August 2007 - Style Of Eye

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Style of Eye - August 2007

insects

August 31st 2007 01:26

Insects: 30 million species or more. They are everywhere. Some of them are pretty little flying things. Others are hideous creepy crawlies. I’ve actually included spiders and scorpions, even though they are not insects, they are arachnids. Please excuse this indiscretion; it’s just that I have a morbid fascination with both of them.

I’m very fond of butterflies, especially since my lover's name means butterfly. I love the way caterpillars become butterflies, they are xenomorphs (shape-changers), very cool.

In my home country, New Zealand, there’s a very prehistoric looking beast of an insect called the weta. They give me the heebie-jeebies. Looks kind of like a cross between a grasshopper, a scorpion and a tiger; a striped shell, massive spiny hinds legs, huge mandibles, long feelers. They live in damp, rotting wood and Peter Jackson not only named his special effects workshop after them, but giant versions of them featured in that frightening cave sequence in King Kong where the giant carnivorous worms also dwelled. UGH!

I like the interesting looking insects, the bizarre stick insect, the crazy millipedes and centipedes, all those funky horned beetles. The praying mantis - the so-called dragon of the insect world - has always fascinated me with its ferocious take no prisoners swagger. I once watched a mantis on a burning log in a fireplace attack the flames as if it were an opponent. It lashed out once and the flames instantly immolated its arm. It lashed out with the other and lost that one. Then it pounced headlong into the fire and perished. Very strange.

I remember as a young boy watching a wasp and a grasshopper locked in mortal battle; the grasshopper was on its back pushing frantically with its huge hind legs up at the wasp which was furiously stabbing downwards with its stinger. I couldn’t watch the wasp kill the grasshopper so I left the scene.

Now spiders I have a thing about. Yes, I’m a bit of an arachnophobe. As soon as they start getting big and hairy then I start getting the heebie-jeebies, for example the tarantula, or the funnelweb, or the huntsman. Eeeek!!! I know the tarantula and the huntsman aren’t considered dangerous, but they still look damn creepy.

Give me a cute lil’ ladybird anyday.

The dragonfly is my favourite insect. It just oozes “street cred”, if an insect could ever command that kind of visual aesthetic, the dragonfly does. The scorpion has the most impressive looking defence system. But if I was to be an insect I’d be a bumblebee. All those flowers … all that honey.

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Posted By: Raoul Duke - Category: nature

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record covers

August 29th 2007 02:18

Where does one start?! This is probably the most difficult of my posts so far, as the list for selection is huge. But then, as I went through my indispensable book 1000 Record Covers by Michael Ochs (man, has that guy got a collection or what?!), I discovered that my personal aesthetics were represented not nearly as often as I thought they would.

Still, despite the thousand covers in Ochs' pictorial archives, that barely touches the tip of the iceberg. There are literally hundreds of thousands of record covers out there, most of which most of us will never see.

I have a fair few records of my own. I’ve been buying vinyl since I was about eleven years old. The first record I bought with all my own money was Michael Jackson’s Off The Wall LP.

I love the record, so for me the cover is cool; Michael in a tuxedo with glowing white socks and a handsome face (he’d had one nose job by then, but that was it), posing against a brick wall. It was a gatefold and it was one of my record treasures until it was stolen from a mate’s DJ crate ten or so years ago. I was quietly devastated. I replaced it, but the new copy doesn’t hold quite the same posterity or nostalgic allure. Another gatefold cover I thought was very alluring was the Diana Ross album Diana. The image used is one of the best photos of her ever taken.

With cover graphic design I love the imaginative interplay between photography and illustration, the type of fonts used for the text, where the type is placed on the cover (or if there is any text at all!). Sometimes I’m drawn to covers that seem to bare no relation to the album’s title, while others I love for their provocative display of theme(s) relating to the album.

With the arrival of CDs, record cover artwork was diminished, literally. Sure, more room for sleeve notes, but less room for artwork that commanded your attention. Initially I refused to embrace CDs, and then I realised I was probably going to have to replace all my records. I started to, but to my profound relief found the disc jockey industry demand for vinyl meant they weren’t going to be made obsolete so soon.

The following selection represents my love of pure, classic iconographic imagery; the sensual, the fantastic, the witty, the minimal, faces and bodies, line and form, type and text.

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark - Crush

Peter Gabriel - Peter Gabriel aka Security

Herb Alpert's Tijuana Brass - Whipped Cream and Other Delights

The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Axis: Bold As Love gatefold

It’s too hard to pick absolute favourites. I love Isaac Hayes' chrome dome bling, I love Blondie's bridge perspective, I love the dual dominance/submission of Carly Simon's pose, I love the moody elegance of Steely Dan, and I love the date stamp of New Order. There’ll definitely be a “mo’ record covers” post that’s fer sure!

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Posted By: Raoul Duke - Category: graphics

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motorcycles

August 27th 2007 02:12

Although I’ve always enjoyed riding bicycles, I’ve never ridden a motorcycle. Not properly anyway. I’ve fooled about on a trail bike on a farm, but I’ve never ridden on the open road. That just scares me. Doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate the visual allure of motorcycles, and they’re a marvel of engineering.

My father had a small Honda which I’d ride pillion on when I was a lad. That was always a thrill, clutching on tight to my father’s waist, or if I was more game I’d have my hands behind me holding the bike’s frame.

Watching skilled motorcyclists is nerve-wracking. It looks so damn dangerous. And it is. When they turn those tight corners and lean out, it screams disaster to me. But of course, the riders are in complete control. It’s all about physics ... and I was never any good at that.

Often we get disturbed or annoyed by the loud roar of a motorcycle as it tears past us down the street ridden by some dickhead with a small penis, but there is something undeniably stirring, almost arousing, by the controlled sound of a motorcycle’s engine when it throbs and growls.

With the big engine warm between your legs, your leather-gloved hands gripping the thick girth of the handlebars, your helmut head strong and safe, gunning the clutch … you feel 9-foot tall and bulletproof. Not that I’ve ever actually had the opportunity for that kind of getup. But I can imagine.

I’m happy to admire motorcycles from afar. As a technological design they kick ass. Lean and mean for the most part, although some bikes are absolute beasts, like some of those Harley Davidsons. Then there’s the pop culture classics as well; the cult iconographic Vespa, laden down with all the mod mirrors, the Easy Ridin’ chopper and its handlebar heaven.

And then there’s that famous piece of literature: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.

I do love the old school designs; the Nortons, the Triumphs, the Harleys. But those stretched body frames - the choppers - they ooze cool, although I’m sure they’re not that easy to steer. But that terrifying monster of a cycle called the Tomahawk sends chills down my spine. In my dreams I might be zooming along the Autobahn on one of those. The nightmare would be when I lose control at 180kms per hour.

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Posted By: Raoul Duke - Category: technology

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sexy - feminine

August 24th 2007 03:25

This is the second part to my “sexy” post, the one which hit a raw nerve with my lover, but hey, I’m a guy, I can’t help myself … At least I was a gentleman and posted the guys first (not that anyone really noticed).

Like I said in the first part, physical attraction is in the eye of the beholder, but there are definite factors which come into play when one is deciding what makes someone look sexy, desirable, alluring.

Curves: the contours of the body. On men they can be found around the arms and shoulders, the buttocks, the mid-riff (or six-pack). On women they can be found … everywhere; the neck, the breasts, the hips, the thighs, the derriere, the legs, even the feet. Okay, maybe I’m getting a little carried away.

A question I sometimes like to pose to other guys is the age old question of butt vs. tits. What do you prefer? If there was an attractive girl with smallish breasts, but a shapely ass and a pretty girl with big tits, but no hips or ass, which physique would you find sexier? Therein lies The Rub. What does your volupté sensibility tell you?

What’s that cute joke? “I hate to see you go, but I love to watch you leave.” Yup, that’s me. I’m a derriere man. And my lover knows it. If you can’t cup the breast in your hand it’s too big, a mate once told me. Sure, there’s an argument for and against … but this is a slippery slope, I should stop while I’m ahead.

The images I’ve selected, probably more so than with the men, rely heavily on photography; the use of light and shadow, make-up, the arch of the back, the eye line. The generalisation that men rely on visual stimuli far more than women for arousal is why the porn industry is so huge. But that’s another kettle of fish entirely.

At the end of the day it still comes back to one person’s fromage is another person’s caviar. Blonde? Brunette? Redhead? You’ll notice most of the women in my selection are brunettes, with a lean toward exotic features, olive-or-mochachino complexion. I wanted to slip a photo of my Mediterranean lover in amongst the models and celebrities, but I risked offending her … as if I haven’t already. C’est la vie.

Like I said I do love dark hair and deeper skin, that sultry look. My favourite images here are the monochromatic pics, the exposed thighs. But for all the allure of naked flesh, I’m also a great fan of the casual white singlet and blue jeans getup that Shakira is wearing. Let’s face it, soft fabric and weathered denim looks very sexy on men and women. I know my lover wears cotton and denim very well indeed.

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Posted By: Raoul Duke - Category: photography

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sexy - masculine

August 22nd 2007 02:36

There’s a Greek word: pulchritude. Doesn’t sound very pleasant when you say it, but its definition is “physical beauty”. When it comes to the physical beauty of humans it is most certainly in the eye of the beholder. But like all visual aesthetics, there are general factors which the majority will find attractive; soft curves, firm muscles, clear complexion, expressive eyes, etc. It pretty much comes down to the contours of the body and just how subtle or strong the person’s features are.

But there are many other elements which help to define just how good looking and, more to the point, how sexy a person is. One of these is a person’s attitude which although somewhat elusive when one is being admiring from a far can be quite important to the overall vibe they give off, whether it be a moodiness, or a sense of danger, or perhaps a warm sensitive smile. Sometimes it can be a look of availability that adds to their libidinous charm, or the opposite, a steely gaze that says “What you lookin’ at? I ain’t your sex toy!”

The other element, and the most significant one, is photography. How sexy a person comes across can be enhanced tenfold in a photograph by the clever use of lighting, clothes, where they are looking (ie eye line), and, of course, the position of their body. Other smaller factors can come into play, such as props, furniture, or nature. Anyone, as long as they didn't fall out of the ugly tree and hit a few branches on the way down, can look sexy if they're photographed by someone with skill and ingenuity.

This post is part one of a two-parter (so as not to appear sexist the guys are first up). For the most part my selection process involved celebrities. When searching for images of men that I found sexy most of the “unknowns” looked, dare I say it, ordinary, too generic, too homogenised even, which beings me back to the whole attitude/personality factor.

Is it social conditioning, or an ageist thing, but men (who look after themselves) can be considered “sexy” even into their twilight years. It’s rare, but you don’t find nearly as many older women (65-years plus) being referred to as “sexy” … with the odd exception of course (Sophia Loren springs to mind). Sean Connery and Clint Eastwood often feature in lists of sexy much older men. What (se)x factor is it about them that women (and men) find so enduring?

I’ve always thought Paul Newman photographed well. And I've always admired that black and white pic of Jim Morrison taken for one of The Doors Greatest Hits covers. The Aussie blokes feature well in this post; Eric Bana, Guy Pearce, Alex Dimitriades, Hugh Jackman. It must be that laidback, hint of arrogance look that appeals to me. But to me the sexiest pics are three of the "dressier" ones; Guy Pearce, Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo.

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Posted By: Raoul Duke - Category: photography

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masks

August 20th 2007 03:53

The mask is the ultimate stylish façade. Although they are most commonly recognized at parties and carnivals, they have a deeper religious and social significance, being concerned with funeral customs, fertility rites, or even curing sickness.

In funeral ceremonies masked dancers may seek to drive the soul of the deceased into the spirit world, where it will not harm the living. Burial masks are sometimes placed on the face of a corpse either to protect the deceased from evil spirits or, as in Egypt, to guide the dead person's spirit to its home in the afterlife

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Posted By: Raoul Duke - Category: art

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faces

August 17th 2007 01:56

Visage. The curious beauty of the face. The eyes, the ears, the nose, the mouth, the hair, the complexion, the profile, the gaze. Symmetry vs. asymmetry. I’m a sucker for a pretty face. But I do love a face with character.

Faces are, generally, what attracts us to another person. The face is what lures us in or distracts us. The eyes are called the windows of the soul. The shape of the nose, the way the lips curl, the edge of the chin, the prominence of the cheek, the colour of the skin … all of these elements add up to what the beholder finds either pleasing or displeasing to the eye

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Posted By: Raoul Duke - Category: photography

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movie posters

August 15th 2007 04:10

I love movies. Not too surprising I guess. I love the visual artifice, the narrative invention, the audience manipulation, the realism and the escapism. I also admire imaginative movie poster art. You don’t see as much of it these days. A lot of poster art, especially that which is churned out of the Hollywood machine, uses homogenised images, a mundane use of text and graphics, and tedious tag lines.

Back in the day – the 50s, 60s, 70s and to a lesser extent the 80s - movie poster art was much more imaginative and expressive, it was also more risqué and provocative. This is a generalisation I’ll admit, but it leans far more toward the rule than the exception

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Posted By: Raoul Duke - Category: graphics

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cars

August 13th 2007 03:11

I have a very vague memory of my parents’ first vehicle. I was an infant, so it must be one of those lodged in the cobwebbed far reaches of my mind kind of memories, more of a feeling rather than an image. But the feeling does conjure an image as well, aided by my parents confirmation. It was a 1954 canvas top Land Rover. And they’d have me snug in my little baby-carry in the back.

It made some sense then that as a young boy the car I really fancied was the mid-to-late 70s model of Range Rover. Apparently the Range Rover has been preferred by many in the off-road fraternity as their off-road vehicle of choice. To an impressionable young car lover it oozed vehicular sophistication, girth, power, style and luxury. I bet you didn’t know it is the only vehicle to have been exhibited in the Louvre as a work of art

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Posted By: Raoul Duke - Category: technology

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flowers

August 10th 2007 01:54

I thought I’d follow my “guns” post with a post on flowers, just to be provocative and ever so slightly contentious. I can be hypocritical at times, but at the end of the day it comes down to sheer visual aesthetics, and flowers are beautiful things.

I’m not a pansy though, pun intended. It’s not like I go all weak at the knees and dab a handkerchief across my perspiring brow when I pass a bed of roses. But flowers are extraordinary; the rich colours and curious shapes, and they smell damn fine too, like the simple, yet utterly gorgeous, pink frangipani

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Posted By: Raoul Duke - Category: nature

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guns

August 8th 2007 02:20

“Guns, guns, guns” taunts the head villain from Robocop with a devious, sarcastic smirk on his face. What would the world be without guns? No doubt a much better place, but there’s no use crying over spilt blood, er, milk, the irreparable change in weaponry happened quite some time ago.

For centuries wars were battled and won by the sword. Then the gun was invented and everything changed. Hand-held firearms first appeared in the early medieval times but it wasn’t until the sixteenth century that the pistol was perfected and thus the armour of the knights died a swan song

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Posted By: Raoul Duke - Category: technology

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skyscrapers

August 6th 2007 03:25

I grew up in a small city, more of a big town really; population about 400,000. A cosmopolitan city though. But the buildings weren’t very tall. The tallest was about 30 stories high. So when I first traveled to New York City, aged five, you can imagine how impressive the skyline looked.

When I returned to Manhattan aged sixteen I photographed the World Trade Center from the plaza, looking up directly between the twin towers. Wow. I visited my uncle who worked on the 78th floor. I remember leaning against the glass window staring down. Wow
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Posted By: Raoul Duke - Category: architecture

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sunsets

August 3rd 2007 02:32

You gotta love a sensational sunset; the pronounced end of the day a la profondo rosso. Especially if it’s over the ocean, and gazed at from a Mediterranean balcony with a glass of chilled, succulent Rosé in your hand, your arm slinked around the soft warm waist of your lover.

But, appreciating a sunset for real is very different from enjoying a sunset from a distance. When I say “distance” what I actually mean is a photograph of a sunset. The image captured by a camera to be relished for years to come

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Posted By: Raoul Duke - Category: photography

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creatures

August 1st 2007 04:26

Animals, Animals, Animals. This was a TV programme I used to watch occasionally as a boy, after I got home from school. It was hosted by Hal Linden from the cop sitcom Barney Miller. I enjoyed the colourful style it was presented in with cool graphics and an endearing sense of humour.

As a young lad and into my early teens my favourite animal was the cheetah. I loved how it was the fastest land animal in the world, and that it looked different from the other big cats. In fact it was more closely related to the hyena, which is of the dog family

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Posted By: Raoul Duke - Category: nature

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