An exhibition rich of masterpieces that tell about the relationship between the Barbizon school of France and the diffusion of realism and naturalism in Central and Eastern Europe brings together from museums all over the world 134 works by Manet, Monet, Renoir, Degas, Van Gogh and many others who can be compared with the main painters of countries of Central and Eastern Europe. If you happen to be in Udine, visit The Age of Courbet and Monet at the majestic ensemble of Villa Manin in Passariano until March 7, 2010.
more…

The Turkeys at Montgeron, Claude Monet
Musee d’Orsay

Yesterday I stepped out onto the hills to do a quick sketch of the wild turkeys that roam the hills. There is usually a flock somewhere to be found. I thought that since Thanksgiving was upon us that I could parlay this into a fitting blog post. Well, wouldn’t you know, there was not a turkey to be found. I usually don’t welcome their presence but I was amazed at my disappointment in not finding a one.

So to wish you a very happy day I can think of no better way than to bow to Claude Monet and his painting The Turkeys at Montgeron. It was commissioned by his patron Ernest Hoschedé in 1877.

As artists and those who enjoy the vision art brings to our lives we have a lot to be thankful for. Enjoy your day!

A ideia inicial de escrever para o Judão era sobre um nerd na Mostra Internacional de Cinema de São Paulo. Mas acontece que há duas coisas: 1) eu não sou nerd e 2) não estava a fim de assistir nada da Mostra. Calma, que essa é uma técnica de prender a sua atenção, afirmando duas coisas que podem polemizar. Então vamos lá.

Eu sou nerd, claro. Mas não do jeito que as pessoas estereotiparam os CDFs. Gosto de Lanterna Verde, X-Men, Star Wars e De Volta para o Futuro. Mas também gosto de Wong Kar-Wai, Pearl Jam e Monet. Tenho toda uma teoria sobre o gostar das coisas, sobre colocar as pessoas em categorias pré-determinadas, mas vou te poupar. O fato é que há algum tempo passei a quebrar certos paradigmas e pude tirar proveito de mais coisas. Não jogo RPG e por isso não sou CDF? Gosto do diretor Jean Paul Civeyrac e por isso sou cabeçudo? Sei pelo menos cinco versões diferentes da morte de Thomas e Martha Wayne, por isso sou nerd? Acho o Nirvana sensacional e isso faz de mim um grunge? Que seja. Pode me colocar a tag que quiser. Vou continuar curtindo cada uma dessas coisas, sem precisar defender uma ideologia específica, baseada em coisas tão banais e divertidas como música, HQ e filmes.

Essa foi a primeira vez em três anos que não trabalhei na Mostra ou em algo relacionado a ela. Por isso não queria assistir a nenhum filme da programação. Era muito agito e só queria assistir um filme em paz. O único que assisti foi Bastardos Inglórios. Em 2007, fiz assessoria do evento, ocasião em que ‘conheci’ o Borbs. Até então, só sabia o nome que assinava os textos do Judão. Por isso, o lobby que fiz, para que a equipe desse estimado site ganhasse credenciais, foi justamente por achar que mereciam.

Ouvi algumas chacotas, mas sempre mantive minha opinião. O motivo: leia o parágrafo anterior. Simplesmente segui a lógica: se eu era leitor do Judão e via filmes da Mostra [não só os blockbusters, mas os 'cabeçudos' também], a probabilidade de existir mais pessoas nessa condição era grande. Nesse ano, uma das pessoas que já trabalhou comigo mandou-me um email, com o release da MTV anunciando a parceria com o Judão. O email: “Você tinha razão. Eles venceram”.

‘Eles’ não, cara-pálida. Nós. E não nós, os nerds, apenas. Pegue Rock Band dos Beatles, por exemplo. São dois mundos que ‘colidem’. Repare na ascensão e reconhecimento de filmes como Spider-Man, X-Men e afins. Até as moças que praticam yoga ‘venceram’, já que há jogos específicos para a prática, no Wii. Acho que o caminho da ‘vitória’ segue lado a lado a trajetória do avanço tecnológico nos últimos anos. Quando o mundo deixou de olhar para Bill Gates como estereótipo de nerd e passou a ter Steve Jobs como seu símbolo, começamos a trilhar a vitória. E pelamor, sem essa de entrar na pendenga Microsoft x Apple e defender seu sistema operacional, dizendo que o verdadeiro geek-nerd-CDF usa é Linux. O Bill Gates só tem cara de bobo e a palavra ‘geek’ sempre foi associada a isso, a alguém meio bobo, meio estranho [assim como 'punk', para arruaceiro].

Liberte-se das categorias em que te colocaram. Aceite que alguém ‘nerd’ nunca tenha lido Dark Knight, Watchmen ou Akira. Assista comédias românticas com sua guria, para dar risada e vê-la sorrir. Vá para praia sem iPod [ou celular!]. Viaje para algum lugar que não tenha energia elétrica e aprenda a montar uma barraca. Só não faça algo porque alguém esperou que você fizesse. Que a Força esteja com você.

______________________

Texto publicado originalmente no Judão.

By Linda Tancs

You’ve heard the expression:  which came first, the chicken or the egg?  In a similar vein, does art imitate life or does life imitate art?  Well, at Monet’s home and gardens at Giverny in France, the line between art and life is more like a blur.  In fact, when you view the master impressionist’s abode in this village northwest of Paris, you’re likely to feel like you stumbled into one of his paintings.   You won’t find any of his originals on the premises; you’ll need to visit d’Orsay, Marmottan or de l’Orangerie to see those.  But you will find in his garden oasis the blooming water lillies he made so famous.  The house will reopen in April for tours.  From then until 1 November you can observe the changing cascade of color–from springlike pastels to the deep brilliant hues of autumn–that makes his artwork come to life.  Less than an hour away from Paris, buy a packaged tour, drive or take the train to Vernon and then a bus or taxi ride will have you there in 10 minutes or so.  No doubt the still beauty of the place will leave a lasting impression on you.

Desde siempre el arte no ha gustado a todos. Degenerado es un término muy difícil de determinar ya que no tenemos completa precisión de lo que es o no degenerado para unos y otros. A pesar de todos los interrogantes, es un concepto que en los últimos siglos ha dado mucho de qué hablar en arte y otras disciplinas, pero arte es lo que ahora mismo nos concierne.

La exposición en el Salón de los renegados, de la obra Olympia de Manet, aún siendo el salón de los que eran rechazados por el principal salón de exposiciones, supuso un ataque a la decencia y a la pureza, puesto que en ese cuadro se mostraba a una mujer desnuda de la calle (prostituta), y sólo estaba bien visto si tenía temática mitológica. Fue muy criticado y la gente sólo iba a verlo para exigir su retirada y criticarlo.

Pero no sólo Manet sufrió críticas a su obra, llamándole loco y degenerado, sino que Van Gogh “heredó” esos piropos puesto que su obra no era entendida por la gente, mientras que esas mismas obras supusieron una lanzadera para otros movimientos artísticos.

Posteriormente, Hitler confiscó numerosas obras a las que él llamaba degeneradas, entre las que se hallaban muchas obras cubistas, surrealistas, dadaístas…

La mentalidad abierta de hoy en día, conseguida gracias a las conexiones interculturales, ha permitido que a día de hoy estos artistas, anteriormente vapuleados y criticados, sean reconocidos y sus obras valgan millones.

Así pues, hoy por hoy cuesta saber qué se considera o no arte, puesto que es algo demasiado subjetivo. De todos modos, sobresale más la gente que intenta hacernos creer que entiende de arte y lo que los artistas muestran, que la gente que verdaderamente sabe.

PUBLICIDAD DEGENERADA

El arte siempre ha supuesto más o menos escándalo (sobre todo en estos dos últimos siglos), pero también las mentes de la gente evolucionan y por ello se aceptan estas obras y sus artistas son reconocidos mundialmente.

El escándalo y la controversia está a la orden del día, ya que cualquier “artista” lo usa para publicitarse o para darse fama, puesto que “lo importante es que hablen de mi, aunque sea mal”, y mientras se hable de uno, se le dará fama e importancia a ese uno y su obra.

Los temas más provocativos y que suscitan mayor alteración en la sociedad suelen ser los relacionados con la religión, el sexo y todo tipo de temas controvertidos y atractivos para unos, pero a la vez “dañinos” para otros.

Algunos de los ejemplos más famosos, son las fotografías de Cristo, los anuncios “sexistas” de Dolce & Gabanna, de Bennetton o el anuncio del sida, de Alemania, en el que se ve a Hitler practicando sexo con una mujer y pone: “El asesino de masas”, refiriéndose al sida.

Los extremismos se han convertido en la forma de expresión más popular tanto si estamos hablando de arte, publicidad u otros muchos ámbitos. Pero también se busca el entrelazar distintas materias como en el anuncio antes citado, en el que encontramos alusiones a la historia y la salud.

Arte y publicidad han sucumbido al escándalo para dar a conocer sus obras y con ello provocar la atención del público. Cuanto más escándalo provoque más venderá y más conocido será ese artista. Ya no es belleza lo que se vende, no es arte, sino escándalo y controversia.

No, no, tranquilli.

Questo potrebbe ma non vuole essere un pappone pseudo intellettuale sull’arte o cose varie. Non sarei capace di farlo  e finirei per inventare  buttando lì parole a caso, un po’ come facevo con la santissima prof di storia dell’arte quando mi interrogava e chi ha avuto modo di vedere i miei immacolati e nuovissimi 6 libri di storia dell’arte del liceo sa che non mento quando dico che inventavo.

Il titolo di questo post indica quest’opera:

Ieri sono stato alla National Gallery. Beh inutile stare a dire quanto fosse bello e interessante camminare per quelle stanze fantastiche. Quello di cui voglio parlarvi è di come questo quadro è stato spiegato a dei ragazzini di massimo 10 anni in visita al museo.

Entro in questa stanza e vedo circa 20-30 ragazzini tutti col maglioncino granata, uniforme della scuola, intenti a rappresentare dal vero il quadro. Tranquilli, a nessun ragazzo era stata mozzata la testa per rappresentare più realisticamente la scena.Quindi c’era qualcuno col braccio alzato come a tenere la lancia altri a terra uno che simulava di tenere dai capelli una testa. Ecco sono rimasto circa 30-40 minuti in quella sala a guardare e ad ammirare questo. Mamma mia che spettacolo.  Una cosa fantastica vedere quei bimbi così intenti e appassionati. Non so sinceramente se in Italia le visite ai musei per i ragazzini sono così, ai miei tempi sicuramente no, ma vi dico una cosa…in questo modo, secondo me, si riesce a far crescere persone decisamente migliori. Trovo che questo sia una forma di apprendimento dell’arte entusiasmante ed appassionante e la cosa speciale di tutto era che i ragazzini  si divertivano un mondo a fare ste cose. Ecco tutto questo per dirvi che se andate a Londra e avete tempo andate alla national gallery vi troverete gratis uno spettacolo che vi riempirà il cuore. Ah poi potrete anche vedere favolose opere di Van Gogh, Monet, Cezanne, Courbert, Piero della Francesca, Tiziano, Caravaggio, Leonardo e tanti ma tanti altri.

Uhm ho detto Leonardo? Azz…vi racconto quest’altra… stavo finendo tutto il giro e mi rendo conto pian piano di non aver visto uno dei quadri più attesi: “La Vergine delle Rocce” (sì sì quella di Dan Brown) versione londinese…da non confondersi con quella parigina. Eppure mi aspetto di trovarmi davanti una tavola di quasi 2 metri d’altezza e allora devo sacrificarmi e fare di nuovo tutto il giro con “sommo dispiacere” beh per chi si trovasse a passare di qui e la cerca…ad un certo punto si troverà di fronte ad una piccola etichetta in un muro vuoto. Al momento l’opera è in manutenzione… evidentemente ci sarà qualche lucetta fulminata che ne so!

The color that is so vibrant in my neighborhood is just too pretty not to share. I hope your lives are as vibrant and beautiful as these:

The richness I achieve comes from Nature, the source of my inspiration. (Claude Monet)

I have been obsessed with mandarin oranges. The ones that come in a cup. They’re so good! It’s been a really rough week for me. I haven’t done well in my internship. I feel like I’m starting to get burned out. Not necessarily burned out of my internship, but just a general stress level. I’m always worried I’m not good enough. It’s always higher towards the end of the semester.

I just finished doing a video project for my Practice Lab and it turned out well! Hopefully we can play it on another DVD player. We had to play social workers and it turned out great.

There are a couple more projects we need to worry about before the year ends.

I was able to meet up with Lizzie this past week. If you’re the praying kind, please keep my friend Liz in your prayers. You need not know why, God will know what to do with your prayers. She really needs it, though. More specifically, her unborn child. Thanks in advance.

So let me explain why Donald Miller was such a big deal to me.

Back in 2007, I went to Mexico for an internship in nursing school. I met a really great person there, Katy, who was reading Blue Like Jazz. She recommended it to me. When I got home, I went through some of the hardest tribulations in my life. I left nursing school, against everyone’s wishes, and I went to chase my dream in social work. During my first semester as a Sociology major, I read Blue Like Jazz and it changed my life. It made me happy. And most importantly, it renewed my faith. I questioned my faith when I was 12. And I looked at other people’s faith and found theology interesting. But, it never really quite fit me. I believed in God and Jesus. And that was that.

But this book lit a fire in my soul and made me passionate about my faith. A friend of mine, Monet, introduced me to Beth Moore, who teaches a bible studies at First Baptist Church, in March 2008. I don’t know why, but I went with no question. No one held my hand, I just picked up my Bible and went. And with that, my faith grew and made me grow as a human being.

I credit Donald Miller and Beth Moore for my transformation. I have continuously attended Beth Moore’s study since March 2008. And I had the pleasure to meet her and give her a hug. But with Donald Miller living in Portland, it was rare that he would have a speaking engagement in his previous home of Houston.

Then he had a new book tour for his current book A Million Miles in a Thousand Years. And he came to Pasadena. And Priscilla and I met him. And it was grand.

It was a big deal because my faith has come around full circle. And I had him to thank for it. To be able to meet him was an unbelievable privilege.

I’m off to watch 2012 and Precious.

Chez les musulmans et les juifs, la représentation est interdite, ce sont les textes qui prônent. L’image, selon eux, véhicule toujours soit la luxure, l’érotisme, le désire, l’idolâtrie ou l’inceste comme dans : « La Nudité de Noé et La Malédiction de Canaan (Genèse 9:18-29) ». On lit : « Cham, le père de Canaan, vit son père nu et sortit pour le raconter à ses frères. Pendant que Sem et Japhet refusèrent d’entrer, Cham n’a eu aucunes hésitations à propos d’entrer dans la tente. Quelque ait été la faiblesse de Noé, il était à l’intérieur de sa propre tente. C’était comme ça que Sem et Japhet le voyaient. Cham y est entré, violant le principe d’intimité, pourtant, pas pour l’aider mais à se divertir à ses dépends. Cham n’a rien fait pour préserver la dignité de son père. Il n’a rien fait pour être sûr que Noé soit proprement couvert. A la place, il est sorti, alla vers ses deux frères et graphiquement décrit ce qu’il vu à l’intérieur. Il me semble que Cham ait put encourager Sem et Japhet à entrer dans la tente pour qu’ils puissent voir d’eux-mêmes. L’un d’eux prit la tunique, celle dont Noé aurait du être couvert, sur leurs épaules, ils marchèrent à reculons dans la tente. Sans regarder leur père, ils le couvrirent et sortirent de la tente. »

La représentation n’est aucunement interdite par le Coran, mais plutôt par un hadit qui dit que toute représentation s’apparente à une forme d’idolâtrie. On peut y lire : « nous ne sommes pas créateurs, seul Dieu a ce pouvoir, de ce fait nous n’avons pas le droit de représenter. » Dans la Torah, lorsque Moise est revenu avec la table des 10 commandements, il découvrit que son peuple avait commencé à vénéré le veau d’or. Il détruisit immédiatement cette statue en la faisant fondre et jeté à la mer. Chez les chrétiens, on peut lire dans la Bible que Dieu est représenté par le feu lorsque Jésus lui parle. On sait également que Jésus, fils de dieu, entité invisible s’est incarné en humain pour être visible aux yeux de tous. Dans l’évangile selon Saint- Jean il rapporte ces termes : « Celui qui m’a vu, a vu le Père.» On traduit par : « Je suis l’image, la représentation de Dieu. » C’est grâce à ce texte qu’il y a eu légitimation de la création iconographique en occident. Chez les peuples Bouddhistes, on a la table des 32 caractéristiques d’un bouddha. Chaque bouddha est facilement reconnaissable, grâce à des caractéristiques dont ne sont jamais pourvus les êtres humains ordinaires. Il existe 32 caractéristiques qui sont propres à tous les bouddhas omniscients. Ces caractéristiques sont déjà toutes présentes au moment de leur naissance, et ne changent jamais, jusqu’au parinibbána. Nous, nous attarderons donc sur les deux peuples qui autorisent les représentations et les créations d’images. On exposera le thème du miroir en occident et en orient. Dans un premier temps, on verra comment le spectateur passe d’un mode « passif » à « actif ». Dans un second temps, on expliquera comment les œuvres asiatiques ont habitué le spectateur a une vision «  active » et à évoluer celui-ci en « acteur ».

Une des œuvres occidentale importante dans l’histoire du miroir est celle de la « La jeune fille assoupie ».

Une Jeune Fille assoupie (Het Slapende Meisje) au Metropolitan Museum de New York Johannes Vermeer, 1657, Huile sur toile.

Si l’on analyse ce tableau ; on peut voir que la lumière provient de la fenêtre située à la place du spectateur qui donne des tons ocres à l’œuvre. Au premier plan, on observe un amoncellement d’objets. Un semblant de désordre règne. Une chaise à bras de lion se trouve en bas à gauche. Ce rapprochement « grossi » crée une bannière entre la jeune fille et le spectateur. On est proche d’elle presque inclus dans la scène, mais en même temps elle reste inaccessible. Les critiques conviennent généralement que de soi-disant le tableau dans le tableau est censé donner le commentaire sur la scène qui a lieu ci-dessous. L’interprétation de cette image a été particulièrement problématique. On suppose que l’inclusion du masque dans la peinture de cupidon a illuminé le thème avec une référence typique ; la désillusion amoureuse. Le masque tombé signifie la fin de la duperie, plutôt qu’étant ivre, la jeune fille peut simuler le sommeil à son amoureux qui est sur le point d’apparaître. En fait, Vermeer avait par le passé peint un cavalier debout dans la pièce arrière, vue à travers la porte, mais il a par la suite décidé de l’effacer. Au 3ème plan, on peut reconnaitre un miroir plat qui ne reflète rien. Ce rien peut faire référence à l’absence.

Depuis des siècles, les artistes ont formé le spectateur à la vision « passive ». Une simple vision monoculaire suffit à déterminer la perspective linéaire ainsi que le point de fuite comme le démontre le livre d’Alberti. Ces idéaux seront bousculé à l’époque contemporaine par des artistes tels que Monet et sa série de nymphéas.

Nous ne pouvons pas analyser une Monet comme un Vermeer. Nous n’avons pas de repère, pas de point de fuite, pas de perspective linéaire. Nous n’avons aucun référent à l’art de la peinture comme chez Alberti. Les nymphéas, ces délicates fleurs d’eau, font partie des sujets de prédilection de l’artiste qui voulait, à la manière de la photographie naissante, saisir l’instant et, surtout en restituer la lumière particulière. Nous ne pouvons que suivre les couleurs vaporeuses. Notre regard se perdant dans cet infini de tons bleus, verts et blancs. Le reflet du Saul et du ciel dans l’eau nous amène à considérer l’eau comme un miroir.  Les nénuphars se déclinent en plusieurs verts plus bleutés que les feuilles de saule. Les artistes occidentaux ont abordé le miroir sous différentes formes. Tout d’abord ils l’ont représenté en peinture, en sérigraphie puis il est devenu comme si dessus un simple reflet, et finalement, une matière de support à l’art. C’est ainsi que le spectateur a évolué sa vision. Il est passé d’une vision « passive » (monoculaire) à celle d’ « active » que les asiatiques maitrisent depuis des siècles déjà.

En effet, les arts asiatiques ont habitué le spectateur à suivre le récit des œuvres. Le regard du spectateur oriental, est en mouvement constant. L’artiste guide le spectateur à travers les couleurs, et les personnages. L’eau des œuvres de Fugaku Sanjurokkei est comme un miroir vide. Il absorbe totalement le paysage. Notre regarde divague aux grès des couleurs à la recherche de repères, mais se retrouve face à une image plate, sans perspective. L’endroit semble être Ninomiya actuel, une ville près de la côte de la préfecture de Kanagawa entre Kozu et Odawara. L’œuvre montre un groupe de grues dans le premier plan avec deux autres le vol au loin vers Fuji. De la série la plus célèbre de Hokusai : Sanjurokkei de Fugaku, les « trente-six vues du Mont Fuji. » L’ensemble de 46 copies éditées par Eijudo c 1830-32. C’est une des conceptions les plus admirées de l’ensemble et une des plus difficiles à trouver dans l’état tôt (comme Kajikazawa). Alternativement, ceux-ci tendent également à être les conceptions qui sont imprimées presque seulement dans les tonalités de bleu et de vert. Elles ont été les premières à être conçues pour montrer au loin le nouveau bleu prussien.

Katsushika HOKUSAI, Fugaku Sanjurokkei, 1830-1832, bois.

A partir des années 1930, une grande artiste va s’intéressée plus au miroir que n’importe quel autre artiste asiatique. A travers sa série « Miroited years», Yayoi Kusama, créa une installation aux multiples murs miroités. On observe des sculptures orangées aux points blancs qui se reflètent partout dans le cube miroité. Lorsque nous rentrons à l’intérieur c’est comme si nous somme passé dans un autre monde, un peu comme Alice qui traverse le miroir (cf. : Alice aux pays des merveilles). L’ingénieux système de miroir, réfléchit à l’infini une couleur orangée parsemée de points blancs. Une sensation d’être perdus, petits nous envahi, puis lorsque nous sortons, c’est comme un retour à la morosité. Le spectateur asiatique devient alors acteur dans ses œuvres car lui-même est reflété partout, sur tous les miroirs.

Walking in My Mind, Yayoi Kusama

Cette morosité est dépassée dans certaines villes où l’on est envahi de gratte-ciels miroités. Nous nous retrouvons donc dans une ville de miroir où le sol ne peut rien refléter, ainsi qu’un ciel trop haut pour être réfléchit. Nous sommes dans un monde où nos buildings reflètent le vide. Les immeubles sont placardés d’images, de photos, de publicité, d’écrans télévisés. Le spectateur ne sait plus où il doit regarder. Il devient donc acteur. Il fait parti de cette œuvre à grande échelle. Il occupe une place importante en tant que spectateur de la vie quotidienne. Nous sommes tous passé d’un rôle de spectateur à un rôle d’acteur, car nous faisons parti intégrante des « shows » de la vie. Tous les jours les médias quotidiens nous présentent les informations comme des « mini shows » c’est donc à partir de cela que nous devenons des acteurs dans ce spectacle de la vie. On peut finir par se demander si : l’acteur, finira dépassé par ce spectacle aux multiples visages, aux milliers de miroirs ?

Project Runway’s Tim Gunn was in Santa Clara this past saturday at the Westfield Valley fair mall for the Westfield Style Tour.

The Westfield’s Style Tour last stop was in Santa Clara for a three-day event that started November 6th and ended November 8th.

Tim Gunn was a special guest on November 7th to host the fashion show with clothing from DKNY Jeans, Juicy Couture, Kensie, Lucky Brand Jeans, Mac & Jac, and jewelry from Monet and Juicy Couture. (All participating sponsors)

Lucky customers that shopped between 10.31.09- 11.7.09 with any total purchase of $100 or more from the list of participating partners had the chance to be professionally photographed with Tim Gunn after the Fashion show.

Westfield Valley fair mall had events throughout the mall as the offered special discounts, makeovers, fashion tips and free hair product samples from TRESemme.   

Phone: 954 603 8772.
Please leave a message and you will be contacted ASAP.

A/C not fixed = $20 (diagnosis/service)
If your air conditioning (A/C) is not fixed, the charge $20 to diagnose the problem.

A/C fixed + No parts = $50
(If your A/C is fixed and no parts are needed, the charge is $50 total.You will not pay more than $50 unless parts need to be purchased.)

A/C fixed + Parts = $50 + Cost of parts.
If your A/C is fixed and parts are needed, the charge is $50 + the cost of the parts.

Please note: Freon/refrigerant is a part and is not included in the service fee.

This is not an hourly fee – the labor fee is $50 no matter how long the repair takes. The charge is $20 if the A/C is not fixed.

Please note that the following services are not currently being offered: 1) coil change-outs, 2) compressor change-outs and 3) installations.

Here is a list of cities currently being serviced:

Boca Raton
Coconut Creek
Coral Springs
Deerfield Beach
Fort Lauderdale
Hillsboro Beach
Lauderdale Lakes
Lauderdale-by-the-Sea
Lauderhill
Lighthouse Point
Margate
North Lauderdale
Oakland Park
Parkland
Pompano Beach
Tamarac
Wilton Manors

South Broward, West Broward and Miami-Dade County are not currently serviced.

Here is a list of some of the units that may be repaired…
- Commercial A/C units
- Residential A/C units
- Split A/C units
- Package A/C units
- Wall A/C units
- Window A/C units

Please note: Personal Checks and Business Checks are not accepted as payment at this time.

If you can’t call, feel free to email your phone number to the email address at the top of this listing and you will be contacted ASAP.

Any and all air conditioners have a possibility of repair.

Here are some (but not all) brands that repairs are possible for..
Goodman, Trane, Carrier, York, Rheem, Ruud, Fujistsu, American Standard, Lennox, Mitsubishi, Bryant, Payne, Duchane, Fedders, Heil, Janitrol, Armstrong, GE, General Electric, Honeywell, Amana, Comfortmaker, Tempstar, Briggs & Stratton, Kohler, Guardian, Generac.

License # CAC014666

I haven’t written about board books for a while, in part because the good ones seem to be getting rarer: More and more, these books for babies and toddlers rip-off bestsellers for older children instead of doing what they alone can do. But in today’s Wall Street Journal Megan Cox Gurdon writes about a series that suggests the unique potential of the medium: Julie Appel and Amy Guglielmo’s “Touch the Art” line, which began with Brush Mona Lisa’s Hair. “Each book features well-known images adorned with appealing, touchable gimmicks,” Gurdon writes. The latest is Catch Picasso’s Rooster (Sterling, 21 pp., $12.95), which invites children to stroke things such as a red-feather comb and the cat in Henri Rousseau’s The Tabby. You can read Gurdon’s review here. The publisher’s site has more on other books in the series, including Count Monet’s Lilies.

Recently I made a scarf inspired by Monet’s “Le bassin aux Nympheas”  Pond of Lilies and I actually visited the garden in 2007 in Giverny. I remembered that day, we had a horrible day driving to Giverny..we stopped at a supermarket along the way and my mum went missing for nearly 45mins in the supermarket (for reasons I do not want to go further into)…the road we wanted to go on became blocked due to road works and then we followed the french signs onto some dodgy windy roads . Also luckily we had the street directory which helped us to get to Monet’s garden. I was ecstatic when I got there. Monet’s garden was filled with large colourful flowers and lots of unusual plants. I loved the bamboo forest especially.Then we went through a tunnel to the other side to see the famous pond. I didn’t end up going inside Monet’s house as I felt that the gardens were all that I wanted to see at that time!Some of my photos of the garden(remembering this is early autumn)..

Anyway this is the inspired scarf.. in vibrant colours..

And what was most surprising was that it sold in 1 day to Massachusetts after I posted it on etsy…It has to be Monet’s luck!

One of my students is sort of an expert on French literature these days. Zola, Balzac, Flaubert. The whole thing  is rather impressive. She has been analyzing one particular scene in Madame Bovary for a while now, looking at how Flaubert uses the hotel room where Emma and Leon meet as a way to basically call Emma out on her affectations and pretensions. And pretty much insinuate that she is a stupid cow it appears.  We have had some laughs over the excerpt: “arrow-headed [curtain] rods,” “big balls [gleaming on the fender],” “big, pink” conch shells… And spent a good deal of time trying to come up with lots of synonyms for tawdry, cheap, and a general lack of sophistication, the premise being that the room in which Emma finds herself ensconced in the glory of romantic love is really just a cheap imitation of her ideals, and really rather poorly thrown together. I made my student laugh when I said I felt sorry for Emma because she reminded me of someone who goes to Vegas and says (in my best Britney drawl), “Oh my gaww! Lookit! It’s jus’ so beautiful! Lookit all how niiiiice it is!”

The room is described at once  as plain, frivolous, tranquil, passionate, delightful, intimate, faded, splendid. My student said thrown together. I said hodgepodge. She raised her eyebrow. I said, “It’s like a full-on Monet.” She said, “What?”

Emma Bovary has colored her expectations by her own illusions/delusions/desires (we are still debating whether or not Emma is stupid or delusional, or really, sort of typical in her fantasies – the debate seems to fall along an interesting age divide – she seems perfectly plausible to me as I compare her to a lot of people I know, not so to my seventeen year old counterpart who sees her an inept idiot.) Emma’s  perspective, based primarily on her adoration of what Geoffrey Wall calls sub-literary trash, seems so pathetically transparent when you look at it in the abstract. But she does not look at things in the abstract (due to inability or choice, I do not know) and so she colors entire chapters of her life with sweeping strokes of grandeur.

Emma sees connections, suggestions, and relationships between things that the audience, and certainly Flaubert, see as completely unrelated at best and in direct opposition to Emma’s reality at worst.

So, is this a lack of discernment or an astute ability to synthesize? This question has got me all perplexed.

Do I suffer from an inability to discern when, through the course of an hour lesson, I can call up images of Las Vegas, French literature, Alicia Silverstone in Clueless, impressionist art, Britney Spears, and the singular significance of a specifically placed comma? Or am I a master of synthesis? I can only hope that I am not contributing to the production of ’sub-literary trash’ (though I LOVE the label) but still I see such a need for abstract analogies sometimes that it makes me wonder. It is the age old quandary of the sum versus the total of the parts. I suppose one’s goal makes all the difference. For now, I think I am sticking with the hodgepodge effect. Realistically, I am not sure I could stop at this point.

Tai: Do you think she’s pretty?
Cher: No, she’s a full-on Monet.
Tai: What’s a monet?
Cher: It’s like a painting, see? From far away, it’s OK, but up close, it’s a big old mess. Let’s ask a guy. Christian, what do you think of Amber?
Christian: Hagsville.
Cher: See?

- Lo straniero -

«Chi ami sopra ogni cosa? Parla uomo enigmatico!

Tuo padre? tua madre? un fratello? una sorella?»

«Non ho né padre né madre, né fratello né sorella.»

«Gli amici?»

«Usate una parola il cui senso, fino ad oggi, mi è rimasto ignoto.»

«La patria?»

«Non so sotto quale latitudine si trovi.»

«La bellezza?»

«Vorrei amarla, la dea, l’immortale.»

«L’oro?»

«Lo odio come voi odiate Dio.»

«Eh! Ma allora cosa ami, straordinario straniero?»

«Amo le nuvole… le nuvole che passano… laggiù!…

laggiù!… le nuvole meravigliose »

(C. Baudelaire, Lo spleen di Parigi)

E’ iniziata il 26 settembre e terminerà il 7 marzo 2010 la mostra firmata da Marco Goldin a Villa Manin (Udine).
Tema centrale è il rapporto tra la nascita della cosiddetta scuola di Barbizon in Francia è la diffusione del Realismo e del Naturalismo nei Paesi dell’Europa centrale ed orientale.
120 sono le opere esposte e suddivise n quattro distinti capitoli: Villaggi, Acque, Ritratti e Figure. Quindi si il percorso espositivo inizia da celebri artisti quali Courbet, Corot, Millet, Rousseau..poi si avvicina al periodo impressionista con opere di Manet, Monet, Bazille, Caillebotte, Sisley, Renoir, Pisarro, Degas, Cèzanne. Sono inoltre presenti tre opere di Van Gogh provenienti dal museo di Amsterdam.

Meu amigo Joker. Palhaço, comediante, satírico. Você consegue se lembrar exatamente a sensação de medo mórbido? Você consegue se lembrar de como é pensar que algo pode atingir sua cabeça na próxima esquina?

Eu estava sendo carregado, e era quase meia-noite. Eu queria – o que eu mais queria na minha vida naquele momento – era pisar em casa, entrar no meu quarto e acordar cedo no outro dia. Era quase meia-noite e tinha gente me esperando em casa. Não tinha para onde correr, não tinha para onde andar, era quase o outro lado do mundo (cidade). Bem que vontade não faltou de saltar do veículo.

Por toda rua e toda avenida o vento contava-me histórias de terror. Talvez uma bala perdida. De fato, eu imaginava como era: um barulho, um impacto, dois ou três segundos você vê todo o sangue escurecido pela noite vazando pela carroceria. E acaba. E chega o portão.

No meio de um monte de gente, poderiam me seqüestrar a qualquer momento. Nunca tinha visto ninguém dali. Resolvi permanecer quieto, era o melhor que poderia fazer, por mim, por minha vida e por quem mais que eu gostasse no universo. Antes de falar, pense. Antes de pensar, não fale.

Mas o que de fato me fazia ficar calado não era ideologia, não era racionalidade, não era teoria: eu estava com medo. Medo de não ver mais minha casa. Quando o vento conta as histórias de terror, percebemos quão infantis somos todos nós ao tentarmos meter medo em alguém. Ínfimos, bastardos, pequenos grãos de mostarda pisados na praia. Derretidos, sucumbidos. E mesmo assim queremos todos ser gigantes. Gigante era o ônibus que vinha atrás da carruagem. Gigante, vermelho e vazio, luz oscilante por dentro. Motorista, cobrador e só. E cheiro de fumaça.

A cadeira dura do mesmo quarto supracitado parece almofadada depois de se passar alguns longos e longos minutos trepidando sobre lataria e ferrugem, sem ter ao menos certeza do destino. O vento sabe fazer o terror. Ah ele sabe.

O que seria um mundo sem os erros de programação, sem os insetos? Talvez fosse um mundo qualquer habitado por outra espécie qualquer, não por essa. É interessante, de fato, como quanto mais próximas as pessoas são, e quanto mais se tenta não tropeçar, mais facilmente aparece uma pedra no caminho e a gente rala o joelho todo.

A pedra não apareceu por alguma obra demoníaca que visava só avacalhar a vida, apareceu porque o mundo tá cheio de pedras e elas rolam dos barrancos de vez em quando. E com o costume de se olhar sempre à frente, esquece-se de olhar para o chão e perceber que o pé está pisando na pedra. Só se percebe quando a cabeça bate na terra.

O jogo sempre traz cartas aleatórias, hora se sai com uma boa mão e bolsos cheios, noutro momento o bolso está vazio e a mão não ajuda. Não há um jogador que sempre ganhe, nem outro que sempre perca. O que perde tenta ganhar na próxima rodada, o que ganha não quer perder. Assim como as interações eletromagnéticas são um quadro impressionista, bem visto de longe, amontoado de borrões quando próximo.

Que dizer quando as interações quebram? Fica um momento de silêncio, exatamente da mesma forma que quando a caixa de som queima no meio de um show. O vocalista tem suas escolhas: pode cooperar com o silêncio e ouvir os murmúrios críticos da platéia, ou então cantar à capela qualquer música já conhecida que não consta no repertório, esperando apoio do público para matar a falta de notas.

Humanos todos somos suscetíveis a erros ingênuos e imbecis, principalmente quando manchamos a parede de alguém que nos fornece abrigo num domingo abafado. O hélio pode ter sua fissão e se transformar em dois hidrogênios. Ou não.

Following a convergence of couriers, with artwork wizzing between Edinburgh Twickenham, Conneticut and Florence – my week settled into a delightful mixture of doing my own painting work and teaching visiting students. One student was keen to explore pen and brush drawing which made a nice change and reminded me what a lovely medium it is. By coincidence I also heard from Alexis Hunter this week who is the only contemporary artist I know who excels at this technique – www.alexishunter.co.uk

Miniatures 6" x 6"

I’m working on a new version of ‘The View’ from Richmond Hill at the moment, a subject I never tire of. It’s become my equivalent of ‘Monet’s haystacks’ which I can happily paint in any number of imagined colour combinations or light effects. I do tiny miniatures 6″ x 6″ which I use to experiment on and then scale up larger if the image is successful.

Nocturne 28" x 28"

Coming home from the studio tonight there was an almost full silvery orb of a moon hanging in the misty sky between the wet branches and lighting up the soggy pumpkins left over from last night’s Halloween; still visible as I crossed the bridge it shone down on the swans and geese floating with the leaves on the dark water washed down with the high tide. It’s easy to take the island for granted after working there for more than 8 years but tonight it was impossible to ignore the magical reality of the dark Autumnal scene both above and below me.

November

Following my business breakfast on Frid. I had a meeting with Prof. Hans Haenlein of Hammersmith – he is one of two architects who are also  members of the BNI group. Dodging joggers and cyclist (many of whom greeted Hans personally) we walked along the river bank into the morning sun with Hammersmith Bridge behind us until we came to the beautifully secluded and historic part of the river bank where he lives and works. Visiting people at their place of business gives a deeper insight into how they relate to their community in both business and social senses and Hans is a man very much at one with his environment. He showed me models of his projects and photos of designs and earlier achievements. We spoke of the links between science and art, Kelly’s personal construct theory, values and ideals which reinforced my impression of Hans as an architect of integrity and a master of the process of change. www.haenlein.com

Now I’m probably going to lose all respect of cultured readers now. I’ve never been one for visiting galleries, I place most of the blame of my being too impatient to stand still long enough to ‘appreciate’ a piece of art. But I was looking forward to the National Gallery and educating myself. And here’s where I throw my first punch to art appreciation: I was truly unimpressed with most of the paintings. Oooooooooooooh. I did appreciate the size of some of the huge pieces, as someone who struggles to draw match stick people, I can’t get my head around the ability to draw to such an awesome scale. So credit where credits due. Hat off to them. But I’m afraid thats where the book stops with me. Im such a Philistine. I have always liked Monet (we had a print up in our old house), and after seeing more of his work I like his stuff even more, particularly the Grand Canal, Venice:

A lot of the paintings gave me the creeps, and I know you’re all probably shouting at the screens that you need to understand art, to ask why it gives you the creeps, but its all wasted on me, I want to look at stuff that makes me feel nice and warm and happy and that I’d like to put on a wall at home. And way too many of the wierd people in the paitings were staring at me. And What is it with showing off half finished work? Two of Michelangelo’s paintings had big white patches, who else would get away with that?