Curio: "we went skinny dipping and did things that frightened the fish!"

Yes. that's a quote from Steel Magnolias. I apologize as this is entirely unrelated. It happens.

Are you familiar with "Fish Love"? It's a not-for-profit company from Nicholas Röhl and the actress Greta Scacchi. The goal? I'll just quote them here:

to raise awareness of the unsustainable fishing practices that are destroying the the earth's marine ecosystem. Since then, the Fishlove images have succeeded in bringing the subject of over-fishing to the front covers and pages of the world's media many times over. 

This year's catch is the adorable Emma Thompson and Greg Wise shot by photographer Jillian Edelstein to promote the endangered. But there's more (slightly nsfw) after the jump...

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Paul Newman "is"...

We're reviving "Curio" but with a twist. It won't just be arts & crafts any more but any curiousity so here's one about movie vernacular, taglines, and advertisements. - Editor.

Fifty years ago today Harper (1966) hit movie theaters. We only mention this because it gives us (another) excuse to post Paul Newman photos and to talk about a favorite movie poster quirk. Joe Reid recently wondered aloud why we say "Actor 'in' Name of Movie" versus "Actor 'on' Name of TV Show" which is true and curious. Why is that the language?

And why do some advertising campaigns say Movie Star IS... rather than Movie Star IN... or Movie Star AS? With Paul Newman it was "is" more often than not. Here's some proof...

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A Question For Readers About "Curio"

For those of you who missed it during much Oscar nomination hullabaloo, Alexa who ran the Curio column has left us after great years of arts & crafts each Monday. The demands of cinephilia and mommyhood were too competitive! She encouraged us to keep the series going and wants me to do more art myself (which I know I should -- oh to master time!). But we're not sure how we'll revise the series exactly.

Do you like online arts and crafts? Do you enjoy mashups and fan art? Do you follow any artists or webcomics or the like? Love to hear some input in the comments. In the meantime please look at this amazing looping Vine (i've put it after the jump for this who can't handle this much manic looping imagery in the background while they read the blog) but it's a trippy must for The Force Awakens / John Boyega fans. 

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Curio: Bowie Forever

Pt 1 Goodbye to Bowie via Velvet Goldmine
Pt 2 Goodbye to Bowie....and Curio, for now

Alexa here, still reeling over the loss of David Bowie. It really took the steam out of me today, as I'm sure it did a lot of you.  He was such a touchstone that it felt as if he would never die. But he lives on as inspiration.

And so too might Curio. I hope it does. If not in this exact form. This weekly arts & crafts series, which Nathaniel invited me to do years ago, has had a long run at TFE but I must move on for 2016. (Parenthood really alters the life of a cinephile.)

But back to Bowie. I've been enjoying seeing some of this inspiration filtered through the minds of others, so here are a few some beautiful and fun curios -- everything from a career spanning animated gif, to realistic dolls, and more traditional fan art.

Celebrate the icon with wide eyes after the jump... 

 

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Curio: 2015's Most Artistically Inspirational Films

Alexa here looking back at 2015 along with the horde. As I've noted before, some films seem to inspire visual artists and crafters more than others.  Of course science fiction and fantasy will always result in legions of geekery, but some films seem to go further, initiating a dialogue for visual artists that proves ongoing, often for decades. Certain directors' work will always be on the list (Woody & Wes), while others are more hit-or-miss (e.g. the endless fan art tributes to Polanski's Rosemary's Baby, relatively few for Polanski's Chinatown). Reasons are elusive, but it seems some films just serve up a perfect storm of elements that visual artists crave reinterpreting.

So Nathaniel (who chose the ten runners up) and I (who chose the top five, and maybe they're wishful thinking, as they're some of my favorite films of the year) looked into our crystal balls and choose

15 Films of '15 That Are Most Likely To Inspire Future Artists

Nathaniel's Honorable Mentions

15 Diary of a Teenage Girl
14 Tangerine 

"Favorite Movies 2015" by Hulyen

Neither of these films have really caught on yet with the online art crowd -- at least a web search of the usual places doesn't reveal much happening -- but they will.  Diary of a Teenage Girl is about a cartoonist so it starts with an easy identification hook. Plus it's got memorable period trappings, gutsy performances, and an uninhibited libido for unhealthy sexual relations.

I'm even more sure that Tangerine will catch on and here's why...

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