The Art of Modern Life

Back from the Dead

2011-08-26T16:33:00.002-05:00

It's hard to believe it's been over a year since I posted on here. I promise to come back more often with thoughtful comments on inspiring art.
Stay tuned!

Papillons in Art

2010-06-09T09:35:00.002-05:00

Sofonisba Anguissola, Portrait of the Artist's Sisters and Brother, c. 1555
Methuen Collection, Corsham Court, Wiltshire

Rome Trip, Sculpture Highlights

2010-06-04T14:42:00.001-05:00

Marcus Aurelius, Trevi Fountain, Capitoline She-Wolf, and Michelangelo's Moses

Ancient History

2010-05-28T14:15:00.004-05:00

Old School (literally) pictures from the ancient area of Rome:
Palatine Hill, Roman Forum, Colosseum, Arch of Constantine

Enjoy!!!

La Vita e Bella

2010-05-25T16:13:00.001-05:00

My husband and I have recently returned from a wonderful vacation in Rome. I will be posting pictures in the coming days, but here is just a teaser--me with the Doryphoros, the Spear Bearer. So exciting to see this in person!

Boucher's Best?

2010-05-13T15:32:00.006-05:00

I've been doing some reading on 18th century painting (big surprise) for an upcoming exhibition and of course I turned to one of my favorites, Making up the Rococo for some scoop on women in the art of the 18th cent. Melissa Hyde dedicates a good amount of ink to Boucher's 1753 allegorical paintings, The Rising of the Sun (left) and The Setting of the Sun (right), both of which are at the Wallace in London. I think I have always known about these two paintings and admired them for their chubby rococo glory, but I've never taken the time to actually look at them before now. The "Sun" has so much pomp surrounding his getting ready in the morning and winding down at night that it rivals even the king (Louis XV at the time) himself, and maybe that's where Boucher was going with this. They were apparently commissioned by Mme de Pompadour, and I wonder if the subject was subtly paying homage to the Sun King before her man, Louis XIV. Anyway, at the time the pair of paintings was extremely well-liked by both the commissioner and by Boucher's colleagues and contemporaries. Even today they are considered by many to be the artist's masterworks. This is all despite the fact that they were pretty much made fun of for Boucher's over-the-top use of pink, in the coloring of the figures, in the sun's drapery, and especially, on the cheeks of the female figures. At the time people ridiculed him, saying he must have just swept women's rouge across the canvas and called it a day. But he just wanted everything to be as pretty as possible. It was his version of airbrushing
But of course I love it. I mean, they all are curvy and proud and the women have fun pink makeup and wear pearls in their hair while they float along a wavy sea. Who wouldn't want to just jump right in?!?!

For the Record

2010-05-05T13:19:00.003-05:00

Pablo Picasso's Nude, Green Leaves, and Bust from 1932 became the most expensive work of art ever sold at auction yesterday, fetching (at Christie's) an astonishing $106.5
million dollars, if you can believe it. Is this a sign that the economy is picking back up? The last time it was sold, back in 1951, it sold for $19,800.00. That's quite an appreciation in value, don't you think? CRAZY!
Do you think it's worth it? I mean, it is a beautiful, very Picasso-ey Picasso painting. The colors are great, very rich and the forms spectacular. But 106.5 MILLION DOLLARS?!?!?!? I'm really dying to know who bought the painting, like who actually has that much money lying around to spend on art. I mean, if I had that much money of course I would spend it on fabulous art, but I'm really just curious.

Ghent It, Girl!

2010-05-05T09:30:00.010-05:00

So almost a year ago, I wrote on how much I love Jan van Eyck, and I said that I would talk about his Ghent Altarpiece later. Well, later has officially arrived!

I was reading the arts section of the NY Times as I do most mornings when I have the time and I saw an article on the restoration of the Ghent Altarpiece, which makes its home at the Church of St. Bavo in Belgium (it was Flanders back in the day). The closed-up version of the panel (below, center) shows the Annunciation with figures of saints and prominent patrons below. Opened up (above, center), the panel becomes a colorful display of splendor, with God the Father flanked by Mary and John the Baptist, with them flanked by saints, angels, and Adam and Eve. The little scenes at the top of the opened altarpiece are of Cain and Abel. The second tier shows the adoration of the Lamb of God, with the dove of the Holy Spirit radiating above, flanked again by saints, martyrs, and prophets.
It is THE masterpiece of the Northern Renaissance style, it shows the incredible precision Van Eyck was able to achieve in this brilliantly complex work of art. I mean, look at the incredible amount of detail in the crown at the feet of God the Father in the central panel of the opened altarpiece. All of those pearls and gems--the attention to light and shadow, even the way he paints the fabric of the figure's robes, it's all completely perfect. Working in oil (which was relatively new at the time) with what must have been an incredibly small brush, Van Eyck created a realistic yet otherworldly setting for St. Bavo, one that is still heralded today as the height of Flemish panel painting.

I also have always loved van Eyck's incredible mastery of drapery-done in the Northern-heavily starched style. See the detail at left of the angel Gabriel of the Annunciation. I mean, it's just perfectly crisp folds with strategic attention to light and shadow that make this work so well. It adds so much drama to this panel, and that drama was meant to inspire church-goers in the 15th century who were not literate, so they needed all of that detail and drama to teach them about the Bible and its stories and messages.

Who knew that this painting has led such an interesting life? Over the years, it has been taken apart and hidden to save it from iconoclasts and Calvinists. It was taken as a war trophy to Paris, parts of the panels have been stolen and recovered, and during WWII, it was seized by the Nazis and kept in a salt mine. You know that had to be good for its condition.
Well, finally it's getting a little love in the form of restoration, funded by the Getty Institute. You can bet that only the world's top conservationists, especially skilled in working with wood panel, will be taking on this incredibly sensitive task.
Can't wait to see it unveiled when it's all over.

Pop Porcelain

2010-05-01T08:32:00.004-05:00

My friend Maggie at work sent me this article from the NY Times (how could I have missed it?!??) on the dispute between England and Germany over who 'invented' porcelain. That may still be up for debate but what is most interesting to me is that porcelain is kind of making a comeback. And not in the form of a hybrid porcelain form--they're sticking to their guns and continuing to create the classic styles that made them so treasured in the first place (in the 18th century). The technology was good then and it continues to be good today!
As Meissen (king dingaling of porcelain factories in the 18th century and beyond) celebrates its 300th anniversary, other manufactories are re-gaining attention too, including Nymphenburg and Sevres. Apparently, in 2008, Nymphenburg invited the world's top fashion designers to adorn their classic commedia dell'arte figures (mainly of Columbine, and wouldn't she be a fabulous model?!?) in haute couture. That's where this Christian Lacroix confection on the left comes from. Isn't it the most fabulous thing you've ever seen?!?!?! How could I have not known about this!??!!?
It's just really exciting to see porcelain making a comeback of sorts. I am anxious to start collecting what I can, I just love the figures of course!

This is what I feel like doing right now...

2010-04-29T15:51:00.003-05:00

The gardens at the Dixon are absolutely gorgeous right now, it's a sunny, breezy day, and it's 4 o'clock on a Thursday afternoon. Of course I want to be living the life of this painting, A Siesta (Group with Parasols) painted by John Singer Sargent around 1905. Doesn't this look like the most delicious thing you've ever seen? I just love how Sargent so effortlessly captures the glamorous laziness of high society life. Don't you picture it to be 70 degrees and sunny with like 15% humidity in this painting? Wherever they are, it might as well be the garden of eden to me.

TAKE ME THERE!

Update on the Picasso Stumble, part dos

2010-04-21T11:13:00.004-05:00

Picasso's The Actor has returned to the hallowed walls of the Met following a 3 month long stint in art rehab. You may remember how a clumsy woman stumbled into the rare rose-period painting, damaging it and bringing down the value a whopping $65 million. Reading the NY Times article about the restoration sounds like a CSI episode and further enforces my idea that CSI Museum World would be a great tv show.
The Actor is being re-installed as part of the exhibition Picasso in the Metropolitan Museum of Art and you know it's going to be the must-see in the show. Can you see where it was repaired? New Yorkers, go visit and bring your magnifying glass and report back!

Viva Venezia

2010-04-20T13:22:00.006-05:00

I recently (ok well it really wasn't that recently, but just a couple of months ago) went to see the exhibition Venice in the Age of Canaletto at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art. And as much as I hate to promote an exhibition in Memphis that is NOT at the Dixon, it is truly a wonderful show. I was fortunate enough to have a private tour with curator Stanton Thomas, and it was so exciting from start to finish. Centered on the Brooks' beautiful Canaletto, the exhibition explores Venetian painting and decorative arts in the 18th century, so you know I had to love it.
Of course, one of my favorite paintings in the exhibition was the fabulous Tiepolo from the Getty, Miracle of the Holy House of Loreto (at right). Isn't it a perfect example of Rococo Venice coloring? The high drama, naked bodies, ceiling format, and angels with super-long trumpets are so great. It really looks like an 18th century version of The Wizard of Oz and I think that makes me like it all the more!!! I just absolutely love this painting and seeing it in person again was so thrilling.
The exhibition also spoke to the importance of the commedia dell'arte in 18th century Venice, which I loved. Wonderful paintings and costumes were brought in to illustrate the commedia's role in Venetian life and it was done wonderfully if I might add.

I really recommend going to see this exhibition (I think it's only up in Memphis for a few more weeks). If you can't make the trip, seriously consider purchasing the catalogue, you can order it on amazon here if you like. I know I will be adding it to my wish list!

The Art Quotationary

2010-04-12T16:57:00.002-05:00

"We are all going to heaven, and Van Dyck is of the company."
--Thomas Gainsborough shows his love for the Flemish master

Kiss My Glass

2010-04-07T13:08:00.005-05:00

Where have I been? I have been busy preparing for our latest exhibition Anything but Clear: the Studio Glass Movement, 1979-2009. I have been working on this project for quite some time now, and it's really exciting to see it come to fruition. The glass is utterly spectacular and I am proud to be one of the people introducing this aspect of the art world to the community.
Before a man named Harvey Littleton (whose Yellow Ovid is seen at right) came along, art made of glass was called "art glass" or relegated to the category of objets d'art. Littleton wanted to prove that art can be made by an individual working in a studio rather than in a factory setting where glass objects are mass-produced. Littleton and his colleagues, beginning with a set of two workshops at the Toledo Museum of Art, started a revolution in art by founding the studio glass movement.
From then on, the movement has only gained steam. Artists like Dale Chihuly have become major names in the art world and have taken studio glass into the mainstream.
It is amazing to me what some artists can create with this fragile medium. Take for example William Morris' Suspended Artifact (at left, courtesy of CBU). Morris is known for bringing native and tribal elements into his unique glass compositions, and I just absolutely love that you would never automatically think this work was done in glass. It's beautiful.
The works in this exhibition demonstrate just how many avenues are achievable in this once-mundane and even cheesy medium. Working on this has opened my eyes up to a kind of art that I never really knew about, and that I now have a deep respect for.

Coming Soon!

2010-03-25T15:24:00.001-05:00

Me! March has been a very busy month--work has been hectic and my husband and I just moved into our first house. More posts coming soon, I have still been keeping tabs on the art world and have much to discuss!
Stay tuned!

The Art Quotationary

2010-03-10T08:49:00.002-06:00

"Champagne is the only wine that leaves a woman beautiful after drinking it."

--Mme de Pompadour knows what's up

*Got this from The Duchess of Devonshire's Guide to the 18th Century

Petting Puppies

2010-03-08T12:16:00.004-06:00

Ok, how cute/creepy is this painting by Jean-Honore Fragonard? It is in the collection of AoML fave Jeff Koons, and was recently highlighted in a NY Times article about his interestingly varied collection. Left untitled by the newspaper, I would have to imagine the title being Woman Nursing Puppies or something creepy like that. I mean, what's up with her exposed chest and the sleepy, hungry puppies? Maybe Fragonard was making the age-old comparison between boobs and puppies, maybe he just thought he would combine two things that everyone seems to like: boobs and puppies in one painting. Either way, I actually kind of like it for its Rococo naughtiness. Rococo painting was often all about love, and many times about lust and Fragonard was really the king of double entendres and stuff like that. I think it's a beautifully painted little sketch, love those Mme de Pompadour-wannabe rouge cheeks and the blue silk headband would make Blair Waldorf's tongue wag. I also love that this painting is in Koons' collection. I mean there is a great parallel that can be drawn between his work and the rococo, it's all very over-the-top and fabulous and cheeky.
Also, as I read in the article, Koons used to be married to an Italian porn star, so I think the subject works!

(Image collection of Jeff Koons)

This is MAY-JAH!!!

2010-03-05T11:07:00.005-06:00

Attention!
There will be a major Yves Klein retrospective this year!
Yves Klein: With the Void, Full Powers
Hirshhorn, DC: May 20 - September 12
Walker Art Center, Minneapolis: October 23 - February 13, 2011

This is seriously a once-in-a-lifetime event and I will almost HAVE to make the pilgrimage to one of the venues! The catalogue will be mine! I can't believe it!
Click here to get info on the show from the Hirshhorn's website.
More details to come.

This exhibition is going to tie in nicely with Christie's postwar auction in May, which will feature one of Klein's Anthropometries (see below for image from ArtDaily). It's expected to go for $10 million, but given the monumentality of the canvas (over 9 ft. wide) and the recent success Klein's work has seen at auction, I think it will go for more.

Wow! What a gorgeous painting. This, like all of Klein's anthropometries, was painted by using nude female bodies as a paintbrush. Klein instructed them on where to move much like a choreographer would instruct ballet dancers. The complete control he exerted over these women was and still is shocking and very political and controversial.
I am so excited that he is receiving the attention he deserves and the respect his work is due.

Stay tuned for more info on this show!

AoML Obit

2010-03-04T09:36:00.005-06:00

I read a few days ago about the passing of Ernst Beyeler, one of the most, if not the most, important dealers of modern art and founder of Fondation Beyeler in Basel, Switzerland, which I had the good fortune of visiting in September of 2008. Mr. Beyeler was 88 years old and died of natural causes. Reading about his life, he really made an impact on the international art scene and helped shape the international public's opinion on modern art and its masters. Mr. Beyeler made his money by turning his family's book and print shop into Galerie Beyeler, a commercial gallery that helped modern art really catch on and gain value in Europe and worldwide. His success allowed him to collect monuments of modern art himself. In addition to establishing a museum for his collection, he also founded Art Basel, which is a HUGE deal in the art world and a measuring stick for what's hot in contemporary art.
The Beyeler collection is really astounding, with magnificent works by Monet, De Kooning, Giacometti, Van Gogh, and Picasso, his friend. The building itself (right) is just gorgeous, nestled just before you get to the German border. The staff there was so kind and gracious, the collection and installation absolutely incredible, and I will always remember my trip there so fondly.
Thank you, Ernst Beyeler!

The Art Quotationary

2010-03-01T06:43:00.000-06:00

“Art has this ability to allow you to connect back through history in the same way that biology does. I’m always looking for source material.”
– Jeff Koons , who is working at a role he has never assumed in his three-decade career: curator of other people’s art.

AoML Giveaway!!!

2010-02-17T13:53:00.009-06:00

A lot of the blogs I read have giveaways from time to time, as a way of saying thank-you to their readers, and I figured it was about time for me to do the same.
I started this blog a few years ago as a way to pass time at the gallery where I was working, where I was completely miserable. Two jobs and over two years later, the Art of Modern Life has become a completely different outlet for me, keeping me up-to-date in the goings-on in the art world and helping me hone my skills as a writer. I sincerely thank you all for reading along with me and bearing with me through some of my art-nerdier posts. Your comments and support are always appreciated and will continue to be appreciated!
Ok, so for my first giveaway, I have decided to give a copy of my first (and at this point only) book, Regional Dialect: American Scene Painting from the John and Susan Horseman Collection. This was an exhibition that I worked on for about a year and a half and it was such a great experience, from start to finish. Please just comment on this post by Tuesday, February 23 with what your favorite post has been or what types of posts you would like to see in the future. I will select a winner at random on Wednesday, February 24.
Thanks again for your support and for reading. I'm glad to know there is are people out there who like to have as much fun with art as I do. It's always good to feel like people are hearing what you're saying, or typing!

I Hope it KELLS at the Box Office!

2010-02-15T14:35:00.009-06:00

Hahahahah! Yes, I realize that my art jokes are both nerdy and bad, but it's fun anyway.
Anyway, I saw this on the NY Times Arts website the other day and was completely taken aback. Apparently, there was an animated film made recently that was inspired by, oh yes, the Book of Kells, my FAVORITE illuminated manuscript! (Yes, I have a favorite illuminated manuscript.) This film has now been nominated for Best Animated Film at the Oscars! How cute is that? So I watched the trailer and I think it looks so good and so adorable. The boy in the picture lives at a monastery in Ireland and he embarks on a fantastical adventure with fairies and monsters to help create the last chapter of the famous Book of Kells.
Why is the Book of Kells so celebrated? It is the ultimate in manuscript illumination. The monks at the monastery (possibly the Iona monastery. It got its name from the Abbey at Kells where it was kept for most of the middle ages) were some of the most talented artists of the Middle Ages, creating painstakingly precise and elaborate images from the four Gospels and other writings. I mean, the interesting thing about all of the embellishments in the book is that they are all living things, they're not just lines and swirls. Many of the swirling lines end up being a kind of fantastical creature or tree branch or root, it's amazing. The page on the right may look like a jumbled mess, but it's actually the Monogram of Christ (Chi Rho or XP). Isn't it amazing? It's done in what is called the Insular Style of manuscript illumination, which combines real and imaginary creatures and Celtic knots and other design. The detail at left shows just how intricate the designs were. The peacock has so much detail on it, and the border around the image has several different interlocking lines that, if you look closely enough, become different colored serpents. I'm obsessed.
The sad thing is that we have NO idea who the men were who created this masterpiece. Since the monks had little else to do but pray, they became extremely skilled at illustrating the books they transcribed. They were very precious works of art in their own right and the calligraphy on these pages is beautiful. But since it was all done for the glory of God, no one took credit for the work they did. But I'm so glad to hear this amazing work of art and religion is being brought to the public's attention again through film. My hope is that it will inspire people to research the book even more and come to appreciate its brilliance.

The website for the movie is cute, too. Check it out if you have time.

One Giant Leap for Yves Klein

2010-02-12T09:27:00.004-06:00

For some reason it's so exciting when an artist you like sells for top dollar at auction. So yes, I was geekily thrilled to hear that Yves Klein's Relief Eponge sold for over $9 million at Christie's Contemporary Art Sale in London yesterday. Y'all know how much I love Yves Klein--he was a trailblazer in terms of modern art and the whole monochromatic thing. Klein only made two gold sponge reliefs, and this is the larger one, so it was pretty rare that this came up at auction. So some rich dude pounced on the chance to own this. Even though it's exciting that this was the top seller, it sold for the lower end of its estimate, so I guess it's not a completely exorbitant amount that was paid.
So on to the work of art itself. Don't you LOVE Klein's monochromatic theory paintings? I mean, unlike his more flat monochromatic canvases, these sponge reliefs use texture, light, and shadow to make a different statement on art. Klein completed this in 1961, at the beginning of the Space Age, and doesn't this remind you of the surface of the moon? I mean, photographs of the moon had almost certainly entered the public consciousness at the time, and I like to think that Klein was inspired by the texture of the lunar surface when creating this work. Also, Klein grew up in coastal France so the sponges may have been a result of his time interacting with the sea.

Another big sale was Klein's Anthropometrie (see right) from 1932 (the year of the artist's premature death). When I was working on Yves Klein back in grad school, I really focused on these Anthropometry paintings he did because of their inherently political nature. I mean, these "paintings" are the result of naked women laying on blank canvases and Klein instructing them to roll around in blue paint or him spraying them with blue pigment (his signature shade, IKB) to make an impression of the outline of their body, like the one that just sold at Christie's (for double its estimate, I might add). And all of that would take place before an audience of Paris' rich and famous, dressed completely to the nines and with a small orchestra playing music. Even though it may have been exploitative of women, and I think that was Klein's point, the result is something completely beautiful and unique. It's an amazing statement on form and color and motion--it's incredible. This is the early years of performance art and it's performance art at its finest--interesting that no one, in my opinion, has been able to top Klein's accomplishments in the field. He was just that original. And it's good to hear people are still recognizing that today.

Awkward Family Paintings

2010-02-11T16:09:00.006-06:00

One of my favorite blogs out there is awkwardfamilyphotos.com. In fact, I was just going on and on to my husband about how hilarious it is and how much it makes me laugh on a daily basis. Well, I have found something I may like just as much--awkward family paintings!!! I don't know if I ever posted about this, but All in the Family is one of my grand ole exhibition ideas. It would be an exhibition dedicated to family portraiture, with a focus on grand manner family portraiture and the evolution of the idea of family during that time.

Anyway, I had to look something up on the Det roit Institute of Art's website and came across this painting by Anthony van Dyck entitled A Family Group (1634-35). I mean does it fit the billing or what? I love how hectic it is, and the girl on the left with the severe eyebrows and even more severe bangs just makes the picture all together. And what's up with the girl behind her? Is she her evil twin lurking in the shadows? I also love the boy/girl in the background who is curiously staring in a different direction than everyone else--that is key in any awkward family photo.
I've actually been a fan of van Dyck's portraits of children since grad school, when I referenced his Five Eldest Children of Charles I (at left, Royal Collection) in a paper I was writing on Hogarth's The Graham Children. But the royal portrait is much more, well, regal than the DIA's painting, and all that restraint may have made king daddy happy, but don't you think A Family Group is much more fun to look at? It's like so much more accurate a representation of what trying to get seven kids to sit still for a portrait would be like. It's good to know that all of those Olan Mills photos on the blog have an art historical precedent.

Conference Call

2010-02-10T18:21:00.003-06:00

At work, we get TONS and TONS of magazines and catalogues that we all are supposed to look through and then pass on to the next person on the list. Depending on how busy I am, often I will just skim through things or not even look at them at all before passing things on. Fortunately, things were a little slower at the office last week and I had the time to look at a collection catalogue sent to us by the Wichita Art Museum. Wow! What a fabulous collection of American art they have!!!
I was particularly drawn to their works by Charles Burchfield, Mary Cassatt, and you guessed it, Edward Hopper. They have a wonderfully quiet painting entitled something like 5am (I can't find it on their website and the book is back at work) and the painting seen above, Conference at Night. Much like Office at Night, which I have told you about before, this painting is ripe with late-night-TCM movie film noir sexual tension and I LOVE it! I mean, this painting brings up so many questions: Where are these people? What are they talking about? Is she a prostitute? Or is she just a buxom blonde secretary who just happens to look like she's been around the block a time or two? Hopper's use of light and shadow here is so ominous, so telling about the situation. It just looks seedy, don't you think? Like the guy sitting on the table is saying, "Come onnnnn, don't you want a threesome?" I feel like some kind of a rape is about to take place, and I get that from a lot of Hopper's paintings.
Maybe a good exhibition idea would be Hopper's Men and Women... Though now that I'm looking back at the AoML archives I see that reader Beleek told me about a show of Hopper's Women she saw in Seattle. So I guess it's been done already?