The joy of cultural cooperation

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What  great presents we can get from those people who believe and work for cultural cooperation. [I have recently discovered other interesting concepts: "cultural diplomacy", "spiritual convergence" and "clicktivism"...we'll have to look into those. It's not all android, cloud, and hedge funds you know]. I wish I   could go and see once more Leonardo da Vinci's Lady with an Ermine (1489-1490), a painting that has left her home in Cracow and will spend some time in London for a while. This painting just glows and subdues with its solid splendor.

Today I love

This dress from D&G Spring Summer 2012 collection
With a couple of scarves and a bit of time we may even get to make a similar one for ourselves!


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Reflection of the day

Poverty in art

Tommaso Minardi, self portrait 1813

Carl Spitzweg, The poor poet

...is not the same as poverty in life.

Definitely, art is not life.

Smile today

Private Eye

and pleeeease excuse the bad language :)

...

...for in politics as in religion, it is equally absurd to aim at making proselytes by fire and sword. Heresies in either can rarely be cured by persecution. An yet, however just these sentiments will be allowed to be, we have already sufficient indications that it will happen in this as in all former cases of great national discussion.

A torrent of angry and malignant passions will be let loose. To judge from the conduct of the opposite parties, we shall be led to conclude that they will mutually hope to evince the justness of their oppinions and to increase the number of their converts by the loudness of their declamations and the bitterness of their invectives.

Spain's election campaing 2011? No, Alexander Hamilton in "The Federalist"

In praise of shadows

 "Were it not for shadows, there would be no beauty"

I finished reading  Junichiro Tanisaki's book "In praise of shadows" some time ago. It got me thinking that I really agree when he says that it takes a lot of hiding and dark areas in the background for beauty to grasp our conscience.
Would there be any beauty in this blog if it did not hide so many things from everyday life? Don't we have to forget about injustice to enjoy any form of art?
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You can read it online at this pdf  link from NY's School of Visual Arts

Windowshopping: Tea

Also from the Near East

This video is so funny and playful. Meet Lebanese singer Nancy Ajram.
The arrow shouldn't appear on her nose though.

Miniatures

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1&2 at Victoria and Albert Museum
3,4&5  from the Wallace Collection


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Pattern design, William Morris

V&A Museum, London


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Quote

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aaall creation is a fight against ugliness, cruelty and death

John Malkovich

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