Joel-Peter Witkin

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Francesco Salomoni

Francesco Salomoni is an Italian artist currently residing in Florida. I first saw his works on eBay. His portfolio presents a few different styles, with some abstract paintings aside a number of female nudes. I just have to say that I found his paintings of nude females refreshing in their simplicity.

He also includes a number of drawings. Some of them appear to have been sketches for paintings, usually with a couple of minor differences. He also has an area dedicated to photography and a self-published photography book.

"Nude American Girl" by Francesco Salomoni.

Website: http://www.francescosalomoni.com

Completely Naked - Emotional Censorship

Completely Naked is a visual art initiative in London that, in their own words:

"Specialized in interactive installations, we explore live arts, visual, digital and time-based languages and our ideas are based on a curiosity for human behaviour from individual to collective responses. We create psychological conflicts to activate the partaker's reaction. We explore representations of the human body and challenge social boundaries around personal identity. Our work combines an interest in culture, psychology and communication with design by engaging public audiences in exciting methods of interactivity and art."

I find their projects fascinating, fearless in explore the taboo behind the identity, the privacy of the subject, and the need for self expression.

I'm sharing here a video that Completely Naked recently posted, from the Censura Emocional (Emotional Censorship) project in Portugal. I really recommend visiting their website, their facebook and their vimeo. You are in for an interesting trip!



Censura Emocional / FB / A8 from pau ros on Vimeo.
Website: http://www.completelynaked.co.uk/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Completely-Naked/190073984824?sk=info

Vimeo: http://vimeo.com/user313096

Let him who is without sin be the first to throw a stone

In a park in Armenia, Colombia, there was a performance called "El que esté libre de pecado que tire la primera piedra" ("Let him who is without sin be the first to throw a stone"). During the performance, an artist stripped nude and stood in front of a tree, as waiting for the stones to be thrown at him. Later on, he handed something (I'm not sure what, soap?).

During the performance, a reporter was completely outraged. He could not stop staring and yelling: "This is immoral! This might be a homosexual act!". Sure, the reporter showed a lot of ignorance and intolerance (and even homophobia) with his reaction, but wasn't that the point? To provoke, to bring those demons out of the human mind and expose them just as the artist exposed his body.

The reporter held his cell phone just as if he was holding the stone. Perhaps the modern stone is the cell phone used to throw the public forces against everything that we cannot accept.

Perhaps without this reaction the performance would have missed its mark. The sin wouldn't have been exposed. Intolerance, fear, repression, ignorance. Homophobia, but why homophobia? What is homosexual about a nude body? Perhaps the reporter becomes homosexual when he takes his clothes off to shower in the morning? Or does he shower with his eyes closed?

So, the video is obviously in Spanish, but the language of gestures is universal enough.

Luiz Gustavo Martins - Brazil

I almost don't know anything about Gustavo Martins. I found him through Flickr, where there is some brief biographical information:

"Degree in fine arts by Puc, I work in the area of illustration and participated in some halls of humor.
Later in 2010 I started to focus my work in the arts, where I realized I had more creative freedom than picturing memories from the past that hour mix with the realities today."

I love the innocence and matter of fact ways of his characters, and the strong, almost blocky compositions. His use of curtains, windows, walls etc to create the scene and frame is quite classical.


o dia das canções de amor de Aline Maria - " Aline Maria's love songs day"




retrato para Luzia,a cabrocha que abriu as portas do céu. - "picture for Luzia,the woman who opened the gates of heaven."
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/martinsland/

Rodrigo Arenas Betancur - Colombian sculptor

Most known in Colombia and Mexico, I think he deserves to be more widely known. He created incredible sculptural groups, sometimes representing the independence battles in Colombia, sometimes just mankind rising to the height of their potential.

Rodrigo Arenas Betancur was born on October 23, 1919 in Fredonia, Antioquia. At the time of his death in 1995 he was recognized as one of the most important sculptors in Colombia and Latin America.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rodrigo_Arenas

Noewi

A great artist and a wonderful person, Noewi shares a lot of her creative process with her fans through the Facebook page. Her paintings are playful and naughty (but nice) expressions of intimacy, beauty, femininity and masculinity.
Personally, I love this one, which her fans were able to see evolve from the initial drawing to the final painting.
Exposed, by Noewi


Noewi (Jindra) was born and raised in Czech Republic, and currently resides in the Tampa Bay area. Besides her paintings, she creates murals and faux finish, and is available for commissions.

Website: http://noewisart.com/

Online store: http://jindra-noewi.fineartamerica.com/

eBay store: http://stores.ebay.com/Noewis-Art

Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/NoewiArtist?sk=info