It’s always difficult when a brilliant artist’s life comes to an end, even if it was full, and even if it was long. Nancy Spero had a magnificent career, with a lifetime of very provocative work that made art lovers wake up, and generations of artists inspired to follow their own inner vision. She was in her 80s when she passed last winter, and her artistic output still didn’t seem to be wavering, and perhaps that’s the most tragic part.

Mortality is a part of the ride, but when there’s work inside an artist that’s unfinished, the world recognizes that it will never come to be. Perhaps that’s perfectly suitable for a woman who had adopted Antonin Artaud as one of her personal heroes. An unlikely choice for a hero, but somehow manages to make it on a lot of visionary lists, Artaud’s own ideas about mortality come close to rivaling the spookiness of death itself, and Spero’s work was singularly unafraid to look into the eye of the haunted without blinking.

Born in 1926, she studied in Chicago and Paris before moving to New York in 1964. This was at the height of the Civil Rights Movement, and the Viet Nam War was well underway, and both of these gave her a lot of material to work with. This was the period when she would start to integrate the themes of war in contemporary culture into her paintings, and it’s something that would characterize her work for the next four decades.

She was a true visionary artist, and broke ground for many others to follow, and also walked in well-traveled paths accompanied by the inspiration of the artists of the past. That might be one of the things that distinguishes a real genius, the ability to position oneself in a present as well as a past, and find one’s way in their particular continuum. It is artists like her that bring people to the city, to book nights in New York luxury hotels , and touch the city that inspires and challenges, holding mortal bodies that make immortal works.

Nancy Spero: In Memory of in NYC is a post from: Philippine Butterfly

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Tonight is the night, America. It’s the 82 Annual Academy Awards. This is one of the biggest nights in the film industry for not only the working professionals but also the millions of movie fans that exist across this country and beyond. To win an Oscar is one of the first dreams of many people who grow up in the United States and they grow up to celebrate their favorite stars and predict the winners each year. Many of the local hotels are filled with people hoping to catch sight of some of the celebrities. You can find information here on room availability in the Los Angeles area. One of America’s favorite film actors, George Clooney has been nominated for best actor for his work in the movie Up in the Air. The other actors who were nominated for the same award are Jeff Bridges, Jeremy Renner, Morgan Freeman and Colin Firth.

Up in the Air is a poignant comedy drama that is based on a novel of the same name by Walter Kirn. It tells the story of the solitary lifestyle of a man who makes his living in the corporate downsizing world and the people he encounters. The film was directed by Jason Reitman who also directed Juno and Thank You For Smoking. The film has been a popular and critical hit and has already won numerous awards including eight Broadcast Film Critics Association nominations and won for Adapted Screenplay. The film is up for six Academy Awards.

George Clooney already as one Oscar win behind him. He won the award for his work in the 2005 thriller Syriana. He first rose to incredible American popularity in the mid 1990s when he appeared on the television series ER. He was on the show from 1994 to 1999 and became one of the hottest television stars during that time. His popularity and talent made for a smooth transition from television to film and he received major roles in Batman and Robin and Out of Sight while still working on the program. His biggest commercial success, up to that point, came in 2001 with his work on Ocean’s Eleven and the following year he made his directorial debut with Confessions of a Dangerous Mind.

Oscar Night in Los Angeles is a post from: Philippine Butterfly

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