2000s

“Fantasy Meets Technology in Ocean Resorts’ Underwater Art Show”

“Fantasy Meets Technology in Ocean Resorts’ Underwater Art Show”

By Bekah Wright via Yahoo! News

Where does one go to see an art exhibition in the Maldives? Under the sea, of course — the Indian Ocean, to be exact. Two of the island nation’s luxury resorts will be showcasing underwater works from photo artist Andreas Franke’s “Phantasy Fairytale” through May. 

The sites, Huvafen Fushi and Niyama, are sister properties in the posh Per Aquum collection, where rooms start at about $600 a night. Rather than in some stuffy gallery, the “Phantasy Fairytale” showings are in Subsix, Niyama’s underwater music club, and Huvafen Fushi’s Lime spa, also below sea level. 

Two photo shoots were necessary to create each fantasy-themed piece, one using an underwater backdrop and the other taken in a studio with real-life models. The superimposed images are encased in Plexiglas and stainless-steel frames, and divers put each piece — priced from $15,000 to $12,000 — in place per Franke’s specifications. 

What will visitors see in the “Phantasy Fairytale” galleries? Some familiar faces are captured in a combination of photography, nautical exploration and digital mastery: fairytale characters such as Snow White, Little Red Riding Hood, Star Money, The Snow Queen and The Last Unicorn. The two spaces have four identical Franke images, with the exception of The Snow Queen, only at Niyama, and The Last Unicorn at Huvafen Fushi.

Franke, an award-winning Austria-based photo artist and avid scuba diver, has said of the series: “With my photographs, I want to pull the spectators into unreal and strange worlds. Mystified scenes of a fairytale play within a fictional space. Dream worlds you can get lost in, or that you can identify with. This creates a new and unexpected atmosphere. This work shows very much of myself, since I am always on the lookout for stunning themes to create new images that have never been seen before.”

Adding to the story each image tells: salt and algae that collect on the frames, along with the ever-changing world of marine life around them. “The underwater scenery is beautiful, coral reefs surround both Subsix and Lime Spa. You can see all sorts of coral from finger coral to brain coral, hard coral and soft coral,” Stacey Dean, Per Aquum’s director of marketing and communications, told Yahoo Travel in an email. “There are also many fish that live in the coral reef such as parrotfish and clown fish. We even have the odd turtle, stingray and reef shark that swim past.” . . . . . .

Read More

“Tessa Groshoff Finds Safety in Art”

Tessa Groshoff Finds Safety in Art

by Jennifer Larue via “The Spokesman Review“

“On a white sheet of paper, Tessa Groshoff spills her secrets.

She swirls, lines and scribbles to tell her stories in the universal language of art that words simply cannot convey.

“Art is my way of communicating,” she said. “I believe a person’s voice can be heard without words. Each stroke is a memory to be created or released, and each stroke has a purpose whether it is dark or light.” . . . .”

 

 

“SAN BERNARDINO: Famous Poster Art on Display”

“SAN BERNARDINO: Famous Poster Art on Display”

by Fielding Buck via “The Press Enterprise“

Exhibition: Music to my Eyes

Location: 

Robert and Frances Fullerton Museum of Art at California State University,
5500 University Parkway, San Bernardino

Dates: Now through March 15, 2014

Further Information: http://raffma.csusb.edu

“David Edward Byrd has a thing about eyes.

You can see it in his work.

“That’s how I meet you, see your face. Your eyes,” said the artist. “I always thought that was a real grabber … I kind of made it a trademark.”

A selection of Byrd’s work is on display at the Robert and Frances Fullerton Museum of Art at California State University, San Bernardino. The exhibit is called “Music to My Eyes, David Edward Byrd: Posters and Music-related Designs 1968 — Now.”

Born in Tennessee, educated in Boston and now based in Los Angeles, Byrd became known for his posters created for rock concert promoter Bill Graham in the late 1960s. . . . .”

 

“The Best Western Premier in Haiti”

Fla. Artist Smashes $1M Vase in Miami Museum

“Fla. Artist Smashes $1M Vase in Miami Museum”

by Curt Anderson via “ABC News”

“A South Florida artist is facing a criminal charge after police say he smashed a $1 million vase at Miami’s new art museum in what appears to be a form of protest.

Maximo Caminero, 51, was charged with criminal mischief after Sunday’s incident at the Perez Art Museum Miami. According to a Miami Police Department arrest affidavit, a security guard told officers that Caminero picked up a colored vase by Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei. When told to put it down, the security guard said Caminero smashed it on the floor.

A police affidavit says Caminero told officers he broke the vase to protest the museum’s lack of local artist displays. Caminero, a painter who lives in Miami, declined comment when reached by telephone Monday. He said he will have an afternoon news conference Tuesday. . . . .”