The Nahmias Cipher Report

The 20th Century Surrealist Painter René Magritte, is one of my favorite artists. I particularly like the Surrealist movement because each person brings their own psychology to bear when interpreting the paintings. Enjoy!

Ayanna Nahmias, Editor-in-Chief Last Modified: 23:53 PM EDT, 15 August 2011 The surrealist movement is based on psychologist Dr. Sigmund Freud‘s theories on free association, dream analysis, and the unconscious.  By tapping into the unconscious and portraying it unfettered through painting and photography, the viewer is afforded the opportunity to live vicariously in the waking [...]

Ayanna Nahmias, Editor-in-Chief Last Modified: 00:31 AM EDT, Sunday, 7 August 2011 The paintings below feature Odalisque. An Odalisque (Turkish: Odalık) was a female slave in an Ottoman seraglio. She was an assistant or apprentice to the concubines and wives, and she might rise in status to become one of them. Most odalisque were part [...]

Ayanna Nahmias, Editor-in-Chief Last Modified: 09:55 AM EDT, 5 August 2011 U.S. federal government officials announced the arrests of 52 people involved in an international online child pornography ring that  exploited children through a bulletin board with the moniker “Dreamboard.” The arrests were the culmination of an investigation launched in late 2009. Code named ‘Operation  [...]

Henna is traditionally used to mark important life events such as marriage. When most people think of henna they recall the designs such as those in the photo to the left. This type of design is a “Bridal Mehndi.” In Africa, there is another more painful tradition of scarification; however, in regions throughout the world where Henna plants are grown and cultivated, women have used this plant for centuries to adorn themselves with exotic and beautiful designs, each as unique as the woman who wears them.

Ayanna Nahmias, Editor-in-Chief Last Modified: 01:43 AM EDT, 18 May 2011 “I paint myself because I am often alone and I am the subject I know best.” – Frida Kahlo MEXICO – Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo are two painters who lived extraordinary lives defying conventional standards of conduct and mores of their day.  Frida [...]

Surrealist paintings are some of my favorite and I have featured in this blog the paintings of Rene Magritte, Salvadore Dali, and Max Ernst. This post features the work of Francis Picabia who painted in a wide range of styles from realism to abstraction.

Picabia produced a large body of work that employed biomorphic forms, geometric abstraction and colors of Impressionism. Like other Impressionist artists he often used thick paint to build up a broad abstract background.

“There comes a time when you have to stand up and shout: This is me damn it! I look the way I look, think the way I think, feel the way I feel, love the way I love! I am a whole complex package. Take me… or leave me. Accept me – or walk away! Do not try to make me feel like less of a person, just because I don’t fit your idea of who I should be and don’t try to change me to fit your mold. If I need to change, I alone will make that decision.

When you are strong enough to love yourself 100%, good and bad – you will be amazed at the opportunities that life presents you.” ~ Stacey Charter

Women of all ethnic backgrounds, experiences, physiognomy and sexual preference are a wonder to behold. This video pulls you into the eternal flow of the mysteries that lie beneath the mysterious facades with sagacious eyes. Best said by Isak Dinesen, “the entire being of a woman is a secret that should be kept.”

We shall never know the secrets these women held, but we can ponder or project, as women, as children, as husbands and lovers our temporal secrets onto these women of amaranthine loveliness.