Richard Wilson

Richard Wilson is a sculptor and installation artist from London. An internationally celebrated artist, Wilson is praised for creating cult images.

He is a London College of Printing graduate and was twice nominated for the Turner Prize.   ( though he sadly could not receive one )

He mostly plays with the perceptions of his audience by creating illusionary spaces and tends to shock them with his architectural interventions.

With his most famous installation; '20:50', composed of reflective sump oil, he casts the whole space back at the viewer, creating a mesmerizing virtual space. Only by a close-up walk into the waist-high installation, one can wake up from Wilson's dreamlike reality to realize the effect is merely achieved through recycled engine oil. 

I discovered his gripping work during my routine visits to the Saatchi Gallery in London. There is a good chance for everyone to challenge their own perception with this particular piece which has been on display for two decades and never lost that spell.

Lorenzo Quinn

Lorenzo Quinn is an Italian sculptor. (and the son of actor Anthony Quinn) He studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in New York. After the birth of their first child he and his wife decided to leave New York for Spain as he later claimed NYC was 'a place that hardens human values'.

The process of his creation starts off by writing a poem which then develops into the most spectacular pieces of art works. He diligently reflects his emotions with these striking visual presentations. 

His themes; balance, the force of nature, power of the hand ( to him is the toughest and technically most difficult  part of the human body) and home, all relate to the viewer in one way or another; hence, generating a strong communication in between. He clarifies his somewhat obsession with the recurring subject matters as follows;

" It is essential to find a balance in life. Sometimes that balance is achieved with the help of people around us, that keeps us firmly on the ground, without which we would float to perdition."

I feel so privileged to be randomly introduced to his brilliant work. When walking past Park Lane, London, I saw this huge installation called ' Vroom, Vroom' which lead to an extensive research and discovery of this accomplished expert. Here is a video for you to get the buzz:

Richard Estes

Richard Estes (1932) is an American painter. He studied Fine arts at the School of Art Institute of Chicago. 

He is one of the many photo-realist/ hyper-realist painters that emerged in the 1960s. He is actually considered to be one of the founders of the movement with which I came across when studying American Art.

His meticulous paintings are a depiction of American popular culture; consisting usually of  store fronts, the city itself and the landscape. He always chooses daytime settings with crisp images very clean so as not to deter the attention from the main focus. 

The vividness of his work feasts the eye and I feel that the polished background looks so peaceful. Hope the vibe gets you, too.

Pina Bausch

" Dance, dance... Otherwise we are lost."

Pina Bausch (1940-2009) was a German exponent of modern dance and choreography.

She completed her studies on a scholarship at the Juilliard School in New York City. 

She became the artistic director of Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch (which in the beginning triggered much controversy). Her technical distinction achieved to receive an international recognition.

I was literally astounded when I watched the beguiling documentary 'Pina' by Wim Wenders ( who definitely deserves a whole new post as he is one of my favorite directors of all times ). It is not just the enigmatic choreography, but also the stage design; covered in soil or water splashing all over, costumes; plain and sexy. The effect becomes an alluring performance, characterized by interaction and repetition of  movements in an unearthly nature.

Here is a little piece from the documentary, see how she makes you feel..

Stubborn Heart

Give a warm welcome to Stubborn Heart; the Brits composing what may be termed as a blending of pop & dubstep music.

(dubstep: a genre of electronic music that originated in South London, England.) 

How they describe their own style: 'Electronic soul from the heart..' They also cite influences from 60s & 70s soul music, 80s synth pop and 90s techno. The combination of all, frames stunning music boosting with doleful vocals. If you are really digging electronic music like I do, enjoy...

Stubborn Heart - Unearthly Powers

Jeanloup Sieff

Jeanloup Sieff (1933-2000) was a photographer from Paris. He studied photography, literature and journalism.

After he began shooting fashion photography and moved to New York, he became incredibly popular and that was the very beginning of a wonderful career full of iconic images ranging from Monsieur Gainsbourg to Nico, Yves Saint Laurent and many more..

He is less known for his landscape photography. (though he has some bewitching ones) The best-known aspect of his work was the nude figures principally in black and white.

I love the way he photographed all those cult figures with a sense of dreaminess; meanwhile suggesting a kind of distance between the viewer and the model.

I regret to tell you that we have all missed that wonderful opportunity to be captured by the lens of this master; so, better make do with the ones in hand.

Banksy

Banksy is an artist, political activist and film-maker from Bristol, UK. He chooses not to reveal his name and lives under this pseudonym, avoids contact with mainstream media. He rather expresses himself on his mural stencils, a number of books and a documentary called: 'Exit Through the Gift Shop'.

He mocks all the governmental power and his edgy themes include an anti-war and anti-government stance. Some assert 'his art clearly glorifies vandalism', some claim 'he improves the aesthetic quality of urban surroundings.' I think that his striking images and slogans succeed in what message he attempts to convey in a sort of in-your-face manner and it is that idiosyncrasy which makes him stronger as an artist. Will let Banksy's work do the talk now:

Dombrance, The Witch

The French duo Dombrance did a wonderful job by featuring Sourya on their latest single 'The Witch'. 

Industryofcool defines them to be: " Taking beat and groove from minimal techno and melody and structures from a classy pop song format, Dombrance called up singer Sourya to add his elegant and soulful voice to transform the instrumental monster into a crossover tune without falling being a cliche."

Feel like I can listen to it on 'repeat'  on my itunes list. Put your headphones on:

Studio Ghibli

Studio Ghibli, widely recognized as Japan's most important animation studio, was founded in 1985 by Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata.

Since the first day, the studio's pioneers have created masterpieces of top quality animation. Needless to say, they have globally received numbers of awards including an Oscar for the epic story 'Spirited Away'.

Ghibli (pronounced as jiburi) means ' hot wind blowing through Sahara Desert', a name used for the Italian planes during World War II.

I have always been in love with Japanese-animated characters in cartoons and comics since I was a little girl and seen most of the feature films from 'My Neighbor Totoro' to Kiki's Delivery Service', 'Porco Rosso', 'Ponyo' and many more.. 

The latest was 'The Secret World of Arrietty' based on a novel by Mary Norton "The Borrowers". It tells the story of little people borrowing stuff from humans. Here is the trailer, hope you enjoy it and spare the time watch it, too: 

Edward Gorey

Edward St. John Gorey  (1925-2000) was an American illustrator praised for his macabre style.

(macabre |məˈkäbrə; -ˈkäb|

adjective

disturbing and horrifying because of involvement with or depiction of death and injury : a macabre series of murders.)
He is a Harvard graduate but mostly emphasized that his training in art was " negligible" as he majored in French.
His dark and humorous illustrations with Victorian settings became very well-known and paved the way to a Tony Award for Best Costume Design for the 1977 production of Dracula.
I enjoy keeping some of is books such as; " Amphigorey" and " The Gashlycrumb Tinies" his book of alphabet, in my library. Have a look at some of his beautiful macabre illustrations and see what you reckon: