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gerryconway · 5 years

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Stan the Man

Since the news of Stan Lee's death I've wanted to write something meaningful about my own feelings for him, what he represented to me as a creator and as a human being, and what kind of impact his life had on my life. For many reasons (I was dislocated by the Woolsley Fire and haven't fully settled down since our return) I haven't had a chance to give such an in-depth appraisal much thought. Honestly, I doubt I could do a full appraisal of Stan's importance in my life even under the best of circumstances. His work and presence as an icon and as a human being helped form who I am today. To write a full appreciation of Stan I'd have to write my autobiography.

Among my most vivid childhood memories is my discovery of the Fantastic Four with issue 4, the first appearance of the Sub-Mariner. I was nine years old, and I'd been a comic book reader for years at that point. I knew about Superman, I knew about Batman, I'd read the early issues of Justice League. I was a compulsive reader, voracious (still am)-- devoting hours a day to books and stories and comics and even my parents' newspapers. (Both my parents were avid readers. My dad read science fiction, my mom loved mysteries.) I vividly recall the astonished joy I felt when my mom took me to our local library and got me my first library card. I was six, I think, and the reality of a roomful of books just for kids seemed like a gift from heaven. I won all the reading awards at school-- any competition for reading the most books in a year was over as far as I was concerned the first week. By nine, I'd already graduated from "age appropriate" books for pre-teens to Heinlein's juveniles, Asimov's robot stories, and the collected Sherlock Holmes stories of Arthur Conan Doyle. I was a total reading nerd.

And then came Fantastic Four.

I've never been hit by lightning but I have to imagine the shock might be similar to what I experienced reading that early adventure of Reed Richards, Sue Storm, her kid brother Johnny, and Ben Grimm. If you weren't a comic book reader at that time you cannot imagine the impact those stories had. There's nothing comparable in the modern reader's experience of comics-- nothing remotely as transformative. (To be fair, I suppose both "The Dark Knight Returns" and "Watchmen" come close, but both remarkable works built on prior tradition and were perhaps a fulfillment of potential and creative expectations. The Fantastic Four was _sui generis_.) Over a series of perhaps five issues, a single year, Stan and Jack Kirby transformed superhero comics in an act of creative alchemy similar to transmuting lead into gold, and just as unlikely.

They also changed my life. Because Stan credited himself as writer and Jack as artist, he opened my nine year old eyes to a possibility I'd never really considered before: I could be something called a comic book "writer" or "artist."

Think about that, for a moment. Before Stan regularly began giving credits to writers and artists, comics (with a few exceptions) were produced anonymously. Who wrote and drew Superman? Who wrote and drew Donald Duck? Who wrote and drew Archie? Who knew? (Serious older fans knew, of course, but as far as the average reader or disinterested bystander knew, most comics popped into existence spontaneously, like flowers, or in some eyes, weeds.)

Stan did more than create a fictional universe, more than create an approach to superhero storytelling and mythology-- he created the concept of comic book story creation itself. Through his promotion of the Marvel Bullpen, with his identification of the creative personalities who wrote and drew Marvel's books, he sparked the idea that writing and drawing comics was something ordinary people did every day. (Yes, yes, to a degree Bill Gaines had done something similar with EC Comic's in-house fan pages, but let's be honest, EC never had the overwhelming impact on a mass audience that Marvel had later.) He made the creation of comic book stories something anyone could aspire to do _as a potential career_.

That's huge. It gave rise to a generation of creative talent whose ambition was to create comics. Prior to the 1960s, writing and drawing comic books wasn't something any writer or artist generally aspired to (obviously there were exceptions). Almost every professional comic book artist was an aspiring newspaper syndicated strip artist or an aspiring magazine illustrator. (Again, there were exceptions.) Almost every professional comic book writer was also a writer for pulp magazines or paperback thrillers. (Edmond Hamilton, Otto Binder, Gardner Fox, so many others-- all wrote for the pulps and paperbacks.) Comic book careers weren't something you aimed to achieve; they were where you ended up when you failed to reach your goal.

Even Stan, prior to the Fantastic Four, felt this way. It's an essential part of his legend: he wanted to quit comics because he felt it was stifling his creative potential, but his wife, Joan, suggested an alternative. Write the way you want to write. Write what you want to write. Write your own truth.

He did, and the rest, as the saying goes, is history.

When I picked up that issue of Fantastic Four, I was a nine year old boy with typical nine year old boy fantasies about what my life would be. Some were literal fantasies: I'd suggested to my dad a year or so earlier that we could turn the family car into the Batmobile and he could be Batman and I could be Robin and we could fight crime. After he passed on that idea I decided we could be like the Hardy family-- he could be a detective and I could be his amateur detective son, either Frank or Joe. Later I became more realistic and figured I could become an actor who played Frank or Joe Hardy in a Hardy Boy movie. In fact, by nine, my most realistic career fantasies involved either becoming an actor or an astronaut, and of the two, astronaut seemed like the more practical choice.

Stan and Marvel Comics gradually showed me a different path, a different possible career. By making comic books cool, by making them creatively enticing, and by making the people who created comics _real_ to readers-- Stan created the idea of a career creating comics.

Stan alone did this. We can argue over other aspects of his legacy-- debate whether he or his several collaborators were more important in the creation of this character or that piece of mythology-- but we can't argue about this. Without Stan's promotion of his fellow creatives at Marvel there would have been no lionizing of individual writers and artists in the 1960s. Without that promotion there would have been no visible role models for younger, future creators to emulate. Yes, some of us would still have wanted to create comics-- but I'd argue that the massive explosion of talent in the 1970s and later decades had its origin in Stan's innovative promotion of individual talents during the 1960s.

Nobody aspires to play in a rock band if they've never heard of a rock band. The Marvel Bullpen of the 1960s was comicdom's first rock band.

That was because of Stan.

For me, Stan's presence in the world gave direction and purpose to my creative life, and my creative life has given meaning and purpose to my personal life. I am the man I am today, and I've lived the life I've lived, because of him. From the age of nine on, I've followed the path I'm on because of Stan Lee. (So much of my personal life is entangled in choices I've made as a result of my career it's impossible for me to separate personal from professional.)

My personal relationship with Stan, which began when I was seventeen years old, is more complex and less enlightening. It's a truism your heroes always disappoint you, and I was often disappointed by Stan. Yet I never stopped admiring him for his best qualities, his innate goodness, his creative ambition and unparalleled instincts. People often asked me, "What's Stan really like?" For a long time I had a cynical answer, but in recent years I realized I was wrong. The Stan you saw in the media was, in fact, the real Stan: a sweet, earnest, basically decent man who wanted to do the right thing, who was as astounded by his success as anyone, and who was just modest enough to mock himself to let us know he was in on the joke. I imagine Stan was grateful for the luck of being the right man at the right place at the right time-- but it's true he _was_ the right man. No one else could have done what he did. The qualities of ego and self-interest that I sometimes decried in him were the same qualities needed for him to fulfill the role he played. In typical comic book story telling, his weaknesses were his strengths. And his strengths made him a legend and a leader for all who came after him-- particularly me.

This has been a rambling appreciation, I know. Scattered and disjointed. Like I said, trying to describe the impact Stan had on my life would require an autobiography.

When I started thinking about Stan in light of his death I realized, for the first time (and isn't this psychologically interesting?) that Stan was born just a year after my father. When I met him, as a teenager struggling with my own father as almost all teenage boys do, Stan probably affected me as a surrogate father figure. Unlike my own father, Stan was a symbol of the possibilities of a creative life. He was a role model for creative success, like other older men in my life at the time. But unlike them, he'd been a part of my life since I was nine years old. A surrogate father in fantasy before he partly became one in reality.

Now he's gone. Part of me goes with him, but the greater part of me, the life I've led and built under his influence, remains.

Like so much of the pop culture world we live in, I'm partly Stan's creation.

'Nuff said.

#stan lee #comics #superhero #pop culture #Spider-Man #punisher #creators

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willandsonny · 7 years

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Freddie Smith, Christopher Sean Talk ‘Days of our Lives’ Double Wedding

It’s (double) wedding day in Salem! Days of our Lives is airing a packed two-day double wedding on September 29 and October 2 featuring Chad (Billy Flynn) and Abigail (Marci Miller) and Paul (Christopher Sean) and Sonny (Freddie Smith).

It’s first loves united for Paul and Sonny, affectionately known as PaulSon, who’s pre-Salem romance has taken center stage over the last year. Freddie Smith and Christopher Sean spoke with TV Source Magazine earlier today about their alter ego’s nuptials, fan appeal and a reveal that will shake PaulSon to their core!

Fans are super excited about Paul and Sonny’s wedding. How do you feel about Paul and Sonny’s journey from the beginning of their relationship to now?

Freddie Smith: I think we’re right on course. I think that they have grown and that they’re in love and this is the next step. I think there’s a lot of great moments, and one of them is when Paul gave Sonny his ring, which was like one of the most important things to him and it was kind of really sweet for him to give that to Sonny. Paul wasn’t a fan of marriage at first, so the fact that he’s come around because of love and he’s come out to the world, it’s been really beautiful. I’m excited for them to tie the knot.

How do you feel about Paul’s journey from when he first came to Salem to now?

Christopher Sean: I think Paul’s journey from being closeted to coming out and then finally being able to accept himself and then being lucky enough to be with the person that he’s loved from the beginning – his first and true love – I think that’s just…how can you ask for a better journey? I��m really excited for tomorrow’s episode because Freddie knocks it out of the park, and [Billy] and [Marci] look so beautiful. And I really loved the work that I put out there. I think everyone will really enjoy what we did.

I think they will too. One of our readers commented how pleased they were with Paul interacting more with his family since Ron Carlivati took over as head writer, and one of our columnists praised the scenes where Paul approached John and Marlena for help with his vows. How did you feel being able to work with Drake Hogestyn and Deidre Hall for something that was so important to your character, and given their importance to the show?

Sean: I spent hours in the dressing room with Drake. We just sit and talk and we have so much fun. He tells so many stories and I love them. He really has become like a father figure to me on and off set. I’ll text him at baseball games ‘Hey man, I wish you were here,’ and he’ll respond, ‘Go get em, Narita’ joking with me [laughs]. And Deidre, I mean, she’s the queen. So to be working with legends it’s just…amazing. To see them and watch them have flash backs and recollect their career, it was pretty amazing. To be able to be lucky enough to be able to take from their vows and to apply to my own, to be inspired from their vows – John and Marlena – it was very cool. Another iconic moment in my career.

What’s one of your favorite things about working with Freddie? Sean: Freddie, himself, is inspirational. Working with Freddie, I’m so comfortable in our professionalism. I’m so comfortable with him as a person that I can just be me and it’s great. Like, I show up to set and I can be silly, I can be in a bad mood – whatever mood I’m in – he works with and he molds and he always guides me to be the best me that day because he’s just so good at acting. So there’s nothing wrong with working with Freddie.

Smith: Oh wow [laughs]. Keep going!

Sean: [Laughs]

Freddie, what’s your favorite things about working with Christopher? Smith: I mean it’s the same. It’s a two-way road there. The moment he screen-tested and just how kind and genuine he was, all the way through our journey together. And like Christopher mentioned, in the three and a half years maybe that we’ve been working together, our friendship has grown. And it wasn’t like we like made a mission to put in work on the characters, or the work on Christopher and Freddie. Like it just kind of happened organically. I think before we knew it we looked back one day and go “Damn, like Paul and Sonny are just an amazing couple.” And Christopher and I, the things that we share in our dressing rooms together, you know we trust each other and we get each other’s advice and we just have a really great relationship. Like, Christopher is going to be an absolute lifetime friend and he’s just one of the most genuine, big-hearted people that I just respect and he’s the greatest guy. So, I’m very blessed to get to work with him. He challenges me and makes me a better actor.

Why do you think Paul and Sonny have resonated with fans the way they have?

Smith: I think it’s just right. I don’t even know how to describe it. Because it came out of nowhere. I feel like there was so much off the cusp of [Will and Sonny], you know? We made such a big splash, we made history with this amazing true love story. And then with Will being murdered and Sonny going back to his first love, it was that transition that was ‘what’s going to happen’ and it was just a smash hit. Like PaulSon is awesome. It’s great to watch you know. I think the chemistry is there and they just work well together.

Last week there were scenes that aired with you and Billy Flynn where Sonny recounted his guilt over Will’s death. “If only” he had just been there, “if only” he had returned the call. How was that for you? I mean, it was a really emotional scene and I thought you did great work in it. Does that come naturally for you now or do you still have to get yourself in the zone to hit those emotional moments?

Smith: I think it’s 50-50. I think a lot of it has to do with you know these characters so well that I think that naturally helps. If it was just a random audition scene I think more homework would have had to go into it because I don’t know the relationship and history. So, I think being able to live in this character for so many years helps. I think the mood that you just happened to organically be in that day plays a role into it, and then the other percentage is really understanding and putting yourself in the position of just how much guilt he had. So, I think it’s 33 percent. All three categories kinda go into making an emotional performance. If it happens to be a huge bawling scene where you’re full of tears, then it’s more, for me, like 75 percent of having to dig in and pull from something that makes me sad to get there. But everything else since to be 33-33-33.

What can you tease, if any, about the bombshell dropped at the wedding and how it will impact Paul and Sonny going forward?

Smith: It’s definitely going to turn them upside down. It’s hard to touch on emotionally what Sonny feels because I feel like it’s a giveaway of the emotion, but it’s definitely going to turn things around and it’s going to challenge the relationship. That’s where we’re really going to see the strength of PaulSon. Is this going to bond them for life or is it going to break them apart?

Sean: To tease, I can say Paul will never…aw, man how do I tease this? It’s shocking news that shakes the foundation of Paulson [laughs]. I don’t know what to say!

source

#christopher sean #freddie smith #days of our lives #paulson #will and sonny #spoilers #interviews #freddieinterviews #csinterviews

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titleknown · 7 years

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TITLEWave Character Re-Imaginings...

Welp, in the tradition of @dimetrodone I decided I might as well write up copyrighted fictional characters as how they’d exist in my TITLEWave setting.

But, as both a challenge and a proof-of-why-it-needs-to-happen, I’ll be restricting it to copyrighted characters from 1960 and earlier ala my idea of 56 or Bust. Because WHY THE HECK NOT?!

Past the break, because this is gettin loooooong.

Astro Boy- Essentially one of the earliest robots establishing a lot of the groundwork both AI and construction-wise for the androids of TITLEWave, despite his dubious origins as the product of a deranged scientist trying to recreate his lost son Astro’s ended up kind of an icon. So much of what he’s done laid the groundwork for what few rights robots had in this setting, and there’s even some minor religions amongst synthetics in this setting in his name

But, when the world needed him, he vanished. And robot rights backslid, often attributed in large part to a world without his influence. Only to reappear decades later, with no memory of where he had been; except for being trapped in some strange; dark place. And now, having upgraded thanks to years of interest on a bank account set up under his long-dead adoptive father’s name, he works as he always has to try to set the world right, to bring the balance between machines and humans.

Of course, while there are many who profit off the exploitation of sentient machines and present him with a handshake in front but a dagger behind their backs, there are also plenty of new allies for Astro, given the fact that he’s a living legend amongst the robotic community, and there’re a lot of people who’ve been inspired to their own heroism by him

Godzilla- Essentially created less from acts of massive war violence as much as years of societal violence, on a huge New Jersey industrial company town dedicated to the repurposing of nuclear materials and chemical waste into useful products, in a process both grueling; dehumanising and lethally toxic for those on the bottom and a nightmare of crunchtime working conditions for those doing the engineering/research. Said process became essentially automated more and more; leaving more and more people out of work and creating a massive underclass; located right by the heavily polluted coastline.

The problem started when they tried to “purge” said underclass, at first via subtler means by neglect cranking up the pollution levels to unsustainable limits, then by more blatant means, such as experimental toxins and random police experimental-gassings. And, this further added to the primordial nightmare-soup to the point where company scientist Doctor Serizawa tried to raise the alarm about the unsettling; violent biological mutations his research team found in there. To no avail. And then, one night, during the largest gassing raids in historyu; The Midway Street Massacre, the creature came.

Serizawa did eventually destroy it with the Oxygen Destroyer, and sacrifice himself to do so, though millions of lives were lost including several of the company’s highest executives. Curiously, most of the attacks by the creature were centered on the wealthiest areas of the city, much to their chagrin.

But, the story diverges from the fact that, when company scientists came to inspect things, they found the creature’s flesh was growing back onto its bones. And, then they had the alledgedly-brilliant idea to bring it onto land and cyborgize the regeneration creature. This went as well as you’d expect.

The escaped creature now wanders the country, less vicious than its original appearance and now treated more like a natural disaster than a kill-this-abomination-now-level threat. One wonders what goes through its head. Those who have made mental contact with it seem to indicate a creature that is lonely, and in pain. Because like those others living in where it was created, it too is a victim in its own way.

And, there are worrying signs from that original company, because not only do they still posess tissue samples of the creature’s cells, but also there are whispers of whole new strains of creatures they found mutated from the results of the Oxygen Destroyer….

Gandalf/Sauron- A wandering robot that looks superficially like some cheap carnival animatronic of an old man, only to reveal incredibly powerful technology beneath his surface; if it even is technology as we know it. He’s a wise mentor-type to heroic types he finds, but he has an agenda of his own as well.

It involves stopping a similar; but more powerful machine called Sauron, whose original body was destroyed, but who lives on in fragments of his corpus and AI cores; in particular one TITLE-like divice simply known as The Ring.

Nobody really knows where they came from, when asked Gandalf says he simply answers to “A higher authority”

Rick Blaine- Or, rather, Rikki Blaine. Formerly an uninvolved bystander for years running her bar in a place that was essentially a waypoint for those trying to escape from various nightmarish megacorp-owned city states, she finally was spurred to involvement after an old flame of his came with her leftist freedom-fighter husband, which ultimately ended not only in heris aiding in their escape; but also him finding a reason to live; and skimming off a high-level megacorp official to her cause too.

Now she runs an organization called the “Casablanca Foundation” to help people escape not just from Megacorp-states but also the places that are megacorp-states in all but name; or even just generally bad situations. If you know who to call, you can find her.

Bugs Bunny- Called by many nicknames including “the abortion of this age” and “the rough beast Yeats spoke of,” nobody knows where the fuck Bugs Bunnycame from. The best guess of most is that it’s a confluence of multiple biological and parapsychological factors ending up affecting one normal North American rabbit. It is also theorized they came from Brooklyn due to their distinctive accent.

Bugs is essentially an incredibly powerful humanoid lapine organism, unable to permanently die even when flattened; exploded; burned; eaten; chopped to bits; ectcetera, and with remarkable abilities of mental power despite his screwball attitude towards life; with the ability to defy the laws of physics without conscious thought and bar-none high-level abilities of spacial reasoning and behavioral prediction. And able to disguise themselves better than you’d think.

Originally they were much more terrifyingly chaotic, but nowadays they have rules they seem to follow. Namely; no retribution unless either they are provoked or somebody they like gets hurt and no killing. Other than that, if you piss them off there will be hell to pay.

Though, if you can get on their good side (Which is easier than most people think) they can be a jovial; steadfast friend (Albeit one with an often overly-massive ego with a tendency to be overly cocky and quick to fight) and a powerful ally. And, as you can guess by my use of pronouns, they happen to be genderfluid. Because Bugs Bunny

Superman- Despite a more neon 80s-tacular costume, complete with badass bounty-hunter-y mask, he’s still fundamentally Superman, helping people against problems too great for mortal people. He’s the only “proper” superhero in this setting in fact; and while everyone wonders what his real agenda is, nobody suspects that he’s just as genuine as he seems, a Jewish guy from the sticks who happened to be found in a crashed rocketship by a couple of farmers who’s trying to bring Tikkum Olam to the world. Though his reporting is more for television, he still works to report the news of the world at the Daily Star webcast.

Of course, there are a few differences. Like the fact that underneath his human appearance is an anatomy that is far off from human, with him only looking human thanks to the “rebirthing machine” in that original ship that altered him; and in fact perhaps other Kryptonians still out there; into the appearance of the planet’s dominant species.

And, there’s also the fact; with the research into the strange crystal technology linked to his planet and its lethally radioactive corrupted form known as Kryptonite, he’s found that they weren’t quite restricted to one planet. In fact, they were an interplanetary civilization, leaping across solar systems. And then, all at once, they were destroyed. But he’s never been able to find an answer as to by who or by what, or why seemingly relatively so relatively few of them were able to escape. And the few leads bring up disquieting possibilities...

You may ask, why not make expies just like these descriptions?

And I probably will do that in the future with these ideas. But; thing is; there’s power in legacies. There’s power in Superman being a shining neon light in this vicious future, there’s power in Astro Boy coming to set right what has fallen apart in his absence, there is power in Godzilla as the wrath of societal violence, and so-on.

And, while I agree with the truth that even if things are public domain they need to be treated with respect, that’s an argument I’d say for the public domain rather than against it.

Also, if you want to support further content like this, maybe throw a few bucks my way on my Patreon! This was actually decided from two ideas via a poll for those five-dollar donors, and there’ll probably be more in the future...

#titlewave #reimagined #re-imagining #worldbuilding #synthwave aesthetic #copyright #56 or bust #my writing #my art

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sustainhealthmagazine · 5 years

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Thirty abstract figurative oil paintings explore what successful people are willing to put themselves through in order to succeed

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BRIT artist Lincoln Townley today announces he has sold out his ‘Behind The Mask’ collection which is showing at the world famous La Biennale exhibition in Venice.

The London born artist’s biggest show to date was unveiled last month at the prestigious Palazzo Bembo on The Grand Canal.

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The collection of thirty abstract figurative oil paintings explored what successful people are willing to put themselves through in order to succeed.

The powerful paintings, some reaching sizes of over 8 feet square, will be on display to the world’s art lovers and buyers in Venice from May 14 - November 24 but they have now ALL sold to international buyers in less than a month.

The astonishing ‘Sell Out’ show at the prestigious location has broken all records for Lincoln with sales far exceeding the £5m expected figure. Lincoln now he has his sights on his autumn show a London’s highly respected Saatchi Gallery.

The La Bienale exhibition took eight months in planning and even before the show opened over 80 per cent of the Behind The Mask had already been allocated to international art collectors. The rest quickly followed.

Lincoln Townley said: “When I take part in an art show I see it as a show not a sales opportunity, it helps with the promotion of my brand but not sales directly as I believe great artists sell work between shows. I had sold 80% of my show at Palazzo Bembo in Venice before we even put the works in a crate to travel to the exhibition. I connect directly with my clients, I don’t lean on my galleries and hope for the best, I make things happen daily. Art collectors are interested in where an artist has come from and what they are doing now but more importantly they want to know what is next for the artist; therefore I’m more interested in moving onto my next show of works.

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Selling out my show at La Biennale means I can now focus on my next move which is showing works in Chelsea’s Saatchi Gallery this September.

“My next collection Greed which explores how greed is not just good its great! Directing ones greed in a creative and commercial manner can only deliver exciting results and I want to celebrate this with my new works which even though I’m only just finishing at my London studio we are already marketing and taking orders directly through using WhatsApp and Instagram to connect with buyers directly. My need for physical galleries is disappearing completely, I promote myself as an artist just as interested in the art of selling equal to the art of creating my collection of works. I’m interested in success and the adage made famous in the film Wall Street - Greed is good!”

Lincoln Townley said of the Mask collection: “I’m interested in people who take risks and go at life guns blazing. These characters hardly ever show you what’s going on behind the mask yet continue to drain every ounce out of life in their own very unique and robust way.

“They charge forward providing the power to keep their human machine moving towards their own definition of glory. Painting drives thoughts in my mind that wrap around the suggestion that the human race is obsessed with success, fame and fortune. This pattern is extremely exciting but only a few have the mental and physical platform to pull it off, if someone is not well enough equipped they then take incredible risks to achieve this goal.

“In some of my paintings the figure is achieving, striving and winning but in many the lack of direction and increase in ego will lead to dire circumstances which inevitably lead to pain and suffering; something I see as extremely beautiful when portrayed as a painting. These people constantly walk a tightrope, in most cases they are bravely or foolishly walking into the unknown. Personally I hate a risk free life, I see my personal pursuit weighed down with pushing out so hard I’m bound to fail at some things but achieve hugely in others, because by taking risks even when I fail, I learn.

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“I often gravitate toward charismatic extroverts, when you look at my work you can see the figures toiling and scheming. My work is difficult for most to live with but I have an incredible satisfaction of knowing those who thrive in this mad world of personal gain that they immediately see themselves in my work.”

Multi-millionaire Townley’s dramatic rise to fame in the global art market has seen him grow from six years ago to today where his work sells for in excess of £1million.

Lincoln has been commissioned to paint many of the world’s biggest icons including Charlie Sheen, Al Pacino, Sir Michael Caine and his original oil paintings of demons drawn from the unconscious mind, have been exhibited at major international galleries including the National Gallery and the Royal Academy of Arts in London, Los Angeles and the Brisbane Powerhouse.

The portraits of stars Lincoln has painted also include the annual BAFTA honourees, Dame Judi Dench, John Cleese, Kate Moss, Charlie Sheen, Russell Brand, Leonardo Di Caprio, Marlon Brando, Princess Diana, Mohammed Ali, David Bowie, Pele, Ronaldinho and many others.

Lincoln painted Sir Michael Caine and his wife Shakira, after presenting him the painting the legendary actor said: "There's no doubt in my opinion that Lincoln is the next Andy Warhol."

Two years ago Lincoln sold a diamond encrusted portrait of the late Princess Diana for a personal record-breaking £1million, beating his previous record of £510,000 set by his painting of Mohammed Ali. The Princess Diana painting, a huge two metre square oil and acrylic spray on linen, had over £100,000 worth of diamonds embedded into the canvas to give a spectacular finish.

Townley sold one of his major ‘Hell’ works using the cryptocurrency Bitcoin for over half a million pounds will use the Venice exhibition to unveil his Behind The Mask collection, valued at over £5million.

The global launch at La Biennale of 25 number works of art depict man’s desires and the need to succeed. The collection shows graphically the layers of our lives controlled by the use of oil paint and charcoal on paper.

The self taught artist has struggled against an established art market and is now collected across the world including America, Australia, the Middle East and Europe.

The Venice Biennale has been established for over 120 years and is one of the most prestigious cultural institutions in the world. Established in 1895, the Biennale has an attendance of over 500,000 visitors at the Art Exhibition every year. The history of the La Biennale di Venezia dates back from 1895, when the first International Art Exhibition was organised. In the 1930s new festivals were born: Music, Cinema, and Theatre (the Venice Film Festival in 1932 was the first film festival in history). In 1980 the first International Architecture Exhibition took place and in 1999 Dance made its debut at La Biennale.

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La Biennale has hosted collections over the years including many British artists such as Henry Moore, Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud, Richard Hamilton, Gilbert & George, Anish Kapoor, Damien Hirst, Tracey Erin, Sarah Lucas and Steve McQueen.

The internationally successful artist has also been chosen for the fourth year to paint the BAFTA honourees. The British Academy of Film and Television Arts honourees included Kenneth Branagh, Matt Damon, Ava DuVernay, Claire Foy, film legend Dick Van Dyke, Jodie Foster, Ricky Gervais, Samuel L. Jackson, Felicity Jones, Ang Lee, and Ewan McGregor. The previous year he painted Orlando Bloom, James Corden, Harrison Ford, Sam Mendes, Amy Schumer and Meryl Streep.

James Nicholls, Managing Director and Curator of the Maddox Gallery, Mayfair, London, where Lincoln exhibits said: "In each generation it is a rare occurrence when an artist has the potential to become iconic, and it is our considered opinion that Lincoln Townley is such an extraordinary artist. The British artist was relatively unknown four years ago, now he has become famous for creating the most vivid insight into producing electrifying portraits of Hollywood stars such as; Al Pacino, Dame Judi Dench, Gary Oldman, Sir John Hurt, Robert Downey Jr. Judi Dench, Russell Brand and Charlie Sheen.

"Sir Michael Caine recently described him as the new Andy Warhol, and others see a Francis Bacon-like quality in his work. The value of his work has risen 200% in the last two years alone."

About Lincoln Townley

Lincoln Townley is a world-renowned British artist known for his ability to capture the creative and sometimes turbulent energies that drives the world’s most iconic stars to perform at the peak of their powers.

He has been commissioned to paint many of the world’s biggest icons including Charlie Sheen, Al Pacino, Sir Michael Caine and his original oil paintings of demons drawn from the unconscious mind, have been exhibited at major international galleries including the National Gallery and the Royal Academy of Arts in London.

In October 2015, he was first commissioned by BAFTA LA to paint the six Honourees at the Britannia Awards. His work can be seen at the Maddox Gallery in Mayfair London (www.maddoxgallery.co.uk). He is represented by Megan Phillips in Los Angeles. A recovering alcoholic, Townley has donated works to many charities and divides his time between London and Los Angeles. He is also the author of The Hunger published by Simon & Schuster. For further details see:

www.lincolntownley.com.

Townley’s work can be seen at the Maddox Gallery in Mayfair London (www.maddoxgallery.co.uk) and Art Angels in Los Angeles (www.artangels.net

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celticnoise · 6 years

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Our next guest for our #10IAR feature is former Celtic striker Chris Sutton.Chris is now a prominent pundit on Scottish football working on BT Sports and writing for various papers.

As always Scott Alcroft asks the #10IAR questions…

When did you first hear about Celtic’s interest in you?

I had signed a six year deal at Chelsea the previous season and had a stinker! At the end of the season I had Middlesbrough, Spurs and Celtic all agree the £6 Million fee. I met with Martin O’Neill at a hotel near Wycombe and that was all it took! I was excited to sign for Martin and Celtic.

Where does Martin rank amongst the other managers you’ve worked alongside?

The period I had at Celtic under Martin was my most memorable as I really appreciated what I had. I thought once I’d make the breakthrough at a young age at Norwich City everything would be a natural progression. My time at Chelsea set me back and under Martin I re-gained my confidence and love for the game. I was a big admirer of Kenny Dalglish at Blackburn, he was very similar to Martin and always backed his players.

Who were the characters in the dressing room during your time at Paradise?

There were lots of good strong characters! Henrik was ruthless and respected. Neil Lennon a serial moaner in the nicest possible way. But the truth is I ran the dressing room. Jonathan Gould was funny, Johan Mjallby was not one to mess with and you didn’t joke with Bobo!

What were your top 3 goals in the Hoops?

1. Chip v Rangers in the whitewash. 2. Volley v Juventus. 3. Header v Lyon. I took the throw in on half way followed it in and Henrik hit a sublime cross and I finished it. A great Champions League night!

What was the best match you played in for Celtic?

The 6-2 game, it’s still my favourite game. It was an iconic game which shifted the balance of power in Glasgow.

A topic often discussed on social media is the comparison between MON’s side and Brendan’s side. Hypothetically, if they were both to meet at their best, who would’ve won the game?

Total respect for Brendan’s team but it was a different era. The truth is we had a bit more with the likes of the King and Lubo.

If there was one player in Celtic’s history that you could’ve played alongside but never got the opportunity to do so, who would it be and why?

John Clark, a gentleman and a true legend.

Who was your toughest opponent in a Celtic shirt?

Roberto Ayala of Valencia was brutal. He wasn’t the biggest but a huge heart and a brilliantly dirty player. He knew every trick in the book. A top defender!

Just how special a player was your old strike partner Henrik Larsson?

Henrik was simply the greatest I played with and I was lucky enough to play with some greats. He could do everything score all types of goals, link up. He was such an intelligent player and very unselfish. The ultimate team player. A superstar with no ego!

Finally what do you think of the job Brendan Rodgers has done at Celtic so far?

Total admiration for what Brendan has done with this Celtic team after taking over a mess. He has transformed the club and improved virtually every player under his reign. He’s a great organiser and tactician.

Thanks and HH.

Interview by Scotty Alcroft for CQN Magazine

@Sco2hot

#10IAR

Did you read our #10IAR with David Marshall earlier this week? If you missed it you cn catch up HERE.

NEW CQN PODCAST OUT NOW! CHRISTMAS JUMPERS FOR GOALPOSTS

Paul John Dykes and Kevin Graham are joined by Celtic authors, Stephen Sullivan and Stevie Murray for a special festive episode – Christmas Jumpers for Goal-Posts.

Stephen Sullivan is a former Celtic View reporter who wrote the much-lauded Sean Fallon biography, ‘Iron Man’. He is now the editor of FIFA.com.

Stevie Murray has now written two books on Celtic – ‘Ten Men Won The League’ and ‘Kenny of the Celtic’ – and he is a respected and authoritative voice on the club.

Treat yourself to a signed copy of Jim Craig – Right Back to 67 and you will receive a copy of That Season on Paradise signed by Bertie Auld, just order the Jim Craig book at CQNbookstore.co.uk and we’ll do the rest…

http://ift.tt/2kOuYwi

#CelticNoise #Celtic #CelticFC #CelticQuickNews

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thescarycloset · 7 years

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It’s already been a year since the superhuman David Bowie has gone to reach the stars and it’s incredibly hard to imagine anybody filling the void left by him and his many faces. That’s because David Bowie was as much a music vanguard as a tremendous performer who fearlessly pushed every boundary on stage and in life, turning himself into a music and style icon. But maybe more than being about style, he was about fashion. He used to be provocative and over the top in his outfits, makeups and even moves, using his eccentricity as the most powerful way of communication to reach the widest variety of people. And he gained popularity pretty soon, embodying his peculiar and radical alter egos. Once, the best pop chameleon declared “I re-invented my image so many times that I’m in denial that I was originally an overweight Korean woman.”

But what he was for sure is an artist, in the purest sense of the title as he could easily draw from pop art and contaminate it with Dada-ism, Brechtian and Japanese theatre or even Lindsay Kemp mime and avantgarde fashion. This way he menaged to speak his original art in the very language of popular culture.

The legendary pencil-thin Bowie wanted “his music to look how it sounds” therefore clothes became a way of projecting self-expression, the most direct tool in communicating individuality. His wild imagination led to the birth of both reality and fantasy hybrid characters ranging from out-of-this-world Ziggy Stardust, via Major Tom, to whimsy Thin White Duke. Bowie’s theatrical disguises were shocking and scandalous but also deeply inspiring for more than one generation to whom he freely talked about sexuality and showed how a man could be powerfully feminine. He displayed his natural orientation toward gender fluidity through his cool yet glittering androgyny and felt so truly authentic that could not be a mere commercial posturing. Unlike the other glam rock agents of his time ( with the only ecception of Marc Bolan), he was never afraid to explore new personas, mastering every kind of drag. That’s how he could leave such a huge cultural legacy and a deep impact on fashion industry.

Who doesn’t remember his first idiosyncratic and spectacular looks by japanese designer Kansai Yamamoto on stage, for the first time in 1973 in New York? His knitted one-legged jumpsuit is still iconic. David Bowie had a profoudly ground-breaking vision, stoling ideas from everywhere cause as he liked to say “tomorrow belongs to those who can hear it coming”. We can read his undeniable charisma and the forthcoming seismic cultural shifts he induced in Yamamoto’s words: “those clothes were normally made for professional models” and that “was the first time they had been used for an artist or singer. It felt like the beginning of a new age.” And so it was.

Since the beginning of his fifty years long career, many performers, artists untill contemporary fashion designers had flirted with his extravagant transformations, quoting Bowie in every possible way. We listed just a few pretty clear references to Bowie’s work on recent catwalk shows, for both men’s and women’s collections. In Givenchy’s spring 2010 ready-to-wear show, was featured a striped blazer that is a clear homage to a Freddie Burretti one, sported by Bowie in 1973; in Lanvin’s autumn 2011 fashion show models wore wide-brimmed fedoras like Bowie in “The Man Who Fell to Earth”. The same year Balmain and Walter Van Beirendonck tooked inspiration from Aladdin Sane costumes, while Dries Van Noten and Alber Elbaz’s menswear shows both heavily referenced the Thin White Duke.

A year later, in 2012 Emilio Pucci designed Bowie-ish jewel-bright suits, while Alexander McQueen’s collections showcased wide Hunky Dory style trousers.

Jean Paul Gaultier, huge Bowie’s fan, who used Diamond Dogs to open his first show for Pierre Cardin in 1975 and revisited both Kansai Yamamoto’s colourful prints in spring 2011, and the above mentioned one-legged jumpsuit model in 2013. Moreover, in 2014 Hedi Slimane translated a few references to the Thin White Duke in his spring 2014 collection for Saint Laurent. Again, one could trace some Yamamoto-Bowie cross-references in Raf Simons spring 2015 couture collection for Dior. And at last, Jun Takahashi recreating the cover of Heroes for his beautiful Undercover Fall 15 menswear lookbook.

To celebrate his irreverent and revolutionary guises we styled three different looks, from the dapper gentlewoman to the stylish freak. Today, January 8 would have been his seventieth birthday and January 10 is the first anniversary of the Starman’s passing.

But is it really like that? After all, legends never die.

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David Bowie: the brightest Blackstar It’s already been a year since the superhuman David Bowie has gone to reach the stars and it’s incredibly hard to imagine anybody filling the void left by him and his many faces.

#Androgynous #David Bowie #Drag #fashion #Feminine #Gender #glam rock #glitter rock #Identity #Jumpsuit #Kansai Yamamoto #Major Tom #Marc Bolan #moda #outfit #Trend #White Duke #Ziggy Stardust

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