BEAUTY: Installation--Cai Guo-Qiang

Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art Foundation in Australia is currently hosting a remarkable art installation by Chinese artist Cai Guo-Qiang entitled "Falling Back To Earth." The QAGOMA website reports:

"‘Falling Back to Earth’, presented by Tourism and Events Queensland and Santos GLNG Project, features three major installations, including two newly commissioned works directly inspired by the landscapes of southeast Queensland, which the artist visited in 2011. The centrepiece of the exhibition — Heritage 2013 — features 99 replicas of animals from around the world, gathered together to drink from a blue lake surrounded by pristine white sand, reminiscent of the lakes of Moreton Bay’s islands. The second installation, Eucalyptus 2013 responds to the ancient trees of Lamington National Park in the Gold Coast hinterland, while the third — Head On 2006 — is a striking installation of 99 artificial wolves leaping en masse into a glass wall, on display in Australia for the first time."

The show is running until May 11, 2014.

http://www.caiguoqiang.com/
http://www.qagoma.qld.gov.au/

"Guuurl" by Lapalux

Amazing: abstract, sultry, danceable, slightly dark...

http://www.lapalux.com

MMMM...

Mads Mikkelsen...

meet Michael Madsen...

(hee hee)

Please say NO to the Salvation Army

Just a friendly reminder to not put your change in the red buckets this year!

Why? Read the shocking information below.

“The Salvation Army doesn’t believe that gays and lesbians should ever know the intimacy of any loving relationship, instead teaching that ‘Christians whose sexual orientation is primarily or exclusively same-sex are called upon to embrace celibacy as a way of life.’" - (source)

“Salvation Army Major: LGBT People Should Be Put to Death" - (source)

“The Salvation Army openly says that ‘practicing homosexuals’ aren’t welcome in their organization and they have lobbyists in D.C. and abroad who work to prevent gay rights legislation from being enacted." - (source)

“The Salvation Army does not only discriminate against gay and lesbian people, it also works politically against LGBT rights all over the world." - (source)

So while some of your nickels and pennies are going to hunger relief or “Christmas Assistance” just know that a large portion of your donation is going toward lobbying governments worldwide for anti-gay policies - including an attempt to make consensual gay sex illegal.

There are so many other ways you can help this Christmas season, without supporting harmful, destructive practices and ideas:
Consider donating to:
*Goodwill
*Red Cross
*Doctors Without Borders
*Habitat for Humanity

Information about the Salvation Army from the Human Rights Campaign:
http://www.hrc.org/resources/entry/stances-of-faiths-on-lgbt-issues-salvation-army


via Science Is A Candle In The Dark

Seen In The Midwest

Once again, visiting in-laws in the fly-over zone for Thanksgiving. Except I don't get to fly over it, I have to land and be in it. *sigh*

Happy Thanksgiving 2013

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

“Acknowledging the good that you already have in your life is the foundation for all abundance.”

― Eckhart Tolle

Thanks, Jesus...2013

As we eat our Thanksgiving meal, let us thank not an imaginary figure in the sky but those who are TRULY responsible for bringing our food to our tables, through their numbingly long days of low-wage, backbreaking work.

A Day of Thanks, A Day of Mourning

Today marks the 44th Day of Mourning observed with a vigil and rally on Cole's Hill, Plymouth, Massachusetts.

For info on the vigil and rally:
http://www.uaine.org/2013_ndom/2013_Day_of_Mourning.pdf
or visit United American Indians of New England at
http://www.uaine.org/

Thanksgiving Imagery

BEAUTY: Sculpture--Kevin Francis Gray

I have always marveled at the way Classical and Renaissance artists managed to make sculptures of marble look like folds of soft fabric and Irish-born/London-dwelling sculptor Kevin Francis Gray is carrying on this skill in his eerie, ethereal figures draped with jersey or diaphanous silk. And all are made from marble, bronze, or resin. Wow.

His work is on display at the Pace Gallery in London, now through January 18, 2014.

Top to bottom: Temporal Sitter; Ballerina Bust; Ballerina; Kids On A Tomb overhead view; Kids On A Tomb side view; male bust

Most interesting is the collaboration Gray worked on with Disney Studios for the film "Snow White and the Huntsman" which I reviewed here. At the time, I was unaware of Gray's work but the "Mirror Man" did stand out for me as a highlight in the film. The images for the film are based on Gray's piece Face Off, seen in the images below, which consists of two figures, draped in fabric. Gray paired them facing each other at the entrance to one of his gallery shows. In an interview with The Observer, he said, "I made this sculpture to be put at the entrance so that as you walked into a gallery, you walked through these guardians of the gate... They’re standing with their arms crossed and they’ve got that kind of attitude-y young pose, you know what I mean? That arrogant cocky pose. You see it all the time... You walk through the door to the gallery and you get this bad vibe even as you just walk into the show."

And then below, the "Mirror Man" as he appeared in "Snow White and the Huntsman" with Charlize Theron.

http://kevinfrancisgray.com

BEAUTY: Ceramics--James Lovera

Legendary ceramicist James Lovera has been working in his chosen medium since the 1940s, and his work is included in some of the most prestigious collections in the world including the Smithsonian. He is best known for his crater or lava glazes which cover the surface of his bowls and vases with small pits and holes. I love his bowls because they remind me of the kind of exquisite Japanese tea bowls used in the traditional Japanese Tea Ceremony. They both celebrate the material, the role of chance in the firing process, and the concept of wabi-sabi, or the admiration of the imperfection of natural objects.

BEAUTY: Interiors--Steven Favreau

Steven Favreau, HGTV Design Star semi-finalist, is a fellow Northern California interior designer like myself... he has even participated in the Home For the Holidays design showcase as I have. We are bound to run into each other at some point.

He has a bold, dramatic style... I particularly like the Venetian dining room in the last photo. I love using fabric for wall treatments as a way to soften a space and he has created a room that looks as if it would be right at home on the Grand Canal!

http://www.favreaudesign.com/