12.24.2009

Nurtured by the Power and the Glory of the Mushroom

special thanks to Duccio di Buoninsegna, ca 1295-1300

So why do people bring Pine trees into their houses at the Winter Solstice....and place brightly colored (Red and White) packages under the boughs to give each other as a token of their love and as a representation of the Love of Mother Nature and the gift of Baby Jesus? In nature, under the tree is where you will find the "Most Sacred" Substance.

The Amanita muscaria mushroom grows in a Symbiotic/Mycorhizal relationship with the Pine tree. This means they grow always underneath the tree. People symbolically place gifts under the tree at Christmas, mimicking the act of Mother Nature who places the mushroom under the tree. Winter brings rains... Rains bring mushrooms...look under the pine trees, and what you will find under them unlocks the Key Mysteries of the Universe.

The mushroom is symbolic for the Jesus' virgin birth. Like the mushroom, baby Jesus grew without seed and his appearance was thought to be Miraculous because of this. Remember that the Reindeer eat these mushrooms, that is how they can fly....so much more Christmas mushroom lore...

12.14.2009

Charis Wilson: Pulling Even with Weston



Charis Wilson, model and writer, died on November 20th, aged 95.

"Everything they [Charis Wilson and Edward Weston] did in the 11 burning years they were together was good collaborative work, at least as far as she was concerned. The notion of a muse was nonsense to her, a passive thing. She knew exactly what she was doing"…

The unsung contributions of the collaborator/models who made men's photo careers has always rankled us but The Economist rectifies this in it's tribute to her.

Photo: Charis Wilson, 1937 by Edward Weston

12.08.2009

The Unveiling of the Sistine Chapel Ceiling


We commemorated the 500th anniversary
of the unveiling of the Sistine Chapel Ceiling

November 1509 

Vatican City, Italy

with our series Dialogues with Michelangelo.

See more at www.ciurejlochmanphoto.com


12.07.2009

Designing the Perfect Holiday


Our fellow changing women, Bette Cerf Hill and Anne Ream,  are hosting a benefit/auction this Friday, December 11 from 8-11pm,  Designing the Perfect Holiday for the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation and the Voices and Faces Project. We are donating a print to benefit both organization’s innovative work. Come to shop and sip champagne and eat chocolates as we support their work to stop sexual violence and exploitation.

12.04.2009

The Height of Our Powers

There are many ways to view women at the height of their powers, here are two more ways we see ourselves:

Simone Lueck, The Once and Future Queens
http://simonelueck.com/queens_a.html

Cindy Sherman, New Photographs at Gagosian Gallery, summer 2009

Guerrilla Girls: Feminist Masked Avengers


Since 1985, the Guerrilla Girls have dedicated themselves to exposing sexism, racism, and corruption in the art world, the film industry, and popular culture.  The Guerrilla Girls  inspire us to create our own acts of aesthetic resistance. 
Listen to the podcast from the Guerrilla Girls recent visit to the Museum of Contemporary Art.