Post-Oscars.

With all my love going out to Penélope Cruz, this post is not about her and her well deserved (and may I see predictable?) win at yesterday's Oscars. This post is going to be about Sean Penn, the man I hoped would win but never believed so. For many, many years the winners of the main categories were never a surprise for me, but this time, and I am more than glad, it happened to be so.
Actually, I was sad since Mickey Rourke won for The Wrestler at the Golden Globes, because I wanted Sean Penn to win so much. I was sad, because with that victory and all that you could read in the papers, hear from the critics, I think almost everyone was at least 99% sure that the golden guy would finally end up in Rourke's hands, just because Hollywood is all over his return from... well, the mud. But don't get me wrong, it's not a hater post, even if I admit I do not like Mickey Rourke (just like I don not like Philip Seymour Hoffman or Russel Crowe), no. It's a post I decided to write because I still can't see from the joy that got over me when Michael Douglas said the name I thought would not hear. Sean Penn has been an icon for me for such a long time and I don't think I'm far from the truth that he deserved it a lot, just like he did for Mystic River and just like he would have deserved for many of his other works. So here it is, his acceptance speech and man, I'm so, so proud and happy.

Is it true, or am I dreaming?

Many people say it's time to move on, leave waif-like girls behind and embrace the feminine figures that were considered sexy for decades and centuries, until the arrival of Twiggy who, followed by Kate Moss and many others managed to change the way women look at themselves and their curves and nowadays when someone tells you "oh my God, you are so skinny!" you, instead of starting to worry, take it as a compliment.
But now, here is Kate Moss, the icon of not only the '90s but also the 21st century and what we call fashionable, posing for New York Magazine half naked, talking about how much she enjoys having curves and actually wearing a bra. Now there are two possibilities: a. it's just a dream (or, for many girls who have always wanted to get a body like Kate Moss's, a dream come true), b. the world is about to experience major changes.
Either way, it's great to read an interview with Kate and see her happy and healthy (and by healthy, I also mean free-of-any-other-problems/addictions).

Here again.

Sorry for abandoning this blog for such a long, long time, I've had the busiest time of my life, meaning I'm at the university on weekdays and at work on weekends and nowadays if I had three wishes, one would be a free day aready, when I have nothing to do. But since it's not going to happen anytime soon...
Anyway, I thankfully had the chance to visit Venice again, so I'll try to post, post, post about my experiences.
Until then, some art. Can you tell me the painter and the title...? Hint: it's from Guggenheim, Venice. And no, it's not a Picasso.

Hirst.

There are many controversies regarding the art (or, according to some who don't like him, his "not art") and I must say I also have mixed feelings for his works. First of all, I simply don't like his pieces featuring dead and dissected animals and I think many times it's more about provoking scandal and common disgust and not about creating something that gives something spiritual, supernatural to people.
BUT. He has other works as well, of course, and even if they still have many things from his normally "morbid" point of view, I do think some of these pieces are great and very grotesque - these are the moments where he manages to find the balance between disgusting and attracting, these are something that make you want to turn your head away and stare for hours at the same time. And I think this is why his art can be called art, even if I totally agree with those who say "a dead shark is not art".
Adam and Eve under the table


The picture below is not completely Damien Hirst but I think the composition is great , maybe because I can't properly see if the Hirst piece is made of animal organs...? Anyway, the gorilla is brilliant.

Wallpaper:
Damien Hirst Butterfly wallpaper 2003 © the artist/Courtesy Jay Jopling, London
Rear Centre:
Damien Hirst The Pursuit of Oblivion 2004 (detail) © the artist/Courtesy Jay Jopling, London
Middle:
Sarah Lucas Spam 2004 © the artist/Courtesy Sadie Coles HQ, London
Foreground:
Angus Fairhurst The Birth of Consistency 2004 © the artist/Courtesy Sadie Coles HQ, London


The last picture belongs to Tate Britain

The day the music died.

CNN has an article about the 3rd of February, the day Ritchie Valens, Buddy Holly and J.P. Richardson died in a plane accident in 1959 and the way it was remembered, since it's the 50th anniversary.
I already mentioned this day in a post where I wrote about La Bamba, the song that Valens famously adopted from folclore.
As someone who loves legends a great personalities, artists, this event is somewhat relevant for me, even if the term "the day the music died" is, in my humble opinion, incorrect, since many legends were born after this date, it's enough to mention The Beatles. Anyway, of course the tragic importance of this day is not something we could question and it's definitely part of musical and pop cultural history and, as the article says, "the end of the first bloom of rock anarchy and innovation".