Monday 23 May 2011

Ediciones Poligrafa (Man Ray)

Ediciones Poligrafa is a book by the Photographer Man Ray, the book talks about Man Ray and his place in the Twentieth-Century Art world. This book has alot of information about the life of Man Ray, it goes through a kind of timeline of his life, starting at 1890 when he was born to his death in 1976. This is good because it gives people a real understanding of what he has done through his life and where he started out.

There is an article on his place in Twentieth-Century Art. Man Ray says 'i paint what cannot be photographed and i photograph what i dont want to paint'. I like this because true to his word that is what he did.

There is another good paragraph talking about how it is the man behind the work that makes it art. Man Ray bought his first camera at a young age intending to just photograph his own work, when his exhibit in paris prooved to be a big hit he realised that he such set painting aside and persue a career in Photography.

The article 'Like a dream remembered' is about going back to painting which was Man Rays first passion. In the 1930's when his photography work was at high demand he produced a series of paintings that showed a return to his first passion but also a transition to a new artistic vision.

Man Ray.

Man Ray was born in Emmanuel Radnitzky, He was an American artist who spent most of his time in Paris, France. Perhaps best described simply as a Modernist, he was a significant contributor to both the Dada and surrealist movements, although his ties to each were informal. Best known in the art world for hisavant-grade Photography. Man Ray produced major works in a variety of media and considered himself a painter above all. He was also a renowned fashion and portrait Photographer. He is noted for his photograms, which he renamed "rayographs" after himself.

While appreciation for Man Ray's work beyond his fashion and portrait photography was slow in coming during his lifetime, especially in his native United States, his reputation has grown steadily in the decades since.

in 1999 ARTnews magazine named him one of the 25 most influential artists of the 20th century, citing his groundbreaking photography as well as "his explorations of film, painting, sculpture, college, assemblage. and prototypes of what would eventually be called performance art and conceptual art. and saying "Man Ray offered artists in all media an example of a creative intelligence that, in its 'pursuit of pleasure and liberty,'"—Man Ray's stated guiding principles—"unlocked every door it came to and walked freely where it would.

Genius of Photography.

He started photography in his teens, and at the age of 16 he left school and went on a three-month journey around Ireland. These travels resulted in his first book, 32 Counties. In 1992, Wylie became a nominee of the Magnum Photo's agency and he became a full member in 1998, one of the youngest ever members of Magnum. Since 2000, Wylie has completed various photographic and film projects exploring the religious identity, history, and the concept of territory, especially in Northen ireland during the troubles, post-ceasefire. His work has expanded over the years, and concentrates on the Architecture of Conflict.

In 2010 he was a shortlisted artist for the Deutsche Borse Photography prize. His photographic work has been included in exhibitions at venues including the Irish museum of modern art in Dublin.


Magnum Photography.

Magnum Photos is a photographic co-operative of great diversity and distinction owned by its photographer-members. With powerful individual vision, Magnum photographers chronicle the world and interpret its peoples, events, issues and personalities. Through its four editorial offices in New York, London, Paris and Tokyo, and a network of fifteen sub-agents, Magnum Photos provides photographs to the press, publishers, advertising, television, galleries and museums across the world.

The Magnum Photos library is a living archive updated daily with new work from across the globe. The library houses all the work produced by Magnum photographers and some special collections by non-members. There are approximately one million photographs in both print and transparency in the physical library, with over 500,000 images available online.

Within the library, most of the major world events and personalities from the Spanish Civil War to the present day are covered. There are constantly updated profiles on most countries of the world, covering industry, society and people, places of interest, politics and news events, disasters and conflict. The Magnum Photos library reflects all aspects of life throughout the world and the unparalleled sense of vision, imagination and brilliance of the greatest collective of documentary photographers. In short, when you picture an iconic image, but can't think who took it or where it can be found, it probably came from Magnum.

The classic Mini

The Mini is a small car that was made by the British motor corporation (BMC) and its successors from 1959 until 2000. The original is considered a British icon of the 1960s, and its space-saving front-wheel-drive layout enspired many different car company's. The vehicle is in some ways considered the British equivalent to its German contemporary, the Volkswagen Beetle.


This distinctive two-door car was designed for BMC, It was manufactured at the Longbridge and Cowley plants in England. The Mini mk1 had three major UK updates: the Mark II, the Clubman and the Mark III. Within these was a series of variations including an estate car, a pickup truck, a van and the Mini moke. The Mini Cooper and Cooper "S" were sportier versions that were successful as Rally cars winning the Monte carlo Rally 4 times.

Tuesday 17 May 2011

Abstract Expressionism


Abstract Expressionism was a post-World War 2 Art movement. It was the first specifically American movement to acchieve worldwide influence and put New York city and the centre of the western art world. Although the term 'Abstract Expressionism' was first applied to Amrican art in 1946 by the art critic Robert Coates, it had been first used in Germany in 1919 in the magazine Der Sturm,


The movement's name is derived from the combination of the emotional intensity and self-denial of the German Expressionists with the anti-figurative aesthetic of the European abstract schools such as Futurism, the Bauhaus and synthetic cubism. Additionally, it has an image of being rebellious, anarchic, highly idiosyncratic and, some feel, nihilistic.