Eyestorm

Eyestorm is not only a catchy name, no – it is the name of a noteworthy website too.

As the name suggests it’s a site where your eyes will most probably be temporarily overwhelmed since there is an abundance of unique, contemporary art works to discover. On top of that, it is a great source of inspiration for every (aspiring) visual artist out there. What makes it even more interesting is that you can actually purchase those art works. So that you can first order them online, then decorate your own four walls and finally show them off to your friends by telling them (only en passant, of course!) that they are ’so not from IKEA’. Not even to mention what a great gift one of these art pieces would make.

However, the prices are rather not so ‘ikea-like’, after all. They usually range from £100 to £13000, which is more or less reasonable for the majority of the works you find. I guess there is something for everyone’s taste. Anyway, enough babble! Click here and have a look, if you haven’t already.

Dan Baldwin’s “The Future Frontline Renegades of Dead London” (2009)

Filed under: Eye Candy, Latest Thingy, Painting, Photography , art, Eyestorm, Gift Idea

Blindness

Here a little anecdote:

When I was a child I used to be terrified of blindness. I spend many sleepless nights in my small bed enveloped in the threatening darkness of the night, trying my best not to fall asleep. I simply believed that one day I would wake up blind, forever trapped in a thick, dark something.

The day I was told I had to start wearing glasses, I consistently refused to wear them as I was convinced that I was going blind and thus had to die – at once. Therefore, wearing glasses would have been absolutely futile, right? A typical reaction of a scared child, if you ask me.

Today, I see it quite differently. I’m faithfully wearing my glasses (or my contact lenses). Blindness still is a disability which slightly scares me, though. On the other hand, it is a strong handicap which is on my mind often and greatly fascinates me. Today, I know that blindness doesn’t necessarily equal total darkness.  Today, I know that blindness doesn’t equal the end of creativity, the end of  joy, the end of life. And I decided to share some photos with you. Taken by blind people, of course. People who don’t perceive the world the same way as most of us do and yet have the courage to hold a camera. I deliberately use the word ‘courage’ here, since taking beautiful, high-quality photos has to be challenging and time-consuming. Always. For everyone. Blind people have to rely on all their other senses to take those pictures, which makes their works incredibly beautiful and special. See for yourself.

If you want to see some more, click here. It’s definitely worth a look.

Filed under: Eye Candy, Mindless Drivel, Photography , blindness, Photography

I didn’t agree to this

(via Sad Autumn)

Filed under: Film, Latest Thingy , Domestic Violence, Joe Wright, Keira Knightley

Yummy!

Talking of Hedi Slimane, here is a Dior commercial I actually discovered on Art + Commerce which – by the way – is a recommendable website for photography freaks.

The fashion model in the commercial is the drop-dead gorgeous Jamie Dornan who is, among other things,  known for making an appearance in Sofia Coppola’s film Marie Antoinette.

(As far as I know the song in the background is called “For Lovers” sung by Wolfman feat. Pete Doherty)

Filed under: Eye Candy, Fashion, Film , Dior Homme, Hedi Slimane, Jamie Dornan

Richard Avedon

On 1st October, 2004 one of the leading mid-20th-century photographers – especially known for his brilliant imagery – died at the age of 81. The admirable man I am talking about is the New Yorker Richard Avedon. If you haven’t heard his name before, it’s time to get to know him, as you have certainly seen some of his most popular works somewhere.

Andy Warhol, The Beatles, W.H. Auden, Cate Blanchett and Tony Blair are only a few of the world’s celebrities who had the great honour to stand in front of Avedon’s sacred camera. However, he was also known for his appealing fashion photography and his stark photo journalism. In addition, he had a perfect insight into his subjects’ personalities which is clearly mirrored in his photos. In the late 1940’s he cast a new light onto fashion photography by letting his models show their emotions and giving them soul, which did not conform to the standard techniques of that time.

I greatly regret not having found the time to go to the National Portrait Gallery in Britain’s vibrant capital London last time I was there. And now that I was told that they have a small number of Richard Avedon’s portraits in their permanent collection, I regret it even more. Well, I’ll go next time then!

And if you’re luckier than me and have the possibility to travel to New York (sigh), I have one last tip for you: From the 15th May to the 6th September the folks at the International Center of Photography will exhibit over 200 inspirational fashion photographs by Richard Avedon. Another exhibition which should not be missed, if possible.

UPDATE: Just found out that the exhibition ‘Avedon Photography 1946-2004′ is still at the Foam Fotografiemuseum in Amsterdam until 13th May, which is a tad more practical for Europeans like me.

“A portrait is not a likeness. The moment an emotion or fact is transformed into a photograph it is no longer a fact but an opinion. There is no such thing as inaccuracy in a photograph. All photographs are accurate. None of them is the truth.”

- Richard Avedon

Filed under: Exhibitions, Eye Candy, Fashion, Photography , Amsterdam, Foam Fotografiemuseum, International Center of Photography, London, National Portrait Gallery, New York, Richard Avedon

Between Earth and Heaven: The Landscapes

If you are as artsy-fartsy as I am and you are interested in seeing paintings by a certain someone who cut his ear off called Vincent Van Gogh, I  warmly recommend the following to you:

From the 26th April to the 27th September, 2009 the Kunstmuseum Basel will exhibition 70 landscape paintings by the infamous Dutch post-impressionist artist. Some of the paintings are world-known, others have never been revealed to the general public before, which makes it all the more interesting. Along with Van Gogh’s works, 40 paintings by contemporaries like Gauguin, Cézanne and Pissarro will be presented. Additionally, the exhibition is said to be “the most important European art event in 2009″. To sum it all up: Don’t miss this!

Filed under: Events, Exhibitions, Eye Candy, Latest Thingy, Painting , art, visual arts

Hedi Slimane

If there was someone I would love to work with one sweet day, it would, undoubtedly, be Hedi Slimane.

The 40-year-old Tunisian-French couturier did not only work for world-renowned luxury fashion houses like Yves Saint Laurent and Dior, he also has a brilliant eye for photography. And if you combine  the rebellious rock’n’roll attitude with the fashion empire, spice it up with Slimane’s creative and constructive talent, you get some stupendous shots.

Some of  his trademarks are  black & white pictures , the obvious devotion to the rock’n'roll lifestlye and, particularly, his noticeable close-ups, which surely leave a deep impression on the viewer. However, he occasionally presents some Still Life photographs of man-made objects and a few colour photos.

Therefore, I advise every ’sex, drugs & rock’n'roll’ aficionado to have a close look at Hedi Slimane’s interesting work here (or here).

“Elegance is a progressive concept.” – Hedi Slimane

Filed under: Eye Candy, Photography

Ch-ch-changes

Yes, this is a brand-new post. And no, don’t worry dearies, I am not fatally ill, I don’t have the tropical fever or anything… Okay, I know. I haven’t posted anything socially acceptable on this blog for ages and I am really sorry for that! I do not even have a halfway decent explanation for my unbroken silence, which makes it even worse. However, I’ve been planning for days now to seriously dedicate myself to my poor, neglected blog, since I terribly miss writing my fingers to the bone. This time around I will make a serious effort and give it my very best shot. If my project turns out to be a huge fail, I will quit blogging for ever, I swear.

Some of you have already noticed some slight changes. First of all, the design has changed (again), which shouldn’t be that surprising. (Changing my blog’s design is like changing my hair cut, you know. I can’t help it.) Secondly, it’s no longer called Effleurage and the actual title, as you see, is The Absent One. Why, you wonder? Well, I’ll leave the interpretation to you readers. Last but not least, I switched languages. More precisely, I switched from Luxembourgish to English. There are two reasons for this: Firstly, English is an international language, which makes this site accessible for (almost) everyone. And in the second place, I want to refine my English as much as possible, as I am moving to the United Kingdom next year. (Please, forgive me, if you spot any horrendous mistakes.)

That’s it for now, I guess. I’m already working on the next post, so stay tuned and be prepared!

Filed under: Latest Thingy, Mindless Drivel

Pianocktail Mixtape Bengel Pt. 9

Ët as bekannt, dass ech äußerst schreiffaul gi sin an mech amfong fir kee Pond iwwerriede loossen eppes ze posten. Dofier krut ech wuel och de Pianocktail Bengel (a net well ech esou e feint Meedche sin). Vue dass en awer esou flott ass an ech näischt dogéint anzewenden hun, kënnt hei den 9ten Deel.

Lidd Nummer 1
kennt vum Thorben
heescht Je t’emmène au vent vu Louise Attaque
bedeit him laang Owenter bis moies em véier am Flying mat sou villen Leit an esou villen gudden Momenter
an passt heibai

Lidd Nummer 2
kennt vum Chris
heescht Skinny Love vum Bon Iver
bedeit him e wonnerbaren Album, deen en am Dezember 2008 entdeckt huet a bis well rop a rof lauschtert
an passt heibai

Lidd Nummer 3
kennt vum Joël
heescht There Are Some Remedies Worse Than The Disease vun This Will Destroy You
bedeit him een Lidd, waat wéi gemaach ass fir dobai ze schreiwen, am Reen mam Auto ze fueren an dobai ze fëmmen, fir d’Gedanken op d’Rees iwert groniweleg Länner ze maachen, iwert denen en Zeppelin schwiewt
an passt heibai

Lidd Nummer 4
kennt vum Charel
heescht Bumbo vum Moondog
bedeit him een Lidd, waat ee fesselt an dobäi an eng parallel Welt eranzit, déi wäit eweg an dach nobäi ass. Eppes lieweges fléisst duerch seng musikalesch Oderen, de systolesche Rythmus erënnert de Charel un draamähnlech Sequenzen, déi e nëmmen aus Lynch Filmer an Luciden Dreem hier kennt.
an passt heibäi

Lidd Nummer 5
kënnt vum Georges
heescht The Ice Is Getting Thinner vun Death Cab for Cutie
bedeit him ee Lidd, dat souwuel de gelongenen Ausklang vun engem exzellenten Album duerstellt, wéi och eenzel gelauschtert zum Nodenken ureege kann, besonnesch wann et grad Vältesdag ass.
a passt heibäi.

Lidd Nummer 6
kënnt vum Thierry
heescht War on Sound vu The Moonbabies
bedeit him Zuchfueren duerch England mam Sara an erënnert hien emmer erem drun wéi glécklech en sech dierf schätzen esouvill wonnerbar Leit an sengem Liewen ze hunn
a passt bei all d’Fotoen un senger Mauer.

Lidd Nummer 7
kënnt vum Joël
heescht Parallel Lives vum Róisín Murphy
bedeit him vun der Musek hier huet daat Lidd eppes Hypnotesches, an den Text beschreiwt daat waat ech och denken. Dass mer all verschidde Liewen parallel hun, déi sech nie mateneen vermëschen.
a passt heibäi

Lidd Nummer 8
kënnt vum Claude
Heescht “Midnight in a perfect world” vum DJ Shadow
bedeit him einfach Fernsucht, Kreativitéitsquell, Entspaanung.
passt heibäi

Lidd Nummer 9
kënnt vum Laetitia
heescht Sunshine vum Patrice
bedeit him laang Summerdeeg déi dann nach ze kuerz an ze selten kommen an wéi schéin ët trotz allem as dëst Liewen (a keen aanert) ze hun.
passt heibäi

pianocktail-mixtape-bengel-9

Voyooons… Wiem soll ech dann lo de Bengel passen fir daat läscht Lidd drunzehänken? Souwäit ech wees, wollt de Staater ën awer nach maachen? Also passen ech ëm deen zeréck fir eng läscht Chance. Falls daat net sollt klappen, kann beispillsweis de Serge him e jo rëm klauen.

Filed under: Ear Candy

Be advised that …

Filed under: Latest Thingy