Post 31: "The Baby Boomer"

  Yeah, that's us, not so pretty... But we won't give up, will we? A lot of symbolism in there, my favorite grandmother's school book maxim calligraphy page, my dad's square and plumb line, as well as his Red Cross medal, my grandfather's very old Picon card deck(my favorite French apéritif), an antique "Le Coq" Marseilles soap as a fig leaf, a couple of chips on my shoulders, "Les Globes du Roi Soleil", the memory of all our dogs guarding our hearts. My best friend had polio in 1957, we were scared shitless. He survived... This one took a while...

Post 30: " The Infanta Maria Theresa with her Dwarfs"

I spent the next couple of days on the computer adding stuff to the original image in Photoshop. Maria Theresa seems to have liked dogs, chocolate, gambling, card games, and playing with her pet dwarfs... She was eventually married to her double first cousin King Louis XIV of France by her father the King of Spain Philip IV for political reasons. Talk of inbreeding... After the marriage ceremony, Louis wanted to consummate the marriage as quickly as possible. However the new queen was granted by her mother in law (and aunt) the privilege that the consummation would be private, and not public as was the custom.

Notice in the background a miniature version of the gigantic "Globes du Roi Soleil" that I saw at the Bibliotèque Nationale on my last stay in Paris.

She put up graciously with all her husband mistresses, and upon her death at the age of 44, the King said: "This is the first trouble which she has given me".

It has been suggested that she was the unnamed "great princess" who, according to Jean-Jacques Rousseau, originally said "Let them eat cake" (and not Marie Antoinette of Austria almost a century later).

Velasquez Portrait of Maria Theresa of Spain with two watches.

Post 29: "The Infanta Maria Theresa with Wooden Legs"

I found this wonderful leather laced wooden leg on eBay, and just had to use it and do another Infanta version. This one is a reference to the famous portrait of Maria Theresa with the watches by Velasquez, using my Grandfather and Great Grandfather's watches hanging on the barbed wire petticoat, and my Grandmother's fan. The embroidered velvet "bustier" is actually an antique altar trim that we somehow wrapped around Jojo and bunched up behind her back.

Post 28: Grandma Gaga's visit

My dear old friend Jojo came down to visit for the week-end, and was drafted into posing for some Lady Gaga spoofs, which she did with her usual gusto.
The bubble wrap ruff had been made originally with Princess Gaga in mind as the model, but she has been unavailable, and school has started back up, so Grandpa Gaga has to go on on his own for therapeutic reasons...
I have to say Grandma Gaga looks damn good in this one!

Then, there is more...

Post 27: More Gaga Geishas

"THE SMILE"
"SAMURAI GEISHA"
"MADAME BUTTERFLY"
"LOOK, NO TEETH!"
"LA TRICOTEUSE"

I ended up adding a section to my website Photography Section called "SELF PORTRAITS GAGA", and another called "UNCLE GAGA GAGS", which I will continue to update as new gaga ideas take form.

Post 26: Uncle Gaga poses as a "geriatric geisha"

"GEISHA GAGA"

Time has flown and I have not been posting the new stuff as it happened. Let's catch up. There have been two new collaborators to the project, Uncle Gaga and Grandma Gaga, and I think we got some pretty good stuff. First, my old friend Michael decided he was going to pose for me a Geisha, and what a Geisha he was!
"FOREVER DEMURE"
"EMPIRE OF THE SUN"
"COCK THE COCK"
"BOO!"

Post 25: 'Salome Receiving the Head of John the Baptist"

Somebody asked yesterday on Facebook when they would see Salome... Here she is presented with the head! Let me work next on Oscar Wilde's version...

Post 24:"The Beheading of John the Baptist"

This is what took place just a few minutes before the last picture...

Post 24:

Post 23: "John the Baptist Head on a Platter"

The iconography is obvious on this one. Simplicity was best.

Post 22: "Le Faiseur d'anges" (The Back Alley Abortionist)

This one is a little more challenging... Before anybody gets upset, and so that nobody misunderstands the meaning of this image: this is a Pro Choice statement. Before January 22, 1973, thousands of American women a year died from back street abortions because they had NO CHOICE. It's hard for me to believe anybody would prefer to go back to that... I am grateful G.W.Bush didn't get his way, and Obama will hopefully make sure the supreme court will never reverse Roe v Wade.

Post 22: "L' Ecorché"

That one was a no brainer, no pun intended...

Post 21: "Lily Marlene"

I had done a while back a collage piece with Anna Rexia as Lili Marlene. So to finish a busy Sunday while at it, why not a fourth new image, a full length shot as the Blue Angel... Sorry, I didn't have a top hat in my collections...

Post 20: "Lolita"

I had some pictures of Anna Rexia I had never done anything with, so I just replaced her head with mine. It is a little artificial looking I suppose, but I don't mind.

Post 19: "I Love Your Brains Baby!"

While the model was on the stage, I went ahead and cuddled her a little bit. She is a looker, but what a beautiful brain...

Post 18: "Food for the Brain

I wanted to use my antique paper mache medical model for some images, so after eating her paper heart, I figured I would eat her paper brain...

Post 17:" Eat Your Heart Out!"

I spent half of the day trying to put together a collage version, but finally ended up shooting it as a straight picture at the kitchen table. Martha had to push the trigger for me...

Post 16:" Born Again Dead Again"

Actually, this one was done yesterday before Saint Hubert. Hope nobody gets too offended...

Post 15: Saint Hubert's Nightmare

Princess Gaga is still at home, looks like this is turning into the Grandpa Gaga Project, may be I should change the name of the blog...For those of you who do not know the official Catholic Church "story" of Saint Hubert, check out Hubertus on Wilkepedia.

Post 14: Hell's Angel Grandpa Ninja

Another day, another image. I would love a Harley, but probably would kill myself on it, so this will have to do for the moment...

Post 13: Really Shot Full of Stars

I got a little carried away with the Ninja stars on that one, but It looks pretty good...

Post 12: The Frenchman

Still by myself. Had a little more fun this morning...

Post 11: Grandpa Gaga goes Gaga alone...

Well, Princess Gaga went home Friday on orders from her mom, and I was left to play by myself this week end. I had to be the model, and shot a few things using the Ninjas stars. I had fun with it.

Don't read too much into the cross, it's just a Ninja star. I know, the Germans used it on their planes in black in WW1, but so what? It is a variation of Saint Georges Cross and the Maltese Cross. The Templars used it in the crusades too, and it is sometimes used as a Masonic symbol. Read for yourself on Wilkipedia...

Post 10:Princess Gaga as Lady Gaga

Princess Gaga turned her Grandpa onto the stylish new Lady Gaga video "Alejandro" after watching a rerun of the interesting Larry King interview. It is too long, the middle part doesn't belong, the music is ordinary and the lyrics repetitive. It seems like she could have written something really special for the extraordinarily beautiful images shot by photographer Klein. Anyhow, it is flawed and might shock you, be warned, but it is worth taking a look at it in 1080p on her web site ladygaga.com . I think Bunuel and Dali would have loved it. Actually, the closing images are straight out of Bunuel's Viridiana, which in his own time was a most controversial flick banned by the catholic church and Franco for years...Rent it from Netflix if you get a chance...

We are hoping our old friend Uncle Gaga will make for Princess Gaga an even more gaga version of the famous black garbage bag evening dress he made many years ago for Grandma Gaga to wear at the Apollo Ball...

Post 9:Ninja Stuff

Princess Gaga has been interested in Ninja stories, and started writing her own in Creative Writing Camp at UAB the other week. So far, that's what we have:

"Escape the Fate"

“Where is it?” she searched frantically, looking in her empty cabinet drawers, pulling them out one by one. She knocked over the Japanese rag doll her grandmother gave her, that sat on top of her dresser. Noni felt a sharp jab after looking in the bottom right cabinet. “Ouch!” she yelped, putting her non-bleeding hand over her mouth, trying not to make a sound.

The cold winter air rushed through Noni’s shirt. Shivering, she pulled on her sweater to keep herself warm. Still shivering a little, Noni ran into the darkness all alone, with only a bag full of clothes and weapons, and with the money in her pocket. The only thing that separated her from this town and a new life was the railroad tracks. The train got closer and closer, finally close enough for her to jump, to escape her problems once and for all. As she leapt in the air, one of her feet touched the rough bank at the back of the train. The other one slipped right from under her, which made her fall only holding on to the rail with one hand. If she let go, she’d be badly hurt. Still dangling, Noni tried with all her strength and thought, Come on I can do it. She finally hoisted herself up. Standing tall, she held her head up high looking at the memories she left behind.

Noni was a tough teenage girl with cold blue eyes that burned as if they glared at you. She had long jet black hair that was lost in the darkness. The reason Noni left her hometown in Tokyo was that she no longer belonged in her family for all the pain she had caused her parents by getting into fights, almost getting stabbed, and being so cold after Tack left her.

Now she left as memories she will try now to remember. For now her mission is to go to Taiwan to become a better ninja fighter, which most girls were not capable of doing. But Noni is like no other girl. She could kill anyone with a knife in her hand and a flick of her wrist or by cutting you with her knife.

Noni sat on the train floor shivering. She took out another sweater to keep her warm, pulled it on and hugged herself to keep every last inch of body heat. I wish I still had Tack here with me. Suddenly she heard a thump thump. Noni reached over to get her switch blade. Suddenly she saw a tall dark hair boy about her age or older. He had pretty long jet black hair, enormous gray eyes, and thin features yet had a six pack. Noni slowly moved back to get ready to defend herself.

“Hello, um,” said the squirming boy, avoiding eye contact with Noni.

“Who are you and what are you doing here?” demanded Noni, her fierce eyes glaring at him. The boy didn’t answer and looked away from Noni’s direction. Noni just stared at the boy more intensely. He finally gave in and said in a timid voice

“My name is Umasi, and I’m here because my family doesn’t get me. So I decided to run away, to become a better ninja than I was before.” Umasi exclaimed at her,finally, looking at Noni face to face.

"Well, I see we both have the same reason to run away "Umasi," Noni replied as she looked Umasi up and down, like she would examine her next victim. She slowly tried to calculate all the moves she might need to use on him if he wasn't who he said he was. Noni quickly hid her switch blade in her pocket, trying not to alarm Umasi.

ss "So why exactly did you run away for? Excuse me but I don't think I caught your name." Umasi said more confidently, all the shyness that he had just a couple of seconds ago disappearing. As Noni tried to process her answer, Umasi sat down on the floor just a couple of feet away from Noni. Noni saw Umasi sit close to her, she felt uncomfortable because of his closeness, so she decided to stand and pace as the train moved smoothly on the train tracks. To be continued...

Grandpa Gaga thought may be we should start working on the book cover...So he ordered some of that neat Ninja stuff he always wanted to play with... Princess Gaga particularly loves the Samurai Sword and wants to hang it in her room... I printed a target, and she practiced all night shooting Ninja Stars...

Post 8: New version of "Les Infantes"

Today, I added some drapes to the image, which I think gives it more depth and interest. What do you think?

Post 7: New arms and faces for "The Shamaness"

We shot some arms and faces in front of a green screen and I cut them out in Photoshop so I could add them to the main image. The pipe/trumpet is a very old Tibetan Tantric ritual implement supposedly made out of a virgin's femur...

Post 6: Princess Gaga as "The Shamaness"

I Grandpa Gaga got up bright and early this Sunday morning and started playing by myself, since Princess Gaga was sleeping late for the last time this week. She is starting the "Art of Writing" Camp at UAB's Red Mountain Writing Project to morrow morning and will be writing more poetry and song lyrics all week...

I used the same old dress form, but instead of adding objects in Photoshop, I actually dressed it up as a Shamaness this time, using all the tribal artifacts collected over our years of traveling across India, Burma, China, Bali. I dropped in one of Anay's faces from the early tests to get an idea, but we will be shooting new faces and arms to morrow after class. To see a large version of it, click here.

Post 5: "Les Deux Infantes Ghosts"

After an afternoon in Photoshop and using my stock of images of objects from around the house, the Infantes have taken shape. Of course, both Anay and I prefer the more monochromatic and ghostly version. Click here. What do you think?

Is it not a bit of a visual for the poem Anay wrote last week at the Red Mountain Writing Project Camp at UAB:

I know I am not alone

Darkness

surrounds me

yet I am not alone.

For here are my friends to heal

my new cold wounds.

The love I've lost,

the bad things in my life.

They sometimes make it worse,

by making me realize my own true mistakes.

Yet I should know I am loved by the ones who care for me.

Still, it is not enough.

I want to be loved, hugged, and so much more...

Forever more I will always need them...

Post 4: "L'Infante Ghost"

This morning, I Grandpa Gaga shot some pictures of the old dress form that has been playing Virgin Mary in a barbed wire petticoat for years in the corner of my bedroom, and with a little Photoshop came up with two very simple versions of a basic no frills "Infante" inspired of course by Velasquez's famous portrait. The first is in full glorious color, the second a little more monochromatic and ghostly...That's a start, now let's get creative Anay!

Post3: The Bubble Wrap Ruff

Actually, our old friend Michael who just joined the project came by last night with a roll of stiff bubble wrap, and that seamed like a great material to play with, so Anay cut it in three 15" strips we taped together end to end, and I accordeon pleated it and ran 3 rows of elastic braid through about one inch from the edge. It worked great and our new bubble wrap ruff fans out beautifully.

Post 2: Ruffs

We started brainstorming about props, and one that came to mind right away was the ruff. For those of you who do not know the word, I am talking about those large round Elizabethan collars made famous by, who else, Queen Elizabeth I. A number of people have used them, we just need to come up with a different one.

Now, what could we possibly make a ruff out off: fabric and lace or tulle of course, but also why not paper, plastic, leather, wood, feathers, fur, even metal, or any combination thereof...

Post 1: First Tests

Posted by Grandpa Gaga

Yesterday, Anay put on a "ninja-kabuki" face with a face painting kit left over from Halloween, and we shot some quick pictures to test the idea. We both like dark humour, strange things, the Goth look, and ran across some great pictures by ANGS-IN-WALD of the androgynous German musician Sopor Aeternus that inspired us to try and come up with our own brand of whacky images using Anay as a model. For the purpose of this blog, Anay will post as Princess Gaga, and I the adoptive grandfather behind the scene as Grandpa Gaga.