Happy Thanksgiving

I was going to post the Sarah Palin/turkey killing video but decided to stay away from politics and humor. The above image is by Debbie Caffery. Her work, along with numerous books, can be found here.

Image ©2008 Debbie Caffery

Vic Muniz

Vic Muniz is a Brazilian artist who, among other things, creates stunning art out of strategically placed debris, etc.. They really need to be seen in person to be appreciated (there are two, that I know of, at 21c in Louisville).

His website can be found here.

Images ©2008 Vic Muniz

Audio Annie Leibovitz

Via Chase Jarvis' blog, here's an hour long interview she did with NPR in Seattle.

http://blog.chasejarvis.com/blog/2008/11/annie-leibovitz-talks-again-this-time.html

Image ©2008 Annie Leibovitz

I Think I Would Have Liked This Guy

"Tivoli is my home town, Flavius Agricola is my name... Friends who read this, do my bidding. Mix the wine, drink deep, wreathed in flowers, and do not refuse to pleasure pretty girls. When death comes, earth and fire devour all."

On a recent trip to the Indianapolis Museum of Art, I came across a Funerary Monument for one Flavius Agricola. The above is the epitaph on his monument. Sounds like a guy I would have gotten on with. Obviously, the Pope felt otherwise.

Found in 1624 when the foundation was dug for Bernini's bronze canopy over the high altar of St. Peter's in Rome, Flavius' earthy epitaph and the presence of this pagan effigy near the tomb of St. Peter so incensed the pope that he ordered the inscription effaced (after it was recorded) and the monument thrown into the Tiber. It was rescued by the pope's nephew, Cardinal Franceso Barberini, an avid collector of Roman antiquities.

Image ©2008 Indianapolis Museum of Art

Graphic Exchange

Graphic Exchange is an excellent site (if you have an interest in design that is). Fabien Barral takes the time to scour the world (wide web), and elsewhere, in search of great design. He also has a graphic-exchange program which nets him actual samples. I still remember the long-gone paper shows for all of the great samples one could collect (and not just at the free booze bars).

The site is a great place to be inspired. Find it here.

Images © their respective authors/producers

Annie Leibovitz at Work

Got the book yesterday, read it, and was quite pleasantly surprised. Ms. Leibovitz discusses in detail her thoughts and preparation on a wide range of shoots and subjects (the shoot of the Queen is especially interesting), from her long and storied career. It includes a number of photographs that are rather small and really don't do justice to many of the images (most especially the aforementioned Queen photographs).

I highly recommend it. You can get it here.

I Have a Way With Models

This is Steve Baldwin's daughter Eleanor. As you can see, she was quite immune to my witty chatter and photographic cajoling.

Image ©2008 Michael Morris