Moonrise Kingdom (2012)

Moonrise Kingdom (2012)
94 min

Country: USA
Language: English


Director: Wes Anderson
Writers: Wes Anderson, Roman Coppola
Stars: Jared Gilman, Kara Hayward and Bruce Willis

Set on an island off the coast of New England in the 1960s, as a young boy and girl fall in love they are moved to run away together. Various factions of the town mobilize to search for them and the town is turned upside down -- which might not be such a bad thing.(IMDB)


The film premiered on May 16, 2012, at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival, where it screened in competition. It was released in French theatres the same day. The American limited release occurred on May 25, and set a new record for the best per-theater-average for a non-animated movie by grossing an average of $130,752 in four theaters.
Critical reception
Moonrise Kingdom received highly positive reviews from film critics. Review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes reports that 94% of 174 critics have given the film a positive review, holding an average score of 8.1/10 (98% amongst top critics). Review aggregate Metacritic has given the film a weighted score of 84, based on 43 reviews, indicating "Universal acclaim".
Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian gave the film 4 stars out of 5, calling it "another sprightly confection of oddities, attractively eccentric, witty and strangely clothed."Christopher Orr of The Atlantic wrote that Moonrise Kingdom "captures the texture of childhood summers, the sense of having a limited amount of time in which to do unlimited things" and is "Anderson's best live-action feature" because "it takes as its primary subject matter odd, precocious children, rather than the damaged and dissatisfied adults they will one day become."Kristen M. Jones of Film Comment wrote that the film "has a spontaneity and yearning that lend an easy comic rhythm," but it also has a "rapt quality, as if we are viewing the events through Suzy's binoculars or reading the story under the covers by a flashlight."(Wikipedia)

Ratings: 94% (Rotten Tomatoes Critics)

Awards:
Cannes 2012: Nominated: Palme d'Or: Wes Anderson (More)

Epiphany (2007)

Epiphany (2007)
Artist: Karen Cusolito
Height: 22 FT
Weight: 7 Tons
Composition: Salvage Steel
Installation: Crane
Engineering: Free Standing

Epiphany is bursting with the joy that accompanies the revelation in acknowledging the essential essence of life. Her heart beats with fire and in that moment of illumination, her entire body pulses with fire.

Epiphany was first exhibited at Burning Man, 2007 and has traveled to many events in the US: Maker Faire, 2008, Great American Music Hall, 2008, The Fire Arts Festival in both 2007 and 2009, aboard the USS White Holly in Sausalito, CA – where she took first prize in the competitive "Parade of Lights" - and Electric Daisy Carnival, 2010. Epiphany is presently on exhibit at American Steel Studios, Oakland, CA.


About the Artist
Karen studied at Rhode Island School of Design and Massachusetts College of Art. She worked on several public art installations in and around the Boston area before moving to San Francisco in 1996.

Her art has taken many forms, from painting and mixed media to the large-scale steel sculptures she’s presently developing.
She finds drawing to be the easiest and most concise form of communication and the human form a rich arena in which to explore and express emotion, intention, and challenge. Much of her work focuses on humanity and the environment and the delicate balance between the two.
Karen is about to embark on a new series that studies the female form throughout history.
Since 2009, she has been running American Steel Studios in Oakland, CA, which provides studio and gallery space to over 100 artists and small businesses.

A Short Film About Killing (1988)

A Short Film About Killing (1988)
Krótki film o zabijaniu (original title)
84 min


Country: Poland
Language: Polish


Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski
Writers: Krzysztof Kieslowski, Krzysztof Piesiewicz
Stars: Miroslaw Baka, Krzysztof Globisz and Jan Tesarz

A Short Film About Killing (Polish: Krótki film o zabijaniu) is a 1988 film directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski and starring Miroslaw Baka, Krzysztof Globisz, and Jan Tesarz. Written by Krzysztof Kieślowski and Krzysztof Piesiewicz, the film was expanded from Decalogue V of the Polish television series The Decalogue. Set in Warsaw, Poland, the film compares the senseless, violent murder of an individual to the cold, calculated execution by the state. A Short Film About Killing won both the Jury Prize and the FIPRESCI Prize at the 1988 Cannes Film Festival,[2] as well as the European Film Award for Best Film.It is one of the 11 films that have been selected for preservation by National Film Archive of India.


The film shows a very bleak Poland at the dying end of the Communist era. This is greatly enhanced by the strong use of colour filters. The print appears to have an effect similar to sepia tone or bleach bypass - although it is a colour picture, the photography combined with grey locations provides an effect similar to monochrome.
Krótki film o zabijaniu was released in the same year that the death penalty was suspended in Poland. In 1988 the country carried out just a single execution, with 6 condemned prisoners being hanged in 1987. The portrayal of the execution method and procedure is mostly accurate, however in reality the date of executions were a surprise to the prisoner - the condemned man would simply be led into a room to discover it was the execution chamber. After the early years of Communist repression, executions were quite rare and invariably for murder; from 1969 a total of 183 men were hanged and no women. A major inaccuracy in the film is the extremely short time between the crime, trial and execution - the film implies mere months. (Wikipedia)


Awards and nominations
1988 Cannes Film Festival FIPRESCI Prize (Krzysztof Kieślowski) Won
1988 Cannes Film Festival Jury Prize (Krzysztof Kieślowski) Won
1988 Cannes Film Festival Nomination for the Palme d'Or (Krzysztof Kieślowski)
1988 European Film Award for Best Film (Krzysztof Kieślowski) Won
1988 Polish Film Festival Golden Lion Award (Krzysztof Kieślowski) Won
1990 Bodil Award for Best European Film (Krzysztof Kieślowski) Won
1990 French Syndicate of Cinema Critics Award for Best Foreign Film (Krzysztof Kieślowski) Won
1990 Robert Festival Award for Best Foreign Film (Krzysztof Kieślowski) Won


Cannes 1988: Won: FIPRESCI Prize: Krzysztof Kieslowski
Polish Film Festival 1988: Won: Golden Lion: Krzysztof Kieslowski (More Awards)

Rating: 83% (Rotten Tomatoes Critics)

The Wave (1896)

The Wave (1896)
La Vague
Artist: William-Adolphe Bouguereau
Completion Date: 1896
Style: Neoclassicism
Technique: oil
Material: canvas
Dimensions: 121 x 160.5 cm

William-Adolphe Bouguereau (November 30, 1825 - August 19, 1905) was a French academic painter. Bouguereau was a staunch traditionalist whose realistic genre paintings and mythological themes were modern interpretations of Classical subjects with a heavy emphasis on the female human body.

A Short Film About Love (1988)

A Short Film About Love (1988)
Krótki film o milosci (original title)
86 min
Country: Poland
Language: Polish

Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski
Writers: Krzysztof Kieslowski, Krzysztof Piesiewicz
Stars: Grazyna Szapolowska, Olaf Lubaszenko and Stefania Iwinska

A Short Film About Love (Polish: Krótki film o miłości) is a Polish romantic drama film directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski and starring Grażyna Szapołowska and Olaf Lubaszenko. Written by Krzysztof Kieślowski and Krzysztof Piesiewicz, the film is about a young post office worker deeply in love with a promiscuous older woman who lives in an adjacent apartment building. After spying on her through a telescope, he meets and declares his love for this jaded woman who long ago gave up on believing in love. She responds to his innocence by initiating him on the basic fact of life—that there is no love, only sex.A Short Film About Love is an expanded film version of Decalogue VI, part of Kieślowski's 1988 Polish language ten-part television series, The Decalogue. The film is set in Warsaw.
The film is based on Kieślowski's Decalogue VI, with minor changes and expansions to the script. The most significant change is to the ending, which was rewritten at the suggestion of lead actress Grażyna Szapołowska, who wanted the film to have a "fairytale ending". The original version ends with Tomek back at work, recovered from his attempted suicide, and telling Magda that he does not watch her anymore. The film ends with Magda's more developed concern for Tomek mirroring his earlier obsession with her. The film concludes in Tomek's room after his return from hospital. She looks through his telescope into her own apartment and Kieślowski replays an earlier scene of Magda crying in her kitchen, which had led Tomek to reveal his feelings to her, only this time she is joined and comforted by Tomek. Like Kieślowski's other Decalogue films, it features the mysterious angelic Man in White. (Wikipedia)

Awards and nominations


1988 Polish Film Festival Award for Best Actress (Grazyna Szapolowska) Won
1988 Polish Film Festival Award for Best Cinematography (Witold Adamek) Won
1988 Polish Film Festival Award for Best Supporting Actress (Stefania Iwinska) Won
1988 Polish Film Festival Golden Lion Award (Krzysztof Kieślowski) Won
1988 San Sebastián International Film Festival OCIC Award (Krzysztof Kieślowski) Won
1988 San Sebastián International Film Festival Special Prize of the Jury (Krzysztof Kieślowski) Won
1989 São Paulo International Film Festival Audience Award for Best Feature (Krzysztof Kieślowski) Won[10]
1988 National Board of Review of Motion Pictures Award Nomination for Outstanding Achievement in Foreign Film Award
1988 Venice Film Festival FIPRESCI Award Nomination
1988 Chicago Film Critics Association Award Nomination for Best Foreign Language Film

Ratings: 100% (Rotten Tomatoes Critics)

Read Review: slantmagazine.com

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The Kiss (1882)

The Kiss (1882)
Circa 1882
Marble
H. 181.5 cm ; W. 112.5 cm ; D. 117 cm
S.1002 /Lux.132
Artist: Auguste Rodin

Commissioned by the French state in 1888, carved between 1888 and 1898. Joined the collections of the Musée du Luxembourg in 1901; transferred to the Musée Rodin in 1919.
The Kiss originally represented Paolo and Francesca, two characters borrowed, once again, from Dante’s Divine Comedy: slain by Francesca’s husband who surprised them as they exchanged their first kiss, the two lovers were condemned to wander eternally through Hell. This group, designed in the early stages of the elaboration of The Gates , was given a prominent position on the lower left door, opposite Ugolino , until 1886, when Rodin decided that this depiction of happiness and sensuality was incongruous with the theme of his vast project.

He therefore transformed the group into an independent work and exhibited it in 1887. The fluid, smooth modelling, the very dynamic composition and the charming theme made this group an instant success. Since no anecdotal detail identified the lovers, the public called it The Kiss, an abstract title that expressed its universal character very well. The French state commissioned an enlarged version in marble, which Rodin took nearly ten years to deliver. Not until 1898 did he agree to exhibit what he called his “huge knick-knack” as a companion piece to his audacious Balzac , as if The Kiss would make it easier for the public to accept his portrait of the writer.

Candle In The Wind

Candle In The Wind
Artist: Steve Hanks
17 X 27 in.
Watercolor Painting

Transylvania (2006)

Transylvania (2006)
103 min

Country: France
Language: French, English

Director: Tony Gatlif
Writer: Tony Gatlif
Stars: Asia Argento, Amira Casar and Birol Ünel

Zingarina arrives in Transylavania, accompanied by her close friend Marie and her guide and interpreter Luminitsa. She is not there only to visit this region of Romania but to trace her lover Milan, a musician who has made her pregnant and who left her without a word of explanation. When she finds him back, he brutally rejects her and Zingarina is terribly upset. She leaves her two companions and having become a wreck she hardly survives by following a wandering little girl. Her destiny changes for the best when she meets Tchangalo, a traveling trader... Written by Guy Bellinger (IMDB)

Transylvania is a 2006 French drama film starring Asia Argento. In 2006, Director Tony Gatlif and composer Delphine Mantoulet won the "Georges Delerue Prize" at the Flanders International Film Festival for the score, and Gatlif was nominated for the "Grand Prix" award. Transylvania premiered at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival in France on May 28,and premiered at in the United States on March 16, 2007 at the Cleveland International Film Festival and in the United Kingdom at the Cambridge Film Festival on July 6, 2007 (with a later theatrical release on August 10, 2007).(Wikipedia)

Awards

Ghent International Film Festival 2006: Won Georges Delerue Prize: Tony Gatlif , Delphine Mantoulet
Ghent International Film Festival 2006: Nominated: Grand Prix: Tony Gatlif

Ratings: 74% (Rotten Tomatoes Critics)

Read Review: Film4.com

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Fallen Chair

Fallen Chair
Artist: Damian Ortega
Country: Mexico


Born in 1967 in Mexico City, Ortega is one of the most prominent artists of the new Mexican generation. This exhibition, the first-ever survey of Ortega’s work, shows the arc of his artistic output with a range of sculpture, installation, video, and photography.

In Ortega’s work, objects are never allowed to rest they are pulled apart, suspended, or rearranged, calling attention to the dynamism of the world around us and the hidden poetry in the everyday. A former political cartoonist, Ortega brings a subtle, incisive wit to his surprising manipulations of familiar, humble materials—bricks, old tools, Coca-Cola bottles,  tortillas, and even a Volkswagen Beetle are assembled and reassembled in playful and imaginative ways.

Damian Ortega is an artist known for taking things apart and putting them back together again. "I'm interested in those everyday attempts to produce meaning" Damian Ortega.
With this piece Damian has created meaning, the visual meaning of a fallen chair becoming upright like Duchamp's Nude descending staircase,
Damian has rendered into reality, this movement.
His work is the product of a restless mind, one that like a child, has not settled into acceptance but questions everything, he is an amazing artist.

A New Day (2010)

A New Day (2010)
Artist: Serge Marshennikov
Medium: Oil on Canvas
80x80cm
Country: Russia

Serge Marshennikov was born in 1971 in Ufa (Bashkiria, USSR). His grandfather was the general manager of a horse breeding company, his father, an electrical engineer and his mother was in pre-school education. Freom the earliest of times, Serge was always drawing, painting and sculpting from any material he could land his hands on. His Mother encouraged Serge to study and from early childhood and he had a succession of private teachers and art studies he attended. After receiving a number of awards for his children’s watercolor and pastel paintings, Serge decided to become a professional painter.

In 1995 he finished the Ufa Art College and then continued education at one of the most prestigious art academies in the world, The Repin Academy of Fine Art in St. Petersburg, Russia. As one of the most talented graduates of the academy, Serge was offered to stay for post-graduate studies at the studio of the Academician, Rector of the Academy, Professor Milnikov.

Serge’s first solo exhibition was in the gallery “Sangat” of his native UFA in 1995, the year of his graduation from the college. The show was a success and Serge was invited to exhibit at the Artists’ Union gallery. Since that time Serge has exhibited on a semi-annual basis, showing his works to his collectors and piers in both St Petersburg and Ufa. Serge’s graduation work caught the eye of a Brownwood University faculty member as well as Hardin-Simmons University. Serge, during his post-graduate years, also exhibited in the prestigious art departments of those Universities.

2011 50x85cm

More recently, Serge’s paintings have been sold through important art auctions, including famous Christie’s of London and Bonham's in Knightsbridge. His work is in much demand and his prices are constantly rising. Serge’s paintings are held in the Museum of Modern Art (El Paso), in The Grace Museum (Abilene), and in many important private collections in Russia, England, Denmark, France and Japan.

Serge’s biggest influences are Andrew Wyeth & Lucian Freud. From more contemporary times, he likes works of Jeremy Lipking. Serge is married and has a 7 year old daughter.

Russian artist Serge Marshennikov's delicate original female oil portraits capture the hearts of collectors all over the globe. Serge Marshennikov's sensuous oil paintings are available through Hallmark Fine Art Gallery La Jolla in San Diego, 858-551-8108.

Bonsái (2011)

Bonsái (2011)
95 min

Country: Chile
Language: Spanish


Director: Cristián Jiménez
Writers: Cristián Jiménez, Alejandro Zambra (novel)
Stars: Diego Noguera, Nathalia Galgani and Gabriela Arancibia

Bonsai (Spanish: Bonsái) is a 2011 Chilean drama film directed by Cristián Jiménez, based on a book by Alejandro Zambra. It premiered during the Un Certain Regard section at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.The film was released in UK theaters on 30 March 2012 and US theaters on 11 May 2012.(Wikipedia)


Based on the much-lauded novel by Alejandro Zambra, Bonsai is the second feature from already cult Chilean director Cristián Jiménez, whose debut Optical Illusions screened to international acclaim.

With a structure that revolves loosely around Proust’s novel, Remembrance of Things Past, the story centres on the lengthy love affair between two college students – Julio (Diego Noguera) and Emilia (Nathalia Galgani).

In deadpan, hipster style we’re told from the beginning where their fate lies – in the end Emilia dies and Julio remains alone. To get to that point however, Jimenez employs a flash forward/backward dynamic that softens the blow.

Julio is a young man obsessed with literature. He meets Emilia after a class during which he’s lied about reading Proust. Skipping ahead 8 years in the future Julio now longs to be a writer himself. He applies for a job as a typist to the famous novelist Gazmuri but when he loses out because his asking price is too steep, he pretends the job is his to impress his attractive neighbour and sometime lover, Bianca. The story he writes instead is based on his own love affair with Emilia.

Hip, funny and moving, Bonsai features pitch perfect performances from a very talented cast. Diego Noguera gives a performance that is both funny and touching while Nathalia Galgani has a simmering Latin sensuality that, together with superlative direction from one of Chile’s rising stars, make Bonsai a real cinematic treat.(Raindance.co.uk)

Awards
Cannes 2011: Nominated for Un Certain Regard Award: Cristián Jiménez

Havanna Film Festival 2011: Won FIPRESCI Prize: Best Film (Cristián Jiménez) More Awards

TRAILER:

Khajuraho Erotic Sculptures (900 – 1300 AD)

Khajuraho Erotic Sculptures (900 – 1300 AD)
Location: India
Artists: Unknown (During Chandel Dynasty)

The Khajuraho temples are one of the seven wonders of India, second only to the incredible Taj Mahal. While the brilliant architecture and symmetry remains a point of amazement, the Khajuraho temples mainly in the limelight because of the incredible erotic art and carvings. Although the erotic sculptures make for just 10% of the temples, the temples have become synonymous with love and erotica.

These 1000 year old temples have been built of sandstone and put together with mortise and tenon joints while they remain fixed due the gravitational force. This type of construction is not easy and requires very precise joints. The columns and architraves were built using megaliths weighing as much as 20 tons.
The Khajuraho temples were built during the Chandela dynasty and were built and completed within a span of 100 years.



Erotic Art – Unraveling the Story Behind
There are many theories explaining the real reason for incorporating erotic art with the temples. One of the most popular theories is that they were meant to provide education about earthly desires. During the medieval era, young boys were sent to hermitage and practice bramhacharya till reaching maturity. The sculptures were meant to educate them about grahasthahram.

Yet another theory states that they were meant to represent kama (desire) as the third purushartha (aim of life). The sculptures are also accredited to the rise of the Tantric cults during that time. However, several experts reject these theories.
However, the most credible explanations for the erotic sculptures at Khajuraho are as follows:
1. Sign of happiness, prosperity and auspiciousness: During the medieval era there was a common belief that having erotic sculptures were considered alankaras or decorative motifs, protective and auspicious. This hypothesis is based on the authoritative religious texts like the Shilpashastras and the Brihat Samhita. According to the Brihat Samhita, mithunas (couples), goblins, creepers and erotic sculptures were meant to be carved on the temple door to bring in good luck and as a sign of auspiciousness.

2. Mock the Ascetics: Yet another theory explaining the old erotic art at Khajuraho states that the coital couples represent ascetics as well as people from the royal class. It is also believed that the sculptures of couples participating in the orgies are scenes imagined by the artists. Also, it is also said that the artists used ascetics in sensuous and passionate moods as a way to mock the extreme Tantric sects that rose during that era.
3. Code Language: According to experts, the erotic figures were used as a code language to convey Tantric doctrines and non-communicable experiences. For e.g. A sculpture wherein a washerwoman clings to an ascetic may look erotic and sensuous for the layman. However, in the Tantric language, the washerwoman represents the Kundalini energy that has ascended up to the chakras i.e. the neck of the ascetic. Thus, the erotic sculptures have a deeper meaning related to the Tantric cult.

4. Conceal the Magico-Propitiory Yantra: According to the architectural text of the Shilpa Prakasha, every temple must have a Kamakala Yantra strategically placed to protect it from evil spirits and natural calamities. However, the Yantra, which is basically a set of lines drawn symmetrically, must not be visible to the lay man. Thus, a few erotic sculptures with the head down posture were made corresponding to the lines of the Yantra and superimposed on it.
5. Non-duality: It is possible that the erotic sculptures symbolically represent the union of two opposing forces or energies like, inhalation and exhalation, in a timeless state of non-duality.
The erotic art at Khajuraho is considered to be the pinnacle of love and passion. However, during the period between 900 – 1300 AD most Hindu, Jain and Buddhist temples across western and southern India comprised of erotic art.
However, at other temples, these sculptures were carved at the plinth level, below the eye level and thus did not get noticed. It is only at Khajuraho that these sculptures were so prominently displayed on the main wall of the temples.Khajurahotemples.net

The Man Next Door (2009)

The Man Next Door (2009)
El hombre de al lado (original title)
110 min

Country: Argentina
Language: Spanish


Directors: Mariano Cohn, Gastón Duprat
Writer: Andrés Duprat
Stars: Rafael Spregelburd, Daniel Aráoz and Eugenia Alonso

A small incident over two neighbors common wall sparks a conflict which affects the intimacy of the view over the chimney; the protagonist sparks a conflict and with paranoiac obsession destroys everyday life.(IMDB Link)

Awards

TRAILER:

The Forgiveness of Blood (2011)

The Forgiveness of Blood (2011)
109 min

Country: USA | Albania | Denmark | Italy
Language: Albanian


Director: Joshua Marston
Writers: Joshua Marston, Andamion Murataj
Stars: Tristan Halilaj, Sindi Lacej and Refet Abazi


The Forgiveness of Blood (Albanian: Falja e Gjakut) is 2011 Albanian-American drama film directed by Joshua Marston. The film premiered In Competition at the 61st Berlin International Film Festival and competed for the Golden Bear.Joshua Marston and Andamion Murataj won the Silver Bear for Best Script.
The film was originally submitted as the Albanian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film, but it was rejected due to protest of Bujar Alimani, the director of Amnesty, that The Forgiveness of Blood shouldn't be eligible due to American artists' input on the project. AMPAS disqualified it and Albania submitted instead Alimani's film.
The film deals with the issue of an Albanian family feud.(Wikipedia)

Awards

Ratings: 85% (Rotten Tomatoes Critics)

TRAILER

Erotic drawing by Mihaly Zichy

Erotic drawing by Mihaly Zichy

Artist: Mihaly von Zichy (1827-1906)


Mihaly von Zichy was a Hungarian painter.
Zichy was born the son of landed gentry. In 1842, he took in Pest on a law degree. In parallel, he studied with the Italian Jacopo Marastoni painting. In 1844 he moved to Vienna to study with Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller.
Although his work did not go unnoticed, he lacked the financial livelihood. In 1847 he turned to St. Petersburg, where Tsar Nicholas I hired him as a private tutor for his daughter Helene. In 1849 he started his own business and created his greatest works. Tsar Alexander II Zichy appointed court painter in 1859. During this period numerous paintings important Russian courtiers. He has been married to Countess Elizabeth Vratislav Mitrovitz to 1865. They had a daughter, for Mihaly has never taken care of. Their marriage has been terminated by the 1867th
In 1874 he left Russia in the direction of Paris. There, he became president of the Hungarian Association and others painted the picture courtesan for the main character of Émile Zola's novel Nana. He returned several times to execute artistic jobs back to Russia. The last decades of his life were spent at the court of Tsar Alexander III ..
Of honors, there are today in the Zala one artist museum dedicated Zichy. In Budapest, the Zichy Mihály utca was named after him.

His work is known today primarily for his non-judgmental treatment of the subject "physical love". Zichy's emphasis lay in the representation of the fantastic, supernatural and gruesome. In drawings, watercolors and oil paintings, he has preferred to treat materials whose mystical, transcendental and speculative tendency eludes representation through painting. His coloristic treatment is at the service of his eccentric inventions. Zichy is one of the most important artists of Hungarian romanticism. He also worked as a graphic designer and created next to erotic depictions illustrations to contemporary Hungarian writer, as the tragedy of humanity by Imre Madách (1887) or ballads of János Arany (1894-98).

Andrei Rublev (1966)

Andrei Rublev (1966)
Andrey Rublyov (original title)
165 min

Country: Soviet Union
Language: Russian | Italian | Tatar


Director: Andrey Tarkovskiy
Writers: Andrey Tarkovskiy, Andrey Konchalovskiy
Stars: Anatoliy Solonitsyn, Ivan Lapikov and Nikolay Grinko


Andrei Rublev (Russian: Андрей Рублёв, Andrey Rublyov), also known as The Passion According to Andrei, is a 1966 Russian film directed by Andrei Tarkovsky from a screenplay written by Andrei Konchalovsky and Andrei Tarkovsky. The film is loosely based on the life of Andrei Rublev, the great 15th century Russian icon painter. The film features Anatoly Solonitsyn, Nikolai Grinko, Ivan Lapikov, Nikolai Sergeyev, Nikolai Burlyayev and Tarkovsky's wife Irma Raush. Savva Yamshchikov, a famous Russian restorer and art historian, was a scientific consultant of the film.
Andrei Rublev is set against the background of 15th century Russia. Although the film is only loosely based on the life of Andrei Rublev, it seeks to depict a realistic portrait of medieval Russia. Tarkovsky sought to create a film that shows the artist as "a world-historic figure" and "Christianity as an axiom of Russia’s historical identity"during a turbulent period of Russian history that ultimately resulted in the Tsardom of Russia. The film is about the essence of art and the importance of faith and shows an artist who tries to find the appropriate response to the tragedies of his time. The film is also about artistic freedom and the possibility and necessity of making art for, and in the face of, a repressive authority and its hypocrisy, technology and empiricism, by which knowledge is acquired on one's own without reliance on authority, and the role of the individual, community, and government in the making of both spiritual and epic art.
Because of the film's religious themes and political ambiguity, it was not released domestically in the officially atheist and authoritarian Soviet Union for years after it was completed except for a single screening in Moscow. A version of the film was shown at the 1969 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the FIPRESCI prize. In 1971, a censored version of the film was released in the Soviet Union. The film was further cut for commercial reasons upon its U.S. release in 1973. As a result, several versions of the film exist.(Wikipedia Page)

"Stuns with the sort of unexpected poetic explosions we've come to expect from Tarkovsky"-Jonathan Rosenbaum

Awards:
Andrei Rublev won several awards. In 1969 the film was screened at the Cannes Film Festival. Due to pressure by Soviet officials the film could only be shown out of competition, and was thus not eligible for the Palme d'Or or the Grand Prix. Nevertheless it won the prize of the international film critics, FIPRESCI. In 1971 Andrei Rublev won the Critics Award of the French Syndicate of Cinema Critics, and in 1973 the Jussi Award for best foreign film.

Ratings: 94% (Rotten Tomatoes Critics)

Read: Sensesofcinema.com

WATCH MOVIE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PAhbcy8mP4&feature=fvst

Amaram (1991)

Amaram (1991)
150 min
Country: India
Language: Malayalam


Director: Bharathan
Writer: Ambazhathil Karunakaran Lohithadas
Stars: Mammootty, Mathu, Murali, KPAC Lalitha, Asokan


Amaram (Malayalam: അമരം, English: Immortal) is a 1991 Malayalam film directed by Bharathan and written by A. K. Lohithadas. It stars Mammootty, Murali, Maathu, K. P. A. C. Lalitha, Balan K. Nair, Ashokan, Chitra, and Kuthiravattam Pappu in the main roles. The film's score is composed by Johnson while the songs are by Raveendran.
The film is considered one of the best works of Bharathan. The performances by Mammootty, K. P. A. C. Lalitha, and Murali won great appreciations. The film, which has attained cult status, was also one of the highest grossing films of 1991. K. P. A. C. Lalitha won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Bhargavi. And Mammotty won the Filmfare Awards South Best Actor Award for his role as Achootty.(Wikipedia Page)

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Head of a skeleton with a burning cigarette (1886)

Head of a skeleton with a burning cigarette (1886)
Artist: Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890)
Oil on Canvas, 32 X 24.5 cm
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam


This curious and somewhat macabre little painting is undated. It was probably executed in the winter of 1885-86, during Van Gogh’s stay in Antwerp. He had traveled there from Nuenen in November 1885, and in January 1886 – in order to have the opportunity to draw and paint after the live model – he enrolled at the art academy.

Students at Antwerp’s traditional academy learned by copying prints and studying plaster casts. After they had progressed sufficiently, they were permitted to study the live model. Skeletons were often used to help them understand human anatomy.

This skull with a cigarette was likely meant as a kind of joke, and probably also as a comment on conservative academic practice.Vangoghmuseum.nl

John Lennon and Yoko Ono (2010)

John Lennon and Yoko Ono (2010)
Barbara Nahmad
Based on a photograph -John Lennon and Yoko Ono 1971
Oil and Enamel on Canvas
90x110-2010









Based on the photograph shown below:

John Lennon and Yoko Ono 1971

Flight (2011)

Flight (2011)
Sculptures on Park Avenue, New York
Date: March-June 2012
Artist: Rafael Barrios

The sculptures of Venezuelan artist Rafael Barrios were unveiled on Park Avenue on March 2012. Most of the pieces are being exhibited for the first time.  His works, mostly made of steel and acrylic lacquer  alter the viewers' perception and state of mind. At a distance, the sculptures appear to be voluminous, but as you approach them, they are actually thin. As Barrios states, the sculptures are about “dislocating our perception in such a way that our mind’s eye will insist that you are seeing something that you are not.” nyclovesnyc.blogspot.in

Turn Me On, Dammit! (2011)

Turn Me On, Dammit! (2011)
Få meg på, for faen (original title)
76 min
Country: Norway
Language: Norwegian


Director: Jannicke Systad Jacobsen
Writers: Jannicke Systad Jacobsen, Olaug Nilssen (novel)
Stars: Helene Bergsholm, Malin Bjørhovde and Henriette Steenstrup

In Skoddeheimen, Norway, 15-year-old Alma is consumed by her hormones and fantasies that range from sweetly romantic images of Artur, the boyfriend she yearns for, to daydreams about practically everybody she lays eyes on.(IMDB Page)

Awards

Ratings: 93% (Rotten Tomatoes Critics)

Read Review: Twitchfilm.com

TRAILER:

Eva Trilogy (2005)

Eva Trilogy (2005)
Shorts
6 min

Director: Gaspar Noé
Cast:  Eva Herzigova

Noé explores the line where art meets sexuality, and does so in a very simplistic form of expression.

WATCH FILMS:

Sharon Tate: Murdered Innocence (2002)

Sharon Tate: Murdered Innocence (29 Oct. 2002)
TV Episode
60 min
Country: USA
Language: English


Director: John Griffin
Writer: John Griffin
Stars: Jacqueline Bisset, John Calley and Mia Farrow

Documentary about Sharon Tate

A big "+" about this particular biography on actress Sharon Tate is that it's readily available on-line. "E!" also produced a biography that was much longer (The Last Days of Sharon Tate), but it's currently out of print. "Sharon Tate: Murdered Innocence" was produced by A & E for their "Biography" series, and gives a very well-rounded view of this tragic 60's beauty. Tracing her humble roots as the oldest of 3 sisters in a very mobile military family, the program follows Sharon through her high school years, including photos, some footage of her as a cheerleader at Vicenza American High School, and some insightful interviews with former classmates. Roman Polonski, Mia Farrow, Martin Ransohoff and others in the television/film industry also discuss their experiences and first impressions of Sharon. In spite of the dark title, "Murdered Innocence" doesn't dwell overly long on Sharon's tragic murder, but gives equal time to the positive aspects of her life. The last part of the program chronicles efforts by Sharon's mom and sisters to preserve Sharon's memory, to keep her killers behind bars, and to protect the rights of families of murder victims. Packed with interviews, vintage photos, home movies, film clips and a few trailers, "Sharon Tate: Murdered Innocence" is a very satisfying video for fans of Sharon Tate...and very affordable.(IMDB Page)

WATCH DOCUMENTARY:

World's First Color Moving Pictures (1902)

World's First Color Moving Pictures (1902)
Edward Raymond Turner

Moving Pictures:
Scarlet Macaw on Perch (1902)
Alfred Raymond Turner, Agnes May Turner and Wilfred Sydney Turner (1902)
Agnes May Turner on a swing (1902)
Boy with Red Ensign and girl on a swing, possibly St Anne's Well Hove (1902-04)
Panning shot from Brighton Pier to seafront, (1902-04)
Knightsbridge, London, looking East towards Hyde Park Corner (1901-02)


The world’s earliest colour film, shot in 1902 by a little-known Edwardian photographer, has been unveiled by a British museum.
Edward Turner patented his method of capturing moving colour images more than a decade before the invention of Technicolor. He filmed London street scenes, a pet macaw and his three children playing with a goldfish in the family’s back garden.
But he died in 1903 and his process - recording successive frames through red, green and blue filters then projecting and superimposing them on top of one another - was deemed unworkable because the images came out blurred. His work was never seen in public and quickly forgotten.
The commercially successful Kinemacolor system was patented in 1906 and exhibited three years later. Technicolor followed in 1916. (Telegraph)


LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - The newly-discovered films were made by filmmaker Edward Raymond Turner from London who patented his color process on 22 March 1899.

The previously unknown history of "Edwardian color cinema" moved to Brighton, where Turner shot the test films in 1902. His research into this discovery ended that very year when he was felled by a heart attack in 1903.

Restored by the National Media Museum, the film is being shown to audiences for the first time.

Bryony Dixon, curator of silent film at the British Film Institute National Archives, says the 1902 footage has momentous historical significance.

"There's something about watching film in color that deceives you into believing it's more real, so to see this from 110 years ago adds something very substantial . It's really quite beautiful."

Some of the footage features Turner's children in the garden of their home in Hounslow.

The reason it has taken so long to actually view it is the film's "strange" format.

A special gate has been constructed in which to project the film. "It's 38 and a bit millimeters, which is larger than the standard 35mm, and it wouldn't work on any of the 35mm machines.

"You project it through a spinning wheel, that's what creates the color effect using a successive frame system."

Specially-made gate, a mechanical device in projectors had to be built.

"Because it was a non-standard size we couldn't just take it somewhere and have it printed, so we decided to make our own gate," Pritchard said.

"The idea was that we would move the frame by hand one at a time and just copy each frame separately."

Historians point out that Great Britain was at the forefront of rushing to be the first nation to perfect color film. France and the United States would eventually beat out Britain for that honor, but the discovery of this early effort speaks volumes for the tenacity of English technicians. "They knew color film was going to be very desirable and there was a big commercial incentive." (Catholic.org)



WATCH:

IFFK Logo

IFFK Logo
Designer: G Aravindan
Asian culture had a tradition dating back to more than 1000 years of shadow play, puppetry and leather shadow puppet theatre.
The logo of IFFK (International Film Festival Of Kerala), conceived and drawn by the late film maker G Aravindan pays homage to the richness of this tradition and establishes its essential continuity with contemporary forms. The IFFK thus celebrates human creativity and the urge to create forms and weave narratives (IFFK festival Book)

Head-On (2004)

Head-On (2004)
Gegen die Wand (original title)
121 min


Country: Germany | Turkey
Language: German | Turkish | English


Director: Fatih Akin
Writer: Fatih Akin
Stars: Birol Ünel, Sibel Kekilli and Catrin Striebeck

In 'Gegen die Wand' Cahit, a 40-something male from Mersin in Turkey has removed everything Turkish from his life. He has become an alcoholic drug addict and at the start of the movie wants to end it all. Sibel a 20-something female from Hamburg wishes to please her Turkish parents yet yearns for freedom. She has had her nose broken by her brother for being seen holding hands with a boy and yet she can not break her mother's heart and run away. She too attempts suicide and she first approaches Cahit there at the Hospital. Sibel asks Cahit to marry her, as she believes this to be the way out of her parent's house. She promises Cahit that their relationship will be like roommates, not like a married couple. The film follows Sibel and Cahit as they get married, become closer and eventually fall in love. Written by Serena P. (IMDB Page)

Head-On received generally positive reviews, currently holding a 90% rating on Rotten Tomatoes; the consensus states: "A raw, provocative drama about star-crossed love and the lives of immigrants caught between the traditional and modern." On Metacritic, the film has a 78/100 rating, indicating "generally favorable reviews".(Wikipedia Page)

AWARDS:


"Best Film" and the "Audience Award" at the 2004 European Film Awards on December 11 in Barcelona, Spain.
The Golden Bear for Best Film at 54th Berlin International Film Festival) on February 14, 2004.
The Golden Prize for Best Actress at the Deutscher Filmpreis on June 18, 2004.
The Quadriga Prize on October 3, 2004 in Berlin.
The Silver Mirror Award for the Best Movie from the South at the Oslo Film Festival on October 16, 2004.
The Audience Prize at the 9th Festival de Cine on November 6-13 in Sevilla, Spain.
The Golden Bambi for the best shooting star at the 56th Bambi-Verleihung on November 19 in Hamburg, Germany
The Golden Gilde prize for the best German film of 2003-2004 at the Leipzig Film Fair.
The Goya Award for Best European Film of 2004, on January 30, 2005 in Madrid, Spain.

Rating: 90% (Rotten Tomatoes Critics)

Read: Metacritic.com

TRAILER

Leaving in the Rain and Waiting for the Train

Leaving in the Rain
Painting
Image Size :15 X 30 in.
Artist: Steve Hanks

Waiting for the Train
Painting
Artist: Steve Hanks

Reflecting on Indian Beach

Reflecting on Indian Beach
Painting
Artist: Steve Hanks
30 X 20 in
Country: USA


Reflecting on Indian Beach by Steve Hanks is a definitive combination of beauty, emotion and environment. “There is a big difference between the beaches of the Northern Pacific Coast and those down in Southern California,” says Hanks. “The surf rolls in over long shallow flats. The waves pound and boil for great distances, creating in the air thick moisture. This subtly diffuses the light creating an atmosphere palatably different than that on the beaches farther south.”

What began in his mind as a relatively straight-forward painting took Hanks over a month to create. He became absorbed in building the large reflective areas of the tidal flats. It seems as if we can reach in ourselves and run our fingers through the cool, moist sand at this serene and magical place where tree-lined mountains slip beneath the surface of the sea.(artifactsgallery.com)


Steve Hanks is recognized as one of the best watercolor artists working today. The detail, color and realism of Steve Hanks' paintings are unheard of in this difficult medium. A softly worn patterned quilt, the play of light on the thin veil of surf on sand, or the delicate expression of a child—-Steve Hanks captures these patterns of life better than anyone.

Steve Hanks:

Steve Hanks was born into a military family in San Diego in 1949. His father was a highly decorated WWII Navy flyer. Hanks grew up playing tennis and surfing along the beaches of Southern California. “The ocean made a strong and lasting impression on me. It was good for the soul to be out in the water—surfing, swimming, or simply getting in touch with its mysterious power.”


The family was transferred to New Mexico when Steve was a junior. After high school he attended the Academy of Fine Arts in San Francisco, earning excellent marks in commercial art and figure drawing. He transferred to the California College of Arts and Crafts, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.

Steve Hanks took a job as a caretaker at a Campfire Girl’s camp near Cuba, New Mexico in 1976. The pay was minimal, but the rent was free, and all during the winter months his time was his own. For the next four and a half years Hanks experimented with many media: oils, watercolor, pencil, acrylics. “If I hadn’t spent so much time perfecting my drawing skills,” he comments, “I would not be the painter I am today.” His first romantic piece, “Daisies and Lace”, was a harbinger of his developing style—it featured a lacy dress and a serene sunlit setting.

Hanks calls his style ‘emotional realism’. He often leaves the faces of his figures obscured or turned away, not only to leave the face to the imagination of the viewer but also to allow the entire figure to express the emotion. Backlighting is also a signature element of his style. “Sunlight has become one of my favorite subjects. I’m fascinated by how it filters through things, how it floods a whole room with color. Often my paintings are really more about sunlight than anything else.”

His marriage to Laura and the arrival of three children provided new inspiration for the artist. Many lovingly rendered domestic scenes were added to the portfolio during those years.

Jurors, galleries and collectors have long recognized the stature of Steve Hanks’ achievements. He received the National Watercolor Society Merit Award and the National Academy of Western Art Gold Medal, in addition to consistently appearing in the list of top ten American artists compiled by U.S. Art Magazine. Art for the Parks has honored his work with many awards since 1989.

“I’ve tried to be responsible and put positive images out into the world,” says Hanks. “I hope that my work brings comfort, pleasure and insight into people’s lives.”

Explosion (2010)

Explosion (2010)
Artist: Carlos Amorales
Museum of Herzelya

The “Explosion” refers to the figurative momentum of the work, but also to its intrinsic qualities. Rarely have I been impacted so strongly and so instantaneously by the sight of an artwork. With its thousands pieces of shiny black resin hanging from the ceiling, thanks to an unobtrusive wiring system, the effect of the work is powerful. The fragments are not completely still: the visitor’s eye adjusts to continues changes of angle, while the smooth surface of each piece reflects the others in variable ways. Walking around the perimeter of observation, one’s point of view changes the perception of the work, revealing the complexity of the relations of each piece with the whole. It represents a grandiose exemplification of interdependence.

Here is an excerpt from the words of the curator:

“The work is made entirely of pieces of material detached from any source or context; refractions of light and form, splinters of body and meaning. It conceals great violence, which nevertheless remains unrealized. It seems to freeze one moment in the process of explosion, a moment which oscillates between the energetic cohesion that has held all the different elements in a single body, and final scattering and loss, as in the supernova effect where a massive star explodes because the internal pressure caused by nuclear fusion outward is insufficient to balance the great pull of gravity inward. ” [curator Hadas Maor] (laurachiesa.wordpress.com)

Tetoviranje (1991)

Tetoviranje (1991)
Tattoo
132 min

Country: Republic of Macedonia
Language: Macedonian


Director: Stole Popov
Writers: Mirko Kovac, Zivojin Pavlovic, Mirko Kovac
Stars: Meto Jovanovski, Ljiljana Medjesi and Stole Arandjelovic

After a quarrel with his wife, a man leaves their apartment with one suitcase only. Having slept in a train station, the police legitimates him and found him suspicious. Soon he'll find himself locked in a prison with several other, mostly innocent people. The true horror begins only then.(IMDB Page)

The story takes place in the socialist Republic of Macedonia as a part of Yugoslavia, during the time of the disappearing of the communism -- the last great human conspiracy towards God. The film speaks about the uselessness in its functioning of the absurdity of its repression and violence, as regret the only unavoidable constants of the Yugo-faith. The action in "Tattoo" develops starting from an absurd situation when the main character Ilija, who as if he has been predestined to be in conflict with the official forces which "preserve" order, after a quarrel with his wife, leaves home with the only thing he really possesses, his empty suitcase. Trying to find some peace, he goes to the railway station where he seems suspicious to a couple of policemen who -- for reasons known only for them -- arrest him.

WATCH MOVIE:

Lenin (1969)

Lenin (1969)
Poster
Artist: Roman Cieslewicz
Country: France


The late 1960s were angry years in France when student radicals took to the streets in an attempt to drive the country to revolution. On the left, consumerism was identified as the chief enemy. Cieślewicz was not untouched by these arguments. He worked for left-wing publishers like 10/18 under Christian Bourgeois producing iconic cover-images of gauchiste heroes like Lenin and Ho Chi Minh, the leader of the Viet Cong in Vietnam. Cieślewicz designed the layout and ten powerful covers for the art magazine Opus, first published by Georges Fall in Paris in 1967, on the eve of the turmoil.

Kievskiy Freskiy (1966)

Kievskiy Freskiy (1966)
Kiev Frescoes
Short
15 minutes
Country: USSR


Director: Sergei Parajanov
Cast: Tengis Aruvadse, Antonina Leftiy a.o.

Kyiv Frescoes (1965-66), the aborted project that Paradjanov planned as his follow-up to Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors (1964), was arguably the turning point of his career.Work on Kyiv Frescoes lasted approximately one year, from early 1965 to early 1966. Although Paradjanov never received approval to begin shooting due to conflicts with the authorities, he did manage to complete various drafts of the script and the initial screen tests, which he edited into a self-contained 13-minute short with a soundtrack. Considered as a whole, these surviving materials provide a fascinating glimpse into the film Paradjanov never shot. The project is important not only as the first systematic articulation of the director’s poetic, tableau-style aesthetic that found its fullest realization in The Color of Pomegranates, but also as an unusual attempt by him to use that aesthetic with a contemporary subject. (Kino Kultura)

Banned during pre-production, this is is the only audition footage that survived.In trouble with the authorities for also protesting the arrest of Ukrainian poets and intellectuals, Parajanov accepted an offer from Yerevan to make a documentary on Akop Ovnatanian (1965), an Armenian portrait painter who had lived and worked in Tbilisi. Portraits by Ovnatanian were later incorporated into scenes in "Kiev Frescoes" (1966), a production interrupted at the Dovzhenko Studios after a few weeks of shooting. Only fragments of "Akop Ovnatanian" and "Kiev Frescoes" remain today.

The Color of Pomegranates (1968)

The Color of Pomegranates (1968)
Sayat Nova (original title)
79 min

Country: Soviet Union
Language: Armenian | Azerbaijani


Director: Sergei Parajanov
Writers: Sayat Nova (poems), Sergei Parajanov
Stars: Sofiko Chiaureli, Melkon Alekyan and Vilen Galstyan


The Color of Pomegranates is a biography of the Armenian ashug Sayat-Nova (King of Song) that attempts to reveal the poet's life visually and poetically rather than literally. The film is presented in a form of static tableaux and depicts the poet's coming of age, discovery of the female form, falling in love, entering a monastery and dying, all framed through both Sergei Parajanov's imagination and Sayat Nova's poems. Actress Sofiko Chiaureli notably plays six roles in the film, both male and female.According to Frank Williams, Paradjanov's film celebrates the survival of Armenian culture in the teeth of oppression and persecution: "There are specific images that are highly charged — blood-red juice spilling from a cut pomegranate into a cloth and forming a stain in the shape of the boundaries of the ancient Kingdom of Armenia; dyers lifting hanks of wool out of vats in the colours of the national flag, and so on".
The director had claimed his inspiration was "the Armenian illuminated miniatures. I wanted to create that inner dynamic that comes from inside the picture, the forms and the dramaturgy of colour." Parajanov once made a speech in Minsk in which he asserted that the Armenian public very likely did not understand The Color of Pomegranates, but then said that people "are going to this picture as to a holiday".(Wikipedia Page)

Rating: 86% (Rotten Tomatoes Critics)

Read Review: Senses Of Cinema

WATCH MOVIE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5yMyUDFht4

Collage by Barbara Nahmad (2010)

Collage (2010)
Artist :Barbara Nahmad
24X28.5 cm
Country: Italy

Black Gold (2007)

Black Gold (2007)
Oil in Canvas
58x75 cm
Artist: Sergey Ignatenko

Breznev-Honecker Kiss (2010)

Breznev-Honecker Kiss ( 2010 )
Based on photography by Régis Bossu during the 30th anniversary of the Deutsche Demokratische Republik- East Germany (1979)
Painter: Barbara Nahmad
24x30 cm


In 1979, Régis Bossu, a freelance photographer for European Stars and Stripes, Stern, Spiegel, and Sygma, went East Berlin to photograph the festivities of the 30th anniversary of the Deutsche Demokratische Republik — East Germany. The celebrations’ guest of honor was the aging Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev.

Breznev-Honecker Kiss (1979)
by Regis Bossu

When Brezhnev finished his speech, East German President Erich Honecker opened his arms to congratulate him with a big kiss, a normal ritual for socialist comrades.  (But both Honecker and Brezhnev were a little more enthusiastic than your average Communist dictator in kissing. A contemporary joke runs such: Brezhnev was commenting about a foreign leader, “As a politician, rubbish… but what a good kisser!”) A dozen photographers were there to capture this moment, but it was Régis who captured two men at the decisive moment. Many magazines used it immediately, and Paris Match devoted double pages to it, with a caption “The Kiss”.

Le baiser de l'hôtel de ville (2010)

Le baiser de l'hôtel de ville (2010)
Based on Le baiser de l'hôtel de ville (1950)/Kiss by the Hôtel de Ville by Robert Doisneau
Painter: Barbara Nahmad
90x110 cm
Country: Italy

This painting is based on a photograph taken by French Photographer, Robert Doisneau in 1950 for Life Magazine, titled Le baiser de l'hôtel de ville (1950)/Kiss by the Hôtel de Ville.

In 1950 Doisneau created his most recognizable work for Life – Le baiser de l'hôtel de ville (Kiss by the Hôtel de Ville), a photograph of a couple kissing in the busy streets of Paris, which became an internationally recognised symbol of young love in Paris. The identity of the couple remained a mystery until 1992.
The couple in Le baiser were Françoise Delbart, 20, and Jacques Carteaud, 23, both aspiring actors. In 2005 Françoise Bornet (née Delbart) stated that, "He told us we were charming, and asked if we could kiss again for the camera. We didn't mind. We were used to kissing. We were doing it all the time then, it was delicious. Monsieur Doisneau was adorable, very low key, very relaxed." They posed at the Place de la Concorde, the Rue de Rivoli and finally the Hôtel de Ville. The photograph was published in the 12 June 1950, issue of Life.The relationship between Delbart and Carteaud only lasted for nine months.Delbart continued her acting career, but Carteaud gave up acting to become a wine producer.(Wikipedia Page)

Le baiser de l'hôtel de ville
by Robert Doisneau (1950)

Barbara Nahmad
Barbara Nahmad was born in Milan in 1967.
She graduated from the Accademia di Belle Arti in Milan in 1990, and subsequently taught there as well as at the Fine Arts Academies of Turin and Bologna.
Barbara Nahmad has had many personal exhibition including The Hanging Body at Campo Blu Artecontemporanea of Milan in 1996; Galleria Marazzani Visconti Terzi of Piacenza in 1999; Studio d'Arte Cannaviello of Milan in 2000; P.O. Box at Sebastiano Amenta Contemporary Art of Parma in 2001; Dana & Louise at Mudimadue of Milan in 2002; Direct and Discreet at Nicola Ricci Contemporary Art of Pietrasanta, Lucca, in 2002; How to Be Good at Nicola Ricci Contemporary Art in Miart of Milan 2003; Yesterday Now at Image Contemporary Art of Arezzo in 2004 and Fondazione Bandera for Art in Milan in 2005; The Tables of Protest, at the Italian Institute of Culture of Lubjana, Slovenia, in 2005; and A Rebours at Ermanno Tedeschi Gallery of Turin in 2006. She also took part in many group shows, such as Sui Generis at the Contemporary Art Pavilion (PAC) of Milan in 2000; Young Art of Finarte, at Cartiere Vannucci of Milan in 2001; Borderline at Mudimadue of Berlin in 2002; Body Language at Beukers Gallery of Rotterdam in 2003; The Rape of Europe at Luke & A Gallery of London in 2003; XIV Quadrennial of Rome at Preview of Turin in 2004; and Seven, Everything Goes to Hell at Palazzo Pretorio of Florence in 2005.
Barbara Nahmad lives and works in Milan.