finished painting

in an earlier post i mentioned that my dad was dabbling in abstract impressionism. i just wanted to post my dad's finished piece of artwork. this picture really doesn't do the painting justice. the painting consists of a large amount of paint that creates a highly marbleized effect. i absolutely love this painting. i personally feel that it is one of my dad's best paintings ever.

song alert: jay-z ft. santogold: brooklyn go hard

Jay-Z on iLike - Get updates inside iTunes

this is a new jay-z song that kanye west produced. i think it is pretty cool especially the santogold part. it kind of bugs me that jay-z is rapping like little wayne a little bit, but i figured it was worth posting. i also think this video is pretty creative. it is very simple yet entertaining. supposedly this song is going to be featured in the new notorious biopic.

artist alert: richard diebenkorn

while i was home over the break my dad decided to paint a picture that could be displayed on our living room wall. my mom had been going to every home boutique imaginable trying to find something that could hang on the living room wall. out of my moms frustration, my dad volunteered to paint something that could be displayed on the wall. my mom decided that she wanted something different. she didn't want to display a traditional painting. my dad decided to study some artists in order to gain inspiration for the project. needless to say, my father discovered a true gem. he introduced me to an artist name richard diebenkorn. most consider diebenkorn as an abstract expressionist, but his works that truly interest me are his paintings of cityscapes, people, and objects rather than his large design based abstract pieces of work. please check out his work. you will not be disappointed.

richard diebenkorn wikipedia

artist alert: ray mortenson

i really don't know much about this guy. i was reading through the new york times yesterday and i saw an article about a photography project that he conducted between 1982 and 1984. he basically decided to enter parts of the bronx that were so deteriorated and destructed that they represented war torn areas like dresden. he documented his experience in these ravaged areas through a series of pictures that is now being displayed in new york. the picture i have included is one that i found particularly interesting. i have also attached a link to the article in the times.

ray mortenson new york time article

mustache monday!!!

so over thanksgiving break most of the guys in my masters program decided to grow mustaches. on monday morning when we finally got back to school we got together and compared "staches". i got the award for "never grow that mustache again." i was pretty proud of my accomplishment.

book alert: the brief and wondrous life of oscar wao

since i have had a little extra time over thanksgiving break i have tried to do a little reading. i picked up this book a while ago, but i haven't been able to give it any attention till now. i'm only about 75 pages into it, but i am actually enjoying it. the book incorporates a lot of spanish into the text. for those of you you that don't speak spanish this might be a little bit of a problem. since i have only read a little bit of this book i attached the link to the nytimes review. check out the review and if it sounds cool than definitely check out the book!!!!

ny times book review of the brief and wondrous life of oscar wao

please watch this!!!

i really couldn't resist posting this!!! kanye west is simply amazing. he might say a lot of stupid stuff, but i can put up with it as long as he keeps pushing the limits of creativity. the part when young jeezy comes in is pretty sweet. whether you like rap or not you need to check this out!!!!