“Every man’s memory is his private literature.”
-Aldous Leonard Huxley (1894 –1963).
My photo-blog had more than 3,000 views yesterday. For all the blogs that linked mine to them and all those who read one or more of my entries and for all the emails, thank you.
I love reading, whether its books, novels, magazines, movie posters, mustard bottle label, blogs, facebook status, craigslist ads, poems, (or other people’s minds), it breaks the monotony of my work and books keep me grounded. In fashion/commercial photography, your clients don’t pay for your opinion on other people’s work, they hire you to deliver great images that speaks for itself. Writing is most of the time the opposite of photography in terms of opinions, another reason to love it. Being surrounded by writers excites and engage me in a contrasting way than fashion. A good friend of mine (who is my best critic) just told me “Lope just stick with photography, politics will get the best of you, the fashion machine hates smart-mouth people”, she’s absolutely right. The very first screenplay I’ve been working on is about Saudi Arabia in 2001, my thoughts and memories while living there during 9/11 and the Invasion of Iraq, and the novel is about the two oldest profession in the history -prostitution and politics coexisting in the world of fashion modelling. This blog will update you on the progress of all those good stuff and more.
Writing is sort of my therapy to all my mental illness. People ask me, how in the world can I have time to read books, even more maintain a blog? Juggling your work as a photographer, working on your screenplay, novel, retouching your own images, life? Believe me or not I asked that question myself before I decided to start typing my first entry “Thank you Mr. Irving Penn” last October 8, 2009, the day after the iconic photographer died, Dangerously Naïve was born. This blog will serve as the cohesive bridge to all the things that I am passionate about, my travels, people, friends, frenemies, books I read and want to read, movies I’ve seen and want to see, people I’ve worked with, people I want to work with, fan mails, hate mails, heroes, villains, talented people and the not-so talented, science, religion, celebrities, fame-whores, vocabularies, sex, history, desserts, deserts, photography, latest works, other blogs and even world peace.
Below are the first 12 entries to sample your palate.
Thank you Mr. Irving Penn by Navo
(http://lopenavostudios.wordpress.com/2009/10/08/thank-you-mr-penn/)
A Big Fat Elephant In The Runway by Navo
(http://lopenavostudios.wordpress.com/2009/10/08/a-big-fat-elephant-in-the-runway/)
THE TEN: Male Beauties of all Time by Photographer Navo
(http://lopenavostudios.wordpress.com/2009/10/08/the-ten-male-beauties-of-all-time-by-photographer-navo/)
Filipino Newsmakers in World Fashion History by Navo
(http://lopenavostudios.wordpress.com/2009/10/13/filipino-newsmakers-in-world-fashion-history/)
The Earth in 2010 is so Dangerously Naive.
(http://lopenavostudios.wordpress.com/2009/11/04/earth-in-2010-is-so-dangerously-naive/)
Kill the Celebrities, Save the World?
(http://lopenavostudios.wordpress.com/2009/11/04/fame-whore-generation/)
Armed with Saliva: Films, Books and TV shows about the Fashion Machine by Navo
(http://lopenavostudios.wordpress.com/2009/11/06/armed-with-saliva-by-navo/)
Green Zone (2010)
(http://lopenavostudios.wordpress.com/2009/11/07/green-zone-2010/)
Pork, Jews and Porn: Censorship in Saudi Arabia by Navo
(http://lopenavostudios.wordpress.com/2009/11/08/pork-jews-and-porn-censorship-in-saudi-arabia-by-navo/)
American History XXX: The Censored works of Mr. Steven Klein by Navo
(http://lopenavostudios.wordpress.com/2009/11/09/american-history-xxx-the-censored-works-of-mr-steven-klein-by-navo/)
CINERAMA by Navo
(http://lopenavostudios.wordpress.com/2009/11/10/cinerama-by-navo/)
Erect Phallic Symbols of Dubai دبيّ by Navo
(http://lopenavostudios.wordpress.com/2009/11/11/erect-phallic-symbols-of-dubai-by-navo/)
One of the most grounded icons in the “fashion house” died at the aged of 92 yesterday in his Manhattan home. These words were written in his obituary: “Irving Penn, A courtly man whose gentle demeanor masked an intense perfectionism, Mr. Penn adopted the pose of a humble craftsman while helping to shape a field known for putting on airs. Although schooled …in painting and design, he chose to define himself as a photographer, scraping his early canvases of paint so that they might serve a more useful life as backdrops to his pictures.”
ich he graduated 1938. Penn’s drawings were published by Harper’s Bazaar and he also painted. As his career in photography blossomed, he became known for post World War II feminine chic and glamour photography. Clarity, composition, careful arrangement of objects or people, form, and the use of light characterize Penn’s work. Penn also photographs still life objects and found objects in unusual arrangements with great detail and clarity.
His still life compositions are skillfully arranged assemblages of food or objects; at once spare and highly organized, the objects are raised to a graphic perfection, articulating the abstract interplay of line and volume.
Mr. Penn