Monday, February 25, 2008

Francis Picabia 1879-1953





The photo is of Francis Picabia in the film Entr’acte (1924)wearing a dress. Also, here are some examples of his figure paintings of women. "Francis Picabia worked across a huge range of media, from painting and drawing, to poetry, publishing and performance. Born in France he worked between Paris, Zurich and New York at different points throughout his career and was variously integral to and then disassociated from both the Dadaists and then the Surrealists." link

"In the early 1940s he moved to the south of France, where his work took a surprising turn - he produced a series of paintings based on the nude and glamour photos in French "Girlie" magazines, in a garish style which appears to subvert traditional, academic nude painting. He loved fast automobiles and was reported to have 150 of them." Fast cars, cross-dressing and painting more than one woman together based on girlie mags. I sort of like the style of some of his figurative work. However, some of it is clearly lacking in feeling, depth and compositional flow from heavy reliance on stock photos as a reference. Still, he gave painting a good ol' try, when he wasn't being an asshole playboy.



Friday, February 22, 2008

Surrealism in B & W Vintage Films


There is a most unusual and interesting blog about B&W cinematography and film art direction called
This blog features mesmerizing, mysterious and surreal B&W stills.
The architectural sets are amazing on some of these films.
Thanks to mardecortesbaja (another great blog about films) for the cool link.

Thursday, February 21, 2008

All Stocked Up

= Tickler Uke T-shirt by artist Amy Crehore available HERE =
I just want to let everyone know that I replenished my inventory of Tickler Ukulele Artist T-shirts and the (2XL 's) came in earlier this week. An amazing number of people ordered this shirt and I want to extend a big thank you. I got some nice letters from people. It was great seeing Mark F. wearing it on boingboing tv this week! (Monday's episode-Maker Faire tryouts). Also, a customer in the U.K. was wearing one on flickr (birthday present for himself).
The number two Tickler Ukulele is nearing completion, but it will still be a couple of weeks. The luthier is using special wood that has been aged 30 years. This uke is guaranteed to have an incredible sound and also be a unique one-of-a-kind art object. Every detail has been carefully thought out. I'm so proud of it. It's looking very art deco, yet modern.
Stay tuned.

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

How to be Mysterious

You can find out how to be mysterious and stand out on
I know a few people who follow these tips, but I'm not sure it's working for them.

Searching for Gaudy Frames

While doing a search for "gaudy frames", I found this funny cat image. link
It made me laugh. I was just thinking about the current trend to frame paintings in gaudy, ridiculous frames, even cartoon art. Don't get me wrong, I love frames. But, some paintings are all frame and no substance, if you know what I mean. I think sometimes it's the easy way out for lazy artists.

Amazing Collection of Antique Beadwork

Banjo Wall Hanging
Frame
Iroquois pin cushions
I came across an amazing collection of antique beadwork (1840's-1930's) online at:
Have a look - if you like this kind of stuff. I absolutely love it. It's so "me".
"This page is adapted from text and pictures published in the program of the Sertoma Million Dollar Antique Show. The pictures were taken by Chip Hunt and the text is by Dolores Elliott. The beadwork was exhibited at the antique show and is from the collection of Dolores Elliott."

Closing Reception, Deep Pop Exhibit NY

Photos of Deep Pop show here , more on Juxtapoz

"Feed the Bear Blues" painting by Amy Crehore in Deep Pop Show
Last two days to see the DEEP POP SHOW curated by Andrew Michael Ford at the Brother Kenneth Chapman Gallery, Iona College, 715 North Ave, New Rochelle, NY. There is an ART & DESSERT CLOSING RECEPTION Thursday, February 21st, 2008, Noon -3:00 pm - for those who happen to live nearby. Please contact Andrew Michael Ford at Ad Hoc Art about the artwork in this show. List of participants here (scroll down).