My Current Top 10s
by Unknown
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A Woman's
Work Is Never Done (flesh/
thread) – Eliza Bennett
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Eliza Bennett used her own hand as a canvas
where she stitched into the top later of skin using thread, “to create the
appearance of an incredibly work worn hand”. “ By using the technique of
embroidery, which is traditionally employed to represent femininity”, she hopes
to challenge the notion that 'women's work' is light and easy. I was very
intrigued by this photograph that made me feel a slight discomfort whilst being
a beautiful image and artwork. The concept behind it strengthens her work and challenges
the way we can use the human body or other uncommon surfaces as canvases.
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Ironworker fills casts
with molten metal in Alexandria, Egypt – Nader Saadallah
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I find some of my favourite photographers by scrolling down the National Geographic website. I recently came across an article on different images of people working with their hands. What interested me the most about this photo was the focus on the bright molten metal. It illuminates the man’s face and his strong facial expression and gives a beautiful glow to the photo. We can almost feel the heat and the roughness of working with metals just by looking at this powerful photo.
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Collaborating with a 4 year old – Mica Angela Hendricks
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I can’t make up on my mind on what I like more about this artist’s project: the idea of the collaboration with her daughter or the final products they created together. I find the collaboration such a great spontaneous idea and the final drawings have so much character. The naïve and childish bodies contrast and compliment Mica Angela’s detailed and expressive faces. There is a touch of humour making the drawings look effortless. As we become adults we tend to forget to simply draw what we feel like and we are constantly preoccupied with the final result of our art. Nevertheless, seeing these drawings reminded me that spontaneous art usually gives the best and most unique results.
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Fish and Chips – Zofia Bogusz
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I find Zofia’s Bogusz’s paintings very interesting and unique. She paints women along side bold animals and dramatic landscapes. She often uses the “contrast of deep black and luminous colour to highlight the intensity between the individual and the external world”. Her portraits have a delicate and smooth quality to them balanced out with symmetrical compositions. Her classical and realistic style is enhanced by the unusual components and composition of her work. I also love the humoristic name of the painting.
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Polar Bear in the Hudson Bay, Canada – Paul Souders
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This is another beautiful photo from the National Geographic Grand-Prize Winner and Nature Winner. I love how the photographer managed to capture the polar bear as he was still under the water whilst ice is melting around him and the sun is setting. The pastel colours create a tranquil and cold atmosphere. The deserted surroundings add focus on the bear and it seems as though he is just about to break through the ice and come out of the water, adding a sense of suspense to the photograph.
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Norwegian Wood Poster – Heidi Burton
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I read Norwegian
Wood by Haruki Murakami this summer and fell in love with it so I searched
for the movie and came across this poster advertising it. Personally, I use a
lot of watercolour when illustration, so I instantly loved this artwork. I find
the two faces very delicately painted and depict the two main characters just
as I had imagined them. The use of the braid that runs across the poster connects
the faces together and ties the poster neatly together as well. Finally, the hand
drawn typography is sketchy and is an effective and fitting last touch.
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Untitled –Akumu Kurai
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Akumu Kurai is a Spanish artist who draws expressive
portraits using a sketchy unique style. She incorporates pattern to add depth
to her drawings, also adding character to her faces. I think this specific
portrait has a mysterious feel to it and the audience is left to wonder why
this woman’s facial expression looks so surprised. The intricate pattern in her
hair and the pattern behind her bust integrate a simple yet effective
background that brings the woman’s face forward.
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Porcelain bust imprinted with Chinese decorative
designs – Ah Xian
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I remember first seeing one of these porcelain busts
by Ah Xian in an exhibition in Paris. He created a series of porcelain busts
imprinted with Chinese decorative designs such as this one. His aim was to show
oppositions such as between the West and East. The West is portrayed by the
tradition of busts dating back to ancient Roman times and the designs come from
Chinese decorative traditions. I love the effect that the blue design creates
on the face of the sculptures, which remind me of some full body tattoos. The
use of traditional designs on unusual sculptures makes them very decorative
while being modern.
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The Lumineers for BKK Live – Amaia Arrazolahttp://aamaiaa.blogspot.com.es/2014/07/the-lumineers-para-el-bbk-live.html |
I am a big fan of illustration posters
and the use of illustrations to advertise music events, as I find it a lot more
original than simply printing a photo of the singer or band. Amaia Arrazola is
an illustrator whose work I closely follow, as I love her naïve, bold and
usually very colourful drawings. This is a poster that she did for the
Lumineers some months ago and it remains one of my favourites. The limited
colour palette and the humoristic drawing style represents the three band
members along with a varied audience of random people.
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Mrs T with a red necklace (1930) – Emil Nolde
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I recently visited an exhibition on the German artist
Emil Nolde at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Copenhagen. He is a
powerful colourist who paints dramatically, almost violently in my opinion. I
was intrigued by the way he used watercolour loosely in this painting to create
a blurry yet powerful portrait. The strong contrasting colours add focus on the
woman’s expression and make her brave and proud. Nevertheless, the watery stains
of colour give a fragile and vulnerable look in her eyes.
