Lovely Weekend Links

• This is such a clever combination of a camera and x-acto knife. Make want to go to the used book store and pick up some cheesy pulp novels.
• Beautiful gifs on slices of life. I wish there was a camera invented to instantly capture this kind of thing. I would have an album full of little moments.
• These crazy album cover mashups will make you smile.
• Clever not-CGI techniques used in movies. My favorite is how they made the hobbits in Lord of the Rings appear smaller through forced perspective.
• Not quite Aesop, but these little fables about life lessons are hilarious and true.
• I want one of these beautiful moleskine journals with curvy nude women on the front. I want one made of me!
• Flower crown? Yes please.
• Sweet story of free range parenting and how kids can surprise you unexpectedly. (Love when this kind of thing happens.)

And here ares some adorable ukulele songs to brighten up your weekend.

Gorgeous Heart-Stopping Videos

Oh my goodness. These videos stopped my breath the first time I saw them. They are so exquisitely put together. Each clearly executes the concept and with little or no words, leaves you all tingly and wide-eyed. These are the kind of videos that inspired me back in college. It’s so wonderful to see art of this caliber.

Graphic Design Inspiration Links

So the current career interest is graphic design. I’ve kinda sorta been doing it for a while in relation to photography, yearbook, and newspaper stuff. Now I’m giving it a shot. Here are some links to work that I think is just dandy. (Yes, you have to click through, but it’s totally worth it!)

• Minimalist posters for mental disorders
• Are you happy?
• Redesigning boarding passes 
• Mustaches make a difference
• Fake vintage tech posters
• May the force (of typography) be with you
• Wedding invitation
• 50 gig posters

Beautiful Pregnancy Photography

You know what? I’m kinda tired of the same old pregnancy package photos. You know the one when the man stands behind the woman and they both cup the belly and look down at it lovingly? That’s nice and all, but I’m in the mood for something different.

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And I hope to be as hip as this if I ever become preggers.

Cooking with Love and Passion

I think this interview is fabulous. I love her passion, her humor, and her explanation for what makes the best grilled cheese sandwich on the planet. Her sentiments toward cooking can definitely translate into any passion. Enjoy!

P.S. I always remember this video when I make a grilled cheese sandwich.

Visit to the Titian Exhibit at the High Museum

I had a lovely Sunday yesterday with Reid and Kelly yesterday. We met up with Aaron at Ted’s for a delicious lunch and then set off to the High Museum to see the Titian exhibit. We had a good time on the train ride over talking about Lord of the Rings (which Reid and Kelly are obsessed over and I’m just now listening to) and crazy people we’ve met on MARTA.

The Titian exhibit was beautiful. Not all the paintings were by Titian; some were by his Italian contemporaries. I was a bit disappointed that the exhibit was so small; only two rooms compared to the vast area taken up by the Dali exhibit, a waste of space in my opinion. Nevertheless, I did enjoy looking at all the paintings, discussing the stories behind them, and sharing opinions on the works. It was much more enjoyable to have friends there to talk about the paintings and hear their points of view. I also decided that I really want to be painted as a Greek goddess or a damned woman in the Bible. I would especially love to be Venus! I enjoy posing for classes and artist meetups, but the works produced are always half-done studies rather than a finished concept painting. Here are some of my favorite paintings from the show:

Diana and Actaeon

 

Venus Anadyomene (Venus Rising from the Sea)

Afterwards we walked through the permanent collection and visited some old favorites. Reid also pointed out pieces he was drawn to and we noticed a definite pattern of depictions of confident, often scholarly men, deep in concentration. It was interesting to contrast the paintings I was drawn to, which were often beautiful, confident, usually feminine women with my body type. I think both of us were drawn to art that embodied the traits we admire within our sexes and want to see in ourselves. I’m really glad he came with us and had a decent time.

Towards the end of the trip I browsed a photography exhibit by Peter Sekaer. The photos were taken mostly during the Depression and were informal and subtle images of people and places. While none of the images blew me away, I could definitely appreciate the kind of personality it takes to enter people’s homes and neighborhoods and shoot such relaxed photos. The subjects always seemed straightforward without any kind of walls between themselves and the camera. Here are some of my favorite photos:

(heh)

On the drive home Reid and I talked about art and listened to Lord of the Rings. All in all, it was a good day. Now I want to visit other museums!

For All the Nice Girls Out There

via The Girls with Glasses

P.S. I totally want to dress like them.

Multimedia: Love in the First Person

I’ve seen many multimedia stories in my time at WKU. To date, this is still my favorite. I do have several criticisms of the piece- I think it’s over idealized- but I think it’s a tight story that evokes emotion and is accessible. I love the photography in it. I think it’s creative and sensual and really shows how much love there is between the subjects. I’ve heard a lot of criticism over the photographer Matt Eich covering his own life. I don’t really have a problem with that. Is it hard hitting news or something I would run in the paper? Not really. But I think it’s an incredibly heartfelt and happy piece amid lots of depressing stories (just look at everything else on MediaStorm). I think this quality of documentation and emotion Matt got is something only he could do, because he was a part of the situation. People keep scrapbooks to track their lives; Matt did the same with multimedia. I’m glad that he created the piece and shared the story. I’d love to do something like this about my own life (and eventually will).

I couldn’t get the full project to embed, but here’s a preview for it and the full project is here.

Decorating Wish List

Not that I have the budget for much of any of this at the moment, but I do look longingly at these home decorations and imagine them in my own apartment. Someday I’ll get this place together.

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Visit to the High Museum

This past weekend I went to the High Museum in Atlanta with Kelly, Aaron, and Livy. It was fun! I can’t remember the last time I went to an art museum. I was especially excited to go reading the new e-book by Luc Travers, Touching the Art. It details a process of appreciating art much like you do a movie: getting emotionally involved with the characters and stories, connecting it back to your own life. I really enjoyed the book, and I suggest you get it. Or at least watch the video lecture series on Luc’s site.

We started off at the Dali exhibit, which was weird. It did very little for me. I studied how the exhibit was laid out more than the actual paintings. My stint as a gallery manager in the WKU photojournalism department was very satisfying, and the idea of continuing to work at a museum/gallery intrigues me. I also people watched a lot. There were so many cliches walking around! Folks wearing scarves, corduroy jackets, and berets looking very seriously at a painting of dots. Power asian couple with high tech stroller.  A country club type woman with a crisp collared shirt and sweater tied round her shoulders. Kelly and I had a good time talking about all these cliched folk at the cafe. It felt like a bad high school movie. (To be fair, we asked if we were also cliches in some way. Aaron suggested that we could be considered the white trash that wandered in here after finding coupons at a bar. Hey, it was $3 off!) It was interesting to ponder what was going through other people’s brains at the Dali exhibit. Were they thinking what I was thinking? Meh. I’m ready to move on. Did they find it moving? Were they completely flapping? I tried to listen into the conversations of people stroking their chins with earnest expressions, but got nothing. Oh well.

Things got much more exciting when we looked at the 19th century American art and the 15th-19th century European art. The statues were by far my favorite. I think it’s easier to connect with them because of the three dimensional nature. It feels more real and you feel part of the scene. The art in the American and European exhibits evoked a lot more emotion and the stories were more accessible. I’d like to go back on my own one day and see them again. And to see the photography exhibit. Here’s some of my favorite pieces from the museum:

One of the best moments was Kelly explaining classic Bible stories depicted in the paintings to Livy  She had never heard them before! It was quite funny and reassuring. Growing up atheist myself, I totally understand. In fact, I was listening to the stories too, some of them I had never heard. Ha!

 

The trip to the museum renewed my interest in becoming an art model. Many of the female figures in art from several hundred years ago resemble me, unlike many of the models today. I’ve contacted a few studios, and I’ve been booked for a figure modeling class in October! Hooray! New experiences! And getting paid money to be nekkid! I’m very excited.