simplicity is decadence

Flowers, Henri Fantin-Latour, 1872, Louvre

Another semester has come to a close. Prior to the start of their final exam several of my keener students peppered me with questions, while drinking their coffees through their straws (a flattering hommage à moi). These questions focused not on art or the coming test but on me, my life, my story.

This is a timely reminder for me of the importance of simplicity. The things I see and do, the places I live and work all seem unimportant when life is examined from the perspective of a moment. A beautiful blossom, a sharp intake of breath, the crash of the sea, eyes meeting... what happened right before it seems superfluous and what may happen next, irrelevant. Obviously, one cannot exist from this vantage point (demonstrated aptly by Huysmans in À Rebours) but it must be adopted on occasion, my personal dosage is daily. In this way, simplicity is decadence.

an aesthete

photo by magdalyn

When coining the term in 1750, Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten (1714-1762) defined aestheticism as "the art of thinking beautifully."

merci, Paris!

paintings by Edouard Manet at the Musée d'Orsay

If there has ever been greater news delivered on a Monday morning, it was not delivered to me. See you in May, Manet!

our future

Vanitas: Flesh Dress for an Albino Anorectic, Jana Sterbak, 1987

Almost two and a half decades after forcing the public to question how it looks at fashion and consumer culture, Sterbak is giving her audience another chance to approach things differently. Until the end of April, the Queensland Gallery of Modern Art is showcasing an interactive 19thC exhibition of art mounted by Sterbak. The purpose? To view such a space through the eyes of children.

Obviously, each child will approach such a space in a unique way (even two children of the same age and family as seen here) but we 'forgive' children for this. Why, then, do adults seem to feel a need to excuse themselves for a lack of art knowledge? People apologise for not 'getting' art and this is something I struggle with on, at least, a weekly basis. It is ok to like what you like, whether or not it has been deemed worthy by collectors or scholars. My only issue comes with those who seem incapable of trying to appreciate qualities in works outside of their comfort zone. We all know there is plenty of art out there that is not to my personal taste but this does not make it irrelevant or unworthy of the interest of others.

influenced

Dionysos, Parthenon, 438-432bc, British Museum

Victoria, British Columbia is a city filled with a variety of cultural activities and yet, as always, people will bemoan a lack of them, or at least of certain types. Until Sunday Intrepid Theatre is presenting Influence a two-act play by Janet Munsil. The setting is the British Museum in 1817 shortly after the Parthenon sculptures, commonly known as the Elgin Marbles, are placed there permanently. The main players include several Greek gods alongside a pair of mortals, poet John Keats and painter Benjamin Haydon. I thoroughly enjoyed the production and would recommend it to anyone with any vague interest in Art or 'the arts.' Erin Macklem's costumes are superb as is the cast, Ian Case, David Radford, Karne Lee Pickett, Paul Terry and Elliot Loran (Loran plays Keats but looks strikingly like a young Oscar Wilde so if you're casting for any such role...)

My frustration with all of this? I made the mistake of reading a review by Adrian Chamberlain prior to viewing the show. It is as though Chamberlain's desire was to frighten all expect a "certain type" of people away from the production. Using language like "overly academic," "densely written," "impenetrable," even pointing out that the critic found the "lack of conventional plot" a challenge will intimidate a potential audience. I did not find any of these critiques to be accurate, nor did my un-Academic companion. This was helped even more so by the very informative programme we were given prior to the show; perhaps Chamberlain did not receive one. At any rate, see it if you can as it is an enjoyable and unique piece of local theatre and be wary of critics. The last thing Victoria needs is to be turned off these types of events by those in the media who should be encouraging them.

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? ;)