Countdown to Picasso: Man With a Guitar (1911)

This is one of Picasso's Musicians, and one of a series of 'Man with a Guitar' paintings.

Countdown to Picasso: Two Brothers

Today, we have Two Brothers, from the Rose Period.

Countdown to Picasso: Portrait of Olga in an Armchair

Today's artwork is Portrait of Olga in an Armchair, from 1917.

Portrait of Olga in an Armchair, 1917, depicts the Russian ballerina and Picasso's first wife Olga Khokhlova sitting on a Spanish-design tapestry, the space around the figure left purposefully unfinished.

- Picasso masterpieces to tour the U.S., USA Today, October 6, 2010

Countdown to Picasso: Portrait of Dora Maar

Today, I present the Portrait of Dora Maar.

The 176-work exhibit also highlights Picasso's depictions of his numerous mistresses and muses, including Dora Maar. A 1937 portrait of the French surrealist photographer features a colorful Maar displaying flamboyant, red-nailed hands. It serves as a contrast to another oil-on-canvas portrait of Maar, who inspired his "Weeping Woman" series.

Countdown to Picasso: Celestina

On June 24, 2011, I get to see some of the 20th century's most esteemed and influential artwork, without a [costly] trip to Paris. Over the next two weeks, I will post daily links to and information about one work of art at the exhibit.

Today's work is la Celestine, from Picasso's blue period.

Picasso's 1904 oil-on-canvas masterpiece La Celestina shows a solitary, gray-haired bordello owner with a blinded eye. Picasso painted several similar portraits during his early-career Blue Period, characterized by somber tones and marginalized subjects such as beggars and prostitutes.

- Picasso masterpieces to tour the U.S., USA Today, October 6, 2010

Imagine That You Were Born 50 Years Earlier Than You Really Were

It is 1961, and you've just heard about those people riding the bus through Alabama to test segregation laws. You heard that one bus was set on fire, and the riders on the other were beaten up, severely. You get wind of students and others going down to Alabama to continue the ride to New Orleans. You have the free time... So, my question is,

Would you get on that bus?

Apocaylpse Not

Today was, from my perspective, remarkably calm. I mean, the American southeast is still recovering from massive tornadoes, and the Mississippi is having the biggest floods in decades, but today, it seems that the flooding is lower than expected, and it didn't do as much damage as was expected. A volcano is exploding in Iceland, but rather than being a repeat of the April 2010 eruptions that closed several European airports, it seems to be rather run-of-the-mill.

It seems to be as boring as a day can possibly be. In my life today, I woke up and went out to breakfast with friends. After breakfast, I picked up some cute things at a yard sale, and relaxed all afternoon. After a nap, Steve and I headed downtown to see Bridesmaids at the Shattuck Cinemas. We got some fro-yo, and waited in line, only to hear that the 7pm showing was sold out. That was disappointing for us, but good for that movie. There were no other movies that we wanted to see, so we decided to go to the park by the high school and chill on the grass. After that, we headed back to my place, had some sausages, and watched some television. Right now, we're watching IFC free on On Demand, and we'll be turning in shortly.

So, now it is your turn. How eventful [or not eventful] was your May 21st, 2011?

The Ultimate Votive

These were never part of my Catholic upbringing, probably because my family wasn't sufficiently Spanish, but when I saw this in the bathroom of a party I was at in July, 2010, I knew that I needed at least one. Granted, the teachings of Catholicism are painfully outdated at best, but the pageantry and artifacts of the religion can be beautiful and fun. My friends told me to poke around my grocery stores to find them, but I live in Berkeley and go to hippie Berkeley grocery stores, so I didn't think I'd find them there.

Actually, I never looked for candles a those stores, but one afternoon that fall, I went to a Safeway in Oakland to get groceries and see if they had these candles. I found two, one with Jesus, and the one I got, with St. Jude. I couldn't get the Jesus candle, because it didn't exactly scream "Catholic" the same way that any saint candle would. An added bonus to these candles is that they all come with prayers on the back, in Spanish, then English. Over the next few weeks, whenever I lit the candle with friends, we would recite the prayer for fun.

Having been an atheist for now nearly half my life, I have absolutely no idea what it must feel like to say something, light a candle, and assume that something or someone can actually hear me. I've had experiences that could be considered religious, like the time I "found inner peace" on a cross-Atlantic flight after some significant sensory deprevation, but I've never heard voices or felt presences. Not that I am lamenting my lack of mild schizophrenia. My approach to solving my problems involves things like talking to real people about how to realistically solve them.

Of course, a pretty candle is a pretty candle, and I have been determined to build a respectable votive collection. So in the following months, I found the ultimate in Mexican Catholocism, the Our Lady of Guadaloupe candle. That was when I allowed myself to buy a Jesus candle, but I decided to go for the gory angle.

But today, after taking Steve with me on my weekend morning walk, we stopped at the corner store to mainly get some B&J, but browsed through the store too. We saw the votives section, and found the goriest, creepiest votive, that I obviously had to buy. The prayer on the back is more or less a prayer to exact revenge on someone. It seems like some kind of fusion between Catholicism, Aztec death stuff (a la Day of the Dead), and maybe a bit of voodoo. So, I present the Zombie Votive.