Las Submarinistas AMA. The AMA Divers.

Encontrarme con las Submarinistas Ama y ver que no había un artículo, ni nada escrito en español sobre ellas, me hizo volver a escribir en este blog. Esta tradición milenaria de 2000 años de antigüedad mezcla varios elementos que me maravillan: mujeres fuertes, el mar, un estilo de vida conectado con la naturaleza y finalmente un material gráfico y fotográfico muy interesante.  Las AMA, palabra que literalmente quiere decir "mujer del mar", bucean hasta 25 metros de profundidad, para recolectar orejas de mar (moluscos muy buscados por su carne), algas y otros alimentos marinos. El perfeccionamiento de su técnica de respiración les permite sumergirse sin ayuda de ningún equipo, solo utilizan un pañuelo para cubrir sus cabezas y en los últimos tiempos gafas de protección. Esta tradición es transmitida de generación en generación a través de las mujeres. En un principio parece que también los hombres se dedicaban a esta actividad pero con el tiempo se cambiaron a la pesca de profundidad y se convirtió en una actividad exclusivamente femenina. Entre la comunidad también se cree que las mujeres son más resistentes al frío del fondo marino pues tienen más capas de grasa que las protegen. Si quieres saber más sobre esta tradición puedes ver estos dos documentales:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTIf2vA-_JQ
http://youtu.be/TtCp5i8y6A4

Las primeras fotografías son de Yoshiyuki Iwase y las siguientes son de Fosco Maraini (website y  wikipedia) encontradas aquí. La última imagen es un grabado Ukiyo-e. 

Los invito también a ver la bella video-instalación de Sabina Maselli sobre este tema, aquí.

Encountering the subject of the AMA made me come back to blogging. This ancient tradition of 2000 years,  mixes several elements that marvel me: strong women, the sea, a lifestyle connected to nature and finally a very interesting photographic material. The AMA divers, a word that literally means "women of the sea", dive to 25 meters deep, to collect abalone (shellfish highly sought for their meat), algae and other seafood. By perfecting their breathing techniques they can submerged themselves without the aid of any equipment, they just use a bandana to cover their heads and in recent times, goggles. This tradition is passed down from generation to generation by women. At first it seems that the men were engaged in this activity as well but eventually switched to deep-sea fishing and it became an exclusively female activity. The community also believes that women are more resistant to the cold sea bottom as they have more layers of fat that protect them. To learn more about this tradition can see these two documentaries:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTIf2vA-_JQ
http://youtu.be/TtCp5i8y6A4

The first photos are from Yoshiyuki Iwase  and the following by Fosco Maraini (website y  wikipedia) Source of the pictures here. The last one it's an Ukiyo-e engraving.

You can also check out Sabina Maselli video-instalation. Here 

me & oli

Rarely in "Blanco White & Negro Black " we featured a website but this one is just so different and it's completely far from the boring vector glossy websites we are so used to. With its unique style designer Lalita Lu made a perfect site to show her whimsical designs, echoing her patterns and her fairy tale like illustration. Visit me & oli and try not to buy everything and go and check a short profile of Lalita Lu here.

Joe Fenton's Solitude

Joe Fenton's work is amazingly intricate and full of detail, it cross-references religious iconic images of all cultures and time with cartoon aesthetic. Check out the process for the work above (Solitude) here. His Behance profile and his website are ver interesting as well.

Milk and blood, feathers and claws and an ocean between.

On one side of the ocean you can find Amanda Nedham, an artist that uses graphite on watercolour to create violently realistic images of animals (or humans turn into animals?). On the other side an old favourite of mine: Dan Hillier. He alters Victorian Engravings to make very strong new images. This time I bring you his latest work Feathers and claws. One from Canada and the other from the UK they both explore the limits between animal and human through their images.

McBess is back

A long time ago I posted a video of this artist with his band Dead Pirates. Well he is back again to the blog with an amazing 1 meter long illustration, full of detail and wonder. It's called the South Park because he made it while watching all 15 seasons of the show. He has this mix of an extremely new illustration and an old psychedelic caricature influence. Enjoy the zoom and see the intricate details of it and to finish go visit his website.

I have a hole in my stomach...

Memory Tapes "Yes I Know" from Najork on Vimeo.

...everything begun there and it started expanding through my whole/hole body.

Written by hand

We all can see the magical value of a piece of calligraphy or lettering made by hand because it reflects the unique personality of their maker in every angle, pressure and thickness of line. The imperfections, mistakes and slight traces of previous sketching leave in the final handlettering a reminder of the time and work spend in the making. Lettering is also a reminder of predigital signs when each one was a labour of love and originality. Artists like Dana Tanamachi, Margaret Kilgallen, Nate Williams, Luca Barcellona are all unique as handlettering should be.