Fine Art Canvas Prints

Paul Klee ‘Twittering Machine’ 1922

fineartcanvasprints — Wed, 30 May 2012 04:45:12 PDT

Twittering Machine is a 1922 watercolor and pen and ink oil transfer on paper by Swiss-German painter Paul Klee. Like other artworks by Klee, it blends biology and machinery, depicting a loosely sketched group of birds on a wire or branch connected to a hand-crank. Interpretations of the work vary widely: it has been perceived as a nightmarish lure for the viewer or a depiction of the helplessness of the artist, but also as a triumph of nature over mechanical pursuits. It has been seen as a visual representation of the mechanics of sound.

Paul Klee, Twittering Machine, Watercolor and ink; oil transfer on paper with gouache and ink borders on cardboard. Group of birds shackled to a wire attached to a hand crank. 25 1/4 x 19 inches (MoMA)

See Full Artist Bio: Paul Klee | Check out all: Paul Klee ~ Fine Art Canvas Prints.

In the Art Blog: Paul Klee Documentary | Paul Klee: Artist: A visual journey

Originally displayed in Germany, the image was declared “degenerate art” by Adolf Hitler in 1933 and sold by the Nazi party to an art dealer in 1939, whence it made its way to New York. One of the better known of more than 9,000 works produced by Klee, it is among the more famous images of the New York Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). It has inspired several musical compositions and, according to a 1987 magazine profile in New York Magazine, has been a popular piece to hang in children’s bedrooms.
Contents

Description

The picture depicts a group of birds, largely line drawings; all save the first are shackled on a wire (or, according to The Washington Post, a “sine-wave branch”) over a blue and purple background which the MoMA equates with the “misty cool blue of night giv[ing] way to the pink flow of dawn”. Each of the birds is open-beaked, with a jagged or rounded shape emerging from its mouth, widely interpreted as its protruding tongue. The end of the perch dips into a crank.
Critical analysis

Twittering Machine has invited very different opinions on its meaning, which Gardner’s Art Through the Ages (2009) suggests is characteristic of Klee’s work: “Perhaps no other artist of the 20th century matched Klee’s subtlety as he deftly created a world of ambiguity and understatement that draws each viewer into finding a unique interpretation of the work.” The image has frequently been perceived as whimsical, with a 1941 article in The Hartford Courant describing it as “characterized by the exquisite absurdity of Lewis Carroll’s “Twas brillig and the slithy toves” and The Riverside Dictionary of Biography placing it in “a very personal world of free fancy”.

Sometimes, the image is perceived as quite dark. MoMA suggests that, while evocative of an “abbreviated pastoral”, the painting inspires “an uneasy sensation of looming menace” as the birds themselves “appear closer to deformations of nature”. They speculate that the “twittering machine” may in fact be a music box that produces a “fiendish cacophony” as it “lure[s] victims to the pit over which the machine hovers”. Kay Larson of New York Magazine (1987), too, found menace in the image, which she describes as “a fierce parable of the artist’s life among the philistines”: “Like Charles Chaplin caught in the gears of Modern Times, they [the birds] whir helplessly, their heads flopping in exhaustion and pathos. One bird’s tongue flies up out of its beak, an exclamation point punctuating its grim fate—to chirp under compulsion.”

Without drawing conclusions on emotional impact, Werckmeister, in 1989′s The Making of Paul Klee’s Career, sees a deliberate blending of birds and machine, suggesting the piece is part of Klee’s general interest in “the formal equation between animal and machine, between organism and mechanism” (similar to the ambiguity between bird and airplane in a number of works). According to Wheye and Kennedy (2008), the painting is often interpreted as “a contemptuous satire of laboratory science”.

Danto, who does not see the birds as deformed mechanical creatures but instead as separate living elements, speculates in Encounters & Reflections (1997) that “Klee is making some kind of point about the futility of machines, almost humanizing machines into things from which nothing great is to be hoped or feared, and the futility in this case is underscored by the silly project of bringing forth by mechanical means what nature in any case provides in abundance.” Danto believes that perhaps this machine has been abandoned, the birds opportunistically using it as a perch from which they issue the sounds the inert machine is failing to produce. Danto also suggests, conversely, that the painting may mean simply that “it might not be a bad thing if we bent our gifts to the artificial generation of bird songs.”

Wheye and Kennedy suggest that the picture may represent a sound spectrograph, with the heads of the birds perhaps representing musical notes and the size, shape and direction of their tongues suggesting the “volume, intensity, degree of trilling, and degree of shrillness of their voices”. This reflects the earlier view of Soby’s Contemporary Painters (1948) that:

The bird with an exclamation point in its mouth represents the twitter’s full volume; the one with an arrow in its beak symbolizes an accompanying shrillness – a horizontal thrust of piercing song. Since a characteristic of chirping birds is that their racket resumes as soon as it seems to be ending, the bird in the center droops with lolling tongue, while another begins to falter in song; both birds will come up again full blast as soon as the machine’s crank is turned.

History

The Swiss-born Klee had been teaching at the Bauhaus school in Germany for a year when he completed this ink drawing on watercolor in 1922. The work was displayed for several years in the Alte Nationalgalerie in Berlin until Adolf Hitler declared it and many other works by the Swiss-born Klee “degenerate art” in 1933. The Nazis seized the painting and sold it in 1939 for $120 to an art dealer in Berlin. The New York MoMA purchased the painting that same year.

Although Klee produced more than 9,000 works in his lifetime, Twittering Machine has become one of his better known images. According to Danto, the painting is “one of the best-known treasures at the Museum of Modern Art”.

Legacy

The son of a musicologist, Klee himself drew parallels between sound and art, and Twittering Machine has been influential on several composers. It inspired the 1951 orchestral work Die Zwitschermaschine by Giselher Klebe, and one of the pieces in David Diamond’s “The World of Paul Klee”, which debuted in 1958, as well as one of the seven in Gunther Schuller’s “Seven Studies on Themes of Paul Klee”, composed the following year. According to Time magazine, the two composers drew very different interpretations from the piece, with Schuller’s work consisting of a “snatch of serial music in which the orchestra beeped, squeaked and rasped like a rusty hinge while the muted brasses burped out shreds of sound” while Diamond drew on “more somber tones: muted, dark-hued movements of the strings, with the picture’s more jagged lines delineated by scampering woodwinds and brasses.”

Larson wrote in New York Magazine (1987) that the image was then “embedded in childhood prehistory”, commenting that it “always seemed to be taped to kids’ bedroom walls, next to Rousseau’s The Sleeping Gypsy”.

Technorati Tags: watercolor, pen, ink, oil, Twittering Machine, MOMA, museum of modern art, Paul Klee, Dada, Bauhaus, German Art, Art History, Art, 1922, Museum of Modern Art, Steven Zucker, Juliana Kreinik, smarthistory, twittering machine, painting, klee

Eadweard Muybridge: Photographs of Motion

fineartcanvasprints — Fri, 25 May 2012 01:08:49 PDT

Eadweard James Muybridge (9 April 1830 – 8 May 1904) was a British photographer who spent much of his working life in California, and traveling in other parts of the United States. He is known for his pioneering work on animal locomotion in 1877 and 1878, which used multiple cameras to capture motion in stop-action photographs, and his zoopraxiscope, a device for projecting motion pictures that pre-dated the flexible perforated film strip used in cinematography.

In his earlier years in San Francisco, Muybridge had become known for his landscape photography, particularly of the Yosemite Valley. He also photographed the Tlingit people in Alaska, and was commissioned by the United States Army to photograph the Modoc War in 1873. In 1874 he shot and killed Major Harry Larkyns, his wife’s lover, and was acquitted in a jury trial on the grounds of justifiable homicide. He traveled for more than a year in Central America on a photographic expedition in 1875.

In the 1880s, Muybridge entered a very productive period at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, producing over 100,000 images of animals and humans in motion, capturing what the human eye could not distinguish as separate movements. He spent much of his later years giving public lectures and demonstrations of his photography and early motion picture sequences. He also edited and published compilations of his work, which greatly influenced visual artists and the developing fields of scientific and industrial photography.

Technorati Tags: Stanford, Eadweard muybridge, meet the art, art, photographs, digital media, photography, film history, film origins, thomas edison, leland stanford, horse galloping, muybridge, stanford farm, cantor art center, muybridge horse in motion, muybridge walking, muybridge horse, eadweard muybridge horse, eadweard muybridge bird, muybridge bird

Paul Klee: Artist: A visual journey

fineartcanvasprints — Thu, 24 May 2012 07:29:02 PDT

A visual journey into the work of a major painter of the 20th century by Michael Gaumnitz, an award-winning documentarian of artists and sculptors. Like Kandinsky and Delaunay, Klee revolutionized the traditional concepts of composition and color. By listening to the heartbeat of nature, exploring the science of his time, and studying music and poetry, Klee created his own artistic language, which questioned the nature of form, line, and color. He moved beyond figural abstraction to capture the very essence of movement in his painting. Using the writings of Paul Klee, as well as the events of his life and career, Gaumnitz presents the pictorial universe of a visionary artist.

See Full Artist Bio: Paul Klee | Check out all: Paul Klee ~ Fine Art Canvas Prints.

In the Art Blog: Paul Klee Documentary | Paul Klee: Artist: A visual journey

Technorati Tags: Paul Klee, painter, Michael Gaumnitz, documentarian, documentry, art, artist, painting, biography, educational, documentary, drawing, history, culture,

Paul Klee Documentary

fineartcanvasprints — Sat, 19 May 2012 19:48:52 PDT

Paul Klee has been variously associated with Expressionism, Cubism, Futurism, Surrealism, and Abstraction, but his pictures are difficult to classify. He generally worked in isolation from his peers, and interpreted new art trends in his own way. He was inventive in his methods and technique. Klee worked in many different media—oil paint, watercolor, ink, pastel, etching, and others. He often combined them into one work. He used canvas, burlap, muslin, linen, gauze, cardboard, metal foils, fabric, wallpaper, and newsprint. Klee employed spray paint, knife application, stamping, glazing, and impasto, and mixed media such as oil with watercolor, water color with pen and India ink, and oil with tempera.

See Full Artist Bio: Paul Klee | Check out all: Paul Klee ~ Fine Art Canvas Prints.

In the Art Blog: Paul Klee Documentary | Paul Klee: Artist: A visual journey

He was a natural draftsman, and through long experimentation developed a mastery of color and tonality. Many of his works combine these skills. He uses a great variety of color palettes from nearly monochromatic to highly polychromatic. His works often have a fragile child-like quality to them and are usually on a small scale. He often used geometric forms as well as letters, numbers, and arrows, and combined them with figures of animals and people. Some works were completely abstract. Many of his works and their titles reflect his dry humor and varying moods; some express political convictions. They frequently allude to poetry, music and dreams and sometimes include words or musical notation. The later works are distinguished by spidery hieroglyph-like symbols. Rainer Maria Rilke wrote about Klee in 1921, “Even if you hadn’t told me he plays the violin, I would have guessed that on many occasions his drawings were transcriptions of music.”

Pamela Kort observed: “Klee’s 1933 drawings present their beholder with an unparalleled opportunity to glimpse a central aspect of his aesthetics that has remained largely unappreciated: his lifelong concern with the possibilities of parody and wit. Herein lies their real significance, particularly for an audience unaware that Klee’s art has political dimensions.”

Technorati Tags: Paul Klee, artist, painter, Documentary

Dick Clarks Flintstone house

fineartcanvasprints — Sun, 13 May 2012 01:52:37 PDT

Pretty cool pad. Yours for only $3,500,000. Who knew that the timeless music countdown maestro Dick Clark was also a lover of architecture as art? Or, make that, architecture as cave.

A new listing by the late “American Bandstand” host and host of countless New Year’s Eve nights in Times Square has hit the Malibu real estate market and caused a few heads to turn.Of course, those heads have to turn up, since the cavern-like structure, listed for $3.5 million, is nestled on 22 acres on top of a mountain. The 1-bedroom, 2-bathroom specialty dwelling, which resembles something you’d see in ‘The Flintstones,’ affords some spectacular, 360-degree views of the Pacific Ocean, Boney Island, Channel Island, the Serrano Valley and the bright lights of Los Angeles. Text – Foxnews

Listing on Zillow

Malibu Celebrity Romantic Retreat. Rare opportunity to own one of Malibu’s Landmark properties, featuring unparalleled 360 degree views of the Pacific Ocean, Channel Island, Boney Mountains, Serrano Valley, Sunsets and City Lights.An imaginative architectural creation nestled atop a mountain on approx. 22.89 acres surrounded by breathtaking ocean & mountain views influenced by changing light. Truly exceptional from within and without – the architecture of this home seamlessly marries form, function and beauty. The voluminous interior space and seamless expanses of glass capture the every changing views from every room of this home and influence it’s intimate connection with nature. Vaulted ceilings enhance the beautiful living room and dining room with its’ wood burning fireplace and intimate seating areas, The master suite is at once spacious, intimate and romantic. This is Art as Architecture at its finest. This truly magical retreat offers seclusion, privacy and serenity yet minutes from the beach

Click an image & Use keyboard arrows to toggle to next image.

Technorati Tags: Dick Clark, Flintstone, house, luxury house, luxury homes

Picasso’s Collage Materials: Guitars 1912-1914

fineartcanvasprints — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 10:06:41 PDT

An interesting look at some of Picasso’s guitar collage and sculpture art by MOMA – Museum of Modern Art, New York.

Find out more at http://MoMA.org/picassoguitars
Picasso: Guitars 1912-1914 On view February 13-June 6, 2011
© 2011 The Museum of Modern Art, New York

Picasso: Guitars 1912-1914 On view February 13-June 6, 2011
© 2011 The Museum of Modern Art, New York

Technorati Tags: Picasso, Collage, Materials, Guitars, 1912-1914, sculpture, moma, Museum of Modern Art, New York

Drew Brophy: Paint Shop Episodes 1-6

fineartcanvasprints — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 10:30:53 PDT

Paint Shop Episode 1 – Cruiser’s, Skulls, and Chains. Drew shows how he creates designs for beach cruisers by painting 8′ paintings! Then, he spray paints a surfboard for legendary surfer Gerry Lopez. He also shows how to easily make stencils to spray cool designs on surfboards.

Paint Shop Episode 2 – Screamin’ Skulls. Drew paints a bad-ass design on a Harley Davidson, stokes out a cute biker chick with a happy painting on her helmet, and paints a surfboard with a unique technique.

Paint Shop Episode 3 – Crusin’ to Santa Cruz. Drew and his family “Cruise to Santa Cruz” for the Sacred Craft Surf Expo. But first, Drew has to finish a painting for a 9-year-old art collector and he’ll show you what it’s like designing clothes for Hinano Tahiti. Also, he shares the disappointment when an art client isn’t happy with one of his paintings.

Paint Shop Episode 4 – Escape to Los Angeles. Drew “Escapes to LA” with Tattoo artist Mark Longenecker, to custom paint camper vans with other LA graffiti artists. After Mark gives an awesome Bali-Mask tattoo to the lovely Jenn Homberg in Drew’s studio, they drive to LA to study famous graffiti spots for inspiration. Drew and Mark meet up with some very talented graffiti artists, DJ NEFF, Cre8, and Haist. It’s an art overload featuring 5 unique styles of painting on The Paint Shop.

Paint Shop Episode 5 – Surf and Turf. Drew’s studio is hopping this week as he paints a 15′ wooden paddleboard, stokes out pro surfer Tanner Gudauskas by customizing his surfboard, and then Drew is commissioned to paint the strangest thing he’s ever painted.

Paint Shop Episode 6 – Life is Grand. In this episode, Drew goes stand up paddle boarding through the rapids of the Grand Canyon with his friend, award-winning filmmaker and adventurer, Seth Warren. After 16 days in the wilderness, he’s glad to be back in the studio working on a new painting featuring reptiles for local San Clemente shop “Reptiles Reptropolis”.

Technorati Tags: paddle boarding, Grand Canyon, filmmaker, adventurer, Seth Warren, Reptiles Reptropolis, Drew Brophy, surf, surfboard, surfer, paint, art, artist, thepaintshop, pro surfer, Tanner Gudauskas, LA, los Angeles, Tattoo artist, Mark Longenecker, graffiti, Bali-Mask tattoo, DJ NEFF, Cre8, Haist, Santa Cruz, Sacred Craft Surf Expo, Hinano Tahiti, Harley Davidson, bike, biker, motorcycle, Drew Brophy, surf, surfboard, surfer, paint, art, artist, thepaintshop.tv, beach cruisers, legendary surfer, Gerry Lopez

Matthew Collings: Impressionism: Revenge of the Nice

fineartcanvasprints — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 09:36:46 PDT

Matthew Collings will reappraise the Impressionists. The four stars are Courbet, Manet, Monet and Cezanne. In two hours their stories and their art will intertwine. Matt will unpack the principles of Impressionism – the strength of color, the flatness, the patterning and the way in which ordinary life is pictured with startling truth – and argue that this is the best thing that has ever happened in modern art. He will also show that although the contemporary art world seemingly despises Impressionism it is only because of Impressionism that the avant-garde came to be.

Matthew Collings has a wonderfully simple and funny way of making you understand the when, where, why and how of important is art so this program will get your head around impressionism in a couple of hours.

Technorati Tags: Matthew Collings, Impressionism, Revenge of the Nice, art, paintings, artist, Courbet, Manet, Monet, Cezanne

Museum discovers earliest copy of ‘Mona Lisa’

fineartcanvasprints — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 14:47:19 PST

Museum discovers earliest copy of ‘Mona Lisa’. Prado Museum in Madrid, Spain, reveals discovery of earliest known copy of ‘Mona Lisa’ Image is thought to have been painted around the same time as Leonardo da Vinci’s original work Portrait will be unveiled later this month, before joining temporary exhibition at the Louvre, Paris.

Read the rest of the Article > Museum discovers earliest copy of ‘Mona Lisa’

More Pictures > New Mona Lisa

Technorati Tags: Prado Museum, Mona Lisa, Leonardo da Vinci, painting

Munch’s ‘Scream’ could fetch $80M

fineartcanvasprints — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 14:39:30 PST

LONDON — Sotheby’s will offer the only privately owned version of Edvard Munch’s painting “The Scream” at an auction in New York on May 2, and expects it to fetch more than $80 million.

The work is owned by Norwegian businessman Petter Olsen, whose father Thomas was a friend, neighbor and patron of Munch, the auctioneer said on Tuesday.

Read the rest of the Article > Sotheby’s: Sale of Munch’s ‘Scream’ could fetch $80M

Technorati Tags: Munch, Scream, Sotheby’s, Sothebys, Sotheby

Amazing Street Artist: painter

fineartcanvasprints — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 21:48:36 PST

Amazing street artist. Paints on glass with oil paints. There wasn’t any other info about who he is, or where it was shot, but its quite amazing that his technique is paint and dabbing with his fingers to create his art.

Technorati Tags: painter, art, paint, street artist, artist

Starry Night (interactive animation)

fineartcanvasprints — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 21:42:59 PST

A try to visualize the flow of the famous painting “Starry Night” of Vincent Van Gogh. The user can interact with the animation. Also, the sound responds to the flow. Made with openframeworks. by Petros Vrellis.

Starry Night (interactive animation) from Petros Vrellis on Vimeo.

Technorati Tags: Starry Night, van gogh, interactive, animation

Kinetic Wave Sculptures by Reuben Margolin

fineartcanvasprints — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 21:08:25 PST

Reuben Margolin, a Bay Area visionary and longtime maker, creates totally singular techno-kinetic wave sculptures. Using everything from wood to cardboard to found and salvaged objects, Reubens artwork is diverse, with sculptures ranging from tiny to looming, motorized to hand-cranked. Focusing on natural elements like a discrete water droplet or a powerful ocean eddy, his work is elegant and hypnotic. Also, learn how ocean waves can power our future.

Website: Kinetic Wave Sculptures – Reuben Margolin

Technorati Tags: kinetic sculpture, Reuben Margolin, techno-kinetic wave sculptures, techno-kinetic, wave sculptures, sculptures

Matthew Collings: This Is Modern Art: Ep.3

fineartcanvasprints — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 14:55:13 PST

Matthew Collings :: This Is Modern Art Episode 3 – Lovely Lovely

Modern art is controversial, intimidating, and bound to divide any group of people into opposing camps. But how many of us really understand it? With wit, knowledge, and plenty of illustrations, artist and author Matthew Collings opens our eyes to the shock of the new. He whisks us on a journey across the globe to galleries, museums, and studios, all the while offering hard information on major artists and movements as well as answers to the types of questions ordinary befuddled viewers might have: What makes art modern? Can anyone do it? And, whatever happened to beauty? An entertaining and enlightening survey.

About the series: This Is Modern Art was a six-part TV series written and presented by the English art critic Matthew Collings. It was broadcast in 1998 on Channel 4.

The series won several awards including a BAFTA. It became popular both because of its sometimes jokey and sometimes thoughtful explanations of the work and attitude of a new wave of artists that had recently been publicized in the British mass media, and because of its author’s witty and irreverent, though clearly highly informed, commentary style.

Matthew Collings :: This Is Modern Art Episode.1 Part. 3

Matthew Collings :: This Is Modern Art Episode.1 Part. 3

Matthew Collings :: This Is Modern Art Episode.1 Part. 3

Matthew Collings :: This Is Modern Art Episode.1 Part. 3

Matthew Collings :: This Is Modern Art Episode.1 Part. 3

Technorati Tags: Matthew Collings, This Is Modern Art, Modern art, illustrations, artist, galleries, museums, studios, art critic

Ferris Buellers House & Super Bowl CRV commercial

fineartcanvasprints — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 23:23:47 PST

I thought I’d revive this old post of the house for sale, by adding a gallery of the house, and the new Ferris Buellers Super Bowl CRV commercial.

You may remember the amazing Ben Rose home from “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.” The scene: Cameron has a breakdown when he returns his dad’s Ferrari and discovers that hundreds of miles have been added to the odometer. The car ends up crashing through the beautiful, glass-enclosed, mid-century garage and is destroyed.

Now, the infamous Highland Park home is for sale–and the garage is good as new.

The famous home is located at 370 Beech St. and is surrounded by trees. With 5,300 square feet of living space, the 4 bedroom, 3 bath home has floor-to-ceiling windows throughout. In total, the home sits on a one acre lot with 43,560 square feet.

Built in 1953, this home was designed by extraordinary architects A. James Speyer and David Haid.

The home is listed for $1.65 million. For more information, see the listing.

Take a look inside the Cameron’s home from “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.” Photos are courtesy of Sudler Sotheby’s Realty and VHT.

Seems to be down quite a bit from its $1.6 mil listing, when this story first posted.
RealEstate Listing >> Ferris Buellers house for sale

Update: 1/31/2012

Watch Matthew Broderick Bring Ferris Bueller Back to Life

To celebrate the launch of the all-new 2012 CR-V, Honda brought Ferris Bueller’s Day Off back in a big game commercial. We cast Matthew Broderick as himself, skipping out on a day of acting work and living it up in his all-new CR-V. Relive movie history with Honda’s fresh twist and wonderful homage to this ’80s classic.

Think you’re a true fan of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off? We hid over two dozen references to the movie throughout the commercial. Some are obvious, some are VERY subtle. See how many you can find.

Click an image & Use keyboard arrows to toggle to next image.

Excerpts from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/03/home-from-the-classic-mov_n_803856.html#s218584

Technorati Tags: Ferris Bueller, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, house for sale, Super Bowl, Super Bowl XLVI, Super Bowl commercial, Honda Super Bowl Commercial, Ferris, Ferris Bueller, Ferris Bueller commercial, Ferris Bueller car ad, 80s movies, Matthew Broderick, commercial, ad, advertisement, advertising, car, cars, 2012 CR-V, CRV, Honda CR-V, Honda CRV

Lightning in a bottle 2012

fineartcanvasprints — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 10:48:46 PST

Lightning in a Bottle is a celebration of Art, Music, Performance, Sustainability and Life. It takes place annually on May 24th-28th at the Oak Canyon Ranch in Silverado, CA.

The history of Lightning in a Bottle (or “LIB” as it’s come to be known as) spans more than a decade, and friends, family, and cohorts of the Do LaB are thrilled and astounded that it’ s been more than ten years of making miracles and catching Lightning in a Bottle!

continues after video……………

Lightning in a bottle 2012 website

The Do LaB’s Lightning in a Bottle 2011 – Official Video from The Do LaB on Vimeo.

Returning Memorial Day weekend. May 24th – 28th, 2012.
Tickets on-sale January 16th – lightninginabottle.org

Video by Manifest Media manifestmedia.tv

Music:
“Future Blind” by Pretty Lights prettylightsmusic.com
“Ares (Big Gigantic Remix)” by Emancipator emancipatormusic.com
Remixed by Ozzy Doniz ozzydoniz.com

VFX and Additional Cinematography: Christine Peterson aestheta.net

From its world class music (both international and as well as local up-and-coming) talent, to its performance artists, to its live painting (known as Lightning in a Paintcan, an initiative of the Do ArT Foundation), to its workshops in sustainability and a host of other subjects, to an incredible array of speakers on such topics as women in leadership, to its family and child-friendly entertainment, LIB endeavors to be a well-rounded event where attendees from all walks of life can find a way to connect with others as well as themselves.

At the heart of LIB is a deep commitment to sustainability. Due to an incredible effort of both our director of sustainability and green team, as well as the entire production crew’s understanding and honoring of this commitment, LIB has continued to set the standard for all US festivals. In fact, LIB was the winner of the 2010 Outstanding Greener Festival Award!

If you’re new to the LIB experience, please take some time to look around our site if you haven’t yet done so. There is a ton of info throughout along with some amazing photos of the event from over the years. You can also connect with the LIB community which is active throughout the year, via our Participate page.

If you’re looking to experience one of The Do LaB’s events to get a taste of LIB, consider coming to one of our Do LaB Presents’ events held monthly in Los Angeles.

Technorati Tags: Lightning in a bottle 2012, Lightning in a bottle, music, concert, event, festival, Art, Music, Performance, Sustainability, Life, May 24th-28th, Oak Canyon Ranch, Silverado, California

Art Thieves Steal Picasso

fineartcanvasprints — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 10:19:15 PST

In just seven minutes flat, thieves made off with three treasured artworks from Athens’s National Gallery during the early hours of Monday morning. The works, by Pablo Picasso, Piet Mondrian, and 17th-century Italian artist Guglielmo Caccia, have been collectively valued at €5.5 million ($7 million) and were part of the temporary exhibition “Unknown Treasures,” which drew from the museum’s permanent collection. The exhibition was due to close on Sunday.

Read the rest of the Article: http://artinfo.com/news

Athens’ National Gallery workers remove the “Unknown Treasures” exhibition banner on the day of the theft

Technorati Tags: Mondrian, paintings, Art Thieves, Steal, Picasso, Art Thieves Steal Picasso, Mondrian, Athens’s National Gallery

Burning Man Tips & Tricks (10 parts)

fineartcanvasprints — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 09:57:28 PST

Every year thousands of people descend onto Black Rock to build a city in the desert from scratch. And for many of the artists and engineers, the period of set-up before the gates actually open has become the most important part of this yearly event. We talk to the founder of Burning Man, Larry Harvey, as well as the masterminds behind the art installations Temple, Elevation, Babylon, Mutopia, and of course, the team behind the building of The Man, as they share their views and show us the art that embodies this year’s theme: The American Dream.
Check out main burningman website: Burning Man

Burning Man Tips for tha Playa #1
Burning Man tips for you would-be Burners out there from a 13 year camper.
NOTE: As addressed in #2, many people have advised against water truck bathing. Safety Third!

Burning Man Tips & Tricks PART 2
more Playa tips from Halcyon, 11 year burner and pink-haired goofball. Special guest porta-potty tip from Shonda!

Part 3: Bikes

Playa Tips and Tricks 4 – “Burning Man Clothes”
I get asked a lot, “Where do I get Burning Man clothes?”

Halcyon’s Playa Tips #5
Just uploaded my newest “Playa Tips” video. (All of them are at http://www.lustmonkey.com)This time: “Tents, Cameras, Organizing, & Port-o-potties.” Take all advice with a grain of dust. These are just some personal observations collected from 12 years of Burns.

Halcyon’s Tips & Tricks #6 – “GIFTING”
This is a graduate level Playa Tips video. It’s about one of the 10 principles of Burning Man, and how to understand it. Gifting took me several years to *get* and has become the most transformative part of my Burning Man experience. (Lustmonkey.com for all my Burning Man videos)

Halcyon’s Burning Man Tips #7 – Leave No Trace
Recorded live during hugNation.com, I took a look at what Leave No Trace means, how people fell short at a recent festival, and how embracing LNT can be a spiritual step. (Views expressed are not those of the Burning Man Org.)

Burning Man Tips #8 – Radical Inclusion
What does Radical Inclusion mean? In this installment of Halcyon’s unofficial Tips & Tricks, I look at this often misunderstood Burning man principle.
Music by Kaminanda. Get his AMAZING album here: kaminanda.bandcamp.com. Photos by AaronDressin.com

Burning Man Tips & Tricks #9
“How do I join a theme camp?” Burning Man clothes, & Consensual Misting.

Burning Man Tips & Tricks #10
Cell Phones, Cameras, Night vs.Day, Labels, Cops

Technorati Tags: Burning Man, art, burning, man, playa, Temple, Tips & Tricks, Elevation, Babylon, Mutopia

Michelangelo: A short documentary

fineartcanvasprints — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 09:43:38 PST

Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), commonly known as Michelangelo, was an Italian Renaissance sculptor, painter, architect, poet, and engineer who exerted an unparalleled influence on the development of Western art. Despite making few forays beyond the arts, his versatility in the disciplines he took up was of such a high order that he is often considered a contender for the title of the archetypal Renaissance man, along with fellow Italian Leonardo da Vinci.

Michelangelo was considered the greatest living artist in his lifetime, and ever since then he has been held to be one of the greatest artists of all time. A number of his works in painting, sculpture, and architecture rank among the most famous in existence. His output in every field during his long life was prodigious; when the sheer volume of correspondence, sketches, and reminiscences that survive is also taken into account, he is the best-documented artist of the 16th century. Two of his best-known works, the Pietà and David, were sculpted before he turned thirty. Despite his low opinion of painting, Michelangelo also created two of the most influential works in fresco in the history of Western art: the scenes from Genesis on the ceiling and The Last Judgment on the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel in Rome. As an architect, Michelangelo pioneered the Mannerist style at the Laurentian Library. At 74 he succeeded Antonio da Sangallo the Younger as the architect of St. Peter’s Basilica. Michelangelo transformed the plan, the western end being finished to Michelangelo’s design, the dome being completed after his death with some modification.

In a demonstration of Michelangelo’s unique standing, he was the first Western artist whose biography was published while he was alive. Two biographies were published of him during his lifetime; one of them, by Giorgio Vasari, proposed that he was the pinnacle of all artistic achievement since the beginning of the Renaissance, a viewpoint that continued to have currency in art history for centuries. In his lifetime he was also often called Il Divino (“the divine one”). One of the qualities most admired by his contemporaries was his terribilità, a sense of awe-inspiring grandeur, and it was the attempts of subsequent artists to imitate Michelangelo’s impassioned and highly personal style that resulted in Mannerism, the next major movement in Western art after the High Renaissance.

Technorati Tags: Michelangelo, documentary, art, artist, Italian Renaissance sculptor, painter, architect, poet, engineer

The Art of Francis Bacon

fineartcanvasprints — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 18:00:22 PST

A six series of videos on ‘The Art of Francis Bacon’. Biography ~ Francis Bacon (28 October 1909 – 28 April 1992), was an Irish-born British figurative painter known for his bold, austere, graphic and emotionally raw imagery. Bacon’s painterly but abstract figures typically appear isolated in glass or steel geometrical cages set against flat, nondescript backgrounds. He began painting during his early 20s and worked only sporadically until his mid 30s. Before this time he drifted, earning his living as an interior decorator and designer of furniture and rugs. Later, he admitted that his career was delayed because he had spent too long looking for a subject that would sustain his interest. His breakthrough came with the 1944 triptych Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion, and it was this work and his heads and figures of the late 1940s through to the mid 1950s that sealed his reputation as a notably bleak chronicler of the human condition.

See continued biography after the videos……

Biography of Francis Bacon:

From the mid 1960s, Bacon mainly produced portrait heads of friends. He often said in interviews that he saw images “in series”, and his artistic output often saw him focus on single themes for sustained periods including his crucifixion, Papal heads, and later single and triptych heads series. He began by painting variations on the Crucifixion and later focused on half-human, half-grotesque portraits, best exemplified by the 1949 “Heads in a Room” series. Following the 1971 suicide of his lover George Dyer, Bacon’s art became more personal, inward looking and preoccupied with themes and motifs of death. The climax of this late period came with his 1982 “Study for Self-Portrait”, and his late masterpiece Study for a Self Portrait -Triptych, 1985-86.

Despite his existentialist outlook on life expressed through his paintings, Bacon always appeared to be a bon vivant, spending much of his middle and later life eating, drinking and gambling in London’s Soho with Lucian Freud, John Deakin, Daniel Farson, Patrick Swift, Jeffrey Bernard, Muriel Belcher and Henrietta Moraes, among others. Following Dyer’s death he distanced himself from this circle and became less involved with rough trade to settle in a platonic relationship with his eventual heir, John Edwards. Since his death in 1992, Bacon’s reputation has steadily grown. Despite Margaret Thatcher having famously described him as “that man who paints those dreadful pictures”, he was the subject of two major Tate retrospectives during his lifetime and received a third in 2008. Bacon always professed not to depend on preparatory works and was resolute that he never drew. Yet since his death, a number of sketches have emerged and although the Tate recognized them as canon, they have not yet been acknowledged as such by the art market. In addition, in the late 1990s, several presumed destroyed major works, including Popes from the early 1950s and Heads from the 1960s, surfaced on the art market, some of which are considered equal to any of his “official” output.

more at: Wikipedia Francis Bacon

Technorati Tags: art, Francis Bacon, painting, painter, francis bacon

Burning Man 2011 ART THEME: RITES OF PASSAGE

fineartcanvasprints — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 09:05:42 PST

Burningman 2011 is a wrap. The story is told of how the first settlers of our city arrived in the Black Rock Desert. Drawing a line in the ground at the edge of the playa, they were told that once they crossed this line, “Everything will be different.” Holding hands, they stepped across it. When present day participants arrive at Burning Man they’re met by Greeters. Newcomers are invited to ring a bell and roll about in the dust. On the sixth day of the event, participants encircle Burning Man to witness its destruction. Here, for the very first time, an entire community regards itself. People do this with the reassurance that another Man, an always slightly different Man, will rise anew. At the the end of the event, thousands silently surround a temple dedicated to that strangest and most fearful change of all: the loss of loved ones and our ultimate departure from the world. From first to last, Burning Man has always been a rite of passage.

Website: Burning Man website
Forums: Burning Man forums

Continued below………………………

Yet a keener and more poignant meaning can attach to unique instants in the private life of every individual: moments of crisis and frisson, as when a cri de coeur informs us that we’ve somehow crossed an inner threshold and are changed. Thus moving from one state of being into an unknown other can be frightening. This is not a facile transformation; it obliges us to face our innermost insecurities, and it requires faith, a willingness to leap off the ladder of ordered existence. Our theme this year invites participants to join with others in creating rites of passage. The content of these rites may be as various as life itself. Whether such performances are ludicrous or solemn, their aim is to remove us from the context and the cares of daily life, confront us with our vital need to be, and then return us to the fellowship of a society.

This year the Burning Man will perch atop two pinnacles divided by a chasm. His torso turned, his limbs rotating outward, he will seem to pivot in mid-action, as if striding forth. Participants ascending ladders in this monument will inhabit a sheer slice of nothing at its core, while high above them Burning Man engages in a delicate high wire act. Four semi-pyramids with flaming braziers will surround this structure. These open-sided alcoves will become performance sites, venues for participant-created rites of passage. Whether such events are planned or improvised, their meaning should be made available to passersby. The act of pilgrimage can also be a rite of passage, and we invite participants to organize processions. Envision moving down the lamp-lined avenues that lead to Burning Man.

The history of our time calls to mind those Walt Disney characters who rush madly over the edge of a cliff without seeing it: the power of their imagination keeps them suspended in mid-air, but as soon as they look down and see where they are, they fall.*

— Raoul Vaneigem, The History of Everyday Life

We are living in a period of widespread fear and insecurity. We cling to what we have, but what we’ve had was merely the illusion of a mortgaged future. Nothing that we see around us feels sustainable. As one who blunders off a cliff, our legs still twiddle in the air: we haven’t gained a foothold that will see us through. Deeply-fathomed change we share with others — the kind of change that summons up the earth to meet one’s feet — becomes the only pathway forward, our most crucial step.

As always, any work of art by anyone, regardless of our theme, is welcome at the Burning Man event. If you are planning to create fire art or wish to install a work of art on the open playa, please see our Art Guidelines for more information. To apply for a grant to fund the creation of artwork for Burning Man 2011, please see our art grant guidelines.

*The author of this quoted passage is a French intellectual. Although expert on the subject existential dread, he cannot be expected to distinguish Warner Bros. and Wile E. Coyote from the cartoon creations of Walt Disney Studios.

Technorati Tags: Burning Man, art, burning, man, playa, Temple, RITES OF PASSAGE, Tips & Tricks, Elevation, Babylon, Mutopia, website, forum, forums

VanGogh paintings tilt-shifted

fineartcanvasprints — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 07:59:44 PST

After seeing how tilt-shift photography could make real world scenes appear like miniature models, Serena Malyon, a third-year art student, decided to simulate the effect on Van Gogh’s famous paintings. Using Photoshop, she manipulated the light and adjusted the focus to make us see these paintings in ways we could have never imagined.

Amazingly, nothing in these paintings was changed, added or removed. The incredible illusions are all created by the magic of Photoshop.

Click an image & Use keyboard arrows to toggle to next image.

Excerpts from:
http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs/van-goghs-paintings-get
http://www.artcyclopedia.com/hot/tilt-shift-van-gogh.htm

Technorati Tags: Amazing, Get, Gogh’s, Paintings, Tilt-Shifted, Van, art, vangogh, van gogh, art, paintings, painting, master, masters, til shift, photography, Serena Malyon

The Medici: Makers of Modern Art

fineartcanvasprints — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 07:31:02 PST

Documentary in which Andrew Graham-Dixon reveals how the Medici family transformed Florence through sculpture, painting and architecture and created a world where masterpieces fetch millions today. Without the money and patronage of the Medici we might never have heard of artists such as Donatello, Michelangelo or Botticelli. Graham-Dixon examines how a family of shadowy, corrupt businessmen, driven by greed and ambition, became the financial engine behind the Italian Renaissance.

Technorati Tags: Andrew Graham-Dixon, John Mullen, Makers of Modern Art, The Medici, medici, modern, art, art, Florence, sculpture, painting, architecture, masterpieces, Donatello, Michelangelo, Botticelli, Italian Renaissance

Life and Death of Vincent van Gogh

fineartcanvasprints — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 17:36:22 PST

The Life and Death of Vincent van Gogh – 60 Minutes – A CBS News Documentary. His paintings are among the most adored in the world, and the story of his life and death is legendary: Vincent van Gogh was a troubled genius who killed himself. But while van Gogh was no doubt plagued by physical and mental illness, the authors of a new biography say their exhaustive forensic investigation suggests he may not have taken his own life. In this two-part piece, Morley Safer travels to France to retrace van Gogh’s final steps – and explore the authors’ detective work firsthand.

Technorati Tags: Vincent van Gogh, van Gogh, artist, painter, paintings, genius, Morley Safer

Matthew Collings: This Is Modern Art: Ep.2

fineartcanvasprints — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 14:50:59 PST

Matthew Collings :: This Is Modern Art Episode 2 – Shock! Horror!

About the series: This Is Modern Art was a six-part TV series written and presented by the English art critic Matthew Collings. It was broadcast in 1998 on Channel 4.

Matthew Collings: This Is Modern Art:

Episode 1 - I Am A Genius

Matthew Collings: This Is Modern Art:

Episode 2 - Shock! Horror!

Matthew Collings: This Is Modern Art:

Episode 3 - Lovely Lovely

Matthew Collings :: This Is Modern Art Episode.1 Part. 2

Matthew Collings :: This Is Modern Art Episode.1 Part. 2

Matthew Collings :: This Is Modern Art Episode.1 Part. 2

Matthew Collings :: This Is Modern Art Episode.1 Part. 2

Matthew Collings :: This Is Modern Art Episode.1 Part. 2

Technorati Tags: Matthew Collings, This Is Modern Art, Modern art, illustrations, artist, galleries, museums, studios, art critic

Philippe de Montebello – Metropolitan Museum

fineartcanvasprints — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 18:46:44 PST

The extraordinary legacy of Philippe de Montebello, who served for 31 years as Director of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. During his tenure, Mr. de Montebello guided the acquisition of more than 84,000 works of art from around the globe, demanded innovation in conservation techniques and oversaw the doubling of the physical size of this world-renowned cultural institution.

Technorati Tags: art, conservation, New York City, culture, painting, sculpture, Met, Metropolitan Museum, curation, Philippe de Montebello, drawing, Philippe, de Montebello, Museum Director, New York, Metropolitan Museum of art, art collecting, collection, curator, museum, paintings, acquisition, auction, photography, artists, history, the met, art education, civilization, educational, fine art, impressionism, art museum, French, Institute of fine Arts, aristocrat, Harvard, patron, Director Petrie, documentary, An Acquiring Mind

Great Museums: In Our Time: The Museum of Modern Art

fineartcanvasprints — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 18:14:00 PST

What do the superstars of modern art – van Gogh, Matisse, Picasso, Pollock, Warhol – have in common with the Vincent Black Shadow motorcycle and an Apple iPod? All share the stage at New York’s Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). At MoMA, the two big questions are: What makes it modern? And, what makes it art? MoMA’s experts, along with David Rockefeller (son of MoMA founder Abby Aldrich Rockefeller) discuss the museum’s development and its peerless collection of modern art.

Technorati Tags: paintings, art, artwork, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, World of Art, metropolitan museum, art, montebello, european, painting, egypt, tut, meketre, statue, statuary, tuthmosis, dendur, modern, sculpture, gogh, chinese, china, calligraphy, garden, greece, grecian, rome, roman, medieval, raphael, armor, samurai, bierstadt, homer, decorative, monet, impressionists, french, cezanne, matisse, renoir, gauguin, cassatt, degas, euphronios, neoclassical, buddha, asian, costume, institute, renaissance, rembrandt, vermeer, velasquez, titian, portrait, picasso, african, africa, mask, oceanic, oceania, new york, photography, museums, moma, modern, art, painting, sculpture, statue, statuary, contemporary, drawing, prints, conservation, education, pointillism, warhol, pollock, architecture, design, cubism, dali, miro, abstract expressionists, Abby Rockefeller, surrealism, giacometti, photography, media, film, woodcut, woodblock, screenprint, lithography, abstract, expressionism, modernism, dada, dadaism, duchamp, oldenburg, silkscreen, artist, television series, Abby Aldrich, abstraction, accessible, drawings

Vienna’s Belvedere 2012 Year of Klimt

fineartcanvasprints — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 19:28:40 PST

VIENNA.- Owning the largest collection of paintings by Gustav Klimt worldwide, the Belvedere is preparing a very special presentation for this anniversary year. The show Masterpieces in Focus: 150 Years of Gustav Klimt on the Upper Belvedere’s piano nobile will display all of the artist’s paintings preserved in the museum in an extraordinary fashion. Unlike most exhibitions of recent years, it will not deal with stylistic relationships or art historical contexts, but will concentrate on the individual works as such – on the message each of these masterpieces conveys to the spectator.

See rest of Article:
Vienna’s Belvedere 2012 Year of Klimt Article @ www.artdaily.com

Picture made available on 27 December 2011 shows refrigerator magnets with images of the artwork ‘The Kiss (1908)’ by Austrian artist Gustav Klimt (1862-1918) on display in a souvenir shop at the Galerie Belvedere in Vienna, Austria, 22 December 2011. On the occasion of the painter’s 150th birthday, 2012 will be marked as the Klimt Year. EPA/ROLAND SCHLAGER.

Technorati Tags: Belvedere, Vienna, Klimt, Gustav Klimt, art, artist, painter

Art Build 2008: Burning Man

fineartcanvasprints — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 19:10:45 PST

Check out main burningman website: Burning Man

Technorati Tags: Burning Man, art, burning, man, playa, Temple, Elevation, Babylon, Mutopia

Lightning in a Bottle Festival 2010

fineartcanvasprints — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 18:51:27 PST

AMAZING! Returning Memorial Day weekend. May 27th – 30th, 2011. What is LIB (Lightning in a Bottle)? Lightning in a Bottle is a celebration of Art, Music, Performance, Sustainability and Life. It takes place annually on May 27th-31st at the Oak Canyon Ranch in Silverado, CA.

>> Check out website for Lightning in a bottle.

continued………………

If you’re looking to experience one of The Do LaB‘s events to get a taste of LIB, consider coming to one of our Do LaB Presents’ events held monthly in Los Angeles.

Technorati Tags: Los Angeles, Lightning in a Bottle, music, festival, silverado, california

Power of Art – Rothko

fineartcanvasprints — Sat, 24 Dec 2011 18:09:09 PST

A BBC documentary about the American abstract expressionist painter Mark Rothko. Born Marcus Rothkowitz (September 25, 1903 – February 25, 1970), was a Russian-born American painter. He is classified as an abstract expressionist, although he himself rejected this label, and even resisted classification as an “abstract painter”. Mark Rothko biography follows the videos.

For more info on this artist: Wikipedia Mark Rothko

INTRO:
Mark Rothko in his West 53rd Street studio, c. 1953, photograph by Henry Elkan, courtesy Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, Rudi Blesh Papers.

One of the preeminent artists of his generation, Mark Rothko is closely identified with the New York School, a circle of painters that emerged during the 1940s as a new collective voice in American art. During a career that spanned five decades, he created a new and impassioned form of abstract painting.

Rothko’s work is characterized by rigorous attention to formal elements such as color, shape, balance, depth, composition, and scale; yet, he refused to consider his paintings solely in these terms. He explained: It is a widely accepted notion among painters that it does not matter what one paints as long as it is well painted. This is the essence of academicism. There is no such thing as good painting about nothing.

EARLY YEARS:
Family portrait taken in Dvinsk. From the left: Albert and Sonia Rothkowitz, a first cousin, and Marcus and Moise Rothkowitz, c. 1912, courtesy Kenneth Rabin.

Mark Rothko was born Marcus Rothkowitz in Dvinsk, Russia (today Daugavpils, Latvia), on September 25, 1903. He was the fourth child of Jacob Rothkowitz, a pharmacist (b. 1859), and Anna Goldin Rothkowitz (b. 1870), who had married in 1886. Rothko and his family immigrated to the United States when he was ten years old, and settled in Portland, Oregon.

Rothko attended Yale University in 1921, where he studied English, French, European history, elementary mathematics, physics, biology, economics, the history of philosophy, and general psychology. His initial intention was to become an engineer or an attorney. Rothko gave up his studies in the fall of 1923 and moved to New York City.

Myth & Symbols
Mark Rothko, The Omen of the Eagle,1942, National Gallery of Art, Gift of The Mark Rothko Foundation, Inc., 1986.43.107

During the 1940s Rothko’s imagery became increasingly symbolic. In the social climate of anxiety that dominated the late 1930s and the years of World War II, images from everyday life–however unnaturalistic–began to appear somewhat outmoded. If art were to express the tragedy of the human condition, Rothko felt, new subjects and a new idiom had to be found. He said, “It was with the utmost reluctance that I found the figure could not serve my purposes….But a time came when none of us could use the figure without mutilating it.”

Toward Abstraction
Mark Rothko, Untitled,1948, Collection of Kate Rothko Prizel

In their manifesto in the New York Times Rothko and Gottlieb had written: “We favor the simple expression of the complex thought. We are for the large shape because it has the impact of the unequivocal. We wish to reassert the picture plane. We are for flat forms because they destroy illusion and reveal truth.” By 1947 Rothko had virtually eliminated all elements of surrealism or mythic imagery from his works, and nonobjective compositions of indeterminate shapes emerged.

The Classic Paintings
Mark Rothko, Untitled,1949, National Gallery of Art, Gift of The Mark Rothko Foundation, Inc.

Rothko largely abandoned conventional titles in 1947, sometimes resorting to numbers or colors in order to distinguish one work from another. The artist also now resisted explaining the meaning of his work. “Silence is so accurate,” he said, fearing that words would only paralyze the viewer’s mind and imagination.

LATE WORKS

Mark Rothko, Untitled (Seagram Mural sketch), 1959 , National Gallery of Art, Gift of The Mark Rothko Foundation, Inc.

Rothko’s work began to darken dramatically during the late 1950s. This development is related to his work on a mural commission for the Four Seasons restaurant, located in the Seagram Building in New York City. Here Rothko turned to a palette of red, maroon, brown, and black. The artist eventually withdrew from this project, due to misgivings about the restaurant as a proper setting for his work. He had, however, already produced a number of studies and finished canvases, two of which are included in the present installation. In the Seagram panels, Rothko changed his motif from a closed to an open form, suggesting a threshold or portal. This element may have been related to the architectural setting for which these works were intended.

Excerpts from: nga.gov

Technorati Tags: American abstract expressionist, expressionist, abstract painter, simon schama, mark rothko, art, power, bbc, documentary, power of art, rothko

Painting Techniques of Franz Kline

fineartcanvasprints — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 18:52:52 PST

Abstract Expressionist New York. The Painting Techniques of Franz Kline. The Museum of Modern Art, October 3, 2010–April 11, 2011

Filmed by Plowshares Media
Images courtesy of The Franz Kline Estate; Kate Rothko Prizel & Christopher Rothko; Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York; and The Museum of Modern Art, New York
Music by Chris Parrello
Chris Parrello, Ian Young, Kevin Thomas, Ziv Ravitz

Wikipedia – Franz Kline

About MoMA, The Museum of Modern Art
Since its founding in 1929, The Museum of Modern Art in New York City has collected and exhibited the art of our time, focusing on Architecture and Design, Drawings, Film, Media, Painting and Sculpture, Photography, and Prints and Illustrated Books. Dedicated to being the foremost museum of modern art in the world, MoMA also seeks to create a dialogue between the established and the experimental, the past and the present, in an environment that is responsive to the issues of modern and contemporary art and readily accessible to all.

Technorati Tags: Museum of Modern Art, Franz Kline, Painting Techniques, moma, museum, modern art, abstract expressionism, expressionist, painting, sculpture, pollock, kline

Art Nouveau Inspired Mural

fineartcanvasprints — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 21:16:05 PST

For 16 days straight, from dawn to dusk, five highly determined Montreal-based artists (who make up the artist run collective (A’shop) worked on a graffiti mural of a Mother Nature-esque Madonna or a modern-day version of “Our Lady of Grace.” Inspired by Czech Art Nouveau painter Alphonse Mucha, the crew created this breathtakingly beautiful five story mural using 500 cans of spray paint in over 50 different colors.

Fluke said that he hopes this project will encourage other city boroughs to consider murals of their own. “Our city has way too much gray. So I hope this [mural] kickstarts a mural campaign.”

See Full Artist Bio: Alphonse Mucha | Check out all: Alphonse Mucha ~ Fine Art Canvas Prints.

In the Art Blog: Alphonse Mucha Art Nouveau Series | Art Nouveau Inspired Mural | Alphonse Mucha Artist

To really appreciate the time and effort that went into this massive mural, here are some progress shots that were taken over the 16 day period.

Gallery and Artist Q&A Below:

Click an image & Use keyboard arrows to toggle to next image.

What is the idea behind this piece? What does it represent?
The idea was to step out of our comfort zone and show the public what graffiti artists can be capable of. There is an amazing amount of quality work being produced within Montreal’s graffiti scene. Unfortunately, bad press and political strategies often only show the “negative” side of it , creating unneeded friction between citizens and our culture. Graffiti as a form of visual language can be hard to comprehend for most. We thought it would be interesting to paint this mural in a more common language, using imagery that anyone can understand, initiating dialog and building bridges. For this, we chose to inspire ourselves from Alphonse Mucha, father to Art Nouveau (1860-1939). A style of art that most people know or have seen before. Of course we gave it our own flavor and used N.D.G as the main theme. The end product being our take on “La Notre-Dame-de-Grâce” Our Lady of Grace”

Have you participated in any similar projects in Montreal or elsewhere?
We have been painting murals for long time and most of them for free. Nowadays, we generally get commissioned by the commercial and private sectors. We’ve done similar projects in Europe and in different parts of Canada but this is the first time that we’ve had the opportunity to work on a community project in our own city that allowed us full control over our creation.

What has been the general reaction of the passerby?
We were overwhelmed by the public’s reaction. At first, a few assumed that we were producing an advertisement for something and couldn’t care less. Once the word got out that this mural was strictly for the sake of reviving a boring wall, Folks got curious. We worked dusk till dawn, every day. And every day the crowd of people watching us got bigger. By the first week, it had become the topic of conversation around the neighborhood. It felt nice to see people take ownership of that wall. Some folks made it a point to come see us every day. This one man repeatedly brought us freshly brewed coffee from his home. I can tell you one thing, we “own “very little of that wall . It belongs to those who see it everyday now.

Do you think the city should finance more projects like the one in N.D.G? Why?
Absolutely, because it’s a gain for everyone. What better way to regain dead space .
Although graffiti communities are close nit and we often share similar values, the reasons why we do graffiti in the first place are not always the same. Some want their name out there and have little need for the artistic side of it. As for others there is a creative process. If we don’t acknowledge it and support it, we are preventing these people form potentially doing great things as artists.

Montreal’s A’shop creates massive Art Nouveau-Inspired Mural Website

Technorati Tags: Our Lady of Grace, Art Nouveau, Mucha, Alphonse Mucha, Inspired, Mural, Montreal, a-shop crew, art, graffiti, paint, painter, spray paint

Franz Marc Artist

fineartcanvasprints — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 13:42:21 PST

One hundred years ago, artists Wassily Kandinsky and Franz Marc published their almanac “Der Blauer Reiter” (‘The Blue Rider’). The picturesque scenery around the Bavarian town of Murnau, near the Alps, inspired much of their art. Franz Marc (February 8, 1880 – March 4, 1916) was a German painter and printmaker, one of the key figures of the German Expressionist movement. He was a founding member of Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider), a journal whose name later became synonymous with the circle of artists collaborating in it.

Abstract inspiration | euromaxx by deutschewelle

When three young painters,the Germans August Macke and Franz Marc and Frenchman Robert Delaunay first met,all was well with the world. They could have no idea that the expressionist fragmentation of images that so fascinated them would become a symbol of the impending disaster of the First World War,in which both Marc and Macke were killed. The Sprengel Museum has dedicated a major exhibition to the short but intensive phase before the war,in which these three men inspired each other.

Arts.21 | Fragmented time by deutschewelle

Franz Marc Wikipedia

Technorati Tags: printmaker, paint, painter, Abstract, inspiration, Franz Marc, Artist, August Macke, Robert Delaunay, Wassily Kandinsky, Der Blauer Reiter, The Blue Rider, Bavarian, town of Murnau, Murnau, German Expressionist movement, German, Expressionist, movement, Sprengel Museum

Francis Bacon – Documentary

fineartcanvasprints — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 18:01:43 PST

A six series of videos on ‘Francis Bacon – Documentary’. Biography ~ Francis Bacon (28 October 1909 – 28 April 1992), was an Irish-born British figurative painter known for his bold, austere, graphic and emotionally raw imagery. Bacon’s painterly but abstract figures typically appear isolated in glass or steel geometrical cages set against flat, nondescript backgrounds. He began painting during his early 20s and worked only sporadically until his mid 30s. Before this time he drifted, earning his living as an interior decorator and designer of furniture and rugs. Later, he admitted that his career was delayed because he had spent too long looking for a subject that would sustain his interest. His breakthrough came with the 1944 triptych Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion, and it was this work and his heads and figures of the late 1940s through to the mid 1950s that sealed his reputation as a notably bleak chronicler of the human condition.

Technorati Tags: art, Francis Bacon, painting, painter, francis bacon

Alphonse Mucha Art Nouveau Series

fineartcanvasprints — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 05:56:41 PST

Alphonse Mucha was born in what is now the Czech Republic in 1860 and moved to Paris in 1890 where he became the star of the poster-art movement under the patronage of the Sarah Bernhardt. After World War I he returned to Czechoslovakia and became the father of a slavic arts and crafts movement which combined elements of art nouveau with classic national themes. In addition to commercial art, jewelry design, interior decoration, sculpture and stage design, Mucha experimented with lettering and calligraphy to produce excellent source material for unique typefaces. Mucha’s style is virtually synonymous with French Art Nouveau and he is one of the most imitated artists and designers of all time.

See Full Artist Bio: Alphonse Mucha | Check out all: Alphonse Mucha ~ Fine Art Canvas Prints.

In the Art Blog: Alphonse Mucha Art Nouveau Series | Art Nouveau Inspired Mural | Alphonse Mucha Artist

Alphonse Mucha Art Nouveau 1 of 6

Alphonse Mucha Art Nouveau 2 of 6

Alphonse Mucha Art Nouveau 3 of 6

Alphonse Mucha Art Nouveau 4 of 6

Alphonse Mucha Art Nouveau 5 of 6

Alphonse Mucha Art Nouveau 6 of 6

Technorati Tags: Alphonse, Mucha, alphonse mucha, art nouveau, neoclassic, moravia, paris, Sarah Bernhardt, The atre de la Renaissance, Slav Epic, Slovanska, paintings, posters, advertisements, decorative, artist, malerei, pictura, design, medee, commercial art, jewelry design, interior decoration, sculpture, stage design, lettering, calligraphy

Simon Schamas: Power of Art: Rembrandt

fineartcanvasprints — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 17:07:32 PST

Simon Schamas ‘Power of Art’ Rembrandt. Released in 2006 in the U.K., this clip is part of a video of a Simon Schama TV series entitled “Power of Art” which gives a glimpse of the interesting life and art of Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, “one of the greatest painters and printmakers in European art history and the most important in Dutch history.”

Biography after video…….

About Rembrandt:

Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669) was a Dutch painter and etcher. He is generally considered one of the greatest painters and printmakers in European art history and the most important in Dutch history. His contributions to art came in a period of great wealth and cultural achievement that historians call the Dutch Golden Age, when Dutch Golden Age painting, although in many ways antithetical to the Baroque style that dominated Europe, was extremely prolific and innovative.

Having achieved youthful success as a portrait painter, Rembrandt’s later years were marked by personal tragedy and financial hardships. Yet his etchings and paintings were popular throughout his lifetime, his reputation as an artist remained high, and for twenty years he taught many important Dutch painters. Rembrandt’s greatest creative triumphs are exemplified especially in his portraits of his contemporaries, self-portraits and illustrations of scenes from the Bible. His self-portraits form a unique and intimate biography, in which the artist surveyed himself without vanity and with the utmost sincerity.

In his paintings and prints he exhibited knowledge of classical iconography, which he molded to fit the requirements of his own experience; thus, the depiction of a biblical scene was informed by Rembrandt’s knowledge of the specific text, his assimilation of classical composition, and his observations of Amsterdam’s Jewish population. Because of his empathy for the human condition, he has been called “one of the great prophets of civilization.”

Technorati Tags: art history, Dutch history, Dutch, history, Simon Schama, Power of Art, Rembrandt, artist, life, art, Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, painter, printmaker

Matthew Collings: This Is Modern Art: Ep.1

fineartcanvasprints — Fri, 02 Dec 2011 14:48:07 PST

Matthew Collings :: This Is Modern Art Episode 1 – I Am A Genius

About the series: This Is Modern Art was a six-part TV series written and presented by the English art critic Matthew Collings. It was broadcast in 1998 on Channel 4.

Matthew Collings: This Is Modern Art:

Episode 1 - I Am A Genius

Matthew Collings: This Is Modern Art:

Episode 2 - Shock! Horror!

Matthew Collings: This Is Modern Art:

Episode 3 - Lovely Lovely

Matthew Collings :: This Is Modern Art Episode.1 Part. 1

Matthew Collings :: This Is Modern Art Episode.1 Part. 2

Matthew Collings :: This Is Modern Art Episode.1 Part. 3

Matthew Collings :: This Is Modern Art Episode.1 Part. 4

Matthew Collings :: This Is Modern Art Episode.1 Part. 5

Technorati Tags: Matthew Collings, This Is Modern Art, Modern art, illustrations, artist, galleries, museums, studios, art critic

Mobile Photo Studio BurningMan

fineartcanvasprints — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 02:06:20 PST

When acclaimed studio photographer Eric Schwabel goes to Burning Man he doesn’t leave his passion behind.

In 2010 he took a clever hand built “light suit” to the massive festival in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert and captured the plethora of beautiful, colorful revelers in engaging detail. Below we catch up with Schwabel for an exclusive interview about his experiences on the dusty playa.

Check out full article and many more photos at Visual News website and Eric Schwabel website.

Click an image & Use keyboard arrows to toggle to next image.

Technorati Tags: Burning Man, Eric Schwabel, lighting, photographer, Photography

Glass Beach, California

fineartcanvasprints — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 11:46:23 PST

In the early 20th century, Fort Bragg residents threw their household garbage over the cliffs above what is now Glass Beach. They discarded glass, appliances, and even cars. The land was owned at that time by the Union Lumber Company, and locals referred to it as “The Dumps.” Sometimes fires were lit to reduce the size of the trash pile.

In 1967, the North Coast Water Quality Board and city leaders closed the area. Various cleanup programs were undertaken through the years to correct the damage.

Over the next several decades the pounding waves cleansed the beach, wearing down the discarded glass into the small, smooth, colored trinkets that cover the beach today.

Click an image & Use keyboard arrows to toggle to next image.

In 2002, the California State Park system purchased the 38-acre (150,000 m2) Glass Beach property, and after cleanup it was incorporated into MacKerricher State Park.

The beach is now frequently visited by tourists. Though not officially permitted, many still scour the beach for interesting curios to take home as souvenirs. The glass is no longer allowed to be taken from the beach. When the beach was cleaned up people were quickly attracted to the beautiful glass so they took it. Before the beach could be destroyed the California Parks & Recreation Dept. took over the beach.

The path from the road down to the beach is regarded as treacherous, because unprepared visitors not wearing shoes with sufficient traction occasionally injure themselves.

Technorati Tags: Glass Beach, California, sea, glass, seaglass, Fort Bragg, California State Park