Saturday, December 01, 2018

Sonia Delaunay spent two years working on three large murals for the 1937 Paris International Exhibition of Arts and Technology in Modern Life


'Hommage à Blériot' or 'Aircraft Engine' or 'Propeller'


Instrument panel


Engine

It took a long, long time for Sonia Delaunay, who died in 1979, to be granted her first retrospective in the UK, and it’s something of a travesty that it wasn’t until 2015 when the Tate Modern, London, finally did what no one else had the guts to do, and created an ode to the great artists work.

Born Sarah Ilinitchna Stern to a poor Jewish family in Odessa, she was adopted by a rich uncle, renamed herself Sonia Terk and was educated all over Europe.

Her uncle provided her with an excellent education: she traveled extensively in Western Europe, visited all the greatest museums and galleries of the Old World, and was fluent in French, German and English. The girl studied academic drawing and painting, her abilities were revealed at an early age. Upon reaching her eighteenth birthday, Sonia went to the Karlsruhe Academy of Art in Germany.

At the age of 20, in 1905, she arrived in Paris and entered the famous Académie de la Palette, the alma mater of a great number of outstanding artists of the first half of the 20th century. Here Turk studied engraving under the guidance of Rudolf Grossman. Like almost all of her fellow students, she was not in awe of academic teaching and the conservative atmosphere that reigned in schools. She was fascinated by the Fauves, Van Gogh, Gauguin, Rousseau, repulsed by Matisse and Picasso: she considered the first to be “too cautious, too bourgeois,” the second she found unhealthy. The influence of the Fauvists is especially noticeable in her early paintings, such as The Finnish Woman and The Yellow Nude (1908) with their unnatural complexion, sweeping strokes and generous colors.

In Germany she studied alongside Schoenberg; in Paris she met Braque and Picasso, and the gallerist Wilhelm Uhde who showed the works of Gauguin, Derain and the faves. A year later, in London, Turk and Uda were married, but the union did not last long. According to Sonia's memoirs, this was a fake marriage, convenient for both of them: Ude was homosexual, and Sonia was under pressure from relatives who demanded that she find a husband or rather return to St. Petersburg.

It is noteworthy that it was through Uda that she met her future husband and avant-garde artist from aristocratic circles, Robert Delaunay. In August 1910, Sonia divorced Uda, in November she married Delaunay and took his last name. Soon their first child, Charles, was born. In the future, he will become a famous jazz critic, author of the first jazz discography and founder of the Hot Club de France.

One of the most influential artists on her was her 2nd husband, with whom she invented Orphism, that cubism of colors. But Sonia left the fine arts and also applied this current in other disciplines such as fashion design, books, fabrics ... even cars ... one of the first artists to really understand the twentieth century.

Perhaps one of the reasons why the invigorating color paintings of Sonia Delaunay have never been given the real credit they deserve is because she was overshadowed by the success of her 2nd husband, whose theories and paintings cast a spell over the prominent artists of the day, including Paul Klee and Kandinsky. Delaunay, a woman, was pushed into the background, just like her female contemporaries. But that isn’t to say that she didn’t trail a blaze across the art world – she did.

Her style changed radically in the early 1910s when she turned to abstraction with her 2nd husband and they invented the "simultaneity", which plays on contrasts and color dynamics. Already, Delaunay was not content to apply it to painting, she experimented on different media: she created a patchwork cradle blanket of contrasting colors, decorated a toy box, made book covers, and advertising posters.


When World War I broke out, the couple were forced to leave Paris and moved to Spain. In August 1915 they moved to Portugal and for some time lived with artists Samuel Halpert and Eduardo Viana.

After the October Revolution, Sonia lost her uncles sponsorship and the couple was on the verge of poverty, but in 1918, they received an order from the "great impresario" Sergey Dyagilev, who toured with his "Russian ballets" in Spain. She created sketches of costumes for the production of "Cleopatra" to the music of A. Arensky (Robert worked on the scenery). The premiere was a success and contributed to the appearance of many customers at the Delaunay gallery.

She opened Casa Sonia boutiques in Madrid and Bilbao in 1918, selling spectacular two-color coats, embroidered shoes, striped ballgowns that fizzed like op-art paintings long before their time (think Vivienne Westwood in the King’s Road in the 80s). She decorated nightclubs, designed bee-striped umbrellas and knitted swimming costumes that were as impractical as they were modish. She was a color-blocker long before anyone else. She worked for Zenith Watches and Le Rêve gas stoves, designed fabric for Metz and Co in Amsterdam and Liberty in London.

Always abstract and always daring to do something different to her contemporaries, Delaunay found a niche early on, and painted highly stylised shapes – often discs – that meshed together like whirlpools, spewing color back and forth in a controlled setting. Privy to all the latest color theories that were abounding at the time, Delaunay was able to breathlessly merge together complimentary colors and contrasting shapes to create paintings that are intense and stunning.

From 1944 to 1945 she lived in Toulouse with Uda and Tzara, was engaged in painting and worked on interior design projects for the headquarters of the International Red Cross.

for the most complete biographies of her http://sovremennoe-iskusstvo.ru/hudozhniki/sonya-delone



A photo of the exhibit hall in the 1937 Paris International Exhibition of Arts and Technology in Modern Life, and below, Delaunay's painting of the hall, with some other art pieces in the bottom left that may be representative of other people's art, or, her own... but quite astonishingly, are not the ones you see in the photo above, which are two of the 3 large murals she made, which I have at the top of this post, Engine and Instrument Panel


https://books.google.com/books/about/World_s_Fairs_on_the_Eve_of_War.html?id=K1rkCgAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=kp_read_button#v=onepage&q&f=false
http://artistsinspireartists.com/painting/the-unsung-art-of-sonia-delaunay
http://revistaophelia.com/sonia-delaunay/
https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/apr/18/sonia-delaunay-tate-modern-review-chic-perpetually-modern
https://artblart.com/2015/08/05/exhibition-the-ey-exhibition-sonia-delaunay-at-tate-modern-london/
http://www.gillianmcmillan.com/blog/2015/08/21/sonia-delaunay-at-tate-modern/
https://letaguldkorn.wordpress.com/2007/11/22/sonia-delaunay/

Matra 530, art design by Sonia Delaunay, Cité de l'Automobile - Mulhouse, France


French artist Sonia Delaunay painted a 530A at the special request of Matra's CEO Jean-Luc Lagardère in 1968. That same year Carrozzeria Alfredo Vignale presented a custom bodied 530 coupé at the Geneva show. The car appeared again in Turin with some modifications and a new paint scheme.


http://www.haz.de/Nachrichten/Kultur/Uebersicht/Sonia-Delaunays-Weg-von-der-Wand
https://www.flickr.com/photos/silasmodels/8014824426/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matra_530
https://letaguldkorn.wordpress.com/2007/11/22/sonia-delaunay/

the fastest production car of 1948?

Jaguar XK 120

I like to learn trivia about cars, and one of the more interesting bit of trivia is what the fastest production car of each year. 

A Connecticut man was cited for distracted driving after police mistook a McDonald’s hash brown for a cellphone, they gave him a ticket, and he challenged the charge and lost in court.

He was pulled over charged with distracted driving, because the police say he was on his phone.

He says phone records show he didn’t make any calls around the time he was pulled over, plus he has Bluetooth so has no reason to hold a phone while driving.

Lt. Jillian Cabana says the department stands by its story. “He was pulled over for talking on his cellphone and given an infraction. I’m sure his claim is different,” Lt. Cabana said, but could not comment further due to the pending case.

A Westport resident since 2007, Stiber first went to trial to fight the ticket in August before a magistrate judge, who found him guilty despite Stiber’s presentation of the phone activity records. Stiber then requested a retrial, which is set to occur at state Superior Court in Norwalk on Dec. 7.

To prepare for the retrial, Stiber hired a lawyer for $1,000, about the same price he said his driver’s insurance increased due to the ticket.

https://www.npr.org/2018/11/26/670752935/connecticut-man-says-hash-brown-got-him-into-trouble-with-police
https://fox61.com/2018/11/26/westport-driver-i-wasnt-on-my-phone-i-was-eating-a-hash-brown/
https://www.thehour.com/news/article/Westport-man-goes-to-court-over-hash-brown-dispute-13412629.php

one of the last Junkers nose dived into a mount valley recently, killed all aboard. There happened to be some hikers in the area that were quick with a video recording


The Junkers Ju 52 is a German transport aircraft manufactured from 1931 to 1952,

Since the aged Ju-52 itself has no recording devices that could explain the course of the disaster in a comprehensible way, the video is a the only evidence of what the plane was doing before impact for the investigators.

video after the link

https://www.blick.ch/news/schweiz/exklusiv-augenzeugin-filmt-crash-am-piz-segnas-hier-stuerzt-die-ju-52-ab-id15044750.html

thanks Peter!

nothing good happens after 1am on the roads

Melissa was leaving Illusions Gentlemens Club in Missouri, at 1 am, they suspect she was drunk because there were open containers in her car, and she drove 2 miles the wrong way down a street without her headlights on, until she crashed into another car head on.

She crashed into Mackenzie, who was also driving drunk, with the headlights off, and had open containers in her car.

One of the women got a broken leg and wrist, another passenger had a broken ankle and wrist.

 Sheriff Brad Cole said his department responds to calls for service at Illusions Gentleman's Club more than any other location in Christian County

To get inside Illusions, guns, knives and cell phones are not allowed, alcohol is not served to get around the state law preventing it from having completely naked dancers, and forcing it to close at 1:30 a.m, this allows dancers to strip fully nude and also allows the club to stay open later than 1:30 a.m., which is when bars must close, and those who don't want to go home come to this strip club for all night, all naked, entertainment

That means the club sees the most business of all businesses in the county, after 2am.



While Illusions is a magnet for unlawful behavior at night, the area around the club attracts a much different clientele during the day. Catty-corner to Illusions is Stonebridge Church, and the two have peacefully coexisted since 2005, said Courtney Ennis, a pastor.

However, after the firefight in October 2015 , Ennis said he and other church staff looked for bullet holes or shattered windows at Stonebridge. They didn't find any, he said.

He said that some members of the women's ministry have reached out to the club before, but "we've not really had much success."

At one point, Ennis said, women from the church went to the parking lot of Illusions Gentleman's Club to pray.

The church doesn't condone the business, but Ennis said "we want to show the people there love."

https://www.news-leader.com/story/news/local/christian-county/2016/06/22/violence-escalates-christian-county-sheriff-says-illusions-strip-club-wasting-manpower/85651578/
https://www.iheart.com/podcast/731-dsc-29668130/episode/dsc-112918-mystery-stain-found-on-30227960/  minute 105

the only black on black 1976 Lamborghini Countach LP400, and no one ever drove it much, except the factory... just kept in their private museums... only has 344 miles on it, if you'd like to trade 1.5M for it.


According to Lamborghini's records, 1120182 as noted was initially destined for Toumblast in Lebanon. The order requested the vehicle be completed in black with a black interior. This was the sole example so completed of the 150 examples built. Because of the civil war in Lebanon the order was modified and the vehicle not completed until May 14th of 1976. Shortly after completion, this LP400 was photographed during a driving test and the photo used by Lamborghini for promotional purposes.

In the Fall of 1976, this LP400 was sold and shipped to the Lamborghini Distributor in Japan where it was photographed again shortly after arriving which now showed it fitted with the required side, rear-view mirrors and larger front turn signal lamps. It remained with the Lamborghini Agent in Nagoya, Japan until finally being sold new to the first owner on December 12th, 1977. The original owner was Mitsuo Sanami of Tokyo, Japan. Sanami was a well-known Japanese celebrity and prominent car collector. He was a champion trap shooter who represented Japan in the 1964 Olympics. The car was delivered to him but not road-registered and remained un-driven during his five years of ownership.

In 1982, Sanami sold this vehicle to Isao Noritake, Japan's most famous Lamborghini collector and also the chairman and founder of the Japan Lamborghini Owner's Club. As with the previous owner, Noritake did not road-register this LP400 and it remained un-driven in his private museum until being sold to his friend Yoshiaki Okada who likewise, never drove or registered this Lamborghini.

In 1990, Noritake repurchased this LP400 and due to lack of use and servicing, had it shipped back to the Lamborghini Factory where it was given full services, and a complete repaint and fully refurbished interior. The work took two years at a cost of $160,000. The car was then returned to Noritake where it again remained un-driven and un-serviced. The odometer at this time showed just 540 original kilometers, all of which are believed to have been added solely by Lamborghini after completion and during testing and again in 1990-1992 when Lamborghini restored the vehicle for Noritake.

https://inventory.symbolicinternational.com/vehicles/182/1976-lamborghini-countach-lp400-periscopio

border wall? Not very effective in stopping sleeping bag sized packs of marijuana shot over the wall from Mexico to Arizona, with an air cannon hidden in the back of a stolen van, nor soup cans full of pot launched with t shirt guns




the above is an 100 pound load of Marijuana found in Arizona, launched over the border







Mexican federal police said in a statement last week they found such van parked on a street in Agua Prieta, Mexico, along the border with Douglas, Arizona.

It was reported stolen from the city of Hermosillo in the Mexican state of Sonora over the summer.

Images provided by the Mexican police show the black van with hole cut in its roof with a cannon in the back of the van that could fire projectiles. Authorities also said they found an air compressor apparently used to launch packages.


Guillermo Esparza, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman for the El Centro sector in Southern California, told The Washington Post that air cannons are similar to potato guns or T-shirt launchers, using built-up air pressure to launch drugs, such as marijuana, over the border.

Above story was from 2016

https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/a22958/van-with-cannon-shoot-drugs-to-us/
https://www.businessinsider.com/mexican-narco-drug-cannon-discovered-across-border-from-arizona-2016-9
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/09/19/mexican-police-found-a-homemade-bazooka-that-may-have-launched-contraband-over-the-border
https://globalnews.ca/news/3696705/giant-marijuana-bundle-over-us-mexico-border/
https://abcnews.go.com/US/smugglers-attempt-drugs-contraband-border/story?id=42218894


below story is from Nov 2017





In Agua Prieta, Sonora, elements of the Secretariat of National Defense (Sedena) in coordination with personnel of the Criminal Investigation Agency (AIC), secured more than 800 kilos of marijuana, cartridges, chargers and a bazooka.

in 2012 Border Patrol found nearly three dozen canisters filled with 85 pounds of marijuana near Yuma, Ariz. and after smugglers in Mexico used a pneumatic-powered cannon to shoot the drugs 500 feet across the border.


the 2012 cans of pot in a Yuma Arizona field

There were 30 large cans of marijuana found in a field near Yuma, Ariz., — and that the cans apparently landed there after being fired from a pneumatic-powered cannon 500 feet away in Mexico. The pot totaled about 85 pounds and "was valued at $42,500,"

https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/11/14/564050813/drug-shooting-bazooka-seized-in-mexico-as-smugglers-aim-skyward
https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2012/12/12/167065545/flying-high-cans-filled-with-marijuana-shot-across-border-from-cannon
https://twitter.com/NTelevisa_com/status/930461610707247104/photo/1
https://noticieros.televisa.com/ultimas-noticias/aseguran-mas-800-kilos-marihuana-cartuchos-y-bazuca-sonora/
https://tucson.com/news/local/pot-shooting-bazooka-found-near-arizona-border/article_393f70cc-caff-11e7-81a6-23d948b26ce8.html

years ago I posted this



http://www.2oceansvibe.com/2013/02/28/when-drug-smugglers-take-the-direct-approach-presenting-the-marijuana-cannon/

Oscar Koveleski



His M8B McLaren Can Am carwas criticized by the SCCA for it's paint scheme, as they had a rule limiting how much body space could be used for advertising.... he told them "it's just racing stripes"




Oscar Koveleski can be accurately described with two words – speed, and passion. His love of speed started early. As a youngster, Oscar had a passion for model cars and airplanes. He learned to fly at age 9, and at 18 he joined the Philadelphia Region of the SCCA.

His first win came in a 1951 SCCA Regional race at Bone Stadium in Pittston, Pennsylvania. He raced regularly through the 50s and 60s in SCCA Regional and National Races, as well as the 12 hours of Sebring and the 24 hours of Daytona.


in the Ferrari he bought from Andy Warhol

In 1970, he won the ASR National Championship at Road Atlanta, beating 27-time National Champion Jerry Hansen by just one-tenth of a second. From 1969 through 1972, Oscar was a regular competitor in SCCA Can-Am action, with his orange “Car 54” one of the most recognized cars in the series.

Finished second in the Cannonball Baker Sea-to-Shining Sea Memorial Trophy Dash with teammates Tony Adamowicz and Brad Niemcek – all founders/perpetrators of the infamous PRDA (Polish Race Drivers Assoc) in the Chevy van loaded with 5 drums of 130 octane racing gas.

The PRDA van made one seven-minute fuel stop. The Ferrari consumed 240 gallons of fuel averaging 80 mph; the PRDA van used 356 gallons while traveling a slightly shorter route and averaging about 3 mph less.


the 1st name on the front fender Tony Adamowicz, known affectionately as Tony A2Z, worked as a White House staffer for the Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson administrations when he suddenly got the urge to drive racing cars. His talent quickly became obvious – he won the Under 2.0-liter portion of the SCCA Trans Am championship in 1968. He also won a championship in Formula 5000 against world-class competition, and in a Ferrari 512, scored podium finishes in 24-hour contests at both Daytona and Le Mans.

Looking for a way to contribute to better safety for drivers, he joined the board of directors of the Motor Racing Safety Society. Oscar served on the Board of Directors for the SCCA, and promoted SCCA races at Pocono Raceway from 1980 to 1996.

Best known for creating Auto World in 1958, Oscar Koveleski became the man about slot cars, model cars, and radio control cars and remained so for over 30 years. He introduced a countless number of children to racing, both in person and through his mail order catalog that sold model and slot cars beginning in 1958. Oscar contributed to a love of cars and racing early in a child’s life, and many future racers got their start at home thanks to his Auto World catalog.

https://www.scca.com/pages/oscar-kovaleski
http://oscarkoveleski.com/
https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2016/12/oscar-koveleskis-can-am-car-was.html
https://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2016/12/andy-warhol-had-one-rare-ferrari-he.html
http://www.rrdc.org/member/oscar-koveleski/
https://www.caranddriver.com/archives/the-cannonball-baker-sea-to-shining-sea-memorial-trophy-dash-archived-feature-some-kind-of-milestone-in-modern-automotive-annals-page-3