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.... Etnea avenue, the 2018 evening of February 5, the day of the feast of the Patron Saint of Catania, St.Agatha, it happens that ....
.... via Etnea, la sera del 5 febbraio 2018, il giorno della festa della Santa Patrona di Catania, Sant'Agata, accade che ....
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Qi Bo's photos on Flickr Hive Mind
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Fear of the unknown, the fear of losing own physical or mental health, or worse, having already lost it, possible problems with work (if a work has it), old age advancing, awareness of the existence of a Higher Being, are just some of the reasons that push people to search for a contact with the Divine, with the supernatural, leading them to plead for help, but this is not enough to completely explain the close link fact of absolute devotion and enormous affection that the people of Catania (province) have towards their young martyr Agatha; an entire city partecipate in these days to ceremony and procession, one can not help but ask this question, what binds in such a profound and peculiar citizens to their Patron Saint Agata? Maybe I was lucky enough to capture photographically what is a partial response (see my photos of the 2016 feast): a child at a very early age is brought to the window from her mother while passing the float of St. Agatha, so it's easy to understand... the devotion and attachment to the Martyr starts very young , transmitted by their parents as a treasure to be preserved and grow throughout their lives, which leads you in the days of the feast to a great collective.
This is a short-long report I did this year 2018, in the city of Catania (Sicily) in occasion of the feast of her patron saint Agatha, which took place on the 3, 4 and 5 February (this dates commemorates the martyrdom of the young Saint), and on 17 August too (this date celebrates the return to Catania of her remains, after these had been transferred to Constantinople by the Byzantine general Maniaces as war booty, and there remained for 86 years), when the Sicilian city is dressed up to feast, with a scent of orange blossom and mandarins, and its citizens show that they possess an extraordinary love and bond with the young martyr saint Agatha.
The religious sicilian feast of Saint Agatha is the most important feast of Catania, its inhabitants from five centuries, during the three days of the feast in honor of her "Santuzza" (young Saint), create a unique setting, with celebrations and rituals impressive, which means that this event is regarded as the third religious festival in the world (some say the second ...) after the "Semana Santa" in Seville and the "Corpus Christi" in Cuzco, Peru. Unlike other religious holidays, more sober, to Sant'Agata highlights a vocation exuberant typical of the south Italy, who loves to combine the sacred with the profane.
The cult of the young Santa dates back to the third century, when the teenager Agatha was martyred for refusing the roman proconsul Quintiziano. One year after the death of the young Agatha, on 5 February of the year 252, his virginal veil was carried in procession, and it is said it was able to save Catania from destruction due to a devastating eruption of Mount Etna.
The festivities begin with the procession of Candlemas (this year were in greater number, perhaps 14 instead of the 11 years of the other years); the "Candlemas" are giant Baroque wooden "candlesticks" paintings in gold, each representing an ancient guild (butchers, fishmongers, grocers, greengrocers, etc.), which are brought by eight devotees; the "cannalore" (candlemas) anticipate the arrival of the "float" of Saint Agatha during the procession. Devotees, men and women, wearing a traditional garment similar to a white bag, cinched at the waist by a black rope, gloves and a white handkerchief, and a black velvet cap, and it seems that such clothing evoke nightgown with the qule the Catanese, awakened with a start by the touch of the bells of the Cathedral, welcomed the naval port, in 1126, the relics of the Holy which fell from Constantinople. On float, consisting of a silver chariot sixteenth of thirty tons, which is driven by a double and long line of devotees with the robust and long ropes, takes place the bust of Saint Agatha, completely covered with precious stones and jewels. On February 4, the parade celebrates the so-called "external path" that touches some places of martyrdom in the city of Catania; the next day, the 5 instead the procession along the "aristocrat path", which runs along the main street, Via Etnea, the parlor of Catania. On this day the devotees carry on their shoulders the long candles of varying thickness, there are some not very big, others are fairly heavy, but some skim exceptional weights.
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La paura dell’ignoto, il timore di perdere la salute fisica o psichica, o peggio, averla già persa, possibili problemi col lavoro (per chi un lavora l’ha) o peggio non averlo dovendo così “inventarsi” la giornata, la vecchiaia che avanza, la consapevolezza dell’esistenza di un Essere Superiore, sono solo alcuni dei motivi che spingono gli uomini a cercare un contatto col Divino, col Sovrannaturale, portandoli ad invocare il Suo aiuto, ma tutto ciò non basta assolutamente a spiegare lo stretto legame fatto di assoluta devozione ed enorme attaccamento che gli abitanti di Catania (e provincia) hanno nei confronti della loro “Santuzza” la giovanissima martire Agata; nel vedere partecipare quella che sembra essere una città intera a questi giorni di rito e processione, non ci si può non porre questa domanda, cosa lega in maniera così profonda e peculiare i cittadini Catanesi alla loro Santa Patrona Agata? Forse ho avuto la fortuna di cogliere fotograficamente (vedi le mie foto della festa del 2016) quella che è una risposta parziale e certamente non unica alla domanda: un bimbo in tenerissima età viene portato alla finestra dalla sua mamma mentre passa la vara di S.Agata, ecco… la devozione e l’attaccamento alla giovanissima Martire inizia da piccolissimi, trasmessa dai propri genitori (e non solo…) come un tesoro da custodire e coltivare per tutta la vita, che porta che nei giorni della festa ad un fantastico rito collettivo al quale nessun Catanese sembra non possa o non voglia rinunciare.
Questa è un breve e lungo report, da me realizzato nel febbraio di quest’anno 2018, nella città di Catania (Sicilia) in occasione della festa della sua giovane santa patrona Agata, che ha avuto luogo come ogni anno il 3, il 4 ed il 5 di febbraio (questa data commemora il martirio della Santa giovinetta), festa che viene ripetuta anche il 17 agosto (questa data rievoca il ritorno a Catania delle sue spoglie, dopo che queste erano state trasferite a Costantinopoli da parte del generale bizantino Maniace come bottino di guerra, spoglie che ivi rimasero per 86 anni); per questa occasione la città siciliana è vestita a festa con profumi di fiori d'arancio e mandarini, coi suoi cittadini che mostrano di possedere uno straordinario amore e legame con la giovane martire Agata.
Gli abitanti di Catania, oramai da cinque secoli, nei tre giorni della festa in onore della "Santuzza", danno vita ad una scenografia unica, con celebrazioni e riti imponenti, che fanno si che questo evento sia considerato come la terza festa religiosa al mondo (qualcuno dice la seconda ...) dopo la "Semana Santa" di Siviglia ed il "Corpus Domini" a Cuzco, in Perù. A differenza di altre feste religiose, più sobrie, quella di Sant'Agata mette in luce una vocazione esuberante tipica del meridione, che ama unire il sacro col profano.
Il culto della giovane Santa risale al terzo secolo, quando l'adolescente Agata fu martirizzata per aver rifiutato il proconsole romano Quintiziano. Un anno dopo la morte della giovane Agata, avvenuta il 5 febbraio dell'anno 252, il suo velo virginale venne portato in processione, e si narra esso riuscì a salvare Catania dalla sua distruzione a causa di una devastante eruzione del vulcano Etna.
I festeggiamenti iniziano con il corteo delle "candelore", queste sono dei giganteschi e pesanti "candelabri" in legno, in stile barocco, dipinti in oro, ognuna rappresentante una antica corporazione (macellai, pescivendoli, pizzicagnoli, fruttivendoli, ecc.), che vengono portati da otto devoti, le quali "cannalore" durante la processione anticipano l'arrivo della "vara" di Sant'Agata. I devoti, sia donne che uomini, indossano un tipico indumento simile ad un sacco bianco, stretto in vita da una cordicella nera, guanti ed un fazzoletto bianchi, ed infine una papalina di velluto nero, sembra che tale abbigliamento rievochi la camicia da notte con la quale i Catanesi, svegliatisi di soprassalto dal tocco improvviso delle campane del Duomo, accolsero al porto navale, nel 1126, le reliquie della Santa che rientravano da Costantinopoli. Sulla vara, costituita da un carro argentato cinquecentesco di trenta quintali, trainata da una doppia e lunghissima fila di devoti tramite delle robuste e lunghe funi, prende posto il busto di Sant'Agata, completamente ricoperto di pietre preziose e gioielli. Il 4 febbraio, il corteo compie il cosiddetto "giro esterno" che tocca alcuni luoghi del martirio nella città catanese; il giorno dopo, il 5, il corteo percorre il "giro aristocratico", che percorre la strada principale, la via Etnea, salotto buono di Catania. In questo giorno i devoti portano in spalla dei lunghi ceri di vario spessore, ce ne sono alcuni non molto grossi, altri sono discretamente pesanti, ma alcuni sfiorano pesi eccezionali.
My first attempt to go ahead and capture something more that just the crescent...
Dedicate this to my wife who finally managed to push me to the balcony to click the MOON. We see this sight every month but I had been very lazy to actually capture this until Jan 12 when I got a pleasant surprise to see my camera (mounted with the lens and the tripod) waiting for me at the balcony :-)
Thanks Kahini for setting up everthing... I owe you a new camera body now!
Date 12/01/2009
Unauthorised use of this photo is strictly prohibited
A celestial globe made by George Smith in 1810. The fun part: it includes the constellation Telescopium Herschelli, named after William Herschel (this is from the Herschel museum in Bath) in celebration of his discovering Uranus.
.... Etnea avenue, the 2018 evening of February 5, the day of the feast of the Patron Saint of Catania, St.Agatha, it happens that ....
.... via Etnea, la sera del 5 febbraio 2018, il giorno della festa della Santa Patrona di Catania, Sant'Agata, accade che ....
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Qi Bo's photos on Flickr Hive Mind
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Fear of the unknown, the fear of losing own physical or mental health, or worse, having already lost it, possible problems with work (if a work has it), old age advancing, awareness of the existence of a Higher Being, are just some of the reasons that push people to search for a contact with the Divine, with the supernatural, leading them to plead for help, but this is not enough to completely explain the close link fact of absolute devotion and enormous affection that the people of Catania (province) have towards their young martyr Agatha; an entire city partecipate in these days to ceremony and procession, one can not help but ask this question, what binds in such a profound and peculiar citizens to their Patron Saint Agata? Maybe I was lucky enough to capture photographically what is a partial response (see my photos of the 2016 feast): a child at a very early age is brought to the window from her mother while passing the float of St. Agatha, so it's easy to understand... the devotion and attachment to the Martyr starts very young , transmitted by their parents as a treasure to be preserved and grow throughout their lives, which leads you in the days of the feast to a great collective.
This is a short-long report I did this year 2018, in the city of Catania (Sicily) in occasion of the feast of her patron saint Agatha, which took place on the 3, 4 and 5 February (this dates commemorates the martyrdom of the young Saint), and on 17 August too (this date celebrates the return to Catania of her remains, after these had been transferred to Constantinople by the Byzantine general Maniaces as war booty, and there remained for 86 years), when the Sicilian city is dressed up to feast, with a scent of orange blossom and mandarins, and its citizens show that they possess an extraordinary love and bond with the young martyr saint Agatha.
The religious sicilian feast of Saint Agatha is the most important feast of Catania, its inhabitants from five centuries, during the three days of the feast in honor of her "Santuzza" (young Saint), create a unique setting, with celebrations and rituals impressive, which means that this event is regarded as the third religious festival in the world (some say the second ...) after the "Semana Santa" in Seville and the "Corpus Christi" in Cuzco, Peru. Unlike other religious holidays, more sober, to Sant'Agata highlights a vocation exuberant typical of the south Italy, who loves to combine the sacred with the profane.
The cult of the young Santa dates back to the third century, when the teenager Agatha was martyred for refusing the roman proconsul Quintiziano. One year after the death of the young Agatha, on 5 February of the year 252, his virginal veil was carried in procession, and it is said it was able to save Catania from destruction due to a devastating eruption of Mount Etna.
The festivities begin with the procession of Candlemas (this year were in greater number, perhaps 14 instead of the 11 years of the other years); the "Candlemas" are giant Baroque wooden "candlesticks" paintings in gold, each representing an ancient guild (butchers, fishmongers, grocers, greengrocers, etc.), which are brought by eight devotees; the "cannalore" (candlemas) anticipate the arrival of the "float" of Saint Agatha during the procession. Devotees, men and women, wearing a traditional garment similar to a white bag, cinched at the waist by a black rope, gloves and a white handkerchief, and a black velvet cap, and it seems that such clothing evoke nightgown with the qule the Catanese, awakened with a start by the touch of the bells of the Cathedral, welcomed the naval port, in 1126, the relics of the Holy which fell from Constantinople. On float, consisting of a silver chariot sixteenth of thirty tons, which is driven by a double and long line of devotees with the robust and long ropes, takes place the bust of Saint Agatha, completely covered with precious stones and jewels. On February 4, the parade celebrates the so-called "external path" that touches some places of martyrdom in the city of Catania; the next day, the 5 instead the procession along the "aristocrat path", which runs along the main street, Via Etnea, the parlor of Catania. On this day the devotees carry on their shoulders the long candles of varying thickness, there are some not very big, others are fairly heavy, but some skim exceptional weights.
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La paura dell’ignoto, il timore di perdere la salute fisica o psichica, o peggio, averla già persa, possibili problemi col lavoro (per chi un lavora l’ha) o peggio non averlo dovendo così “inventarsi” la giornata, la vecchiaia che avanza, la consapevolezza dell’esistenza di un Essere Superiore, sono solo alcuni dei motivi che spingono gli uomini a cercare un contatto col Divino, col Sovrannaturale, portandoli ad invocare il Suo aiuto, ma tutto ciò non basta assolutamente a spiegare lo stretto legame fatto di assoluta devozione ed enorme attaccamento che gli abitanti di Catania (e provincia) hanno nei confronti della loro “Santuzza” la giovanissima martire Agata; nel vedere partecipare quella che sembra essere una città intera a questi giorni di rito e processione, non ci si può non porre questa domanda, cosa lega in maniera così profonda e peculiare i cittadini Catanesi alla loro Santa Patrona Agata? Forse ho avuto la fortuna di cogliere fotograficamente (vedi le mie foto della festa del 2016) quella che è una risposta parziale e certamente non unica alla domanda: un bimbo in tenerissima età viene portato alla finestra dalla sua mamma mentre passa la vara di S.Agata, ecco… la devozione e l’attaccamento alla giovanissima Martire inizia da piccolissimi, trasmessa dai propri genitori (e non solo…) come un tesoro da custodire e coltivare per tutta la vita, che porta che nei giorni della festa ad un fantastico rito collettivo al quale nessun Catanese sembra non possa o non voglia rinunciare.
Questa è un breve e lungo report, da me realizzato nel febbraio di quest’anno 2018, nella città di Catania (Sicilia) in occasione della festa della sua giovane santa patrona Agata, che ha avuto luogo come ogni anno il 3, il 4 ed il 5 di febbraio (questa data commemora il martirio della Santa giovinetta), festa che viene ripetuta anche il 17 agosto (questa data rievoca il ritorno a Catania delle sue spoglie, dopo che queste erano state trasferite a Costantinopoli da parte del generale bizantino Maniace come bottino di guerra, spoglie che ivi rimasero per 86 anni); per questa occasione la città siciliana è vestita a festa con profumi di fiori d'arancio e mandarini, coi suoi cittadini che mostrano di possedere uno straordinario amore e legame con la giovane martire Agata.
Gli abitanti di Catania, oramai da cinque secoli, nei tre giorni della festa in onore della "Santuzza", danno vita ad una scenografia unica, con celebrazioni e riti imponenti, che fanno si che questo evento sia considerato come la terza festa religiosa al mondo (qualcuno dice la seconda ...) dopo la "Semana Santa" di Siviglia ed il "Corpus Domini" a Cuzco, in Perù. A differenza di altre feste religiose, più sobrie, quella di Sant'Agata mette in luce una vocazione esuberante tipica del meridione, che ama unire il sacro col profano.
Il culto della giovane Santa risale al terzo secolo, quando l'adolescente Agata fu martirizzata per aver rifiutato il proconsole romano Quintiziano. Un anno dopo la morte della giovane Agata, avvenuta il 5 febbraio dell'anno 252, il suo velo virginale venne portato in processione, e si narra esso riuscì a salvare Catania dalla sua distruzione a causa di una devastante eruzione del vulcano Etna.
I festeggiamenti iniziano con il corteo delle "candelore", queste sono dei giganteschi e pesanti "candelabri" in legno, in stile barocco, dipinti in oro, ognuna rappresentante una antica corporazione (macellai, pescivendoli, pizzicagnoli, fruttivendoli, ecc.), che vengono portati da otto devoti, le quali "cannalore" durante la processione anticipano l'arrivo della "vara" di Sant'Agata. I devoti, sia donne che uomini, indossano un tipico indumento simile ad un sacco bianco, stretto in vita da una cordicella nera, guanti ed un fazzoletto bianchi, ed infine una papalina di velluto nero, sembra che tale abbigliamento rievochi la camicia da notte con la quale i Catanesi, svegliatisi di soprassalto dal tocco improvviso delle campane del Duomo, accolsero al porto navale, nel 1126, le reliquie della Santa che rientravano da Costantinopoli. Sulla vara, costituita da un carro argentato cinquecentesco di trenta quintali, trainata da una doppia e lunghissima fila di devoti tramite delle robuste e lunghe funi, prende posto il busto di Sant'Agata, completamente ricoperto di pietre preziose e gioielli. Il 4 febbraio, il corteo compie il cosiddetto "giro esterno" che tocca alcuni luoghi del martirio nella città catanese; il giorno dopo, il 5, il corteo percorre il "giro aristocratico", che percorre la strada principale, la via Etnea, salotto buono di Catania. In questo giorno i devoti portano in spalla dei lunghi ceri di vario spessore, ce ne sono alcuni non molto grossi, altri sono discretamente pesanti, ma alcuni sfiorano pesi eccezionali.
My previous picture showed Cadwell 33 (The Veil Nebula in Cygnus) both in true LRGB colours and the Halpha component which gives details with good contrast of the immense H cloud.
I tried to keep my cake and eat it by blending, with a ratio of about half, the H alpha picture in both the luminence and the red components in the LRGB process. Is it fair for this celestial beauty?
***Please, feel free to use my Textures, Backgrounds, Stock, etc., in your Artwork.
If you do use them, I would love it if you would please post your work in my group, Ruby's Treasures
...Please DO NOT redistribute as your own...
See all my Textures ~Here
Grace Beverly Jones (b19 May 1948) is a Jamaican singer, songwriter, supermodel, record producer, and actress. Born in Jamaica, she moved when she was 13, along with her siblings, to live with her parents in Syracuse, New York. Jones began her modelling career in New York state, then in Paris, working for fashion houses such as Yves St. Laurent and Kenzo, and appearing on the covers of Elle and Vogue. She worked with photographers such as Jean-Paul Goude, Helmut Newton, Guy Bourdin, and Hans Feurer, and became known for her distinctive androgynous appearance and bold features.
In 1977, Jones secured a record deal with Island Records, initially becoming a star of New York City's Studio 54-centered disco scene. In the early 1980s, she moved toward a new wave style that drew on reggae, funk, post-punk and pop music, frequently collaborating with both the graphic designer Jean-Paul Goude and the musical duo Sly & Robbie. Her most popular albums include Warm Leatherette (1980), Nightclubbing (1981), and Slave to the Rhythm (1985). She scored Top 40 entries on the UK Singles Chart with "Pull Up to the Bumper", "I've Seen That Face Before", "Private Life", and "Slave to the Rhythm". In 1982, she released the music video collection A One Man Show, directed by Goude.
Jones appeared in some low-budget films in the US during the 1970s and early 1980s. In 1984, she made her first mainstream appearance as Zula in the fantasy-action film Conan the Destroyer alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sarah Douglas, and subsequently appeared in the 1985 James Bond movie A View to a Kill as May Day. In 1986, she played a vampire in Vamp, and acted in and contributed a song to the 1992 Eddie Murphy film Boomerang. She appeared alongside Tim Curry in the 2001 film Wolf Girl. For her work in Conan the Destroyer, A View to a Kill, and Vamp, she was nominated for Saturn Awards for Best Supporting Actress.
In 1999, Jones ranked 82nd on VH1's 100 Greatest Women of Rock and Roll, and in 2008, she was honored with a Q Idol Award. Jones influenced the cross-dressing movement of the 1980s and has been an inspiration for artists including Annie Lennox, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Lorde, Róisín Murphy, Brazilian Girls, Nile Rodgers, Santigold, and Basement Jaxx. In December 2016, Billboard magazine ranked her as the 40th most successful dance artist of all time.[10]
1948–73: Early life, and modeling career
Grace Jones was born in 1948 (though most sources say 1952) in Spanish Town, Jamaica, the daughter of Marjorie (née Williams) and Robert W. Jones, who was a local politician and Apostolic clergyman The couple already had two children, and would go on to have four more.[19] Robert and Marjorie moved to the East Coast of the United States,[19] where Robert worked as an agricultural labourer until a spiritual experience during a failed suicide attempt inspired him to become a Pentecostal minister.[20] While they were in the US, they left their children with Marjorie's mother and her new husband, Peart.[21] Jones knew him as "Mas P" ('Master P') and later noted that she "absolutely hated him"; as a strict disciplinarian he regularly beat the children in his care, representing what Jones described as "serious abuse".[22] She was raised into the family's Pentecostal faith,[23] having to take part in prayer meetings and Bible readings every night.[24] She initially attended the Pentecostal All Saints School,[25] before being sent to a nearby public school.[26] As a child, shy Jones had only one schoolfriend and was teased by classmates for her "skinny frame", but she excelled at sports and found solace in the nature of Jamaica.[27]
"[My childhood] was all about the Bible and beatings. We were beaten for any little act of dissent, and hit harder the worse the disobedience. It formed me as a person, my choices, men I have been attracted to... It was a profoundly disciplined, militant upbringing, and so in my own way, I am very militant and disciplined. Even if that sometimes means being militantly naughty, and disciplined in the arts of subversion. ."
— Grace Jones, 2015.[28]
Marjorie and Robert eventually brought their children – including the 13 year old Grace – to live with them in the US, where they had settled in Lyncourt, Salina, New York, near Syracuse.[29][30] It was in the city that her father had established his own ministry, the Apostolic Church of Jesus Christ, in 1956.[31] Jones continued her schooling and after she graduated, enrolled at Onondaga Community College majoring in Spanish.[32][33] Jones began to rebel against her parents and their religion; she began wearing makeup, drinking alcohol, and visiting gay clubs with her brother.[34] At college, she also took a theatre class, with her drama teacher convincing her to join him on a summer stock tour in Philadelphia.[35][33] Arriving in the city, she decided to stay there, immersing herself in the Counterculture of the 1960s by living in hippie communes, earning money as a go-go dancer, and using LSD and other drugs.[36] She later praised the use of LSD as "a very important part of my emotional growth... The mental exercise was good for me".[37]
She moved back to New York at 18 and signed on as a model with Wilhelmina Modelling agency. She moved to Paris in 1970.[33][38] The Parisian fashion scene was receptive to Jones' unusual, androgynous, bold, dark-skinned appearance. Yves St. Laurent, Claude Montana, and Kenzo Takada hired her for runway modelling, and she appeared on the covers of Elle, Vogue, and Stern working with Helmut Newton, Guy Bourdin, and Hans Feurer.[39] Jones also modelled for Azzedine Alaia, and was frequently photographed promoting his line. While modelling in Paris, she shared an apartment with Jerry Hall and Jessica Lange. Hall and Jones frequented Le Sept, one of Paris's most popular gay clubs of the 1970s and '80s, and socialised with Giorgio Armani and Karl Lagerfeld.[40] In 1973, Jones appeared on the cover of a reissue of Billy Paul's 1970 album Ebony Woman.
1974–79: Transition to music, and early releases
Jones was signed by Island Records, who put her in the studio with disco record producer, Tom Moulton. Moulton worked at Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia, and Portfolio, was released in 1977. The album featured three songs from Broadway musicals, "Send in the Clowns" by Stephen Sondheim from A Little Night Music, "What I Did for Love" from A Chorus Line and "Tomorrow" from Annie. The second side of the album opens up with a seven-minute reinterpretation of Édith Piaf's "La Vie en rose" followed by three new recordings, two of which were co-written by Jones, "Sorry", and "That's the Trouble". The album finished with "I Need a Man", Jones' first club hit.[41] The artwork to the album was designed by Richard Bernstein, an artist for Interview.
In 1978, Jones and Moulton made Fame, an immediate follow-up to Portfolio, also recorded at Sigma Sound Studios. The album featured another reinterpretation of a French classic, "Autumn Leaves" by Jacques Prévert. The Canadian edition of the vinyl album included another French language track, "Comme un oiseau qui s'envole", which replaced "All on a Summers Night"; in most locations this song served as the B-side of the single "Do or Die". In the North American club scene, Fame was a hit album and the "Do or Die"/"Pride"/"Fame" side reached top 10 on both the US Hot Dance Club Play and Canadian Dance/Urban charts. The album was released on compact disc in the early 1990s, but soon went out of print. In 2011, it was released and remastered by Gold Legion, a record company that specialises in reissuing classic disco albums on CD.[42] Jones' live shows were highly sexualized and flamboyant, leading her to be called "Queen of the Gay Discos."[4]
Muse was the last of Jones' disco albums. The album features a re-recorded version "I'll Find My Way to You", which Jones released three years prior to Muse. Originally appearing in the 1976 Italian film, Colt 38 Special Squad in which Jones had a role as a club singer, Jones also recorded a song called "Again and Again" that was featured in the film. Both songs were produced by composer Stelvio Cipriani. Icelandic keyboardist Thor Baldursson arranged most of the album and also sang duet with Jones on the track "Suffer". Like the last two albums, the cover art is by Richard Bernstein. Like Fame, Muse was later released by Gold Legion.[43]
1980–85: Breakthrough, Nightclubbing, and acting
With anti-disco sentiment spreading, and with the aid of the Compass Point All Stars, Jones transitioned into new wave music with the 1980 release of Warm Leatherette. The album included covers of songs by The Normal ("Warm Leatherette"), The Pretenders ("Private Life"), Roxy Music ("Love Is the Drug"), Smokey Robinson ("The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game"), Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers ("Breakdown") and Jacques Higelin ("Pars"). Sly Dunbar revealed that the title track was also the first to be recorded with Jones.[44][45] Tom Petty wrote the lyrics to "Breakdown", and he also wrote the third verse of Jones' reinterpretation.[46] The album included one song co-written by Jones, "A Rolling Stone". Originally, "Pull Up to the Bumper" was to be included on the album, but its R&B sound did not fit with the rest of the material.[47] By 1981, she had begun collaborating with photographer and graphic designer Jean-Paul Goude, with whom she also had a relationship.[48]
The 1981 release of Nightclubbing included Jones' covers of songs by Flash and the Pan ("Walking in the Rain"), Bill Withers ("Use Me"), Iggy Pop/David Bowie ("Nightclubbing") and Ástor Piazzolla ("I've Seen That Face Before"). Three songs were co-written by Jones: "Feel Up", "Art Groupie" and "Pull Up to the Bumper". Sting wrote "Demolition Man"; he later recorded it with The Police on the album Ghost in the Machine. "I've Done It Again" was written by Marianne Faithfull. The strong rhythm featured on Nightclubbing was produced by Compass Point All Stars, including Sly and Robbie, Wally Badarou, Mikey Chung, Uziah "Sticky" Thompson and Barry Reynolds. The album entered in the Top 5 in four countries, and became Jones' highest-ranking record on the US Billboard mainstream albums and R&B charts.
Nightclubbing claimed the number 1 slot on NME's Album of the Year list.[49] Slant Magazine listed the album at No. 40 on its list of Best Albums of the 1980s.[50] Nightclubbing is now widely considered Jones' best studio album.[51] The album's cover art is a painting of Jones by Jean-Paul Goude. Jones is presented as a man wearing an Armani suit jacket, with a cigarette in her mouth and a flattop haircut. While promoting the album, Jones slapped chat-show host Russell Harty live on air after he had turned to interview other guests, making Jones feel she was being ignored.[52]
Having already recorded two reggae-oriented albums under the production of Compass Point All Stars, Jones went to Nassau, Bahamas in 1982 and recorded Living My Life; the album resulted in Jones' final contribution to the Compass Point trilogy, with only one cover, Melvin Van Peebles's "The Apple Stretching". The rest were original songs; "Nipple to the Bottle" was co-written with Sly Dunbar, and, apart from "My Jamaican Guy", the other tracks were collaborations with Barry Reynolds. Despite receiving a limited single release, the title track was left off the album. Further session outtakes included "Man Around the House" (Jones, Reynolds) and a cover of "Ring of Fire", written by June Carter Cash and Merle Kilgore and popularized by Johnny Cash, both of which were included on the 1998 compilation Private Life: The Compass Point Sessions. The album's cover art resulted from another Jones/Goude collaboration; the artwork has been described as being as famous as the music on the record. It features Jones' disembodied head cut out from a photograph and pasted onto a white background. Jones' head is sharpened, giving her head and face an angular shape.A piece of plaster is pasted over her left eyebrow, and her forehead is covered with drops of sweat.
Jones' three albums under the production of the Compass Point All Stars resulted in Jones' One Man Show, a performance art/pop theatre presentation devised by Goude and Jones in which she also performed tracks from the albums Portfolio ("La Vie en rose"), Warm Leatherette, ("Private Life", "Warm Leatherette"), Nightclubbing ("Walking in the Rain", "Feel Up", "Demolition Man", "Pull Up to the Bumper" and "I've Seen That Face Before (Libertango)") and from Living My Life, "My Jamaican Guy" and the album's title track. Jones dressed in elaborate costumes and masks (in the opening sequence as a gorilla) and alongside a series of Grace Jones lookalikes. A video version, filmed live in London and New York City and completed with some studio footage, was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Long-Form Music Video the following year.
After the release of Living My Life, Jones took on the role of Zula the Amazonian in Conan the Destroyer (1984) and was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress. In 1985, Jones starred as May Day, henchman to main antagonist Max Zorin in the 14th James Bond film A View to a Kill; Jones was also nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress. That same year, she was featured on the Arcadia song "Election Day". Jones was among the many stars to promote the Honda Scooter; other artists included Lou Reed, Adam Ant, and Miles Davis Jones also, with her boyfriend Dolph Lundgren posed nude for Playboy.
After Jones' success as a mainstream actress, she returned to the studio to work on Slave to the Rhythm, the last of her recordings for Island. Bruce Woolley, Simon Darlow, Stephen Lipson and Trevor Horn wrote the material, and it was produced by Horn and Lipson. It was a concept album that featured several interpretations of the title track. The project was originally intended for Frankie Goes to Hollywood as a follow-up to "Relax", but was given to Jones.All eight tracks on the album featured excerpts from a conversation with Jones, speaking about many aspects of her life. The interview was conducted by journalist Paul Morley. The album features voice-overs from actor Ian McShane reciting passages from Jean-Paul Goude's biography Jungle Fever. Slave to the Rhythm was successful in German-speaking countries and in the Netherlands, where it secured Top 10 placings. It reached number 12 on the UK Albums Chart in November 1985 and became the second-highest-ranking album released by Jones. Jones earned an MTV Video Music Award nomination for the title track's music video.
After her success with Slave to the Rhythm, Island released Island Life, Jones' first best-of compilation, which featured songs from most of her releases with Island (Portfolio, Fame, Warm Leatherette, Nightclubbing, Living My Life and Slave to the Rhythm). American writer and journalist Glenn O'Brien wrote the essay for the inlay booklet. The compilation charted in the UK, New Zealand and the United States.The artwork on the cover of the compilation was of another Jones/Goude collaboration; it featured Jones' celestial body in a montage of separate images, following Goude's ideas on creating credible illusions with his cut-and-paint technique. The body position is anatomically impossible.
The artwork, a piece called "Nigger Arabesque" was originally published in the New York magazine in 1978, and was used as a backdrop for the music video of Jones' hit single "La Vie en rose". The artwork has been described as "one of pop culture's most famous photographs". The image was also parodied in Nicki Minaj's 2011 music video for "Stupid Hoe", in which Minaj mimicked the pose.
1986–89: Slave to the Rhythm, Island Life, further films, Jones teamed up with music producer Nile Rodgers of Chic, whom Jones had previously tried to work with during the disco era.[67] The album was recorded at Skyline Studios in New York and post-produced at Atlantic Studios and Sterling Sound. Inside Story was the first album Jones produced, which resulted in heated disputes with Rodgers. Musically, the album was more accessible than her previous albums with the Compass Point All Stars, and explored different styles of pop music, with undertones of jazz, gospel, and Caribbean sounds. All songs on the album were written by Jones and Bruce Woolley. Richard Bernstein teamed up with Jones again to provide the album's artwork. Inside Story made the top 40 in several European countries. The album was Jones' last entry to date on US Billboard 200 albums chart. The same year, Jones starred as Katrina, an Egyptian queen vampire in the vampire film Vamp. For her work in the film, Jones was awarded a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress.
In 1987, Jones appeared in two films, Straight to Hell, and Mary Lambert's Siesta, for which Jones was nominated for Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actress. Bulletproof Heart was released in 1989, produced by Chris Stanley, who co-wrote, and co-produced the majority of the songs, and was featured as a guest vocalist on "Don't Cry Freedom". Robert Clivillés and David Cole of C+C Music Factory produced some tracks on the album.
1990–2004: Boomerang, soundtracks, and collaborations
In 1990, Jones appeared as herself in the documentary, Superstar: The Life and Times of Andy Warhol. 1992 saw Jones starring as Helen Strangé, in the Eddie Murphy film Boomerang, for which she also contributed the song "7 Day Weekend" to its soundtrack. Jones released two more soundtrack songs in 1992; "Evilmainya", recorded for the film Freddie as F.R.O.7, and "Let Joy and Innocence Prevail" for the film Toys. In 1994, she was due to release an electro album titled Black Marilyn with artwork featuring the singer as Marilyn Monroe. "Sex Drive" was released as the first single in September 1993, but due to unknown reasons the record was eventually shelved. The track "Volunteer", recorded during the same sessions, leaked in 2009.[68]
In 1996, Jones released "Love Bites", an up-tempo electronic track to promote the Sci-Fi Channel's Vampire Week, which consisted of a series of vampire-themed films aired on the channel in early November 1996. The track features Jones singing from the perspective of a vampire. The track was released as a non-label promo-only single. To this day, it has not been made commercially available.[69] In June 1998, she was scheduled to release an album entitled Force of Nature, on which she worked with trip hop musician Tricky.[70] The release of Force of Nature was cancelled due to a disagreement between the two, and only a white label 12" single featuring two dance mixes of "Hurricane" was issued at the time;[71] a slowed-down version of this song became the title track of her comeback album released ten years later while another unreleased track from the album, "Clandestine Affair" (recycling the chorus from her unreleased 1993 track "Volunteer"), appeared on a bootleg 12" in 2004.[72] Jones recorded the track "Storm" in 1998 for the movie The Avengers, and in 1999, appeared in an episode of the Beastmaster television series as the Umpatra Warrior.
The same year, Jones recorded "The Perfect Crime", an up-tempo song for Danish TV written by the composer duo Floppy M. aka Jacob Duus and Kåre Jacobsen. Jones was also ranked 82nd place on VH1's "100 Greatest Women of Rock & Roll".[citation needed] In 2000, Jones collaborated with rapper Lil' Kim, appearing on the song "Revolution" from her album The Notorious K.I.M. In 2001, Jones starred in the made-for-television film, Wolf Girl (also known as Blood Moon), as an intersex circus performer named Christoph/Christine. In 2002, Jones joined Luciano Pavarotti on stage for his annual Pavarotti and Friends fundraiser concert to support the United Nations refugee agency's programs for Angolan refugees in Zambia. In November 2004, Jones sang "Slave to the Rhythm" at a tribute concert for record producer Trevor Horn at London's Wembley Arena
Grace Beverly Jones (b19 May 1948) is a Jamaican singer, songwriter, supermodel, record producer, and actress. Born in Jamaica, she moved when she was 13, along with her siblings, to live with her parents in Syracuse, New York. Jones began her modelling career in New York state, then in Paris, working for fashion houses such as Yves St. Laurent and Kenzo, and appearing on the covers of Elle and Vogue. She worked with photographers such as Jean-Paul Goude, Helmut Newton, Guy Bourdin, and Hans Feurer, and became known for her distinctive androgynous appearance and bold features.
In 1977, Jones secured a record deal with Island Records, initially becoming a star of New York City's Studio 54-centered disco scene. In the early 1980s, she moved toward a new wave style that drew on reggae, funk, post-punk and pop music, frequently collaborating with both the graphic designer Jean-Paul Goude and the musical duo Sly & Robbie. Her most popular albums include Warm Leatherette (1980), Nightclubbing (1981), and Slave to the Rhythm (1985). She scored Top 40 entries on the UK Singles Chart with "Pull Up to the Bumper", "I've Seen That Face Before", "Private Life", and "Slave to the Rhythm". In 1982, she released the music video collection A One Man Show, directed by Goude.
Jones appeared in some low-budget films in the US during the 1970s and early 1980s. In 1984, she made her first mainstream appearance as Zula in the fantasy-action film Conan the Destroyer alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sarah Douglas, and subsequently appeared in the 1985 James Bond movie A View to a Kill as May Day. In 1986, she played a vampire in Vamp, and acted in and contributed a song to the 1992 Eddie Murphy film Boomerang. She appeared alongside Tim Curry in the 2001 film Wolf Girl. For her work in Conan the Destroyer, A View to a Kill, and Vamp, she was nominated for Saturn Awards for Best Supporting Actress.
In 1999, Jones ranked 82nd on VH1's 100 Greatest Women of Rock and Roll, and in 2008, she was honored with a Q Idol Award. Jones influenced the cross-dressing movement of the 1980s and has been an inspiration for artists including Annie Lennox, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Lorde, Róisín Murphy, Brazilian Girls, Nile Rodgers, Santigold, and Basement Jaxx. In December 2016, Billboard magazine ranked her as the 40th most successful dance artist of all time.[10]
1948–73: Early life, and modeling career
Grace Jones was born in 1948 (though most sources say 1952) in Spanish Town, Jamaica, the daughter of Marjorie (née Williams) and Robert W. Jones, who was a local politician and Apostolic clergyman The couple already had two children, and would go on to have four more.[19] Robert and Marjorie moved to the East Coast of the United States,[19] where Robert worked as an agricultural labourer until a spiritual experience during a failed suicide attempt inspired him to become a Pentecostal minister.[20] While they were in the US, they left their children with Marjorie's mother and her new husband, Peart.[21] Jones knew him as "Mas P" ('Master P') and later noted that she "absolutely hated him"; as a strict disciplinarian he regularly beat the children in his care, representing what Jones described as "serious abuse".[22] She was raised into the family's Pentecostal faith,[23] having to take part in prayer meetings and Bible readings every night.[24] She initially attended the Pentecostal All Saints School,[25] before being sent to a nearby public school.[26] As a child, shy Jones had only one schoolfriend and was teased by classmates for her "skinny frame", but she excelled at sports and found solace in the nature of Jamaica.[27]
"[My childhood] was all about the Bible and beatings. We were beaten for any little act of dissent, and hit harder the worse the disobedience. It formed me as a person, my choices, men I have been attracted to... It was a profoundly disciplined, militant upbringing, and so in my own way, I am very militant and disciplined. Even if that sometimes means being militantly naughty, and disciplined in the arts of subversion. ."
— Grace Jones, 2015.[28]
Marjorie and Robert eventually brought their children – including the 13 year old Grace – to live with them in the US, where they had settled in Lyncourt, Salina, New York, near Syracuse.[29][30] It was in the city that her father had established his own ministry, the Apostolic Church of Jesus Christ, in 1956.[31] Jones continued her schooling and after she graduated, enrolled at Onondaga Community College majoring in Spanish.[32][33] Jones began to rebel against her parents and their religion; she began wearing makeup, drinking alcohol, and visiting gay clubs with her brother.[34] At college, she also took a theatre class, with her drama teacher convincing her to join him on a summer stock tour in Philadelphia.[35][33] Arriving in the city, she decided to stay there, immersing herself in the Counterculture of the 1960s by living in hippie communes, earning money as a go-go dancer, and using LSD and other drugs.[36] She later praised the use of LSD as "a very important part of my emotional growth... The mental exercise was good for me".[37]
She moved back to New York at 18 and signed on as a model with Wilhelmina Modelling agency. She moved to Paris in 1970.[33][38] The Parisian fashion scene was receptive to Jones' unusual, androgynous, bold, dark-skinned appearance. Yves St. Laurent, Claude Montana, and Kenzo Takada hired her for runway modelling, and she appeared on the covers of Elle, Vogue, and Stern working with Helmut Newton, Guy Bourdin, and Hans Feurer.[39] Jones also modelled for Azzedine Alaia, and was frequently photographed promoting his line. While modelling in Paris, she shared an apartment with Jerry Hall and Jessica Lange. Hall and Jones frequented Le Sept, one of Paris's most popular gay clubs of the 1970s and '80s, and socialised with Giorgio Armani and Karl Lagerfeld.[40] In 1973, Jones appeared on the cover of a reissue of Billy Paul's 1970 album Ebony Woman.
1974–79: Transition to music, and early releases
Jones was signed by Island Records, who put her in the studio with disco record producer, Tom Moulton. Moulton worked at Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia, and Portfolio, was released in 1977. The album featured three songs from Broadway musicals, "Send in the Clowns" by Stephen Sondheim from A Little Night Music, "What I Did for Love" from A Chorus Line and "Tomorrow" from Annie. The second side of the album opens up with a seven-minute reinterpretation of Édith Piaf's "La Vie en rose" followed by three new recordings, two of which were co-written by Jones, "Sorry", and "That's the Trouble". The album finished with "I Need a Man", Jones' first club hit.[41] The artwork to the album was designed by Richard Bernstein, an artist for Interview.
In 1978, Jones and Moulton made Fame, an immediate follow-up to Portfolio, also recorded at Sigma Sound Studios. The album featured another reinterpretation of a French classic, "Autumn Leaves" by Jacques Prévert. The Canadian edition of the vinyl album included another French language track, "Comme un oiseau qui s'envole", which replaced "All on a Summers Night"; in most locations this song served as the B-side of the single "Do or Die". In the North American club scene, Fame was a hit album and the "Do or Die"/"Pride"/"Fame" side reached top 10 on both the US Hot Dance Club Play and Canadian Dance/Urban charts. The album was released on compact disc in the early 1990s, but soon went out of print. In 2011, it was released and remastered by Gold Legion, a record company that specialises in reissuing classic disco albums on CD.[42] Jones' live shows were highly sexualized and flamboyant, leading her to be called "Queen of the Gay Discos."[4]
Muse was the last of Jones' disco albums. The album features a re-recorded version "I'll Find My Way to You", which Jones released three years prior to Muse. Originally appearing in the 1976 Italian film, Colt 38 Special Squad in which Jones had a role as a club singer, Jones also recorded a song called "Again and Again" that was featured in the film. Both songs were produced by composer Stelvio Cipriani. Icelandic keyboardist Thor Baldursson arranged most of the album and also sang duet with Jones on the track "Suffer". Like the last two albums, the cover art is by Richard Bernstein. Like Fame, Muse was later released by Gold Legion.[43]
1980–85: Breakthrough, Nightclubbing, and acting
With anti-disco sentiment spreading, and with the aid of the Compass Point All Stars, Jones transitioned into new wave music with the 1980 release of Warm Leatherette. The album included covers of songs by The Normal ("Warm Leatherette"), The Pretenders ("Private Life"), Roxy Music ("Love Is the Drug"), Smokey Robinson ("The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game"), Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers ("Breakdown") and Jacques Higelin ("Pars"). Sly Dunbar revealed that the title track was also the first to be recorded with Jones.[44][45] Tom Petty wrote the lyrics to "Breakdown", and he also wrote the third verse of Jones' reinterpretation.[46] The album included one song co-written by Jones, "A Rolling Stone". Originally, "Pull Up to the Bumper" was to be included on the album, but its R&B sound did not fit with the rest of the material.[47] By 1981, she had begun collaborating with photographer and graphic designer Jean-Paul Goude, with whom she also had a relationship.[48]
The 1981 release of Nightclubbing included Jones' covers of songs by Flash and the Pan ("Walking in the Rain"), Bill Withers ("Use Me"), Iggy Pop/David Bowie ("Nightclubbing") and Ástor Piazzolla ("I've Seen That Face Before"). Three songs were co-written by Jones: "Feel Up", "Art Groupie" and "Pull Up to the Bumper". Sting wrote "Demolition Man"; he later recorded it with The Police on the album Ghost in the Machine. "I've Done It Again" was written by Marianne Faithfull. The strong rhythm featured on Nightclubbing was produced by Compass Point All Stars, including Sly and Robbie, Wally Badarou, Mikey Chung, Uziah "Sticky" Thompson and Barry Reynolds. The album entered in the Top 5 in four countries, and became Jones' highest-ranking record on the US Billboard mainstream albums and R&B charts.
Nightclubbing claimed the number 1 slot on NME's Album of the Year list.[49] Slant Magazine listed the album at No. 40 on its list of Best Albums of the 1980s.[50] Nightclubbing is now widely considered Jones' best studio album.[51] The album's cover art is a painting of Jones by Jean-Paul Goude. Jones is presented as a man wearing an Armani suit jacket, with a cigarette in her mouth and a flattop haircut. While promoting the album, Jones slapped chat-show host Russell Harty live on air after he had turned to interview other guests, making Jones feel she was being ignored.[52]
Having already recorded two reggae-oriented albums under the production of Compass Point All Stars, Jones went to Nassau, Bahamas in 1982 and recorded Living My Life; the album resulted in Jones' final contribution to the Compass Point trilogy, with only one cover, Melvin Van Peebles's "The Apple Stretching". The rest were original songs; "Nipple to the Bottle" was co-written with Sly Dunbar, and, apart from "My Jamaican Guy", the other tracks were collaborations with Barry Reynolds. Despite receiving a limited single release, the title track was left off the album. Further session outtakes included "Man Around the House" (Jones, Reynolds) and a cover of "Ring of Fire", written by June Carter Cash and Merle Kilgore and popularized by Johnny Cash, both of which were included on the 1998 compilation Private Life: The Compass Point Sessions. The album's cover art resulted from another Jones/Goude collaboration; the artwork has been described as being as famous as the music on the record. It features Jones' disembodied head cut out from a photograph and pasted onto a white background. Jones' head is sharpened, giving her head and face an angular shape.A piece of plaster is pasted over her left eyebrow, and her forehead is covered with drops of sweat.
Jones' three albums under the production of the Compass Point All Stars resulted in Jones' One Man Show, a performance art/pop theatre presentation devised by Goude and Jones in which she also performed tracks from the albums Portfolio ("La Vie en rose"), Warm Leatherette, ("Private Life", "Warm Leatherette"), Nightclubbing ("Walking in the Rain", "Feel Up", "Demolition Man", "Pull Up to the Bumper" and "I've Seen That Face Before (Libertango)") and from Living My Life, "My Jamaican Guy" and the album's title track. Jones dressed in elaborate costumes and masks (in the opening sequence as a gorilla) and alongside a series of Grace Jones lookalikes. A video version, filmed live in London and New York City and completed with some studio footage, was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Long-Form Music Video the following year.
After the release of Living My Life, Jones took on the role of Zula the Amazonian in Conan the Destroyer (1984) and was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress. In 1985, Jones starred as May Day, henchman to main antagonist Max Zorin in the 14th James Bond film A View to a Kill; Jones was also nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress. That same year, she was featured on the Arcadia song "Election Day". Jones was among the many stars to promote the Honda Scooter; other artists included Lou Reed, Adam Ant, and Miles Davis Jones also, with her boyfriend Dolph Lundgren posed nude for Playboy.
After Jones' success as a mainstream actress, she returned to the studio to work on Slave to the Rhythm, the last of her recordings for Island. Bruce Woolley, Simon Darlow, Stephen Lipson and Trevor Horn wrote the material, and it was produced by Horn and Lipson. It was a concept album that featured several interpretations of the title track. The project was originally intended for Frankie Goes to Hollywood as a follow-up to "Relax", but was given to Jones.All eight tracks on the album featured excerpts from a conversation with Jones, speaking about many aspects of her life. The interview was conducted by journalist Paul Morley. The album features voice-overs from actor Ian McShane reciting passages from Jean-Paul Goude's biography Jungle Fever. Slave to the Rhythm was successful in German-speaking countries and in the Netherlands, where it secured Top 10 placings. It reached number 12 on the UK Albums Chart in November 1985 and became the second-highest-ranking album released by Jones. Jones earned an MTV Video Music Award nomination for the title track's music video.
After her success with Slave to the Rhythm, Island released Island Life, Jones' first best-of compilation, which featured songs from most of her releases with Island (Portfolio, Fame, Warm Leatherette, Nightclubbing, Living My Life and Slave to the Rhythm). American writer and journalist Glenn O'Brien wrote the essay for the inlay booklet. The compilation charted in the UK, New Zealand and the United States.The artwork on the cover of the compilation was of another Jones/Goude collaboration; it featured Jones' celestial body in a montage of separate images, following Goude's ideas on creating credible illusions with his cut-and-paint technique. The body position is anatomically impossible.
The artwork, a piece called "Nigger Arabesque" was originally published in the New York magazine in 1978, and was used as a backdrop for the music video of Jones' hit single "La Vie en rose". The artwork has been described as "one of pop culture's most famous photographs". The image was also parodied in Nicki Minaj's 2011 music video for "Stupid Hoe", in which Minaj mimicked the pose.
1986–89: Slave to the Rhythm, Island Life, further films, Jones teamed up with music producer Nile Rodgers of Chic, whom Jones had previously tried to work with during the disco era.[67] The album was recorded at Skyline Studios in New York and post-produced at Atlantic Studios and Sterling Sound. Inside Story was the first album Jones produced, which resulted in heated disputes with Rodgers. Musically, the album was more accessible than her previous albums with the Compass Point All Stars, and explored different styles of pop music, with undertones of jazz, gospel, and Caribbean sounds. All songs on the album were written by Jones and Bruce Woolley. Richard Bernstein teamed up with Jones again to provide the album's artwork. Inside Story made the top 40 in several European countries. The album was Jones' last entry to date on US Billboard 200 albums chart. The same year, Jones starred as Katrina, an Egyptian queen vampire in the vampire film Vamp. For her work in the film, Jones was awarded a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress.
In 1987, Jones appeared in two films, Straight to Hell, and Mary Lambert's Siesta, for which Jones was nominated for Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actress. Bulletproof Heart was released in 1989, produced by Chris Stanley, who co-wrote, and co-produced the majority of the songs, and was featured as a guest vocalist on "Don't Cry Freedom". Robert Clivillés and David Cole of C+C Music Factory produced some tracks on the album.
1990–2004: Boomerang, soundtracks, and collaborations
In 1990, Jones appeared as herself in the documentary, Superstar: The Life and Times of Andy Warhol. 1992 saw Jones starring as Helen Strangé, in the Eddie Murphy film Boomerang, for which she also contributed the song "7 Day Weekend" to its soundtrack. Jones released two more soundtrack songs in 1992; "Evilmainya", recorded for the film Freddie as F.R.O.7, and "Let Joy and Innocence Prevail" for the film Toys. In 1994, she was due to release an electro album titled Black Marilyn with artwork featuring the singer as Marilyn Monroe. "Sex Drive" was released as the first single in September 1993, but due to unknown reasons the record was eventually shelved. The track "Volunteer", recorded during the same sessions, leaked in 2009.[68]
In 1996, Jones released "Love Bites", an up-tempo electronic track to promote the Sci-Fi Channel's Vampire Week, which consisted of a series of vampire-themed films aired on the channel in early November 1996. The track features Jones singing from the perspective of a vampire. The track was released as a non-label promo-only single. To this day, it has not been made commercially available.[69] In June 1998, she was scheduled to release an album entitled Force of Nature, on which she worked with trip hop musician Tricky.[70] The release of Force of Nature was cancelled due to a disagreement between the two, and only a white label 12" single featuring two dance mixes of "Hurricane" was issued at the time;[71] a slowed-down version of this song became the title track of her comeback album released ten years later while another unreleased track from the album, "Clandestine Affair" (recycling the chorus from her unreleased 1993 track "Volunteer"), appeared on a bootleg 12" in 2004.[72] Jones recorded the track "Storm" in 1998 for the movie The Avengers, and in 1999, appeared in an episode of the Beastmaster television series as the Umpatra Warrior.
The same year, Jones recorded "The Perfect Crime", an up-tempo song for Danish TV written by the composer duo Floppy M. aka Jacob Duus and Kåre Jacobsen. Jones was also ranked 82nd place on VH1's "100 Greatest Women of Rock & Roll".[citation needed] In 2000, Jones collaborated with rapper Lil' Kim, appearing on the song "Revolution" from her album The Notorious K.I.M. In 2001, Jones starred in the made-for-television film, Wolf Girl (also known as Blood Moon), as an intersex circus performer named Christoph/Christine. In 2002, Jones joined Luciano Pavarotti on stage for his annual Pavarotti and Friends fundraiser concert to support the United Nations refugee agency's programs for Angolan refugees in Zambia. In November 2004, Jones sang "Slave to the Rhythm" at a tribute concert for record producer Trevor Horn at London's Wembley Arena
.... Etnea avenue, the 2018 evening of February 5, the day of the feast of the Patron Saint of Catania, St.Agatha, it happens that ....
.... via Etnea, la sera del 5 febbraio 2018, il giorno della festa della Santa Patrona di Catania, Sant'Agata, accade che ....
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Qi Bo's photos on Flickr Hive Mind
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Fear of the unknown, the fear of losing own physical or mental health, or worse, having already lost it, possible problems with work (if a work has it), old age advancing, awareness of the existence of a Higher Being, are just some of the reasons that push people to search for a contact with the Divine, with the supernatural, leading them to plead for help, but this is not enough to completely explain the close link fact of absolute devotion and enormous affection that the people of Catania (province) have towards their young martyr Agatha; an entire city partecipate in these days to ceremony and procession, one can not help but ask this question, what binds in such a profound and peculiar citizens to their Patron Saint Agata? Maybe I was lucky enough to capture photographically what is a partial response (see my photos of the 2016 feast): a child at a very early age is brought to the window from her mother while passing the float of St. Agatha, so it's easy to understand... the devotion and attachment to the Martyr starts very young , transmitted by their parents as a treasure to be preserved and grow throughout their lives, which leads you in the days of the feast to a great collective.
This is a short-long report I did this year 2018, in the city of Catania (Sicily) in occasion of the feast of her patron saint Agatha, which took place on the 3, 4 and 5 February (this dates commemorates the martyrdom of the young Saint), and on 17 August too (this date celebrates the return to Catania of her remains, after these had been transferred to Constantinople by the Byzantine general Maniaces as war booty, and there remained for 86 years), when the Sicilian city is dressed up to feast, with a scent of orange blossom and mandarins, and its citizens show that they possess an extraordinary love and bond with the young martyr saint Agatha.
The religious sicilian feast of Saint Agatha is the most important feast of Catania, its inhabitants from five centuries, during the three days of the feast in honor of her "Santuzza" (young Saint), create a unique setting, with celebrations and rituals impressive, which means that this event is regarded as the third religious festival in the world (some say the second ...) after the "Semana Santa" in Seville and the "Corpus Christi" in Cuzco, Peru. Unlike other religious holidays, more sober, to Sant'Agata highlights a vocation exuberant typical of the south Italy, who loves to combine the sacred with the profane.
The cult of the young Santa dates back to the third century, when the teenager Agatha was martyred for refusing the roman proconsul Quintiziano. One year after the death of the young Agatha, on 5 February of the year 252, his virginal veil was carried in procession, and it is said it was able to save Catania from destruction due to a devastating eruption of Mount Etna.
The festivities begin with the procession of Candlemas (this year were in greater number, perhaps 14 instead of the 11 years of the other years); the "Candlemas" are giant Baroque wooden "candlesticks" paintings in gold, each representing an ancient guild (butchers, fishmongers, grocers, greengrocers, etc.), which are brought by eight devotees; the "cannalore" (candlemas) anticipate the arrival of the "float" of Saint Agatha during the procession. Devotees, men and women, wearing a traditional garment similar to a white bag, cinched at the waist by a black rope, gloves and a white handkerchief, and a black velvet cap, and it seems that such clothing evoke nightgown with the qule the Catanese, awakened with a start by the touch of the bells of the Cathedral, welcomed the naval port, in 1126, the relics of the Holy which fell from Constantinople. On float, consisting of a silver chariot sixteenth of thirty tons, which is driven by a double and long line of devotees with the robust and long ropes, takes place the bust of Saint Agatha, completely covered with precious stones and jewels. On February 4, the parade celebrates the so-called "external path" that touches some places of martyrdom in the city of Catania; the next day, the 5 instead the procession along the "aristocrat path", which runs along the main street, Via Etnea, the parlor of Catania. On this day the devotees carry on their shoulders the long candles of varying thickness, there are some not very big, others are fairly heavy, but some skim exceptional weights.
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La paura dell’ignoto, il timore di perdere la salute fisica o psichica, o peggio, averla già persa, possibili problemi col lavoro (per chi un lavora l’ha) o peggio non averlo dovendo così “inventarsi” la giornata, la vecchiaia che avanza, la consapevolezza dell’esistenza di un Essere Superiore, sono solo alcuni dei motivi che spingono gli uomini a cercare un contatto col Divino, col Sovrannaturale, portandoli ad invocare il Suo aiuto, ma tutto ciò non basta assolutamente a spiegare lo stretto legame fatto di assoluta devozione ed enorme attaccamento che gli abitanti di Catania (e provincia) hanno nei confronti della loro “Santuzza” la giovanissima martire Agata; nel vedere partecipare quella che sembra essere una città intera a questi giorni di rito e processione, non ci si può non porre questa domanda, cosa lega in maniera così profonda e peculiare i cittadini Catanesi alla loro Santa Patrona Agata? Forse ho avuto la fortuna di cogliere fotograficamente (vedi le mie foto della festa del 2016) quella che è una risposta parziale e certamente non unica alla domanda: un bimbo in tenerissima età viene portato alla finestra dalla sua mamma mentre passa la vara di S.Agata, ecco… la devozione e l’attaccamento alla giovanissima Martire inizia da piccolissimi, trasmessa dai propri genitori (e non solo…) come un tesoro da custodire e coltivare per tutta la vita, che porta che nei giorni della festa ad un fantastico rito collettivo al quale nessun Catanese sembra non possa o non voglia rinunciare.
Questa è un breve e lungo report, da me realizzato nel febbraio di quest’anno 2018, nella città di Catania (Sicilia) in occasione della festa della sua giovane santa patrona Agata, che ha avuto luogo come ogni anno il 3, il 4 ed il 5 di febbraio (questa data commemora il martirio della Santa giovinetta), festa che viene ripetuta anche il 17 agosto (questa data rievoca il ritorno a Catania delle sue spoglie, dopo che queste erano state trasferite a Costantinopoli da parte del generale bizantino Maniace come bottino di guerra, spoglie che ivi rimasero per 86 anni); per questa occasione la città siciliana è vestita a festa con profumi di fiori d'arancio e mandarini, coi suoi cittadini che mostrano di possedere uno straordinario amore e legame con la giovane martire Agata.
Gli abitanti di Catania, oramai da cinque secoli, nei tre giorni della festa in onore della "Santuzza", danno vita ad una scenografia unica, con celebrazioni e riti imponenti, che fanno si che questo evento sia considerato come la terza festa religiosa al mondo (qualcuno dice la seconda ...) dopo la "Semana Santa" di Siviglia ed il "Corpus Domini" a Cuzco, in Perù. A differenza di altre feste religiose, più sobrie, quella di Sant'Agata mette in luce una vocazione esuberante tipica del meridione, che ama unire il sacro col profano.
Il culto della giovane Santa risale al terzo secolo, quando l'adolescente Agata fu martirizzata per aver rifiutato il proconsole romano Quintiziano. Un anno dopo la morte della giovane Agata, avvenuta il 5 febbraio dell'anno 252, il suo velo virginale venne portato in processione, e si narra esso riuscì a salvare Catania dalla sua distruzione a causa di una devastante eruzione del vulcano Etna.
I festeggiamenti iniziano con il corteo delle "candelore", queste sono dei giganteschi e pesanti "candelabri" in legno, in stile barocco, dipinti in oro, ognuna rappresentante una antica corporazione (macellai, pescivendoli, pizzicagnoli, fruttivendoli, ecc.), che vengono portati da otto devoti, le quali "cannalore" durante la processione anticipano l'arrivo della "vara" di Sant'Agata. I devoti, sia donne che uomini, indossano un tipico indumento simile ad un sacco bianco, stretto in vita da una cordicella nera, guanti ed un fazzoletto bianchi, ed infine una papalina di velluto nero, sembra che tale abbigliamento rievochi la camicia da notte con la quale i Catanesi, svegliatisi di soprassalto dal tocco improvviso delle campane del Duomo, accolsero al porto navale, nel 1126, le reliquie della Santa che rientravano da Costantinopoli. Sulla vara, costituita da un carro argentato cinquecentesco di trenta quintali, trainata da una doppia e lunghissima fila di devoti tramite delle robuste e lunghe funi, prende posto il busto di Sant'Agata, completamente ricoperto di pietre preziose e gioielli. Il 4 febbraio, il corteo compie il cosiddetto "giro esterno" che tocca alcuni luoghi del martirio nella città catanese; il giorno dopo, il 5, il corteo percorre il "giro aristocratico", che percorre la strada principale, la via Etnea, salotto buono di Catania. In questo giorno i devoti portano in spalla dei lunghi ceri di vario spessore, ce ne sono alcuni non molto grossi, altri sono discretamente pesanti, ma alcuni sfiorano pesi eccezionali.
The crescent moon, Jupiter, and Venus shine bright in the early night
sky as their light is reflected off of a still pool at Great Falls
National Park.
Or a flight of fairies
These measure about 3 inches high and are mainly destined for the front of cards
.... Etnea avenue, the 2018 evening of February 5, the day of the feast of the Patron Saint of Catania, St.Agatha, it happens that ....
.... via Etnea, la sera del 5 febbraio 2018, il giorno della festa della Santa Patrona di Catania, Sant'Agata, accade che ....
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Qi Bo's photos on Flickr Hive Mind
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Fear of the unknown, the fear of losing own physical or mental health, or worse, having already lost it, possible problems with work (if a work has it), old age advancing, awareness of the existence of a Higher Being, are just some of the reasons that push people to search for a contact with the Divine, with the supernatural, leading them to plead for help, but this is not enough to completely explain the close link fact of absolute devotion and enormous affection that the people of Catania (province) have towards their young martyr Agatha; an entire city partecipate in these days to ceremony and procession, one can not help but ask this question, what binds in such a profound and peculiar citizens to their Patron Saint Agata? Maybe I was lucky enough to capture photographically what is a partial response (see my photos of the 2016 feast): a child at a very early age is brought to the window from her mother while passing the float of St. Agatha, so it's easy to understand... the devotion and attachment to the Martyr starts very young , transmitted by their parents as a treasure to be preserved and grow throughout their lives, which leads you in the days of the feast to a great collective.
This is a short-long report I did this year 2018, in the city of Catania (Sicily) in occasion of the feast of her patron saint Agatha, which took place on the 3, 4 and 5 February (this dates commemorates the martyrdom of the young Saint), and on 17 August too (this date celebrates the return to Catania of her remains, after these had been transferred to Constantinople by the Byzantine general Maniaces as war booty, and there remained for 86 years), when the Sicilian city is dressed up to feast, with a scent of orange blossom and mandarins, and its citizens show that they possess an extraordinary love and bond with the young martyr saint Agatha.
The religious sicilian feast of Saint Agatha is the most important feast of Catania, its inhabitants from five centuries, during the three days of the feast in honor of her "Santuzza" (young Saint), create a unique setting, with celebrations and rituals impressive, which means that this event is regarded as the third religious festival in the world (some say the second ...) after the "Semana Santa" in Seville and the "Corpus Christi" in Cuzco, Peru. Unlike other religious holidays, more sober, to Sant'Agata highlights a vocation exuberant typical of the south Italy, who loves to combine the sacred with the profane.
The cult of the young Santa dates back to the third century, when the teenager Agatha was martyred for refusing the roman proconsul Quintiziano. One year after the death of the young Agatha, on 5 February of the year 252, his virginal veil was carried in procession, and it is said it was able to save Catania from destruction due to a devastating eruption of Mount Etna.
The festivities begin with the procession of Candlemas (this year were in greater number, perhaps 14 instead of the 11 years of the other years); the "Candlemas" are giant Baroque wooden "candlesticks" paintings in gold, each representing an ancient guild (butchers, fishmongers, grocers, greengrocers, etc.), which are brought by eight devotees; the "cannalore" (candlemas) anticipate the arrival of the "float" of Saint Agatha during the procession. Devotees, men and women, wearing a traditional garment similar to a white bag, cinched at the waist by a black rope, gloves and a white handkerchief, and a black velvet cap, and it seems that such clothing evoke nightgown with the qule the Catanese, awakened with a start by the touch of the bells of the Cathedral, welcomed the naval port, in 1126, the relics of the Holy which fell from Constantinople. On float, consisting of a silver chariot sixteenth of thirty tons, which is driven by a double and long line of devotees with the robust and long ropes, takes place the bust of Saint Agatha, completely covered with precious stones and jewels. On February 4, the parade celebrates the so-called "external path" that touches some places of martyrdom in the city of Catania; the next day, the 5 instead the procession along the "aristocrat path", which runs along the main street, Via Etnea, the parlor of Catania. On this day the devotees carry on their shoulders the long candles of varying thickness, there are some not very big, others are fairly heavy, but some skim exceptional weights.
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La paura dell’ignoto, il timore di perdere la salute fisica o psichica, o peggio, averla già persa, possibili problemi col lavoro (per chi un lavora l’ha) o peggio non averlo dovendo così “inventarsi” la giornata, la vecchiaia che avanza, la consapevolezza dell’esistenza di un Essere Superiore, sono solo alcuni dei motivi che spingono gli uomini a cercare un contatto col Divino, col Sovrannaturale, portandoli ad invocare il Suo aiuto, ma tutto ciò non basta assolutamente a spiegare lo stretto legame fatto di assoluta devozione ed enorme attaccamento che gli abitanti di Catania (e provincia) hanno nei confronti della loro “Santuzza” la giovanissima martire Agata; nel vedere partecipare quella che sembra essere una città intera a questi giorni di rito e processione, non ci si può non porre questa domanda, cosa lega in maniera così profonda e peculiare i cittadini Catanesi alla loro Santa Patrona Agata? Forse ho avuto la fortuna di cogliere fotograficamente (vedi le mie foto della festa del 2016) quella che è una risposta parziale e certamente non unica alla domanda: un bimbo in tenerissima età viene portato alla finestra dalla sua mamma mentre passa la vara di S.Agata, ecco… la devozione e l’attaccamento alla giovanissima Martire inizia da piccolissimi, trasmessa dai propri genitori (e non solo…) come un tesoro da custodire e coltivare per tutta la vita, che porta che nei giorni della festa ad un fantastico rito collettivo al quale nessun Catanese sembra non possa o non voglia rinunciare.
Questa è un breve e lungo report, da me realizzato nel febbraio di quest’anno 2018, nella città di Catania (Sicilia) in occasione della festa della sua giovane santa patrona Agata, che ha avuto luogo come ogni anno il 3, il 4 ed il 5 di febbraio (questa data commemora il martirio della Santa giovinetta), festa che viene ripetuta anche il 17 agosto (questa data rievoca il ritorno a Catania delle sue spoglie, dopo che queste erano state trasferite a Costantinopoli da parte del generale bizantino Maniace come bottino di guerra, spoglie che ivi rimasero per 86 anni); per questa occasione la città siciliana è vestita a festa con profumi di fiori d'arancio e mandarini, coi suoi cittadini che mostrano di possedere uno straordinario amore e legame con la giovane martire Agata.
Gli abitanti di Catania, oramai da cinque secoli, nei tre giorni della festa in onore della "Santuzza", danno vita ad una scenografia unica, con celebrazioni e riti imponenti, che fanno si che questo evento sia considerato come la terza festa religiosa al mondo (qualcuno dice la seconda ...) dopo la "Semana Santa" di Siviglia ed il "Corpus Domini" a Cuzco, in Perù. A differenza di altre feste religiose, più sobrie, quella di Sant'Agata mette in luce una vocazione esuberante tipica del meridione, che ama unire il sacro col profano.
Il culto della giovane Santa risale al terzo secolo, quando l'adolescente Agata fu martirizzata per aver rifiutato il proconsole romano Quintiziano. Un anno dopo la morte della giovane Agata, avvenuta il 5 febbraio dell'anno 252, il suo velo virginale venne portato in processione, e si narra esso riuscì a salvare Catania dalla sua distruzione a causa di una devastante eruzione del vulcano Etna.
I festeggiamenti iniziano con il corteo delle "candelore", queste sono dei giganteschi e pesanti "candelabri" in legno, in stile barocco, dipinti in oro, ognuna rappresentante una antica corporazione (macellai, pescivendoli, pizzicagnoli, fruttivendoli, ecc.), che vengono portati da otto devoti, le quali "cannalore" durante la processione anticipano l'arrivo della "vara" di Sant'Agata. I devoti, sia donne che uomini, indossano un tipico indumento simile ad un sacco bianco, stretto in vita da una cordicella nera, guanti ed un fazzoletto bianchi, ed infine una papalina di velluto nero, sembra che tale abbigliamento rievochi la camicia da notte con la quale i Catanesi, svegliatisi di soprassalto dal tocco improvviso delle campane del Duomo, accolsero al porto navale, nel 1126, le reliquie della Santa che rientravano da Costantinopoli. Sulla vara, costituita da un carro argentato cinquecentesco di trenta quintali, trainata da una doppia e lunghissima fila di devoti tramite delle robuste e lunghe funi, prende posto il busto di Sant'Agata, completamente ricoperto di pietre preziose e gioielli. Il 4 febbraio, il corteo compie il cosiddetto "giro esterno" che tocca alcuni luoghi del martirio nella città catanese; il giorno dopo, il 5, il corteo percorre il "giro aristocratico", che percorre la strada principale, la via Etnea, salotto buono di Catania. In questo giorno i devoti portano in spalla dei lunghi ceri di vario spessore, ce ne sono alcuni non molto grossi, altri sono discretamente pesanti, ma alcuni sfiorano pesi eccezionali.
General celestial, máscara basada en el rostro de los 12 generales celestiales de Yakushi Buddha en Japón diseñada por Kunihiko Kasahara
.... Etnea avenue, the 2018 evening of February 5, the day of the feast of the Patron Saint of Catania, St.Agatha, it happens that ....
.... via Etnea, la sera del 5 febbraio 2018, il giorno della festa della Santa Patrona di Catania, Sant'Agata, accade che ....
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Qi Bo's photos on Flickr Hive Mind
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Fear of the unknown, the fear of losing own physical or mental health, or worse, having already lost it, possible problems with work (if a work has it), old age advancing, awareness of the existence of a Higher Being, are just some of the reasons that push people to search for a contact with the Divine, with the supernatural, leading them to plead for help, but this is not enough to completely explain the close link fact of absolute devotion and enormous affection that the people of Catania (province) have towards their young martyr Agatha; an entire city partecipate in these days to ceremony and procession, one can not help but ask this question, what binds in such a profound and peculiar citizens to their Patron Saint Agata? Maybe I was lucky enough to capture photographically what is a partial response (see my photos of the 2016 feast): a child at a very early age is brought to the window from her mother while passing the float of St. Agatha, so it's easy to understand... the devotion and attachment to the Martyr starts very young , transmitted by their parents as a treasure to be preserved and grow throughout their lives, which leads you in the days of the feast to a great collective.
This is a short-long report I did this year 2018, in the city of Catania (Sicily) in occasion of the feast of her patron saint Agatha, which took place on the 3, 4 and 5 February (this dates commemorates the martyrdom of the young Saint), and on 17 August too (this date celebrates the return to Catania of her remains, after these had been transferred to Constantinople by the Byzantine general Maniaces as war booty, and there remained for 86 years), when the Sicilian city is dressed up to feast, with a scent of orange blossom and mandarins, and its citizens show that they possess an extraordinary love and bond with the young martyr saint Agatha.
The religious sicilian feast of Saint Agatha is the most important feast of Catania, its inhabitants from five centuries, during the three days of the feast in honor of her "Santuzza" (young Saint), create a unique setting, with celebrations and rituals impressive, which means that this event is regarded as the third religious festival in the world (some say the second ...) after the "Semana Santa" in Seville and the "Corpus Christi" in Cuzco, Peru. Unlike other religious holidays, more sober, to Sant'Agata highlights a vocation exuberant typical of the south Italy, who loves to combine the sacred with the profane.
The cult of the young Santa dates back to the third century, when the teenager Agatha was martyred for refusing the roman proconsul Quintiziano. One year after the death of the young Agatha, on 5 February of the year 252, his virginal veil was carried in procession, and it is said it was able to save Catania from destruction due to a devastating eruption of Mount Etna.
The festivities begin with the procession of Candlemas (this year were in greater number, perhaps 14 instead of the 11 years of the other years); the "Candlemas" are giant Baroque wooden "candlesticks" paintings in gold, each representing an ancient guild (butchers, fishmongers, grocers, greengrocers, etc.), which are brought by eight devotees; the "cannalore" (candlemas) anticipate the arrival of the "float" of Saint Agatha during the procession. Devotees, men and women, wearing a traditional garment similar to a white bag, cinched at the waist by a black rope, gloves and a white handkerchief, and a black velvet cap, and it seems that such clothing evoke nightgown with the qule the Catanese, awakened with a start by the touch of the bells of the Cathedral, welcomed the naval port, in 1126, the relics of the Holy which fell from Constantinople. On float, consisting of a silver chariot sixteenth of thirty tons, which is driven by a double and long line of devotees with the robust and long ropes, takes place the bust of Saint Agatha, completely covered with precious stones and jewels. On February 4, the parade celebrates the so-called "external path" that touches some places of martyrdom in the city of Catania; the next day, the 5 instead the procession along the "aristocrat path", which runs along the main street, Via Etnea, the parlor of Catania. On this day the devotees carry on their shoulders the long candles of varying thickness, there are some not very big, others are fairly heavy, but some skim exceptional weights.
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La paura dell’ignoto, il timore di perdere la salute fisica o psichica, o peggio, averla già persa, possibili problemi col lavoro (per chi un lavora l’ha) o peggio non averlo dovendo così “inventarsi” la giornata, la vecchiaia che avanza, la consapevolezza dell’esistenza di un Essere Superiore, sono solo alcuni dei motivi che spingono gli uomini a cercare un contatto col Divino, col Sovrannaturale, portandoli ad invocare il Suo aiuto, ma tutto ciò non basta assolutamente a spiegare lo stretto legame fatto di assoluta devozione ed enorme attaccamento che gli abitanti di Catania (e provincia) hanno nei confronti della loro “Santuzza” la giovanissima martire Agata; nel vedere partecipare quella che sembra essere una città intera a questi giorni di rito e processione, non ci si può non porre questa domanda, cosa lega in maniera così profonda e peculiare i cittadini Catanesi alla loro Santa Patrona Agata? Forse ho avuto la fortuna di cogliere fotograficamente (vedi le mie foto della festa del 2016) quella che è una risposta parziale e certamente non unica alla domanda: un bimbo in tenerissima età viene portato alla finestra dalla sua mamma mentre passa la vara di S.Agata, ecco… la devozione e l’attaccamento alla giovanissima Martire inizia da piccolissimi, trasmessa dai propri genitori (e non solo…) come un tesoro da custodire e coltivare per tutta la vita, che porta che nei giorni della festa ad un fantastico rito collettivo al quale nessun Catanese sembra non possa o non voglia rinunciare.
Questa è un breve e lungo report, da me realizzato nel febbraio di quest’anno 2018, nella città di Catania (Sicilia) in occasione della festa della sua giovane santa patrona Agata, che ha avuto luogo come ogni anno il 3, il 4 ed il 5 di febbraio (questa data commemora il martirio della Santa giovinetta), festa che viene ripetuta anche il 17 agosto (questa data rievoca il ritorno a Catania delle sue spoglie, dopo che queste erano state trasferite a Costantinopoli da parte del generale bizantino Maniace come bottino di guerra, spoglie che ivi rimasero per 86 anni); per questa occasione la città siciliana è vestita a festa con profumi di fiori d'arancio e mandarini, coi suoi cittadini che mostrano di possedere uno straordinario amore e legame con la giovane martire Agata.
Gli abitanti di Catania, oramai da cinque secoli, nei tre giorni della festa in onore della "Santuzza", danno vita ad una scenografia unica, con celebrazioni e riti imponenti, che fanno si che questo evento sia considerato come la terza festa religiosa al mondo (qualcuno dice la seconda ...) dopo la "Semana Santa" di Siviglia ed il "Corpus Domini" a Cuzco, in Perù. A differenza di altre feste religiose, più sobrie, quella di Sant'Agata mette in luce una vocazione esuberante tipica del meridione, che ama unire il sacro col profano.
Il culto della giovane Santa risale al terzo secolo, quando l'adolescente Agata fu martirizzata per aver rifiutato il proconsole romano Quintiziano. Un anno dopo la morte della giovane Agata, avvenuta il 5 febbraio dell'anno 252, il suo velo virginale venne portato in processione, e si narra esso riuscì a salvare Catania dalla sua distruzione a causa di una devastante eruzione del vulcano Etna.
I festeggiamenti iniziano con il corteo delle "candelore", queste sono dei giganteschi e pesanti "candelabri" in legno, in stile barocco, dipinti in oro, ognuna rappresentante una antica corporazione (macellai, pescivendoli, pizzicagnoli, fruttivendoli, ecc.), che vengono portati da otto devoti, le quali "cannalore" durante la processione anticipano l'arrivo della "vara" di Sant'Agata. I devoti, sia donne che uomini, indossano un tipico indumento simile ad un sacco bianco, stretto in vita da una cordicella nera, guanti ed un fazzoletto bianchi, ed infine una papalina di velluto nero, sembra che tale abbigliamento rievochi la camicia da notte con la quale i Catanesi, svegliatisi di soprassalto dal tocco improvviso delle campane del Duomo, accolsero al porto navale, nel 1126, le reliquie della Santa che rientravano da Costantinopoli. Sulla vara, costituita da un carro argentato cinquecentesco di trenta quintali, trainata da una doppia e lunghissima fila di devoti tramite delle robuste e lunghe funi, prende posto il busto di Sant'Agata, completamente ricoperto di pietre preziose e gioielli. Il 4 febbraio, il corteo compie il cosiddetto "giro esterno" che tocca alcuni luoghi del martirio nella città catanese; il giorno dopo, il 5, il corteo percorre il "giro aristocratico", che percorre la strada principale, la via Etnea, salotto buono di Catania. In questo giorno i devoti portano in spalla dei lunghi ceri di vario spessore, ce ne sono alcuni non molto grossi, altri sono discretamente pesanti, ma alcuni sfiorano pesi eccezionali.
I string rings around your clouds.
[HERE - it's a friendly advice]
STATEMENT: Fluid
A storm in a teacup, one of too many last frontiers. (re)Creating the universe, its movements, its bursts, its texture and its flow in a bowl. The universe carefully hidden and strategically pulverised in your cupboard and across carton containers and long-necked bottles. Powdered stardust for soup, fluid wind for refreshment, constellations for seasoning.
The "Fluid" series consists of close-up shots of un- dissolved/stable/expected/tenable liquid concotions, with specks of spice: tomato sauce, orange juice, milk, turmeric, chocolate sauce, wine
to name but a few.
Standing beneath the Arctic sky, near Tromsø, Norway, I witnessed magic for the first time. The northern lights, with their otherworldly greens and purples, danced across the heavens, as if painting the universe in motion. A shooting star cut through the aurora's glow, its fleeting presence whispering promises of dreams yet to be realized. The silhouetted trees seemed to bow in awe, just as I did, overwhelmed by the profound beauty of this moment—a memory etched forever in the heart.
A short but great moment, just when the plane pass throught the clouds, as the windows was a little bit dirty the picture is not sharp and because of the processing full resolution picture is full of noise, but the view is amazing (:
Nikon D700 - Nikon 28-300mm VR
Please don't use this image on websites, blogs or other media without my explicit permission.
© Kader Lagraa.
All rights reserved.
Originally drawn in pencil ~ Western diamondback rattlesnake and blood python with stars. Silver entered into the challenge, many colours available.
Silver: www.spoonflower.com/designs/13212518-celestial-snakes-sil...
Collection: www.spoonflower.com/collections/601847-celestial-snakes-b...
Celestial Seasonings, the tea company has a large field dedicated to the prairie dogs; this is very typical of Boulder. It is actually very cool how environmentally concerned Boulder usually is.
.... Etnea avenue, the 2018 evening of February 5, the day of the feast of the Patron Saint of Catania, St.Agatha, it happens that ....
.... via Etnea, la sera del 5 febbraio 2018, il giorno della festa della Santa Patrona di Catania, Sant'Agata, accade che ....
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Qi Bo's photos on Flickr Hive Mind
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Fear of the unknown, the fear of losing own physical or mental health, or worse, having already lost it, possible problems with work (if a work has it), old age advancing, awareness of the existence of a Higher Being, are just some of the reasons that push people to search for a contact with the Divine, with the supernatural, leading them to plead for help, but this is not enough to completely explain the close link fact of absolute devotion and enormous affection that the people of Catania (province) have towards their young martyr Agatha; an entire city partecipate in these days to ceremony and procession, one can not help but ask this question, what binds in such a profound and peculiar citizens to their Patron Saint Agata? Maybe I was lucky enough to capture photographically what is a partial response (see my photos of the 2016 feast): a child at a very early age is brought to the window from her mother while passing the float of St. Agatha, so it's easy to understand... the devotion and attachment to the Martyr starts very young , transmitted by their parents as a treasure to be preserved and grow throughout their lives, which leads you in the days of the feast to a great collective.
This is a short-long report I did this year 2018, in the city of Catania (Sicily) in occasion of the feast of her patron saint Agatha, which took place on the 3, 4 and 5 February (this dates commemorates the martyrdom of the young Saint), and on 17 August too (this date celebrates the return to Catania of her remains, after these had been transferred to Constantinople by the Byzantine general Maniaces as war booty, and there remained for 86 years), when the Sicilian city is dressed up to feast, with a scent of orange blossom and mandarins, and its citizens show that they possess an extraordinary love and bond with the young martyr saint Agatha.
The religious sicilian feast of Saint Agatha is the most important feast of Catania, its inhabitants from five centuries, during the three days of the feast in honor of her "Santuzza" (young Saint), create a unique setting, with celebrations and rituals impressive, which means that this event is regarded as the third religious festival in the world (some say the second ...) after the "Semana Santa" in Seville and the "Corpus Christi" in Cuzco, Peru. Unlike other religious holidays, more sober, to Sant'Agata highlights a vocation exuberant typical of the south Italy, who loves to combine the sacred with the profane.
The cult of the young Santa dates back to the third century, when the teenager Agatha was martyred for refusing the roman proconsul Quintiziano. One year after the death of the young Agatha, on 5 February of the year 252, his virginal veil was carried in procession, and it is said it was able to save Catania from destruction due to a devastating eruption of Mount Etna.
The festivities begin with the procession of Candlemas (this year were in greater number, perhaps 14 instead of the 11 years of the other years); the "Candlemas" are giant Baroque wooden "candlesticks" paintings in gold, each representing an ancient guild (butchers, fishmongers, grocers, greengrocers, etc.), which are brought by eight devotees; the "cannalore" (candlemas) anticipate the arrival of the "float" of Saint Agatha during the procession. Devotees, men and women, wearing a traditional garment similar to a white bag, cinched at the waist by a black rope, gloves and a white handkerchief, and a black velvet cap, and it seems that such clothing evoke nightgown with the qule the Catanese, awakened with a start by the touch of the bells of the Cathedral, welcomed the naval port, in 1126, the relics of the Holy which fell from Constantinople. On float, consisting of a silver chariot sixteenth of thirty tons, which is driven by a double and long line of devotees with the robust and long ropes, takes place the bust of Saint Agatha, completely covered with precious stones and jewels. On February 4, the parade celebrates the so-called "external path" that touches some places of martyrdom in the city of Catania; the next day, the 5 instead the procession along the "aristocrat path", which runs along the main street, Via Etnea, the parlor of Catania. On this day the devotees carry on their shoulders the long candles of varying thickness, there are some not very big, others are fairly heavy, but some skim exceptional weights.
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La paura dell’ignoto, il timore di perdere la salute fisica o psichica, o peggio, averla già persa, possibili problemi col lavoro (per chi un lavora l’ha) o peggio non averlo dovendo così “inventarsi” la giornata, la vecchiaia che avanza, la consapevolezza dell’esistenza di un Essere Superiore, sono solo alcuni dei motivi che spingono gli uomini a cercare un contatto col Divino, col Sovrannaturale, portandoli ad invocare il Suo aiuto, ma tutto ciò non basta assolutamente a spiegare lo stretto legame fatto di assoluta devozione ed enorme attaccamento che gli abitanti di Catania (e provincia) hanno nei confronti della loro “Santuzza” la giovanissima martire Agata; nel vedere partecipare quella che sembra essere una città intera a questi giorni di rito e processione, non ci si può non porre questa domanda, cosa lega in maniera così profonda e peculiare i cittadini Catanesi alla loro Santa Patrona Agata? Forse ho avuto la fortuna di cogliere fotograficamente (vedi le mie foto della festa del 2016) quella che è una risposta parziale e certamente non unica alla domanda: un bimbo in tenerissima età viene portato alla finestra dalla sua mamma mentre passa la vara di S.Agata, ecco… la devozione e l’attaccamento alla giovanissima Martire inizia da piccolissimi, trasmessa dai propri genitori (e non solo…) come un tesoro da custodire e coltivare per tutta la vita, che porta che nei giorni della festa ad un fantastico rito collettivo al quale nessun Catanese sembra non possa o non voglia rinunciare.
Questa è un breve e lungo report, da me realizzato nel febbraio di quest’anno 2018, nella città di Catania (Sicilia) in occasione della festa della sua giovane santa patrona Agata, che ha avuto luogo come ogni anno il 3, il 4 ed il 5 di febbraio (questa data commemora il martirio della Santa giovinetta), festa che viene ripetuta anche il 17 agosto (questa data rievoca il ritorno a Catania delle sue spoglie, dopo che queste erano state trasferite a Costantinopoli da parte del generale bizantino Maniace come bottino di guerra, spoglie che ivi rimasero per 86 anni); per questa occasione la città siciliana è vestita a festa con profumi di fiori d'arancio e mandarini, coi suoi cittadini che mostrano di possedere uno straordinario amore e legame con la giovane martire Agata.
Gli abitanti di Catania, oramai da cinque secoli, nei tre giorni della festa in onore della "Santuzza", danno vita ad una scenografia unica, con celebrazioni e riti imponenti, che fanno si che questo evento sia considerato come la terza festa religiosa al mondo (qualcuno dice la seconda ...) dopo la "Semana Santa" di Siviglia ed il "Corpus Domini" a Cuzco, in Perù. A differenza di altre feste religiose, più sobrie, quella di Sant'Agata mette in luce una vocazione esuberante tipica del meridione, che ama unire il sacro col profano.
Il culto della giovane Santa risale al terzo secolo, quando l'adolescente Agata fu martirizzata per aver rifiutato il proconsole romano Quintiziano. Un anno dopo la morte della giovane Agata, avvenuta il 5 febbraio dell'anno 252, il suo velo virginale venne portato in processione, e si narra esso riuscì a salvare Catania dalla sua distruzione a causa di una devastante eruzione del vulcano Etna.
I festeggiamenti iniziano con il corteo delle "candelore", queste sono dei giganteschi e pesanti "candelabri" in legno, in stile barocco, dipinti in oro, ognuna rappresentante una antica corporazione (macellai, pescivendoli, pizzicagnoli, fruttivendoli, ecc.), che vengono portati da otto devoti, le quali "cannalore" durante la processione anticipano l'arrivo della "vara" di Sant'Agata. I devoti, sia donne che uomini, indossano un tipico indumento simile ad un sacco bianco, stretto in vita da una cordicella nera, guanti ed un fazzoletto bianchi, ed infine una papalina di velluto nero, sembra che tale abbigliamento rievochi la camicia da notte con la quale i Catanesi, svegliatisi di soprassalto dal tocco improvviso delle campane del Duomo, accolsero al porto navale, nel 1126, le reliquie della Santa che rientravano da Costantinopoli. Sulla vara, costituita da un carro argentato cinquecentesco di trenta quintali, trainata da una doppia e lunghissima fila di devoti tramite delle robuste e lunghe funi, prende posto il busto di Sant'Agata, completamente ricoperto di pietre preziose e gioielli. Il 4 febbraio, il corteo compie il cosiddetto "giro esterno" che tocca alcuni luoghi del martirio nella città catanese; il giorno dopo, il 5, il corteo percorre il "giro aristocratico", che percorre la strada principale, la via Etnea, salotto buono di Catania. In questo giorno i devoti portano in spalla dei lunghi ceri di vario spessore, ce ne sono alcuni non molto grossi, altri sono discretamente pesanti, ma alcuni sfiorano pesi eccezionali.
Celestial Dreaming
And Now: Mandy Dike and Ben Rigby
Enchanted Parks, Saltwell Park
www.newcastlegateshead.com/winter-festival/enchanted-parks
P69A1465