Virtual actor takes over in 'Tron'

“Bonnie and Clyde” staring Warren Beatty and Marilyn Monroe?!

I have long thought that a time when digitally created  virtual actors will fill the screen and eventually replace their human counterparts in film and television is just around the corner. For example, if you want to watch the 1967 film classic, “Bonnie and Clyde” with Marilyn Monroe in the role of Bonnie rather than Faye Dunaway, a few click of the mouse or the remote will allow that casting change to occur in mere moments.

Does it sound far fetched? The following article (linked at bottom of this post) discussing how digital special effects artist were able to present Jeff Bridges in the film “Tron” looking as he did 30 years ago sans make-up and lighting, proves that we are much closer than I thought. . .

Disney
(above – a digitally created Jeff Bridges playing himself 30 something years younger than he is in reality for the soon to be released “Tron”)

Cosmic Log - Virtual actor takes over in 'Tron'

'Kryptos' sculptor inspires hope in weary code-breakers

I had forgotten about this intriguing work created by artist Jim Sanborn in 1990, in which he placed cyphered messages within the sculpture's 2,000 alphabetic letters.

I’ve never seen this work, though if  I happen to find myself near the Central Intelligence Agency in Langley, Virginia, I may venture in to view it in person. 

Though I have no deep seated desire to crack the code, I am thrilled by art that incorporates textual elements (I’ve been doing it myself for years) and the fact that there are messages encoded within the work adds extra sparkle to the brilliance.

Read more about it here: 'Kryptos' sculptor inspires hope in weary code-breakers - CNN.com

Happy Black Friday. . .

Selene

I came across this spectacular painting titled “Selene” created by the artist Albert Aublet in the year 1880 and I was so taken by it that I felt compelled to post it.

Even though this is technically an artistic presentation of a new moon, last night’s full moon certainly enhanced my enamourment with this glorious work.

Albert Aublet (1851 Paris, France - 1938 Paris, France ) completed his artistic training under the history and genre painter Claude Jacquand (1804 – 1878) between 1870 and 1874.

He is best known as a genre painter with works such as “Communion at Neuilly” but he also painted portraits and transitional subjects, bridging the gap between Impressionism and traditional realism. Furthermore, he was also a sculptor exhibiting busts at La Nationale and Les Artistes Francaises between 1910 and 1936.

He exhibited paintings also regularly at these two institutions, from 1890 to 1914 at the former, and 1920 to 1937 at the latter. He was awarded a Gold Medal at the Universal Exhibition in 1889 and the Legion of Honour in1890. Amsterdam, London and Madrid also bestowed Gold medals on him and he received Silver Medals from Munich and Nice.

Aublet was commissioned to illustrate “Fort Comme la Mort” by the major French writer, Guy de Maupassant.

Museums where his work can be seen include Philadelphia, Quebec and St Etienne.

Happy Hallothanksmas

I was speaking with my partner the other day about the holidays and we both mentioned how it was impossible not to notice that with each passing year, the celebration of the holidays, or at least, the presence of the oncoming holidays via the increase in marketing and merchandising among retailers. seemed to arrive earlier and earlier.

We both acknowledged that we had heard others speak of the same awareness, and that that subject of conversation amongst peers had also increased with each passing season.

Suddenly, during the discussion, a new wave of understanding about the subject came upon me. . . So what if the marketing of the holidays creeps closer every year?! Is it really so affrontive to find a bit of joy with the recognition of the upcoming holiday season?

Now, before I get 1000 emails cursing the commerciality of it all, understand that I am fully aware of that aspect of the issue. It’s a non-discussion point for me. But understand that just because the retailers throw up the décor the moment late August and September come about doesn’t mean that someone has to rush blindly into the shops with credit cards and cash in hand to pick up every bag of bite size snickers or blinking tree lights. Unless they want to of course – and that’s fine too.

But what someone can do is to simply just enjoy seeing the decorations, listening to the music, feeling the excitement of the coming joy of the holidays. Rather than a bah humbug tinted cynical reproach of the ever closer moving approach of the holiday marketing, what’s wrong with getting excited, indeed happy, about the holiday season?

I have always been a fan of the terms “Happy Holidays” and “Season’s Greetings”. When you think about it, each month between September and February contain one major holiday – Halloween,Thanksgiving, Christmas/Hanukkah/Winter Solstice, and New Year’s Eve – . Indeed, in my book, that makes a Holiday Season.

Our country is traveling through some extremely rough terrain now. Personally, I welcome any opportunity to feel happy and am more than ready to welcome in the joy of the seasons. if I have 4 months to do so – all the better!

Happy Holidays all!  

Recent Work–“The Mind Reader”

“The Mind Reader”
16” x 20”
acrylic & vintage ephemeral and mixed-media collage on canvas
2010
© Michael Sprouse

Canned art draws oooohs and awe

CANstruction is designed to raise hunger awareness during the Thanksgiving season and there are some pretty impressive photos to go along with this artistically and seasonally inspiring story  - especially when you realize that the cans cannot be bound with glue or adhesives and designers are not allowed to color the cans.

All of the cans used in the contest will be donated to City Harvest for distribution to programs that feed impoverished New Yorkers. Link below.

Canned art draws oooohs and awe - CNN.com

Happy Birthday Neil Young

A dear friend of mine reminded that today is Neil Young’s 65th birthday. . .

Oh what a far better world we live in because of your presence within it. Your music, sir, has touched and stirred my soul on countless occasions. You are a master of your art and I can not overstate the joy that your craft has brought to my life over the years.

The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald

Today marks the 35th anniversary of the sinking of the Bulk Carrier SS Edmund Fitzgerald. I was just a ten year old boy at the time, but Gordon Lightfoot’s haunting and mesmerizing ballad (released almost one year to the date after the tragedy) still causes my mind to drift when I hear it as it fills my thoughts with aqueous imagery and misted memories. It has become a timeless classic and an artistic documentation of a tragic yet historic event.

Recent Work. . .

“Minds Of Others”
11” x 14”
acrylic and vintage ephemeral collage on canvas
2010
© Michael Sprouse

O’Donnell needs a new hat. . .

I have a feeling her witch hat may be a bit tattered after the last few weeks. The hat above is so much more appealing and, frankly, so much more appropriate. It would look utterly smashing on her during debates.

Especially in such debates where she freely allows her idiocy to shine through, such as the one held earlier today before an audience of legal scholars and law students at Widener University Law School in which she seemed genuinely surprised that the principle of separation of church and state derives from the First Amendment. . .

It borders on amazing really. But, if only she had worn this appropriate hat during the debate, she could have had at least something to blame for her gibberish other than her own ignorance of the Constitution of The United States.

Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. . .  and she with Senatorial aspirations. . .

But alas, for you know what they say, if it speaks like a dunce, sounds  like a dunce, and debates like a dunce. . . .

Big Bang Big Boom

I came across this outstanding and inspirational work that produces a sublime combination of graffiti art, found art, sculpture, and performance into one mind-boggling video animation. Imagine how many individual wall paintings must have been created for this project! The video was directed and animated by an artist that goes by the name of Blu (www.blublu.org) who is a member of an Italian artist collective called Studiocromie. The video is just short of 10 minutes. Click on the image to go to the site to view the video which is best when viewed full-screen.

"Breathe Normally"

"Breathe Normally", originally uploaded by sprouseart.

Recent work. . .

"Breathe Normally"
acrylic and vintage ephemeral collage on canvas
11" x 14"
2010
© Michael Sprouse

Family thinks it has Michelangelo painting

Is it my imagination - or have stories about the discoveries of unidentified masterpieces and the inevitable controversies surrounding their authenticity been a bit more on the radar over the last few months? Just two months ago I blogged about the controversial "La Bella Principessa" and now this recent item : Family thinks it has Michelangelo painting - CNN.com

The battle for Cumbria's Roman helmet. . .

Sadly, this amazing and exquisite ancient Roman helmet,unearthed in May of this year by a metal detector enthusiast in Crosby Garrett, near Kirkby Stephen in Cumbria, England, was sold to a private collector at auction by Christie's recently for a little over 3.5 million dollars. A such, it is almost certain that the public will never see the helmet now that it is part of someone's private collection. For more information, follow this link.

The battle for Cumbria's Roman helmet | Jonathan Jones | Art and design | guardian.co.uk

Revel In New York. . .

Here’s a very intriguing find today courtesy of www.revelinnewyork.com. It’s a short film by discussing the art of duo Peter McGough and David McDermott who have spent the last 30 years living life as if it were the end of the 19th century as sort of an ongoing living art work. Fascinating, slightly bizarre, and vaguely unsettling. 

http://www.revelinnewyork.com/videos/peter-mcgough

Judge the work, not the artist

I came across an intriguing article in the New York Times entitled, “When Life Gets In The Way Of Art” that ponders, if an artist lies, does it change how we see their work.

It’s a highly worthwhile read and an issue that I’ve come across before in discussion with other artists, collectors, and admirers. Though, these discussions weren’t actually related to the truthfulness of particular artists (the NYTIMES article discusses such examples as the famed civil rights era photographer Ernest C. Withers and the recent  revelation that he was a paid FBI informant, and Casey Affleck’s film, “I’m Still Here” documentary – now mockumentary -  of the unsightly celebrity disintegration of the actor Joaquin Phoenix, now revealed as a hoax), as much as they were about whether it was possible or not  to still admire the work of a great artist after discovering something disagreeable about them. For example, Edward Hopper’s mental and physical abuse of his wife Jo or Clint Eastwood’s conservative politics.

I came to the conclusion that, as a general rule, it is better to judge the work rather than the artist who created it. Of course, there are extreme exceptions to the rule – Hitler, John Wayne Gacy come to mind – and I have personally met artists who were such complete nincompoops that I basically dismissed them and their work in one fell swoop, but overall, I prefer to remain neutral. If there are idiosyncrasies of an artist that merit some form of eyebrow raising attention or scorn, history, or sometimes even the work itself, often has a way of revealing them.

In Memoriam...

Tony Curtis
June 3, 1925 - September 29, 2010

“If you don't know your gift, you've got no lift.” – Tony Curtis

New Work

Despite having a rather active social schedule during my last 3 day visit to my DC studio - as well as a 1.5 day power outage - , I did manage to find some time to actually create some art. This acrylic and vintage photographic and print ephemera collage work is titled “It Was True”. It measures 9” x 12”.

Happy 90th!

I’m not sure what is more impressive – the fact that Mickey Rooney, icon of American film and stage, turns 90 today, or the fact that he is still working! Congrats!



In case you were unaware, in his youth, MR was the Tom Cruise (as in younger Tom Cruise) of his generation. . .

www.mickeyrooney.com