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Frida Kahlo

Pets

Famous Artists Photographed With Their Cats

By Alison Nastasi on

Tracey Emin’s recent interview with the Daily Mail revealed that the divisive artist is currently working on sculptures of her cat — and that’s not a euphemism. “He’s a good little soul to have around. He stops me from feeling alone,” she said of her beloved pet, Docket. Artists have often looked to their feline friends for inspiration throughout history. The mewing muses were the gods of their own religion in ancient Egypt, and not much has changed since then. Everyone knows cats own the Internet (sorry, dogs). Click through to meet the kitten companions that have melted the hearts of famous… Read More

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Art

Incredible Miniature Paintings of Pop Culture Icons on Matchbooks

By Emily Temple on

Bigger isn’t always better. Case in point: the miniscule-but-adorable work of Joseph Martinez, which we recently spotted over at Design Taxi. The Denver-based artist paints tiny portraits of pop culture icons — everyone from Darth Vader to Frida Kahlo — on appropriately tiny canvases: matchbooks in varying stages of use. After the jump, check out a few of our favorites from the series, and then be sure to head on over to Martinez’s website to see much more of his great work. … Read More

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Art

Personal Letters From Great Artists to Their Friends and Family

By Emily Temple on

Here at Flavorpill, we’re great fans of artistic ephemera, endlessly fascinated by everything from the journals of creative geniuses to postcards from famous authors. After all, once you’re famous, there’s just no way to keep your private papers out of the hands of the curious masses — not that we’re complaining: sometimes, the best way to learn about someone is to see the way they correspond to those closest to them. To that end, we’ve collected a few beautiful letters from great artists to their friends and family, each one as visually evocative as you’d expect. Take a look after the jump, and if we’ve missed a stellar letter, send it our way in the comments! … Read More

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Art

Playful Fingerprint Portraits of Pop Culture Icons

By Alison Nastasi on

Dito Von Tease is an Italian artist who uncovers famous features hidden within the human finger. His funny fingerprint portraits, which caught our eye on My Modern Met, reveal the digit-ized version of pop culture icons and other celebs. Each finger has its own costume, backdrop, and expression — a playful, minimalist nod to the famed figures. The artist’s name “Dito” translates to “finger” in Italian. Although fingerprints are used to identify us, Von Tease is an elusive artist who chooses to remain anonymous, which adds to the quirkiness of his creations. See more in our gallery after the jump. … Read More

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Pop Culture

Vintage Photos of Pop Culture Icons in Drag

By Emily Temple on

Cross-dressing, whether for pleasure or for mischief (or for plays or films), is no new phenomenon. Every little child experiments with putting on the opposite gender’s designated garb, all on-stage women in Elizabethan theatre were played by men, and many people of both sexes have dressed in drag for a variety of reasons, from personal to professional. So why should our pop culture icons be any different? Click through to join in our celebration of drag in all its forms, and see some of our favorite musicians, artists and writers (though by no means a complete selection — we couldn’t find any photos of J. Edgar Hoover) indulging in a little cross-dressing from as far back as… Read More

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Architecture

10 Beautiful Blue Buildings from Around the World

By Claire Cottrell on

What’s more rare than a blue moon? A beautiful blue building! If you haven’t heard, there will be a blue moon rising in the Eastern sky tonight at 7:25pm. One of the more famous astrological occurrences (thanks in part to the world’s most popular love song), a blue moon isn’t actually blue, it’s just the term used to describe the second full moon in a month, which appears, on average, every 2.7 years.

In talking about the significance of the shade, Yves Klein, the French artist famous for his monochromatic paintings of the hue, said that “blue has no dimensions; it is beyond dimensions, whereas the other colours are not… blue suggests at most the sea and sky, and they, after all, are in actual, visible nature what is most abstract.” In honor of tonight’s lunar event, we thought we’d take a look at some of the most intriguing blue architecture in the world to see if his statement holds up. From a design experiment exploring the psychological effects of living in an entirely blue world to Frida Kahlo’s cobalt colored home in Mexico City, click through to check out some of the most beguiling blue buildings around the world. … Read More

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Art

A Survey of Awkward Couples in Art History

By Heba Hasan on

Love has spawned many a great masterpiece over the course of art history. But don’t be fooled; just because something hangs on the pristine white wall of a museum doesn’t mean it isn’t a record of extreme awkwardness. From depictions of lovers or spouses to fathers and daughters to siblings, art history is filled with uncomfortable pairings — some of which were always meant to strike us as bizarre and others that only seem strange to 21st-century eyes. We take a look at some of our favorite odd duos after the jump. … Read More

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Photography

Susanne Bisovsky’s Gorgeous Photographic Tribute to Frida Kahlo

By Emily Temple on

Colorful, surreal, and imbued with incredible depth of feeling, Frida Kahlo’s work has influenced painters, writers, musicians and designers, not to mention countless young women who are continually inspired by the great artist to find beauty in their own strangeness. In 1938, André Breton described Kahlo’s artwork as a ”ribbon around a bomb,” and fashion designer Susanne Bisovsky’s Kahlo-inspired work, which we spotted over at Behance, is equally explosive — and equally pretty. Click through to check out these gorgeous tributes to one of the most fashionable and daring women of all time, and then head over to Bisovsky’s website to see even more of her work, including a few more Fridas! … Read More

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Books

Photos of Celebrities Reading Books About Other Celebrities

By Emily Temple on

When we came across this photo of Steve Martin reading about Bob Dylan, we had a serious celebs-they’re-just-like-us moment. After all, you’d think that biographies of cultural heroes are for us plebs, who would thrill at descriptions of fame, stardom, and emotional breakdowns. Okay, we’re overstating it a little, but still. Turns out, celebrities are just as fascinated with each other as we are with them — especially the rock stars — and we think it’s very enlightening to see which of our cultural icons are fascinated by which. Click through to check out our gallery of photos of celebs reading books about other celebs, and if you’ve spotted another good one, be sure to let us know in the comments! … Read More

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Art

Early Exhibition Reviews of Famous Artists

By Alison Nastasi on

Picasso visited Paris for the first time in 1900. The city had such a profound effect on him, he returned the following year with 100 paintings in hand, hoping to land a show. The 19-year-old painter was introduced to Ambroise Vollard — the same dealer who sponsored the works of Cezanne and other notable artists — who immediately secured a spot for him at a gallery on the prestigious Rue Laffitte. Picasso was unknown at the time, but the 75 paintings that ranged from moody portraits to representational works featuring landscapes, prostitutes, and society ladies proved he was extremely talented and driven.

This Sunday marks the 111th anniversary of Picasso’s Paris exhibition. The few critics that did attend the show gave him favorable reviews. Years later, the painter’s exhibit in Switzerland drew enormous crowds and the criticisms of some very prominent figures. Find out who after the break, and see what other reviewers had to say about famous artists throughout history during the early part of their careers. … Read More

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