Fine Art Friday, The Halloween Edition

Happy Halloween Fine Art Friday'ers.



These images are SPOOOOOOOKKKKYYYYYYY yet so freakin' awesome.



Apparently there's a huge movie/cinema production scene in Africa, similar to Bollywood. Who knew?


At any rate, photograher Pieter Hugo has taken some haunting portraits of some of the "characters" in these films.

"The tableaux of the series depict situations clearly surreal but that could be real on a set; furthermore, they are rooted in the local symbolic imaginary. The boundaries between documentary and fiction become very fluid, and we are left wondering whether our perceptions of the real world are indeed real." --Federica Angelucci


His other portraits are equally as haunting and equally as powerful (check out "Looking Aside"). He captures the uncomfortable, the familiar, the irregular and the strange with an exquisite tenderness not seen in many photographers.





XOXOBOOOXOXOXO
Agmac

*Snapshot Wednesday*

Elise and my new neighbor Paw.
AWWWW....

Ask Agmac

What to do..what to do!

A close family member blatantly job networks (business cards and all) at important friend and family functions such as weddings, parties and even more intimate gatherings.
Feeling uncomfortable for my guests (who at times seem taken aback) I asked that she not do this.
I know times are tough but I believe these events are not the right places for this sort of behavior.
She believes people should seize any opportunity, at any time, to speak with and connect with the right people. We have discussed this at length and can’t seem to agree.
I have a big function coming up and am tempted not to invite her but know this will cause all kinds of family strife.
What to do....what to do?

Signed,
WTD
************

Dear WTD,

That's quite a pickle! On the one hand, you want to help your friends and family members out who are struggling right now, but on the other hand, you want to be a good hostess and make your guests feel comfortable.

Here's what I'd do, I'd invite her so as not to cause additional drama to an already touchy situation. But I'd ask that instead of job networking that she try to make social contacts with people she doesn't know by inviting them to be a Facebook or LinkedIn pal, but ask her to leave it at that.

If the person doesn't seem interested or change the subject, advise her to let the situation drop. But if they agree, she can tell them that she'll get their contact info from you later.

That way, the family member can follow up AFTER the party, and save the networking for the Internet!

This seems like a great compromise that she can't refuse.

Yours Truly,

Agmac

Fine Art Friday

Today's FAF artist comes recommended by one of his fans, his wife Dana. Dana is a photo agent whom I work with and she sent me some samples of her husband Michael's work. I absolutely love it.

His most recent work, "Palindromes," juxtaposes scenes with mirror images of each other, using vibrant color and pattern to illustrate mood.

Apparently, the last work in this series, titled “blue shift, red shift/red shift blue” is based on a Slim Aarons photograph, which was the subject of a previous Fine Art Friday!


His other paintings are equally as vivid--a mix of pop art and early American art, his subjects range from the traditional (sailboat) to the mundane (typewriter).


Both are equally as compelling and the timelessness of the subjects and colors would make any of these a great addition to your home.



I've met Michael once before with he and Dana's lovely children and I can say that not only does he make beautiful paintings, but he's got some beautiful children as well!! ;-)

XOXO
agmac

Snapshot Thursday

Yeah, I know, it's supposed to be Snapshot Wednesday. But whatever, deal.

Here's a freaky deeky funny photo by Smallz & Raskind

Wedding Wednesdays

I know the wedding of the year is over, but it's still Wednesday.

AND I have a friend who's newly engaged, so I'll try to keep these up every so often.

I just came across this website from a colleague in the photo industry, it's such a smart idea that my friend Celeste and I were like "we wish we came up with this!"

It's a wedding resource collective, where you can find a photographer, hair/make up person, or invitations!

Check the site out if you are planning a wedding!

(The above photo is my friend Pete giving his best man speech into a fork).


XOXO Agmac

"THE" Wedding

So I realize I overuse "best ever" when referring to parties and such. Thus I will refrain from calling Lo and Alex's wedding the "best wedding ever," but it came pretty damn close.

First of all, Lauren looked amazing. Secondly, I was her MOH, so nuff said.

But what impressed me the most about the wedding, was how Lo managed to make it so unique to her and Alex, without spending an arm and a leg.


I'm not going to admit how much they spent, because I really have no idea, but I do know that Lauren did a lot of things on her own or DIY with the help of some friends.

Here are some great things she did to cut down on costs and personalize her wedding:

- Centerpieces--her and her mother-in-law rounded up some nice vintage looking vases and bought flowers that were in season the night before the wedding. This saves on costs and allows you full contrcol over the tables.

- Favors--Lo ordered pretty votives with a design that matched her invitations, matchbooks with the wedding date, and bought tea lights--put all three together with cellophane and ribbon (as we did in her living room) and viola!


- Make-up--She did all of the bridesmaids' make up and her own! Now, this is strictly for professional make-up hobbyists like Lo (http://lflynn.mymarkstore.com/), but she was cool under pressure and made us all look good.

- DJs--Have your fun and boisterous friends sound off on the mic and give them a few playlists. This way you get to hear your favorite music AND you give the showboats something fun to do ;-)

- Decorations--Lo's friends Jaime and Deirdre did a great job decorating the church railing AND the reception hall. It's great to ask good friends of yours who aren't in the bridal party to do some pre game stuff for you--they get recognition and love from you in return.

- Food--Do it up buffet style with recyclable plates (I recommend bamboo) and forget about pesky waitstaff spilling thigns all over your guests.

Lauren didn't skimp on the fun stuff, which was the booze, the clothes and the food. It was a beautiful and amazing wedding!

XOXO
agmac

Ripped from...

I've been feeling kind of uninspired lately as to the whole social gathering/party/art posts. So I'm going to try and vary things up a bit.

Whenever I think something is cool that I read in a magazine or something from a blog that contributes to the art world or magazine world, I'm going to post it.

Here's the first installment...



Here's something that combines art with that wonderful thing we now refer to as "snail mail." Cute concept. Wish it would help out the printing/advertising/magazine world in this awful economic downturn, but at least it's making mail pretty.


Art As Mail

**Fine Art Friday**

Today's Fine Art Friday artist is Miss Van (what a great name)! She is from France, but currently resides in Barcelona (my favorite city next to NY). She apparently got her start doing graffiti art, in what was then a man's world.


Her "infamous sultry female characters," are called ‘Poupes’, which is reminiscent of the Russian name for doll (Poupchin) and seems totally appropriate for these child-like scandalous ladies.



The Poupes are a little bit naughty, a little bit erotic, and have seemed to mature over time. (It's said they are self portraits). Either way, the F'you gaze of the characters show they own their sexuality--they are like petulant little girls whose path you don't want to cross!

Check out Miss Van's site and she has an upcoming show called "Love Stain" in the UK.


And she uses piggies in her art, and I love piggies!!