Art – Dissecting The Look

January Book Recommendations

EN

January first I downloaded Goodreads and established a 24 books a year goal. Given I usually read several books at the same time (should one annoy me or a dear character suddenly dies) it was a 2 books per month goal. But one must be flexible with ones goals and so even though January isn’t over, 5 books have already been eaten.

When I asked you about content you wished to see more around here and on instagram, I was very pleased that so many answered “books”. And so here we are, making lists and exchanging points of view!

I tried to keep the list as eclectic as possible, as you can see. There is no specific order of preference, even though I’m currently addicted to the Bridgerton´s books (I’m on my 4th book, they are 8). A fun fact about “After the Shots” – I met C. Fardoe on instagram, she is the most stylish author ever and she was kind enough to send me her two books during the last lockdown.

P.S.1: I do prefer physical books but given the delays in Book Depository, I have been reading most English versions in ebook. If any of you happens to know an alternative, do tell me!

P.S.2: I´ll be back with more books next month 🙂

PT

No primeiro dia de Janeiro fiz download da app Goodreads e estabeleci um objectivo de 24 livros para ler durante 2021. Uma vez que tenho por hábito ler pelo menos 2 livros em simultâneo (dá-se várias vezes o caso de eu me aborrecer com uma personagem ou com a própria narrativa), este meu objectivo seria pacificamente atingido despachando eu 2 livros por mês. “Exequível”, pensei. Acontece que Janeiro ainda não acabou e 4 livros já foram lidos.

Quando perguntei que tipo de conteúdo gostariam de ver por aqui, principalmente agora que estamos muito mais em casa, várias pessoas responderam “livros”. Portanto, cá estamos – fazendo listas e trocando pontos de vista!

Tentei manter a lista o mais eclética possível – há para todos os gostos.Uma vez que este post não pretendia ser em estilo de review, volto com mais recomendações no próximo mês.

Evidente que terei todo o gosto em falar-vos sobre qualquer um destes livros. Já sabem onde me encontrar 🙂

January 17, 2021February 15, 2021 by Filipa Categories: ArtTags: book recommendations, books, Bridgerton, Carlos Ruis Zafón, Fernando pessoa, Julia Quinn, livros, lockdown reading list, lockdown readings, quarantine, Sally rooney, virginia woolf 2 Comments

Delivered at 00.30, Seen at 00.31

After finishing Eugenie Grandet from one of my favorite writers I came to the conclusion that if dating was somehow similar to what it was back then relationships – but mostly, dating – would be much better. Lighter, I´d say.

Sure, it´s great how many people more suitable you can meet (or even “e-meet”) now and how wonderful it supposedly is when you find your match, who shares the same musical interests (because you got a preview of his/her spotify playlists or caught him/her listening without turning on the private mode); who reads the same books (because you liked his/her instagram post with that book cover); who likes the same sports you do (because, well, facebook told you); who goes to the same places you do (because insta stories never fails you); who agrees with some sort of political or economic issue (because he/she tweeted about it); ….

When you put it like that not only it sounds like some sort of stalking made possible by the wonderful tech age we live in but it also sounds kind of… dull and boring. Doesn’t it? I mean, we all do a little background research but these days information comes so easily to us that you might even lose interest before going on more than a few dates. Or worst… meeting the person.

Back with Eugenie. Sure she was naïve even though she was 23. Sure it was the XIX century. And she fell in love with someone who had to leave to make his own fortune because of his father´s economic failures and so she didn’t see him for a couple years. Today Eugenie would most certainly FaceTime and WhatsApp him and probably they would try to work on the long distance relationship. Or maybe they would fall apart anyway and meet someone new. Even though she was very naïve, she was starting to get to know him for real. She wasn´t checking his location on insta stories to see where he was having brunch. And she definitely didn´t know a thing about him before or after he showed up. Nor what he was up to when he went away.

My point is, they had so little and it was enough. Nowadays we are suffocated with information most of which is not provided by the person directly but in some sort of non-healthy indirect way through their social media (or their friends). Call me crazy, but I still believe in the good old “are you free for coffee?” way to know people better.

And now it might seem like I´m about to contradict myself but just follow me on this one: it might seem like you know too much about them before you actually do meet the person but the reality is you really don´t. You know where they travel to, who are their friends, what they listen to or read or even where they usually go out. You know what they let you know. But what about character, personal stuff? Don´t forget that people only show on social media what they want, the way they want – their best versions or what they wish they were.

A final note – Eugenie, darling, he was YOUR FREAKING COUSIN! Get it together girl.

Sincerely, XXI century Filipa.

July 13, 2018July 13, 2018 by Filipa Categories: ArtTags: balzac, books, culture, fashion, social media, XXI century 5 Comments

2016 Revisited

2016 was the year I decided to get serious about blogging. I got my own domain, added new categories i´ve always wanted to explore, gave the blog the makeover it needed. I started collaborating with brands and was lucky enough to meet fantastic entrepreneurs. I met amazing people who showed me that love and support often comes from where you least expect. It´s an incredible feeling to look back and see how much i´ve grown and how Dissecting The Look is slowly becoming what i´ve always wanted: a place to inspire other people, learn about their opinions and points of view.

Of course, none of this would be possible without all of you. Words cannot describe how lucky and happy I feel to have such amazing readers who constantly show their support in the most unpredictable ways. It´s a pleasure to blog in your company. So a big thank you to all of you who take a bit of your time to read my posts, comment them, share your love on instagram, send me supportive e-mails. I promise 2017 will be full of surprises and lots of inspiration. I´ll leave you with a small collection of 2016 pictures 🙂

2016 foi o ano em que decidi levar o blog mais a sério. Registei o meu domínio, acrescentei novas categorias que sempre quis explorar, dei ao blog a mudança de visual que mais se lhe adequava. Foi o ano em que comecei a colaborar com marcas e conheci empreendedores fantásticos. Conheci, também, pessoas maravilhosas que me mostraram que, por vezes, o carinho e apoio vem dos lugares que menos esperamos. É incrível ver o quanto cresci e como o Dissecting The Look está, lentamente, a tornar-se o que eu sempre desejei: uma fonte de inspiração, um lugar de partilha de opiniões e pontos de vista.

Claro que nada disto era possível sem vocês. Não há palavras para descrever o quão feliz e sortuda me sinto por ter leitores que mostram o seu apoio de forma constante e das maneiras mais imprevisíveis. Um grande obrigada a todos por lerem os posts, comentarem, pela constante simpatia no instagram e pelos e-mails. 2017 será cheio de surpresas, inspiração e novos posts. Deixo-vos com uma pequena amostra de 2016 em imagens 🙂

January 4, 2017January 26, 2017 by Filipa Categories: Art, Decor, FashionTags: 2016, Art, blogging, Decor, fashion 14 Comments

Fly Art

What would you say if I told you Frank Ocean is somehow related to Renoir? Odd, but but still possible. How? Meet Fly Art, an artistic project created by Gisella Velasco and Toni Potenciano. It could be a name of a vanguardist movement (in some ways, it actually is) but it´s the combination of rap lyrics on paintings. Surrealist paintings, Renaissance paintings, Impressionists, everything. There´s no artistic movement left behind. Artists like Kendrick Lamar, Beyoncé or Drake give another life at intemporal masterpieces, bringing them to the XXI society.

So if, just like me, you´ve always wanted to wear a combination of Frida Kahlo and Kendrick Lamar, you can take a look at rad.com and shop the Fly Art Collection.

Portrait of the Duchess of La Salle (1925), Tamara de Lempicka / 6INCH, Beyoncé

Self-portrait in a Velvet Dress (1926), Frida Kahlo / Thye Blacker the Berry, Kendrick Lamar

Portrait of Dora Maar (1937), Pablo Picasso / Werkin Girls, Angel Haze

Les Demoiselles d´Avignon (1907), Pablo Picasso / Single Ladies, Beyoncé

July 31, 2016July 31, 2016 by Filipa Categories: ArtTags: Art, fashion, fly art, hip-hop, outfits, rap 14 Comments

New Category – Art / Nova Categoria – Art

People express themselves in different ways. In my case, one of the best ways I have of doing it is through drawing and painting. I’ve been doing it since I was a little child and couldn’t even decide if I could grab my coloring pencils better with my left or my right hand. If you’re already following me on Instagram, you’ve probably seen some of my illustrations and also photos of street art so this new category – Art – shouldn’t come as a surprise to you 🙂 You can expect posts about illustrations, street art, digital art, new artists I’ve acknowledged and others that inspire me. I hope you like this category as much as I do and let me know what you think about this new chapter on Dissecting The Look.

For the first post I’d like to introduce you Dorothee Golz, an artist who transforms Renaissance paintings into contemporary digital art. The process of transformation, of course, is complicated and questions like ‘will the final results be odd because of the contrast between Renaissance and the XXI century?’ or ‘will the first paintings be ruined?’. Somehow Dorothee gives another life to historical characters and results couldn’t be more amazing. The final work shows some of the most iconic faces in the history of art wearing contemporary clothes proving us that they are, in fact, timeless.

Her work is exactly the kind of digital art I’m passionate about. The kind of art I’d love having decorating – or better, giving life to my house. Let me know your thoughts on this contrasting work of art 🙂

Portuguese Version

As pessoas expressam-se de formas diferentes. No meu caso, uma das melhores formas que tenho de me exprimir é através do desenho e da pintura. É assim desde a altura em que ainda nem sabia bem se me dava mais jeito agarrar os lápis de cor com a mão esquerda ou com a direita. Quem me segue no instagram já deve ter visto alguns dos meus esboços, bem como fotos de ‘arte de rua’, pelo que esta nova categoria – Arte – não será uma surpresa assim tão grande 😉 Nesta nova categoria podem esperar posts sobre ilustrações, ‘street art’, arte digital, novos artistas que vou descobrindo e artistas que provavelmente conhecem e cujo trabalho adoro. Espero que gostem tanto desta categoria como eu e que me digam o que pensam sobre este novo capítulo do Dissecting The Look 🙂

Para o primeiro post desta nova categoria escolhi uma artista que descobri recentemente – Dorothee Golz. As suas obras consistem em transposições de personagens de quadros renascentistas conhecidos para roupas e cenários contemporâneos. O processo de transformação, como não podia deixar de ser, é complexo e suscita delicadas questões como ‘será que o resultado final vai ser estranho devido ao contraste entre as duas épocas?’ ou ‘estará o quadro original a ser estragado?’. A verdade é que Dorothee dá uma nova vida a personagens históricas e os resultados não podiam ser mais incríveis. O resultado final é a prova da intemporalidade destas personagens. Este é precisamente o tipo de arte digital que adoro e o tipo de arte que gostaria de ter a decorar – ou, melhor dizendo, a dar vida, à minha casa. Que acham? Pode a dama com o arminho vestir Prada?