Monday, September 14, 2009

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Amazing Pictures arts and culture images

September 13th Sunday

Top 15 Arts and Culture Stories of 2009


Not surprisingly, the Digg community has its finger on the pulse of Arts and Culture in the world. While some Diggers focus on tech, others on politics, we thought it was time to celebrate the respect for arts and culture in the Digg community. From the Obama fist bump to the graffiti of Banksy to the history of the five dollar bill, here’s a list of the 15


Ladies and Gentlemen, the pound has gone presidential. On June 3rd, 2008, our President-Elect shared a fist bump with his wife after a campaign speech in St. Paul, Minnesota. It was the “fist bump heard round the world”, being documented even by Time Magazine. While called “terrorist” by others (looking at you, Fox News), Obama didn’t cave to conservative media and just kept on pounding. Digg celebrated the fist bump in their own way– by making the photo above the most popula


Anyone with an active radio and a willingness to learn knows NPR. The horns of All Things Considered, the guests of Science Friday, the insight of This American Life are more than just a passing radio show, they’re a ticket to a more informed, fulfilled life. The gem of public broadcasting is not immune to an economic downturn, as was shown in NPR’s needs to cut costs by laying off staff and canceling programming on its lineup. If public radio has a counterpart online, it is certainly the democratic nature of Digg.com. Digg’s community stood to support NPR in its time of need with Digg’s second most popular culture topic of the year, with 6927 Diggs and 618 comments. We’d love to know how much money was raised for National Public Radio by Diggers alone…




Somehow, Rene Descartes’ eternal question of “what does it mean to be?” has slid down the slippery gene slope to the mind of Lil Jon, who boldly asks “WHAT?!” While if you examine it closely, Mr. Jon may be in tune with Zen more closely than our maya-affixed minds can comprehend, we’re going to safely bet that he’s nothing short of clueless. If you haven’t seen the image that Digg voted its third most popular culture item of the year, you can’t miss it. Comparably, the philosophies of Aristotle, Descartes, Nietzsche and others are compared to the thoughts of Mr. Jon himsel


The acclaimed Graffiti artist Banksy is not one to toss up a piece that isn’t wrought with political commentary. His works are not so much about pushing the barrier on the font level, but telling a story and informing his viewers. This work, his largest yet in the city of London, portrays the stride of the public against their unblinking overseer, that of CCTV. This isn’t your Ramon vs. Spit graffiti art, this is the next level of subversive artwork in illegal execution. Ramon himself would be jealous. Digg apparently loves Banksy, as this entry and the next are testament.

In millennia past, our ancestors expressed their experiences on walls with paint, showing the stages of their lives and what was most important to them. Fast forward to modern times, that history has repeated itself in the form of Graffiti. Again, Banksy has shown his take on this form of expression and its oppressors. Imagine if all of our ancestors stone walled history was erased and painted over to preserve public cleanliness? While it may not be that cut-and-dry, Banksy has a brilliant point with this work. While the prior listing may have been most popular



Sometimes art imitates life– and sometimes life imitates art. This was the goal of renegade sculptors Tim Nobel and Sue Webster, a pair of artists who form heaps of junk into the most elaborate, detailed shadow puppets you’ve likely ever seen. Nobel and Webster take these mounds of waste and shape them carefully into outlines that merge with light to form believable


The last time a story like this was so deeply woven into the culture of its time– it begat one of the world’s greatest religions. While the epic stories of Star Wars may not yield the same result, it has inspired an equivalent level of adoration and dedication by its fans. A few Star Wars fans focused their energies on rebuilding a Star Destroyer, to scale, in a perfect representation



While easy to ridicule and misunderstand, the lifestyle of dominants and submissives, goths and otherwise is deserving of its own respect. Not so in Yorkshire, England, where a bus driver would not let the duo on his bus. “We don’t let fr
eaks and dogs like you on.” Not to generalize against bus drivers, but there’s an inside chance that your common bus driver is a freak him/herself, let alone a canine. Either way, the gothic couple complained to the city and to the bus company


That famous phrase is cemented in many of our minds– that a “picture is worth a thousand words”. Artist Chris Jordan has taken this concept to the Nth degree with his series of works showing American numbers to the extreme. That friendly image above shows 2,000,000 plastic beverage bottles– the number consumed in the U.S. every five minutes. Pretty ironic if you think about it. Furthermore, can you imagine the shipping cost in foreign oil needed to transport thos


In spite of each user’s own religious beliefs, Diggers rallied around this flag in 2008– the dogma of the atheist. For those who don’t subscribe to a theistic religion, the goal is to avoid harming those who are religious. In life, there are far too many opportunities to separate oneself from others, so the vision of this image is to avoid making those differences anything less than positive. Your neighbor a staunch Christian, Muslim, Hebrew or Buddhist? Give ‘em a fist bump. Let them rock out with their own Lord, you rock out with yours. In the end, we’re all supposed to party together anyway


Raise your hands if you’ve been to a rock concert in the last year and you’ve seen ANY of the above stereotypes. Chances are, you’ve seen more than just one– but likely more than half of the 16 documented in this Digg topic. The typical 40+ dude who is REALLY into that new twenty-something band, they guy just there for the beer, the guy just there for the women, the guy who is going to turn his back on the band the second they get popular– they’re all there. If you haven’t at least glanced at this image, you owe it to yourself. Digger’s loved it, givin


When you push that over-sized button on the soda vending machine, nothing short of magic happens on the other end. Inside, a world of legend goes to work to make sure that a bottle of syrupy goodness drops out the other end just a few seconds later. But what goes into that process? The good people at Coca-Cola have their own impression of what goes on deep within the amazing vending box. If you haven’t seen this video, you can’t miss it– i

One of the greatest visionaries of the last 100 years was laid to rest in 2008. Futurist Arthur C. Clarke died at the age of 90 in the island nation of Sri Lanka. Clarke left behind a storied legacy of foreseeing works like the film-adapted 2001: a Space Odyssey, produced by director Stanley Kubrick. Clarke’s vision will be missed by many in this age,




On a much more blunt approach than someone like Banksy, as shown far above, this artist had a very specific goal with his/her graffiti work. Free your mind, says this artist with their work, as you are most certainly not free. Diggers, myself included

In a very different time, a nation’s character was represented in its printed notes of exchange. Due to counterfeiting and otherwise, the design of currency has become moreso about function than about form. Watermarks, translucent colorings and other elements protect bills from being copied– whereas 100 years ago, the U.S. Treasury employed a different tactic. Bills, at the time, were art. The depth and detail of the artwork on this $5 bill from 1896 wasn’t just beautiful, it was a system of protecting its authenticity. This detail was not easy for counterfeiters to reproduce in those technically early times. That bill above certainly does represent












Thursday, September 10, 2009

World Arts fashion design Culture Images

September 10th Thursday

Image of youth takes 24HRs

Sydney photographer Peter Steele has won the Award of Excellence for his stark image of life as a youth in Albury-Wodonga for the Open section of the 24HRs AlburyWodonga photographic project, held earlier this month in the twin cities.

The project drew photographers from as far as Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra to take part in the event, which documented "a day in the life" around Albury-Wodonga on 1-2 June.

The judging panel, drawn from teaching staff in Charles Sturt University's photography degree, were enthused by the high quality of entries from the three sections, secondary, tertiary and open sections.

"The high overall standard of entries in the project is reflected by the exceptional images produced by the winners, particularly Peter Steele's entry," said head judge and the event's coordinator Karen Donnelly.

Over 150 high school students from the Border region joined 200 other contestants, who included commercial photographers, Border Mail photographers, interested enthusiasts, and students from CSU and Australian National University.

Entrants competed for cash prizes totalling $1 500, which was donated by Albury and Wodonga City Councils and CSU.

24HRs was run by the third year students enrolled in the photography degree at the University's Albury-Wodonga Campus.

Prize winners for the three competitions run during the 24HRs project were










Saturday, September 5, 2009

World Latest Arts and culture images

September 5nd Saturday

Amazing Arts and Culture in world


Graffiti offers structure for Brazilian youth

The Power of Culture, 24 August 2009, Netherlands

"Graffiti artists in Brazil take the time to make special works of art, usually with a social or political message. That is why we are organizing a life-size open air exposition within the framework of Brazil Rotterdam: R.U.A. - Reflexo o Urban Art - lines, colours and forms on Contemporary Brazilian Street Art ", says Anouk Piket of Caramundo, a young Dutch ngo that supports cultural grassroots initiatives in Latin America.

"Caramundo invited ten Brazilian graffiti artists to make life-size works of art in Rotterdam. In doing so, more emphasis is placed on the positive aspects of street graffiti: aspects to which often little attention is devoted in the Netherlands. Graffiti can revitalize impoverished parts of a city and turn these into meeting points. This is now often the case in the favelas, the shanty towns of many large Brazilian cities, including São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro."

GAIS and Stile, two Brazilian graffiti artists who were invited, are connected with the Projeto Queto through Nação, a graffiti crew in Rio de Janeiro. It was for this reason that graffiti artist Francisco da Silva of Nação approached Caramundo in 2006 about a cultural project in Morro do Queto / Sampaio, to give the favela a positive impulse. Now, three years later, Moro do Queto has its own cultural centre where a variety of artistic workshops are organized, including on graffiti.

"Art and culture are scarcely available in Brazil's favelas. The only pastimes available to the youth is their Baile Funk in the weekend or TV Globo with its endless soap series. With art we hope to inspire the youth to learn more and read more: to discover what life has to offer outside of their day-to-day existence. Along with other activities, graffiti helps to establish discipline and structure. The participants not only learn about graffiti techniques, but also come into contact with art, culture and language. Letters are important in graffiti, which means that reading and writing are also addressed in the workshops. Stile, for example, only uses letters in his graffiti, as a result of which other graffiti artists - even those in other countries - come to him for answers to their questions," says Piket.



This photographic exhibition features photos from the 1980s taken by Gille de Vlieg during the Resistance campaigns. De Vlieg was a member of the Black Sash movement and became a photographer during that time. She became involved with documentary photography in rural and urban areas and her images have been published in newspapers, magazines and books nationally and internationally. The show opens at Durban Art Gallery on 9 Septembe


The exhibition “Past/Present” is a survey of works by Andrew Verster who turns 72 this year. The artist has been given two retrospectives by the Durban Art Gallery in 1987 and 1997. This exhibition takes the time frame from 1994 – the start of democracy in South Africa - and shows works from that time to the present. The artist places significance on this particular period as it has been a milestone in his life mainly due to the freedom which was enshrined in the new Constitution which gave equal rights to all. Speaking

A residency for Emerging Female Artists has been scheduled for eight weeks in Cape Town, South Africa. Artists will be sharing an open studio space at the historical Castle of Good Hope from 18 January to 14 March 2010. The selected women artists will represent Africa from regions of eastern, western and southern Africa, and finally two from outside Africa (Europe, America). The call for application is now open and due by 16th August 2009. The objective of this residency is to source and nurture new emerging female artists, especially of colour




Mosa Mohave photogravure by Edward Curtis

A fascinating exhibition comes to the Durban Art Gallery in May. Sacred Legacy features reproductions of historical photographs of the native people of North America by legendary photographer/ethnographer Edward Curtis whose life spanned both the old West and its final destruction in the twentieth century. The result is a unique photographic record of an era and broad group of people whose representation is more usually rendered in American television and cinema. After seeing so many fictionalised images of America’s indigenous people, it is remarkable to see the people and landscape free of the biases of modernism



After exhibiting in New York, London, Dublin, Tokyo, and cities across Africa, Stary Mwaba will show his latest series of paintings, "Solace of a Migrant", at Gallery MOMO in Johannesburg, opening on Thurs 14 May 09. Mwaba's paintings shown at the Joburg Art Fair have already generated excitement for the upcoming solo show. The young artist, only 32, generates his concepts for his paintings from his roots in rural Zambia and the struggles and aspirations of his people, and, especially for this exhibit, finding one's place in a world that doesn't readily offer solace


South Africa’s white and yellow pages of the South African art world in its 6th edition is now available to artists, leading decision makers, gallery owners and directors of collections, local and international art libraries. The directory is the largest verified source of information regarding SA art infrastructure and includes information on art schools, museums,



Seippel Gallery, in association with the Pretoria Art Museum, are pleased to launch the opening of Mbongeni Buthelezi's first national touring exhibition.On show will be black-and-white portraits, colourful works from the series Childhood, sepia paintings from the Winter in Kliptown series, and an overview of Buthelezi's latest plastic paintings. Buthelezi has moved on from the style of his earlier paintings and aquarelle drawings to a unique figurative technique which produces works that resemble sculpted reliefs and abstract forms



South African designer Heath Nash uses unusual materials for his designs and work to save the environment at the same time. Nash decided to “look at material for material’s sake” to explore what designs could be fashioned out of them. He said that it was a radical approach that worked backwards, rather than the usual way of coming up with a design and then, looking



Tryptych Care By Johannes Phokela


Artist Johannes Phokela is known for recontextualizing works by Old European Masters like Breugel, Jacob De Ghen and Rubens, among others, and giving them a completely new meaning by adding unsettling features such as an African person, a red nose or bananas. In his just concluded Standard Bank Gallery Exhibition entitled ‘I like My Neighbours’ Johannes explores the psychological impact of meeting new people. For him new people or neighbours supply him ‘with all the material he needs to create his very intelligent and witty works


Madam Suzma by Vusi Beauchamp

Obert contemporary at Melrose arch presents "Smokin Cheese" from 12-31 march 2009 by Vusi Beauchamp. Beauchamp is a recent graduate in painting from the Tshwane University of Technology. Inspired by classic comics and cartoons, Beauchamp has developed his own cast of characters who offer cutting commentary on present day South African society. His work is often infused with graphic text that challenges outdated stereotypes and racial profiles



Kay Hassan occupies an intriguing place amongst artists of his generation. A generation heavily influenced by Polly Street modernists including Lucas Sithole, Leonard Matsoso, Alfred Khumalo and Ezrom Legae , artists who emerged from the harsh urban areas of apartheid environment and created works of art that defied prejudices and self pity. Their works were notable for having escaped from European modernism, naiveté and primitivism. Hassan distinguished himself with work that reconsiders Conceptual and post-Conceptual art practices from an intensely personal and emotional art perspective. His work moves




A two day auction of decorative and fine arts was held by Stephan Welz & Co in association with Sotheby’s on February 24 and 25. Over R10-million was raised. Despite negative financial indicators, these outstanding results proved that the art market in South Africa is very much alive.“Collectors continued to battle it out in the sale room, proving that quality and desirability outweigh the economic climate and overall sense of sobriety,” said Cape Town painting specialist, Phillippa Duncan. Two art works proved pivotal to the success of the sale. Keen bidding on the telephones and in the room were responsible for Erik


His “Jozi”, a street scene of peddlers with fruits and umbrellas is a busy, lively congestion; but the subject registers only momentarily. Soon it is the technique that you see: His adeptness at making connections, choosing the right shades to fit in (he needs an awful lot of paper) is what surely makes the magic. Again it’s the minuteness of it all. All of these, the line of buildings, people, their shadows, how he catches the time of day, all using paper still does not jar the eye. A calm, naturalness, springs out of this all. It is after considering these that the true beauty of his work emerges and from there



Freedom - infectious freedom - and the abandon that comes with, leap up literary in Andrew Verster’s “Bodyworks” series. The 71-year old South African, who speaking as a gay man makes a statement that elsewhere might sound enigmatic when he says “For the first time in my life I became legal”. But he is South Africa; this statement and the joy expressed in his work celebrate the post-1994 South Africa. His works are traveling through the country, a journey



The works by Wayne Barker, Pat Muatloe and Dinkies Sithole transformed through soft colour images into subtle symbols. Barker through his tradition of neon lights and markings recreated consideration relating to despair and plight of displaced émigré souls in “Luggage and Clandestine”. This is to say nothing of the fact that luminaries Marlene Dumas and William Kentridge who have wowed audiences the world over were also on show at the same exhibitio


“All the sculptures and the frames are plain white or bleached out - as it were, evoking the sense of absence or reconstruction, perhaps simplicity, neutrality or restraint and vagueness or simply incompleteness of the work itself.”

This is the kind of reaction that South African Artist, Marco Cianfanelli seems to inspire. The son of printers, who grew up in an industrial area and who is himself working out in an industrial area in Johannesburg, he has been described as an artist who “romanticizes space and its inverse”. The intensity that Cianfanelli inspires is not incidental but forms some coherence


Museum Africa in Newtown has a new chief curator, and he's encouraging his staff to have tantrums as a way of creating a lot of noise around badly needed new vision for the museum. He is Ali Hlongwane, formerly the curator of the Hector Pieterson Museum and Memorial in Orlando West,



At the heart of Kate Gottgens latest body of work lies a sense of entrapment; a quiet dissonance that emergies in the use of evocative imagery, painted in ash. Gottgens started photographing the contents of a props warehouse in Voortrekker Road, that grim grey, modernist trash-can of a road that runs through some of the bleakest mid-century suburbs of Cape Town. Subjects distort, ambiguities shift and a sense of unease is manifested. The ash evokes a realm between worlds, a liminal universe of dreams



Gallery on the Square invites you to an ongoing exhibition featuring artists Phillemon Hlungwani, Vusi Mfupi and Thabo Molapo. Philemon’s work is predominately self-expressive in light of his background and Christian beliefs while Vusi’s work portrays a celebration of youth and mobility. Thabo employs the medium of traditional weaving as an expression
















It is not the FIFA Football World Cup, but the organisers of Cape Africa Platform are promising that for lovers of African Art and Art generally, starting this December, South Africa – i.e. Cape Town - will be the go-to town. The series of events kicking off on December 4 are planned to culminate with a show of contemporary art from across the continent, which the organisers promise will be “ground-breaking.” For now, from December 4-6, weighty matters and topics from artists and philosophers will dissect such areas as the “state of contemporary African art,” “networks without borders,” curating African arts and more. Speakers include Angolan artist “Etona” Antonio Tomas Ana and philosopher Patricio Batsikama, to researcher and artist Monica Banyana Selelo (Botswana) and South African