I wanna f**k your moth / Self-portrait as chubby moth molester and bird trainer. (Original painting: Agnolo Bronzino, Doppio ritratto del Nano Morgante (fronte))
Can you handle an art heavy post? Then keep on reading.
Surrealism.
Conceptual Photography
It is more about the message of a photo than about what is in the photo. Some artists intend to be clear in their messages, in illustration of their ideas, and some do not care if they will be understood or misinterpreted. – Paula
See more entries in Paula’s post:
https://bopaula.wordpress.com/2016/12/08/thursdays-special-conceptual-photography/
Jan Saudek
In Prague I went to an exhibition with Salvador Dalì, Jan & Kája Saudek and Andy Warhol. Prior to this exhibition I wasn’t familiar with the Saudek brothers and I’ve always thought Warhol to be overrated (soup cans and Madonna, is that all he’s got?), but I’ve always liked Dalí’s work and that’s why it was Dalí that caught my attention and made me go masturdating. Being slightly hung-over, masturdating seemed like a good way to spend a few hours.
If you, like me, have no knowledge about Saudek, let me give you a small introduction with info I found on Wikipedia when I wrote this article (about nine months after seeing the exhibition):
Jan Saudek (born 13 May 1935 in Prague, Czechoslovakia) is a Czech art photographer and painter. Saudek’s father was a Jew and this, coupled with his Slavic (Czech) heritage, caused his family to become a target of the Nazis.
Kája Saudek (born Karel Saudek, 13 May 1935 – 26 June 2015) was a Czech comics illustrator. He was one of the most important exponents of the Czech comics since the late 1960s. Kája’s father was also a Jew (perhaps not a big surprise there since Kája and Jan were twin brothers).
Many of their family members died in Theresienstadt concentration camp during World War II. Jan and his brother Karel, or Kája, were held in a children’s concentration camp for Mischlinge, located near the present Polish-Czech border (Luža in Poland). Their father, Gustav, was deported to Theresienstadt concentration camp in February 1945. Both brothers and their father survived the imprisonment and came back to Prague.
So, short summary of the highlights: Jan is the photographer, Kája the illustrator.
Kája died in 2015 at the age of 80. He had been in a coma for nine years following an accident in 2006 (so the way I see it, he died at an age of 71)
If you want to know more about the Saudek brothers, there’s plenty of material to read about them on Wikipedia. Jan Saudek’s work is not only artistic, staged nudes in black and white, he also used a hand-tint technique. Unfortunately I have no photos of the latter, but you’ll find some excellent examples in the link section.
Kája Saudek’s work is surrealistic, bizarre and erotic. Really brilliant.
Kája and Jan Saudek gallery:
Salvador Dalí and Andy Warhol gallery:
When I exited the exhibition I was positively surprised that I’d discovered a couple of new artists. My favorites were the two Saudek brothers, (Kája, then Jan), followed by Warhol’s album covers and the works of Dalí were my least favorites. Dalí has a lot of cool paintings, but I didn’t fancy his works at this exhibition since it had this mass-produced feeling to it.
Trivia: I had that black Dalí perfume bottle once, but it disappeared somehow…
Trivia 2: I also vaguely remember now that I’ve seen some of Kája’s work as a teenager – probably in some obscure porn publications.
Some links to Saudek (check out Jan’s photos in the first link):
The 17th of May is Norway’s constitution day, a jubilee that is celebrated with children’s parades. That’s why my V2 photo this month is a picture from the parade.
Barnetoget, 17 Mai i Oslo 2016.
«The Changing Seasons 2016» is a blogging challenge with two versions: the original (V1) which is purely photographic and the new version (V2) where you can allow yourself to be more artistic and post a painting, a recipe, a digital manipulation, or simply just one photo that you think represents the month. Anyone with a blog can join this challenge and it’ll run throughout 2016. It doesn’t matter if you couldn’t join the first month(s), late-comers are welcomed. These are the rules, but they’re not written in stone – you can always improvise, mix & match to suit your own liking:
These are the rules for Version 1 (The Changing Seasons V1):
These are the rules for Version 2 (The Changing Seasons V2):
Links to participants:
Also make sure to out my spreadshirt shop:
Norwegian shop (NOK):
https://shop.spreadshirt.no/1123203/
English (EURO):
http://shop.spreadshirt.no/100035802
At school our teacher told us to play with fonts and gave us an assignment: replace one of the letters in any chosen word, with a symbol. (Yes, it was art school). Kjærlighet is what I came up with. «Kjærlighet» is the Norwegian word for “Love“.
Kjærlighet – Love
Ink/pen on paper.
“Drinking is an emotional thing. It joggles you out of the standardism of everyday life, out of everything being the same. It yanks you out of your body and your mind and throws you against the wall. I have the feeling that drinking is a form of suicide where you’re allowed to return to life and begin all over the next day. It’s like killing yourself, and then you’re reborn. I guess I’ve lived about ten or fifteen thousand lives now.”
― Charles Bukowski
If you don’t already know about “The Changing Seasons” challenge in this blog, you can read the “guidelines/rules” in the end of this post. February is here and it’s definitely not my favorite month. I’m not sure if I have a favorite month, but if I do, it must be one of the summer months. I just generally like the summer. I don’t hate February or anything, but since I’m living in the Northern hemisphere, February equals winter time: in other words we’re talking snow, rain, wet, cold, darkness, naked trees, dark forests – you know, all that stuff that probably inspires the makers of black metal music.
Since my last ‘Changing Seasons’ post, I’ve shot exactly 14 photos of Oslo and they basically all look the same since they were shot at the same vantage point and on the same night. I haven’t been out much with my camera lately. Come to think of it I’ve hardly been outside at all (unless you’re counting commuting of course), but every month I have to go out and capture something.
February and winter time is perfect for indoor projects. There was a blogger that posted a photo of a vodka bottle – I can’t remember which blogger it was (at first I thought it was Amy, but it wasn’t. Then I thought maybe Laura…). Anyway, it was someone who uses the arbitrary retared rollercoaster system (link opens in new window) for measurements, because her bottle was measured in some kind of mathematically weird way. Since I have the same bottle at home and I felt inspired by this blogger, I decided one evening that I should play with it too. You’ll see one of those photos in the gallery. Also, I added one from last weekend’s visit to the tattoo convention in Budapest. Now, before you ask: yes, I actually went all the way to Budapest just to attend a tattoo convention (I realize that it’s kind of geeky/weird, but hey! I love tattoos!). Later I’ll write-up a post about the Budapest convention, complete with photos plus an interview with Hungary’s most talented artist ((which also happens to be probably the world’s most beautiful tattoo artist), but for now I’ll only share this one photo.
I have two more photos from this event in my other blog if you’re interested: https://artishorseshit.wordpress.com/2016/02/17/balogh-daniels-photos-from-budapest-tattoo-convention/
What else happened in February? A major thing, for me: a bunch of February’s ago, I was born. Every year that has passed since then, I’ve been around long enough to make another ride around the sun on this circus of a planet. 🙂 That’s why that is one of the things that I’ve always associated with this month. The summer is still far away, but slowly, slowly we’re getting there… (יש תקווה).
Enough random blah, blah and scattered thoughts. This is my V2 post for February:
Happy Birthday / What a Circus! / You’ve made another round around the sun
For the changing seasons V1, I have this tiny gallery. The photo of the skull is actually more of a V2 photo, but who cares? 🙂
«The Changing Seasons 2016» is a blogging challenge with two versions: the original (V1) which is purely photographic and the new version (V2) where you can allow yourself to be more artistic and post a painting, a recipe, a digital manipulation, or simply just one photo that you think represents the month. Anyone with a blog can join this challenge and it’ll run throughout 2016. It doesn’t matter if you couldn’t join the first month(s), late-comers are welcomed. These are the rules, but they’re not written in stone – you can always improvise, mix & match to suit your own liking:
These are the rules for Version 1 (The Changing Seasons V1):
These are the rules for Version 2 (The Changing Seasons V2):
Check out the links to other entries:
Sculpture at Ekebergparken
Ref: «self-portrait in tits» that I posted the other day.
“Human relationships didn’t work anyhow. Only the first two weeks had any zing, then the participants lost their interest. Masks dropped away and real people began to appear: cranks, imbeciles, the demented, the vengeful, sadists, killers. Modern society had created its own kind and they feasted on each other. It was a duel to the death–in a cesspool.”
― Charles Bukowski, Women
Açores, Portugal.
“Real loneliness is not necessarily limited to when you are alone.”
― Charles Bukowski
My entry for: https://dailypost.wordpress.com/photo-challenges/alphabet/
Unfortunately I didn’t catch the name of the girl who was filming, but the name of the model was Nina. They didn’t mind me taking some shots, so I hung around and took some photos while they were filming. I came home with a bunch of photos that day (I’ve deleted a lot but I still have 408 photos shot on that same day).
An avant-garde, sci-fi scene.
When I was looking through the shots with Nina, I decided to merge these two photos into one. I’m pleased with the final result and I think it has some sci-fi, avant-garde feeling to it.
This is my entry for the weekly photo challenge this week: https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_photo_challenge/on-the-way/
Enjoy this song by King Missile: “Sensitive Artist”.
“Sensitive Artist” by John S Hall (King Missile)
From the album King Missile (Dog Fly Religion)* – Fluting On The HumpI am a sensitive artist.
Nobody understands me because I am so deep.
In my work I make allusions to books that nobody else has read,
Music that nobody else has heard,
And art that nobody else has seen.
I can’t help it
Because I am so much more intelligent
And well-rounded
Than everyone who surrounds me.I stopped watching tv when I was six months old
Because it was so boring and stupid
And started reading books
And going to recitals
And art galleries.
I don’t go to recitals anymore
Because my hearing is too sensitive
And I don’t go to art galleries anymore
Because there are people there
And I can’t deal with people
Because they don’t understand me.I stay at home
Reading books that are beneath me,
And working on my work,
Which no one understandsI am sensitive…
I am a sensitive artist…
רבקה גולדברג – Rebecca Goldberg (Rita)
Unfortunately my photo isn’t the best, because I didn’t have the photographing skills back then that I have today and also because I didn’t have the guts to go up to her and ask to take her portrait (I will definitely do that the next time I see her!). Of course, my copy of that newspaper is long gone and the only thing that’s left of it is a vague memory of the fact that I once had an article about her somewhere. When writing this post I tried to look up the article on the internet, but had no luck when searching with English search phrases. Once I switched to Hebrew I managed to find a couple of photos of her, but without her name mentioned. Then I decided to do an image search in Hebrew and by comparing the photos that I found of her and her art, I found a Hebrew article on one of her art shows that contained her name and other relevant info.
Here’s pieces of that article translated to English. The article was written by Amos Rabin and you’ll find a link to the full article in the link section.
Rebecca Goldberg (Rita)
Rebecca came from England in 1975, she has lived and painted in Jerusalem for about 35 years.
Jerusalem is the main subject in her paintings. The scenes in her paintings, takes place in the present and Rebecca documents the process of change. Her style also highlights the typical and special affection for Jerusalem: intimate, everyday life in the older neighborhoods.Sometimes the people, the environment and the connections between them are swallowed up in the environment and become part of it and sometimes they are the center of the drama.
Rebecca’s paintings evoke the visual attention of viewers, to find beauty in the unexpected fabric of the city. (source: http://www.art.org.il/)
Rebecca Goldberg is expressing herself through paintings.
Check out these links for more info and photos:
The following info is unrelated to the post, but I thought I'd share it anyway: This post is one of many drafts that I had saved. These days I'm not very active in the blog world, simply because "life got in the way". I'll try to keep on posting more or less regularly, but don't be disappointed if you don't get any return visits or if I don't answer your comments. I'll hopefully be back on track as soon as things settle down. For sure I will keep my Monthly Photo Challenge: The Changing Seasons going (and please feel free to join, it's never too late!), but other than that I can't promise that I'll be as active as I've been lately. I'm sure you can all understand and relate to this. Have a great weekend!
Grete Stern
The sentences above were discussed in Leanne Cole‘s blog a while back. I commented on her post and later decided to write my own post about it.
I’m not a camera salesman, so for me the market part of photographing isn’t interesting: who’s buying most cameras – women or men? This doesn’t concern me. The only thing that concerns me is what they produce with the cameras. The big majority of people take pictures to produce family memories, boring pictures of their cats, plants and so called ‘Facebook-moments’ (previously known as Kodak Moments). They’re also using their phone cameras to document whatever they’re having for dinner at some restaurant.
Many professional organizations largely consists of press photographers and in this line of work, the photographer is often ‘out in the fields’ in different war zones – a job where you’ll mostly find men, probably because of mental and physical differences between the sexes (men are often more adrenaline seeking, careless and violent than women). A lot of war photography is just about being at the right place at the right time or faking a scene – and it’s more often than not political propaganda. Of course this is just a matter of taste, but in my opinion male photographers such as war photographer Robert Capa and street photographer Henri Cartier Bresson are wildly overrated.
Many (most) of my favourite photographers are women.
Enjoy this gallery with some selected photos of the mentioned photographers. Disclaimer: I have no rights over these images. I tried to contact the photographers that are still alive to get permission to publish these photos, but some didn’t answer and I was unable to find contact information for the others. I’m assuming that they won’t mind having their photos published in a non-profit, personal blog like this.
This deer was in a hallway near the Astrup Fearnley Museum in Oslo. HDR, with 3 bracketed shots.
See more entries for the weekly photo challenge over at WordPress:
dailypost.wordpress.com/2014/03/14/weekly-photo-challenge-inside-2/
Just watched episode 310 on Kelbytv.com and picked up this awesome technique. If you’re into Photoshop I recommend that you check them out in one of their channels. These tips are not only for advanced photoshoppers – Kelbytv.com makes sure to incorporate easy tips & tricks as well.
Musical Portrait by CardinalGuzman.wordpress.com
To see how I made this picture, check out the program and you might learn something new as well. I promise you: it’s an easy technique.
http://kelbytv.com/photoshopusertv/2012/07/10/episode-310/
You can also watch it on YouTube.
I guess this part of America’s history is well-known by most people as it has been portrayed in a great number of movies (The Untouchables, Al Capone, etc) and tv-series, recently in the award-winning HBO-show Boardwalk Empire (which is based on the real life of Enoch Lewis “Nucky” Johnson). The era known as the Prohibition started in 1920 when the 18th Amendment banned the sale, transportation and manufacture of alcohol in America, and it lasted until 1933 when it all came to an end with the ratification of the Twenty-first Amendment, which repealed the Eighteenth Amendment.
The History of Tattoo – Part 1: Polynesia & New Zealand
In order to elaborate further on the subject The History of Tattoo (and how it reached such popularity in the West), we must first take a look at the explorers colonization and the missionary activities in the Pacific during the 17th and 18 century. Tattooing existed in Europe prior to the colonialists encounters with local people in Polynesia. Christian pilgrims, for example, had tattoos as souvenirs and confirmation of their belief, tattoos they had got on pilgrimages to the Holy Land as far back as the 16th century. Also the Celts practiced tattooing pre-Roman conquests.
Through archaeological evidence we can trace tattooing in Polynesia back to as early as 2000 BCE, and such evidence has been found on all the islands. Captain James Cook, a European explorer who sailed with the British navy, was the first who reported about Polynesian tattoo. This was in 1769, when he “discovered” Tahiti and in 1778 when he met Hawaiians. Cook and his crew wrote and made notes on subsequent trips, and Cook was the first Westerner to adopt the Tahitian word “ta-tu” or “tatau” when he described this practice (before that tattooing was referred to as dots and marks).
The tattoos they recorded includes lines, stars and other geometric designs, as well as scenes containing animals and humans, and the tattoos were worn by both women and men. By the time of the first European contact the motives was primarily linear and most likely had a genealogical and a protective function. Already in 1784, Cooks crew laid themselves before the natives needles to get tattooed, and unknowingly they therefore had a key role in bringing tattooing to Europe.
Wikimedia Commons: Maori Moko, scanned from John Rutherford: The White Chief (pre-1923)
19th century voyages noted that the designs now included, in addition to plants and animals that were previously registered: rifles, cannons, dates and words in memory of deceased chiefs. These newer designs were probably introduced to the Polynesians by Cook’s crew. At this time, Polynesians were also tattooed by Western tattoo artists who worked on ships, where they used the indigenous’ technology.
After the Hawaiians adopted Western weapons, their tattoos, now influenced by Westerners, became exclusively decorative, and they were no longer required for protection. Without this early cross-contamination, it is doubtful that the tattoo would be re-established in Europe or that it would be perceived as anything other than some sort of primitive characteristics.
Captain Cook’s first visit to New Zealand was in 1769, and on that journey the ships own illustrator (Sydney Parkinson) drew pictures of the native tattoo – Moko. Moko is the linear facial tattoos that are worn by Maori men and women as a sign of status as well as association.
The Maori had a long tradition in which they preserved the deceased nobility’s tattooed heads, it is assumed that this was to keep the deceased’s memory alive. The heads were also seen as sacred, because they were of the opinion that the heads continued to contain the deceased’s Tapu, or magical qualities. In 1770, a mere year after the initial contact, the Europeans interest in these heads led to a head-to-arms trade that lasted until 1831 when it was banned by the colonial authorities.
This trade turned particularly scandalous during the tribal wars in the 1820s, the European demand for tattooed heads was at a historically high, and prisoners of war were at this time tattooed, beheaded and their heads were sold to European traders. As the sale of heads increased, the Maoris stopped preserving their friends heads, so that they would not fall into the hands of unscrupulous Europeans. For a period wearing a Moko actually meant that you risked being beheaded and that your head was sold to European traders.
Full facial moko, scetched by Sydney Parkinson, 1769. Wikimedia Commons
Post-European contact, Moko was associated with Maori culture as a way for the natives of New Zealand to stand out from the Europeans who had settled there. In addition to the tattoos in Hawaii and Tahiti, Maori tattoos were also influenced by European contact.
Originally Maori tattoos were applied by cutting the skin and then rubbing the ink into the open wounds. After the Europeans arrived, sailors brought metal to the Maori, which put them in a position to adopt the stick method that was found in other parts of Polynesia.
European explorers also affected the tattoo culture in other parts of Polynesia.
The motives which originally contained detailed linear patterns, moved towards big, wide, black tattooed areas.
Despite all this the most lasting consequence of the contact between European explorers and Polynesian tattooing, was not stylistically. While this contact resulted in the re-introduction of tattooing in the West, it also led to the destruction of Polynesian tattooing through missionary activities. The assignments of these explorers was, after all, to learn about these “primitive” cultures and to pave the way for later civilization of these communities through the missionaries, who banned both tattooing, polygamy and other practices that were seen as uncivilized.
«Living tradition»
Moko, intricate patterns artistically tingled and carved on the body, even in the face – including eyelids – has a long tradition among the Maoris. It was a magical and religious art of the chiefs and warriors, but also women were decorated. Moko also created sexual power. Now, extensive moko on the face is only for the bravest, but large decorations elsewhere on the body is experiencing a renaissance in line with the renewed cultural and ethnic pride.
– The art of Maori Tattooing
Sources:
Punk and neo-tribal body art, Daniel Wojcik, University Press of Mississippi
Bodies of inscription, Margo DeMello, Duke University Press, Durham&London 2000
Skin Shows – the art of tattoo, Chris Wroblewski, Virgin Books
This was the first post in The History of Tattoo and later I will translate and publish the rest of the History of Tattoo, an article that I originally wrote on Norwegian for a tattoo chain. I’ll also update the article(s) and add some new stuff.
In the meantime you can read Tattoo Artist Magazines’ article on Horitomo ( I will cover Japanese tattoo history in a later article), or some of these articles:
Related articles
More about the history of tattoo:
‘Nicolaj Udstillingsbygning’ shows in their summer exhibition “Rich and Famous” by the Mexican photographer Daniela Rossell. In color photographs that catch you off guard Daniela Rossell’s turns her ethnographic look at the Mexican upper-class’ tastes and lifestyles. The social photography turns its head and directs its focus towards the wealthy upper-class’ conspicuous luxury and economic power.
Daniela Rossell – Ricas y famosas
Cardinal Guzman 