This is Just to Say

I will be leaving today at exactly 11:30 p.m. to Brazil for vacation. This is a family oriented trip. It's been a year since I have seen my father, aunt or grandmother. I am the only kin left in the U.S. I will be in Brazil for about nine days and doubt I will have time to blog. But if the chance does come up, I will most certainly do so.

So in the meantime, I will leave you with pictures of Campinas, Brazil [the city where I was born] and some pictures of Santos, Brazil [one of the cities I will be visiting on my trip]. These pictures are courtesy of Wikipedia since I don't have any at my immediate disposal.

CAMPINAS









SANTOS

Tasty Treats - Junko Mizuno

I love, love, love Junk Mizuno's manga novels, stickers, paintings, etc. Her artwork combines four of my favorite themes: sensuality, innocence, death and cuteness! The adorable factor is high with a lot of vivid pink, green, black and purple. Here are a couple of images:











Another thing that I love about her is that, since she is heavily involved in the anime scene, she has a lot of urban vinyl toys and figurines. Check some of them out:





And just recently, she released a series of 'blind assortment' figurines, which you can purchase via Kidrobot - a store that sells artist made toys and figures. For those of you who don't know what blind assortment boxes are, here's how it works: you purchase boxes, which are part of a series of custom toys. The figures are generally small and only a couple of inches tall. But the catch is that you don't know what figure you will get until the box is opened, hence the 'blind assortment' title. The side of the box displays all the possibilities available to you. Here's her current blend of blind assortment characters:



BOOKS

Cinderella
Hansel & Gretel
Hell Babies
Princess Mermaid
Junk Mizuno's Illustration Book
Little Fluffy Gigolo PELU

Check out her blog here.

Eye Candy - Takato Yamamoto

I just recently discovered Takato Yamamoto's artwork and I'm borderline obsessed with it. His delicate images of Japanese school girls and homoerotic young men are accentuated by a potent blend of violence and sensuality.













EXHIBITIONS
1998 "Takato Yamamoto: Heisei Esthetics", Tokyo (solo show)
2001 "Azure Peep Window", Tokyo (solo show)
2002 "Altar of Narcissus ", Tokyo (solo show)
2003 "Takato Yamamoto Exhibition-Lunar Eclipse Nocturne", Tokyo (solo show)
2005 “Makeup of Darkness”, Mondo Bizzarro Gallery, Roma (solo show)
2006/ 2007 "Takato Proibito",Mondo Bizzarro Gallery, Roma (solo show)
BOOKS
1998 Scarlet Maniera ( Editions Treville)
2002 Altar of Narcissus ( Editions Treville)
2004 Allure of Pharmakon ( Editions Treville)
2006 Divertimento for a Martyr (Editions Treville)
2008 A Rib of Hermaphrodite (Editions Treville)

Honor Your Ancestors at Morikami's Bon Festival

Japan's Obon (also known as Bon) Festival will visit Boca Raton, Fl this weekend. On Saturday, August 8 from 5 p.m. until 9 p.m., the Morikami Museum and Gardens will host its version of the festival with Taiko drum performances, traditional Japanese dancing and plenty of yummy sushi and sake to boot.

The Bon Festival is a Japanese Buddhist custom that commemorates deceased family members and friends. It's traditionally celebrated over the course of three days in August [and sometimes in July.] The festival is often referred to as the Feast of Lights because, on the third day, lanterns are lighted and floated on rivers to symbolically represent an ancestor's return to the spirit world.

The Morikami Gardens' Bon Festival will end with the traditional floating of the lanterns and a fireworks display. Both the entrance and the purchasing of a lantern are ten dollars. For more information on the festival, go here.

The Art of Alice in Wonderland - Salvador Dali

Salvador Dali has become a staple in the art world in the same way Shakespeare has become a pop figure in literary circles. And if you ask a random person - with little or almost no knowledge of art - to name two famous painters, they will probably first name Picasso and then Salvador Dali.

What's interesting about both painters is how prolific they were and how little the general public knows about their body of work. Having said that, one of the rarest and least known treasures Dali left behind is a collection of illustrations he did for Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland, published by Press-Random House in 1969. Off the top of my head, I can't think of a better or more fitting collaboration. Both exemplify some of the most creative, strange and multi-faceted works of art of their generation.

Down the Rabbit Hole



Advice from a Caterpillar



Alice's Evidence



A Mad Tea Party



Pig and Pepper



Pool of Tears



The Rabbit Sends in Little Bill

I Love the 80s - Volume 10

Most people remember Soft Cell for their hit Tainted Love. But these cheeky Brits had plenty of other great tunes, such as Frustration [featured below]. If you're not familiar with Soft Cell, you should also check out their song Sex Dwarf. It's another 80s classic. Hmmm, Tainted Love, Sex Dwarf, Frustration: I'm starting to notice a pattern...cheers!