Arts & Culture: Photography Books Celebrating the Art of Life

As I mentioned in my post yesterday, I love taking pictures and one of the things that I really enjoy is looking at the work of amazing photographers. I love the artistry of a well-crafted photo. It's a true art!

Recently I've had the opportunity to enjoy two great books of photos that are rooted in the examination of style. On the surface it would seem that the two books are very different but actually they have a lot in common. They both celebrate everyday people who are being themselves and expressing themselves in the ways that they adorn themselves.

See the World Beautiful by Anne Menke,
published by Glitterati Incorporated,
http://glitteratiincorporated.com

The first of the two books is called See the World Beautiful. It's the work of photographer Anne Menke and chronicles her travels around the world. It's a beautifully large book that measures roughly 11x 14 inches and its sheer size makes it an amazing photographic experience. The pictures are large and you can see lots of detail which makes each image seem as if you're peeking through a window.

See the World Beautiful by Anne Menke,
published by Glitterati Incorporated,
http://glitteratiincorporated.com

Anne Menke really captured the true universal human experience in her wonderful book of photographs. The true artistry and her skill made for an amazing experience.

The Way We Wore: Black Style Then by Michael McCollom,
published by Glitterati Incorporated, http://glitteratiincorporated.com

The other book is called The Way We Wore: Black Style Then by designer and photographer Michael McCollom. This lovely book makes me think of a family photo album in that it documents the personal style moments in the lives of McCollom's family, friends, and acquaintances. 

May 1960, New York City.
Arlene Hawkins,
Owner of Arlene Hawkins Cosmetics

The book beautifully chronicles the style contributions of African-Americans and how that style has influenced international fashion culture.

Both books were very intriguing and I think they both shine a light upon something very important. Each book reminded me of the power of the individual and the connection to culture as a whole. In just being ourselves and expressing ourselves we are celebrating our creativity and to me that is an expression of art. We leave our mark by how we choose to show up in this world.

There is so much to explore and there are so many ways of living in this world. And living has an air of the artistic to it. I love that! We are here to create our lives and to embrace the journey.

Book Club - Dori's Review of The Picture of Dorian Gray

Today it's my turn to bring you the next instalment of our monthly book review. My pick for this month is a book that I've been wanting to read for a long time, but have never gotten around to reading. I bought a copy quite a while back, sometime last year and put it into my pile of books that I was planning on reading once I finished the degree that I was working on. Well, once I finally finished with my degree, I realized that my pile of books had grown quite a bit. So one day I just closed my eyes and picked one from the pile and The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde was the lucky one.

I enjoyed the book from the very beginning and it seems that the story doesn't take long to get going which is always a plus for me. We meet Dorian Gray quite early on after the initial conversation about him between Lord Henry Wotton and the artist Basil Hallward.

I don't want to give away any spoilers for those of you who haven't read it, so I have to be careful here. First of all, it's definitely an excellent book and is a cautionary tale that makes me think that we must be careful what we wish for. Dorian Gray is a handsome young man and desires to stay as young and handsome as he is in the portrait that Basil paints. He wants the portrait to take on the signs of aging instead of him. He gets his wish. The portrait takes on all the harshness of life whilst Dorian does all manner of things and remains unspoiled on the outside.

The book goes on to explore this interesting plot and it really makes you think about what beauty really is. I won't go any further so that I won't spoil the book for those who haven't read it. I really enjoyed this classic novel by Oscar Wilde. It lived up to my expectations and that doesn't happen all the time with books that you've heard so much about. I will give it 4 and a half stars out of 5!

Have you read this book? What did you think of it? If you haven't read it, are you thinking of giving it a go? Please leave a comment if you'd like and let us know what you're currently reading. Val will be here next month with another book club selection. I look forward to finding out what's next on her reading list and yours.

Until next time...

Changes to The Book Club Schedule

This is just a quick post to announce a change on the publishing schedule. The book club will not be starting today due to unforeseen circumstances. We will be starting the book club up properly on January 20th and we hope that you'll come back to read our thoughts on the classic book Little Women. And thereafter the book club will be a monthly feature.

Thank you for visiting the labyrinth!