Jean-Dominique Bauby

Who is this Jean-Do? He is the featured character in Julian Schnabel's film, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, based upon Bauby's autobiography by the same name. He was the well-known French editor of Elle magazine who suffered a massive stroke at the age of 43 in 1995. Only his mind was left entirely intact by this injury while most of his body suffered paralysis. By using a technique of blinking only one eye as a transcriptionist repeated the alphabet over and over again out loud to him, he detailed his life before and after the injury. Glimpses of his relationships somewhat round out the picture of his character.
Quite a remarkable story, and I believe, even if the film takes liberties as films are wont to do, it does help us envision his unrelenting will to continue his journalistic role despite his physical condition. I have to wonder if it was a voluntary or involuntary compulsion. We have all known people who were meant to be singers or meant to be carpenters because it is such an integral part of them. So, did he have a choice or was there no choice for him?

I think the film also depicted the dignity that Jean-Do retained until his death fifteen months following the injury as he conducts a compare-and-contrast examination of his circumstances. He sees his physical state as being overcome, trapped and "drowned". The butterfly, of course, is his continued free flow of thoughts, still creative, not stifled, the part of him spared from paralysis.

For a more scholarly review of his book, please visit:
http://litmed.med.nyu.edu/Annotation?action=view&annid=1245

Brilliance from Mr. Twilight

There are lots of good movies about artists.  Quite a few years ago, I watched Basquiat.  I had never heard of him and still have never known anyone else to be familiar with his work.  However, he was famously in Andy Warhol's innermost circle, apparently was quite the rage during the 1980's and was the first artist of African descent to become an international art star.

Soft Watch at the Moment of First Explosion by Salvador Dali

Then a couple of months ago, I watched How to Draw a Bunny.  It was a collection of snippets of interviews of the acquaintances and friends of artist Ray Johnson, another artist obscure to me but who evidently produced ground-breaking work.  He was another friend of Andy Warhol's.

Salvador Dali

Then last night, I watched Little Ashes which portrayed the relationship between Spaniards Salvador Dali and poet Federico Lorca who met when attending art school in Madrid.  If Robert Pattinson has chosen some roles for their commercial value, he has atoned by blasting out formidable work in other films.  This is most certainly one of them.

Robert Pattinson as Salvador Dali in Little Ashes

Truffles

If some of you have been wondering if this blog has a mascot or not, I'm very pleased to report that it does! It is my teddy bear hamster, frequently referred to as "my hammie". This particular hammie is not only gorgeous and sweet-natured but he also represents the very best of artful hamster living - he eats his cucumbers and broccoli sprouts along with his fortune cookies and Häagen-Dazs vanilla bean ice cream. He particularly loves cannolis and discerningly rejects pickles.

Truffles, blog mascot

Art Fair - Day Two

Because the weather was relatively pleasant today, I was able to cover a lot of ground.  Art Fair, for me, wouldn't be the same without a visit to see the fine art bronze castings of one of my favorite artists, Jim Budish.  As is the case many years, his son cheerfully manned the booth.

http://jimbudish.com/ 

There are many variations of Chauncey and I love them all but Chauncey Blowing in the Wind is particularly whimsical.

I also really like  Moose.

Ann Arbor Art Fair!

One might think that the few days preceding this event always seems to be accompanied by the sound of thunder.  It's just the collective groans of those who view it with dread or disdain - nothing much to worry about.  It's likely that there will also be some resigned but civilized sighing - pay no attention to that either.

I, however, am one of those who loves the art fair(s) so today I'm thrilled that this version of commercial chaos has commenced.  Now, talk to me about the tumult and turmoil of the football season, and then I can be counted as one of the grumblies, but this week I'm delighted.  As tradition would have it, the weather is way too uncomfortable to make enjoyment of the fairs an easy pleasure so I intend to make several excursions so I can browse unhurriedly.

Wrapped in Love

I was catching up with a friend who hasn't attended since her solo excursion in 2002.  She is an artist herself of great warmth who could undoubtedly appreciate technique and form in a much more informed way than I can so she is going to get updates from the field, so to speak.

 

 Halo of Love

Who was the first artist I had the honor of meeting this year?  He was an absolute charmer - Terry Ferguson of Stone Carvina.

http://babuart.com/

More fun and more exploring and hopefully
better weather and another update tomorrow!

Happy Birthday, Albrecht!

Today is Albrecht Dürer's 538th birthday!  Known for his prints, paintings and woodcuts, he is regarded by some as the greatest Renaissance artist in Northern Europe.  I first mentioned Dürer in my post of November 20, 2009, in which I mused about his rock star appearance.

http://artslyfe.blogspot.com/2009/11/albrecht-durer-neil-gaiman-and-terry.html

It seems somewhat prophetic considering the first image below, a fusion of Albrecht's self-portrait and Photoshop.  Several "portraits" were generated as submissions for an Advanced Photoshop competition.

 http://www.freakingnews.com/Durer-Art-Pictures---2901.asp 

 

http://www.freakingnews.com/Durer-Paintings-Pictures--2440.asp 

To see more examples from this competition, many of which are rather amusing, please visit the links referenced above.  Included are "portraits" of Barack Obama, Meryl Streep, Bruce Willis, Gollum, Julia Roberts and other celebrities.

International Museum Day

Who knew!  Evidently I've been in the dark for quite some time because this started in 1977!  In 1992, it was determined that a theme would be established annually.  It's date is set as being around May 18 every year in order to accommodate cultural variations around the world.

http://icom.museum/imd.html

This year's theme is "Museums for Social Harmony" with almost 100 countries participating.  Some museums will offer free admission for the day or have extended hours.  Others will have special presentations.  I missed it this year but now I have a whole year to decide which museum I will visit to celebrate next year!

I love the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago :)

Chihuly Exhibit at Frederick Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park

Another awe-inspiring exhibit of Dale Chihuly's work officially opened to the public on April 30 and will continue until September 30th.  The exhibit is distributed at 15 sites throughout the Gardens.

I last saw one of his exhibits in November in the Glass Pavilion at the Toledo Museum of Art.  It was beautiful beyond description.

Chihuly himself is expected to be present at the Gardens on my birthday - what a nice gift! ;-)

 Blue Moon

Red Reeds

 Yellow Boat

Chihuly said he used more red than ever before to create this exhibit.  Red - my favorite color.

GOOD 'Shop/bad 'shop Redux (see also 03.03.2010)

This is a badly-taken picture of little Clarence sitting on an air-conditioning vent.  The picture is quite old as is evidenced by the linoleum and curtains.  Clarence deserves a much more attractive setting, don't you think?  First, let's improve the floor.

I'm not going to be able to fix everything but the curtains will be the next thing to go.  ;-)

The beauty and fun of Photoshop!

Similar Palettes

Grand Canyon, Arizona

 Sunrise by Claude Monet