Diane Arbus: Inspiring a Curiosity for the Unconventional

Diane Arbus, "the photographer of the freaks," was an American photographer and writer whose legacy is based on black-and-white photographs of deviant individuals who socially or culturally strayed from the norm. From dwarfs and nudists to transgendered people and circus performers, Arbus beautifully captured surreal persons as the objects of her artistic passions. As a troubled artist herself, Arbus suffered from episodes of depression with severe highs and lows and volatile mood swings. The lighthearted and lively photographer mysteriously committed suicide at age 48. Shortly after her death, Arbus's photographs were honored at the Venice Biennale, making her the first American photographer to be included in the esteemed exhibition, according to John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. Her haunting portraits and provocative aesthetic intention are still appreciated and criticized today.

Aesthetic Trailblazer

Diane Arbus's passion for photography started in the early 1940s when she and her husband observed the work of Alfred Stieglitz at his gallery. Arbus's father owned the Fifth Avenue department store Russek's and hired the Arbuses to take photographs for Russek advertisements. Both alongside her husband and independently, Arbus contributed to prominent publications, including Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Esquire and The Sunday Times Magazine. Arbus, however, is lauded, and even condemned, for her fascination with the absurd. Lubow explains that Arbus's most interesting and formidable "subjects lived on the fringes of polite society. Her pictures provoked a controversy that has yet to die down."

Curiosity & The Unconventional

Arbus was an artistic visionary who challenged not only her own creative talent, but her perspectives on truth and awe. A vivacious soul with a dark side, she pushed boundaries and empathized with the unusual through photography. Arbus's legacy inspires soul-seekers on the quest to find life's meanings by embracing what you may misunderstand — turning what makes you feel uncomfortable into intrigue and wonder. Through her eyes, circus freaks were aristocrats and female impersonators were gender-barrier pioneers.

Identical Twins, Roselle, New Jersey, 1967 — One of Diane Arbus's Most Famous Portraits

Beauty in the Misunderstood

According to Arthur Lubow's "Arbus Reconsidered" featured in The New York Times, critic Susan Sontag described Arbus's subjects as "people who are pathetic, pitiable, as well as repulsive," and Patricia Bosworth's 1984 biography about the photographer said "her camera was the window to a tortured soul." Through her photographs of societal outcasts, who were unpleasing to the eye, Arbus gave subjective beauty to what ordinarily was deemed as ugly. She relied on her innate, infectious empathy to connect with her subjects and create an aesthetic experience through still photographs that will tell stories forever. The Guardian explains that Arbus's work was "problematic... because she transgressed the traditional boundaries of portraiture." Arbus was drawn to the sideshow circus freaks — including people with "mental disabilities or physical abnormalities" who had a beautiful "power to unsettle and disturb." Her portraits seemed to be a visual display of her "insatiable fascination with the unusual."

In the words of Arbus, "A photograph is a secret about a secret. The more it tells you the less you know," spotlights the Academy of Art school for photography.

It was Arbus's bold curiosity and driving desire to share what others do not see that has defined her work as beautifully transgressional, famous, and inextricably powerful.

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Some Rare And Old Photos Of Your Favorite Famous Authors

The great author from Qwik LiT has been busy and meticulous enough to look for very rare photos of some of our favorite authors. I wonder where th author's getting these very hard to find stuff, because even with the virtually endless reaches of the internet it is almost always impossible to obtain such hidden treasures.

No matter, it's nice to see our favorite authors in their most comfortable poses yet. So I am sure a few of them to you:

F. Scott Fitzgerald

At any rate, let us love for a while, for a year or so, you and me. That’s a form of divine drunkenness that we can all try. There are only diamonds in the whole world, diamonds and perhaps the shabby gift of disillusion. – F. Scott Fitzgerald, from A Diamond as Big as the Ritz. Pictured here with Zelda and their daughter, Frances.

Edith Wharton

“There are moments when a man’s imagination, so easily subdued to what it lives in, suddenly rises above its daily level and surveys the long windings of destiny.” – Edith Wharton, author of The Age of Innocence

Gabriel Garcia Marquez

"Ultimately, literature is nothing but carpentry. With both you are working with reality, a material just as hard as wood." – Gabriel Garcia Marquez, author of One Hundred Years of Solitude and Love in the Time of Cholera

Head over to Qwik Lit for more rare photos of famous authors. There are a total of 25 authors in the list all in all.

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Okay, Everybody Say, "Frown!" - Prevent Photo Disasters By Preserving Pictures

Unless you regularly watch episodes of Antiques Roadshow, the concept of "practicing good archival techniques to preserve photographs" is probably foreign to you. Most people store old physical pictures in a box, slide them into plastic sleeves or paste them onto black pages of a photo book (bad bad bad). While it's fortunate that you still have the pictures, they're probably slowly fading and disintegrating. Before too long, the adhesive will eat through the photo, or the humidity in the air will warp them. If they're exposed to any light, they could very easily fade.

Those wondering about the benefits of preserving your photos and keeping everyone smiling will find the answers below:

Natural Disasters

• Sunlight: a picture's greatest nemesis is the sun, so keep your cherished memories out of it! Proper storage practices would include a facility that has minimal light exposure.
• Hands: when handling your original photograph or its negative, keep your hands clean and free from any sort of soil, including sweat. If you can, wear 100 percent cotton gloves, suggests the Library of Congress.
• Moisture: a huge factor to properly storing photos is humidity, according to the LOC. If possible, keep the temperature below 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Many storage facilities offer this service. Avoid storing photographs In basements, attics and garages as their temperature varies throughout the year and can cause a separation of an image, curling and warping.
• Heat and Wind: distance pictures from a heat source, like a radiator. Keep out of the path of wind and air vents.
• Other Pictures: pictures will bend, scratch  and stick together if they rub against each other.

Ink | Other Office Supply Disasters

• Don't write on your photographs. Whether a white-bordered Polaroid picture reading "Florida Keys 1989" or a penned "Noelle, kindergarten, Circa '83" on the reverse of the picture, marking photographs with a ball-point or felt-tip marker is a no-no! If you absolutely must write on the actual photo, a soft lead pencil will be the best option.
• Avoid clips, rubber bands, staples, tape and glue. These items cause scratches and can deteriorate the pictures from the sulfur.
• If storing in a plastic loose sleeve or a book with plastic enclosures, be sure to use a special type of plastic. Mylar and polypropylene, according to photographymuseum.com, are the best plastics for long-term photograph storage.

Chemical Disasters

• Chemicals that are sprayed to kill insects can be more harmful than the little vermin themselves. Albox.com recommends a polypropylene container or album cover.
• Think acid-free when considering the type of box and paper you store with your pictures. You want to avoid PVC, which emits hydrochloric acid and often comes in photo albums. Acid is known to eat away at things, your pictures are no different.
• Avoid lighting. While it makes paper stronger, it also deteriorates and becomes brittle and yellow.

Digital Disasters

• It's a good idea to save your photos in more than one format. Scanning them into your computer may be tedious but could save your memories in the long run if something were to happen to your physical pictures. When scanning, be very careful with the photos — wear cotton gloves and be sure the machine is free of dust.
• Once digital, save your collection in a few different locations like an external hard drive and use DVDs. Then, store your images as recommended above.

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Fantastic Tourism Promotion That Makes New Zealand Feels More Like Middle-Earth

Where exactly is Middle-Earth and how does one find one's way there? That's maybe the hardest question to answer until Peter Jackson decided to shoot his Lord of the Rings opus in New Zealand, the real-life Middle-Earth. Now that everyone's in the know how cinematic New Zealand looks like, the said country takes a level up in asserting and showcasing its Tolkienesque tourist spots with 100% Pure New Zealand.

With the help of some artists from WETA, the studio behind the breathtaking special effects of The Lord of the Rings and its upcoming prequel The Hobbit trilogy, New Zealand has been reinvented with these out of this world rendering of its sceneries. Tell me what your eyes can see...

Blaze a trail through fields of gold...

See wizards turn water to wine...

Find creatures that dwell in ancient caves…

A place that will forever keep you under its spell…

I am definitely dying to take part in this one in a life time experience. Going to New Zealand is now a part of my 50 Things To Do Before I Die list. Thanks to this unique promotion, I am already sold!

See more of these fantastic art from New Zealand's official website.

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Vintage Photos: A Glimpse On The Past Of The City Of Love (Iloilo Cityscape And Heritage Sites)

My grandmother used to tell me stories of the past. Most of the time she lingered on the tragic incident of the Japanese invasion that scared the hell out of me as a child. When we do good she rewarded us with stories of how pleasant and serene everything was -- a period where nothing's too expensive, the air and rivers were not polluted and gadgets, like cellphones, mp3 players and iPads, were unheard of. Simple living was the height of her existence by then.

These stories trigger some blurry images within that I couldn't fully grasp with my limited resources of imagination. I always wanted to travel back through time to experience in flesh the things she were talking about. The contemporary times might be very acceptable, but it is in the past that I wanted to live. It's as if I am trapped in a time, where I can't really fit in...

Thankfully I unearthed this treasure trove of vintage photos of my homeland. My dreams are somehow fulfilled even if I could only experience the past in the four corners of these pictures. Let's travel back through time to explore the wonders of vintage Iloilo:

The Bell Tower of Jaro Cathedral, boasting a solid and unimpaired foundation

Miag-ao Church still photo-worthy as ever

The Old Spanish Tower in Arevalo

Bishop's Palace in Jaro alone in what was now a crowded plaza

Iloilo City's Custom House

Even then the Eastern Seashore of Iloilo was teeming with residents

Iloilo residense vintage style

The humble beginnings of Iloilo Golf Club in Sta. Barbara, the first in Southeast Asia

Iloilo High School

Looks scary to me...

The facade of Janiuay Cemetery

The Kalesa

Vintage residence of the Ledesmas

Masonic Temple and Plaza

Nelly's Garden in Jaro

Palace and Eagles buildings with less traffic

Philippine National Bank with vintage cars around the area.

Plaza Gay and Calle Ledesma

Iloilo Provincial Building

The serene environemnt of the old Provincial Jail

Salt plantation in Molo

Santos Residence

St. Paul's Hospital did not need high walls then

The jeep, I say the jeep!

The local kariton

Sail away with this vintage sailboat at the port

Did you enjoy the trip back through time? I'm actually glad that these scenes were captured on film, since it's most likely that we're not going to experience this anymore. As the city grows and progresses many of its historical aspects are also gone. Let's help preserve these heritage even through these pictures alone. Who knows, your children's children might also wonder how the past looked like and these pictures could be just you saving grace.

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Director Ron Howard And Canon USA Join Forces For The Second Running Of Project Imagination

The team-up of director Ron Howard and Canon USA is back for the second running of Project Imagination. Project Imagination allows the public to submit their photos, preferably using Canon cameras, that will serve as inspiration for production. The winning photos will then be used as basis for themes, scripts and looks of films to be directed by celebrities.

Last year's Project Imagin8ion boasted 8 winners in a total of 8 categories. One winning piece was turned into a short film titled "when you find me", directed by Ron Howard's daughter, Bryce Dallas Howard herself.

This year the quest is on for another round, broadening the scale of the competition with 10 categories and 10 winners. Hence it came to be known Project Imaginat10n. Check out the launching video of the competition:

As mentioned in the video, the project recruits ten celebrity directors that will execute their film interpretation of the following storytelling themes: Mood (conveys atmosphere, tone or emotion), Time (represents time of day or within history), Goal (whatever the character is pursuing), Obstacle (anyone or anything in the character's way), Relationship (a relationship between anyone or anything), Backstory (a history that promotes fuller understanding of the narrative), The Unknown (can be anything unexpected, a twist), Setting (any location or environment), Character (can be anyone or anything) and Discovery (a key and potentially pivotal item, place or truth that is uncovered).

Meet the celebrity directors:

Submission of entries ran from August 14 to September 24, 2012. The official website of the project has already announced the 91 semi-finalists of winning photos, which were narrowed down through public votes held on September 4 until October 1.

Ten photos, one per theme, will then be selected from these entries by the featured celebrity directors to inspire them in their film making. All film interpretations will then be screened on the Canon “Project Imaginat10n” Film Festival in 2013. Aside from tickets to the premiere, the winners will be given some Canon equipment that will make any photo aficionado go gaga.

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Marketing And Advertising Inspired By Famous And Iconic Paintings

There are actually a lot of advertisements that can manage to attract on their own. But what will you get if you combine two equally attractive media in one form, let's say advertising con famos paintings?

When great modern minds take into their artistry the already established and rare genius of classical painters and artists, then their effect does not end on the visual plain. The following surprisingly catchy advertisements simply demonstrate the timeless power of fine culture evident in paintings and other forms of art.

Would you still consider these classical paintings relevant in modern times?

The Art

The Ad

Vincent van Gogh's self portrait became Alliance Française's selling point to encourage everyone to broaden one's perspective by learning French.

The Art

The Ad

Andy Warhol's distinctive designs and patterns inspired Orbit chewing gum's pig-out slogan.

The Art

The Ad

Centrum's advertisement for brain nutrients simply puts to the point how your child will become if he or she takes their product. This cute representation of August Rodin's The Thinker is a sure winner.

The Art

The Ad

Picasso's quirky and mind-boggling art is emulated by a Fitness Center marketing to signify balance and physique.

The Art

The Ad

Mona Lisa's smile has become even more meaningful after she found a company in this German online dating service campaign. Leonardo Da Vinci might be scratching his head on this one.

The Art

The Ad

Salvador Dali's timeless melting clocks get a new twist with Lipton tea's playful advertisement.

These are just some of my most favorite out of the many advertisements that emulated great paintings and other art forms. There are still a lot more to be discovered, waiting to be shared and be appreciated. Art is indeed a timeless part of our culture that transcends life itself. It may age, but it will always be relevant.

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