Friday, July 29, 2022

Eye-catching Movie Posters


Movie posters need to be immediately appealing to lure the potential customer into the cinema. Some though go way beyond appealing and are really artistic. I will share some of my favourites in this blog, aiming for a grouping of twelve around a certain theme. The theme for today's post is "Eyes". It has become a bit of a cliché to have movie posters with an eye prominently on display, but that makes it even more interesting to find a dozen especially effective ones. I try not to include posters that have already made the blog in a different post - otherwise Eyes of Laura Mars (1978) and The Dark Knight (2008) would have been great candidates for today's post. The image above is made via Photofunia and is free from copyright restrictions.


2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

One of Stanley Kubrick's masterpieces, this movie (starring Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood,and William Sylvester) came with a variety of posters. The one above is not the best known, but fits this post's them perfectly.


Frankenstein Unbound (1990)

Frankenstein Unbound is a Science-Fiction/Horror movie, directed by Roger Corman, and starring John Hurt, Raul Julia, and Nick Brimble. The poster is a clever reference to Frankenstein's creation - even the eyeball is stitched together.


Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

Another Kubrick movie, this one starring Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, and Todd Field. The poster is an interesting merger of the faces of the two main actors, and a playful juxtaposition with the movie title.


Requiem for a Dream (2000)

This is one of those movie posters that have become iconic. Requiem for a Dream is a drama about drug-induced utopias, directed by Darren Aronofsky, and starring Ellen Burstyn, Jared Leto, and Jennifer Connelly. There is something intensely disturbing about the two images put together here - very fitting for the movie's subject.


Minority Report (2002)

This science-fiction movie, directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Tom Cruise, Colin Farrell, and Samantha Morton, was based on a short story by Philip K. Dick. The poster's use of one eye seeing things (that will happen) is very effective.


The Grudge (2004)

Many of the posters featured in today's post have a horror angle, but this one is 100% horror. The Grudge, directed by Takashi Shimizu, starring Sarah Michelle, GellarJason Behr, and Clea DuVall, may not have been as successful as that other Japanese movie The Ring, but the poster is scary enough.


The Eye (2008)

Speaking of scary.... The Eye is a horror movie directed by David Moreau and Xavier Palud, about a blind violinist who can see dead people after  a cornea transplantation. It stars Jessica Alba, Alessandro Nivola, and Parker Posey. The idea behind the poster is disturbing, the execution excellent.


Avatar (2009)
 
Avatar is a Science Fiction movie directed by James Cameron, and starring Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldana, and Sigourney Weaver. The poster is striking, not in the least because of the eye immediately becoming the focus of attention in the predominantly blue image.


The Theatre Bizarre (2011)

Dali meets Magritte? The designer of this poster was probably influenced by the title of this horror movie, which consists of six stories, with different directors and actors.


Snow White and the Huntsman (2012)

It is not often that I see a movie poster in the streets which makes such a strong impact on me as this one did at the time. The movie is by director Rupert Sanders, starring Kristen Stewart, Chris Hemsworth and Charlize Theron. The combination of the actress' eye and the bird's eye is simply amazing. 


Stung (2015)

Back to a real horror image for this German-American independent science fiction horror-comedy film directed by Benni Diez, starring Matt O'Leary, Jessica Cook, and Lance Henriksen. Nasty, but effective.


Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank (2022)

Let's end with something far less horrific than most of the ones I've shown before. This computer-animated martial arts comedy film directed by Rob Minkoff and Mark Koetsier will be in the cinemas around now. It stars (the voices of) Michael Cera, Ricky Gervais, George Takei, Gabriel Iglesias, Michelle Yeoh, and Samuel L. Jackson. A real eye-catcher to end this post.


Copyright statement: posting lower quality movie posters is deemed fair use.

Monday, July 25, 2022

Modern Ar(t)chitecture at its best



Many years ago, ar(t)chitecture was one of the subjects of this blog. For today's post, I'll share some of the (for my taste) most beautiful architectural designs of the past one hundred years, without featuring the same architects twice (sorry, Señor Calatrava...). The image above is made with Photofunia.


Fallingwater (1939)

Fallingwater is a house designed by the architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1935 in the Laurel Highlands of southwest Pennsylvania. It is built partly over a waterfall on Bear Run in the Mill Run section of Stewart Township, Fayette County, Pennsylvania. After its completion in 1939, Time called Fallingwater Wright's "most beautiful job" and it is listed among Smithsonian's "Life List of 28 Places to See Before You Die" (Wikipedia).
Image by lachrimae72 - CC0


Notre-Dame du Haut (1955)

Notre-Dame du Haut (English: Our Lady of the Heights; full name in French: Chapelle Notre-Dame du Haut) is a Roman Catholic chapel in Ronchamp, France. Built in 1955, it is one of the finest examples of the architecture of Franco-Swiss architect Le Corbusier. The chapel is a working religious building and attracts 80,000 visitors each year (Wikipedia).
Image by Valueyou (talk), CC BY-SA 3.0.


Sydney Opera House (1973)

The Sydney Opera House is a multi-venue performing arts centre in Sydney. Located on the banks of Sydney Harbour, it is widely regarded as one of the world's most famous and distinctive buildings and a masterpiece of 20th century architecture. Designed by Danish architect Jørn Utzon, but completed by an Australian architectural team headed by Peter Hall, the building was formally opened on 20 October 1973 (Wikipedia).
Image by Bernard Spragg. NZ from Christchurch, New Zealand - Sydney Australia., CC0


Hallgrímskirkja (1986)

Hallgrímskirkja (Church of Hallgrímur) is a Lutheran (Church of Iceland) parish church in Reykjavík, Iceland. State Architect Guðjón Samúelsson's design of the church was commissioned in 1937. He is said to have designed it to resemble the trap rocks, mountains and glaciers of Iceland's landscape. It took 41 years to build the church: construction started in 1945 and ended in 1986, but the landmark tower was completed long before the whole church was finished (Wikipedia). 
Image by Someone35 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0.
 
 
Niterói Contemporary Art Museum (1996)
 
The Niterói Contemporary Art Museum  is situated in the city of Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and is one of the city’s main landmarks. It was designed by Oscar Niemeyer with the assistance of structural engineer Bruno Contarini
No machine-readable source provided. Own work assumed (based on copyright claims)., CC BY-SA 2.5.
 

Guggenheim Museum Bilbao (1997)

The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao is a museum of modern and contemporary art designed by Canadian-American architect Frank Gehry, and located in Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain. The museum was inaugurated in 1997 by King Juan Carlos I of Spain. One of the most admired works of contemporary architecture, the building has been hailed as a "signal moment in the architectural culture", because it represents "one of those rare moments when critics, academics, and the general public were all completely united about something", according to architectural critic Paul Goldberger (Wikipedia).
Image by PA - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0.


Burj Al Arab (1999)

The Burj Al Arab (Arabic: Tower of the Arabs) is a luxury hotel located in the city of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The building was designed by the multidisciplinary consultancy Atkins, led by architect Tom Wright. The design and construction were managed by Canadian engineer Rick Gregory, also of WS Atkins. Construction of the island began in 1994; the building opened on 1 December 1999 (Wikipedia).
Image by Joi Ito  - Own work, CC BY 2.0.


 Auditorio de Tenerife (2003)

The Auditorio de Tenerife "Adán Martín" (commonly referred to as the Auditorio de Tenerife) is an auditorium in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain. Designed by architect Santiago Calatrava, it is located next to the Atlantic Ocean in the southern part of Port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Construction began in 1997 and was completed in 2003. The building is framed within the tenets of late-modern architecture of the late 20th century (Wikipedia).
Image by Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 3.0.


John Curtin School of Medical Research (2006)
 
The John Curtin School of Medical Research (JCSMR) is an Australian multidisciplinary translational medical research institute and postgraduate education centre that forms part of the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra. The school was founded in 1948. The depicted buildings were constructed in stages over seven years by Hindmarsh Construction Australia. The design of the building is influenced by the DNA double helix and provides education, conference, and secure research laboratory facilities (Wikipedia).
Image by Angelo Tsirekas - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0.
 

Capital Gate (2011)

Capital Gate, also known as the Leaning Tower of Abu Dhabi, is a skyscraper in Abu Dhabi that is over 160 meters tall, 35 stories high, and was designed to incline 18° west (a world record). It was designed by RMJM from Edinburgh, Scotland (Wikipedia).
Image by FritzDaCat - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0.


Heydar Aliyev Center (2012)

The Heydar Aliyev Center is a building complex in Baku, Azerbaijan designed by Iraqi-British architect Zaha Hadid and noted for its distinctive architecture and flowing, curved style that eschews sharp angles (Wikipedia).
Image in public domain (link).


EYE Filmmuseum (2012)

The EYE Filmmuseum is located in the Overhoeks neighborhood of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. It was designed by Delugan Meissl Associated Architects. The museum hosts the cinematic collection of EYE Film Institute Netherlands.
Image by Jvhertum - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0.


Copyright statement: see remarks at each individual image.

Thursday, July 21, 2022

Vintage Train Posters

 

Vintage advertisement posters are much sought after, and have been recognized for their artistic merit as well giving us a chance to look at days gone by. There have even been dedicated exhibitions of such posters in art museums. I like these nostalgic images and will post a few grouped per theme. Today's theme is trains - a subject more difficult that you'd think, because they were mainly made to promote trips by rail to beautiful destinations, which ended up on the poster rather than the trains themselves. With the help of the Art and Artists blog I managed to get twelve. The image above is created via Photofunia and is free from copyright issues.
 


Shasta Route / Southern Pacific (1927)
 
Mount Shasta is a potentially active volcano at the southern end of the Cascade Range in Siskiyou County, California. Maurice Logan designed this poster for the Southern Pacific Company.
 
 
Golden Mountain Pullman Express (ca 1930)

Advertising the scenic connection between Montreux and Interlaken, in Switzerland. The poster was designed by Roger Broders. 


Trans- Australian Railway (ca 1930)

For some reason, Australia is not a country I associate with travel by train, but here you go. The poster is  by James Northfield.
 
 
Austria by Train (ca 1930)
 
There is something weird about this train, but it cannot be a bus (my first thought) because this is obviously not a road bridge. No information on date or designer.
 
 
New York Central System (ca 1930)
 
The New York Central System, nowadays better known as New York Central Railroad, was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid Atlantic regions of the United States. This poster by Leslie Ragan is stunning in its blue design and industrial theme - it's probably from the thirties. 

 
The New 20th Century Limited (1938)

This poster is all about the speed of travel rather than the destination - reaching Chicago from New York in 16 hours. It was designed by Leslie Ragan.
 
 
Canadian Pacific (ca 1940)

Combining the stunning landscape with a stunning looking train. Awesome poster by R. Couillard.
 
 
Pennsylvania Railroad (ca 1940)
 
No information on date or designer - but a good looking poster for sure.
 
 
 
Canadian Pacific (1942)

A beautiful poster designed by Peter Maxwell Ewart - just love the contrast between the lady in red and the black locomotive.
 
 
 
New York Central System (1946)
 
Another Leslie Ragan poster for  New York Central System, showing the various models.


Canadian Pacific (1952)

Unlike most posters in today's post, this one is without any text - the relevant information is painted on the nose of the train riding through the Canadian Rockies. Another poster by Peter Maxwell Ewart.
 
 
Canadian Pacific (ca 1955)

What a trip that would be - across Canada by train.... Another wonderful poster by Peter Maxwell Ewart.


Copyright statement: posting lower quality vintage advertisement posters is deemed fair use.

Sunday, July 17, 2022

Album Covers 1979 - 1980



Over the past 5-6 decades, album covers have become more and more artistic, to the point where the best of them deserve a place in this blog. They featured prominently in the past, and of course they will be present in the new set-up. I have gone for a grouping per years of release (covering 2-3 years per post). I will try not to include the most famous album covers (like Sergeant Pepper, Dark Side of the Moon, Nevermind), but focus on more obscure but very good examples. Also the aim is no duplication of acts within one post. These posts are meant to be illustrative only, not necessarily my personal top twelve for the time period. The image above is created via Photofunia and is free from copyright issues.
 
 
Eve by The Alan Parsons Project (1979)
 
Eve is the fourth studio album by British art rock band The Alan Parsons Project. The album's focus is on the strength and characteristics of women, and the problems they face in the world of men. The gatefold cover art for Eve by Hipgnosis features three women wearing veils (two on the front, one on the reverse), with their faces partially in shadow. The shadows and veils partially conceal disfiguring scars and sores (the lesions were not real, however.

 
Unknown Pleasures by Joy Division (1979)

Unknown Pleasures is the debut studio album by English rock band Joy Division. It has since received sustained critical acclaim as an influential post-punk album, and has been named as one of the best albums of all time by several publications. The cover has become an icon in itself. Peter Saville designed the cover of the album. One of the band memebrs chose the image, which is based on an image of radio waves from pulsar CP 1919, from The Cambridge Encyclopaedia of Astronomy. Saville reversed the image from black-on-white to white-on-black, against the band's stated preference for the original. He was convinced that it was just "sexier in black", since it represented a signal from space.


Quiet Life by Japan (1979)
 
Quiet Life is the third studio album by English new wave band Japan. The album was a transition from the glam rock-influenced style of previous albums to a synth-pop style. The cover focuses (as usual for this band) on lead singer David Sylvian, in a typical androgynous style, with good choice of fonts and colours. The cover concept and photography is by Fri Costelo.
 
 
One Step Beyond... by Madness (1979)

One Step Beyond . . . is the debut album by the British ska-pop group Madness. The album cover has become representative for the group, recurring on merchandise and compilation albums. It is based on a photograph by Cameron McVey.
 

Look Sharp! by Joe Jackson (1979)

Look Sharp! is the debut album by English musician and singer-songwriter Joe Jackson. The cover ranked number 22 on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 greatest album covers of all time. The photo used on the album's cover was shot by Brian Griffin. Upon arriving at the shooting location, Griffin noticed a shaft of light landing on the ground and asked Jackson to stand there: the whole process took no more than five minutes. According to Griffin, Jackson hated the record sleeve as it did not include his face, and vowed never to work with Griffin again.


In Through The Outdoor by Led Zeppelin (1979)

In Through the Out Door is the eighth and final studio album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin. There were six different covers featuring a different pair of photos (one on each side). The pictures all depicted the same scene in a bar (in which a man burns a Dear John letter), and each photo was taken from the separate point of view of someone who appeared in the other photos. The photo session in a London studio was meant to look like a re-creation of the Old Absinthe House, in New Orleans. The album artwork was designed by Hipgnosis' Storm Thorgerson.
 
 
Peter Gabriel by Peter Gabriel (1980)
 
Rather confusingly, English rock star Peter Gabriel named his first four solo albums simply "Peter Gabriel", not even attaching a number. This is his third in that series, which received the nickname "Melt" because of the cover image. The photo was taken with a Polaroid SX-70 instant camera. The sleeve's designer Storm Thorgerson said: "Peter himself joined with us at Hipgnosis in disfiguring himself by manipulating Polaroids as they 'developed' ... Peter impressed us greatly with his ability to appear in an unflattering way, preferring the theatrical or artistic to the cosmetic."
 
 
 Remain in Light by Talking Heads (1980)
 
Remain in Light is the fourth studio album by American rock band Talking Heads, and is generally seen as the highlight of their discography. The cover (conceived by band member Tina Weymouth and computer expert Scott Fisher was originally planned to be the back cover (and vice versa), but in the end it was decided to use the computer-distorted portraits of the four band members for the front.  


Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps) by David Bowie (1980)

Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps), also known simply as Scary Monsters, is the 14th studio album by English musician David Bowie. It continues Bowie's tradition of special covers for special albums. The cover artwork of Scary Monsters is a large-scale collage by artist Edward Bell featuring Bowie in the Pierrot costume worn in the "Ashes to Ashes" music video, along with photographs taken by photographer Brian Duffy. Duffy was reportedly upset by the final artwork, as he felt the cartoon demeaned his photographs. 


 Boy by U2 (1980)

Boy is the debut studio album by Irish rock band U2. Thematically, the album's lyrics reflect on adolescence, innocence, and the passage into adulthood, themes represented on its cover artwork through the photo of a young boy's face. The photographer, Hugo McGuiness, and the sleeve designer, Steve Averill, went on to work on several more U2 album covers. For the American release and other international distributors, the album's cover image was changed due to Island Records' fears that it could be perceived as pedophilic....


 British Steel by Judas Priest (1980)

British Steel is the sixth studio album by English heavy metal band Judas Priest. Not my favourite music, but the cover is excellent. It was designed by Rosław Szaybo based on photography by R. Elsdale and R. Ellis.


 Signing Off by UB40 (1980)

Signing Off is the debut album by British reggae band UB40, their best album in my opinion. The front and back covers of the album are a replica of the yellow British UB40 unemployment benefit attendance card from which the band took their name, emphatically stamped with the words SIGNING OFF in capital letters. It was a statement by the band of leaving behind the world of unemployment and of their arrival on the music scene. The artwork was created by brothers Geoffrey and David Tristram.

 
Copyright statement: posting lower quality album covers is deemed fair use.