lethargy - frustration - apathy - inspiration

A Draped Model, James McNeill Whistler, 1900, Pastel and Charcoal on Paper, University of Glasgow

"If your face is not clean, wash it; don't cut your head off."

- George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)

the novelty of the new

Edgar Degas, Woman with Ibis, oil on canvas, 1860-62, Metropolitan Museum of Art

I am delighted that I can still be delighted by seeing an image of an artwork I have never known, like this piece by Degas. Only exhibited 13 times in its existence (and only 1 of those in Paris), I certainly have not had much opportunity to come across it. At any rate, perhaps someone else's eyes will also appreciate this fresh, slightly bizarre little feast.

sophistication requires receptivity

Picasso, Étude les femmes d'Alger, after Delacroix, Musée Picasso, 1955

"It must not be thought that just because I rejected a thing once, I must ignore it when it shows itself today. A book in which I had never found anything worthwhile may have a moral, read with the eyes of a more mature experience."

- Eugène Delacroix, journal entry 6 October 1822

Plus ça change...

Recently, a friend and I saw Van Gogh: Brush with Genius in IMAX cinema. I enjoy IMAX, take pleasure in being visually overwhelmed. And, as an art historian of the 19thC, I felt somewhat obligated to go because van Gogh is one of the most well-known, or I should say, commonly heard of, artists of this period, but not my personal favourite.

Though I will not expound on this here, van Gogh is a man, wrapped in an artist, enshrouded in myth. These myths have reached the point of self-perpetuation, his loneliness, his madness, the ear thing... Anything that appears in our culture that might challenge or explain myths about this or other artists are welcomed by me with open arms. Though it is difficult to type with my arms folded, I will say that this film offers nothing new and may go so far as to say that it contributes to misconceptions and exaggerations which already abound about the Dutchman.

So, avoid it? No. See it. But look beyond the narrator's weird accent and focus on the dizzying close-ups of his canvases' surfaces, revealing the incredible texture that few artists have matched. I do not think I have ever seen them communicated so well, outside of standing in front of a painting, of course.

I was there

Ai Weiwei's Sunflower Seeds at Tate Modern, photo from The Guardian

Ai Weiwei's Sunflower Seeds at Tate Modern, photo from The Daily Mail

Sitting on the floor on the Turbine Hall at the Tate Modern last week I felt overwhelmed. Ai Weiwei's new installation, Sunflower Seeds, part of the Tate's Unilever Series, features millions of hand-painted, hand-crafted porcelain sunflower seeds. The artist's intentions for the work are multi-faceted and wide-ranging, from communism and mass-production. Though these ideas are certainly communicated, Weiwei's original vision for the project conveys a more hopeful, positive sensation than these topics might suggest. My view was the photo on top as I sat amidst these myriad seeds. Like sand, they conformed to my weight, comfortable but not forgettable. Around me, people were sitting, standing, laying, walking, generally interacting with the artwork(s). This was Weiwei's desire and the result was communal, peaceful, a breakdown of that art/audience barrier. Circumstances beyond his control, however, have ensured that going forward the bottom photo will be the public's view. I fear that the heavier messages of the work will inevitably overshadow the hope that was intended: go see it, but remember this. In the end, this is one of the rare instances I am proud to say 'I was there,' and, hey, how did that seed get in my pocket? ;)

getting excited?

photo of central park by melissa

"Quand on ne s'attend à rien, la moindre des choses surprend."

détruit

photo by melissa of New Orleans

Today I have considered the notion of the destruction of artworks. Many of the artists with whom I have become intimate have several, if not a great many, paintings or sculptures which they themselves chose to destroy. Happily, some remnants survive in sketch form or are described by contemporary critics but this is not always the case. Common reasons cited for committing such acts include a complete stylistic shift, scathing reviews in the press, or random bouts of fury. This is a mentality I cannot grasp. Why would someone want to obliterate their past? Perhaps I am too sentimental; perhaps they were without hope of better days to come in which they could look back and see their lives' progression.

Over a century and a half later these works have been forgotten while other pieces -pastels, maquettes, sketches - live on in gilded frames on hallowed walls. Would my dear artists consider this a success? Would they regret their past destruction seeing now how it could have added to our modern understanding? Would they embrace modern, temporary art which is designed to eventually disappear?

the value of art

a view of Rome; photo by me

"The value and rank of every art is in proportion to the mental labour employed in it, or the mental pleasure produced by it."

Sir Joshua Reynolds, Fourth Discourse, December 10, 1771

out-courbeted

photo by me of me with Olympia by Manet

I cannot help but swoon over delicious quotes that I uncover while pouring over newspapers of the past. Though few may grasp it (which leads me to wonder how many did at the time of the publication...) I will share it anyway. The following is from a review on an exhibition in London by the Society of French Artists in The Times, April 27, 1874:

"Manet is a conspicuous representative of the school in figure painting.

In what his admirers, we suppose, would call simplicity and frankness,

he far out-Courbets Courbet."

Though I'm sure if one were to ask Courbet, nobody could out-Courbet him!

you and your space

top: outside the Hayward Gallery, photo - melissa

middle: 'Blind Light' at the Hayward Gallery, photo- antonygormley.com

bottom: 'Event Horizon' Madison Square Park (look up!), photo - James Ewing

Though it is not the first installation of this type he has erected, British artists and 1981 Turner prize winner Antony Gormley is treating New Yorkers to an extraordinary treat this summer. In the blocks surrounding Madison Square Park, passers-by are invited to look around, and up, to engage with the 31 Gormley-sized sculptures installed on the streets and buildings. The use of such a figure, often seen in silhouette, is intriguing in a populated area where one rarely takes notice of the surrounding throngs. Once viewers begin to look, however, they can hardly stop. As Gormley himself notes: "Beyond those you can actually see, how many more remain out of sight?" (March 2010) Perception, and curiosity, is heightened through such an exercise.

The first version of 'Event Horizon' was installed in London in 2007 accompanied by the most stirring exhibition I have yet to see. Though the entire gallery was extraordinary, the namesake for the show was 'Blind Light,' pictured above. Imagine trapping a cloud and confining it in a space that is too small to let it breathe then entering that space. This is the experience of Blind Light. Inside sounds are distant, yet over the shoulder; people are separated, yet on the verge of collision. Never have I felt the intense excitement of anonymity and isolation in this way. Gormley's works, whether on or in a building, force viewers to question their own sense of space. Stand out or be anonymous? Engage or blend? To consider one's position and the position of others in the world is essentially our modern condition.

http://www.antonygormley.com/

http://www.eventhorizonnewyork.org/