Two Seated Figures

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

Black and White Geometry

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

Geometric pair

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)

Golden Chariot

Gold Model Chariot from the Oxus Treasure
Achaemenid Persian, 5th-4th century BC
From the region of Takht-i Kuwad, Tadjikistan
British Museum

In keeping with my commitment to a more well-rounded blog, I picked up The Atlas of the Ancient World, which was conveniently on one of our bookshelves (isn't it great living with someone who has a whole world of books you don't?). It is a great introduction to the history, culture and people of the ancient world (with great illustrations too!). So I just started to flip through it and got pulled in by this glorious gold chariot.

"The model chariot is pulled by four horses or ponies. In it are two figures wearing Median dress. The Medes were from Iran, the centre of the Achaemenid empire. The front of the chariot is decorated with the Egyptian dwarf-god Bes, a popular protective deity. The chariot can be compared with that shown being ridden by the Persian king Darius on a cylinder seal also in the British Museum." (British Museum description)

The Oxus Treasure is the most important surviving collection of Achaemenid Persian metalwork.

So there is a lot of information in this description that I know nothing about. A little research goes a long way though and I was curious about "Median dress". "Although slight variations exist, most images of Medes and descriptions of the standard Median costume consists of trousers, a fitted, sleeved top, and a tiara or cap, often with a peaked extension."(Phoenix Ancient Art S.A.)

If you click on the title, it will take you to the British Museum page with the object, where you can check out related objects of the period, as the British Museum has much of the Oxus Treasure.

(Image: britishmuseum.org)

Lonely Ones

To mennesker. De ensomme (Two Human Beings. The Lonely Ones), 1899
Edvard Munch (1864-1944)
Woodcut
Image and owner: Museum of Modern Art

I think this is my first repetition of an artist (See Munch) I discovered this wonderful woodcut today. A bit moody, a bit sad, I still find the image beautiful. The mood of the image is perfectly equal to Munch's preoccupation with dark themes in direct opposition to Impressionism. Munch, through simple forms (most specifically in his prints), creates strong emotions and attachment to basic themes such as love, death and anxiety.

The woodcut lends itself to a "cutting out" of the figures, similar to a jigsaw puzzle. Each is solidly their own as if they could be plucked out of the landscape. This, along with the moody desolation of the landscape, and the very specific space between them enhances the stark contrast between the land and the water. The image remains seamless where we still see two human beings in one moment despite their separation. Munch reused elements of his works, like the woman in this print. We also see her in the lithograph, Young Girl on the Shore, 1896.

I had a recommendation for a theme week of art recently. If there is anything that you would like to learn more about and discover more of (a movement, period of time, type of media, subject matter...) please leave me a comment, or email at alisonlilith@gmail.com. Don't forget to take advantage of the tags at the bottom of each post to see previously posted art that is connected to what you are looking at.

Subway

Subway, 1950
George Tooker
egg tempera on composition board
18 1/8 x 36 1/8 in.
Whitney Museum of American Art



Another new discovery, I love George Tooker's urban scenes. His figures cut a generic, androgynous appearance, each nearly indistinguishable from the next except for lines and clothing choices made to distinguish man from woman. The figure in the foreground seems obviously a woman due to Tooker's choices for detail (dress, shoes and hair) but when she is broked down she still remains "gently androgynous" (An Interview with Tooker interview, Justin Spring). His approach to the city world is a depressing one, yet makes for thoughtful and considered subject matter in painting.

His work is often categorized as magic realism ("Term coined by German [art] critic Franz Roh in 1925 to describe the aspect of Neue Sachlichkeit characterized by sharp focus detail"--Chilvers, Concise Oxford dictionary of art & artists) or symbolic realism, both terms which Tooker was not a fan of but depending on they are interpreted his works sometimes falls into and out of the categorization. The art associated with terms was often tinged with surrealism (de Chirico)

Art: Revival of George Tooker's 'Magic Realism'