Introduction to Art History for Models: Lesson 1 - London

Hi, guys! As far as I know, one of the biggest sufferings of these courageous young ladies who decide to pursue a career of full-time model is inability to continue their education. I mean, it's nice at first when you don't have to listen to the bullshit they were trying to sell you at high school, but after a while  you realise that you are facing a danger of becoming dumb. Or you just want to know more since you are surrounded by sophisticated people.

I've never been a huge fan of school (most of time it was just impossibly boring), being a great of studying at the same time. That is why I decided to launch a new project within my blog being Introductory Course of Art History for Models.

For Lesson 1 I choose London. Male Fashion Week is coming soon and statistics are pitiless - boys need education more than girls in western society.

When in London, go to National Gallery. It is gigantic and if you try to see it all, you will remember nothing and get a massive headache. Here comes a selection of must-sees which I selected from all the masterpieces available in National Gallery's menu.

Giovanni Bellini, Doge Leonardo Loredan, 1501-2

This painting can teach you how to deal with side light, fancy hats and jacquard (the latter being particularily useful for stylists).

Thomas Gainsborough, Mr and Mrs Andrews, about 1700

A girl model, a boy model, a dog, stupid clothes and coutryside - get prepared for summer shootings!

Caravaggio, The Supper at Emaus, 1601

See it before your first Vogue Italia editorial with Steven Meisel.

Diego Velazquez, The Rokeby Venus, 1647-51

Blury pale colours? Paolo Roversi?

Dominique Ingres, Madame Moitessier, 1856

Never make such a hand gesture inf front of a camera!!!

Georges Seurat, The Bathers, 1884

This painting shows how not to pose for Victoria's Secret beachwear advertisment. Alessandra Ambrosio, listen!

The Wilton Diptych, 1395-9

This is a painting useful for stylists - have a look how to deal with golden and light blue.

Jan van Eyck, The Arnolfini Portrait, 1434

Interiors and natural light - how to pose in such conditions.

Dear students, please make notes. They are going to be useful.

On forests and man

Sabina Leccia, Eat the world up

There are people who fuck for forests. Are there any who become anorectic?

Cry, Madame Pompadour, it's a crisis

photography: Mathias Sterner, clothes: Chiaki Moronga

shooting for Dazed Digital

Click here for more

Here come hard and gloomy times, Madame Pompadour:

All about food - in and out

Helmut Newton

Kiki Smith

Since there is a great renaissance of interest in Newton's works and Smith is one of my favourite contemporary artists and I've recently paid more attention to what I eat, here comes a short illustration of what can happen to a man during the process of digestion.

Something really scary.

Seriously, guys. I strongly recommend you be tested for food intollerance if you can afford it (in Poland where I come from it is relatively expensive, I do not know about other countries). I just got my results last week and, hurray, I found out I should completely exclude from my diet such products as:

* dairy (cow, goat, sheep milk)

* eggs

* all carbs containing gluten

* yeast

* honey

and other stuff such as raspberries, curry, pineapple, celery and so on.

Fortunatelly, my best friend, Anna Reingard, with whom I met at my first day at School of Form, the design college I entered this autumn, is in exactly hopeless position as myself. We decided to tackle this problem creatively and started working on a comic about us being not able to eat nearly anything. All in all, we are at a design school. And design is not about crying above problems, but finding solutions.