Audrey Kawasaki

Today I stumbled upon an artist whose work was very interesting. Audrey Kawasaki in a young Japanese artist who is known for her paintings and drawings on fresh wood planks. Typically portraits of Japanese men and women, her images are lifelike yet subdued with cartoon characteristics. She is known for her distinctive, erotically charged portrayals of young adolescent women (which are beautiful yet somewhat disturbing). Her portraits are all pretty similar in technique, but all portray completely different people and settings. Kawasaki's paintings are typically oil and graphite on wood.

"The themes in Audrey Kawasaki's work are contradictions within themselves. Her work is both innocent and erotic. Each subject is attractive yet disturbing. Audrey's precise technical style is at once influenced by both manga comics and Art Nouveau. Her sharp graphic imagery is combined with the natural grain of the wood panels she paints on, bringing an unexpected warmth to enigmatic subject matter. 

The figures she paints are seductive and contain an air of melancholy. They exist in their own sensually esoteric realm, yet at the same time present a sense of accessibility that draws the observer to them. These mysterious young women captivate with the direct stare of their bedroom eyes. 

2 years Pratt Institute, Brooklyn - Fine Arts Painting"

(http://www.audrey-kawasaki.com/info.php?p=bio)

Tat tat tatted UP!

Though I am pretty modest when it comes to tattoos ( i only have one small one behind my left ear), I have recently started thinking about getting another one. My friend Tawni Boltz is my age and is inked up with some of the classiest tattoos I have seen. Her father is a tattoo artist in Brooklyn, and his tattoos are some of the purest forms of art in tattoo form that I have ever seen- and yes, I do see drawing tattoos as art. Though some are a bit basic in content and have a child-influenced feel, some are truly remarkable.  These images are some from his website, http://www.steveboltz.com/. Some pretty awesome pieces.

Propaganda in WWII

Wrapping up this Fall semester, my History of Western Civ 2 class began talking about propaganda used in WWII. This propaganda directly affected the youth of America to sway the future generations to support the country in their affairs in German. Through Disney cartoon shorts, America portrayed Hitler and Nazi Germany with a grim face. This propaganda swayed many minds of all Americans through the portrayal of racial connotations in a television program held dear in the hearts of all ages since their generation's youth.  Disney was a source of nationalism and taught every young boy and girl life lessons through trusted cartoon figures. This tactic was very effective and is used in today's society through artwork in trusted newspapers or television programs. 

"This is a Disney short from 1943. Disney did cartoons like these to get American support in WWII. They were racist and depicted Nazi's as demons... even though they kinda were, but I don't think brainwashing children like this is exactly ethical. Find the full version of this cartoon, as well as others like this by Disney online."

Smooth Design

After seeing this billboard in Baltimore, it made me think about the power of historical icons. The man figure down on one knee is the face of the national bohemian beer which is popular in Baltimore. The famous face of the Utz potato chips is being proposed to. These two popular Maryland icons are both used strategically in the design of this billboard for the SMYTH jewelry store. Using icons like this and adding the clever pitch "Where Baltimore gets engaged" signifies a sense of unity among Baltimore locals and persuades them to go to this store to get their diamond jewelry. Very clever SMYTH, very clever.

mc escher

I have always been fascinated with Mc Escher. He involved mathematical scenarios with his designs for his artwork. He did a range of tessellations , which involve a series of images which transform cleanly into other images or create a linking pattern of the same image with no negative space. His tessellations and execution of the mathematical phenomena is very inspiring. 

Post number 2. Recently I started getting a better hold on future careers and ambitions. I talked to one of my mentors about the cinematic arts. I've always been interested in analyzing films and figuring out what aspects go into film production-behind the scenes. Production Designers and Visual Effects Producers work out what special effects are needed to create the overriding feel of a film that the producer and director are trying to convey. They hire the sculptors, animators, and other artists to join in the creation of the visual effects in the film. I was really inspired by films such as What Dreams May Come, where a father travels through a paint created dream land to find his wife's soul, and Inglorious Basterds.

but i might have to start with the clapperboard...

Post number 2. Recently I started getting a better hold on future careers and ambitions. I talked to one of my mentors about the cinematic arts. I've always been interested in analyzing films and figuring out what aspects go into film production-behind the scenes. Production Designers and Visual Effects Producers work out what special effects are needed to create the overriding feel of a film that the producer and director are trying to convey. They hire the sculptors, animators, and other artists to join in the creation of the visual effects in the film. I was really inspired by films such as What Dreams May Come, where a father travels through a paint created dream land to find his wife's soul, and Inglorious Basterds.