The art of Peter Franck at Fotosommer Stuttgart 2010

The new artworks of Ed Ruscha-inspired photographer Peter Franck, from Überlingen am Bodensee (Germany) will be exhibited at Fotosommer Stuttgart 2010 opening on 30th July (closing on 05th September). 28 artworks were shortlisted out of the 500 received by the selection committee. Peter Franck was awarded the first prize.

I love his art! Congratulations!

(pictures: Bernhard Angerer)

More info on: http://www.fotosommer-stuttgart.de/

Kate Moss by Mario Testino: boring or sexy?

Moss notes in the introduction. "I don't think anybody had seen me as any kind of sexy model before he did. He was the one that transformed me. Before him I was just a grungy girl, but he saw me differently.... He changed the way people thought about me as a model, for sure."

Another Vatican's lie: an undiscovered Caravaggio?

"The Martyrdom of Saint Lawrence," possibly by Caravaggio

The Vatican is claiming to have found an previously unseen Caravaggio painting which would perfectly coincide with the 400th anniversary of the death of the maestro. Are you looking for cash Vatican?
 
Experts have expressed strong skepticism about the work being true. "I’ll wait until I get a chance to closely look at it, but from the photos I’ve seen it looks to be a thousand miles away from the maestro," Stefania Macioce, expert on Caravaggio told the Irish Times.
 
Interestingly, "The Taking of Christ," a stolen Caravaggio painting that was recovered earlier this year, had also been found by Jesuits in 1990 in Ireland - though the Counter- Reformation sect was not one of the artist's prominent patrons - the same way L'Osservatore Romano, the Vatican newspaper reports this painting has been found. Not only does it show that the Vatican might be lying but it also reflects the strong links with the Jesuits...
 
Let's boycott the Vatican Museum until the accuracy of the painting has been proved.

100 Google followers : Thank you so much

Dior Fall 2010: colourful and flowery but have you seen John Galliano?

Alexandra Tretter  Christian Dior Fall 2010 Couture (Photography: Monica Feudi)

Once again John Galliano, the Spanish designer didn't disappoint for the Dior Fall 2010 show. But he appeared to be extremely thin, is he following a special diet? We hope so for him.

More info on: http://www.dior.com/

Givenchy couture - live from Paris

Exclusive interview with Banks Violette

I've been an admirer of the works of Banks for a long time. So you can imagine how happy I was when I received this lovely email:
“Hi Nicolas, I was forwarded an email from you. I figured I'd side step the gallery, and just get back to you directly. Please feel free to send any questions you might have for me, and I'll try to get right back to you,
Banks”

In the middle of the Basel mayhem, he agreed to answer my questions. So here is in exclusivity for Art is Alive, an interview with the master. Thank you so much Banks, I am very grateful.

How would you describe yourself and how would you describe your art?
Don't really know how to answer either of these questions, really. I suppose I'd describe myself as a very private person and leave it at that. As far as my work is concerned, although what I make takes a variety of different forms, there are common themes/concerns that stretch throughout the work. Performance, absence, collapse: those are ideas that are present throughout everything I make, and then there are certain formal constants that I know I'm drawn to repeatedly: weight, physicality, presence - things that I relate to very specific idea of what "sculpture" means, in the broadest sense.

Which exhibition are you most proud of?
I suppose I'm always proudest of the last exhibition I've made, which (in this case) would be the last show I did in NYC, at Gladstone Gallery's new(er) space on 21st. The inverse of that is that I now have to look at that show as if it was the show I was unhappiest about. If you don't pull apart whatever you feel comfortable with, you'll stagnate, so it’s necessary to move forward by dismantling whatever came before.

Which was the most painful?
Again, this last show in NYC, at Gladstone. A few days before the show opened, I started to feel like I strained something in my stomach: it turned out I had been working while my appendix was ruptured. By the time I got to the hospital, I was in awful shape - this will sound melodramatic probably, but the surgeon said that if I hadnt gotten into surgery when I did, I would've only had a few hours left before my body shut down, and I died. That’s gotta count as most painful, right?

Currently, do you have an exhibition and where does it take place?
I have a few things I'm working towards, but since I don't have the exact dates pinned down, I don't wanna say what those shows might be, until they're absolutely confirmed.

Which galleries are you represented by and why?
I'm represented by a few galleries, I guess: Team Gallery, NYC, Rodolphe Janssen, Brussels, Thaddaeus Ropac, Salzburg and Paris, Maureen Paley, London. I just started working with Blum and Poe, in Los Angeles, and I've also had the opportunity to work with Gladstone Gallery, also in NY, on a few projects and I'm extremely grateful for their support. I work with these galleries because I admire their programs, I feel personally comfortable working with them, and they've all been very open in their support of both my work, and myself personally.

You're a close friend of Hedi Slimane, do you feel closer to the fashion world or to the contemporary art world?
I wouldn't describe myself as a close friend of Hedi Slimane: I've met him a number of times, and he's been very supportive of what I do, and has been for quite some time. I think he and I have a number of overlapping interests, so it seems natural we would have entered into some kind of dialogue. As far as what I feel closer to, I really don't have a relationship with the fashion world. Not that I'm antagonistic towards it, but really: I'm closest to the art world.

Are you planning any projects with Hedi?
No, nothing at the moment. It’s actually been a few years since I've spoken to, or seen him.

What is your favourite album of all time and favourite band ever?
I can't answer either of those questions. I have a number of "favorite" bands (i.e; The Clash, Burzum, Void, etc), for a bunch of different reasons, and the same holds true for favorite album. Honestly, there’s just too much music that I deeply love to whittle either category down to a single representative.

NIN or TOOL?
Neither. I can't stand either band, or at least what little I've heard of them I've found really boring.

Artistically speaking, how far do you hope to go?
I think what I hope for, ultimately, is what every artist really aspires to: I want to be a part of the larger conversation; to be a part of art history.

Three words to describe the message you want to convey, if you want to convey any?
I'm not so interested in reductive answers, so bringing everything down to three words doesn't make sense to me. Which isn't to say that I don't have a specific set of ideas that I want to convey, but I'm not sure I could do it in three words. Or that I'd want to try.

The press brands you as a "gothic artist", are you really attracted to the gothic aesthetic and is it the right vocabulary to describe your art?
No, I've never agreed with that. I'm certainly interested in, and attracted to, a specific kind of historic romanticism but I think tha very different from a "gothic" sensibility. Frankly, I've always found tagging things as "gothic" is A.) inaccurate, and B.) reductive.

Do you think that art is dead or alive?
As long as people are making art, its alive. Art is a communicative act: it’s a dialogue that’s sustained by the people involved with making art, and people looking at, and interacting with art.

I love this chair - Restart 10, galeria Rosana Orlandi, Navone

Chair in a bent metal rod structure, padded seat and back, moiré cotton fabric upholstery.
More info on: http://www.restartmilano.com/

Voyage d'Hermès - Beautiful commercial

But I wonder why they are introducing a dove, even in their logo? Please let me know if you have the answer...

More info on: http://www.hermes.com/

La Roux for Viktor+Rolf at Paris menswear show

I have a true and honest admiration for Viktor&Rolf that I've known from their beginnings. They really know how to pick up their muses: Tilda Swinton, Grace Jones, the fantastic Tori Amos and now La Roux a.k.a Elly Jackson (remaned for god knows whatever reason). The boyish singer was singing at the latest menswear catwalk in Paris.

Enjoy the video !