Tag Art

Let’s turn on the juice and see what shakes loose

kc 1 Comment

Happy Halloween, my pretties!

Remember a couple years ago when I told you how much I hated dressing up in costume for Halloween? Moral of the story, getting creative with your makeup and sticking with comfortable clothes are always the way to go, especially in Cleveland.

After going strong with cat makeup and a vast array of kitty ears for the last two years, I finally branched out with a new costume for a Halloween party this weekend, and it was totally worth it.

So, what, you ask, did I decide to go as?

(I mean, it’s pretty obvious…)

tumblr_m3ly6dhvYg1qca432o1_500_large

ShowtimeBeetlejuice

That’s right! After watching a 10-minute makeup tutorial, I took an old black-and-white striped dress I already had, mixed my palest shade of foundation with some white face paint [fun fact: mixing with foundation stops cheap Halloween makeup from cracking/caking], piled on the purple smokey eye and various green yuckiness, and voilà. Oh, I also added approximately five pounds of baby powder to my hair to get it white at the roots [only mildly regretting that decision 3 days after the fact], and sprayed some green hairspray on the ends.

beetlemakup

I was so pleased with how it turned out. A few friends and I just watched the 1988 cult classic the previous weekend, so the little details [like the rotting green around his mouth] were fresh in my mind. I was a bit nervous the striped dress (instead of his iconic blazer) would look stupid, but it actually worked out really well — I already had that dress in my donation pile due to a small stain I couldn’t get out, so I dirtied it up a little more and made it work. It was easy, fun, and the people who got it loved it.

[My only regret: falling asleep without washing my hair. It is now the consistency of straw since the baby powder sucked all the oil from it. But it’s not like I needed an excuse to not wash my hair for a week, lmao.]

lydiadeetz

PRO TIP: To elevate your Beetlejuice game, get yourself a Lydia Deetz to go along with your costume!

beetlelydia
22859829_10156979593879062_8907356630670118685_o

Halloween 2k17 – success ✔️

“Put no trust in a brother. Acknowledge no one as a friend.”

kc Leave a comment

AKA in millennial terms: Trust no man. Fear every bitch.

The title quote is what Amenemhat I, the first ruler of the Twelfth Dynasty, said from the grave about being murdered in his sleep. Try and figure that one out. If you missed the Pharaoh: King of Ancient Egypt exhibition that hit the Cleveland Museum of Art between March 13 and June 12, you done fucked up. Tickets were just $15, and with a membership to CMA, the first ticket was free and the next was 50% off. They make it so easy and cheap to get out of the house and learn something. Keep in mind that the actual art museum is still free to attend, too.

“More than 90 percent of the 157 objects on view in the current “Pharaoh” show” came from the British Museum in London. The rest were from Cleveland’s own collection. I didn’t know at the time, but I soon learned from my friend that within the last ten years, Egypt has been trying to crack down on art that was obtained illegally and/or given out as gifts, and as a result working to get a lot of these relics shipped back to Egypt. I wasn’t able to find anything to support this claim, but she also said tighter regulations would mean that certain objects found in the exhibit we went to would not be allowed to leave the country as soon as they return to Britain. Either way, when you visit an exhibit like this, you really never know if you’ll be able to see anything like this again.

These objects were so beautiful and so perplexing. Combined with the fact that everything in the exhibit was thousands and thousands of years old and from an ancient civilization that we know so little about… it was really hard to wrap my mind around what we were actually seeing. So I did what any typical white girl would, and took pictures (for Instagram primarily, and also for later reflection).

b7363913-b4c1-40ec-b2a4-4ca5fa9a997d

[Shabti of Pharaoh Seti I. Dynasty 19, reign of Seti I, c. 1294–1279 BC. Tomb of Seti I, Valley of the Kings, Thebes, Egypt. Blue faience; 22.8 x 9.6 x 9.6 cm. British Museum, EA 22818. © Trustees of the British Museum, London.] — I just liked the color of this dude.

564eadda-ec8f-4669-95b0-d46dcb23e36f

[Three kneeling figures in poses of jubilation, c. 715–332 BC. Late Period. Egypt. Bronze; h. 24.5–30.5 cm. British Museum, EA 11498, EA 11496, EA 11497. © Trustees of the British Museum, London.] — Yes, this is their jubilant pose

9ef3a423-3558-4fde-a6b3-18a010a70f76

[Figure of a squatting baboon, c. 1391-1353 BC, carved during the reign of Amenhotep III in red quartzite.] Fun Fact: this little guy, who so strikingly resembles my cat, Charles Barkley, also visited CMA in an exhibit in 1991-1992.

34f7c5d1-fe59-4a96-957b-3acfcbdc7b2d

According to this Beginner’s Guide to Egyptian Art, all of these images, whether statues or relief, were designed to benefit a divine or deceased recipient. They were not meant for public viewing: just to honor or connect with another realm. This may explain why we have such little understanding of the meaning behind most of it, we were never intended to see it in the first place. Even my favorite little baboon is meant to represent a divinity whose identity still has not yet been revealed by scholars. For something we know so little about, their artwork was meticulous and mesmerizing. What these people were capable of 3,000 years ago still baffles me today.

Be sure to check out the upcoming exhibitions at the Cleveland Museum of Art… I promise you will not regret learning a little.

The latest trend in drinking…

kc Leave a comment

Happy first of the month!

These days, it seems like we’re constantly finding ways to make drinking more exciting. Why? I don’t know. Personally, a bottle (or box) of wine is all I need for a good time. But apparently, we have to incorporate other activities into our drinking or it’s considered a “problem.” Psh… my only “problem” is when I run out of alcohol.

So, this brings us to the latest trend in drinking… paint parties. You gather a bunch of your friends either at a house or a private room in a bar/restaurant, feed ’em some booze, make them cough up some cash, and you all drunkenly paint the same picture. I went to my first paint party last weekend, hosted by Artists Uncork’d. They are a Cleveland-based company that specialize in step-by-step, alcohol-induced acrylic paintings. I was pretty excited to try this out, especially when I saw this was what we were going to [attempt to] paint:

vangoghskyline

It’s a Van Gogh-esq version of the Cleveland skyline. Beyond cool, right? I went into this thinking it would be next to impossible to paint. Especially looking down at our plates of paint and realizing there were only mounds of black, white, red, blue and yellow… How am I gonna get those five colors to look like THIS MASTERPIECE?! I thought this to myself as I took another swig of wine. But, the step-by-step direction of our instructor, combined with the fact that literally no matter how bad you think you are at painting, you could never mess this up… much to my surprise, everyone left with an awesome, unique painting. If you ever have an opportunity to try out something like this, go for it. Just make sure the painting is cool and Cleveland-related, or you’re an idiot.

Below are some pictures of my progress throughout the night. Sorry for the poor quality, I may or may not have been slightly intoxicated when I made this snapchat story.

Snapchat-2137166035478386601

Snapchat--2604898780175881075

Snapchat--4688081933862287544

Snapchat--97255524891567094

Snapchat-250490091861052401

Not bad, eh? Like I said, everyone’s came out great. It looks a lot better and brighter in person.

IMG955321

Are you gonna eat that? 💘

kc Leave a comment

Just a friendly reminder that St. Valentine was, in fact, beheaded on February 14th.
Stay heartless, my pretties.

enhanced-26322-1423262552-5

 

valentines-1

 

 

enhanced-6840-1423568024-20

 

tumblr_niv1v3uh0H1tqaa73o1_500

 

enhanced-20342-1423609500-5

 

But seriously, in honor of Valentine’s Day, I would like to take this time to tell you about my favorite painting at the Cleveland Museum of Art. My final semester of college, I had to take an Art History class to graduate (though, my degree was in Finance and Economics… but… I digress…). I was actually really excited about this particular Art History class, because not only was it Monday and Wednesday nights (meaning, no Friday classes for this bitch), but almost every Wednesday we traveled to the art museum to explore and learn about all this nifty little place had to offer. The CMA is one of the most vast and distinguished art museums in the world, and to this day admission remains free, resonating its founding principle of being “for the benefit of all the people forever.” Seriously, if you live in Cleveland or even visit Cleveland, and haven’t been to the Cleveland Museum of Art… what are you waiting for? EXPERIENCE THIS.

Anyway. On to my favorite painting on display here. I present to you, Cupid and Psyche, 1817 by Jacques Louis David:

1962.37_w

It’s just FABULOUS, isn’t it?

So, here’s the story behind this painting (as explained both in my class and what I like to think it means): Cupid is clearly older here than he is depicted in most art, and in his older age I like to think he was kind of a slut. I mean, he is Cupid, after all. He falls for this human Psyche and visits her nightly to… have his way with her in the dark. This way he keeps his anonymity, ’cause, ya know, the wings, and realizing you’re banging Cupid might freak a chick out initially. In the background you can see the sun is starting to rise, and Cupid is trying to sneak out before Psyche wakes up to see him, but she’s lying on his wing, rendering him stuck for the time being. That face gets me every time– it’s described as him “smirking at his sexual conquest,” but I like to think of it as him realizing he’s got himself in a bit of a pickle and finding the humor in it all.

The Cupid and Psyche love story is a reigning theme in Greek mythology, delving into the trials and tribulations of love — Psyche (“soul”) and Cupid (“desire”) are the literal manifestations of this conflict. The couple eventually overcomes and unifies through marriage… but, while most representations of Cupid and Psyche are innocent and poetic, David boldly flaunts the more taboo side of the relationship — the dirrrrty deed. He put a fresh and sort of dark twist on the over done theme of Cupid and Psyche.

And there you have it. Go see this at the museum, a picture does not do it justice.
Happy Valentine’s Day, bitches ❤