: having the shape of a double-convex lens
: of or relating to a lens
No, no, no, no. About a year ago I haven't forgot about a feature I started about nine or ten months ago on the blog. At the time, I was interested (and still am) in learning more about famous photographers. So I consulted a list constructed by the staff of Professional Photographer magazine of the "100 Most Influential Photographers of All Time." A few times a week I would devote a section to information on the photographers on the list, with accompanying samples of some of their more iconic work. I was moving along at a pretty good clip, but then I gradually let it go. I wasn't entirely sure if readers were interested in it, for one thing. But I believe in finishing what you start and seeing that I'm over three-fifths of the way done, I might as well bring it home, right?
So for each blog post now, I will show a quick sampling of the work, minus the history and biographical information, of the remaining photographers on the list, along with a web link (or personal website) where you can find more information on the artist. Capisce?
Mick Rock (#63)
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| Pink Floyd creator Syd Barrett |
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| David Bowie, Iggy Pop, Lou Reed |
Link: http://www.npr.org/blogs/pictureshow/2012/04/07/150090097/sex-drugs-and-rock-photography
Sebastiao Salgado (#64)
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| Child worker at Rwandan tea plantation |
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| schoolroom in Southern Sudan |
Link: http://www.amazonasimages.com/
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I guess today is a bit of a recap-sort of day. I also have been constructing my own list, as you may have noticed, of what I consider, to date, the 500 Greatest Performances in English-Language Films.
Well, I am a little over one-tenth of the way done. To date, here are the 53 selections:
F. Murray Abraham, Amadeus
Christian Bale, The Fighter
Ingrid Bergman, Casablanca
Humphrey Bogart, In a Lonely Place
Marlon Brando, The Godfather
Gary Busey, The Buddy Holly Story
Michael Caine, Educating Rita
John Cazale, The Godfather Part II
Julie Christie, Away From Her
George Clooney, Michael Clayton
Glenn Close, Fatal Attraction
Gary Cooper, High Noon
Joseph Cotten, Shadow of a Doubt
Matt Damon, The Talented Mr. Ripley
Daniel Day-Lewis, In the Name of the Father
Robert DeNiro, The King of Comedy
Michael Douglas, Wonder Boys
Colin Farrell, In Bruges
Mia Farrow, Rosemary's Baby
Albert Finney, The Browning Version
Laurence Fishburne, What's Love Got to Do With It?
Henry Fonda, The Grapes of Wrath
Morgan Freeman, Street Smart
Zach Galifinakis, The Hangover
Janet Gaynor, Sunrise
Gene Hackman, The Royal Tenenbaums
Tom Hanks, Forrest Gump
Tom Hanks, Saving Private Ryan
Katherine Hepburn, Bringing Up Baby
Holly Hunter, The Piano
Anjelica Huston, The Grifters
John Huston, Chinatown
Diane Keaton, Shoot the Moon
Frances McDormand, Laurel Canyon
Matthew McConaughey, The Lincoln Lawyer
Jack Nicholson, Five Easy Pieces
Laurence Olivier, Hamlet
Al Pacino, Donnie Brasco
Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Claude Rains, Notorious
Geoffrey Rush, The King's Speech
Kurt Russell, Miracle
Susan Sarandon, Dead Man Walking
Paul Scofield, The Crucible
Robert Shaw, Jaws
Sissy Spacek, Carrie
Barbara Stanwyck, Double Indemnity
Meryl Streep, The Bridges of Madison County
Meryl Streep, Silkwood
Donald Sutherland, The Eye of the Needle
Jessica Tandy, Driving Miss Daisy
Elizabeth Taylor, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
John Travolta, Pulp Fiction
Here is today's selection:
Don Cheadle
as Mouse Alexander in Devil in a Blue Dress (1995)
It's not easy to steal a film from Denzel Washington, but that's precisely what the at-the-time little-known Cheadle does in Carl Franklin's atmospheric, jazzy adaptation of Walter Mosley's acclaimed (if confusing) 1990 novel. As the murderous, trigger-happy friend to Denzel Washington's PI Easy Rawlins, Cheadle comes on like firecrackers - he gives you a bad feeling as soon as you see him. You can't predict his next move. He's the perfect friend, but he's sure to get you up to your neck in more trouble. "If you didn't want me to kill him, why did you leave me alone with him?" Indeed.
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And finally, this foggy Wednesday, a work of art by today's birthday boy, Jean-Antoine Watteau, the most famous of all French rococo artists.
A Pilgrimage to Cythera
1721
oil on canvas
Louvre
Rococo was all about pastel colors, sinuous curves, and patterns based on vines, flowers, shells. The sensual delights of light and color were appreciated. Myths and images of daily life were more important than heavy religious and historical subjects. Cythera is an island in southern Greece, thought to be the birthplace of Venus, the goddess of love. In this allegorical painting, Watteau gives us couples in the various stages of seduction. An army of putti (Cupids) surround them, intervening at will. Good old courtship!
Images courtesy of :
http://cakeheadlovesevil.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/syd-barrett.jpg
http://emmaknock.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/mick-rock.jpg
http://img.artknowledgenews.com/files2009b/Sebastiao_Salgado_Child_Worker_Tea_Plantation.jpg
http://www.pdngallery.com/legends/legends10/art/photos/fullsize/g3_1.jpg
http://www.samefacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/devil_in_a_blue_dress-cheadle.jpg
http://silverandexact.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/pilgrimage-to-cythera-jean-antoine-watteau-1721.jpg
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