Ventilator Films

Famous paintings come to life through animation:
http://www.ventilatorfilms.com/index03.php?f=11

Edward Steichen: In High Fashion

There is a wonderful new book out to accompany a current traveling exhibition of Edward Steichen's fashion photography, Edward Steichen: In High Fashion (The Conde Nast Years 1923-1937). Steichen is the father of modern fashion photography. He was a student of Alfred Steiglitz, and became the chief photographer for Vogue and Vanity Fair during the 1920s and 30s. He was also curator of The Family of Man, a significant photography exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art in 1955, the catalogue for which is still in print. The Family of Man is a wonderful collection of images and quotes that illustrate what humankind has in common across the world. 

Steichen's black and white fashion photographs in In High Fashion are striking images-- some are portraits of famous people, while others are beautiful examples of fashion and style in the 1920s and 30s. Here are just a few:

ARCH by Glenn Kaino

Pittsburgh is both the "City of Bridges" and the "Robot City", and artist Glenn Kaino combines both identities into ARCH, a transformer sculpture commissioned for Pittsburgh's 250th by the Andy Warhol Museum. The giant robot is located at the corner of a parking lot on Seventh St. and Fort Duquesne Blvd. in the Cultural District, right across from the big, yellow Warhol Bridge (which seems like a distant relative). I took this photo of ARCH on my lunch hour. I think that he is more Autobot than Decepticon... He has a friendly countenance!

Street With A View by Robin Hewlett & Ben Kinsley

Local Pittsburgh artists Robin Hewlett and Ben Kinsley staged surreal scenes along Sampsonia Way for the Google Inc. Street View car to capture.

The scenes have just been launched, so now when people check out the Google Street View on-line, they see a parade, someone about to escape out a window down a rope of bed sheets, a garage band, a sword fight, a marathon, a random giant chicken sculpture, and other odd things that make Sampsonia Way a bizarre little wonderland. The parade looks great, complete with confetti and a marching band. 

The community involvement is impressive, and the whole idea is just so fun!  Check out more about the project and explore the scenes through the project's web site, here: http://www.streetwithaview.com 

A look back

I'm going through some older paintings to give to my parents this weekend as gifts and for safe-keeping. Here is one I am delivering, that I haven't looked at in a long time. It's odd looking at the many different phases my painting has gone through as I've tried different styles over the years. I was inspired by different things, trying to achieve different things, and learning. This one is of Adam and Eve banished from the Garden of Eden. The silhouettes are drawn from a historical painting I can't find at the moment because I can't recall who it was by, while the forest was invented.