Ordinary finds

Carter surveying the loot after Tut’s sarcophagus is...

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 22:09:32 +0100

Carter surveying the loot after Tut’s sarcophagus is finally opened…

Caption: Howard Carter opens the innermost shrine of King Tutankhamen’s tomb near Luxor, Egypt which one of Carter’s water boys found the steps down to, 1923(Source: The New York Times photo archive)

In November of 1922, Howard Carter, the English archaeologist...

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 22:07:37 +0100

In November of 1922, Howard Carter, the English archaeologist and Egyptologist, locates the tomb of Tutankhamun. (Sources differ on the exact day that he made a little hole to peep through into the riches of the chamber)

Photo - purportedly - of the exact moment that Carter decides to open the tomb: Howard Carter (kneeling), an Egyptian workman, and Arthur Callender at doors of burial shrines in Pharao Tutankhamen’s tomb. Via The New York Times photo archive…

Nov. 22, 1859 – Charles Darwin’s book On the Origin of...

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 22:00:07 +0100

Nov. 22, 1859 – Charles Darwin’s book On the Origin of Species is first offered for sale, in London, England.

Photo of the 1st ed., John Murray, Albemarle Street, London

Here she is again: Marilyn Monroe with poet Edith Sitwell,...

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 21:56:00 +0100

Here she is again:

Marilyn Monroe with poet Edith Sitwell, Hollywood, CA, US - 1953

Photographer: George Silk, LIFE

Been a while since we had a visit from Marilyn here at...

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 21:54:20 +0100

Been a while since we had a visit from Marilyn here at OF…

Milton Greene: Marilyn Monroe, Rock Sitting, 1958/1971. C-type photograph (Source)

From the November 2009 issue of Poetry, featuring a James...

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 01:14:06 +0100

From the November 2009 issue of Poetry, featuring a James Scuyler portfolio…

James Schuyler, from The Crystal Lithium:

January, laid out on a bed of ice, disgorging
February, shaped like a flounder, and March with her steel head pocketbook,
And April, goofy and under-dressed and with a loud laugh, and May
Who will of course be voted Miss Best Liked (she expects it),
And June, with a toothpaste smile, fresh from her flea bath, and gross July,
Flexing itself, and steamy August, with thighs and eyes to match, and September
Diving into blue October, dour November, and deadly dull December which now
And then with a surprised blank look produces from its hand the ace of trumps

More…

Photo of Schuyler, Southampton, New York, 1958 by John Jonas Gruen/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Marcia Resnick (b. Nov. 21, 1950): Bad Boys - John Belushi,...

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 23:57:00 +0100

Marcia Resnick (b. Nov. 21, 1950): Bad Boys - John Belushi, 1981

“— In early September 1981 I spotted John Belushi in the New York after hours club AM PM. I asked him when he was going to do a photo session with me for my series Bad Boys: A Compendium of Punks, Poets and Politicians. He said, “Now”. I didn’t believe him, until upon returning home at six am I saw a limousine waiting in front of my building. I turned on the music as John and his entourage filed into my loft. I then directed John to an area lit by strobe lights and I began shooting.

John paced around like a caged animal, fidgeting incessantly. He seemed unable to sit still for my camera, uncanny for someone known for being deliberate and fluid when performing. “Where are the props?”, he queried. I first gave him sunglasses, then a scarf. He requested a beer, then a glass. After donning a black wool ski mask that he took off a nearby mannequin, he settled into a chair. Only his eyes and mouth peeked through the openings in the mask. The large, ominous and anonymous ‘executioner’ had finally reached his comfort zone.” (Source)

We also lost Roy DeCarava, American master photographer who...

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 23:55:00 +0100

We also lost Roy DeCarava, American master photographer who would have turned 90 on Dec. 9…

Roy DeCarava (1919 - Oct. 7, 2009): Graduation, New York, 1949/printed 1982 - gelatin silver print on paper (Smithsonian)

“”Roy DeCarava stands as one of the most important American photographers of the twentieth century in part because he took the form of social documentary photography and made it subjective and lyrical,” Merry A. Foresta, director of the Smithsonian Photography Initiative, says. “As one of the first African American photographers of the modern era, DeCarava depicted black life with an intimacy and sweetness that was unprecedented.”” - Smithsonian obit.

Many previous DeCarava posts on OF…

Just found out that Jeanne-Claude of the installation art couple...

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 23:53:00 +0100

Just found out that Jeanne-Claude of the installation art couple Christo & Jeanne-Claude died on Nov. 18… (Obit)

Christo and Jeanne-Claude were both born on June 13, 1935 and have collaborated on innumerable environmental installation art projects.

Above: a photo of Running Fence, Sonoma and Marin Counties, 1972-76

Old Christo & Jeanne-Claude posts on OF…

Not to descend into Saturday night sentimentality, but I have...

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 22:38:50 +0100

Not to descend into Saturday night sentimentality, but I have previously posted about Charlie Haden’s latest CD - a family reunion project, entitled Rambling Boy - and now I finally have a chance to share a sample…

From that album, the track A Voice from on High, featuring Charlie Haden on bass & the blood harmonies of Charlie’s daughters, the Haden Triplets: Rachel, Petra & Tanya on vocals

Go to this post for video of another track from the CD

Two of my favourite galaxies, photographed from the location of...

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 22:20:50 +0100

Two of my favourite galaxies, photographed from the location of the Mt. Wilson Observatory, by David Jurasevich:

M51 - The Whirlpool Galaxy in Canes Venatici

Uhmmm, seafood!

Two of my favourite galaxies, photographed from the location of...

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 22:17:53 +0100

Two of my favourite galaxies, photographed from the location of the Mt. Wilson Observatory, by David Jurasevich:

M 82 - The Starburst Galaxy in Ursa Major

I love the way these huge structures look organic and edible in Jurasevich’s photos…

J. Frank Currier (1843 - 1909): Landscape Sketch, ca. 1880 -...

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 21:47:53 +0100

J. Frank Currier (1843 - 1909): Landscape Sketch, ca. 1880 - watercolor (Smithsonian)

“A proponent of the Munich Style of bold, slashing brush-work and strong chiaroscuro, Joseph Frank Currier was from Boston, Massachusetts but from 1870 to 1898, spent most of his time living in Germany. He became a leader of an American art colony, which had begun as followers of Cincinnati painter Frank Duveneck. Previous to that, Currier studied in Antwerp and Paris and then settled in Munich after the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War.” (Source)

Á propos of Edison’s phonograph: Ben Sakoguchi (b. Nov....

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 21:33:00 +0100

Á propos of Edison’s phonograph:

Ben Sakoguchi (b. Nov. 21, 1938): “What man’s mind can create, man’s character can control.”—Thomas Alva Edison, 1847-1931. From the series Great Ideas of Western Man, 1965 - intaglio on paper (Smithsonian)

Bernard Perlin (b. Nov. 21, 1918): The Farewell, 1952 - casein...

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 21:30:40 +0100

Bernard Perlin (b. Nov. 21, 1918): The Farewell, 1952 - casein on fiberboard (Smithsonian)

“American painter and illustrator. Born in Richmond, Virginia, of Russian-Jewish descent. Moved in 1934 to New York and studied at the New York School of Design 1934-6, the National Academy of Design Art School 1936-7 and the Art Students League under William C. Palmer 1937-8. Influenced by Kenneth Hayes Miller’s treatment of New York street scenes. Won a Kosciuszko Foundation Scholarship for study in Poland in 1938. Returned to the Art Students League 1939-40 to study graphics under Harry Steinberg. Executed a mural for the US Treasury Department in 1940. Worked 1942-3 in the Office of War Information Graphics Division in Washington, DC, with Ben Shahn. War correspondent for Life, covering the Middle East, 1943-4, and for Fortune magazine, covering the Pacific and Orient, 1945. Began to paint seriously for himself in 1946, still partly under Shahn’s influence. Instructor at Brooklyn Museum Art School 1947-8. First one-man exhibition at Knoedler’s, New York, 1948. Lived 1948-54 in Italy, where his work became more tender and romantic. Taught at Wooster Community Art Center, Danbury, Connecticut, 1967-9. More or less gave up painting for some years, but has since resumed. Has lived since 1959 at Ridgefield, Connecticut.” (Source - Tate)

Andre Racz (Nov. 21, 1916 - 1994): Mother and Child, 1944 -...

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 21:19:45 +0100

Andre Racz (Nov. 21, 1916 - 1994): Mother and Child, 1944 - mixed intaglio (Smithsonian)

Racz was born in Romania, but came to the US immediately before WW II, where eventually he became a Columbia University professor for 32 years. His paintings, prints, drawings and sculpture are represented in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum, Whitney Museum, Museum of Modern Art, Brooklyn Museum, Library of Congress, New York Public Library, National Gallery, San Francisco Museum, National Library in Paris, Salzburg Museum in Austria and National Gallery of Australia. He has also illustrated a volume of poetry by Chilean Nobel Laureate Mistral… (Source)

Hans Richter: Without title, 1974 - Original etching, signed in...

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 20:15:44 +0100

Hans Richter: Without title, 1974 - Original etching, signed in pencil, from the book “Faits divers, faits éternels”, text by Gui Rosey. Published by G. Visat, Paris.

All the Surrealists loved to dabble in photography - even...

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 19:34:59 +0100

All the Surrealists loved to dabble in photography - even Picasso did some self-portraits… (Source - more photos)

Saying good-bye to René Magritte with this study of the...

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 19:20:00 +0100

Saying good-bye to René Magritte with this study of the be-Bowlered painter by Lothar Wolleh:

René Magritte w. eyes closed, Brussels, 1967

(Source: Lothar Wolleh on Flickr.)

More Wolleh…

René Magritte: The Pleasure Principle (Portrait of Edward...

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 19:12:23 +0100

René Magritte: The Pleasure Principle (Portrait of Edward James), 1937 (Source - Matteson Art)

(Edward James was a British poet known for his patronage of the surrealist art movement, esp Dalí, Magritte and - in Mexico - Leonora Carrington.)