Work of Art

So one of my favorite TV shows has finally returned! Work of Art: The Next Great Artist is basically Project Runway for the artist set and is absolutely wonderful. Way meaner and more intense than Project Runway, or even Top Chef. It's a really interesting show because art criticism is such a subjective thing and people usually know what they like in art. This week they sent home an artist named Ugo Nonis, who, in my opinion, left the show WAY too early. He does these super bold line drawings and paintings that are very reminiscent of Keith Haring (as much as Nonis rejects that comparison). 

I'm thinking about buying a piece of his art because I just think his compositions are really dynamic and just really cool. Every time you look at his pieces you are drawn to a different part of the work, which makes for some good wall power. Check out more of his stuff at www.artugo.com.

Horsplay

About a month ago, I went to the MFA alumni show at UB. There was a lot of super interesting art but the paintings by Mia Brownell were fantastic. Sloan Fine Art, who sells some her paintings, likens her work to the Old Dutch Masters, a comparison that is rightly deserved. Her paintings are about this concept of digestion, both cognitive and tangible. In her work you see actual food items, such as apples and grapes, combined with elements of the body, like nerves and muscles. 

I think her stuff is pretty stellar. She really incorporates such impressive detail into her work. Check out more of her amazing art at www.miabrownell.com

2011 Emmy Awards: Best of the Best Dressed

 Ahh award season. The most wonderful time of the year, in my opinion. While I am more partial to the Golden Globes and the Oscars, the Emmys are usually a great award show, slightly more lighthearted than the aforementioned ceremonies. This year was actually a pretty stellar year for fashion on the Emmy red carpet (except for that horrific belly dancer outfit that Gwyneth Paltrow showed up in) and these lovely ladies are the best of the best. Christina Hendricks in Johanna Johnson, Sofia Vergara in Vera Wang, and Kate Winslet in Elie Saab all did exactly what you are supposed to do on the red carpet: look elegant, but not over done, showcase your best features, and do it all with a great air of confidence. 

           

To me, there is a clear winner in this whole shebang, because Miss Kate looks so absolutely stunning. I mean, she looks fierce, quote the illustrious Christian Siriano. In fact, if I were her, I would never not wear this dress. Click on the picture to see a close up of the AMAZING diamond drop earrings she is sporting. A winning red carpet look for a fabulous Emmy winner! 

Melancholia

So this movie has been making headlines recently, following the Cannes Festival a few months back (mostly because of director Lars von Trier's comments about the Nazis), but I just saw the trailer today and I've watched it at least 5 times. I don't know what it is but it's almost addictingly beautiful plus it includes a gorgeous Wagner score (hence von Trier's comments about the Nazis) and I am a sucker for an art film. I read some early reviews of it and one of the comments on the trailer video said, "It was the most horrifying movie I have ever seen. I couldn't speak for an hour after watching it."

Still unsure if I'm going to go see it, to be frank. I said I was going to see Tree of Life this summer but that didn't really pan out because of all of the terrible reviews/ no one wanted to see it with me. Perhaps I can work up the courage for this one but it honestly looks brutal.

Chopped

I love to cook and one of my favorite shows on TV is "Chopped", where the contestants take different mystery ingredients and try and make a meal out of them. When I am running out of food, I like to do my own version of "Chopped" with various things around my kitchen. Tonight I made Chickpea Tostadas with a Cilantro Yogurt Dressing. Recipe (which yields 2 tostadas) follows the photo!

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the two flour tortillas on a baking sheet and coat them with a little bit of olive oil, salt, and pepper. Bake the tortillas for 5 minutes, flip them, and bake them for another 3 minutes. 

Meanwhile, mince a clove of garlic and heat it in a bit of oil until golden but not burned. Add a quarter cup of already cooked chickpeas and heat through. Add salt, pepper to taste along with pinches of both paprika and cumin. Then add a splash of broth or water. When the chickpeas are soft, and all the liquid had evaporated, take a fork and mash them slightly, still leaving some of them whole.

To make the yogurt dressing, take a quarter of a cup of greek yogurt and add salt and pepper to taste, along with the green part of one scallion. Then add a small amount of coarsely chopped cilantro.

To assemble the tostadas, spread a little bit of the yogurt mixture on the warm, toasted tortillas. Add a small handful of lettuce and top with the chickpea mixture. Garnish with whatever yogurt dressing is left. Enjoy!

Fall Wardrobe (A Girl Can Dream Edition)

I've always been a Tom Ford fan. In fact, I based my entire fall wardrobe last year on his men's campaign because I thought it was so gorgeous. He makes an impeccably tailored, beautifully imagined suit, which I feel is a mark of a good designer. He recently released some women's wear and I actively salivate when I look at this stuff because it is exactly what I am feeling right now, clothing wise. In fact, I would probably empty my bank account to buy just one of the pieces in the collection for Autumn 2011, but I honestly have nowhere worthy to wear it.

I feel like "divine" is really the only word that is accurate enough to describe this kind of clothing. Also, I love the way he styles his models (even the male ones for his men's wear campaigns) because the hair and makeup add to the overall effect of the clothing but certainly don't overpower anything. But with clothes as amazing as these, could anything really steal the limelight?

www.tomford.com (for more amazing women's clothes and seasons upon seasons of to-die-for men's wear)

You can dance if you want to

So I'm co-teaching a dancing and singing class this summer and in the corner of the dance studio there is a picture of Mikhail Baryshnikov. Every time I think of him I am reminded of this video that I stumbled upon a couple of years ago but is still, in my opinion, some of the best dancing of all time

Speaking of dance, I saw "Billy Elliot" on Broadway last weekend and it was phenomenal- check it out if you have the opportunity because it was absolutely breathtaking.