Bikini Babe with a laser-thats hot!

Art Series IIII

The Enlightenment Era

This period in art started with the showing of passion of the French Revolution (18th Century). This era included the Rococo period. Objects were light-hearted and ornate with artistic embellishments.

                          Gallery de Glaces

 It represented the aristocracy-the enjoyment of life; to give pleasure to friends. Symmetrical and geometric palaces were built as in Versailles. Man controls his world through reason and intellect. Louis XIV ruled France in an absolute monarchy. Gorgeous palaces and gardens were built throughout France, Italy and Germany. Aristocracy spoke French and followed French customs and dress. 

The artist Peter Paul Reubens used circles and elipses to generate action.

Poussin used vertical and horizontal lines in rectangular picture frames.

Galileo invented the telescope and Voltaire was part of the "philosophes" movement that concentrated on the theory of scientists.

There was faith in reason and perfection.

Denis Diderot was the first man to assemble a collection of all of the knowledge at the time-now known as the encyclopedia. He believed that all knowledge is within man's grasp. Common thought then was that perfectability of man was possible through reason. The artist Poussin was an authority of "academism". The ideals of classical antiquity were popular. "The art of the ancients"~the Romans and the Greeks.

Thomas Chippendale furniture

Social and political issues were discussed by the "Philosophes", such as Voltaire, Rousseau and Baron de Montesquieu-who created The Spirit of Laws and introduced the ideals of a govermnment of checks and balances.

Salons and concerts were popular social events, similar to our modern day cocktail parties. Picture Mozart playing piano while Voltaire and Benjamin Franklin discussed philosophy and politics.

Labyrinths were a major theme found in gardens of the Enlightenment Period. It echoed the society's love of intellectual puzzles.

Johann Sebastian Bach wrote "The Musical Offering". 14 units of music all with the same melody~

Classism was the theme~It was the highest standard of beauty.
Americans were influenced by European design. Thomas Jefferson was said to have recieved a stucco model of the Maison Carre and used it as a reference in the building of the Virginia Statehouse.

Virgina Statehouse

Maison Carre

In 1775 "the shot heard round the world" was heard. The American Revolution was born, ending The Enlightenment Period"

Chanel's Coco Cocoon Collection

The trolley bag............
lightweight with a soft diamond quilting and an adjustable handle with dark red nylon lining and a duffel style zip closure.
Intended as a carry-on alternative to enormous luggage.
As spacious as the Mary Poppins bag, but with the classy and luxurius design of Mademoiselle, this trolley provides an unbeatable comfort and style with elegance.

Peek A Boo

Cheeky fun!
Karl Lagerfeld's Eres/Chanel lingerie ad campaign

Dont Wait Too Long

Art History Series III

          The Baroque Period      

The Baroque period (16th Century) was dynamic, dramatic, splendid, sensuous, turbulent and tempestuous. Deep shadows are in many paintings of this era. The church was becoming controversial with Martin Luther and the Protestants breaking from the Catholic church. The Inquisition was part of this period in art and world history.

The Renaisssance man believed the earth to be the center of the universe. Copernicus, the astronomer and philosopher revealed that the earth orbits the sun.

Michaelangelo Buonorotti was described as having "one foot in the Renaissance and the other in the Baroque period.".

Pieta carvings were everywhere. They are deep carvings in stone that are based on the principles of a balanced triangle.

Tomb of the Medici

Art is predominately used as propaganda for the reformation of the church.

New churches were built everywhere with brilliantly decorated interiors.

St Peter's in Rome

St Peters baldacchino (altar)

Leonardo DaVinci's Last Supper

This is typical of Baroque proportion in the high Renaissance where subjects were balanced to the head of Christ.

Spain was becoming more of a world power due to King Philip of Spain.

The Escorial palace and church.

The Spanish symbol of power and glory of Spain.

Diego Velasquez uses light and shadow for texture.

The Protestant Dutch from Holland painted land and ocean and vast skies. They were mostly merchants, shipbuilders and international buisnessmen. We see still lifes of fruit and flowers as subjects.

 

The Baroque period in France was ruled by Louis XIV. French Baroque glorified his person and position.

The Gardens at Versailles

The Baroque period art is filled with violence and spectacle. It is art of the senses, art of the feast, love of music and enjoyment of pleasures of the flesh.

Sales

Sales and marketing.
The moneymakers.
The wheelers and dealers.
What does it take? The salesperson's archetype is the "happy loser".
They see rejection as a challenge.
Its Pavlovian-the more mistakes, the greater the reward.
Some sales tips from the world's toughest customers.

"How to move in front of the line and close the deal."
Coca Cola "Be different and then make sure you prove it to us. The first time we hear from you should not be the bid time."
UPS "We can spot a fake from a mile away. Dont oversell yourself. Companies aren't realistic with their RFPs and most importantly, don't send a UPS executive a bid or buisness idea by Fed-Ex.
Intuit "Go above and beyond. You'd be surprised at how few of your rivals even bother to try .
Bama Companies "Companies are buying your reputation, not just your products."
Valero "Do more research than you think you need to."
Dell "Start locally. Think globally.
IBM "Turn data into intelligence. Uncover insights. Take action."

Sometimes it's good to be reminded of these things.

Happy Mother's Day

Vanity Fair & Mother's Day

Art History Series II

The Renaissance

With the Renaissance period came the interest in man and the physical senses. An interest in the human body and nature. Christopher Columbus sailed the globe in search of new territories and treasures. The Renaissance man exuded a self-confidence in the world around him. He was interested in exploring his physical world not the next, like the Middle Ages before it. Culture was focused on fame, success and fortune. The Renaissance man pursued the good things in life; good music, good food, and splendid dress. Brocades and silks from all over the world were popular. The middle class now grew from farming into banking and trade. Portraits were an extremely popular form of art. This period in art is often described as "a gallery of unique faces".The evolution of the ideal man during this period is seen in the portrayal of David. In Donatello's David. He is a shepard boy.

In Verrichio's David he is self-assured with "swagger".

In Michaelangelo's David we see a self-confident man, representing human dignity and worth.

We notice that men now replace gods in art, such as in "Adoration of the Magi", that has the members of the royal Medici family (Botticelli's employers) as well as the artist himself (standing to the far right).

The Creation of Man~Michaelangelo

Christ is often depicted as a baby, as in LeonardoDaVinci's Madonna below. Children assumed new importance in art.

Human anatomy became important and detailed. Artists were known to dissect cadavers. The man of this period had an awareness and pride in himself.  Art was no longer seen in one certain perspective. Paintings now had the illusion of space. Leonardo DaVinci from the School of Athens. A universal man, artist, architect, musician, and diplomat. He believed that man could control his environment. As portrayed in his "Canons of Proportion".

The Renaissance man was interested in anatomy, perspective, classisism, and learning. He had a love of nature, an appreciation of youth, pride and individualism.

William Shakespeare~"Indeed it goes so heavily with my disposition, that this goodly form, the earth,

This most excellent canopy, the air.

What a piece of work is man!

How noble in reason.

How infinite in faculties,

In form and moving.

How express and admirable,

In action, how like an angel.

In apprehension, how like a god!

Sketch~21st Century Design

Art History Series I

The Greeks

The Greeks were the first "humanists". Man as the measure of all things.

Moral

Intellectual

Social

Aesthetic

Spritual

Practical

Arete the ideal of perfection of the human body as well as grace and beauty; the avoidance of excess; pride in refinement and subtlety; excellence was a goal to be pursued in all aspects of life.
Columns were a predominant architectural element, representing balance, harmony and proportion.
The Parthenon is the best example of this.

Parthenon

The first period in Greek Art is the Archaic period-the human form is emphasized. It is represented as massive crude and abstract. The art in that period was made to stand for the ideals and sugggest the supernatural; having immortal powers. The human form expressed a masklike face as in an "archaic smile"-the ideal face of a god or hero of the time.

Kouros

The Classical period idealized the symbol of the victor. Action was shown in art. Men as men and men as gods were represented. This period is called the Golden Age of Greece.

Discobolus

Hermes & Dionysus           Dancing Satyr

The Hellenistic period saw the completion of The Pergamon colliseum and the expansion of the Greeks into Asia minor. The staircase is the focal point of the Pergamon contrasted to the columns in The Parthenon. The carvings are now deeply carved and friezes are at eye level. The motifs are international and complex. 

 Laocoon

Ancient Rome

It reflects the Greek influence that produced it. Think Gladiators and wall murals. Great size and scale were favored over detail. Romans were more interested in representing the ordinary, the everyday. The Roman Republic form of government was The Senate. It prevented one person from having too much power. It allowed conquered people to live their lives as they saw fit. Family was very important. Christ was represented as "the good shepard". Tolerance was a theme throughout this society until Julius Caesar conquered Rome and turned it into a dictatorship.

             Roman Christ                         Venus                Mural at Pompeii   

                      

Ara Pacis

The self importance of the Emperor expands.

Marcus Aurelius

Septimus Severus bust

The Pantheon was built in the Hadrian period of Rome.The Pantheon had a great dome with classical columns and a Roman vault. It was plain and ordinary on the exterior but articulate and theatrical within.

The Pantheon

Medallion motifs were popularized. Emperor rulers were replaced by warrior rulers. There careworn and troubled looks were seen in these rulers faces in the artwork from this period. Rome starts it's decline.

Emperor Constantine bust

These leaders now had to defend Rome from barbarians. So begins the end of the Roman Empire.