Remembering Walt Disney

December 5, 2016

By Josh Albarran

Walter Elias Disney was born 105 years ago on December 5th, 1901 in Chicago, Illinois. As an young boy love to draw cartoons while his father owned an small company selling newspapers, Disney would soon began his own business in Kansas City, Missouri producing short feature cartoons through his Laugh-O-Gram company in 1921 including an one of the 10 films that featured both animation and live-action with Alice's Wonderland.

After Laugh-O-Gram was shut down, Walt went bankrupt and moved to Hollywood, California and joined Universal Studios where Disney and Ub Iwerks produced an series of animated shorts on "Oswald: The Lucky Rabbit." But things started to change in 1928 as Disney sold the rights to Oswald to Universal (which they went on to produce more Oswald shorts before selling the character rights completely to Disney in 2006) in exchange, his Disney Bros. Cartoon Studio brought us the world's most beloved cartoon character in cinema, Mickey Mouse with his debut in "Steamboat Willie" in 1928. Mickey became an huge hit for Walt Disney Productions and to the world.

In the 1930s as major Hollywood studios had success on their live-action films, Disney want to expanded his animation studio on making full-length featured animated films. The first of many was "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" in 1939 that would follow by Fantasia in 1940, Cinderella in 1950, Peter Pan in 1953, Sleeping Beauty in 1959 and many more until 1967. In addition to produce several live-action films including the award-winning feature "Mary Poppins."

As the company began to grow, Walt want to built an amusement park near from his studio where the parents and the children can have fun together with their favorite Disney characters. So Disney partnered with the ABC Television Network to built the Disneyland Park in Southern California which opened in 1955, it was an commercial success and his company would go on expanded his theme park business with the launched of Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida in 1971 and most Disneyland resorts all around the world.

Walt Disney passed away in December of 1966 just days after his birthday, but his legacy remain with everyone at The Walt Disney Company and a generation of millions of his fans past and present where the magic of Walt Disney will light up to stars at all times.

Happy 105th Birthday Walt.

Halloween And Art

By Josh Albarran - October 31, 2016

The New Yorker Magazine covers Halloween 1945.

Halloween is the most scariest and un-official holiday of the year, it goes all the way back when its origins started in Europe centuries ago as All Hallows' Eve there (there's also an Day of the Dead event over in Mexico) while the word "Halloween" first existed in 1745 and used as an holiday on the final day of every October. Halloween is an tradition for kids want to trick-and-treat, wearing costumes and create new spooky pages like an work of art.

Celebrating Halloween in 1842, protrait by Daniel Maclise.

Feels like when look at paintings of a dead coming back to life for an once-in-a-lifetime celebration such as zombies, vampires, ghosts among others; it's an tradition that you will talk to your children for generations to come. You may also seen classic horror films airing on TV such as the famous moon scene in The Nightmare Before Christmas or an young Drew Barrymore kissing an alien in E.T. The Extra Terrestrial, when it comes to both TV and film, it scares from your spine, but it also entertains you.

Here's an Halloween poem from Poems In Person:
http://poemsinperson.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-halloween-poem.html

Wishing every an Happy Halloween from The Arts of The World.

50 Years of Star Trek

By Josh Albarran - September 15, 2016

Artwork for Star Trek Generations produced for CBS a few years ago by artist Matt Ferguson features William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk and Patrick Stewart as Captain Jean-Luc Picard.
(CBS Studios Inc./Paramount Pictures Corporation)  

Captain's Log: Earth. Stardate: September 8, 1966. The voyage began on the final frontier of our galaxy and the human beginning of the most popular science fiction series in both television and cinema history. The original "Star Trek" television series premiered on that night on NBC, created by former U.S. militant Gene Roddenberry for Lucile Ball's Desilu Productions.

Original advertisement for Star Trek: The Original Series in 1966.
(NBCUniversal Media, LLC./CBS Studios Inc.)

It was Roddenberry's vision to "wagon train to the stars" when he and Desilu pitched the first pilot to the National Broadcasting Company headquarters in New York two years earlier but NBC's board of directors rejected it as it was "too cerebral" said the network until they finally accepted the second pilot and green-light into the series. The show featured the young and handsome actor named William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk and Leonard Nimoy as Science Officer Mr. Spock led an crew on-board an Federation starship to explore new worlds and seek out new life and new civilizations.

Promotional poster for the first Star Trek film, Star Trek: The Motion Picture in 1979.
(Paramount Pictures Corporation)

The show broked new high-ground to sci-fi television from its special effects to technology we had now that was likely based on the first Trek series such as iPad's, videodiscs and touchscreens. Although the five-year mission only lasted for three seasons (besides the next two (animated) seasons featuring the Original Series cast), but good enough for Paramount Pictures (who took over the Star Trek franchise and the rest of Desilu's television department by the start of the show's second season) to sell all 79 episodes to syndicated on local stations across the country and begun to produce several successful motion pictures featuring the Original television cast.

The crew of Star Trek: The Next Generation joined forces with the X-Men in an 1998 crossover comic book series Second Contact.
(Marvel Studios/Paramount Pictures Corporation/CBS Studios Inc.)

Throughout the past 50 years in the Star Trek universe, they had travel the galaxy from one generation to the next, encounter species such as the Klingons, the Romulans and the Borg; and saving humanity hoping for peace. Recently, Paramount released the 13th Star Trek motion picture film (and the 3rd straight under producer J.J. Abrams) Star Trek Beyond while the next film will be boldly go to theaters in a few years and starting in 2017, Star Trek returns to television following an 12-year absences with the new series Star Trek Discovery on the CBS Television Network and on CBS All Access which the new service will air new episodes exclusively on CBS All Access (an 1st for Star Trek) after the pilot airs on CBS TV.

The Trek Adventure Continues.

Look for all Star Trek television series and motion pictures re-mastered and uncut on DVD and Blu-ray from CBS Home Entertainment and Paramount Home Media Distribution.

Propaganda Cartoons

By Josh Albarran - May 26, 2016

The famous "Uncle Sam" poster, created by J.M. Flag in 1917 was used for the first two World Wars by the United States army and became an landmark for patriotic emotion.  

When you read an local newspaper that you brought from an newsstand during your morning commute to work and to check in on the day's top stories, you're see an comic strip based on current events such as this year's presidential election, the war on terror among others. It's like an perspective commentary that we called as propaganda.

In 1721, London-born William Hogarth and the now-defunct South Sea Company produced an editorial cartoon on the disaster stock market crash of 1720 which was published in 1724.

Cartoons in politics represents an series of historic events that would changed the landscape of the United States of America and the entire world. Propaganda drawings in newspapers goes all the way back when the first propaganda cartoon was released in the United Kingdom back in 1724. Since then, every editorial cartoon has been printed worldwide.

An poster for Women's Army Corps during the years of World War II where women had to work while their love-ones were on the battlefield in the defense of freedom.

Let's put it for example. What if you can imagine if you can make your own propaganda cartoon (depends if you're working at an media company that owns newspapers and comic books). First watch the new to see what's happening in the world, then think about that relates to an current topic and finally use an material (such as an pen or a pencil) to produced an editorial cartoon with an little background as a detail.

In the late 1990s, newspapers across America cities saw editorial cartoons of President Bill Clinton in a awake of his impeachment scandal.

Editorial cartoons had been expanding to not just only newspapers or magazines, but also on short or long-form films, television, the internet, mobile apps and many more. Whatever an politician, world leaders or critics liked it or not, an propaganda cartoon comes with an story never has an end.

Rangers Hockey and Championship Belts

By Josh Albarran - April 25, 2016

Adam Graves, member of the 1994 New York Rangers championship and Arts of the World publisher Josh Albarran outside MSG before Game 4 of the first round playoffs, April 21, 2016.

This year's Stanley Cup Playoffs in the National Hockey League is on to an good start, all that with the exception of the New York Rangers' early exit from the playoff picture in the first round by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 5 games. However between those games in their series, I need to be more look like a champion like my favorite team the New York Rangers.

A week into my new job at Pure Vision Arts down in 17th street in New York City, I designed an custom World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) championship belt specially made to show Rangers legends and fans how cool will be one day the Rangers will have one of those when they are the Stanley Cup champions once again.

Made in cardboard, but painted in both black and gold as with the real WWE World Heavyweight Championship belt. Also in the center of the title belt the Rangers logo with glowing in glitter and on the bottom will say "2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs." Lastly the official 2016 NYR Stanley Cup Playoffs logo is on the left while "The Garden" of the MSG Network logo on the right and right next to the other are logo of advertisement sponsors such as NBC, 98.7FM ESPN New York and others to support the Rangers broadcast.

Arts of the World publisher Josh Albarran with vistor Stepahine McNeal of Chicago's Art Esperanza program, April 21, 2016.
(Twitter)

I brought the belt to Game's 3 and 4 for Rangerstown pre-game festivities just outside Madison Square Garden before these games took place. Most of the Rangers such as Adam Graves and Stephane Matteau of the 1994 Rangers Stanley Cup championship team as well as MSG Network studio analyst Ron Dugray and MSG Radio Network and ESPN 98.7 FM play-by-play broadcaster Kenny Albert among others signed the belt as they like the way I made it so famous.

Although it was an disappointment season for the New York Rangers, but we will never give up on them as the Rangers will continue to fight for us and their hopes of winning their first Stanley Cup since 1994. As for the Rangers Championship belt I made, well one day hopefully will be on display at the MSG Hall of Fame.

Josh Albarran contributed to this report.

Welcome To The Arts of The World

By Josh Albarran - April 25, 2016

An sketch of an 1935 portrait by Anne Anderson of La Belle et la Bete (English's Beauty and the Beast) by Josh Albarran in 2012.

Every since I was born, my life has been with the work of art. My creativity on my artworks had been based on a numerous occasions such as imagination and real life. When I watched animated films on the big screen or an cartoon on television and going to museums, yours truly and everyone here and around the world see how art is presented to us at all times. What better way to launched my brand new blog-page dedicated to stories based on artistic drawings, paintings and all kinds of stuff. This is the Arts of the World.

- Josh Albarran
  Founder, The Arts of the World