Marvin Gaye

Marvin Gaye would have been 71 years old today. He created beautiful, joyous, and heart-wrenching music. Few artists can approach the talent of this man (IMO, Stevie is one of the very few). Above is my favorite clip, notice the completely entranced, even hypnotized, audience...

Textures - red

It has been a while, this is true. What is also true is that I love pictures with texture. It doesn't necessarily have to be pretty, but if a photograph conjures up a certain taste, touch or smell, not always necessarily a pleasant one, then I will most certainly be drawn to it. It not only looks like life, but it reminds me of life. It also reminds me that I'm not the only one who notices the fabric of a pair of red stockings, and how it shimmers down to a pair of equally red leather pumps. Red on red. Like in the photograph below. This outfit can easily be deemed quite ugly, but the picture calls attention to the liveliness of it in its drab surroundings. It makes me uncomfortable, just thinking about wearing those tights makes me itchy, but the pic also captures the various textures in play: the cheap carpeting, the leather armrest, the suit pants - and then the audaciousness of red on red on red - bright red at that. Mainly it reminded me of that feeling when you are in a crowd, say waiting to board a train or on line at the grocery, and you are looking down and notice something that leads you to think, "What?" But you like it, you like that someone can do that. And I like that this lady dressed up like this. And I like that the photographer noticed and took a picture, exactly from that angle of surreptitiously noticing something in derision and delight.

It is titled "Vienna, Austria, 2001" by Gueorgui Pinkhassov:
















And here's another, by the same photographer, red on red. Such a powerful color. I had a similar leotard as a child in dance class, and the contrast of the bright red with the stark white stockings, and the black dance shoes thrilled me. This is a beautiful photo of texture, light, and lines. It's titled, "Paris. Palais Garnier, 2001."