Sunday, October 11, 2009

quietus

quietus  –noun, plural -tus⋅es. A finishing stroke; anything that effectually ends or settles: discharge or release from life.

This week is about quietus and release from life and/or the finishing stroke.


October 9th would have been John Lennon's 69th birthday. His message still resonates so strongly — "give peace a  chance (war is over is you want it)". How welcome his voice would be now in this day and age — both voices, his singing voice and his political speaking voice. He would have had much to sing to and speak to us about.....Miss him all the time.

Since this week is about websites that sell things here is the link to Lennon's official website and the page with the cool t-shirts that are for sale...http://johnlennon.store2.livenation.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/Store.woa/wa/artist?artistName=John+Lennon&sourceCode=JLEWEB


On another note of quietus, master photographer Irvin Penn left us with his finishing stroke after 92 years this week. The last sixty or so he created images that continue to inspire photographers and artists alike. He worked many years for Vogue magazine and managed to change the way images for magazines were shot in his own creative and elegant way. He simplified his images, used natural light when he could, didn't create fancy sets if he didn't have to. In fact many of his portraits he shot in the bare walled corner of his studio.




Portraits of the famous and the ordinary, gleaming images of grit covered found objects from the street, or simple elegant images of ginko leaves, it didn't matter in Penn's world.  Each of his subjects received the same detailed care and respect. And because of his talent and that magnificent eye for composition, color and form – no matter what or who was in front of his camera lens it took on a radiance that you never saw before, even if you were looking at the very subject with your own eyes.


When you have a moment look up his images, notice the simplicity and grace. Another man whose "voice" will resonate for the decades to come.http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&source=hp&q=irving+penn+photographs&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=45rSSqWFCYvmM9mD-ZQD&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=1&ved=0CBkQsAQwAA

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