Cabinet Magazine's most recent issue featured a series of paintings by the English artist Louis Wain, who painted thousands of pictures of cats. Wain was committed to a mental hospital in 1924 after showing signs of schizophrenia. Many psychologists believe the increasing severity of Wain's mental illness can be seen in his paintings, though others claim the paintings are just reflecting patterns from his mother's textiles. See for yourself:
All images copyright the Archives and Museum of Bethlem Royal Hospital.
H.G. Wells once said of Wain:
He has made the cat his own. He invented a cat style, a cat society, a whole cat world. English cats that do not look and live like Louis Wain cats are ashamed of themselves.
More on Wain can be found here, here, and here.
This post is in memory of my beloved family cat Mister Ham, who passed away yesterday.
These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
Andrea — Sep 1, 2010
See more of Helmut Smits at his website. Photos by Lotte Stekelenburg. Via.
These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
Paul — Jul 29, 2010
Your week started with pie fights, and ends with decaying birds. Aren't you glad you subscribe to BlogLESS?
I find these (small) paintings by Milanese artist Maurizio Bongiovanni captivating.
Bird rib, 2010
Bird rib, 2008
Bird rib, 2008
See more of Maurizio's work on his Flickr Photostream. Via.
These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
Paul — Jul 2, 2010
Check out these amazing Ghanaian paintings used to advertising films on the “mobile cinema” (traveling VHS) circuit.
In the 1980s, video cassette technology made it possible for “mobile cinema” operators in Ghana to travel from town to town and village to village creating temporary cinemas. The touring film group would create a theatre by hooking up a TV and VCR onto a portable generator and playing the films for the people to see.
Cujo (Lewis Teague, 1983)
In order to promote these showings, artists were hired to paint large posters of the films (usually on used canvas flour sacks). The artists were given the artistic freedom to paint the posters as they desired - often adding elements that weren’t in the actual films, or without even having seen the movies. When the posters were finished they were rolled up and taken on the road (note the heavy damages). The “mobile cinema” began to decline in the mid-nineties due to greater availability of television and video; as a result the painted film posters were substituted for less interesting/artistic posters produced on photocopied paper.
Terminator 2 (James Cameron, 1991)
This is via, and see more here.
These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
Paul — May 21, 2010
Bilder von Maria Zaikina. Es sind wunderschöne Minimalismus!
Ich konnte bei dieser ganzen Tag anstarren.
Via Aber ist es Float?.
These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages.
Paul — Apr 23, 2010
