This is amazing:
Ninety-seven printmakers of all experience levels, have joined together to produce 118 prints in any medium; woodcut, linocut, monotype, etching, lithograph, silkscreen, or any combination. The end result is a periodic table of elements intended to promote both science and the arts.
The Ornithological Art of Edward Lear:
In 1830, visitors to the new Zoological Gardens in London were bemused by a young man—a boy, really—who sat sketching the birds in the Parrot House. He drew the birds as they perched and played, and with the help of a zookeeper named Gosse, measured their wingspans, and the dimensions of their bodies, beaks, and legs. Visitors lingered to watch, and he filled the margins of his paper with caricatures of the people around him.
Edward Lear was working on a startlingly audacious project. Illustrations of the Family of Psittacidae, or Parrots was a monograph he planned to publish by subscription in fourteen folios. It was ground-breaking in several ways: Lear was the first ornithological illustrator to publish in the large folio size, and the first to devote an entire book to a single family of birds. His insistence on drawing from life whenever possible was innovative, as was his decision to use lithography.
Lear published the first two folios of the Psittacidae on November 1, 1830.
I couldn't get the video to work, maybe you can, but the image I got from it is pretty striking. (Click to enlarge.) The story:
A swiss artist has created an unusual live body art performance, using as inspiration the images of US President Barack Obama and Pope Benedict.
The performance, held on Monday (February 16) is described by the artist 'Dave' as a form of 'fusionism', combining abstract painting and choreography in a performance.
The artwork involves ten nude performers with painted bodies, who are choreographed to eventually assemble into a complete picture.
Image used by permission of Lesley, of Lesley Smitheringale Fine Art, Queensland, Australia. Thank you kindly, LS.
Lesley graduated from Glasgow School of Art in 1982 after gaining a Degree with Honours in Design, specialising in Printed Textiles.
After teaching art in a High School for ten years in Scotland , Lesley immigrated to Australia where she has taught adults drawing and silk painting at TAFE Colleges. Lesley is currently teaching art in a private College in the Gold Coast, Queensland.
Most famous character of mid-18th century humorist and sketch artist, and Mark Twain influence, George Washington Harris:
Hit am an orful thing, George, tu be a nat'ral born durn'd fool. Yu'se never 'sperienced hit pussonally, hev yu? Hits made pow'fully agin our famerly, an all owin tu dad. I orter bust my head open agin a bluff ove rocks, an' jis' wud du hit, ef I warnt a cussed coward.
Go here, then here, then to the source here.
Martin Klimas hails from Germany and takes fantastic “still life” photos. He drops clay figurines from the same height in complete darkness with the camera lens open. When the figurine hits the ground, the sound of the impact triggers the lights to go on for a fraction of a second.
Homempage:
Boutique (1976):
Giuseppe Tampieri was born in Lugo di Ravenna on March 9th, 1918 and began practicing painting and drawing in early childhood in Faenza.
He attended the Fine Arts Academy in Florence where he graduated in 1941.
His first exhibition took place in Ravenna in 1936. Since then he has been participating the most important Italian artistic events including the Biennale in Venice and the Quadriennale in Rome.
He realized many illustrations for books and also published articles and reviews on newspapers and magazines.
He lived and worked in Genoa from 1950 to 1981 where many of his monumental sculptures are hosted on various city buildings, corporate centres and the central cemetery.
Since 1981 he has been living and working in Faenza (Ravenna).
After more than 30 years of civil war, ending in 1998, the Cambodian gouvernment destroyed 125,000 weapons across the country. In this time British artist Sasha Constable saw an opportunity, and decided to create The Peace Art Project Cambodia (PAPC) in November 2003. The Peace Art Project Cambodia was a sculpture project turning weapons into art as expressions of peace.In Cambodia this is the most beautiful way to get rid of weapons - transform them in furniture. From these pictures this furniture doesn’t look to comfortable, but for a good cause they are excellent.
Took this at Sculpture by the Sea in November. Entered it a contest there, was one of the five finalists for the day. But I didn't win. Dang it.
