Activism
Adrien Brody And Miss Al Simpson Release Their First Cryptographs
Source: medium.com/cryptograph
We are proud to announce that Cryptographs from the artists Adrien Brody and Miss Al Simpson are now on auction at cryptograph.co.
Adrien Brody
Adrien Brody is an award winning American actor, producer and artist. He received widespread recognition and acclaim after starring in The Pianist, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor at age twenty-nine, making him the youngest actor to ever win in that category. He is a Hollywood icon who has starred in numerous films including; The Thin Red Line, The Village, King Kong, Predators, Midnight In Paris as well as starring in many of Wes Anderson’s iconic movies. Alongside his acting (after being encouraged by an French artist friend of his) Adrien re-discovered painting. He is now an accomplished painter and sculptor and his work has been exhibited at Art Basel in Miami and Frieze Art Week in New York. Art is very much in his DNA given that his mother is a photographer and his father is a talented painter. He has said that painting was something that he always loved when he was younger and that he had dreamt of coming back to one day and so now he is joyfully pursuing his newly re-discovered artistic creativity. He has in the past donated much of his artwork to charity raising significant funds for the causes that he supports and his Cryptograph now represents his first ever piece of digital NFT art.
Adrien Brody’s Cryptograph
Adrien Brody’s Cryptograph is his first ever artwork on the blockchain, it is called Absence of Grandeur. It is a brooding piece of abstract art that depicts a series of dark inky lines spread over a white surface surface creating an effect that looks almost like ice fissures or shattered glass. One can definitely see an element of Pollock in Adrien’s Cryptograph and perhaps also an element of Joan Mitchell. He has masterfully managed to make it look as though his fissures have been dripped or poured onto the canvas when in fact he created it on a tablet using a stylus. Adrien gives no clues as to the meaning behind his Cryptograph and he prefers to let the viewer infer what they will from it.
Absence of Grandeur
Adrien Brody’s Cryptograph is his first ever artwork on the blockchain, it is called Absence of Grandeur. It is a brooding abstract piece that depicts a series of dark inky lines spread over a white surface surface creating an almost shattered glass like effect. There is definitely an element of Pollock in his Cryptograph and he has masterfully managed to make it look as though his lines have been dripped or poured onto a canvas when in fact it was created on a tablet with a stylus. His Cryptograph is supporting the environment and helping to combat climate change.
Miss Al Simpson
Miss Al Simpson (a.k.a Anna Louise Simpson) is an artist based in Edinburgh who loves to use black ink and collage in her work. Her artistic style draws influence from Kippenburger and Rauschenberg and yet is entirely her own. Her work often takes the form of digital collages that are made up of layers of printed materials, found objects, photographs and oil paint. Her work also often has a pseudo graffiti element to it, with a number of her works having a mural quality to them as though they have been spray painted onto concrete. The figures she uses in her artwork often come from vintage movies and fashion magazines and have a fragile quality to them. Her work is well known on many of the crypto art platforms and she has also exhibited at leading contemporary art galleries and at art fairs including Berlin Art Week in 2019 and Art Basel Miami 2019.
Miss Al Simpson’s Cryptograph
Miss Al Simpson’s Cryptograph is inspired by the gracious animal, the Greyhound. In the centre of her artwork you can see a portrait of a Greyhound peering out behind a female figure set amongst a gritty street like background. Miss Al Simpson says that Mythology has always been close to her heart and the classical Greek epic, The Odyssey, is what lies at the heart of her Cryptograph. The title of her piece is ‘Argos Eyes’ which is based upon the moving reunion that occurs between Odysseus and his dog (a greyhound) called Argos after he returns to Ithaca from his long and arduous journey from Troy. As Miss Al Simpson writes:
“When Odysseus finally arrives back at his homeland, reckless suitors have taken over his house in the hope of marrying his wife Penelope. In order to secretly re-enter his house to ultimately spring a surprise attack on the suitors, Odysseus disguises himself as a beggar. As Odysseus approaches his home, he finds Argos (his loyal greyhound) lying neglected on a pile of cow manure, infested with ticks, old and very tired. This is a sharp contrast to the dog Odysseus left behind; Argos used to be known for his speed and strength and his superior tracking skills. Unlike everyone else, Argos recognizes Odysseus at once and he has just enough strength to drop his ears and wag his tail but cannot get up to greet his master. Unable to greet his beloved dog, as this would betray who he really was, Odysseus passes by (but not without shedding a tear) and enters his hall, and Argos dies. The simplicity of the relationship between Argos and Odysseus here allows their reunion to be immediate and sincere. This has to be the most poignant moment of the whole story of the Odyssey. It is only on returning from the adventure that we realise what we have lost in the journey; the thing that was the most loyal and simple of all. The love of a loyal dog. That is the inspiration behind this piece and the, Eyes of Argos, will always depict the true love of friendship.”
Miss Al Simpson has dedicated her Cryptograph to not only her dog, Barney (a Collie Cross), who was her best friend but also to all the other dogs out there in the world who all make our lives so much better.
Adrien Brody and Miss Al Simpson are two accomplished artists who have both produced very beautiful and meaningful Cryptographs. Adrien’s Cryptograph is helping to support the environment and combat climate change and Miss Al Simpson’s is supporting the Greyhound Trust charity, who help look after and re-home retired Greyhounds. We are very proud to have them both on the Cryptograph platform.
To bid on their Cryptographs visit: https://cryptograph.co/
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Source: medium.com/cryptograph
https://cryptograph.co/Cryptograph/Adrien-Brody-Absence-of-Grandeur
[Photos] Snow Leopard Foundation Gala 2019.
Adrien Brody attend the Snow Leopard Foundation Gala 2019 at Astana Arena on July 04, 2019 in Astana, Kazakhstan.
The Snow Leopard Foundation help save the snow leopards population that has dropped dratically the last decade due to poaching and human interference of their natural habitat.
This organization was founded in February 2018 by Kazakhstan businessman, philanthropist and public figure Mr. Nurali Aliyev.
Adrien Brody attends for the second year showing support for this foundation and at the invitation of the founder, among others.
Photo credits: gettyimages
Info: Snow Leopard Foundation
[Photos] Snow Leopard Foundation – Event.
Adrien Brody support and attend the official launch of the Snow Leopard Foundation on June 20, 2018 in Kazakhstan.
The Snow Leopard Foundation help save the snow leopards population that has dropped dratically the last decade due to poaching and human interference of their natural habitat.
Source: Snow Leopard Foundation
Adrien Brody Talks playing himself on ‘Dice’ and Saving the Rainforest With Leo DiCaprio.
Best Actor Oscar-winner Adrien Brody talks about how he ended up playing a ridiculous version of himself on Andrew Dice Clay’s Showtime series.
Adrien Brody is not exactly known for his comedy. The 43-year-old actor, who won an Academy Award for his performance as an emaciated, Chopin-playing Holocaust survivor in The Pianist, is deadly serious about his craft. Which makes him the perfect foil for Andrew Dice Clay in tonight’s episode of Showtime’s Dice.
With no warning or rationale, Brody pops up in the show’s second episode with a mission: to study and subsequently “become” Andrew Dice Clay. As he explains in the opening scene, he is preparing to star in an off-Broadway play that focuses on “masculinity.” As a “method actor,” he wants to follow Clay around and learn what makes him tick, a proposition that is flattering at first but ultimately deeply disturbing.
Before the episode airs Sunday night on Showtime, Brody spoke to The Daily Beast about how he ended up playing himself for the first time ever on Dice and discussed his not-so-secret love of comedy. Believe it or not, he took the whole thing very seriously.
Below is an edited and condensed version of our conversation.
How did you end up playing yourself on Dice?
They created the concept in the screenplay and they assumed I’d find it as funny as they did. And I did. And you know, I’m a fan of [Andrew Dice Clay] and I thought, what an interesting idea. It’s a very complex way of playing a character, because I’m creating a character of myself and at the same time creating an interpretation of him and playing it from the perspective of myself. And all of that is just so funny to play with. Also, because I’m very serious about my work, it’s an opportunity for me to do a broader comedy, which I love and appreciate. But it was also a chance to poke fun at a certain perception of how I might be.
Is this the first time you’ve played yourself on screen?
That’s a good question. Probably. There may have been one time — I don’t think so, actually, this might have been it.
So, what considerations did you make about how you wanted to portray yourself?
Well, we didn’t change anything really [in the script]. We enhanced it by having a lot of improvisation and a playfulness of how we both interpreted ourselves. Dice is also playing a character, playing a version of himself, not entirely himself. And it’s about that dance. He’s wonderful to act with.
What was your relationship, if any, with Andrew Dice Clay before this?
We may have seen each other or bumped into each other somewhere, but I didn’t know him at all. I loved his earlier stand-up bits growing up, when I was in high school. I remember running the cassette tape of his into the ground, I just thought he was hilarious, as did most of my adolescent friends. He’s a really great guy and was really fun to collaborate with and we’re friends now, so that’s cool.
As you said, you’re not known for comedy, which makes this performance so surprising. Did it spark in you a desire to do more comedy moving forward?
Well, I’ve always had it. The odd thing is how, I think, the intensity and devotion to my craft and the intensity of certain performances or types of roles I’ve played overshadow the comedic stints that I’ve had. Darjeeling Limited is a comedy, The Brothers Bloom is a comedy. I’ve done myriad smaller independent films. Dummy, which is a wonderful film that I did with Vera Farmiga years ago. Playing Dalí in Midnight in Paris is a comedic turn. The issue is, it’s a perception thing. I love comedy and I think it’s so much fun. There are different challenges and it requires a similar kind of focus. But there are levels of freedoms in it that are not often afforded to me in a more serious dramatic role.
In the show, you describe yourself as a “method actor” and that’s why you’re following Dice around, to learn from him. Is that the type of thing you’ve done for actual movie roles in the past?
Yeah, sure, that’s one aspect of it, but I’ve done many things to help create a transformation that is authentic to me. The more I have a sincere connection to something, the less acting is required. And the more it’s about creating the space to feel that connection and to feel that shift from yourself. And start interpreting things through new eyes. And the only way to do that for me is through quite a bit of work and research and associations from another perspective. And really living that for a period of time, like a meditation. You start to be able to key into things, like a way of responding that’s instinctual to a character and not your own instincts. It’s necessary. Some roles require less and some roles require a great deal of commitment.
Can you think of one role that stands out to you that you did a ton of that kind of research for?
I’ve done it across the board on many films. The Pianist would be a perfect example, where I taught myself to play Chopin and simultaneously lost a tremendous amount of weight and inundated myself with historical details of the time. And omitted all modern music in my life and sold my car and put my stuff in storage and disconnected my phone. It was very extreme and I was able to do that at that point in my life, but I basically had nothing comforting to return to or dream of. They were gone. I basically disconnected and reconnected in that phase as that character. And then had to slowly try to climb back into my life, which took a long time.
That obviously paid off in terms of awards, winning you the Best Actor Oscar. Your friend Leonardo DiCaprio finally won an Oscar this year. Have you given him a hard time about beating him to it by 13 years?
[Laughs.] Definitely not. No, I’m very happy for him. We just spent time in Sumatra fighting the deforestation in the rain forest there. And I was fortunate to get to experience that and learn about the impact on the biodiversity of that region. And I admire all of those efforts that he makes and try to do my share as well.
Source: The Daily Beast
Adrien Brody and Leo Dicaprio visited Mt. Leuser National Park in Sumatra on 2016/03/27
American actor Leonardo DiCaprio waves to fans during the Japanese premiere of his new movie The Revenant in Tokyo, Japan, on Wednesday. The environmental campaigner paid a visit to Mount Leuser National Park, located in Aceh and North Sumatra provinces, on March 27, 2016.
Accompanied by fellow actors Adrien Brody and Fisher Stevens, he took a tour around the park’s research facility in Ketambe, Southeast Aceh regency. During their visit, they met three Sumatran orangutans and closely watched the great apes’ behavior.
DiCaprio waves to spectators while crossing the Alas River accompanied by fellow actors Adrien Brody and Fisher Stevens during his trip to Mount Leuser National Park.
According to DiCaprio’s official website, his 1998-launched foundation is partnering with Acehnese conservationist Rudi Putra to create a wildlife sanctuary in the Leuser ecosystem of Aceh. The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation is set to support Rudi’s project to maintain the forest by constructing barriers, training wildlife patrols and rangers, and recording and reporting ongoing habitat destruction.
Photos:
Credits:
Info: The Jakarta Post
Adrien Brody visits Nepal for “Save the children” (Photos & Videos)
Adrien Brody visits Kathmandu, Nepal, for his humanitarian work with INGO ‘Save the Children’ on Oct. 9, 2015 six months after the earthquake.
Bulgari ambassadors Adrien Brody (with his mom), Jon Kortajarena, Lilly Wittgenstein & Isabella Ferrari witness first-hand the humanitarian activies funded by Bulgari for ‘Save the Chindren’ to help Nepal in the after-math of the devastating earthquake.
(Photos via instagram: adrienbrody, bulgariofficial, savethechildren, the_gerschel, kortajarenajon)
Videos:
AdrienBrody-Fansite 