The photographer, Gérard Rancinan, and the author, Caroline Gaudriault are keen observers of our rapidly changing world. The work is unique in its genre. First comes the photographic impact, then the force of the ideas by which the images are underpinned.

Undeniably anchored in the world of contemporary art, the work of Gérard Rancinan and Caroline Gaudriault combines a purist approach to photography with a highly literary sensibility.

The Trilogy of the Moderns is: 7 years of work, 3 parts of a trilogy, 70 photos, 300 models, 3 books, 1 major exhibition that will be toured around the world.

The Trilogy of the Moderns is divided in three parts: the first is “Metamorphoses” presented at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris in 2009, and the second, titled “Hypotheses”, has been presented at the Chapelle Saint-Saveur in Paris in 2011. The trilogy will be on display in its entirety and as a world exclusive from the 4 of May till the 27 May 2012 at La Triennale di Milano.

Gérard Rancinan is a French photographer whose work has appeared in publications such as Sports Illustrated, Time, and Life.

Born in Talence, south-west France near Bordeaux region, Gérard Rancinan started his career at the Sygma press agency of which he became one of the leading lights. During his time with the agency he travelled the globe, bearing first hand witness to events of historical importance. Covering natural catastrophes, civil and ethnic wars, and urban riots, he came face to face with the complexity of the human condition and the random events by which it is fashioned. His thirst for freedom and an imperious need for self-expression rapidly convinced him to go freelance. Reserving himself the right to focus on the world’s most important issues, he delivers startling images filtered through an ever-evolving aesthetic prism.

Posted by : Amal Kiran Jana from Milan,at 06:49PM

Unlike traditional jewelry, the traditional craft of the goldsmith, since the 1970s contemporary jewelry has become a field of experimentation at the frontiers of art, design and the artistic crafts. In this exhibition, eighteen French, Swiss, German, Finnish, Swedish and Taiwanese, artists are proposing a new and personal vision in their work. Although some pieces were conceived in reference to the history of jewellery, they can be made with the most diverse materials, using every possible assemblage process, in function of the techniques, symbols and the culture during a given period. This exhibition, conceived by the Fondation Bernardaud, is being shown in the museum’s Contemporary Space.

A jewelries no longer are only the questions linked to the cost of the materials and to the social status that are put by these new artists jewelers, but rather the cultural position of the jewel as art work, in relation to the body.  The jewel is redefined by them as a fully integrated practice to the plastic arts. Intimate costume therefore “unique”, the jewel talks about our body, links that it weaves with others and with the environment.

Many experimental materials were used, one among them is ceramic material, it is the porcelain that has most often captured the favor and emotion of the artists.  It can be used by modeling or casting, only or in association with the metal, the wood or the rock, the porcelain can change its appearance of color and surface.  Smooth and pure, fragile and resistant. Porcelain also can become a desire object, a trigger of visual and physical sensations, when it is transformed in jewels, while adapting itself perfectly to the conceptual and poetic requirements of the creator.

We see a very emotional journey of all the artists. It’s a merge between art and design, avoiding the traditional rule of perceiving a jewel. This will definitely change the art of jewelry in the coming future.

Posted by : Amal Kiran Jana from Milan,at 05:41PM

People
Starting in 1970, June Newton created own photographic works under the pseudonym Alice Springs. These have been exhibited regularly at the Helmut Newton Foundation since 2005, namely in “June’s Room.” This retrospective provides for the first time a comprehensive look at the four decades that span her work, presenting photographs from advertising and fashion as well as nudes and portraits.

Her own photographic oeuvre began with a bout of influenza suffered by Helmut Newton in Paris, 1970. June Newton had her husband show her how to handle the camera and light meter and in his place photographed an advertisement for the French cigarette brand Gitanes. The portrait of the smoking model would be the jumpstart of a new career. In the early 1970s, Alice Springs shot several campaigns for the French hair stylist Jean Louis David; the photographs appeared under her byline as full-page ads in renowned fashion magazines. 1974 saw the first Alice Springs cover image adorning French Elle.

By this time she had also received innumerable commissions for portraits, some of which have become iconic. The roster of artists, actors and musicians depicted by Alice Springs over the last 40 years reads like a “who’s who” of the international cultural scene on both sides of the Atlantic. Many portraits were magazine assignments from Paris to Los Angeles; others resulted from private initiative.

Alice Springs does more than document the appearance of celebrities and anonymous contemporaries; she captures their charisma, their aura. Her eye for people is mostly concentrated on people’s faces. Occasionally she narrowly frames her subjects in a half- or three-quarters’ length portrait, where the hands receive special attention as well. It might be that her deep knowledge of acting helps, how to simultaneously look at and beyond the human façade. This is particularly evident in her double portraits, in which the protagonists’ interaction is perfectly staged.

There is a certain sense of familiarity in her images; actually they oscillate between distance and intimacy. In her subtle portraits we encounter the haughty stance alongside natural self-confidence as well as the shy glance. Dramatic poses are seldom, and the process occurs without grand gestures on the part of the photographer. Her images are visual commentaries that interpret the photographed.

BIOGRAPHY

1923: born June Browne in Melbourne; training as actress, numerous engagements under the artist name June Brunell.

1947: meets Helmut Newton, who had recently opened a photo studio in Melbourne; they got married a year later.

1956: they travel through Europe and live in London and Paris, later again in Melbourne. Acting engagements for BBC and receives “Erik kuttner award” for best theatre actress.

1961: they move from Melbourne for the last time to Paris, first residing in rue Aubriot, later in rues de l’Abbé de l’Epée. June’s acting career ends due to the language barriers. She begins to study painting.

1964: the Newtons buy a house in Ramatuelle in the south of France near the Cote d’Azur, where they will always spend several months of the year.

1970: June stands in for Helmut Newton who is incapacitated by illness, for a commercial photo shoot in Paris. Thus begins her career as commercial photographer under the pseudonym Alice Springs. Her work includes advertisements such as Jean-Louis David as well as editorials in magazines like Dépêche Mode, Elle, Marie-Claire, Vogue, Nova, Mode internationale and fashion magazine.

1976: she begins to dedicate her work to portrait photography, publishing images in renowned magazines like Egoïste, Vanity Fair, Interview, Stern, Photo and passion. In addition, she oversees production of all books and exhibition catalogues of Helmut Newton as art director for almost three decades.??1978: first solo exhibition of her portraits in Amsterdam – the first of many to follow worldwide.

1981: the couple leave France and move to Monaco. Winter months are regularly spent in California, where June Newton photographs numerous Hollywood actors, directors as well as the hell’s angels.

1983: French publication of a volume of portrait photography. The volume is published three years later in the USA and five years later in Germany.

1995: production of the documentary film “Helmut by June” for the French television channel canal plus.

1998: swiss publication of the volume “us and them” by Helmut and June Newton, accompanied by an exhibition tour in several countries.

2004: June Newton’s autobiography is released by a German publishing house.

2004: opening of the Helmut Newton Foundation in Berlin which features their joint exhibition “us and them,” including June Newton’s portraits of her husband on his deathbed in Los Angeles. The new museum for photography will serve as a significant forum for her work as well.

Posted by : Amal Kiran Jana from Milan,at 05:02PM

Identity and Beauty between Art and Science
It is for the first time in Italy, an exhibition that brings art and science together over the subject of the skin. Through a rich array of works of art – antique, modern, and contemporary – documents, and antique objects, the visitor explores a fascinating itinerary that leads to a science laboratory.

Much space is dedicated to modern and contemporary artists who use the most varied languages, from painting to sculpture, from the conceptual to the new technologies, and on through to experimental filmmaking, with site specific events as well.  Among the artists on show are: Giacomo Balla, Franz von Bayros, Vanessa Beecroft, Adriana Bisi Fabbri, Andrea Chisesi, Giuliana Cuneaz, Gillo Dorfles, Marcel Duchamp, Lucio Fontana, Grazia Gabbini, Robert Gligorov, Abel Herrero, , Roy Lichtenstein, Luigi Maio, Lazhar Mansouri, Piero Manzoni, Alberto Martini, Bruno Munari, Giuseppe Penone, Marinella Pirelli, Pietro Pirelli, Karl Prantl, Man Ray, Odilon Redon, Auguste Rodin, Omar Ronda, Mimmo Rotella, Maia Sambonet, Alberto Savinio, Andreas Serrano, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Andy Warhol, and Tom Wesselmann.

The exhibition unfolds along an itinerary of six sections that examine in trans-disciplinary terms the subject of the skin, beauty, and the female identity, accompanied throughout by contemporary art installations. Throughout, there is a fascinating interplay between the macro- and the micro- cosmos, between images of the surface of stars and planets and images of the epidermis seen under the microscope.

The first section is entitled The Discovery of the Skin, and it shows very rare waxworks by the eighteenth-century sculptress and anatomist Anna Morandi, “Woman’s Face” and “Sensitive Hands”, and Ettore Sobrero’s extraordinary miniatures of antique apothecaries, one of the first places dedicated also to skincare. In line with this approach, the itinerary continues with Paradise of Hygiene set in contrast with Hell of Modesty: the modern-day boom of the concept of hygiene is illustrated by bathrooms and “hygiene gadgets” from yesterday and today, contributed to the show by corporate museums.  Works by Sam Shaw, Mel Ramos e John Kacere may be seen all along the way.

From a classical vision of beauty in Canova’s plaster cast and in the woman shown in Alfons Mucha’s large paravent entitled The Four Seasons, in perfect Art Nouveau style, the visitor is catapulted into oneiric, metaphorical visions made concrete in the portraits by the French painter Odilon Redon, Alberto Martini, and Adriana Bisi Fabbri.

In this lingering gaze at the female identity, much space is also dedicated to the skin, with the aim of highlighting its peculiarities in its various manifestations.  The show offers a range of significant examples, from the complexions and the icy beauty of the female icons immortalized by Man Ray, by whom the show can boast an extraordinary and choice group of black and white photographs dating from the Twenties to the Thirties, including Noir et blanche (1926), Natasha (1931), and the Juliet portraits (1945), to the skin and the iconic beauty of Andy Warhol’s Marilyn (1967), Portrait of Daniela Morera (1981) and Ladies and Gentlemen (DATA??), as well as Tom Wesselmann’s Maquette for Monica in the Bedroom (1986). Among the most recent examples of the phenomenon, outstanding are the works of Giuliana Cuneaz, with her imposing Corpus in Fabula (1996), Robert Gligorov, Abel Herrero, Andreas Serrano, Yoshie Nishikawa.

Metamorphosis of women’s skin, instead, is a suggestive lighting installation, made expressly for the exhibition that presents the transformation of the same woman madeup and dressed according to the “style” of the time.

Moreover, during the four weeks that the show will be open, Boots Laboratories has invited a group of cosmetologists from Rome’s Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore to explore together with the public various themes related to the skin. The event will profit from the valuable support of a committee of experts from various sectors, which counts among its members: Chiara Cappelletto, Leonardo Celleno, Rosa Chiesa, Luisa Gnecchi Ruscone, Marco Montemaggi, Massimo Papi, Loretta Secchi, Fulvio Simoni, and Beba Restelli.

Posted by : Amal Kiran Jana from Milan,at 06:01PM

Over time a lot of emphasis has grown on the men’s fashion week. It is very much as awaited as the women’s fashion week. During the early weeks of January the streets of Milan is overloaded with good looking male models. So, the hint arrives – Fall/Winter collections are on its way to be showcased.

This season of Fall 12-13 was a journey through spirituality to bohemian; contemporary way of using classic to smart urban neo look.

The experimentation remains a question when it comes to men’s fashion. Suits are seen as a main identity, may it be classic or leather. The length varied from designer to designer, Frankie Morello used lots of studs and buttons but finally the models went to a naked look with a very Indian look. Costume National was very clean with space age look-white, black and bottle green was his major colors; Jil Sander’s Raf came with a all black serial killer look with a very interesting sound track and rubber floor. Young Daniele followed the foot step of their family and showcased stylish attire with flora fauna and vibrancy. Purple, yellow, black and electric blue colors created a very modern sophistication look. CK showed his luxury sports look with leather pants and panels of reptile leather at places; this was off course the touch of the Italian designer Italo Zucchelli, who succeeded in bring luxury to affordability. The collection of Armani and Gazzarrini were a level of class. Armani showcased its modern interpretation of classic, the colors was black, grey and royal blue. Gazzarrini was bit more experimental by using pink color and sleeveless shirt, though the presence of black, grey and beige was also seen to minimize the risk.

Each designer highlighted accessories in their unique way. Electric blue briefcase bag from FM, big black leather hand bags and clutches from Costume National, Jil Sander’s sophisticated clutch bags. Armani’s brown tote bag and black clutch was the master craft. Shoe’s was mostly black, grey and beige with a variation between broke shoes, classic shoes and boots. The trend this season will be very sophisticated spiritual and bohemian look, classic jacket with a reinterpreting of modernity, some eye catching vibrant colors which will break the monotonous of the winter. A petite accessory to coordinate with the attire plays a very important role and this is well represented by each designer in the form of bags and gloves.

Overall Milan stands out to be a very successful and commercial center for fashion again, may it be women’s or men’s.

Posted by : Amal Kiran Jana from Milan,at 03:39PM

René François Ghislain Magritte, born on 21 November was a Belgian surrealist artist. He became well known for a number of witty and thought-provoking images. His work challenges observers’ preconditioned perceptions of reality. One of the most renowned and popular artists of the 20th century,starting November 9, 2011& untill Feb 2012, the Albertina presents an exhibition of René Magritte. A selection of more than 150 works from around the world cover every creative phase of the artist, retracing Magritte’s artistic career.

Conceived in collaboration with the Tate Liverpool, the exhibition addresses hitherto little-explored aspects of Magritte’s life and artistic activity. It focused on his use of patterns and recurring objects, the subject of covering and unveiling, visual breaks and eroticism in his oeuvre. On the basis of Magritte’s most important works and early commercial pieces, the exhibition examines the connection between the artist’s paintings and his work for the advertising industry as well as the influence of pop culture.

Magritte’s earliest paintings, which date from about 1915, were Impressionistic in style.[2] From 1916 to 1918, he studied at the Académie Royale des Beaux-Arts in Brussels.The paintings he produced during the years 1918–1924 were influenced by Futurism and by the offshoot of Cubism. His work was exhibited in the United States in New York in 1936 and again in that city in two retrospective exhibitions, one at the Museum of Modern Art in 1965, and the other at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1992.

“It is a union that suggests the essential mystery of the world. Art for me is not an end in itself, but a means of evoking that mystery. ”  

– René Magritte –

Magritte died of pancreatic cancer on 15 August 1967 in his own bed, aged 68, and was interred in Schaerbeek Cemetery, Evere, Brussels. There was made a permanent museum dedicated to him and the Magritte Museum opened to the public on 30 May 2009 in Brussels.

Posted by : Amal Kiran Jana from Vienna, Austria at 04:15PM

Amal is a designer, artist and writer, he graduated from National Institute of Fashion Technology, India and later worked for 3 years at the fashion industry in various areas. Then wining an International competition ‘ARS Sutoria’ he received a scholarship to pursue masters in Domus Academy, Milan, Italy. Thereafter, he built a very conceptual note at his thesis and next collection work.

He see a future world with no life anymore no emotions no psyche. Only a virtual journey to your imagination, it’s a place where in your eyes my face remains. Welcome to Subliminal Entity; don’t know if it will be better or worst but no miseries for sure.

He took this opportunity to transform his story into a collection of bags, which is a very personal and emotional object for a person. It serves as a purpose of utility and also an object of art & aesthetics, it provides a character to the individual. For him it was very much debatable to conclude if a bag is only an object of art or just a product of utility. So he took this occasion to find a perfect balance between both of them.

It can really be a very good piece of art but if it doesn’t solve any purpose of utility we cant call it as a bag. So the objective was to make a very special kind of bag, which apart from solving the utilitarian and ergonomic can also depict the emotion and mood. Each bag is a metaphor to his imagination and the whole collection will solve the riddle of the emotional imaginative story. Certain part of the collection is only meant for a gallery, catwalk, styling or red carpet purpose. Overall the collection depicts a very personal and philosophical pathway to find a sophisticated balance between art and design.

Form this above feeling he tried to be more refined and concrete, drag a conceptual outline by narrating the whole idea into four levels.

Transformation: The first process where life is vanishing.
Noir: It vanished into the darkness with a slight ray of hope.
Emptiness & Water:    The whole planet remained silent for a long time then got covered by water.
Digital reflection of Imagination:    A new virtual world is born, where the basic unit of life becomes pixel.

These four levels became the direction for each line of my collection. Combining as a whole solves the riddle of Subliminal Entity. 

This recent work of him got many acclaim and also got featured in Vogue.it.

Posted by : Amal Kiran Jana from Milan at 04:18PM

 25 year of animation

Within the grand park Palestro which is close to the Corso Buenos Aires – a street which is always crowded by life and energy. We see an exciting journey to the public, for the first time in Europe displaying the art and creativity of the most famous artists in the world of animation.

Pixar Animation Studios is an American computer animation film studio based in Emeryville, California. The studio has earned 26 Academy Awards, seven Golden Globes, and three Grammy Awards. Pixar began in 1979 as the Graphics Group, part of the Computer Division of Lucasfilm before it was acquired by Apple Computer co-founder Steve Jobs in 1986. The Walt Disney Company bought Pixar in 2006 at a valuation of $7.4 billion; the transaction made Jobs the largest shareholder in Disney.

The exhibition features over 500 works by the artists at Pixar Animation Studios, including drawings, paintings, and sculptures that illustrate the creative process and craftsmanship behind Pixar’s wildly successful computer-animated films. The show spans all Pixar’s feature films Toy Story, A Bug’s Life, Toy Story 2, Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Cars, Ratatouille ,WALL*E, UP, Toy Story 3, Cars 2 together with all the short films and a preview of Brave, to be released in 2012.

Two beautiful installations accompany the exhibition:

The Pixar Toy Story Zoetrope is a three-dimensional version of an early invention that demonstrated and explained visually how a repeated image creates the illusion of motion. This extraordinary object exemplifies the artistic and technical collaboration that is integral to work at Pixar. It was developed by Pixar scientists, animators, and artists all working together.  As you watch it spin it magically conveys how animation works.

Artscape is a widescreen high-resolution media installation created using concept and development artwork.  Using digital technology the two-dimensional art is explored in simulated three-dimensional motion.   The viewer is given the experience of entering into and seeing the exquisite details of the artwork. As the images shift it becomes an immersive experience. The amazing visuals are accompanied by an astounding soundscape, which integrates the visual and auditory nature of our work.

Maria Pardons Mattei, curator of the show and digital expert of culture, tells Milan is the readier reality to welcome innovation. The show is realized in collaboration with The Walt Disney Company Italy, which finally presents to public the creative phase and geniuses in the world of animation.

Posted by : Amal Kiran Jana from Milan at 03:22PM