Things we get fixated as a society. Cultural icons, in other words.

Thursday, May 10, 2007

Picasso's drawing of a woman's head

A drawing of a girl's head by Picasso. It is definitely one of the most expressive drawings I have seen: the dark shades on the right make a wonderful contrast to the missing top of the skull. Very nice.

When we talk about cultural icons in modern art, Picasso can never be left out. He embodies the image of a modern artist on so many levels.

Chinese symbol tattoos: What is going on?

Chinese symbol tattooI am not sure where this photo comes from but it shows two Chinese symbols as a tattoo on some-one's skin. The problem is that in Chinese it means "insane diarrhea."

Now I know that there are many types of people with different lifestyles and philosophies. But I still do not understand how it feels cool for anyone to have a tattoo of Chinese symbols meaning insane diarrhea. WHY?

Or perhaps this is just a mistake. Or a mean joke. In either case, if you are to get a Chinese tattoo, please get it from professionals who can read and write Chinese. Simply etching the lines into your skin is not enough.

Try this link: Chinese symbols for tattoos

Wednesday, May 09, 2007

Chinese shunga

Chinese shunga: Doing it while riding a horseChinese shunga. This sounds like nonse because shunga is a distinctly Japanese art form, with a Japanese name. But at the same time the Chinese have erotic prints which are very similar to the Japanese ones, the only difference being in style. The sample here is a very special one because the couple is doing it mounted on a horse back. The man is possible a barbarian of some sort.

Also, pay attention to the lady's socks which are interesting not so much because it is funny to see someone stark naked wearing socks but because she obviously has those notorious bound feet of the Manchu aristocracy.

Tuesday, May 08, 2007

Siberian wagon church: Church on the go

This must be one of the weirdest kinds of churches I have seen so far. This is a photo, on an old postcard, of a wagon church, that is, a church inside a train. The caption says, "Siberia, inside view of a wagon church."

Siberian wagon church

Pictures of the frilled shark

So here are some pictures of the frilled shark.

A drawing of a frilled shark
A drawing of the frilled shark.
Frilled shark
A photo of a stuffed specimen.

Frilled shark
A line drawing of the frilled shark, showing its long body and face.
Frilled shark
A frilled shark in a Japanese museum. It is called Rabuka in Japan.