Leon Botha was a great artist. He died from complications of progeria on 5 June 2011. Almost the exact same day last year, I posted about the South African painter and musical performer to express my admiration for his work and for his incredible personality and strength: Leon Botha: when Art is beyond what you see. Here is what I wrote about him: A few ... More
Last year I met with extraordinary women. There was Betti from Rwanda, Clara from Mexico, Armita from Iran and French women: Fatima, Laurence, Karima, Francesca, Caroline… All had in common a difficult life only because they were born ‘female’. Since last year, some of them are bringing good news, some others still struggle to make both ends meet. ... More
What would black be without white, and white without black? I’m not speaking metaphorically here (though the idea certainly holds meaning). Since I first started drawing and designing clothes as a young teenager, I’ve always been drawn to the stark contrast and purity of black and white. I’ve already shared my admiration for Pierre Soulages and his ... More
Updated: Leon Botha died from complications of progeria on 5 June 2011. My post about it here. South Africa: enough about football (BLK JKS, Amadou & Mariam and Angélique Kidjo live from Soweto) let’s talk about Art. A few days ago, as I was starting to write my new blog post about the 1980s, I visited the website of South African group Die ... More
Yesterday I met with extraordinary women. It was the 100th 99th Anniversary of International Women’s Day and I was invited to talk with women coming from many different countries. There was Betti from Rwanda, Clara from Mexico, Armita from Iran and French women: Fatima, Laurence, Karima, Francesca, Caroline… All had in common a difficult life ... More
I have always loved the color black—much to the dismay of my family and friends, who were convinced it signaled some deep psychological issue. (A teenager dressed entirely in black? Suspicious, indeed.) But I adored the color then, and I still do. These days, my all-black wardrobe raises fewer eyebrows. When I was younger, I never cared what others ... More
Leonard Cohen holds an important place in my life, from an early age. I clearly remember ‘Hallelujah’ and even if at this time, I didn’t understand a word of what he was saying (my mother tongue is not English), I was already fascinated by Cohen’s voice. His tenor, half-octave voice perfectly fits his music and the meaning of his ... More
Working hard on my next exhibition (a few more days left before the big night), I needed to take a break and listen to good music, the kind that really brings your spirit somewhere else during busy days. So two days ago, while I was looking at this huge pile of CDs I have, to find something ‘new’ (actually I mean something ‘else’, ... More
The purpose of this blog is to share with you, dearly readers, what (or who) inspires me, and Charley Harper‘s two-dimensional style illustrations definitely do. During a house moving, while rummaging through some ‘bric-a-brac’ stuff, I found an old magazine I kept only because an illustration of Charley Harper. It was a ladybug and ... More
Last time I talked music was in my post about Hugh ‘Peanuts’ Whalum. In this post I mentioned some of the singers I enjoy the most listening to and the very cool Dean Martin was one of them. First time I heard Martin’s sublime voice was on a CD, singing with Rat Pack friends Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis, Jr. Two decades after I listened ... More
