Papercraft couture
December 13, 2009
symbiotic relationships – Nureyev and Fontaine
December 7, 2009
yesterday I posted an image of one of the most powerfully beautiful images of the male form. It belonged to Nureyev. What took me along that path was researhing old leather panelling. One of Nureyev’s numerous homes had a room lined out in it, very sumptous interior, exotic, lavish, just like him. i read his autobiography a couple of years ago, what a man………..
I also came across a docudrama advertised and watched it on iplayer, the relationship between himself and Margot Fonteyn. Their presence was electric, their passionate romance was clear to see in their dance, their symbiotic moves, like their relationship was as enriching for them as it was to everyone who watched them. His raw passion, his exotic background, his youth, his strength and determination fired her with a renewed vigour for her dance at a time when she was just about to retire. Nureyev said about her “At the end of Lac des Cygnes when she left the stage in her great white tutu I would have followed her to the end of the world” and he did. Margot, twenty years older and already married, their physical relationship eventually struggled and came to an end when margot made the decision to retire and nurse her then invalid husband at their Panama farm. They danced again one more time after this in 1989, when she was 69 and Nureyev 54. There emotional symbiosis lasted until she died of cancer at the the age of 72 in 1991.
Nureyev continued to be a legend in his own lifetime, his tempestous, lavish lifestyle, his amazing vitality and fame continued. However in the 80′s this began to wain, displeasing audiences with his less than perfect performances. Aids had probably began to take its toll, he denied it though and wouldn’t admit to having it right up to his death at the age of 56 in 1993 , 2 years after Margot’s death. Knowing how they lived for each other, no decisions were made without each others approval, he talked to her weekly, paid her medical bills, visited her in Panama, did he give up his fight for life after her death, could he no longer survive without her? I wonder?
Such Beauty
December 6, 2009
What strength, what beauty………….
Morphing 7
November 19, 2009
this image was part of a morphing series which started out as small eggs, all I could do for a few weeks was to draw these shapes. They were full, ripe, bursting to take on a new life, but frustratingly I could not seem to move. Then one day, I drew them with sprouting life, like seeds germinating, the floodgates opened and the small egg shaped “seeds” grew long tendrils, and gradually morphed into fluid body shapes . Unusually never with heads, just long “searching” tendrils, both male and female forms who nurtured “eggs” of their own,
This time I felt the need to create a tributary, take one of the images into a new direction, chose morphed image no. 7 and these are the results
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Brilliant animation
November 3, 2009
Live Dulcima peformance combined with a whimsical and beautiful 1926 Animation, a wonderful evening spent at the De la Warr Pavillion last Frida. . The Adventures of Prince Achmed was the first feature length animation film in the history of the cinema. It is a ‘silhouette film’. Lotte Reiniger (1899-1981) was the inventor of this genre. Work on The Adventures of Prince Achmed began in 1923. It was released in 1926. This wonderful animation film is full of adventure, lyrical sensuality, magic and romance, playful humour, strong female characters, exciting bat- tles and sinister evil. The story was inspired by elements taken from the Tale of the 1001 Arabian Nights. The Adventures of Prince Achmed is one of those rare and timeless films that appeal across the complete age range. The beauty and intricate detail of Reiniger’s exquisite filigree artwork is of the highest quality. She was inspired by Chinese and Indonesian shadow plays and adapted this ancient art for the cinema. The distinctive combination of silhouette characters, colour tinted landscapes and backgrounds is unique and profoundly evocative and seductive. Moreover, the use of silhouette characters leaves the imagination free to soar in response to the sensuality and magic of the story. We are treated to a splendid cast: Prince Achmed, Princess Peri Banu, the Witch of the Fiery Mountain, the Evil Sorcerer, The Magic Horse, Aladdin,xPrincess Dinarzade and The Caliph. The fact that all the characters are silhouettes is fundamental to the essence and power of the film. The Adventures of Prince Achmed is a captivat ing and beautiful work of art. It is a magnificent example of stop frame animation and consists of three hundred thousand separate frames. It is undoubtedly one of the shining gems in the history of cinema and is widely acknowledged as a masterpiece. It is the ‘haute couture’ of animation. Lotte Reiniger was a pioneer who dedicated her life to creating silhouettes. She made more than eighty animation films. The original prints of The Adventures of Prince Achmed featured colour-tinted backgrounds. Working from surviving nitrate prints, German and British archivists restored the film and managed to incorporate the original tinted backgrounds, which in their dynamic interaction with the silhouette characters are crucial to the aesthetic of the film. Prints available just prior to the restoration had only been in black and white. Geoff Smith’s new score for The Adventures of Prince Achmed has been inspired and led by Lotte Reiniger’s genius. He has attempted to do justice to her achievement. For the performance of the soundtrack Geoff uses numerous prototype Hammered dulcimers, one being the first ‘Fluid dulcimer’ incorporating his revolutionary ‘microtonal fluid tuning mechanism’ patent, without which it would have been impossible to compose and perform the soundtrack. For further information regarding this invention and some of its historic implications please refer to the Guardian newspa- per article ‘Composer reinvents the piano’.
Geoff Smith’s pioneering score for The Adventures of Prince Achmed is a revelation in the composition and performance of live music for animation. He has dedicated himself to exploring the wider spectrum of musical choices that his invention offers, so that in the composition of the score it has been possible to respond in more intimate, expressive and expanded detail to this unique and uplifting film. His immensely dynamic score illuminates and emphasises Lotte Reiniger’s aesthetic obsession, consummate artistry and passionate commitment to story telling.
GUIDO ARGENTINI SILVER EDITION PHOTOS
September 7, 2009
inspiration, thanks Annie
July 30, 2009
Alice in Wonderland inspired Annie Leibovitz to come up with this image. Annie inspired me to think of this dress made of paper? Overflowing, lavish sculptural with a “life” of its own.
Labyrinth 2
February 5, 2009
labyrinth
February 5, 2009
My mind is ever thinking, searching in the labyrinth of intricate patterns, memories, dreams and nightmares
