tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44548516465777086202024-02-18T18:38:41.925-08:00Alter Ego speakingA rookie artist talks about art, work, lifestyle, fashion etc etc...so there.Anarchy Pantyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274535103226645106noreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4454851646577708620.post-48637646465068197312013-04-21T11:44:00.000-07:002013-04-21T11:44:33.864-07:00Working in London.<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hi guise!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It has taken me so long to write this post. Probably because I have been utilizing my time to workout, paint and study french, which I was unable to do whilst living in London.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm back living in Finland and I have to say that I'm relieved to be back. London wasn't for me after all. It's a shame, because I used to love that city. Then I got to see the other, more real side of London and realized that I didn't like living in London anymore. I still like London, it's a great city to visit. And there might come a time when I have to live in London again, but in the mean time, I'm glad to be back in Finland <3</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This post inclued brief information about my work experience in London.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><u>Finding a job in London. </u></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This entirely depends on what your profession is. If it's in customer service, then no problem, you have lots to choose from. If you want to work for a business company, I'm quite positive you'll be able to get a proper position (<i>depending on your education</i>) in no time. I would imagine that even those who are Humanitarians or Artist, will be able to get some kind of work that matches their degree. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I got a job interview even before I graduated from makeup school. I went through the interviews and style checks and got a job five days after I had graduated. I was a freelance makeup artist and a consultant for different makeup brands in department stores. So even as a makeup artist, I was able to find work in no time.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However
here comes the unpleasant part, when you get that job from your chosen
field, there is chance that you have to get a second job as well. You
see London is a very expensive city, and unless you already have a lot
of work experience and a fancy degree, chances are, you have to start from
the bottom and work your way up over the years. Now I imagine that it's
like this every where in the world. However unlike in Finland for
example, where the odds of getting a job in the field you are
educated-trained in is minimal, in London the chances of getting the job
you really want are high. </span>In Finland I'm unemployed because all the consultant positions have been filled and there are no new positions opening. Here the demand for eight consultants per makeup brands is zero. In Finnish department stores they only need maybe four consultants, and usually they only have two consultants working per day. One for the morning shift and one for the evening shift. I suppose it is a tradition in Finland that once you get a job, you hold on to it until you retire. Anyway, it's not like that in London at all. New positions open all the time. And many places offer internships. So no matter what field you are looking to get into, I'm quite positive it won't be way too difficult.</span><br />
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<u><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Rate of pay.</span></u><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">London just raised their minimum wage from £5 to £6-something/h. I can hear whole of Scandinavia, Germany, Switzerland, France and Belgium laughing. It is a laughable rate and the UK really expects people to live on that rate. Sure the taxes are lower than in Germany, but the people in Germany get paid atleast £10/h, or so I hear. I tried my best to live on that £6-something pay, but as it turned out, I couldn't. In Finland my pay as a waitress was little over £11/h</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> including evening-weekend-sunday allowance. In London my flatmate from Germany said that her parents wouldn't let her work for £6-something because it would be exploitation. It is exploitation, many people in London have to get by with minimum wage, work long hours in a cold, stressful enviroment and no such thing as<i> after 6pm evening allowance</i> exists.</span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It was shocking for me to discover that there were no evening, or weekend allowances and you didn't get double pay on sunday (<span style="color: #741b47;"><i>every sunday, not just bank holidays</i></span>)</span>. <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Not to mention travelling in London is very expensive. Depending on where you live, you could end up spending 3h per day just travelling to work. And if you can't afford to take the tube, you'll spend even more time travelling to work because bus routes are long and they stop very often. And the fares....I was paid £46 per day and the tube zones 1-4 was £43 per WEEK. So there you have it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I can't speak for all the sectors, but customer service and teaching pay you the minimum wage. Which means that teachers or waiters for example usually get a second job to do on the side. I have read about my friend's adventures in our uni town as a lecturer-groundskeeper-receptionist. I keep thinking that in Finland he wouldn't have to be a groundskeeper-receptionist because he would be able to get by as a lecturer no problem. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Having to do two jobs means that you don't have any freetime. You pretty much go home to sleep and eat. And this will probably go on for years and years until they promote you in your dream job or something. And I have to mention this, it says a lot about the country when you constantly see people, grown adults, living in shared houses. They simply can't afford to get a flat of their own so they have share a house with 2 people or more. I wonder if this has something to do with the rate of pay in the UK..?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It is pretty much up to you to decide whether the low pay and two jobs is worth the effort. I was wasting away in London so I decided to leave. For me there was no point in staying in London, selling makeups for minimal pay whilst in Finland I would be able to do the same thing and actually get paid for it (<span style="color: #741b47;"><i>or so I thought, there are no open vacancies</i><i> at the moment</i></span>)</span>. <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So the day I left London was a happy day for me and I don't regret it. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Basically to survive in London, you need to get an estimate of your rent, bills, council tax, food and travel expenses and see if you can survive with the pay you are getting. There is no way to sugarcoat things, especially if you are coming to London from an <span class="short_text" id="result_box" lang="en"><span class="hps">affluent society. Living in London is rough.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="short_text" id="result_box" lang="en"><span class="hps">Finding a job in London is easy, I have heard many stories about people moving to London and getting a job at Boots or Sainsbury's without previous experience and are still living in London. I read many stories Finns had written on this forum about moving to London. It was not that surprising to read that all of them had had a nasty beginning in London. And it usually involved housing. Anyway, even I who had just graduated from makeup school got a job as a makeup artist- consultant like that. So it really depends on the career you are pursuing. Naturally artists will have it more rough because even in London, it is difficult to earn money as an artist or as a ballerina. A friend of mine was a business student, he was an intern for a year and now the company has send him to Shanghai to teach english to the employees there. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="short_text" id="result_box" lang="en"><span class="hps">I also have to mention that not all people who come to London come from affluent societies, many people who come to London had to leave their home country and so they have nothing when they come to London. One of the really positive aspects of London is that it's not afraid of foreigners and immigrants. All the staff I met in most of the Boots I worked at were immigrants and many of them were managers. I found that inspiring. It was wonderful to see that even people who come to London with little or no previous work experience can get a decent job and have the possibility to move up. The only thing that really bother</span></span><span class="short_text" id="result_box" lang="en"><span class="hps">s me is that as kind to foreigners as London is, it also shamelessly exploits them. But then again, fleeing one's home country and getting a shared flat and a job in London is the most wonderful thing ever happened to some people of London. It is and I am very happy that London accepted me with my quirky accent and made me feel like a Londonette.</span></span><span class="short_text" id="result_box" lang="en"><span class="hps"> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="short_text" id="result_box" lang="en"><span class="hps">I can say without a doubt that </span></span><span class="short_text" id="result_box" lang="en"><span class="hps">the opportunities in London are indeed endless. And</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="short_text" id="result_box" lang="en"><span class="hps"></span></span><span class="short_text" id="result_box" lang="en"><span class="hps"></span></span><span class="short_text" id="result_box" lang="en"><span class="hps">even though I</span></span><span class="short_text" id="result_box" lang="en"><span class="hps">'m not in love with London anymore, I still find the experiences I got, priceless.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="short_text" id="result_box" lang="en"><span class="hps">I tried to keep this post short like the <a href="http://pantytalks.blogspot.fi/2013/03/living-in-london.html" target="_blank">living in London</a> post. After all I can't say too much about working in London because I only had the makeup consultant job. I did some research and asked people about their experiences, but all these people work or worked in customer service. I don't know anybody who gets a high pay rate in London. But hopefully you got the idea of what working can be like in London.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="short_text" id="result_box" lang="en"><span class="hps">As for me, I have my eye on a new job, that could pay off all my student loans and possibly get me my very own flat in Helsinki <3 If I get this job, I could also be able to paint and work as a makeup artist without having to worry about where the next paycheck comes from.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="short_text" id="result_box" lang="en"><span class="hps">I have an interview next month in Amsterdam and I'm praying that I'll get to the final stage of that interview day. The interview process of this company is very demanding and long, and of course I wish that they hire me, but at the moment I'm concentrating on getting to that final stage of the interview day. I have a month left to prepare myself. Wish me luck!</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="short_text" id="result_box" lang="en"><span class="hps">Thank you for reading and enjoy that sunshine, it's spring!</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="short_text" id="result_box" lang="en"><span class="hps">A.P</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span>Anarchy Pantyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274535103226645106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4454851646577708620.post-73201261188385407552013-03-03T06:56:00.000-08:002013-03-03T06:59:34.567-08:00Living in London (how to find a flat).<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Hello peeps!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It seems that I haven't got time to do anything these days. I graduated from AOFM, had to move, went through three job interviews, got a job and now I'm working and trying to get by with really small salary.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It all began in Janurary during AOFM when I realized that I couldn't keep living in the shared flat in Acton anymore. I don't want to go into too much detail, but lets just say that the situation got ugly, the agency took care of it, but I didn't feel safe living in that flat anymore so I moved out.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I terminated my contract with the agency and was back at the same B&B where I stayed when I first moved to London. I'm still fighting to get my deposit back.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I had to find a new place, but I got invited to a job interview. I was running like a madman up and down Oxford st. trying to find the proper outfit and accessories the agency had requested. The interview was in 3 stages (mon,wed and fri) and after my last interview on friday, I was booked to work with NARS (<span style="color: #741b47;"><i>and now I have worked with Chanel as well</i></span>).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The interview was extremely hard, I had to buy a nice suit (jacket and skirt) and the sorts, plus I had to cut my hair because the guy there hated it. It was rather clear that the agency was very strict about appearance and poise. And all this time I was flat hunting.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #351c75;"><span style="color: #666666;">Now I'll introduce some pointers to how to find the perfect flat for you in London. I must warn you that incase there are few things you look from a room and an area, finding the perfect place may turn into a nightmare.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #351c75;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #351c75;"><b><u>Finding a flat in London.</u></b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Basically it all comes down to these key points:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1. Area.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">2. The state of the house.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">3. Connections to your workplace.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">4. Your budget.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1. Firstly you need to decide where you want to live. If you are not into tough, run-down, immigrant populated areas I'd stay clear of East London all together. Canary Wharf is very trendy right now because of its booming economics and work opportunities, but that's pretty much it about East London. I took a bus across East London from Holborn for I was trying to get to the Finnish Church and E.L was definately not the place where I wanted to live. In Metro there is always news about shootings, and stabbings and murders, which mostly occur in East London. I'm not saying that the rest of London is any good, but incase you are coming to live in London for the first time, you might want to avoid areas that have high crime rate. Also if you are looking to live among Caucasians or Brits, East London is not the place for you. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">My first Flat (<span style="color: #741b47;"><i>well room</i></span>) was in West London, in Acton. A nice place to live, I felt safe there and tube and bus connections were rather good. I should probably point out now that if you are coming to London and want to live among Brits, you have to go way out of Central London. Most Brits live in the Home Counties of London, such as Surrey, Slough and the sorts. I live in Southgate and for the first time since I moved to London, I can hear proper British English in the stores.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In short, Central London is populated by immigrants of various backgrounds, and each area is a reflection of the most popular ethnic group living there. For me it was a bit of a shock to find out that there were no Brits living in Central London (<span style="color: #741b47;"><i>atleast not in the areas that I could afford</i></span>).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Before you come here I would suggest that you do a throughout check on each area you are interested in. I checked Acton, Vauxhall, Canary Wharf, Hammersmith, Turnpike Lane, Fulham, King's Cross and Shepherd's Bush before I settled in Acton and later in Southgate. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">2. Area is really important, but equally important is to check the state of the house. You won't believe the rooms and houses I saw whilst looking for a flat. I came to realize that I had been living in a dream world in Helsinki where everything is nice and clean and safe. In London, things are the exact opposite of nice and clean. I was very fortunate to finally found this flat in Southgate. The angel of a landlady has been keeping her house nice and tidy. This place is literally a palace now that I have seen what else is out there (<span style="color: #741b47;"><i>but seriously this is very very nice house</i></span>). Couple of things you need to check before you sign a contract:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">* Check if the room has bed bugs (look for black spots/stains on the bed frame and on the mattress)! Seriously people, I hear that the whole of Ealing is suffering from bed bugs. Infact, it is not unusual for 'hotels' in London to suffer from bed bug infestations and if you stay in place like that, there is a big chance that you bring the bugs back home with you. For even if you call pest control and they poison
the room, there is 99% chance that the bugs have just moved to another
room and will emerge after 3 weeks. We do not have bed bugs in Finland, I
had never even seen a bed bug before nor could even imagine having them
live with me. For me it was a great shock when I realized that in London bed bugs are almost part of the house hold. The house that I live in now reflects the state it is in, clean, strong, renovated every few years and the landlady makes sure that all the tenants keep their rooms in pristine condition. In short, <u>check that the room is pristine clean</u>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">* Ask about the other tenants and if you can, try to get information of their living habbits. You don't want to move in with someone who cooks extremely spicy food in the kitchen if you are allergic. Ask how everything works and if there has been any big renovations or repairs done recently, or if the landlady/landlord/agency is looking to renovate soon. How are the locks and has the house or the neighbourhood been subject to robbery. Then of course you need to find out about the bills and what is included in the rent. Check that the bathroom has everything you require and that there is enough hot water for everyday use. If the house has carpets (<span style="color: #741b47;"><i>yuck!</i></span>) ask if they are cleaned regularly. Basically when you see the outside of the house, you can pretty much predict what it's going to look like inside. You can judge a book by its covers. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">And don't rush! If the agency/landlady/landlord is asking you to pay a holding fee or another unsual fee (fee that is not a deposit) forget that place! What the agency or landlord should be asking, is a deposit and 1 month's rent in advance. I fell in to Red Move's 'holding fee' trap and now I'm fighting for my deposit. Agencies also ask you to pay extra to draw a contract for you plus when you leave the agency, you'll be asked to pay a check-out fee. After my Acton disaster, I never want to deal with a flat agency again! Personally I like private landlord's better because you have more room to negotiate.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">3. In a way, location is everything in London. Distances are long and you may end up spending a lot of time just travelling to work/school. When I came here I wasn't sure which ticket to buy. If you buy bus-tram travel card you are only allowed to access those, but if you buy regular travel card you can travel on tube, bus, tram etc as much as you want, but within the zones you have selected. The bus travel card is much cheaper than the tube travel card, however it takes forever to travel by bus. I lived in Acton, and my school was in Soho. It took me 1h20min by bus to get to Piccadilly, by tube it took 20min. Busses make a lot of stops and are often stuck in traffic. Bus routes are also very long, so you end up going a long detour before reaching your destination. Zones 1-3 bus travel card is £19, tube travel card is £35, and both are PER WEEK. The public transportation in London is very expensive. I don't think I have come across more expensive transportation fees elsewhere. It is ridiculously expensive. Maybe this is another way for England to separate the poor from the rich because clearly only rich people can afford to take the tube (<span style="color: #741b47;"><i>and me, well atleast for another 2 weeks</i></span>). There is also Pay-and-Go option where you load money on your Oyster card and pay only when you travel. However if you need to use public transportation a lot, I suggest you get the weekly travel card. Now that I live in zone 4, I pay £43 per week for my travel card. The further you go from C.L, the more expensive travelling is. The tube is very handy, but I'm never looking forwards to rush hour on the tube. I rather work until 8pm just to avoid the 6pm rush hour xD</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">4. You can't get a fancy place in London that is cheap, tidy and in a good area. And that is a fact. The lower your budget, more chances are, you are going to wind up in a horrendous flat in horrendous neighbourhood. Or it's a nice place in good area, but it's so far from work/school that you end up spending a fortune and a lot of time getting there each day. My first flat cost £110 per week and it included all bills. The flat naturally reflected that price. It was a very small room in a attic-like flat on the top floor of the building. The staircase was narrow and getting into the flat was difficult. There was five of us sharing one kitchen, one fridge-freezer and one bathroom-toilet. There was no room to dry our laundry really and two people liked to smoke in the bathroom.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">My current flat in Southgate costs £160 per week, but here I have a very large room for myself. I share a bathroom-toilet with two other people. We have a big kitchen and there is room for everyone in the fridge-freezer. We have a washing machine and a dryer and plenty of space to dry clothes in the living room too.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">One of my peers in AOFM had a studio flat for herself in Notting Hill. She had a terrace and wooden floors, but she didn't have heating or warm water for two weeks (in January). And she paid close to £2000 per month. So even if you get a fancy studio or room for yourself, I have learned that in London there is bound to be a downside too. But not here =) I love this flat and my landlady is awesome! Well the only downside....I can't exercise in my room, the landlady forbids that, but she lets me exercise in the living room though.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">If you are interested to learn more about living in London or are keen to ask me something don't be afraid to comment. I'll try to answer the best I can. I have lived here for 2 months now, so I'm not an expert, but I can give you a little insight on what it's like for a foreigner to live in London. I tried to keep the guidance part short for those who are looking for pointers and not stories.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I'll do a follow up on what it's like to work in London.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Stay tuned and thank you for reading!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A.P</span><br />
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<br />Anarchy Pantyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274535103226645106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4454851646577708620.post-43653770016645205772013-01-27T05:19:00.002-08:002013-01-27T05:19:35.749-08:002012.<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Hi guise!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">So sorry it took me this long to write a new post. Moving to London was rough and then I went to school at AOFM (Academy of Freelance
makeup). I still have 1 week left and then I'm a certified makeup artist ^_^</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Dragon's year isn't over yet. I have about two weeks left to be productive and successful. Well apparently 2013
is going to be very successful for us Dragons so we'll see. To my
friends 2012 was either so-so or not nice at all. To me, 2012 was
very nice. I was working most of the time, but a lot of things
happened and because so many things happened, I'm now living in
London.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">But about 2012, it began peacefully and
I took a habbit of going to my parent's cabin in the country once a
month, or once every other month. I spend a week there just painting
and relaxing. I miss it already. It was exceptionally nice to be
there in winter. I'd wake up around 8.15am to feed birds and
watch the sunrise (around 9am). It was very excotic to be up and
still find it pitch black outside. In the country we have a lot of
different types of birds. I loved to bring them seeds and watch them
eat whilst I had my breakfast inside. It was usually around -15'C
outside. I'd paint the rest of the day and workout too. I managed to
make 7 oil paintings in 2012, and they were supposed to be featured
in my first solo show in Helsinki right after New Year's, but yeah I
moved to London on the 2dn of January. London is exciting, but still, I miss our cabin,
the winter scenery and painting in tranquility.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs1r2JWXYOx0jxtxo_6TcASTws2YsA4b-V2j-HgBqlzMncwRLRLXRkw-8ctwIrrhccIaZrNZqHGDVj-09ciYsmkg4awQG6Hhk4TsI4V_UQgyHjCg_WUuo14IvlGifTXMSZMPfV_DTN_5Xv/s1600/enough.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjs1r2JWXYOx0jxtxo_6TcASTws2YsA4b-V2j-HgBqlzMncwRLRLXRkw-8ctwIrrhccIaZrNZqHGDVj-09ciYsmkg4awQG6Hhk4TsI4V_UQgyHjCg_WUuo14IvlGifTXMSZMPfV_DTN_5Xv/s400/enough.jpg" width="313" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Enough. (c) Heini Mika 2012.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In early spring
2012, I got infatuated with Kpop! I have been listening to Jpop for a
decade now, but I never got into Kpop like my little sister did. She
has been listening to Kpop for 6 years. I discovered Kpop through
Simon and Martina of <a href="http://www.eatyourkimchi.com/" target="_blank">Eatyourkimchi</a>. A schoolmate of mine was talking
about “Bubble pop” on Fbible, and one of his friend put a link to
eatyourkimchi review on his wall. I was like “I have heard about
Bubble Pop, so lets see what it's about”. After that I started
watching eatyourkimchi videos on daily basis xD I even introduced
their “Shinee, Sherlock” video to my little sister. Simon and
Martina are so much fun! And their videos are really well made. They
don't just talk about Kpop, they talk about Korean food and Culture
and what's it like to live in Korea (as a foreigner). At first I was
just watching the videos, but when I watched their review on Big Bang's
“Fantastic Baby” I was hooked. It started with Big Bang and
U-Kiss, but now I love Super Junior and Junsu, and Shinee is good too
and so is 2ne1 and Bilasaa! And of course, G-Dragon! I felt a bit
like a cradle robber when I began to like him, but I checked
wikipedia and he's 2 months OLDER than me xDDDD G-Dragon really is an
expectional talent. Everyone get your <span style="color: red;">crayon</span>!</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Big Bang (G-D, Seungri, Teayang, Daesung, T.O.P)</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">After 8 years I finally got to go to
Paris again. I was a little girl when I went to Paris the first time.
The second time I was a teenager and at first I didn't like Paris at
all because it was so dirty and there were rubbish every where. But
after the first day I started to like Paris. By April 2012 I had
saved some fun-money and was planning to meet my BBF in London during
his spring break. But then I reconsidered it. After all both of us
had seen plenty of London already. I thought of Rome, but we had been
there already in 2008. Now I have been to Rome 4 times. And then I had
the idea to go to Paris. We met at Charles-De Gaulle on monday
evening. Our hotel, H'otel Odeon, was on the other side of Seine, not
on the Louvre, Pompidou side. H'otel Odeon was really nice, and
reasonably priced too. We went to see the sights and he even agreed
to go to Disney Land with me! Disney Land was so much fun xD But I
was so upset that the Michael Jackson ride wasn't working. But I had
a great time (he was mostly in a coma due to Disney overload). Paris
was exceptionally beautiful in April. We even had a small heathwave
on tuesday. After that the weather was mild. We walked a lot during
that trip. And may I just say, avoid Champagne mojitos! XD
they are deadly! I would have loved to spend another 5 days in Paris,
but I had to get back to work. So we left on friday, but before that we went to have tea and cakes at "Laduree" near Concorde. They
make such excellent macaroons, I brought a box of
those to home with me. Also if you like tea/coffee/confectionaries go
visit Fauchon! They have an excellent tea selection, “Un Aprés-midi
á Paris” is one of my favurite Fauchon teas. My BFF went back to
Aberdeen and I came back to Helsinki and later in September, I
started studying </span>french.
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In summer my family and I went to visit
my little sister in Dundee Scotland. None of us had never been to
Scotland so it was going to be a treat for us. We left our cabin
early in the morning to drive to Tampere. We took Ryanair to
Edingburgh and a train to Dundee (1,5h). It was freezing in
Scotland, in June. In Helsinki it had been +25'C all week so we had
only prepared summer clothes. The whole week was freezing and I was really
scared that I'd catch a cold because my art show was right after our
trip + I had work too. It was a lovely trip never the less. We got to
see my little sister and we met Mochi, her pet bunny for the first
time. He is such a darling! Even though he likes to chew everything
xD Mum and Dad were bunking in her boyfriend's room (he was working
in Helsinki) and I slept in her room. Mum and Dad were excited to be
back in the UK and to have the chance to explore Scotland. We went exploring and shopping
and one day we went to St. Andrew's. Really beautiful place! That was
a lovely trip even though I was freezing the whole time. Scotland is
actually very different from England if you believe it. The
architecture is totally different from example the architecture I saw
in Manchester. On our last day together we went exploring in
Edinburgh. It was raining, and I had my little adventure in the rain.
I got lost whilst trying to find this famous vegetarian restaurant. I
spend the rest of the day in bed, trying to avoid catching a cold.
I'll always regard this trip with warmth and I hope we get to go to
Dundee again someday.</span>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSQ9xqvIP-aFTVxiQVCJXXXS26DEM6Hfw3QY3wfdinu4_-fmqmu-XxvlEvYdvt9wIPMQcXg0Hlis4aBFw-0Vk9wLWYQvyg1KIKy17ojsF1hMIC-VgoDb1zfSNLGNQYmdhRY9wrmdCRwP4n/s1600/P1010839.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSQ9xqvIP-aFTVxiQVCJXXXS26DEM6Hfw3QY3wfdinu4_-fmqmu-XxvlEvYdvt9wIPMQcXg0Hlis4aBFw-0Vk9wLWYQvyg1KIKy17ojsF1hMIC-VgoDb1zfSNLGNQYmdhRY9wrmdCRwP4n/s320/P1010839.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">St. Andrew's coast line</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I had my first art show in Worcester in
2011. At Movement gallery. My second show was in Helsinki at Akvart
gallery. I was so happy when they accepted my application. It was
particularly hard to come up with a concept for this show. At first I
wanted to do pretty landscapes and cityscapes from Paris,
London, Kyoto etc, but I reasoned that you could buy those anywhere. In
the end I came up with a fictional city called “Summer City” (the
show was called “City Summer”). I'm actually rather pleased how
the paintings turned out. There were 9 of us showing our works, and 5 of us
sold a piece, including me =D A nice couple bought one of my paintings to
give as a gift to their relatives. I was full of joy when I got the
call from the gallery telling me that I had sold a piece. The
show lasted for two weeks, and I was vigilating four times.
It was so cool, my BFF came there to keep me company <3 I'd be happy to
exhibit work at Akvart again.
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lady Gaga in Helsinki 2012</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In August I went to see Lady Gaga for
the first time. I had always liked her music, but I kept missing her
shows. So when I heard that she was coming to Helsinki in 2012, I quickly
bought my ticket. I was hoping to get in to the Monster Pit, but I
didn't. I was walking around the arena, hoping that someone would
spot me and let me in to the pit. But no luck. It was okay, I had a
pretty good seat anyway. I really had to reel myself in at
the merchandise booth. I wanted to buy all the t-shirts xD In the end
I bought 1 t-shirt, the tour poster, “Married to Gaga” ring and a
unicorn keychain for my little sister. I really love that ring,
alhtough it's a bit too big for me, I love it. I wear it on my left
thumb. The concert was rather good. I was so blown away when “Highway
Unicorn” started followed by “Government Hooker” (← my
personal favourite). I thought “this show is going to be
a-may-zaahh!!”. However it kinda fell flat after that. It was a
good show, but I was so dissapointed that Gaga used so much playback!
So dissapointed. It seemed to me that Gaga is unable to sing and
dance at the same time. It's difficult I know, but many other artists
sing a song and then they have like a dance breakdown, like in MVs
and then they sing again. Whilst Gaga was trying to do them both, but
it just wasn't working. Another thing that I didn't appreciate either was that she only sang
half of the songs. I mean really only half. She cut “Bad Kids”
half! And “Love Game” and “Poker Face” and many other songs
too. That was dissapointing. However I had no idea she had such a fabulous singing
voice until she sat down on her motorcycle and sang “Hair”. She
really has an amazing voice! Anyway I did enjoy the show and to me it
seemed that Gaga was really enjoying herself as well, that the show
wasn't just 'another day in the office'. When she thanked the
audience for spending their hard earned money on her show, that
really touched me. Never before have I heard an artist actually thank
their fans for spending money on them. Thank You Gaga, thank you for
noticing that!! Never the less, it was a good show and I wouldn't mind
spending money to see Gaga again in the future.</span>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">After, maybe 7 months, I began to wonder what to do with my life. I
was waitressing part-time and I knew that that wasn't what I wanted to do
with my life. It was my mum again that asked me to concider makeup
artistry. So I began to look for makeup schools in Europe. I found 3
really promising schools. One in Milan, one in Paris and one in
London. The Milan seemed cool, but it was too expensive. The Paris one
intrigued me the most, but my employment after the course seemed
unlikely because I don't speak french (<i>well I do now, but only a
little!! Tourist vocabulary etc</i>). So I went with AOFM. They were based
in London so I knew that language wouldn't be a problem, plus the
school had such marvelous after care programs. They have master
classes for graduates, their after care programs includes personal
guidance and every year they take graduates to assist at London
Fashion week. I sent my application for January's “Total Pro”
course and I got a call from AOFM in less than a week. I got in =D
And now I have been studying there for 3 weeks. Next week
it's Nails and Airbrushing. I'm slowly leaning towards
fashion/editorial/advert makeup, but I'm also really interested in
movie and theatre makeup as well. My plan is to find a job in retail
and then test,test,test to build my portfolio =D I had my portfolio
shoot a week ago (AOFM provides everything) and it went alright.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9W8WALtk8MUpxW0NQIqRrEdh3SrE0CdrGoNkc-vHzTyL4za-jwpUkXPK5QlCMjhb-wf4KuU5Aa-sxLuCiSZ-LdV17HyB4gWQwHbpaJ10iTfwKePR3FpyFeEGlqLgaHrlEYeIjcRNThAE0/s1600/kuroshitsuji-2_1280-960.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9W8WALtk8MUpxW0NQIqRrEdh3SrE0CdrGoNkc-vHzTyL4za-jwpUkXPK5QlCMjhb-wf4KuU5Aa-sxLuCiSZ-LdV17HyB4gWQwHbpaJ10iTfwKePR3FpyFeEGlqLgaHrlEYeIjcRNThAE0/s400/kuroshitsuji-2_1280-960.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kuroshitsuji II. Alois&Claude, Ciel&Sebastian</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The anime of 2012 for me is
Kuroshitsuji II. Last year it was Naruto (still nr. 1 in my heart),
but this year I got obsessed with Kuroshitsuji. I watched the second
season first, because Takahiro Sakurai is the voice of Claude. I
really like Takahiro-san's voice! I thought he was a-may-zaah in
“Princess Tutu” <3 So I was looking for anime featuring
Takahiro-san and I found Kuroshitsuji II. However Alois Trancy stole
the show. At first I was sure that Junko Takeuchi (she does Naruto) was Alois' voice,
but nope, I was dead wrong. It's Mizuki Nana!! I was so surprised! I
had only heard Mizuki-san do female voices, so I didn't know she
could do boys as well. If you listen to her voice as Rue in “Princess
Tutu” and then compare that to Alois in Kuroshitsuji, they sound
nothing alike! An exceptionally talented voice actress I'd say.
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It sucks that Kuroshitsuji II was so
short --__-- I could watch Alois all day *_* The plot had some
promise, but in the end it turned out rather stupid. The first
Kuroshitsuji was a combination of short stories and running plotline.
So personally I think that that would have been perfect for
Kuroshitsuji II as well. It would have been really interesting to
watch Alois plot how to catch Ciel, episode after episode. It would
have been like those American tv-series from the 90's. There is a
plotline, but the focus is mainly on the individual stories (per
episode). The first season was much better in terms of plotline,
which still isn't much as far as good plots go. So the shortness of
Kuroshitsuji II was a let down. However, there is always Kuroshitsuji I for those who are completely
infatuated with Sebastian Q_o I'm making it my duty to find a butler
just like Sebastian! I wouldn't mind having a piece of that action ;)
</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Oh yeah and I had two of my wisdom
teeth removed (in one go) --___--- it's done. The procedure was a piece of cake,
but the aftermath, oh boy. It took me a week until I was able to
return to work. I pretty much ate just ice-cream, soup, soft tofu and
yogurt for 3 days solid. So if by any chance it's not necessary for
you to get your wisdom teeth removed, don't do it! It's not worth it,
to go through all that suffering and healing after they are out.
Seriously.
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">And I also got “promoted” at work.
I was just a regular waitress, until I passed this alcohol custom/law
test and got my licence. After that I was able to do manager shifts
at work. It was rather fun being the manager for 2-7h per shift =) But
again, I never intended waitressing to be my career career.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4454851646577708620" name="ctl00_body_ctl00_main_ctl00_listResult_dataGridData_ctl03_labelAnswer"></a>
That's pretty much what happened to me in 2012. Well the highlights.
It was a rather eventful year full of happiness with some major
negative incidents as well. But it was a good year and I can't help,
but feel a little proud that it was my year. I'm a Dragon after all.
For 2013 I bought a tea pot from Chinatown that has a Dragon on it to
remind myself that I am a Dragon, and Dragons are strong, passionate
creatures who'll go through granite and grey stone to get what they
want. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A little bit about my future posts. Because I'm trying to build a life for myself in London I won't be able to write artist reviews for a while. I'll do my best to find a time to write, but right now I'm too busy with school, plus I need to find a job. So after I find a job and get a better sense of my schedules, I'll arrange time to write new posts ^_^</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Take care everyone and thank you for reading! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Happy 2013!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A.P </span></div>
Anarchy Pantyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274535103226645106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4454851646577708620.post-49259501919503179902012-12-12T13:49:00.000-08:002012-12-12T13:49:59.441-08:00Artist of the Month: Henry Darger.<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hi guise!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wow is it December already? I'm not feeling very festive yet. Even though we have so much snow and it looks reeeaally pretty and it's cold, I have yet to receive that christmas spirit =/ The year before last year I was getting giddy about christmas after Halloween. I was living in England....yeah...I miss England. That December in England was so beautiful (<span style="color: #a64d79;"><i>even though there was the whole trouble with Heathrow and such</i></span>). Christmas commercialism is so over the top in England</span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">that no wonder I'm not feeling the christmas vibe. But to be fair, I haven't been to the city (<span style="color: #a64d79;">Helsinki</span>) in quite a while. I just go to work, and then I go home (<span style="color: #a64d79;"><i>I live in the suburbs</i></span>).</span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bah, I'll get my game on in no time =D </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And The Hobbit, Omg The Hobbit came out today =D And my little sister and my future brother- in-law are coming home for christmas. They're bringing their baby bunny with them. It's Mochi's first trip to Finland. I can't wait to see all three of them. And I have managed to secure all my shifts at the restaurant so all I need to do now is, well do them. Then I'm off to London! Everything is coming up roses <3 </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL1RQ_flbR-f_hsiaUMd_3My2AVSJKNOMnZo8BeON_3CZfB9BY3V1kLJ9ko9sh8JJCwdwhIcJdgr7x8gD23TVD89gFu3n1bAgtHS-s_ZelXfQed8ca0eDITyPnlktYVROpacgOqz_dEqCU/s1600/henrydarger1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="326" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL1RQ_flbR-f_hsiaUMd_3My2AVSJKNOMnZo8BeON_3CZfB9BY3V1kLJ9ko9sh8JJCwdwhIcJdgr7x8gD23TVD89gFu3n1bAgtHS-s_ZelXfQed8ca0eDITyPnlktYVROpacgOqz_dEqCU/s640/henrydarger1.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Untitled.</span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> December's artist is an American, Henry Darger. Darger was born in Chicago in April 1892 to Rosa Fullman and Henry Joseph Darger Senior</span>. <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Henry Junior had a very unfortunate start, his mother died in labor four years after his birth and sister was adopted straight away so he never saw her. Henry Junior was left in his father's care, and in his journal he writes how </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">his father was kind and reassuring father to him, and they lived happily together. Until 1900 when the crippled and poor Henry Senior became incapable of taking care of little Henry so he was placed in an orphanage when he was eight. His father died a few years later </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">at St. Augustine's Catholic Mission home. </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At the orphanage Darger junior was diagnosed mentally ill and send to </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Lincoln asylum </span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">for
"feeble-minded children".</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A very depressing beginning don't you think. At school Darger didn't get a long with the teachers or the fellow pupils. He often quarrelled with the teachers about history, particularly about the Civil War. Darger himself said that his 'problem' was being able to see through adult lies. He described himself as the smart-aleck, a person who is obnoxious to the point of being actually smart and cleaver. </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">He seemed to take a very arrogant stand on everyone around him. </span>He also went through a lengthy phase of 'feeling compelled' to
make strange noises earning him the nickname 'Crazy'.</span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">“<i>Me, a retard! I knew more than the whole bunch of them</i>”, he
later wrote in his journal.</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> It's possible that some of the punishments Darger went through at The Lincoln asylum seem to have worked their way into<i> the Realms of the Unreal</i>. Darger later said that there were also good times there, he
found some of the work enjoyable, and he had friends as well as enemies</span>.<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> (<span style="color: #a64d79;"><i>that may be, but in reality our mind plays tricks with us, so sometimes we can't really remember just how bad our bad times were</i></span>). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Darger tried to run away several times, but it wasn't until he was 16 that he finally succeeded and returned to Chicago in 1908.</span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">According to his
autobiography, on his way to Chicago, he
witnessed a huge tornado<u><span style="color: #999999;">
</span></u>that devastated the central Illinois. He described it as "<i>a wind
convulsion of nature tremendous beyond all man's conception</i>". Subsequently</span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">weather became one of the key characters in Darger's paintings. The tornado demolished a little and nobody was hurt.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In Chicago, </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">with the help of his godmother, </span>young Darger found minor work in a Catholic hospital. Darger continued to support himself with odd jobs until his retirement in 1963. When the first World War came, Darger was glad to join the troops. How unfortunate for him, he was discharged and sent home a few months later. Evidently he was unfit for the duty both mentally and physically. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Back in Chicago Darger started attending mass daily and he became a very religious man. In 1930 he settled into a second-floor room where he wrote and painted his massive </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>In the Realms of the Unreal.</i> At this time he tried to adopt several times, but he was always turned down. I believe Darger longed for real companionship with someone, and perhaps one of the reasons he wanted to adopt was because he wanted to save a helpless child from the same life he had had so far. Evidently Darger was very found of children, but unfortunately he'd have to spend the rest of his life alone. Darger died on April 1973 in St. Augustine's
Catholic Mission home, the same place his father had died in. A little later Darger's landlord Nathan Lerner went to empty Darger's room and found all his paintings and drawings and collages along with bunch of Crucifixes and small
statues of the virgin Mary and knick-knacks. On the walls he saw newspaper clippings about awful incidents and events. Then Nathan pulled up a massive book bound by hand. It was too big
to open inside the room. The book revealed art material and writing dating back to 40 years. Parchment and paper glued together, paintings,
drawings, collages, watercolours. And then, there was the book of 15145 pages called "<i>The Story of the Vivian Girls in What is Known
as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glandeco-Angelinian War Storm Caused
by the Child Slave Rebellion</i>”. It's a 13 volume 'novel' and I'm a little confused whether it has never been published or if there are couple volumes available. Would be an interesting read I'm sure. Apart from his paintings and the first book, Darger also wrote a sequel
of over 8000 pages. In the sequel, the Vivian Girls have come to Chicago. He also wrote an autobiography, of which the
first 206 pages are dedicated to his childhood and the remaining 4878
pages describe a 'fantasy' tornado called “Sweety Pie” (probably the same tornado he saw). On top of all this, his journal. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With his work Henry Darger created a new art movement which embodies naivism and outsider art: <span style="color: #0c343d;"><i>Dargerism</i></span>. Personally I think it's such an honour for Darger to have a real art movement named after him. And it's such an honour to Outsider Artists as well. It's well deserved since Darger made such a grand contribution to the American art and to the art world. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrv84CnT8Gyn8ZYbPKv8ynqJwTa_Ifq6l_YYy-2-edhXSk6vuPXnW2bwj5hHzK_JB02Iqui4bd7EqDJSWuMJ8V3N_LkbV14LrV_s-4j7JaNF-cgls4EQi8L4h1WQEmxLh4QeyVE4LxP75S/s1600/henry-darenger.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrv84CnT8Gyn8ZYbPKv8ynqJwTa_Ifq6l_YYy-2-edhXSk6vuPXnW2bwj5hHzK_JB02Iqui4bd7EqDJSWuMJ8V3N_LkbV14LrV_s-4j7JaNF-cgls4EQi8L4h1WQEmxLh4QeyVE4LxP75S/s400/henry-darenger.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Untitled 2.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On with the pictures! The picture in the beginning is just a section from a much larger painting. Usually I hate the use of Sinopia red, Ultramarine blue and Lemon yellow together because they remind me of those 6 colour cake palettes that children use in school. I had to paint with those 6 primarily colours for 5 years until on my 6th year, the school gave us a Hooker's green colour cake. I was ecstatic</span>! <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So the colours in '<span style="color: blue;"><i>Untitled</i></span>' remind me of elementary school where only those 6 colours excist. (<span style="color: #741b47;"><i>Colouring pencils are a different story!</i></span>)</span>. <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Anyway '<span style="color: blue;"><i>Untitled</i></span>' illustrates<i> the Realms of the Unreal</i>, speaking of religion and society and how they come together in people's lives. In this piece Darger shows us his style. The children are most likely copied from magazines and from adverts because they look rather precise.</span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Darger's speciality was to cut pictures of children from papers and magazines and then paste them onto his drawings/paintings. He'd then retouch the clippings, creating a collage. The '<span style="color: blue;"><i>Untitled</i></span>' is not a collage though. His collages are interesting, but I'm far more interested in Darger's paintings/drawings. There is a lot of motion and energy going on in </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">'<span style="color: blue;"><i>Untitled</i></span>'. Darger left most of the children white which is good because it makes them stand out from the colourful background. He doesn't apply as much spontaneity to the technique he uses on the children, compared to the butterfly wings or the background. That's probably because Darger drew the children from images so every pencil stroke was well planned. The children needed to look like children, the whimsy and creativity would be expressed on the background and with the colours. The way Darger paints and uses colour, reminds me very much of children's paintings. However, there's also a certain flatness going on that only an adult is capable of producing. One needs to use specific tenchniques in order to achieve that kind of flatness in painting. If you look at the butterfly wings, or the bushes you may notice how flat they actually look. I don't mean this in a bad way because it totally works for the image. I say this image shows you Darger's whole <span class="short_text" id="result_box" lang="en"><span class="hps">repertoire in one go.</span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNpetFx8ut72aipzPUF94SAKdgoHpO8peGTBLD969FkHqyPAcbHqRiCMt4o-KA0T_SGTlpLhZ9Ee5sw5kiccACTil-4VfZZIpC3RFTlpBmmZlPBh8erTt2X7eM6KO6rncAmCFigYCmyUIX/s1600/henryVivian+Girls+Watching+Approaching+Storm+in+Rural+Landscape.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNpetFx8ut72aipzPUF94SAKdgoHpO8peGTBLD969FkHqyPAcbHqRiCMt4o-KA0T_SGTlpLhZ9Ee5sw5kiccACTil-4VfZZIpC3RFTlpBmmZlPBh8erTt2X7eM6KO6rncAmCFigYCmyUIX/s1600/henryVivian+Girls+Watching+Approaching+Storm+in+Rural+Landscape.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="bodyTextSmall" style="color: #666666; font-family: ARIAL,HELVETICA; font-size: x-small;"><i>Vivian Girls Watching Approaching Storm in Rural Landscape.</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Whilst '<span style="color: blue;"><i>Untitled</i></span>' foreshadowed bad things, this <i><span style="color: #b45f06;">Vivian Girls</span></i> painting is a much happier painting. Even though they are expecting a storm, everything is still fine at the moment. This is such a beautiful and unique painting! It reminds me of really old hand-painted postcards, but this is like a haute version of them. I wouldn't mind putting this up on my wall =D</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I'd like to direct your attention to the <span style="color: #b45f06;"><i>Vivian Girls</i></span> now. Notice how well Darger has drawn and then coloured the girls. His drawing is so simple and delicate. Drawing peple's faces can be a challenge because most of the time the result is more cartoonish than realistic, but Darger has doged that pit. It's probably the simplicity of his style that has helped him to avoid the cartoonish look. Of course the paintings look a little cartoonish, but in a good, fine art way. (<span style="color: #741b47;"><i>I like cartoons too</i></span>). In this piece we also get to see some of that playful side of Darger. Well maybe it's not supposed to be playful, but symbolic of children's </span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Hermaphroditic<span style="font-size: small;">al tendencies.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It's otherwise unclear what Darger wants to say with these girls with penises. Couple reviewers say that Darger was unfamiliar with the female body, so that's why some of the Vivian Girls have penises. Whilst I think that this is a representation of sexless kids. After all, all kids are sexless until their parents (and the society) start to school them about their actual gender. </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Notice that in Darger's paintings t</span>here are also characters who lack gender all together. They look like children, but lack the standard features of either male or female character. Which brings us back to the Hermaphroditic option. However this young-children-naked thing that's crusial part of the series doesn't seem inappropriate or creepy at all. Maybe it's the bright colours and all the innocence that make the nakedness seem natural. I imagine that Darger wanted to express children's curiosity with the nakedness, it's not uncommon that children run around naked at one point in their lives because they don't have that sense of respect or shame yet. The happy colours intergrate with the scene and seem to highlight that innocent-naked-children theme even more. The colours make the whole scene more child-like and sweet. The place the Vivian Girls live in is made by children, for children. It's incredible how Darger managed to create such an original tale and art even after such a loveless childhood. To me it seems like the <i>Realms of the Unreal</i> was created by a very happy person who had a very happy childhood. (<span style="color: #741b47;"><i>But then again I guess this is one of those psychological things that 'if you only see good things happening, you can't help, but become depressed'</i><i> kind of things</i></span>). But then, the Vivian Girls come across with the Glandelians...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpbAatifDwqBG5-eTXEr09wQNWgVBs2nnkkdDRipgtruwJ9PYHL4XLwAx90-wqfvtHKP73yQ5wKkZiNUoBm7_oLz_yyLk7BytmgYtvGFxD2Pi_me1TZ0reHeODMC_9886LP0q_mSjT1FJ3/s1600/henrydargerbattle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpbAatifDwqBG5-eTXEr09wQNWgVBs2nnkkdDRipgtruwJ9PYHL4XLwAx90-wqfvtHKP73yQ5wKkZiNUoBm7_oLz_yyLk7BytmgYtvGFxD2Pi_me1TZ0reHeODMC_9886LP0q_mSjT1FJ3/s1600/henrydargerbattle.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="caption">At Battle of Drosabellanaximillian</span>.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">'<i><span style="color: #cc0000;">Battle</span></i>' tells of the war the Vivian Girls have to fight in order to save their homeland. It seems to me that with this war Darger is trying to say that adults will always be the bad guys. Children are the innocent and sweet force of the universe who get damaged by the adults. It's not growing up that damages children (us), it's adults who force children</span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">to grow up and accept their corrupted way of living. The price a child has to pay if he/she refuses to grow up is high.</span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As we can see in the painting above. Of course anyone can see that this is just a display of Darger's knowledge of the American Civil War he was so found of. The flags, the uniforms, the big battle fields all say 'Civil War'. Well it's the Vivian Girl's Civil War. </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The Glandelians have proclaimed war on their catholic neighbours, the Vivian Girls. The 7 Princesses have to go up against the evil general John Manley who sends his troops to destroy the Vivian Girls. Henry Darger is the brave and valiant Captain who saves the girls from certain
destruction. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All this makes me wonder who does get to decide when it's our time to grow up? Does our enviroment really effect us so much that without us noticing, it literally forces us to grow up. And without noticing, we grow up. I'm just thinking about my adolescence and how I wanted to be a grown up already so that I could do all the fun things grown ups do. And now, in my mid-twenties I'm thinking about my decaying youth >_<</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Personally I don't think it's really the adults who force their children to grow up quickly. It's people in general. People who work in marketing for example have done an amazing job marketing shit for everyone, even marketing dramas and cartoons about high school stuff to 10 year old girls and make them really want to live the high school life of a 17 year old. How twisted is that? Ahem, I digress. Darger raised good points about adults spoiling children's innocence.</span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But since I have a little cynic living inside me, I can say that I have met some pretty shitty children too (<span style="color: #741b47;"><i>no matter how hard their parents try, their children are still shitty</i></span>). Again focus your attention on the detailing Darger shows here.</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> It's marvelous the way Darger leaves the people and the ground white/yellowish to bring the viewer's attention to the character's clothes and flags. Supposedly the painting/scene from the story is not about the people who are fighting, but about the clashing ideologizes. Really truly beautiful and deep painting to behold.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Darger wrote two endings for the Vivian Girls.
In the first one christianity and the Vivian Girls win. In the other one the girls are defeated and their world is thrown into
godlessness. You tell me which one you prefer.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijdlnAr79ocDrK0uJgaBndZot3MHBmiRvD3EApqIiiPAKvTz-90n6CS4YEuj8SLLJIZcE2DuX3OpSi9lLhj93NGY1uG3PUsWMQhZFOPHJKwPyEoD5Xqxuwlz8vzy6NDQuUlCY-jxOjEwmk/s1600/henrydauntitled.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijdlnAr79ocDrK0uJgaBndZot3MHBmiRvD3EApqIiiPAKvTz-90n6CS4YEuj8SLLJIZcE2DuX3OpSi9lLhj93NGY1uG3PUsWMQhZFOPHJKwPyEoD5Xqxuwlz8vzy6NDQuUlCY-jxOjEwmk/s1600/henrydauntitled.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Untitled 3.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the end, I
think Darger's art is a representation of how he imagined the outside world. After
his retirement, he locked himself in his room and worked on the Realms. To me
it seems like Darger was imagining what was happening outside his
little room. Perhaps that's why he didn't dare to leave his room, because
in reality there was nothing out there for him. However if he stayed inside
and imagined what was happaning outside, then he could be part of it too.</span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I
just have this idea that Darger must have imagined that the child slave
rebellion was happening right outside his little room. Because all the
critics have said that the story feels like Darger was really there,
like the w<span style="color: #444444;">ar really</span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">
happened. Darger's paintings resembles religious/middle age art a lot,
which usually describes events from the bible or the reality long-gone. So I
can understand why people who have seen the paintings like to think that it could have been real.</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> In
the end, one needs to remember that for Henry this
was not art. I'm guessing his art and his writings were his private
thoughts ment just for himself. Perhaps this was a sort of a self
discovery journey for him. Something he wanted to be reality, but it
would only be his reality and not the real reality itself. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Darger's '<span style="color: blue;"><i>Untitled</i></span>' and other paintings can be seen in The Simpsons, season 20 episode 09 'Lisa the Drama Queen'. Lisa and her new friend go to a museum and you can see Darger's work on the wall. That was a nice surprise from The Simpsons. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Below is a trailer of Jessica Yu's documentary of Henry Darger and the Realms of the Unreal. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I didn't know about this documentary until I started researching for this review. It looks really interesting and I shall check it out soon. </span><br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSzzirIP0No"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSzzirIP0No</span></a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And here's a link to the American Folk Art Museum which has the biggest Darger collection in the world. <a href="http://www.folkartmuseum.org/darger">http://www.folkartmuseum.org/darger</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That's it for this review. I'll see you again before New Years with my 2012 post. What has happened to me in 2012 =D </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Have a very Merry Christmas everyone!! Thank you for reading!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A.P</span><br />
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Anarchy Pantyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274535103226645106noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4454851646577708620.post-59571569445257132282012-11-30T02:19:00.000-08:002012-11-30T02:19:15.910-08:00Artist of the Month: Shimizu Yuko.<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Konnichiwa guise!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">November's artist is yet another Japanese. At first it looked like nobody was really interested in my <a href="http://pantytalks.blogspot.fi/2012/03/artist-of-month-murakami-takashi.html" target="_blank">Murakami Takashi</a> post, but it has been climing up steadily. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I think I reviewed Shimizu Yuko twice in college. But the review from my first year is much better than the review from my second year. I read about her in an illustration book. Her work captured me immediately. I like that she can work both, modest themese and really sexed-up themes.</span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And as some of you may have noticed by now, I really like sexed-up art (<span style="color: #741b47;"><i>but yeah I can appreciate non-sexual art too</i></span>)</span>.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpVRZDAj6z1hHhknOEiM7mLdt0sKwD9h9XluJaHziGXgw0Qx_L725mG79qBzOYNbtXBzXcFCHtJ9Y1RHMABMbzbNI1QvnKqMEj48AWyCS1ZDdVQrQLemfVqlAISTq52b_KUK7KGJ1XZC3X/s1600/shimizutargetandnewyork2005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpVRZDAj6z1hHhknOEiM7mLdt0sKwD9h9XluJaHziGXgw0Qx_L725mG79qBzOYNbtXBzXcFCHtJ9Y1RHMABMbzbNI1QvnKqMEj48AWyCS1ZDdVQrQLemfVqlAISTq52b_KUK7KGJ1XZC3X/s640/shimizutargetandnewyork2005.jpg" width="468" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Target and New York 2005.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Even without knowing that she was Japanese, I could have guessed it by the way she draws. The brush marks and the black ink makes it so obvious (even after all the computer editing). Like so many other Japanese artists, Shimizu combines fine art and comic art. It's up to you to decide whether it's totally tacky or not. Is it tacky to draw inspiration from the only excisting art form left in one's society? Well I'm a huge sucker for Japanese art/manga so of course I love Shimizu's work.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Shimizu's illustarations are something completely different from to the other illustrations (mostly commercial) one sees out there. The way she narrates news and hot topics in her work is rather remarkable. She addresses the topic from her point of view, rather than just illustrating the magizine's/writer's opinion. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Maybe it's not such a bad thing that Shimizu is drawing inspiration from Japanese drawing techniques. In '<i>Target and New York</i>' we can see rather traditional Japanese calligraphy. Okay well maybe not exactly that traditional, but if you study the soles of the girl's shoes and the tyre of her bike you can see how very Japanese Shimizu's brush strokes are. She uses black ink like a manga-ka would, but in some way, her illustrations are more expressive than any manga I have ever read (<span style="color: #741b47;"><i>gasp</i></span>). I have read a lot of manga and yes I have seen some pretty extraordinary talents, but manga is still very restricted and there are a lot of rules about how one should draw and construct manga. Whilst Fine Art is more liberal. Even illustration leaves some room for the artist to be creative. I'm having a bit of a hard time trying to understand how Shimizu has managed to publish so many illustrations. I just don't see a big market for an illustration about a girl shaving her pubic hair and making a teddybear out of it, drawn in Japanese style (<span style="color: #741b47;"><i>you wanna see that illustration</i></span>). But then again maybe this style was popular back then. Never the less, Shimizu is a natural talent and that mirrors her work. The show stopper of </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">'<i>Target and New York</i>' is without a doubt, the angle. The angle is very dynamic, and don't you feel like you are lying on the ground and the biker girl is about to run you over? The angle is clearly made to address the viewer directly. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The only colour in this piece is red, but it's very well thought over. The article is targeting New York, so Shimizu put a red target over New York. I imagine that that bridge leads to NY. That's all NY we need to see, the article will tells us the rest. Shimizu is just referencing to NY with the bridge and the city on the background. I prefer colourful art, so this is not one of my favourite pieces from Shimizu, but I like how the biker girl is sticking her legs out and how her hair is flying freely in the wind. Very dynamic piece, plus I hadn't seen an illustration like this before.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm just contemplating whether it's a good thing that Shimizu is making a commercial thing out of Japanese art or not. Murakami Takashi is doing exactly the same thing, but a little differently. Well anyway, illustrating is all about stories and commercialism. </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">'<i>Target and New York</i>' accommodates all the rules of good, commercial illustration: simple colouring, strong lines and an eye catching angle. And this piece works for both ways, it's an ad but it can also be Fine Art. In my opinion what could make this fine art, is the Japanese drawing technique. Shimizu clearly has drawn on both damp and dry surfaces to give the image some 'special effects'. Her lines are very clean and simple, it looks very Japanese to me. Personally I think that Japanese calligraphy and Indian ink, can make any art piece look fancy. Personally again, I think that most of Shimizu's pieces would work better as Fine Art pieces than simple illustrations. Most of her works are too detailed and decorated to be 'official' illustrations. Illustrations, especially for commercial purposes, need to be simple yet eye catching. Shimizu's pieces are way too fancy to be simple images ment to promote something. However perhaps it's a good thing that Shimizu is doing her fair share of showing what Fine Art can be like to the masses</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">. </span> </span><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8qiXtgJD-gqpy2ykHfzPybqon0eLLGDPRHt0HK8-f1yOQoTkQigzTeynLRO_wghupX8ijhOW4PvSLIR5XpCr56hE5dJ2Xl4DEZ_adjQVeD8T0ZOuf2Fki3QRGeqggcJK8VzU4A6P9UXFu/s1600/shimizuFujimamaSakura-Fubuki2006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8qiXtgJD-gqpy2ykHfzPybqon0eLLGDPRHt0HK8-f1yOQoTkQigzTeynLRO_wghupX8ijhOW4PvSLIR5XpCr56hE5dJ2Xl4DEZ_adjQVeD8T0ZOuf2Fki3QRGeqggcJK8VzU4A6P9UXFu/s400/shimizuFujimamaSakura-Fubuki2006.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fujiyama Sakura-Fubuki 2006.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This next piece Shimizu made for a calendar to promote B&A boutique. Luckily Shimizu isn't all about calligraphy and manga-style, she can use colours as well. And she uses them rather well. She has downloaded her whole portfolio on her website and if you browse through it, you notice that Shimizu's pieces have become more colourful over the years. I'm especially fond of the pieces that don't have black lines anymore, now they are pink or blue for ex. They remind me a little of Disney Renaissance films. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">'<i>Fujiyama</i>' only has 4 primary colours, but add them to the dynamic image and you get a surprisingly vibrant piece. Grey and light pink go surprisingly well together. And those partly erased black ink lines just add to that Avant-garde idea this piece seems to be going for. I think it was rater cleaver to erase the outlines a little, especially the clothe's outlines. Makes them look more soft and vabric-ish. If Shimizu had kept the black lines really strong I fear they would have disturbed the look of the image because the rest of the colours are already so tender. The image itself is a lot of fun and in a way very cheeky. Here we have a sort of a Japanese Geisha-rock star who has come to spread her music throughout the Western lands. She is very proud of her heritage and country, but as a rock star she can also make fun of her culture and take advantage of it to make her look more exotic for the Westerns. I would definately wear this image on a shirt.</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHp-qxitikrQ0OdTEahkkAqvtakJ-4OYHEDL2M7r9FDSOfyWau-AOvf5ahZDzt7CifEdgeBougjswb3PmtSbYY57GnsSQsyvOfYcXClJikLPIKfWH5jGpNDvZpCQ7Jkp64mKgLKLMC-yx-/s1600/shimizublowup1thebubble2010.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHp-qxitikrQ0OdTEahkkAqvtakJ-4OYHEDL2M7r9FDSOfyWau-AOvf5ahZDzt7CifEdgeBougjswb3PmtSbYY57GnsSQsyvOfYcXClJikLPIKfWH5jGpNDvZpCQ7Jkp64mKgLKLMC-yx-/s640/shimizublowup1thebubble2010.jpg" width="475" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blow-Up Nr. 1, The Bubble 2010.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> '<i>The Bubble</i>' is a good example of Shimizu's imagination. As I understand, this is her original idea, and not an illustration. <i>Blow-Up</i> was a show arranged by The Society of Illustrators</span>. <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I got this quote where Shimizu explains how the Blow-Up pieces came to her:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>AD gave me a lot of freedom so I was able to play around and
experiment with coloring, composition and imagery itself. Using this
image as a starting point, I decided to create new pieces that play
around with the definition of word ‘blow up’: bubble, storm blowing and
explosion</i>".</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Overall, Shimizu's take on things is interesting. It seems to me that she would be able to take any subject, and create something of her liking from it. I'm not quite sure what the idea behind '<i>The Buddle</i>' is, but the image looks great. I'm guessing someone is in a rush to orgasm and the others are holding them back. But this is just a wild guess, the image is rather suggestive though, in a modest yet obvious way. Shimizu must have spend hours, maybe even days drawing this image. Naturally the result is a-may-zaah. This piece is a superb illustration, but I could also see it blown-up and framed, like Fine Art. In '<i>The Bubble</i>' we see some classic presention of Shimizu's detailing in the clouds and characters. It must have taken some training to get one's eyes to properly focus on the characters one is drawing. At least my eyes start to hurt when I stare at the thing I'm drawing/detailing for too long. However I'm sure one gets used to it after one does it on daily basis. Anyway, this is not my favourite pieces from Shimizu, again, but I'm trying to direct your attention to the details and concentration Shimizu presents in this piece. It is a very powerful and detailed piece, and if I hadn't seen her portfolio, I'd say this must be her most detailed piece. However I have seen her portfolio, and I know that she is capable of doing even more detailed and fancier illustrations than this. '<i>The Bubble</i>' is a great piece among the others, it's just the subject that baffles me. What the hell is going on in this piece!? Maybe that's why I like it so much, because it's so Avant-Garde and so, so Japan! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvygxszeOwUHGaqEx9Ip7W2YsyMQ0z1H4QIXMNYUBhdgR66Lu-ffsPRrnfNOMDXvAOnkMnzuW_XNWn93s-PTjwdbEhhDGUwApJpb6hxPo2_ib5dObqHmHF7gdDaI_gcRs2a8N2sb-H-ou_/s1600/shimizuplayboy_sexstory2011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="412" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvygxszeOwUHGaqEx9Ip7W2YsyMQ0z1H4QIXMNYUBhdgR66Lu-ffsPRrnfNOMDXvAOnkMnzuW_XNWn93s-PTjwdbEhhDGUwApJpb6hxPo2_ib5dObqHmHF7gdDaI_gcRs2a8N2sb-H-ou_/s640/shimizuplayboy_sexstory2011.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Playboy. Sex Story 2011.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm quickly showing you this. It's an illustration Shimizu did for Playboy in 2011. Again a piece that expresses Shimizu's attention for detail and it now has that colour outlining I was talking about previously. Really the girls are outlined</span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">with different shades of pink! Genious! It really reminds me of the 1990's Disney films (<span style="color: #a64d79;"><i>even though the concept of this illustration is so not Disney!</i></span>)</span>. <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you look at any Disney film from the 1990's, you'll notice that not once did the artist outline the characters with black! They always used colours, and the colours were always a shade darker than the character's skin tone, or the clothe's etc. Personally I'm really interested to try this one out, outline characters with colours. As for this illustration, it's very much for boys.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyoxmHu3CMGXEeQ5DY35MUG9RC5XF25W7yFEwbXHcWwZYNHayHcvv0htBX3RUw4PAJT0tu9ZgNJzOeFhNl65Ipe3sO_nDCkGw4xJCCFxJWEEnaMQY1Ah34sERVPC46LNpUGDc6zX35-qvr/s1600/Shimizubutterfly_hunting2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyoxmHu3CMGXEeQ5DY35MUG9RC5XF25W7yFEwbXHcWwZYNHayHcvv0htBX3RUw4PAJT0tu9ZgNJzOeFhNl65Ipe3sO_nDCkGw4xJCCFxJWEEnaMQY1Ah34sERVPC46LNpUGDc6zX35-qvr/s400/Shimizubutterfly_hunting2012.jpg" width="310" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Butterfly Hunting 2012.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And lastly, what Shimizu has been doing in 2012. Oui, this is not my favourite piece from 2012, but I like the etymology of this piece. It's very simple, girls are like butterflies, you want to catch them and preserve them so you can look at them for the rest of your life. Or is that it? If you look at the illustration closely you can see children playing on the background. So it's a play, the children are playing and trying to catch butterflies. It's a very sweet and actually rather nostalgic illustration. (<span style="color: #a64d79;"><i>Although I personally don't like the fact that the kids are trying to catch butterflies =/ I think all living creatures should be left in peace</i></span>). But anyway, it is a nostalgic picture because who hasn't been chasing butterflies. The image's colours especially stress out the meaning of time and decay. Even the reds and the greens are all vashed out. Only the yellows are left vibrant. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Perhaps Shimizu wanted to direct the viewers eyes to the butterflies specifically. I just find it really charming how the person holding the net, caught the other kid too. Or perhaps they weren't aming for the butterflies at all, but for the kid. That's a funny idea, but in my opinion, kids would try to pull of something like that xD</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In case you were wondering what technique she uses, Shimizu draws the image first with pencils and ink on watercolour paper. Then she does a little bit of shading and colouring until she scans it, and applyes the rest of the colours with photoshop. She does all the final touch-ups with photoshop too.</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> This piece is just another example of Shimizu's photoshopping skills. It's beautiful, but I feel a little bit cheated that she didn't actually paint the piece herself, but resorted to multimedia. I like multimedia art, but personally I appreciate Fine Artists much more because they do everything by their hands and from scratch. Personally I think multimedia is cheating, you get all these wonderful effects and results with photoshop etc, but basically you didn't make the image yourself, a computer program made it for you.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you go through her portfolio, you can see that Shimizu is not 'a one hit wonder'. Her themes are interesting and her palettes are interesting. </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The colours and the themes seem to be in perfect harmony in every piece of hers (<span style="color: #a64d79;"><i>and sometimes it seems like it's the colours that make the whole image look interesting. That the theme wouldn't look interesting without the innovative palette</i></span>). </span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Shimizu expresses a wonderful sense of fantasy and imagination in her works, but she also continues to drawn inspiration from reality.</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Her technique and style never changes, but there's a variation there,
and that variation keeps the viewer/fan wondering what's yet to come. <a href="http://yukoart.com/">http://yukoart.com/</a></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I hope you enjoyed my review on Shimizu Yuko. Next I'm thinking about doing either Henry Darger, which would be really interesting, or Hergé O_o Although Hergé deserve a big review, like <a href="http://pantytalks.blogspot.fi/2012/08/artist-of-month-july-tove-jansson.html" target="_blank">Tove Jansson</a>, and I haven't done that much research on him yet. We'll see..</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">See you in Decembre! Thanks for reading!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A.P </span>Anarchy Pantyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274535103226645106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4454851646577708620.post-7492126800753105402012-11-27T13:33:00.000-08:002012-11-27T13:33:12.503-08:00Autumn book club: The Salaryman's wife.<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hi guise!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So it's winter, hence this is my last book review. I may write book reviews again in the future, but for now, this is my last one. I like reading books, and it's such a shame that I don't have enough time to read new books anymore. Whilst I was in high school, I spend all my breaks reading books or drawing manga. One of the girls teased me by calling me 'Belle' because I always had my nose in a book ^_^ But I just don't have that kind of time anymore. This year I have read '<i>Let the right one in</i>', '<i>The collector</i>' (<span style="color: #a64d79;"><i><- what a horrible book this was! Now I'm scarred for life!</i></span>) and now I'm reading (<span style="color: #a64d79;"><i>reading very very slowly</i></span>) '<i>Purge</i>' by our pet author Sofi Oksanen.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Earlier this year, I reread '<span style="color: #0b5394;"><i>The Salaryman's Wife</i></span>'. However the first Rei book I read was the 4th book because the Finnish title </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">'<i>The Deathly Manga</i>' (english title <i>The Floating Girl</i>) had </span>caught my eye. I was shopping in a discount book store and at that time I was really into anime and manga and I was studying Japanese. When I saw the manga character on the cover and read the index text, I had to buy it. </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> '<i>The Deathly Manga</i>' </span> turned out to be really interesting, and the plot made sense, even though I had missed the first 3 books. What I really liked about the book though was Massey's insightful and vast depiction of Japanese culture. I had read books about Japan's language and culture on my own, yet </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I discovered bunch of stuff from </span>Massey's books that I didn't already know about Japan. I learned something new about Japan from every Rei Shimura book =D My favourite Rei book is '<i>Girl in a Box</i>' which is the 9th book in the series. I also like '<i>Zen Attitude</i>' very very much, it's the 2dn book in the series. And of course I like </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">'<span style="color: #0b5394;"><i>The Salaryman's Wife</i></span>' too.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are 10 books in the series and 6 years ago Massey said that '<i>The Shimura Trouble</i>' was the last. HOWEVER, earlier this year, she announced on her website that she is currently writing a new Rei Shimura book set in post-tsunami Tohoku. We'll just have to wait and see what comes out of that Rei book.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> I definately recommend <span style="color: red;"><i>The Rei Shimura</i><i> Mysteries</i></span> to everyone who's interested in <u>Japan</u>.<i> </i>'<span style="color: #0b5394;"><i>The </i><i>Salaryman's Wife</i></span>' is the first book in the series.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPCm2GXpbjKbP5rFwQG7IB-Ul08MIrRllUR5N5cDEV2_DoUE2CSqrezHVtTK5Zkiz1QFyZzsorJSzb0Dra1Ac7UQTi4UKyrRrlYk7aM_-tATT6wKIRfSJob-BpQUdQuCuWRWbki2HoTTwK/s1600/reishim.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPCm2GXpbjKbP5rFwQG7IB-Ul08MIrRllUR5N5cDEV2_DoUE2CSqrezHVtTK5Zkiz1QFyZzsorJSzb0Dra1Ac7UQTi4UKyrRrlYk7aM_-tATT6wKIRfSJob-BpQUdQuCuWRWbki2HoTTwK/s400/reishim.jpg" width="243" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Rei Shimura is a young Japanese-American woman in her late twenties. She was born in California and her mother is American and her father is Japanese. She has recently moved to her beloved Tokyo and works as an english teacher at Nichiyu (homeware company). However her real interest lies in Japanese antiques.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="color: #666666;">The book starts with Rei who's on her way to </span><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="color: #666666;">Shiroyama, a small village situate</span><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="color: #666666;">d in the Ja</span><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="color: #666666;">panese Alps.</span> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On the train she meets an American woman, Mrs. Chapman, who's also going to Shiroyama. Upon their arrival they meet the other guests and Mrs. Yogetsu, the rather unpleasant hostess/owner of the Minshuku (japanese B&B). When Rei goes to take a bath, she notices that the door is slightly jammed. Her bath is then interrupted by a gaijin (foreigner) man who misunderstood the women's bath for men's bath. Rei drives him off. She later meets him in the dining room.</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span>Hugh Glenning is a Scottish lawyer who lives in Tokyo. He's at Shiroyama to celebrate New Year's with his co-workers. His client Mr. Nakamura is there with his</span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">wife</span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Setsuko, she is a very close friend of Hugh's. There's also a Japanese couple, Taro and Yuki, who befriend with Rei. Taro has come to Shiroyama to 'investigate' old crimes. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Besically the opening is like straight from Agatha Christie's books, all the suspects have now gathered in the same place. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Later that evening Rei goes to fetch Mrs. Chapman for a moon light walk with the group. Hugh interrupts her search to apologize for disturbing her in the bath. They are interrupted by Setsuko who's on her way to the bath. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The next morning Rei discovers that the door to the bath (The 'female' sign is on) is locked. When she finally yanks the door open, she discovers that a piece of paper has been keeping the door jammed. Inside she meets Yuki who says the door was locked all night last night and the bath area was left untidy. In the afternoon Rei meets Hugh and Mr. Nakamura who are searching for Setsuko. She has been missing since last night. Oddly Mr. Nakamura doesn't seem at all concerned that his wife has gone missing and so he goes skiing as planned. Rei wants to spend some time by herself, so she goes to take a walk around the garden only to discover Setsuko's body in the snow. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There's a police search and they ask Rei to be their translator for the time being. The police chief Okuhara is immediately convinced that it was a foreigner who killed Setsuko. Evidently someone had hit her in the head with a bath...uumm..seat cover and thrown her out the window. Hence Hugh, Rei and Mrs. Chapman become 'primary suspects' <i>(</i>because a Japanese would never murdered anyone).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That was the opening. </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To
me it didn't feel like the plot was going too slowly, because the murder occured in less than 40 pages. That's rather soon, and hey when
you read a murder-detective novel, you're anxious to know who
gets killed right? Meaning that the character/s will spend the rest of the book searching for the killer. That's pretty much the layout in this book, Setsuko was killed and so we'll try to figure out who killed her for the next 350 pages. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To get away from the depressing atmosphere at the minshuku, Rei goes shopping in the</span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">village and buys an antique mail box, later she finds Hugh in a bar.</span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Long story short Hugh tells Rei that Setsuko wanted a divorce. The rest of that part Massey spends documenting her vast knowledge of Japan, nothing that's relevant to the plot though. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sometime at dawn Rei awakes to a terrible smell in her room. She realizes that the heater in her room is broken and it's leaking gas. Rei crawls across the room and tries to open the door, but it's jammed. Before she passes out, Hugh comes to her rescue. He carries her to his room and lets her sleep on his futon whilst he works. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In the morning Rei and Hugh do a little investigation of their own. Rei is convinced that someone had tried to kill her, because she had told the police about the locked bathroom door and about the piece of paper she had found jammed between the door to the bath. They discover another piece of paper between Rei's door, which confirms that someone is trying to kill her. Hugh leaves for his meeting, but Rei follows him to the hotel and decides to wait for him at the bar. Later they share a taxi to the minshuku and this is where they share their first kiss. And later that night they have sex. Hugh leaves in the morning to go skiing with his collegues. Rei, still in his room finds the pearl necklace Setsuko was wearing the night she was killed. Rei decides to leave Shiroyama then and there.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That was 'the first act'. I'm now going to jump to the end because if I told you everything what happens in the book, I'd be writing this until next monday --_-- and you'd have stopped reading long since. In reality, nothing that relevant happens in the next 330 pages. Only pages 380-386 are important. We discover that Setsuko's husband had an affair with his secretary and Setsuko was secretly supporting her love child Mariko. Mariko (a bar-escort) thought Setsuko was her aunt. In the end, Setsuko was Mrs. Chapman's husband's girlfriend before he moved back to the States. Setsuko had Mariko and Mr. Chapman continued to support them from the States. Mrs. Chapman knew about this, but after her husband died, she discovered that he was spending the money reserved for their daughter, on Setsuko and Mariko. Setsuko contacted Mrs. Chapman to demand more money for Mariko so Mrs. Chapman came to Japan to talk to her in person. At the minshuku, she locked the door to the bath and accidentally killed Setsuko with the seat cover. Mrs. Chapman tells Rei everything and attempts to kill her. Hugh comes for her rescue again. TADAAH, that's how it ends. Mrs. Chapman killed Setsuko and Rei moves in with Hugh. Oh and that antique mail box Rei bought, it turnes out that it was a property of a Princess who lived on Shiroyama. Rei gains more publicity with the discovery and thus is able to begin her career in Japanese antiques.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Granted this book was way too long. The little bits in the middle, like when Rei went to the docks to find out about Mariko's father, was really dragging the story, not to mention all the bar scenes. Maybe it was necessary to make Rei invastigate all sorts of leads, to achieve that realistic feeling. The story is filled with these little bits that aren't necessary for the plot, although they make</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> the story seem more real. </span>Granted, she can't be like Hercule Poirot who just interviews people and lurks around and within 2 days knows who the killer is. In fact Rei wasn't suppose to do any detective stuff because she was an innocent bystander. However</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> she sort of became one when Hugh sent her to Setsuko's wake. So I understand that Rei is primarily leading her own life, and on the side, tries to discover how Setsuko was linked to Mariko and who killed her. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So perhaps it's Massey's writing style that slows down the plot. Scratch that, the plot keeps dragging because it's filled with unnecessary bits and pieces that really don't do anything for the story. Come to think of it,</span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">'<span style="color: #0b5394;"><i>The Salaryman's Wife</i></span>' seems more like a very long blog post, than an actual novel. Novel's should be sharp, and witty, and what can be left out, is left out. I regard the Rei series as lite entertainment and '<i>Japan lovers guide to Japan</i>' than mind blowing literature. </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However that's what I really appreciate, Massey's bonafied knowledge of Japan. Whilst reading the books one will notice all the work and research Massey went through to get all the facts and customs of Japan right. I really appreciate that and like I said, from every Rei book I learned something new about Japan. Because the series is set in Japan, I'm able to enjoy it and disregard all the flaws the stories have. But it's not like I'm grinding my teeth when Massey is not talking about Japan. I like the plots and the characters and Rei...well she has some characteristic issues. She is made to look like she is really complex, whilst in reality she is very easy to figure out.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The
only thing I find a little tacky about Rei, is the fact that she is
almost literally, Massey herself. Massey used to live in Japan and she
worked as an english teacher. She has dual nationality, just like Rei
does, and Massey was (is?) really into antiques. Needless to say, Rei is
a fantasy version of Massey. To me it is tacky when a writer has to
lend their personality and quirks to their main character</span>. <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It
gives the impression that the writer couldn't come up with a better
main character, so they put themselves in the book, so basically they
are writing a fanfiction about themselves. </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm curious to know whether Rei really is a depiction of Massey herself, or is there a story of how Rei came to Massey? </span>Don't
get me wrong, I'm not saying there's something wrong about Rei. I actually identified with her a little
in book 2, when I was 15. In my opinion, she is very mature for her age, perhaps too mature, and she's rather cold too. I'm in my mid
twenties and I'm still rather childish, but perhaps that's one of my
quirks. Rei on the other hand, is very much a grown up, although I think
she has some real issues with men. But you won't see that until you meet
all her boyfriend candidates. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I imagine that reading Rei books would be rather boring if
we just followed the plot plot religiously, hence I like to think that the books are just stories of one woman's life in Japan. And you'll love these books if you enjoy reading novels about Japan =) I have 7 Rei books on my bookshelf and I'll keep rereading them. I even have Massey's autograph in my <i>'Pearl Diver</i>' book. If you don't take it too seriously, literature-wise, I'm sure you'll enjoy this series!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I hope you liked this review on </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">'<span style="color: #0b5394;"><i>The Salaryman's Wife</i></span>'. It was probably very wishy-washy, but I have been ill. And I'm still to write Novembre's artist review ^_^' Oh boy, I'm running out of time again. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">See you in a few days!!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cheers!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A.P</span>Anarchy Pantyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274535103226645106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4454851646577708620.post-30224421287611683032012-10-31T14:04:00.001-07:002012-10-31T14:04:49.578-07:00Artist of the Month: Lisa Yuskavage.<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Hi guise! Happy Halloween!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Man Halloweens are so much fun xD I have to wait until saturday though, for my friend's Halloween p-a-r-t-Y.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wow it's also getting kinda cold here in Helsinki. We even had a little bit of snow on my birthday O_o It's been a while since it snowed on my birthday. It was really truly a wonderful day =^_^=</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I'm feeling somewhat stressed out X_x</span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have been doing nothing, but working hard for the past month. I barely have time to workout, or rest. But I shouldn't complain, you see couple weeks ago I got a call from London, from the <span style="color: magenta;"><b>Academy of Freelance Makeup</b></span>. They had reviewed my application and called to tell me that I was eligible for the Total Pro course that I wanted to take. Hence I'm moving to London shortly after christmas! =D The course starts in early January and ends in early February (yes it's only 4 weeks) . I'm so excited! I can't wait to go back to UK. So I'm in a hurry to earn more money to pay for the rest of the course fee + I'm saving the rest for London. Hence after doing long hours at work, I barely have enough energy to workout or put out artist reviews...However, octobre's artist is a juicy one. WOOOPS! I'm still studying french ;D</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr8R0DxDbgNRWNlit6Q_wU0sNpaEp3eKH4PVWbcTC2eLGJdG2Z44PcDNY9D9p4O_fcnLG_i-HXLcLcCs73JG0odKCW0uKMtCpSRx2LizoLR-TQlcgx_ntJBUKAXT2SLDhwGP7o1DkzvWbh/s1600/yuskavaHalffamily1999.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr8R0DxDbgNRWNlit6Q_wU0sNpaEp3eKH4PVWbcTC2eLGJdG2Z44PcDNY9D9p4O_fcnLG_i-HXLcLcCs73JG0odKCW0uKMtCpSRx2LizoLR-TQlcgx_ntJBUKAXT2SLDhwGP7o1DkzvWbh/s400/yuskavaHalffamily1999.jpg" width="332" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Half family 1999.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's yet another artist who paints nudes. Well Jasper Goodall doesn't exactly paint, but we see a lot of naked women in his work as well. Because his work is more cartoonish than realistic, there is no way I'd feel embarrassed or shocked whilst looking at even his most explicit pieces. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However, when I look at the works of Lisa Yuskavage...I can feel a red, hot colour rising on my cheeks. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Unlike her name suggest, Lisa Yuskavage was born in Pennsylvania US in 1962. When I first heard her name, I immediately assumed that she was from Eastern Europe. I was wrong (<span style="color: #a64d79;"><i>but it's good to review an American artist for a change</i></span>)</span>. <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She studied at Tyler School of Art which I guess is part of the Temple University in Philadelphia</span>. <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">She graduated in 1984 as a Bachelor of Fine Art and two years later she got her MFA from Yale University. After that Yuskavage proceed to work on her art.</span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In 1990 she had a solo show at Pamela Auchino Gallery in New York. Her paintings at the time were small and </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">featured
partially veiled upper backs of women.</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Even though she had painted them beautifully, Yuskavage said that it was the topic that didn't please her.</span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In one of her interviews she said that finding a perfect topic had become an issue for her. So shortly after the solo show, she took a break from painting that lasted well over a year. During this time, she came to find her topic. She switched her women from coy to promiscuous and made them face the viewer. She calls this new direction "kinky sfumatos," (<i><span style="color: #a64d79;">yes thay's a word, <b>sfumato:</b> In painting and drawing: a misty indistinct effect obtained by gradually blending together areas of different colour or tone.</span></i>) where she utilizes her technique and skills to give birth to subversional images. One of her first new paintings "The Gifts" delivered just that. It is a dark and haunted image of a pleading girl with flowers in her mouth, her hands are behind her back and her bare bosom is on display. For some reason, this painting gives me the creeps. There's so much emotion in her eyes that it makes my emotions bounce. I go from pitying her to being scared for her. I don't know what's going to happen to her. It creeps me out to imagine any girl in this kind of situation. It's a scary painting. Never the less, this painting alone is an indication of Yuskavage's artistic brilliance. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After several years of relying solely on her imagination,
Yuskavage started working on small clay sculptures. Which then led her to found photographs. But then she started to focus on her paintings again. Within two decades, Yuskavage has established her place in the art world, thrilling and shocking her viewers and critics around the world. Yuskavage says that dissatisfaction and boredom are deadly, but also important sources for her. Evidently she gets easily bored, meaning that she has to stay extremely interested to produce art. "<i>Every
painting has to really do something new for me</i></span>"<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> she says in one of her interviews</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">. For over two decades she has been pushing the sexual envelope towards more
commonplace in contemporary art. I guess she is also breaking the barrier of </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">the notion of what a woman artist is entitled to do. Her painting style may be very traditional in fine art terms, but it's up to you to decide whether her subject really truly is innovative, or just a bait to collect viewers. Since 2005 Yuskavage has been represented by David Zwirner gallery in New York. This is what Zwirner has to say about Yuskavage:</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"<i>Over the past two decades, she has developed her own genre of the
female nude: lavish, erotic, cartoonish, vulgar, angelic young women
cast within fantastical landscapes or dramatically lit interiors. They
appear to occupy their own realm while narcissistically contemplating
themselves and their bodies. Rich, atmospheric skies frequently augment
the psychologically-charged mood, further adding to the impression of
theatricality and creative possibility.</i>" David Zwirner
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On with the paintings. '<span style="color: #e06666;">Half family</span>' came after 'The Gifts', which was Yuskavage's first 'obscene' nude. These two have nearly 8 years between them, so '<span style="color: #e06666;">Half family</span>' has that Rococoish colour spectrum that Yuskavage moved to work on after 'The Gifts '</span>.<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> '<span style="color: #e06666;">Half family</span>' is a sort of an icon now, because Kate Moss posed for W magazine 'dressed' like the girl in the painting.</span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Actually the photo looked like something David LaChapelle would have produced, a really stripped down LaChappelle photo that is.</span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But nope, wasn't him. Still there must be something very modern about the painting</span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">because it had to be recreated years later, and the girl posing for the photo just had to be a world famous supermodel. '<span style="color: #e06666;">Half family</span>' is a beautiful painting and colourwise it reminds me of Rococo paintings done in the mid 1800's. I mean seriously, look at that talent! The colours are so beautiful! There's energy and movement on the background, and the girl's proportions are all correct. I also like her hair very much and how the wind is blowing it across her face in a carefree manner. Initially there is something really childlike and sweet about the background of the painting. Those soft pinks and yellows give so much light to the otherwise dull background. But the matte blue and grey clouds have an air of storm to them, and combined with the soft green grass the landscape almost seems to be portraying an upcoming storm. The giant girl however is totally unaffected by the upcoming storm, she is too busy oogling her body/ weird panties. Here is an example of that narcissistic contemplation Zwirner wrote about in his review. The girls in Yuskavage'a paintings always seem too busy to notice anything because they are too busy studying themselves. There are a few exceptions when: 1. The girls are looking at the viewer, and 2. They are looking at each others. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSA4kYN0-Vxpg0YdKVW9nERhcfw9gEQ2tq9jR2I2PnsjAnwVFCuRxFGHt7yh_2lA0FnzjVlkFuzf7PlQstkxTdCf-4pd07RJ_U01ZZN_OVNUAou1emyQAx51N5JnPP4v6W2ETw24_EJ63E/s1600/yuskavagekatemoss.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSA4kYN0-Vxpg0YdKVW9nERhcfw9gEQ2tq9jR2I2PnsjAnwVFCuRxFGHt7yh_2lA0FnzjVlkFuzf7PlQstkxTdCf-4pd07RJ_U01ZZN_OVNUAou1emyQAx51N5JnPP4v6W2ETw24_EJ63E/s320/yuskavagekatemoss.jpg" width="269" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As for the theme and style of this painting, I give it a 5 out of 5. The whole image would suggest that this is a coming of age image. Even though to me it looks like there is a storm coming, the soft pinks and yellows suggest sun setting and the flowers on the girl's feet could symbol virginity and her womanhood. Meaning that the image is almost like a good-bye to her innocent (<span style="color: #a64d79;"><i>or maybe it's not innocent at all</i></span>) childhood. Well it depends on how you wanna interpret this painting. But you have to admit, it is a brilliant painting. It is beautiful to look at, and I imagine many critics (and viewers) have had a lot of fun trying to crack this painting open. There are a few directions you can take whilst looking at '<span style="color: #e06666;">Half family</span>'. First of all, the viewer has to decide whether they can actually look upon this painting at all. There is a part of me that wants to shy away from Yuskavage's paintings because they are so naughty. </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As
much as I love this painting, I would hide it from my parents when ever
they'd come to visit me. Normally I wouldn't do that, but this time,
it's different. M</span>y parents' view on this painting would be totally different from my view, and I know they'd judge me for wanting to put something like <i>this</i> on my wall. In '<span style="color: #e06666;">Half family</span>' I see an adopted girl, who came to live with her relatives after her parents passed away. Now she is slowly coming of age and is very curious about herself. Her relatives, of course, don't approve of her new found sexuality and the way she experiments with it. She is the naughty, promiscuous niece or cousin who can't be stopped. Which probably is why she chooses to act out her promiscuity, because she knows it annoyes her caregivers and because she knows that they dislike her for being that way. And that suits her just fine because she doesn't care, it's too much fun for her this way. This is what '<span style="color: #e06666;">Half family</span>' looks like to me, but I know my parents would most likely label this as porn, and give me a long lecture about how inappropriate the painting is and why I'm so naughty for wanting to put it up on my wall. (<i><span style="color: #a64d79;">>=)</span></i>). I adore the romantic colour scale, and the girl is exceptionally well painted! It has been a while since I have seen a contemporary artist who can paint this well. Yuskavage has recieved many thanks for her ability to paint like the Old Masters. She says she went through a lot to learn to paint Fine Art 'properly' and I can't see anyone who could paint as well as Yuskavage (<span style="color: #a64d79;"><i>except maybe Royo</i></span>). I think that there are actually two parts to this painting, there's the real girl and then there is the fantasy girl in a romantic landscape. It depends on which one you want to focus on. Even though I can appreciate the image as a whole,and to me she seems more like a fantasy than reality, I can't get over the fact that her panties are way to small for her! I mean they are squeezing the living daylight out of her bum. Girl, your balloon/candy panties are awesome, but you have outgrown them!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhObrqks1-huE4AGoLtjx4GKs85w8G8K0Qxv2B_MOahfz9kaIGsK7-jPQCyyv_pjs24_ye4xZzsGlwqf7fT-ziGU6u40O08ttWlZ-RlmnEzx528RG03I0ukVTPBsEw5b5IflbPA4QesDARG/s1600/yuskavageTeresaandLauren2008.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhObrqks1-huE4AGoLtjx4GKs85w8G8K0Qxv2B_MOahfz9kaIGsK7-jPQCyyv_pjs24_ye4xZzsGlwqf7fT-ziGU6u40O08ttWlZ-RlmnEzx528RG03I0ukVTPBsEw5b5IflbPA4QesDARG/s400/yuskavageTeresaandLauren2008.jpg" width="377" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Teresa and Lauren 2008</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There
seems to be a constant play between the characters in Yuskavage's paintings.
It's kinda like a dialogue of '<span style="color: magenta;"><i>Look at me, now don't look at me but if you look at
me I'm going to look back at you</i></span>'. Yuskavage has this to say about her
girls: "<i>If you stare at me, I'm going to stare back, but at the same
time if you stare at me I'm going to disapear. But I'm also going to
assert myself and make you feel really uncomfortable"</i></span><i>.</i><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i> </i>And about her method she says "<i>I'm constantly playing with who's the top and who's the bottom in the painting</i>".
Oh, Yuskavage quotes her work beautifully! She knows her work so well
and she knows what her work is trying to say and why. I personally
totally get what she is saying with that top/bottom remark. It's not
just about the girls in the paintings playing with the viewer, it's
reality. I don't know about you, but I sometimes have a moment of insecurity and
I'm not quite sure whether I want boys to look at me or not. </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(<span style="color: #a64d79;"><i>and
why not girls too. Girls look at me regardless, and especially in
summer they give me really nasty looks. What?! I workout, I don't eat
junk food, I'm slim, so no need to look so sour!</i><i> I work hard to keep my figure!</i></span>).
I'm such a dizzy person anyway that I wouldn't notice if a bunch of
boys walked after my heels, drooling all the way. But then there are
those special occasions when I want boys to look at me, and then it's
power play. "<i>I'm going to stare back at you if you stare at me</i>".
And then there are those times, when I get insecure and the game changes
and I'm no longer on the top. I digress. I'm just saying that I
understand what Yuskavage's work is trying to say. There is something
very human about the characters in Yuskavage's paintings, whether you
choose to acknowledge it or not. "<span style="color: #38761d;">Teresa and Lauren</span>" is a great example of this look-at-me-don't-look-at-me dialogue. Unlike some of her other paintings, this does not feauture any nature. Unless you want to read the green colour is a symbol of nature (<span style="color: #a64d79;"><i>which I don't</i></span>). I however find this colour choice very similar to Salvador Dali's '<span style="color: #93c47d;"><i>Soldier take warning</i></span>'. Did Yuskavage use all green in "<span style="color: #38761d;">Teresa and Lauren</span>" on purpose or was it something she just prefered? Because if this is a some kind of ode to Dali's painting then I can't help but chuckle (<span style="color: #a64d79;"><i>*chuckle*</i></span>), because Dali's painting is a warning to soldiers not to sleep with prostitutes because they carry sexually transmitted diseases. So are we to assume that Teresa and Lauren have venereal disease? I guess that's up to you to decide. To me, they both look a little too inviting. But on second thought, I think I'll just go with my first idea and say that these two are just having a sleepover. Notice how Yuskavage pictures her girls, full, voluptuous breasts and bums. Or small breasts and voluptuous bums. Love it or hate it, it looks interesting. </span> </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaUwXmmMcadLldUVdUnBlce2zOAoWAa3Tw9vgT75rr_f5BU6B-ZfI2e6eaKR8U2PrAK6f01E4uNMpdfwuV2pphAriaQFIy6G7cHomHpVqR_SiPGHKMPM52HWr2K3fSu6zzGCcnWlM4TzjC/s1600/yuskavagepiggyback2009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaUwXmmMcadLldUVdUnBlce2zOAoWAa3Tw9vgT75rr_f5BU6B-ZfI2e6eaKR8U2PrAK6f01E4uNMpdfwuV2pphAriaQFIy6G7cHomHpVqR_SiPGHKMPM52HWr2K3fSu6zzGCcnWlM4TzjC/s400/yuskavagepiggyback2009.jpg" width="330" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Piggyback Ride 2008</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> In her earlier series '<i>Bad Babies</i>' Yuskavage's goal was to speak about shame and the inability to hide it. I think that's what Yuskavage's more tender and innocent paintings are about. '<span style="color: #bf9000;">Piggyback Ride</span>' fits in to this category. Even though the naked girl in this painting doesn't seem to be ashamed of nakedness, whilst her friend is fully clothed, it does speak about that innocence of feminity that dominates some of Yuskavage's paintings. In a way '<span style="color: #bf9000;">Piggyback Ride</span>' has a kind of fairytale-esque thing going on. Fairytales are all about linking the hero/heroine to nature, and to me, '<span style="color: #bf9000;">Piggyback Ride</span>' looks a little Cinderella-ish. I reviewed Yuskavage the first time couple years ago when I was studying fairytales and creating my own fairytales (<span style="color: #a64d79;"><i>ah Rose Soldier, we have many adventures ahead of us, nee</i></span>). After two years, this paintings still looks like a girl hitting puperty. She is somewhere in between her old, childish self and a new self that has began to understand her body and sexuality (<span style="color: #a64d79;"><i>which evidently happened to Cinderella</i></span>). She wants to be seen differently from now on and she actually wants to show off her growing body. In my class, most girls started to wear tight pants and shirts to show off their growing tits and round asses to attract attention. And this happened when we were 11 or 12. But for some girls, it's embarrassing too. I'll tell you secret, I was dizzy until the end. I didn't wear tight pants and shirts when I was 12, that part of puberty hit me when I was about 14. </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">'<span style="color: #bf9000;">Piggyback Ride</span>'</span> shows us that these two girls are in very different places, the naked one is alright with her body whilst the girl behind her is more modest and perhaps will never be one of those girls I just described. Rather than being exposed she represents the more traditional female image, body covered from gazes. To me, this painting is a manifestation of the two sides of the virginal female character in Fairytales.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have to talk about the nature in Yuskavage's paintings. N</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">ature and forests are especially close to my heart because I grew up in Finland, and our land is pretty much like a big forest. </span>Yuskavage does a good job in mixing erotica and nature, and she paints landscapes really well too. In fairytales, nature is a huge factor in the stories for it is usually treated as a set, but it also gives vast amounts of sybolism for the stories. '</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #bf9000;">Piggyback Ride</span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">' takes place in a lake scenery where we have two girls, one of them is dressed, one of them is not. It is so cute how they have formed a link with their arms. The brunette has her right arm around the blonde's neck and her left hand is on her waist, holding the blonde's right hand. Because of the warm skin tones, I didn't see the link at first, but looking at it closer, together they are forming like a link or a protective space, if you will. The nakedness of the blonde girl combined with the scenery reminds me of primitive times when people were more united with nature (<span style="color: #a64d79;"><i>I'm thinking about Disney's Pocahontas now..</i></span>). Now we have enstranged ourselves from nature because we don't need to fend ourselves constantly anymore. Of course there comes a time when nature strikes hard, but I'm saying that because some of us are living comfortable lives, we don't have to be worried about how to get food if winter comes early this year, or if there is a pack of wolves on the move. But perhaps this seems too primitive. What I'm trying to say is that every single Yuskavage painting that features both girls and nature, has a distinct link between them. In '</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #bf9000;">Piggyback Ride</span></span>' that link seems to be puberty, nature is always there whether we like it or not. It's our nature to grow because that's what all nature's 'products' do. And in this case, the colours are nearly melancholic, because Yuskavage's intention is to make the viewer sad for the girl who's about to </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">go through puperty. Again, there is a setting sun and after that, a new era begins. I don't like the colours in this painting, as much as I liked them in '<span style="color: #e06666;">Half family</span>', but once again this is exceptionally well executed. Personally I think Yuskavage's nature-and-girls paintings are much more beautiful and interesting than for example the 'Pie face' paintings. It's much more interesting to see girls posing obscenely in the hills than see portraits of them with their faces full of custard.</span> <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Walking the dog 2009</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">"<i>Something usually sexualizes you. You may not even remember what it was - it can be a single comment</i>."</span> I think the girls in the rest of her paintings are promiscuous for
the sake of being promiscuous (and nasty). They are depictions of the woman-child, of a girl who
became aware of her sexuality, perhaps too young, and is now taking
full advantage of it. In my mind, the girls in Yuskavage's "naughty"
paintings are those girls who showed the guy who shouted "show me your
tits!" their tits. I haven't done that myself, but I understand that one
wants to be naughty for naughtiness' sake. I think there is really
something to Yuskavage's vision of the woman-child. Personally I'm not
quite sure whether the woman-child is a young girl like Lolita, who
became a woman a very young age and is taking full advantage of her
youth and promiscuity? Or is the woman-child a woman who has a somewhat
child-like body and still has that innocent state of mind only children
have?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span><b> </b><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">For me, Yuskavage's paintings seem more obscene than for example some of the obscenest pieces of Luis Royo (<span style="color: #a64d79;"><i>and he has done some pretty obscene drawings!</i></span>). The bashful side of me wouldn't put these up on my wall. But then again, the part of me that likes all things sexy, totally would. Seeing girls so </span>fetishized and objectified
would make anyone frown. However, it's not all that. I personally don't feel that Yuskavage's pieces are porn or <i>Playboy</i> images like many have suggested. I like to think that there is more to her images than 'titillation', shocking people for shockings sake. And painting obscene sex-like scenes because sex sells. Sex is just the cover, there's actually a lot of symbolism tucked in between the cheeks of Yuskavage's girls (<span style="color: #a64d79;"><i>if you want to think it like that</i></span>). There is a part of me that would feel coy and ashamed if I went to see these in a gallery. But then the rest of me would just say that these are interesting paintings, they are sexy and exceptionally well painted, that there has to be more than just tits and pussies to them. One critic said that "<i>to have the whole Yuskavage thing wrapped
up in a package of high end gallery with critical imprimatur is what
felt awkward and strange</i>." Yuskavage had this to say "<i>that was precisely the feeling I was going for</i>". In the end, just like with <a href="http://pantytalks.blogspot.fi/2012/06/artist-of-month-jasper-goodall.html" target="_blank">Jasper Goodall</a> and <a href="http://pantytalks.blogspot.fi/2012/01/artist-of-month-luis-royo.html" target="_blank">Luis Royo</a>, it's up to you to decide what to make of '<span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>the Yuskavage experience</i></span>'. Me, I like it a lot.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I hope you enjoyed me review on Lisa Yuskavage, this was a juicy one indeed. Next month I'll give you my last book review for now. I know I said that I'd do 5, but I'll be really busy in December + December is already winter, and the book thing was just for autumn, for now.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Thanks for reading and see you next month!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Cheers!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A.P </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span>Anarchy Pantyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274535103226645106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4454851646577708620.post-19173441659254936082012-10-14T06:34:00.000-07:002012-10-14T06:34:27.646-07:00Autumn book club: Män som hatar kvinnor (The girl with the dragon tattoo).<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Hi guise!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It's October, my birthday month! xD Time sure flies by. Another year and none the wiser.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">My BFF is taking me to watch ballet =D I haven't been to ballet for 10 years O_o I was a wee ballerina, once upon a time. I got to dance on the<i> pointe shoes</i> for about 3 years and wear a tutu to performances ^_^ I live next to a prestigious school, and my dance company held all their performances there (<span style="color: #741b47;"><i>their big hall has a balcony view too!</i></span>). Every winter and spring we'd perform at the school. Sometimes I'd perform twice a day because I was doing ballet and modern dance. I get very nostalgic and little sad everytime I see ballerinas on the school yard.</span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">They remind me of how much I enjoyed dancing in front of an audience. Too bad I wasn't much of a ballerina. Doing the routine practices in class</span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">was a bit difficult for me because I wasn't big on concentrating. Unless you are really into ballet, doing the same routines day after day gets boring really quickly (<span style="color: #741b47;"><i>have you seen <span style="color: black;">Black Swan</span>? Ballet practices are like the ones Aronofsky showed in the beginning of <span style="color: black;">Black Swan</span></i></span>. <span style="color: #741b47;"><i>That's literally almost all we did in ballet class</i></span>). By the time I got my <i>pointe shoes</i>, I wasn't so bored anymore because the routines had gotten much tougher. Two years later my long time teacher left my group and we got a new teacher. I had a big 'falling out' with her because she wanted to do a sort of a Hungarian folk dance for our next big performance, and I felt so wronged by her decision that I quit ballet then and there. I had been practicing on <i>pointe shoes</i> for over 3 years, so I thought I (<span style="color: #a64d79;"><i>and my fellow ballerinas</i></span>) deserved to dance real ballet.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I so want to start practicing ballet again *sigh* only if I had the time and money to do that. However, I'd make sure to join a ballet/dance company that performs to a real audience at least once a year =) We are going to go see <b><span style="color: #c27ba0;">Manon</span></b> on my birthday btw. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On with October's book review. First of all, '<b>The girl with the dragon tattoo</b>' ought to be one of the stupidest translations ever!</span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The correct translation is '<span style="color: #20124d;"><b>Men who hate women</b></span>'. See, isn't that much more powerful than lame 'girl with the dragon tattoo'. So what? Quite frankly, I'm not nearly as interested in the girl who has a dragon tattoo, I'm far more interested in the men who hate women. Why do they hate women? Do they literally hate women, or is it a </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="short_text" id="result_box" lang="en"><span class="hps">chauvinist</span></span> thing, something they talk about at their </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span class="short_text" id="result_box" lang="en"><span class="hps">chauvinist</span></span> mens club? If they literally hate women, do they mean all women, or are they particular?</span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And most importantly, what happens to these women they meet?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I had seen <i>The girl who played with fire</i></span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">trailer in Finland, but I wasn't the least bit interested because it was in Swedish.</span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To be honest I can't remember why I decided to read</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> <span style="color: #20124d;"><i>Män som hatar kvinnor</i></span> by </span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Stieg Larsson </b></span></span></span>in the first place. Probably because the international reviews were raving about the story, and the movie was about the hit cinemas in Australia. I was living in Adelaide at the time so I decided to read the book and then check out the movie. Let me stress out that the movie WAS NOT the stupid hollywood version with Daniel Craig --_-- It was the original Swedish movie with Noomi Rapace. Anyway, '<span style="color: #20124d;"><i>Män som hatar kvinnor</i></span>' (<span style="color: #741b47;"><i>I still wonder </i><i>what ever possessed the translator to come up with such a lame title for the English translation!?</i></span>)</span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">is the first book in the Millenium trilogy. Followed by '<i>Flickan som lekte med elden</i>' and my personal favourite title, <i>'Luftslottet som sprängdes' (the castle of air that collapsed. <span style="color: #741b47;">Very figurative title ^_^</span>). </i>The English title for the latter, isn't half bad either, it's rather clever actually. However in this review I'm going to talk about the men who hate women. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I read this book two years ago, so I can't remember all the details. So I'll just tell you all the details I can remember okay. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The story opens with Henrik Vanger, he is</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> retired but wealthy CEO of the Vanger Corporation. Thirty-six years ago, his great-niece Harriet went missing. For his birthday Harriet always gave him a pressed flower in frames. When she dissapeared Henrik never saw another flower for decades, until one day he got one delivered to him. After that flower, he started receiving flowers every year on his birthday. The newest flower would be number
forty-four. Henrik was always convinced that Harriet was murdered by a family member, even though no one was really a suspect. Which leads Henrik to believe that the murderer is now daunting him by giving him flowers Harriet used to give him. So Henrik proceeds to hire Mikael Blomkvist, a publisher of a political magazine called Millenium. Henrik vaguely knows Mikael because Harriet used to be his babysitter and Henrik has been following Mikael's career for years.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I think this prologue is pretty interesting and well written, but too bad it reveals how the story is going to end --_-- I knew that Harriet was alive because of the new flowers. Quite frankly it seems kinda stupid that the murderer would wait for over 30 years until he'd start daunting Henrik. So it doesn't takea a genious to realize that she is sending hidden 'I am OK' messages to Henrik. It would have been much more cruel if the murderer had actually killed Harriet and now he's really daunting Henrik with her murder. However then again, I find the ending a little more satisfying because Harriet survived. Considering the crimes in this book, it's very nice of Larsson to let Harriet live. Otherwise this would have been a really depressing story.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Our male lead Michael has just lost a defamation case against billionaire industrialist </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Hans-Erik
Wennerström</span>. He is sentenced to three months in prison, and ordered to
pay hefty damages and costs. Michael decides to leave 'Millenium' so the magazine and the staff won't have to suffer too much from his bad publicity. Soon after he 'leaves' "Millenium", he is invited to meet Henrik Vanger. Henrik tells Michael about Harriet and asks him to investigate her dissapearance. In return Henrik promises Michael financial reward (big big money) and solid
evidence against Wennerström. In order to disguise their investigations for Harriet they say that Michael is writting the Vanger family history. Which would also explain why Michael moves in to a small cabin on Hedeby island (owned by Henrik). Harriet dissapeared precisely on Hedeby island.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Which brings us to our heroine, and may I say, one of the most interesting female heroines in the 21st century literature, Lisbeth Salander. Before Henrik hired Michael, he had his lawyer hire the Milton Security to research Michael's background. Lisbeth carried out the inspection. She works as a </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">surveillance agent with Milton Security, but on the side, she is one heck of a hacker. I find Lisbeth interesting. Sure she is disturbed, anti-social and egoistic, and she is also damn unpredictable (<i><span style="color: #741b47;">which makes her much more fun!</span></i>). You never know what she'll do next. Hence she is the exact opposite of all the female heroines we have seen so far. I have to mention her clothing style, it's gothic, yet it borrows a little from punk-rock. And to make sure that Lisbeth was not traditional, Larsson made her hate men, like really hate men. A heroine of the 21st century who is not at all interested in men. This was like a breeze of fresh air for me. Finally, we have an independent heroine whose life does not revolve around her complicated relantionships with men --_-- Personally I think Lisbeth is a pretty awesome idea (<span style="color: #741b47;"><i>note: idea</i></span>) of the modern woman. Yes she is a disturbed young woman who hates men, her choise of career is slightly vague (<span style="color: #741b47;"><i>that Milton stuff is legal, it's just the hacking that is still criminal I take</i></span>) but she is also very compasionate and very smart. I'm not saying we should all be Lisbeths, I'm saying that her characteristics are something we should take a note of. </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We learn more about Lisbeth's gentle side as the story proceeds, but in the mean time, she is really tough. </span>(<i><span style="color: #741b47;">Although the second "Millenium" book is like an odé to Lisbeth's genius. Larsson keeps writing about how brilliant and smart and strong Lisbeth is that it get's really old really quickly. Larsson needlessly added more water to the mill</span></i>). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Whilst Michael investigates on Hedeby island, Lisbeth meets with her new legal guardian Nils Bjurman. Her most trusted guardian Holger Palmgren had suffered a massive stroke <span style="color: #666666;">(<span style="color: #741b47;"><i>he had the stroke in his apartment, and Lisbeth got there just in time to save him</i></span></span>) and Nils was named her new guardian. During their second meeting, Lisbeth asks to claim money from her bank account to buy a new Mac laptop. Taking advantage of his position Nils forces Lisbeth to give him a blowjob in exchange for a small amount of money. Nils actually can sentence Lisbeth back in to institution. Later Lisbeth goes to Nils' house to claim more money, and he anally rapes her (<span style="color: #741b47;"><i>not an easy read, nor easy to watch</i></span>). However, on the third time, Lisbeth gets her revenge. YAY! She shows him her rape on video, which she recorded with a hidden camera in her backpack. Threatening to ruin him, N<span style="color: #666666;">ils agrees to write praysing reports of her to his superiors </span>and she'll gain full control of her finances. To get her message across she
brands him with a tattoo that says '</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I AM A SADISTIC PIG, A PERVERT, AND A RAPIST'. Finally she says that she will keep a track on his movements, and if he ever even considers having that tattoo removed, she'll kill him.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I personally don't think it's a good idea to go to a strange man's house just so one can get really revealing evidence of the man's criminal acts. Nor do I think it's a good idea to go back there with a taser and torture them after they wake up. This sounds really like heroic and romantic and escpecially the revenge part is awesome, but in reality Lisbeth puts herself in to a dangerous position just to get evidence. Sure that evidence can put a man behind bars, not to mention this evidence will set her free in book 3, but I wouldn't recommend this kind of behavior to anyone. However if you are willing to read between the lines, Lisbeth comes across as a real go-getter. She knows what she want and she knows how to get it. Not to mention it was rather...ahem brave to go personally into the battlefield to get the evidence she knows will grand her her freedom (<span style="color: #741b47;"><i>perhaps she knew that that evidence would be useful in the future</i></span> <span style="color: #741b47;"><i>too</i></span>). She is clearly a planner and can see the big picture even if the picture doesn't excist in full yet. I mean Lisbeth has traits which every woman (<span style="color: #741b47;"><i>and every man too, why not</i></span>) should posses: determination, spontaneity and wits. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Mean while Michael has been hard at work trying to discover what happened to Harriet. On the day of her dissapearance, the whole Vanger family was gathered on Hedeby island to celebrate. Only one bridge connects Hedeby to the mainland and on that day, there was an accident on the bridge. It took hours before anyone could access or leave the island. Yet during the accident Harriet dissapeared. Last time anyone saw her was when she was looking out the window of her cousin's room in the mainhouse (<span style="color: #741b47;"><i>I think</i><i> that's how it wen</i><i>t</i></span>). </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Michael investigations are quite fascinating to read. He literally starts from scratch so it leaves the reader wondering how the hell he is going to crack this case. By interviewing the family members who live on the island, Michael discoveres more about what happened on that day. Harriet's brother Martin lives on the island too and even though he isn't much of a help (<span style="color: #741b47;"><i>as I recall</i></span>) the two men get a long really well. In Martin's and Harriet's father's cabin, Michael finds Harriet's journal and a bible. Their father Gottfried was Henrik's brother who accidentally drowned whilst drunk. Michael reads Harriet's bible and finds a lot of bible and religious writings, and three names and two initials, follewed by serial numbers. It takes Michael quite a while to discover the meaning of those names and numbers. His daughter clears up the meaning when she tells him that he should continue his bible studies. Hence Michael finds out that the 5 women are linked to the bible. The serial numbers are passages that encourage the reader to kill the women who they know have slept with an animal for example. And these names date back to the 1940's. So Harriet had discovered that someone had been systematically killing women since the 1940's? But it takes a long time before we get to this bit.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">After this Larsson introduces a little humour to the story when Michael goes to Lisbeth's to ask for her help. Henrik's lawyer reveals that they had him invested. Michael asks to see the report, and once he discovers that Lisbeth not only hacked to his computer but is clearly very smart, he asks to hire her to assist him in the case. It was soooo funny to read how Lisbeth discovers Michael at her door one morning xD What Lisbeth does next is actually really humane, she panics and steps back. I mean she just completed a research on this guy and of course she never expected to meet him, but now he his in her apartment. What really moved me was how considerate Michael was to bring breakfast, he even brought a vegetarian alternative!! I mean how often do people regard<u> us vegetarians</u>? Actually I should ask how often do strangers regard vegetarians? Michael knows nothing about Lisbeth, yet he is smart enough to acknowledge that her food preferences may not be meat biased. Oh, I find that so touching! ^_^ (<span style="color: #741b47;"><i>FYI Lisbeth goes for the beef bagel</i></span>). Michael 'hires' Lisbeth and she goes to Hedeby island with him.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This book has over 300 pages, so naturally the events in the beginning overlap. Plus as Michael and Lisbeth get together, it takes a long time for them to learn anything really important. Mostly they just go after clues and try to figure out what the hell happened to Harriet. They even have time to sleep together, and at one point Lisbeth finds herself in love with Michael. Personally I don't see why. He isn't even that cleaver, as a matter of fact, as characters go, Michael is flat and uninteresting. Don't know why all the men in Larsson's books are either pedophile-and-rapist-murderers or flat nobodies. Why is that?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Even though it might (<span style="color: #741b47;"><i>I say might</i></span>) get a little boring, I think Larsson describes their detective work realistically. I mean, it's not like they can actually find a new important clue every day. Or suddenly realize what happened to Harriet without doing any research. And it's not like Michael can go "I got it! It must be this-and-this" every time they find a new piece of evidence. After all they have so many puzzle pieces to deal with that I'm not sure if this crime was actually solvable if this was reality. I know that it's just a story, but based on Larsson's writing style I'd say this book intents to be realistic. After all Lisbeth is based on a real person (<i><span style="color: #741b47;">if you choose to believe it that is</span></i>) and all the events seem realistic enough. It's jus how Lisbeth and Michael unravel the case confuses me a little. It just seems so unlikely that they would be able to solve the case because what they case really is, is a little baffling.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">On Hedeby island Lisbeth and Michael began trace the women mentioned in Harriet's diary. They go to the locations where they were killed and-or found. They are able interview one of the victim's spouses and Michael and Lisbeth </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">discover that they are on the trail of a serial killer
who has been killing women for decades using the bible as reference.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Personally I find it a little unconvincing that Michael would actually have someone in his circle of friends and/or family who knows the bible really well. And even if there was someone, what are the odds that it's someone really close to him and not some distant relative he never sees?</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> This plot point is just so over used and Larsson should have known that too. I actually hate the idea that it's always someone really close to the detective who gives them the most important clue. The plot has to move on somehow so I suppose this is the writer's best bet, but in reality, I bet there would be no one to provide Michael that bible clue. I have read many books and watched so many movies and tv-series that I guessed quickly that the numbers were most likely from the bibl</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">e. Seriously. Trust me, if you have a set of numbers that you don't know what they are, they're most likely from the bible. This is how it always goes right? But really, if you had a clue that contained medical science stuff for example, and you didn't know it, would there be someone you know who would see your research by accident and say "<i>Oh hey that's this-and-that's formula. Why are you studying it</i>?". I bet your answer is '<i>no</i>'. Mine is.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> And this next bit annoys me too. They look for old photographs that could reveal more about the day's festival and the accident on the bridge. When looking the photographs, Michael becomes sure that the murderer was at the parade because Harriet looks startled in one of the photos. The murderer is supposedly in front of Harriet, but on the other side of the street. In the photo there is also a couple behind Harriet, taking pictures of the spot the murderer supposedly is. Hence Michael tracks down the couple and asks to see their pictures of the festival. Unfortunately the photo is blurry and he can't make out the person Harriet is looking at. It seems a little far fetched that Michael would actually track down an old couple from 30 years ago with a single photograph. Of course it brings drama and makes the reader wonder if the case is ever going to get solved. However I don't think it's that easy to track down people one saw in a photograph from 40 years ago. As I recall Michael saw the couple's car's licence plate and like so was able to track them down.That doesn't seem too realistic to me. I suppose it can be done, very unlikely though.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The story is about to reach it's climax now. I don't remember how he did it, but Michael discovers that it was Martin who killed Harriet. Michael goes to surprise Martin at his house, but Martin has been expecting him and he attacks Michael and takes him prisoner. Mean while Lisbeth has discovered that it was Martin's and Harriet's father Gottfried who was behind all the murders starting from the 1940's and after he died Martin continued the killings. Lets just say it made me physically ill to read Martin brag about all the women he had killed and how amazing it made him feel. I don't know about Sweden, but Finland is a pretty safe place to live. People sometimes refere Finland as ''The Moominvalley'' because nothing bad ever happenes here. Well..until recently, about 5-6 years ago, bad things started to happen here too. So it's always a grim reminder that people like Martin and his father excist in this world. I did not enjoy reading about Martin and his 'conquests'. Michael asks Martin why he killed Harriet. Martin gets mad and asks Michael what he and Salander have found out, because he did not kill Harriet. He wanted to, but she vanished before he could get to the island. Apparently Gottfried and Martin tried to pursue Harrit to accept their 'life style', but she refused. Once their father died, Martin tried to keep Harriet from telling anyone about their murderous and incestuous past, but he got suspicious and decided to kill her. But luckily Harriet got away in time. In the basement Martin is just about to kill Michael when Lisbeth bursts in, kicks Martin's ass and frees Michael. But Martin escapes. Lisbeth drives after him on her motorcycle. Martin drives straight in to a truck and dies in the crash. In the movie, Martin's death is much more satisfying. He is stuck in his car, and Lisbeth watches him burn alive. For me, that was much better than just read about the bastard die in a car crash --__-- </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">But what I don't understand is, why did Lisbeth conceal most of Martin's killings. She order's Michael not to alert the police and in secrecy destroyes some of the documented evidence of Martin's murders, in cluding his laptop. WHY!? This I don't understand, why she did that?! She later tells Henrik's lawyer everything about Martin and Gottfried and what happened to Michael and about the basement in Martin's house. She tells him, he can decide what to tell the authorities if he chooses to contact them, as long as he leaves Lisbeth and Michael out of it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> So Lisbeth and Michael found out that Gottfried killed women for over 2 decades and molested his son. He even taught his son to rape and murder women and tried to do the same to his daughter. If you are like me and tend to empathize with what you read or see, you may be as upset about this as I am. And I don't mean I'm upset about Martin's past, I'm upset about what he did. Lisbet has a great quote in the book: </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"<span style="color: red;"><i>Martin had exactly the same opportunity as anyone else to strike
back. He killed and he raped because he liked doing it</i>.</span>" and "”<span style="color: red;"><i>Bullshit</i>,”<i> Salander said again. “Gottfried isn’t the only
kid who was ever mistreated. That doesn’t give him the right to
murder women. He made that choice himself. And the same is true of
Martin</i></span>.</span>" <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I agree with Lisbeth 100%. If everyone who had a terrible childhood started systematically killing people, I bet there would't be many of us left! I believe that we all make our own decisions.</span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It has little to do with your parents or your upbringing</span>. In the end, once you start thinking for yourself, it's all up to you to decide whether you want to do some things or not. Harriet was brought to believe that raping and killing women was the right</span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">thing to do. But she chose to disregard that way of living and choose a different belief for herself. I personally don't feel sorry for people who blame their parent's or upbringing or life style for their sad way of excistance. This may seem cold and heartless, but I don't see why I should feel sorry for someone who for.ex cries about being fat because their parents are fat. Even if your parent's are obese, that doesn't mean you have to be obese too. Martin chose to accept his father's belief (<span style="color: #741b47;"><i>like Lisbeth said, he enjoyed</i></span>) but Harriet didn't.</span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's not that complicated. And If Lisbeth can survive a harsh childhood and even harsher adolescence</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">so can anyone. Lisbeth turned out really well. Besides, when she was a child she revenged the hardships she and her mother went through under her father, by setting him on fire. That's quite a story, for book 2.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Now we know that Harriet is alive. And through her cousin in England, they discover that she smuggled Harriet out of Hedeby after the accident on the bridge. It turned out that it wasn't Harriet looking out the window, it was the cousin. They looked almost identical, so the cousin saved her and gave her her passport. So Harriet fled the country and is now living in Australia. Michael flies there and meets Harriet, and we finally learn why Harriet chose to dissapear. Her father had repeatedly raped and abused her for a long time. Until one day she was strong enough to try to escape him and she accidentally kills him with an oar. He was climbing on her escape boat when she hit him in self-defense. Unfortunately Martin was there to see everything so he began to blackmail and sexually abuse her. But then he was sent away to boarding school and Harriet was left in peace for the longgest time. She told her cousin all about the rapes and abuse and started investigating the other women her father and Martin had murdered. On the festival day Martin coma back and Harriet asked her cousin to smuggle her out of Sweden. And thus she was finally free of her fucked up family. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Michael tells Harriet that Martin is dead and asks her to return to Sweden and to her great-uncle. It's a happy ending and Henrik plans to make her the
CEO of the Vanger Corporation. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As promised Henrik gives Michael evidence against
Wennerström. I can't remember why, but the evidence turns out to be useless. Luckily Lisbeth, being in love with Michael, has
already hacked Wennerström's computer and has discovered all his other crimes that Michael didn't know about.</span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Using Lisbeth's evidence, Michael writes an exposé book which ruins Wennerström and makes Millenium famous. And Lisbeth being Lisbeth steals more than 2.4 billion Euros from Wennerström's secret bank account, making her Ford magazines 11th most richest fictional character.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">All's well ends well. Except for all those women those bastards killed. However Larsson just had to write a second book right? So at the end of this book, Lisbeth goes to Michael's house to give him a present, when she sees him with his fuckbuddy and business partner Erika.
Heartbroken Lisbeth swears off Michael and leaves the country.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I realize that I have done what Larsson did in the second book, praise Lisbeth to heaven and beyond. But she really is an amazing character. It's just too bad Larsson had to turn her into some sort of a superhero in the second book. A tiny girl smacks around big men and she is terribly smart and wise and awesome and this and that. It's a shame the second book turned out to be such a let down. Only the ending was awesome! The book looses a lot of credibility mainly because Larsson had such a boner for Lisbeth that he clearly didn't see that he was making her <span style="color: #666666;">and the story</span> laughable. However that's the second book's problem</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This book however was really good. If you are willing to over look the few major flaws it is an interesting story. I especially liked those parts where Michael and Lisbeth went for the clues and tried to put the pieces together. The characters in the story think and function quite realistically, a big thanks to Larsson for that</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> (<span style="color: #741b47;"><i>Larsson died few years ago</i></span>)</span>. And the outcome really took me by surprise. It was really insightful to make the crime (Harriet's murder) look like it happened just that one time, when in reality there was a chain of crimes. Larsson's writing style was unique and he clearly knew how to write realistically and how to make Lisbeth (<span style="color: #741b47;"><i>only Lisbeth</i></span>) so genuine. Well the other characters are genuine too, but too bad Larsson didn't spend as much time perfecting their characteristics because they could have been as awesome as Lisbeth (<span style="color: #741b47;"><i>well almost as awesome</i></span>). Now they are outstaged by her. I'm not a professional critic, but to me it shows real talent when a writer can make all, or at least most, of their characters as interesting as the main characters. It's like an urban legend that a writer only needs a Sherlock Holmes and a Moriarty, but I believe the 21st century literature needs more than 2 interesting characters per story. Millenium trilogy is a Lisbeth show<span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="color: #666666;"> so thank goodness Lisbeth is strong enough to hold the trilogy on her own. </span></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHzViZmxzrPzzCqH4jeg7ryLxjuV8U7-I6Nj5CFv4liGhkUh8f4FtUBnQJ3vw1IEygFhpC15BI_ajIig2a5Aa1DVo875iIprLFiV2P8yGe9Mqwl1b-jaBevGMK4zL9UO4OKj5JkVelOC02/s1600/man-som-hatar-kvinnornoomi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="342" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHzViZmxzrPzzCqH4jeg7ryLxjuV8U7-I6Nj5CFv4liGhkUh8f4FtUBnQJ3vw1IEygFhpC15BI_ajIig2a5Aa1DVo875iIprLFiV2P8yGe9Mqwl1b-jaBevGMK4zL9UO4OKj5JkVelOC02/s400/man-som-hatar-kvinnornoomi.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="color: #666666;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="color: #666666;"> Now that you have read the book, go watch the movie (<span style="color: #741b47;"><i>the Swedish one, duh!</i></span>).</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="color: #666666;">Hope you found this review interesting. Stay tuned for October's artist review.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="color: #666666;">Cheers!</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="color: #666666;"><br /></span></span></span>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="color: #666666;">A.P</span></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmz9Mdx4nEV4_U6dE7AABtnvWU9HNebY4KRwnXFXVMk9lUylQnpiOMlgMsMrKvr63y-n8OiDaVxeFvQoLjX4-G9lk-dPYZ158b3Ajm1IHVnKw3G6DvP6B1f0UOCNdCoheFqff2iipvQTl4/s1600/man-som-hatar-kvinnor-affisch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmz9Mdx4nEV4_U6dE7AABtnvWU9HNebY4KRwnXFXVMk9lUylQnpiOMlgMsMrKvr63y-n8OiDaVxeFvQoLjX4-G9lk-dPYZ158b3Ajm1IHVnKw3G6DvP6B1f0UOCNdCoheFqff2iipvQTl4/s640/man-som-hatar-kvinnor-affisch.jpg" width="448" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="color: #666666;"><br /></span></span></span>Anarchy Pantyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274535103226645106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4454851646577708620.post-60774932255735269642012-09-30T13:06:00.000-07:002012-09-30T13:06:49.740-07:00Artist of the Month: Henri Rousseau.<div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Hi guise! </span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">September
is over already? I have been so busy that I didn't even notice.
</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Something quite
embarrassing happened to me on friday (28<sup>th</sup>). I'm a
part-time waitress and on friday I had my very first French couple.
What made the situation embarrassing for me was that I could remember how take
their order in french, even though I
have been studying french for 3 weeks!!! Q_Q of course the couple didn't know this,
but I was just so frustrated and embarrassed that I didn't know how
to ask what they'd like to drink/eat in french. And we had just done restaurant conversation in class on the day before! *sigh*
Naturally when I went to bed that night I suddenly said to myself:
<i>Qu'est ce que vous voulez prenez</i>? Even though it means '<i>what
would you like to have?</i>' I think it would have sufficed. But
yeah, the situation was all over already.</span></span></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0MtO4IerFVjOXZuCtplZ7nM-sewC_X2YEbagnI2_BIzWBtARr2vf7Vs0O-wY9akuxszUqcO9X-SIHoyECTbttTweBTHDMY6kXhhR0v_45awk45I0BXgrpz3U6rUXNTf0J1XDhPfi6TagO/s1600/henrirousThe_Equatorial_Jungle1909.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0MtO4IerFVjOXZuCtplZ7nM-sewC_X2YEbagnI2_BIzWBtARr2vf7Vs0O-wY9akuxszUqcO9X-SIHoyECTbttTweBTHDMY6kXhhR0v_45awk45I0BXgrpz3U6rUXNTf0J1XDhPfi6TagO/s400/henrirousThe_Equatorial_Jungle1909.JPG" width="367" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Equatorial Jungle 1909.</td></tr>
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<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This month's artist
is Henri Rousseau, a French fine artist who is the established father
of Naïvism. Soft yet vivid colours, exaggerated flora,
highlighted backgrounds are classic Rousseau.
Naturally Rousseau didn't know this at the time, but he had began to establish the characteristics for naïve art Sadly Rousseau wasn't appreciated in his own time, people didn't regard his paintings as
art. Just like with other really appreciated artists, Rousseau's
genious wasn't discovered until years and years after his death. And
now we are left to analyze what naïve art is about, what Rousseau
was about.</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #666666;">Naïvism is a
movement that is devoted to <span style="font-size: small;">simple childlike images in
subject matter and technique. </span><span style="font-size: small;">In
the past naïve art was hardly considered as art because it was
practised by non-professional artists or children. However Henri
Rousseau showed that people who practiced Naïvism had their own
expressive vision. Rousseau was born in May 21</span><sup><span style="font-size: small;">st</span></sup></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #666666;">
1844 in Laval France. Unlike
many other Fine Artists Rousseau was completely self-taught. Rousseau
admitted that he had received some advice from Academic painters, but
other than that he had no education in art. Rousseau attentend the
Laval High School as a day student, but he switched to a boarding
school after he and his family had to leave Laval upon the seizure of
their house. As a student Rousseau was mediocre, but he did rather
well in drawing and music and won many prizes. After high school, in
the early 1860's, Rousseau began to study law and worked for a
lawyer, but later he "attempted a small perjury" and moved to
serve in the army for four years. After his father died Rousseau
along his mother moved to Paris in 1868. To support his mother
Rousseau became a customs officer. He was married twice, and with his
first wife had six children (only one survived). In 1871, he was
appointed as a tax collector on goods entering Paris. It took
Rousseau almost fourty years to start painting seriously and it took
nine years more until he could retire from his day job and become a
full time artist. What I find encouraging is that Rousseau wasn't one
of those artists who got famous really young. Rousseau had a family
to support and unfortunately art wasn't going to bring in the dough.
So he did what was logical and got a job. </span></span></span></span>
</div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAcyXCTWdNamUF-OfIt7XNG48LlDNRk5nwFITnaSislaR9FVO9ioATXSyv3lgVk405wao6bJdFs9Vs9ul0FMz3Nmt5oDxNPrxb8UjS1csn8ZkoJGa1hNPbGH1Mp3YF-fNIkrbSGluj6axG/s1600/HenriRousseau-selfportrait1890.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAcyXCTWdNamUF-OfIt7XNG48LlDNRk5nwFITnaSislaR9FVO9ioATXSyv3lgVk405wao6bJdFs9Vs9ul0FMz3Nmt5oDxNPrxb8UjS1csn8ZkoJGa1hNPbGH1Mp3YF-fNIkrbSGluj6axG/s400/HenriRousseau-selfportrait1890.jpg" width="287" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Self-portrait 1890</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-size: small;">When
Rousseau gradually began to paint he first painted portraits of
people, cityscapes and everyday tasks and activities. Rousseau's
paintings of Paris are especially interesting. From 1886 Rousseau
began to show his work in the </span>Salon
des Indépendants<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="text-decoration: none;">
regularly.</span></span><span style="font-size: small;"> He
enjoyed some success and his paintings were noticed and commented on,
but the public wasn't really into his portraits and landscapes. Being
able to exhibit his work in the Salon, Rousseau started to
familiarize himself with the works of innovative artists. He came to
know the museums in Paris and visited exhibitions. He read many books
about the artworks of all eras and familiarized himself with
how-to-paint manuals. Through photographic reproduction he got to
study various landscapes and locations. While another review said
that Rousseau's city- and landscapes are rather restricted and lack
scale, I find them very charming. They may not be as detailed as his
jungle paintings, but they look decorative. I personally think that
people shouldn't dismiss them because they look childish, but see the
elaboration Rousseau expresses. The technique is the same and the colours are very similar between the jungle
paintings and the city paintings, the only distinction is the colour
white that Rousseau used a lot in his city- and landscape
paintings. Rousseau's "<span style="color: #45818e;">Self-portrait</span>" from 1890 looks fantastic. It has
that authenticity and wonder every artist aspires for. It is a given
that the painting looks very monotone, but if you study it closely
you'll see that Rousseau's knowledge of dimension and proportions are
in tact. If you remove the giant Rousseau from the scene the
proportions seem to look alright. </span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">In his city-and landscape paintings Rousseau showed
that his independent studying paned out. </span>Although he
neglected a few rules concerning shadows and debth, but other than
that we can see that Rousseau knew how to paint 'right'. It just
wasn't his style. I just have to respect him for not getting in
involved with all the academics and did what he
wanted to do. In this painting, the dimenssion would look alright if Rousseau hadn't distorted it by adding a character that
changed the whole look. It's Rousseau himself that changes the look of the painting. </span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">In '<span style="color: #c27ba0;">The Flamingoes</span>'
it's the giant flowers that change the scene. </span>Even though the whole image should now be perversely wrong both of these paintings are 'saved' by Rousseau's genuine painting style. However, the change doesn't happen
automatically because the characters literally amalgamate into the
scene so it doesn't seem odd that there are giant people or
giant flowers in the scene. In fact the giant Rousseau and the flowers seem to be quite
at home in the scenes. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span>
</span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-size: small;">Naïvism is uniquely different from any other artistic concept, yet it
demonstrates similar arrangement as inspirational and coherent as any
other art genre. This
is one of the reasons I like naïvism so much, it's so versatile. You see, naïvism usually looks like it didn't take a genious to make such 'a simple' image, but in truth naïve art requires a lot arranging and insipration
before it can be executed. Not to mention achieving the right look and mood can be tricky. Naïve art takes insipration from the real world, but fantasy and the artist's
imagination are also important factors. </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-size: small;">Hence one could say that subject is the most influential
factor in Naïvism. </span></span></span>Rousseau had
never been to a jungle or a desert in his life, yet he made such
vivid and accurate paintings of them (within Naïvism terms of course)
. Rousseau's jungles came from illustrated books, the Zoo and the
botanical gardens in Paris. He would spend hours sketching the
animals or the plants. He met soldiers who had survived the French
expedition to Mexico and listened to their stories about the
subtropical country they'd exprerienced. (</span><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>who
said you personally had to be there to understand its beauty ^_^
Although, I'd like to go there anyway</i></span></span><span style="font-size: small;">).
''Use your imagination'' could as well belong to naïve artists,
because that's what they (<span style="color: #741b47;"><i>we, am I naïve too...</i></span>) do. </span></span></span>
</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2pOT18uiVFeQXybuaJPLBuAIj8WIfnLtKWXlE1sp3WFd24776ruvnygsg3pRbaxsenQlOpGTrkpS7AdF-SCNqbfzcxAuRXtxcfcMwaeXprurpf4vtmcyRoI9XME00rkF8uSPYICLA6X2R/s1600/HenriRousseauThe_Flamingoes1907.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="444" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2pOT18uiVFeQXybuaJPLBuAIj8WIfnLtKWXlE1sp3WFd24776ruvnygsg3pRbaxsenQlOpGTrkpS7AdF-SCNqbfzcxAuRXtxcfcMwaeXprurpf4vtmcyRoI9XME00rkF8uSPYICLA6X2R/s640/HenriRousseauThe_Flamingoes1907.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Flamingoes 1907.</td></tr>
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<div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-size: small;">The
first condition for the practice of Naïvism is not to wilfully aim
at being naïve. Naïve art cannot be imitated because the results
would be as fake as, for example, a copy of abstract art. Trust me,
if you are sincere with your style, it's really difficult to try to
copy someone else (</span><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>yes
I know that there are artists who specifically copy old master's
works, but that's a whole different genre</i></span></span><span style="font-size: small;">).
The beauty of a true naïve artist is their need to paint, arising
from their soul, not from their skills. It is based on the </span><span style="font-size: small;">necessity
to express the self, a necessity which is much stronger than the
artist's skills of creation. The old cynic in me would say that this
is just an excuse bad artists use to mask their lack of painting
skills, but I create naïve art myself so I understand what painting
from the necessity means. I'd like to quote Mr. </span>Carl
Jung now <span style="font-size: small;"><i>“One
might say that naïve painters have certain pictorial ideas
circulating in their subconscious which quite spontaneously demand to
be given release”</i></span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-style: normal;">.
Jung is certainly right. To Rousseau it wasn't important for his
paintings to look accurate, they were the expression of his needed
for release and necessity to put his vision across. </span></span><span style="font-size: small;">While
some of the paintings were carefully mapped out the vision was still
the most important factor of the painting process. In Rousseau's
paintings we can see the similar accuracy of details on the
background and the foreground. Some naïve artist cherish that
'children's finger paintings' look more than others, but I believe Rousseau
was more into finding a style that lingered somewhere between
child-like and modern (</span><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>make note
that at that time, there were many rising art genres, including
Impressionism. Remember to check my review on <a href="http://pantytalks.blogspot.fi/2012/04/artist-of-month-claude-monet.html" target="_blank">Claude Monet</a></i></span></span><span style="font-size: small;">). </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-size: small;">Many things were happening in the arts at that time, and
yet Rousseau's work managed to shock people. His flat and childish style was
ridiculed by many critics. I can imagine how it must have been like
for him to be so sincere with his work and yet nobody understood it.
Well that's not it, people at the time didn't like Rousseau's
painting's because they weren't accustomed to his look. It's that
irony again that great artists are only appreciated after their
dead. Never the less, some of the observers thougt that even though
Rousseau painted like a child, he showed sophistication and
authenticity with his technique. </span></span></span>While 'interviewing' my BFF he gave me a two syllable description on
Rousseau: 'original genious'. This shocked me a little because I
didn't expect him to give a positive review. As a former rookie
artist himself, I didn't expect him to like naïve art because I was
under the impression that he only valued, like art art, like accurate
art, trees look like trees and people look like people etc. But after
this he went back to being himself and said that Rousseau's work was
a typical counter reaction for the late 1800's narrow-minded
academics. </span></span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzKElGINLyoSouCj1b-dxXPgVTAOzWbAgl5dK__qn870wWy6GTK6_IA32BKRUdSc9kHZZ7hKXgn8DCw-2WjIEW4vWkD3gBRpj1aBAYH74wAJ-LzZmj3gCwKomVSY4FO7ydM_66ClEsd-MR/s1600/henriroutigerinatropicalstormSurprised1981.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="511" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzKElGINLyoSouCj1b-dxXPgVTAOzWbAgl5dK__qn870wWy6GTK6_IA32BKRUdSc9kHZZ7hKXgn8DCw-2WjIEW4vWkD3gBRpj1aBAYH74wAJ-LzZmj3gCwKomVSY4FO7ydM_66ClEsd-MR/s640/henriroutigerinatropicalstormSurprised1981.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tiger in a Tropical Storm (Surpris!) 1981.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-size: small;">In
1891 Rousseau's “<span style="color: #e69138;">Tiger in a tropical storm (Surpris!)</span>” was
exhibited in the Salon des Indépendants and he received his first
serious review. T</span>he young artist <span style="color: #666666;">Félix
Vallotton</span><span style="text-decoration: none;"> </span>wrote:
"<i>His tiger surprising its prey ought not to be missed; it's the
alpha and omega of painting.</i>" What's so charming about this
<span style="font-size: small;">particular
painting is the scene itself. This is one of my favourite's from Rousseau. The
critics didn't like it for it lacked in debth, but I don't see it like that. “<span style="color: #e69138;">Surpris!</span>” may seem monotone, but it expresses
Rousseau's sense of colours really well. Rousseau didn't mean to
paint realistically, what matter was how he envisioned and executed his paintings. The rain in the painting is exeptionally well
made. This painting (and many other Rousseau paintings) was built up
meticulously in layers. He used a large number of green shades to
capture the lush exuberance of the jungle. It's difficult to tell
just by looking at that image, but I think in reality we could be
able to see all those layers (<span style="color: #741b47;"><i>Oil paint can get very thick the more
layers you add</i></span>) The rain in the painting is extraordinary. It took me
a while to figure out how Rousseau acchieved that effect. I knew he
couldn't have swipped a large paint brush across the wet paint,
because that would have damaged the finished layers. I later read
that Rousseau devised his own method for depicting that lashing rain.
He trailed strands of silver paint diagonally across the canvas, a
satin-like technique </span>William-Adolphe
Bouguereau<span style="font-size: small;">
used in his paintings. That is ingenious! Who said you can only use
paint brushes.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-size: small;">While
naïve art is mostly about simple everyday experiences, it remains
uninfluenced by common art traditions. In both the artist comes to
grips with their personal experiences which encourages them to paint
pictures that mirror their memories, desires and vision. However
naïve artist is specifically ignoring such attributes as perspective
and proportions because the impact of the picture as a whole excists
solely in the mind of the artist. Naïve artist's demonstrates instinctive and
sometimes surprising colour choices.</span><span style="font-size: small;">
I, for one, do not like bold colour combinations, like the ones Henri Matisse
and Pablo Picasso used. Some artists detest bright colours because
they find them at odds with the scene they are creating. Some artists
have no problem with colours because they know how to control them
and how to achieve the desired look. And then there are those who
simply enjoy all colours, and see the possibilities they offer. This
is</span><span style="font-size: small;">
precisely the area in which the naïve artist most often displays
his/her inborn talent. </span><span style="font-size: small;">Rousseau's
palette, for example, is a mixture of earthly colours. I discovered that many art
critics seemed to think that the gentle colours were symbolic to dreams. In “<span style="color: #e69138;">Surpris!</span>” we see how the murky-earth tones create
such light yet expressive painting. Whilst in “<span style="color: #c27ba0;">The Flamingoes</span>”
we see a much more sensitive yet playful side of Rousseau's sense of
colours. ”<span style="color: #c27ba0;">The Flamingoes</span>” for example has a totally different
impact on me than “<span style="color: #e69138;">Surpris!</span>”. “<span style="color: #c27ba0;">The Flamingoes</span>” is a sensitive
and happy painting and I especially like the warm pink Rousseau used
on the flowers. The murky pink (almost purple) flamingoes add a nice</span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="background: transparent;">
contrast to the scene</span></span><span style="font-size: small;">.
For some reason the giant flowers don't look out of place at all. The
palm trees and the people on the background make this a realistic
scene and not at all fantasy like. If this painting was ment to be a
dream, to me it doesn't seem so at all. To me it looks like this
place could excists in reality. </span></span></span>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsJxXqRNIVZlnYuN2E5Z9sIG8WGd2KtHMEYneXlhGWJiWlJoYsgPTFn5hqTeC6-9O5PJVw7RSXLorB0VqSRgvtwVvsVSiONV16uOPk29Is57TEoxpsMrUAykRmOKsFI1yKWYySVCZFH3wJ/s1600/Henrirousseauthesleepinggypsy1897.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="409" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsJxXqRNIVZlnYuN2E5Z9sIG8WGd2KtHMEYneXlhGWJiWlJoYsgPTFn5hqTeC6-9O5PJVw7RSXLorB0VqSRgvtwVvsVSiONV16uOPk29Is57TEoxpsMrUAykRmOKsFI1yKWYySVCZFH3wJ/s640/Henrirousseauthesleepinggypsy1897.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Sleeping Gypsy 1897.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-size: small;">It
is said that in the world the naïve artist lives in bears the stamp of
narrative authenticity. Hence we could assume that Rousseau's paintings are fantasies of
his. His jungle paintings especially express great sense of
storyline. The story isn't complicated nor scandalous, but rather
descriptions of what goes on in the jungle. “<span style="color: #e69138;">Surpris!</span>” expresses
both movement and story because in the tiger's eyes we can see the
surprise and rage. The original story is that the tiger is about to
pounce on its prey. But to me it looks like the flashing lightning
scared the tiger, by revealing its hiding place. "<span style="color: #0b5394;">The Equatorial Jungle</span>" to me looks like it was made by Tove Jansson. Those animals looks so much like some of the characters in the Moomins, and I swear that that painting would make a perfect Moomin story! It looks so mysterious yet darling. Not at all threatening even though it's a jungle, and jungles are supposed to be scary because all kinds of ferocious animals live there. But those two don't look ferocious to me, just mysterious. Perhaps this jungle was ment to be a dream too. The soft colours surely suggest it. I indeed think that the whole Tove-Jansson-look gives this painting a dream-like atmosphere, and which I, by the way, don't get from Rousseau's other paintings. Even if Rousseau
ment to tell a specific story with this painting or with "<span style="color: #e69138;">Surpris!</span>", he was kind enough to leave room for interpretations. “<span style="color: #351c75;">The Sleeping
Gypsy</span>” is a different story too. It gives me a totally different feeling than the other paintings. To me it seems like a gypsy has fallen asleep and
he/she dreams about a lion coming to investigate him/her.
OR my other interpretation is that the gypsy is a sleep and a lion
has come to see what the gypsy is doing. It sounds much cuter ^_^ The dark colours were a surprising choice, since so far Rousseau had only used soft earthly colours. Yet these soft yet really dark colours seem to fit into Rousseau's style. I'm not sure if this was just an experiment, but this happens to be one of Rousseau's most famous paintings. It seems to combine that dream like state and what Naïvism is. In Naïvism the images are narratives of sort, which then carry the
viewer away. If I remember right, one of the books I read listed
which Rousseau paintings were dreams or imaginary. But I think it's
much more fun to leave it up to the viewer to
decide whether any of Rousseau's paintings are dreams. </span></span></span>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #666666;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="line-height: 150%; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-size: small;">As
I said before, naïve art cannot be copied for it comes from within.
Rousseau demonstrated this in choice of colours and subject.
To me Rousseau's landscapes seem like they are the dreams and the jungles
are real. And perhaps this is because his inspiration came from stories he heard from the soldiers. Naïve artists live in their dream lands and conjure images by
their own fancy. The paintings created after those images, illustrate the lives and experiences
of the person who painted them, as all naïve art does. </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-size: small;">I hope you enjoyed my review on Henri Rousseau. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-size: small;">Thank you for reading and see you later!</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-size: small;">Cheers!</span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-size: small;">A.P </span></span></span>
</div>
Anarchy Pantyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274535103226645106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4454851646577708620.post-53139896697457645522012-09-10T04:03:00.000-07:002012-09-11T13:46:52.522-07:00Autumn book club: The Taker.<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Hi guise!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's time for Autumn book club! September edition xP</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghzxuZmFmyKyetR5Bf_IYMPFDU2wWEJkd1-tv5cn_qegBgznzwsqme0xLo19iZ8PrE7BH0fA-vzKVJD6CSN10kZW9JDs4CWQe4pQ2qi8-ZU_SRR81Ox8aOxQXw53TlubBVfoXzRt4mQgm-/s1600/the-taker-by-alma-katsu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghzxuZmFmyKyetR5Bf_IYMPFDU2wWEJkd1-tv5cn_qegBgznzwsqme0xLo19iZ8PrE7BH0fA-vzKVJD6CSN10kZW9JDs4CWQe4pQ2qi8-ZU_SRR81Ox8aOxQXw53TlubBVfoXzRt4mQgm-/s320/the-taker-by-alma-katsu.jpg" width="208" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">*Shiver*</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">*Shudder*</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And that's just the beginning of this book...I'm gonna do my best to ruin yet another book for you >=) Ganbatteimasu!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I must stress out that IF you LIKED/LOVED this book, avert thy eyes because I'm going to diss this book so bad. <b>You have been warned</b>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Okay so the story is set in Maine US and first we meet Luke, a doctor who works in a hospital in St. Andrew (<i style="color: #741b47;">not a real place I hear</i>). Luke is divorce, his daughters live with their mother and he is pretty much tired of his boring life. Until a mysterious blonde is brought to his reception late at night. The local sheriff found her wandering in the snow (it's mid winter), blood stains in her clothes. She told him that she killed a man fer hours ago. The sheriff brought her to Luke to check up on her over all well being. Lanore (<i><span style="color: #741b47;">I can't decide whether this is a really really stupid name for a female protagonist or not. Almost as 'I-wanna-puke' bad as Anastasia, or Isabella or Elizabeth! None of these names are good for a protagonist, too cliché. Ahem I almost became Isabella myself O_o</span></i>) is in deep trouble, yes she killed a man, but the man asked her the kill him. He was her only true love. Her one true love, her everything, the apple in her apple pie, the mascara in her makeup kit, the stuffing in her plush toy, the...believe me, the rest of the book pretty much goes like this: Lanore describing her undying love for her one true love Jonathan. It gets really anesthetic belive me --_-- </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So Lanore asks Luke to spring her free and once he sees that the man she claims to be Jonathan, is the same man at the morgue, he helps her escape. The rest of the book Lanore explains her undying love for Jonathan and how she came to be immortal. Oh I'm sorry, did I leave that part out. Yeah Lanore cuts herself to show Luke that she is indeed unkillable. She has been alive for over 200 years. And thus she starts to explain how she came to be (<i><span style="color: #741b47;">they are driving to Canada whilst she tells her story</span></i>).</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Perhaps at this point I should explain why I ever decided to read this book. You see I had read reviews, and one review said '<i>Adair is the 21st century Lestat</i>'. Come on, of course I have read Anne Rice's vampire books and of course I once had a huge crush on Lestat. So naturally I became interested, I wanted to know who this Adair, who dares to challenge Lestat, was. Plus the other reviews raved about Adair's eternal passion for this girl and the way he was obsessed with her. This sounded very romantic to me, I'm a lil soft for dark romance. However, these reviews were for the second book '<i>The Reckoning</i>' hence I decided to read '<i>The Taker</i>' first so I'll know what's going on in '<i>The Reckoning</i>'. I thought this would be like a horror romance story. Oh how wrong was I.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Back to action! Lanore was born in Saint Andrew in the early 1800s and she is obsessed with the town's playboy Jonathan. Her and her family are simple farmers whilst Jonathan is the village's "leader's" son. Of course every girl and woman in town lusts after Jonathan, and Katsu pretty much spends the rest of the 400 or 500 pages explaining how desirable and utterly beautiful and sensitive and splendid and heartbreaking and breathtaking etc etc Jonathan is. Seriously, could this woman squees more figurative expressions in to her book?! Even after 150 nothing's happened in the story. "<i><span style="color: #741b47;">His eyes were like the colour of honey, honey that decorated that sweet cake we had last night which reminded me of those sweet moments in the church when I could gaze upon his honey coloured eyes and his eyes reminded me of warm sunny weather when the sun made my hair shine in pure gold and that gold reminded me of that honey cake we shared which was like the colour of his eyes..</span></i><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="color: #666666;">" Seriously, once Lanore begans her story, this is how the dialogue goes. Oh yuck what dialogue! And to be clear, that quote is not from the book, but you get my point. Katsu's dialogue is very awkward and very very figurative. I bet every poet (and every ahem smart reader) would shutter at her inept dialogue. Of course Lanore is deeply in love with Jonathan, but he couldn't care shit about her. He likes her, but he will never love her or even acknowledge her love (<i><span style="color: #741b47;">in short he is an insensitive dick and Lanore is plain stupid</span></i>). She can never give up on her love for him, even after he chooses another girl to 'date'</span></span>. Sophia is married, and when she tells Jonathan that he has gotten her pregnant he asks for Lanore's advice. She goes to talk to Sophia and apparently convinces her to kill herself. It's under debate whether what Lanore said to Sophia made her kill herself. Lanore merely said that Sophia is a fool if she thinks that Jonathan will acknowledge their child + his family will never accept Sophia because she is from a poor family. Lanore tells Sophia to tell her husband that the child is his, but Sophia chooses otherwise because she too is immensely in love with Jonathan. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lanore is left to think what she did, but at Sophia's burial, Jonathan and Lanore meet and he taps her. Lanore never tells Jonathan that she went to speak to Sophia before she was found dead. Even though Jonathan is devastated by the loss of his love, he starts sleeping with Lanore on regular basis. By now 250-300 pages have gone by, I think. Katsu spends a lot of time creating an image of Lanore as dutiful young girl, but underneath she has a dark side too that only feeds her lust for Jonathan. It has been a while since I've seen such a selfish yet stupid female character. She is just utterly obsessed with her sweet eyed Jonathan <i style="color: #741b47;">who played with her when they were children on their backyard that now reminded her of his wild side that seemed to grow like the wild flowers they planted together that now were only a memory of their sweet childhood together, and that childhood reminded her of his sweet eyes that sparkled on that particular spring day like the sunflowers they went...</i><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="color: #666666;">but she also longs for adventure and knowledge. She isn't particularly adventurous, since her only wish is to settle down with Jonathan. However her wilder side is brought to life when the story finally progresses. Surprise, she learns that she is pregnant for Jonathan's baby. However he is now engaged to another girl, and he is ready to get married to the girl (<i style="color: #741b47;">what a standup </i></span></span></span><span dir="auto" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i style="color: #741b47;">garçon!</i>).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="color: #666666;">Lanore then suggests that she gets rid of the fetus, but her father won't allow it. So he decides to send her to a convent near Boston. Thank God Katsu doesn't spend too much time telling about Lanore's journey to Boston. Lanore is very sad and devastated to leave her family and Jonathan and off she goes. We arrive in Bostan rather quickly taken how Katsu wrote around 200 pages of Lanore's obsession with pretty Jonathan. Once in Boston Lanore decides to escape. She accidentally meets three people who are going to a party. She is taken to a grand mansion, and given some wine. There is a big party going on (a party of the 1800's), but soon she blackouts. She wakes up briefly only to notice that she's being raped in front of a grand audience. She spots a well dressed, evil looking guy watching her and then she blackouts again. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="color: #666666;">Needless to say that that evil looking dude was Adair, the guy who I thought was the male protagonist of this story --_-- *sigh* Katsu isn't that good at coming up interesting male characters.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To make long story short, Lanore gets terribly ill, Adair (<i style="color: #741b47;">seriously, I just wanna call him Aidar</i><i style="color: #741b47;">. I'm not even sure if 'Adair', was a real boy name in Hungary...hhmm.. in the 1400s? If not then this is another problem with contemporary writers, they have the hots for complicated names --_--</i>) refuses to call for a doctor, and just before she is like about to die, he gives her magic potion which turns her immortal. When she wakes up again, Lanore is devastated to hear about the loss her baby. At this point, even I felt a bit bad for Lanore (oh BTW they call her Lanny), I mean her true love couldn't give a shit about her, she was pregnant with his child, her only 'memento' of him, she had to escaped in order to keep her child, but then she ran in to some really bad people and now, she is forever binded to this...well...bad man. A lot of things happened to Lanore in a short amount of time. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Anyways, Lanore is coming in to terms with the fact that she can never leave Adair. Adair then proceeds to teach her everything about life. She is rather eager and reseptive and I can't decide if I like it that Lanore, the dutiful girl, is suddenly really into all kinds of nasty/naughty sex stuff. I mean, if I was Lanore, I would:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. Bust a cap in Adair's ass for having me raped in his party.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. Bust a screwdriver in Adair's ass (<i style="color: #741b47;">so the cap will go even deeper</i>) for literally tying me to him for all eternity (they actually can leave him, it's just that he won't let them).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">and 3. burn that place down and probably go insane. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Seriously I would be very upset if I got involved with Adair and his posse and rape parties.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But Lanore doesn't see it that way. She has a hot guy who is filthy rich, so he is capable of taking care of her and he is showing her a world she never even dreamed of. I understand that this is very glamorous and opens a lot of doors, I just don't understand why she would want to have anything to do with a man who just arranged her rape and is the reason she lost her baby. What the fuck are you doing girl?!</span>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Suprisingly Katsu decided to avert Lanore's sex adventures by quickly dismissing them with phrases like '<i>seeing him in the morning reminded me of the wild night we spend together</i>' or '<i> I ran into her in the hallway, and it immediately brought back memories of what she and I did together last night, in front of him</i>'. So...you guys did what? I know you guys had wild sex, but c'mon, this is just a cheap trick to avoid the book being labaled as '<i>pornography</i>'. I mean, if you are going to write about a girl who is sexually awaken and brought to this world of orgies and girl-on-girl sex then at least write about it accordingly --__-- Personally I think it's so cheep when a writer makes sex an important part of the story yet he or she is clearly incompetent or lazy to actually write about it. It's as if Katsu is saying '<i>Use your imagination</i>'. That's a cheap shot madame, really cheap. You are the writer, make the effort! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I probably would have enjoyed this book when I was 16....but now all I can say is, dämn you university! My simple mind was ruined by your assignments that required a lot of thinking and analyzing! I'm clearly not the target audience for this book because what came next, well, I could say it made me wanna hurl just for the fun of it, but then I'd be cheap for saying such simple phrase. Okay so this is a story of Lanore telling Luke her story, so it's a story within a story. However of course we have to hear Adair's story as well. So now it's a story within a story within a story. *sigh* So we spend the next 100 pages reading about Adair's origin. His story would have been interesting IF Katsu's writing style wasn't so...so simple and dragging. In the end we learn that Adair was a gypsy who became emplyed by an evil sorcerer and he spend, what good 5 years living in his shack, serving him and doing his biding. Until one day he had had enough so he made a deal with a local priest who arranged an uprising in the village and the villagers killed the old sorcerer. Adair inherited the sorcerer's money and land and eventually became a count (<i style="color: #741b47;">if I remember correctly</i>). And that's Adair's story, except Katsu tells it within 100 pages or more just to show us that Adair is a victim himself and the reason he is such a douche is because was abused severely in the past.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There is one positive thing I can say about this book though. Lanore never falls for Adair. I was so sure that sooner or later she'd be hopelessly in love with him. But nope. She kinda likes him and appreciated everything he has given her and taught her, but her heart cannot be changed. It belongs to Jonathan. Even though it's so boring to read about Jonathan and Lanore's constant gushing about her '<i>bottomless grief</i>' and '<i>eternal love and obsession</i>' for Jonathan, I couldn't be happier that she didn't go with Adair in the end. Personally I think she could never really put her finger on Adair and whether she liked him or respected him or cared for him. I think their relationship is in the grey area where neither one can tell what their relationship is really about. Adair keeps telling her how he is obsessed with her and that she is the only one who understands him (<i style="color: #741b47;">because she is as evil as he, apparently</i>) and he will never let her leave his side. Even if Adair constantly says this stuff, Katsu doesn't convey it realistically enough for the reader to really buy it. In my ears everything Adair says is just empty words or whitenoise. But thanks Katsu for not making Lanore fall for Adair.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lanore actually tries to escape one time, but she gets caught. Adair takes her and his posse to the mansion's cellar, straps her in this weird harnest and abuses her. "<i>I'm not gonna tell you how Adair abused me. Let me have my privacy</i>" says Lanore to the reader. <i style="color: #741b47;">*sigh* </i><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="color: #666666;">You see what I mean, Katsu is so cheesy. I get that not meany people would be interested to read how Adair punished Lanore because: 1. some people are just sensitive and 2. that'd express too much character development. Afterwards Adair's posse comforts Lanore, they all have been through the same punishment and now can never leave Adair. Speaking of his posse, there is Alejandro, who recriminated his little sister for practicing witchcraft (a total lie) so that the inquisition in Spain would set him free instead. Then there is Italian hmm Dona was his name? who modeled for a famous Italian painter and had him arrested for pedophilia. There is Tilde a Scandinavian woman who killed her husband and children because she liked this other dude much better. And lastly Uzra, a concubine and the first member in Adair's posse. Plus there are a few minor minions in the mix. Adair likes to think all the members of his posse are as evil as he is, including Lanore. He is certain that the two of them belong together because they are the same. He doesn't trust anyone in his posse, but keeps them at arm's lenght (or closer) to control them, and to enjoy their lovely company.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="color: #666666;">By now the story has gone surprisingly long without Lanore talking about Jonathan. Until Adair gets too curious and sends her to get him. I forgot a few details, but before Lanore leaves to fetch Jonathan for Adair, she takes the immortality potion with her. It's a tiny vial, but she finds it amoung the torture stuff Adair keeps in the basement. So she takes the vile and goes back to St. Andrew, bearing gifts to her family and Jonathan. Of course everyone is amazed by how well Lanore is doing, except Jonathan. Jonathan, now head of the family, is unhappy in his marriage and has taken a mistress on the side. He isn't really warming up to Lanore's suggestions to go to Boston with her to meet the enchanting count who paid for Lanore's trip. He has one obligation too many and he somewhat cares for his wife and daughter. I was immensely glad that we didn't get to read too much about Jonathan's internal turmoil before he got shot. It was leathal so Lanore managed to turn him into an immortal (when he was out cold) and kidnap him. I was sure that Katsu would write another 100 page of Lanore's dilemma with this mature Jonathan (she has been gone for 2-3 years). On their way back to Boston Jonathan wakes up and is mortified by what Lanore has done to him. Basically Jonathan is now tied to Lanore. Nothing can ever cause him physical pain, only if Lanore chooses to hurt him (like Adair hurt Lanore).</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="color: #666666;">In Boston Adair makes Jonathan his new favourite. They go to party every night and Adair introduces Jonathan to the other socialites as his cousin. Mean while Lanore is very skeptical about Adair's plans for Jonathan. She doesn't understand why he is so taken with him, no matter how pretty he is. At first she was afraid that Adair would take Jonathan away from her by binding Jonathan to him. But Lanore averted that by binding Jonathan to her first. Naturally Adair was furious, but Jonathan's passive charm charmed Adair so he pretty much forgot all about Lanore. During these events Jonathan is exceptionally passive. He does what Adair tells him to do and the best part, he doesn't talk much. Ahem..Lanore begans to search for the reason Adair is infatuated with Jonathan. In the end it's Uzra, Adair's concubine, who shows Lanore what Adair is about. She has been hiding in a secret spot in the attic and she once discovered Adair's secret spell-magic-library there. Uzra shows it to Lanore and <b>dun-dun-duh </b>she learns that Adair has been studying body shifting, how to transport one's spirit in to a new body. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="color: #666666;">I can hear you sigh. Evidently madame Katsu has been reading Lovecraft...</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="color: #666666;">Lanore tears a few pages from the book and goes to plan how to safe Jonathan. Later Adair discovers that his secret library has been disturbed and so he kills Uzra. He is also about to go on a journey with Jonathan and tells everyone in his posse that when Jonathan comes back, he'll be out of the States, travelling by himself. Now that Lanore has discovered that he wants to posses Jonathan's body, she starts to make arrangements to save sweet sweet Jonathan. She orders a pile of brick for the basement and seduces Adair's..uumm accountant?consultant? so that every single penny Adair has goes to Jonathan. </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="color: #666666;">Adair
has already been transfering assests to Jonathan, so I don't really
remember why Lanore seduced Adair's whatever-that-person was. </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="color: #666666;">She also goes to visit a university professor whom she met in one of Adair's orgies to ask him about the pages she tore out. She learns about a potion that will put a person in forever sleep. In the morning of their trip, Lanore has prepared the potion and goes to see Adair. He is smoking the hookah (he smokes hookah like all the time) so he is not much of a threat at the moment. He tells Lanore not to worry if Jonathan seems a bit odd at first when he comes back. Lanore pours them some wine, secretly mixing the 'sleeping potion' in to the wine. She only pretends to drink whilst watching him drink the whole cup and listening him to admit his eternal love for her. When he starts to doze of, she tells him that she knows that he is the evil sorcerer who abused the gypsy boy almost 500 years ago. He switched bodies with the boy right before the villagers came in so they actually killed the gypsy boy (<i style="color: #741b47;">how very Lovecrafty and couple other stories that have the same plot twist</i><i style="color: #741b47;">. What next, Adair has an evil ring that needs to be destroyed by tossing it in to a volcano?</i>). I have to admit, I did not see that one coming. Taken how crappy this story is, that was nice and unexpected. It would have been even better plot twist, if 10 other writers hadn't used the same plot twist before Katsu. Adair admits that he is the evil sorcerer and complements Lanore one more time and confesses his eternal love for her before he falls asleep. Lanore rushes to Jonathan's room and tells him Adair's story and what he intended to do with Jonathan. Together they carry Adair to the basement and seal him behind a brick wall. I must tell you that before tying Adair, Lanore considers using that torture harnest on Adair, but decides agains it. It would be too cruel. Um, question, how could it be too cruel?! This man killed an innocent young man to attain his body (<i><span style="color: #741b47;">well he didn't literally kill him but he partly caused his death</span></i>), he has most likely killed other people too, plus he arranged your rape, got rid of your baby and literally tortured you. Maybe I'm too cruel because I totally would have used that harnest on Adair. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="color: #666666;">Now Adair is resting in the basement of his mansion, behind a brick wall whilst Jonathan and Lanore leave Boston forever. Lanore's story is almost done and she and Luke have had time to 'get baked' and have sex plus they have made it to Canada. Before they leave to France Lanore tells Luke how she came to kill Jonathan. She and Jonathan spend a few years together, but he was never happy with her. He was miserable, and then she became miserable, but she could never let him go or tell him to go. She loved him too much to let him out of her sight. She said, he'd have to leave her himself because she can't ask him to leave her. And so one day, after 2 or 3 years he finally left her. The next two centuries Lanore travels and apparently steals precious artifacts from various countries until she settles in Paris. Now in the 21st century she has become an appreciated china porcelain/tea set expert. On one day Jonathan contacts her and asks her to meet him in Paris. Jonathan has been travelling too, and he has been treating people in Africa. Jonathan tracked Lanore down by an illustration (or was it a photo?) he saw in a book (Lanore was the model). He wants to go back to St. Andrew and asks Lanore to come with him. They return to St. Anrew and reminisce about the old days. They go into the woods and that's when Jonathan asks Lanore the kill him. He was in love with a woman who worked with him in Africa, but she died and now he can't live without her (<i style="color: #741b47;">in case it's still unclear, Jonathan really didn't give a shit about Lanore</i>). </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="color: #666666;">I'm
not blaming Jonathan for not loving Lanore. I can understand the
situation he was in. You can't force yourself to love or care for
someone. So he never loved Lanore, fair enough. And Lanore being the
typical female protagonist (<i><span style="color: #741b47;">in these type of stories</span></i>) is fucking stupid for thinking that he'd ever love her back. </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="color: #666666;"> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="color: #666666;">Jonathan has low self-esteem, Lanore is stupid and
Adair is a punk and a dick, there you have it, Katsu's
wonderful cast</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="color: #666666;">. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="color: #666666;">Blaah blaah blaah Lanore is sad and she won't do kill him and he is miserable because he lost the love of his life. In the end Lanore takes Jonathan's life by stabbing him with a broken bottle. Remember that he can only die by his maker's hand. And so Lanore finishes her story, she and Luke move to Paris, Luke finds the empty eternal life vial and destroyes it. The End.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="color: #666666;">If you managed to stick with me until the end, it's needless to say that I think that this book really sucked. Hands down, this is one of the worst books I have ever read. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="color: #666666;">At first I thought I'd read The 2dn book, '<i>The Reckoning</i>' because I wanted to know what happens after Adair wakes up and goes to look for Lanore and Jonathan. Buuuuttt...then I read Patricia Mathew's review and decided against it. Link to her review on books 1 and 2 <a href="http://fangfiction.blogspot.fi/2012/05/alma-katsu-taker-trilogy.html">http://fangfiction.blogspot.fi/2012/05/alma-katsu-taker-trilogy.html</a>. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="color: #666666;">I think Katsu's idea for book 2 is interesting, but once again it's ruined by her incompetent writing style. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="color: #666666;">This was my first and last book I read from Alma Katsu. Seriously madame Katsu, Taker's idea is interesting, but it's back to college (or writing course) for you. You seeeeriously need to learn how to construct your story, how to </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="color: #666666;">create interesting characters</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="color: #666666;"> and most importantly, how to </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="color: #666666;">build great dialogue</span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="color: #666666;">. Now off you go!</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="color: #666666;">I hope found my review on '<i>The Taker</i>' interesting. Stay tuned for this month's artist. I'm torn between an Old Master and a Finnish Fine Artist...</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="color: #666666;">Cheers!</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="color: #666666;">AP </span></span></span>Anarchy Pantyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274535103226645106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4454851646577708620.post-69657410447935148922012-08-23T11:50:00.000-07:002012-08-23T11:50:48.367-07:00Artist of the Month: Victoria Francés<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHt4MVqfknATWRVoc3M8fIsd3zYN2wX425rufoGVT0TnYSBDpocF3M3OM7I8nsU-nzpn2yp9irrvDt_yBx0DtGn5-OMJQlql8Gee9RlqUX6wyQEV6_t9faroZwYwXmKjkkZqi3YzJO7__m/s1600/victoria_frances_-huida03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHt4MVqfknATWRVoc3M8fIsd3zYN2wX425rufoGVT0TnYSBDpocF3M3OM7I8nsU-nzpn2yp9irrvDt_yBx0DtGn5-OMJQlql8Gee9RlqUX6wyQEV6_t9faroZwYwXmKjkkZqi3YzJO7__m/s400/victoria_frances_-huida03.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Huida 2003.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Wow, I was checking out my statistics and my Tove Jansson entry has had more readers in two weeks than what Luis Royo had after two weeks of its realease. Evidently Royo arouses interest in all kinds of people, but it seems to me that Tove is soon going to be my new number one =) And no wonder, she was extremely talented.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">August's artist is (once again) coming from Spain. Luis Royo is Spanish and I dare to say, really famous there. However, right behind him comes an artist who, <i><span style="color: #a64d79;">do I dare to say</span></i>, has a big boner for everything gothic-romantic.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b style="color: #660000;">Victoria Francés</b> was born in Valencia, but was practically raised in Galicia (Northwest of Spain). It's said that she spend a lot of time in the forests of Galicia and in one of her interviews Francés says that she still keeps drawing inspiration from Galicia's woods. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Not much is said about her art education, exept that she studied at the Polytechnic University of Valencia majoring in Fine Art. Apparently there was a department or other branch of the University called The Faculty of Fine Arts of San Carlos (Facultad de Bellas Artes de San Carlos) where Francés worked as an illustrator. It's rather impressive that she got a real job that had something to do with her degree, most art students get to wait on tables or serve drinks in a bar. (<i style="color: #a64d79;">me? I'm still waiting tables to safe money for makeup school..</i><i><span style="color: #a64d79;">Although I do have 2 art shows under my belt</span></i>). </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But Francés was lucky, she got to design book covers and work on commission pieces. It's </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">really impressive if an art student can make money on her/his art. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One could say that San Carlos gave her a little push to really start her career. Her first illustrated book <i style="color: #660000;">Favole</i></span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">was published in 2003. The book consists of illustrations inspired by Verona, Venice and Genova.<span style="color: #990000;"> Favole</span> enjoyed moderate success (<i style="color: #a64d79;">which I think is good from a young and upcoming artist</i>)</span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">in Spain and in other countries where it was published. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Even if you aren't familiar with Francés' work, this books literally tells everything Francés is all about: romance, gothic and victorian clothes (<i style="color: #a64d79;">and vampires</i>). And I do not mean 'gothic' as people dressed in all black and wear heavy black eyeliner, I mean gothic as in art history gothic.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Francés has said that she is immensely inspired by the Pre-Raphaelite paintings. Well duh, that is a given. However as much as Francés is trying to achieve that Pre-Raphaelite look I think her style is more stylised compared to the Pre-Raphs. As much as I like her work and really admire her style, I still think that that gothic-big-dresses-grave-yard-girls-castles is rather kitsch.</span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To be perfectly honest, I think her work is really-really kitsch. I can understand that she is inspired by the gothic era and the Pre-Raphaelite group, but I personally think that artist's job is not to copy others, but to make their own stuff. It's clear that Francés adores this stuff since she dresses the part <i><span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="color: #444444;">(</span>I hope it's not a publicity stunt</span></i>)<span style="color: #666666;"><span style="color: black;"> <span style="color: #666666;">and it's ok that she is doing what she loves. I just wish that she'd try to do something different than gothic girls at grave yards because she could adapt her style in to so many subjects! But just because I'm saying her art is kitsch doesn't change the fact that she is a very talented artist. I had a mini poster of one of her illustrations plus I buy her calendar every other year because I think her illustrations are stunning.</span></span> </span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC4hMjcBD7LZnMlMwn7JyzlZqtSNr1gjUY7RYgTSpy9-s0Z3UWmlctnsOtH-tyYzpbTHqwebLiaqhOQTUAtr0kEhNVL1Nj195eWMqARSjQqguMv5jrCNxRzcMPEIRN-7eTMsTCqbT1OEaf/s1600/victoriafrancesliberame04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC4hMjcBD7LZnMlMwn7JyzlZqtSNr1gjUY7RYgTSpy9-s0Z3UWmlctnsOtH-tyYzpbTHqwebLiaqhOQTUAtr0kEhNVL1Nj195eWMqARSjQqguMv5jrCNxRzcMPEIRN-7eTMsTCqbT1OEaf/s640/victoriafrancesliberame04.jpg" width="448" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Libera me 2004</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000;">Favole</span> was followed by <span style="color: #990000;">Favole II</span> which showed Francés interested in Venice and particularly in masquerades. It's a kind of mixture of Venice and central Europe featuring witch girls and vampires. I say central Europe because the landscapes remind me of Germany. The castles reminded me of England at first, but then I starting thinking that if Francés was telling stories with her illustrations, they'd probably be better situated in Germany rather than in England or Scotland.</span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000;">Favole II</span> was published in 2004 and Francés made her first public appearance at the 22dn International Comic Fair in Barcelona. I read that she wore the similar gothic clothes to the fair as her characters wear in her illustrations. It seems that she prefers gothic/gothic lolita clothing. I read that Francés was very shy when she went to the fair, but to her delight there were many people to meet and greed her. She became a star of the book signing session and she even drew small illustrations for her fans. Not to mention she turned out to be a natural in answering questions and posing for photos. And there, at the fair, she got to fulfil a dream of hers, she met Luis Royo, her favourite illustrator. Francés has named Royo as one her idols and trendsetters.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #990000;">Favole II</span> was followed by <span style="color: #990000;">Favole III</span> in 2005 followed by an opportunity to travel to the States for Comic Con in San Diego. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi47yK7WNNWd4o-LPpJ5kjV4RvDj5N7cBhPd_pyta5-QsAoLGWWRuPjPD9WPg0c7Tw3gRHzkA4ogLFKHOjWc-I_3XOKVmLCzV0327iF_BTLrew3uHadS16-pwZ9k0VXeV_drwvrvYpHXq6C/s1600/victoria_franceselhadadeVenecia04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi47yK7WNNWd4o-LPpJ5kjV4RvDj5N7cBhPd_pyta5-QsAoLGWWRuPjPD9WPg0c7Tw3gRHzkA4ogLFKHOjWc-I_3XOKVmLCzV0327iF_BTLrew3uHadS16-pwZ9k0VXeV_drwvrvYpHXq6C/s640/victoria_franceselhadadeVenecia04.jpg" width="403" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">El hada de Venecia 2004</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With <span style="color: magenta;">Heart of Arlene</span> (El Corazón de Arlene 2005) Francés decided to step a way from her usual gothic-romantic theme and play with the idea of gender and dolls and social reality. The <span style="color: magenta;">Heart of Arlene</span> is a mixture of contemporary Francés and classic Francés. She delights us with new themes such as Arlene herself, and treats the die-hard fans with a couple of classic illustrations, some of which have been sexed up. I personally really like Francés' angle on <i><span style="color: orange;">Hada transgénero - El nacimiento de Venus</span></i> (2006) of a butterfly girl wearing a seethrough dress. Because I happen to like sexy art, I think this is a theme Francés should explore more. That illustration looks so naughty, but so sensitive and eerie at the same time. This illustration is done in her usual style whilst many of the others in <span style="color: magenta;">Arlene</span> seem like they were done in mixed media. You'll find the <span style="color: magenta;">Heart of Arlene</span> so different from the <span style="color: #990000;">Favole trilogy</span></span>. <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: magenta;">Arlene</span> is more of a collection extreme characters, people who are more-or-less damaged. The illustrations remind me faintly of the seven deadly sins.</span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The butterfly Venus is Lust, </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Lluminada girl is Pride, Rojo is Wrath, Arlene is Sloth (<i><span style="color: #a64d79;">the old Sloth, from the Bible, not the new binging Sloth</span></i>)</span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">and so on.</span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Even though the illustrations in <span style="color: magenta;">Arlene</span> are not as detailed as Francés' other illustrations, they are still worth checking out. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAsvkIHoY9rOryJjRNxz9MGqWe402i8HFhy_ioDBuQ6LuxBcnODCdsrlO_AdtJmQ0Ou3rsqNwx-ggC_NRLCXratXelqPd2ty8KMjlgZKzuKH_v4hbexqwKdwsSvXkCTSPkEVLo6zG2KzgE/s1600/victoriaviolinherido05.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAsvkIHoY9rOryJjRNxz9MGqWe402i8HFhy_ioDBuQ6LuxBcnODCdsrlO_AdtJmQ0Ou3rsqNwx-ggC_NRLCXratXelqPd2ty8KMjlgZKzuKH_v4hbexqwKdwsSvXkCTSPkEVLo6zG2KzgE/s400/victoriaviolinherido05.jpg" width="286" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Violin herido 2005.</td></tr>
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<span class="" id="result_box" lang="en"><span class="hps"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In 2009 Francés published the first volume of <span style="color: #b45f06;">Misty Circus</span> which she presented in the Barcelona Comic Fair. This volume adds another new aspect to Francés collection of illustrations, (<span style="color: #a64d79;">but it's not as exciting as the others</span>). <span style="color: #b45f06;">Misty Circus</span> tells of Sasha, a child pierrot who travels with the Misty Circus. One review called it '<i>an ingenuity on the decadent</i>'. Well....uumm.. ingenuity and decadent to me sound like a bunch of buzz words stupid people use to make themselves sound smart. Personally I think <span style="color: #b45f06;">Misty Circus</span> is rather dull compared to Francés other published works such as the <span style="color: #990000;">Favole trilogy</span> or <span style="color: magenta;">Heart of Arlene</span>. <span style="color: #b45f06;">Misty Circus</span> is melancholic and the Indian browns and faded grey's give the series a timeless look. I wouldn't call it decadent by a long shot, comme ci comme ca sounds about right. Even though the concept is interesting Francés isn't pushing it nearly as far as it could (<i style="color: #a64d79;">and should</i>) be pushed. Perhaps Circus theme was very popular in 2009 that she chose to leave <span style="color: #b45f06;">Misty Circus</span> like that, to avoid copying other people. And it clearly shows that Francés hasn't given this concept as much thought as she has given to her previous concepts. Above is a stunnig illustration of the Vampire Lestat from <span style="color: #990000;">Favole III</span>. <span style="color: #b45f06;">Misty Circus</span> shows a small change in Francés routine and when I first saw the <span style="color: #b45f06;">Misty Circus</span> illustrations, I was surprised that she was stepping out of her gothic-masquerade routine to tackle a very different theme. Even though everyone wears costumes and masks in Circus, Francés hasn't incorporated this to her <span style="color: #b45f06;">Misty Circus</span>.<span style="color: #b45f06;"> Misty Circus<span style="color: #999999;"></span></span> is more like 'a short story' of a circus long time ago.</span> </span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmoAPPYj7GN3Jyc6gvfyYJdSSxibig6qpTmowxQrmJt2ydbN04Vu3kK8MxO_GJJRXbzhHYurNIaL7cea63hjKyLkdjx4Jhgby7zO5nY0qYepntRPCxopBjY4l_jv6JxEbHrNyvbZGr8agh/s1600/victoriavelos01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmoAPPYj7GN3Jyc6gvfyYJdSSxibig6qpTmowxQrmJt2ydbN04Vu3kK8MxO_GJJRXbzhHYurNIaL7cea63hjKyLkdjx4Jhgby7zO5nY0qYepntRPCxopBjY4l_jv6JxEbHrNyvbZGr8agh/s400/victoriavelos01.jpg" width="288" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Velos 2001.</td></tr>
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<span class="" id="result_box" lang="en"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With <span style="color: #351c75;">Dark Sanctuary</span> (2008) Francés returns to her more familiar concept. This new book of illustrations mixes music and portraits. I get it that there is a hint of music in the air (I mean hint of music in the illustrations) but otherwise this series is not as impressive as the <span style="color: #990000;">Favole trilogy</span> or <span style="color: magenta;">Heart of Arlene</span>. It's beautiful series and I guess it's suppose to relay the message of beauty and aging and music's immortality, buut it's still very boring. I personally don't do the deep symbolism thing (<i><span style="color: #a64d79;">and I do not care for poetry</span></i>) so perhaps this series is too skin deep for me aka I don't get it nor care for it. </span> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In 2009 the second volume of <span style="color: #b45f06;">Misty Circus</span> came out. <span style="color: #134f5c;">Night of the Witches </span>is a continuation of a story about witches who supposedly travel with the <span style="color: #b45f06;">Misty Circus.</span></span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In Misty Circus we follow the story of Sasha, the child pierrot, in <span style="color: #134f5c;">Night of the Witches</span> we meet Madame Chloë, a child witch/fortune-teller. She looks similar to Sasha, with her large reddish eyes and almost-anime head. Sasha's and Cloë's character designs are very unexpected, and very different from Francés' usual designs. I know that Francés doesn't have many child characters, but I'm just wondering what possed her to make Cloë look like that. She looks interesting without a doubt, but compared to Francés' usual stuff, she looks very unhuman. Perhaps it's Francés' personal joke that circus folks aren't human. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have to say the colours in this series are b-e-a-utiful</span>! <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For once Francés is not afraid to use bold, strong colours. Even though most of the colours are sort of faded out, the purples, greens and reds pop out real nicely. Especially that horse carriage illustration and that Wizard/magician illustration have beautiful bold colours. Yes, magic is about bold colours! I wish Francés would introduce bold colours to her other works as well. <span style="color: #134f5c;">Night of the Witches</span> is a nice series and fits in to <span style="color: #b45f06;">Misty Circus</span></span>. <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Personally I'd like to see more of these <span style="color: #b45f06;">Misty Circus</span> 'episodes'. Maybe next time Francés will introduce us the 'Black Swan', trapeze artist, she is as graceful as a swan and flies higher! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Her latest publication, <span style="color: black;">Integral Favole</span></span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">came out in 2011.</span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This series gives yet another spin to Francés' CV. And personally, I think some of the illustrations in this series could be Francés' best work. I adore her detailed works in the<span style="color: #990000;"> Favole trilogy</span> which she continues to show in <span style="color: black;">Integral Favole</span> yet it is a little different from the others. The colours for example are really faded out. Perhaps 2011 was a Grey Season for Francés since most of the illustrations in<span style="color: black;"> Integral Favole</span> are mostly different shade of grey and taupe. I don't recall seeing anyone use taupe so beautifully as Francés does in this series. Personally I'd like to think <span style="color: black;">I.F</span> is independent from the other <span style="color: #990000;">Favole's</span> because the colour scheme is so, so different from the other 3. Even though each<span style="color: #990000;"> Favole</span> has a theme she doesn't decribe them too literally. However this time I find that there is a real story in <span style="color: black;">I.F</span>. In my mind<span style="color: black;"> I.F</span> is a tale of a family who lives in a castle in...the outskirts of Venice (<i><span style="color: #a64d79;">really? Because there is like a forest and a pond near a castle...</span></i>), but it's not a normal family at all, it's a vampire family. They are aristocratics who indulge themselves in Venice's night life. Yet the women are saddened by their immortal existense and the crimes they have to commit to survive. Expect the one, the teenage looking girl who seems to be embracing her inner vampire.</span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The men in the family are 50/50, the other one is like the mopey Lestat, locked away in his room because he doesn't want anything to do with the world anymore. And the other guy who uses his good looks and charm to hunt down the ladies of Venice by night.</span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Even though I'm drawing you this picture of a cliché vampire family, I was not dissapointed with this <span style="color: black;">Favole</span>. </span><br />
<span class="" id="result_box" lang="en"><span class="hps"></span></span> <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOKhH64e900nwNzyRBimOhpQWX5yuV5uwnIo_7Yw748p25X4Wu_Da3qwvE567Z5zC82RzF7ESp5OH1bf5ZIb-o5MX4rBGy9DbRyaW71A8WZ9KjwOGqFXcFqectelwMrTQub03fAIHRZaLx/s1600/victoriavelonupcial11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="488" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOKhH64e900nwNzyRBimOhpQWX5yuV5uwnIo_7Yw748p25X4Wu_Da3qwvE567Z5zC82RzF7ESp5OH1bf5ZIb-o5MX4rBGy9DbRyaW71A8WZ9KjwOGqFXcFqectelwMrTQub03fAIHRZaLx/s640/victoriavelonupcial11.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Velo Nupcial 2011</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The reason Francés is one of my favourite illustrators is clear when you look at her unique colour palette. Seriously, when have you seen an artist use earth tones so beautifully and as often as Francés does? Her palette, painting style and themes are gorgeous! I wish I could paint as well as she does (<i style="color: #a64d79;">I have tried, skin is rather difficult to paint realistically, but she nails it!</i>)</span>. <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Talking about her colour palette, it's the different grey's and taupes that give it that gothic touch. And it's actually really romantic too. When you think about it, the palette in <span style="color: #45818e;">Velo Nupcial</span> for example is very romantic. I wouldn't exactly call it gothic because to me gothic means a lot of pointy towers and lace decorations and black. But that's the cliché with gothic, everybody thinks it has to be black (<i style="color: #a64d79;">but it doesn't, especially when it comes to art</i>). Couple of sources have called Francés' art Gothic Romantic, which is right I guess...exept Gothic Romance refers to the late 18th century literature. You can of course say that her illustrations most definately have a story behind them, but in terms of art and art genre, Gothic Romantic is not a correct term for Francés' style. I'd just call it fantasy art. But that doesn't mean I don't find her art romantic. I think <span style="color: #45818e;">Velo Nupcial</span> is a very romantic illustration. This girl is part of the vampire family in <span style="color: black;">Integral Favole</span>. S</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">he is purifying herself from the sorrows immortality has brought her.</span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Perhaps she was a bride to be, but accidentally killed her groom, or the crazy teen vampire</span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">killed him. And now the young ex-bride is left to mourn for her lost love. Or perhaps she is a ghost-water-spirit who is unable to move on. Most of Francés' illustrations convey melancholy and deep saddness...and so does <span style="color: #45818e;">Velo Nupcial</span></span>. <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Subject wise I don't see any other meaning to this illustrations exept that she is very very sad. The paint job is a-may-zaah though! Francés blends all those taupes and browns and grey-blues with confidence, and she was very smart to leave the white bits very very white. That way all the colours really compliment each other. Although there is not much bright or cute colours for me to gush about, I really really like this illustrations because it's so well made. The light yet broken down colour imply that there is a story 'as old as time' behind this scene, but she conveniently leaves it for the viewer to decide what's going on in the illustration. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Like some other artists, Francés has created a world of her own. As I said before, the broken down and blended colours suggest that Francés' world is perhaps Victorian because all the people are wearing like long dresses and puffy shirts and tight pants etc. And that is OK, exept, if you take away her unique style, what else is there? Then she'd be just another fantasy artist, painting girls in long dresses, lying in snow or posing in front of a window. It'd be really boring I know. Perhaps some of you find her art boring regardless because it's just about fancy people posing in odd locations. Francés' art is very commercial because her subject is very popular among certain age groups. I can see why so many people like her illustrations. And they don't even have to be interested in art because Francés has gained a steady fanbase just with her illustrations-turned-into calendars, and duvet sets, and posters. I buy her calendar every other year and I had the <span style="color: #20124d;">Libera me</span> poster (<i style="color: #a64d79;">I lost it</i><i><span style="color: #a64d79;">. Iii lost my poster, rippito flippito sippi slow motion!</span></i>). I don't mind that she has gone commercial. I'm just saying that because her subject is commercial, it's a tad hard to take her for a serious fine artist. After all, fine artists or even fashion designers dread to go commercial because it might dock down their 'value' and make them '<i>those</i>' kind of artists.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I had the <span style="color: #20124d;">Libera me</span> poster and it's actually one of my favourite illustrations from Francés. It's incredibly detailed. I can only imagine the time and effort she spend making this illustration. That dress is exeptionally well depicted. The folds look accurate and there are no bizarre shadows or tone changes. Her skin looks a bit matte, but otherwise she looks very realistic. As a matter of fact the whole image looks very matte, as if it was done with colour pencils. I'm not sure if Francés uses water colours or acrylics (or colour pencils?) but I got the impression she mostly uses acrylics. Though <span style="color: #20124d;">Libera me</span> doesn't look like it was made with acrylics. It's a somewhat romantic scene and even though I have a slight problem with the perspective and depth of this image it's really not as bad as <span style="color: #f1c232;">Huida <span style="color: #666666;">(seriously, it's a pretty illustration but my gawd, is the composition in that image really awful. That well in the middle and that girl in the white dress running to the right, it makes a really awkward scene *shudder*). Because the trees are so damn small in <span style="color: #20124d;">Libera me</span>, we can choose to think that the vampire girl is either monsterous big, or this is just awkward composition on Francés' part. However don't be mad at me, I still like this illustration very very much. It's beautiful to look at, it has drama and mystery to it plus I love love looove her rose crown and her hair! I so want that hair ;) </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="color: #666666;"> </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="color: #666666;">Even though I'm not that gothic, I still enjoy France´s work very much. I can totally imagine myself as that girl in <span style="color: #f1c232;">Huida<span style="color: #666666;">.
I have finally managed to escape the evil overlord's (he is mostly
likely a vampire) grip and am now running to my freedom. But first I need to
pass this omnious forest. </span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="color: #666666;">I can also imagine that I'm one of those fancy ladies living in Venice. I go to a masquarade ball every night and wear gorgeous dresses. I can see that her art is especially appealing to girls ;D </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="color: #666666;">I hear Francés poses for her illustrations, or rather she makes illustrations on the bases of her photo shoots. So perhaps we can assume that Francés' illustrations are partly self-portraiture hence quite personal. Her style interests me and in fact her illustrations give me this image of old yellow-ish paintings from the past. And as we know, when it comes to old yellow-ish paintings or letters, there is always a story there.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="color: #666666;">These photos are just a glimpse of what Francés can do with her talent and subject. She is indeed a very talented artist. I'm looking forward to see what she does next.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Remember to check out Francés' unique website. Seriously, it's very nicely done. Sadly it's only in Spanish, but you get to see her illustrations. </span><a href="http://www.victoriafrances.es/"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">http://www.victoriafrances.es/</span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="color: #666666;">I hope you enjoyed my review on <b><span style="color: #660000;">Victoria Francés </span></b><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="color: #666666;">and I'll see you next month!</span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="color: #666666;">Cheers!</span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="color: #660000;"><span style="color: #666666;">A.P </span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #f1c232;"><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="color: #f1c232;"></span> </span></span></span><br />
Anarchy Pantyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274535103226645106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4454851646577708620.post-46531093895572078442012-08-17T14:38:00.000-07:002012-09-03T11:34:55.527-07:00Autumn book club: Let the right one in.<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Hi guise!!</div>
<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
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<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
OMG I'm going to see Lady Gaga in
Helsinki this month!!! I am so excited =D I got a really good seat
too, right near stage, so I should be able to see Gaga perfectly <3
I'm going to see her on Monday the 27<sup>th</sup> so only a few
weeks left. Will be perfect since I'm looking to work really hard the
rest of the month. I haven't been feeling particularly artistic right
now, so it's gonna be inspiring to see Gaga's show. I have a couple
of collages that I should finish, buuuut since I'm doing long hours
at work, I don't have the energy to focus on art afterwards. Hence I
thought I'd do something fun for my blog for a change.
</div>
<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
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<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I know there are hundreds of blogs
focusing on literature and literature is very popular subject among
Finnish bloggers. I believe one of our ministers keeps a literature
blog which he updates regularly. My blog is a miss-match of different
things I'm interested in. Well so far it has been about art, but I'm
looking to talk about other stuff too.
</div>
<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
There are times when I read books in
tandem, and then there are times when I don't read anything at all.
Right now I'm on one of my literary tandems, hence I thought I'd give
you the 4-1-1 on 5 books I have 'recently' read.</div>
<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
However, there is a catch (<i style="color: #741b47;">with me,
there's always a catch xP</i>). IF I post all 5 right now, this would be
seriously looooooong entry. Nothing wrong with that, but I think you,
the reader, would get frustrated about how long this entry is going to go on
(<i style="color: #741b47;">like reading a school book: 'OMG I have already read 30 pages and
there is still 30 left on the British bread wars!</i>'). And since it's me writing these reviews, they are going to be long.</div>
<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I'm going to start with a book I read
in June followed by:</div>
<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>The Taker</b> by Alma Katsu</div>
<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b><span lang="sv">Män som hatar kvinnor</span></b> (The girl with the dragon tattoo) by
Stieg Larsson</div>
<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<b>Rei Shimura series</b> (<i style="color: #741b47;">I think I'll review two of those</i>) by Sujata Massey</div>
<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
and the last one is...well I haven't decided yet.</div>
<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
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I'm looking to post The Taker next
month and Lisbeth's series in October and so on...</div>
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Now, I must warn you about big time
spoilers. In order to give you my honest opinion on these books, I
have to assume that you have read them, or are curious to know what
happens and you don't mind spoilers. If I have to avoid
spoilers this would be just another plain book review. There are many
things I wanna say about these books so it makes more sense if I'm
allowed to assume that you have read the books. I'm going to be critizing some of the books quite
'heavily' so hopefully you are not one of those people who get
offended easily --_-- You have been warned!</div>
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I'm going to start with a book that I
really really liked for its capability to amalgamate fantasy in to
reality. <b><i>Låt den rätte komma in</i> (Let the right one in)</b> by
<b><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;">John
Ajvide Lindqvist</span></span></b>. I read a few reviews on this book
years before and I came really close to buying the movie (<i style="color: #741b47;">the Swedish
one, duh!</i>), but I knew that I'd read the book one day so I didn't
wanna spoil the story for me. I read this book in June and what
happens to me sometimes when I read a book is that I start reading
it, then I get bored and leave it for a few and weeks and then finish
it. Same thing happened with this book because I felt that it wasn't
proceeding fast enough and that there wasn't much stuff happening.
When you get past that,<b> <i>Låt den rätte komma in</i></b> is actually
very interesting story.</div>
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What I think is important to understand
about this story is that it doesn't religiously follow the main
character, this is more like a collection of mini stories involving
people who are accidentally involved with each other. The main
character is a twelve-year-old Swedish boy named Oskar. The story
takes place in a suburb near Stockholm in early winter of 1981. Oskar is bullied at
school, he has a problem with urination and is slightly over-weight
.He lives with his mother and doen't have anyone to call a friend.
So he is a typical little boy (<i style="color: #741b47;">who wasn't bullied at school, who had
''friends'' but didn't have friends?</i>). The book takes a really
interesting turn right in the beginning when Oskar is walking through
a forest to find a secret place to let out all his anger. Mean while
there is a man in the same forest searching for a prey. I seriously
thought that Lindqvist would kill off his main character right in the beginning. My skin was
crawling when <span style="color: #666666;">the story </span><span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #666666;">was
describing the lurker's thoughts</span>.</span></span> Håkan (the gay
pedophile lurker) kills a different boy and drains his blood. It's
revealed that Oskar was on his way to a different spot where he
played that he'd kill his bullies by stabbing them to death (he stabs
trees with a kitchen knife). So Oskar lives to fight another day, until he meets Eli. Eli is a girl living in the next apartment house
(she and Oskar share a wall). At first Eli is cold and distant until
she warms up to Oskar's gestures to become friends when he loans her
his Rubik's cube (she shows genuine interest in the toy). Hence they
start meeting every night after dusk. During the day Oskar goes to
school and avoids bullies, steals knives and candy and buys stolen
items from his neighbour Tommy and deals flyers on the weekends.
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I found it fascinating how genuine
Oskar was. Here we have a twelve-year-old boy who is severely abused
and humiliated at school, yet he still manages to find small
pleasures in life. I know in America people would be appaled to read
about a damaged young boy who steals weapons and runs away from his
father in the middle of the night, but to me, this is very realistic
depiction of this child's life. Cause and consequences. Under the
circumstances Oskar is, you can't expect him to be
too-goody-two-shoes. I mean, kids run away from home all the time,
kids steal stuff, yet none of this is barely depicted in stories
anymore. Contemporary stories tend to stay tame or, on the contrary,
they go way over board, to the point they become silly. This
story isn't silly (<i style="color: #741b47;">well until the point when Håkan..well you'll know
when you get there</i>). It's very endearing to read about Oskar's
attempts to befriend Eli. It warms my heart when the two indeed
become friends and for the first time Oskar has a real friend in the
world. I found it encouraging to read how Oskar slowly gains more
confidence and gets over his urination problem (caused my trauma) and
for the first time stands up for his tormentors.. In the beginning Oskar may seem like a young boy
heading to loony town since he is obsessed with keeping a scarpbook
of newspaper articles about murders. He even practices how to kill
his tormentors and uses the threat of 'the ritual murderer' to steal a
proper hunting knife from a store. However halfway the book it struck
me that Oskar is actually pretty smart. But you'll have to have read
the book to see for yourself.</div>
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While Oskar's and Eli's friendship
deepens (<span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"></span></span><i style="color: #741b47;">Lindqvist doesn't rush the process</i>), we move on to follow the gay pedophile
Håkan. It doesn't take a genious to realize that Håkan is involved
with Eli and kills young ones (not too young!) to supply Eli with
human blood. Later in the story we learn that Håkan was an
elementary school teacher who liked young boys. He wasn't involved
with anyone from his school, but a collection of child pornography
was found in his possession, so the school fired him and somebody
burned down his house. Eli found him when he was literally at the
bottom of his life. He is in love with Eli, but remains passive, even
gentleman-ish, towards her, who refrains from all sexual intercourse
with him. He deeply longs to touch and feel his loved one, who time
after time denies this pleasure from him, still he feels deep
attachment to Eli. After killing his second victim (the one in the
woods) he goes to a library in Stockholm and purchases oral sex from
a ten year old immigrant. What really struck me was when Håkan
notices that the boy doesn't have teeth =( He assumes that they have
been removed to make the oral task easier (more pleasurable for the
receiver?) so he gives the boy a fast sum of money to get new teeth.
Everyone probably assumes that Håkan is the villain of this story, but
the way I see it, he is the anti-hero. I am strongly
against pedophilism and do not agree what Håkan does in the story,
but <span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"></span></span>Lindqvist
writes so accurately about Håkan's regret and conflict that one
can't help, but pity and like him at the same time. He is a diamond
in the rough, a person who has been making wrong decisions all his life.
His innocent obsession with Eli is rather endearing and it's rather
amazing to see him respected her wishes not to have intercourse, even
though he is clearly aching for her. <span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"></span></span>Lindqvist
is really good at telling about Håkan's conflict without going
overboard. With small gestures he tells how greatly bothered Håkan
is by the murders he had to commit to keep his loved one alive. Still
Lindqvist<span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"></span></span><span style="color: black;"> </span>doesn't tell this via fancy words nor drag the sentence on and on by
throwing in various figurative expressions. I don't shy away from
extreme characters, and you have to admit it, when was the last time
you saw a gay pedophile in a story? It's fresh and it's obscene, and
it's so Scandinavian. <span style="color: #741b47;">Hello from North Europe, we bring you a
collection of extreme characters who are as much extreme as they are
realistic</span>. I think it was nice of Håkan to give that young boy money
to get his teeth fixed. Yes he is a criminal, but<span style="color: black;"><span style="text-decoration: none;"></span></span>
Lindqvist has build this character so well and accurately that I can see a real
person there. He has major unforgivable flaws, but there is also
goodness in him. Not that I think it's right of him to purchase oral
sex from little boys to begin with.
However it is a bit annoying when Håkan mopes about his eternal love
for Eli and the things he has to do for her, while she has no respect
for him what so ever. He is just a food provider to her (<i><span style="color: #741b47;">personally I
think she's a dick</span></i>). At least he gets to feel like he is the luckiest
man on earth to have been chosen by such an angel (and there might also
be a promise of eternal life).
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Håkan's lifes takes a drastic turn
when Eli sends him for his last mission (after she screwed up badly
and killed a local drunk Lacke ← this is actually a really sad
story). Håkan says that he will get her blood one more time, under
the condition that he may hold her and touch her after the deed is
done. So he goes to a local swimming pool (indoors) and rents a booth
to himself, where he makes a mess in his booth when he sees young boys (<i><span style="color: #741b47;">I guess he is easily stimulated</span></i>). He manages to capture and
'drug' a boy (he uses some sort of helium tank to make the victim
unconscious and then drains them dry) and proceeds to drain him.
(<i style="color: #741b47;">regarding this practice there is a wonderful little conversation in
the beginning of the story between Tommy and his friends. They hang
out at their building's air-raid shelter and discuss how pigs are
slaughtered. One of them says that the pigs are hung upside down and
drained from their blood while they are conscious</i>). The boy wakes up and
makes a ruckus. Before men can burst in to Håkan's booth, he takes a
jam jar and pours the acid inside all over his face. His last
thoughts are rather moving, he imagines that Eli, angel boy Eli,
comes to take him away, and then he pours the acid whilst yelling
'Eli, Eli'.
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Mean while Eli has been making a mess
of her own. Håkan has dissapeared and she needs blood. She is strong
enough to move on her own, but she needs more blood. Hence before she
sent Håkan to his last mission, she killed a local drunk Lacke who
spend his evenings and nights in a local Chinese restaurant. Now we
meet people who may not seem as important to the story's development, but we'll get there. I'm guessing this group of bums is Lindqvist's way of showing how much damage a single parson can do to others. And
that every single person has a life and plans of their own, that we
shouldn't look down on people no matter what their social status is.
At first I was confused to be reading about these local bums who
spend their days drinking at a local pub/restaurant with no plans for
the future nor ambition (<i style="color: #741b47;">they reminded me too much of the local
'drunks/bums' we have at work</i>). But then
Lindqvist gives us Lacke, a man who may be a bum, but still has some drive in
him to go traveling and maybe meet someone and settle down. It
actually opened my eyes a little since I reckon some of the bums at
our restaurant are just spinless, boring people with no credibility.
But
Lindqvist reminded me that just like Lacke, those bums have plans, things they
wanna do and see (<i><span style="color: #741b47;">but I don't get it why they wanna spend their time
at out restaurant EVERYDAY, literally everyday from 10am or 3pm until
10pm</span></i>). So it's very sad to read when Eli attacks Lacke and kills him.
The others are left to grieve for his dissapearance (Håkan dumps the
body in a nearby lake), however someone saw Eli attack Lacke. Gösta
is a...uummm local loony, cocooned in his apartment with dozens of
cats. The others know him and visit him every now and then. So the
gang goes to visit him and Gösta tells them what he saw. Lacke's
bestfriend Jocke (<i style="color: #741b47;">yeah...I know</i>) is devastated and in his grief
insults badly his old (and current) flame Virginia. She rushes out
and is far ahead before Jocke rushes after her. He is just in time to
see Eli attack Virginia, but Eli is unable to kill her, so Virginia
is left wounded. Note that Gösta and Jocke only see a child attack
Lacke and Virginia. They don't know Eli.</div>
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At this point it would be appropriate
to tell you that Eli is a vampire (<i style="color: #741b47;">chuckle</i>). Virginia is infected and
begins to turn into a vampire. The story follows her struggles which is rather interesting since she has no idea that she is turning into a vampire. Reading about her ordeal was actually really touching. She was the innocent one. She just happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time and now she is left to pay for it. Hence it should be clear by now that Lindqvist wanted to make everyone of his characters victims. It's up to you to decide whether they are all victims of Eli or of their own life style (<i><span style="color: #741b47;">I personally like to think that they are all victims of Eli</span></i>). In the end Virginia ends up in a hospital and commits suicide (she asks the nurse to
open the drapes). Jocke is once again left devastated and if not
earlier, this is where you should realize how realistic this story
actually is. It's not a story about silly vampires and monsters, it's
a story about people with real-life plans and thoughts. This is
especially visible in Jocke's gang because they aren't
Hollywood-good-looking people with fast sums of money and a few
thoughts on life. They are regular people who have very ordinary
lives, who seek small pleasures that they can find in their
enviroment and pass yet another ordinary day. You won't find 'a thing'
happening in these places, no catastrophe or monster lurking in the
woods. It's plain everyday life. People go to work, they come home
(<i><span style="color: #741b47;">or our restaurant xP</span></i>) and do the same thing tomorrow and the day
after tomorrow and so on. However, in this case Eli delivers a
massive blow to their everyday life by taking Lacke's life and, in a
way, Virginia's life. Jocke has been planning to move to the country
side, and have two cabins build, one for him and one for Virginia. He
came to a conclusion that they could never be a couple in
traditional sense, but they both enjoy each others company and like
each other enough to stay 'together'. And once again I'm saddened by
the fact that they loose another member of their 'gang'. It's very
Scandinavian of Lindqvist to remind us that life is fleeting, and anything can end it sooner
than it began. The presence of death is a very popular subject in
Scandinavian works. I don't know why, so please don't ask me. (<i><span style="background-color: white; color: #741b47;">maybe it's the melancholy factor?</span></i>).
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Eli has been very busy when she finally
founds Håkan in a hospital. He is very much alive but badly
disfigured, hence he has been able to conceal Eli from the
authorities. Håkan asks Eli to end his life, but right before Eli
can finish the task, someone comes in forcing her to stop so she leaves. Håkan leaps of the open window, killing himself in the
process. Naaah I'm just kidding, he doesn't die, instead he later
turns into a middless vampire who is fueled by his obsession with
Eli. Bad people always get what's coming to them. Oh
the irony!</div>
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Back to Oskar. He has already began to
fall in love with Eli, when he discovers that she is a vampire, and the man he once saw was 'the ritual murderer' who supplies Eli
with blood. PLOT TWIST. Eli explains that she is not in fact a girl,
but <b>a boy</b> named Elias and he was castrated during his turning ritual.
He wears girl's clothes to disguise himself. Oskar bolts, but later
decides to stick with the only friend he has ever had.
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Eli, 'shunned' by Oskar, goes to the
air-raid shelter and meets Håkan by chance. Håkan in his insane
tantrum hurls himself at Eli and tries to force sexual intercourse on
him. Eli fights Håkan off and managed to lock him in a..basement?
Another room in the air-raid shelter? Eli leaves and we learn that
Tommy is now locked in the room with the senseless Håkan. Håkan is
later killed by Tommy in rather traumatizing way (Tommy slowly beats
Håkan to a bloody pulp, literally).
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Back to Oskar. He is now convinced that
he wants to remain friends with Eli, even though Elias is a boy and a
vampire. He sneeks in to Eli's apartment and finds him sleeping in a
bath tub filled with blood. Oskar goes to sleep on the sofa. Later
Jocke walks in and attempts to kills Eli. But Oskar wakes Eli up and
Eli kills Jocke. I'm now feeling very passive-agressive about this.
Here we have a ten-year-old wee monster boy who totally fucked up 3
people's lives. Not to mention the other three who are now left
grieving for their lost friends. Eli has no idea what he has done.
Although he is becoming a little more thoughtful because for the
first time Eli goes to <i>buy</i> blood. Before Håkan caught him, he
bought and drank little bit of Tommy's blood. So we can assume that
Eli is trying to make an effort not to kill for food anymore (<i style="color: #741b47;">that's
how we vegetarians feel</i><i style="color: #741b47;">. Why are there so few of us still?</i>). Still to me Eli is really uninspired and
impersonal character. Actually I find him the most boring character
in the book. I groaned a little when ever the story followed Eli.
It's clear that he is emotionally and personally constipated
character who finds loneliness oh-so-killing. Really --_-- there
isn't a single vampire/monster in stories who isn't tormented by
loneliness (<i style="color: #741b47;">well except Mr. Hyde</i>). And somehow some of the other writers are able to get
past that little quirk, giving us interesting vampires.
Buuuut....
Lindqvist<span style="color: black;"> </span>kinda dropped the ball with Elias. He is not interesting because he
has no personality! Sure it's endearing to watch Eli and Oskar become
friends, and it's even more endearing and heart warming since Oskar
had no friends before. But it doesn't change the fact that Elias is an impersonal monster and
nothing more. Although it is releaving to see Oskar make true friends
with somebody at last.
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Oskar has been 'training' to stand up for his bullies and his friendship with Eli gives him new
courage to finally fight back. He manages to really hurt the worst
bully and accidentally sends their classroom on fire (Oskar sneaks in
to the school one night and burns the bullies' desks plus half the
classroom by accident). The next day Oskar goes to the school in the
evening to workout with his gym teacher and fellow students. The
bullies sneek in and knock down the teacher. They proceed to burn and
drown Oskar in the swimming pool (indoors). While the other kids
watch Oskar is nearly killed BUT LUCKILY Eli bursts in, rips the
bullies' heads clean off and takes Oskar with him. One the last page,
Oskar is travelling (<i style="color: #741b47;">I forgot where he's going</i>) with Eli's stuff and
money and we get a hint that Eli is waiting for him at his
destination.
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Although it may seem that
Lindqvist is dragging the story and the stuff that happen don't really mean a
thing, they really are building towards a bigger conclusion. I know,
I know it can get frustrating to read about characters like Tommy's
future stepfather (<i style="color: #741b47;">it's funny, after killing Håkan Tommy probably
turned religious like his mother and future stepfather me thinks ;D</i>),
but believe me when I say that Lindqvist<span style="color: black;"> </span>makes interesting story structure and..umm inner dialogue. The characters think a lot,
but fear not, Lindqvist<span style="color: black;">'s </span>style makes it an interesting read. However what I really liked about this story was its sense of reality. When I told my BFF about this book he immediately dissed it because it didn't seem to make any sense to him at all. Perhaps the monster Håkan isn't that realistic, but when Oskar tries to befriend Eli, or when he is thinking to himself that he can't afford new winter shoes this year either, it's these bits that make the story so realistic. Plus I really really like the setting, that the story is based in Sweden and not some place else (<i style="color: #741b47;">ALTHOUGH it is such a cliche of the writer to situate the story in his/her home country</i>) Like I said before, all the
people in the book get more or less involved with<span style="background-color: white;"> </span><span style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% rgb(255, 255, 255);">each other</span>. It's quite fascinating to read how their lives become
entangled.<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
I know that Lindqvist<span style="color: black;"> </span>is trying to build this idea of every character in the book being a
victim, but I am more interested in how the character influence each
other's lives.
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As far as vampire books go, this is
the best one I have read. And you should know that I have read MANY,
repeat, MANY vampire books. <b><i>Låt den rätte komma in</i></b> (Let the
right one in) doesn't scream 'vampire', which may dissapoint some
people, but come on, how many actually good vampire books have you
read? <span style="color: #741b47;">Come at me bro, how many!!??
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This story is daunting, it's thrilling
even scary at times, plus you can't denye the fact that every single
character in the story could exist in real life (<i><span style="color: #741b47;">even Elias if you
choose to believe in vampires</span></i>). All in all I was not dissapointed
with this story. Lindqvist<span style="color: black;">'s </span>writing style is interesting and he doesn't do the 'say it
figuratively' thing that has taken hold of many writers *caugh*
<i style="color: #741b47;">(British house mom with SM fantasies)</i> *caugh*. In fact I think you'll
find that Lindqvist<span style="color: black;">'s</span>
style differs from anything you have ever read before. That have been
said, I really enjoyed this book and I'll most likely read it again.</div>
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Hope you enjoyed my review on <b><i>Låt
den rätte komma in</i></b> and stay tuned for the artist of the month.
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Cheers and byes!</div>
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A.P</div>
Anarchy Pantyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274535103226645106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4454851646577708620.post-88042627360259727252012-08-03T10:29:00.002-07:002012-08-19T10:22:55.943-07:00Artist of the Month (July): Tove Jansson.<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It's seemingly impossible to find a person in Finland who does not like the Moomins.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">No matter if you like the Moomin story books, or the comics or the animation series there is something for everyone in the Moomin publication. I'm not a complete greenhorn when it comes to the Moomins. I have read the picture books and the comic strips. I once visited the Moomin museum and still watch the animated series. Not to mention I collect Moomin mugs and have a set of Moomin linen (<i style="color: #a64d79;">omg the Moomin linen sets are so a-may-zaah! There are so many you can choose from</i>). Yet there is still so much to learn from the Moomins (<i style="color: #a64d79;">like read the story books</i>). </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8GepQ321sXLLFCxqEd013wYFxUmyMc8Th396y6_UNPhophPrH8bjup-6HACzSXRzRZ0KviegfKONNoA7PM2fiqjptB8opXzuSPNtHF2ZjpKCJBdzwVkPPSyqxieHQsi1cihkuCxsUNFzt/s1600/tovejanssonTanssivaMuumilaakso.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="347" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8GepQ321sXLLFCxqEd013wYFxUmyMc8Th396y6_UNPhophPrH8bjup-6HACzSXRzRZ0KviegfKONNoA7PM2fiqjptB8opXzuSPNtHF2ZjpKCJBdzwVkPPSyqxieHQsi1cihkuCxsUNFzt/s640/tovejanssonTanssivaMuumilaakso.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dancing Moominvalley.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">July's artist is one of Finland's national treasures, <b style="background-color: white; color: #cfe2f3;">Tove Jansson</b>. Artist, illustrator, writer, doctor of philosophy and creator of Moomin, Tove Jansson was born into an artist family in Helsinki on August 9th 1914. Jansson's mother Signe Hammarsten-Jansson was an illustrator and her father Victor Jansson was a sculptor, her two brothers became artists later on. Tove's family was part of a minority group of Swedish speaking Finns, which is why she is most often refered to as 'Swedish-Finnish' however her nationality was always Finnish. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">According to my research, Jansson drew her first Moomin sketch on the wall of their outhouse, but this proto-Moomin was thin and ugly and had devilish kind of tail <i>(<span style="color: #a64d79;">not the puffy one we're used to</span></i>). Under the proto-Moomin she wrote '<i>Kant</i>' as revenge on one of her brothers (she had lost a philosophical quarrel to him). If my memory serves me correctly, evidence of that outhouse Moomin exists, I just couldn't find any images. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It wasn't until the late 1930's when the proto-Moomin appeared again as part of Jansson's signature on her political cartoons.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In 1930 Jansson went to study at the <i>University College of Arts, Crafts and Design</i> in Stockholm. After graduating in 1933 she moved back to Helsinki to study at the <i>Finnish Academy of Fine Arts</i>. Jansson kept herself very busy studying and after completing her four years of studying in Helsinki, she moved to Paris to study at<i> L'École d'Adrien Holy </i>and<i> L'École des Beaux-Arts</i>. Personally I am amazed by how hard she studied for almost a decade. </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Even during her education period, she managed to display artworks in exhibition</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">. I can only imagine how much time and effort she put into her education and promoting her art. It seems that </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Jansson was a very dedicated, blossoming artist from very early on.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Although, Jansson had began her 'career' even before she went to art school. In 1929 she worked as a cartoonist for the Swedish language magazine <i>Garm</i> and this relationship with <i>Garm </i>lasted for over two decades. Her cartoons were mostly political and she achieved a brief international fame with her drawing of Adolf Hitler. She worked with other smaller productions too, drawing them a cartoon or an illustration every now and then.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifisFeWhykLLW4_hyphenhyphenAbNLDAgMAACXzm-BdIWsPK7MaK8uiWND56LFYnliJeXqJiWFp2vLg9myFKJjTG_U1wAl0SD41h6JW8SYJ7h0L118D3qqYqC2lqhOZZA0yQ1tlXD8BFOCWXo08qrLh/s1600/tovemoominandthecomet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifisFeWhykLLW4_hyphenhyphenAbNLDAgMAACXzm-BdIWsPK7MaK8uiWND56LFYnliJeXqJiWFp2vLg9myFKJjTG_U1wAl0SD41h6JW8SYJ7h0L118D3qqYqC2lqhOZZA0yQ1tlXD8BFOCWXo08qrLh/s400/tovemoominandthecomet.jpg" width="251" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Moomin and the Comet.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Jansson's first Moomin book <i>The Moomins and the Great Flood</i></span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">was written in 1945. This new Moomin, Muumipeikko (Moomintroll. <i style="color: #a64d79;">I refuse to call them by their translated names</i>), had now gained weight and reached his round bluish-white appearance we are familiar with. The Moomins origin story is rather funny xD</span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">When Tove was living with her Swedish relatives in Stockholm, her uncle tried to stop her from pilfering food by saying that a 'Moomintroll' lived in the kitchen closet. It would breath cold air on people's necks if they tried to pilfer food. Needless to say, Jansson was very inspired by her uncle.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Muumipeikko (Moomintroll) is the imaginative, benevolent main character who is always off to look for an adventure. </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Muumipeikko and Muumimamma (Moominmamma) are the primar characters of the <i>Great Flood</i> book, but there would be several principal characters in the later stories. It would take two more Moomin books to make Jansson internationally famous. Comet in Moominland 1946 and Finn Family Moomintroll (or The Magician's Hat) 1948 were the cornerstones of Jansson's success. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The first Moomin books were adventurous, filled with danger, humour and supernatural events, spiced up with morality of the importance of family and love. <i>The Exploits of Moominpappa </i>1950 is Muumipappa's personal story of his youth. <i>Moominsummer Madness</i> 1955 is about Moomins exploring an empty theatre and Muumipeikko and Niiskuneiti (Snorkmaiden) getting lost. Along with <i>Moominland Midwinter </i>1957 came a change in style. These new Moomin stories were more realistic and psychological. Realistic in Moomin terms, not realistic realistic. The <i>Midwinter</i> story tells about Muumipeikko waking up in the middle of winter (Moomins sleep from November to April) and has to to cope in the new, strange world. Jansson's other books, <i>Tales from Moominvalley</i> 1962 (short stories), <i>Moominpappa at Sea</i> 1965 and <i>Moominvalley in November</i> 1970 deal with the same themes, isolation, fear of loss and fear in general</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Illustration from the Swedish translation of the Hobbit</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">After<i> Moominvalley in November</i> </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Jansson</span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">began to write for adults. <i>The Summer Book </i>1972 is distinctly for adults though the topic is rather simple. It's about a young girl and her grandmother spending a summer on an island. </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In addition to her writings she illustrated Swedish translations of <i>The Hobbit</i>, <i>The Hunting on the Snark</i> (Lewis Carroll) and <i>Alice in Wonderland. </i>And it probably goes without saying that Jansson illustrated her Moomin books herself.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">By 1952, the </span><i style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Comet in Moominland</i><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> and </span><i style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Finn Family Moomintroll</i><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
had been translated into English. Jansson was becoming rather famous which led a British publisher to ask if
Jansson would like to draw comic strips about the M<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">oomins</span>. Evidently Jansson had already drawn a long Moomin comic loosely based on</span><i style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> the Comet</i><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> story for a Swedish newspaper. She accepted the offer and in 1954 started drawing the comic strip '<i>Moomintroll</i>' for the Evening News. With her brother Lars Jansson, Tove drew and wrote (<i><span style="color: #a64d79;">okay
this info could be way off! One of my sources says that she spend 21
years drawing Moomin comics, whilst my other source says that she <u>drew 21 long Moomin stories</u>!</span></i><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">)</span>
21 Moomin comics. According to my research, Jansson wasn't happy at all
drawing the comics. Drawing Moomin comics seemed fun and inspiring at
first, but apparently Jansson grew tired very quickly. Working on the
strip didn't leave her enough time to write or paint. Tight
deadlines and lack of inspiration led Tove's brother to take over
the strip which he continued until 1975. The Moomintroll comic appeared
in over 40 countries between 1954 to 1975. The Moomintroll comics are
now
available: </span><i style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Moomin: The Complete Tove Jansson Comic Strip</i><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i> Vol 1-5</i>.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Comic strip from 'The complete Tove Jansson comic strip'. Volume 1. </span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Besides the Moomin novels, novels and Moomin comics, she wrote
and illustrated four original picture books:<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><i style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Book about Moomin, Mymble and Little My</i><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> 1952 (</span></span><i style="color: #a64d79; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I have this book! It's so awesome, it's like a peek-a-boo game, but it's a book</i><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">), <i>Who will Comfort Toffle</i> 1960 (<i style="color: #a64d79;">another awesome book and a beautiful story. Note that 'Horray!' the 2012 celebratory Moomin mug features a scene from this book</i>), <i>The Dangerous Journey</i> 1977 and <i>An Unwanted Guest</i><i> </i><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1980. And not forgetting her </span>semi-autobiographical book the </span><i style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Sculptor's Daughter</i><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> written in 1968. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Jansson's books are translated to over 30 languages, including several Theatre, Opera, Film and Tv adaptations. Jansson continued painting and writing for the rest of her life,
although she rarely drew or painted the Moomins after the 1970's. She had a studio in Helsinki</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">, but lived much of her life on a small island called</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Klovhary (near the town of Porvoo)</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> with her female partner, the graphic artist Tuulikki Pietilä. </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Jansson died in Helsinki on the 27th of June in 2001 at the age 86.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Personally I really love Jansson's Moomin paintings. They are very colourful and practically radiate the positive and charming aspects of the Moomin characters and stories. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Her painting style is really unique, from the colour choices to the look of the characters and items we can see how much her personal likings and imagination influenced her. When I was little I especially feel in love with the flowers I saw in the Moomin animated series. In the image above, you can see what I mean, those flowers are so pretty and unique! Especially the flowers in episode </span><i>"Hurry Up Snufkin" </i><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">(<i style="color: #a64d79;">my favourite episodes are </i></span><i style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Golden Fish, </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The Giant Pumpkin and</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> The Vampire</span></i><i>)</i><b> </b><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">seemed so special to a little girl (still do). I am very greatful that the animation series </span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><i>'Tanoshii Mūmin Ikka' </i><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">matches to Jansson's paintings perfectly. I watched a document about Jansson on christmas eve 2011, and in the document she said that she really didn't want the Moomins to be animated. However the Japanese were very </span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">persuasive and evetually she allowed them to make a pilot. As it turned out, Jansson liked what she saw very much and so '</span><span style="font-weight: normal;"><i>Tanoshii Mūmin Ikka' </i><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">was born. If you aren't too familiar with Jansson's paintings, the animation series is a great way to study her style. Even though Tv Tokyo made it happen, the look of the series is rather Jansson like. Well, all those who like Japanese art and stuff are able to see that the series is influenced by Japanese painting style, but personally I think the style of the series is more about honouring Jansson's style than trying to Japanise it. In Jansson's paintings we can clearly see the magical and secure world the Moomins live in. It's a place of happiness and innocence which Jansson's painting style convey's beautifully. Looking at this painting makes me think of my own happy childhood in Finland. <br />Actually </span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">one of the most precious aspects of the Moomins is their </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">plausibility.
And personally I think every child should have the chance to live the
life of a Moomin for a while. When I was a child, I did live like a
Moomin briefly. I went out into my family's woods and picked flowers
without a care in the world. I ate pancakes outside with my family and
went rowing with my dad hoping that we'd find a desert island where I
could find amethysts. In case you were wondering, Moominvalley is situated in the forests of Finland ;) </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alice in Wonderland</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As a
colour fanatic I prefered Jansson's colourful paintings over her ink
drawings, until recently. In college I discovered just how special and
imaginative Jansson's ink drawings and illustrations really are. Whilst her paintings are really tender,</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> her drawings are wild.</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Personally I think Jansson was very gifted with black ink even before she started illustrating the Moomins. </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We can see how much attention she is paying to her drawing style.</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> She literally creates a different shape and/or pattern for every element. What kind of pattern would indicate water? And how
the trees look like?</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It's not
hard to see that experiment and imagination fueled her to create
such beautiful drawings. Not to mention she was very skillful with the
medium. Trying-out techniques and styles was something Jansson was
clearly very good at. Perhaps trying-out is not the right word. I mean that Jansson's previous drawings must have helped her develop her style until she established the style we now know her from. 'Moomin' (image below) is a great example of Jansson's exquisite drawing style and ability to grasp a feeling. She has perfectly captured the atmosphere of a cold winter night, when everyone else in the Moominhouse is hibernating, except for Muumipeikko. It's extra dark in winter and Scandinavians know how scary winter can be. To be alone in a big house, just snow and forest as far as the eye can see (<i style="color: #a64d79;">then again, if the night sky is clear, then it's rather luminous outside</i>). This drawing is a great example of how Jansson worked with black and white. She dared to leave huge areas white and to top that she was not afraid to draw some areas pitch black. It seems rather odd that Jansson choose to draw Muumipeikko almost black. I get it that it's the play of light and shadow in this drawing, it's just interesting to see the bluish-white Muumipeikko in different colour. Even in her comics, the Moomins are white, symboling their innocence I suppose, so it's very interesting to see a black Muumipeikko. The diversity of black and white in her drawings and illustrations is incredibly refreshing and daring. There aren't many artists out there who would be bold in enough to leave so many areas white. The Moomin drawings give us an idea of what great understanding Jansson had of shape and shaping things. </span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigRxdXEbrSTEmMOyoSOzfZZOj2SZM3j1kpu6SoEQq0b4GeWmbCbGqH-t0WkF7qccwZI39ipNBBUu3BEmgCYuN0B97lkZf96Mu2bJ76lLVYZhvSnzgVxuOrItQPpHk-mI0r7vLdA_qIiBtE/s1600/Tove+Jansson+moomintroll.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigRxdXEbrSTEmMOyoSOzfZZOj2SZM3j1kpu6SoEQq0b4GeWmbCbGqH-t0WkF7qccwZI39ipNBBUu3BEmgCYuN0B97lkZf96Mu2bJ76lLVYZhvSnzgVxuOrItQPpHk-mI0r7vLdA_qIiBtE/s640/Tove+Jansson+moomintroll.gif" width="433" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Moomintroll.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In Finland the Moomins are a commodity. Arabia (Finnish interior design and ceramics brand) has been manufactoring Moomin dish ware products since the late 1950's. The very first moomin dish set featured Niiskuneiti (Snorkmaiden) and Muumipeikko (Moomintroll). But the real 'Moomin boom' had to wait until 1990 when everyone suddenly wanted to get their hands on Moomin dish sets and limited edition products. And lets just say that the limited edition products have become quite the collector's items. I, along regular buyers and collectors, collect Moomin dish sets. Well to be more specific, I collect Moomin mugs. So far I have 6, two of them are standing designs. The other 4 are limited edition mugs. I love all of my Moomin mugs very much =^.^= I'm not one of those who collect stuff and put them in the cupboard and keep them there until their value has tripled. I use my mugs on a daily basis, they make great tea cups <3 </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">However this year I'm making an exception. Since Helsinki is the design capital of 2012, Arabia launched a special celebratory Moomin mug featuring a scene from Jansson's book '<i>Who will comfort Toffle?</i>'. And this is a mug I wanna keep in my cupboard and wait until its price has tripled. Naturally, I got two ;D One for myself to use everyday and one to put in the cupboard. It costs little under 25€ so maybe after 5-10 years my extra mug could earn me 300€ ;D <i><span style="color: #a64d79;">Below a photo of my mugs and their info. Now off to buy 'Moominpappa' mug!</span></i></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG6Y1J-4Dt8oiz2224fh27Ok4Q0D1x-8vVf_lchM4n7Bqse3PD3r0dSgyMRrxhTS70kpXjTM2hP6q1qqD3BFW1moQlV5pYTuD51UXfhzKFq424Ekbm6N-r9WMyZo-tghV7-L8AWtFV7LmF/s1600/P1020312.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG6Y1J-4Dt8oiz2224fh27Ok4Q0D1x-8vVf_lchM4n7Bqse3PD3r0dSgyMRrxhTS70kpXjTM2hP6q1qqD3BFW1moQlV5pYTuD51UXfhzKFq424Ekbm6N-r9WMyZo-tghV7-L8AWtFV7LmF/s640/P1020312.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I'm so happy that there is so much information about Jansson</span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">on the internet. And if you are interested to learn more about Tove Jansson and see more pictures, go to <a href="http://www.moomin.com/tove/" target="_blank">http://www.moomin.com/tove/</a></span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It's a really good website =)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As some of you may now, there is a museum for the Moomins in Tampere. It features all kinds of Moomin stuff =) I have been to that museum once and it's about time I go again. There is also a 'theme park' for the Moomins' in Naantali called Moomin World (Muumimaa), I have never been there, but it looks cute =^.^= </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I hope you enjoyed my review and so sorry I posted it late. Like I explained in my RANT RANT post, I was too busy at work so I couldn't complete this on time. Still I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it =D</span><br />
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See you very soon!</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A.P</span>Anarchy Pantyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274535103226645106noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4454851646577708620.post-5546928718441209132012-07-31T13:52:00.001-07:002012-07-31T13:53:15.187-07:00RANT RANT! July's artist post delayed!<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">
It's almost 12am and I am pissed off!</div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I was supposed to post this month's artist</span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">review, but because I had to work overtime today, July's review is going to be few days late. Seriously guise I am so so pissed off right now.</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRFggISfs8tB3SqvClplJ0WRbB2ut8d8vY4x7HdBPaSPoMnRf2VZKl-jnagA6fODvw5O3zP8UcyWw0EoO5few-ZYvr0CbDUZw8h36VaTpqj9qnJ8E7tjxMN-bfx7eAwIiSD3-gwwZO52pq/s1600/pissed+off.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRFggISfs8tB3SqvClplJ0WRbB2ut8d8vY4x7HdBPaSPoMnRf2VZKl-jnagA6fODvw5O3zP8UcyWw0EoO5few-ZYvr0CbDUZw8h36VaTpqj9qnJ8E7tjxMN-bfx7eAwIiSD3-gwwZO52pq/s320/pissed+off.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Here is what I think of serving you</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The thing is that I was hoping to leave work early today and finish my review. However...of course 15min before closing time we get one group of five and two groups of three --_-- Naturally they all wanted wine and cocktails and appetizers, the works. Meaning that the evening manager and I couldn't start our evening routine because we had to serve all the people in the restaurant first --_-- When it was time to start tidying up, the evening manager was no help at all so I had to do EVERYTHING by myself. I was counting on that I could leave at least 15min early, so I'd have had plenty of time to finish my review. BUT you know how it is, you think you can leave some place early, but you end</span> up <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">staying way longer than you expected and it's no fun at all. I was really cursing behind the bar, because I was so angry that I had let down myself like this. I had promised myself that I would not miss or delay a single artist review. I'm also very sad that those of you who look forward to my review (<i style="color: #a64d79;">people are reading my blog? O_O</i>) have to wait even longer to read July's review. So for the first time (after 6 months of being on time) I'm posting an artist review late.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">*sigh* I know it's a little my fault for leaving it till the last minute, but like I said, if I had managed to leave work at least 15min early, I would have made it. Our restaurant was empty by 9pm the day before so it was pretty unlikely that I'd have to stay overtime today. WELL the joke is on me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I know that I could stay up all night and finish the review, after all the biography is done, I just need to give my perspective on the artist's work HOWEVER, in less than 6 hours I'm catching a boat to Tallinn. I have to get up after 5am because my BFF and I are going on a day trip to Tallinn. Well it's a hair cut trip really. My family has been going to the same hair salon in Tallinn for almost a decade. We love the place, it's really really cheap and they always do a good job =) Plus it's always so nice to go to Tallinn. They have this really a-may-zaah sushi place there! <3 Their menu is very contemporary!</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm7jDSRd9MbZTo6_6XSZ_uT0DScYDR-qXpJ1HHsiS3zR4R5bHVfjtsc5mq2FkyN7N0EckiHzIie8lj7inE0g0z9Ndc1kYiOJuNVYgMRGU21qrft-Hu4DaLVe3VJ6h2rJQ_ycIj6uYdx8KF/s1600/annoyed.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm7jDSRd9MbZTo6_6XSZ_uT0DScYDR-qXpJ1HHsiS3zR4R5bHVfjtsc5mq2FkyN7N0EckiHzIie8lj7inE0g0z9Ndc1kYiOJuNVYgMRGU21qrft-Hu4DaLVe3VJ6h2rJQ_ycIj6uYdx8KF/s320/annoyed.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You don't want to be doing that...</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> All of you who have worked in customer service (or are/ have been waiters and waitresses) can understand how annoyed I am right now. I could have left on time, because I'm just an extra, I am not obligated to stay overtime. But I'm planning to move London in January so I need to save all the money I can, hence overtime is a nice little bonus.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I am deeply sorry that July's artist review will be posted in August. I have friday off from work, so you can expect to read the review on Aug. 3rd. Thanks for understanding, meanwhile here is Bigbang.</span><br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/btDd9rOlc2k?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <i>Go G-D, kick that mannequin's nuts!</i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">A.P</span><br />
<br />Anarchy Pantyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274535103226645106noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4454851646577708620.post-33986846544307845522012-07-11T12:21:00.000-07:002012-07-11T12:21:48.206-07:00The truth behind animal abuse. Part two: Animal crush videos.<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Hi guise!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This is rather unexpected of me. I didn't think I'd have enough time to write TWO entries this month (artist of the month coming later), but after an alarming and disturbing cause was brought to my attention, I knew I had to post it here right now! My fur factory farming entry is my most read entry so clearly you guise are interested in learning about what horribles things people are capable of doing to animals (so for now one you can ban fur from your life and not buy anything from L'ancome or Pantene ProV). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">To be honest, I wasn't completly aware that issue like this was even out there. I'm still very shocked about what I learned goes down in fur farms. It still keeps me awake at night. I'm consciously avoiding my animal testing research because I know what that knowledge will do to me. I have like basic knowledge of what the test subject animals have to go through, but I'm convinced that once I dig deeper, all kinds of horrible and unforgivable stuff will come out. As a result, I'll be 100% more traumatized than I already am. (I'm a sensitive person you know, I can't just research about this stuff, write about it and then forget it. No. This stuff will most likely haunt me for the rest of my life).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I was naive to think that cruelty against animals was 'limited' only to fur farming and animal testing. With occasional animal murder/torture you read about or hear about. Sadly there is a-not-so-vocal 'practice' of animal abuse that is now getting attention from animal rights organizations and the public. As the title suggests, this animal abuse act is about smaller animals being literally crushed for the sake of sexual pleasure and 'entertainment'. I use entertainment loosely because only seriously sick people would find these videos 'entertaining'.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqrZc6Kx0-vXpybNlsXraPGdVkH5ZoXVccUt3Jttg_BqK_Fijzru1rAfnxMgzTW9YQdlEUgxYOJzhBNBpwEoxYII5m_9N1cEuC1xa5DSICXKpGtPTy6qRgmAQmwFbh23yJQAAUmCNMXlAf/s1600/crush.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="383" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqrZc6Kx0-vXpybNlsXraPGdVkH5ZoXVccUt3Jttg_BqK_Fijzru1rAfnxMgzTW9YQdlEUgxYOJzhBNBpwEoxYII5m_9N1cEuC1xa5DSICXKpGtPTy6qRgmAQmwFbh23yJQAAUmCNMXlAf/s400/crush.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">And this is no joke, videos like these really exists. Those aren't stunt bunnies, those girls really killed them on video. No CGI or animation, that's all real.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I really don't want to feature more pics than the one above, because the stuff you'd see, is seriously nauseating, not to mention heart breaking. One of the concepts of the animal crush videos is this: A person (most often a young woman) crushes a small animal with her stiletto heels. Literally, slowly 'stomps' the animal to its death. Additionally these videos include people skinning small animals alive, setting them on fire or breaking and tearing their limbs to earn more screams. The list is endless. And might I add, this is a serious misuse of the phrase 'use your imagination'!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> You know some people say that video games provoke violence. And some suggest that people (especially young people) who have committed a homicide is because they were unable to tell the difference between fantasy/game land and reality. Like where fantasy ends and reality begins kinda thing. Well just think what the people who watch animal crush videos are like. It goes without saying that a person who enjoys watching animal crush videos, or similar videos starring humans, is a deeply deeply disturbed person. It makes me sick to even think that someone could find sexual release whilst watching these videos. It takes a really sick mind to 'be able' to enjoy something like this. </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I'm
interested in psychology and I know that anyone who is in their right
mind wouldn't find animal crush videos sexually arousing or amusing or
entertaining.</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> I'm not really that concerned about what video games do to young children, I'm seriously concerned about what people who like to watch these type of videos are capable of doing to other people. I read somewhere that a person who enjoys torturing animals or likes to watch animal torture videos is a serious threath to other human beings (and naturally to animals). If they are already lacking in the empathy and 'what's right and what's wrong' department, we can imagine that these people don't really care much about their actions no matter how brutal they are.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">And it strickes me as odd that these people are not locked away. Well perhaps once they get caught they are, I can't tell for sure, I know that the law in some parts of the world, is pretty kind to criminals --_-- I don't know anybody who'd find animal torture videos anything, but horrible and unforgivable so I'm not sure how the people who do enjoy them are punished. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">However, what about those who MAKE the videos? As much as I am concerned about that someone would actually like to watch these videos, who is that person (or gang) who likes to make these videos?! I noticed that most of the culprits are women O_o Asian women --_-- I have nothing against Asians it's just that the fact that animal crush videos are mostly made in Asia doesn't surprise me. How could a continent, that has limited human rights, could have any animal rights. That's what I think. The animal laws in Asia are very vague than what they are in Europe or North America (here in Europe we actually have strict animal rights laws) so of course most of the animal crush videos are filmed in Asia. Again, I'm very much in love with Japan and Japanese culture and I'm slightly interested in South Korea and I'd like to go to Singapore. However, I think Asia is light years behind Europe and North America in human and animal rights. And I hope with all of my heart that they are trying to fix those for the better as we speak. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">So I was talking about those who take part in the act. I cannot even fathom out how anyone could just stand on top of a screaming baby rabbit and slowly crush the life out of him or her and not feel any remorse. Or how could someone set a kitten on fire and watch whilst he or she screams and runs around in your living room and still not be affected by it. The mere sound of an animal in distress tugs my heart strings. There are so many things I cannot understand about this world, but to hurt an animal (or anyone) willingly, takes the cherry. Should be pretty clear that those who take part in animal crush videos lack in both empathy and sympathy and must have pretty sadistic personalities. I don't see how otherwise anyone would agree to take part in such act. </span><br />
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Needless to say, the government and society should be aware of this practice for it contributes to the generation of the serial killing mind. According to <u style="color: black;">stopcrush.org
</u>all serial murderers share a common history of animal abuse. And usually the next step is homicide. It should be made governments task to protect the animals as much as the society from this kind of practice. Not only is it inhumane and unnecessary, but it could be used as a tool to jolt the unstable minds of indefinite characters.</div>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Funny story, in the early 2000s the museum of modern art Kiasma in Helsinki Finland, featured a video which at one point showed a man (he calls himself an artist) killing a rescue/shelter cat with an ax and then masturbates on the cat's corpse. It took the museum a while to remove the video and the man got away with a fine. He had abused animals before he made the video.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Here you may sign a petition for the UK Parliament to outlaw animal crush videos.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.change.org/petitions/u-k-parliament-outlaw-animal-crush-video-by-enacting-legislation-with-severe-penalties">http://www.change.org/petitions/u-k-parliament-outlaw-animal-crush-video-by-enacting-legislation-with-severe-penalties</a> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">SIGNED!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">And here you may find more information on animal crush videos and about the Stop Crush organization who is working so hard to stop this cruel practice.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.stopcrush.org/">http://www.stopcrush.org/</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can't help them, at least don't hurt them</i></span> - Dalai Lama.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This is what I believe in.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Thank you so much for reading and I'll see you in a few weeks when it's time for the artist of the month!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Cheers! AP</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span>Anarchy Pantyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274535103226645106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4454851646577708620.post-13955912647689149612012-06-28T08:24:00.001-07:002012-06-28T08:25:04.482-07:00Artist of the Month: Jasper Goodall<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-cWMqpmkuCBFj3ObxXxw2XsoDic1nMmJQKE832M1JiTb7YDeUakLoSbR_mXGzmWTLYYq6UcWqWCr_5j4BY_a7ebAZSFUdgITJbDXBIySwswrHucAJLgma7MtrBmPR8VwKdHWBowmor_Pk/s1600/jgood.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-cWMqpmkuCBFj3ObxXxw2XsoDic1nMmJQKE832M1JiTb7YDeUakLoSbR_mXGzmWTLYYq6UcWqWCr_5j4BY_a7ebAZSFUdgITJbDXBIySwswrHucAJLgma7MtrBmPR8VwKdHWBowmor_Pk/s400/jgood.jpg" width="285" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"It's so tacky to exhibit one's ultimate art over and over." says Deidara as he is captured by Kankuro's team *chuckle chuckle* Do I need to remind you that the only person who probably saw your art was Sasu, and it's not like he's gonna tell anyone. And now you are inside a wooden casket so again, who's gonna see your art DeiDei? xD I just love to tease him, though the way DeiDei turned his body into a bomb, looked pretty cool O_o Yeah I'm watching Naruto Shippuuden again</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> since the plot is actually moving on for a change</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> (I had to wait for those 3 bloody filler episodes to blow over --__--) </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It's also summer =) I love summer! well okay it's not even close to +30'C, but we are getting there.</span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Sun is shining and couple days ago we had +23'C. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">And if all goes well, I'll be moving to London or to Paris come autumn. I have decided that I want to become a make up artist and (central) Europe would be the best place to acquire education in make up and cosmetics. I have 2 pretty prestigious schools in Paris and Milan to consider and one pretty promising school in London (well there are like 3 of them, but this one sounds really promising career wise). I'd be interested to move to Paris, however, there is a pretty massive language barrier between me and Paris. Even if they teach the classes in english, chances are I won't get hired easily since I do not speak or understand French. It would be such an amazing opportunity and experience though. Paris or London? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Yeah just incase my pals were feeling a bit curious about what I'm going to do the rest of the year. It's Year of the Dragon so good choices + career eyes on us dragons. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This month's artist is the naughty British artist who likes his (imaginary) women latex-ed and his art digital/graphic, <b style="color: black;">Jasper Goodall</b>. The picture in the beginning, I have no idea what the title is and I'm a bit skeptich whether it's actually Goodall's work. I found it via Google, but it wasn't listed on his webpage. It could be a very very good imitation. However for arguments sake, lets hope it is authentic Goodall. If you read my Luis Royo entry you'll know that I'm really into this kind of art. I find people's fancy for fetish, eroticism, fantasy and smexy outfits really interesting because it makes me wonder what kind of people they are. So my first thought on Goodall's work is "jaw dropping". It's still a little hard to graps that such a famous artist is so openly making such sexy work about sex. Well I guess that is subjective. Some people would say G's work is an insight to personal preferance and conversation about eroticism's place in fantasy and contemporary culture. And some just see the latex ladies. I think the setting in the first image is simply delicious. Four ladies dressed in black latex, 3 of them are wearing masks that cover their faces. And the last girl is on her knees expressing her infatuation for the girl in front. That or she's just doing what her mistress has told her to do. I have always been interested in how artists who work eroticism and sex into their work describe/picture it. There comes always the question about wheter the piece is art or porn. It's usually the art studying/knowing people who say that there is a very fine line between artistic eroticism and pornography. From my research I could argue that this type of art would become pornograph if G would keep the digital polishing to a minimum and was using real models/people. Then his work would be dangerously close to porn and adult imaginery. It would seem like just another naughty fetish series or a new line of fetish garments. What sets G's work apart from other artist working the same medium is his authentic look. I have seen a few artist who like to do the explicit sex-art thing, but those pieces are more about sex-meets-art than art-reinventing-sex (like how G does it). I think Royo's work applies here a little. His work is most importantly a sexy fantasy tale, whilst G's work is shamelessly playing the sexy factor ;) I could be wrong though. There could be a much deeper meaning than what G's pieces suggest. After all G likes to use a lot of symbols and cartoonish characters to explain and express things. It's those characters and his vector art/graphics that are moving his work away from pornographic. Suppose when it comes to making 'sexy-art' simplicity counts. Personally I think 'mistress and the apprentices' (yeah I gave the piece above a nickname xP) is really gorgeous. Who could have thought black vector art looked this good. Having that print on your wall would be one way to start a conversation or to impress (or shock) someone ;) </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Someday when I have my own place and enough cash, I'll decorate the place with a few Jasper G prints *heart*</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Jasper Goodall was born in Birmingham (UK). He graduated from the University of Brighton in 1995 and spend the rest of the 90's rejuvenating the illustration genre and bring it to the state it is today. I'm guessing illustration was more about literally illustrating books and recepies and such before G and various other artists started to reinvent it in the late 90's. Now vector art and illustrations similar to G's style are used in ads, book/story illustrations, magazines and so on.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In february 2009 G had his first solo Gallery show in London titled
‘<u><i>Poster Girls</i></u>’. This marked a new direction in his work. He still keeps treating us with new prints that express his talent on mixing photography and illustration. In 2010 G participated in a show for Christian Dior called "<i>Dior Illustrated:</i></span><i> </i><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>René Gruau and the Line of Beauty</i>" creating a 3-D fabric/acrylic silhouette of a woman leaning. His CV includes rock band, magazine, swimwear and liquor bottle designs, public art. In 2010 he ventured to Australia for a lecture tour, visiting Sydney and Melbourne. Recently he has returned back to his previous style (mid 2000), well returned is not the right word, more like developed his previous style. His most recent work <u><i>'</i><i>Silhouettes</i></u>' is a mixture of that graphic look from before, yet now it's more stylized. One could say it's a combination of vector and graphic which he then styles further. G continues to work as a freelance illustrato</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">r</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">, but he is</span><span class="dark" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> represented by creative consultancy Big Active.</span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">On top of this G teaches the illustration degree course at the University of Brighton</span>.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWfcj_h3NWosSEKYpHkG1X-YSUWswck0PGxVstA-sDgJ82SwVNqZSsWA4joznFXp3mDmjfZF1hHlJ8VTRhWK6tKnZMX24Egsd7nqREqXMGwTiNTKVlfRnH7jp7J1p1ywSj24ipmmRwClA7/s1600/jgoodall.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWfcj_h3NWosSEKYpHkG1X-YSUWswck0PGxVstA-sDgJ82SwVNqZSsWA4joznFXp3mDmjfZF1hHlJ8VTRhWK6tKnZMX24Egsd7nqREqXMGwTiNTKVlfRnH7jp7J1p1ywSj24ipmmRwClA7/s400/jgoodall.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">photo: Heini Mika. Electric Blue Gallery London. 2009.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I had the pleasure to visit Electric Blue in April 2009 when G's additional <i>Poster Girls</i></span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">prints were on display. By additional I mean that the actual show had ended, but I guess the gallery continued the show, but with smaller prints. It was a relatively small gallery, but they used the space wisely. The prints were hang up like that, like laundry on clothes line and on the opposite wall was a big wall print. I especially loved that pink lady who has sticky stuff between her fingers xD it looks really gorgeous (I love pink!) and kinda avant-garde. There's actually two slightly different versions of these prints (black bambi, tiger and pink girl)</span>, <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">it's kinda print-meet-live-model. For ex. the pink girl print is actually held up by a model sitting on a chair and we can see that she is wearing pink latex stockings and heels, similar to the print's pink. This express G idea of mashing up fantasy and reality and I think it worked superbly well. Those model pictures look as gorgeous as the prints we see above. The idea is pretty simple and besides models holding up pictures, there isn't really much else going on in these prints. Hence perhaps it's G's composing talent that makes simple scenes interesting. He manipulates shapes and colours and voilá he shows us these results. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Olympias</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Personally again I think it's so cool when an artis comes forth with controversial pieces. To me G's work touches something forbidden and nasty. Something that I know some people are part of this scene yet to me it's still a piece of fantasy and mystery. It requires guts to work this topic. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Which of course some people can't digest. Which is why I think it's important to talk a little bit about art as a tool of objectifying women.</span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">My tutor (female) in Uni was very particular about bringing this subject up when ever there was a piece that showed a lot of skin and girls in suggestive poses (but I think she was very peculiar about fine art master pieces that, in their own time, were viewed as objectifying too). Naturally G's work has brought out the question whether his work objectifies women. I think when ever an artist shows a lot of skin and suggestive poses in their work, it is identified as 'objectifying'. Even though G's work comes from a man's point of view, I don't think his intention is to literally objectify women and express that women are only delicious eye candy who do a lot of sexy and nasty/naughty stuff. Like in Luis Royo's (see my entry on Royo) work G shows us a fantasy. It's up to the viewer to decide how seriously they are going to take it. And so what if there is a little bit (or a lot of) truth behind G's fantasy. I personally happen to know a few ladies who are into some nasty/naughty stuff so it's not like women are unwillingly lured into this kind of fetish scenario G presents in his work. Some people are just really into that kind of stuff. I like the idea and it would make me smirk and chuckle so much if some of the senarios were..well real. I'm personally not offended by G's images. I think they are sexy and witty and beautifully done. I can understand why people would be offended by them especially since it's a male artist who is showing us women in this light. It is offensive to think that women like to wear sexy clothing to attract male's attention and the reason they engage in these sexual acts is to fulfil some sort of male sexual fantasy. But that's what I think is G's plan all along, it is just a fantasy. I when I was a teenager I was offended by Coke Zero and Axe (I think this is called Lynx in the Uk) commercials because they showed boys that using these products could get them hot models. As I grew up I realized that if boys really thought that spraying Axe would make hot women come running for them, they are going to be so dissapointed. You can't help, but laugh at that. Nowadays I laugh every time I see those commercials. That's what I think G's work is about. It's portal to a fantasy world that have little to do with our society or culture. Naturally there are people who enjoy the same fetish-sexy treatments as the characters in G's work and we shouldn't be offended by it. People are different and if this is the stuff G is really into I must raise my hat to him for being so brave and bold to show us his inner most desires (and it's not like he became famous and then started doing his sexy art. He became famous by doing sexy art). </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0lIqRlHIIT0FktlAJvzx8hTpMFK6FfGAVwPr7MlZ8krO1ctSaEa3qf9QYExwOpwnR-xU8-v8fi6L5fY7QGOBtfgHSSJvngW08zb-cra2XPMiAOrDy_suk6hlllLWrZOYWHACGO0x07OQ_/s1600/JG4B.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0lIqRlHIIT0FktlAJvzx8hTpMFK6FfGAVwPr7MlZ8krO1ctSaEa3qf9QYExwOpwnR-xU8-v8fi6L5fY7QGOBtfgHSSJvngW08zb-cra2XPMiAOrDy_suk6hlllLWrZOYWHACGO0x07OQ_/s400/JG4B.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">JG4B swimwear line</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Naturally it's really important to know your audience when you make art like this. It's mostly magazines, ads and young adults who are interested in vector/graphic art-illustration. After all this medium is still relatively new and doesn't quite reach the artistic values and appreciation that Fine Art enjoyes. On the other hand G has proven that there is so much artistic and commercial potential to graphic art. See that gorgeous one piece? That is so gorgeous! G teamed with Louise Middleton in 2003 and together created a gorgeous swimwear line. If you look hard, you can still find some of the bikinis sold online. See this link for more information and history about their collaboration <a href="http://arts.brighton.ac.uk/staff/jasper-goodall/portfolio-of-major-works/jg4b-swimwear">http://arts.brighton.ac.uk/staff/jasper-goodall/portfolio-of-major-works/jg4b-swimwear</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It's clear that Jasper Goodall is quite a genius with his own medium. During one interview he expressed how he isn't a fan of people who come up with a style or an art method and stick with for years and years to come. I couldn't agree more. It is such a yawn to see an artist do the same thing over and over again. Deidara may think that his explosive sculptures are state of the art (well that one sculpture's, once destroyed, special feature was to invade one's cells and destroy the body from within was pretty genious), but you have been blowing up your art for years and years. You'd think that Goodall was the same, that he has worked graphic art since the late 90's and hasn't changed his style or course a bit. But as we can see in the final image below, he most certainly is out to look for different methods and styles to develop his work. Yet even in the new pieces we can still recognize his genius and style. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Hope you enjoyed this entry. See you in July!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">See ya!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">AP</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLSiCD2INlmn4Ot5FaKQnZwidW9naCCPzQxxCwvDUQc7cJpmuvSjPc5abu7zx4SYsPpZvLGgVyTiQomTrfIg926tFIXRjr8sSvCyqBG806pprKOXVvEzVQVpd_wuM2imAMv6TEf3L9ShBW/s1600/japser_sunrise-e1337123644681.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLSiCD2INlmn4Ot5FaKQnZwidW9naCCPzQxxCwvDUQc7cJpmuvSjPc5abu7zx4SYsPpZvLGgVyTiQomTrfIg926tFIXRjr8sSvCyqBG806pprKOXVvEzVQVpd_wuM2imAMv6TEf3L9ShBW/s400/japser_sunrise-e1337123644681.jpg" width="285" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Leopard Dunes</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>Anarchy Pantyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274535103226645106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4454851646577708620.post-28057243153486274342012-05-31T07:46:00.000-07:002012-05-31T07:46:37.155-07:00CitySummer (AOTM)<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Hey, guise! ^_^</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Again a month has gone by and it's spring in Finland. Well it's practically summer, but compared to last week's heat wave, we're cooling down for now. It was so hot and nice last week. But that's pretty much how it goes every summer, we get a heat wave in late May- early June and then the rest of June is cold and rainy --_-- </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">You like my new hair in the banner xD I'm a brunette again <3 blonde hair was fun, but I think brunette hair fits me much better.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">About this entry, I thought about reviewing Jasper Goodall, however, I'm taking part in a group art show in June-July so I figured I could talk about the work I'm going to be showing there. Hence you may expect my review on Goodall in late June. I'm not making myself the 'Artist of the month', the show <b style="color: #f6b26b;">CitySummer</b> is the 'AOTM'. I kinda swore to myself that I wouldn't skip a single 'AOTM', but since I have only today to post this entry I came to a conclusion that those who are coming to see the show might wanna learn about the idea behind my work for <b style="color: #f6b26b;">CS</b>. Of course you can view the paintings on my website and they are available for purchase. I'm also thinking about continuing this series after we finish the show.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #f6b26b;">CitySummer</span></b> is the name of our show and it's actually <span style="color: #666666;">Akvart's</span> (the gallery in Helsinki) annual show. Same name, different artists (well some of the artists take part in the show every year).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The currator only told us how large out works could be and what kind of frames we were allowed to use, but that was it. </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The topic of this show gave me quite a fright. </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Right from the start I had an idea to make lovely cityscape/monument paintings. Like those lovely paintings you can buy in Rome, Paris, Lisbon etc. Like a painting of the Fontana Di Trevi etc</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">. I wanted to do lovely city scapes and
monuments with peole posing next to/near them. </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">My first painting was about Paris, a lady on top of a hill, sitting on a stone ledge holding her big hat and behind her is the Eiffel tower and the Parc du Champ-de-Mars. I still like that painting very much. </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">But too bad cityscapes/monuments are done to death. You can buy an artist made painting of
the Eiffel tower anywhere in Paris. I became literally scared and was rather
depressed about what to make for the show. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I brainstormed for a month. I wanted to do something with cityscapes and if you are familiar with my work, you know that '</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">garbled</span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">and smudgy' (as I like to call this) type of painting isn't my style.</span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Far from it actually. So I tried to think how I could make cityscapes interesting.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I have a vast collection of photographs from my travels and some of them are so good that I could exhibit them like that. That's when I realized that I could do "mash-up" of photograps and imagination. I could use the photographs I have of Helsinki like that, but alter it so that other things are happening in the final image.</span><br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbzroP99TI5PBlsHTRCn7j7TY_Tx9EVL4S1ioCOLwyj4tX1bj96RYVKfgtL4jzkWqycuD77BoxeHW0VVy75S-319c6I7bTz5PvNolS8BS7JGowNSqsBEX3qUTk3n1cRiJGv2Y54pVjaZn3/s1600/t%C3%B6%C3%B6l%C3%B6nlahti.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="450" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbzroP99TI5PBlsHTRCn7j7TY_Tx9EVL4S1ioCOLwyj4tX1bj96RYVKfgtL4jzkWqycuD77BoxeHW0VVy75S-319c6I7bTz5PvNolS8BS7JGowNSqsBEX3qUTk3n1cRiJGv2Y54pVjaZn3/s640/t%C3%B6%C3%B6l%C3%B6nlahti.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Töölönlahti. 2012. H.M.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span>"<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Töölönlahti</span>" <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">is the first painting I made. This place is a real place in Helsinki. I merely altered the background because that water is actually a gulf, on the opposite shore there are just rocks and few houses. I made this new background to go with the theme of this series. The geese were there for real, they tend to make camp in this park every summer xP</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I named this series '<span style="color: #e06666;">Summer City</span>' and I imagine it to be a real place somewhere, but not here</span>. <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Summer is eternal in <span style="color: #e06666;">Summer City</span> and its people only know leisure and pleasure. Their only purpose is to excist and enjoy their lives =) Summer is my favourite season, so I wouldn't mind living in <span style="color: #e06666;">Summer City</span>. However it's not an ordinary city, humans have obtained a way to really live their lives as they see fit</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">.</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> As we can see in the painting above, the woman on the background loves to fly. She has made a pair of wings and can now fly with the geese. The girl in front is just posing for the person taking her picture. Desire and leisure really come together here =)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">To me <span style="color: #e06666;">Summer City</span> is a mixture of Helsinki's tranquility and Sydney's tall buildings. I really fell in love with Sydney and I'd so much like to live there. Too bad it's so far away from everything --_-- (I'm a European after all, you can't move out of Europe and not miss it). "Töölönlahti" is a photo a real photo. To be honest, that girl in front is me. I posed for this picture, and I always wanted to use it somehow because the atmosphere and surroundings were interesting. In '<span style="color: #e06666;">Summer City</span>'</span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">we'll see other paintings like this. Original photographs which I have turned into paintings. Like the painting below. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitYM9_TB8xxlBMWwKEMOOWRPGn5mFRFTyQnXkrjlK2MUOvx-EPE9MauT2hu5So4op_Rc0v6ZEyrZJjGfMs1PY4lN4Tvxy_Wb8lH_P4FoiyQzC84PPnccAIpKSrRbRxwoRUFIBTCpPi8EHc/s1600/munkkiniemi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitYM9_TB8xxlBMWwKEMOOWRPGn5mFRFTyQnXkrjlK2MUOvx-EPE9MauT2hu5So4op_Rc0v6ZEyrZJjGfMs1PY4lN4Tvxy_Wb8lH_P4FoiyQzC84PPnccAIpKSrRbRxwoRUFIBTCpPi8EHc/s400/munkkiniemi.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Munkkiniemi. 2012. H.M.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> This scene is a photograph too. I didn't alter it, though the real girl in the photo doesn't have long green hair like this girl does. I imagined this '<span style="color: #e06666;">Summer City</span>' resident is a mermaid (hush, this is a secret ;) ), but the others don't know it. In reality this is quite a fantastic photo and I really like to thank my good friend from Germany for posing ^_^ She really liked the photo and people kept calling her Ariel. I'm really happy she liked the photo and now I had the pleasure to use it in my series. At first I wasn't too fond of this painting, but now that I look at it in its frames, it looks pretty awesome ^_^ In my mind this mermaid is living in <span style="color: #e06666;">Summer City</span>, but she has disguised herself as human to protect her secret. She comes to this beach often for a swim.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFehstw0nhJA-VZshzMFU413dabbj1YdzbUBVwRxbyOuVGnswGOi2ZynAH94WalZl20nHz4dnk_zATAheWm3oxXi8WLNEY0Gmg7kJKvwkpsTIrtKcVfZxT0X1p3BYuIN5mJ1b6jVk-DHpA/s1600/Bear.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFehstw0nhJA-VZshzMFU413dabbj1YdzbUBVwRxbyOuVGnswGOi2ZynAH94WalZl20nHz4dnk_zATAheWm3oxXi8WLNEY0Gmg7kJKvwkpsTIrtKcVfZxT0X1p3BYuIN5mJ1b6jVk-DHpA/s400/Bear.jpg" width="313" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bear. 2012. H.M.</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This last image is imagination all the way xD I can't exactly recall how this image came to be. I remember RJ and I were goofying off and talking about character costumes people have to wear. Like at Disneyland or Moominworld. We were talking about this 'funland' in Finland where she thought she might apply. She'd then wear this big happy bear character costume. At some point we were talking about how some characters in Pokemon have like, I don't know, models or servants by their side (in weird uniforms!) all the time. So I (or maybe it was RJ) thought how funny it would be if RJ, in her costume, had like these harem girls by her side all day long. We thought that must be one of the bizzarest things ewah O_o It sounded so weird that I had an sudden urge to sketch this idea and make it into a painting. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Here we see Mr. Bear with his faithful...eh..followers.. Bear has taken charge of the city's underground scene<span style="color: #e06666;"></span>. He and his followers are always close by. At first I thought he'd be the black sheep of the society, but I have changed my mind since I'm in the middle of creating two youngters who unofficially rule <span style="color: #e06666;">Summer City</span>. I think Mr. Bear is Huggy Bear, sort of. Somewhere between a criminal and a good guy. Bear could be the guy people come to to make their more extravagant dreams come true (like learn to fly). And of course some girls wish to join him cuz he's so darn cute! This painting took a lot of time, trust me =P</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">These are few examples of what's to come at <b><span style="color: #f6b26b;">CitySummer</span></b></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">. I have 5 more paintings for the show. I'm hoping that people find them as beautiful and entertaining as I do. I love stories very much and hope that people see stories in my paintings. I'm having a lot of fun painting these paintings and perhaps a little bit of that joy shines through them <3 The mediums I use are Aquarelles, Gouache and Sai japanese watercolour pens (markers to be precise). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I hope you liked this entry. And for those of you who are coming to see the show, I'll see you then! <3</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Thank you for reading. Panty out! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">See you! </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #f6b26b;"></span></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span>Anarchy Pantyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274535103226645106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4454851646577708620.post-55274904760121875832012-04-30T08:54:00.000-07:002012-04-30T08:54:17.857-07:00Artist of the Month: Claude Monet.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOag5sUibtMnNE1lqkLDbct8HNdRZufqwolmsqYGzHUBDQh0bOwB0cTXESaVoROXwbKaK1QiDgPDdaQ40gjF6D0L8dDfQHwC3oIV_Td1Til_NYXdNePDDUMeuoaWBJZLZ2NzGZRSVMhwiY/s1600/Monet_-_Water_Lilies_-_1906,.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="383" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOag5sUibtMnNE1lqkLDbct8HNdRZufqwolmsqYGzHUBDQh0bOwB0cTXESaVoROXwbKaK1QiDgPDdaQ40gjF6D0L8dDfQHwC3oIV_Td1Til_NYXdNePDDUMeuoaWBJZLZ2NzGZRSVMhwiY/s400/Monet_-_Water_Lilies_-_1906,.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nymphéas 1906</td></tr>
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WOW is April like over already?
It's May Day eve, a big big drunken 'festival' in Finland.
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I don't really care of May Day so I'm at our cabin
again ^_^ have been here a week, working on my paintings. I'm so
looking forward to summer. I can bring out my high heels and shorts
soon ^_^</div>
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What do you think of the new
background? It's by Candy Bird again =^.^=</div>
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So, one of my all time favourite Fine
artist is the French impressionist master Claude Monet.</div>
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My bestfriend told me to remember that 'Monet was a typical example of couter-reaction to previous prevailing style' as he put it. Well that's one way to put it.</div>
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Monet was born in November 14<sup>th</sup>
1840 in Paris. Very early on he wanted to become an
artist. In 1851 he went to study at Le Havre secondary school of the
arts. At that time the locals knew him for his charcoal caricatures.
Years later he gained a mentor in Eugene Boudin who taught him to use
oil paints, mostly focusing on techniques for outdoor painting. But Monet would shy away from the current practice of copying
from the old masters. Instead he decided to
paint what he saw around him. Ten years later Monet joined the army for a
seven-year commitment, but had to leave after two years for he had
caught typhoid fever. He later agreed to complete an art course at an
art school, but was dissapointed with the traditional art taught at
the school so he left and became a student of Charles Gleyre.
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The next few years Monet spend
traveling. He lived in England and Netherlands for a while before
returning to France in 1871 when he moved to Argenteuil. Monet's earlier, some
famous, paintings are from the time he spend in Argenteuil. In 1874 Monet's painting, a very famous one, '<i>Impression Soleil levant</i>' took part in the very first impressionist exhibition in France. One could say this
exhibition created the term 'impressionism'. </div>
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In 1878 Monet moved to Vétheuil and in
1883 settled at Giverny. Having experienced extreme poverty earlier,
Monet began to prosper once more. By 1890 he was able to buy the
house he had previously rented. At Giverny he began to concentrate on
series of images, where he painted the same subject at different
times of the day in different lights. By 1899 his attention was
focused on his famous water-garden (which he created) including the
Japanese bridge. Monet hired several gardeners to look after his
garden and property, instructing them about the layouts and floral
purchases. It wasn't until early 1900's when the water-garden began
to dominate his work. In 1914 he had a large studio built in the
grounds of his house so he could work on the large canvases. In his
final years Monet continued to paint, regardless of his failing eyesight.
He died of lung cancer on 5<sup>th</sup> of December 1926 at the age
of 86. He is buried in the Giverny church cemetery and his house and
estate are open to visit.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtJjsbT5qVzykbGW6XejaHJp2PTIIb_ET9-cA4ZRzRq0DZEtzDz68lbUcgQhjY8jBXwxlfH4198hnowTpMxSrbyoclrCezTa9688xb4YD7NJ4WW34yo0Th1POXUdMB86Rwnom6fDLu4zoQ/s1600/monetcoquelicots-environs-dargenteuil-1873.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="455" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtJjsbT5qVzykbGW6XejaHJp2PTIIb_ET9-cA4ZRzRq0DZEtzDz68lbUcgQhjY8jBXwxlfH4198hnowTpMxSrbyoclrCezTa9688xb4YD7NJ4WW34yo0Th1POXUdMB86Rwnom6fDLu4zoQ/s640/monetcoquelicots-environs-dargenteuil-1873.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Coquelicots, environs d'Argenteuil
1873</div>
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Above is one of my favourite Monet
'<i>Coquelicots, environs d'Argenteuil</i>' 1873 (I like to use the real names of the
paintings and not the english translations --_--). It's currently on display at Musée d'Orsay in Paris. I had
a brief vacation in Paris earlier this month, and stupid me didn't
visit this museum. Anyway, this painting is Monet's earlier work
which was mainly city subjects and people. This painting however
tells of a warm summer day in the country. Monet felt that people
were part of the nature, so he had a tendency to slightly blend his
characters into the landscape. The 4 figures in the painting aren't
supposed to be the main focus in the image. Every time I look at this
image, my eyes explore the two charaters in front, moving onto the
red poppies on the left. I personally find this painting very
pleasant and debonair. Debonair in an imaginative kind of way. It
depicts a real place, but to me the poppies and soft palette give
an impression of a magical place where every day is like this.
Every artist and art lover knows that impressionism isn't about
accuracy or proportions, it's about the effect of light and movement
(visual experience). This fascination of light and movement was
literally science to the impressionist painters. In the poppy
painting we can see Monet's attempt to capture how the sun light
shines through the clouds. The hay appears lighter and
more yellow on the left side, whilst it get's darker on the right
side where the larger clouds are. In the soft greens
and yellows on the field, and the gentle reds on the poppies Monet gives a settle hint of what's yet to come in his practice.<br />
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If you have been lucky to drive past
poppy fields in Germany, did you get a feeling of tranquillity, mixed
with a little enchantment (similar to what we can experience in
Monet's work)? Anyone seen or read the '<i>Wizard of Oz</i>'? Remember that
part '<i>The Deadly Poppy field</i>', that got me excited when when we drove past the poppies in Germany when I was little. It was exciting and little 'scary' at the same time, I kept wondering 'are the poppies gonna make me fall asleep?' =D It's that feeling you get when you see a
painting (or a photograph, or a movie) about something and oddly when you see the thing for real, your mind/body remembers that feeling you had the first time you saw it. And the real thing is perfect, yet there is still something magical about it. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipVxW_RDmRZodT205dPg4kudPGKEG_Vhs2LEs1zIvnp3xXkHVX_GGZmd3hcamBe8CwPP6hdCkamsj_XbI9MWJgXwK3cTQ8lC0M7gRDljaFydiuVYYt6YN47BH3xbQQ-epFLRxKGFg0bKgZ/s1600/MonetlebassinAuxNympheas18991899.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipVxW_RDmRZodT205dPg4kudPGKEG_Vhs2LEs1zIvnp3xXkHVX_GGZmd3hcamBe8CwPP6hdCkamsj_XbI9MWJgXwK3cTQ8lC0M7gRDljaFydiuVYYt6YN47BH3xbQQ-epFLRxKGFg0bKgZ/s400/MonetlebassinAuxNympheas18991899.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Le Bassin Aux Nympheas 1899</div>
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As we go through
Monet's work, we may begin to get the idea of what Impressionism
was trying to convey. By 1899 Monet was focusing his attention on his water-lily
garden. In the end he made eighteen paintings, depicting the Japanese
bridge and the water-lily garden in different times of the day.
Again, one of my favourites from Monet '<i>Le Bassin Aux Nympheas</i>' 1899
(all the bridge-pond paintings are pretty much named le bassin-- you
need to pay attention to the year). This painting gives us a more
gentle and lighter colour palette that I think describes Monet's true
style perfectly. It's a classic Monet. He had done landscapes and
still-lives before, but this is where his style and passion truly lied. As a
fellow (rookie) artist, I find it very admirable when an artist is
able to paint water and reflection simultaneously, it's quite tricky.
More the reason to admire them if they manage to make the result look
interesting. I don't think anyone could
paint water-lilies as soulfully as Monet. I keep
mentioning enchantment and this painting is perhaps the single most
perfect example of how a painting becomes enchanting. The tones in
the bridge mirror beautifully the pink and white water-lilies. I very
much believe that in order to make something enchanting and romantic
(in art) one needs the right palette and subject, otherwise it would
feel like one is trying to force it. I think the reason Monet's
water-lily and Japanese bridge paintings are so beautiful is because
they look so effortless. Though I can imagine how much time and
effort he spend on making them. In many ways Monet's reputation as the
impressionist master is justified. Impressionism is there to arouse
feelings in us and perhaps we can get the impression of the feeling
the artist had when they painted the painting in question. By looking
at '<i>Le Bassin</i>' I can tell that Monet loved his water-garden very
much. He applies the same care to this paintings as he did to his
garden and estate. Perhaps Monet's work could be imagined as a target
of comparison to all artist who wish to create something spellbinding. Even a person who doesn't know anything about art, should
be able to recognize if the artist was in love with the painting
whilst they were making it. Like, they loved doing what they were
doing. However I imagine this applies to all professions, you can
tell if somebody likes their job or not. In short, Monet loved what
he was doing. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYyZI0oKajorNHGjyDu0Io2wag_GXjYJD19TxM_8AbfYOAClomLQK8LvjVIOO6IlJk-5kTzfnd1V99fkEv3m4goEw8LvuuQIoeV7ekKe8zspSCujseSTEmu5u9h_brwSHh0U7t5Th7hHto/s1600/monetvenicetwilight1908.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYyZI0oKajorNHGjyDu0Io2wag_GXjYJD19TxM_8AbfYOAClomLQK8LvjVIOO6IlJk-5kTzfnd1V99fkEv3m4goEw8LvuuQIoeV7ekKe8zspSCujseSTEmu5u9h_brwSHh0U7t5Th7hHto/s1600/monetvenicetwilight1908.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<i>Saint-Georges majeur au crépuscule</i>
1908</div>
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This next painting is called
'<i>Saint-Georges majeur au crépuscule</i>' 1908. According to Monet, this
painting is from his trials period in Venice. That's basically what
every artist should do at point in their career, experiment.
Sometimes the results are good and sometimes bad. Part of me adores
this painting because the colours are so strong and vibrant. I reckon
a painting like this can only be done by a person who is not afraid
of colours. I suppose this painting could serve as a reminder of how
a truly great sunset looks like. It shouldn't be difficult to tell
that this painting is not one of Monet's greatest pieces. The way he
constructed the image is rather child-like and definitely lacks the
feeling of enchantment and true genious, which he exhibited in
'<i>Impression Soleil levant</i>' for example. Whilst looking at Monet's
other similar landscapes like the paintings of the Waterloo bridge, they
come much closer in expressing his authentic style and vision. The paint job
on Saint-Georges looks like it was done with great care and
concern, even if it tries to look energetic. You can see how careful
Monet was not to blend the line between the orange and blue too much. If
one wishes to make a painting that is supposed to look like it has a
lot of energy, then give it all the energy you have got. Faking
energy is hardly ever successful. Paint fast, stab the canvas if you
must, and I tell you, all that energy will be carried into the
painting. Ahem...well this still is a beautiful painting, very
eye-catching. At this time Monet was getting absorbed by his work, and he states that landscapes of
water and reflection were becoming and obsession to him. It wouldn't
be too long until he would achieve that recognizable style and look of his.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXD2cuBFE2ynFiv2EtxXMkurWM0q76EN2dYx0t4FsgQpiB9xm8nq6imcRmIEwYwh7NQUSc6CMh3Ubp_kQxDLQpp-CCGRxbLYT6-wVeYOtQ8k8JkIAHDrc1JBQDbW8zRuMDE0kWOMKiCUMQ/s1600/monetwaterlilies1916.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="411" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXD2cuBFE2ynFiv2EtxXMkurWM0q76EN2dYx0t4FsgQpiB9xm8nq6imcRmIEwYwh7NQUSc6CMh3Ubp_kQxDLQpp-CCGRxbLYT6-wVeYOtQ8k8JkIAHDrc1JBQDbW8zRuMDE0kWOMKiCUMQ/s640/monetwaterlilies1916.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nymphéas 1916</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Me, I have had a crush on Monet's work
since I was a little girl. The poppy field, '<i>Nymphéas</i>' and the
Japanese bridge were the first paintings I saw. To me it felt like
Monet's work was literally breathing enchantment. Especially the
water-lily paintings convey Monet's idea of how wonderful nature is.
This is a secret, but I am a hopeless romantic. When I look at the
water-lily painting above I see this place where flowers bloom all the time, the sky is
pink and you can walk along that pond where Monet's water-lilies grow.
Perhaps I have rambled on for too long already. However what I'd like
you to understand is that the water-lily paintings Monet made, are
massive. Literally massive and all of them are pretty much named
'<i>Nymphéas</i>'. The paintings
can be shown individually, but Monet's true intention was to line the canvases side by side, showing the
whole image of the water-lily pond. His water-garden was his main focus for the last thirty
years of his life. This water-lily painting is from
the mid 1910's when he was making these darker versions of the
water-lilies. As you can see there are some vibrant reds, yellows and
purples on the water-lilies. Although Monet had moved away from those
brilliant reds and blues we saw in 'Saint-Georges' we can see that he
hadn't abandoned strong colours completely. It was around 1916 when
began to apply more yellow, ochre and light greens to his
water-lilies. I'm guessing this change from dark to light follows his
passion to capture the water-garden in various lights. One could say
that that is a simple idea, but it takes good eye and understanding
to pull something like that off successfully. I love all Monet's
water-garden paintings and you can see a few of them at National
Gallery in London for example. I have been there maybe 3-5 times, and
every time I go see Monet's paintings. If my memory serves me
correctly, there are 2 Japanese bridge paintings and 2 water-lily
paintings (none of these are famous I'm afraid).</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
To return to my friend's quote from
earlier, it is true that Monet's work expresses the need to move away
from the techiniques and styles that were exhibited in art at that
time. Perhaps it is not a surprise that Monet's work wasn't really popular at first. If you have seen his work live you know that up
close it's just chunks of paint, it's messy and you wonder how this
pile of mess can depict anything. But as you step back, suddenly you
see water-lilies or a bridge. Monet became famous for his style
eventually and I like to think that Monet along with other
impressionist began to set the stage for other art movements, such as Fauvism and Expressionism.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
I love art that's not
Neoclassical. I can appreciate it, but to me what Monet, Picasso and
Rousseau did is much more interesting and beautiful than what those
NC masters did.
</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
(If it's not Baroque, don't fix it! xD)</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
This is A. Panty biding a good day to
you.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Thank you for reading!</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
Cheers!</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">
</div>Anarchy Pantyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274535103226645106noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4454851646577708620.post-91153828902178748352012-03-29T13:41:00.000-07:002012-03-29T13:41:40.019-07:00Artist of the Month: Murakami Takashi.<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Konnichiwa minna!</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">OMG you guys <img alt="smile" src="http://www.fbsmileys.com/wp-content/emos/smile.png" /> I was going through my statistics and 'The truth behind animal abuse part 1' is my most read entry ^_^ Not far behind is 'Luis Royo' and the third most read entry is 'Girl look at that body. I workout'. </div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">^_^ It makes me so happy to see that people are interested in such issues as animal cruelty and working out. After all, there isn't even a handful of people I know, who want to spread awareness of the cruelty animals have to endure in our ultra modern society. It was less than a month ago when I heard about this german sheperd Vucko, whose face was blown off by a firecracker <img alt="cry" src="http://www.fbsmileys.com/wp-content/emos/cry.png" /> <span class="st">Two drunken teenagers in Bosnia duct-taped a firecracker in Vucko's mouth and then left him to his demise. He survived the ordeal. However after he was rescued and examined, the vet revealed that even constructive surgery wouldn't help. Vucko had to be put to sleep. </span></div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="st">If people, and especially young people, are not raised to respect all life, what kind of grown ups can we hope to see in the future? I'm already concerned about the 'I want it all, and I want it when I say that I want it' attitude the young people seem to possess today. In America, people are asked not to buy 'easter bunnies' if they are going to abandon them few weeks later because they are too lazy to take are of the bunnies. This kind of behaviour makes me angry </span><img alt="shark" src="http://www.fbsmileys.com/wp-content/emos/shark.gif" /> In my books, people and animals are equals. And I'll help fellow humans as much as I'll help animals <img alt="heart" src="http://www.fbsmileys.com/wp-content/emos/heart.png" /> </div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I'll try to find time to update the next part for the animal cruelty 'series'. Naturally part 2 will be about animal testing. See my vegetarian entry for lifestock and meat eating issues. Animal testing has been a big issue for me ever since I was a teenager. So that entry should be an interesting one, and by interesting I mean heart breaking, make-me-cry-for-days kinda thing. But again, people really need to know about this stuff so that together we can find other alternatives to test our 'junk' in the future.</div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9WqXyTz8Vudtc0aKIt319t5sg_I1Cb3kUUoFMcmgIRN5GtJtNb8dJttxzfFdQmoHujmoupzmMwxuSbp_zHG6ZzcnL-oiczV8bIjJGx-bN-LQ7HFxZcDNHkvPSkxh9nKeOGUHEW0D8FlWC/s1600/TMmurakami-kun.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9WqXyTz8Vudtc0aKIt319t5sg_I1Cb3kUUoFMcmgIRN5GtJtNb8dJttxzfFdQmoHujmoupzmMwxuSbp_zHG6ZzcnL-oiczV8bIjJGx-bN-LQ7HFxZcDNHkvPSkxh9nKeOGUHEW0D8FlWC/s400/TMmurakami-kun.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Murakami-kun.</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <b style="color: #20124d; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Murakami Takashi.</b><br />
<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Murakami-sensei...where do I even begin. You know, in college we were asked to keep journals and analyze our favourite artists and artists etc relevant to our subject/course. It's weird, I used approx. 3-5 pages per artist and I still got maybe a C+ for my journal work --_-- Maybe my tutors gave up when they saw how much I had written. I had a sneaky suspicion that they weren't really reading my stuff even though 30% of my practice is actually in writing. I let my paintings speak for themself, but their true meaning is more than skin deep. My pieces true context/meaning lies in my journals. My point is that I analyzed Murakami-sensei's work in my drawing module's journal in 2009, and again in my painting module's journal in 2011. It's safe to say, I still haven't got the faintest idea of how he comes up with <i>these</i> results, even though the meaning of the pieces is something completely different (well I suppose you can't really tell by just looking at his work, what he is really trying to put across).</div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc4nDXq4DVQ8MJYolUqdoZCWSDkkFzaQ8iVRjBW8GdYe9c_RDj6T8ba3qIzbx7s0UuEKR74WzYnc4_eXh2dgw-zCxmJ21uur7Mghi-pNxtpG3mk7qK2bWUDgiWczox2vvEYot7mLzJnZOt/s1600/TM727-7272006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="492" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhc4nDXq4DVQ8MJYolUqdoZCWSDkkFzaQ8iVRjBW8GdYe9c_RDj6T8ba3qIzbx7s0UuEKR74WzYnc4_eXh2dgw-zCxmJ21uur7Mghi-pNxtpG3mk7qK2bWUDgiWczox2vvEYot7mLzJnZOt/s640/TM727-7272006.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">727-727. 2006.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">That first picture, is relatively new. I have been keeping an eye on his practice, and I haven't seen him including himself to his pieces before. Which is actually pretty interesting. Why is he choosing this time to include himself? I haven't seen him doing self-portraits before. And if he has, those must have been like, symbolical. </div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Murakami (1963) was born and raised in Tokyo. While attending the Tokyo University of Arts Murakami had in mind to become an animator, that was until he majored in japanese style painting called 'Nihongan'. He has BFA, MFA, and PHD in Fine Art. In 1994, Murakami received a fellowship from the Asian Cultural Council and participated in the International Studio Program 1 in New York for a year. One might say that during that one year in NY he began to develop the strategies and methods he would later on use in his art practice and business. When he returned to Japan he began to generate art that was 100% Japanese and, to be blunt, would sell in the West. He began to explore the Japanese 'low' culture, aka manga and anime and the subculture of otaku. The inspiration he gets from anime and manga and most importantly from the otaku culture (not forgetting Japanese society as well) are still major factors in his work. His artistic impulse and style is driven from this Japanese 'low' culture, but he is also, shall we say, a business man. He knows what sells. Which is partly why he works in paintings, sculptures as well as what is considered commercial media, like fashion and animation. I can see why he is considered as quite a genious for blurring the line between high and low art, and making low art high art.</div><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg82GcW3TA5Ra9thKZWrsjxYeGUsl2Xe8IYx0GPFc7SaIGxnQ_flHnijAhaDs3RFjlb3U7vECm2v8NV9C5R4lIGF9X3elLR_nazj6AcxRQFIs3grrN68rArf5CCIh5Dgl2IlW1wDV16E31i/s1600/TM2002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="336" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg82GcW3TA5Ra9thKZWrsjxYeGUsl2Xe8IYx0GPFc7SaIGxnQ_flHnijAhaDs3RFjlb3U7vECm2v8NV9C5R4lIGF9X3elLR_nazj6AcxRQFIs3grrN68rArf5CCIh5Dgl2IlW1wDV16E31i/s400/TM2002.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kawaii, Summer Vacation. 2002.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In 2002 Murakami began his collaboration with the fashion brand Louis Vuitton. He contributed artwork which was used in the design of a series of handbags and wallets, and needless to say, it was a huge commercial success. His LV gig brought him widespread fame.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-11"></sup></div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In 2007 Murakami made the cover artwork for Kaney West's 'Graduation' album and directed and animated West's 'Good Morning' music video. </div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In May 2008, 'My Lonesome Cowboy' (1998), a sculpture of a masturbating boy, sold for $15.2 million at Sotheby's. </div><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In September, 2010 Murakami became the third contemporary artist (first Japanese) to exhibit his works at the Palace of Versailles. He filled 15 rooms and the park with his sculptures, paintings, a decorative carpet, and lamps. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Murakami is the founder and president of Kaikai Kiki Co., Ltd. The company handles the production and promotion of Murakami’s artwork and projects and manages the careers of select young artists. Murakami has devoted himself to supporting the careers of a younger generation of Japanese artists (including female artists). </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">And we mustn't forget his other projects, campaigns and workshops. </span><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;"></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF0yLbV8XxguF3Yy7WFAuNpcZ7joTJNhuWliEjCeXL8m56vqScWF29r3wdFoadvQkxalvMzfnyfPzSWeriEKIS585uTdx-Y9-xPYPi3OrEFeZqpSAkwWXPdajkqMweJm1hyphenhyphen_wsBr6P0CAN/s1600/TMdei.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF0yLbV8XxguF3Yy7WFAuNpcZ7joTJNhuWliEjCeXL8m56vqScWF29r3wdFoadvQkxalvMzfnyfPzSWeriEKIS585uTdx-Y9-xPYPi3OrEFeZqpSAkwWXPdajkqMweJm1hyphenhyphen_wsBr6P0CAN/s200/TMdei.png" width="188" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Deidara (Naruto Shippuuden)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Superflat...</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In Naruto Shippuuden episode 123 (hehheh 1,2,3)..Deidara says 'Pop is dead. My art is Superflat!' You can imagine my eyes going like O_O 'Did he just say, superflat?' I had to rewind, and what do you know, he says his art is superflat (same in the manga vol 38 or 39). I had to chuckle, since Kishimoto-sensei is regarding Murakami in his manga =^_^= </div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Superflat is Murakami's invention. It describes both the aesthetic characteristics of the Japanese artistic tradition and the nature of post-war Japanese culture and society. But in short, describes Murakami’s own style. And if one may trust my resource, the term 'superflat' can only be used by Japanese artists. Däng, and I was beginning to think that my work would someday be superflat-ish. <img alt="tongue" src="http://www.fbsmileys.com/wp-content/emos/tongue.png" /> (in case it's still unclear, I'm not Japanese). So I can see why Dei-Dei would want to call his art (exploding sculptures xD) superflat.</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In the beginning, I mentioned my habbit for keeping a journal. Actually I keep various journals, one or two per project. Based on all the interviews and articles I have read, it would seem that sensei and I share a mutual habbit of taking things deeper. What one may see on the canvas/paper isn't all the image is about. One may draw opinion from Murakami-sensei's pieces, but in the end every piece he makes has its own meaning. I reckon, my paintings tend to tell a story, whilst Murakami-sensei's pieces carry messages. Sensei's work may seem happy and colourful, but it's actually the complete opposite. Murakami said in one of his interviews that his piece aren't about the happy and positive aspects of the Japanese society and otaku culture. In fact they tell of more mean and desperate things.</div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi724xVQ2EQIDmEKsT24WrVUmvJ0iNawISB6gkuERN8es0uV9M6y9TdHu2M8JkHs4psJCDlBMCm6xDstVBGbNxwEfUplXBPjdYxKhZ9BVAhy_WOtPcWqwOrWe8Y2S67s-Y5qRvqOI2xOqaE/s1600/TMtheapocalypticchampignon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi724xVQ2EQIDmEKsT24WrVUmvJ0iNawISB6gkuERN8es0uV9M6y9TdHu2M8JkHs4psJCDlBMCm6xDstVBGbNxwEfUplXBPjdYxKhZ9BVAhy_WOtPcWqwOrWe8Y2S67s-Y5qRvqOI2xOqaE/s400/TMtheapocalypticchampignon.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Apocalyptic Champ.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I can see elements that are typical in otaku culture in Murakami-sensei's work. The colours, cuteness, funny yet bizarre characters are very otaku. I like his paintings and his sculptures equally. I think his sculptures are more famous than his paintings (in the West). He has done excellent job in creating art that is completely new, yet at the same time is very Japanese. Even if I didn't know that this work was done by a Japanese artist, I (and pretty much anyone who knows anything about art) could tell that the pieces are Japanese. </div><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In my case, the problem is that I'm having hard time figuring out his pieces. Yes they are beautiful and really interesting to look at and very contemporary. However I don't really wanna go in to too much detail of what I think each painting may mean. That is because Murakami-sensei has said (interview) that his art records the struggle of the discriminated people in Japan (mostly otakus). Apparently Japanese girls especially use cosplay to escape reality. In cosplay they may enter a fantasyland which is much more interesting than dealing with their daily lives. I have to agree with that. I personally use my imagination to escape my daily life. It would be so much boring if I didn't imagine myself as shinobi from Konoha on daily basis </span><img alt="wink" src="http://www.fbsmileys.com/wp-content/emos/wink.png" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> I most of often paint my own fantasylands, and I can understand what Murakami is looking to express in his work, but I wouldn't want to escape to sensei's fantasyland. Too psychedelic for me. Supposedly his pieces express his society's situation and are a proof that he was born and raised in such place. </span><br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW6vwbhO8yKsLWauQdXNtvc53gAgigv8nqpscCnDc_6f30d81lxUTYhjoVBYfXRMfem6kjh6f6sfj88klKszlpExixVQqe0QjkAIlx__u96b_aDYLNZxCZBYxn3qRJgYm3Ihirqu1hL-wi/s1600/TMapictureofthe2009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW6vwbhO8yKsLWauQdXNtvc53gAgigv8nqpscCnDc_6f30d81lxUTYhjoVBYfXRMfem6kjh6f6sfj88klKszlpExixVQqe0QjkAIlx__u96b_aDYLNZxCZBYxn3qRJgYm3Ihirqu1hL-wi/s640/TMapictureofthe2009.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A picture of the Blessed Lion who stares at Death. 2009.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I saw the 'Kawaii' sculpture in Helsinki in 2005. There was an exhibition on Japanese contemperary art featuring several famous Japanese contemp. artist including manga-kas. I had been reading about Japanese culture since 2003 and I was studying Japanese at the time, so the exhibition was a real treat for me <img alt="grin" src="http://www.fbsmileys.com/wp-content/emos/grin.png" /> I went there with my little sister and we saw 'Kawaii' (it was featured in the exhib. poster too). Back then I had no idea who Murakami Takashi was. So it was so cool to rediscover his practice like 4 years later. I actually like his 'discriminated flowers' sculptures better, than his character sculptures. I do like the anime characters, but he has made such beautiful and impressive sculptures out of his 'discriminated flowers'. I just like the way he designs and builds those flower sculptures. </div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I reviewed this Lion painting in one of my journals. It tells of an old Japanese mythology in which a lion drives evil out from a buddhist temple. Based on my research, in this painting Murakami-sensei is mixing mythology with 'Poku' (Pop-Otaku) culture. Even Japanese mythology can be modernized. Which I guess is the joke here. He constructed the image from 4 large mixed-medium 'paintings', and it seemes to me, this constructing thing is very popular among contemp. artists. It is a beautiful piece. I wouldn't mind putting that up on my wall, but sensei's larger piece sell for millions so...</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I like to think that the most interesting (and successful) artists have their own way of observing the world. Artists should dismiss realism and enter their own world, from where they then observe the real world. Personally, I keep mixing imaginary with realism all the time. Mostly it's real places, imaginary characters. And I think Murakami does a great job expressing himself and the subject. He has come up with an interesting way to carry out messages about his country and society. Even though he sticks with the same style and characters, he keeps reinventing them over and over again. I have been living in my fantasyland, but sensei's work got me thinking what art and an artist is supposed to be. Is art a field and medium which we need to calculate carefully in order to become superstars and succeed like crazy (research and then give people what they want). Do we seriously need to come up with a whole new art movement so that we have something to give to the public, and to ourselves? Is it artist's job to search what people want to see, and then make them think what he/she is giving them is what they really wanted.</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi46ZPzhgmYTCPl3vyIwR0A2xmYVcorBL7Mp_762G_XgedplkTTNaSzuYRGMlA6amYRS7z0A63kKBOHB-9SeXjmzq8MgQ3I-Xa0dMeqfzv4MSnZj4mHZwnHeyCtc6ktXFejFMsFA-6s0Dm7/s1600/TMversailles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi46ZPzhgmYTCPl3vyIwR0A2xmYVcorBL7Mp_762G_XgedplkTTNaSzuYRGMlA6amYRS7z0A63kKBOHB-9SeXjmzq8MgQ3I-Xa0dMeqfzv4MSnZj4mHZwnHeyCtc6ktXFejFMsFA-6s0Dm7/s640/TMversailles.jpg" width="475" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Discriminated Flowers at Versailles. 2010.</td></tr>
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I'm sorry if this artist review seemed a bit off. I have been doing 9h shifts this week + I'm going to Paris next monday. I'm doing 10h, 9h and 7h shifts this weekend so I barely have time to do anything --_-- I still need to pack, update my lovely metallic pink Ipod and print out maps. So I just threw this review here as quickly as I could (Yeah really quickly, took me 4h without breaks to write this). Sorry, I'm just tired and I was supposed to start packing today and I wanted to finish my first painting for this group exhibition I was selected be part of. It's in June, and yes in Helsinki. I'll give out all the details later. I just feel that I could have done much better job with this entry, but since March is almost over...</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Still I hope you found this entry on Murakami Takashi insightful. </div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I'll see you next month! Take care!</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Cheers!</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">HM. </div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div>Anarchy Pantyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274535103226645106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4454851646577708620.post-83054099031969266852012-03-15T02:53:00.000-07:002012-03-15T02:53:37.071-07:00My Beauty Regime (prelude: summer look)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Konnichiwa minna!</b></div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Spring is slowly coming to Finland <img alt="smile" src="http://www.fbsmileys.com/wp-content/emos/smile.png" /> I hear daffodils are blooming in the UK already ^_^ Can't wait to see wood anemones and liverleaves (those little dark lilac flowers). It has been 3 years since the last time I was in Finland in spring. It is so beautiful in May, damp wooded areas are covered with wood anemones. </div><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I also have began putting together my summer looks. A year ago (2011) I began this thing where I put together a few outfits that will be my 'main outfits' in summer. Last year one of my 'main outfits' was a look inspired by Jodie Foster in 'Taxi driver'. In January I saw various runway looks inspired by 'Taxi driver'</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">(German Vogue</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">). I really liked those looks so I went for it. Below is my own interpretation. I really really like 'nude' garments </span><img alt="wink" src="http://www.fbsmileys.com/wp-content/emos/wink.png" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> They give a settle hint of nakedness, which is outrageous, which I like. I love love loove that hat </span><img alt="kiss" src="http://www.fbsmileys.com/wp-content/emos/kiss.png" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> This year however I'm planning to wear more dresses. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivhPKvZwb_C9zMAAvEU2RZNesjBQrxMfiTRDULbR8h8bBl9ryBXJoFhLCLj53JVt3aoiRkdFEg7a_BFCm4_gDC7TL7_ugvlvS5DCig5MzwBaDD6cmfZENgSHP4TjeVDF1kqRwhnMsnaptA/s1600/helsinki.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivhPKvZwb_C9zMAAvEU2RZNesjBQrxMfiTRDULbR8h8bBl9ryBXJoFhLCLj53JVt3aoiRkdFEg7a_BFCm4_gDC7TL7_ugvlvS5DCig5MzwBaDD6cmfZENgSHP4TjeVDF1kqRwhnMsnaptA/s320/helsinki.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Yes, but onto the main entry. This time I decided to something fun. I know I'm keeping this blog so my friends (and other people) could get to know me better, and it slightly 'supports' my art practice. Hence this time I'm going to be a bit more personal.</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I am a makeup junkie. Couple days ago I said on my Fbible profile that the reason why I love makeups is because I can create infinite looks with them. To me it seems natural that I want to paint my face too since I love to paint paintings. Putting on makeup is my morning ritual (when I'm going out of the house), it relaxes me (and helps me to wake up) and it gives me a chance to do something creative, even on my main-income-days when I don't get to do anything artistic. The looks I create with makeups are part of who I am. I know Finns especially look down on people who stand out (especially girls) and I know Finnish girls sniff at girls who wear alot of makeup. And boys don't want girls who wear a lot of makeup because they want a girl who looks the sama every day. However I am happy to say that I don't wear makeup because I want to look pretty. I just love the colours and textures and it's so much fun and relaxing to make all these different looks <img alt="grin" src="http://www.fbsmileys.com/wp-content/emos/grin.png" /> I think of myself as a sort of a chameleon. Today I may be wearing my white baggy pants and black eyeliner, but tomorrow I may be wearing my black/pink tutu with high heels and wear green makeup. I get bored so quickly that I haven't established a specific look (like Twiggy when she was young). </div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">However I'm not going to talk about makeups today (well just a little), but I'm going to walk you through my daily beauty routine. Note: All the products and their reviews I mention in this entry are based on personal experiences. Nobody is paying me to say nice things about their products. I'm currently using (or have used) these products and I'm just giving you my opinion on how they work. When buying beauty products, I like to read atleast a few reviews on the product before (if) I purchase it. You'll soon see that the products I use, aren't cheap. So I like to think of it as a small investment, which means I need to have all the facts before I purchase anything.</div><div style="color: #ea9999; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><br />
</b></div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><u style="color: #ea9999;"><b>Face</b></u></div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I have combination skin, which pretty much means that my skin is very oily in summer and very very dry in winter. So in winter I need to keep my skin moisturized. I'm currently using <b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">Clarins' </span></b><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: #3d85c6;">HydraQuench Cream</span></b> and that one jar has lasted for 2 winters. I'm almost done with it ^_^ It saved my skin when winter came and my skin 'dried up'. AND it's helping me with my acne problem. Moisturized skin actually prevents acne, don't ask me how this cream worked, it just did. My skin is clearer now, than it was before.</span></div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">But my real skin hero is <b style="color: #0b5394;">Murad's Post-Acne Spot Lightening Gel</b>. I've got some pretty nasty, reddish acne scars on my right cheek and one on my chin --_-- Seriously they are so large and vivid that I was convinced that I could never get rid of them without laser surgery... Makeup covers them alright, but I'm conscious about them when I'm not wearing any makeup.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6-eNzJmI5A7jrHda3fnIblAf2sbwTG7-UjW0dcmC46DFytogL08R1ig1uDSh9MXhx2CxY00e9n_LyeIqCvrsBFfwW8yoiV28wIdB4QMc1X29O1f7zmscmdUSNQNHlkD1zrnfZvzG-wxSd/s1600/P1000512.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6-eNzJmI5A7jrHda3fnIblAf2sbwTG7-UjW0dcmC46DFytogL08R1ig1uDSh9MXhx2CxY00e9n_LyeIqCvrsBFfwW8yoiV28wIdB4QMc1X29O1f7zmscmdUSNQNHlkD1zrnfZvzG-wxSd/s400/P1000512.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">But my mind was changed when my little sister told me about Murad and about this gel </span><img alt="curly lips" src="http://www.fbsmileys.com/wp-content/emos/curlylips.png" /> I was convinced enough to try this product. It has something to do with cellular water that treats acne and acne scars. If you don't believe me, check out my progress from the pictures below. In just little less than a month, my horrible scars have started to dissapear (slowly). I'm convinced that in 2 months, I should be rid of them. </div><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">To all of you who have problems with acne scars, I warmly recommend this product. You apply it every evening after your washing routine. You may experience light tingling, but that it's ok. However, if you have any allergies or skin 'problems' I suggest you ask the Murad experts (live chat) on murad.com if their products are compatible with your skin. My little sister has very sensitive skin. She can't use The Body Shop products, but her skin was ok with Murad's products </span><img alt="grin" src="http://www.fbsmileys.com/wp-content/emos/grin.png" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> I did my best with the shots. Pics 1 and 3 are taken in the same bathroom under the same light, no flash. Pic 2 was taken in the bathroom of my family's cabin, no flash. I took the shots after applying the gel.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1. 22.02.2012</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhromZ321N66EKxSmkYCNDnJvlBBdoE2MTE5WvEz9OSeqojA7a1epx1OiKUSpNIhbkKyizebPtpSmddol1VYrggYod0iHNE9jFLuESSOYztMg7J8Myz4p2FCBcPVC-s8A1JX45fifIi1iAQ/s1600/010312.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhromZ321N66EKxSmkYCNDnJvlBBdoE2MTE5WvEz9OSeqojA7a1epx1OiKUSpNIhbkKyizebPtpSmddol1VYrggYod0iHNE9jFLuESSOYztMg7J8Myz4p2FCBcPVC-s8A1JX45fifIi1iAQ/s320/010312.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2. 01.03.2012</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3NfKXxgMCTG6CX7_Hkr5c6xzXlVaf4jb2-WjVXeTMiavoPLhq_xR4k_f7ZZ6BFWRYfoYXClZyzAPlQIpp7snh1F_AVhFwxShXiOdY9ACZJdp8-9NMCDS86Hb7cyaQUfdy_Rb6dAomTudh/s1600/120312.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3NfKXxgMCTG6CX7_Hkr5c6xzXlVaf4jb2-WjVXeTMiavoPLhq_xR4k_f7ZZ6BFWRYfoYXClZyzAPlQIpp7snh1F_AVhFwxShXiOdY9ACZJdp8-9NMCDS86Hb7cyaQUfdy_Rb6dAomTudh/s320/120312.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">3. 12.03.2012</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I was my face and makeup with </span><b style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #274e13;">The Body Shop's Tea Tree Oil Facial Wash</span></b><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">. Because it's oil based, it removes even the toughest foundation. However, this is not suitable for removing eye makeup. If this gets in the eyes, it hurts. I was once forced to use this to remove eye makeup because I had run out of my regular eye makeup remover. Well it removed the makeup, but it hurt. Because of my skin is such a good 'soil' for acne and blackheads </span><img alt="upset" src="http://www.fbsmileys.com/wp-content/emos/upset.png" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> I have a sneeky suspicion that this <span style="color: #274e13;">Tea Tree Wash</span> is keeping my blackheads and pores under control. But just under control, I mean it could be worse. I have somewhat large pores <i>around</i> my nose and a lot of blackheads <i>on</i> my nose. I can't seem to get rid of them even though this products promises it will rid the user of blackheads. That's not really working for me, but I like how well it removes makeup. I have been using this product for many many years.</span></div><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhQcfBRJmbaWE576Gn_W36CgR4OXB8a-Mi5Im2DRwWtx7_8MtblQeZWaCJuFgV2y9cdCgAafWYDcSRLyZWPdenzbxBomU3q9pSxeFEajPj7GJP_nlm8HhPO3casoA3xlb5Rx5eBPpS4Xi8/s1600/P1000511.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhQcfBRJmbaWE576Gn_W36CgR4OXB8a-Mi5Im2DRwWtx7_8MtblQeZWaCJuFgV2y9cdCgAafWYDcSRLyZWPdenzbxBomU3q9pSxeFEajPj7GJP_nlm8HhPO3casoA3xlb5Rx5eBPpS4Xi8/s400/P1000511.JPG" width="300" /></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I use</span><b><span style="color: #cc0000;"> Clarins Eye Contour Gel</span></b> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">to keep dark circles under control. I got really puffy eyes during my summer job in 2009, and really bad dark circles. So I bought this product. And it actually helped. Well it lightened my dark circles and definately fought against puffiness, but it doesn't fade dark circles entirely. I have a hate-love relationship with this product. I want to get rid of dark circles entirely, but this product only keeps them under control. This little tube has lasted for 3,5 years! I use it everyday, in the morning and in the evening and I'm still not done with it! I really like how quickly it works on puffy and tired eyes though</span> <img alt="squint" src="http://www.fbsmileys.com/wp-content/emos/squint.png" /> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">But after I'm done with this, I'm off to look for a new dark circles-puffiness product.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Iswmk7zP6YAPsfXFjRTsiwcNJ-cvvbs6tPwJHxrA0uvgdXq5jTy3q33rJSae9wTNjCnYjCgF43ZDPM3VKDlrk4dv8b6JI0Z4K95oqtCH_psYr5qW2EAeTPUszi1nXEwHKZvKn3bZE9e_/s1600/P1000513.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Iswmk7zP6YAPsfXFjRTsiwcNJ-cvvbs6tPwJHxrA0uvgdXq5jTy3q33rJSae9wTNjCnYjCgF43ZDPM3VKDlrk4dv8b6JI0Z4K95oqtCH_psYr5qW2EAeTPUszi1nXEwHKZvKn3bZE9e_/s400/P1000513.JPG" width="300" /></a><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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Sorry about this layout ^_^' I'm just trying to save space...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">And now a few makeup products. My favourite powder, which I cannot go without ever again is <b style="color: black;">M.A.C's Prep + Prime</b>. This powder is a-may-zaah! It's ment to set your foundation and if you are costumed to use mineral foundation, I seriously recommend this product. I have one of M.A.C'c mineral foundation's (which I now only use to highlight my cheekbones) and whenever I used their pigments to create my makeup, the flakes would settle under my eyes and grasp onto the foundation. They'd ruin my foundation even if I tried to sweep them with a fan brush. But with Prep + Prime, I can sweep all I want, and my foundation won't be ruined ^_^ Because this powder sets the foundation so well, giving me that finished matte look. From afar, my face looks flawless. AND this does not cake. So people standing close to me can see the powder finish, but it won't look thick or cakey. I noticed that if I used a regular powder on top of my foundation, it would often cake and make my foundation look really really heavy. YUCK!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">But in 2010 whilst I was in Australia a M.A.C clerk recommended this for me. I LOVE THIS PRODUCT </span><img alt="heart" src="http://www.fbsmileys.com/wp-content/emos/heart.png" /> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It's white powder so it lightens your foundation a little. It should be translucent, but I've noticed that it 'whitens' my face a little (which is good because my foundation is 2 shades darker than my skin --_-- I bought the foundation, it looked good in the store, but not so much in natural light. I didn't know I could return it so I've been stuck with the expensive foundation for almost a year now. Good thing it's an awesome foundation!). I don't mind since I want my skin to be white, but it might be a problem if you like your skin tan. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">If you are using mineral foundation or foundation that runs a little sticky, I recommend you to set your face with Prep + Prime. I warmly recommend this product to anyone who uses foundation products.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMuCHRqsQ2JoMLr3oWxBsOvJcf6sw5zbZh17arqu_hTqsKEzzdV9v0vGqydlWjIbYUfesR9BY2CjmJPcpC-F-hy5zAQLsosSkotESDAcotgS6gQNUvrrPdqUNTWfdg5QjNnsm_45eRLNlV/s1600/P1000520.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMuCHRqsQ2JoMLr3oWxBsOvJcf6sw5zbZh17arqu_hTqsKEzzdV9v0vGqydlWjIbYUfesR9BY2CjmJPcpC-F-hy5zAQLsosSkotESDAcotgS6gQNUvrrPdqUNTWfdg5QjNnsm_45eRLNlV/s400/P1000520.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi23Qdl3uxYyQe9XhaJGfSvbmIO6lrTGundcqXlpId4IiRp5Ax81z7tw6VQ7tog6xMjc8e5yKomi69YTtxqAqjoFoJNfE6PpzL2V5Stzhxnq3FrJBmvwRI-yvM6yuuopKNCdcZmUVfnOFf0/s1600/P1000522.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi23Qdl3uxYyQe9XhaJGfSvbmIO6lrTGundcqXlpId4IiRp5Ax81z7tw6VQ7tog6xMjc8e5yKomi69YTtxqAqjoFoJNfE6PpzL2V5Stzhxnq3FrJBmvwRI-yvM6yuuopKNCdcZmUVfnOFf0/s400/P1000522.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Favourite eyeliner, and mascara that actually worked: </div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #7f6000;">Yves Saint Laurent Shocking pencil eyeliner and </span></b><span class="BVRRReviewText"><b style="color: #7f6000;">mascara Singulier</b>. <span style="color: #7f6000;">Shocking </span>is the best bloody eyeliner I have ever used! It doesn't smudge eyelashes and its pointy sharp tip makes it easy to create stunning cat eyes. I recommend you keep this pen upside down, so the tip won't dry. After a few uses, you have to press it on your palm just a teensy bit to get the liquid stuff going. Otherwise, it handles like a dream. Even with my eyelids, my right lid is perfect, but my left is a little wrinkly in the outer corner. So it's not easy to apply eyeliner. But a YSL clerk told me to tip my head little to my right, whilst drawing the line on my left lid. And you know what, it works ^_^ No more uneven lines. I'm never giving up this eyeliner!</span></div><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqezlPmBOviAwRBH2ewCV5dAchKufX8ocEyKs5Ghyphenhyphenn6efu0ar6xDR0Uk3V-VXbPp7M7Eub8CvMjrOKChSkNo3lD60tzKoKD2KENwIWBkOnSa2o59zyJfVDgmOZqaws_1N3Sd8CM62iGJep/s1600/P1000524.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqezlPmBOviAwRBH2ewCV5dAchKufX8ocEyKs5Ghyphenhyphenn6efu0ar6xDR0Uk3V-VXbPp7M7Eub8CvMjrOKChSkNo3lD60tzKoKD2KENwIWBkOnSa2o59zyJfVDgmOZqaws_1N3Sd8CM62iGJep/s400/P1000524.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #7f6000;">Singulier</span> brought my faith back. I have different set of eyelashes --_-- the lashes on my left eye are perfect: long and thick, but the lashes on my right eye are long yes, but thin and there is a big gap in the middle. Plus the longest lashes in the outer corner are weak and pathetic. I was becoming desperate. I was sure that I couldn't find a mascara that would separate and add volume to my lashes. But then I found <span style="color: #7f6000;">Singulier</span>. Because I have somewhat fair lashes, it's better if the mascara has a small brush or a different shaped brush (non-traditional shape). Like <span style="color: #7f6000;">Singulier's</span> shape is spiral. A rubber brush should also work on fair lashes. People with fair lashes are adviced to stay clear from the large traditional brushes. They cause clumping and the results will be anything but natural. <span style="color: #7f6000;">Singulier's</span> spiral brush really gets even the shortest lashes. It separates lashes beautifully and it doesn't clump or flake. My eyelashes looked like feathers ^_^ very cute and delicate. However the reason why I am not buying this (well in a while atleast) is because it doesn't add enough volume. I'm looking for a more dramatic look than what this mascara can offer for me. I am aware that dramatic volume may not be happening for me, but I keep hoping that I'll find that perfect mascara that delivers everything I ask for. But so far of all the designer mascaras I have tried (2 Diors, 2 Lauder's, 1 Clinique) YSL takes the cake.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqed8wmbsIT_sG36egI0gvYVcoxWYvVnaGGSjfpgoOLoBwAogtTZQm6D_dBA3e3k7mVfjL6nNNuIJXEU_dK5usxWOf3FnBc6IP2H1jwPQLOSgSZMYp5JFxNMJlNBmw1rgyFOhUXLwXgBEy/s1600/P1000528.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqed8wmbsIT_sG36egI0gvYVcoxWYvVnaGGSjfpgoOLoBwAogtTZQm6D_dBA3e3k7mVfjL6nNNuIJXEU_dK5usxWOf3FnBc6IP2H1jwPQLOSgSZMYp5JFxNMJlNBmw1rgyFOhUXLwXgBEy/s320/P1000528.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><u style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Grey Area:</b></u><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> I'm currently using </span><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Clinique's Lash Power Mascara</b> (long wearing formula)</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> and it's ok. I bought it because a ladie at Sephore recommendet it for my lashes. However! I hate the mascara's substance! I can only apply one layer and then it gets sticky and glues my lashes together. It's ok as long as I apply the coat quickly and from the right angle. The brush is soo tiny. So it should be perfect for my fair lashes in my right eye. But I guess my lashes aren't THAT weak because the brush is way too small to grab all of them perfectly. <span style="color: #351c75;">Lash Power</span> is an ok mascara, and I'm happy to see this through, but I won't be buying it again. Now Dior has always been a dissaster for me. Again the mascara's substance is way too thick and gooey for my lashes. It literally glues my lashes together and I have to pry them apart with a pin. Yes a pin, an eyelash brush doesn't help at all. I thought when <b><span style="color: #20124d;">Diorshow New Look</span></b> came out that the new brush, could make it work. Nope, again my lashes were glued together. I tried this product twice to make sure that it really wasn't working, and then I took it back to the store. So to all of you who have thin or 'combination' lashes, I'd never recommen<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">d Dior to you.</span> Below is a pic of me with <span style="color: #20124d;">New Look</span>, but this is after I had pryed the lashes apart with the pin.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgToO7PhTfAHkfd8gpDs7s0ZXkUEA1O7ZGkNRHP9RNOK3I0mklaqj4P3Dj_KaWkif2R4JQyudtZy9QAR8_kzxZZvvPnZFE45vFqp1Bt7Q8-IqQBfhGP_ZJ0HXAS3P8t7jfL1-dCkYLTBbxN/s1600/P1110387.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgToO7PhTfAHkfd8gpDs7s0ZXkUEA1O7ZGkNRHP9RNOK3I0mklaqj4P3Dj_KaWkif2R4JQyudtZy9QAR8_kzxZZvvPnZFE45vFqp1Bt7Q8-IqQBfhGP_ZJ0HXAS3P8t7jfL1-dCkYLTBbxN/s320/P1110387.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">And my so far favourite lipstick is </span><b style="color: #f9cb9c; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Lady Gaga for M.A.C Viva Glam</b><b style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #f9cb9c;"> nr2</span></b><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">. It's this nude-brown colour, kinda like cappucino colour. Like I said, I like nude coloured stuff </span><img alt="curly lips" src="http://www.fbsmileys.com/wp-content/emos/curlylips.png" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> It's a beautiful colour and it goes with many of my makeup looks.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVBqnuFCV1EkKfsoHJIjH1ZXnubSMcQDi8RW0m76N6L8pIGkSAcQFDQioeM7rfrF0-dYeEHdqzsoU5Iib6ae3qLBPAtpEnyT2bMsSU85qOty-N3xCiuRz_gZi2ET9hfLIUfHazkuMpejSz/s1600/P1000527.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVBqnuFCV1EkKfsoHJIjH1ZXnubSMcQDi8RW0m76N6L8pIGkSAcQFDQioeM7rfrF0-dYeEHdqzsoU5Iib6ae3qLBPAtpEnyT2bMsSU85qOty-N3xCiuRz_gZi2ET9hfLIUfHazkuMpejSz/s320/P1000527.JPG" width="240" /></a></div><br />
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<u style="color: #783f04;"><b style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Hair</b></u><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">There are two hair products that I love. First are my shampoo + conditioner by <b><span style="color: magenta;">Paul Mitchell</span></b>.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfuVUz4fVzQeobSKE9YHgknazHGNjFdDDG5bHB3OEc1tLr_vfqzNLOnhn0MABylKQO3XUY_sFYeLy9mbpBq86mLVUluskwgtp_2wG1ooOOezD8AfnPKsJpCzA6TV8kZZht57ghJ05W4Q5J/s1600/P1000509.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfuVUz4fVzQeobSKE9YHgknazHGNjFdDDG5bHB3OEc1tLr_vfqzNLOnhn0MABylKQO3XUY_sFYeLy9mbpBq86mLVUluskwgtp_2wG1ooOOezD8AfnPKsJpCzA6TV8kZZht57ghJ05W4Q5J/s400/P1000509.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I use '<b style="color: magenta;">Strenght</b>' because my scandinavian hair is thin. Well my hair isn't that thin per say, but it could be thicker (it's always "it could be" right?). My hair is naturally wavy, but because I keep my hair short, people can see that my hair is fair (unless the hairdresser has given me a great cut that actually adds volume by itself). Gemma from Wicked Hair (in Worcester) recommended this for me. I was using <span style="color: #ffd966;">Tigi's Bed Head, Dumb Blonde</span> and she told me that that range was too heavy for my hair type. She told me to use <span style="color: magenta;">Strenght</span> twice a week and the rest of the time use <span style="color: #ffd966;">Dumb Blonde</span>. Apparently if you keep using the same shampoo over and over again, your hair will get used to it and it won't make that much of a difference anymore. I went back to Gemma 1,5 month later and I asked her if she could see any difference in my hair, since I started using <span style="color: magenta;">Strenght</span>. I was so delighted when she informed me that she could see a clear change in my hair's condition </span><img alt="grin" src="http://www.fbsmileys.com/wp-content/emos/grin.png" /> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Just bought these big bottles of <span style="color: magenta;">Strenght</span>.</span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">And I'm using them along with Bed Head's Superstar conditioner and DB Shampoo.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0o9J_KRsahB1T6vJZOi8nkGhdZy1QKVWsuWPGS4SGMKzxU9bNJlkN0j3eo17DE9SgHXRZ84xwqwb8gEKzYfO6vf8x5b4jWK7L4CaBJsvy9ToUNQHbT7BXl6drInng2-l_Y1NELISd6uTI/s1600/P1000517.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0o9J_KRsahB1T6vJZOi8nkGhdZy1QKVWsuWPGS4SGMKzxU9bNJlkN0j3eo17DE9SgHXRZ84xwqwb8gEKzYfO6vf8x5b4jWK7L4CaBJsvy9ToUNQHbT7BXl6drInng2-l_Y1NELISd6uTI/s400/P1000517.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">My other favourite hair product is <span style="color: #c27ba0;"><b>Tigi's S-Factor Body Booster</b> (Plumping Spray)</span>. This is their Catwalk range's improved hair volumizer spray. I wash my hair every other day so this spray really keeps my hair looking fresh even on the second day + it adds a lot of volume </span><img alt="grin" src="http://www.fbsmileys.com/wp-content/emos/grin.png" /> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I spray this into my roots and then all over my hair when it's clean and damp. I style it during blow drying. Occasionally I apply it on the next day to refreshen.</span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I believe this is my 3rd bottle. I have been using this product since 2010. </span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtpNYHnq0-4aECWSM_qX94Wkb6ljS7W3ZQrkpnBu4jAAgGoo-KzNhWb4tWCsWk0Fu0cHkW8eLnTgpkCH9c7PUCsXicaBKuyqJ8HjhyFVTeesHNwZiLqJSmObnJMD_zmzOX24-gldN0PBZM/s1600/P1000516.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtpNYHnq0-4aECWSM_qX94Wkb6ljS7W3ZQrkpnBu4jAAgGoo-KzNhWb4tWCsWk0Fu0cHkW8eLnTgpkCH9c7PUCsXicaBKuyqJ8HjhyFVTeesHNwZiLqJSmObnJMD_zmzOX24-gldN0PBZM/s400/P1000516.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><br />
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<u style="color: #741b47;"><b><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Body</span></b></u><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">There is only one body moisturizer worth mentioning in my books. <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">And that is </span><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><u><b style="color: #274e13;">The Body Shop's</b></u> </span><u style="color: #660000; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Chocomania</b></u><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> range.</span> I just got <span style="color: #660000;">Chocomania's</span> body scrub and it seems that I won't be needing body butters ever again (just kidding, I'm eager to try<span style="color: #660000;"> Chocomania's</span> body butter). I have been using TBS's body butters for as long as I can remember and none of them have supplied as long lasting moisture as the </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Chocomania</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> body scrub. When you scrub it on, it turns into this mixture between chocolate sauce and shower gel. You can feel the difference immediately. I'll definately buy <span style="color: #660000;">Chocomania</span> body butter after I run out of Maroccan Rose. And I already got <span style="color: #660000;">Chocomania</span> lip balm =^_^= TBS states that the <span style="color: #660000;">Chocomania</span> products keep your skin moisturized for 48h hours. I concur! Did I mention these products smell absolutely divine? I'm crazy about quality chocolate, and especially the lip balm and body scrub smell just like real, luxorious chocolate. But don't taste them! I tried and they don't taste like chocolate </span><img alt="wink" src="http://www.fbsmileys.com/wp-content/emos/wink.png" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;" /><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Let us just enjoy their work and scent.</span><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj58gObmwet1_ra6vqGrcGrxJwYa36ZpBBRULhGoKlGgaKCpQcIYhPjNjILRMgHhkl3dyRFe3FJf4sQAQerosf79j3kuoDCzBhl8At-b-ly11t4tpy0x-eoSF2Ls_FlJbC5J5H6f9A9Jkdu/s1600/P1110401.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj58gObmwet1_ra6vqGrcGrxJwYa36ZpBBRULhGoKlGgaKCpQcIYhPjNjILRMgHhkl3dyRFe3FJf4sQAQerosf79j3kuoDCzBhl8At-b-ly11t4tpy0x-eoSF2Ls_FlJbC5J5H6f9A9Jkdu/s400/P1110401.JPG" width="300" /></a></div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
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</div><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">And the last item in my beauty regime is</span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #274e13; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><u><b style="color: #274e13;">The Body Shop's Hemp Protector </b></u><span style="color: #274e13;">Hand cream and lip balm. </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">When winter comes, my hands get extremely dry, making the skin crack slightly. But the <span style="color: #274e13;">Hemp Protector</span> came to my rescue </span><img alt="heart" src="http://www.fbsmileys.com/wp-content/emos/heart.png" /> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It is very, very heavy and creamy. So I recommend you use gloves if you are planning to use this during the day. I apply it when I go to bed, so I won't be touching anything except my sheets. I hang my arms over my bed to let the cream settle + dry for a moment. This hand cream has been very helpful, since winter in Finland is tough and the soap at my work is anti-mosturizing. Same goes for the Hemp Protector lip balm. The air at my work was really like dry or something and it made my lips dry, causing them to crack slightly. But thanks to the Hemp range, my lips are no longer dry at work ^_^ Will continue to buy these products.</span><br />
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<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">That's all I pretty much have to say about my beauty regime. And I can proudly say that all of my beauty products are <u style="color: red;">Cruelty-Free</u><span style="color: red;">.</span> You see, I don't buy products that have been tested on animals. I am ethical, so I research on beauty companies etc to check that they are in fact <span style="color: red;">cruelty-free</span>. I know many designer cosmetics are in the '<span style="color: #999999;">Grey-Area</span>' because they haven't announced whether they test their products and/or ingredients on animals or not (Like Dior and Chanel). But YSL for example is <span style="color: red;">cruelty-free</span> <img alt="grin" src="http://www.fbsmileys.com/wp-content/emos/grin.png" /> But more about animal testing and <span style="color: red;">cruelty-free</span> products later (in part 2 -> See part 1. for fur farming)</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Since the Murad product is working out so well, I'm looking to buy their <span style="color: #cc0000;">T-Zone Pore Refining Gel</span> next. I'm also on the market for a mascara from <span style="color: #f1c232;">Too Faced</span> (first time). It's all fun to try out new beauty products =^_^=</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I hope you enjoyed my little entry and found my reviews on the products insightful and helpful.</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Until next time when we'll be looking at the artist of March <img alt="grin" src="http://www.fbsmileys.com/wp-content/emos/grin.png" /></div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Mata nee!</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">HM</div>Anarchy Pantyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274535103226645106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4454851646577708620.post-33458719566628922682012-02-29T10:41:00.000-08:002012-02-29T10:41:41.920-08:00Artist of the Month. Maiju Salmenkivi.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZuy5gaBGLdBflFi5K7jPGT0I7mTAXDPdZXIPQu5-pK_WzUMmZKpe7Gp16CtNLysdFAVJpbaE-RsEvNwK5nU7fpchxoF-uFmmWNYq_VFjxWjYd8O8G6DgL-nnQbnkMlLx1ugf3-IK6escj/s1600/MSThe+Waterway.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="505" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZuy5gaBGLdBflFi5K7jPGT0I7mTAXDPdZXIPQu5-pK_WzUMmZKpe7Gp16CtNLysdFAVJpbaE-RsEvNwK5nU7fpchxoF-uFmmWNYq_VFjxWjYd8O8G6DgL-nnQbnkMlLx1ugf3-IK6escj/s640/MSThe+Waterway.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Waterway. 2011.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</tbody></table><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I was going through my list of artists who I</span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">want to talk about and I noticed that illustrators were taking a lead. I like illustrations, but it could get kinda boring if all I talked about was smexy illustrations (oil, acrylic, grapics)etc. This was the moment when mom brought me a newspaper article about Finnish fine artist Maiju Salmenkivi.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Salmenkivi was born in Espoo, Finland and currently resides in Helsinki.<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> She studied at the</span> Academie van der beeldende kunst, in Holland, but came back to Helsinki in 1997 to study at the <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Academy of Fine Arts. Salmenkivi received her MFA </span>in 2003 and has been teaching and making art since. She also has contributed to several art events and is the chairman of Galleria Huuto.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In the article, the reviewer</span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">says that</span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Salmenkivi's</span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">latest work is by far her best.</span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I'm not familiar with her previous work, but I agree that her newest paintings really got something. 'The Waterway' (image above) was in the article and I just fell in love with the colours ^.^ I agree with the reviewer that this painting is the embodiment of battle and cope. He says that it's up to the viewer to decide whether 'The Waterway' tells of surviving or devastation. In her other paintings Salmenkivi is looking to express drama and energy. She fills the scene with paint and brings out only selected details. Her paintings tells of familiar subjects, but the scenes are not trying to capture the whole moment/scene. I reckon Salmenkivi leaves a lot of room for the viewer to interpret her paintings as they see fit.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">To me 'The Waterway' tells of devastation. Even though it has very lovely colours which may suggest surviving and brighter future, but all I see is that even after new day has come, devastation and pain will not go away. For some reason my mind goes for more depressing things when I look at this painting. In day light everything may look prettier however that's also when one can really see the damage of the situation. It's such a lovely painting that I'm amazed how all I can think of is 'who is going to clean that mess?' Obviously the painting is (slightly) about Japan's 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Hence in a way it tells of surviving and the emotions one person may experience if put in the painting's situation. That would be a mixture of sweet relief, and agony one probably has never experienced before.</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqYafwmsMmuRrXSDiJAy-GyqNl3EsOPOssACPevcpHORx67ncwCuQ5dl40jnob26SC_vc4e_-UPVYMPbpMRL8srpIsQ_GXJfU_i_cvQW75XZ8SCUQa7Iqs0YzEgicBSd8k0YKme0hpu4UZ/s1600/MSdarkpasila.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="434" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqYafwmsMmuRrXSDiJAy-GyqNl3EsOPOssACPevcpHORx67ncwCuQ5dl40jnob26SC_vc4e_-UPVYMPbpMRL8srpIsQ_GXJfU_i_cvQW75XZ8SCUQa7Iqs0YzEgicBSd8k0YKme0hpu4UZ/s640/MSdarkpasila.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dark Pasila. 2008</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I'm actually quite impressed with how Salmenkivi uses mediums. She mixes acrylic, tempera, alkyd and oil colours, like in 'Dark Pasila'. Pasila is an area in Helsinki, mostly known from its old train halls and tracks. Even without the title I could tell this place is Pasila. Salmenkivi has captured the view from Pasila's bridge perfectly yet manages to make it look unique. I'm not too sure about the massive fumes (I'll be looking for those fumes next time I cross this bridge), but I really really like the colour combinations. I can't put my finger on how exactly she achieves this look. I could have a guess or try a few methods and combinations, but I think she has her own look going on and it would be useless to try to mimic it. This view from Pasila has a dream like quality to it and I'm sure that many of us who has now seen this painting, will look at Pasila differently from now on. To me 'Dark Pasila' is a dream. The scene looks like what someone would expect to see in a dream. I feel like I'm flying across Pasila and above me are the challenges, pain and doubt this city and its people bring me. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhhs95TF83yxKD_ojhbTiJuPJ0xu08SV39B6l2hdWUjmxbh5bglS55ZBJ_4FwFx3BIgfvouVAXIc1L49D3x4EDO2ppXBM8nHmDZ0xRJZk1N0-RmEYbjov3SBVv0y22hTkMcGcfn6E2EIkp/s1600/MSmustajoutsen.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="333" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhhs95TF83yxKD_ojhbTiJuPJ0xu08SV39B6l2hdWUjmxbh5bglS55ZBJ_4FwFx3BIgfvouVAXIc1L49D3x4EDO2ppXBM8nHmDZ0xRJZk1N0-RmEYbjov3SBVv0y22hTkMcGcfn6E2EIkp/s400/MSmustajoutsen.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Musta Joutsen. 2006</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I think that many of Salmenkivi's paintings have dream/fantasy elements in them. They look almost liquid or milk-like. Especially 'Musta Joutsen' (on the left) looks like Salmenkivi mixed the colours in milk. Perhaps this is what the reviewer ment when he suggested that it's now possible to drown in paint. Salmenkivi gives us her take on landscapes and people and without warning drowns us in paint. Perhaps it really is possible to drown in her paintings. Her landscapes suggests that don't you think?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Salmenkivi has done portraits such as 'Musta Joutsen', but I think that her true uniqueness lies in the landscapes. Her portraits are actually rather eerie and perhaps too simple compared to her landscapes. To me her portraits look little too simple and I'm like 'It's a smudgy painting of a person. What am I suppose think here?' However I do like the technique she has used on 'Musta Joutsen'. It's actually kinda cute painting =^.^=</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="normal_text"><i>Escape/Pako. </i>Installation. 2007-2009.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Sadly I missed her show which was earlier this month. I was just about to plan my shifts around it when I noticed that I had missed by that much. Gallery Kalhama & Piippo Contemporary and Google of course have some good pictures of Salmenkivi's work, but I would really have wanted to see her landscapes personally. I bet they are even more fabulous in reality as they are on photographs. Hopefully she'll have another show soon.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Hope you enjoyed my little review. Thanks for reading and see you soon!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">HM<br />
</span>Anarchy Pantyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274535103226645106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4454851646577708620.post-70991962701279191452012-02-22T02:19:00.000-08:002012-02-22T02:19:48.678-08:00My first Tattoo, The Experience.<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This friday (24.2) is the anniversary of my first tattoo</span> <img alt="grin" src="http://www.fbsmileys.com/wp-content/emos/grin.png" /> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Yup come friday, have had my pretty tattoo for one year. When I was planning to get my first tattoo the first time in 2010, I read many 'first impression' kinda entries and guides on what to expect when you go under a tattoo needle. It may sound like really geeky, but I was anxious to learn what the first time would be like. So reading about other people's experiences and researching the subject made me feel that I can go through with it. So this entry is about my first impression on getting dat first tattoo.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The first time I started planning a tattoo (seriously) was in spring 2010 when I was on exchange in Australia. One day I just decided that I'm going to design a tattoo and have it drawn on me. I still have that design and I have been thinking over and over again whether I really want it on my body. It was inspired by Jim Henson's movie 'Labyrinth' (I'm crazy about David Bowie), well more like inspired by the movie and Bowie's lyrics. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">But that image would have to be, well not like large large, but bigger than I'd prefer. So I designed this little leaping bunny (3cm). It was supposed to go on the top of my left boob, and I wanted it to be white with pink outline. Long story short, I couldn't go through with it. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: magenta;">A.</span> because it was sooooooooooooooooooo expensive O_o around 60€ for a 3cm bunny and </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: magenta;">B.</span> because the tattoo artists said that white and pink design wouldn't work. The bunny would look more like a scar, than a tattoo. So I dropped it. I'm glad that I didn't get that bunny. I know that if I had gotten it, I would still love it, it's just that I don't think a white-pink rabbit on your boob would still look as nice when you are 40, as oppose to when you are in your early 20's.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The 'Labyrinth' design came back to me in late autumn, when I had returned to the UK. But again, I wasn't sure if that image was what I really wanted. I couldn't pinpoint a location for it because I really didn't want it to be seen. I know most people who get tattoos want others to see them. I'm more like 'If I'm wearing a lovely dress or a gown, a tattoo will probably ruin the entirety'. No matter how pretty or interesting the tattoo would be, I still think it would ruin any elegant outfit. Inner thigh has been my nr.1 location for a long time, but I reckon that's too sexy for the Labyrinth tattoo.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Again long story short, I finally designed my perfect tattoo and went to a tattoo parlour in Worcester. I had a chat with one of their artists and I was very surprised when he told me that my design wasn't going to work. I had drawn a resting bunny and behind him a lipstick stain</span> <img alt="sunglasses" src="http://www.fbsmileys.com/wp-content/emos/sunglasses.png" /><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> The artist told me to pick only one of them because together they wouldn't make as bigger statement as they would separately. It was hard for me to separate them because I wasn't sure if I wanted to have more tattoos or just this one. But in the end I made the right decision. Now I have been wondering where to place dat bunny...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Overall I am very glad that he encouraged me to choose only one of the characters. He was the professional and knew what would work and what wouldn't. So when you go to consult your artist, listen to them. I know you must have this image and idea of what the tattoo should look like, but if your artist is a professional, they will give you their honest opinion. You may feel that you shouldn't have to compromise your design/idea, but you wouldn't want to have a bad tattoo for life, right? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I gave myself 3 weeks to prepare mentally (yeah the artist was surprised that I'd want to wait so long). </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It was truly a pretty spring day (yeah it was spring in the UK already) w</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">hen the day came. I wasn't really thinking about the ordeal ahead. Though when I put my loose trousers on and left the flat, I was kinda grinning nervously and felt butterflies in my stomach. As I reached the parlour my friend was already waiting for me. Right then and there I started feeling scared. Of course she had to ask me if I was scared 'Yeah, a little'. 'I'm scared for you too' she said (random note: she got her first tattoo from the same place a year ago). That made me even more scared</span> <img alt="squint" src="http://www.fbsmileys.com/wp-content/emos/squint.png" /> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It wasn't like I was going to throw up or bolt, it was just excitement mixed with fear. We stepped in and were taken to this little room where the artist was preparing his equipments. I was soo happy that we didn't start straight away. His version of my design had gone missing so he was looking for it, like 10min or so. I was so relieved that I had time to calm my nerves and relax as much as I could. He found the little piece of drawing and once I had approved it, we were left to dedice the colour. I had told him before that I wanted it to be red and I quickly settled for a shade of red that was somewhere between Vermilion and Crimson. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">By now we were ready to start. I dropped my trousers halfway down my legs and got onto the chair (must have been pretty cool for my friend to see my bum </span><img alt="upset" src="http://www.fbsmileys.com/wp-content/emos/upset.png" /><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">)</span>. <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The tattoo was</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> going on to my left bum cheek/buttock.</span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I asked the artist if he could like draw a little bit and then let me take break, to feel out the experience and junk. I was so so so nervous </span><img alt="grin" src="http://www.fbsmileys.com/wp-content/emos/grin.png" /> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">He began to fill in the outline and when he stopped I was like 'I can't feel a thing, please go on'. It was pretty much like that the whole 5-7min it lasted. The only time I like reacted was when he was outlining and the drawing like moved on to my buttock. That's when I said 'OW' and was like giggling at my friend. That was the only time it 'hurt' (I reckon plugging eyebrows hurts more than that brief moment of pain at the parlour). And then he was done. BANZAI! </span><img alt="sunglasses" src="http://www.fbsmileys.com/wp-content/emos/sunglasses.png" /> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I was so happy when I saw my very first tattoo in the mirror. The artist then binded my tattoo and told me to wash it gently with warm water in two hours and cover it with Bepanthen. I felt a little surreal when my friend and I stepped outside the parlour and left to have tea in a cafe.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This was my first tattoo, the experience. I have read my first impression stories on tattoos and asked my tattooed friends about their experinces, and most of them have said that getting a tattoo hurt. The reason why I didn't go for the inner thigh area was because research says that the areas that have bone or thin layer of skin, will hurt more than areas that have fat and muscle. I didn't know what kind of pain to expect, except that it would sting and burn. Again, I must sound like really geeky that I research how to get a tattoo, but knowledge is power to me and it guided me through my nervousness. I looked at like tattoo charts on the areas that would hurt less and bum/buttock was one of the areas that would barely hurt (plus it is very covered area). I didn't want my first tattoo to be an unnecessarily painful experience. And it wasn't</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><img alt="grin" src="http://www.fbsmileys.com/wp-content/emos/grin.png" /><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As you can see, it wasn't like I had this philosophy on getting a tattoo and that that tattoo would have a big meaning and such. I play the sexy factor, my tattoo is only ment to be sexy. Like with the inner thigh, I'm looking out for sexy spots for my tattoos. I thought having a tattoo on my bum would be very sexy </span><img alt="curly lips" src="http://www.fbsmileys.com/wp-content/emos/curlylips.png" /> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">and you know what, it really is. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">There is a picture of my tattoo on my personal Fbible account (if you intend to befriend me on Fbible, send me a message along the invite. I don't befriend strangers. Thank you).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><u>Just a couple of advices for you guys who are thinking about getting a tattoo for the first time.</u> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">If possible get the tattoo before you take a break from work or you have a learning week or something. That way you'll have time to tend your tattoo and make sure it starts healing properly. I scheduled my appointment 3 weeks away 'cuz I knew I would have 4 days off from Uni around that time -> so my fresh tattoo could start its healing in peace.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Eat well before you go, it minimises your chances of fainting. It is a scary situation and even if you have wanted a tattoo forever, it's doesn't mean that you can't be scared. I brought a lollipop with me, incase my bloodsugar would drop and I'd need a little boost up. Remember to breath and if needed ask to have short breaks once in a while. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Tend to your tattoo, seriously. Apply Bepanthen as instructed and keep it covered if you are on the move (pfff I wore thongs the whole 4 days and only put pants on when I ventured to the kitchen). Air and water are the best antitode for your tattoo. If you wash your tattoo with warm water 2-3 times a day and apply Bepanthen afterwards you should not face any complication and your tattoo should heal in exactly 2 weeks. Tattoo is a wound after all.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> All I can say is that select the location for your tattoo carefully. I mean instep, tramp stamp (lower back), shoulder blades, legs and all bony/thin skin areas will hurt. However it's difficult to predict how your body and mind are going react to the needle. I have some full figured friends and they told me that tramp stamp was their most painful tattoo (even if there was fat there to cover that area). Just be aware that it will hurt. Afterwards try to get some rest and tend to your tattoo correctly. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I hope my first impression was atleast a little helpful in case you are thinking about getting your first tattoo. And even if you already have tattoo/s I hope you enjoyed my little story</span> <img alt="grin" src="http://www.fbsmileys.com/wp-content/emos/grin.png" /><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Any questions or comments, put them in the comment box below, thank you!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I will talk about my first piercing a little later. I got my navel pierced in September around 5 years ago, but again some people might need some in sight on what it's like to get one. Believe me that story is more amusing that this one because at that time I was scared to death.</span><br />
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<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">See ya all later!</div><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">HM</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRR5YjaqWeq3o4fHimgq5u1PHgFNnz6Zj8VINSj9Pb1m8obyfWiPF2lEUGP4BArKJHdwFhizHs7HsuGppFXcCPSYf_ossVtMyly_ePW5i1F7WN_YlPqSizZMpmXCpzt016OGCKLOp9TeV-/s1600/lipstick-stain.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="226" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRR5YjaqWeq3o4fHimgq5u1PHgFNnz6Zj8VINSj9Pb1m8obyfWiPF2lEUGP4BArKJHdwFhizHs7HsuGppFXcCPSYf_ossVtMyly_ePW5i1F7WN_YlPqSizZMpmXCpzt016OGCKLOp9TeV-/s320/lipstick-stain.png" width="320" /></a></div>Anarchy Pantyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274535103226645106noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4454851646577708620.post-20648506562327818402012-02-16T03:12:00.001-08:002012-02-16T07:42:59.732-08:00The truth behind animal abuse. Part one: Fur Farming.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF-sQ4ug9mhm2yo9djlZSrNoEmUG6f0Ms9d4GHPC0xADRa5ag9Xv0tSwPnM5qX6FOvnyG6HZU0iFl-kP4fMVR8sb3aR_UEp91wqyHeJ2O9hR1nupnOHhSqjKQdeoqd2Ung0T8ulqJ8IThB/s1600/skinned.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF-sQ4ug9mhm2yo9djlZSrNoEmUG6f0Ms9d4GHPC0xADRa5ag9Xv0tSwPnM5qX6FOvnyG6HZU0iFl-kP4fMVR8sb3aR_UEp91wqyHeJ2O9hR1nupnOHhSqjKQdeoqd2Ung0T8ulqJ8IThB/s400/skinned.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Meanwhile in China.</td></tr>
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<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Now isn't that a cute little picture. It's dead foxes and look, some <strike>asshole</strike> Lollywood star or your mother is going to be wearing them soon.</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Isn't that nice?</div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLiKAQEUiXVdbJxfOHMb7GDO-tOo4C20Sdvk8XtwCKYJdAeoKGRGmPLjUAvI5iIeJqOzgPnJAOnAERw02uFS_nHwfvOBc_u7YdiDqQhYMQQgcP0zz3Z9cswXVDb4QZ7qO8kjBiSpBd1OYr/s1600/meanwhileinchina.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLiKAQEUiXVdbJxfOHMb7GDO-tOo4C20Sdvk8XtwCKYJdAeoKGRGmPLjUAvI5iIeJqOzgPnJAOnAERw02uFS_nHwfvOBc_u7YdiDqQhYMQQgcP0zz3Z9cswXVDb4QZ7qO8kjBiSpBd1OYr/s1600/meanwhileinchina.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Later that same day...in China.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Oh look it's the skins of foxes and dogs and minks and bunnies and...other animals that have fur.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Isn't that nice?</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiguRoFhEBZMubmY-obbjL0Xmn6VlGsTGnJfRsiT0WbpWt4LkTULh39ykbv9NGCkfUmHiNyakRdUsd4YhUS3Mybf15Ux_pyPY81WTYwiziOB8tTHgtMhjQ61SuNmZB40a-ly-upmucF1m2/s1600/2-Fur.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiguRoFhEBZMubmY-obbjL0Xmn6VlGsTGnJfRsiT0WbpWt4LkTULh39ykbv9NGCkfUmHiNyakRdUsd4YhUS3Mybf15Ux_pyPY81WTYwiziOB8tTHgtMhjQ61SuNmZB40a-ly-upmucF1m2/s400/2-Fur.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Donna Karan, Autumn 2011.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Oh look, it's models for Donna Karan. I wonder which animals they are wearing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I took a tram to the city centre today. At some point I noticed that a fur collar was 'rubbing itself' right in my face. Suddenly I felt this awful rage build up inside of me and I wanted to punish that old woman, scream that she was a bloody murderer for wearing fur. Winter is tough time...off all the fur accessories and trims I saw today, around 60% was real and 40% faux.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This entry will be tough for me. I had to research a subject that I loathe and want to cure the world from. Fur is murder, there is no denying it and the only way we could rid the world of animal murder for fashion's sake is when everyone stops demaning more fur. If nobody would buy fur, designers wouldn't be featuring fur designs and there wouldn't be fur shops. I have no idea what these old hags and rich-bitches (and occasional male rappers) are thinking when they buy fur. Do they think that wearing butchered animal's skin is cool and so beautiful? Is it a vanity thing? It must be because we really don't need fur to keep us warm for Christ's sake! We've got warm jackets that no animal suffered to make. <u><span style="color: #cc0000;">If one won't wear one's dog, why would one wear fox? If one wouldn't butcher one's cat why would one have mink butchered for one?</span> </u>What difference is there between my pet and an innocent animal? They both have fur and still people are perfectly happy to have an animal unknown to be butchered so that they can wear its skin. Ever thought they could use the money more wisely than spend it on someone else's skin?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The reason I'm writing this entry is to spread awareness of what goes down in fur farms. It'll be as tough to read is it is for me to write. I know my friend's won't believe this, but I am a very sensitive person. This subject breaks my heart and I can't shake the metal images of those innocent animals suffering and dying in vain in farms. I'm not going to spare anybody's feelings because fur business is awful and </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">reprehensible.</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> By knowing how much these animals have to suffer for one fur coat means that you are achieving a new level of awareness and thus can began your journey as a sensible consumer. Hopefully after reading this entry you will be boycotting the designers I've listed here. The only way we can atleast decrease fur consumption is to stop buying stuff from stores and designers that feature fur items.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><b>Bad Guys Good Guys</b> </span><br />
<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Chanel Ann Taylor</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Christian Dior Benetton</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Christian Lacroix Calvin Klein</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Donna Karan Gant</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Dolce&Gabbana Guess</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Versace Juicy Couture</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Armani Lacoste</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Givenchy Ralph Lauren</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Gucci Robert Rodriguez </div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Jean Paul Gaultier Stella McCartney </div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Hermes <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Tommy Hilfiger</span> </div><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Jill Sander</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Karl Largefeld</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Luis Vuitton </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">You can imagine that the bad guys list goes on and on. Designers who don't use fur are </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">under a rock.</span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Luckily such stores as Forever 21, Topshop, American Apparel and Lindex for example do not sell real fur. It is important that if you have the possibility and chance to </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">look up which stores and designers don't sell real fur, go for it. I'm on the verge of deciding whether I even want to buy cosmetics from designers who feature fur products anymore. It's ironic that designers who don't test their ingredients or products on animals, say 'OK' to fur. I'm going to be talking about animal testing in Part Two.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhigWph0hJkjlQbDSQ6yf27PGufUZCp1buNISmLJdxyBxNy_FedBnuBmWPqKNn42Lm3BQlUaKm9TxJYHkYgw9wW8SMdgYgKQ3Rp0_GZv4CF7dJVC1TswoeUaTBgnxAK6UmjVDrs2Vp64fg7/s1600/no.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhigWph0hJkjlQbDSQ6yf27PGufUZCp1buNISmLJdxyBxNy_FedBnuBmWPqKNn42Lm3BQlUaKm9TxJYHkYgw9wW8SMdgYgKQ3Rp0_GZv4CF7dJVC1TswoeUaTBgnxAK6UmjVDrs2Vp64fg7/s320/no.jpg" width="270" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It can't be more than little over a year when UK banned all fur farming for good. I was so happy to hear this and I wish all fur farming would be wipped out from Finland too. However...this brings up other nasty issues. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">As we all know, when someone wants to produce something that is illegal to do in EU or in USA, where do they go? They go to China obviously. It's comes as no surprise that fur is produced in China. Below is our ever so lovely Tim Gunn </span><img alt="kiki" src="http://www.fbsmileys.com/wp-content/emos/kiki.png" /><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> giving a message for designers and consumers about the cruelty of fur farming. The video is heart breaking but I encourage you to watch it. <a href="http://www.peta.org/tv/celebrities-skins/86967624001.aspx" target="_blank">http://www.peta.org/tv/celebrities-skins/86967624001.aspx </a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">There is really nothing more I can say what Mr. Gunn didn't already say on the video. But let me begin with rabbits because rabbit is my favourite animal in the whole wide world. After I visited PETA's "Donna Karan: Bunny Butcher" website I went a little bonkers. You can just imagine what my Fbible wall looked like after that. I signed atleast 5 petitions asking DK to stop using bunny fur in her coats and accessories. 'Tim Gunn himself asked DK personally to stop butchering bunnies. And for a little while she did, but last year, suprise, fur in her designs again. PETA has taken Karan under their thumb and are doing their best to make her stop butchering bunnies.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Have you ever heard a bunny scream in agony? I have.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://dkbunnybutcher.com/">http://dkbunnybutcher.com/</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It is common that rabbits are often skinned alive. As seen in the bunny butcher video the chinese butcher just carves the rabbits skin off, totally ignoring the bunny's screams. At some point they take their time to drain the rabbit's blood to keep the fur as clean as possible. The rabbit, if unlucky, is alive even after his or her skin has been carved off. Rabbit can live up to 10min before passing away, after he or she has lost his/her skin.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Another method the butcher uses is electrocution. With female rabbits the wired are squeezed through her vagina with males through his anus. The butcher literally fries the rabbit's entrails from inside. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Much more traditional method I suppose is simply neck snapping. But for some reason the butchers are always eager to use one of the first two methdos to kill the rabbits. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">These methods aren't restricted to rabbits only. Other animals like minks are electrocuted by sticking the wires in their mouths. Foxes are just as well skinned alive as rabbits are.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Fox animals and dogs are beaten first before the butcher starts the skinning. They kick the animal in the head and stand on their neck to kill them before skinning. It's no surpirse that many of the animals are still alive and writhing whilst the butcher starts to skin them. Some animals even wake up while they are being skinned.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Other animals are poisoned with strychnine, which suffocates them by paralyzing their muscles with painful cramps.<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPXENqqsicO_6JplOspAzBa4ItS51djAJe_uWXfC0oUW_SI5_tuAicpPitEwdjk_gwFsyOxaNLvxipbMiMPq6nSLPplqlfAx83ics9kk9rf8DFfZVc16jV84jrkYfXhIQWupNHqKRGKhvR/s1600/skinnedanimals.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPXENqqsicO_6JplOspAzBa4ItS51djAJe_uWXfC0oUW_SI5_tuAicpPitEwdjk_gwFsyOxaNLvxipbMiMPq6nSLPplqlfAx83ics9kk9rf8DFfZVc16jV84jrkYfXhIQWupNHqKRGKhvR/s400/skinnedanimals.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">But before the killing even begins the animals are locked up in small cages, left outside in the boiling sun and freezing nights without food or water in the hope that they'll simply die. Many animals go insane for the lack of space and the constant stress they are under. The frustration the animals go through often results in self-mutilation or cannibalization. With rabbits you can imagine that the mother rabbit's only job is to deliver as much babies as possible. The babies are born to become items. The animals live in filthy wired cages where they have no chance of pursuing their natural instincts. Parasites and disease run rampant on fur farms. The animals' urine and feces burns their eyes and lungs making the animals' already miserable lives even more unbearable. Like I said before, in China animals have no rights. There are no</span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">federal humane slaughter laws to protects animals on fur farms</span> <br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In China dogs and cats are stolen from their beloved owners to be sold to fur farms. Up to 20 cats or dogs are crammed in one cage and transported hundreds of kilometers to farms. The cages are then tossed onto the ground often breaking the legs of the animals inside of them. China is very good at bypassing</span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">EU and USA laws. Any fur from China is often mislabeled as fur from other species and is exported to countries and then sold to unsuspecting customers in retail stores. It's bad enough that people are wearing fur, but they will never know which animal's skin they are wearing. Lost your dog in China? You just might be wearing him.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcR3iqkOwEZV05fJkwhUGBK-tR5jbNdwpJyHi8aIhAJqqiB6qSqklzhTGQWzIqyacTaCVgxeNOKqr_TB265xduDaEhXufy-EAfp7J3BU70p_RvPp-RTtTKX7eVHi_AQIe2ITSJFAk7QErQ/s1600/PETAmeganparkHORIZ72.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="412" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcR3iqkOwEZV05fJkwhUGBK-tR5jbNdwpJyHi8aIhAJqqiB6qSqklzhTGQWzIqyacTaCVgxeNOKqr_TB265xduDaEhXufy-EAfp7J3BU70p_RvPp-RTtTKX7eVHi_AQIe2ITSJFAk7QErQ/s640/PETAmeganparkHORIZ72.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Megan Park for PETA.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</tbody></table><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> In USA and Russia wild animals are caught with traps. This finding totally was the cherry on top of my cake of animal misery research. I had no idea traps are still used to capture animals. I thought that that was a thing in the past. But no, millions of raccoons, coyotes, beavers, otters, and other fur-bearing animals are killed every year for the clothing industry by trappers.</span><br />
<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The steel-jaw trap is the most widely used. Luckily this awful device has been banned by the European Union (<i style="color: #cc0000;">kudos for EU</i>) and a growing number of U.S. states for example Arizona does not allow the use of steel-jaw traps on public lands. *When an animal steps on the spring of a steel-jaw trap, the trap's jaws slam shut on the animal's limb. The animal frantically struggles in excruciating pain as the trap cuts into his or her flesh, often down to the bone, mutilating the animal's foot or leg. Some animals, especially mothers who are desperate to get back to their young, attempt to chew or twist off their trapped limbs. This struggle may last for hours. Eventually, the animal succumbs to exhaustion and often exposure, frostbite, shock, or death. (*direct quote from PETA) <img alt="" src="data:image/png;base64,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" /> I feel so awful for those mothers who want to get back to their babies, but instead they won't be seeing them ever again (<i style="color: #cc0000;">I'm seriously crying here</i>). </div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.mediapeta.com/peta/Images/Main/Sections/MediaCenter/PrintAds/AD-babies-miss-their-mother-ad.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.mediapeta.com/peta/Images/Main/Sections/MediaCenter/PrintAds/AD-babies-miss-their-mother-ad.pdf </a></div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Another cruel trap, the Conibear trap, crushes animals' necks, applying pressure. It takes animals three to eight minutes to suffocate in these traps. *Because predators mutilate many trapped animals before the trappers return, pole traps are often used. A pole trap is a form of steel-jaw trap that is set in a tree or on a pole. Animals caught in these traps are hoisted into the air and left to hang by the caught appendage until they die or the trapper arrives to kill them.</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">(*direct quote from PETA) Like with fur farm animals, the trappers stomp or strangle the animal to death.</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Every year, dogs, cats, birds, and other animals, including endangered species, are crippled or killed by traps. In some states there are regulations on how often trappers must check their traps (<i style="color: #cc0000;">apparently trapping animals is legal in the USA</i>), but it can vary from 24 hours to one week.</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Meaning that the animal will most often suffer in agony (<i style="color: #cc0000;">and heartbreak, come on the animal misses his/her family</i>) before he or she dies.</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Remember it takes about 10 animals to make a trim and 30 animals to make a coat. </div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi150R52HCnmdgHzlTwbigpw_og1n2pbsooT8rERh2n04QETd-E98NgW7savCDyfyWAgaY-z2KMcDXOsBOCrdsO6SxZlR8d73bPn5dZXYQmZitGcyXi_MtQuo2S7F6BVXLuHpqPJBhvg0B7/s1600/sophie_ellis_bextor_fur_coat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi150R52HCnmdgHzlTwbigpw_og1n2pbsooT8rERh2n04QETd-E98NgW7savCDyfyWAgaY-z2KMcDXOsBOCrdsO6SxZlR8d73bPn5dZXYQmZitGcyXi_MtQuo2S7F6BVXLuHpqPJBhvg0B7/s400/sophie_ellis_bextor_fur_coat.jpg" width="322" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sophie Ellisbextor for PETA.</td></tr>
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</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It goes without saying that fur farming and any other production that brings harm to animals should be made illegal. I have no idea why fur farms etc haven't been banned already. UK has made a huge step forward and is making the country a little more humane. As I recall, Finland is looking to banish fur farming by 2025. (<i style="color: #cc0000;">That's not good enough!</i>). However this brings up other serious issues. In EU fur farming is monitored to some extend. So if all fur farming leaves EU and USA where do you think the producers go? You guessed it, to China. As I said before, China has no animal right laws whatsoever. if we can't ban fur forever, we should ban fur from China. Bring fur back to EU or USA where it could atleast be produced under somewhat-humane surveillance. But EU, USA and designers are too-goodie-two-shoes and let someone else do the dirty job for them. Some furriers even try to convince consumers that pelts are "eco-friendly." (<i style="color: #cc0000;">Dear God!</i>) Eighty-five percent of the fur industry's skins come from animals on fur factory farms. It doesn't take a genious to recall China's animal right- and enviromental laws...woops they haven't got any! *Waste from fur farms is poisoning USA waterways. The Environmental Protection Agency has also filed complaints against companies involved in fur production and transportation for illegally generating and disposing of hazardous waste from the processing of pelts. In Denmark, where more than 2 million minks are killed for their fur annually, more than 8,000 pounds of ammonia is released into the atmosphere each year. </div><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Furs are loaded with chemicals to keep them from decomposing in the buyer's closet, and fur production pollutes the environment and gobbles up precious resources. Producing a fur coat from ranch-raised animals takes more than 15 times as much energy as does producing a faux-fur coat. (<i style="color: #cc0000;">so this is basically just like what I talked about in my vegetarian entry. When one buys a fur item one is not only endorsing murder, but one is also polluting the enviroment, wasting precious resources and exposes oneself to toxic chemicals</i>)</span><br />
<div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Fur is only "natural" when it's on the animal who was born with it. Once an animal has been slaughtered and skinned, his or her fur is treated with a soup of toxic chemicals to keep it from rotting. Various salts—along with ammonia, formaldehyde, hydrogen peroxide, and other chromates and bleaching agents—are used to preserve and dye fur. Furriers claim that the carcasses from animals skinned for their pelts are used for animal feed, but often they are simply dumped into landfills. (At any rate, many animals on fur farms are killed with injections of poison, which makes their flesh inedible.). (*Direct quote from PETA).</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Like with any other stuff we may posses, it always comes with something else too. Plus can't exists without minus. Personally I have no idea who would want to endorse murder. I'd like to send all the designers who use fur in their designs to fur farms for a week to experience first hand what it's like to work there. Better yet, I'd like to ask all the butchers how they can kill innocent animals day after day and still go home to their families. It's like during the holocaust, how could the nazis kill all those people day after day and go home to their families afterwards?</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">By now you may have a vivid idea of what I am like as a person. You couldn't be further from the truth my dear reader. Just because I write an entry on fur farming, doesn't mean that I am an anarchist who goes around breaking into fur stores, throwing paint on old hags who wear fur and attact fur farms and release the animals. In Finland we don't have such a big animal rights organization like PETA so we don't have protests against fur farms etc. If there was a march/ public protest I would attend it, as much as I would march for gay rights and attend the slut walk. I believe that everyone, even animals have rights and that they should be made universal. I'm not trying to tick off China by saying that they have no animal rights. I hope to inspire people. </div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">My actions to help animals are small but practical. I sign petitions against fur, animal testing and meat eating. I sign letters that ask designers and consumers to stop buying fur. I don't buy fur products or from retails that sell fur. I don't buy products which ingredients or finished products have been tested on animals. I try to spread awareness of the cruelty of animal testing and fur farming by writing a blog and talking to my friends in person or on Fbible.</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It's small things like these that finally make the stand. If we all said no to fur, there would be no need for fur farms or trappers. In the end it's us, consumers, that have the final say. </div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I hope you found this entry informative and hopefully you'll sign PETA's bunny butcher letter and pledge to be fur-free -> <a href="https://secure.peta.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=3191" target="_blank">https://secure.peta.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=3191 </a></div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">For more information on fur farming and how to be fur-free go to <a href="http://www.peta.org/">www.peta.org</a> for more information.</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuK-hpQMQ1s-wDKZ1ounq9k86lHs99dz9Vbdta7JgBi4NBKa2AMFjMK2RWYwzO8bgSd-AJTna4dVxXGauWz-CQ4D9LN6bBXUIq_TlvCPZT0I4vKcqo066bZmqkKRmH2agXY2DiJTvk25ih/s1600/CharlotteRoss_horiz_72.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="452" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuK-hpQMQ1s-wDKZ1ounq9k86lHs99dz9Vbdta7JgBi4NBKa2AMFjMK2RWYwzO8bgSd-AJTna4dVxXGauWz-CQ4D9LN6bBXUIq_TlvCPZT0I4vKcqo066bZmqkKRmH2agXY2DiJTvk25ih/s640/CharlotteRoss_horiz_72.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Charlotte Ross for PETA</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I'd much rather show <i style="color: #cc0000;">my</i> buns, than wear fur. How about you?</div><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">See ya next time!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">HM.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7JNwfUPDp7ePBy-O98kKfsGe-ZZpWad01joVSodmhQuqCo1GauWXCiggXE9He2Lrqy8Ex1YgM58w1RT9-t-S-3d19Q44HHe7ycARS4FzszbRRKjPWbnRwr7S9MKdRT7Zp6q1rwMjzCeTC/s1600/800-chesterbennington-ad.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7JNwfUPDp7ePBy-O98kKfsGe-ZZpWad01joVSodmhQuqCo1GauWXCiggXE9He2Lrqy8Ex1YgM58w1RT9-t-S-3d19Q44HHe7ycARS4FzszbRRKjPWbnRwr7S9MKdRT7Zp6q1rwMjzCeTC/s640/800-chesterbennington-ad.jpg" width="486" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chester Bennington for PETA.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</tbody></table><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i style="color: #cc0000;">I</i> have ink, not mink.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs4NzNCgwmWixImWZlOat05DFX-MpWq5mMU-5GNMaSmzl-iXrrvlIGZEYrNxGO_jSAvi269l7Vg8sphPCtX_WzdzLIVi_zWjH_miosujZbnpExlq0hvDdFjU92qx65jTC6BJ0qsDlLbRk3/s1600/Ilse+Vandecappella,+Belgium.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgs4NzNCgwmWixImWZlOat05DFX-MpWq5mMU-5GNMaSmzl-iXrrvlIGZEYrNxGO_jSAvi269l7Vg8sphPCtX_WzdzLIVi_zWjH_miosujZbnpExlq0hvDdFjU92qx65jTC6BJ0qsDlLbRk3/s400/Ilse+Vandecappella,+Belgium.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Poster by Ilse Vandecappella, Belgium</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY3lhNKIW9GhfwLbiYzWelndIk7ghAp-zUxKkQRN5m3iktxK4k9msCR89LgCuFo3LidUgRQg4phWfMZjAK448DiWhraeQVgKZ_snZL0JKqm5uatOwxz1pUlg8phsLZS8P3FtmFGoPm4cEh/s1600/vogue-italia-curvy.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY3lhNKIW9GhfwLbiYzWelndIk7ghAp-zUxKkQRN5m3iktxK4k9msCR89LgCuFo3LidUgRQg4phWfMZjAK448DiWhraeQVgKZ_snZL0JKqm5uatOwxz1pUlg8phsLZS8P3FtmFGoPm4cEh/s1600/vogue-italia-curvy.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vogue, Italia.</td></tr>
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</div>Anarchy Pantyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274535103226645106noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4454851646577708620.post-69293739641532306962012-01-29T14:57:00.000-08:002012-01-29T14:57:01.614-08:00Artist of the Month. Luis Royo.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsTBPhvvDKaiDkTmszTm2epr0K79pbWKxAjmYJKyQdIAYdE63KFpQvF40Vhei4YVVEWHVXr4LqfI9iw97QiOhiN7ZkqRPfzfGTgbr5_lwKPeo2pNosNIQz_HH9mSUU0MHKs6DQ63L6Cz_S/s1600/1103034-max480x555.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsTBPhvvDKaiDkTmszTm2epr0K79pbWKxAjmYJKyQdIAYdE63KFpQvF40Vhei4YVVEWHVXr4LqfI9iw97QiOhiN7ZkqRPfzfGTgbr5_lwKPeo2pNosNIQz_HH9mSUU0MHKs6DQ63L6Cz_S/s320/1103034-max480x555.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Happy Year of the Dragon fellow dragons, and other little animals of the Shengxiao (also known as the Chinese zodiac). </span><img src="http://calebbrown.id.au/images/fb_emotes/fb_grin.png" /><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Dragon's year is considered to be the luckiest year of all the 12 years of Shengxiao. Year 2012 should be very propective and successful to us dragons.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I read an article from Times that this year more babies will be born in China, because the Chinese believe that having 'a dragon' child brings good fortune to the child and to his family. In my family we have two dragons, me and my father ^_^ </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">For the main entry I've prepared something artistic once again. To get <span style="color: #cc0000;">my</span> artistic stuff really going I have decided that I'm going to start posting entries on my favourite artists.</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> I'm going to introduce a new artist once a month (two artists if I have time) and review their work. I'm not completely hung up on contemporary art so you'll see some of the old masters here too. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Do you ever get the feeling that most people couldn't give a horse shit about art, seriously. Ask yourself, how much do you really care or even like art? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Betcha didn't see this kind of art coming </span><img alt="curly lips" src="http://www.fbsmileys.com/wp-content/emos/curlylips.png" /> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Got you!! <b style="color: #134f5c;"> </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><u><b style="color: #134f5c;">Luis Royo</b></u> happens to be one of my favourite illustrator/artist of all time. </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">He is Spanish born and says that drawing was always very important to him. </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In 1970's <span style="color: #45818e;">Royo</span> was </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">studying decoration and interior designing and decided to include painting to his activities. But it wasn't until late 70's that he discovered adult comics and decided to dedicate his career to comics</span>. <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">He's commissionned by MARTINEZ</span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">in the early 80's which set him towards his professional career. </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">By 1990's major amount of his own work was bought or commissioned by different medias and clients. In 1992 he publishes his very first compilation work called "WOMEN", which gather all his best works up to now. This album clearly identified that Royo was a great illustrator and this was when his preference to draw women began to emerge. </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">After that he has been working hard to </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">earn his reputation and fame he today</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> has. Royo has published more then 34 art books including portfolios and he continues his "partnership" with Heavy Metal, among other publishers.(<i style="color: #cc0000;">*chuckle* my 2012 Royo wall calendar is published by Heavy Metal</i>).</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzzG1vIRe0O1B16POod-cpSzd9RcVHAM1dsTJqRZW9Wr2Czweyv5cti5plk8wxgKiz5MSifuvjGRtyJaTz9b5nrPMXGwlBoV_GidT4VxRLO4VCbJo8UFCCIrtpoxJRctIANQ77oa1b2qSc/s1600/LR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzzG1vIRe0O1B16POod-cpSzd9RcVHAM1dsTJqRZW9Wr2Czweyv5cti5plk8wxgKiz5MSifuvjGRtyJaTz9b5nrPMXGwlBoV_GidT4VxRLO4VCbJo8UFCCIrtpoxJRctIANQ77oa1b2qSc/s640/LR.jpg" width="449" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I was introduced to Royo's work via Quizilla. It is this 'quiz' site where teenagers post quizzes, but most often they post stories. I remember when in the mid 2000's vampire stories were so popular on Quizilla. Eheeh even I was writing a story on Quizilla, based on an anime where the characters play 'children's card games' (<i><span style="color: #cc0000;">Thank you LittleKuriboh</span></i>). Eh but before that I was taking quizzes like<i> 'Are you a witch, a mermaid, a princess, a heroine or a fairy?'</i> (<i style="color: #cc0000;">not a real quiz</i>) and for a short period of time, Royo's paintings were one of the most popular image sources for these type of quizzes. You'd get your result describing your character and this beautiful image </span><img alt="sunglasses" src="http://www.fbsmileys.com/wp-content/emos/sunglasses.png" /> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">You can just imagine how awesome it was for a young teenage girl to receive a beautiful pic like the one above that depicted her as a witch (<i><span style="color: #cc0000;"> I was never a witch BTW</span></i>. <i style="color: #cc0000;">Spoilsport me!</i>).</span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">What drove me to seek out this artist was first of all my interest in art and second of all, I was utterly in love with the beautiful images and ultra sexy characters. It took me a little while to find out the name of the artist, and ever since discovering Royo I've been keeping an eye on his practice.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4dT81ht76fsHpEWsWXja17Dis1KU0P1_LegAOF1d5mnxht1uqazbytYhojhtrgjqS5RgfcGevlAzgBtAWsYgy_8OQT_sQ1gNeim29IDi74mIo17Meo9vvc_XKuiU3rFFcbFehcLwfuINS/s1600/Batman.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4dT81ht76fsHpEWsWXja17Dis1KU0P1_LegAOF1d5mnxht1uqazbytYhojhtrgjqS5RgfcGevlAzgBtAWsYgy_8OQT_sQ1gNeim29IDi74mIo17Meo9vvc_XKuiU3rFFcbFehcLwfuINS/s400/Batman.bmp" width="266" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Royo is so amazingly talented that I almost can't stand it. Before I discovered by own style I was trying to paint like Royo. He has such an amazing eye for detail and tones that his work looks so realistic. When I look at his work it's like I'm looking into this paraller reality that's filled with sexual escapades and disrupted fantasies. It's a reality where beautiful people co-exists with androids and monsters. The Women are tough, extremely beautiful warriors who defeat monsters and devils. But what they can't seem to defeat is their endless lust for sex. Human men are just a mild distraction on the background, plain figures compared to their darker counterparts, the devils, monsters and robots. To me it is so hot that these monsters can gain the females attention and affection. Basically in every piece that portrays sex, the woman (or women in some case) is having sex with a monster. It is so sexy to see Royo depicting men as hideous monsters who still can catch the female's eye. Or perhaps the monsters don't represent men at all...perhaps they are just monsters, sharing the same reality with the warrior women. See, I like sexy things ~_^</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i style="color: #cc0000;">*chuckle*</i> But is Royo's work really art? To real artists his work would seem cheap and pretentious and doesn't strike as nothing but <strike>pornographic </strike>soft porn. Funny story, my art history/visual culture tutor once asked me didn't I find Royo's work extremely sexist and oppressing towards women? "Not at all! How do you make that one out?". That's not how I view Royo's work. When I look at his paintings I see beautiful people who have been painted so well, that they might as well be real. When I look at art work, the first thing I do is check out how good the painting looks like. Does it look realistic or surreal. I prefer realistic work so that's why I'm so in love with Royo's work.</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> I get my tutor's point though, Royo's work, in the end, is just a bunch of doll faced, plastic looking women showing off their lady parts, killing and having sex with monsters. But</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> I can't believe how talented he is that he can paint realistic looking people. Skin ,especially, is hard to paint realistically, but he nails it. The sex doesn't bother me at all. I actually love his hard core sex paintings <i style="color: #cc0000;">(See his Prohibited series)</i> They are so raw and sexual and not many artist have the guts to paint explicit sex scenes where a woman is having sex with a really fat and tall monster. Heh not only is he really talented painter, but he's also very brave. I know that many people don't like his work because of its themes and because it doesn't seem like real art <i style="color: #cc0000;">(it's too commercial)</i>, but every one of his paintings and drawings are hand made. Most of his paintings are really really large, so when you take a look at one of these images, just imagine how much time and effort he spend on those paintings. For ex. the image of the Batgirl looks so amazing. </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">There is certain lightness in the colour and in the </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">technique he uses, but it's </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCRBMCb2Bb8K8YjS6Ken4rCGDoDj9LRIx79Au9WTR6LX-ZemHx6b_LHEPAcoGlfos5gYNcZtimVBc1I-hjiu47C1atjXPqOUTMIUyBrhZbhv_pXnWk7PyWcZPo3IeoIoXYXhTD-_VV2evU/s1600/Royovampir.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCRBMCb2Bb8K8YjS6Ken4rCGDoDj9LRIx79Au9WTR6LX-ZemHx6b_LHEPAcoGlfos5gYNcZtimVBc1I-hjiu47C1atjXPqOUTMIUyBrhZbhv_pXnWk7PyWcZPo3IeoIoXYXhTD-_VV2evU/s400/Royovampir.jpg" width="257" /></a></div><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">broken down with the dark blues and black. I'm really interested in his painting technique. He keeps creating those very smooth almost fog like textures in his work, as we saw in the unicorn & dragon painting. It almost reminds me of old Japanese ink drawings. I like to think that he's kinda like a multi-talented artist. He can make really fabulous ink sketches like this vampire on the left. He can create very ethereal and </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">crepuscular paintings as well as heavy and detailed ones. Royo has made quite a few of those ethereal paintings depicting his beautiful warrior women, just women in their armour. However </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I especially love the detailed ones <i style="color: #cc0000;">(like the Batgirl)</i>, where the surroundings and the people look so real that he makes me wish that I could live in that bizzare world and be one of those warrior women. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I know that Royo uses live models. For ex. he has used Natalie Portman's and Steven & Liv Tyler's images to create couple of pieces. And he has this one model who has modeled for him many times <i style="color: #cc0000;">(I can't recall her name)</i>. I would sooooooo looove to pose for him! *_* I have done modeling before and it would be just so cooool to have Royo paint me <i style="color: #cc0000;">(well he'd most likely alter it, but still I'd be the base of that woman)</i><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="color: black;">. <span style="color: #666666;">That's the narcissistic part of me talking, but I'd love to have one of Royo's paintings or posters on my wall in which implementation I contributed to. I have one of Royo's posters ^_^ the boys in college liked that I had this half naked 'amazon' woman on my wall. She is a fine looking girl. </span></span></span></span><br />
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</div><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #666666;">Anyways even though it may look like I'm just another 'fantasy art' liking sci-fi fan girl who can't tell fantasy art from real art, that's not me. As much as I like art art</span> <i style="color: #cc0000;">(my old tutor Sarah R Key makes some quite artistic pieces)<span style="color: #666666;"> </span></i><span style="color: #666666;">I can also appericate art like Royo's. He uses the medium that once was considered the only true art medium, he most certainly can paint and I can see stories in his work. After all, to me, it's not so much as how it's made, but what it's depicting. I love his beautiful, detailed paintings with the erotic twist, but I especially love the stories they tell.</span></span></span></span><br />
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</div><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #666666;">Hope you enjoyed my little entry on Luis Royo. Next time I'll try and get my entry on fur farming and animal testing done. It's such a sad and awful subject that I have been postponing it on purpose. It may take a while though because I'm applying</span> <span style="color: #666666;">to do my MA in art PGDE.</span></span></span></span></span><br />
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</span></div><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #666666;">Until next time! HM </span> </span></span></span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdziNc7WJ0U8C9QyJjuVX-UrZAMoaQgeyemY8x4WHMZBbay2MllXTFz8MmQQ5Wuiq3lgXQ17t-3kkfZz7I7mSlGeL167haR-IgAehMn6rZt2IE206W0xuIIFFlbYBi_s4udJnAHUObj0e-/s1600/luis_royo_subversive+beauty_new+secrets+2004_med.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdziNc7WJ0U8C9QyJjuVX-UrZAMoaQgeyemY8x4WHMZBbay2MllXTFz8MmQQ5Wuiq3lgXQ17t-3kkfZz7I7mSlGeL167haR-IgAehMn6rZt2IE206W0xuIIFFlbYBi_s4udJnAHUObj0e-/s640/luis_royo_subversive+beauty_new+secrets+2004_med.jpg" width="458" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Anarchy Pantyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274535103226645106noreply@blogger.com0Suomi65.146234499999991 26.72057710000001459.95280799999999 20.558687100000014 70.339660999999992 32.882467100000014tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4454851646577708620.post-16779158733257898082012-01-12T14:54:00.000-08:002012-01-12T14:54:31.013-08:00Mind Machine.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYICsOIn6Jf2fZe0n9nkMXNzWA92huzRNic7oMss6hjIkJKA32AB4p91duVBD94vEiEwYdtEMHRMXBUeyeEVE8TBp10wG-Epsd2tVprC7-jm5jury3jrnM19HB2ff0WJb56ucvAMVLljyA/s1600/1Marionettesmall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYICsOIn6Jf2fZe0n9nkMXNzWA92huzRNic7oMss6hjIkJKA32AB4p91duVBD94vEiEwYdtEMHRMXBUeyeEVE8TBp10wG-Epsd2tVprC7-jm5jury3jrnM19HB2ff0WJb56ucvAMVLljyA/s400/1Marionettesmall.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marionette. Copyright 2011 H.M</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</tbody></table><div style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">(The background art is by Candybird </span>♥<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> )Before I start talking about my art project '<span style="color: #741b47;">Mind Machine</span>', I'd briefly like to address my entry on vegetarianism. </span></div><div style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It seems that it has aroused some bad blood among (some) of my readers (wow we have readers O_o).</span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">They think I shouldn't be addressing such delicate issues, like vegetarianism, if I intend to become a public figure (yeah I wanna be a famous artist one day). They say that talking about vegetarianism on my blog will probably affect my future employment and partnerships because (apparently) people have a strong idea of what vegetarians are like. In short, vegetarians are anarchists and pirates. They are people who bust into labs and fur farms to free animals, spray people who wear fur with pepper spray and trash fur shops. aka they are no good. These reader's transition to the 21st century, never happened I see.</span></div><div style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I don't mind a little anarchy, actually I find it very interesting. HOWEVER, that is not how I see and do things. Furs are out there in the shops, on rich-bitches backs whether we like it or not. One should try to reach the consumers and convince them that fur is so not cool nor good looking (<i>after all, who would want wear the skins of murdered animals</i>). Ban fur for life people and you won't see them in shops anymore. We do this respectfully and without violence of course. I don't believe that the animal and enviromental activists of today operate like they used to. I understand that in the past, people who had strong ethical belief and saw animals and as equals to humans sometimes saw that awareness could only be achived through dramatic actions. But I believe that that is no more. And I most certainly am not like that.</span></div><div style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></div><div style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I chose to become a vegetarian because I respect animals and I knew I couldn't continue living with my meat eating self after I read that awful thing (yes that's still a secret) all those years ago. I'm not an anarchist, but I also don't approve meat eating, fur farms nor animal testing. That is my point of view and the only 'radical' thing I do is I don't eat meat, I have pledged to be fur free and I don't use cosmetic products of companies that test on animals. </span></div><div style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></div><div style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">So to those people who still have such strong stereotypes about people like vegetarians, punks or hippies I say, WAKE UP! C'mon, that is all in the past. I personally judge people based on how well I know them (yeah we all judge and you know it). I never judge someone I've just met, I take time to get to know them and come to a conclusion later. I can only hope that there are people out there who feel the same way.</span></div><div style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">And I especially wish for people not to be so prejudice about me, based on the fact that I am a vegetarian and I don't endorse animal testing. As a future artist I believe that my art should speak for itself. And if a future employer sees it to turn my application down, they do it based on my qualification and not because of what I write here. Cheers!</span></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidk2B6F7UnsKp6JFQApWEA8Wbz_Fz_gCXFX5j7ZbhDnNKYxFhstQXkqMeU-vNkgwB2E7akpXN771ebQqXgpx-3UOwtE8W68RY_l5q_01cKR0YKuYr4cW7i16Uhp-qMy4Dyp4Q6oHUT6ydM/s1600/77Telephonesmall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidk2B6F7UnsKp6JFQApWEA8Wbz_Fz_gCXFX5j7ZbhDnNKYxFhstQXkqMeU-vNkgwB2E7akpXN771ebQqXgpx-3UOwtE8W68RY_l5q_01cKR0YKuYr4cW7i16Uhp-qMy4Dyp4Q6oHUT6ydM/s400/77Telephonesmall.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Telephone. Copyright 2011 H.M</td></tr>
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<div style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">So, onto my actual work now. I have been working on '<span style="color: #741b47;">Mind Machine</span>' for a little over a year. I began in 2010 developing rough sketches based on common fears and nightmares. I chose fears and nightmares because of this a-may-zaah thing I saw in a very popular game that came </span></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="color: black; float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE1ODpSmMC2OsYxmRt39foz9t-12ItHqVzD9uONWjqwniG5GTJ4QTDNSH4ZXB_5BjYimQopbr7JW9NdnMu-Hn5owVe1Am1wNMJk-O4B4wsqPGUNE9cIhGBfAagEs-ELLfTs3mlMObHk7wo/s1600/Nightmare+Sketch+3small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE1ODpSmMC2OsYxmRt39foz9t-12ItHqVzD9uONWjqwniG5GTJ4QTDNSH4ZXB_5BjYimQopbr7JW9NdnMu-Hn5owVe1Am1wNMJk-O4B4wsqPGUNE9cIhGBfAagEs-ELLfTs3mlMObHk7wo/s400/Nightmare+Sketch+3small.jpg" width="307" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nightmare Sketch nr. 3. 2010 Copyright H.M</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">out in 2009. I used various black markers to draw and then coloured the drawings with aquarelles. </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The nightmare about drowning on the left is actually one of the first sketches I made for <span style="color: #741b47;">MM</span>. That big fat marker (bubbles) was waterproof whilst most of the thin tip markers were not. I covered the blank areas with water before applying colour (<- this is one of my favourite methods to apply colour quickly, this method also highlights the</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> spontaneity of</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> aquarelles). </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I ment the sketches to be a simple exercise before moving onto making large oil colour paintings. During my personal tutorial in December 2010 my tutors actually liked these sketches better than the oil paintings I had made so far. Thus I decided to create purely aquarelle paintings for my final project. I realized that aquarelles actually captured that dream-like states and elements much better than heavy oil colours. In early 2011 I moved on to develop my skills in aquarelle painting and creating the idea behind '<span style="color: #741b47;">Mind Machine</span>'. The style you see in this project comes naturally to me. It basically just happens. I do plan which areas I want to paint, and how I'm going to achive, for ex. the darkness vs. lights in a nightclub. But all in all, I am quite spontaneous when I paint (<i>sometimes the finished look is the product of the mood I was in whilst painting</i>). I used to try to keep myself under control and I kept reaching for the perfect combination and realistic look. However I realized that this '<i style="color: #6aa84f;">painting from an impulse</i>' as I like to call it, comes much more naturally to me and I believe that that's what is going to draw people to my work. </span></div><div style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">Like I said on my website, '</span><span style="color: #a64d79;">Mind Machine</span><span style="color: black;">' stands for everything I have seen, heard, experienced, dreamed of or thought of. It used to picture just dreams, nightmares and fears (<i>mostly drawn from my own dreams</i>) but it took a turn to more personal when I started including my interpretations of for ex. stories I've read once and events I wish would have turned out differently. I think it was after</span> '<i><b><span style="color: #f6b26b;">The Age of Violence</span></b></i>' <span style="color: black;">mini series and </span>'<i><b style="color: #e06666;">Hell Carousel</b></i>' <span style="color: black;">when I came to realize that bit by bit I was revealing things about myself and my point of views</span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">. All of the sudden I had created '</span><i><b><span style="color: #674ea7;">Beautiful Fighters 1-4</span></b></i>' (<span style="color: black;">mini series) all because I had had a really strong reaction to '</span><i style="color: black;">Sucker Punch</i><span style="color: black;">'. The idea of that movie seemed so awesome, but when I saw the trailer and learned what the girls would have to do in order to get into that imaginary world, I felt so betrayed. My first thought was '</span><i style="color: black;">Soft porn for 12 year old boys! This is how you make money these days, put girls in short skirts fighting some monsters and you have got yourself a money-movie.</i><span style="color: black;">' I got so mad and painted '</span><i><b><span style="color: #674ea7;">Beautiful Fighters</span></b></i>'. <span style="color: black;">Funny story, my tutor (male) totally got the idea behind this series </span></span><img alt="cool hot sunglasses smiley face" height="14" src="http://www.creativestable.com/sites/default/files/images/facebook_smiley_cool.gif" style="color: black;" width="14" /><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;"> We had a really good laugh. And later when I met Nina from</span> <span style="color: #f1c232;">Movement gallery</span> <span style="color: black;">she told me her youngest son also totally went for the series because '</span><i style="color: black;">it had girls in stockings and dinosaurs</i><span style="color: black;">'. His comment truly delighted me </span></span><img alt="Big grin happy face for facebook chat" height="14" src="http://www.creativestable.com/sites/default/files/images/facebook_smiley_veryhappy.gif" style="color: black;" width="14" /><span style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> That's what I really want from my viewers, reactions. That they respond to my work and draw their own conclusions (<i>even if some of the paintings reprisent specific things</i>). It would be awesome the hear people's interpretations of my paintings.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">After</span> <b style="color: #674ea7;"><i>BF</i></b> <span style="color: black;">anything was game, I painted my dreams, my friend's dreams, my childhood fears and so on. I have very weird dreams O_o I dream almost every night and I remember them almost everytime (<i>traces if nothing else</i>). I have nightmares maybe 3 times a year. I reckon dreams are a good source for inspiration because they're so bizarre, but they are also very humanistic in their own way. In my dissertation I argue that dreams and nightmares are driven from our thoughts. They are our wishes and things we have seen and experienced. And we haven't even need to have experienced them, it could be something that we saw on the telly or read in a book, and for some reason our mind totally went for it (</span><i style="color: black;">aka my awesome dream including me and a few boys from the Akatsuki....and no, wasn't that kind of a dream</i></span><span style="color: black;"> </span><img alt="facebook-smileys-sunglasses" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-25" height="14" src="http://www.facebooksmileys.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/facebook-smileys-sunglasses.gif" style="color: black;" title="facebook-smileys-sunglasses" width="14" /><span style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <i>just awesome action stuff</i>). </span><br />
<div style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Currently I have included a few very personal point of views about several causes into </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;">MM</span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">. I just realized that people are actually interested in what other people have to say about things.<i> I'm </i>interested in what other people have to say about things. This project has helped me to channel my opinions into paintings. My art is my portal for reaching out to people. Although most of it has imaginary elements and some of the severe and naughty paintings are actually ment to be tongue-on-cheek. I sometimes get a little humorous. Some of my work should be viewed as funny, not shocking. Whilst I was invigilating '<b style="color: lime;">Shift</b>'</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> (our year show) an older lady came to me to talk about </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;">MM</span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">. Her interpretation was toootally different from what I'd intended the project to be about. Back then </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;">MM</span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> was just imaginary, I didn't ment it to be taken so seriously. It was just a bit of fun, but it's as serious as art goes. However the lady raised some very interesting points, and when I got back to Helsinki, and went to our cabin in the country almost straight away, I began to develop ideals I wanted to present in </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;">MM</span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">. Surprise, surprise I decided to tackle sex first </span><img alt="Winking face book smiley" height="14" src="http://www.creativestable.com/sites/default/files/images/facebook_smiley_wink.gif" width="14" /> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">On the side, I like to think that </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #741b47;">MM</span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> is also a very vain project and celebrates</span><span class="short_text" id="result_box" lang="en" style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="hps"> narcissism to some extend. I'm sure my friends have something to say about that. </span></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Now I'll explain the dream or the meaning behind a few paintings in <span style="color: #741b47;">MM</span>.</span></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_ICh0Z0WXK_4PGlo55HOb_Jvof82PQcb0q7w6xuTBQmzm1hL9xn_SshINdyKg0V2i8jBrba8yctFePU-ktIs7bPce1nd3C6jhbkQI-ShEOJSZfLgzx19XFPiZTF5QBTqPjsOQreqyfwtb/s1600/88Odette-Odile3small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_ICh0Z0WXK_4PGlo55HOb_Jvof82PQcb0q7w6xuTBQmzm1hL9xn_SshINdyKg0V2i8jBrba8yctFePU-ktIs7bPce1nd3C6jhbkQI-ShEOJSZfLgzx19XFPiZTF5QBTqPjsOQreqyfwtb/s400/88Odette-Odile3small.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span id="lightbox-image-details-caption" style="display: inline;">Odette/Odile, Sensitive girl/Sultry girl phenomenon 3/4. Copyright 2011 H.M</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #c27ba0;">Odette and Odile</span> <span style="color: black;">is a mini series I completed in October 2011. I consider this series as one of my 'genious' moments. It consists of 4 paintings and its inspiration is driven from </span></span><span class="st" style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Tšaikovski</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">'s ballet '</span><i style="color: #cccccc;">Swan Lake</i>' <span style="color: black;">(</span><i style="color: black;">random note: I danced ballet for 6 years, but I never got to dance in Swan Lake. I danced in </i><i style="color: black;">Snow Queen though</i><span style="color: black;">). This series presents my ideas of the battle between the sensitive girl and the sultry girl, and the ultimate female type that men prefer. I was thinking about the story in </span><i style="color: #cccccc;">Swan Lake</i> <span style="color: black;">and it got me a little mad. The Prince falls in love with the sensitive and ever so fragile Odette, who has no sense of independence what so ever (</span><i style="color: black;">well she is Rothbart's captive, however to me she still represents that female who is never going to get anything done by herself</i><span style="color: black;">). Later he falls in love with Odile, Rothbart's daughter whom he has commanted to seduce and trick the prince. When the prince discovers the truth, he rushes back to Odette (</span><i style="color: black;">Odile is really Odette is what many interpretations say, so because he couldn't deal with her confidence he immediately prefers the weak Odette?</i><span style="color: black;">) This got to me personally. For I am nothing like Odette, I'm the confident, independent, sultry female who knows her mind, the exact female type most men are afraid of (</span><i style="color: black;">you probably noticed how bitter I am about this already</i><span style="color: black;">). In short, the confident female can't win. It's like '</span><i style="color: #ffd966;">the nice guys finish last</i>', <span style="color: black;">good guys don't get girls and bad girls don't get guys at all. Hence us girls should be more like Odette, completely useless yet incedibly pretty and fragile to get the man of our dreams. I had a furious conversation with my BFF and I demanded the he told my why men would choose such a girl. His answer is too long for this entry. ( Funny story, my female friend and I were talking about a similar matter in the summer and I told her about this poll I had read from an evening magazine. '</span><i style="color: black;">What kind of a woman, does the Finnish man want</i><span style="color: black;">?' Over 70% had answered '</span><i style="color: black;">normal</i><span style="color: black;">'. Just imagine our heads going down anime style, we got no chance.)</span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzutOMR41xlqF7LckVNHO5MP_iU7xU9rWqzsHB-v3NqhggqOtv8QKkqB-hWWxWdS4XimFrOAGuDjVu4jjaIC4O55EVSNKV7yZfJCWZNcMmADmNmgM70HMQmd5Xcw0xPqXUbVuNQzh9cNbS/s1600/3Transformationsmall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzutOMR41xlqF7LckVNHO5MP_iU7xU9rWqzsHB-v3NqhggqOtv8QKkqB-hWWxWdS4XimFrOAGuDjVu4jjaIC4O55EVSNKV7yZfJCWZNcMmADmNmgM70HMQmd5Xcw0xPqXUbVuNQzh9cNbS/s400/3Transformationsmall.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Transformation. Copyright 2011 H.M</td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <span style="color: magenta;">Transformation <span style="color: black;">is a dream I had when I was 14 maybe 15. It was a really long dream but it ends in this cave at the fortress of Suomenlinna, on the coast of Helsinki (<i>very popular tourist and trip place</i>). It is very cold in the cave and I see this bird on the ceiling. I try to capture him to help him to keep warm. Eventually I get him and I put him inside my jacket. After a while the bird emerges from underneath my jacket, but he is no longer a bird, but some rodent/weasel animal. Note that the big boobs are just for fun, I was feeling humorous when I made this.</span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyQNCFlKvDMAJkNCgCWyJta3WndpnDDuXrlEW-0Iyx4_WNWPVDA5WbD2KHFkA8boOqQ7T9fjLWaDv2rxWcPcBOixfde_bWWar9-Jq_p9ymuLJxo27y6YeRucUDsahZ-DiPnPiRtgYUXxRH/s1600/73Dystopia.+Tolerance+heart+Race2small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyQNCFlKvDMAJkNCgCWyJta3WndpnDDuXrlEW-0Iyx4_WNWPVDA5WbD2KHFkA8boOqQ7T9fjLWaDv2rxWcPcBOixfde_bWWar9-Jq_p9ymuLJxo27y6YeRucUDsahZ-DiPnPiRtgYUXxRH/s400/73Dystopia.+Tolerance+heart+Race2small.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span id="lightbox-image-details-caption" style="display: inline;">Dystopia. Tolerance ❤ Race 2/3. Copyright 2011 H.M</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: magenta;"><span style="color: black;"> OMG this series is one of my favourites! And I am actually very jealous of it. I'm not sure if I wanna sell it, but keep it myself. This is the series I made right after I had moved back to Helsinki. All 3 paintings represent the tolerance of sex (in different countries). I am using Japan and Finland as an example. The 3rd one is overall sensitive subject hence hardly tolerated by the society. Okay so the <span style="color: #6fa8dc;">first one</span> addresses Finland's attitude towards sex. It is accepted to some extend. We hardly censor sex scenes from our movies and tv-series, and any sexy stuff on the telly starts after 9pm. Alas talking about sex, looking like sex in public, is a little taboo. You won't be running into people who are reading a sex graphic novel in public, or dressed very revealingly in Finland. <i>(Personally I'm not that coy</i>). <span style="color: #6fa8dc;">Another level</span> of this first painting is what I like to call '<i><span style="color: magenta;">girl on girl crime</span></i>'. Not only can men be a pain in the ass, but for women, other women are pain in the ass too. In my opinion girls can be so cruel, more cruel than men to be frank. When it comes to planning and mental bullying women come out as champions. This kind of <i style="color: magenta;">girl on girl crime</i>, or in addition, <i><span style="color: magenta;">girl on girl attraction </span></i><span style="color: black;">is still very hidden (<i>just ignore L word just for a sec </i><i>okay</i>). People don't talk about it, even if they are aware of it. However in a way, the idea of <i style="color: magenta;">girl on girl attraction</i> is interesting and inspiring. (<i>I'm not saying that <span style="color: #134f5c;">boy on boy attraction</span> isn't, I just chose to use girls in this series</i>).</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: magenta;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: magenta;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;"> <span style="color: #d5a6bd;">The second</span> painting deals with Japan. I have been interested and in love with Japan since I was 14. It pretty much began when I started reading manga and watching anime. Soon I was reading books about Japanese culture and learning Japanese (<i>Isshoni ganbarimashou!</i>). Anyways this painting loosely deals with the acceptance of sex. What I have come to know about Japan's attitude towards sex is that everything goes. I hear that a man who gropes women on a train can be between 12-83 years old. Very liberal I say, not to mention people seriously read porn comics on a bus. I reckon as sexy as the japanese people's attitude towards sex is, their society is still very male dominant. <span style="color: #d5a6bd;">The second part</span> is recognizing this fact. Women (and not only japanese women but women everywhere) totally buy it, the male domination. As sexy as dominant men are, I still think men and women ought to be recognized as equals all the way.</span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: magenta;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;"> <span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: magenta;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"> And the third</span> painting deals with the<i> absolue, </i>male submission. It's about men who like to be dominated by women. Personally I chuckle a little at this subject, I just find it funny and fascinating when men go looking for services from the dominatrixes or ask their girlsfriends/wifes to spank them etc. A mixture of fetishes and S&M. And these men are completely hidden, they won't be telling their friends over a pint about what their girlfriend just finished doing to them. While women can say that they enjoy a little S&M, men would never say that they like to get beaten by their significant other. <span style="color: #cc0000;">The second meaning</span> though, deals with spouse abuse. Every now and then I see an article about a man beating his girlfriend/wife. But I very very very rarely see an article about a woman beating her man. Sure I have read a few articles and watched a document on the subject, but still this isn't that common. Even if it sounds a bit funny, a man complaining that his wife beats him or forces sex on him, it is a serious matter. Fortunately, the man in the third painting, likes to be tied down and beaten.</span></span></span></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYDuUnKxz_ADGVb8CMH5s8aqO-65UAOHyj-PTPXcYDmw2QCoQgVCT7D5jlDQtjRgC0CBqKnoOO9IWPFkC_c0DdYf_bxsQY9yKSSw-tz6Qk2rtePOyhjAt_0rLFCGOP_GKphrDURPhsgiFb/s1600/28The+Age+of+Violencesmall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYDuUnKxz_ADGVb8CMH5s8aqO-65UAOHyj-PTPXcYDmw2QCoQgVCT7D5jlDQtjRgC0CBqKnoOO9IWPFkC_c0DdYf_bxsQY9yKSSw-tz6Qk2rtePOyhjAt_0rLFCGOP_GKphrDURPhsgiFb/s400/28The+Age+of+Violencesmall.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Age of Violence 1/3. Copyright 2011 H.M</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I saved '<span style="color: orange;">Violence</span>' for last. The only thing I have to say about this series is that it tells of a true event that happened to me. I'd say this series is 90% true and 10% hopeful wishing.</span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I used sea salt to create the pattern on the roses. </span></div><div style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div style="color: black;"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I am actually quite honest in my paintigs. I give you things that I like and what I don't like, what my </span><span style="color: black; font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">subconscious</span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> is giving me and what other people have given me. </span></div><div style="color: black;"><br />
</div><div style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I'm using <span style="color: #0b5394;">Winsor & Newton</span> aquarelles and gouaches on <span style="color: #741b47;">MM</span> and sometimes I use sea salt to create patterns and to give the painting some definition. Painting methods I normally use are: mixing the colour in my little palette and then apply it on dry or wet paper or I apply colour on the paper straight from the cake. One of my previous methods was to paint very thickly, but I rarely use that method anymore. That method usually takes the fluidity of aquarelles away. </span></div><div style="color: black;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="color: black;"> Hope you enjoyed my little rationale. I'll keep on working on my art and if you are interested in hearing the meaning or the story behind any painting on <span style="color: #741b47;">MM</span>, post a comment below and I'll tell you</span> </span></span></span><img alt="Facebook chat emote for cool!" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-571" height="14" src="http://www.djod.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/17.gif" title="17" width="14" /><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Purchasing original art works is agreed through e-mail (or if you want to do it in person come to Helsinki), the address is on my website. I DO accept commissions as well!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Until next time! H.M</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span>Anarchy Pantyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14274535103226645106noreply@blogger.com0