Jeff Dunham - Puppet Show

Today is Sunday and nothing better than a hilarious puppet show. Don't you think? ;)

So, I have here the incredible Jeff Dunham. He is a really funny puppeteer guy. Here is a video with Achmed the dead terrorist and than another one with Achmed and Walter, an old grumpy man. You will love. Those videos have more than 112 million views in youtube (the last one here) and Jeff is an aclamed professional.

It worth watching it!

Sir Ian McKellen on Acting

This is without any doubt the most funny video I have ever seen about "how to be an actor". Sir Ian Mckellen acts and teachs us what is the secret on how to be a true actor.

Rinpa Eshidan

The Rinpa Eshidan core team is made up of Noiz-Davi, Daisuke Yamamoto, D.H.Rosen, Akari Sasai and XOLA . The group's main activities are performing in live-art events and creating videos of art in action.

As per their site, "instead of focusing on the finished project, we believe the process of creation itself is where art comes to life and our videos and live art aim to engage our audience in that process. Many people ask us how we can stand to erase the artwork we have worked so hard to create, but our focus is on the process of making art, not the end result. The good news is that the videos we make become a permanent record of the spontaneous artworks created during the filming."

Check out the videos:

Daniel Kfouri

The Brazilian photographer Daniel Kfouri won third place in the World Press Photo Award in Sports Action singles. Daniel has an interesting variety of photos that goes from homeless + soccer + carnaval + city. His pictures have a photojornalistic view. Check it out:

(Winning Photo)

Her morning elegance

A while ago I came across a really interesting music video and now it has more than 12 million views in Youtube. It was recorded frame by frame and I cant believe how long it took. Enjoy it! This is a good work worth seeing lots of times. Clap Clap Clap!

      

Top 10 Most Powerful Luxury Brands by Fashion Columnist Daniela Lanna

While mass fashion labels began to feel the effects of the recession couple years ago, brands that focused on heritage and history instead of high fashion did better. “They’ve been very quick to respond and recenter their brand positioning” explained Pierre Dupreelle, director of Millward Brown and responsible for brand analysis.


According to Millward Brown annual research, those are the top 10 most powerful luxury brands in the world:

1 – Louis Vuitton: US$ 19.8 billions
2 – Hermés: US$ 8.45 billions
3 – Gucci: US$ 7.58 billions
4 – Channel: US$ 5.54 billions
5 – Hennesy: US$ 5.36 billions
6 – Rolex
7 – Moët & Chandon
8 – Cartier
9 – Fendi
10 – Tiffany & Co.

LipDub videos in Youtube - Just for fun!

Ok, I don´t know if you consider this art or not. LipDub videos are becoming really popular in youtube and they are really fun (and funny). Here are two videos from Canada (Montreal and Quebec). Check it out!

Ice Age Director produces a movie about Rio de Janeiro

        
                         Rio (trailer) from Animatieblog on Vimeo.

This is the first trailer for Rio, a new animated feature film from Blue Sky Studios (Ice Age, Robots, Horton Hears a Who!). The movie is directed by Carlos Saldanha and will be released in April, 2011 (USA).

Set in the magnificent city of Rio de Janeiro and the lush rainforest of Brazil, the comedy-adventure centers on Blu, a rare macaw who thinks he is the last of his kind. When Blu discovers there’s another - and that she’s a she - he leaves the comforts of his cage in small town Minnesota and heads to Rio. But it’s far from love at first sight between the domesticated and flight-challenged Blu and the fiercely independent, high-flying female, Jewel. Unexpectedly thrown together, they embark on an adventure of a lifetime, where they learn about friendship, love, courage, and being open to life’s many wonders. ‘Rio’ brings together a menagerie of vivid characters, a heart-warming story, colorful backdrops, energizing Latin and contemporary music, and family-friendly song and dance.
 
The movie RIO will be released on 8th of April 2011 in Brazil and (I have no idea why) on 7th of April in Russia and Argentina!

Brazilian Painter Beatriz Milhazes

             
Beatriz was born in 1960 in Rio de Janeiro where she currently lives and works. She studied art at Parque Lage, a famous art reference in Rio de Janeiro (just for fun, Parque Lage was the place where Snoopy Dog´s music video clip "Beautiful" was recorded).

She is one of the few Brazilian artists that has popped the bubble and entered the inernational art market scene. Some of her great art projects have been showcased at: Passo Imperial, Rio de Janeiro - Tate Liverpool, Liverpool - Projects, Museum of Modern Art, New York - Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid - Keemper Museum of Art, Kansas City - Contemporary Arts Museum and Houston - Inverleith House, for example.

The painting "Magic of OZ" (2001) - above - was sold to a Spanish art collector for $15,000.00. In 2008, it was auctioned in the famous Sotheby´s in New York. Its original bid was $350,000.00 and, luckly, it was sold for $1,049,000.00, which means an increase of 6.000% in seven years. This was the highest bid ever conquered by a live Brazilian artist.

Some other Brazilian painters that also star in the international scene are: Ernesto Neto, Vik Muniz, Adriana Varejão, Sergio Camargo, Cildo Meireles, Tunga, Waltercio Caldas, José Resende and Rivane Neuenschwander.

Beatriz Milhazes works in the pure aesthetic style of the Pattern and Decoration movement. Influenced by her native land of Brazil, her vibrant and bold use of color and patterns creates work that is as much playful, free and psychedelic, as it is geometric, organized and rhythmic.

                            Check out the video with the artist (in English)!

Smelly Cat - Animation Site

             
There is a nice blog called Smelly Cat - What are they feeding you? with animation references. This is a Brazilian blog, so it is in Portuguese (not Spanish), but there are towsands of videos, ilustrations, designs that everyone can understand and enjoy.

                    Oscar 2010: Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty

By the way, I love Phoebe Buffay!!! And I have just found out that the character's complete name is Phoebe Buffay-Hannigan.

Hundertwasser

Our reader and follower Flavia Martins suggested a really nice topic: the Dutch artist, Hundertwasser. Wich is the subject of this same post.
                           

Hundertwasser's original and unruly artistic vision expressed itself in pictorial art, environmentalism, philosophy, architecture and design of facades, postage stamps, flags, and clothing (among other areas). For Hundertwasser, art is not to be limited by any framework. An artist’s work should have an effect on all areas of life, be it on clothing or, through articles for everyday use, on daily life. In accordance with his philosophy “Beauty is a Panacea – Schönheit ist ein Allheilmittel”, Hundertwasser wanted to restore beauty and romanticism to their place in everyday life.

He endeavoured to help the hidden human longing for variety and beauty in harmony with nature come into its own. In some way, he understood art as a religion. A particular and personal religion.

Hundertwasser Achitecture

Hot springs, Bad Blumau (Austria)

Grüne Zitadelle in Magdeburg, Germany

Quixote Winery in Napa Valley

Kunsthaus in Vienna

Thermal power plant in Vienna

Thank you for the tip, Flavia!

Brandi Carlile

Here is a great music by Brandi Carlile "Downpour"

                       

Downpour

I'm like the rain in a downpour

I wash away what you long for

And I wave goodbye with the sun in my eyes

I wish I could be there tonight

I'm like the wind in the canyon

I'm there when I'm gone in a second

You're growing older in peace where you're at

I wish I could be there for that

But I've moved on

Like a rolling stone

In a crowded room

I'm alone

Rio Fashion Business by Fashion Columnist Daniela Lanna

Next Wednesday begins an important fashion fair in Rio de Janeiro. The Rio Fashion Business puts together fashion and business. It will take place in Marina da Glória from May 18th to 21st when the stylist buyers will take the opportunity to improve their business and close some deals.

Coming soon is the Fahion Rio event . See below the line-up with Brazilian brands. I suggest you to visit the websites and get to know more about the finnest Brazilian fashion brands. Here is the list:

May 27

Walter Rodrigues

Nica Kessler

Mara Mac

Salinas

R. Groove

Acquastudio

May 28

Redley

Claudia Simões

Totem

Graça Ottoni

Lenny

May 29
Cantão

Tessuti

Printing

Maria Bonita Extra

Ausländer

Alessa

May 30

Blue Man

Filhas de Gaia

Cavendish

Melk Z-Da

OESTUDIO

TNG

May 31

Giuliana Borges

Patachou

British Colony

Juliana Jabour

Espaço Fashion

Carlos Tufvesson

June 1st

Triya

Lucas Nascimento

Andrea Marques

Têca

New Order

Isabela Capeto

* This post was written by the Fashion Columnist Daniela Lanna

Intoxicated by possibility

This is a cartoon by Hugh McLeod. His work was featured in one of the firsts posts of this blog. I always get amazed by his witted thoughts and simple drawings. I beleive the one above is a true reality for every artist. There are so many paths, possibilities and connections that lots of time we can´t even start of finish a project, because of the delighfulness of the other choices.

The paradigma of the other choice is self-provoking. We choose a path wether it is to teach painting, draw cartoons, record an independent album, and the other choice we had in the way seems easier and more enriching that you caught yourself wondering " what if ".

Know that the path you´ve chosen is the best one, because it is a dream becoming true through your action and passion. Stick to it and be happy. "What ifs" are just a red apple tempting you.

How Brazilian Cultural Incentive Law works

Let me explain how things work here in Brasil if you want a cultural incentive for your project from the government, its really interesting, but really hard.

You have a project in your mind. You write this project down with all idefault parts for a project (mission, vision, description, justification, innovative and differential values and aspects, reach, target, credits (staff) and credentials and, most importantly, budget, for example). You enter the governmental site MINC, Cultural Ministry, log in and submit your project. If you are lucky, the government will get back to you saying you are approved to get financed with a incentive law by sponsors for the specific project you submitted and for the specific budget you requested. Know that getting approved to the Rouanet's Law is to get the permition to your sponsor have discounts in the value they sponsor through governmental taxes. ok?Uff! So, that's the easy part.

The hard part is to get a sponsor. With the government's approval secured, you have to find out which company works with this specific cultural incentive law you applied. Found that, you knock many many doors until you find a company that says YES to your project. They give you the money and you put it on your project the way it was approved by the cultural incentive law. The company will get a discount in the amount they sponsored in their next year's income tax. And everyone is happy!

Of course, there are good and bad points. For example:

1. The companies are the ones that judge the projects and select which  are worth sponsoring or not by their on rules;

2. The company disburse the full amount now and will get the money back in their tax income months later. That can affect their cash low in 4 months at least;

3. You have lilttle flexibity to change your project if something changes in between and this process can take a while;

4. The salaries are limited by the government. If the government things 15k is too much to pay the director, he will limit your paying to 9k and you will have to deal with it. Your project will only have 9k of incentive law for the director salary. All lines of the budget are discussed.

Thats how works here in Brazil. What about your country?

Book: Art Management

I have had a hard time trying to find and get good art management books to read. Brazil lacks of this kind of book, therefore, the formal information acquired are mainly from Europe and USA. Anyway, I decided to buy some theorical books in order to know more about the managing and marketing art. Here is a basic one I bought:

Skova’s Python Ring - by Fashion Columnist Daniela Lanna

♥ Look at those amazing and fun accessories! ♥

SKOVA Jewelry and Handbags is available in Over 80 specialty stores in the United States, Canada, Japan, and Europe.

* This post was written by Fashion Columnist Daniela Lanna