LAST SUPPER twist

In my research for the Religion exhibition at WHcreation, I came across a few refreshing remakes of the iconic painting Last Supper by Leonardo Da Vinci.

We exhibited the beautiful LAST SUPPER IN GAZA by Indian Artist Vivek Vilasini:

Here are a couple more examples I respect

Last Supper by Russian artist Raoef Mamedov:

The Three Realms by Chinese Artist Cui Xiuwen:

"MOTHER" by Judy Olausen

As I mentioned before, I collect beautiful books. Books which inspire me by their deisgn or artistic content. One of those books is "MOTHER" by the photographer Judy Olausen. This special book is filled with humorous and beautiful  photographs Olausen took of her mother.

from Amazon review: Photographer Judy Olausen and her 74-year-old mother Vivian--a model with tightly permed blond hair, soft, wrinkled grandmotherly skin, and an extraordinarily expressive face--skewer the clichés of 1950s motherhood and martyrdom. In one shot, Vivian appears as a slightly deranged Betty Crocker, frosting a heart-shaped cake with Valium icing. In another, she's in chains hunched over an ironing board. As the archetypal "Mother Under Pressure," she sports cat glasses, white gloves, and a prim purse while dragging a huge bolder upstairs on her back. In "Shocked by Spock," reading that venerable pediatric bible causes alarm and a near-faint. The collection delivers a wallop of edgy humor and social commentary about women being silenced or squelched in their daily lives and dreams.

artist website:  http://www.olausen.com/index.html

Brutal esthetics in James Nachtwey photographs

These days, when irresponsible leaders threaten other countries with war and mass destruction, The simple wish for a peaceful life is shut by grid and power. The latest news remind me of a powerful movie I watched in NY 2002. "War Photographer" is a documentary about James Nachtwey, who bravely photographs countries in violent conflict. What is so unique about this particular photographer, is his sensibility in the horrific situations he encounters and his powerful esthetics which makes these brutal photographs burn a scar in your heart.

artist website: http://www.jamesnachtwey.com/

trailer of the movie:

Sudan, 1993 - Famine victim in a feeding center

Kosovo, 1999 - Imprint of a man killed by Serbs

Afghanistan, 1996 - Mourning a brother killed by a Taliban rocket

BOOGIE - confronting photography

Boogie was born and raised in Belgrade. Boogie began documenting rebellion and unrest during the civil war that ravaged his country during the 90s. He has been living and working in NY since 1998.

online interview with BOOGIE by Keith McQuirter:

http://vimeo.com/776436http://vimeo.com/776436

a warning sign for a snitch put up by the Latin Kings. Brooklyn, 2005

Sonia, seconds after taking a hit of crack. Brooklyn 2004

Martie, a crack addict mother of 4, bathing her newborn. Brooklyn, 2005

from the skinheads series

artist website: http://www.artcoup.com/

MY ART |  from the photo series "KING SIZE" 2009

Love is as strong as death | Song of songs (shir hashirim)

Cemeteries are libraries of people.

A life of a person is his novel and the gravestone is its cover.

The photo series reflects couple’s burial settings. The “king size” grave embodies a statement on their relationship: the gravestone choice, the decoration, saving the spot for the day that will come and what is left for the future of the one staying behind.

Through the research, I found a rich diversity of “king size beds” (couple’s graves): one large gravestone or separated, with or without head board, with pillows, plants, artificial flowers, marble, stone, sculpture and more.

The series aims to reflect the decoration of the couple’s burial ceremony, to evoke thoughts and quandary about the enigma behind the banal details, the extraordinary, the revealed and hidden. The photographic process went through reduction from the whole to detail, from reality to abstract, from material to spirit.

The photographs were taken in “ordinary” cemeteries, old and new in the suburbs in center Israel: Hod Hasharon, Ramat Hasharon, Ramot Hashavim, Bat Yam, and Raanana.

these are a selected few from the photo series.