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Sep

What’s Napoleon Doing in a Japanese Rice Paddy?

by Sheron Long on September 26, 2013

Japanese rice paddy art of Napoleon on his white horse (2009), showing creative inspiration by the villagers of Inakadate (Image by Captain76)

Across the summer of 2009, this image of Napoleon emerged in a rice field in Inakadate—
a slow reveal for an emperor used to making a grand entrance!
(Image by Captain76)

He’s Growing from Creative Inspiration and Some Seeds!

In fact, Napoleon grew from several different kinds of seeds that sprouted in different colors. They became the “paint” on this giant canvas depicting the French emperor.

Origins of Tanbo Art

Known as tanbo (rice paddy) art, or tambo art, the idea originated in 1993 with Japanese villagers in Inakadate. They had a creative inspiration—grow a huge image in the rice paddy behind town hall. Read more...

Sheron Long 1 Comment

Cultural Heritage & Traditions/France/Japan/The World's Art & Design

Sep

Culture Smart: How Do I Love Thee in French?

by Sheron Long on September 15, 2013

Girl playing daisy love game that varies across different cultures

Looking for answers in the daisy love game

Daisy Love Game in Different Cultures

In the USA, when wondering about the chance of love, people pull petals and alternate outcomes: He loves me. / He loves me not. It’s not that clear-cut in France, where the choices are recited like this:

Il m’aime un peu, He loves me a little,

beaucoup, a lot,

passionnément, passionately, Read more...

Sheron Long Comments

Cultural Diversity/France/Language & Culture/USA

Jul

Arles Photo Festival: Inspired by Black and White

by Meredith Mullins on July 11, 2013

Black and White installation by Daido Moriyama, including a fishnet frame and enlarged contact sheets, offering creative inspiration for black and white photographers

Labyrinth + Monochrome
Installation at Rencontres d’Arles by Daido Moriyama

Creative Inspiration—It’s Back in Black (and White)

Black-and-white photography is alive and well . . . and living in Arles this summer.*

The annual photo festival, Rencontres d’Arles (Conference in Arles), proclaims loudly and clearly in this year’s program that black-and-white photography is not dead.

But, how does B&W live in this world of creative inspiration? As nostalgia, poetry, humanism, a graceful simplification of form and light, abstraction, raw power, sentimentality, or timeless truth. Read more...

Meredith Mullins 2 Comments

France/The World's Photography

World Views: