Hiding in Plain Sight

刘勃麟 (Liú Bólín), Hiding in Florence, Sala di Venere, Palazzo Pitti, Florence, Italy, 2022. Courtesy of 刘勃麟 (Liú Bólín).

Love Rearm’d

Erwin Blumenfeld, Unititled, Paris, 1939. (Editorial Harper’s Bazaar, October 1939). Photo © The Estate of Erwin Blumenfeld.

Blumenfeld Countergambit

Erwin Blumenfeld, Variant of the photograph published in American Vogue magazine, August 1, 1950, p. 63 (model: Dovima). Photo © The Estate of Erwin Blumenfeld.

Variants and Invariants

Erwin Blumenfeld, Variant of the photograph published in Life magazine entitled The Picasso Girl (model: Lisette), c. 1941–1942. Photo © The Estate of Erwin Blumenfeld.

Visible Invisible

A visitor photographs an artwork entitled Blue Europe by Chinese artist 劉勃麟 (Liú Bólín), as a part of his solo exhibitionon “Visible Invisible” which will be on display at the Museum of Cultures (Mudec) in Milan, Italy from May 15 to September 15, 2019. Photo: Miguel Medina/AFP/Getty Images.

Cats & Plants

“Cats & Plants” is the début book from Chicago-based artist Stephen Eichhorn. The 152-page book includes more than 200 rich colour images of the artist’s elaborated cat collages, and features felines balancing plants (and sometimes shells or minerals) on their furry heads. All images © Stephen Eichhorn.

The Importance of Not Being Arcovazzi

On the South Pier, at the Port of Catania, Sicily, Italy, it is parked in dry dock the first boat that in 2013 carried migrants from Africa to the coasts of Catania. Among them, there were six Egyptian children who, sick and exhausted from the boat trip, tragically drowned just a few meters from the shore of Lido Beach Green (Lido Verde). Chinese chameleon 劉勃麟 (Liú Bólín) wanted to merge his body with the wreck and its history for the first shot of his very recent “Migrants” exhibition, successfully held in Palermo, Sicily, Italy. Photo © 劉勃麟 (Liú Bólín)/Courtesy of Boxart Gallery, Verona.

What If?

• Stuart Heritage, What 2016’s movie posters would look like if they told the truth – in pictures, The Guardian, December 27, 2016

Not only / but also

Visit in Night, 1951, by 岡上淑子によ (Toshiko Okanoue) A collage work by 岡上淑子によ (Toshiko Okanoue), a Japanese artist who independently developed her style by pasting images from fashion magazines in surreal arrangements. Photo © 2015 岡上淑子によ (Toshiko Okanoue).

Winks of the Thirties

With her series Modern Girl, artist Dina Goldstein brightly satirises Chinese beauty advertisements. An exhibition of the images is at Galerie Virginie Barrou Planquart, Paris, France until 27 November.

Planet Earth Water In a statement accompanying the exhibition, Dina Goldstein explains her use of 1930s Chinese advertising: “The breaking away from filial tradition in this era saw the emergence of Asian women coming into their individuality”. Artwork: Dina Goldstein.

Revenge “At the same time”, says Goldstein, “modern gender roles and expectations opened the door to exploit the female form for marketing and advertising campaigns”. Artwork: Dina Goldstein.

• China girl: Dina Goldstein’s satirical pinups – in pictures, The Guardian, November 17, 2016

Rita Hayworth approximately

Artwork © ShearRayne

The Importance of Not Being Arcovazzi

就算暂时的幸福也好过永恒的痛苦。
Jiùsuàn zhànshí de xìngfú yě hǎoguò yǒnghéng de tòngkǔ.
Even temporary happiness is much better than permanent misery.

劉勃麟 (Liú Bólín), Hiding in the City – Ballon, 2012
Photo courtesy of the artist and the Klein Sun Gallery

She won’t, but she will

Scripsi, rescripsit nil Naevia, non dabit ergo. Sed puto quod scripsi legerat: ergo dabit. I wrote to Naevia, she wrote not back; so won’t fulfil. Yet, what I wrote, she read; and therefore will. Scrissi, ma nulla Nevia mi risponde; e dunque non viene. Ma quello ch’io le scrissi l’ha letto; e dunque verrà.

Martial, Epigrams, Book 2, IX
English translation by Holden Caulfield
Italian translation by Giuseppe Lipparini

Artwork © KalbiCamdan

Time Never Dies

作为一个学生，只要你还有东西要学习，这就是你人生的全部。 Zuòwéi yīgè xuéshēng, zhǐyào nǐ hái yǒu dōngxī yào xuéxí, zhè jiùshì nǐ rénshēng de quánbù. Be a student as long as you still have something to learn, and this will mean all your life. 亨利·莱瑟姆·多尔蒂 (Henry Latham Doherty)

劉勃麟 (Liú Bólín), Hiding in the City No. 77 – Arena, 2008
Photo courtesy of Klein Sun Gallery

Faro shuffle

As you can see, the Art Director of Associazione Culturale “Il Delta della Luna” is getting more and more crazy for Snapchat, and she is seriously intentionated to drive crazy anyone else!

The Embedded Europe

永远别把沉默当成无知,把冷静当成接收,把仁慈当成软弱。 Yǒngyuǎn bié bǎ chénmò dàngchéng wúzhī, bǎ lěngjìng dàngchéng jiēshōu, bǎ réncí dàngchéng ruǎnruò. Never mistake silence for ignorance, calmness for acceptance, or kindness for weakness.

劉勃麟 (Liú Bólín), UE Flag, 2008

Whom then?

Quadrantem Crispus tabulis, Faustine, supremis non dedit uxori. “Cui dedit ergo?”, Sibi. Crispus, by his last will, Faustinus, did not give his wife a farthing. “To whom, then, did he give it?”. To himself. Nel testamento, o Faustino, non un soldo Crispo ha lasciato alla moglie. “A chi dunque ha lasciato?”. A se stesso.

Martial, Epigrams, Book 5, XXXII
English translation by Holden Caulfield
Italian translation by Giuseppe Lipparini

Artwork © Scabeater

Bird’s Nest

没有什么比独立自由更可宝贵的了。
Méiyǒu shé me bǐ dúlì zìyóu gèng kě bǎoguì dele.
Nothing is more precious than independence and freedom.

劉勃麟 (Liú Bólín) poses by the Bird’s Nest Olympic Stadium in 北京 (Běijīng)
Photo: Eli Klein Gallery/Barcroft Media

Somewhere, Sometime, Somehow

Artwork © NiemEsiS

有时候你会赢，有时候你则会得到教训。
Yǒu shíhòu nǐ huì yíng, yǒu shíhòu nǐ yě huì dédào jiàoxùn.
Sometimes you win, sometimes you learn.

Countercensorship

眼不见心不烦。
Yǎn bùjiàn xīn bù fán.
Occhio non vede, cuore non duole.