Happy New Yer Finger Up

The best I found about this pathetic tradition of wishing an happy new year when most of us will have our load of bullshit to face. So, to send this finger up to those who spoil our lives seems the only decent thing to wish. Don't know who is the author of this fine flyer. An unknown friend for sure.

Anita Berber

Anita Berber was a famous scandalous dancer and actress in the Berlin of the 20's, said to be prostitute too (see here for a short biography). A thing is sure: she's been an influence for many artists and Otto Dix did a famous portrait of her (last of the series, unusually a painting and not a picture). Here I gathered some rather good quality and definition images from her. She died very young, from drugs (cocaine) and alcohol at 29, a sort of Amy Winehouse of the Weimar era. This is a small hommage to her.

Various - Horses and women

The undying, and rather heavy, association of horse with virility symbolism, as claimed (but never demonstrated) by Freud one century ago, has provided a large amount of photographic iconography, few having a real interest, at least to my eyes. Actually, it's now easier to find on the net extreme porn with sexual scenes between women and horses than soft erotic or artistic pictures, something I wouldn't have imagined possible some 20 years ago. Here some of the rare images (real of collages) that I think, deserve to be seen. One of them (the sixth) is of course classic, since it's from the great Joel Peter Witkin. The first one is a rare example (at least for me) of a picture that I find beautifully erotic.

Rik Garrett - Earth Magic

From Chicago, this photographer, working with 19th century techniques, had an exhibition in London recently with this series reviving the demoniac qualification attributed to female nudity in puritan eras. It's strange to re-create this old and weird atmospheres, but there's more in it than only a retrograde and revivalist approach of photography. Maybe a way to find again this unreaching mystery behind the image that the imperfections of the pictures suggest. More about this series here, and the exhibition there. Look at this listening to good old doom music such as Devil's Blood, Blood Ceremony, The Wounded Kings or Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats. It will be a perfect sonor background.

Yell Saccani - The Blur And Away (more)

Yell Saccani is one of my favorite living photographer (previous posts here). Here's a third series from the Blur & Away project. She's now on other things, as strong as ever. I don't think anybody saying to love powerful imagery in modern photography could ignore such a rude and brilliant talent. She creates with her guts and her pain. It's not the guarantee of quality, but I doubt any important art can be created without these two essential elements. I encourage you to go on her facebook page here. And if you have some money to spend on something of any value, to buy her anything she will want to sell you. My admiration to this great human being.

Lejaren Hiller - Bypaths in Arcady

More famous for his illustrating work than for his photographies, Lejaren Hiller (the father of the music composer with the same name) lived between 1880 and 1969 in the USA and shot in 1915 a series of pictures illustrating a book of love song called Bypaths in Arcady. These are mythological scenes that seem strangely modern. Maybe because of the very profound dark surrounding the characters, of the body shapes of the female models, and also of their unusual laid-back attitudes. Nothing hieratic here, as it was too often the case in the first part of the XXth century. There's something of the best popular scenes of Dutch painting or of some Caravaggio scenes, but also of German expressionism. One of the most fascinating series of this period. More on this book here.