31 Dec 2011

Mark Ryden: Pretty in Pink & Sold Out

Art book publisher Taschen features a treasure-trove of creative outlet and American artist Mark Ryden is no exception to the rule, as testified by his highly coveted and now sold-out Pinxit collection.



Source: Taschen. Top illustration is 'Allegory of the Four Elements'. More about Mark Ryden from Signature Illustration.

28 Dec 2011

I'm Not Yours

It was one of those heartstring moments while idly surfing the high tides of the web: Mirabelle stumbled across a nifty monochrome animation cleverly put together by Brighton-based freelance animator Nick Murray Willis for the 'I'm Not Yours' song by Australian brother and sister duo Angus & Julia Stone. Not exactly the sort of video you may wish to show your sweetheart on Valentine's Day (unless purposedly trying to prove a point...), and while not lifting spirits up on a sad rainy day, it certainly won't leave you indifferent, we promise!



I'm not yours - Angus and Julia Stone (2011) from Nick Murray Willis on Vimeo.

27 Dec 2011

Because You're Worth it!

'I'm selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control and at times hard to handle. But if you can't handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don't deserve me at my best.'  ** Marilyn Monroe **


Source: Here is a declaration of independence in feminity, a fresh yet defiant statement of truth that no other young lady than Marilyn Monroe could have mustered with candid honesty and which would decades later end up as a mantra for the modern woman on a Facebook page clocking over 3 million 'Likes' to the counter!

Meanwhile Marilyn spent her short lifetime battling prejudices in their derogatory demeasure brought about by her divine looks and status as a hot sex kitten. The Californian actress who claimed having spent most of the 1950s on her knees, who slept at night wearing only a bra and a drop of Chanel No.5, who hairdried homemade pasta ribbons in her bid to be the perfect housewife to Joe DiMaggio, and who popped uppers and downers like there was no tomorrow, happened to have a thirst for knowledge (Arthur Miller), a quest for cinematic recognition (The Actors Studio) and a general lust for life. She was the product of the American dream, its coming of age and ultimate demise. She remains however one of the most alluring and enduring actresses of all times.

Photographic Sources: (1) 'Marilyn Reading at Home, 1953', via Vi.sualize.us/ Photobucket. (2) 'Marilyn Monroe by Douglas Kirkland, 1961, pt.9, Trials and Errors', via Vi.sualize.us. (3) 'Marilyn Monroe', via Vi.sualize.us.

26 Dec 2011

Lady Penelope

First time Mirabelle spotted 'The Lady of Shalott', the thought of Penelope came straight over (as Penelope is mythically known to painstakingly unweave by night the needlework she had accomplished by day, as part of some unspoken pact she had made with herself while waiting for her Ulysses to return). Hope is conveyed to the lovelorn with the message that love comes to those who wait (or so are we made to believe)!



Sources: (1) 'I am Half-Sick of Shadows Said the Lady of Shalott' (1916), oil on canvas by John William Waterhouse. A product of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood movement, the enigmatically-named painting actually refers to Lancelot. One wouldn't be mislaid to view it as being imbued with Dante Gabriel Rossetti's influence and essence, with the classical Greek elegance and mysticism carried by an abundance of detail and grace while maintaining an idea of distance, sultriness, mystery and imminence. From an interesting perspective, the artwork (produced is 1916) is chronologically at odds with the Pre-Raphaelite timeframe (second half of the 19th century), thus designating John William Waterhouse as a Modern Pre-Raphaelite. (2) 'Mariana' (1851), oil paint on mahogany by Pre-Raphaelite painter Sir John Everett Millais. Picture via Tate Britain. We have a mystical 'Penelope' theme going on here too, in the form of the passage of time carried out gracefully through yearning and weariness. When it was first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1851, the painting was accompanied by a few lines from Lord Tennyson's poem 'Mariana' (1830): She only said, 'My life is dreary,  He cometh not,' she said; She said, 'I am aweary, aweary, I would that I were dead!'.
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