Top 15 most controversial art paintings of all time

Paintings can catch an audience attention within a second when they first lay eyes on them. When they do, they can either give good feedback or bad but there are many paintings that can offend people that will make them turn away. Today I am counting down the top 15 most controversial art paintings of all time. Be warned because this is for mature audiences only so if you do not want to take a look, I advise you to turn away now. Every painting, I will give a brief description to why they are controversial. Now let’s start the countdown.

15. One Nation Under Socialism by Jon McNaughton (2012)

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One of the most modern paintings on this list, this painting by Jon McNaughton has been very controversial because it puts U.S. President Barack Obama in a bad light. This painting shows the U.S. president burning the constitution of the United States while pointing at the flame.

14. Burial at Ornans by Gustav Courbet (1850)

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The Burial at Ornans is considered one of the turning points of French Art during the 19th century. It basically portrays a funeral scenario, which was inspired by the funeral of the uncle of Courbet in Ornans. This larger than life representation was considered offensive by the public and many critics because of its intense expression of grief.

13. The Guitar Lesson by Balthasar Klossowski de Rola (1934)

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In this painting, Polish-French painter De Rola depicted young girls in several erotic positions. It sparked controversies because of its erotic nature, both among older women and young girls. This painting shows an old woman with a young girl on her lap, pulling her genitals like a guitar.

12. Self-Portrait by Albrecht Dürer (1500)

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This self-portrait was created at a time when northern Europe was already starting to adopt Renaissance art. It became highly controversial because the position of Durer was supposed to be the position of Christ. In this painting, Durer was facing the viewer and has his other hand right at the middle of his chest, as if offering a blessing. This was found blasphemous by the Catholic Church and the public.

11. Olympia by Edouard Manet (1863)

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Olympia by Edouard Manet features a female nude as its subject and is said to be reminiscent of the La Maja Desnuda masterpiece of Goya. The self-assured prostitute depicted in this painting is considered a form of vulgarity by many, especially because the nudity is very brightly stressed through the use of light colors.

10. The Gross Clinic by Thomas Eakins (1875)

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Painted by Thomas Eakins, The Gross Clinic was first submitted to an exposition but was rejected because of its gruesomeness. This painting became highly controversial because of its odd representation, which involved a sexually vague patient and a mother sitting beside him/her. The painting was also spattered with blood.

9.The Rape by René Magritte (1945)

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Painted by the famed Belgian artist in 1945, The Rape both looks and sounds like a violation, however political the painting might be. Appearing like a portrait, the painting shows the face of a woman but instead of the familiar features, her eyes have been replaced by breasts, her nose by a belly button and her mouth by her pubis. Utilizing the ideas of Surrealism and a sense of metaphor in tandem, the painting seems to offer up a harsh opinion of how men might see women, particularly destined, as they were at that time, by their anatomy.

8. The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living by Damien Hirst (1991)

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Never one to shy away from controversy, Hirst financed by Charles Saatchi arranged for a Tiger Shark to be caught of the coast of Queensland Australia and shipped over to the UK. Costing some £50,000 to catch and preserve the beast in a giant glass and steal box, he wrote on the on the technical specifications of the painting; Tiger shark, glass, steel, 5% formaldehyde solution, 213 x 518 x 213 cm. Upon its unveiling, in 1992, The Sun called it “£50,000 for fish without chips”, art critic Robert Hughes blamed Hirst directly for the art market’s “cultural obscenity” and animal rights groups attacked Hirst’s use of a living animal for the purpose of art. Needless to say, Hirst sold the shark for millions.

7. The Prophet by Cedric Chambers (2013)

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This painting by Cedric Chambers has sparked controversies because of its depiction of Jesus Christ being carried by Darth Vader, with images of the Twin Towers at the background. This painting was found offensive by at least three parties, including the Roman Catholic Church, the fans of Star Wars and New Yorkers.

6. Virgin of the Rocks by Leonardo Da Vinci (between 1483-1486)

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An painting by Leonardo da Vinci. Virgin of the Rocks currently hangs at the Louvre and has been a major source of controversy since it was introduced. This painting basically depicts the Immaculate Concepcion, which the Roman Catholic Church finds offensive because Mary and Jesus Christ do not have halos.

5. Madame X by John Singer (1884)

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This portrait of Madame X was made to depict the infamous adulterous woman of the French society named Virginie Amelie Avegno Gautreau. It spurred controversy due to suggestive pose of the subject which was described as self-centered, arrogant, and vulgar. Such flaunting was simply not done by women of social standing. This painting is currently on display in Manhattan, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

4.The Enigma of William Tell by Salvador Dali (1933)

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This weird, shocking and offensive painting by Salvador Dali is considered one of the most unusual paintings that could ever be exhibited in a museum. This painting depicts Russian communist revolutionary Vladimir Linen so outrageously that event the founder of surrealism himself sought to destroy it.

3. Sick Bacchus by Caravaggio (1593)

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Sick Bacchus features as its subject a pale figure with blue lips which closely resembles someone with a sexually transmitted disease called syphilis. By the time Caravaggio painted this, he himself was suffering from the disease because of his multiple partners. Many found this painting offensive because it symbolizes sexual liberation.

2. The Death of Marat by Jacques Louis David (1793)

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This famous and controversial painting was created by Jacques Louis David; a French revolutionary leader. What made this painting so offensive to observers at that time was that it depicted the painter himself dead in his bath tub. This painting is currently exhibited in the Royal Museum of Fine Arts in Belgium.

1. The Origin of the World by Gustave Courbet (1866)

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This bold painting (censored due to graphic material) by Gustave Courbet depicts graphical yet realistic eroticism in an effort to protest against academic paintings and their smooth, idealised nudes.

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FROM DUSK TILL DAWN: SEASON ONE Swoops Onto BD/DVD

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“Radically different.  Disruptive. A fascinating ride.”

Frazier Moore, Associated Press

 

FROM EXECUTIVE PRODUCER ROBERT RODRIGUEZ 

AND THE EL REY NETWORK, the debut season of THE CHILLING sUPERNATURAL SERIES, BASED ON 

THE CULT CLASSIC FILM, arrives on blu-ray & dvd 

 

FROM DUSK TILL DAWN: SEASON ONE

 

D.J. Cotrona, Zane Holtz, Robert Patrick and Wilmer Valderrama and Don Johnson Star; the DVD Set Features 

all 10 Season One Episodes

 

Street Date: September 16, 2014

Blu-ray/DVD SRP: $49.98/$39.98

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

 

From executive producer Robert Rodriguez comes the first season of the original El Rey Network series, FROM DUSK TILL DAWN, swooping onto Blu-ray and DVD, featuring all 10 Season One episodes, including episodes directed by Rodriguez and Eduardo Sánchez(The Blair Witch Project).  This supernatural series, based on Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino’s 1996 cult classic film of the same name (starring George Clooney, Harvey Keitel, Salma Hayek and Tarantino), centers on bank robbers Seth and Richie Gecko, who are wanted by the authorities after a heist leaves several dead.  Escaping across the Mexican border with a family of hostages, the Gecko brothers take a detour to a strip club that’s populated by bloodsucking creatures of the night.

 

FROM DUSK TILL DAWN returns to El Rey Network in 2015 with brand-new episodes for its eagerly awaited second season. 

CAST 

  • D.J. Cotrona (G.I. Joe: Retaliation, Dear John, “Detroit 1-8-7”)
  • Zane Holtz (The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Vampires Suck)
  • Eiza González (“Amores Verdaderos”)
  • Robert Patrick (Terminator 2: Judgment Day, “True Blood”)
  • Wilmer Valderrama (“That ’70s Show”, Fast Food Nation)
  • Don Johnson (“Miami Vice”, “Nash Bridges”, Django Unchained) 

BONUS FEATURES 

  • Audio Commentary from Robert Rodriguez, Producers and Cast
  • Full Length Trailer
  • Best Kills Video
  • On Set: The Making of From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series
  • Behind the Scenes  “On Set: Brought to you by General Motors”
  • Behind the Scenes  “On Set: Brought to you by Dos Equis”
  • Character Bio Featurettes
  • General Motors Commercial featuring Seth Gecko
  • Dos Equis Commercial featuring Carlos Madrigal
  • Big Kahuna Commercial
  • “What’s in the Briefcase” Spot
  • SXSW Featurette
  • Q&A from Premiere at Alamo Drafthouse with Robert Rodriguez 

PROGRAM INFORMATION

 

Type:  BD/DVD (3 Discs)

Catalog #:  (BD) EOE-BD-7801/(DVD) EOE-DV-7753

Running Time:  450 mins. + extras

Rating:  TV-14

Genre:  TV

Aspect Ratio:  (BD) 1080p High Definition (1.78:1)/(DVD) 16×9 (1.78:1)

Audio:  (BD) DTS-HD Master Audio/(DVD) 5.1 Surround Sound

Language:  English with SDH subtitles

 

For the latest breaking news on FROM DUSK TILL DAWN: SEASON ONE and other releases, follow Entertainment One on Twitter: http://twitter.com/eOneHomeVideo 

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IPhone 5S Review

Julian is back again for another review. This time it will be a review on the IPhone 5S. I was originally going to do a video review but due to time constraints, I chose to write it instead. Now lets get to it.

We’ve come to expect evolution not revolution from the “S” update to Apple’s iPhone range, but the iPhone 5s could be enough to buck that trend. Inside the familiar metal casing beats a new processor, the Apple A7, making the iPhone 5s the first smartphone – and iOS 7 the first smartphone platform – to transition to 64-bit; the home button has lost its square sigil but gained a biometric sensor that might be the first to actually convince owners to use it; and the camera may still be 8-megapixels in resolution on paper, but those pixels – and the way Apple uses them – are quantifiably better than before. Does that make the iPhone 5s the automatic choice in smartphones?

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DESIGN

It may now come in three colors, but the iPhone 5s doesn’t stray too far from the iPhone 5 before it. Whether you go for silver, “space gray”, or gold, each uses the same 7.6mm thick metal casing as before and the same 4-inch Retina display screen running at 1146 x 640 resolution. Apple still refuses to go bigger than 4-inches, arguing that single-handed use still works most successfully when the screen is relatively compact. As before, then, it feels crisp and premium in the hand, the diamond-cut bevelled edges catching the light while the combination of the matte finish back panel with the shiny Apple logo and “iPhone” text looking great. Apple also now offers a leather case ($39) for the iPhone 5s, which fits tightly to the handset without the bulk many such cases add. Three capacity versions are offered, starting from $199.99 with agreement for the 16GB, and rising to $399.99 for the 64GB. Despite hopes otherwise, there’s still no 128GB iPhone option. In the box, there’s a set of Apple’s EarPods earphones, a Lightning to USB cable, and a USB power adapter.

TOUCH ID

Apple’s answer is Touch ID, a fingerprint sensor built straight into the iPhone 5s home button. It’s not the first time we’ve seen biometrics included on a smartphone – Motorola has tried it before, for instance – but so far fingerprint-based security is yet to have caught on. Touch ID looks set to change that track record, though, thanks to a combination of inspired placement and near-zero effort implementation. Rather than mounting the sensor on an edge somewhere, Apple has integrated it into the home button: the physical control owners already use to wake the device. Scanning times are almost instantaneous, and you don’t have to be careful about what angle you press it at. In fact, we’ve been able to successfully unlock our phone holding it upside-down. Using Touch ID requires some registration, and Apple recommends you do it for more than one finger since if you cut or mark your fingertip, the sensor might not read it successfully. You’re walked through it during initial setup, though you can also access the registration through the settings page. First, you’ll need a PIN code as usual – that’s in case the biometrics doesn’t work, but is also required the first time you unlock the iPhone 5s after you restart the phone, or after 48 hours of idle time – and then it’s a case of repeatedly tapping your fingertip onto the sensor until iOS has built up an understanding of the fingerprint. Once you’ve done that, you do the same with the edges of your fingertip, which helps the iPhone 5s recognize you even if you come at the sensor from an angle.  Up to five fingers can be registered, either all your own or a mixture of prints from different people you want to have access. Right now there’s no way to assign different access privileges depending on whose finger it is that’s recognized, though it’s not hard to imagine an iPad that uses Touch ID to seamlessly log into different user accounts. Once that’s done, suddenly unlocking your iPhone becomes incredibly easy. Touch ID is magical in how simple it makes using the iPhone 5s. Press the home button and you’re looking at the homescreen; it’s actually cutting down on even more taps compared to an PIN-free device, since now you don’t have to swipe the unlock bar either. We haven’t had a single occasion where someone else could unlock the phone with an unregistered finger, and nor have we had to resort to the PIN code.

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PERFORMANCE

Impressively, the iPhone 5s took just 2 min 24 sec to output a 5 minute, 1080p Full HD video, while a 720p version took just 1 min 28 sec. In contrast, the iPhone 5 took 4 min 23 sec with the 1080p video, and 2 min 4 sec for the 720p. Even the iPad 4, with its powerful A5X chip, took considerably longer with the same tasks: 4 min 17 sec to output the 1080p video, and 3 min 57 for the 720p version. A SunSpider score of 470.0ms (lower is better) means the iPhone 5s completed the test in half the time it took the iPad 4, and almost half the time of the iPhone 5, which ran it in 848ms. In the new 64-bit version of Geekbench, a synthetic test of processor and memory performance, the iPhone 5s scored 1,374 in single-core testing, and 2,389 (updated) in multi-core testing; Geekbench also confirms the handset’s 1.3GHz CPU clock speed and 1GB of memory. Unsurprisingly, then, the iPhone 5s feels fast, no matter what you throw at it. iOS 7 whips between apps with alacrity, and even heavy inboxes and big multimedia files don’t cause the smartphone to slow down.

CAMERA

On paper, the iPhone 5s’ iSight camera is 8-megapixels, just like before. However, not all pixels are created equal. The smartphone world has split off in several directions when it comes to cameras, with some chasing higher and higher megapixel counts, while others opt for bigger individual pixels or treating clusters of pixels as single points. Apple’s approach is to go for bigger pixels and grab more light. Compared to the iPhone 5, the iPhone 5s has 15-percent larger pixels than before, and the aperture of the lens has increased too, to f/2.2. Together, that adds up to a third more light captured in each shot, versus the outgoing phone. It’s not the first smartphone to take that approach, though Apple perhaps strikes a better balance between pixel size and resolution. It’s not the first smartphone to take that approach, though Apple perhaps strikes a better balance between pixel size and resolution. HTC, for instance, opted for a relatively small number of big pixels in the HTC One, but while they’re individually larger than in Apple’s camera, you only get half the overall resolution. Nokia’s Lumia 1020 opts to cluster groups of pixels from its 41-megapixel camera together, producing a 5-megapixel image, but if you want the full resolution there’s a lag of a few seconds as the Windows Phone churns through the data.Apple’s other hardware change is the new True Tone flash. We’ve seen phones that have two LEDs instead of one, but the iPhone 5s gets two different colors of LED. For the first time on any camera – not just a smartphone camera – it’s now possible to mix together white and amber light according to the ambient lighting of the scene. With more than 1,000 tone combinations for the iPhone to choose between, the promise is an end to sickly skin tones where the traditionally cool LED flash of a smartphone camera doesn’t match warmer ambient lighting.

IOS 7

Beyond the new interface design, the key features include quicker access to settings and notifications with the new Control Center and Notification Center, accessed from anywhere in iOS 7 with an upward or downward swipe respectively. There’s also a new multitasking interface which now shows a preview of the app’s current status rather than just its icon. Safari has been considerably improved, spending more time in full-screen mode to make the most of the 4-inch display. A new tab view makes navigating between open pages more straightforward, and the split address box and search box layout in iOS 6 and earlier have thankfully been replaced with a single, unified box that cuts down on mis-taps. The other big change in iOS 7 is what you get free. Those who buy a new iOS 7 device – rather than upgrading their existing device – will find free copies of Apple’s own iWorks suite (Pages, Numbers, and Keynote) along with iPhoto and iMovie waiting for download. That’s almost $40 of content-creation apps.

PHONE AND BATTERY

The iPhone 5s supports UMTS/HSPA+, DC-HSDPA, and LTE, with up to 100Mbps support, network-depending; select models get CDMA/EV-DO Rev.A. All have WiFi a/b/g/n (2.4/5GHz) – though not 802.11ac – Bluetooth 4.0 LE, and GPS/GLONASS.

Unfortunately, even with more band support in a single device, the proliferation of LTE network frequencies across the globe means that Apple still can’t produce just one version of iPhone 5s that works on all of them. In total, there’s support for 37 bands, with five different variants depending on carrier and geography.Despite the faster chip and increase in LTE bands, Apple claims battery life is on par with what the iPhone 5 delivered. The iPhone 5s is rated for up to 10 hours of 3G talk time or up to 250 hours of standby, or alternatively up to 8 hours of 3G web-browsing (or 10 hours over either LTE or WiFi). Up to 10 hours video playback or up to 40 hours audio playback is suggested from a single charge.

FINAL THOUGHTS

The iPhone 5s is the best iPhone so far, by a long shot. Apple is notorious for describing its products as “magical”. The magic of the iPhone 5s is in how usable its improvements are. The updated camera is both fast and capable, with the True Tone flash proving itself to be no gimmick, while the Touch ID system feels like the first biometrics system that actually stands a chance of succeeding in the mass market. Would we pick the iPhone 5s over the iPhone 5c? In a heartbeat. The camera, convenience, and performance increases make that a no-brainer decision for smartphone power users. That trifecta of talents also makes a strong case against the top-tier Android devices, too: Apple still dominates the market for hand-friendly phones with flagship performance. The iPhone 5s may be Apple’s evolutionary stage, but the combination of usable technological advances and the benefits of iOS 7 add up to a supremely compelling device.

NYC COMIC CON: Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn Hands On

Julian Cannon back for a new post and it is straight from this year’s New York Comic Con. Final Fantasy 14 : A Realm Reborn was shown today and I have tried it for the first time today.

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The first thing I have noticed was that the interface and the movement speed is much faster than Final Fantasy 11. Everything just flows in motion as there is no moments of a slowdown. When I landed a few attacks on a few enemies, the game never transitioned to normal free roam to battle mode. It was similar to Final Fantasy 12’s battle system where you can attack and cast spells and use items all at once without having to take away the battle screen. This was something that Final Fantasy 11 did not have.

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Another great thing about the game is that, unlike in Final Fantasy 11, there is pvp (player vs player) after a certain level you reach with your character. You can also store and select the abilities you want to use however way you want to during battle. The version I played was the PC version that was on display and there was no signs of lagging or glitching. I was playing with 8 people at once doing a boss battle event and we all won with double EXP for the party for the hour. Once I get the playstation 4, then I will play this game in full swing.

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