Nude Mona Lisa?

A painting of a nude woman who looks a lot like Mona Lisa has been put on display after being hidden within the walls of a library for almost 100 years.  The painting was attributed to Leonardo da Vinci in 1845 when it was purchased, but no one is sure if that is accurate or not.

Some believe that da Vinci painted many different images of Mona Lisa, but didn’t put them on display because they would have been considered inappropriate.  I don’t think that makes a lot of sense though, considering how many other paintings around that time contain nude figures.  If Mary and Jesus can be painted nude, why is Mona being so modest?

The painting does contain a lot of parallels to the famous Mona Lisa: her face, the way she is sitting, the hand position.  I’m not sure if she has quite the same signature smile on her face, but it does look very similar.  There was also a note found which states: “the portrait of the Mona Lisa, mistress of Francis I, by Leonardo da Vinci,” dated 1845.

The painting is currently hanging in the Museo Ideale in da Vinci’s birth town of Vinci in Italy.

[Thanks to Michele!]

Not Your Average High School Musical

I have always been an avid lover of theatre.  I try to see as many shows as I can, from local theatre productions to Broadway tours.  The show I look forward to the most each year, however, might surprise some people.  My absolute favorite performance, and the one with the most talent, is consistently Theatre Xavier’s annual musical production.

Theatre Xavier is the student theatre at St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati, Ohio, although if you’ve ever seen one of their shows you may have mistaken it for a Broadway production.  The talent and passion of the students involved blows me away year after year, and I always go in wondering what else they will manage to surprise me with.

This year Theatre Xavier presented Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cats.  As always, TX presented the show with complete style and professionalism.  The set and costumes were perfect, the music was wonderful, and the entire performance was completely captivating.  The energy of the cast was phenomenal and I came away from the show feeling like I had just seen a Tony Award winning performance.  One thing that set this one above any other I’ve seen at TX was the dancing.  Cats is a very dance-driven musical, with the actors portraying the movements and attitudes of cats within the choreography.  It takes an extremely talented group of actors and dancers to pull off a show like this.

So how did TX come up with such amazing choreography and talent for this performance?  At the beginning of the school year, when Cats was announced as the annual musical, St. Xavier Senior Ben Lanham was chosen by director Michele Mascari to choreograph the show as well as run the dance auditions (he also played the part of Mr. Mistoffelees).

Lanham has been studying dance since he was 9 years old, when he saw Cats performed in New York City.  “I was so enthralled with the show that afterwards I asked my mom if I could do what the cats did, and when we got back to Cincinnati my parents enrolled me in classes,” Lanham said.  He currently trains in Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Contemporary, Acrobatics, and Hip-Hop and will be studying dance performance at Oklahoma City University this fall.  He chose OCU because of their dance program which focuses greatly on the theatrical aspect of dance performance.

Lanham worked in conjunction with Northern Kentucky University Senior Emily Brinkman on the choreography for Cats.  They watched the original Broadway choreography for inspiration, then developed their own movements for the performance.  Most of the choreography seen in the final production was their own.  The two would listen to the songs and try out different steps, then if they both liked it, they would add it into the piece.

Lanham says the most important thing to remember in choreography is to keep the big picture in mind, but you also have to remember to keep listening to the music.  “Music has a built in evenflo with accents the dancing should hit,” he says.  “If the choreography doesn’t go with what the music is saying, it will never click for the performers or the audience.”

Another thing that made this performance of Cats so incredible was the dedication and connection of the entire cast and crew to the show and one another.  Lanham said that although he has worked on many shows, this one was “really something special.  Everyone involved was so closely knit and worked so well together and only because of that were we able to pull off a show like Cats.”  He also said that the cast was so deeply involved with the show that they had a hard time dropping their cat characteristics even once they were off the stage.  “I can’t tell you how many meows I get in the hallway every day.”

Cats is nominated for 24 awards in the Cincinnati Cappies, including two for Ben Lanham as Best Male Dancer and one for his choreography.  This sets a record for the most Cappies nominations for one school.  TX is also the most successful of all schools in the eight years of the Cappies, earning 52 awards in the first seven years.

To see the full list of nominations, click here: The Cappies

To see the full cast list, click here: Theatre Xavier’s Cats

Click Read More for some cast photos.
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Bras by Laura Jacobs

You probably won’t see Laura Jacobs’ bras on the shelves of Victoria’s Secret anytime soon, but you may see them hanging in an art gallery.  Using things such as crab claws, mother of pearl, fish heads, and various other mediums, Jacobs has created a whole series of bra art.  From the “Bras That Pinch” piece pictured above, to “The Frog’s Prints” bra which features a puckered up frog in the center, Jacobs uses the oddities of imagination to create stories on an unusual canvas.

I’m not sure I’d like crab claws anywhere near my bra, but it’s an interesting concept anyway.  I’m always fascinated by those who take unconventional things and turn them into art.  Is it for shock value and attention or do they really feel inspired by it?  I guess that if a piece of art can cause a reaction and discussion it has a value, and Laura Jacobs’ pieces surely do that.

Jacobs also works with other mediums besides bras.  She has designed a series of furniture which is equally interesting.  Click here to visit her site: Laura Jacobs

Click Read More to see other examples of Jacobs’ bra art.
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Prada’s Shape-shifting Building

Prada has funded the world’s first building capable of shifting into 4 different shapes.  The Prada Transformer building in Seoul, South Korea can be shaped into a hexagon, cross, rectangle and circle.  Cranes move the building into its various shapes by lifting and rotating the building.  When rotated, the floors, ceiling, and walls all move to different spots.  What was once on the top may be on the side or bottom.

Although it seems like it takes quite a bit of effort to shift the building into its various shapes, it’s a cool concept that I’m sure will be improved upon.  At some point we may get sick of living within square walls and decide to make shape-shifting homes.  You could live in a circle today and a star tomorrow.

The Transformer will be changed into different shapes depending on the needs of the events held within.  It is taking on the circle shape for now, in preparation for its first event — a Prada fashion show of course — on April 25th.  The designer was Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas.

Ariana Page Russell’s Skin Art

Ariana Page Russell has turned a skin disorder into art.  She has dermatographia, which causes her skin to swell and redden when it is scratched even lightly.  Most people with this condition take precautions not to irritate their skin and avoid any scratching.  Russell, however, has turned her body into a canvas.  By using a knitting needle, she traces patterns on her skin which become raised and red.  Then she photographs the designs and turns them into various forms of art.  Sometimes she simply photographs the skin, other times she uses the photographs to turn it into a pattern which she transfers onto wallpaper or panels.  She also creates temporary tattoos which she can apply to herself or other people, transferring the art from her body to theirs.

Russell says that the art is painless for her, although it appears that it would hurt pretty badly when you see the swelling.  The welts last for about 30 minutes after she scratches them onto her skin.

All of the marks and flaws of the skin are also apparent on the final products.  Her wallpaper patterns and temporary tattoos have moles and hair clearly visible from Russell’s own body.  I’m not sure if this is the type of thing I’d want hanging in my apartment, but Russell’s originality pays off.  Her photographs alone sell for up to $4,500 each.

“I am interested in this as a fashion of skin,” she says, “including the way a blush decorates one’s cheek, freckles form constellations on an arm, or hair creates sheen on skin’s matte surface. Skin also protects us while revealing internal emotions, offering a translucent space for adornment...I am investigating where one surface ends and another begins, the bloom of adornment, and how shifting exteriors reveal as they conceal.”

Click here to visit Russell’s website: Ariana Page Russell

Click Read More to see more examples of Russell’s work.

[Thanks to Lauren!]
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Dreams of Flying

Photographer Jan von Holleben created his “Dreams of Flying” series in 2002 and has been adding to the photos ever since.  The photographs focus on imagination and childhood wonder, creating inspired, visual worlds with commonplace objects.  Holleben has created a unique style within his photos, with the worlds set up on the ground and the kids lying on them in action poses, combining an aspect of realism with imagination and fantasy.  The children in the photos are locals from his neighborhood in South West Germany.

Click here to visit Holleben’s site and see the Dreams of Flying series along with his other photographs: Jan von Holleben

Click Read More to see more examples of the Dreams of Flying photos.

[Thanks to Andrew!]

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Ziggy the Painting Dog

Ziggy is a Pekingese who “loves” to paint.  At least his delusional owner says he loves to paint.  She picks the colors, then he swipes the paintbrush on the canvas and creates “abstract art.”  From watching some of Crazy Dog Mom’s YouTube videos, it looks like Ziggy wishes he was dead at times…which makes him much like any other artist really.  You have to be a little angsty and emotional to make great art, right?  Sometimes he paints away like it’s the greatest job on earth, then in other videos he falls over and pretends to be dead to get out of work.

Ziggy seems to be getting a little sick of stardom…he is busy these days, being featured on news programs around the world and also hosting his own “talk” show.  “The Ziggy Show” airs on BlogTV.com Sundays and Wednesdays at 9pm EST.

The funniest part to me are the names that Crazy Dog Mom comes up with for Ziggy’s paintings.  The one above is called “Summer Palace,” for example.  I’m sure that Ziggy was envisioning a summer palace when he painted that.  They should probably all be titled “Dog Food,” because I’m sure that’s what most of his inspiration comes from.

Click Read More to see some videos of Ziggy painting.
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My Little Pony Goes Hollywood

Artist Mari Kasurinen’s interesting new art project takes My Little Pony dolls and transforms them into characters from some classic films.  Kasurinen has created all different types of pony, from My Little Chewbacca to My Little He-Man to My Little Edward Scissorhands (pictured above).  She takes My Little Pony figurines and uses a combination of sculpting and painting to create the characters.  As an art student in Finland, this is Kasurinen’s biggest project, although she also paints and does graphic design work.  You can see all her ponies on her website, as well as some of her other artwork: Mari Kasurinen

More pictures after clicking Read More.
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Guido Daniele’s Painted Hands

Guido Daniele is an Italian artist of many mediums, his most recent being painted hands.  The realism he creates on such an odd canvas is amazing, and they each take hours to create.  His idea has sparked international interest, with pictures of the painted hands being sent through E-mail chains and posted on blogs from around the world.  Daniele has also worked on complete body painting events along with his work as an illustrator, photographer, and advertising campaigns.

All of his work embodies his unique style and is worth checking out.  Click here to visit his website and see his collection of work across the multiple art disciplines: Guido Daniele

Click Read More to see a few more of my favorite examples of the painted hands.
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Living Walls

Chemically Green did an article about “living walls” — buildings that have used vegetation to cover walls or even entire buildings.  It’s environmentally friendly, brings some more green to city life, and is also a form of art.  My favorite example from the article is the SkyFarm in Toronto (pictured above).  Not only does this building look cool, but they are actually using it as a farm.  It’s a vertical garden where they think crops may earn up to $23 million a year.

Other examples include the Sydney International Airport, Vancouver Aquarium, and other buildings and walls around the world that have taken advantage of the “green” trend.  Click here to read the full article on Chemically Green: Living Walls