Featured image: Slim Aarons

Or at least for the Northern hemisphere, which also means more time to create as June 21st is the longest day of the year. While the summer season brings a large smile on many faces, some of us wonder what we will be able to chat about after a winter of hibernation. We got you covered with our recent blog post that brings you 5 fun art and historical facts that are perfect to start your conversation: from the Olympics to technology, to fashion! 

Fun fact N°1

Summer is birthday prime time (after all, they are conceived when the weather starts going down). People born in June are not only creative, but they are also sociable, talkative and won’t hesitate to make a splash – in life and the pool! Cheerful, restless and full of life, it isn’t surprising that many creative people born this month are also achieved and productive artists. The Origin of the World painter Gustave Courbet, the highly provocative Damien Hirst, the visionary Frank Lloyd Wright to the soft-focus image-maker Julia Margaret Cameron, to the sex symbol Marilyn Monroe and outspoken writer George Orwell and even a former USA president turned Sunday painter George H. W. Bush. 

Fun fact N°2

Martin Parr, The Last Resort (New Brighton, Merseyside), 1983-1986

Capture your summer one snap at the time with your iPhone, a Lomo camera or Polaroid. It isn’t because your trip at the beach (your BBQ or pool party) doesn’t seem as extraordinary as the one of the Kardashian that you shouldn’t immortalise!  

British well-renowned photographer Martin Parr never shies away from capturing vernacular moments of ordinary everyday people. Far from being fairytale-like (or sometimes even flattering), they depict truthful meaningless leisure activities of our modern society. Guilty pleasure or not, this will be a summer to remember one snapshot at the time! 

Fun fact N°3

More than just summer outfit – Breton shirt, fashionista and Iconic stories!  

Do you know that Picasso’s iconic striped shirt is not an ordinary one that you could find at H&M. He wore a Breton-striped shirt, which in 1858 became the official uniform for French seamen in Brittany. Not convinced yet but his fashion inspiration – do you know that there are 21 horizontal stripes on them – why will you reply? One for each of Napoleon’s victories – hum… still not convinced – Picasso’s Breton Striped shirt was designed but none other than Coco Chanel!  

Fun fact N°4

Alfréd Hajós is one of only two Olympians to have won medals in both sport and art competitions.

If the summer Olympics aren’t your thing… think twice. 

Do you know that Art used to be an Olympic event? Yes, between 1912 and 1948, medals were given to talented artists who created masterpieces – in architecture, music, painting, sculpture and literature – and were inspired by their favourite sport discipline. It is Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the founders of modern Olympics, who thought about this idea! Shall we create a petition to bring it back?  

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Fun fact N°5

Technology, Boundaries and Art. Ok, this one might not be directly about June or just not June as we think of it most of the time!  

This one is about artist Nam June Paik. Do you know that this artist whose interest was trigger by technology and pushing for new technology. He was a very collaborative artist too, and a week before the 1988 summer Olympic Games in Seoul (yes, of course, we are making links between our fun facts 😊), the artist collaborated with no other than David Bowie for in Wrap Around the World (1988) – he provided graphics and… satellite transmission!  

People often questioned why Paik bother with new technology, and this quote should inspire all of us to live a little more boldly this summer! “When people ask me why I do this silly thing, I ask,” Why do you climb Mount Everest,” I think it’s human nature to seek out risk”, he told the New York Times. 

We hope that we made you a little bit more pool party ready! And if you are more the type to stay inside and enjoy the A|C – we also got you covered with a 50% discount on your .ART domain. Start sharing your own indoor project now! 

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