Picture of the week - part 4.

Thinker on a rock by Barry Flanagan.
This always makes me think of Alice in Wonderland, I don't know why. On the other hand, it might be the ironic version of that very famous Rodin piece.

The poster, the hair, the icon.

Thursday marked the death of an other icon as well, an icon whose passing should be remembered more than it is - Farah Fawcett. Farah was THE American beauty, but it did not stop men all around the world from loving her. Americans might have loved her for being typically American, Europeans for being typically un-European and so on. The fact is, her legendary poster graced many walls and for women she became something very much like a role model, especially for her hair and that famous bathing suit.
I understand the death of the world's most successful pop singer is very, very important but it saddens me that Farah is not given the tributes she deserves. It might sound harsh, but she was unfortunate to die the same day Michael Jackson did.
However, she will never be forgotten.

And the impossible happens.

The world is struggling to get over the sudden death of pop legend Michael Jackson, an artist I have always respected, even if I was not a fan (though I loved many of his songs). I can only say what CNN did - he was a star who was hard to ignore. Over the last few years he had become stranger and stranger, yet the he was always in the heart of his fans in some way. But despite all the scandals and physical rarities, to hear of his death was a shock, even for me - something very hard to believe and something that seems even more devastating because he was only weeks away from his return tour.
There is no need to say he will always be remembered - in his life, he was a living legend and now, Michael Jackson is history.

Picture of the week - part 3.

Salvador Dalí - Raphaelesque head exploding

Whenever I look at it, it reminds me of Da Vinci's La Scapigliata:

It runs in the family.

There are many legendary people in popular culture but only some can be mentioned as the icon of an era, an icon everyone, in basically every corner of the world knows and respects. These people might not be with us anymore but the heritage of some includes grandchildren that, of course, will never be able to become nearly as great as their grandparents but are surely people to look out for.
1. Lydia Guevara

The granddaughter of Ernesto "Che" Guevara is happy to follow her famous predecessor's steps, only her bandoliers are carrots and her intention is to promote animal rights, standing on PETA's side.

2. Tuki Brando

Tuki was only 16 when he was shot for L'Uomo Vogue and a year later he was chosen by Donatella Versace to be the face of the fashion house's men's campaign. He owes his exotic looks to his Tahitian grandmother, Tarita Teriipia, whom Marlon Brando met on the set of Mutiny on the Bounty.

3. Riley Keough

She is probably the most successful of the trio and the one who does not use her grandfather's name (she is the daughter of Lisa Marie Presley and Danny Keough and Elvis's granddaughter). She works as a model and she has already worked with Dolce&Gabbana, Tommy Hilfiger, Dior and many others. However, in 2007 she said she wanted to be a photographer and she is also trying herself as an actress. We'll see where she gets with that.

Songs from the past.

I believe I have already mentioned how much I loved biographies, especially autobiographies (and biopics). However, after reading tons of them, I got used to quality and never-before-seen photos, yet somehow Marlon Brando's autobiography managed to surprise me. Not only because it's more than 500 pages (at least the Hungarian edition, I can not say anything about the others) but also because there are no words to describe how exciting, interesting and thoght-provoking it is. Even if you are not a Brando fan, this book, with stories from his private and professional lives, random thoughts about the world, the tale of him becoming an intelligent actor from - let's face it - a not high-educated yet very sensitive young man and 'cameos' of such legends as Marilyn Monroe, James Dean or Montgomery Clift make it something very special and hard to forget.
It is almost like a very well-written novel (though I have to add that it is not or not only Brando who should be given credits for that) you won't be able to put down. I know I am someone who reads a lot and basically fast, yet more than 100 (A4) pages per day is a lot, even for me.
So... what else is there to say? If you think of something to read while on holiday, I highly recommend Songs My Mother Taught Me. It might not be light when it comes to the book itself, but the content is funny, witty, philosophic and extraordinary.

Picture of the week - part 2.

Mikhail Baryshnikov - Vogue Italia.

Art? Yeah, right.

I know modern art is famous for considering basically anything art, yet there are some things, some "creations" I just can not call art. At all.

1. Kasimir Malewitsch's Red Square
Although he has a Black square as well, and only God knows how many other works like that, the Red Square is the most famous (and now I can not write "no wonder why").
I think these pieces are only good for one thing: to determine where art starts. Clearly, if you say art can be a simple yet interesting idea (and by interesting I mean interesting at first sight, then years pass without you thinking of it), this period in Malewitsch's oeuvre can be considered art as well. But for me, art is not just an idea. In fact, it is the idea, the process of creating and the result, what the result gives me, what it makes me feel, think, say or anything else. The result might not even reflect the idea but it only makes it more exciting. So putting a red square on a white canvas might had been a good and interesting idea in 1915, it does not give me anything. If I saw it in a museum I would not even care to watch it closely.
I wonder why Malewitsch didn't put the words "this is not art" under his squares (á la Magritte) to give us something more to think of.


2. Barnett Newman
Now this man had an idea and it seems he decided never to have an other one. I understand stuff like this would look good in some super-stylish and modern living room, but why spend so much on it if you can do it yourself or, let's say, buy it at an IKEA near you. It truly is the case when, if you give a sketch to a kid to color it, he'll do it just as artistically as Newman did. My teacher once said Barnett Newman might seem mad at first, but with time he'll grow on you. Well, I must say that for me, years after first hearing his name, he still is nothing else but a man with an idea.

Barnett Newman - Adam and Eve

3. 4'33" by John Cage
Well, as I always say, John Cage is the Barnett Newman of music. Or maybe a little more, or less. His "compositions" similar to this one might include instruments, yet they lack any tone. Just "listen". Or, to use a Depeche Mode reference, enjoy the silence.

Meravigliosa creatura.

Some people say Italian pop music only had two good moments, one is called "Lasciatemi cantare" and the other is "Sarà perché ti amo" by Ricchi e Poveri. Well, all I have to say is these people certainly do not know the name of Luciano Ligabue and/or have never heard the Gianna Nannini song, Meravigliosa creatura. But these two artists are the proof that Italian music (by this, I mean music in Italian by Italian people) does deserve to be mentioned, loved and remembered.
In my opinion, Meravigliosa creatura is something ethereal, something that always makes me feel love, pure and not naive yet out-of-the-world love, and not necessarily for one particular person but in general. Let's just put it this way, it makes me get in the mood for love (actually, as I was writing this I realized the mood this song gives me is very similar to the mood the movie, In the mood for love gives me).
The music speaks for itself, but here are some lines from the lyrics:
"I will cross many seas and rivers
In your land I will find myself again
I will ride whirls and storms
I will fly through the light
To have you

Wonderful creature, you are the only one in the world
Wonderful fear, to have you near
Sun-eyes burn my heart
Wonderful love and life"

Missing.

When I heard the news that a Picasso sketchbook was stolen from the Musée Picasso in Paris, something I read in a book about him came to my mind. It said thst it was clearly to see how Picasso and his art is still very 'in', very modern and very admired by the pricetag on his works or the things written about him. Now I say it is also plain to see all these things if you look at how many of his creations were stolen - even if the thieves don't appreciate art, those who buy or order their heist surely do.
And on a personal note, since I know I will never, ever have the money to buy a real Picasso, sometimes I wish I was brave, clever and conscienceless enough to at least steal one...


T h e a b o v e d r a w i n g c a n b e s e e n i n B a r c e l o n a ' s M u s e u P i c a s s o .

Devastated.

David Carradine, the idol of not one but many generations, has left this world behind. Now words can describe the pain and the loss. Let him rest in peace.

Team Rasputin.

Back when ABBA and Boney M. were the greatest star on the sky of pop music, young fans were divided: you were either team ABBA or team Boney M. The reason was also the similarity in their music, yet there are a lot of unique elements that make both groups easily recognizeable. And even if I like ABBA and their songs, I have to say I somehow prefer Boney M. With all the myth behind them (like the hearsay that singer was not really singing and they used someone else's voice), the witty lyrics (I know, ABBA has some as well, they are not as hilarious as theirs!) and the song about also legendary Rasputin made the choice obvious. On a sidenote, don't you just think that Boney M.'s Rasputin was a response for ABBA's Waterloo...? However, I prefer the lover of the Russian queen.