Sunday, January 31, 2016

Met Museum's Ancient Egypt: The Middle Kingdom - Representations of Women, Family & Jewelry + FOOD, Dr. Furhman's Diet

"Holding Hands" - representing Love and Family in The Middle KIngdom


ART
Ancient Egypt
The Middle Kingdom
Representations of 
Women, Family 
+ Male & Female
Jewelry
from a recent exhibition
at the Metropolitan
Museum of Art

During the Middle Kingdom of Ancient Egypt (mid-Dynasty 11–Dynasty 13, around 2030–1650 B.C.), artistic, cultural, religious, and political traditions first conceived and instituted during the Old Kingdom were revived and reimagined. Nebhepetre Mentuhotep II—the first pharaoh of the Middle Kingdom—was followed by a great cultural flowering that lasted nearly four hundred years. 

Women:
Royal women were defined by their relationship to the pharaoh with the designations "king's mother", "king's wife" or "king's daughter". Whether Middle Kingdom royal women exercised political influence beyond their rare roles as regents or short-term rulers is unclear, although in the Thirteenth Dynasty they served as links between kings and officials.

The religious and ritual aspects of royal women's roles were of primary importance during the Middle Kingdom. Reliefs from the pyramid complex of Senwosret III, for instance, indicate that the king was conceived in a union between his mother and a god. Most significantly, the queens were understood to be the pharaoh's counterpart in his role as representative of the creator god on earth. The result was the royal women's special relationship with Hathor, goddess of love and sexuality and the creator god's counterpart in the Egyptian pantheon. Hathor was also the sun god's daughter, which might explain the frequent depiction of royal women as female sphinxes in the Middle Kingdom, as the sphinx had solar symbolism.

During cultic festivals and rituals, royal women surely wore some of the sophisticated jewelry sets displayed here. These pieces were found either on the women's mummified bodies or in their burial chambers, which were located either beneath their own small pyramids, adjacent to the king's, or sometimes in/under the pyramid of the king himself.

FAMILIES









WOMEN
















Men's & Women's
JEWELRY
This Astonishing Art
has survived
more than 4000 years.



Reverse side.

















A tourquorse "fly" necklace was awarded to military men,
because flys are relentless,
they keep coming at you.
The oyster shell was also a military ornament,
inscribed with pharaoh's name.


(Source: All photos were taken by ARTSnFOOD staff, with permission at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.  Text based on information furnished by the Met. Museum. This exhibition was the first comprehensive presentation of Middle Kingdom art and culture at The Met, featuring many objects never before been shown in the United States.)


Gallery 3 of the Met "Middle Kingdom" exhibition.
Photo courtesy of Metropolitan Museum of Art.
The absolute power of the pharaoh was based on the belief that he was the son of a god and the mediator between his people and the divine. However, Egyptians were fully aware of the fact that kings were human, and Middle Kingdom art reached its peak expressing their dual nature.



FOOD
Dr. Fuhrman's Approach
to Eating Healthy 


In January we always re-think our health and how we eat. 
Dr. Furhman has based his approach on thousands of nutritional studies over the past 50 years.
Editor's Note: The Learn More button above does not work in this image.
Art from Dr. Furhman's webpage.
A Nutritarian diet is guided by nutritional quality.
Dr. Fuhrman's Prescription for Improving and Maintaining Great Health
  • Dr. Fuhrman's food pyramid is based on his principles of the health equation Health = Nutrients / Calories (H=N/C).
  • At least 90% of the daily diet should be comprised of whole plant foods that naturally contain health-promoting phytochemicals.*
  • The pyramid promotes foods that are richest in micronutrients and benefit health and longevity.
The quality of a diet can be based on three simple criteria:
  1. Levels of micronutrients (vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals) per calorie
  2. Amounts of macronutrients (fat, carbohydrate, protein) to meet individual needs, without excessive calories that may lead to weight gain or health compromise
  3. Avoidance of potentially toxic substances (such as trans fats) and limited amounts of other potentially harmful substances (such as sodium)
Dr. Fuhrman created The Health Equation: H=N/C or Health = Nutrients/Calories (first published in 1999 in his work, The Health Equation and later described in more detail in his book, Eat To Live) to define how the quality of calories impacts health.
This equation means your future health can be predicted by the micronutrient per calorie density of your diet. Micronutrient per calorie density is important in devising and recommending menu plans and dietary suggestions that are the most effective for tackling weight loss and for preventing and reversing disease.
Assuring superior nutrition means meeting an individual's unique nutritional needs to profound therapeutic effects for preventing, treating and reversing disease. Dietary micronutrient quality must be increased accordingly to utilize dietary recommendations therapeutically for disease reversal or to protect high-risk individuals.
Though micronutrient density is critically important, it is not the only factor that determines health. For example Vitamin D levels, B12, and proper omega-3 intake are important for optimal long-term health as well as avoidance of sodium and other toxic excesses. These concerns are not addressed in the H = N/C equation. However, if the focus is consuming more micronutrient-rich natural foods then the other important nutritional benefits automatically will follow, such as lower sodium, reduced calories, high fiber and volume, a low glycemic index, and a high satiety and phytochemical index to name a few.
Eating low nutrient foods fuels overeating behavior and toxic hunger.
Last, but not least, Dr. Fuhrman's unique contribution to the science of nutritional care, disease reversal and weight loss is his explanation of the physiology behind hunger and food cravings.
It is important to recognize that low nutrient eating (and toxic eating) leads to increased cellular toxicity with undesirable levels of free radicals and advanced glycation end products (AGE's), lipofuscin, lipid A2E and other toxins that contribute to the development of chronic disease. His findings are that these toxic substances lead to addictive withdrawal symptoms (toxic hunger) which result in the desire to eat more frequently and overeat. Low nutrient eating, therefore, establishes a mechanism that leads to food addictions and food cravings that can't be ignored. This is the reason why calorie counting diets fail. Without addressing dietary quality, excess food cravings are almost impossible to ignore.
Fortunately the drive to over-consume calories is blunted by high micronutrient, high food antioxidant, consumption and the symptoms that people thought were hypoglycemia or even hunger, simply disappear after following his dietary recommendations. Not only do people lose the symptoms of fatigue, headaches, irritability and stomach cramping, but they get back in touch with true hunger felt in the throat, which simply makes eating more pleasurable and directs them to a more appropriate amount of calories for their body's biological needs.

of the Nutritarian Checklist to help you 
keep on track every day.

In a portion controlled (calorie counting) diet it is likely that the body will not get adequate fiber or micronutrients. The body will have a compounded sensation of hunger and cravings which for most is simply overwhelming. It invariably results in people either being unable to lose weight or unable to keep the weight off and eventually gaining it back. The biochemistry and physiology behind food cravings are more thoroughly explained in Dr. Fuhrman's books and lectures, but without a thorough understanding of these principles weight loss attempts are typically doomed to fail.

Are you striving to adopt a Nutritarian diet to extend lifespan and reverse and prevent disease?
Here are 5 basic rules that may help you:
  1. Consume a large green salad every day, and put some raw onion and shredded cruciferous veggies on top.
  2. Eat at least a 1/2 cup of beans or lentils each day, in a soup, stew, or top of a salad or in another dish.
  3. Eat at least 3 fresh fruits a day, especially berries, pomegranate, cherries, plums, and oranges.
  4. Eat at least 1 ounce of raw seeds and nuts daily, utilizing some chia seeds, flax seeds and walnuts.
  5. Consume a double-sized serving of steamed greens daily, and utilize mushrooms and onions in your dishes.
Until later,
Jack
ARTS&FOOD is an online magazine dedicated to providing artists and collectors around the world with highlights of current art exhibitions, and to encourage all readers to invest in and participate in “The Joy of Art” and Culture. All Rights Reserved. All concepts, original art, text & photography, which are not otherwise credited, are copyright 2016 © Jack A. Atkinson, under all international, intellectual property and copyright laws. All gallery events', museum exhibitions', art fairs' or art festivals' photographs were taken with permission or provided by the event or gallery. All physical artworks are the intellectual property of the individual artists and © (copyright) individual artists, fabricators, respective owners or assignees. 
Trademark Copyright Notice: ©ARTSnFOOD.blogspot,com, ©ARTSnFOOD,
©ARTS&FOOD, ©ARTSnFOOD.com, ©ARTSandFOOD.com, ©ART&FOOD, ©ARTandFOOD.com, ©ARTnFOOD.com)

Wednesday, January 27, 2016

John Singer Sargent's Master Class in Drawing + Jacques Pépin Interview

A detailed, close-up look at John Singer Sargent's drawing style, at the Met Museum NYC.
ART
Drawing
Master Class
from the 
MET Museum By 
John Singer Sargent

After one reaches the top of the Grand Staircase at the Met Museum in New York City, if you turn to your left there is the hallway to many of the museums finest collections of Western Art and usually a special exhibition or two.


Most visitors to the museum pass through this hallway quickly, but the museum dedicates this space to showing small works from their collection. It's a treasure trove of changing art, showing the techniques and insights behind many of the great artists represented in the museum. It is 
definitely worth the few minutes it takes to stop and check it out.

On a recent visit to this hallway, the curators were presenting a few drawings and prints by John Singer Sargent, plus two of his small watercolors. 


These works are as much about depicting the folds in fabric as they are about how to render the human form. Look and learn from this master draftsman, artist John Singer Sargent.




Draped Seated Woman / John Singer Sargent



Draped Seated Woman detail
Study of a Young Man in a Robe, Standing,
1895 / John Singer Sargent


Study of a Young Man in a Robe, Standing - detail

Man Standing, Head Thrown Back, 1890-1916 / John Singer Sargent



Man Standing, Head Thrown Back detail
Study of a Young Man in a Cloak, Standing,
1895 / John Singer Sargent


Study of a Young Man in a Cloak, Standing, detail

Study of a Young Man, Seen from the Back,
1895 / John Singer Sargent



Study of a Young Man, Seen from the Back detail
Sutdy of a Yound Man, Seated, 1895 / John Singer Sargent


Sutdy of a Yound Man, Seated detail

Man with Red Drapery, after 1900 / John Singer Sargent


 detail

Boy in Costume, early 1880's / John Singer Sargent


Boy in Costume detail

Firelight 1875 / John Singer Sargent


Firelight detail

(Source: Photographs taken with permission of the museum of the original artworks and their descriptive wall plaques, all taken by ARTSnFOOD staff. All rights reserved.)

FOOD

JACQUES PÉPIN
Interview from 
Bon Appétit
Podcast




Until later,
Jack
ARTS&FOOD is an online magazine dedicated to providing artists and collectors around the world with highlights of current art exhibitions, and to encourage all readers to invest in and participate in “The Joy of Art” and Culture. All Rights Reserved. All concepts, original art, text & photography, which are not otherwise credited, are copyright 2016 © Jack A. Atkinson, under all international, intellectual property and copyright laws. All gallery events', museum exhibitions', art fairs' or art festivals' photographs were taken with permission or provided by the event or gallery. All physical artworks are the intellectual property of the individual artists and © (copyright) individual artists, fabricators, respective owners or assignees. 
Trademark Copyright Notice: ©ARTSnFOOD.blogspot,com, ©ARTSnFOOD,
©ARTS&FOOD, ©ARTSnFOOD.com, ©ARTSandFOOD.com, ©ART&FOOD, ©ARTandFOOD.com, ©ARTnFOOD.com)