Sunday, October 31, 2010

Portrait Photography by Zosia Zija


Zosia Zija, Polish photographer and actress, lives and works in Warsaw, Poland. She exhibits her work in Poland, Italy, Portugal and… Belgium, including at EXKi Porte de Namur.



She mainly takes portraits and tries to place her subjects in relation to their environment, a bit like a documentary maker or reporter.












VAULT VLOG: Happy Halloween, Vault Dwellers...

The Transformer Owl


One owl, three versions...when I first saw this, I though whatevs, but the best bit is the '3rd version'. This owl naturally puffs itself up when pitted against other owls of the same size, but watch what happens when the owl is face to face with a bird twice its height...sheer brilliance. MotherNature at its best!

Happy Halloween!!

To celebrate Halloween this year, we went and found some of the best pumpkin carvings out there.


[VIA]

Amazing Graffiti Alphabet Deem


Deem graffiti alphabet amazing and cool. Examples of graffiti art on the walls of a beautiful street. Perfect blend of color, there is also a 3D impression.

Amazing Graffiti Alphabet Deem


Deem graffiti alphabet amazing and cool. Examples of graffiti art on the walls of a beautiful street. Perfect blend of color, there is also a 3D impression.

Amazing Graffiti Alphabet Deem


Deem graffiti alphabet amazing and cool. Examples of graffiti art on the walls of a beautiful street. Perfect blend of color, there is also a 3D impression.

Black Sheep @ The Box Office

Happy Halloween! I hope you go out there today and scare the crap out of people safely. I also hope you've Halloween'd it up all weekend really because this is the last time you will ever get the chance to. With the final chapter of the SAW series bowing in theatres this weekend, this must also be the last Halloween. It just won't be Halloween next year without SAW, after all.

At least SAW 3D gets to end the series on a reasonably successful note. Last year, SAW's consistently successful streak came to an end when PARANORMAL ACTIVITY, whose second installment suffered a much more regular second week horror decline this year, obliterated it on Halloween weekend. At $24 million, it has nearly matched the entire domestic run of the last film, which finished its pathetic showing with $27 million. The opening itself is about $10 million more as well but the majority of SAW 3D's screens are 3D screens and we all know how much more expensive those can be. SAW II remains the most successful of the franchise with a total domestic gross of $87 million. And SAW III holds the bragging rights to the biggest SAW opening weekend with $33.6 million. Still, SAW 3D boasts the third lowest opening weekend after SAW VI and the first SAW, obviously an untested product at the time. So, SAW 3D saves a little face but not too much. Considering the amount of faces that are mutilated in the film, that's fairly fitting. (For reviews of the latest SAW, click anywhere you see the title.)

Another franchise that continues to underwhelm is the Steig Larsson "girl" series, if you will. Final chapter, THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET'S NEST, opened to $915K, the highest debut for the series in North America but it did so with the lowest per screen average amongst the three (approximately $6K compared to over $8.3K for THE GIRL WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE and nearly $10K for THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO). People apparently care to read books but not movies. I'm glad to see we have segmented our activities so strictly. (For reviews of all three films, click the film appropriate title.)

There isn't much other Top 10 news this weekend. Hilary Swank drama, CONVICTION whimpered its way in with a lackluster wide showing. And JACKASS 3D kicked it past the $100 million mark. I'm very proud.

NEXT WEEK: Things get a little busier again. The horror flicks will suffer huge declines to make way for DUE DATE, starring Robert Downey Jr. and Zach Galifianakis and directed by Todd Phillips, the dude who did THE HANGOVER, on 3200 screens. Even bigger still is the Will Ferrell/Brad Pitt-voiced animated film, MEGAMIND, on 3500 screens. Tyler Perry's first R-rated venture, FOR COLORED GIRLS, opens modestly on 2000 screens. And there are a couple of high profile platform releases as well. The Sean Penn/Naomi Watts thriller, FAIR GAME, debuts on 35 screens. While Danny Boyle's follow-up to the Oscar winning, SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, 127 HOURS, starring Oscar-buzzed James Franco, opens on 4 screens.

Reviews are available for 127 HOURS, SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE and THE HANGOVER by clicking the titles. Reviews for DUE DATE and FOR COLORED GIRLS are coming to Black Sheep next weekend.

Naaila Best Banksy Graffiti Alphabet 2010

banksy graffiti

Banksy is a street graffiti artist living in England just outside of London. His graffiti art has brought him worldwide acclaim … in the last few years his work has been exhibited around the globe and he is now internationally recognised as the king of graffiti art!

Banksy Is The World’s Most Wanted Graffiti Artist Article on the street artist called "Banksy".

You can see graffiti in every country in the world. It often defaces walls, poles, trains and the fronts and sides of buildings. Graffiti is considered undesirable vandalism to its victims who spend time and money to paint over or wash it off their property. Indeed, graffiti painting is an ongoing problem in many subway stations and on public walkways, signs, cement walls, and other locations.

However, on the streets of the United Kingdom near London, an artist called Banksy continues to gain international recognition and fame for his graffiti. The fact is that Banksy’s "street art" has become immensely popular with both pedestrians and private art collectors alike. In the last several years, there have been a number of exhibitions and auctions of Banksy’s art work as his popularity has soared.

The growing popularity of his art is in evidence in the secondary market where a painting titled "Space Girl and Bird" sold for $575,000 in an auction event last year (2007). In fact, Banksy’s art can now be found in many private art collections worldwide. Banksy has also produced leaflets and books on art and has his own website. He self-published his first three books, "Existencilism," "Banging Your Head Against a Brick Wall," and "Cut It Out."

His latest book called, "Wall and Piece," was published by Random House and has already sold more than two hundred and fifty thousand copies. Nevertheless, Banksy continues to keep his real identity secret to avoid arrest and prosecution. His anonymity is said to be born of a desire to be a "quality vandal" and to elude the police. He once said, "Imagine a city where graffiti wasn’t illegal, a city where everybody could draw wherever they liked, where the street was awash with a million colors and little phrases. . . . A city that felt like a party where everyone was invited, not just the estate agents and barons of big business." He has a unique view of the art world as well. He has said, "The art world is the biggest joke going. It’s a rest home for the over-privileged, the pretentious, and the weak."

Banksy’s graffiti began appearing on trains and walls around Bristol, England in 1993. By 2001, his street art could be seen all over the United Kingdom. His art has a distinctive style which makes it easy to recognize. It features attention to detail and uses layered stenciling and spray paint. Banksy uses familiar images and his pictures contain dark humor and are often controversial. His art is often focused around anti-war, anti-establishment, and anti-capitalism themes. Sometimes Banksy’s works have a pro-freedom message.

Banksy uses rats as images in many of his pictures. His most famous street paintings are a series of black-and-white stenciled rats. Many of these rats are created to be larger than life. The rats have become immensely popular with London pedestrians. A "gangster rat," painted on a wall near the Smithfield market, wears a peace-sign medallion and carries a sign that says "Welcome to Hell." Another rat holds a sign that reads, "Please love me."

Other Banksy art features the image of two policemen kissing painted on a public wall. In another picture a military helicopter is adorned with a pink bow. Winston Churchill has a Mohawk haircut in another. He has even produced revisionist oil paintings such as Mona Lisa with a yellow smiley face, and a pastoral landscape surrounded by crime-scene tape. Banksy, dressed in a disguise, installed them in the Louvre and the Tate.

Banksy often uses public walls as a background to display his art. Although recently he has been creating art on canvas as well. In addition, Banksy sometimes enters museums and galleries to add his own art to the museum collections. In the last several years, Banksy’s street art has been seen internationally. It has been found in the Middle East on Israel’s West Bank barrier, and in various countries worldwide including Spain, Palestine, Germany, and the United States. He painted the security fence at Bethlehem with a scene of a hole in the concrete barrier. The hole revealed a glittering beach on the other side.

Banksy is viewed by people in many different ways. To some he is an anti-hero who touches the public conscience. Others think of him as an anti-social rogue who vandalizes public property. Some people who have done business with him consider him to be both a genius and a madman. Many view him as unique and irreverent.

On his website Banksy states that he has bought a taller ladder to use in his work. So there can be no doubt that his graffiti ("street art") will continue. For their part, the authorities in the United Kingdom will continue to try to identify and subsequently arrest Banksy, the world’s most wanted graffiti artist.

James William Smith has worked in senior management positions for some of the largest financial services firms in the United States for the last twenty five years. He has also provided business consulting support for insurance organizations and start up businesses. Mr. Smith has a Bachelor of Science Degree from Boston College. He enjoys writing articles on political, national, and world events.

eworldvu.com

Naaila Best Banksy Graffiti Alphabet 2010

banksy graffiti

Banksy is a street graffiti artist living in England just outside of London. His graffiti art has brought him worldwide acclaim … in the last few years his work has been exhibited around the globe and he is now internationally recognised as the king of graffiti art!

Banksy Is The World’s Most Wanted Graffiti Artist Article on the street artist called "Banksy".

You can see graffiti in every country in the world. It often defaces walls, poles, trains and the fronts and sides of buildings. Graffiti is considered undesirable vandalism to its victims who spend time and money to paint over or wash it off their property. Indeed, graffiti painting is an ongoing problem in many subway stations and on public walkways, signs, cement walls, and other locations.

However, on the streets of the United Kingdom near London, an artist called Banksy continues to gain international recognition and fame for his graffiti. The fact is that Banksy’s "street art" has become immensely popular with both pedestrians and private art collectors alike. In the last several years, there have been a number of exhibitions and auctions of Banksy’s art work as his popularity has soared.

The growing popularity of his art is in evidence in the secondary market where a painting titled "Space Girl and Bird" sold for $575,000 in an auction event last year (2007). In fact, Banksy’s art can now be found in many private art collections worldwide. Banksy has also produced leaflets and books on art and has his own website. He self-published his first three books, "Existencilism," "Banging Your Head Against a Brick Wall," and "Cut It Out."

His latest book called, "Wall and Piece," was published by Random House and has already sold more than two hundred and fifty thousand copies. Nevertheless, Banksy continues to keep his real identity secret to avoid arrest and prosecution. His anonymity is said to be born of a desire to be a "quality vandal" and to elude the police. He once said, "Imagine a city where graffiti wasn’t illegal, a city where everybody could draw wherever they liked, where the street was awash with a million colors and little phrases. . . . A city that felt like a party where everyone was invited, not just the estate agents and barons of big business." He has a unique view of the art world as well. He has said, "The art world is the biggest joke going. It’s a rest home for the over-privileged, the pretentious, and the weak."

Banksy’s graffiti began appearing on trains and walls around Bristol, England in 1993. By 2001, his street art could be seen all over the United Kingdom. His art has a distinctive style which makes it easy to recognize. It features attention to detail and uses layered stenciling and spray paint. Banksy uses familiar images and his pictures contain dark humor and are often controversial. His art is often focused around anti-war, anti-establishment, and anti-capitalism themes. Sometimes Banksy’s works have a pro-freedom message.

Banksy uses rats as images in many of his pictures. His most famous street paintings are a series of black-and-white stenciled rats. Many of these rats are created to be larger than life. The rats have become immensely popular with London pedestrians. A "gangster rat," painted on a wall near the Smithfield market, wears a peace-sign medallion and carries a sign that says "Welcome to Hell." Another rat holds a sign that reads, "Please love me."

Other Banksy art features the image of two policemen kissing painted on a public wall. In another picture a military helicopter is adorned with a pink bow. Winston Churchill has a Mohawk haircut in another. He has even produced revisionist oil paintings such as Mona Lisa with a yellow smiley face, and a pastoral landscape surrounded by crime-scene tape. Banksy, dressed in a disguise, installed them in the Louvre and the Tate.

Banksy often uses public walls as a background to display his art. Although recently he has been creating art on canvas as well. In addition, Banksy sometimes enters museums and galleries to add his own art to the museum collections. In the last several years, Banksy’s street art has been seen internationally. It has been found in the Middle East on Israel’s West Bank barrier, and in various countries worldwide including Spain, Palestine, Germany, and the United States. He painted the security fence at Bethlehem with a scene of a hole in the concrete barrier. The hole revealed a glittering beach on the other side.

Banksy is viewed by people in many different ways. To some he is an anti-hero who touches the public conscience. Others think of him as an anti-social rogue who vandalizes public property. Some people who have done business with him consider him to be both a genius and a madman. Many view him as unique and irreverent.

On his website Banksy states that he has bought a taller ladder to use in his work. So there can be no doubt that his graffiti ("street art") will continue. For their part, the authorities in the United Kingdom will continue to try to identify and subsequently arrest Banksy, the world’s most wanted graffiti artist.

James William Smith has worked in senior management positions for some of the largest financial services firms in the United States for the last twenty five years. He has also provided business consulting support for insurance organizations and start up businesses. Mr. Smith has a Bachelor of Science Degree from Boston College. He enjoys writing articles on political, national, and world events.

eworldvu.com

Saturday, October 30, 2010

The Lucky 13 Returns! Week One: Halloween


Well, well, well--here we are again. Last summer, The Vault of Horror joined forces with Brutal as Hell to bring you a special series entitled The Lucky 13. Over the course of 13 weeks, the staff of both sites selected their favorite horror films in 13 different sub-genres. We all had a lot of fun, and I like to think it resulted in a lot of thought-provoking reading.

And now, because it was so much fun, BAH impresario Marc Patterson and myself have decided to revisit the whole thing with 13 more horrific categories. This time around, given the time of year, it's all about holiday- and seasonal-related horror (more or less). And what better way to kick things off than with a look at our very favorite Halloween movies?

Unfortunately, we're off to a bit of a slow start this week, but we've still got a couple of fine Halloween offerings from myself and VOH staffer Paige MacGregor. Stay tuned for more contributors in the coming weeks. And be sure to check out Brutal as Hell for their favorite Halloween picks!

B-Sol on Trick 'r Treat

Just a few years ago, Michael Dougherty crafted what can only be described as an unqualified holiday classic. From here on in, let it be known: You watch It's a Wonderful Life on Christmas, Darby O'Gill & The Little People on St. Patrick's Day, Yankee Doodle Dandy on the Fourth of July... and Trick 'r Treat on Halloween. It's as simple as that.

What I truly love about this film is the fact that most of it deals directly with the terrors of children, or is in some way tied into Halloween from a kid's perspective. This connects to something primal in all of us--that kernel deep down inside that is still afraid of the dark from when we cowered under the sheets and watched the closet door intently as we tried to fall asleep. In modern times, Halloween has been a decidedly child-oriented holiday, which is fascinating considering it also deals in matters of the horrific and supernatural.

Trick 'r Treat plays on the connection between children and the horrors of Halloween. This element is literally embodied in that creepy-as-hell little sack-headed scarecrow kid who is basically the center-point of the flick. Forget Jigsaw or The Creeper--this little bugger is without question the iconic horror movie icon of the past decade. It's dark material, but at the same time, never gets so heavy as to lose its sense of fun. That's a tough balancing act to pull off, but Dougherty does it with style.

Paige MacGregor on Hocus Pocus

Although I enjoy slashers, thrillers and various other violent and bloody sub-genres of horror, my favorite Halloween movie isn’t a genre classic like John Carpenter’s Halloween (1978) or even a contemporary indie flick like Michael Dougherty’s Trick ‘r Treat (2007). Instead, I like to get into the Halloween spirit by watching the 1993 Disney movie Hocus Pocus.

The plot is a simple one: Max Dennison (Omri Katiz) and his sister, Dani (Thora Birch), move to Salem just in time for Halloween. In an attempt to impress one of his classmates, Max accidentally resurrects three witches who were put to death 300 years earlier. In an unlikely partnership, Max, Dani and Allison (Vinessa Shaw) join forces with a 300-year-old talking black cat and a reanimated corpse in order to stop the witches from sucking the life out of Salem’s children before the sun rises.

Disney movies don’t always withstand the test of time, but Hocus Pocus remains a Halloween staple in my house for several reasons, not the least of which is Bette Midler’s performance as the eldest Sanderson sister, Winifred. In her role as Winnie Sanderson, Bette Midler not only delivers some of the film’s funniest lines (“He has a little man”), but also leads her co-stars—Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy—in a catchy musical number that will be stuck in your head for weeks (although it’s good enough that you won’t mind).

The slapstick antics and clever dialogue of the Sanderson sisters are only part of why Hocus Pocus will remain an important part of my Halloween holiday traditions, and we have writers David Kirschner (story), Mick Garris (story/screenplay) and Neil Cuthbert (screenplay) to thank for that. Of course, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kathy Najimy’s performances are similarly comical and impressive as the middle sisters, and it doesn’t hurt that Sarah Jessica Parker wears so much makeup that she’s barely recognizable. Hocus Pocus is a unique blend of fantasy, comedy, and Disney musical that is great for children and adults alike, and I highly recommend watching it at least once this Halloween season.

* * * * * * * * * *

Join us next week for The Lucky 13, as we head into the month of November with a look at the popular sub-genre of "Man vs. Nature...

Fashion Photography by Liz Brown


Liz Brown is a visual artist and producer living in New York City. A graduate of the School of Visual Arts, Liz experiments with video and mixed media while working as a commercial and fine art photographer. Her work is influenced by travel and nightlife, which she considers "a cultural investigation of style and human iconography."



"Photography is a medium that I always responded to and could communicate with. It is also a tool that allows me to interact with people on an intimate level. The ability to relate to a subject or a location brings honesty to the image. This vision that is mine alone will transcend to the viewer."





















Best Photos of 2010


There’re thousands of photographs you have seen in 2010. By Splitting into distinct categories, this contest truly showcases a various range of photography skills. With categories such as landscape,Nature, travel and wildlife, they’re encouraged and inspire to you and explorer in more depth.