I’m a firm believer that art is not just about what the artist makes, but what you take from it. Living the Artsy isn’t just about living with art, but living out art each day in our lives. One of the things I love most about the work of this month’s Featured Artist M.A. Tateishi is how bright and downright audacious it is. This artist is not afraid to use color, to deconstruct and then resurrect her surfaces, all resulting in work that inspires me to be move forward as bravely as she does.
I thought perhaps you could use a bit of artsy inspiration, too, so in the words of Simon de Pury..
I’ve been finding things in life to be a bit daunting lately, but just looking at M.A.’s work and putting together this post, thinking about these women that I look up to, who are so much braver than me, I feel empowered and encouraged. I hope you do, too.
For eons it seems that with a certain level of success in the art world, comes a level of celebrity most artists will never know. Especially today, artists are selling themselves as a brand almost as much as they are selling their work. Australian artist Emma Gale turns the tables to feature celebrated artists as the subjects of her work.
Tribal Chic
The artist takes these immediately recognizable artists and reinvents them in her own style, yet each one retains the essence of the personality we’ve come to associate with them and their celebrity.
All My Lovin, mixed media on paper, 56×76 cmJimi, collage and pencil on paper, 56×76 cm
Yet, we’re left to wonder.. how much of our perception of the celebrated among us is based on spin and branding? If we were to meet the famous in person, would they be just as we imagine them or would we be surprised to find how different they are from their image?
Soho Glam, mixed media on paper, 56×76 cm
To see more of Emma Gale’s work, please visit her website.
All images are via the artist’s representing gallery, Anthea Polson Art.
While Mr. Forager & I are on the road, making our way to California, we’re rerunning Artsy Forager’s most popular posts. This post originally published on November 1, 2011. Enjoy!
PS- since writing this post, Clair Hartmann has opened a wonderful little gallery in Wilmington, NC, Sun Gallery & Gifts. Please make a visit if you’re in the area!
OK, yes I know “pet art” has been done to death. It seems like every artist and their brother is doing it. But I submit to you, dear Artsies, that Wilmington, NC artist Clair Hartmann does doggy art in a wonderfully whimsical and heartfelt, yet not at all cheesy way.
Shore Leave, oil on fabric on canvas, 40×30
Whether she is doing straight-on portraits against graphic fabric backgrounds, like the one above or masterpiece inspired depictions as in the ones below, Clair always captures her subjects inherent personality and unique expressions.
Pearl Earring, oil on canvas panel, 9×12Frida Dog, oil on canvas, 16×20
There is a wonderfully graphic and modern quality to Clair’s animal work, which to me, elevate them beyond kitsch. Her paintings of her own Jack Russell Terrier, Chumley, are among my favorites. She perfectly captures moments of rare moments quiet rest and inner reflection ( who hasn’t wondered what their dog was thinking?! ), filled with tenderness and love for her subject.
The Dream, oil on canvas, 36×24
Clair has a new exhibition now open in Wilmington at the WHQR Gallery Space– Faithful: A Series of Dog Paintings will be on display through January 13, 2012. You can also visit her website to see more of her work and visit her Etsy shop to purchase!
Featured image is Wonky Bumbershoots by Clair Hartmann. All images via the artist’s website and Etsy shop.
While Mr. Forager & I are on the road, making our way to California, we’re rerunning Artsy Forager’s most popular posts. This post originally published on May 2, 2011, when the blog was barely two months old. Enjoy!
In honor of Cinco De Mayo this week, I thought we’d focus today on the amazing Frida Kahlo. When I was in painting classes in college, I remember there being this older Bolivian lady who was auditing the classes and she was obsessed with Frida Kahlo. She was sweet but somewhat obnoxious. For a long time, the fact that she was so obsessed with Kahlo managed to turn me off on her artwork. Weird how our minds work sometimes.
But then, somewhere along the line, I let go of this irrational bias and took another look at Kahlo and her work. And I was quickly won over. Health problems plagued Kahlo from a young age, suffering first from polio and then being severly injured in a horrific car accident which left her in a full body cast and bedridden for three months. Though she eventually recovered from her injuries, extreme pain would torment her for the rest of her life.
Two Fridas
Before the accident, Kahlo was studying to become a physician, but she dealt with the boredom of being confined to bed by taking up painting with her father’s watercolors. And so, Frida Kahlo, the artist was born.
Kahlo’s work often included symbols of Mexican mythology, as well as those of Christian and Jewish faiths. Though she is perhaps best known for her self-portraits, often depicting events in her own life, such as the accident, subsequent miscarriages, etc.
She married renown Mexican muralist, Diego Rivera in 1929 and their life together was a tumultous one.
Her work has been described as surrealist, but I think it is the unvarnished depiction of her real life pain and struggle that makes her work so interesting and relatable. We may not have all been through the kind of physical pain Kahlo experienced, but perhaps it is that we can all certainly relate to her emotional pain and the need to express it on canvas.
Be sure to check out the official Frida Kahlo website. A beautifully designed site full of interesting information about the artist.
I used to deliberately fight against liking the work of Frida Kahlo. You see, in my college painting studio there was an older Bolivian woman who was auditing the course and she LOVED Kahlo and seemed to fancy herself as the next Frida. Which wouldn’t have been a big deal except that she was mega annoying about it. She bugged the bejeezus out of everyone in the studio. So she tainted Frida for me. It wasn’t until years later that I rediscovered her work and came to develop my own artist crush on Frida. Today would have been her 105th birthday. So in honor of Frida Kahlo de Rivera, here are a few artists who also found her inspirational!
Viva La Vida by Emma GaleFrida Kahlo by Judy KaufmannFrida by Tara JacobyDaft Punk Frida by Fabian CiraoloFrida Dog by Clair Hartmann
