An island at the crossroads of the Mediterranean, Sicily occupied a pivotal place in antiquity between Greece, North Africa, and the Italian peninsula.

“This is the first major exhibition to arise from the Getty’s 2010 Cultural Agreement with Sicily, presenting masterpieces that are among the most accomplished examples of ancient Greek art in the world,” said Timothy Potts, director of the J. Paul Getty Museum.

“We are especially thrilled to have on view the exceptional statue of a victorious Charioteer from Mozia that the Getty has recently conserved. This object is a unique expression of the marvelous artistry of Greek sculptors at the dawn of the Classical era.”

Sicily: Art and Invention between Greece and Rome, co-organized by the J. Paul Getty Museum, the Cleveland Museum of Art, and the Assessorato dei Beni Culturali e dell’Identita Siciliana, features some 150 objects, a major portion on loan from institutions in Sicily, including stone and bronze sculptures, vase-paintings, votive terracotta statuettes and reliefs, carved ivory, gold and silver metalwork, jewelry, inscriptions, architectural revetments, and coins.

“These splendid objects bear witness to the athletic and military victories, religious rituals, opulent lifestyles, and intellectual attainments of the Sicilian Greeks, which shaped Greek culture at its peak,” explains Claire Lyons, acting senior curator of antiquities at the J. Paul Getty Museum and curator of the exhibition.

The Mozia Charioteer

The Mozia Charioteer, widely considered one of the the finest surviving examples of Greek sculpture, serves as the exhibition’s centerpiece. Recently on view at the British Museum in London during the 2012 Summer Olympics, the statue has since undergone conservation treatment at the Getty Villa. Part of the Getty’s cultural agreement with Sicily, this 18-month collaborative conservation project involved remounting the sculpture and the provision of a seismic isolation base, which will accompany the object when it is reinstalled at the Whitaker Museum on the island of Mozia.

The triumphant Mozia Charioteer, discovered in 1976 on the island of Mozia in western Sicily, is believed to represent a charioteer who competed at Olympia on behalf of one of the Sicilian rulers. The extraordinary style of the sculpture, especially notable in the sinuous pleating of the long linen xystis that sheathes the figure’s athletic physique, is a tour-de-force of stone carving. Clearly a master of his craft, the sculptor was able to reveal the torso and limbs beneath the thin fabric. With its confident gaze and proud stance, this statue conveys the high level of originality and experimentation achieved by Greek sculptors working in Sicily.

The “Signing Masters”

Important evidence of Sicilian artistic innovation is also apparent in the exquisite coins of the time. Beginning in the late fifth century B.C., a group of Sicilian Greek coin engravers, mainly based in Syracuse, added their signatures to the dies used to stamp coins. Known as the “Signing Masters,” these remarkable craftsmen created extraordinary works of art on a miniature scale. Departing from the traditional profile view, they devised novel ways of representing the human body in a lively three-quarter perspective or striking frontal pose. This testimony of individual mastery of the medium is virtually exclusive to Sicilian Greek coins created around 400 B.C. Often abbreviated in tiny but legible script, the artists’ signatures are typically all but hidden in locks of hair or elements of jewelry.

Known as the “coin of coins,” the unique Aitna tetradrachm from the Royal Library of Belgium is one of the most precious ancient coins in the world. On view in the exhibition along with 50 other exceptionally crafted Sicilian Greek coins, the image on the tetradrachm depicts the head of Silenos on the obverse and on the reverse, Zeus enthroned with an eagle perched beside him, imagery that alludes to the cult of Zeus on Mt. Etna.
Greek settlers and their gods

Sicily: Art and Invention between Greece and Rome will also examine how settlers from the Greek mainland brought their myths and religious practices to Sicily. To sanctify new colonies and maintain ties with mother cities, they built altars and temples to such gods as Apollo, the patron deity of colonists, as well as the deified hero Herakles. Included are terracotta heads of Apollo, Hades, and Persephone, created as cult or votive images of deities that played a central role in ancient Sicilian worship. The skillfully modeled clay, embellished with striking polychrome pigments, compares favorably with the most accomplished works in marble and bronze. An exceptional example of metalwork is a religious offering dish made of two and a half pounds of gold. Known as a phiale mesomphalos, the vessel is embossed from the center outward with bands of beechnuts, acorns, and bees above blossoms; the owner’s name —Damarchos, son of Achyris— is inscribed beneath the rim, together with its equivalent weight in gold coins.

The divine hero Herakles was also embraced by Greek settlers, who linked his deeds to their cities. Contrasting aspects of Herakles’ identity —peaceful healer, solitary herdsman, and violent aggressor— heightened the appeal of his cult among the men of rural Sicily, who tended flocks and worked as mercenary soldiers. Among the objects on view is a finely preserved bronze statuette of Herakles recovered from a river-bed in Contrada Cafeo (Modica), which suggests that a shrine to the hero was situated nearby.

Preeminent among the honored deities was Demeter, goddess of agriculture, and her daughter Persephone (or Kore). Sanctuaries of the goddesses dotted the island, but their cult was most enthusiastically embraced in central Sicily, where, according to myth, Kore descended to the Underworld as the bride of Hades. Depictions of these deities include a terracotta bust with a rare painted figural scene that may represent part of a ritual honoring or celebrating the goddesses, and a cult statuette disc overed near an altar in Gela together with an offering jug of carbonized seeds of grain.

Archimedes of Syracuse

A section of the exhibition will focus on Archimedes of Syracuse (about 287–212 B.C.), one of history’s foremost scientists and mathematicians. More than a millennium ahead of its time, his work laid the foundation for branches of math, physics, engineering, and even computer science. When Syracuse’s King Hieron II asked him to determine whether a crown was made of pure gold, Archimedes made his legendary deduction that a solid displaces a volume of liquid equal to its own volume, a discovery that supposedly caused the scientist to leap from his bath and run naked through the streets crying “Eureka” (“I have found it!”).

On view is a leaf from the Archimedes Palimpsest, the only surviving manuscript containing copies of Archimedes’ writings. The medieval prayer book that included this leaf was inked by a scribe onto recycled parchment that originally bore the theories of Archimedes. The pages were scraped clean before being overwritten, but with the use of advanced imaging technology, the original writing is visible. The leaf on view is a section of text from “Proposition 1” from Archimedes’ Method, a work integrating geometry and physics.

Literature on Sicilian art

Finally, the exhibition examines the reflections of literature in Sicilian visual arts. Many mainland Greeks became familiar with Sicily through the epic poetry of Homer, including Odysseus’s wanderings after the Trojan War, which took him to the western Mediterranean.

Often depicted in vase-painting and sculpture, Odysseus’s encounters with strange creatures like the Cyclops and Scylla were allegories for early colonial settlement and trading enterprises that spread Greek culture to distant, exotic regions. The pastoral genre created and perfected by the Syracusan poet Theokritos (about 300–after 260 B.C.) flourished as Sicily was falling under the dominion of Rome in the third century B.C. He is renowned for his Idylls (literally, “little pictures”), which paint nostalgic word-images of Sicilian country life from the point of view of a sophisticated urbanite. Theokritos’s rustic characters—including satyrs, shepherds, and the woodland deity Priapos—also populated the visual arts of the period, attesting to the appeal of rural fantasies during a time of civic turmoil. On extended loan from Syracuse, a life-size statue of the fertility god Priapos, the earliest such figure in Greek art will be featured in the exhibition. Like the Mozia Charioteer, it was also the subject of a collaborative conservation project undertaken by the Getty Museum.

The importance and popularity of Greek comedy and drama outside of Athens is evident in the theatrical figurines, masks and scenes on vases, many of which come from the island of Lipari. The celebrated “Father of Tragedy,” Aeschylus (Greek, 525–456 B.C.) traveled to Sicily on at least two occasions, where his plays found fertile ground in the strong local tradition of performance on the island.

On display is a terracotta mixing vessel with the earliest known depiction of the myth of Perseus and Andromeda, which likely reflects a performance of Sophocles’ Andromeda (about 450 B.C.). The Greek inscription painted above the figure of Perseus—“Euaion, the son of Aeschylus, is handsome”— names the actor, son of the great tragedian.

Rich harvests, bountiful seas, and a favorable trade location brought immense wealth to the Sicilian city-states, and the exhibition highlights their widespread reputation for luxurious lifestyles with five gilt-silver vessels, part of a larger group of fifteen. The silver treasure had been buried for safekeeping beneath the floor of a house in Morgantina during the Roman sack of the city in 211 B.C. The entire hoard comprises religious vessels as well as a set for the symposion, a convivial drinking party for men that was an important part of the social life of well-to-do Greeks.

Sicily: Art and Invention between Greece and Rome is the latest in a series of cooperative efforts between the Getty and the Sicili an Ministry of Culture and Sicilian Identity arising from a 2010 agreement that calls for a number of collaborative projects, including object conservation, seismic protection of collections, exhibitions, scholarly research, and conferences. Recent related projects include the 2010 loan of the Gela Krater, a monumental red-figured volute krater (wine mixing vessel) attributed to the Niobid Painter; The Agrigento Youth, a rare example of an early classical marble statue called a kouros (an idealized nude young man), loaned to the Getty from the Museo Archeologico Regionale in Agrigento (2010/2011); and most recently the loan of thirty-six objects from the sanctuaries of Demeter at Morgantina (2012/January 2013).

The exhibition is co-organized by the J. Paul Getty Museum, the Cleveland Museum of Art, and the Assessorato dei Beni Culturali e dell’Identita Siciliana, and celebrates 2013 as the Year of Italian Culture in the United States, an initiative of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, realized under the leadership of the President of the Republic of Italy.

Source: The J. Paul Getty Museum [March 19, 2013]

Even today, the world of the ancient Greek gods has lost none of its fascination. Accounts of the deeds of mighty Zeus, his jealous wife Hera, the twins Apollo and Artemis, beautiful Aph-rodite, and Dionysos the god of wine, are as enthralling as ever after more than 2000 years.

Greek poets and artists conveyed a vivid picture of the world of these gods. Their work set creative precedents and were a source of inspiration; they also furnished models and a stim-ulus for new interpretations and original compositions by Roman writers and sculptors.

Over a period of more than three hundred years, the Brandenburg-Prussian Electors and Kings in Berlin collected antique works of art, which are now in the museums of the ‘Preußischer Kulturbesitz’ Foundation – the Pergamon Museum and the Collection of Antiqui-ties. For the first time in Cologne, in the exhibition The Return of the Gods, the Olympian world of the Greek gods is recreated with marble statues, stone reliefs, bronzes and luxurious vases from the Berlin collections – a cross section of outstanding European art from early Greek times to the imperial Roman period.

Zeus, Hades, Poseidon

Zeus, the Romans’ Jupiter, was the majestic ruler of the Olympian world. As the lord of the heavens, he carried a thunderbolt as his weapon. Zeus was the father of nu-merous gods and heroes; most of his offspring were not begotten with his wife Hera, but were the result of his many erotic liaisons.

Poseidon was the master of the sea, inland waters and storms. As the “shaker of the Earth”, who made the Earth tremble with his trident, he was held responsible for earthquakes and natural disasters. People also venerated him as the protector of their ships. The Romans called this god Neptune.

Brother of Zeus and Poseidon was Hades, the Romans’ Pluto. He became the lord of the underworld when the gods drew lots to divide the world between them.

All these “Father Gods” are represented as mature, dignified and mighty. Zeus the father of the gods, Hades the ruler of the underworld and Poseidon the god of the sea, are difficult to tell apart when not depicted with their characteristic attributes

Asclepius, the Healing God

Asclepius was the god of medicine and healing. He was the son of Apollo and a mortal woman, so merely a demigod. He was nevertheless worshipped as a god but not regarded as one of the Olympian gods.

Asclepius’ place was among the people. He is represented in the likeness of a Greek citizen: bearded, wearing a robe and leaning on a staff. A snake is coiled around his staff and the staff (or rod) of Asclepius is still the traditional symbol of medicine.

Asclepius had many sanctuaries that attracted throngs of worshippers, where the sick sought cures through healing sleep (incubation). A centre of his cult developed at Epidaurus and another was located on the island of Kos. The physicians of Kos achieved great fame in the 5th century BC. The best known was Hippocrates and, even today, doctors swear the “Hippocratic Oath”.

The cult of Asclepius reached the western part of the Roman Empire in 293 BC when the Epidaurus sanctuary established a shrine to the Latinised Aesculapius on Rome’s Tiber Island.

Hera and Demeter – the Mothers

Hera, the Romans’ Juno, was the sister and spouse of Zeus. As the queen of the gods she watched over marriage and legitimate offspring. She therefore pursued the amorous escapades of her husband with jealous severity.

Demeter, Ceres for the Romans, was the goddess of the fertile earth, of grain and agriculture. According to the “Homeric” hymn to Demeter, her daughter Kore was abducted by Hades and, as Persephone/Proserpina, became his wife in the under-world. Searching for her daughter, the desperate Demeter neglected her responsibilities as the goddess of agriculture, which led to a severe drought. Only after the return of her daughter for two-thirds of the year did she allow everything to grow and flourish again, but Kore-Persephone had to spend one third of each year with Hades in the underworld, during which time nature was also dead.

Demeter and Hera are usually depicted as motherly goddesses, often wearing a dia-dem and veil. When ears of wheat – a specific attribute of Demeter – are not shown, it is scarcely possible to distinguish between the two.

Aphrodite and Hermes

Aphrodite’s sphere of influence was love; her son Eros was the personified god of love. From the 5th century BC onwards, Aphrodite was depicted in ever more reveal-ing clothes: light and flimsy garments accentuated the beauty of the female body. Aphrodite first appeared completely naked in the 4th century BC, as a statue by Praxiteles, whose visualisation of the goddess was widely copied. Venus, the Roman equivalent of Aphrodite, was said to be the mother of Aeneas. Hence she became the mythical ancestress of the family of the Julii, to which both Caesar and Augustus belonged.

Hermes was the messenger of the gods, the god of roads, boundaries and herds-men, the patron of thieves. He guided the souls of the dead into the after-world.

Hermes wore the clothes of a traveller: a short cape, a broad-brimmed hat and boots or sandals. Speed was suggested by wings attached to his hat, shoes or heels. In addition, he carried a messenger’s staff with two snakes (Kerykeion). The Roman equivalent of Hermes was Mercury, the god of commerce and economic prosperity.

Athena – the Patroness of Great Works

Athena was the wise daughter of Zeus. Before his marriage to Hera, Zeus was the husband of Metis, the goddess of wisdom. Zeus then swallowed his consort when she was pregnant with Athena because it had been prophesied that she would bear him a child stronger than himself, who would ultimately depose him. Athena was born when Hephaestus, the blacksmith god, cleaved open her father’s skull.

Athena was the goddess of battle, depicted with a helmet, lance and shield. Another emblem was the “aegis”, a breastplate with the head of the Gorgon Medusa in the centre. Athena was the patroness of the crafts and all artistic activities. She is also said to have invented the flute. While playing it beside a stream, she saw a reflection of herself with her cheeks puffed out, and crossly cast the instrument aside. The satyr Marsyas retrieved the flute and later challenged Apollo to a musical contest.

Many cities invoked the protection of Athena, especially Athens, where she was worshipped on the Acropolis. Her Roman equivalent was Minerva.

Apollo and Artemis — divine twins

The twins Apollo and Artemis were the children of Zeus and Leto. Jealous Hera pur-sued her rival relentlessly until, finally, the island of Delos allowed Leto to give birth to her children there.

Apollo was the upholder of order in human society, slaying wrongdoers with his bow and sending pestilence as a punishment. He defended religious purity. His attribute was the laurel. He was also the god of oracles and divine prophesies, leader of the muses and a master of the lyre. He was depicted as an idealized youth with long hair.

Artemis, the goddess of the hunt and huntsmen, represented unspoiled nature. Known since ancient times as the “Mistress of the Animals” and the “unconquered virgin”, she nurtured and protected young animals, but was also a huntress who killed her prey. Since the late classical period, she has usually been depicted as a young girl in a hunting tunic with a bow and a quiver full of arrows, often accompanied by an animal. Just as her brother was both the god of healing and the god of pestilence, so Artemis was the goddess of childbirth and the bringer of death in childbirth.

The Sanctuary

In the Greek and Roman world, the sanctuary was the most important place for wor-shipping the gods. People would go there with votive offerings and gifts to praise or appease a deity and to ask for favours.

At larger ritual sites there were temples with a cult image of the god. However, the centre of the sanctuary was always the altar where sacrifices were offered. At public ceremonies, cattle were often sacrificed: the priests would burn the bones, fat and hide of the animal as an offering to the gods; the meat would then be consumed by the worshippers at a ritual feast. Individual citizens usually donated smaller animals, fruit or libations. The rites could be accompanied by processions, dancing and music.

An abundance of offerings of various types would accumulate at such sacred sites. Large objects like statues would be set up on display while smaller votive objects, such as miniature figurines or weapons captured from the enemy, were deposited somewhere. In large Greek sanctuaries, Olympia and Delphi for example, there were also treasuries where valuable offerings were stored.

Dionysus and the Theatre

Dionysus was the god of wine and delirious ecstasy. Those who gave themselves to this god had to risk becoming “possessed”. Dionysus was surrounded by a retinue (thiasos) of half-wild hybrid creatures, youthful satyrs, older sileni, and frenzied maenads who often danced to the music of flutes and drums.

Dionysus was depicted as child, as a seductive youth with a body that is sometimes rather feminine, and as an old man leaning on a satyr. His attributes were the ivy, either as a wreath to prevent intoxication or wound around a staff (thyrsos), and a drinking vessel (kantharos). He always symbolised a hedonistic way of life.

Greek theatre originated in the cult of Dionysus. In many places of worship, dramatic performances were part of his festivals. Starting in Athens in the 6th century BC, first tragedies, then “satyr” plays and – after 486 BC – comedies were performed during the Great Dionysia festival. All the roles in the plays, even female roles, were taken by three male actors wearing costumes and masks, accompanied by a choir.

The Pergamon Altar

In the conflicts to succeed Alexander the Great, Philhetairos was able to establish his rule in Asia Minor, at Pergamon. His grandson, Attalos I, took the title of King. The latter’s son, Eumenes II (197-159 BC), defeated the invading Celts and developed the fortress into a Hellenistic city with prestigious marble buildings.

The religious centre was the altar of Zeus, which was visible from afar. A flight of steps led up to a podium and the colonnaded area with the altar for burnt offerings. The podium was decorated on all sides by a frieze depicting the battle of the gods against the giants. The rear walls illustrated the history of the founding of Perga-mon. Acroteria with figures stood on the roof.

The gigantomachy on the Pergamon Altar marks the pinnacle of Hellenistic art. It is the most complete antique depiction of the struggle of the younger generation of Olympian gods, together with Hercules, against the giants, born out of chaos, who were trying to destroy the new world order. Zeus with his lightning bolts is shown fighting a snake-footed giant, an allusion to the victory over the Celts.

Related Posts: Brand

• Louis Vuitton handbags for women
• Audrey Tautou — new person of Chanel №5
• Jack Daniel's participates in presidential elections
• Wafer Jesus
• Children do not allow to look on...
• Three Football Legends for Louis Vuitton

All cultures throughout time have tried to honor and commemorate those they have lost. A new exhibit at the Oriental Institute Museum will show how the living cared for the dead, and how the ancients conceptualized the idea of the human soul in ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt and Israel/Palestine.

The Oriental Institute’s Neubauer Expedition to Zincirli, Turkey in 2008, during which an inscribed funerary monument was discovered, inspired the exhibit. The monument, which dates to about 735 B.C, is carved with an image of a man named Katumuwa seated before a table heaped with offerings and with a lengthy inscription in Aramaic—a language widely used in the ancient Middle East. The text proved to be the longest-known memorial inscription of its type.

“The text gave us a whole new understanding of the ancient belief system in eastern Turkey and northern Syria. Although Katumuwa knew that the realm of the dead could be a cruel and lonely place, the rituals he describes that his family would enact on his behalf would give him a happy afterlife,” said exhibit curator Virginia R. Herrmann, PhD’11. Herrmann, now a visiting professor at Dartmouth College, was part of the team that discovered the stela and co-curated “In Remembrance of Me.”

The text also revealed that the rituals took place not just at the grave or in the home, but in a private mortuary chapel next door to a temple—exactly the setting where the Katumuwa stela was discovered. The stela itself is in the Gaziantep Museum in eastern Turkey, but a precise facsimile of its front has been produced for the exhibit.

Rituals of remembrance

Other sections of the exhibit explore how commemoration and communication with the dead was enacted, the importance of banquet scenes, and how the concept of the soul differed in ancient Egypt, Iraq and Israel/Palestine.

Rituals of remembrance of lost loved ones—from memorial services to Day of the Dead celebrations in Latin America and even the “funeral selfie” phenomenon—continue to be an important aspect of many cultures.

Jack Green, chief curator of the Oriental Institute Museum, said, “In coordinating this exhibit, we found that although death can often be a taboo topic in Western society, there are plenty of examples today that commemorate the dead through festive and colorful celebrations—the Dia de Muertos being just one example.”

Source: Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago [March 13, 2014]

The Maya are one of the oldest cultures in the world. This exhibition is all about the magnificent artistic forms of expression of the Maya. With a collection of around 300 works of art, including many Mexican national treasures, it displays the fundamental aspects of pre-Hispanic art: the body and the physique are central to this exhibition.

The Maya present their vision of life using various materials and techniques from their daily life, splendid buildings and works of art. They describe their relationship with gods, their everyday existence, their literature, their astronomy, their music and their dances. What often dominates these works is an idealised notion of humanity, which the Maya retained not only in their conception of humans and the ideal of beauty, but also in the location of mankind in the cosmos.

The exhibition will run until 7 August 2016.

Source: Martin-Gropius-Bau [July 12, 2016]

In Greek mythology, Eros was the god of love. He was capable of overpowering the minds of all gods and all men. Literary sources of the sixth and fifth centuries B.C. portrayed him as a powerful, often cruel, capricious being, and in classical Greek art Eros was usually represented as a winged youth.

A radically different visual image of Eros—as a charming, winged child asleep on a rock—was introduced centuries later by Hellenistic artists. The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s statue of Eros Sleeping—one of the finest of the surviving bronze statues from classical antiquity—will be the focus of the special exhibition Sleeping Eros, opening January 29, 2013. The exhibition is made possible by The Vlachos Family Fund.

Eros Sleeping will be shown with 46 related works of art in various media, ranging in date from the fifth century B.C. to the 17th century A.D., drawn primarily from the Museum’s permanent collection. Two works from private collections will also be shown.

Through these examples, the exhibition will examine the cult and image of Eros before and after the Sleeping Eros statue type, show the breadth of its influence, and trace the wide dispersal of the type in Roman times and its subsequent rediscovery during the Renaissance. The exhibition will also consider the original function and context of the sculpture, how the statue was made, and the issue of originals and copies in Greek and Roman sculpture.

The Sleeping Eros was among the earliest types of ancient sculpture to be rediscovered during the Italian Renaissance, and it was the subject of numerous figural studies by Renaissance and Baroque artists in Italy—including Michelangelo, among many others—who were looking to the classical tradition for training and inspiration. Some works were close likenesses, such as the fine Drawing of a Sleeping Eros after an antique sculpture by Giovanni Angelo Canini (1617–1666), which will be shown in the exhibition. Other, less literal, adaptations will also be displayed.

In 1943, when the Metropolitan Museum acquired its statue of Eros Sleeping, it was believed to be an original Hellenistic sculpture or a very close replica created between 250 and 150 B.C. Subsequently, some scholars have suggested that it is a very fine Roman copy of one of the most popular sculptures ever made in Roman Imperial times. Recent research—to be presented in the exhibition—supports the former identification, but also makes apparent that it was restored in antiquity—most likely in the Early Imperial period.

Details of the research will also be published in an upcoming article in the Metropolitan Museum’s annual Journal.

A public lecture by the curator on Friday, April 5, 2013, and gallery talks will be offered in conjunction with the exhibition.

Additional information about the exhibition and its accompanying programs can be found on the Museum’s website at www.metmuseum.org.

The exhibition is organized by Seán Hemingway, Curator, Department of Greek and Roman Art. Exhibition design is by Michael Batista, Exhibition Design Manager; lighting is by Clint Ross Coller and Richard Lichte, Lighting Design Managers; graphics are by Mortimer Lebigre, Associate Graphic Designer, all of the Museum’s Design Department.

Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Fine Art [January 23. 2012]

Great-Ads Exclusive –Comparethemarket.com Spin-off outtakes advert.

Credit Card Comparison by Maurice Wigglethorpe-Throom, CEO and Founder of comparethemarket.com

Robert Webb, star of cult British comedy TV show Peep Show, plays eccentric CEO Maurice Wigglethorpe-Throom in this outtake that uses the disturbing metaphor of facial hair to explain why you should compare credit card interest rates on comparethemarket.com. This video, yet to be released to the general public, was filmed alongside a separate TV campaign to allow the comedian to run with the role of this peculiar character.

We first met CEO Maurice on Christmas Day when they released this web advert below: This is a film about a heroic young man, who is cursed with being at least six times more handsome, clever and sensitive than anybody else. He also carries a head of the most ravishing hair you ever did see. Despite these troubles, he struggles through life with immense dignity. He is modelled on me, Maurice Wigglethorpe-Throom.

Credits
Starring: Robert Webb
Creative agency: VCCP London
Creative director: Darren Bailes
Director: Simon Cole
Producer: Jeremy Goold
Post-production: Finish
Editor: Alaster Jordan at The White House

The Melancholia

I had the privilege of catching a screening of Lars Von Trier's Melancholia at last night's Talk Cinema event on campus. I'd been wanting to see this movie since I saw the trailer over the summer (and after hearing about all of the controversy at Cannes), and I thought I was going to have to wait until November to see it. Luckily, my friend saw the email for the event and we were able to grab some $5 tickets yesterday! Since movies tickets usually cost $11, this was a total steal.

The movie was great. The actors' performances were brilliant. The score was beautiful. The visuals were breathtaking. I also really fell in love with the style of the sisters, Justine (played by Kirsten Dunst) and Claire (played by Charlotte Gainsbourg). I loved the slouchy tees and sweaters, the fitted pants, the polished riding outfits. Of course, the wedding fashions were lovely, too. I especially loved the bare-faced, no-makeup look that both sisters sported throughout the majority of the film. Stunning. I wanted to leave you with a few stills so you can get a feel for the style!

Want to learn more about the film?

Extravagant Handbags For a Ladies

Already throughout one and a half centuries of a bag louis vuitton remain a subject of admiration and true desire of women of fashion of all world. Louis Vuitton bags have won now the cult status among other brands.

Louis Vuitton For the Luxury Life

Besides, bags louis vuitton differ high quality and unsurpassed aesthetic appeal. Bags Louis Vuitton is both magnificent handbags, and road bags, and also suitcases. The purse Louis Vuitton becomes fine addition to bags Louis Vuitton.

Besides, Louis Vuitton handbags are considered today as the standard in the world of the accessories which quality is considered to be the standard to which compare production of other brands.

The 2nd Vegas, or is better?..

Related Posts: China

• Telescopes Orion see all
• The Chinese mass-media "cut out" words about censorship
• Drudge Report has sent the president on interview to channel Fox
• China and the USA have quarrelled because of steel pipes
• The Chinese twins
• The Chinese farmer-inventor

Kiefer Sutherland stars in a new commercial for the Acer Aspire S5 Ultrabook entitled "Bake It...An Acer story inspired by Intel." Sutherland doesn't just bake cupcakes...he bakes Dynamite Cupcakes. As Jack Bauer in the cult TV series ‘24,’ Kiefer Sutherland was shot, tortured, imprisoned and addicted to heroin. Over eight series he killed 267 people and used “any means necessary” to get what he needed. Every day was a bad day.

In a new ad campaign for computer company Acer’s Aspire S5 Ultrabook™ from Mother, Sutherland is back in a pastiche of his Bauer character but this time he’s showing his softer side – making cup cakes. But Bauer being Bauer, hasn’t donned a frilly apron and got out the icing bag – he’s reached for power drills and flame throwers to make his cakes. Along the way he uses his laptop to search for the perfect recipe, ruthlessly interrogates people about ingredients and blows up his own car to make the logo for his cup cake brand. The ad breaks on August 20 in the UK, Germany, France and Russia as a 90 second film for cinema and the web, a 20 second TV trailer and a series of print ads. Martin Schellekens, Acer’s Global Marketing Director says, “At Acer we’re interested in what people do with the technology we develop. The S5 Ultrabook is the first of many products that will help our users explore a different side of themselves, for Kiefer that was cupcake baking but over the coming year we’ll create more stories of characters exploring beyond their limits.” Mother said: “Kiefer makes a great tough guy – but instead of tackling terrorists or dirty bombs, we wanted to test his cake making skills to the limit. It was a great shoot to work on – Kiefer said that the explosions were as big as anything in 24. We’re really looking forward to the next episode in this series, where another celebrity will be exploring a very different side of themselves.”

Credits:
Project: Acer Aspire S5 Ultrabook™
Brief in one line: To launch the new Acer Aspire S5 Ultrabook™
Acer's Global Brand Director: Maarten Schellekens
Film credits
Creative Agency: Mother
Art Director: Mother
Copywriter: Mother
Planner: Mother
Agency Producer: Mother
Director: Ivan Zacharias
Production Company: Stink
Producer: Nick Landon
Editor: Richard Orrick
Post Production: The Mill
Audio Post-Production: Jungle
Sound Design: Jungle
DoP: John Lynch

The J. Paul Getty Museum today placed on view a Decree Relief with Antiochos and Herakles, the first Greek loan to arise from a 2011 framework for cultural cooperation between the Getty and the Hellenic Republic Ministry of Culture.

The relief takes the form of a stele, a stone slab decorated with images and text, crowned with the figures of Herakles and his son Antiochos, who was the mythical hero of the tribe Antiochis. Herakles is depicted as an athletic nude, holding a club and the pelt of the Nemean Lion he vanquished, referring to the first of the twelve labors he had to perform. Seemingly the elder, Antiochos wears a dignified mantle and holds a staff (no longer visible, but probably added in pigment). Both father and son heroes were the subject of cult worship, and are shown standing within a small temple framed by columns and a pediment.

Written in ancient Greek below the figures, an inscription describes the honors bestowed upon Prokleides by his soldiers and comrades, all members of an elite infantry corps known as the epilektoi. This is the earliest known inscription referencing the epilektoi, a group of men bound together by their military service, participation in sacrifices and theatrical performances, and membership in the Athenian Council. According to the decree, Kephisokles of the village of Alopeke proposed the resolution to praise Prokleides, who “has well and with distinction taken care of security,” and crown him with a gold diadem worth at least 1,000 drachmas (an enormous sum, considering the average worker in classical Athens could support a family of four on one drachma a day).

Soon after arriving at the Getty, the stele was photographed using a technique that captures the object numerous times with varying degrees of raking light. The resulting composed image reveals the shallow lettering with unprecedented depth and clarity and enables a more accurate reading of the inscription. A transcription of the ancient Greek text, translation, and detail photography of the historical inscription accompanies the installation.

“The Antiochos relief commemorates the affection and respect of troops for their commanding officer,” explains Claire Lyons, acting senior curator of antiquities at the Getty Villa. “We are delighted that it will be on view at the Getty Villa in time for Memorial Day, when we honor the contributions of fallen soldiers to their communities and country.”

This long-term loan results from the Framework for Cultural Cooperation signed in September 2011, which provides for joint scholarship, research projects, loans, and exhibitions between the Getty and the Hellenic Republic. “As part of this framework of cooperation between the Hellenic Republic Ministry of Culture and the Getty Museum, we are pleased to have the Antiochos relief on display at the Getty Villa,” said Maria Vlazaki-Andreadaki, director general of archaeology in Athens. “We believe that this collaboration will promote classical studies in the United States and will spread the values and the spirit of ancient Greek civilization.”

Historical Background

The relief was discovered in 1922 in the foundations of a house in the Athenian neighborhood of Dourgouti. In antiquity, the area was known as Kynosarges and was the site of a public gymnasium and a sanctuary of Herakles, the greatest of the Greek heroes. Believed to have stood in this sanctuary, where several other inscriptions mentioning the tribe Antiochis were found, the relief was a votive dedication erected in a prominent public location befitting a successful military leader.

The Antiochos relief is a primary document of democracy, and the language of its inscription shows that voting and public speech were deeply ingrained in civic life two centuries after the foundation of democratic political institutions in Athens.

The creation of the Attic tribes was the most important feature of the revolutionary reorganization of Athenian politics that followed the overthrow of the tyrants in 508 B.C. In this system, ten tribes composed of approximately 3,000 citizens and their families were created. Each tribe was assigned the name of a mythical Athenian hero: Antiochos was the eponymous hero of the tribe Antiochis.

Drawn from villages in three distinct zones of the Athenian territory—the coast, the inland farming region, and the urban/suburban zone—the tribes represented the entire citizenry of Athens. Josiah Ober, Professor of Political Science and Classics at Stanford University, observes: “Imagine a reorganization of the United States that would require citizens from Maine, Texas, and California to work, fight, and feast together on a regular basis. The communities constituting the tribe of Antiochis included Alopeke, the philosopher Socrates’ home village—so we might even imagine that a descendant of Socrates as among the signatories to the decree.”

Source: J. Paul Getty Museum [May 23, 2012]

MAD MEN

American filmmaker Paul Feig was always the bridesmaid and never the bride when it came to his career. At least that's how he saw it. But at 48-years old he's now the blushing bride. The writer, director and producer's latest film Bridesmaids is a colossal success, having just passed the $130 million mark at the US box office and opening in Australia last week. Feig said he relates to the central character Annie (Kristen Wiig) who's at a slump in her professional and personal life.

``It's the exactly kind of story I do in everything,'' he said.
``This person doesn't know where they belong in the grand scheme of things and that appeals to me because that's how I feel in every single moment of my life, even when things are going right.
``That's how I felt for a lot of my career. I mean, I think I'm making good work and then . . .
``Bridesmaids is the first thing I've had a big part in that's been successful.''

Success is in the eye of the beholder when it comes to Feig. After meeting Judd Apatow (Knocked Up, The 40-Year Old Virgin) when they were both teenagers and doing stand-up together, the pair created Emmy-nominated teen series Freaks and Geeks. It was cancelled before the end of the first season, but not before it launched the careers of its stars James Franco, Seth Rogen, Jason Segel and Linda Cardellini. It also became a cult hit. Feig went on to direct several unsuccessful features such as I Am David and Unaccompanied Minors, before making a considerably more successful return to TV directing Arrested Development, 30 Rock, Mad Men, Weeds and the US version of The Office.

But it was Apatow who coaxed him back to the big screen with a ``fantastic script'' from former Saturday Night Live star Kristen Wiig and her writing partner Annie Mumolo.

``With Bridesmaids, we wanted to tell a very relatable and real story that appealed to both women and men,'' he said.
``It was easy to avoid all the pitfalls of the chick flick genre because it's not how any of us thought.
``Those types of films come from people doing things they think women want to see, which is really condescending.
``We knew we wanted to go R-rated with it and we wanted women to see other women on screen who are just as dirty as they are.''

From suffering food poisoning in a bridal shop to dropping the C-bomb, the ensemble cast of Bridesmaids don't play clean. Feig said he and executive producer Apatow even shot a PG-version of every scene in case the women at test screenings didn't like it.

``But they loved it,'' he said.

The film follows a rag-tag group of Bridesmaids as they're led through the pre-wedding rituals of bachelorette parties, bridal showers and dress fittings. Led by Wiig, Bridemaids also stars Melissa McCarthy, Jon Hamm, Aussies Rose Byrne and Rebel Wilson (Thank God You're Here, Fat Pizza) in her first big Hollywood role. Wilson plays the sister of Annie's weird room mate, Little Britain's Matt Lucas.

``I'm so happy Rebel's in it, I'm such a big fan of hers,'' said Feig.
``The room mates weren't originally in the script but we knew Matt Lucas wanted to do something in the film but we didn't know where or what.
``Then Rebel came in to audition for one of the bridemaids and she was so hilarious, I turned and said to Judd `she looks like Matt's sister.'
``She's such a great improvisational comedienne and it's so exciting to have her in it.''

With Bridemaids a financial and critical success and talk of a sequel, Feig and Apatow are now working on another comedy starring Mad Men's Jon Hamm. Hamm has openly spoken about his appreciation of the skilled and suave Fieg - who's known for wearing a suit to work everyday.

``Other directors are just a bunch of slobs,'' joked Feig, in reference to the director's stereotype of casual dressers.
``I've been doing it for the past 11 years.
``In fact, I went to direct Mad Men and I showed up on the first day and they thought I was there for casting.''

Scion has announced today that their lifestyle gallery and retail space on Melrose Ave. in Los Angeles, called the Scion A/V Installation, will host cult fashion label Hood By Air for a month long installation opening May 18.
"Scion's goal is to continually support influential and emerging artists with the opportunities and resources that otherwise might be unavailable to them," says Jeri Yoshizu, manager of sales promotions at Scion, "Hood By Air was a brand we felt would really embody the conceptual retail experience we set out to deliver through this gallery space."
The Scion A/V Installation is a retail and gallery environment that merges Scion product and lifestyle for the first time by offering consumers the opportunity to test-drive vehicles from the space itself. "Scion A/V Installation is a step in a more interactive direction for the retail gallery," says Yoshizu, "The focus of the space is affordable artwork, and limited edition products. Adding a test drive component moves Scion and our art initiatives closer to each other than they've ever been."
The Scion A/V Installation project will bring New York City based fashion label Hood By Air to the west coast for the brands first pop up retail installation. "The partnership between Scion and Hood By Air was a natural step for the cultural strategy we focus on," explains Jeri Yoshizu, manager of sales promotions at Scion, "Scion A/V hosted a concert in Brooklyn with A$AP Rocky. It was during an interview with the rapper that we first began the Hood By Air conversation. It became clear that this would be a perfect partnership to shed light on the work we are doing at Scion and also support these emerging talents across the music and art worlds."
The Scion A/V Hood By Air pop up exhibition, entitled "MORPH," will serve as the debut of a capsule luggage concept collection and feature three silicone art objects inspired by hiking luggage, tattooed skin and jewelry piercings as the focal point for the exhibit. On May 18th the Scion A/V Installation space will be transformed into a space reminiscent of a high school locker-room wherein the limited edition products will be sold for the duration of four weeks. Scion A/V has partnered with Hood By Air to produce an entire inventory of limited edition Hood By Air items that will sell within the space, including but not limited to the coveted Hood By Air Classics t-shirt collection in never before seen color-ways, backpacks, posters, water bottles, Emory boards, small accessories and more.
The opening reception of the Scion A/V Presents: Hood By Air "MORPH" will be held on Saturday, May 18th from 7 – 10 p.m. at the Scion A/V Installation, located at 7667 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90036.
The Hood By Air exhibit will be present within the Scion A/V Installation space for the duration of four weeks following the opening reception and close on June 16th.
Credits: Creative Agency — Sydney Reising, New York.

2011 Dolce&Gabbana Collection

Dolce&Gabbana continues to build Italian traditions into own adv campaigns. The cult fashion brand has presented a new series of prints which pick up a rhythm of the previous photo-sets (so, in last year are created posters with the Madonna in an image of the Sicilian housewife, also hot photos of the men, into styles of ancient Roman demigods). This time for advancement of a collection Spring/Summer 2011 brand has decided to remain within the limits of the traditional concept, having emphasized rough hot Italian emotions.

On prints the macho photo-models: Noah Mills, David Gandy, Adam Senn, Tony Ward, Sam Webb, Travis and Sam Whitman play roles as strict fathers, the Italian peasants and fishermen. Photos are literally impregnated by the hot southern sun, salty water, slightly audible smell of man's sweat and a fresh sea breeze. Men really enjoy heavy physical work...

The Real Italian Machos

For Woman's D&G Collections Spring/Summer are selected graceful Izabel Goulart, Isabeli Fontana, Alessandra Ambrosio, and Maryna Linchuck. While their men work under the destructive sun, beautiful women are doing the house duties with not smaller pride, than the queen manages state affairs. Despite external pride and coldness, they a spirit of passions — if they laugh, all around rejoices together with them but if they cry it is the most bitter tears. The charming ladies dressed into elegant dresses, fine underwear and may break any men's heart.