Allegedly...

Rupert Murdoch 

is said to be deeply moved and touched 

by all the messages of condolence and support 

left by friends and family...

on Amy Winehouse's mobile phone.

Now playing: Shirley Bassey - Goldfinger

November is a long way away II

100 YEARS: The imagination of Robert Crowder, Vralati, and Shoji Kuroda

  

The three faces of an artist that lived for a century

A special exhibition to mark Robert Crowder's centenary

November 13, 2011 - January 8, 2012

9:30 am—6:00 pm (Monday—Saturday. Sunday by appointment)

Shumei Hall Gallery

Pasadena, California

1960s folding screens which typify Crowder's work

Crowder (1921-2010) was an American-born painter who learned the technique of Nihonga while living in pre-war Japan. He took the artist name of Shoji Kuroda after having studied under the master painter Mochizuki Shunko (1893-1979). With the outbreak of World War II, Crowder was interned as an enemy alien and subsequently deported from Japan in 1943.

His profound affection for the country, however, remained intact, and to this day he shows not a trace of bitterness or regret. He would have stayed forever, he says, had it not been for the circumstances. As it was, he returned to the United States, and the beautiful things that had captivated him in Asia — ikebana flower arrangement and painted byobu, as well as fabrics purchased from the mountain “aborigines” on his visits to Taiwan from Japan — formed the basis for establishing a studio of handpainted murals and folding screens used in decorating the Hollywood homes of the rich and famous. - April, 2007 issue Cultural News

Imperial City  by Robert Crowder & Company

The last incarnation of Mame's Beekman Place apartment

Now playing:  Ryuichi Sakamoto - Solitude 

Back to black

Amy Winehouse 

1983 - 2011

To use, or not to use

That is the question.

 

Has Farrow & Ball become too commonplace?

Ay, there's the rub.

Now playing: B.B. King with Eric Clapton and Phil Collins - The Thrill Is Gone

The king is dead

Reflection, 1985

Lucian Freud 

8 December 1922 – 20 July 2011

Leigh Bowery, 1991

Mission: Impossibly Smart

T-chair-3LC

William Katavolos, Ross Littell and Douglas Kelley

Designed in 1952/53

Made by Laverne International, New York

 Now playing: Soft Cell - Tainted Love

Vintage

Miss Lennox

Made of green silk with a golden weft, sixty miles long and sixty miles wide

...when Solomon sat upon the carpet he was caught up by the wind, 

and sailed through the air so quickly that he breakfasted at Damascus and supped in Media.

Now playing: Steppenwolf - Magic Carpet Ride

For now

this will have to do

Now playing: Billie Holiday - Until The Real Thing Comes Along

Relative

Figure 1. Manifestation of Culture at Different Levels of Depth

In fact I'm rather anti culture... I'm rather put off by culture worshipers as they are somewhat precious and prone to gushing.  The danger is one can use culture worship as a substitute for engaging with the... messy business of living.  - the character of Christopher Isherwood,  Christopher and His Kind (2011)






Now playing: Culture Club - It's A Miracle

By Jove

c'est Jouve!

Sirenes  ceramic wall lights by Georges Jouve

I have heard the mermaids singing, each to each...
 
And they do sing to me.

Fabulous.

Now playing: This Mortal Coil - Song to the Siren

Reality television

In theory, Stir-Fried Turmeric Squid.

In reality.

To be fair, this was the first time out with this recipe.
Though the sauce was delicious, the amount of prep time actually needed was greatly underestimated.

MasterChef Australia

The only watchable version of this show.

Now playing: Men At Work - Land Down Under

Reality (tele)vision

Ward Bennett lounge chair manufactured by Brickel Associates, c. 1970

Ward Bennett interviewed by Barbaralee Diamonstein-Spielvogel

Interior Design: The New Freedom - Ward Bennett, 1981
 

Part of the Diamonstein-Spielvogel Video Archive, Duke University Libraries

Now playing: Tears For Fears - Pale Shelter

Vintage

Miss Warwick