Art of the Day : Your Recommended Daily Dose

Eine Kleine Nachtmusik

2012-02-01T19:42:00.005-05:00

Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, 1943
Dorothea Tanning (American, 1910-2012)
Oil on canvas
16 1/8 x 24 in.
Tate Modern, London

We've lost 2 artists this week, one to old age and one to life itself it seems, so I thought I would focus on them for some daily art. Dorothea Tanning died yesterday at the age of 101. Who do you think of when you hear the term Surrealism? Most people start with Dali and go from there. One of my favorites has always been Dorothea Tanning. The painting I've posted is one of her most well known, but I highly recommend spending some time looking at others. There is a great website dedicated to her and her work at www.dorotheatanning.org. I will admit, that while I enjoy spending time with surrealist works, I've never quite gotten the hang of talking about them, though now as I start reading I realize that I never spent much time with Surrealism after I developed my interest in psychoanalysis and art (which would seem like it should have been obvious, but alas). I am going to share quote of Tanning from the short essay about the work from the Tate Modern.

Tanning has said: ‘It’s about confrontation. Everyone believes he/she is his/her drama. While they don’t always have giant sunflowers (most aggressive of flowers) to contend with, there are always stairways, hallways, even very private theatres where the suffocations and the finalities are being played out, the blood red carpet or cruel yellows, the attacker, the delighted victim....’ (Letter to the author, 1999)

Check out the full summary of the work.

I do now have quite the fascination with sunflowers though. One of the things I do love about the paintings of Tanning's I have seen and other surrealists such as Leonora Carrington, Yves Tanguy, and Max Ernst, is how intimate they are, this is not a large painting, you can stand in front of it and really spend time with the strange and wonderful story and detail.

Small Girl with a Cat

2012-01-26T09:43:00.006-05:00

A Small Girl with a Cat
Theophile-Alexandre Steinlen (1859-1923)
1889
Petit Palais, Geneva

I just came across this fabulous painting in a book at work, The Cat: 3500 Years of the Cat in Art. This is not an artist I'm familiar with nor is it the best painting I've ever seen, but I love how the girl is holding the cat and the pink in black. The media and size of the painting are unknown. It does look like the artist was a fan of cats: http://www.steinlen.net/main.php?g2_itemId=94

Steinlen was most well known for his illustration work in France, designing fabulous posters like the one to the left. Yay for cats!

Jaume Plensa

2012-01-23T19:16:00.006-05:00

Jaume Plensa
Spanish, 1955-
Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Sculpture Garden
Images courtesy of my honeymoon

So, I greatly apologize, as I do not know the title of this piece (I did some work trying to figure it out but am not up for pulling out all the librarian stops right now). There are many other wonderful works by Jaume Plensa that you can peruse and do to some similarity among works, other titles could give you an idea of what this one could be.

This sculpture is part of a sculpture garden along side one of the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts new buildings. I'm always excited to catch site of a Plensa. Even though this one is quite small compared to some of the artist's work on a grander scale, you can give it different kind of personal attention than his larger than life works. I saw my first (knowingly) on a trip to the Frederik Meijer Gardens of Grand Rapids. Check theirs out here. I say knowingly because I had already seen the fountain in Chicago's Millennium Park more than once but never took the time to check out who the artist was. See Crown Fountain. I apologize for that sentence being in italics, blogger won't let me fix it.

I have not given Plensa the time and care he deserves, so please do check out his website, hit Google images and find a Plensa to experience in person!

Ceramic Horn

2012-01-19T20:00:00.002-05:00

Ceramic Horn
France, late 18th or early 19th century
Glazed pottery
Metropolitan Museum of Art, 89.4.1115

How cool is this horn? Sadly this hunting horn was used for decorative display only. Covered in blue flowers, the horn also bears an unidentified coat of arms. Check the image out full-screen and zoom.

Delhi Durbar of Akbar II

2012-01-18T20:44:00.004-05:00

The Delhi Durbar of Akbar II
Mughal Period, ca 1820
India, Delhi School
Painting on ivory with carved ivory frame
Painting: 18 1/4 x 14 1/2 in
Toledo Museum of Art, 2004.55

This beautiful Indian miniature on ivory is one of my favorite pieces at the TMA. It's description in our Masterworks catalogue uses the word dazzling, and it is quite on point. For more close up details check it out here. This painting commemorates a durbar (an imperial audience or state reception) and represents an image of Mughal power with the emperor, Akbar II, the resplendence of court, costumes, jewels and more. The ivory frame is carved in deep relief and depicts vignettes of Hindu deities. These type of paintings were produced in court schools of painters as souvenirs for high dignitaries and emperor's guests at the durbar.

Marvelous

2012-01-12T20:37:00.002-05:00

Jehan Georges Vibert
French, 1840-1902
The Marvelous Sauce, ca. 1899
Oil on wood panel
25 x 32 inches (63.5 x 81.3 cm)
Bequest of Elisabeth H. Gates, 1899

A nostalgic painting for me, I remember seeing this painting on every trip to the Albright Knox Art Gallery when I was growing up. It's been one of the collection highlights of the Albright Knox Art Gallery for quite a long time.
A quick search for Vibert brings up my one of the more fascinating art websites out there, artrenewal.org. Check out their mission statement. They would be quite opposed to much of the art I post on this blog, but they do their historical research well.

Rococo meets contemporary

2012-01-10T19:55:00.004-05:00

Rachel Feinstein
Eva (parasol), 2005
pastel on paper
39 x 27-1/2 inches
Courtesy Marianne Boesky
*image from http://artcritical.com

A chat with a new colleague at the museum got me thinking about the artists I wrote about in my thesis oh so many 7 years ago. The artist who prompted my interest of Rococo and Baroque art in contemporary art was Rachel Feinstein. I saw a show of hers in a gallery when I was thinking about topics and I was hooked. This pastel has always been one of my favorites. Feinstein works in a variety of media including sculpture. It's quite hard to a do a quick search of her on the web because her and her husband, the artist John Currin, are quite the socialites and most of what one immediately finds are glamour shots and lot of articles sans images.

Chinese textiles

2012-01-08T15:59:00.004-05:00

Fragment of a hanging or cover
China, mid 19th century.
Silk, peacock feathers, metallic wrapped yarn.
The Textile Museum 51.30

I tend to usually be drawing to more contemporary art as well as art by known artists. Textiles is an area I am not very familiar with but whenever I come across supreme examples of them I am blown away. Techniques are also fascinating. This textile was created in China before the invention of synthetic dyes. Green, at this time, was incredibly hard to produce because while it occurs in nature, it never occurs as a steadfast dye. In order to create the green one needed to dye the fabric twice.

In this piece, instead of dye, peacock feathers were wrapped around silk threads. Not surprisingly, this was quite a task and was reserved for only special occasions. "Dating from the mid-19th century, this piece was likely part of a lavish hanging or cover used for Buddhist ritual. The colorful design depicts the “eight precious things” of the Buddhist faith: double fish, canopy, endless knot, lotus, vase, conch, umbrella, and the wheel of law." Textile Museum

Peggy Guggenheim

2012-01-04T17:38:00.004-05:00

Franz von Lenbach
Peggy Guggenheim, ca. 1903
Oil on board, 128.9 x 92.7 cm
Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, Venice
Purchase 98.5247

I came across this painting at the back of an art journal, listing acquisitions by the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice. I loved the expression on the girl's face and then once I realized it was a portrait of Peggy Guggenheim herself, I was quite interested particularly due to the style of the painting since it doesn't mesh well with my thoughts of the 20th century in which the majority of Guggenheim's life spans.

Peggy Guggenheim is a legend in the art world. She amassed one of the foremost collections of Modern art and gave Jackson Pollock his first show and support when she ran The Art of this Century Gallery in NYC. She later moved to Venice where she opened her collection to the public, Peggy Guggenheim Collection.

The painter, Franz von Lenbach, is a new one to me. Born in Schrobenhausen, Bavaria, he eventually settled in Munich and became internationally successful painting portraits like this one of society personalities. In 1900 he won the Grand Prix for painting in Paris. Lenbach's painting is world away from the Modern art that Guggenheim so loved and promoted.

The Automaton

2012-01-03T21:42:00.005-05:00

Paolo Ventura
The Old Man from The Automaton

I can't even begin to tell you how much I love the work of Paolo Ventura. I was lucky enough to wander into the Hasted Kraeutler Gallery in Chelsea on my last trip to NYC. I saw Ventura's work in an art magazine not too long before the trip and thank goodness for glass windows, as I saw the work through the gallery window and headed inside.

The entire gallery was filled with a series of photographs telling the story of The Automaton of Venice. Each photograph is a snippet or a scene of the story. The photographs are enchanting and once you realize that isn't just a photograph of a man but of a handmade maquette, the photographs become even more engrossing. Ventura creates detailed scale model sets which he then photographs.

Check out more of his work

Working with imagined worlds as well as small ones is quite fascinating and many other fabulous artists today are working this way. Ventura was part of the exhibition: Otherworldly: Optical Delusions and Small Realities
Definitely check the website out, it showcases all of the works in the exhibition. I am sure I'll cover some of the artists here in the future.

Tis a New Year

2012-01-02T17:32:00.007-05:00

Hello!! It has been close to a year since I was last active on this blog. Many have said they missed it and I realized that I missed too. I still come across new and and old loves of art every day, so I am going to do my best to regularly share it. I may change the blog format soon, possibly switch to wordpress, but will keep you posted on any changes. In the meantime, I do hope you will come back to reading it and freely comment. Thanks for your support!!!

Today, I share an amazing interactive installation by Yayoi Kusama.

Obliteration Room

I am only posting an image of the first stage of the installation, do click on the link above to see the transformation, it's wonderful. (Image on the right from the Colossal Art & Design blog) The installation, is part of Kusama’s Look Now, See Forever exhibition currently at the Gallery of Modern Art in Brisbane, Australia.

I was able to wander through a Kusama installation at the Mattress Factory in Pittsburgh, a few months back. It was quite the experience and I have to say, I quite enjoyed it, enough to go commercial and buy a magnet. (Image to the right is Infinity Dots Mirrored Room, 1996, long term loan to Mattress Factory from their website)

Two Seated Figures

2010-04-09T14:08:00.007-04:00

Lynn Chadwick (British, 1914-2003)
Two Seated Figures on a Blue Wave, 1971
Lithograph
30 x 22 ins
image: SW1 Gallery

From the exhibition: Edition - A Century of British Prints 1906-2006, May 12-June 3, 2006. Check out the additional prints in the show.

Lynn Chadwick was a sculptor, but I simply adore this simple print. Similar to the imagery you'll find in his sculptures, I prefer the softness of the print. Granted, the comparison is a bit weak but I've always found it fascinating how sculptures are translated (or originate in drawings), drawings so interesting they are turned into prints. Check out Henry Moore.

Sitting Couple, 1990
artnet.com

Peacock Room

2010-04-05T21:05:00.004-04:00

Peacock Room
James McNeill Whistler (American, 1834-1903)
Freer Gallery of Art
interior decorative mural art

Most notably known for his paintings, though he was a prolific in prints as well, Whistler also took his hand at interior decoration. Originally asked to recommend colors for the dining room of Frederick R. Leyland, Whistler took the room as his own painting peacock feathers on the wall and adding golden peacocks to the shutters. The room was originally design to hold Leyland's collection of blue and white porcelain. Purchased by Charles Lang Freer, the room was reassembled in his mansion later to be moved to the Freer Gallery of Art. (Description via the Freer Gallery of Art http://www.asia.si.edu/exhibitions/current/peacock.htm#) A painting by Whistler adorns the mantlepiece. (La Princesse du pays de la porcelaine, 1863-64, by James McNeill Whistler (American, 1834-1903). Oil on canvas, 199.9 x 116.1 cm. Gift of Charles Lang Freer, F1903.91)

Color Target

2010-04-01T20:25:00.004-04:00

Kenneth Noland (American, 1924-2010)
Heat, 1958
image: kennethnoland.com

Noland's work developed out abstract expressionism and he became a significant Color Field painter. Color field painting often consists of solid areas of color covering the entire canvas, many times, the paint stained into the canvas (Morris Louis). Interest lies in the lyrical effects of these swathes of color. Noland was interested in the relationship with the edge of the picture and began his series of Targets, like today's painting.

The Handsome Michallon

2010-03-30T17:19:00.002-04:00

Leon Cogniet (French, 1794-1880)
Portrait of Michallon, about 1818-19
Musée des Beaux-Arts d'Orléans
image: http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/artists/achille-etna-michallon

What a handsome young man! I started out looking for a work by the painter Achille-Etna Michallon (1796-1822), the subject of our painting today and quickly discovered this portrait. This young man was only ever handsome as he sadly, only made it to the age of 26 due to illness.

A quick search for additional work by Cogniet shows that this may be, in my humble opinion of course, one of his better works. I seem to only find his portraits aesthetically pleasing, as he captures a wonderful face. More works... and yes, my source is Google images as I can't find more than a couple of his works in any one place. This may also be due to the fact that Cogniet was an academic painter, never my first love.

Tar Beach

2010-03-29T20:07:00.004-04:00

Faith Ringgold (American, b. 1934)
Tar Beach (Part I from the Woman on a Bridge series), 1988. Acrylic on canvas, bordered with printed, painted, quilted, and pieced cloth, 74 5/8 x 68 1/2 inches (189.5 x 174 cm).
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, Gift, Mr. and Mrs. Gus and Judith Lieber 88.3620
image:

Once again I am going to try to get myself back into the habit of paying attention to my blog. I am thinking about moving to wordpress (so much more capability) though, so you may soon find Art of the Day in a new location.

Faith Ringgold creates story quilts, "a traditional American craft associated with women’s communal work that also has roots in African culture". Her focus is on narrative and not on what be called aesthetic perfection. Her work has a folk-art quality that brings color, design and story to the viewer's eye.

Tar Beach 'depicts the fantasies of its spirited heroine and narrator Cassie Louise Lightfoot, who, on a summer night in Harlem, flies over the George Washington Bridge. “Sleeping on Tar Beach was magical . . .” explains Cassie in the text on the quilt, “only eight years old and in the third grade and I can fly. That means I am free to go wherever I want to for the rest of my life.”' --Nancy Spector, Guggenheim

Ringgold also writes and illustrates children's books.

Winter Scene

2010-02-10T20:15:00.005-05:00

Winter Scene in Brooklyn, ca. 1819-20
Francis Guy (American, 1760-1820)
58 3/8 x 74 9/16 in.

Happy snow! A beautiful historical winter and Brooklyn scene. Check out the audio for a bit about the picture:

Dancers

2010-02-07T17:37:00.006-05:00

Dancers in the Wings, 1880
Edgar Degas (French, 1834-1917)
Pastel and tempera on paper, mounted to paperboard
27-1/4 x 19-3/4 in.
Norton Simon Art Foundation M.1977.06.P
Norton Simon Museum

I love when you fall a work of art at first glance and then upon research and more you find out it is even more awesome than you originally thought. I have never been a fan of Degas, I found his subject matter a bit dull (sorry ballet fans) and have never been particularly attracted to the pastel colors of so much of impressionism. I never once doubted the awesome talent of the artist, it just wasn't for me.

While searching for something else I came across this gorgeous piece by Degas. Drawn in by both composition and the colors, which are almost juicy, I was excited to discover that the work is actually made up of at least 10 pieces of paper (Norton Simon Museum website) which were used to enlarge the drawing. I've always been fascinated by what pastel can be in the hands of someone like Degas. The work is also part tempera, but this is definitely something that cannot be discerned via the digital world (see as much art as you can in person!). I would love to see this work and really understand how the mediums are used.

Bus Stop

2010-02-04T21:25:00.005-05:00

David Park (1911-1960)
Bus Stop, 1952
oil on canvas
36 x 34 in.
Collection of Mary and Jim Patton, promised to the Ackland Art Museum
image: http://www.ackland.org/art/exhibitions/patton/park1.html

I discovered David Park today when doing research for a patron. She was looking to authenticate a painting she has that she believes is by David Park. I didn't recognize the artist's name, and happily I quickly discovered this wasn't an unknown mediocre artist (which is all too common in our reference inquiries).

The work I've chosen to share stands out from many of Park's other works which tend to focus on abstracted nude figures. I was drawn to the color palette in this work, the strong ochres, browns and oranges with happy swash of blue in the car bordering the right hand side of the painting.

"Most of his energy has gone into his feeling for the shifts in the inner space of an image and for the creation of light, which he can make sizzlingly bright or glowingly soft. A person’s eyes, in a Park, might be no more than dots. Yet the magic of his brushy and muscular paintings, often marked by hot reds, yellows, and oranges, is that the people in them have psychologically full presences, and we are pulled into the reflective spirit of the images." --"The Tender Art of David Park" by Sanford Schwartz

Scholar by a Waterfall

2010-01-31T20:25:00.003-05:00

Ma Yuan (Chinese, active ca. 1190–1225)
Scholar by a Waterfall
Southern Song dynasty (1127–1279), late 12th–early 13th century
Album leaf: ink and color on silk
9 7/8 x 10 1/4 in. (25.1 x 26 cm)
Metropolitan Museum of Art
image: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/ho/07/eac/ho_1973.120.9.htm

Ma Yuan "was a master of “one-corner” painting, in which visual interest is focused in a corner of the work." (britannica.com). Very much a master, the corner focus is what drew me to this work. I think it creates a greater intimacy in the work, a small delicate world that the viewer can enter.

I have to admit to my complete lack of knowledge in Chinese painting as from what I can gather with a little research, Ma Yuan is one of the most famous and popular Chinese traditional painter known to the western world. Landscape painting in Chinese art.

The cradle

2010-01-26T20:57:00.004-05:00

Berthe Morisot (French, 1841-1895)
Le Berceau (The cradle), 1872
oil on canvas
image: Musee d'Orsay http://www.musee-orsay.fr/en/collections/index-of-works/notice.html?no_cache=1&nnumid=001132&cHash=366b77b867

A beautiful picture by Berthe Morisot. Focused on the daily life of the Modern woman, Morisot captured beautiful moments. Morisot's sister modeled for this painting and she is looking down upon her own baby. The simple beauty of the cradle curatin and focused attention of the mother. Admittedly, Morisot falls into a number of artists I neglected for a long time. It took me awhile to develop not only an appreciation for Impressionism but an aesthetic interest in these more quiet paintings.

Along with Mary Cassatt, Morisot is considered one of the most important women painters of the late 19th century. Very good friends with Edouard Manet, Morisot was not just a woman painter but exhibited alongside other Impressionists of her time (she was the first woman to join the circle of French Impressionists). Despite her connections with this group, she was not as well known during her lifetime.

A Tool

2010-01-24T14:42:00.001-05:00

A Tool to Deceive and Slaughter, 2009
Caleb Larsen
8"x8"x8"
Acrylic, custom electronics, programming, internet connection, online auction.

image: ebay http://offer.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewBids&item=190367275705

Description: "This object perpetually attempts to sell itself on eBay" (from description on, you guessed it, eBay)

Thank you to a friend to alerting me to today's art of the day. As can be expected, "art" is an interesting term in this context. Just looking at the photo, it looks like a shiny box, minimalist maybe? Ah, but wait! This is no ordinary box. I struggled to categorize this work for my picture files (sculpture, conceptual art, digital media?). I went with sculpture because I was too lazy to create a folder for conceptual art and am not sure I'll add much to the folder since I rely a bit on visuals for this blog. I still wanted to bring this to the attention of a few more because I find it pretty fascinating (this does not necessarily mean I like the work, that's what is wonderful about art I think).

So what is this thing anyway? To briefly expand on it's description as perpetually attempting to sell itself on eBay, yes, the artist has the work for sale on eBay. The duration of the sale is 7 days. Once the item is sold it changes hands. The new owner (who is referred to as the collector which I question since it is likely it won't stay in this person's hands forever) is then required to put the object up for sale once again. There you have it. There are a slew of rules and regulations to follow once in possession of the object (I'd rather just call it a box) and those are what fascinate me the most. I highly recommend reading them here.

The best clause:

Any failure to follow these terms without prior consent of Artist will forfeit the status of the Artwork as a legitimate work of art. The item will no longer be considered a genuine work by the Artist and any value associated with it will be reduced to its value as a material object and not a work of art.

This is the first run of the sale, currently being sold be the artist. I would be interested in seeing how sales go in the future.

Good times.

Modern Painters

2010-01-09T14:03:00.002-05:00

Modern Painters (from 1873), 2008
Brian Dettmer
Altered Book
9 1/8 x 7 x 6 3/4 inches
image: Kinz + Tillou Fine Art

I am not sure if I've shared one of Dettmer's altered books yet. I was reading an article about writing and manuscripts in Timbuktu and quickly thought of finding an altered book for today's art.

I, like many, used to have a particular reaction to works such as this. As a librarian, reader and book lover I found it difficult to see what many would call the destruction of a book. Over the years I've become not only okay with it but find the resulting works of art fascinating. This is all that Brian Dettmer does, he is a sculptor but his material is not just paper but existing books. Most of the books he uses are old editions of encyclopedias and atlases. Mass produced volumes that over time just get pushed away. Why not create a new and much less static life for this object?

This particular work is not one of the most amazing in aesthetic but I chose it because of the book itself, Modern Painters by John Ruskin. An interesting play between text, art, the old and the new. I have a lot of more trouble with the use of this 19th c. volume, a classic in the history of art (it appears that the 1873 should be 5 volumes and is currently selling for between $200 and $500 depending on condition). I am unsure as to why he only used 3 volumes (earlier editions had less volumes) unless there was an 1873 3 volume set published. Anyway, the set wouldn't be considered rare and once you spend some time looking at Dettmer's work you stop seeing any form of destruction. The term, "altered book" is fitting, especially when the artist retains the semblence of a book. When you still know it's a book, the object retains a variety of lives and meanings.

Mobile matrix

2010-01-04T20:02:00.006-05:00

Gabriel Orozco (Mexican, b.1962)
Mobile Matrix, 2006
whale skeleton, graphite
Exhibition December 13, 2009 - March 1, 2010 at the
Museum of Modern Art Exhibition website
images by me

So, I've definitely got art on the brain. I managed to get to 4 museums during my 3-day NYC jaunt last week (I always aim for more but museum fatigue is not a myth!) Most falls into the contemporary realm so I'll scatter my new fascinations with some early periods!

Always interested in what I will find in the atrium of the Museum of Modern Art, I was intrigued by Orozco's Mobile Matrix. Created for the Jose Vasconcelos Library in Mexico City, the installation was de-installed and re-installed in MoMA's atrium. The skeleton of a great whale was excavated from a beach. The cleaned up skeleton was then covered in concentric circles of graphite.

Orozco had used graphite on bone before, Black Kites 1997

Interview with Orozco on the making of Mobile Matrix

Some fantastic shots http://www.flickr.com/photos/nyclovesnyc/4189469944/in/photostream/

Black and White Geometry

2009-12-22T08:00:00.000-05:00

Simone Lucas (German, 1973-)
"Not Titled Yet", 2009
Oil on canvas
70.87 x 70.87 in.
image: Jack Tilton Gallery http://www.jacktiltongallery.com/more_artwork/lucas_more/2nd./Lucas.NotTitledYet.Email.Cap.gif

Something about this artist's paintings intrigues me. Their simplicity, geometry and monochrome palette with just a touch of color. The color is usually defined within the geometry and in this painting in particular the women paint that geometry, the color coming from their brushes.

"Their idea is as simple as it is ingenious, and involves infiltrating black-and-white images taken from 19th- and early-20th-century photographs with colorful designs suggestive of the pictorial avant-garde of the same historical period, colorful spheres, checks and other geometrical designs." (Walter Robinson, Weekend Update http://www.artnet.com/magazineus/reviews/robinson/weekend-update10-16-09.asp)

More by Simone Lucas

Rhinoceros

2009-12-21T08:00:00.000-05:00

Pietro Longhi (Italian, 1702-85)
Rhinoceros, 1751
Oil on canvas 23x19
Ca' Rezzonico (museum dedicated to 18th c. Venice)
Image: Wikipedia

A painting that caught someone's eye in my Rococo to Revolution. Longhi was known as a bit of a truth teller in his art. Nothing fancy, nothing unique, he just painted it like he saw it which at the time in Venice was Venetians at play. As a result his people don't always mesh, they appear more as placeholders. This particular painting is interesting due to the rhinoceros of course, which while seeming odd is actually a depiction of a real rhinoceros who found herself in Venice, brought to Europe in 1741. Clara, the rhinoceros even has her own wikipedia page!

Lower Level

2009-12-17T08:37:00.006-05:00

John Huftalen (American, New Yorker, 1948-)
Lower Level
Metropolitan Museum

Image: http://www.jlhphotographics.com/coppermin/displayimage.php?album=19&pos=7

Hi Dad! It had to happen, here is a wonderful work by my father. I do hope it is okay. I believe it was taken with his Diana camera which he began to experiment with in the last few years (is that right?). There isn't much control with the camera (simple, plastic camera, prone to light leaks) so the shot relies so much on the intuition and eye of the photographer. I had a little trouble choosing between a few from dad's urban photos, oddly enough it came down to a scene of a Manhattan crowd and this image empty of people.

What is interesting to me is that while there are no figures in the image there it still doesn't seem isolated. As I gaze I keep expecting someone to walk into the shot, or one of the trees to turn into a figure. As quiet and still as the image appears the juxtaposition of the sharpness of the center of the image and the blur around the edges creates a movement (also in the shadows of the branches on the building).

As the title shows, this is a small portion of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, a megolith of a building full of treasures and beauty, yet it is awesome to see how simple, pure and beautiful this little corner of it's outside world can be through the eyes of an artist. Yet, this could be any corner in any city and that brings an additional wonder. Thanks Dad, for your passion and your eye. Happy Birthday to you again!

Check out more of John Huftalen's work at http://www.jlhphotographics.com/

Dylan does Drawing

2009-12-14T08:00:00.000-05:00

Bob Dylan
Three Chairs
Image: http://www.poplifeart.com/blog/2009/08/bob-dylan-artwork-drawn-blank-series.html

I've always found something intriguing about the popularity of visual art by celebrities (actors, singers etc.). Did you know that Bob Dylan drew? A gallery in Germany put together an exhibition of his work last year. I've only been able to find a few examples but they're not bad. Of course, being famous helps greatly in getting your work into a gallery and work will sell for that reason as well. I even discovered a blog dedicated to art by celebrities.

http://www.poplifeart.com/blog/front.html

A really interesting aspect to the recent show of Dylan's work is that the curator asked Dylan to rework his drawings into paintings. I think I'll stick with his music.

Better art to come this week!

Woman with a Crow

2009-12-08T19:46:00.003-05:00

Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881-1973)
Woman with a Crow, 1904
Charcoal, pastel, and watercolor on paper
Toledo Museum of Art 1936.4
Check out the TMA link above, I can't like to the work itself so check under Works on Paper.

I'm back! By both request and need (I really missed this). I do hope I can keep it up! Thanks so much to those who follow the blog and let me know how much they enjoy it. That is exactly what I hoped for when I started it. Yay!

The TMA has an endless array of incredible works of art. Normally I wouldn't be one to pull out a Picasso as being one of the best. Yes, yes too typical I often feel. I adored Picasso when I was in high school, but quickly realized that it wasn't such a stretch to be a fan of Picasso and I distanced myself while I learned and fell in love with a greater world of art. I've come back a bit and discovered so much more than the cubist paintings I spent so much of looking on.

The thing that is incredible about artists like Picasso is their artistic range. Picasso went through many periods in both his art and the world of art he was a part of. This gorgeous drawing/watercolor was made when he was only 23 during what is now considered his blue period (noting not only the more melancholy feeling of the work but also the predominant use of the color). I've seen many a Picasso over the years, but this easily ranks up there as a favorite.

Mondrian Building

2009-11-03T08:19:00.006-05:00

Mondrian Building
Building in Austin, Tx
image: lizardkingdom.org
Piet Mondrian (Dutch, 1872-1944)

While not art per say, I find people's take on art fascinating. Mondrian has never been one of my favorites, though the geometry of his work is quite soothing. I've seen many Mondrian paintings in person and the one thing you expect (or at least I have before seeing one) is that everything about them is exact, squared and picture perfect. Alas, this is not true. You can see a painterliness in his work, the lines, while always straight, have fuzzy edges, and the application of color is not uniform. This actually makes me happy, since, from a distance the paintings look sleek, and I actually find this a bit dull. His work doesn't age well, the solidity of the structure of the lines breaks down when you see that the paint is fading and cracking.

Instead of showing an actual painting (since the digital images surely don't represent what you would see in person, though may be more true to some original intentions) I discovered this house. What was surely an incredibly pedestrian house to start has been given and interest by someone's choice to share a bit of Mondrian. There is no shortage commercialization and application of Mondrian to material objects and products.

A Mondrian at MoMA

Soap Bubbles

2009-11-02T08:00:00.000-05:00

Jean Simeon Chardin (French, 1699–1779)
Soap Bubbles 1733-34?
oil on canvas
24 x 24 7/8 in.
Metropolitan Museum of Art

I've always loved this painting. I've discovered that there are multiple versions, with questions over which was executed first, so there is no definitive date on this work. I am pretty sure this is the one that I have seen, since I have yet to get myself to the National Gallery or the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (a pretty sad state in my experience of art museums I have to say).

Aside from the simple beauty of the style and technique, I also tend to love any theme of children (at least in 18th c. art). This was a favorite theme of Chardin ("idle play of children). The existence of 3 versions of this painting reminds me of an interesting inquiry I had at work recently. A patron called asking about a work they had seen in our museum. She had looked for an image of it online and believed she had found it. She called to ask a few questions about the work, one being that she wasn't sure why the image she was looking at online looked so different from what she remembered. It was because it wasn't the same sculpture of course, but she had trouble wrapping her mind around the fact that an artist would create more than one version of the same subject with the same title. She asked, "did they really do that?".

Allegory

2009-10-25T19:10:00.004-04:00

Allegory with a Virgin (Allegory of Chastity), 1479-1480
Hans Memling, (b. ca. 1440, Seligenstadt, d. 1494, Bruges)
Height: 38 cm (14.96 in.), Width: 32 cm (12.6 in.)
oil on board

Wonderfully weird image. I can't seem to find out too much about it thought. The virgin/chastity aspect is pretty straightforward due to the elevation of our dear virgin upon the craggy rock (amythest) I will, as I have surely often done, admit my lack of knowledge when it comes to iconography in art. I do think I need to procure myself a good book and spend some time making up for this lack.

A wee bit about the painting: http://www.wga.hu/frames-e.html?/html/m/memling/2middle3/15allego.html

A pair of shoes

2009-10-21T19:32:00.007-04:00

Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890)
A Pair of Shoes, 1886
Oil on Canvas, 37.5 X 45 cm
Location: Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
Image: http://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/vgm/popup.jsp?page=1576&collection=1297&lang=en

Wow, so I knew something would be around to finally posting my potentially favorite painting of all time. I sat down to write this blog entry with no specific art work in mind. Looked around the room for inspiration and a book on Heidegger caught my eye. I pop "Heidegger and art" into Google and not surprisingly come up with as the first hit, a wikipedia entry on Heidegger's Origin of a Work of Art. I scroll down the page and there is Van Gogh's A Pair of Shoes. Yes, I studied art theory at the graduate level but somehow I seemed to have either skipped (which I surely shouldn't be admitting) reading Origin or somehow missed the focus on this painting. Alas, I shall be reading it soon but despite the hurrah and writing about this particular painting I am happy to say that I fell in love with it on my own, without pointers to its perceived importance or the interest it held for a variety of philosophers.

The wonder of the internets, as I link through more information I come across what could possibly be one of the best exhibitions ever "Vincent van Gogh: Shoes" currently at the Wallraf-Richartz-Museum & Fondation Corboud in Cologne, Germany. Currently! How splendid is the wonder of timing and little coincidences! If only I could get myself to Cologne. A recent post in Harper's Magazine online discusses the exhibition, with extensive quotes about the shoes from Martin Heidegger, Meyer Schapiro and Jacques Derrida.

http://www.harpers.org/archive/2009/10/hbc-90005828

All of this is well and good, but this is the kind of painting where I find no need for wordplay. Van Gogh painted a number of pictures of boots and shoes, all of which are rich and and alive and wrenching but this particular painting stands on its own. Oh how I want to go to Amsterdam! Both the Van Gogh Museum and the Rijksmuseum have raised their awesomeness to me today!

59th St. Bridge

2009-10-21T08:00:00.000-04:00

George Bellows (American, 1882–1925)
The Bridge, Blackwell's Island, 1909
oil on canvas
Toledo Museum of Art 1912.506
image: Toledo Museum of Art

While I seem to back in the habit of getting art up most days, Tuesdays are tough. I am taking a jewelry class on Monday nights and am usually a bit beat by the time I get home so for now we have Art of the Day, minus Tuesday.

I will also admit to my fall back of hitting up the small collection of works TMA has on their website when I am not feeling particularly alert to finding other art. But! This is never a bad thing since our collection is splendid! I love bridges, despite my still nagging fear of driving over them, I find them beautiful and fascinating, particularly when I am looking at them through a creative's eyes. The caption for this work on TMA's site mentions the Bellow's cropping of the bridge, "emphasizing its towering presence". I completely agree but what I find most comforting in the scene is the familiarity of the bridge. When we think of bridges we most like think of the bridge from a distance, the alluring view of it in its entirety, almost as a vista. Looking at this painting I think of the wonderful experience of viewing bridges from the perspective of the immediate shore. Of course, this bridge in particular holds a specific place in my history as it is was the bridge I traversed most often when I lived in Greenpoint.

I never really paid a lot of attention to this painting and while the image always looked familiar in some way I never realized that this was the Queensborough Bridge (59th St. Bridge) since the title refers to Blackwell's Island. I never knew this was an earlier name for Roosevelt Island.

I doubt I need to mention it, but the blue in this painting is gorgeous!

Winter

2009-10-19T08:00:00.000-04:00

Paolo Ventura (Italian, b.1968)
Winter Stories #9
image: http://www.paoloventura.com/work/winter.html

By all appearances this image just looks like a photograph of a bookstore from the past. Looks can be wonderfully deceiving. The scene is actually a miniature set constructed, a diorama, and photographed by the artist. One of a series called "Winter Stories", this image serves as a scene from a story. The images are quiet and beautiful, “Winter Stories,” "referring literally, to the season depicted, but also, more figuratively, to the final season of one’s life. Ventura conceived of the photographs as representing the recollections of an old man as he looks back during his final moments" (Art in America, Nov. 2008, Jean Dykstra)

Gorky

2009-10-16T08:40:00.003-04:00

Arshile Gorky (Armenian/American 1904-1948)
The Liver is the Cock's Comb, 1944
Oil on canvas
73 1/4 x 98 in. (186 x 249 cm)
Albright-Knox Art Gallery
image: artnet.com

Upon Gorky's arrival in the United States he lived in Watertown, Massachusetts, my old stomping ground. Watertown has one of the largest populations of Armenians outside of Armenia.

"Arshile" is Russian for Achilles, and "Gorky" translates into "the bitter one."

Part of the Public Works of Art Project in 1933, to give artists jobs during the Depression. This work is seen as crossing between surrealism and abstract expressionism.

Camera Obscura

2009-10-15T08:00:00.000-04:00

Jasmijn, to the light, 2008
Richard Learoyd (British, b.1966)
unique camera obscura Ilfochrome photograph
h: 71.1 x w: 60.2 in
image: http://www.artnet.com/artwork/425986868/396/richard-learoyd-jasmijn-to-the-light.html

I browse through art magazine dog-earing images that catch me eye, and this is one from today. On first glance I thought it was a painting, the softness, the light, look on the woman's face. Currently part of the exhibition, Unique Photographs at the McKee Gallery in NYC, Learoyd's photographs are more than life size.

"Created with a camera obscura, each image is projected directly onto giant pieces of Ilfochrome, and each glossy print is unique. The lack of a negative yields an almost overwhelming clarity and one needs to see the prints in person to truly appreciate them." (Brea Souders Photography: A Place for New Projects and Updates blog)

Beguiling of Merlin

2009-10-14T08:28:00.004-04:00

Edward Coley Burne-Jones (British, 1833-1898)
Beguiling of Merlin, 1872-7
Oil on canvas 186-111 cm.
LL3121
National Museums Liverpool - Lady Lever Gallery

It's normal to find different versions of art images in the web due to a multitude of copying, potentially bad photography and scanning. I tend to trust that the institution that owns a work will have the better quality image, or should have the better quality as well as most true to life (meaning color and tone) that you'll find. I've included 2 versions of the same painting here, but the quirky thing is, they were both found on the National Museums Liverpool's (who owns the painting) website.

I'm inclined to believe that the image on the left is the more true, but I still find the discrepancy very odd. Of course, finding the best image on the museum website is not always true, see wikipedia's version.

As for the image, Edward Burne-Jones was greatly influenced by the early Pre-Raphaelites such as Dante Gabriel Rosetti but evolved into his own artist. While using well-known stories as subject matter the focus of Burne-Jones' painting was beauty and sensuality.

Portrait of a Woman

2009-10-12T08:00:00.001-04:00

Portrait of a Woman
Roman from the province of Egypt
Tempera on panel, about A.D. 200
Purchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey, 1971.130
Toledo Museum of Art

Yes, once again I disappeared from the blogosphere. No excuses, and I do hope that I am back regularly now. I had some family visit recently and of course we went to my museum. A favorite of the collection was this portrait of a woman. What is so amazing to discover when looking a little further is that this portrait was made, around 200 A.D.! Funeral portraits were placed upon the head of mummies. They represented the human who once was. "When a person died, the portrait panel was placed over the face of the mummy with parts of the outermost wrapping holding it in place. This implies Egyptian beliefs about the afterlife." (metmuseum.org)

"The earliest so-called mummy portraits were painted about A.D. 50, but the practice ended in 392 when the Christian emperor Theodosius outlawed mummification." (Toledo Museum of Art)

Often referred to as Fayum portraits (as they are commonly found in the Faiyum Basin), they were painted on wood panel or directly on the linen mummy case. The paint was either egg tempera or encaustic.

The controversy of Mary

2009-09-29T08:43:00.006-04:00

The Holy Virgin Mary, 1996
Chris Ofili (British, b.1968)

In celebration of Banned Books Week, I am going to focus on banned or controversial artists. Oh how we wish these recognition weeks weren't necessary but continued controversy over books such as To Kill a Mockingbird, Alice's Adventure's in Wonderland and Tango Makes Three still persist. I'll always remember the controversy set by the Sensation show at the Brooklyn Museum in New York in 1999. Then mayor, Rudolph Giuliani, denounced the show without even seeing it and one of the most talked about works (despite some much more difficult and actually disturbing work in the show) was Chris Ofili's, The Holy Virgin Mary. The work was actually defaced with white paint by a man in the gallery.

"Chris Ofili's Holy Virgin Mary" by Jerry Saltz (artnet magazine 10-8-99)

Queen Elizabeth I

2009-09-28T08:00:00.000-04:00

Queen Elizabeth I
"The Darnley Portrait", c. 1575.
by Unknown artist
oil on panel, circa 1575
44 1/2 in. x 31 in. (1130 mm x 787 mm)
© National Portrait Gallery, London.
image: http://www.luminarium.org/renlit/elizface2.htm

Ah, Queen Elizabeth I, the subject of many a wonderful portrait. I discovered this wonderful website full of portraits of this historical figure in her early, mid and late years. I wandered through all of them trying to pic a favorite. "The Darnley Portrait" won out. Looks like I have a good eye, as this is considered one of the best portraits of Elizabeth and one of the few thought to be painted from life (which might have something to do with the richer element of realism in her face).

The attribution, "The Darnley Portrait" is after a previous owner of the painting.

Feline Marat

2009-09-24T20:43:00.005-04:00

Cat Marat
anonymous
Cat image: http://www.dsa.unipr.it/giavelli/GATTI_arte/david.jpg

Okay, so this doesn't really fit into my interest in spreading the awesomeness and wonder of art, but in a way it does. If the original painting interested someone enough, now we have this wonderfully silly and kind of awesome cat version. Pure fun on the left (not to shabbily rendered either), art on the right. Of course the original subject is not funny, rather incredibly serious. The cat painting is rather rude in a way, absurd, yet out of a page of cat paintings, I giggled the most.

Death of Marat, 1793
Jacques-Louis David
Oil on canvas, 162 x 128 cm
Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts, Brussels

More cat art!

Enchanting tendrils

2009-09-23T19:58:00.005-04:00

Roxy Paine (b.1966)
Maelstrom
stainless steel
weighing over seven tons and measuring 130 feet long by 45 feet wide.
Roxy Paine on the Roof: Maelstrom
The Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Roof Garden
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
April 28 - October 25, 2009
Image: http://www.jamescohan.com/artists/roxy-pa ine/ Photo: Sheila Griffin

These are the types of things that make me miss NYC with a passion. Heading up to to the Met's roof for art. This looks to be one of the best they've had. If you can get to nyc by November 29 do it and go see it and tell me all about it! Please check out more of Paine's work here:
http://www.jamescohan.com/artists/roxy-paine/#

Paine's tree sculptures are incredible. Maelstrom brings more into the tree. It is one of Paine's "Dendroids based on systems such as vascular networks, tree roots, industrial piping, and fungal mycelia" (http://www.metmuseum.org/special/se_event.asp?OccurrenceId={6267CA47-491B-4776-A468-0673F8362B0F}) It takes hardens the natural tendril quality of the tree in steel with the backdrop of Central Park. Digital images surely don't do it any kind of remote justice, as I imagine the experience of wandering through the tendrils and hollows of the negative space which the branches create. I'm not sure how Paine's work has escaped my knowledge for this long.

For a great short article about this work, I recommend checking out Roxy on the Roof by Max Weintraub via the art:20 blog.

Art Box

2009-09-21T08:31:00.002-04:00

Richard Shaw
Pastel Cabin on Paint Box, 2009
glazed porcelain with overglaze decals 8.5 x 15 x 11 in.

One thing I will miss about cataloging when we finally get our new cataloger is the time spent with our new books. I should still notice interesting and fascinating art when it comes through me but I may not be flipping through as many pages.

Richard Shaw does very cool things with ceramics and i love his play on the materials and techniques of art. Using porcelain in a unique way yet staying traditional in some ways to material and concept. Fun!

Flowers

2009-09-15T20:45:00.000-04:00

Odilon Redon (French, 1840-1916)
Vase of Flowers, c.1905
oil on fabric
73cm x 59cm
Cleveland Museum of Art
image: http://www.clemusart.com/explore/work.asp?location=14320&recNo=1&tab=2&display=

Another work that I enjoyed discovering at the Cleveland Museum of Art last week. Odilon Redon is more commonly known for dark drawings and lithographs. Redon was a prominent Symbolist. He was inspired by emotions and imagination, strange subjects infusing his work. Later in his career he began to paint and proved to have a wonderful eye for color. The colors of this painting are what drew me to it, the warmth of the orange red predominate and soak you in while bits of cooler blues and whites pop to add to a brightness in the work.

Two Doves

2009-09-14T08:00:00.000-04:00

Bruce Metcalf
Two Doves in a Private Garden
1999
Brooch
3 3/4 x 3 inches
23k gold leaf on painted maple and brass, copper, ebony, 18k yellow gold, 18k green gold, garnets, Micarta®, epoxy resin.

Very cool, sculptural jewelry.

Green tinted spectacles

2009-09-09T08:00:00.001-04:00

Nathaniel Olds, 1837
Jeptha Homer Wade (American, 1811-1890)
oil on canvas
Cleveland Museum of Art 1991.134.2
image: http://www.clemusart.com/explore/work.asp?cid=243518&msgActCnt=1&mode=&tab=2&display=&addrmvmsg=true&msgColCnt=2&recNo=0

Look at those glasses! We walked into the American art gallery at the Cleveland Museum of Art this weekend and were simply delighted by this awesome portrait of a man in futuristic looking glasses!

We almost didn't read the caption because we were enjoying making up all kinds of wonderful stories about the glasses but alas we gave in. Who would have guessed it had to do with whale oil and Western Union?! The caption says it all (and it's interesting to boot) so here it is (links added by me):

"The green-tinted spectacles worn by Olds were designed to protect the eyes from the intensity of Argand lamps, a type of indoor light used during the early 1800s. These lamps burned whale oil, and many people worried that its bright flames might damage eyesight.The painter of this portrait founded the Western Union Telegraph Company in 1854 and soon became one of Cleveland’s wealthiest industrialists. His grandson, Jeptha Wade II, was a founder of the Cleveland Museum of Art and donated the land upon which it stands as a Christmas gift to the city in 1892." (Cleveland Museum of Art website: http://www.clemusart.com/explore/artistwork.asp?artistLetter=W&recNo=1&woRecNo=1)

I discovered a neat feature in the online collections of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Museums are always looking for ways to make their collections online as relateable to seeing the real thing as they can. From zooming capabilities to dimensions. If you click on "how big is it" you see the art work next to the silhouette of an average height man. It gives you a better perspective of the scale of the piece than just reading the dimensions. Unfortunately you don't really know how tall the "man" is, but I think its a great idea nonetheless. See it here:
http://www.clemusart.com/explore/scale.asp?woID=3550

Central Park abstraction

2009-09-04T08:00:00.001-04:00

Sir Eduardo Paolozzi, (British, 1924-2005)
Calcium Light Night: Central Park in the Dark some 40 Years Ago, 1974
Image: http://www.dundee.ac.uk/museum/sac/intro.htm
Image copyright estate of Eduardo Paolozzi, all rights reserved, DACS
University of Dundee

I was first introduced to Eduardo Paolozzi at TMA, through one of their current shows: Paolozzi: Pop Art Icon. It has taken me awhile to get interested in the images, but with some searching I found an intriguing one. I admit that the title helps with the intrigue. This is a print, though I am unsure of the process since I couldn't find it referenced anywhere. It is possibly a screenprint as many of his other works are.

Madame X

2009-09-02T08:00:00.001-04:00

Madame X (Madame Pierre Gautreau), 1883–84
John Singer Sargent (American, 1856–1925)
Oil on canvas

82 1/8 x 43 1/4 in. (208.6 x 109.9 cm)
Arthur Hoppock Hearn Fund, 1916 (16.53) Metropolitan Museum of Art

One of my mom's favorite artists, John Singer Sargent's portraits never cease to delight the viewer.

The portrait of the young socialite in Paris, Virginie Amélie Avegno Gautreau, was requested by Sargent instead of commissioned. Gautreau agreed to the portrait but it resulted in a scandal for the artist. "The image's erotic suggestion is of a distinctly upper-class sort: unnaturally pale skin, cinched waist, severity of profile and an emphasis on aristocratic bone structure all imply a distant sexuality "under the professional control of the sitter", rather than offered for the viewer's delectation.^{[16]" (}Prettejohn, Elizabeth. "Interpreting Sargent", page 25. Stewart, Tabori & Chang, 1998.) The painting was originally shown and denounced at the Paris Salon of 1884 and at this time the right shoulder strap of the Madam's dress fell down her shoulder (Sargent later repainted its position). The painting remained in Sargent's studio (see above) for a number of years and was sold to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1916, where it is today.

Madame X

Lady with an Ermine

2009-09-01T08:00:00.000-04:00

Lady with an Ermine, c.1489-1494
Leonardo da Vinci (1452-
oil on wood
Czartoyski Museum, Krakoq, Poland

The Mona Lisa is uber well-known, but Lady with an Ermine may not be as familiar to everyone. Portrait of Cecilia Gallerani, 15 year old mistress of Ludovico Sforza, patron of da Vinci. Galle = ermine, the ermine is also the heraldic animal of Ludovico il Moro.

Such a wonderful portrait.

Dear Diary

2009-08-28T08:41:00.004-04:00

Marlies Romberg
Top Secret USB Stick
Dear Diary 1.0
porcelian and silicone
wood
Image: mocoloco.com - modern and contemporary design blog

A quickie today that I discovered looking for something else, as usual. Marlies Romberg's goal: "to materialize the ungraspable fast digital world and create an opportunity for nostalgia in this future world."(mocoloco.com)

more images: http://mocoloco.com/archives/011440.php

Architecture of photography

2009-08-27T08:00:00.002-04:00

Luisa Lambri (Italian, b.1969)
Untitled (Centro Galego de Arte Contemporanea, #18), 2008
Laserchrome print
Edition of 5 and 1 Artist's Proof
29 1/2 X 25 inches
image: luhringaugustine .com

Installation shot from the exhibition, Luisa Lambri Jan 10-Feb 7, 2009

at Luhring Augustine Gallery in NYC.

I cam across the photography of Luisa Lambri today while researching artists who use light and space in their work. Lambri works within specific architectural spaces, abstracting these spaces to a point where they are only known by the title of the work. Without the title we see the shadows, lines and focus of a corner that could be anywhere. It's fascinating to discover how particular Lambri's choices are, choosing well known architects and their buildings. Architectural space is layered within her exhibitions, as she takes careful care in how her photographs enter an exhibition space, how they are hung, and where they should reside within the architectural space of the gallery. You can see more works from this exhibition here: http://www.luhringaugustine.com/index.php?mode=current&object_id=218# and more... but I am particularly attracted to the one I've chosen today. It is the same space as in other photographs but I feel that the shadows and lines in this image create the fullest, most complete, almost painterly effect.

Press Release

Bronze McDonald's

2009-08-26T08:00:00.000-04:00

Zhang Hongtu
Mai Dong Lao, 2002
cast bronze
same size as actual McDonald containers
edition of 10
image: http://www.plumblossoms.com/jidachun/maodanglao.htm

Mai Dong Lao is the Chinese pronunciation of McDonald's.

麦 (mai) is wheat or a general term for wheat, barley, oats, rye, etc.
当 (dang) means appropriate, to serve as, or to be used as.
劳 (lao) means to work or to labor. (http://goodcharacters.com/blog/2007/04/05/mcdonalds-mai-dang-lao/)

A humorous use of the traditional Chinese medium bronze to create an object of American pop culture.

Chinese Artists: Reinventing Tradition
Reading Zhang Hongtu

Garden wicker chair

2009-08-25T08:00:00.001-04:00

Jean Dufy (French, 1888-1964)
Le jardin au fauteuil d’osier, 1927
oil on canvas
h: 28.75 x w: 36.25 in
image: artnet.com Jean Dufy Artist Work Catalogue

Sorry about the missed day yesterday as well as the weakness in content of today's work. My excuse? Sleepiness. Anyway, I was perusing artnet.com's wonderful array of artist catalogues and discovered Jean Dufy. I believe I've come across him before but am not sure. I wandered through a number of his works, impressed by both color and composition but kept coming back to this one, most likely of the juxtaposition of the vertical lines of the wall and table in contrast with the organic forms, as well as balance of color.

Hyper glamour

2009-08-20T08:00:00.000-04:00

Marilyn Minter
Stepping Up, 2005
enamel on metal
96x60"
image: salon94.com

Marilyn Minter's paintings are incredible to see in person. Appearing at first like a striking photograph, closer inspection proves the viewer wrong as they realize it is a painting. Minter also works here themes into photographs and one would be hard pressed on any initial glances to tell the difference between the 2. Her themes dig deep into the depths of the dark side of glamour and fashion.

more work here

still life with fruit

2009-08-19T08:00:00.000-04:00

Balthasar van der Ast (Dutch, 1593/1594 - 1657)
Still Life with Fruit and Flowers, c.1620-21
oil on panel
40x70 cm.
Rijksmuseum Amsterdam
Object number: SK-A-2152

Specialized in still lifes of flowers and fruit. While many a Dutch still life was produced in the 17th century, I continue to find individual works that I really enjoy. The width of this painting and the way the artist has spread his objects along the time beyond the cluster of the plate of fruit increases its interest.

More work by van der Ast

Elizabeth Neel

2009-08-17T08:00:00.000-04:00

Elizabeth Neel (b. 1975)
Count to Ten, 2008
Oil on canvas, 83 x 96 inches

A discovery in the most recent issue of Harper's is Elizabeth Neel. A wonderful blend of abstraction and representation. I find her work interesting but am more attracted to this work in particular, due to its sketched out, draughtsman like quality as well as the limitation of color.

Granddaughter of the painter, Alice Neel

Ivory wine

2009-08-14T08:00:00.000-04:00

Griessmann, Balthasar (ca 1620-1706)
Ivory Goblet, ca 1680
ivory
20 5/8 in.
Getty Museum 2006.26

A small little book (Fruits of Desire) I came across today at work was dedicated to a single ivory goblet. Oh what a goblet it is! Held by the Getty Museum in Los Angeles, this goblet "celebrates wine and explores the benefits and risks of its consumption. Culminating with an allegory of youth, it challenges the viewer to think about the degree to which pleasure and duty play their parts in our making life choices". (Getty bookstore)

I've always been a sucker for ivory carvings, never able to pass one by in a museum, the intricate carving are mesmerizing and this goblet is no exception. There is not a single inch that doesn't deserve focused attention. I'm excited to have discovered Griessmann, a bit of searching has unearthed more amazing carvings by the 17th century artist.

The Fall of Man , The Sacrifice of Isaac

Nouveau Railing

2009-08-12T08:00:00.000-04:00

Balcony Railing, 1907-1912
Hector Guimard
patinated cast-iron
35.5 x 64 x 7 in.

I'm currently working through the Toledo Treasures catalog of art for my museum to become more familiar with the collection. While I won't be sharing specific works from the TMA's collection I am using it for inspiration and plan on sharing many artists new to me.

TMA has an amazing fireplace mantel that I can't help but fawn over whenever I walk through the gallery it lives in. I hadn't until now made a point in noting the artist. Hector Guimard is most well known for his Paris Metro cast-iron subway entrances (image: parisbuscards.com )

Guimard was part of the Art Nouveau movement whose aesthetic revolved around undulating lines and flower motifs. The decorative style was popular at the turn of the century. Guimard brought more of an element of abstraction to his art nouveau works.

Cafe Baby

2009-08-11T08:00:00.000-04:00

Wonder Seated, 2008
Mark Bercier
30x40 in.
image: http://cafebabyneworleans.com/artwork.php

Another artist discovered on our road trip, we wandered into a gallery called Cafe Baby in New Orleans. We had quickly fallen for some small paintings of flowers in the front window. (Hope to buy one some day). The gallery was full of wonderful whimsy and luck for us, the man sitting at the desk was the artist. He proceeded to tell us all about Cafe Baby, his unique signs and symbols which he uses in his work and his wonderful obsession with old and handmade paper (the flower paintings are goauche on handmade paper). He opened up his other gallery 2 doors down and we had a wonderful time chatting about art and New Orleans.

More of Mark's work

The Corn Poppy

2009-08-10T08:37:00.003-04:00

The Corn Poppy, c.1919
Kees van Dongen (Dutch, 1877-1966)
oil on canvas
21 1/2 x 18 in
Collection: MFA Houston
image: http://www.artchive.com/artchive/D/dongen/corn_poppy.jpg.html

Sorry I've been mia for a bit of time. I was off on a 10 day road trip to Austin for a wedding and then was a bit too beat upon my return to a new job to get myself up and running. Hopefully today we'll start a good solid upkeep to this blog.

We got to see a bit of art (and a respite from the heat) on our road trip to Texas, and this was one of my favorite paintings at the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston. A museum trip is always worthwhile if i discover a new work or artist, and happily van Dongen and The Corn Poppy fit both categories.

Earl Cunningham

2009-07-23T08:56:00.005-04:00

Sunrise Pine Point
Earl Cunningham (American, 1893-1977)
Image: Smithsonian blog

My discovery of Earl Cunningham's work stems from a new exhibition catalog and artist monograph in our library, Earl Cunningham's America. Perfect for a rainy day like the one currently here in Toledo, Cunningham's work bursts with color and richness.

Cunningham's work has been relatively unknown for a long time due to times when his preference was for not selling it. While he once owned an art and antiques gallery he hung his paintings in it, but they were never for sale. Happily many of his works have been pulled together and we can enjoy the work of a wonderfully creative man.

While his categorization as a folk artist surrounds his lack of formal education as well as his simple style and subject matter many see him his work as modernist. Comparisons are made to the flatness of Matisse and the brilliant color of Matisse and Van Gogh. He has also been compared to Mardsen Hartley and Charles Burchfield.

Cunningham embraced the label of folk artist, marketing himself as such and referring to himself as a "primitive artist". ("A Bird’s-Eye Perspective and a Seaman’s Sensitivity to the Sky" NY Times) I don't see the distinction as making much of a difference, the paintings are what they are and I like them very much.

sun-sneezers

2009-07-20T21:19:00.007-04:00

Sun-sneezers blow light bubbles, 2007-08
Ranjani Shettar (Indian, 1977-)
Installation
Stainless steel, muslin cloth, tamaraind kernel powder paste and lacquer
Images: artnet.com

I recently saw an exhibition of Ranjani Shettar's work at SFMoMA. Installations are a hard thing to share via the web but the pamphlet from the exhibition is sitting here next to me with this wonderful work on the cover, I wanted to share it.

"Shettar's sinous, organic structures suggest natural elements while utilizing both man-made and natural materials, as well as incorporating pre-industrial workmanship with contemporary technique. Though her sculptures initially appear delicate and fragile, upon closer examination, one realizes that each petal or wing like appendage is made of wrought iron or solidly cast in some kind of resin. In this way, Shettar's works testify to ideas of history, process, time, and evolution." (Marisa Naksone. http://www.examiner.com/x-533-SF-Art-Examiner~y2009m3d23-New-Work-Ranjani-Shettar-at-SFMOMA)

Summer

2009-07-20T08:00:00.002-04:00

Summer, 1896 from the Seasons series
Alphonse Mucha (Czech, 1860-1939)
color lithograph
28x14.5 cm.
Image: Olga's Gallery http://www.abcgallery.com/M/mucha/mucha20.html

Note the significant differences in tone and color between Summer in Olga's Gallery and on Prague.net (click on Seasons series). This is one of the significant drawbacks to this blog and its images. I try as much as possible to borrow images from the most reputable websites (which is usually the owning museum, as I do hope they have created the best digital copy they can, as true to the original as possible).

Mucha was known for a variety of media from paintings, posters, book illustrations, and advertisements to designs for wallpaper, theatre sets and more.

Mucha's work part of the world of Art Nouveau. Mucha's recognition began in 1894 when he was commissioned to design a poster for the actress, Sarah Bernhardt. Art Nouveau was a decorative style which you can see in the simple yet decorative beauty in the flowers and curves in Summer. Mucha chose softer color palettes which bring an additional element of romanticism to his images as well.

The Duomo

2009-07-14T08:00:00.000-04:00

The Duomo, Florence, 1948
Oskar Kokoschka (Viennese, 1886-1980)
oil on canvas
38 x 49 1/2 in. (96.5 x 125.7 cm)
Image: Minneapolis Institute of Arts

I am not exactly sure how Kokoschka came to mind but he did and perusing available images I came across this wonderful painting of the Duomo in Florence. Most of the work I know by Kokoschka are portraits done with the same intensity of color and richness of paint and line.

Monkey

2009-07-13T08:00:00.001-04:00

Saru, Gibbon Monkey (1900-1910)
Ogata Gekko (Japanese, 1859-1920)
Shishikiban print (square format)

A very cool work I recently saw at the Monkey Business show at the Toledo Museum of Art recently. The work was on loan from a private collection.

According the website on the artist, Ogata Gekko was Japan's first internationally acclaimed artist. This particular image was one of the most loved works by everyone I was visiting the gallery with. The simple features on the monkey's face and the glorious long arm stretching down, were significant features.

Watts Towers

2009-07-09T19:45:00.008-04:00

Simon Rodia (1879-1965)
Watts Towers (1921-1954)
image by Gerald Thurman at roadtripamerica.com
http://www.wattstowers.us/index.html

Located in the Watts section of Los Angeles, Simon Rodia's Watts Towers are a brilliant wonder of one man's artistic mind, determination and hard working hand. Rodia spent 30 years on this artistic and physical feat.

The towers consist of 9 major sculptures and 2 of the highest towers are nearly 100 feet tall. Each sculpture is made out of steel pipes wrapped with mesh and coated with mortar. Rodia embedded all kinds of objects in the mortar, from shells, glass and tiles to teapots.

Having almost been torn down in the '60s concerned community members worked to save the towers and now the Watts Towers are one of only nine works of folk art listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Rodia's work reminds many of the work of Antoni Gaudi, his Sagrada Familia and Park Guell.

Twilight expression

2009-07-06T21:47:00.003-04:00

Twilight Sounds, 1947
Norman Lewis (American 1909-1979)
oil on canvas

image: arthistory.about.com

Lesser known abstract expressionist, which is unfortunate since much of his work is wonderful. Born and raised in NYC, Lewis spent much of his working life in Harlem. He had been commissioned along with other black artists to decorate the Harlem Art Center. His work varied over his career but he veered toward abstraction in the 1930s.

This work was part of a show I saw recently, Action/Abstraction and while hung alongside other unrepresented works did not appear remotely out of place amongst his abstract expressionist peers.

cup and flower

2009-07-06T08:00:00.001-04:00

Cup of Water and Rose on a Silver Plate c. 1630
Francisco de Zurbaran (1598-1664)
Oil on canvas, 21,2 x 30,1 cm
National Gallery, London
image: Web Gallery of Art

I'm back! with a still-life. I did a lot of cataloging this week and built up a list of artists to share. Today's is Baroque Spanish painter, Francisco de Zurbaran. Zurbaran was not known for still-lifes and I was not originally intending on sharing one, but when I was looking for a work, I fell for this simple yet beautiful painting.

This same motif is in a few of Zurbaran's other paintings. "Here the objects may be intended to have a symbolic character: the water in the cup perhaps refers to the Virgin's purity and the flower recalls her title of 'Mystic Rose'." (nationalgallery caption). Most of Zurbaran's works were focused on religious themes.

Shephard Fairey

2009-06-25T08:00:00.002-04:00

Shephard Fairey
OBEY BILLBOARD (CONSUME) on WOOD HPM
image: obeygiant.com

Hello!
So sorry I've been MIA, my excuse is travel and preoccupation. Despite a sprained ankle I managed to get myself to see some art while in Boston this weekend. We visited the ICA Boston. There was a show focused on the work of Shephard Fairey which most of you would recognize from our recent election. "Obama Hope" 2008 (Image: icaboston.org). See about the current controversy and lawsuit over the Hope image I wasn't expecting too much from the show, turns out I had no idea of the work that Fairey has produced as well as the gorgeous use of mixed materials as well as large murals. This is the first museum survey of Fairey's work.

Fairey is known for his Obey series. Read the manifesto here: http://obeygiant.com/about
See more work here: http://obeygiant.com/industries

Geometric pair

2009-06-18T21:57:00.003-04:00

Pair of figures, probably Zeus and Hera
Greek, Geometric Period, about 750–700 B.C.
Height: 8 cm (3 1/8 in.)
Bronze

Image: mfaboston.org

Browsing through works at the MFA Boston, which I hope to visit this weekend while I am in Beantown, I came across the interesting little piece. I love the geometric aesthetic of the sculpture, so simple yet still distinctive as a man and a woman.

"The male figure wears a heavy belt and long, pointed cap, and the female sports a domed, brimmed hat. Dark green patina.The costumes and the "amusing stop-sign hand" are characteristics of early bronze figurines from the sanctuary at Olympia." (caption: mfaboston.org)

Fruit Thugs

2009-06-17T08:00:00.000-04:00

Migrant Fruit Thugs, 2006
Fred Tomaselli
Photocollage, leaves, acrylic, gouache and resin on wood panel
78 X 96 inches
Image: James Cohan Gallery

Fred Tomaselli mixed media works incorporate a range of materials. In Migrant Fruit Thugs, the leaves are from fig trees in his Brooklyn garden. Sitting stolidly amongst these leaves and the starry night in the background are two boldly colored birds of no real species, but an imagined species. The combination of these elements creates a unique somewhat fantasy-like feeling.

Any dimension is obviously lost in through digitization but the dimension you would see in person may also be a different experience than expected, knowing materials. Tomaselli seals his collages in resin and layers of varnish, flattening the immediate surface.

"Where Art Imitates Gardening (and Vice Versa)"
Dorothy Spears, NY Times 10/8/06

Dancing

2009-06-16T08:00:00.000-04:00

Dancing in Colombia, 1980
Fernando Botero (Colombian, b. 1932)
oil on canvas
74 x 91 in.
Collection: Metropolitan M. of Art
Image: Heilbrunn Timeline

Once you see your first Botero, you'll always be able to know a Botero. Almost all of his paintings and sculptures are compiled of inflated oversize figures. His subjects stem from politics and society as well as the history of art. While Botero has a style all his own, his intensive art historical study is evident in his figures, reminsicent of the voluptuous figures of the Renaissance and the Baroque. Many of his scenes are plucked from those throughout art history, from the Mona Lisa to the family portrait. This painting represents a scence from his native Colombia, a story of a lively cafe. While his figures can initially spark reactions of humor and silliness, they often border on the grotesque and become blatantly satirical.

Cloudburst

2009-06-12T12:52:00.004-04:00

Cloudburst
Elise Wagner (b. 1966)
encaustic on birch
48x48 in.
Image: Chase Gallery

I just got the June/July issue of Art in America. When I get a new issue I flip through the gallery ads first, making note of images that peak my interest. I then go back through and head to the internets to see more of the particular artists' work. Sometimes it makes its way to the blog. I think it is great to introduced to work of artists working and exhibiting today who aren't uber-well known.

While I was initially drawn to the bleeding color of the image, I was excited to see that the medium of the work is encaustic. I briefly worked with encaustic in college. It is essentially a colored wax that is heated to a liquid and applied with a brush to the canvas (in this case to the birch wood) and fuse it to the surface with a heat gun. You can play with the application, thin or thick, you can mold or etch. Encaustic is wonderfully versatile.

As many of you know, I'm an abstract girl when it comes to many of my art loves as well as my own work. One of the things I love about work like Wagner's is how much else you can see in it. Even before looking at her fairly descriptive titles, you can feel the weight natural affiliations in her work. If you look through her other current work you'll find an affinity for the celestial. "The texture and complexity of the surfaces often represent the great unknown and celestial, while the scientific symbolism suggests the accurate and quantifiable." (artist statement)

She also creates what look like wonderful monoprints, using another facet of the versatility of encaustic paint.

See more of her images that you can zoom in on in a show currently at Chase Gallery, in Boston

The Americans

2009-06-09T22:01:00.009-04:00

Indianapolis
Robert Frank (1924-) b. Zurich
from "The Americans" (check out more about the exhibition here.
image: artnet.com

On my recent trip to San Francisco I was finally able to visit SFMOMA (San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. They had a wonderful special exhibition, Looking In: Robert Frank's "The Americans". I'm well familiar with Frank's work as well as with "The Americans" (it was our most commonly stolen book at one of my art libraries) yet it was awesome to see all of the photographs from the book organized in sequence in accordance with the book throughout the galleries. I also didn't know much about the creation of the book other than Robert Frank takes a camera around the country. Frank conducted his travel and art on a Guggenheim Fellowship. The exhibition contained an incredible amount of archival and ephemeral material beyond his photographs, from his letter of application for the fellowship (with the edits of his friend, photography, Walker Evans) to letters about getting arrested on his way through Arkansas for ridiculous reasons, to the proofs of what were to become one of the most well-known photography books of our time. Part of Frank's intent with his travels was to see America through the eyes of someone getting to know it, the varied world that America is, from consumerism and materialism, to loneliness and displacement.

Frank's book is known not only for the revelation of an America not everyone could see both sad and beautiful, but also for the design and construction of the book. Each photograph was tightly bound to the one before and after as well as engaged in a thematic discourse throughout. Jack Kerouac wrote the introduction. This exhibition was organized on the 50th anniversary of the books publication in America. Frank initially had difficulty finding a publisher for his book in the US due to the nature of the photographs, they were not too keen on his portrayal of America.

A Flickr pool of photographs in the style of "The Americans"

Promenade

2009-06-09T08:00:00.001-04:00

Promenade, 1917-18
Marc Chagall (1887-1985) French, b. Russia
oil on canvas
State Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
Image: royalacademy-Fron Russia

A scan of my art shelves brought me across a new book of mine, a bible illustrated by Chagall. While today's art is not from that work it got me searching for a Chagall. Another artist whose work didn't interest me until recently, Chagall is beginning to grab my eye. His figures float through the canvas. Promenade caught my eye with its color and the figure of the woman who looks as if she may float out of the scene at any point. Take note of what the man holds down as his lady floats up. The man is Chagall and the woman, his wife Bella, who appears in many of his paintings.

Love is a significant theme in much Chagall's work, and is evident here. The painting makes me smile. Chagall is insanely popular (I had much trouble sifting through the oodles of links to sites selling reproductions) and to see his work, this popularity can be understood. The beauty, whimsy and passion for life in his work is a little hard to resit. I went to the Chagall Museum when I was in Nice some years ago and what has stayed with me is his stained glass, the infusion of light in these beautiful compositions is an experience.

This is only tangentially related but Chagall recently came up in my world through the book, The World to Come, by Dara Horn. Developed around a Chagall drawing and some his history but not about Chagall, it is a wonderful story and I highly recommend it.

St. Francis

2009-06-08T08:00:00.001-04:00

St. Francis in the desert, 1480
Giovanni Bellini
oil and tempera on poplar panel
49 in. x 55 7/8 in.
image: Frick Collection
title and date from Frick

One of my favorite paintings at the Frick Collection in New York, this is one of those paintings that when you come across it you spend a lot of time with it (and very likely wander back to that room after you've seen everything else).

While I am done with nature in art week, it spills a bit over into this work. There is a specific attention paid to the details of nature, as the saint stands in communion with nature. The story tells us that Francis moved to a cave in the barren wilderness, but here we see a different interpretation as this landscape is alive with livestock and fields. If you follow the link to the image, you can zoom into the details of the painting (a wonder to see in person but until you make it to the Frick...).

An interesting note too, I came across this painting for today in an art history text book, with the caption reminding me that it was in the Frick Collection. While these details can change (selling and buying of work) titles and dates do as well. The title of this work in the book is, Saint Francis in Ecstasy, while the Frick has in the Desert. The date in the book is 1470s and in the Frick's label, 1480. I go with the owning institution's details as they should be the ones who have done work on provenance and more about the work. Just a little info on the work of art and research.

Dogwood Basin

2009-06-05T11:35:00.005-04:00

Dogwood Basin, 2008
Nancy Blum
30 basins cast out of bronze mounted on platforms.
Charlotte Area Transit System Rail Line, Charlotte, NC

The inspiration for all of Nancy Blum's work is flowers and botanicals, from large scale drawings to public works, she reinvents the beauty of the flower in myriad ways. I think these water fountains are just wonderful. She transforms the delicate nature of, well nature, into a variety of materials, from ink to porcelain to bronze. Blum was commissioned to do this work, the state flower of NC is the dogwood. Public transit is a popular arena for art commissioning. Many transit systems have a programs dedicated to commissioning art for their stations, vehicles etc. Nancy Blum - public art See earlier blog post on another public transit art work.

I've tried to share a variety of types of art that have nature at their base. From painting and photography to ephemeral earth art and sturdy, utilitarian public art. In all these works, the artists are reconstituting what they see in nature, immortalizing it in a photograph, abstracting and infusing it in paint, rearranging its aesthetic in nature and casting its likeness in a bronze waterfountain. We are reintroduced to nature through the artist's eyes, hand and material.

Snow Storm

2009-06-04T08:00:00.001-04:00

Snow Storm - Steam-Boat off a Harbour's Mouth, exhibited 1842
J.M.W. Turner (1775-1851)
oil on canvas
image: tate.org.uk

Beauty and violence and near abstraction. J. M. W. Turner's scenes of the British landscape from land to sea are powerful, usually with a central "vortex" pulling the viewer in.

"It is famously said that Turner conceived this image while lashed to the mast of a ship during an actual storm at sea. This seems to be nothing more than fiction, but the story has endured as a way of demonstrating Turner’s full-blooded engagement with the world around him" (From the display caption February 2004) tate.org.uk

The fierceness of nature, expressed through the masterly painting technique, try to see a Turner if you haven't, online digital images? No justice.

This work is from the Tate, which has an incredibly significant collection of works by Turner. A few years after Turner's death his estate of paintings were bequeathed to the nation (England) and those 300 or so painting make up the majority of the Tate's collection. Highlights of the collection.

Emphemeral Dandelion

2009-06-02T08:00:00.001-04:00

Dandelion Hole (199?)
Andy Goldsworthy (1056-)
Image: travelinglight.vox.com

I unfortunately have not been able to find out the date of this particular work as no one who has posted it gives a source for the image, If I do find it I will update.

Artist, naturalist, environmentalist, Andy Goldsworthy takes natural elements and painstakingly recreates their physical and aesthetic presence. A sculptor, earth and landscape artist, Goldsworthy's aesthetic vision stems from the natural environment. His works are collaborations with nature, nature providing the inherent individual beauty and serving as found object, Goldsworthy impressing upon the natural state a unique and beautiful new vision.

While we can continue to see these works through their documentation (photograph) their existence remains ephemeral. Goldsworthy's use of the natural environment in medium and usually location (some of his works are created in indoors) is inherently fleeting, these flowers may remain like this for only hours but possibly days, or even months. Sometimes the material is hardier and sturdier like wood and stones, others as susceptible to its environment as a leaf that may soon blow away. A clip from the documentary, Rivers and Tides (which I have to admit to never having seen and will remedy this as soon as possible) shows the very essence of this ephemerality. If you are interested, you may very well be able to find it in your local library.

Salt Flats

2009-06-01T08:00:00.000-04:00

Bonneville, Salt Flats, 1999
Richard Misrach
chromogenic print
Image: artnet.com artist's work catalogues

I am going to attempt another theme week with a focus on nature and art or nature in art, I've already considered switching to environment in art or narrowing down, or would that be broadening? to landscape, we'll see how the week progresses. My senior seminar in college was on landscape and while the semester started out a bit dull for most of us I ended up finding the topic fascinating and have since always looked for and or simple discovered landscapes I would never before considered such. I am personally quite interested in the landscape as an idea, an aesthetic and an overall view but I am going to try to keep with natural elements as subject, medium and/or inspiration in art for the week. I hope you enjoy.

Today's work is by Richard Misrach, a photographer well-known for his series Desert Cantos which is an ongoing series of works created mostly in the American Southwest. There are endless photographs I could have chosen for today but I was drawn to this one of a sunrise? in the Bonneville salt flats most likely because it is a place I've actually been (though not at this glorious time of day). Misrach did a series of photographs, Desert Canto XV The Salt Flats in 1994 but these works focused more on the intersection of man on the salt flat landscape (Bonneville races...). I am always drawn by sunrises and sunsets (though I see much more of the latter, not being much of an early rise), photographing many myself. I've seen some of Misrach's works in person and while one can grab a small hold on their beauty and intensity through reproduction, they are at their full aesthetic and bodily level as large-scale prints. I do not know the size of this print but many others run about 40x50 in. You'll find a lot of large-scale color photography in galleries and museums today but Misrach was a pioneer of it in the 1970s.

and... Judith

2009-05-29T08:00:00.000-04:00

Untitled #228, 1990
Cindy Sherman (American, b. 1954)
Color photograph. 82 x 48 in.
Broad Art Foundation
Image: arthistory.about.com

Speaking of Judith, I didn't start out with any of a subject within a theme, though this will be limited to two. I chose Cindy Sherman because she has been a fascination of mine for years. Sherman has created a number of different series throughout her career and I decided to look for one of her historical portraits. What do I come across but another wonderful interpretation of Judith and Holofernes I simply couldn't put off.

Sherman is connected to Buffalo, she attended Buffalo State College where she got interested in art and with fellow artist, Robert Longo, started an art center in Buffalo, Hallwalls (I attended a sculpture workshop there in high school).

I first saw one of Sherman's history portraits at the Ringling Museum in Sarasota. I was wandering through a gallery and initially took the work as another painting of an aristocrat of little interest to me, but something peaked my insterest so I returned to it and quickly discovered this was not your average old portrait. While Sherman is in her photographs they do not function as self-portraits, she becomes her character, visible yet anonymous. Her work is an interplay between concept and history, reality and fantasy. Her appropriation is fascinating.

A large collection of Cindy Sherman's work.

Judith

2009-05-28T08:00:00.000-04:00

Judith and her Maidservant with the Head of Holofernes
c.1623/1625
Artemisia Gentileschi (1593-1653)
72 3/8 x 55 3/4 in.
oil on canvas
Image: Detroit Institute of Arts (52.253)

If one were to think that women artists of the 19th century had difficulty being taken seriously, imagine the world in which women artists of the 17th century had to compete for their careers and existence in. Gentileschi was trained by her a father, the painter, Orazio Gentileschi. Much of her work as only recently been attributed to her, as it was often attributed to Orazio. As a result of this and her time she was marginalized as an artist for many years, only somewhat recently coming to the forefront of art historical scholarship.

Her father introduced her to artists, and one can see the influence of Caravaggio in the chiaroscuro of her work. The strength in her work is striking. I didn't choose Gentileschi's painting of the actual decapitation of Holofernes (I like the light in this one better) but in order to see some of the differences between approaches to depicting the scene through art, see Judith and Holofernes.
Judith

Mother and child

2009-05-27T08:00:00.001-04:00

Young Mother Sewing, 1900
Mary Cassatt (American, 1844–1926)
Oil on canvas
36 3/8 x 29 in.
Metropolitan Museum of Art
Image: Heilbrunn Timeline

I was reminded of Mary Cassatt's birthday by an Art of the Day reader along with a suggestion to celebrate that with a week of women artists. I'm going to try to include some good links to more women artists in related subject areas. So, we start the week off (a little late!) with Mary Cassatt.

An American expatriate, Cassatt spent most of her adult life in France where she met Edgar Degas and eventually exhibited with the Impressionists which influenced her work. Cassatt chose her vocation, entering art school at the age of 15. With only minor support from family she stayed focused on the artistic life, believing that her career was not compatible with family life (which unfortunately was so often the case). Cassatt's popularity lies in her extensive focus on the subject of mother and child. I'm drawn by this particular work due to the little girl's gaze at the viewer.

Women Artists in Nineteenth-Century France

Holiday!

2009-05-20T22:00:00.000-04:00

Retroactive I, 1964,
Robert Rauschenberg
Oil and silkscreen ink on canvas,
84 x 60 in. (213.4 x 152.4 cm),
Wadsworth Athenuem,
Hartford, Connecticut © Robert Rauschenberg / Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY
Image: http://edu.warhol.org/app_rauschenberg.html

I fell flat this week! I am headed out of town tomorrow morning (to N. Cali!) and lost momentum on this week's theme. I will do my best to come back full force next week.

A quick work by one of my favorite artists. Enjoy!
Have a wonderful holiday weekend!

The Block

2009-05-19T08:00:00.000-04:00

The Block, 1971
Romare Bearden (American, 1911-1988)
Cut and pasted printed, colored and metallic papers, photostats, pencil, ink marker, gouache, watercolor, and pen and ink on Masonite; overall: 48 x 216 in.
Image: metmuseum.org six panels, each: 48 x 36 in.

A variety of collage materials including cut paper, newspaper, fabric are mixed with printing techniques and drawing. By incorporating images from current magazines and newspapers a direct element of reality is included in the overall composition. The image here is rather small, either click on the title for zooming capabilities or look even more closely here or check out individual panels on the Met's timeline .

This work is the subject of a fantastic example of an online multimedia presentation. Romare Bearden: Let's Walk the Block is dedicated to the exploration of this wonderful work from biography to curator descriptions of the work to accompanying jazz music (one of Bearden's inspirations and represented in much of his work). The Block is a tribute to Harlem, each panel representing an aspect of the neighborhood in NYC.

Collage

2009-05-18T08:00:00.000-04:00

Guitar, after March 31, 1913
Pablo Picasso (Spanish, 1881-1973)
Museum of Modern Art (967.1979)
Image: moma.org
Cut-and-pasted paper and printed paper, charcoal, ink, and chalk on colored paper on board, 26 1/8 x 19 1/2"

Collage is a fascinating technique in art, one I've found myself drawn to in my own work. I intend to focus this week's art on collage, with an attempt to highlight a great range of work. From torn pieces of paper seemingly randomly arranged to obviously deliberate constructions, collage provides the viewer with a dimensional experience. Most of us have memories of making collages in art class as children, oftentimes limited to cut or torn pieces of construction paper, yet how these individual shapes and pieces are placed and arranged on a "canvas" can lead to a wold of wondrous possibilities, from abstraction to representation. Collage began as an artist's technique in the 20th century so bear with me on the century limits for this week.

I'll start the week off with one of the artist's that is debated to be the inventor of the technique, Picasso. Click on the title, Guitar, and get the chance to zoom in the image, a better way to see the lines and detail of the collage.

Website dedicated to the art of collage, collageart.org

Leopard Hip Ornament

2009-05-12T08:00:00.001-04:00

Leopard Hip Ornament, 18th century
Nigeria, West Africa, Benin Kingdom
Bronze
8 1/2 x 5 7/8 x 3 1/4 in. (21.6 x 14.9 x 8.3 cm)
AMAM 1955.22
Image: Allen Memorial Art Museum website

Decorative elements reflected the ranks of those in the Benin Kingdom (15th-19th c.) The oba, divine ruler, was the only one who had the right to take human life, and the leopard was his symbol. Details of this particular mask clearly define it as being from Benin. It is fascinating that the details of the ornament, size of leopard spots, can determine its origin.

"The leopard was, and is, a widespread symbol of authority and rulership in southern Nigeria, conferring by association the animal's characteristic beauty and elegance, as well as its deadliness, speed, and surety, upon the wearer." (AMAM website)

Soutine Landscape

2009-05-11T08:00:00.000-04:00

Landscape at Cagnes, ca.1923
Chaim Soutine (Lithuanian, 1883-1943)
Oil on canvas
23 13/16 x 28 3/4 in.
Art Institute of Chicago 1947.114
Image: artic.edu

It is becoming more common for me to discover the glorious landscapes of painters who I've known for very different subject matter. A similar find is the landscapes of Egon Schiele. I am more familiar with his work in general. Chaim Soutine is an artist I've always known but have only ever been able to associate with raw meat, sounds glorious doesn't it? I first encountered Soutine at my home art gallery, the Albright Knox, and passed by Soutine's Side of Beef, c.1925 (image: Britannica) on every trip to the museum. The artist's name never locked into my head until my graduate school (though I am sure I saw some more of his "food" paintings over the years. I have a love for expressionism and while I was not particularly fond of the subject matter (never have been of food in painting, despite my love for the real thing) I did start to find Soutine's style of painting attractive and interesting. A quick browse through a catalog of his work recently prompted me to take up some more research into his work and I discovered his glorious landscapes. Rich and twisted and dramatic with their skewed perspective and rich application of painting, I would love to live in any of the towns and cities he depicts.

His portraits are wonderful too, you will see a very strong affinity with those of Amedeo Modigliani (a friend).

Blackware

2009-05-08T11:13:00.004-04:00

Jar, 1939
Maria Montoya Martinez (1880-1980) and Julian Martinez.
Native American
Blackware, 11 1/8 x 13 in. (dia.)
National Museum of Women in the Arts
Image: Anchorage Public Library (had a better image than on the museum site, same piece though)

Martinez spent her entire life in the San Ildefonso Pueblo in northern New Mexico, about 20 miles from Santa Fe.

I don't know a lot about pottery and ceramics, I tend to leave that up to Ben but my love for the beauty and craft has always existed and I am slowly working up a knowledge about technique (via Ben too :). I love the black on black in this work (called Blackware).

Check out this link for details on how the Martinez' turn their local clay black to get this wonderful glassy, flat black surface.

Shy

2009-05-07T08:00:00.000-04:00

Shy Look, 2008
Stephen Scott Young
Watercolor on Twinrocker handmade paper
14 1/8 x 14 3/4 inches
Image: adelsongalleries.com

Another find via my daily work, watercolorist, Stephen Scott Young. I didn't put much thought into watercolor paintings for a long time because watercolor is a medium that many beginning painters approach with the thought of it being easier but in reality it is much much more difficult to excel at technically, let alone create unique interesting paintings. (Admittedly, your typical "pretty" watercolor landscapes don't hold much interest for me).

The marked fluidity that is inherent in watercolor is plainly visible here yet there is also an amazing amount of care and restraint in the attention paid to this little girl's face. The strength and tightness in the details of the face, pull your vision inward. I was struck by the girl's expression but am also drawn by the limits in color, the rich, steadiness of the brown and the almost ethereal quality of the white/light pink. Young uses the same colors in the backdrop as he does with the girl yet she does not blend in.

Dreamtime

2009-05-06T08:00:00.000-04:00

Lizards Nest - Shadow art
Jeff Roberts
Image: didgeswedoo.com.au

I cataloged a book of Australian Aboriginal painting today and was fascinated by the design of the paintings. Not knowing too much about the work, I delved into finding out.

"Jeff Roberts is from Gnowangerup, South of Albany, Noongar man of the Wiloman people of the South West of Western Australia.
Jeff started painting in 1986, his style is traditional, but unique and inspired by the Dreamtime stories of his people. Jeff came to live in Perth, five years ago."

Many Australian Aboriginal artists create paintings inspired by the Dreamtime stories. "The Dreamtime for Aboriginal people is the time which the earth received its present form and in which the patterns and cycles of life begun." Stories were created by Australian Aborigines to teach about Dreamtime, life, death, love, creation and more. The Dreamtime is represented in this painting through the traditional dot painting. The dots are used to create patterns and symbols which are directly recognizable to those familiar with the Dreamtime story.

Cradle

2009-05-05T08:00:00.000-04:00

Child's Cradle, c. 1895
J. & J. Kohn, Josef Kohn and Jacob Kohn (Austrian)
Ebonized bentwood, 80 1/4 x 56 1/4 x 25 7/16"
Manufactured by Jacob & Josef Kohn, Vienna. Gift of Barry Friedman
Museum of Modern Art 163.1993 Image: moma.org

I've seen this cradle at MoMA and always thought it was pretty fantastic. While it stands beautifully as sculpture on its own, when lined with thick cushions it served an infant pretty well.

"The sinuous and sensual design, with the elegant, curved forms of the cradle and the long vertical arm that supported draped netting, reflects the popular Art Nouveau style of the time. Such cradles could be found in stylish, bourgeois homes all over Europe." How I wish we still lived in such style.

Loader

2009-05-01T08:00:00.000-04:00

Loader, 2008
Brian McCutcheon
Steel, fiberglass, resin, urethane plastic, auto paint, enamel paint, tinted lexan
Current location: White River State Park, Indianapolis

Brian McCutcheon is interested in the male image in art and culture. We can easily see the masculine aspects as a result of McCutcheon's choice of object. The sculpture is based on a "boy's toy" as McCutcheon states, his commentary on this particular sculpture focusing on male imagery. One could see an interplay between the choice of modeling after a toy in a monumental sculpture as questioning the interchange between boy man.

Despite these possible overtones, I find the sculpture particularly whimsical (the bright yellow aids that). I was struck by the physical and aesthetic elements of Loader, the strikingly different views I got by changing my position around the sculpture. It was very well located along a bridge path along with other large scale sculptures. in White River State Park.

Indianapolis is wonderfully dedicated to public art. Be sure to wander the city next time you might be going through. They have art location pamphlets to take you along as well.
Public Art Indianapolis

Images: A.L.H.

Music

2009-04-30T08:00:00.000-04:00

Composition 8 July 1923
Vasily Kandinsky
55 1/8 x 79 1/8 inches
Image: Guggenheim.org 37.262

My choice of Kandinsky today stems from a head full of music. Hmm... what artist could I choose to represent my musical thoughts? Well, Kandinsky of course! If you are not familiar with Kandinsky's work, though many are due to his place at the forefront of modern abstraction and his incredibly popular colorful compositions, his work not only stems from his own musical background but the paintings themselves exude a wonderful musicality. My search for a specific work for today actually introduced me to a lot of work by Kandinsky I was unaware of. He underwent very specific changes over the years of his career, shifting from elements of more direct representation to variations on geometry. The composition in the upper right hand corner

This painting, Composition, a take on both the composition of music as well as painting, the lines and forms can be seen and heard as musical elements. This can be viewed resembles a musical staff. One's eyes initially dart around a Kandinsky painting but then settle in various areas, experiencing something new wherever their gaze falls. The thin dran lines aid in navigating the painting as a whole. The concentration of color and line can allude to differentiations in tone in music. "Kandinsky's use of color is Kandinsky, himself an accomplished musician, once said Color is the keyboard, the eyes are the harmonies, the soul is the piano with many strings. The artist is the hand that plays, touching one key or another, to cause vibrations in the soul. The concept that color and musical harmony are linked has a long history, intriguing scientists such as Sir Isaac Newton. Kandinsky used color in a highly theoretical way associating tone with timbre (the sound's character), hue with pitch, and saturation with the volume of sound. He even claimed that when he saw color he heard music." (webmuseum)

Spend some time with the next Kandinsky you come across, its a dual cultural experience.

Delicate landscape

2009-04-28T20:30:00.000-04:00

Untitled, from the Weeds series, 1996
Byung-Hun Min (Korean b.1955)
Image: Museum of Contemporary Photography

Min's ethereal and unique photographs are reminiscent of traditional ink landscape painting. His Weeds series takes a simple bit of nature and captures it in a special rephrasing. Ming's inspiration stems from his Korean culture and landscape.

"Min’s photographs of grasses were taken on repeated visits to the same site where weeds have grown up against vinyl greenhouses and dried to their surfaces." (see Image link)

Vinyl greenhouses would not be the first thought coming to one's mind when looking at these photographs. The transformation that occurs through Ming's lense is delicate and sensitive creating a new miniature landscape.

See more of Ming's work from the Awakening exhibition at the Australian Centre for Photography and on the Muse-ings blog.

The Watcher

2009-04-27T08:16:00.005-04:00

The Watcher, ca.1914
Paul Henry (1876-1958)
oil on canvas
Private collection,
Image: Grey Art Gallery, NYU

I have a wonderful address book full of Irish paintings with a focus on people & places in Ireland. The art focuses on everyday Irish life. This is not one of the paintings in my book (I wasn't able to find any of my favorites) but it is by one of the artists represented and features a girl in a red skirt.

This painting was part of the exhibition, When Time Began to Rant and Rage: Figurative Painting from Twentieth-Century Ireland, at the Grey Art Gallery at NYU. During the late 19th c. a new emphasis began in focusing on creating a distinctly Irish identity in art. Previous to this time, Irish artists allied themselves with styles of England or the Continent. This painting and others of the time tied the figure and in turn the individual to the Irish land. The painter, Paul Henry, was one of a group who was even more focused on maintaining strong physical and emotional ties to the land, while many still retained an internationalist bent. One can easily catch both the emotion and physicality in the strong rich brushstrokes depicting the girl's skirt and crashing waves she looks out at. A feeling of contemplation by the simple gesture we make through a bit of paint which shows us her left hand resting upon her chin or lower face. The wind blows her skirt back yet she stands tall against it, the dark clouds representing an imminent storm.

List of Northern Irish artists

Unicorn

2009-04-24T10:16:00.003-04:00

Container in the Form of a Unicorn (1736-1795)
China, Qing dynasty (1644-1912), Qianlong mark and reign (1735-1795)
cloisonné enamel and gilt copper
Measurements: Overall: 16.1cm x 25.2cm
Cleveland Museum of Art 1963.678
Image, CMA collections online.

This wonderful object represents a ki-lin, (ki-male unicorn, lin-female unicorn). The ki-lin is a mythical being of Chinese mythology. Various tales and stories present this version of the unicorn as a solitary animal only appearing to humans on special missions, from peaceful reigns of rulers to foretelling the birth of great men. It is told that a ki-lin materialized in front of Confucious's pregnant mother.

In western mythology we are more familiar with unicorns taking the form of an elegant horse. It is portrayed in Chinese mythology with the body and legs of a deer, the tail of an ox, hooves of a horse and head of a wolf. This container takes more of the form of an ox, with its stout body. The decoration of the container is done with the ancient metalworking technique, cloisonne.

Poet's Fair

2009-04-23T08:00:00.000-04:00

Poet's Fair ca.1953/54
Jules Aarons (1921-2008)
Image: linternaute.com

I discovered Jules Aarons when visiting the DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park in Lincoln, MA, 6 years ago. His work struck me in such a way that I brought a catalog of his show of photographs that day. I came home last night, headed over to my shelf of art books, and pulled this one off.

A physicist and engineer by trade Aarons also excelled at the art of photography. With his background in science he found the technical aspects of photography interesting, mastering them on his own. Luckily for us, he also studied the history and art of photography. Unfortunately his work is not known far beyond his home of Boston, but his rich, sympathetic and earnest photographs hold their own alongside known greats such as Henri-Cartier Bresson... Aarons spent much of his time photographing the neighborhoods of the West End and North End in Boston as well as documenting his travels around the world. A great street photographer catches moments, snapshots of life, they see the unique wonder in what many allow to pass them by. This wonderful parallel portrait, Poet's Fair, taken while on a Fulbright to Paris embodies this.

Jules Aarons Collection at the Boston Public Library.

Light and Space

2009-04-22T08:00:00.002-04:00

Light and Space III, 2008
Robert Irwin (1928-)
Installation, Indianapolis Museum of Art
fluorescent lights

Left image from blog: Modern Art Notes
All other images by me, ALH.

A recent visit to Indianapolis for a conference provided me with a visit to the Indianapolis Museum of Art. This installation by Robert Irwin is the first permanent commission by the artist. I am always fascinated by light in art but do not always like the structure and composition of installations. The incorporation of Irwin's tubes of light into the functional escalator a great sight to see. My own photographs show more of an interest in varying the frames of what I am viewing, breaking up the overall installation view. The installation is 3 stories. Unfortunately I did not have the opportunity to travel the escalators so the full depth of the work (10 ft. or so) I did not experience. Looking at the it from the atrium space it can appear flat. Modern Art Notes.

I am intrigued by the manipulation of light and space, only recently learning about Irwin, though James Turrell is one of my favorite artists.