artsy forager

Category: Artsy Spots

  • Museum Hopping

    Museum Hopping

    Though our time in the cities we visited on our cross-country tour was short, we managed to hit a couple of wonderful, yet very different museums along the way.  In Tulsa, we spent a few hours exploring the Philbrook Museum of Art.

    Front facade of the Philbrook Museum of Art

    My Jacksonville readers will be familiar with the Cummer Museum of Art in Jax.  The Philbrook is, to me, like the Cummer on steroids.  Like the Cummer, the Philbrook was once a private residence, which was donated to the city of Tulsa by its owners, oilman Waite Phillips and his wife Genevieve.  Once we entered the museum doors, we found ourselves in a gorgeous, domed center hall, light streaming through the oculus in the center of the dome.

    Center hall at the Philbrook
    Philbrook oculus

    Just walking the halls of this Renaissance style villa, built in 1927 and designed by architect Edward Buehler Delk for the Phillips as “a place where there two children could entertain friends” ( Imagine the sleepovers you could have! ), is a pleasure in itself.

    Corridor at the Philbrook

    The museum houses a varied and extensive permanent collection of art, ranging from African & Asian collections, Native American art to Italian Renaissance and a surprising and delightful modern collection.

    Bougereau at the Philbrook, a favorite artist of the Frenz’s
    Lovely little Picasso at the Philbrook
    Fabulous modern design collection at the Philbrook

    While the museum collections are enjoyable, it is the museum grounds that really steal the show.  Though we visited on a gray and rainy day, it didn’t stop us from exploring the extensive gardens behind the museum.  The original formal gardens extend from the rear colonnade of the museum down to the tempietto.  Let’s take a little walking tour..

    Rear collonade at the Philbrook
    View from the colonnade down to the tempietto
    Wonderful stepped fountain
    Beautiful, naturalistic water feature
    No formal garden is complete without a koi pond!
    View from the tempietto back toward the museum
    Yours truly in the tempietto ( wouldn’t this be a romantic spot to pop the question? )
    Contemporary sculpture walk beyond the formal gardens

    Let’s switch gears now, fast-forward through another 12 hour day on the road and pay a little visit to Denver.  While in the mile-high city, we spent some time downtown including a tour through the Denver Art Museum.  While the Philbrook is classically ornate, the DAM’s Hamilton Building, where we spent our time, is splendidly contemporary.  Designed by Daniel Lubeskind, the structure represents the Rocky Mountain peaks surrounding Denver.

    Denver Art Museum

    We started at the top and worked our way down, discovering lots of fun & interesting contemporary work along the way.

    Noguchi sculpture and Motherwell painting **Sidenote: Motherwell was born in Aberdeen, WA, the town where we are living for the summer.
    Ceramics at DAM

    Did you notice in the pictures above how the walls are slanted?  The angled walls created a very interesting visual space, especially in the 4th floor gallery where they were prominent.   They were a bit disconcerting when walking down the main stairs, though!

    Artist: Mark Tansey

    We were all fascinated by the piece above, by Mark Tansey.   Another highlight was the Fox Games installation by Sandy Skoglund.  I first saw Skoglund’s work in Jacksonville and am always fascinated by the environments she creates.

    Fox Games by Sandy Skoglund

    And there was just something about “Minotaur with Brushstrokes” that appealed to us.  What can I say, we like work that makes us smile.

    Minotaur With Brushstrokes by Richard Patterson

    Speaking of making us smile, George & I also loved the piece below, although I’m sad to report that I don’t recall the name of the artist.  But it reminded me of spring in the Northwest.

    Kicking myself for not writing down the title & artist for this piece! Anyone have any clues?

    The museum also boasts an impressive Western American Art Collection, as well as African, American Indian, Oceanic, Pre-Columbian and Spanish Colonial Collections.  We toured through the current special exhibition, Cities of Splendor: A Journey Through Renaissance Italy, but alas, no photography allowed in the exhibit, so you’ll have to check out the DAM website for a taste.  As you can see, our art experiences on this trip were widely varied and we are looking forward to more such experiences here in the Northwest.

  • Masterworks Monday: Rauschenberg in Tulsa

    Masterworks Monday: Rauschenberg in Tulsa

    Hello Artsies!!!  After being out of the blogosphere for the past three weeks or so, I am finally back behind the computer, as it were and it feels great.  I have so much to share that I hardly know where to begin..  As many of you know, my hubby George and I recently moved from Florida to Washington.  We were incredibly blessed to be able to make a vacation out of our cross-country trek, with stops to see friends, new places and old favorites along the way.

    Our first stop ( OK, first fun stop.. we spent the first night in a motel outside Little Rock, AR, not super exciting ) was Tulsa, Oklahoma.  George lived in Tulsa for several years and we hadn’t been back since we got married, so decided to take a couple of days to introduce me around to Tulsa friends and places.  It just so happened that the friends we were staying with in Tulsa had a friend who owned a gallery, Exhibit by Abersons at Center 1 Tulsa.  Said friend of friends happened to be having an opening the night of our arrival in Tulsa, so even though there was a whole gang of people expected for dinner, we popped over to the gallery to have a peeksy.

     The exhibit, which opened on May 19th was curated by Master Printer Bill Goldston of Universal Limited Art Editions and follows the progression of Rauschenberg’s print work through the years.  Like any good Art History Major, I recognized Rauschenberg’s work and his importance as a painter & print maker, but beyond that, I admit I didn’t know much.  Rauschenberg came to the forefront toward the end of the Abstract Expressionist movement and toward the beginning of the Pop Art movement.  The prints included in the exhibition lean more toward the Pop end of the spectrum, showing examples of his collaging of photographic images through silk-screen processing showcasing pop culture imagery of the 1950s and 60s, such as Guardian ( 1968 ).

    Guardian is compromised of transfer images from Life Magazine, the transfers being done by brushing the images with solvent, placing them on the lithograph stone, then passing the stone through the printing press.  These are works that demand a closer look, there is so much going on, even little details are significant.  George enjoyed scrutinizing the work ( see photo below! ), which are so accessible that they seem just as relevant today as they must have 50 years ago.

    The work George is pondering is Bazaar, an intagilio print and lithograph on paper created in 1984.  Other highlights for me included, Aquafix ( below ), a haunting image created by Rauschenberg in 1981.  As the years progressed, his work evolved into cleaner, more simplified compositions as exemplified in Aquafix and Lotus VII, both favorites of mine from the exhibit.

    Lotus VII ( above ) is part of Rauschenberg’s final series of prints, completed only a month prior to his death.  The Lotus images were created for an exhibition of Rauschenberg’s work in Beijing and are compilations of photographs taken by the artist on two trips to China.  The photographs were transferred to panels, then an intagilio process, photogravure, was used to tie the images together visually.   The results are stunning images, which surely pleased Rauschenberg as his final legacy.

    If you are in the Tulsa area, be sure to check out the show at Exhibit by Abersons.  If you can’t get to Tulsa, Rauschenberg’s work can be found in many major museum collections with images, biography and other info available online, check out the websites of MOMA, The Tate, the Guggenheim and many more.

  • Hands-On vs Hands-Off Artistry

    Hands-On vs Hands-Off Artistry

    In my daily reading of Artinfo.com this morning I came across two articles, seemingly unrelated, until the Facebook comments regarding one of the articles tied them together for me.  The first article, found here, poses the question, “Should Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia Remain Unfinished?”  The Barcelona basilica, begun in 1882 by renown artist-architect Antonio Gaudi is still under construction eighty-five years following the architect’s death.

    Sagrada Familia under construction in Barcelona, Spain

     Though Gaudi left plaster models and drawings, many of his notes were destroyed during the Spanish Civil War, leaving his vision open to interpretation by current sculptors, architects and designers.  While some critics feel the current direction doesn’t jive with Gaudi’s original vision, even during his lifetime, there were many sculptors working on the basilica.  Like any monumental undertaking, “it takes a village” to bring Gaudi’s creation to life.

    Close-up of one of La Sagrada Familia's spires. Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.

    Should Gaudi’s original design be so open to interpretation?  He gave artistic license to those working under him while alive, would he so object to modern interpretations now being imposed?  Unlike other types of sculpture, cathedrals are often the product of centuries worth of work by multiple architects, artists and craftsman.

    The star-studded ceiling of the east wing of La Sagrada Familia under construction. Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.

    As Gaudi was aware he would not be alive to see it to completion, wouldn’t he have known his original design would be open to interpretation by those who came after him?  Does the fact that Gaudi is not here to personally oversee the work negate the additions?

    Artists using apprentices and assistants is nothing new.  The art world of the Renaissance era, which produced such celebrated masters as Michelangelo and DaVinci was built upon the concept of apprenticeship.  But what about now?  The second article I read this morning was regarding the approval of a Dale Chihuly museum at the site of a former amusement park in downtown Seattle ( now the Seattle Center ).

     

    The museum in itself is the subject of controversy, but that isn’t what I’d like to address here.  Instead, I’d like direct attention to another Chihuly controversy– his use of others to craft his designs.  One Facebook poster thought it necessary to point out that since losing the use of his left eye due to a car accident, he is no longer the person actually blowing the art glass he is so famous for.  ( In reality, Chihuly continued to blow glass for three years following the accident, until a body surfing incident dislocated his shoulder, so he was no longer able to manually manipulate the glass ).   The poster’s statement that “His employees make everything.  Just sayin’.” seems to somehow fault Chihuly for continuing to create in the only way he physically could, by having others help him.  The artist himself has said that his role, more of a director, allows him better perspective on the work.

    As stated above regarding Gaudi, the practice of using assistants and apprentices to create monumental works of art has been done for centuries ( and yes, many of Chihuly’s creations are monumental in scope ).  So as long as the artist himself continues to design the creations with his name on them, what’s the big deal?

    And what about so-called “production originals”?  You might be thinking of the ones advertised as “hand painted original works of art”, usually being sold out of a hotel ballroom.  But what I’m talking about are the production art studios– where perhaps one “lead artist” is creating original works of art, which are then being recreated & reproduced by the hand of “assistant artists”.  There are more of these studios around than people realize and the work can be found in galleries, corporate and private collections all over the world.  While the savvy gallerist, art consultant, designer and art afficionado knows production art when they see it, what about the collector who thinks they are buying a true original work of art, only to spot an almost exact replica when in their hotel while on vacation in Hawaii?  Do we lump Chihuly in with these?

    These are three examples of artwork being completed and accomplished without the direct hand of the creator.  What are your thoughts?  Is it ever OK to put your name on something you didn’t actually physically create?  This is definitely a gray area.. would love to hear your thoughts!

  • A Girl and Her Chickens: Yvonne Lozano

    A Girl and Her Chickens: Yvonne Lozano

    A little girl with brown pigtails makes a trip with her family to Colombia and there, befriends two chickens.  And so begins the story of “What Happened to the Chickens?”, the latest exhibition of Yvonne Lozano’s work at The Art Center in Jacksonville.

    Yvonne Lozano’s work is autobiographical, each painting telling the story of a particular childhood memory or even just the memory of the feeling of being a kid.  Upon first glance at her style, you may think “A child could have done that”, which is exactly the point!  Her simple, faceless figures look initially like a child’s creation, but look a little more closely and you will see a layering of glazes and accomplished drawing skills.

    Yvonne has created a storyboard format for these works, some finished paintings, some watercolor sketches, so that it seems that you are “reading” a book in progress.  The small sketches reiterate the childlike quality to the work and the “story” itself reads like a wonderful children’s book!  ( I personally think it is only a matter of time until we see Yvonne as a children’s literature author & illustrator! ).

    “What Happened to the Chickens?” is a story after all, so I don’t want to give too much away.  If you’re in Jacksonville, please make some time to visit The Art Center gallery downtown to see & “read” this charmingly familiar childhood story.

    The Art Center Cooperative gallery space is located at 31 W. Adams Street in downtown Jacksonville, FL.  Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 11am-3pm.

    To see more of Yvonne’s work, visit her website, YCLArt and be sure to “fan” her Facebook page!

  • Behind the Museum Walls: Thoughts From a Curator

    Good morning, all!

    Do you ever wonder how pieces are chosen for museum exhibits?  Why one work makes the cut but another doesn’t?  I just read this interesting little article written by Katharine Stout, curator of the new exhibit, “Watercolour” at the Tate in London.  A fascinating look behind the choices of work and use of watercolors today.   Although traditional watercolor landscapes have a long history in Britain, Stout chose to focus on contemporary work, making the exhibit more relevant for today.

    Hope you enjoy this little peek behind the museum walls!

    Tate curator Katharine Stout on the contemporary works in ‘Watercolour’ | Tate Blog.

  • The Thingness of Color at DODGE gallery

    OK, so color is the theme of the day!
    The Thingness of Color at DODGE gallery.

  • Lucky Spasms and Other Art Walk Goodness

    Beauty was abounding in Jacksonville last night and I’m not just talking about the perfect weather.  My sister-in-law and I attended the monthly Downtown Art Walk and were treated to not just the usual visual stimulation but mental and emotional engagement, as well.  Now, I had a list about a mile long of the spots I wanted to hit, but we arrived late and spent quite a bit of time at each one, so.. yeah, we only made it to a few.

    But we began the night with a bang at The VAULT Gallery, Willliams-Cornelius’ space in a former bank vault ( yes, you read that right! ) on Forsyth Street.   Greeted by the Mr. Williams & Ms. Cornelius themselves, and intern Adam, we set off to see what artist Jeff Whipple had in store for us.   Whipple has been working on this “Spasm” series for more than thirty years.  What began as a painterly device to fill negative pace, the three-barred icon has grown from an element in the background to become the object of an entire series of work.

    The three bars that comprise a “spasm” serve to symbolize life, lifetime or a lifestyle.  The artwork is open to interpretation, based on the viewer’s own experience– how you see it may not be the way I see it and that’s OK.  All of our lives are different and it is in this difference that we each find meaning in the spasms.  This is work that truly that makes you stop and think– what does this mean?  To the artist?  To me?

    In conjunction with the showing of Jeff Whipple’s work, Williams-Cornelius also presented a performance piece by self-proclaimed “deformance artist”, Liz Gibson.  Gibson was born with a birth defect causing her to have only seven fingers– five on one hand and only two on the other.   The performance last night was a character of Gibson’s own creation “Ben Wa Betty”.  Betty appears as part archetypal Asian lady, but in a hip and provocative way.  Gibson tells stories of how at times she felt lucky or unlucky to have been born with a deformity, all while pouring wax over her deformed hand, proving how you can take something that seems unlucky and make something beautiful out of it.

    The overaching theme is one of contentment– be happy with who you are and how you were made.   At times you may feel unlucky, but there will always be a reminder of just how lucky we all are.

     Our next stop was Southlight Gallery, where there is always a display of exceptional art by some of the most well-known artists in Jacksonville, right along side with talented emerging artists.  The featured artist last night was wood sculptor, Grant Ward.

    I’m a sucker for any burl or wood sculpture and have been a fan of Ward’s pieces for a long time.  There is something about an artist that looks at a log or a tree stump, sees the potential for creating something unique AND possesses the craftsmanship to create something polished and beautiful out of such rough raw materials.

    I have always especially loved Ward’s pieces that combine burl wood with spun metal.  These pieces take on, for me an other worldly space-like quality.  It is as if the wood is a planetary surface and the metal pieces are alien pods making their home there.

    After leaving Southlight, we made our way toward the river to the Suntrust Tower, new home of Town Editions, Thomas Hager’s new line of accessibly affordable limited editions– making this artist’s beautiful work available to even a young collector.

    These hand-crafted, signed and numbered editions are created using vintage photographic processes, which give the simple subject matter an elegance and sophistication lacking in much of today’s photographic prints.  Also on view are some of Hager’s paintings ( He paints, too!  I know! ).

     

    Filled with texture and a pastel & neutral palette, these pieces are reminiscent of sand or rock.  They have an organic feeling to them that such completely non-representational work rarely possesses.   I’m looking forward to seeing Tom’s paintings evolve just as his photography continues to do so.

    I wish I could tell you more about all the places we visited and amazing art we saw, but alas, that was the end of our night.  I can tell you that I will be back downtown soon to visit the exhibits and studios I missed.  I’m not sure how anyone could see it all in ArtWalk’s four hours.. but what an awesome problem to have!

    May’s Downtown ArtWalk will be May 4, 2011.  More information available here.  Hope to see you there!

  • Masterworks Monday: The Cubists

    Sorry for the late post today– we’ve had some big things happening, so I’ve been a bit preoccupied.  More on that later!  For this week’s Masters Monday, we’re going a little more modern– enter Pablo Picasso and cubism.  Cubism is an early 20th century art movement that was begun by Picasso and Georges Braques in which objects were depicted from a multitude of viewpoints in a seemingly random fashion.

    Juan Gris. Breakfast. (1914)

    Breakfast by Juan Gris

    For me, cubism was a quite a breakthrough while taking figure drawing classes in college.  Once figure drawing started clicking for me, ( it was horribly frustrating at first, but my professor at UNF, Paul Ladnier, told me that one day it would just “click” and it would be smooth sailing– I didn’t believe him until it actually happened that way! ) it was then that Paul suggested I try a little cubism.  That’s when things REALLY started to get more fun and interesting!  I loved exaggerating the planes and forms.

    Pablo Picasso. Girl with a Mandolin (Fanny Tellier). Paris, late spring 1910

    Girl With a Mandolin ( Fanny Tellier ) by Pablo Picasso

    I realize Cubism isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but for me, it was the introduction into a different way of seeing, a new perspective on how we look at the things we see.

    Images via http://www.moma.org. 

    Read more about Cubism on MOMA’s website!

  • New American Paintings: Interview with Claire Cowie

    Oh how I wish we were already on the West Coast!  Claire Cowie’s work is intriguing and this exhibition is hanging in Seattle only for a few more days.  The article goes into the importance of placement and hanging for the exhibition, something many gallerists overlook, but is often so important to the artist’s vision of how the work is to be viewed.

    Read on!

    A Colossal Place of Being: A Q&A with Claire Cowie.

  • A Velázquez in the Cellar?

    OK, perhaps not exactly your grandmother’s attic, but it seems that a previously unattributed, damaged work stored at Yale University is thought by many experts to be a Velazquez.

    A Velázquez in the Cellar?.