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Masatoshi Naito, Female Shamanism

Female Shamanism used to be a large phenomenon within Japan; today it is limited to the region of Tohoku. In this region there is still a great folk tradition where the more esoteric sides of Eastern religion are still practiced today. These female shamans photographed starkly by Masatoshi Naito are celebrating death. They mourn the dead, perform rituals to evoke the spirits of the deceased, and then perform ritualistic dances all night. These women are exuberant and in celebration, of not life but death. Naito’s images pay homage to this time-old tradition with his bright flash; graphically illuminating the characters who continue this time-old tradition today.

Text written by Cole Tracy

1five1two

'Cat that reads'. Wincenty Sleńdziński. c. 1867.

jareckiworld

Sanae Takahata — Personal Object "Protect Life" (antique parts and glass beads, mixed media, 2015)

4pplecat

a few of my favorite paintings by victorian artist Briton Rivière (1840-1920)

his consistent use of animals and their place in the lives of humans is beautiful.

castlebunny

Requiescat by Briton Rivière, 1888

requiescat: a prayer for the repose of a dead person

jimhenson-themuppetmaster

Muppets in a Cabinet

Photo Courtesy of @alpaca-dave (From the August 1980 issue of Life magazine)

aqua-regia009

The Young Martyr, 1855 - oil on canvas. — Paul Delaroche (French, 1797-1856) aqua-regia009 art edits

fordarkmornings

Maxfield Parrish (American, 1870-1966)

Sleeping Beauty in the Wood, 1912

vintageeveryday

Working families in New York in the early 20th century.

mudwerks

(via Margaret Keane, Painter of Sad-Eyed Waifs, Dies at 94 - The New York Times)

Margaret Keane, the artist whose doleful, saucer-eyed waifs earned millions in an international kitsch craze a half-century ago, and who inspired an epic art fraud by a husband whose claims to have executed her work were demolished in a “paint-off” in court, died on Sunday at her home in Napa, Calif. She was 94.