En Derin

Its a rare artist that hasn’t at one time or another attempted a self-portrait. Sometimes its for the most obvious reason, that in painting himself he has a ready, willing and free model. At other times artists may use self-portraits to advertise their skills, practice their craft, explore some inner turmoil or stake a place in history. Whatever reason the artist might think he had for the painting though, with art as with writing, the act of creation always reveals something about the creator. Whether its the unusual yellow ambience of a Van Gogh or the isolation of Hitlers self-portrait its always possible to learn a little more about the artist by reading between the brush-strokes.

Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528 )

(image source: wikimedia)

The German painter Albrecht Durer was perhaps the first really prolific self-portraitist, producing at least twelve images of himself, including three oil portraits, and figures in four altar pieces. He was something of a child prodigy, painting from an early age, and by his twenties was selling his works all over Europe. He was highly conscious of his public image and reputation and I believe we can see that in this self-portrait which depicts him in an idealized way, elaborately groomed and dressed in the very latest Italian fashion to demonstrate to the world his international success. Although he was only a young man at the time, he was clearly confident of his talent and aiming to go far.

Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (1606–1669 )

(image via: wikipedia)

The Dutch artist Rembrandt was also a prolific painter of self-portraits. At one time about ninety paintings were counted as Rembrandt self-portraits, but it is now known that he had his students copy his own self-portraits as part of their training. Art experts currently believe that he was responsible for over forty paintings, as well as a few drawings and thirty-one etchings, which is still pretty impressive. An interesting aspect of Rembrandt’s self-portraits, other than their undoubted quality, is what we can discover in their sheer number and time-span. They record his progress from an uncertain young man, through his time as a very successful portrait-painter in the 1630s, to the later troubled but powerful self-portraits of his old age.

Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (1746 – 1828)

(image via: wikimedia)

The Spanish painter Goya occupies a unique place in art history, regarded by many as the last of the old masters and first of the moderns. He was a court painter to the Spanish Crown and a chronicler of history, who was bold in handling color and regarded as daring for the subversive elements in his art. In later years he suffered physical and mental breakdown, complaining of deafness, poor vision and loss of balance. Postmortem diagnosis pointed toward possible paranoid dementia due to unknown brain trauma. This self-portrait of him with Dr Arrieta reflects his troubled state of mind, with its themes of illness and mortality.

Vincent Willem van Gogh (1853 – 1890)

(image via: wikimedia

Think about a ‘tormented artist’ and one of the first names that come to mind is likely to be Van Gogh. This Dutch post-impressionist is probably as well known for the ‘cutting-his-own-ear-off’ incident (which may or may not have happened as reported) as he is for his considerable body of work. One of the characteristics of his paintings is the sunny yellow ambiance that infuses them. Van Gogh indulged heavy in absinthe, a drink known to produce ‘yellow vision’ in addicts. The drug digitalis, which he is also believed to have taken, would also produce ‘yellow vision’. Interestingly and strangely enough, Van Gogh never seems to look directly at his ‘audience’ in his self-portraits.

Claude Oscar Monet (1840 – 1926)

(image via: monetalia

Monet was a founder of the French impressionist style of painting, which is based on the artist conveying his perceptions of the subject rather than a precise likeness. The term ‘impressionism’ is in fact derived from the title of Monet’s painting ‘Impression, Sunrise’. As his career developed Monet was plagued by cataracts in his eyes. These reduce vision and can make things appear blurry and ‘out-of-focus’. It is hard to know how much his signature style of softly blurred images owes to artistic vision and how much to his cataract problems. In later life was he interpreting the world in an impressionistic way or simply reflecting the distorted version of it that he actually saw ?

Toulouse Lautrec (1864 – 1901) – self-portrait as wish-fulfillment

(image via: toulouse-lautrec-foundation)

Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec-Monfa or simply Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec was a French artist famous for his depictions of the theatrical and decadent life of fin de siecle Paris. Looking at this self-portrait you see in the mirror the reflection of a young man, handsome and apparently normal in all ways that are visible. The reality was somewhat different. As a child he fractured both thigh bones and the breaks did not heal properly. His legs ceased to grow, so that as an adult he was only 5 ft tall, with an adult-sized torso but child-sized legs which were only 27.5 in long. Ironically, in view of his famous preoccupation with the sexuality of the Folies Bergere, he apparently had hyper-trophied genitals too.

Frida Kahlo (1907 – 1954) – painting the pain

(image via: wikipedia)

When looking at this self-portrait, the pain is evident in her face. Pain and determination are both things that characterized this artist’s difficult life. Magdalena Carmen Frida Kahlo y Calderón spent many years bedridden following a terrible accident, with only herself for a model. Despite her handicaps she painted prolifically using vibrant colors in a unique style influenced by the indigenous cultures of Mexico and European influences including Realism, Symbolism and Surrealism. Many of her works are self-portraits that symbolically express her own pain and sexuality. The 50 or so of them include many of herself from the waist up, and also some nightmarish representations which symbolize her physical sufferings. She insisted, “I never painted dreams. I painted my own reality.”

Andrew Warhol ( 1928 – 1987)

(image via: artquotes)

Andy Warhol, darling of the 1960s New York art scene and prince of ‘pop art’, was a self-styled enigma who hid himself away in the full glare of the worlds media . Though he courted publicity skilfully and at times obsessionally, he was an intensely private person. In manipulating the media he was a master of misdirection and ‘playing dumb’, always claiming that all all anyone needed to know about him and his works was already there, “on the surface”. Its not surprising then that what I see in this self-portrait is an artist who, even while saying to the world ‘hey this is me’, still attempts to camouflage and obscure the reality.

Adolf Hitler (1889 – 1945)

(image via: dailymail)

And here, as they say, is a man who needs no introduction. I think we’re all pretty familiar with his main claims to fame (or infamy) but one of his lesser known aspirations was to be an artist. This watercolor is thought to be the earliest self-portrait by Adolf Hitler, painted in 1910 when the future Fuhrer was 21 and struggling to make his mark on the art world. The figure is strangely anonymous, with no nose or mouth yet Hitler was keen to identify himself by daubing a cross and the initials AH above it. The loneliness of someone who cannot connect with the world around him or the people in it rests on the surface of the self-portrait. Perhaps this was just a romantic vision Hitler had of himself, or perhaps it was a genuine expression of a deeper alienation.

BLOK & PANT – MILAN

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From now on the BLACK is available in 102 matt colors, every can is brought to life with the newly developed NC Formula, High Opacity, and High Covering paint.

Make sure you check the shots from Ruedione, who visited Montana’s production and more http://www.ruedione.com/series/blackproduction/

For more informations visit: www.montana-cans.com

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I thought I had posted this already, but thanks to Sichi reminding me the other day, here it is in all its glory! Robogeisha will be out very very soon. I don’t want to give the plot away but according to IMDB.com, these are their keywords for the movie…sheer brilliance:
Breast Milk
Pink Bra And Panties
Hand To Hand Combat
Lactation
Acid In Face
Shrimp
Machine Gun
Schoolgirl Uniform
Martial Arts
Acid
Fishnet Stockings
Nurse Uniform
Phallus
Gynoid
Ass
Decapitation
Robot Army
Eye Skewering
Robot Ninja
Lactic Acid

In anticipation of the imminent release of his new book “Shinganist,” Usugrow has rallied the book’s contributors to action for this show at StolenSpace Gallery. Together, these five Japanese artists will be taking over the walls of the Gallery with stunning new works on canvas, paper, wood and felt.

“Shinganist” is an intriguing look into the work of some of Japan’s up-and-coming young artists. Straddling the fine line of street art, skate and tattoo culture, while simultaneously drawing inspiration from centuries of traditional Japanese imagery, True to the meaning behind “Shingan” – those who create based on visions spurred by the mind’s eye and those who are not affected by the opinions and expectations placed on them by the outside world – USUGROW, MOZYSKEY, TOSHIKAZU NOZAKA, BENE and JUN KANEKO are driven by the pure passion to create.

To accompany this show will be the release of a limited edition screen print by Usugrow as well as signed copies of the book ‘Shinganist’

Stolen Space | Dray Walk | 91 Brick Lane | London E1 6QL
Exhibition runs from 23rd July – 09th August

‘THE SKY’S THE LIMIT’ – Upcoming London based exhibition featuring new work from Inkfetish, Bonzai and Rabodiga.

GALLERY 118

PRIVATE VIEW THURSDAY 23RD JULY 2009
118 WESTBOURNE GROVE, NOTTING HILL, LONDON W11 2RR

London-based creative collective ALLCITY© and Tokyo’s Jonny Fu have teamed up to open a unique pop-up space on 37 Endel street in the heart of London’s Seven Dials WC2. The space will feature the launch of the collectives’ first series of 6 limited artist’s tee shirts alongside one off art works and prints.
Also for the first time on British soil, the release of Jonny Fu’s plush toy, the 12″ flute playing kung fu master, who comes in a gigantic take-away noodle box. The space will play host to a light-box installation as well as a life-sized Jonny Fu delivery man, which has to be seen to be believed!

The opening night will feature beats from Bigger than Barry resident’s Chesus & Rodski, cocktails from Arette along with live screen printed denims kindly supplied by Lee Cooper and refreshments by Tiger Beer.

Private View:
23rd July 7pm – 9pm
37 Endell Street, Seven Dials WC2
London WC2H 9

Running Time:
24th July – 9th August 2009
Open daily from 11am -7pm

RSVP: [email protected]

Anthony Burrill: In a New Place
24 July – 5 September
For In a New Place, prolific designer Anthony Burrill has takes a marked step away from the 2D type-based print work for which he is best known. The exhibition presents Anthony’s exploration of industrial processes and materials with large scale laser–cut perspex pieces as well as digital prints. The subject of the exhibition focusses upon archetypal forms of nature, from rainbows to thunderstorms, all within Burrill’s uncomplicated and distinctive geometric style. By applying these man-made processes to the natural theme, Burrill shows us his vision of a modern natural world, an industrial interpretation of nature.

By using different colors of rice plants, farmers in Japan are able to achieve land art on a huge scale each year. It seems that they are getting better and better at it too. The perspectives are incredible and the detail is pretty amazing too. This type of artform happens all over the country but the agricultural masters of art title belongs to the Inakadate village in Aomori prefecture.

See my 2007 post on it HERE.

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If you remember, I did a post on a Transformers & Disney collab, featuring a badass Mickey Mouse Truck. Well, in true corporate style, they are going to milk the label for as long as possible. This is their ‘Halloween’ version of the toy. I bet we will be seeing an Xmas version soon too…(Available from Japan’s 7-11 website for approx. £25)

You can see more Mickey Posts:
Scary Mummy Mickey
Riot Police Use Mickey Mouse
Evil Mickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse Used In WW2 Propaganda
Transformers X Mickey

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