:)

Felix Gonzalez-Torres

Last week in my visual art studio class, my professor/artist Holly Ward introduced us to Felix Gonzalez-Torres, he is an installation artist and his work has a lot to do with hope since his boyfriend Ross passed away from AIDS. Torres dedicated a piece to him, which he would make installations of 175 lbs of candies, and every time there will be different candies and piled/placed in a different way.  

Why 175lbs?  because that was how much Ross weigh. 

The audience get to experience the diminish feeling and commemorate the loved ones. Anyone can take a candy when they see this piece until the candies are finished. When i found out the context i got goosebumps right away because it was such a beautiful but sad story behind this work that i was deeply touched by it and had to go look for some interviews with Torres. And i did found one with Ross Blecker from BOMB magazine. 

Untitled (portrait of Ross in LA), 1991

RB You don’t make work about being gay?

FGT No. You just include it…

RB I don’t either. Although you make work about being…

FGT In love with a man…

RB In love with a man, what it means to be alive today, what you think, how you feel… Do you think that gets at all sentimental?

FGT Not at all. On the contrary, it’s very political. Because you are going against the grain of what you are supposed to be doing. You are not supposed to be in love with another man, to have sex with another man.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

RB So are you in love now?

FGT I never stopped loving Ross. Just because he’s dead doesn’t mean I stopped loving him.

RB Well, life moves on, doesn’t it, Felix?

FGT Whatever that means.

RB It means that you get up today and you try to deal with the things that are on your mind.

FGT That’s not life, that’s routine.

RB No, it’s not.

FGT Oh, yes, it is.

RB A lot in life is about routine, and hopefully we can make our routines in life as pleasurable as we know how. Because we connect to our work in a way that’s satisfying and we have some nice relationships. After that, how much more can you ask?

FGT That’s why I make work, because I still have some hope. But I’m also very realistic, and I see that…

RB Your work has a lot to do with hope; it’s work made with eyes open. That to me is very important. Work made with eyes open.

FGT It’s about seeing, not just looking. Seeing what’s there.

RB Do you look to fall in love? Do you need that as a situation? Does it inspire your work?

FGT How can you be feeling if you’re not in love? You need that space, you need that lifting up, you need that traveling in your mind that love brings, transgressing the limits of your body and your imagination. Total transgression.

RB You feel like you had that with Ross?

FGT A few times over.

RB How long were you with him?

FGT Eight years, more or less.

RB How long into the relationship did he get diagnosed?

FGT The last three years.

RB Did he know he had HIV?

FGT No, the year before he got the diagnosis of AIDS he had his appendix removed and they tested the blood and it was HIV positive. But he was a fucking horse. He was 195 pounds, he could build you a house if you asked him to. It’s amazing, I know you’ve seen it the same way I’ve seen it, this beautiful, incredible body, this entity of perfection just physically, thoroughly disappear right in front of your eyes.

RB Do you mean disappear or dissipate?

FGT Just disappear like a dried flower. The wonderful thing about life and love, is that sometimes the way things turn out is so unexpected. I would say that when he was becoming less of a person I was loving him more. Every lesion he got I loved him more. Until the last second. I told him, “I want to be there until your last breath,” and I was there to his last breath. One time he asked me for the pills to commit suicide. I couldn’t give him the pills. I just said, “Honey, you have fought hard enough, you can go now. You can leave. Die.” We were at home. We had a house in Toronto that we called Pee-Wee Herman’s Playhouse Part 2 because it was so full with eclectic, campy, kitsch taste. His idols were not only George Nelson and Joseph D’Urso, but also Liberace.

RB That’s a very nice combination.

FGT Love gives you the space and the place to do other work. Once that space is filled, once that space was covered by Ross, that feeling of home, then I could see, then I could hear. One of the beauties of theory is when you can actually make it into a practice.

Torres

original interview page.

----funky!----

Ilya Yefimovich Repin

Ilya Yefimovich Repin (1844–1930) was a leading Russian painter and sculptor. Although he lived in Paris, where he was exposed to French Impressionist painting, his style was to remain closer to that of the old European masters, especially Rembrandt.

Text source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilya_Repin

Sadko in the Underwater Kingdom 1876

gotta love this!

Just wanted to share something fun.

From Unreality Magazine.

Movie as neon signs

More photos:unrealitymag.com

Side French Braid

I will try this next time it looks amazing. 

DJSE-You can be happy

Fun and happy song! :D

Aled Lewis- London based Graphic Designer

Toy stories

They are so adorable :3

Fischerspooner- NY electroclash duo

:)

love Kaskade

Enjoy .


I'm in a great mood. Finished summer classes, 3 finals to go--- then Whistler here i come! :D 

SALVATORE FERRAGAMO - Fall 2011

I am in love with this. Brilliant piece from fall 11 collection.

I've been looking for a houndstooth trench coat for the longest time, 

and i absolutely hate it how trench coats never fit right for me.

This dress is just super sexy but it is also elegant- with style.

Positive K- I got a man

Haha this is what I'm listening to right now. 

Piet Mondrian

He was a Dutch painter and the father of geometric abstractionism, but I am interested to his earlier impressionist style, like Georges Seurat's paintings (pointillism) but unlike the alienation from The sunday afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte, Mondrian's oil paintings have great harmony and a sense of peace, he brings landscape and architecture to life. 
I really enjoy it :)

Intellect confuses intuition. -Piet Mondrian

Sun, church in zeeland-Piet Mondrian 1909

Pointillist Dune Study, Crest at Left Piet Mondrian- 

Piet Mondrain 1909

A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte 

- Georges Seurat 1884

I've tried the technique myself in high school, it takes a lot of time and patience. I created a piece with my favourite perfume - Ma Dame from Jean Paul Gaultier , and another one with lucky strike ;)

R&B

These two songs are just catchy to me. Haha

Ne yo- Champagne Life

John Legend- Wake up everybody

forever 21

I couldn't find anything in my wardrobe for my launch party, so I went to go check out the new stuff from forever XII yesterday :p to look for these 2 dresses! but unfortunately the store didn't have it :( 

So instead i bought these :D 

haha i made jello for the party :)

Have a nice weekend ! and yay BC day monday, no classes! 

update

Hey everyone :D
i finally get to sleep in today, and have time to make myself breakfast. 

Today I'm just starting to prepare for my very 1st trunk show on saturday. 
:)  If any of you are free, welcome to drop by and enjoy the party. 

and if you cannot make it, welcome to contact me if you would like to see the samples, or browse online:   Coco's stella & dot website


here are some of my favourite pieces: 

American Tango.

I was watching so you think you can dance the other day ! 
Season 8 Top 12 Performance with Melanie and Marko
so hot! I loved it. 

Lanvin

How can i just saw this collection now! It's fabulous. 
Here are some of my favourite pieces. 


(Paris Fashion week. Spring/Summer 11)

Another sunny day

:D Just tanning on my balcony. 

Frida Kahlo

Frida Kahlo was a mexican painter, and she did not receive any training for art. She got into a huge accident when she was in the bus and she went through tons of operation, but she didn't fully recover from the start, plus she drinks and she smokes, so a lot of pain and discomfort  follows her for the rest of her life. Her paintings express a lot of pain with imagination(surrealism). I love how she has a strong opinion and attitude towards literally EVERYTHING. 

"I paint myself because I am so often alone and because I am the subject I know best." 

"I was born a bitch. I was born a painter."- Kahlo

I have to say she married the wrong guy ! Diego Rivera is kind of an asshole, he promised to be loyal to her but cheated like a hundred times and ended up sleeping with Frida's sister. What kind of monster is that!  but she also had a few one night stands with male/female lovers. Well, at least he was there for her at the end when she was dying and finally got her first solo exhibition in Mexico. 

Kahlo- Little Dear 1946

Kahlo- The Broken Column 1944

ps. the movie is called Frida. (2002) :)






Reference: 


Andrea Kettenmann, Frida Kahlo. Frida Kahlo, 1907–1954: pain and passion page 27
Finding Frida Kahlo

RIP Amy Winehouse

U have an amazing voice and a unique style that no one can replace. Wherever you are right now, I hope you are still singing because your music is superb. 

Amy Winehouse-you sent me flying

$$$ MONEY $$$

The Drums-Money

Why does everything has to do with money? 

Why don't I have any money so i can do whatever the fuck i want. 

Money should not be the goal of life because that is pathetic, but we do need it in order to survive. 

I don't necessarily see myself working my ass off and forget how to live my life. 

Isn't the goal of life is to live our dream? come on, we only live once. If you hate your permanent job, most likely you are gonna hate your life.  i know i would. 

I remember my kin 140 prof asked us" why do you going to gym if you hate it so much? there are so many alternatives out there that can replace the boring gym routine." and she explained with exercise if you don't love it it's hard to keep up, which i agree.  

but sometimes doing things I don't like its a little challenge for myself to prove that i can do it. and that makes me feel good.  Maybe I'm not as smart as others in academics but I know what I'm good at and I am going for it and hoping to be successful one day like my parents. 

one thing i learn from class is that self talk really helps your way of thinking because everything is in your head! and i think for me writing blog is my way of self talking. 

night night. 

Co. 

Jan Svankmajer- Czech Artist/Filmmaker

meat love- 1989

Jan Svankmajer's surrealist work has some kind of black humour, so if you are not into this  then too bad.  HAHA. because i love his short film (animation) stuff. 

If you like you can also check out a full length film called Little Otik (also called greedy gut)

It is interesting to me how he captures food/eating in a way that's out of our ordinary. 

Have fun! ;)

little Otik-Trailer