These are my favorite Flickr photos from the last month. Shots from the annual Ghouls Gone Wild Parade make this the semi-Halloween edition. (See plenty more ghouls here.)

Flickr Gallery: Visual Diary, October 2009.

See what else I’ve Found on Flickr.

I’ve been using Found on Flickr as an ongoing visual diary, so I’ll make monthly galleries for awhile and see how it goes.

Here is my Visual Diary for September 2009.

I can’t include the following in my Flickr gallery, but they are also what I’m looking at these days:

Esra Roise, My hands are cold but my heart is on fire. Click image to view source.

Cat Panel Diptych by Dara Engler.

I’m exploring the possibility that a lot of Americans “relax” by entering a zombie-like state of hibernation. We choose diversions that allow us to zone out and ignore things in the world that are difficult. I paint secluded, vacant, zombie-like figures who have relaxed in their habits until they have lost time. … They are sluggish, jaundiced, and so lacking muscle tone that they hang over their chairs and defy anatomy. — Dara Engler, from her Artist Statement

Beverly McIver, Dear God 3. Click image to view source.



Hiroshi Watanabe, Baba, Ena Bunraku. Click image to view source. (What are bunraku?)

I’m getting really into food pictures, even making some of my own (to be revealed). The Bento Box group(s) on Flickr are a great place for food inspiration, aesthetically and nutritionally.



bento 8.14.09 by Flickr user Mamichan. Click image to view source.

The construction of a bento meal ranges from pragmatic to wildly artistic. It works for any kind of food, from anywhere in the world.



Brad’s Lunch and Dinner, by Flickr user flit. Click image to view source.

I’ve been in a bento-mindset since I’ve been spending a lot of time at my new studio at the OKCCoCo. I’m getting a ton of ideas from other bento fans.



Preschooler Bento #227, by Flickr user Wendy Copley. Click image to view source.

What’s this bento thingy? Think of it as the classier predecessor to the tv dinner. Explore more Bento Box Flickr pools here.

See more of what I’ve Found on Flickr.

Flickr user Okinawa Soba has shared with us a vast archive of antique photographs, mostly of old Japan. If you have a couple of free hours, explore sets such as Geisha and Maiko, Religion in Old Japan, or Foot Binding in Old China.* (Caution — some of these photographs contain nudity or are otherwise NSFW. Flickr will give you the option of viewing these, or not.) These photos are licensed under Creative Commons.



An Early Meiji-era Geisha Hair Style, vintage photograph posted by Flickr user Okinawa Soba. Click image to view source.

Okinawa Soba himself is quite a character, as you’ll see from his humorous (though very informative) photo captions. (Many commenters provide additional information about the subjects photographed.) Read his full profile here.

Interestingly, there is a photo of Evelyn Nesbit (the “original supermodel” and inspiration for the Gibson Girl) posing as a geisha among this collection. OS thoughtfully provides a link to other Flickr images of Ms. Nesbit. We can see why she was such a big hit.

* If you’re interested in the history of footbinding in China, I recommend Splendid Slippers: A Thousand Years of an Erotic Tradition by Beverly Jackson.

See what else I’ve Found on Flickr.

This post is part of NaBloPoMo for July 2009.

Once again, I celebrate Flickr as a showcase for emerging and established artists alike, in all visual media. This wonderful painting by Tim Lowly (his website is here) is accompanied by a description written by Karen Halvorsen-Screck in 2002. You can read the full essay here, but this is my favorite part:

In Ekstasis, for instance, seems to reveal one of Temma’s fleeting expressions of happiness, or what appears to be happiness. I know that she is cortically blind, yet here I see her seeing something above and beyond me and my ken. In fact, she appears to be gazing at radiance, or releasing a radiance within. It is impossible to know for sure, and much of my response to In Ekstasis depends on my emotional perspective in the moment of looking.

I got the same feeling looking at this image, the feeling that I was seeing someone seeing something that I don’t see. It reminds me of that fundamental paradox of portraiture, that the inanimate image of the subject is a reflection of my own act of seeing.

Tim Lowly is represented by Koplin Del Rio Gallery in Culver City, California.

See what else I’ve Found on Flickr.

This post is part of NaBloPoMo for July 2009.

Not only are these fish wonderful to look at, they have excellent names as well. There’s the Puddingwife Wrasse, the Puffcheek Blenny, the Threeline Basslet, and the Schoolmaster Snapper, to name a few.

Click here to visit the Smithsonian Institution on Flickr.

Related:
Previously in Found on Flickr
Piscatorial, a set on Flickr
Blog posts in the Piscatorial category

This post is part of NaBloPoMo for July 2009.

This gorgeous invented portrait by Dan May will be included in the David Lynch tribute show at Alcove Arts in Atlanta. May paints curious organic forms similar to Joe Sorren’s, finishing them with fine details to create a fully realized world for his imaginary characters. Check out the individual hairs on this guy’s head. Acrylic is a difficult medium, and I love seeing painters who use it this well.

Click here to visit Dan May’s website.
Click here to visit Dan May’s Flickr stream.

Eliza Lawson, May 1845, photographed by George Goodman. Click image to visit on Flickr.

Found on Flickr this week: From the Flickr Commons, a collection from the State Library of New South Wales.

These two photographs are from a subset of the collection called “Costume and Dress.”

Dulcie Deamer in leopardskin costume, 1923, Swiss Studios. Click image to visit on Flickr.

The Flickr Commons is an amazing, growing repository of historical photographs from libraries and institutions around the world. Most of the photographs in the Commons have little or no known copyright restrictions. It’s a great resource for artists, students, and casual browsers alike.