Angola has recently become an important player in the global economy due to its wealth of oil and diamonds, after having been in the news mainly because of the atrocities of an enduring civil war. Most of the country's population lives in Luanda, a metropolis of about seven million inhabitants. In this both utopian and nightmarish urban setting one of the most intriguing musics of the African continent has been born: kuduro. In this article we explore the role of this popular Angolan electronic music and dance style in the process of updating the national Angolan identity called angolanidade to the conditions of the new millennium.
French DJ Frédéric Galliano's CD-Albums "Kuduro Sound System" (produced in Luanda in 2005 and 2008, first with Angolan artists and singers like Dog Murras, Tony Amado, Zoca Zoca, Pai Diesel, Pinta Tirru and Gata AGressiva, and second with various underground artists) catapulted kuduro's sound onto club dancefloors all over the world. Since then kuduro has been debated in the North American and European music press and blogosphere. This field of discourse is not primarily concerned with Angolan issues. Here, kuduro has been discussed mainly under the umbrella of global ghettotech or an afro-futuristic critique thereof (Goodman 2010). The concept of global ghettotech stresses the origin of disparate musical styles in supposedly similar deprived urban areas around the Atlantic whereas an afro-futuristic reading lets go of notions of authenticity and roots in favor of narratives of aquatic or outer spaces, viruses and a focus on technology with transgressive powers (Eshun 1998).
We shift this focus to investigate kuduro's role in the process of re-shaping angolanidade today, arguing, that performative acts in kuduro's sound, style and demeanour are constituting a new angolanidade. This angolaness is constituted in different contexts of the local, the international and the virtual. We suggest that in its most recent incarnation angolanidade as reflected in and constructed through kuduro is not only digital, but also transnational and closely tied in with a) international systems of popular culture such as hip hop semiotics of dance moves and gang affiliations, b) global electronic music culture as well as c) local Angolan cultural forms like the rich popular musics from the 1950s onwards like semba, kizomba or carnival dancing. Semba as a rhythm or style is regarded as that which makes a a piece of music sound distinctly Angolan, for Moorman semba as an umbrella term includes the social components as well as a variety of genres (Moorman 2008:7). Both semba and kizomba are usually couple dances.
Information for this article have been collected from different perspectives. Nadine Siegert, a cultural anthropologist has done fieldwork for her PhD thesis in Luanda and Lisabon in 2007, 2008 and 2009. While working primarily on the contemporary art-scene, popular music has always been an important sideline in her work. Stefanie Alisch, a musicologist and DJ is preparing a PhD on kuduro and is planning to do field research in Lisbon and Luanda in 2011. Both researchers have established contacts with actors of different platforms of the kuduro-scene (for the concept of platforms, see below). A major part of the research has also been conducted on the internet. Tracking news in various online platforms provides an invaluable but also never-ending source of data. For this article, we develop our argument by utilizing a close reading of video material and contextualizing this with Angolan history and the role music and popular culture played in it.
The present situation in Angola is the result of about 500 years of Portuguese (and Dutch) colonialism, the impact of slave trade and a recent history of wars. Angola had been a Portuguese colony for 400 years, been regarded as Overseas Province to Portugal since 1951, a mere appendix governed by a geographically and culturally remote Estado Novo ('New State'). This military regime under António de Oliveira Salazar was one of Europe's last authoritarian dictatorships. In a time when other African colonies had already become independent, Portugal kept its colonies until 1975. This led to a brutal liberation war in Angola (1961-1974). Independence came as a result of Lisbon's carnation revolution. It was succeeded by a civil war between the main liberation movements, the Movimento Popular para a Libertação de Angola ('People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola', MPLA, today's government party MPLA, founded in 1956) and the oppositional party União Nacional para a Independência Total de Angola ('National Union for the Total Independence of Angola', UNITA, founded in 1966 and led by the rebel leader Jonas Savimbi). The civil war was often regarded as one of the most prominent Cold War proxy wars. It ended in 2002 with the death of Savimbi, and devastated land, economy and social structures.
Many individuals and their cultural traditions were scattered about the country or forced into exile. At the periphery of Angola's capital Luanda large informal neighbourhoods called musseques continue to grow as a result of the intra-Angolan migration during and after the civil war. Musseque means 'sandy area' in Kimbundu, one of Angola's main languages. They are the counterparts to terreno asfaltado, the 'asphalt areas'.
With Angola holding one of the highest rates of landmine injuries per capita in the world, amputees are a common sight in the streets of Luanda (Vierke 2008). However, in the postwar years the capital Luanda developed a second face due to the growing economy, relying on natural resources such as oil and diamonds as well as South-to-South business arrangements. With tower blocks and real estate prices soaring Luanda is bursting at the seams and might soon be included in the list of mega-cities (Davis 2006, Rühle 2008).
Angolanidade (roughly translated as angolaness) can be described as Angolan cultural patriotism. Angolanidade speaks of a sense of identity both rooted in local cultural practices and in cosmopolitanism, thus being a 'rooted cosmopolitanism' or 'cosmopolitan patriotism' as defined by Kwame Appiah (Appiah 1996). Since the time of the liberation war it became a metaphor for cultural autonomy of the Angolan population fighting against the colonial oppressors. The concept of angolanidade can be traced back to the late 19th century. A free press that published texts of both, Afro- and Euro-Angolans, was budding then. In the 20th century it became inspired by the ideas of the négritude, a cultural ideology developed by African and Caribbean intellectuals living and studying in France and later becoming the basis for the Cultural Policy of independent francophone states like Senegal. Négritude emphasized the cultural relevance of African literary and cultural output. It was adapted to the Angolan context by intellectuals and artists like the poet Viriato da Cruz. He started the journal A Mensagem ('the message') in the 1940s. As the mouthpiece of the first native Angolan literary and political movement Os jovens intellectuais ('The Young Intellectuals'), the magazine promoted the slogan Vamos descrobrir Angola ('Let's discover Angola'). Along with other members of Os jovens intellectuais such as Agostinho Neto or Mário Pinto de Andrade, Viriato da Cruz went on to become a leader of the MPLA.
Music became explicitly political in the 1950s. At this stage the Angolan liberation movements formed in exile in the neighbouring countries like both Congos as well as in Europe. From there the liberation war started in 1961. Moorman emphasizes that the urban population actively imaginated an independent nation, which she sees as an important step in the indepence process. Angolanidade stood primarily for the cultural movement in the capital Luanda. A rather high percentage of the population in the musseques comprised of mestizos, an ethnically and culturally mixed population. They regarded themselves as the cultural elite engaging strongly in political, social and cultural activities, and formed the core of the liberation movement MPLA.
One of the most important bands promoting Angolan patriotism was Ngola Ritmos ('Angola Rhythms'), founded in the late 1950s. They supported the guerilla fight with their songs, and some of its musicians were also active members of the liberation movement MPLA. In 1959 and 1960 two of the Ngola Ritmos' members–Carlos Liceu Viera Dias and Amadeu Amorim–were imprisoned in the infamous Tarrafal jail on the Cape Verde islands for more than ten years. The band's singer and guitar player José Maria dos Santos was sent into exile in the provincial town of Lubango. António Ole's documentary film O ritmo do Ngola Ritmos ('The rhythm of Ngola Ritmos', 1978) relates the story of their reunion in 1977.
Moorman describes the years 1961-1974 as the 'Golden Years' of Angolan music. In that time, Angolans developed the nation and created expectations about nationalism and political, economic and cultural sovereignty through popular music produced in Luanda's musseques. In musical styles like semba and later kizomba, the musicians in the musseques played and danced their nation into being. Combining international trends of popular music of that time like Latin-American and Caribbean rhythms with Angolan traditional songs and folklore, the musicians created angolanidade primarily by singing in national languages like Kimbundu and Umbundu and using local instruments. At that time the MPLA's radio programme Angola Combatente ('Fighting Angola') was broadcasted from Congo-Brazzaville. At both sides of the Congolese-Angolan border people would absorb its political and cultural messages. Through the airwaves people in the musseques were emotionally united with the guerilla fighters at the front of the liberation war. Thus, Angola's self perception gradually changed from being a mere appendix to Portugal, an overseas province, to that of a country in its own right. In this process music served as a template for independence.
After the independence in 1975 things took a turn for the worse in terms of cultural productivity. The years following independence until 1989 were somewhat a hiatus due to the musicians' forced alignment to Angola's official socialist cultural and educational policy. The drastic change of the cultural atmosphere in Luanda after 1975 is also reflected in the increasing emigration of artists during that time. The MPLA, resistance movement turned ruling party, started instrumentalizing music for their purposes. From a felt unity and the desire for independence the country became fragmented and culture became politicized. Music was used by the young Angolan state as a nation-building tool. This lead to a strict censorship. In 1977 three musicians were killed and their music was banned from the radio for over a decade.
This historical process shows, that the period of euphoria and power of utopic vision in Angola was not in in the years right after independence but in the time of late colonialism just before it. In certain aspects, present day Angola and its economic and cultural boost after the civil war, along with the euphoric emotional subtext of embarking on a journey into a promising future, seems to have more in common with this late colonial period of struggle for independence than with the time when independence had actually been achieved.
In the following chapters we look into the ways through which musical activities still constitute a large part of the Angolan patriotic self-concept, even if musical and dance styles have evolved drastically since the struggle for independence.
Kuduro is a popular sound and dance that was developed in Luanda and Lisbon around 1990 and continues to mature. The electronically produced tracks contain, amongst other elements, Angolan styles like semba and kizomba, rhythms akin to upbeat Caribbean soca as well as techno and house beats. The lyrics are mostly rapped in Angolan Portuguese and in Calão, a creole of Kimbundu and Portuguese that is typical for Luanda (Siegert 2008). The raps are mostly delivered in half time against an upbeat tempo around 130-140 BPM. This way a certain tension that is typical to kuduro in general is created in the area of sound.
Kuduro sound and dance are inseparable. The dance contains elements of at least three areas: a) popping and locking, break-dance, headpins and power moves from hip hop b) traditional Angolan and carnival dance movements c) graphic theatrical movements such as crawling on the ground as if in a battle, dancing on the thighs as if the legs were amputated, dancing with legs turned inwards as if on crutches, dancing on crutches, with missing limbs or mimicking media images of 'starved Africans'. While constructing a new order out of the above elements kuduro dance at the same time constantly destabilizes this order when dancers execute movements such as slapping themselves in the face and falling flat on the ground as if shot.
The main distribution channels for kuduro in Luanda are minibus taxis, called candongueiros. Kuduro is performed on street corners when the candongueiros turn in to mobile sound systems (Siegert 2008). In recent years big kuduro events with sponsors and media coverage as well as kuduro performances in chique night clubs have become more common. Kuduro had been circulating in informal distribution structures of candongueiros, street vendors and on the internet with little access to mainstream media for nearly 20 years.
During the mid-1990ies, DJ Sebem's show on Radio Luanda, where he frantically MCed over instrumental tracks, helped to spread the sound of kuduro all over Luanda.
In 2006, the Lisbon based Buraka Som Sistema's single Yah! exploded on the dancefloors of hip clubs around the world. Since then, kuduro dance performance videos find an increasing audience on internet video platforms like YouTube. The videos range in quality from MTV standard to barely recognizable mobile-phone footage. As with most music styles, various weblogs and sharehosting websites offer kuduro for download in mp3 format.
In 2009, DJ Sebem started his national TV-show Sempre a subir ('Always on the Rise'). DJ Sebem still functions as kuduro's fashion role model number 1, always rocking the most colorful and innovative outfits (Siegert, 2008). The TV show's main feature are interviews between Sebem and current kuduro stars. A staple of these conversations is the topic of beef. Angolan Portuguese borrowed the term from US American hip hop culture where it refers to aggressive competition between gangs or individuals. Sometimes beef is purely metaphoric, sometimes physically violent or lethal. Watching Sebem chat casually about beef to his guests suggests kuduristas use it as a playful marketing tool. Relations of distrust and rivalry between the various musseques are discussed along the lines of which kuduro artists should best represent a certain neighborhood.
In the following clip Nagrelha, a member of the kuduro group Os Lambas ('the adversities'), criticizes the kudurista Puto Prata for having abandoned his country and being no longer able to act as a representative of the neighborhood Rangel.
Kuduro is practised on three platforms: Luanda, Lisbon and dance floors around the world, the latter including the Angolan diaspora communities as well as high end nightclubs in London, New York or Berlin. We borrow the idea of 'platform' from the art exhibition documenta 11 curated by Okwui Enwezor in 2001. The platform model aims to avoid discussing questions of the local and the global which would distract from discussing kuduro in the light of angolanidade in this article.
The cultural anthropologist and musicologist Gerhard Kubik stressed the importance of the lively cultural transfer in the triangle of Lisbon, Luanda and Brazil that has been in effect for more than 400 years. According to him, música popular (popular music) which popped up in one of the three angles could be heard in of the other places after not more than six weeks (Kubik 1979). Early transnational actors and traveling musicians were the first ones to transport the intangible goods. Later radio, cassettes, videos, CDs and today the internet catalysed this exchange.
Our analysis here contains a discussion of platform I – Luanda, respectively its representation on the internet, while also briefly touching on the platforms of the international club-scene and Lisbon.
In Luanda, kuduro is mostly produced in basic studios in the musseques on the outskirts of the capital. Like the musical movements at the time of the liberation war and independence, kuduro was born in the musseques. It seems that a narrative of an origin within the ghetto is key to kuduro artists. Whereas Bairro Operario ('worker's neighbourhood') functioned as the hotspot for 1960ies música popular, today the musseques of Rangel, Sambizanga, Viana and Cazenga are referenced as the important centers of kuduro production. In an upcoming field trip we shall more thoroughly research the specific situations of production studios and distribution networks in Luanda.
In Angola, the conditions of kuduro production and its topics have changed significantly during the past years. Today, many stress the fact that the music is now completely produced in Luanda. Studios like Ghetto Produções ('Ghetto Productions') own the sufficient equipment to produce "Kuduro – Made in Angola" – a label entertaining notions of authenticity and realness. Angolan kudurista Killamu actually lives the realities that Lisbon based Batida (see chapter 3.2) and Les Princes de Kuduro ('the kuduro princes', see chapter 3.3) refer to. For Killamu, it is important to mention that the new kuduristas after Tony Amado and Sebem have revolutionized the music by adding rhymes and lyrics, thus making kuduro more versatile and leaving simple party animation behind. He comments on the poor working and living conditions he finds himself in, and relies on Ghetto Produções, which is located in the middle of one of Luanda's musseques. His critique poses a sharp contrast to Batida's statement, that kuduristas approach their problems with verve and positivity.
Until today music is also exploited for propaganda by politicians, and the production itself is bound up into a patronage system. Dog Murras, one of the most popular kuduristas of the last years was for example sponsored by a general from the Angolan military (Moorman 2008: 192).
In the following video as well as in his visual self representation Dog Murras takes a clear position toward a new version of angolanidade. On his album covers and in Jorge António's documentary Kuduro – Fogo no Museke ('Kuduro – Fire in the Museke) (2007) the big guy appears with a Che Guevara tattoo, silver ear-pins and D&G sunglasses, presenting himself as an Angolan national musician of the new generation. In 2005, Dog Murras started wearing the flag motif exactly at the moment when a national competition for a new design was underway, and the party issued a statement to treat this national symbol with more respect (Moorman 2008: 194). Thus, Murras' performance can be interpreted as an act of personal appropriation of this national symbol rather than Murras being under the whip and mainstreaming. He brought patriotism back to the people in his own particular way, enabling them to wear the national symbols with pride and as a fashion statement. Dog Murras reached fame during the first years after the civil war, but it seems that his popularity among the younger generation has dwindled. Murras integrates a variety of popular musical styles in his kuduro and relates to the problems of his society in his lyrics. According to an Angolan informant it seems that Dog Murras has fallen from grace and re-located to Brazil.
The animosities between the kuduristas in the various musseques Viana, Rangel, Cazenge and Sambizanga seem to increase. Kuduristas start to publicly consider themselves reis (kings) commanding and thus responsible for their ghetto where making music is called a luta (the fight). At least rhetorically the borders between affiliation with kuduro and running with the gang of a famous kudurista in a specific musseque seem to blur.
'Agressive' appears in some female kuduristas names (Gata Agressiva, Tuga Aggressiva) and is regarded a necessary feat for success. Carga ('charge'), a certain intense impact in vocal delivery and performance is key here.
Other kuduristas appear on the TV show as proud representatives of their ghetto or even their province. The female Kudurista Muana Po came the long way from Saurimo in the far eastern province Lunda-Sul to explain to Sebem the meaning of her artist name. Muana Po is one of the most familiar masks of the Chokwe tradition. It represents a young woman and is danced at festivals for entertainment. Sebem knows at least that it is something 'traditional'. This shows that Chokwe tradition became part of the national cultural archive, even if the knowledge about the actual background is not very deep. Yet another reference to angolaness is the importance given to the use of national languages like Kimbundu. There are only a few examples of kuduro songs with fragments of Kimbundu. Even if this is not a common practice, it is highly acknowledged.
To sum up, on its first platform Luanda, kuduro is deeply integrated into the social-historical context and changes its modes and visual codes according to the changes within the society itself and changing global fashion. It can thus be regarded as a flexible tool to deal with fast paced urban life in Luanda– both hardships and joy.
Returning to the kuduristas of Angola, in 2007 Buraka Som Sistema travelled to Luanda for the production of the song Sound of Kuduro and the accompanying video clip. The clip "Sound of Kuduro" opens with images of the band members driving through Luanda, saying: "We made it…. we are here…. pela primeira vez ('for the first time')". In this video kuduro artists from all three platforms are brought together in what is regarded as the source of the style, thus the clip can be seen as an attempt to re-essentialize or the work of Buraka Som Sistema. Discussion of this band centers on the "authentic" cultural knowledge of the Angolan producer Conductor, who actually grew up in Lisbon, and the Angolan-born MC Kalaf. They are known for bringing extensive knowledge of kuduro music to the Lisbon music scene. In fact only Kalaf lived in Angola during his childhood years, but still Angola and its music serve as a blueprint for the group's musical concept: a fusion of Angolan kuduro with 21st century bass heavy club music. Buraka Som Sistema displays a playful approach handling angolanidade. In their recent single "Restless" as well as solo projects like J-Wow they are leaning towards more abstract electronic styles with less emphasis on obviously Angolan sound elements, using English lyrics.
Pronouncing "dance"12 in English not Portuguese, they explain the intended fusion of universal club dance culture with Angolan music from the 1960s and 1970s.
Attire wise Batida allude to angolanidade and africanness as well. Ikonoklasta sports t-shirts with the omnipresent Angolan flag or Chokwe symbols. Both Mpula and Ikonoklasta use animal print headwear that echo notions of safari garb. In a similarly essentializing fashion Batida discuss their CD "Dance Mwangolê" ("Angolan Dance"). MC Ikonoklasta explains that they strive to 'guardar pureza da musica angolana' ('save the purity of Angolan music') by creating this Angolan dance music. Also their videoclip Bazuka begins with references to Angolan history such as the famous queen Rainha Ginga.
Rainha Ginga's picture is inserted with a statement of a young kudurista saying 'Me, who drafted me, ain't my mother nor my father…'. Nextwe see found footage from the Portuguese Radio and Television (RTP) archive showing a marching army, shots of political personalities like Salazar and footage of traditional dances. In bright colours scripts are pasted over the images asking questions like 'quem me rusgou (who swooped me)?', 'Direita (right)?', 'Esquerda (left)?' – together with a strong and pushing kuduro beat.The second part of the clip shows further images of the civil war and the current situation. Both the roles of today's president Eduardo Dos Santos and of Jonas Savimbi – the former warlord and leader of the UNITA – are questioned, relating back to the first question: 'Who drafted me? Not my mother' (Dos Santos), 'not my father' (Savimbi). Subsequently, pictures of kuduro dancers and masked dancers in rural settings are edited one after the other, showing the similarities in the dance styles. The last part of the clip shows a short interview with a young man talking about his reminders of the war – two pieces of shrapnel in his body. This might be interpreted as an answer to the question 'Who drafted me for the war?' It was the war itself. Depictions of traditional dances and percussion during the last part of the clip may also lead to the conclusion that it is neither the biological family nor the politics who draft a person, but rather the culture. In this case the Angolan culture is in focus which leads us back to angolanidade. In name, lyrics and imagery Batida construct explicit references to Angolan history and the wars by depicting Angolan heroes (Rainha Ginga) or inserting found footage of the liberation war. The imagination of a strong and potent nation in spite of or maybe even because of the war is alluded to here. Batida authenticate its work not unlike Buraka did in the Sound of Kuduro. Where Buraka Som Sistema refers to the urban contemporary Angola, Batida resorts to using references evoking an earlier and more mysterious Angola. The band positions itself problematically at a nexus within a field of traveling signs where they have access to both technological and cultural material.
The fact that the molested rapper is rather light-skinned and cannot bring himself to make such claims of a ghetto past makes this statement even less believable. It looks as if Os Makongo are mocking the way other Lisbon based kuduro bands are trying just a little too hard to come across as authentically Angolan. Os Makongo on the other hand stress that they are fusing all kinds of dance genres like hip hop and euro dance with kuduro. Try as he might, in the above snippet from Sempre a subir DJ Sebem cannot tempt Pety to openly declare beef to Buraka Som Sistema.
In summary, the second platform Lisbon is situated between Luanda and the global dancefloors. Elements of both are integrated in kuduro progressivo. What differentiates the Lisbon scene from the other diasporic angolan kuduristas their claim of an 'authentic' relation to the source. By emphasizing angolanidade, they try to establish a sustainable and legitimate link to the Luanda scene.
Like no other, M.I.A. epitomizes a recent tendency in electronic dance music: Around 2004 DJs such asSick Girls, Diplo or Daniel Haaksman started to spin a mixture of asymmetric bass heavy beats drawn amongst others from funk carioca, ragga, grime, UK garage and kuduro to create an antipode to the four-to-the-floor and minimal aesthetics that dominate clubland. Newly 'discovered' styles like footwork orelectronic cumbia are constantly added to these DJ-selections. M.I.A. incorporates elements of these differents genres in her own music and adds controversial rapping.
In this video Les Princes de Kuduro, acting outside Angola, puts an emphasis on the homeland and the local roots. This can be read as a homing desire, a longing for the orginal homeland. In "Afrikanische Diaspora und Black Atlantic" Hauke Dorsch dicusses concepts of diasporic communities. As a starting point he compares various authors' list of key constituents of diasporic identity. While some authors during the 1990s insist that the wish or plan to return to the country of origin is vital to a diasporic identity more recent concepts also include a desire to feel at home in the country of residency or any place at all in the meaning of the term homing desire (Dorsch 2000 : 29). The overt association with the country of origin also serves an act of solidarity to rehabilitate it in the discourse of the country of residence. While these dynamics can be observed universally it remains fascinating to explore in which particular ways cultural expressions from exiles serve to emphasize a certain relation to the homeland and produce aethetic surplus alongside. Lyrics prasing Les Princes de Kuduro tap into the already strongly developed concept of angolanidade to augment self-esteem of youth in a hostile foreign environment in France.
To sum up, we find that an explicit expression of angolanidade is now especially interesting for musicians outside Angola, whereas in the local scene – first and foremost in the third generation as Sebem calls them – we find a shift towards different topics. The distinction of a 'serious' kuduro from its former characteristic as pure animation is on top of the list of the discussions among the musicians and producers. It seems to be very important for the kuduristas to be acknowledged by the Angolan society as serious musicians. Nevertheless, one of their aims is also to bring kuduro to an international audience. To achieve the desired success, kuduristas today seem anxious to develop a distinct individual style and to produce 'kuduro mais limpo' ('cleaner kuduro').
After Dog Murras no one in Luanda took over this explicit patriotic style and attitude. It is particularly interesting, that he is not at all mentioned in the recent TV shows Sempre a subir ('always on the rise') and Evolução do kuduro ('evolution of kuduro') at the Angolan television, where all other kuduro stars have been given a forum regardless of possible conflicts. While Dog Murras created a specific style in the middle of the first decade of the new millennium he has now somehow vanished from the front page of attention. In Luanda, the Angolan flag seems to have disappeared as a fashion item altogether. At this point in time it seems that the diasporic kuduro artists are the ones who are using patriotic signs overtly.The MySpace profile of Les Princes de Kuduro in France or stage performance of Batida in Portugal are just some examples. But this does not mean that angolanidade has become obsolete in Angola. It is still reflected there through proud exposure of its symbols and icons. However, kuduristas in Luanda don't seem concerned with showing them off. At the end of the interview with Pai Banana we find that his lyrical content makes the connection when he is rapping about Nzinga Mbandi and Agostinho Neto, two recurring symbols of the mwangolé.
As a continuity of giving life to the concept of angolanidade, kuduro also carries forward a cosmopolitanism, that was a constitutive part of the music scene of the musseques on the eve of independence, as sociologist-novelist Pepetela (1990) and historian Moorman (2008) have shown. Today, this cosmopolitanism is continued in common trans-national identities where kudurista live in Portugal, Angola and Brazil and their work circulates in the lusophone realm. On the more abstract level kuduristas are at home in several worlds at once: While engaging in musical battles in their neighborhoods, they are equally at home in the digital world by transmitting and distributing their output through the online channels of web 2.0.
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The Film Say My Name presents portraits of kuduristas in Luanda.
Deputy Director of Iwalewahaus, University of Bayreuth. Her doctoral thesis "(Re)Mapping Luanda – Utopische und Nostalgische Zugänge zu einem Bildarchiv" (LIT 2016) is based on extensive research on the modern and contemporary art-world in Luanda. She is the project leader of the research group "African Art history and the Formation of a Modernist Aesthetic" (coamoweb.com) and (co-)curated a number of exhibitions such as "Portraits of a Slippery Look" – Kiluanji Kia Henda (2008), "Dzzzz – Nástio Mosquito" (2008), "Hidden Pages" - António Ole (2009), Mashup (2015), FAVT: Future Africa Visions in Time (since 2016) and Things Fall Apart (2016).
geographical areas: lusophone Africa (particularly Angola), Brazil, Eastern Europe.
with local djs. Own radio shows led her to teach radio making at HKW, Hamburger Bahnhof and Edith Ruß Haus für Medienkunst. In 2009 she founded the Groove Research Institute Berlin. Main research insterests: kuduro, groove, music and bodily-performative practices in the Black Atlantic, female hip hop, farsi pop, cultural transfer in the lusophonic realm.


text:
Nádasi
 Nádasi László (1907–1978, említik még: Nádasy, Nádassy) humorista, dramaturg, kabarészerző, színpadi szerző
 Nádasi László (1965, teljes neve: Nádasi Iván László, több helyen helytelenül: Nádasdi) színész, bábszínész, rendező, író

Nádasy
 Nádasy László (1927–1983, írják még: Nádasdy) filmrendező, forgatókönyvíró, esztéta
 Nádasy László (1954) ifj., operatőr, filmrendező, dokumentumfilmes

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Plans are underway for the official re-opening of the EACOMM Studio of Digital Arts. Now located at EACOMM Head Office, a 25 Square Meter Board/Training Room will be the venue for workshops and classes. Watch out for the relaunching of the ESODA website: http://www.esoda.net, in the next 2-3 weeks.
The primary offering will be Japan IT Standards Examination Review Classes in Cooperation with JITSE-Philippines (PhilNITS).
Interested applicants can inquire in advance at [email protected]. Check back here for more information in the coming weeks.


Original hobnails for German military boots of World War 2. Nails are made of steel, not rusty, from original package of 1940-s. 6 facets, one leg.
6-facet type was widespread from the beginning of 1940-s. 7-facet type was more common in 1930-s but was used up during the war and now is very hard to find.
Furthermore hobnails with round head and other variations were used that time, but not for German military footwear. There were lots of nail kinds in Europe in the 1-st part of the XXth century: flat heads, cone heads etc.
Picture: original German hobnails with round heads. Picture from ebay.de + computer enhancing.


text:
Girl, 14, Who Has Chosen to End Her Life Shares Final Dance With Her Mom at Prom
1:47 PM PDT, July 25, 2016 - Johanna Li
Playing 14-Year-Old Terminally Ill Girl Choosing To End Her Life Has Last Dance with Mom
This Wisconsin teen suffering from a painful and incurable disease has decided to end her life, but not without one final dance.
Read: Girl, 14, With Spinal Muscular Atrophy Decides to End Her Life: 'This Is Enough Pain'
Jerika Bolen, 14, of Appleton suffers from spinal muscular atrophy type 2.
As a result, she has been confined to an electric wheelchair most of her life. Her brain function is sharp, but every day movements like swallowing or breathing have become impossible on her own.
Many people with her disease live well into adulthood, but after many failed surgeries and constant pain, Jerika decided she would end her life by the end of August, but it is her wish to go out in style.
Last weekend, Jerika donned a gorgeous emerald dress with matching lipstick, and celebrated her prom with nearly 1,000 friends, family and supporters from around the country.
"It was very overwhelming," her mom, Jen Bolen said to InsideEdition.com. "Everywhere we turned, she was a little celebrity."
In preparation for the event, Bolen said the community helped with the planning and donated supplies, including the venue and decorations.
A fleet of police officers escorted her to the big event, a dance team performed on stage, and her favorite YouTuber Richie Giese even made a surprise appearence.
"I think she had a lot of fun," her mom said. "Just seeing everyone there for her — nothing but love."
Read: 6-Year-Old Honorary Firefighter Loses Battle With Leukemia, 3 Weeks After Being Sworn In
After a touching last dance with her daughter, which was Bolen's highlight of the night, she told InsideEdition.com that it was just a reminder of what little time her daughter has on Earth.
"Now that prom is over, I know that the time is getting closer," Bolen said, but she continues to support her daughter's decision to turn off her ventilator, a vital piece of equipment keeping her alive. "That's the only way I'm going to be able to move on with my life — knowing that I'm letting her out of this suffering."
August is Spinal Muscular Awareness month. To find out more about the disease, visit www.curesma.org.
Watch: High School Quarterback Takes Friend with Down Syndrome to Prom After 4th Grade Promise
Quarterback Takes Friend with Down Syndrome to Prom After 4th Grade Promise

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Get a red kettle and toaster. Job jobbed.
And Cavendish house, but it's their fashion lines, not sportswear.
Well even if there isn't an agenda to alienate and divide supporters Ray, that's certainly what's happening at the moment.
I thought the Raging Bull shop was on Westgate and closed last year?
Back to the original thread.. I'm guessing no-ones got any pics of Dejon then? Asking for a friend..
Have been pondering that one for a long time.


A "Little" Good News for my Flossie Girl. Since I asked for prayers for Flossie .. I wanted to make sure and keep you all up to date.. not just when things are tough but when we get the good news too.
Today we went in to have her PCV checked (blood percentage) and for the first time her percentage was up 2 points .. that's actually huge .. it means she is making blood for the first time even if it's super slowly. She made that in 3 days ..!
Also her reticulocytes ( baby red blood cells) are now at 90,000 .. not even near enough to what they need to be but so far away from where they were a week ago .. so we are taking all the little miracles we can get today.
She's looking better and starting to act more normal again .. which is so good.
She still has quite a ways to go .. but the fact she's alive considering it was a 50/50 chance is really amazing.
Thank you all for your prayers and please continue to keep her in your prayers .. we have a ways to go .. and I hate to say it or think it but we are not out of the woods yet .. as they can relapse ..
Hugs and Blessings to you all !!!
Congrats on the good news. Continued prayers for her and your family.
Our one dog is going through this auto immune disorder as well. It's been a few months and he is pretty much back to himself down to 1/4 steriod every other day. His counts have been up. We watch hm close as they can relasp but knowing he is covered in prayer helps. Just letting you know because we were so scared as well. Sending up prayers for you, Flossie, Dad and mom. One day at a time. Warm Blessinfs!~♥Amy.
Hey Judy .. so good to hear from you .. Oh my yes what a long road it's been for us this last year .. but gosh in comparison to other people's lives it's by far so minute .. nonetheless it's been trying to say the least. Yes we have had our share of hard times just like you and just like you it's always been the Grace of God that has seen us through .. thank the Lord !! Oh gosh we did love TX .. I feel in love with a small town "Weatherford" TX just west of Fort Worth .. we did look there but in the end decided in the long run financially we could get more for out money with less property taxes in MO .. and we do have at least some friends in MO ..where we had no on in TX ... I'm so sorry to hear about Duchess .. I do know the pain of losing a pet after so many years so I can truly sympathize with you. I had two Golden Retrievers prior to Flossie one lived till she was 13 and the other 17 ..and I had both since the age of 6 weeks ..It's so hard to lose them..and so hard to have them put down ..I know the pain of that too as you do not an easy road but one that sometimes is best. I'm sure Duchess will hold a special place in your heart and one day will be wagging her tail to greet you at the pearly gates .. !!! I know I'll be looking for my girls Maggie and Scout ..
Awwww...she's so pretty! Saying a prayer that she gets through this! Hugs to you!
Thanks so Very Much Jean !!!! Bless you !
Little steps are better than none at all. I will continue prayers for sweet Flossie.
Great news! Prayers work! Have a blessed day dear friend, HUGS!


text:
Hit.Media. Space young journalism
News, interviews, reviews, reviews, podcasts and lifehacks. The world through the eyes of twenty years old.
Им жить
Hitretsa
About sex (18+)
MF Review
Author: Mary.Mary.Gold
By author Mariya Sukhorukova
Philipp Plein is in the middle of a scandal
The designer dedicated his latest show to Kobe Bryant
The Philipp Plein fashion house demonstrated the new fall-winter 2020-2021 collection on Milan Fashion Week. The designer tended to honor the name of Kobe Bryant, a basketball player who was killed in an accident on January, 26 in California. His 13-year-old daughter Gigi and seven more passengers, including the pilot, were on board.
HEROES COME AND GO…..LEGENDS LIVE FOREVER 🙏 happy to be able to support with the sales of this capsule the MAMBA & MAMBACITA SPORTS FOUNDATION 🖤
A post shared by Philipp Plein (@philippplein) on Feb 22, 2020 at 4:46pm PST
After the show, the brand founder was accused of using the tragic event to draw attention to the catwalk.
The collection pieces included $2,070 jerseys and $3,150 sweatshirts with the Black Mamba's number, 24 (Bryant's nickname) on them. The items were colored in yellow and purple. These are the colors of the Los Angeles Lakers team where the basketball legend had been playing since 1996 till 2016. The clothes were also adorned by Swarovski crystals. The Lakers logo were replaced with the Philipp Plein's one. Sweatshirts and jerseys went on sale right after the show. Olivia Culpo, a former Miss Universe walked the runway. Pinkett Smith, a "Red Table Talk" host, also joined the fashion show.
Moreover, two golden helicopters were put on the stage. As Kobe Bryant died in a helicopter crash, these decorations also caused a backlash.
Just landed 🛬 PLEIN ™ WINTER 2020 #nolimits
A post shared by Philipp Plein (@philippplein) on Feb 24, 2020 at 12:51am PST
Plein answered to Page Six Style that the helicopters were meant to be placed before Bryant's death, in November. He said that he would have get rid of them. The designer declared that he used his fashion show to express the respect and admiration for The Bryants. He also added that became a victim of public misinterpretation.
As Plein stated, all the profits from the sale of limited sweatshirts and jerseys would be sent to the charity organization called Mamba and the Mambacita Sports Foundation, created by the family of the basketball player after his death. The designer's first contribution of $20,000 was made the day before the show.
A few reactions to the German designer presentation are displayed below:
Philipp Plein made two gold helicopters for his show today, which falls 27 days after Kobe died in a helicopter crash
➖
BUT DONT WORRY he whipped up a bunch of Swarovski Kobe jerseys (with "Plein" written on them??) so it's cool.
Fuck you, Philipp. pic.twitter.com/UHjbubXuG9
— Bliss Foster (@BlissFoster) February 23, 2020
I'd say I'm surprised but Philipp Plein is a scumbag. He also made two gold helicopters for his show. Fuck you Philipp for bastardizing the Bryant legacy.
📸: @BlissFoster pic.twitter.com/eghTy8IfSg
— nyoldman (@NYDoorman) February 23, 2020
distasteful, tacky & material waste. philipp plein who has so long been making clothing that adds nothing but clutter to the fashion landscape has decided to include gold helicopters along his crystal basketball jerseys after the passing of kobe & gianna bryant. its disgusting. pic.twitter.com/zvFq4oU5gG
— ꪑꫀꪀᦔꫀꪶ (@gaultiercouture) February 23, 2020
The name of the German designer and brand's founder is associated with scandals and provocations. The designer more than once got into trouble with clients, colleagues and the press. Despite the fact that Plein studied law and knew the basics of legal affairs, this fact did not save him from breaking the rules.
The first example is ridiculously paradoxical. Malik Yousef, a rapper, pretended to be a representative of Kanye West and signed a contract with the Philipp Plein's brand on his behalf. Under the agreement, Mr. West was obliged to perform three songs with the orchestra, attend Philipp Plein's dinner and go on the catwalk. The brand paid fake Kanye $750 000. As a result, the rapper Malik Yousef responded that he signed the contract on his behalf. Kanye did not know anything about the deal and did not receive money. And Philipp Plein's representatives replied that they fell for the bait of experienced scammers who were hiding behind the friendship with a famous rapper. It's funny that the deal on this scale was concluded without the direct presence of Kanye West himself.
In 2016, Philipp received accusations from Dolce & Gabbana's lawyers. The brand claimed that Philipp Plein International reached ten sales consultants from the boutiques in Milan and asked them to work in the PP's fashion house. Plein responded that "in a free country everyone could choose independently where to work. And if employees are happy at their place of job, they don't leave".
Just received a love letter from Dolce and Gabbana's lawyer accusing me and my people that we would steal their employees……. 1. This is a free country and everybody can choose by themselves who they want to work for !! 2. If people are happy at their job they don't think about leaving !!! 3. I really love and respect the brand dolce and gabbana , it was an inspiration for me and many others to start my business and to work in fashion !!!! @stefanogabbana @dolcegabbana It's is sad to say but everybody loves you until you become competition !!!! Since more than 15 years I work 24/7 on realizing my dream and building my company …. I respect everybody and I never received any support from this industry until today !!! I want to take this moment to apologize to absolutely "NOBODY" !!!!
A post shared by Philipp Plein (@philippplein) on Dec 11, 2016 at 1:41am PST
Philip Plein broke many hearts. After the break-up Morgan Osman, a model from Miami replied on social media that Philipp Plein's clothes were sewn in Turkey for $20. Then they hang a "Made in Italy" tag and sell them for $800. Plein was forced to explain. He wished the former lover to cease using his name.
Plagiarism happens frequently in fashion industry. Alexander Wang, an American designer accused PP of coping his ideas for the show, which was organized with the Swedish brand H&M in 2014. To prove his point of view, Wang posted a video on his official Instagram page comparing the Plein Sport 2017 show with Alexander Wang x H&M in 2014. Wang ironically signed the publication: "Can I copy your homework? Yeah, but just change it up a bit so it doesn't look obvious you copied". Philip did not leave a comment about the situation.
A post shared by Alex Wang (@alexwangny) on Feb 14, 2017 at 2:41pm PST
Author Mary.Mary.GoldPosted on Wednesday February 26th, 2020 Wednesday March 11th, 2020 Categories ArticleTags Leave a comment on
Valentino's collection is not on the catwalk but in the cinema
The fashion Brand collaborated with Luca Guadagnino, a film director
This month a short drama "The Staggering Girl" directed by Luca Guadagnino (also "Call Me By Your Name", "Suspria") will be released. It was inspired by Valentino's couture collections 2018-2019. Julianne Moore is a leading actor, but Valentino's ensembles come to the forefront of Luca's favorite cameraman, Sayombhu Mukdeeprom. The movie can be easily taken into screenshots and printed, for example, in Vogue.
After attending Valentino's Couture Spring 2018 fashion show, Guadagnino got the idea of filming something equally amazing with his fellow countryman, Pierpaolo Piccioli. Piccioli, in his own words, dreamed of becoming a filmmaker when he was young, so, the idea of turning the "stream of consciousness" (as he describes the couture collection of spring 2018) into a movie, found the most lively response from the designer.
Guadagnino's passionate romance with fashion has been known for a long time. For example, director's favorite actress Tilda Swinton wore Raf Simons twice: for the movie "Io sono l'amore", and for "A Bigger Splash". Guadagnino's hobby resulted in the creation of the Frenesy Film company, which specializes in collaborations with fashion brands. Its portfolio includes short films for Giorgio Armani, Sergio Rossi, Cartier and Salvatore Ferragamo. The latest documentary named "Walking Stories" came out last fall. It was based on designer's autobiography.
At the same time, "The Staggering girl", which is formally a short film (37 minutes), Guadagnino designates it as an artistic picture with a plot, and not just an elegant fashion film. The story unfolds around the New York city. The main actress, Francesca Moretti (Julianne Moore), is a writer, daughter of German-Italian artist Sofia Moretti. Francesca goes to Rome to persuade an aging and going blind mother to move in with her, but, once visiting the long-abandoned home, she is immersed in memories. Guadagnino and Piccioli encoded the state of mind of their heroine using the color and style of clothing that she wears.
Top 3 most eloquent outfits from the movie
BLACK FULL SKIRT DRESS WITH A SLIT UP THE SIDES, COUTURE COLLECTION SPRING 2018
Francesca, despite her Italian origin, is a true New Yorker: she lives in a Spartan setting and dresses appropriately. Her clothes are exclusively dark, whether it is an oversize black palazzo pants with a turtleneck and an oversize coat or a chic evening satin dress with shoulder-length gloves. Wearing this drees, she appears at her friend's house party, where she sees a picture on the wall, reminding her of the mother.
LUSH RED OFF-THE-SHOULDER DRESS , COUTURE COLLECTION FALL 2018
Scarlet is the color which Francesca associates with her mother. Young Sophia Moretti is played by Mia Goth, another Guadagnino's favorite actress. They worked together on "Suspiria". When Francesca is immersed in childhood memories, she sees her mother as a lady of society. She likes to party or spending time in front of the easel. Her mother wears velvet and sequins or a lush scarlet off-the-shoulder dress – Valentino's classic. It appears on the catwalk in different variations from year to year.
AZURE CAPE WITH SATIN APPLICATIONS, FALL 2018 COUTURE COLLECTION
A luxurious cape embroidered with satin applications and a gold edging is the brightest item, both in the movie wardrobe and in Valentino's Couture collection fall 2018. According to Piccioli, Greek myths served as inspiration for the collection, especially, the one about Leda and the swan.
Author Mary.Mary.GoldPosted on Sunday February 16th, 2020 Friday March 6th, 2020 Categories ArticleTags en-3-2Leave a comment on
Salvatore Ferragamo will restore sculptures in Florence
The fashion house will donate more than 1 million euros
Salvatore Ferragamo will contribute more than a million euros to the restoration of sculptures in Piazza della Signoria in Florence. Italian fashion house has already donated funds so that the masters can restore the Fountain of Neptune. Over the next three years, it is planned to restore both copies of the statue of David, one of them is located in the courtyard of the Palazzo Vecchio, and the second – in Piazzale Michelangelo. In addition, the equestrian monument of Cosimo I will be restored, as well as the statues Judith and the Head of Holofernes and Hercules and Cacus.
Fountain of Neptune
The Fountain of Neptune is a fountain in Florence, Italy, situated on the Piazza della Signoria
Bartolomeo Ammannati's Neptune is made of Carrara marble and has the features of Cosimo I de Medici, it overlooks the representation of the two sea monsters Scylla and Charybdis (in Greek mythology, two immortal monsters that assaulted the hero Odysseus and his sailors in the wanderings described in Homer's Odyssey) and is surrounded by satyrs and sea horses, the fountain was built for the marriage of François 1er de Medici who would in turn become Grand Duke of Tuscany and was the eldest son of Cosimo I.
The statue of David
Michelangelo's David is one of the masterpieces of the Italian Renaissance. During that period, sculptors such as Donatello, Ghiberti and Verrocchio produced works inspired by the Bible where David was shown after having beheaded Goliath. However, Michelangelo chose to represent the moment before the combat. Young David is ready to strike the giant holding a stone in his right hand with a sling resting on his left shoulder.
There are three copies of Michelangelo's David in the city. The original one can be found in the Accademia Gallery. The second copy is located in Piazza della Signoria just opposite to the Palazzo Vecchio. The third replica is in the middle of Piazzale Michelangelo.
A copy stands in Piazza della Signoria, in front of the Palazzo Vecchio
Judith and Holofernes, completed around 1460 is a masterpiece by Donatello. Under the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar II, there lived in Samaria, present-day Israel, a beautiful widow named Judith. The king's general, named Holofernes, besieged the city where Judith lived. The situation was critical. Judith dressed in her finest attire and took some liquor and delicacies. She went to see Holophernes. The latter, charmed by her beauty, invited her under his tent. Judith made him drink and, taking advantage of his drunkenness, cut his head. By doing that she terrified the soldiers and saved her city. This precise moment is represented there by the artist.
Hercules and Cacus
Statue of Hercules and Cacus in Piazza Della Signoria in Florence, Italy
When the Medici family (late 14th and 15th centuries) returned from exile in 1530, they instructed Baccio Bandinelli to create the statue of Hercules defeating the giant Cacus. It illustrates the victory of the Medici House. Among the members of the royal family were several dukes, two French queens and four Catholic popes.
Author Mary.Mary.GoldPosted on Wednesday February 12th, 2020 Wednesday March 11th, 2020 Categories ArticleTags en-2-1Leave a comment on
Salvador Dali exhibition through the Curator's eyes
A win-win combination for the immortal glory
On January, 28, the large exhibition "Salvador Dali. Magical art " opened its doors to the public in Moscow Manege. Everyone, like Elvis Presley, knows him. Thanks to bewitching paintings, mustache sharp as rapiers and a laid-back walk with an anteater. Painter, graphic artist, fashion designer, sculptor, performer and animator, he staged the ballet "Mad Tristan" and painted the ChupaChups logo, without changing himself.
Monsa Ager, the director of the Dali Museum, helped us to understand better the blossoming complexity of the creator.
In search of immortality
I would call Dali a true universal creator: an artist, graphic artist, sculptor, someone who can translate reality into a completely different plane. But first of all, he is a painter. Interested in classicism, the Renaissance, science, mysticism, he was able to achieve a triumph in surrealism, but did not stop there. He worked with well-known fashion houses, painted the covers of magazines and created jewelry.
He was a humble man who understood that creating a shocking image was simply necessary for his art. All his life, a struggle of becoming as good as his brother, followed him. His name was also Salvador (he died nine months before the birth of the future artist). In his autobiography, Salvador Dali wrote that he had been searching for real faith all his life, but never found a suitable one. Science gave more answers, considering that the artist aspired to immortality. And working on his art, he earned the immortality.
Dali's secret is kept in the ability to reflect the anxieties of people, their dreams and fears in a very realistic way. When you look at the work of Salvador, you always see elements that cause discomfort, it is impossible to look at them calmly. So, the artist provokes the viewer to play a game. He arouses curiosity. At first glance, it seems that everything is clear in the picture, but then we go deeper and deeper into this tricky game, noticing all the new elements, details and symbols. As a result, the artist leads us into this complex maze and leaves us alone with ourselves and our thoughts. And whether you get out of this labyrinth or not, it is up you.
Clock is a favorite Dali's symbol. The artist was fascinated by Einstein's theory of general relativity. The shape of the clock in his work is fluid and unstable. It shows the master's interest in the contrast between the soft and hard state of the object.
The Persistence of Memory, 1931
The perspective plays a very important role in all Dali's works. It is an indicator of both time and the depth of a person's subconscious.
Double images are constantly hidden on his canvases. Perhaps most often they appear as a self-portrait of the artist. This is probably a type of narcissism: Dali was constantly ill in childhood, so he was given a lot of attention – family, doctors, relatives – he still had a need for constant care until his death.
The Invisible Man, 1929-1933
A face with an airplane is the image of a just dropped atomic bomb, which instantly explodes in the right corner, right next to a clock twisted into a tube and a human figure. It instantly affects the world, the passage of time and a human life. Other watches are leaning against the head. They flow down, hinting that the idea of the length of time after the appearance of the atomic bomb has changed.
Melancholy Atomic, 1945
Tears, a sad blue face and shadows demonstrate the artist's attempt to find a place for his art in a new world.
Cracked elements such as vases, clocks, columns represent unbearable human pain.
Color and the turn of the head are homage to Diego Velazquez. Dali turned to his works quite often in the last period of the career.
Seated Figure Contemplating a 'Great Tapeworm Masturbator', 1981
Vertical figures in the background are cypress trees, which the hero of the picture (presumably Salvador Dali himself) reproduces from his childhood memories. He saw them through the window at school.
The male figure on the left – Dali himself, young, twenty-year-old. His whole life is yet to come. Light stripes symbolize good memories from life, dark ones – awareness of the inevitable end.
Portrait of Gala with Rhinocerotic Symptoms, 1954
Recognizable features of Gala can also be considered as a certain symbol – inexhaustible love, passion, inspiration and sex. They appear in his works throughout his entire life – sometimes with a naked torso, then with a portrait, sometimes she is only taken apart into elements – but Gala is always recognizable.
Author Mary.Mary.GoldPosted on Tuesday February 11th, 2020 Friday March 6th, 2020 Categories ArticleTags en-4-LLeave a comment on
The last couture show of Jean-Paul Gaultier
In the finale, the fashion world threw the maestro into the air and chanted "Gauthier! Gauthier!"
On January 22, Jean Paul Gaultier, the one we call the terrible child of fashion, presented what is announced to be the last Haute Couture show of his eponymous house. Tears, laughter and surprised exclamations were heard every minute at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris. Three thousand spectators could feel a concert atmosphere in the air. The one and only Jean-Paul Gaultier could provoke such emotions. He worked especially hard on his last show. On January 17, the designer claimed that he was saying goodbye to Haute Couture Week. He came up with about 200 images and decided to demonstrate them all on the catwalk.
Madonna Blond Ambition Tour – Japan – April 20th, 1990
The guests enjoyed nostalgia throughout the show. There was the creative director of Louis Vuitton, Nicolas Gesquière, in the hall. He began his career with Gaultier as a junior assistant. Gesquière reminded Eva Herzigova, a Czech-Italian supermodel and actress, that he once dressed her before the show. Laetitia Casta, a French actress and model, who was also discovered by the maestro in 1994, came to the show in the same jacket she first appeared on the Jean-Paul Gaultier catwalk 26 years ago. The hall whispered that even anonymous Martin Margiela arrived at the Théâtre du Châtelet to say goodbye to the teacher. He assisted Gaultier in the early 1980s.
Dita Von Teese was wearing a dress made of bandage belts during the Jean-Paul Gautier show
The performance began with a funeral scene from the 1966 movie "Who are You, Polly Maggoo?" Then people in black carried out a coffin with two cones. This was a reference to the legendary Gaultier cone bra in 1950th style, which Madonna glorified in 1990 as a part of her Blond Ambition World Tour. However, it was not a fateful lady in linen who came out, but the girl in a white dress, assembled from a dozen of other white doll dresses. Perhaps Gaultier wanted to say that couture was still alive, contrary to popular belief that this format was outdated. At least during the following hour no one doubted his idea.
Gigi Hadid joined the last Jean-Paul Gautier show
Beloved muses of the designer convinced the public of the vitality of haute couture: Béatrice Dalle in the costume of a vampire smoked right on the stage, Dita Von Teese was wearing a dress made of bandage belts, Rossy de Palma looked like an eccentric widow. Coco Rocha repeated her legendary Irish dance. Irina Shayk commanded attention in a semi-sheer corset dress which featured the French designer's iconic cone bra. Boy Georges sang his "Church Of The Poison Mind" while the crowd tossed Jean-Paul into the air for several minutes.
@CocoRocha blowing minds with her iconic Irish Dance moves. #CocoRocha #GaultierParis #SS20 #PFW #JPGFREAKING50 Video by @relaxnewsfr. Soundtrack by @mode_f.
A post shared by Jean Paul Gaultier (@jpgaultierofficial) on Jan 24, 2020 at 4:05pm PST
This parade will remain in the annals of fashion. The maestro assured that the last show did not sign the end neither of his career, nor of his brand. He said he already had lots of new projects, kept in secret.
Author Mary.Mary.GoldPosted on Tuesday February 11th, 2020 Wednesday March 11th, 2020 Categories ArticleTags #foot4Leave a comment on
Искажая нормы
Уродливое становится новым эталоном красоты
Sorry, this entry is only available in Russian.
Author Mary.Mary.GoldPosted on Monday February 10th, 2020 Wednesday March 11th, 2020 Categories ArticleTags #6-3Leave a comment on
3 countries provided the Moscow museum with Marc Chagall's works
The exposition of Russian-born Jewish artist is exhibited in New Jerusalem
Modern Art paintings were provided by The Centre Pompidou in Paris, The Museum of Marc Chagall in Vitebsk, The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow, Chagall Museum in Nice and private collections from Russia, France and Belarus. The project's curator was Ekaterina Selezneva, an expert from the Marc Chagall committee in Paris. She explains why the exhibition is hosted in The New Jerusalem: "All his life the artist was searching for His Jerusalem". The New Jerusalem appeared in the vicinity of Moscow in the middle of the XVII century. Patriarch Nikon planned to create an architectural copy of the Holy Land near the capital. And in the XX century, a museum was built in the monastery. It was then separated from the monastery and began to operate independently. This New Jerusalem History became an impulse for the organizers to talk about religion, life and love on The New Jerusalem's soil, taking as an interlocutor the artist Marc Chagall, who also managed to combine religious traditions and cultural spaces.
"Twelve Tribes of Israel" were created by Marc Chagall in 1959-1960. Private Collection
The exhibition features 238 works of art, including 22 sketches that Russian viewers will see for the first time as well as 105 biblical engravings. The last ones the artist painted by hand and gave as a gift to his second wife Vava Chagall.
"Portrait of Vava" was created in 1966 in Paris. You can the Eiffel Tower at the top right and The Paris Opera at the bottom. Private collection
The idea of the exhibition is expressed by the words of Marc Chagall himself: "Painting seemed to me some kind of window through which I flew into another world." He claimed that he was "born between heaven and earth" and constantly resided in this "intermediate" space, understanding his existence in art and life, as being in a special dimension. For Chagall, there is no distance between the visible and the imaginary, between the subject and the symbol, between the concrete and the abstract. "He carries everything with himself" – as one of his key characters – a wanderer flying over the city with a bag over his shoulders, in which he carries all his belongings. "Honestly, I am a man with one house and a single picture," the artist assured.
The work Chagall is most famous for is «Over the city» appeared in 1913. The Tretyakov Gallery
"Chagall's characters are simply endowed with the gift of flying – like birds or angels. They are light, like happy love, weightless, like a dream, directed to heaven, like a balloon. The sky for them is the same habitat as the earth. Love transfers Chagall to other worlds, to distant and near cities," says curator Ekaterina Selezneva.
"Clock with Blue Wing", created in 1914. Private collection in Paris
The title of the exhibition "Chagall: Between Heaven and Earth" refers to various periods of the artist's career. His works of the first quarter of the XX century were devoted to "earthly life". The paintings of the next 25 years are connected with "travels and bridges". It was then, in 1931, that the author visited Israel. Paintings of the late period of his life may be characterized as "heavenly being".
Author Mary.Mary.GoldPosted on Tuesday November 12th, 2019 Wednesday March 11th, 2020 Categories ArticleTags #foot4Leave a comment on
«Не дай вам бог жить в интересные времена»
Чем удивила венецианская биеннале-2019
Author Mary.Mary.GoldPosted on Wednesday May 15th, 2019 Categories ArticleTags #4-rLeave a comment on
Как быть дэнди в эпоху масс-маркета?
Решающее утверждение кэмпа: это хорошо, потому что это ужасно
Author Mary.Mary.GoldPosted on Tuesday May 14th, 2019 Wednesday July 31st, 2019 Categories ArticleTags #3-2, Leave a comment on
How Audrey Hepburn became an icon of style
5 fashion attributes associated with the name of the actress
Audrey Hepburn was born on May 4, 1929 in Brussels. Filmography of star of the film "Breakfast at Tiffany's" has more than 100 works. "Roman Holiday", "Sabrina", "Ondine" became classics of the golden era of Hollywood. But Audrey Hepburn admired the audience not only with her acting, but also with her style. Ballet shoes, cropped trousers, short hair, massive glasses and clothes from Givenchy invariably associated with her name.
Image of Audrey Hepburn for the role in the film "Sabrina"
The actress in her youth was fond of ballet, so she loved ballet flats and loafers, which resembled pointe shoes. She preferred flat shoes (especially Tod's) to heels. She wore this shoe both in movies and in everyday life.
Love in the Afternoon (1957) – Audrey Hepburn
In the 1950s and 1960s, two trends struggled for leadership in the fashion industry — a laconic beatnik style and an extravagant haute couture. The symbol of the first became short pants, in which Audrey Hepburn starred in "Sabrina" and "Funny Face". The image she added ballet flats.
Short haircut
Audrey Hepburn in the movie "Roman Holiday"
Ultrashort haircuts, pixie and bob became iconic in 1965 thanks to the British stylist Vidal Sassoon, "The Beatles of Hairdressing", according to the NY Times. But the heroines of Audrey began experimenting with hair length even earlier. So, Audrey has no curls in "Roman holidays" of 1953 and "Sabrina" 1954. She follows the same tendency in the films "Love in the Afternoon" 1957, "How to Steal a Million" 1966 and "Two in a Way" 1967.
Massive glasses
Sunglasses model "Manhattan" Oliver Goldsmith in the movie "Breakfast at Tiffany's"
In the early 1960s, Hollywood celebrities and Audrey Hepburn turned massive sunglasses into a trend. The actress favored the British brand Oliver Goldsmith. So in "Breakfast at Tiffany's" Holly Golightly appears in glasses with leopard rim and dark green glasses – this is the Manhattan model, which is confused with Ray-ban Waybarer. The main character of "How to Steal a Million" Nicole, and Yuhu Joanna in "Two on the Road" chose Koko in a white volume frame. All three vintage models can be purchased in brand boutiques.
Sunglasses "Yuhu" Oliver Goldsmith in the movie "Two on the Road"
Fashion house Givenchy
Audrey Hepburn was a muse and a close friend of designer Hubert de Givenchy. He created dozens of costumes for her heroine, including a lace veil, which the actress showed in the movie "How to Steal a Million", and a miniature black dress with a cut on the back, which became the hallmark of "Breakfast at Tiffany's". Audrey has repeatedly said that the status of an icon of style is a merit of Hubert de Givenchy.
Audrey Hepburn in a Givenchy dress in the movie "Sabrina"
Many of the outfits created by this designer, entered the history of fashion. Sketches are often rethought, refined and reappeared on the podiums. Thus, a dress with a boat neckline, which the heroine "Sabrina" wears, formed the basis of the wedding dress of Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex in 2018.
Wedding dress of the Duchess of Sussex
The son of the actress, Sean Hepburn Ferrer, in a book devoted to his mother, "Audrey Hepburn, An Elegant Spirit", tells the story of how Hubert de Givenchy provided a personal jet for his mother. She was diagnosed with a tumor at the age of 63. Doctors suggested that no more than 3 months left to live. Audrey's only desire was to leave the California hospital, return to Switzerland and spend the Christmas holidays with her family. The flight would not have taken place without the help of friends Hubert de Givenchy and Bunny Mellon. The aircraft was lined with flowers. After the death of the actress, the designer was appointed the official manager of the inheritance.
Author Mary.Mary.GoldPosted on Sunday May 5th, 2019 Wednesday February 26th, 2020 Categories ArticleLeave a comment on
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