Ebook Gallery

Arguably, most forms of art worth lengthy discussion have a bit of madness behind them, whether it is a painting, film, or novel. Personally, I find that my creative work suffers a bit when everything in my life feels completely balanced. Think about the mental states of various actors, painters, and authors. Off of the top of my head, I can come up with Tilda Swinson, Tom Cruise, Charlie Sheen, Hemingway, Tolstoy, Poe, Wolfe, Caravaggio, (cough) Hitler… I could list tons and tons, but I’d much rather hear from you.

Gustave Courbet, The Desperate Man, 1843-1845.
Oil on canvas, 45 x 54 cm.
Private collection.

But madness is rather subjective, isn’t it? → Read more

Villanueva Building, Velázquez Entrance (Paseo del Prado Facade).
Courtesy of the Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid.

This is how I started my office questionnaire (I take my research for these blogs very seriously):

“What has Spain given the world….go:”

These were the answers I received (and yes, some of the responders are Spanish):

• Helicopters
• “America”
• “Hot men”
• Tortilla
• Sangria
• Architecture
• Goya
• Picasso
• Dali
• Paella
• Siesta
• “Sex in films (in every film, even horror)”
• “The best chef in the world (Ferrán Adriá)
• Classical Guitar
• “The easiest language in the world to learn”
• Olive oil
• Flamenco
• “OLE!”
• Bull fighting
• “The silliest Prime Ministers in the World”
• “NO LAWS AGAINST PUBLIC NUDITY”
• “Penelope Cruz… but many Spanish don’t like her”
• “We beat the French several times”
• Zara
• Mango
• “Manuel from Fawlty Towers”
• Sherry
• Costa del Sol
• Chupa Chups

So, there you go. Spain, according to the editors at Parkstone International*, summed up in a nutshell. Of course, you may or may not agree with our brief compilation. However, agree or not, it is a fact that Spain, throughout history, has been a force to be reckoned with. Heck, when it came to an inquisition or putting an armada together, they really knew their stuff! As Monty Python would say: “Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!”.

As this ultra-professional and highly informative questionnaire illustrates, one of the other biggest Spanish exports has happened to be art. Over the centuries, El Greco (adopted by the Spanish), Diego Velázquez, Francisco Goya, Francisco de Zurbarán, Antoni Gaudí, Pablo Picasso, and Salvador Dalí amongst many, many others have delighted, astounded, puzzled, divided, inspired, and paved the way for the future of art.

José de Ribera
A Saint Tied to a Tree, 1626.
Red chalk, 232 x 170 mm.
© The Trustees of the British Museum 1850, 0713.4.
Courtesy of the Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid.

The Museo Nacional del Prado is currently hosting the exhibition Spanish Drawings from the British Museum: Renaissance to Goya. To check out the drawings, hotfoot it over to Madrid before the 16^th June – you might even be able to spot Ms. Cruz doing flamenco with a silly Prime Minister. To curb your disappointment should this venture be unsuccessful, console yourself with a copy of Jp. A. Calosse’s Goya.

*Many thanks to the team at Parkstone for their valuable and very serious contributions.

Remember the first time you went away from home for an extended period of time? Your mother made sure you packed warm socks and clean pants, even if it was going to be 40 degrees Celsius in your final destination. She called and wrote you often, making sure you were eating your vegetables and brushing your teeth. She loved and worried about you. I imagine this is what the Musée d’Orsay is going through at the moment, having sent one of its most precious babies off to Italy for the summer.

Édouard Manet, Olympia, 1863.
Oil on canvas, 130.5 x 191 cm.
Musée d’Orsay, Paris.

Olympia by Édouard Manet has called the Orsay home since 1890 and has never left Paris, let alone France. I’m sure she doesn’t feel so out of place, as quite a few of her mates (other Manet’s) have gone with her for this most astounding exhibit set to prove that Manet was more inspired by Old Italian Masters than those from Spain.

Édouard Manet, The Balcony, between 1868 and 1869.
Oil on canvas, 170 x 125 cm.
Musée d’Orsay, Paris.

Really, based on previous Impressionist rants, I should not be interested in this exhibition at all, but I’ve got a bit of a soft spot for Manet and don’t personally lump him in with the others. Being the pivotal artist behind the transition between Realism and Impressionism, I still manage to understand and appreciate his oeuvre. But then, I’ve always been keen on a man willing to stir up a bit of controversy in the name of his views and beliefs.

Édouard Manet, Portrait of Madame Édouard Manet on a Blue Sofa, 1874.
Pastel on brown paper pasted on canvas, 49 x 60 cm.
Musée d’Orsay, Paris.

Visit the Orsay’s runaways and compare Manet to the Old Italian Masters, who will be represented alongside Manet’s masterpieces. The exhibition (Manet: Return to Venice) will run through 18 August at the Palazzo Ducale. The artist’s controversial nudes of the late 19^th century also make a great conversation topic; pick up Manet by Nathalia Brodskaya today!

-Le Lorrain Andrews

Love.

Love is, waking up late on the weekend.

Love is, frosty, autumn mornings, breath fogging the air.

Love is, smelling the cut grass on a hot summer’s day.

Love is, feeling the steam rise off the ground after a tropical rain storm.

Love is, laughter.

Love is, fine wine and good music.

Love is, watching the stars come out.

Love is, a book and a fireplace on a winter’s night.

Love is, a dark cinema and opening credits.

Love is, art that speaks to your soul.

Love is, emotion and tears, smiles, and the ridding of fears.

Love is, a plane ticket in one hand and a passport in the other.

Love is, the open road.

Love is, the anchor of home.

Love is, knowledge and faith.

Love is, hand in hand.

Love, is walking, head held high.

Love is, looking into a mirror and liking who you see.

Love is, loving self, loving others, loving life.

Love is.

Paris by night.

What do you love? How do you love? What is love to you? These are all questions that the Mori Art Museum attempts to examine in its current exhibit All You Need Is LOVE. If you ever thought about what love means for you, either within art, or without, come check out this Tokyo exhibition, which is running until the 1^st September 2013!
Is Love all that you need? Perhaps, but having a copy of Jp. A . Calosse’s Love couldn’t hurt either!

Here’s a fun fact for you: Glass has been around since around about 3000 BC (in the Bronze Age), and glassblowing was created in Syria, in the 1^st century BC. You may be wondering what that has to do with the price of fish – well, let me explain.

Glass is immensely important in our society. And, the fact that it was developed so early on in our history means that it has been incredibly important for our ancestors’ society, and their ancestors’ society… for thousands of years. Again, you may be asking what the point of this is. Well, fine you got me, I guess there isn’t a point as such, other than the fact that I think it high time that glass and the art of glass-making gets some much-deserved recognition and appreciation. I also think that a new word should be coined: Glart – Glass Art.

Glass In Action
Courtesy of the Museo del Vetro, Murano
Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia

Think about it, glass is used for all manner of things – your drinking glass for starters. Would your evening pint be the same from a mug? I think not! Then we have glasses: ok, so contact lenses are valid alternatives, but there’s no denying that glass lenses got there first in the ‘helping people to see’ stakes. The computer screen that you are reading this from: also glass! As are the glass optical fibres which have allowed this article to be floating around on the internet.

Think glass is only to be found in reality, in the here-and-now? Think again! Where would Cinderella and Prince Charming be without that glass slipper? Or any of the storybook mirrors? Alice and her Looking Glass for example, The Evil Queen without her Magic Mirror certainly would have been a less scary villain, and Harry Potter certainly was glad of the Mirror of Erised! Incidentally, Kevin Costner could not have sent any “Message in a Bottle” without the glass bottle of the title!

Ok, I think I have made my point – we need glass.

Lorenzo Radi
Small Jar in Calcedonio Glass, c. 1856
Courtesy of The Museo del Vetro, Murano
Fondazione Musei Civici di Venezia

What is truly impressive to me is the fact that glass-making has become an art form. And not especially recently either. By the 10^th century, Murano – a small island north of Venice – had become well-known for its glass artisans. Not only were they (and still are) masters of creating the everyday glass object, but they developed a reputation for producing high-quality jewellery and even chandeliers! Today, the artisans of Murano also develop exquisite glass sculpture. So respected were the glassmakers of Murano in 14^th century Italy, they were esteemed as the island’s most prominent citizens, were exempt from any form of prosecution from the state of Venice, and got their daughters married off to the sons of the richest families in Venice! Whilst I think we should probably let today’s glassmakers’ daughters choose their own partners, I think that it is high time that glassmakers and artisans got back some of this type of respect. After all, they are integral to our society!

For more information on Murano glass, and the chance to see some stellar examples for yourselves, check out the Musée Maillol in Paris. This is the first French exhibition of Murano glass; Murano – Fragile will be held until the 28^th of July, so for those of you who love a bit of French summertime, be sure to check it out! If French summertime is not a big draw, but you still want to see what the fuss is about, grab a copy of Albert Jacquemart’s Decorative Art!

When thinking of dark romanticism, I am plagued with thoughts of dark, sultry mystery. Especially encompassing the supernatural, dark romanticism is essentially the humanising of all things evil and hellish. This includes vampires, werewolves, ghouls, devils, the whole gamut. Having just come off of a most epic two month Buffy-binge, I get it. But authors like Stephanie Meyer, have taken what was once the essence of evil and torture and literally turned them into shiny, happy beings.

Franz von Stuck, The Kiss of the Sphinx, after 1895.
Charcoal, black stone and white highlights on light-brown paper,55 x 48.5 cm.
Private collection.

I’m not entirely ashamed to say I’ve read the entire Twilight series, as it gives me ground to stand on whilst making this argument. Surely the portrayal of vampires (non-existent, I knnooowwww) as kind, loving, caring creatures who don’t prey on weak humans, but rather stalk them in a romantic, sexy, exhibition of ‘true love’ is an unhealthy view to give young girls (as well as us older girls who are still easily sucked into teen fiction). It’s NEVER okay to be or get stalked. At the end of it all, we’re supposed to focus on the heroines of these stories as some kind of role models, and frankly I’d much rather cheer Buffy on than be anything like the ever-needy, self-destructive Bella.

Johann Heinrich Füssli, The Nightmare, 1781.
Oil on canvas.101.6 x 126.7 cm.
Founders Society, Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit.

It’s almost as if Meyer took Buffy and turned her character upside down – giving her weak, unstable characteristics and making her dependent on, for all intents and purposes, monsters. Sure, Buffy fell in love with not one, but two said-monsters, but it was not without grief, struggle, death, and a hell of a lot of heartbreak. The worst thing Edward the Shiny does to Bella is leave her for ‘her own good’ – which, of course, does not stick. I say, give us William the Bloody and Angelus over glitter any day. At least we can be sure of their dark capabilities and not have to wonder if they’re going to eat our loved ones when we’re not looking.

William Bouguereau, Dante and Virgil, 1850.
Oil on canvas 280.5 x 225.3 cm.
Musée d’Orsay, Paris.

I could go on and on about the unrealistic expectations readers/viewers are given about Prince Charming in relation to Edward as well as the supposed innocence of werewolves, but these posts can only be so long. Visit the Musée d’Orsay to see The Angel of Odd and get your fill of true dark romanticism until something better than Twilight comes about. The exhibition will end on 9 June, so hurry!

-Le Lorrain Andrews

David Bowie: Musician, Idol, Icon. In March of this year he surprised everyone with the unexpected, yet welcome, news that he was releasing his 24^th album, The Next Day – the first to be released since 2003. So, bearing this in mind, as well as giving a big shout-out to London’s Victoria & Albert Museum for hosting a spectacular exhibition based on this rock legend, what has Bowie’s legacy been thus far?

Let’s look at today’s popular music – Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Adele, One Direction, Justin Bieber, Mumford & Sons, Muse, Marilyn Manson, and The Script, to name but a few. With some of these artists, it is relatively easy to spot how the influence of Bowie may have helped to mould them into what they are today: Marilyn Manson, Muse, Lady Gaga (to some extent), etc. However, there are others who seem to have gone off in a completely different tangent. Justin Bieber for example. I am in no way, shape, or form a “Belieber”. In fact, it would not be a lie to baldly state that I despise that label. Whilst it may be unfair of me to simply state my opinions and then carry on with the rest of this article, I think that if I were to rationally explain my dislike in a somewhat analytical fashion, then I could get away with it!

David Bowie
Photograph by Mick Rock, 1972, 1973.
Copyright Mick Rock 2013.
Courtesy of the V & A Museum, London.

Ok, starting with fashion and iconography: David Bowie had the androgynous look before it was the ‘It’ thing. Also, who could forget the elaborate character that was Ziggy Stardust?! This creation was so powerfully bizarre that it soon earned a cult following – much as Lady Gaga’s “Little Monsters” today. But, we’re talking about the Biebs here. So, let’s go for an obvious one to start with: what would David Bowie wear when meeting the Prime Minister? Well, whilst he may in fact go back to Ziggy Stardust days and wear a fabulously androgynous outfit, nowadays I’d be willing to bet that he would wear a suit. Ask the same question of Justin Bieber, and we have an answer already waiting for us: overalls. Yep, that’s right. Overalls and a baseball cap. Charming.

Now let’s get down to things like actual lyrics. I guess we all remember Bowie’s 1969 Space Oddity – the wackiness of this song is perhaps one of the biggest draws that it has; the hapless Major Tom as an astronaut who get stuck in space.

“This is ground control to major Tom, you’ve really made the grade
And the papers want to know whose shirts you wear
Now it’s time to leave the capsule if you dare”

Read it different ways, and you either get a surreal song about an unfortunate spaceman, or a very deep personal narrative. Don’t believe me? Try listening to it again!

Bieber, on the other hand, is known for hit songs such as the effervescent Baby of 2010. It pains me to put these lyrics down, but fair is fair, and I won’t even mention the repetitive “Baby, baby, baby ohhhh”… woops.

“Are we an item?
Girl quit playin’
We’re just friends,
What are you sayin’?”

It took 3 people to write those lyrics… David Bowie wrote Space Oddity himself. I think I’ve made my point.

Don’t get me wrong: I’m not happy about being right! Because, the fact of the matter is that my being right means that we have “Bieber fever” – another horrible phrase. What has happened to society when a kid like JB, according to Forbes, is the 3^rd most powerful celebrity in the world? I mean, Lady Gaga and Marilyn Manson – at least they have a little more individuality. So, please, please join me in turning your backs on the mainstream, and instead head over to the V & A Museum to help celebrate a truly iconic musician: the one and only, David Bowie.

Striped bodysuit for Aladdin Sane tour 1973
Design by Kansai Yamamoto.
Photograph by Masayoshi Sukita.
© Sukita The David Bowie Archive 2012.
Courtesy of the V & A Museum, London.

The exhibition David Bowie Is will run until the 11^th August 2013. Think that’s a while yet, so you don’t have to rush? Think again! Get your tickets now before all the Bowie fans out there gobble them up! In the meantime, check out Eric Shanes’ Pop Art, and see how easily one might say that Bowie is the new Warhol.

There is something tragically romantic about Pompeii and her fellow seaside town Herculaneum, both destroyed by the villainous Vesuvius in 79 CE. Ironically, the volcano, initially merely thought of as a mere mountain, erupted on 24 August, the day after Vulcanalia – the festival of the Roman god of fire.

The Baker Terentius Neo and his Wife, 50-79 CE.
Wall painting.
From the House of Terentius Neo, Pompeii.

A major earthquake seventeen years prior is commonly thought to have been a warning sign – but when I think of all of the things that have happened in the last seventeen years of my own life, it’s not really the natural disasters that I tend to dwell on. In the days leading up to the eruption, there were smaller and more constant earthquakes, but few people seem to have taken the hint. The eruption itself transpired over the course of two days, the first an early morning explosion, which seems to have prompted some but not enough to get out of Dodge, and the second, in the still of the night as my darkly romantic view suggests, the gases and rock descended from the skies and claimed the lives of 16,000 citizens.

Gold bracelet in the form of a coiled snake, 1st century CE.
Roman, Pompeii.

These were people, much like us, minus the internet, television, and cat videos. One day they had lives, families, jobs, hobbies, the beauty of Ancient Rome (which was rather Modern Rome at the time) – and the next they were destined to become museum relics. Their art, interests, and day to day lives were all essentially frozen in time for us to look back and both admire and mourn. This is simple proof that life is beautiful, though taken for granted, and fleeting.

Fragment of a wall painting showing a man reclining to drink, 1st century CE.
Pompeii.

The British Museum never ceases to amaze me. They’ve taken the stories of these lost souls and made it an alluring exhibition of True Life: Mount Vesuvius is a Murderer (actually titled:Life and death in Pompeii and Herculaneum). Revel in these true histories; see how much you may have related to the neighbours who shared a dispute over land, or the ladies of the night from the brothel around the corner. More interested in the brothel aspect? Check out Erotic Encyclopaedia by Hans-Jürgen Döpp.

-Le Lorrain Andrews

You are in a remote area of north-eastern Arizona. Amidst the hot and arid landscape, you encounter a people. The remnants of a Native American Pueblo People: the Hopi. As you learn more about their way of life, their past, their culture, and their beliefs, you gather round and listen carefully to their stories. This is how you hear about the Kachina for the first time.

Georgia O’Keeffe,
Blue-Headed Indian Doll, 1935.
Watercolour and graphite; 21 x 12-1/8 in.
Georgia O’Keeffe Museum; Gift of The Burnett Foundation (1997.06.009).
© Georgia O’Keeffe Museum

It happened many years ago, in an ancient village, whose name has long since been forgotten. A drought, long and consuming, was threatening the existence of this village. For years, this drought had continued, and the people’s food and hope was coming to an end. The Kachina (spirits) saw this and decided to appear to the Hopi in their human forms in order to help end the drought by bringing rain, and growing food, in prayer of song and dance.

The Hopi people had never encountered anything like the Kachina before, and were terrified by what they perceived to be evil forces. As they prepared to attack the Kachina, the spirits recognised their fear, and blessed the people through song and dance, healing the sick, bringing food, and rain for the crops. The people were overwhelmed with joy, and incredibly grateful to the Kachina, whom they begged to remain with them as part of the tribe. For years they were able to live alongside each other, prosperity and peace was ensured, and neither thirst nor hunger was experienced. However, the Hopi became lazy and greedy, and were neglectful of their way of life and responsibilities to their crops and to each other.

Georgia O’Keeffe,
Paul’s Kachina, 1931.
Oil on board, 8 x 8 inches.
Gift of The Georgia O’Keeffe Foundation.
© Georgia O’Keeffe Museum.

The Kachina saw this, were deeply saddened, and knew that they had to leave. For, it was the result of their interference which had led to this turn of events. The Hopi tribe begged them to stay, but to no avail. However, before departing, the spirits left them with the knowledge of how to properly perform ceremonies to harness the power of the elements – with ceremonial dress and song and dance. Only when the ceremonies are correctly performed will the spirits act as messengers to higher gods to bring the rains and healing. The Kachina promised to return to visit the people for 6 months of the year, to bring spring from the winter, to bring the snow and the rain, and to aid in the planting and harvesting of the crops.

This is the legend of the Kachina. Within the Hopi people, there are currently around 20,000 natives who live in the Arizona and New Mexico reservations. It is here, that you will be able to encounter the Kachina for yourself!

This is what Georgia O’Keefe encountered during her time spent in New Mexico. Invested as much in the culture as in the landscape around her, she brought the Kachina to life once more in her art. This artwork will now be available for all to see in the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum. Georgia O’Keeffe in New Mexico: Architecture, Katsinam, and the Land will be commencing on the 17^th May and will run until September 11^th, 2013. So why not swing by and experience the art of Kachina for yourself? Otherwise, pick up a copy of Gerry Souter’s Georgia O’Keeffe for your very own!

Nature? Good. Romance? I can dig it. Impressionism? Bite me. You know what Impressionism is? It’s a beautiful, made-up, dream-like view at an otherwise harsh, sometimes cruel reality. Impressionism is to art viewers what Disney movies are to the generation of 20-somethings that grew up expecting perfect hair, woodland friends, and Prince Charming – not to mention the desire to go around singing about everything all of the damn time.

Berthe Morisot, On the Lake, 1884.
Oil on canvas, 60 x 73 cm.
Private collection.

Impressionism (literally) paints everything in these bright, vibrant colours of airy, almost carefree delight. The content matter is a dance here, a pond there, some lilies on the side. If real life were full of dances, ponds, and lilies, surely there’d be a lot more singing going on. You can argue that Impressionism isn’t meant to depict the image as much as it’s meant to depict the feeling of a time and place. To which I say: poppycock. Does anyone say poppycock anymore?

Claude Monet, Water Lilies and Japanese Bridge, 1899.
Oil on canvas, 90.5 x 89.7 cm.
Princeton University Art Museum, Princeton (New Jersey).

Where’s the dirt? The grit? Ponds have scum, dances end, and lilies – alright, I’ve got nothing bad to say about lilies. From afar, you see all of this vibrance and light, but I challenge you to step up to an Impressionist painting, let your noses touch. Not so pretty anymore, is it? You feel a bit lost, like what on earth have you delved into; where might you be going? Did someone slip something into your tea?

Claude Monet, Seagulls, the Thames in London, the Houses of Parliament, 1904.
The Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow.

Generally, I would say run in the other direction, but we all know the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza is known for exceptional things. So schlep over to the Impressionism and Open-Air Painting exhibit through 1 May. If you find Impressionism as tedious as I do, then Impressionism by Nathalia Brodskaya (available on ebook-gallery.com) is not for you – HOWEVER, if you disagree with me and like a dream-like state induced by vibrant colours, then it IS for you – so buy it.

-Le Lorrain Andrews