Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Gone fishing

Gone Fishing by Teresa Trotter
(click image to enlarge)

I'm headed out on a vacation and won't be around for a bit. I have some posts lined up to auto-publish. They are a kind of low effort, but truth be told, most of my posts are low effort so you probably won't spot a difference. If nothing else my spam bots will be happy that they can run amuck. In the meanwhile, don't click on any links in the comments.

 

Sunday, March 24, 2024

Paintings by Artem Rogowoi

Click any image to enlarge

This is a small collection of paintings by Artem Rogowoi. He's a contemporary Ukrainian artist. He's previously worked in art restoration, and uses his knowledge of earlier painting techniques in his works. 

Artem Rogowoi


Wednesday, March 20, 2024

Cooking burritos in the Capathian Mountains

Since she's white I suppose some knuckleheads would accuse Mairia of cultural appropriation for her theft of a burrito recipe. However, to me it looks to me like a tasty example of cultural diffusion.

 

Sunday, March 17, 2024

Prints by Suzuki Harunobu

Click any image to enlarge

Suzuki Harunobu was an 18th century Japanese print maker. He is the first printmaker in Japan to produce full color prints (prior to him printers used 2 to 3 colors), as such he was extremely influential in the development of Japanese prints. He was from a samurai family and was well connected and popular in his day. He is best known for his idealized images of pretty young women. 

The image at the top of this post is one such print. She is Ôsen, a waitress at a teahouse in Edo. We tend to think that being a 'celebrity for the sake of celebrity' is a modern thing, but of course it isn't. She was renowned for being a beauty, with the teahouse having towels with her image on them, as well as selling prints, picture books, and even dolls of Ôsen. Today, instead of being a teahouse waitress, she might be an influencer of some small fame. Who knows?

See how when spring begins to fail
each opening flower fades;
So too there is a time of age
and death for beautiful maids;
And when the fleeting spring is gone,
and days of beauty over,
Flowers fall, and lovely maidens die,
and both are known no more.

(Burial of the Flowers - Cao Xueqin) 

Friday, March 15, 2024

Wednesday, March 13, 2024

Saying goodbye in Fiji

A woman, who had married a person from another village and who's much older now, returned for a funeral. This is how her relatives gather to say goodbye to her when she leaves again. It is an elaborate ceremony, featuring prayers, singing a hymn, speechifying and drinking a fair amount of kava and grog. Large parts of it are in English.  

This is from the YouTube channel of Uraia Tabua, He has a lot of other videos documenting everyday life in Fiji.