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Cindy Sherman's Madame Pompadour Limoges Porcelain

In 1990, photographer/model/ artist Cindy Sherman created this Limoges porcelain 21 piece tea service in a limited edition after the original design commissioned by the MADAME DE POMPADOUR (nee Poisson) in 1756 at the Manufacture Royale de Sevres.




Sherman's image of herself as Madame de Pompadour was transferred onto porcelain through a complex process which requires up to 16 photo-silkscreens. Each tureen and platter is silkscreened and painted at Ancienne Manufacture Royale, fired on four different occasions, and then individually signed and numbered.







The edition, which was published by ARTES MAGNUS, is still available for purchase at various sites (see the end of this post) in the traditional 18th century colors of apple green, rose, royal blue or yellow and is limited to 75 in each color version.

Part of the present Rococo exhibit at the Cooper Hewitt Design Museum the tureens and platters are also part of permanent collections at museums such as the MAD museum, the Saint Louis Art Museum, The Tate museum in Liverpool, the Schein Joseph Museum of Ceramic Art. The Queensland Art Gallery of Modern Art and others.


Above: Madame de Pompadour (née Poisson), 1990
30-piece porcelain dinner service, including six each of presentation plates, dinner plates, salad plates, rimmed soup bowls and dessert plates
Dimensions vary
Edition of 75 in each of four available color options
$7,000
Available for purchase at Artware Editions here.
Or at Artes Magnus here.

A bit about Cindy Sherman:


above: Photograph of Cindy Sherman, by Mark Seliger, courtesy of the artist and Metro Pictures Gallery, New York, NY, USA

Artist's Biography:
Cindy Sherman was born in Glen Ridge, New Jersey in 1954 and graduated from State University of New York at Buffalo in 1976. In the late 1970s, Sherman began a series of black and white photographs, which she named Untitled Film Stills, (1977 to 1980), and were first exhibited at the Contemporary Art Museum in Houston, Texas in 1980. The series cemented her position in post-modern photography and since then Sherman has continually worked to challenge the boundaries of the medium. In almost all of her works, Sherman acts as model, photographer, and director, and alters her appearance beyond recognition through makeup, prosthetics and costumes.

Although she began her career using black and white photography, Sherman transitioned to color film in the early 1980s. Her use of costume and makeup challenged the way in which portraiture was considered. She further challenged conventional means of viewing the human form in 1992 with her Sex Pictures series, which involved life-sized prosthetics as models in contorted and gender-crossing positions. In her recent work, Sherman has reintroduced herself as the model. From fairytales and history portraits to horror films and the nostalgia of the 1950s and 1960s films, Sherman consistently examines a woman's role in society and questions the ways in which the viewer looks at and identifies with the woman portrayed.

Her work has been shown throughout the United States and Europe, and Metro Pictures in New York has shown her work since 1980. In 1997, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, California held a retrospective of her work, Cindy Sherman: Retrospective, and in 1999, Sherman was the recipient of the Hasselblad Foundation International Award in Photography, which recognized her influence on photography from the late 1970s onward. She lives and works in New York.

the unofficial Cindy Sherman site.

Industrial Floors With Flourish: Concrete Art By Transparent House





Transparent House of San Francisco has come up with a way to incorporate designs into polished concrete flooring. The design concept allows for application of any pattern to the surface either when pouring or after the concrete has set.

Here are a few examples:





To learn more about the impressive 3D visualization services and prototyping offered by Transparent House, go here.

Transparent House
476 Jackson Street, second floor
San Francisco, CA 94111
phone: 415.956.4155

email them for info here.

Amanda Dunbar's Precious Rebels™ Art Guitars





I was hesitant to write a post about the multi-talented Amanda Dunbar® because she is so ridiculously copyright protected. Seriously, there are warnings all over sites about terms, conditions and the like. Even her name and personal 'tag line' are registered and trademarked. She was dubbed a child prodigy at age 13, so most likely her parents and or guardians and managers went to great lengths to protect her since she was so young. She is also respected and known by many celebrities so I'm sure this comes into play as well.

Vincent Leman's Warped Sense Of Style: Dust Furniture





I have written not one, but two, posts on furniture that has a 'cartoon' style to it. Judson Beaumont's Straightline furniture and the Porter's Cartoon Furniture®

Vincent Thomas Leman's line of furniture, Dust*, steps that up a bit with more adult styling, yet is still delightfully whimsical. So, here's your third cartoon-like furniture line:

Dust Furniture is a collection of studio furniture from craft artist Vincent Thomas Leman. Vincent has built one-of-a-kind pieces for years, but released this line to accommodate the demand for reproducible versions of his work.



A key part of Vincent Leman's creation process is the integration of function into the form. The artist strives to create furniture that is functional to the degree that it may be successfully integrated into daily life, yet--equally important--provides a spark to brighten the routine of daily life. He finds joy in discovering new ways to mix art and life and to make art more accessible.



Leman's work has been described as 'abstract traditional furniture.' Each piece is essentially a traditional furniture form that is stretched, curved, stacked, and stepped to fit his design intentions. While he works in wood, Leman considers his actual medium to be 'traditional furniture.' The classical root of each piece helps maintain its identity as furniture and keeps the work familiar and approachable despite the unusual shapes.


Above: a take-off on Manet's "Olympia"



Above: some of his painted baltic birch pieces


Above: some of his unpainted oak pieces

Above: his limited edition grandfather clock, 10 pieces made




He has many more fun pieces to choose from.


See his personal site here.

See his Dust Furniture site here.

You can buy his furniture here at The Artful Home.

Be sure to see these, too!

Judson Beaumont's Straightline furniture and the Porter's Cartoon Furniture®

An Inside View of Jason Freeny's Unusual Art.



Jason Freeny of Moist Productions, Inc. is a self proclaimed artist, illustrator and crazy person (his words, not mine). He draws, sculpts and creates some very unusual digital artwork. First, I'm going to share with you some of his digital illustrations that have, say...a different point of view.

I bet you never gave much thought to the skeleton of a Dunny, or the innards of a balloon animal, or even the musculature of a Gummi bear, but Jason Freeny has.


Above: Visible Vinyl

Above: Pneumatic Anatomica

Above: Immaculate Confection

Above: Anatomy of a Gummi Bear

The above 12" x 12" prints sell for $59 a piece and larger ones may be available upon request. He sells many more digital prints as well as some originals.

Below are some of his graphite drawings:




And some of his fabulous sculpted figures:




See all of Jason Freeny's art on his Moist Productions website here.
And his myspace page here.

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