French photographer Renaud Monfourny has dedicated a great deal of his career to celebrity portraiture. In this black and white series, he has captured the unique personalities of each of his subjects through composition, cropping, lighting, and selected environment. There is a sense of attitude emanating from many of his subjects that feels like an air of modern elegance has been perfectly combined with a powerful edginess. Additionally, the use of medium format film results in a square frame and a sharp clarity that contribute to the success of the work.

Monfourny’s celebrity portraits include popular figures like Quentin Tarantino, Morrissey, John Lee Hooker, Anna Mouglalis, Bjork, and Jean-Luc Godard.

Quentin Tarantino

Morrissey

Monica Bellucci

John Lee Hooker

Keren Ann

Björk

Jean Luc Godard

Carla Bruni

Patti Smith

Disculpa, pero esta entrada está disponible sólo en English.

The average price of a thirty-second ad in the Super Bowl crested $3,000,000 in 2011 and, judging by the interest from automakers like Chevrolet and Hyundai for this year’s big game, that figure is likely to continue increasing.

From 2007 through 2011, Nielsen data show that automotive advertising in the Super Bowl far surpassed spending from any other category, at $172.2 million. Overall spending was way up in 2011 compared to the previous year. Which automakers do you think will get the best return on their ambitious ads this year? Watch them all right here.

Acura

Audi

Cadillac

Chevrolet

Honda

Hyundai

Kia

Lexus

Suzuki

Toyota

Volkswagen

Each work is made by cutting out one sheet of paper, and using the removed scraps to create figures, buildings, and other objects. His work ranges from 2D to 3D. These sheets range from small a4 size or as big as 7m by 5m.

Vamps, Crooks and Killers

Likability may be the currency of movie stardom, but most actors agree that the juiciest, most memorable roles often belong to the villains. The 13 performers featured in this year’s portfolio have distinguished themselves in 2011 by playing nice, noble, tragic and heroically patient characters — as well as many who defy easy description — but as a rule they have not impersonated monsters, killers, thugs or other figures of malevolence. So the magazine offered them the chance to try on the black hat.

Some of these villains are inspired by specific icons of unpleasantness. Others tap more generally into the primal fears that remain a potent source of pleasure and discomfort at the movies. Cruelty. Seduction. Rage. The ability of these actors to disturb us with a gesture, a change of expression or a simple stare only serves to make us like them more.

A.O. Scott

Mia Wasikowska as the Home Wrecker
‘‘I really like Bob from ‘Twin Peaks.’ He’s so minimal but has so much impact. And there’s Jack from ‘The Shining.’ It’s so classic and terrifying to watch someone descend into madness.’’

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Brad Pitt as the Madman
On whom he’s channeling: ‘‘Peter Lorre — with a dose of Kramer.’’

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Rooney Mara as the Sociopath
On portraying Alex from ‘‘A Clockwork Orange’’: ‘‘There is something off about Alex, something slightly androgynous and something much more fascinating and complex than simply a ‘villain.’ I also knew it would save me time in hair and makeup with only having to apply one fake eyelash.’’

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Gary Oldman as the Menacing Dummy
On the spookiness of dummies: ‘‘I used to have one of those dolls when I was a kid. They’re creepy to have in the room. When I got older, I got into archery, and he became my target. So I put it to rest.’’

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Kirsten Dunst as the Siren
On the proper way to play a femme fatale: ‘‘The key was the kind of sweet flirtation — to look at the camera in an almost vampiric way.’’

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Jean Dujardina as the Hothead
On how to lose your cool: ‘‘Inevitably, I thought of Martin Scorsese’s ‘Raging Bull.’ That helped me find inspiration to get into an angry state of mind.’’

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George Clooney as the Tyrant
On playing bad: ‘‘I picked Captain Bligh because I liked his hat. Bad guys don’t think they’re bad guys. In film, the best evil performances are when the actor remembers that.’’

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Glenn Close as the Vamp
On Theda Bara, silent-movie star: ‘‘They say that she was the first goth, and that because of her the word ‘vamp’ came into the lexicon. A vamp is a bad woman, a dangerous woman. I’ve always been fascinated by that.’’

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Viola Davis as the Vengeful Caretaker
On walking in the shoes of Nurse Ratched: ‘‘I tried to channel all the parts of myself that are probably not pretty. That are not necessarily nice.’’

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Jessica Chastain as the Fire Starter
On what she was thinking: ‘‘I was channeling loneliness. . . . The idea of feeling invisible. And because of that, it creates a burn in her to be noticed, even if by doing harm.’’

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Ryan Gosling as the Invisible Man
On invisibility: ‘‘I don’t really know if the Invisible Man is a villain or not, but I just don’t trust the guy. He says he’s going to be somewhere, but never shows up. Even when he does show up, he’s only ever kind of there. Yeah, that’s right, Invisible Man, I’m looking at you. In your face! That is your face, right?’’

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Adepero Oduye as the Outlaw
On channeling Bonnie Parker: ‘‘I had this feeling like it was a standoff. And how when you’re putting on a brave front, and you’re acting all tough, that moment comes when you know it’s all over and you’re about to die.’’

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Michael Shannon as the Tycoon
On playing a 1-percenter: ‘‘Obviously there’s a lot of animosity toward Wall Street right now, so this seemed like good timing. I can’t say I’m a big fan of Wall Street myself — not the movie, but the actual thing.’’

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Amy Shackleton, who is only 25-years-old, is a unique artist. While her paintings use tons and tons of paint, she doesn’t use paintbrushes to create them! Rather, she squeezes paint onto canvases and then allows the paint to naturally drip. She then rotates the canvas to control the direction of the drips, making her paintings appear natural yet controlled.