Caribbean it was driven from Toronto to Miami then shipped via ship to Phillipsburg.  I am sure she is still enjoying the good life, on island time.
I will also never own an expensive car, I don’t deserve to. I treat my car like a huge trash can that I empty out when I am looking for a lost library book. I also treat my car like a bumper car- I wait till it hits and then stop- neither of these make Dr. J happy. 
My only car ‘wish’ is to one day own a yellow one. That is my dream wish.
SO- how I ended up at a car show this weekend has more to do with the funnel cakes then with the cars. I don’t ‘get’ car shows but I appreciate it as a creative outlet. Here are some photos from the event-

This was my favorite car- an orange VW van. The inside was super cool and they had a basket of FREE lollipops in the back, so it was the monkeys favorite car too.

And the reason I was even at this show:

Artist: Adi Nes

I am in love with Adi Nes’ photography. Perhaps it is because we have similar taste in men. I am guessing he is also drawn to the muscular build and Jew curls that are depicted in his David and Jonathan.

Adi Nes, is a forty four year old Israeli artist photographer. Despite his poor upbringing, his parents, both Sephardic Jews, nurtured his creative side. Upon completing his army service in the Israeli National Defense he enrolled accidentally in a photography program. Heavily influenced by his cultural surrounds in Israel, Nes found his calling in creating mesmerizing photographs that are intensely layered.
The first time I saw a 38’’ by 48’’ photograph of Nes’ in a gallery I could barely tear my eyes away. Nes is an intensely talented artist with a box full of tools that he implements like a true craftsman. Lighting and shadow, key elements of photography- every photographer’s best friend and worst enemy, is a large part of Nes’ genius. His photographs light up, heightening his subject matters mythical and saintly allusions. His models fascinate, surrounded by a dirty glow they are at the same time untouchable yet unmistakably human. The value of his photos intensifies the ying yang effect drawing the eyes between the darkness and the glow.

His staging, a throwback to the foundation of photography as art, when photography was staged in order to accommodate the longer exposure time, is undoubtedly time consuming. Nes clearly invests much by way of time and cost before shooting his first set. Even selection of his models is a testament to his flawless eye for choosing a part that complements the whole. The staging is integral to Nes’ talent of combining space and shape choosing locations for his shoots that give his photos a three dimensional effect. Whether there are objects in the forefront, literal levels using steps or figurative levels, his works create a simultaneous sense of shallow and deep spaces within his stage. In carefully selecting his costumes for his models Nes creates a timeless tale that transpires boundaries. He blurs the line between 'what is' and creates an image that is intensified with the cognitive knowledge that there exists a contrast. He uses homeless people to depict biblical heroes and prisoners to represent success.

Nes’ art is captured in a photograph that takes into account all aspects of visual and design elements within photography; combines them with his own personal stories, the personal stories of his models, tales from biblical, mythological and contemporary times; and creates masterpieces.

this moment

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

http://www.soulemama.com/soulemama

Alexander Dubosc- "Et oui, c'est vraie: j'aime jouer avec la nourriture"

 "Quand j'étais petit, ma mère m'a pourtant toujours dit de ne pas jouer avec la nourriture mais c'est plus fort que moi."

Alexander Dubosc is a French photographer and digital artist. His colorful, quirky manipulations of food, inanimate objects and animation create playful images and videos that make me smile.

If you are in the area, Mr. Dubosc will be showcasing his work in an exhibition titled “Food d’images” in Paris over the month of June.

Mr. Dubosc's use of food as a medium, a fundamental part of being human and his satirical twist of his artistic dissection, are brilliant.

To watch his video clips check out these Links:

Food about you - Concours Festival d'Annecy 2010

Trans Formes
Click to read the complete interview.

Venice Beach Graffiti Pit

Venice Beach- Graffiti Pit is an urban display of evolving art. Set beside the skate park just off of the main boardwalk on Ocean Front Walk, it is a colorful array of graffiti artwork created by a community of artists.

          

For the price of a permit and signing an artist agreement stipulating no hate speech, violence, pornography, drug or gang references and profanity- artist can ‘rent’ time and space to express themselves on one of several walls.  Time is limited and art space is recycled allowing artist to paint over works.

Originally conceived of by the ICU organization, the Venice Art Walls or Pits are what remain of the Venice Pavilion structure when it was torn down in 1999, as part of the Oceanfront Walk refurbishment.

          

                                              The Skate Park on a quiet, early, morning.

                          

Thanks for visiting- Please link back if you borrow any of my images-

Ren Lady Of The Arts

I love taking photos of graffiti to: See more of my graffiti photographs click it!

http://veniceartwalls.com/

Film: The Stoning Of Soraya M.

This film was devastating to watch. It is based on a true story and as the title suggest it is about a woman subjected to a brutal death by stoning. It is adapted from Freidoune Sahebjam, a French-Iranian journalist’s 1994 book of the same name.
I have seen footage of a stoning and wrote a bunch of amnesty letters to various governmental agencies (I was in the amnesty club in high school and writing is a powerful tool). In 2002 Amina Lawal Kurami , a Nigerian woman, made headlines after being sentenced by an Islamic Sharia court, to death by stoning. Her crime was for adultery and the evidence was having a child out of wedlock. This caught worldwide attention after Oprah made a plea to write letters to the Nigerian Government. It was eventually overturned.
Although no countries actively admitted to this kind of punishment there is proof that it has happened in Somalia, Afghanistan and Iran in this century. So much more needs to be done.
I forced myself to watch this film (and to watch the stoning) because it is real and it is true and I believe that by becoming part of it, in mind, I can lessen the pain of another.
The injustice is extreme and infuriating, and happening right now.
In my humble opinion you should watch this film and get sad then mad.
Check out amnesty internationals , stay informed and learn what you can do to help.

On Mushrooms At The Bellagio

Well not exactly ‘on’, more like beside, but either way there is a bit of an Alice in Wonderland thing going on. The Bellagio has four amazing themed displays in the Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, year round, and is presently showing Spring. Using thousands of flowers, moving insects and water fountains dripping off leaves and glass balls it is spectacularly executed.

At the forefront, the fantasy flower pot reaches 15 feet high and is toppled over with sunflowers spilling out. The hand spade is 28 feet tall and reaches the top of the atrium where the bees, butterflies, fireflies and hot air balloons linger in mid air.

The snails and bees are created using dried chrysanthemums, roses and sunflowers. The ladybugs are made with fresh brightly colored chrysanthemums.

To check out my post about the Feng Shui Chinese New Year exhibit at the Bellagio click here.

this moment

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

http://www.soulemama.com/soulemama

Sweet Sweet Farmers Market

We went to the farmers market yesterday.
The monkeys enjoyed some shaved ice from SASASWEETS.
The owner Joe Vergara is there every week with his all natural and delicious desserts. Made using only the highest quality ingredients Joe brings his sweet samplings along with his shaved ice and all natural flavorings, to various markets across the city. He had me at "treats handmade with love"!

The brownies, bars, danishes, pastries and cookies all look gourmet with a loving touch of homemade- their combinations are unusual in a usual way. His selection of soft, fresh melt in your mouth cookies include: blueberry white chocolate, peanut butter double chocolate chip and snickerdoodle. Sir S. ate a chocolate chip cookie and said it was amazing.

GMan thought the pineapple flavor was the best- I rather liked his red sided cherry flavor and Sir S. was happy with his lemon and lime.

The tomato varietites are abundant this week and I had a tough time making my 'candy' tomato selection. Lucky for me Priscilla Van Dyke from Van Dyke farms in Blythe, California lets you sample as many as you want.
I went with these.

This is the perfect bite

Early Bird Gets The Worm

I love reading poetry. I love reading poetry to my monkeys. They have been laughing out loud over this one.

EARLY BIRD

Oh, if you’re a bird, be an early bird

And catch the worm for your breakfast plate.

If you’re a bird, be an early early bird-

But if you’re a worm, sleep late.

Shel Silverstein
Where the Sidewalk Ends

Shel Silverstein is one of our favorite authors. I personally think he was a genius.
We have the whole collection of his books, three of them are autographed- although not to us!
Please read his poems. They are wonderful.
http://www.shelsilverstein.com/indexSite.html

Film: Away We Go

I love watching The Office and it's ‘make you uncomfortable’ humor. I’ve also gone through periods of my life where I watched SNL. When I found out that John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph were in a movie together I ordered the movie in the same sitting. Away We Go is a really funny, chick-flick. No- but really funny. It is directed by Sam Mendes, who won an Academy Award as director for American Beauty. Mr. Mendes was also married to actress Kate Winslet, although they just announced their separation a couple of months ago.
The movie is about love, relationships and parenting. The dialogue is funny and the story and characters are well written and well developed. The screenplay is co-written by Vendela Vida and her husband Dave Eggers; who also did Where The Wild Things Are. I would add that there is some cinematography that is refreshing and artistic; and as far as needing to represent several locations, ranging from Phoenix to Montreal and Tucson to Miami, the staging is phenomenal.
Catherine O’Hara, who won my heart in 2000 in the film Best In Show and Maggie Gyllenhaal (who has never really won my heart) both have really memorable 'laugh out loud' funny scenes.