Max Ernst
Ernst studied philosophy at Bonn University, before being influenced by August Macke and taking up painting. In 1919, he and Johannes T. Baargeld founded the Cologne dadaist group. Together, they published the review Die Schammade, though only one edition was published in 1920. In 1922, Ernst moved to Paris, where he became on of the founding fathers of surrealism. He invented "frottage" in 1925, and this allowed for some of his most remarkable work. His greatest period began with the paintings entitled Garden Aeroplane Trap (1935 a€" 1936), as well as the sequence of paintings including the Nymph Echo and Joie de vivre (1936), produced using decalcomania. He continued this period in America between 1941 and 1953, with Antipope (1942), Rhenish Night (1944), and The Eye of Silence (1945). Ernst remained true to the surrealist movement when he returned to France. In 1954, he won the Grand Prix at the Venice Biennale. His traditional paintings, such as Messalina as a Child and The Famous Dream-Smith (1959), while decent in artistic merit, are believed to be far less original than those created in his surrealist period.
via surrealist with selections from the MOMA, NY collection: The hat makes the man, and, Napoleon in the Desert respectively.
"Talkative"
Hiratsuka sees Japan as a land of contrasts. On the surface it looks rather westernized with McDonald and Coca Cola. But underneath the facade traditional Japanese culture and values remained unchanged. The artist mentions two examples:
"For example, Japanese gardens are cultivated high atop thirty story Western skyscrapers, or people dine on McDonald’s hamburgers while watching Sumo wrestling. In my work I explore this chaotic coexistence.
GYA-RGY KEPES
Gyorgy Kepes the artist whose work and thought embrace nature and technology; whose understanding of the determining factors of the energy field in which modern man day-dances, leads him to seek harmony of seemingly opposite forcesa€"and whose charismatic thought-prayers for a saner world have gathered around him for decades now a people of listeners, followers, admirers and disciples.
Gyorgy Kepes, as a mentally independent artist who does not invite interpretation by an art-jockey critic, has never invested much in a "style," and the total of his work reflects the many moods of the universe and the multi-faceted demands of the man-made world rather than "modern art’s" aesthetic chess games. An artist’s concern for his fellow citizens leads him to offer his services to the environment and its inhabitants; even if no mediating art agency, such as a museum or a gallery, is involved.
My Ninja, Please! 11/01/07: Jay-Z Doll
As always, a picture is worth a thousand words.AA My ninjas, please, this doll is ridiculous.
Posted: November 1st, 2007
at 12:27pm by Black Ock
Categories: hood status,web,gear
Comments: 4 comments
The World’s Coolest Hotel Pools
Check them out @ thecoolhunter
Cock of the Walk
Like my buddy Steve said, they just don’t make commercials like they used to.
Posted: November 1st, 2007
at 10:13am by Black Ock
Categories: youtube,too good to be true,grub
Comments: No comments
The Revolution Will Be Cinematized
Friends,
I am overwhelmed by the response to "Sicko." And I’m not just talking about all the wonderful, heart-felt letters you’ve sent me and the stories you’ve shared with me about the abuse you’ve suffered from our health care system.
It’s all an amazing sight. I can’t tell you how thrilled I am to see the impact a movie can have. For all of you who have written me to ask, "What can I do," well, read more about what others have done, and then try these simple steps:
Michael Moore tells you what you can do to help change the current health care system in America in his letter post-sicko.AA Kind of old, but may be of interest. The cartoon comes from here.
Quote of the Day
I couldn’t find London on a map if they didn’t have the names of the countries.AA I swear to God.AA I don’t know what nothing is.AA I know Italy looks likeAA boot.AA I know London Fletcher.AA We did a football camp together, so I know him.AA That’s the closest thing I know to London. - Channing Crowder, Miami Dolphins Linebacker
The Dolphins and Giants played the first ever regular season game to be played in London on Sunday - complete with giant robot overlord in the form of Jason Taylor.
Posted: November 1st, 2007
at 8:25am by Black Ock
Categories: too good to be true,not ninja-worthy,fo' real?,quote of the day
Comments: No comments
Locked Up With Green Chemistry
From our green site @ green.mnp
Inmates at San Quentin State Prison, outside of San Francisco, are some of the few in the country with access to higher education learning. Thanks to the Prison University Program, which relies on financial support from donors and volunteer teachers, prisoners can take classes in a range of classes, including Environmental Science, Biology, Calculus and, recently, Chemistry. The cover story for October 22’s Chemical & Engineering News is all about the chemistry class being taught this year, and some of the inmates who are taking it. Several of the inmates taking the chemistry class show particular interest in environmental issues:
San Quentin State Prison inmate Michael Gallardo is a heavy-set but soft-spoken man who has a bachelor’s degree in business from the Philippines. He says the class has made him aware of his role in protecting the environment. Before the class, he says, he had wanted to get a Hummer after leaving prison. Now, he says, he’d rather get a hybrid because it’s better for the environment.
Inmate Rodney Scott is easygoing and talks in a manner that conveys a sense of lightheartedness. He is also taking chemistry for the first time and says he wants to start a business in toxic waste cleanup after he leaves San Quentin. He used to clean up toxic waste on the street, he says. "Now, with my chemical background, I have a better understanding than I had before. Now, I’ll know how to neutralize things and understand how it happens."
It is maddening to know that, even though prisoners with access to education are less likely to return to prison once they are released, there are less than TEN prisons in the US with higher education programs:
Studies show that prisoners who participate in educational programming are at a lower risk of relapsing into crime after being released from prison. A 2001 study conducted by the Correctional Education Association, for instance, reported that prisoners who participated in correctional education were 29% less likely to be incarcerated again than prisoners who did not participate in such programming.
In the late 1980s, the number of higher education programs in U.S. prisons soared to 350. Many prisoners enrolled in these programs were eligible for Federal Pell Grantsa€"which are typically given to low-income undergraduate studentsa€"to help pay their tuition fees. In 1994, however, the Violent Crime Control & Law Enforcement Act banned the distribution of Pell Grants for inmate higher education. Consequently, the number of prison higher education programs dropped to fewer than 10 by 1996.
Also maddening is this kind of ignorance:
"Chemistry sounds scary to prison administrators," Lewen says, explaining that officials are concerned that inmates could learn how to make illegal drugs or explosives. "But a lot of the obstacles that you run into are people’s imaginations," she adds.
Especially when inmates are just as likely as the rest of us to realize how interesting and practical chemistry can be, once they get into it. Take Scott, for example:
Scott says he gets together with his classmates during recreation time to study. "I’m finding out that I’m a nerd, and I’m proud of it," he says. "There are a lot of guys here that feel this way."
For some more crazy stats on the US prison system, check out this interactive prison report from Mother Jones.
[C&EN]
Posted: November 1st, 2007
at 7:41am by Black Ock
Categories: crime,green,science
Comments: No comments