Category: Art and Music

10 Most Bizarrely Awesome Food-Themed Earrings

For some reason, fruit seems to be the most “socially acceptable” food to wear as jewelry. Candy is also considered more or less “normal” although mini Kinder Eggs do take it a bit too far. But why does the concept of sausages dangling from your ears seem so crazy?

Food and fashion have always been in the spotlight of our society, playing an important role in our self-expression and identity. It is no wonder that food-themed fashion has made its way into our lives and onto many Pinterest boards. In the past, a pizza-print t-shirt may have been intended as a gag gift but today food can upgrade your fashion style.

liza-souprava-vlozene-2

Jewelry is the perfect subtle way to make a statement without turning too many heads at the workplace. Start small by wearing tiny strawberry studs to compliment your favorite red top.

For more casual occasions you can brighten up a chic all-black outfit with rainbow lollipops or ice cream that will never melt. The options for incorporating food into your daily fashion are limitless.

Once you cross the line and enter the richly flavored world of food jewelry things can get a bit silly. Would you wear sushi earrings at a Japanese restaurant? Or elegant wine glass earrings for a classy night out with the girls?

For some reason, fruit seems to be the most “socially acceptable” food to wear as jewelry. Candy is also considered more or less “normal” although mini Kinder Eggs do take it a bit too far. But why does the concept of sausages dangling from your ears seem so crazy?

Think you’ve seen it all? Well, think again… A popular online jewelry store in the Czech Republic will challenge everything you know about fashion. This handmade jewelry is made using polymer clay and it is taking the internet by storm.

Take a look at their 10 most bizarrely awesome creations:

10. Would you like a soda with that? These pizza earrings are perfect for proud foodies.

5-337

9. One of the best sources of potassium can also be great bling.

p1160782

8. Beer before liquor, never been sicker. Liquor before beer, you’re in the clear! There’s nothing like vodka or rum shots on a night out.

img-9043

7. Remember that girl who only ate McDonald’s chicken nuggets for years? She’d probably appreciate these unique earrings.

1-559

6. Italians are all about their espresso shots and pasta. Can’t afford to trip to Italy? Bring some Italy into your life with pasta earrings!

056-20

5. Scientists have discovered that cheese is highly addictive. Fuel your addiction in a more healthy way: by wearing cheese instead!

img-8471-2

4. The world is obsessed with macaroons because of their cute size, colorful design and mouthwatering taste. Macaroon earrings let you enjoy the dessert indefinitely!

asndykgrihxcxj-b

3. Party sandwiches are the perfect way to feed all your guests. Get into a party mood by wearing your favorite sandwich!

20150522-191254

2. Everyone knows that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. If you want everyone to know what you had for breakfast, wear bacon and eggs earrings.

dc9c0

1. Not everyone eats meat or *gasp* cheese. Vegetarian diets are gaining popularity every day, so why not wear some vegan-approved lettuce earrings?

IMG-6080-2

Follow The Travel Bug Bite at:
0

‘This Place’ Exhibition in Prague in DOX

“I can’t call it Israel,” says photographer Gilles Peress while referring to flying to the location, “I call it Israelstein. It’s a combination of the two.” Peress’s photos are very clear; they show the different perspectives of one community. He remarked that in Israel and Palestine everything happens meter by meter, room to room. “You see stores disappearing one by one, I return to the same place again and again,” Peress explains his process of watching the changes. His pieces in this exhibition try to explore the reason why people don’t see the similarities between each other – “Desperate lives,” he sighs, “looking for differences.”

This Place is the name of an International exhibition currently shown in the DOX gallery in Prague. The DOX Center for Contemporary Art, Architecture and Design has been organizing and hosting exhibitions for six years now. It has presented over 120 exhibition projects and is ranked among the most progressive artistic institutions in the Czech Republic.

The exhibition shows the photographs of twelve artists, each with a unique angle of the Israel-Palestine conflict. The exhibition of over 500 photos opened on October 24th and will be on display until March 2nd, 2015. After Prague, the exhibition will move to Tel Aviv for six months. After that, it will be exhibited in the Norton Museum of Art followed by the Brooklyn Museum of Art. The exhibition will officially end on June 5th, 2016. There are also thirteen original books produced for the exhibition – one with photos of each individual photographer and one comprehensive catalog. On Saturday, October 25th, I saw four of the artists talk about their experience of creating This Place.

“I can’t call it Israel,” says photographer Gilles Peress while referring to flying to the location, “I call it Israelstein. It’s a combination of the two.” Peress’s photos are very clear; they show the different perspectives of one community. He remarked that in Israel and Palestine everything happens meter by meter, room to room. “You see stores disappearing one by one, I return to the same place again and again,” Peress explains his process of watching the changes. His pieces in this exhibition try to explore the reason why people don’t see the similarities between each other – “Desperate lives,” he sighs, “looking for differences.”

The content of Wendy Ewald’s project differed greatly from those of her colleagues. She explored what different communities in the area considered most important. Ewald had a total of fourteen different mini-projects exploring the lives of groups that ranged from women attending an orthodox military school to elderly villagers. She taught them seminars on photography and observed: “how education forms the country.” Ewald taught these groups of people to take photos of what impacted their lives and taught them to use metaphors. Then she compared what different groups concentrated on in their photography.

Fazal Sheikh, like all the other photographers, had issues with photographing in the region. “I prefer an open perspective,” said Sheikh, “Israel is extremely constricting.” His project was about the transformation of the land. He visited a village that is now unrecognizable. It was transformed into a forest and the people who once lived there became displaced around the country. He decided to fly over the desert after spending time in a protest tent overlooking the dry barren land that would become a dense forest. He coupled taking photographs from a helicopter with listening to stories from combatants on both sides.

Joseph Koudelka, a Czech photographer, talked about originally denying Frederic Brenner‘s invitation to cooperate with this project. “I bought my own ticket,” said Koudelka, “to avoid having any obligation.” He was born in 1938 and experienced the German occupation of his village. Later he witnessed the Russians first liberating the Czechs and then occupying them. “I grew up behind the Iron Curtain and always wanted to see the other side,” Koudelka expressed his sympathy for the people in the area. His book doesn’t always show the people, but you can see the impact of mankind in every photograph.

The subject of the title came up in the discussion. All the books and the project itself avoid naming the area that has had so many in its past. Art can be a tool of propaganda and the Israel-Palestine topic is a sensitive one with extremists on both sides. A name that didn’t lean to either side of the conflict seemed the most appropriate and most objective to allow the viewers to interpret the meaning.

More information can be found on their website: http://www.dox.cz/cs/vystavy/this-place

Officially published here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/olena-kagui/this-place-exhibition-in-_b_6095398.html

This post was updated on June 14th, 2018: the text, as well as title and headline, may have been edited, proofread and optimized for search engines. The featured image may have been changed due to copyright or quality issues.
Follow The Travel Bug Bite at:
0

Maidan Graffiti – War in Ukraine

It was painful looking at how many flowers and candles people had brought – you can feel the sorrow and imagine them holding back tears or breaking down and bawling as they bring those flowers. Everyone expresses grief differently, and what pulled at my heart strings the most wasn’t the number of flowers or even the poem that I found among the candles. Right at the end of the official memorial wall, I saw 3 words graffitied on the wall that made me stop and stare at them for the longest time. They translate to “Mom I will return.”

Maidan Graffiti was made possible thanks to the grant I received from the Prague Freedom Foundation to report on the Ukrainian Euromaidan Revolution in March 2014.

Right now there are two places in Kiev where you can see what remains of Maidan. It is mostly left for tourists to get a feel for what happened and as a memorial to those who died. Yesterday I saw the smaller one.

It was painful looking at how many flowers and candles people had brought – you can feel the sorrow and imagine them holding back tears or breaking down and bawling as they bring those flowers. Not everyone necessarily knew the protesters who died personally. Some people saw them die, or remember their face from attending a protest, some just cry at the unfairness of these people dying for a better future that they won’t get a chance to see.

Everyone expresses grief differently, and what pulled at my heart strings the most wasn’t the number of flowers or even the poem that I found among the candles. Right at the end of the official memorial wall, I saw 3 words graffitied on the wall that made me stop and stare at them for the longest time. They translate to “Mom I will return.”

Originally published here: https://olenakaguiukraine2014.wordpress.com/2014/03/14/maidan-graffiti/

This post was updated on June 14th, 2018: the text, as well as title and headline, may have been edited, proofread and optimized for search engines. The featured image may have been changed due to copyright or quality issues.
Follow The Travel Bug Bite at:
0

Adolf Wölfli’s Controversial Crazy Art

Adolf Wölfli (1864 – 1930) a self-proclaimed Swiss artist, composer, writer, farm-laborer, soldier and much more was orphaned at the age of 10 after being both physically and sexually abused. He was sentenced after attempting to commit a pedophilic act and was eventually hospitalized in the Waldau Mental Asylum near Bern, Germany, where he spent nearly half his life. The Asylum was also the place where he developed his passion for creating art.

Adolf Wölfli (1864 – 1930) a self-proclaimed Swiss artist, composer, writer, farm-laborer, soldier and much more was orphaned at the age of 10 after being both physically and sexually abused. He was sentenced after attempting to commit a pedophilic act and was eventually hospitalized in the Waldau Mental Asylum near Bern, Germany, where he spent nearly half his life. The Asylum was also the place where he developed his passion for creating art, composing music and writing stories and so he combined all of these by writing books which he illustrated and wrote soundtracks to. He created art and wrote stories until he died of intestinal cancer in 1930.

This type of art is known as brut art, or raw art, which is a term used to describe art created outside the boundaries of official culture. Some artists, like Jean Debuffet, focused particularly on the art by insane-asylum inmates when regarding this particular style. Interest in this type of art grew mainly in the 1920s and Adolf Wölfli became known for his art after the publishing of his psychiatrists, Dr. Walter Morgenthaler’s book. Andre Breton, a surrealist was also very impressed with Wölfli’s art and even referred to the entire body of his work as being “one of the three or four most important works of the twentieth century”.

One of his best-known works is 45 volume illustrated book in which he narrates an imaginary story of his life. This 25,000 page story contains 1,600 illustrations and 1,500 collages. Wölfli also had many smaller books where he would tell stories of his imaginary travels and inventions. There are paintings in the exhibition of his interpretations of places in the world, like the Gulf of Mexico, and a list of all the things that he supposedly invented. He also produced bread-art or single-sheet drawings which were painted with the purpose to sell them, and he began painting them in 1916 and continued painting them until he died in 1930.

A majority all of his pictures have one thing in common: they are full of color and the pages are filled completely with lines, shapes, lists of numbers, words and sentences, musical notes and in some cases cut outs from newspapers. Mostly drawn in color pencil, the pictures are very chaotic and intense, and there are so many details that one could observe the pictures for hours and still not see everything that’s there. His music, which is played in the background of the exhibition, is also very intense and creates a feeling of unease and builds tension in the listener. The pictures in the exhibition will easily grab one’s attention and the uniqueness of the art and the story of the artist will truly make this an exceptional experience.

You can see some of Adolf’s works in the Adolf Wölfli Foundation in the Museum of Fine Arts Bern in Switzerland along with regular exhibitions in various art galleries all over Europe – none of which are open at the moment but keep an eye out for them. The Museum of Fine Arts Bern is definitely a place that you shouldn’t miss out on. It has over 3,000 paintings and sculptures and 48,000 drawings, lithographs, photographs, videos and films. The art in the museum varies greatly and includes both international art from all over the world as well as old Swiss art – with a multitude of genres including the unique Brut art of Adolf Wölfli.

This post was updated on June 14th, 2018: the text, as well as title and headline, may have been edited, proofread and optimized for search engines. The featured image may have been changed due to copyright or quality issues.
Adolf_Wölfli_Schähren-Hall_und_Schährer-Skt_Adolf-Ring
Adolf Wölfli, a Swiss artist created art in a prison asylum.
Follow The Travel Bug Bite at:
0