Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec is best known as a chronicler of the nightlife of late 19th century Paris. He used to frequent the nightclubs and cafeacute;s of Montmartre; befriending the dancers and prostitutes; making countless sketches as they comb their hair or just lie in bed. Toulouse-Lautrec did not picture the world of the dancers and prostitutes from outside: he just lived in that world. From time to time he rented a room in a brothel; where he made drawings of the prostitutes and their clientele. With only a few pencil strokes Toulouse-Lautrec renders a mood and a character. The men in his drawings and posters are often caricatures of power with large protruding chins and noses and big fat faces. By contrast his women are drawn with much warmth and empathy.There is a sense of movement in Toulouse-Lautrecrsquo;s drawings of dancers and horses. His dancers appear from a few twirls and swirls. He does not draw the dancer; but the motions. His lithographs and sketches of Loie Fuller consist of little more than abstract shapes; in which we can barely detect a head and a pair of legs. When he was commissioned to make a series of lithographs with a horse racing theme; The Jockey (1899); Toulouse-Lautrec does not start from an anatomically correct horse; but tries to capture the strength and speed of the horses in motion. By choosing this particular viewing angle he puts the viewer as it were on one of the trailing horses. After a life of enormous productivity (more than 1;000 paintings; 5;000 drawings; and 350 prints and posters); debauchery; and alcoholism; Toulouse-Lautrec suffered a mental and physical collapse and died at the age of 37.
#2692005 in eBooks 2015-03-01 2015-03-01File Name: B00ZGNUOIE
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. The Intercultural City: Planning for Diversity AdvantageBy Kirsten ReynoldsEven though this was a text book; it was an easy read. I recommend it for anyone on any kind of polity board from church to PTA to civic nonprofits. It gives an outline to design policies that meet the needs of our diverse society.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Informative; but too scathing to oppposite viewsBy mirleesanI read a handful chapters from this book as a requirement for an urban studies class. I found it to be rich in historical information; although it never delves deeply into any one historical topic. It is a good starting point for ideas for self-guided research.The only thing that annoyed me about it is that the authors; while scoffing at extremism and traditional thought; consequently made themselves seem equally yet oppositely as extreme.Example from Chapter 10: "Now despite the efforts of far right politicians and other fundamentalists to convince us that there are natural racial differences between groups; identity is in fact multifarious and fluid; individuals have affiliations with a number of communities simultaneously." I found this desperately divisive; expressing a "THEM versus US" agenda.Ironically; the authors entire premise is based on the idea of "a social and political context that allows differences to coexist and indeed flourish alongside each other." (p. 317)0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. working toward a thriving multicultural city in todays worldBy Henry BerryThe authors acknowledge that their "view [for the open; multicultural city] is prescriptive; culturally bound; and Western". Their view is that the "secular humanism position" which has led to general peace and prosperity throughout Western society has become "drained of confidence; feels exhausted; and consequently is mistakenly accused of being wishy-washy or as having an anything goes ethos with no apparent point of view. They do not take pains to defend this secular humanism which has been used to characterize and often malign Western culture or persuade readers that it is inherently desirable in any philosophical or sociological sense. Wood and Landry; both connected with the urban policy think-tank Commedia; however; see secular humanisms main tenets as necessary for peaceful and fruitful cities in this era of globalization. Such cities are inevitably multicultural. The authors present perspectives; ideas; policies; and means to ensure that multicultural cities are open; and are equitable regarding ethnic differences and desires. The authors take a comprehensive approach ranging from a master plan to behavior between individuals of different ethnicities. For most of its inhabitants; harmony in a multicultural; economically successful; satisfying city requires a way of life which maintains the essentials of ones ethnic or historical identity while at the same time enables and in some cases permits one to hold a job and thus earn a living and also take part in a citys political activities. This of course is an ideal of democratic; American; life often held out. But it has become clouded and problematic of late as well as widely disparaged with the resurgence of fundamentalist religions and growth of terrorism. Besides going into the many and various aspects of a model multicultural city; Wood and Landry identify signposts readers can use to estimate how their own city measures up. And they outline steps for moving toward the ideal modern-day city. Their concept is summed up in their term "new civics; with "civics" a concept or principle which cannot be dismissed or marginalized by any body of persons of varied backgrounds who desire to and intend to live in harmony for the good of all.
