Madonna (art)

A Madonna (Italian: [maˈdɔnna]) is a representation of Mary, either alone or with her Child Jesus. These images are central icons for both the Catholic & Orthodox churches. The word is from Italian ma donna, meaning "my lady". No image permeates Christian art as much as the image of the Madonna and child.

While Mary may be referred to as "the Madonna" in other contexts, in art the term is applied specifically to an artwork in which Mary, with or without the infant Jesus, is the focus, and central figure of the picture. Mary and the infant Jesus may be surrounded by adoring angels or worshiping saints. Images that have a narrative content, including those of the many scenes which make up the Life of the Virgin, are not correctly referred to as "Madonnas" but are given a title that reflects the scene such as the Annunciation to Mary.

The earliest images date from the Early Christian Church and are found in the Catacombs of Rome. Representation of Mary became more common after she was proclaimed "God-bearer" (Theotókos) at the Council of Ephesus in 431. For over a thousand years, through the Byzantine, Medieval and Early Renaissance periods the Madonna was the most often produced pictorial artwork. Many specific images of the Madonna, both painted and sculptured, have achieved fame, either as objects of religious veneration or for their intrinsic artistic qualities. Many of the most renowned painters and sculptors in the history of art have turned their skills toward the creation of Madonna images. These artists include Duccio, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, Giovanni Bellini, Caravaggio, Rubens, Salvador Dalí and Henry Moore.

Madonna (studio)

Madonna (マドンナ, Madonna) is a Japanese adult video (AV) studio which specializes in the jukujo niche of Japanese pornography. By 2007, Madonna also launched the label Fitch, which has a focus on the bakunyū niche.

Company information

Madonna is an AV studio located in Tokyo, Japan which is affiliated with the large AV conglomerate Hokuto Corporation which distributes its videos through the DMM website. The General Manager of the company is Katsuhisa Aoyagi (青柳勝久).

Madonna registered its website www.madonna-av.com in October 2003 and released its first videos in December 2003. Their premier video, Man-Eating Mature Women - Semen Squeezing (JUK-001) starred Maki Tomoda, Aki Tomosaki and Mayumi Kusunoki.: The company specializes in movies in the "mature woman" (熟女, jukujo) or MILF pornography genre, sometimes with an incest theme. Such mature woman productions have been a growing trend in Japanese porn since the mid-1990s and were popularized in AV by director Goro Tameike at the end of the 1990s. In addition to Aki Tomosaki and Maki Tomoda, other mature actresses who appeared in early Madonna videos were Ayano Murasaki and Runa Akasaka.Eitaro Haga has been the company's chief director, with a listing of more than 150 videos for Madonna by late 2011.

Madonna (...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead album)

Madonna is the second studio album by the American band ...And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead. It was released on October 19, 1999 by Merge Records.

Background and production

The cover art features a Hindu goddess painting by Conrad Keely called Portrait of Kali. The back art is another painting, Tribute to Ed Wicklander by James Neslo, a nod to a Seattle-based sculptor.

Track listing

† Sometimes named "Sigh Your Relief" on international releases

Track information

"Totally Natural" is about Hollywood actors who also play in rock bands.

Personnel

Celebration (Eric Kloss album)

Celebration is an album by saxophonist Eric Kloss recorded in 1979 and released on the Muse label.

Reception

The AllMusic review stated: "The playing is on a high level and the compositions are complex, but the overall music (other than the opening "Celebration") tends to be a bit dull".

Track listing

All compositions by Eric Kloss except as indicated

Personnel

References

Celebration (Bheki Mseleku album)

Celebration was the debut album of jazz musician Bheki Mseleku. The album was on the short list of nominees for the 1992 Mercury Prize.

References

Party

A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration of a special occasion. A party will typically feature food and beverages, and often music and dancing or other forms of entertainment. In many Western countries, parties for teens and adults are associated with drinking alcohol such as beer, wine or distilled spirits.

Description

Some parties are held in honor of a specific person, day, or event, such as a birthday party, a Super Bowl party, or a St. Patrick’s Day party. Parties of this kind are often called celebrations. A party is not necessarily a private occasion. Public parties are sometimes held in restaurants, pubs, beer gardens, nightclubs or bars, and people attending such parties may be charged an admission fee by the host. Large parties in public streets may celebrate events such as Mardi Gras or the signing of a peace treaty ending a long war.

Types of parties