Georgia O'Keeffe - a Pioneer Artist and Brand Manager

Georgia O'Keeffe: Art, Image, Style  is an exhibit at the Peabody Essex Museum this winter showing two aspects of Georgia O'Keeffe - her art, and her wardrobe.

Tony Vaccaro, Georgia O’Keeffe with “Pelvis Series, Red with Yellow”
and the desert, 1960. Georgia O’Keeffe Museum.
Courtesy of Tony Vaccaro studio

I had reservations about this exhibit before I went to see it - it seemed like a tenuous connection and would be like snooping through her closets just out of curiosity. But the clothing was another extension of her personality and her artistic sensibility.

More importantly, it demonstrated how she would still fit in with today's world - it was part of her personal branding. She not only kept a consistent image, in keeping with her theories of art, but she would make sure that published images of her would always have the same visual impression. Think of Steve Jobs and how he always wore impeccably tailored black shirts in keeping with the design philosophy of Apple products.

According to Curator Austen Barron Bailly: "Every aspect of her life was consciously, aesthetically driven — from the clothes she wore, to the way she addressed a letter, to the objects she placed on her mantle, and, of course, to the compositions of her paintings"

If you get a chance, see this exhibit, and gain a new appreciation for the woman and her art. On view through April 1 at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem (www.pem.org) https://www.pem.org/

Your instructor doesn't have quite the style sense O'Keeffe had.

Where have you heard this artist's name before?

I happened to come across these two paintings listed in a Skinner's  auction catalog. The paintings, while pleasant and competent, might not seem that striking. The name of the artist, Edward Darley Boit, may not immediately ring a bell with most people.

Lot 1016: Edward Darley Boit (American, 1842-1916) Hillside Landscape

Lot 1362: Edward Darley Boit (American, 1840-1915) Villa, San Remo 

What makes them of interest is the connection the artist has to a very well known painting, possibly the most famous painting in Boston Museum of Fine Arts. Yes, those are his daughters in the famous Sargent painting.

The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit (1882)
John Singer Sargent (American, 1856–1925)

In Praise of the Small Museum

Rose Art Museum

There is a tendency sometimes, maybe often, to overlook things in our own back yard, Even though only 30 miles away, this past weekend I finally visited the Rose Art Museum on the campus of Brandeis University in Waltham.

Sometimes museums are grand and overpowering, sometimes quirky. The Rose is small, and the architecture crisp and timeless. The setting on a wooded hillside makes it look like a white and glass box floating on the ground,. Once inside, it is easy to fantasize that you are not in a museum, but in the house of a sophisticated art collector.

Current exhibits include

http://www.brandeis.edu/rose/exhibitions/2017/bodytalk.html

This exhibit, with works drawn from the museum's collection, has the human body as its theme.

Immortal City by Kevork Mourad

Immortal City is an exhibition of new paintings by acclaimed Syrian-Armenian artist Kevork Mourad (b. Syria, 1970). The prominent work is a black and white, three dimensional drawing/painting resembling a stage set. The images evoke the cultural loss and destruction due to the war in Syria. http://www.brandeis.edu/rose/exhibitions/2017/immortal-city.html

You can see more about the Rose and its exhibit schedule at:

http://www.brandeis.edu/rose/index.html

Reusable Universes: Shih Chieh Huang Worcester Art Museum

Is this Contemporary Art of the future ? ?  Worth viewing the exhibit to appreciate the possibilities of recycling . 

June 24 - November 12, 2017
Contemporary Gallery

Reusable Universes: Shih Chieh Huang features the work of Shih Chieh Huang, who combines his longstanding fascination with technology and the materials of modern life to transform mundane manufactured objects into novel and remarkably complex sculptural forms. Huang elevates circuit building, transistor rewiring, and other hardware operations into an art that connects not only with our senses but our sense of humanity between today's virtual and analog existence.

 For more information go to :

http://www.worcesterart.org/exhibitions/reusable-universes-shih-chieh-huang/

The Candy Colored Nudes of Tom Wesselmann

Great American Nude 47 by Tom Wesselmann

This week's New York Times Style Magazine had an article about the late artist Tom Wesselmann. Although it now seems like ancient history, his candy-colored pop art renditions, often of the female nude, were iconic back in the day. They were considered shocking and offensive to some (particularly feminists who objected to what they considered to be the objectification and commoditization of women). While there was certainly an erotic element to them, the use of simple form and bright, California-sunshine type color made them appear more wholesome than obscene.

And of course today, we see far more suggestive imagery used in perfume/underwear magazine ads, internet advertising, and billboards.

The NYT story asks why someone like Wesselmann who was a key artist in the pop-art movement seems to have lost his place in the sun. It's interesting to remember when these works seemed so fresh and exciting, and yet now they seem more like trivia or artifacts of a previous time. Yet Andy Warhol's reputation has been maintained, and even grown exponentially long after their demise. What are the changes in our society/culture that causes this?

"The Most Famous Pop Artist You Don’t Know" by Kevin Conley

You can read the article on the NYT website:

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/22/t-magazine/art/tom-wesselmann-pop-artist-profile.html

Image: Tom Wesselmann 1963, Great American Nude, 47

Medium: Synthetic polymer paint with cut and pasted paper and fabric on wood panel

Dimensions 48 3/8 x 65 5/8" (122.9 x 166.7 cm)

Gift of Lita Hornick

Object number 215.1982

Copyright © Tom Wesselmann/Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY

Museum of Modern Art, NYC

The Museum Visit

Paintings and other items combined in this arrangement at the Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia.

As part of my art history classes I require students to visit a museum and report on works of art. And by museum, I mean an actual museum, not a book or an on-line gallery. There are several good reasons for doing this.

Photography and its delivery of images can be deceptive; when printed in a book, a painting may not have the life and subtlety, or in some cases, the impact of the actual work. When viewed on-line, the image created by the illuminated pixels on your screen again, may present an image more vibrant than the original. Whether these are good or bad effects, they are still at least one step removed from the physical artifact.

What do you see when you see the actual work of art? For one thing, the scale. It is not uncommon when coming across a work of art you have only seen in reproduction to be struck by the size. No matter how good the image, facing a wall size work involves you in a totally different way. By the same token, you can search in vain for a work you have seen pictured, because you didn't realize how small a painting it was.

Another aspect missing in reproduction is texture. Until we have some new technology (and we undoubtedly will), images are flat and smooth,  but the surfaces of the art work will be readily apparent in real life (sometimes even providing a temptation to touch the art work).

A third aspect to the museum installation is the relationship among the various works on display. Sometimes this will be an arrangement of works similar in technique, country of origin or historical period, but as is seen more often now in museums, juxtapositions to compare and contrast, making the viewer see artworks in new contexts.

Not that there aren't downsides to the museum visit. In addition to "museum fatigue", when we try to take in too much, this pace can also cause us to spend too little time having a personal interaction with the art. There was an interesting article in the New York Times October 9, 2014 by Stephanie Rosenbloom that suggested we slow down when visiting a museum.

From the article:

When you go to the library,” said James O. Pawelski, the director of education for the Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania, “you don’t walk along the shelves looking at the spines of the books and on your way out tweet to your friends, ‘I read 100 books today!'” Yet that’s essentially how many people experience a museum. “They see as much of art as you see spines on books,” said Professor Pawelski, who studies connections between positive psychology and the humanities. “You can’t really see a painting as you’re walking by it.”

I have noticed when in museums, particularly ones with iconic works, the number of people photographing not just the works, but taking pictures of their companions in front of the work, or even "selfies" with the works. The reasons for this must be varied, and probably interesting. Have you done this? What does it say about your relationship to art? Reading the linked article may give you some thoughts.

Museum Visits: The New Barnes and the Michener

The warm and welcoming entrance to the new Barnes Foundation museum in Philadelphia.
 

I had been looking forward to a visit to the new Barnes Foundation Art Museum for quite some time.. We had visited the museum in its previous incarnation in Merion, on the outskirts of Philadelphia. Due to local restrictions, and the restrictions of the foundation, visiting the Barnes was a complete pain in the ass in those days. After a contentious battle to break the conditions of Dr. Barnes will, and a controversial grab by the art/charity establishment, the collection has moved to a new museum in Philadelphia's museum district. Inside a severely plain stone box, they have recreated the interior and collection arrangement of the original museum. In addition, whether by accident or intent, visiting the new Barnes is also a complete pain in the ass. Limited numbers of visitors, timed tickets and a strange arrangement makes it rather user-unfriendly.  

 What is interesting is the arrangement and juxtapositions of the works, espousing Barnes' theories about art and design connections (whether interesting or just whacko I'll leave to others to judge). In addition, the framing of many works was interesting, in that it showed the taste of Barnes and the period.

 Works are mostly tightly grouped, in fairly small rooms, along with African artifacts, early American iron work and furniture, etc. There are some masterpieces here, along with many smaller and lesser works, which makes the collection interesting in that it is a personal statement more so than a curated collection of a particular school or history of art.

 Some of the small works (which can often be overlooked in large institutions) are really gems, such as the Demuths, and there are some nice examples of  Prendergast and Mattisse. If you are at all interested in art, worth the visit, if only to see a different take on the museum arrangement and experience.

Wish I had some pictures taken inside, but of course they don't allow that. You can see some images on the Barnes website.

 

Entrance to the Michener Museum of Art

 

The next morning we visited the Michener Museum of Art in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. A wonderful small museum, with a collection that features local artists and craft workers. There is a good selection of works from the school of Pennsylvania impressionism, which to my view, seems a bit "grittier" and realistic than, for example, the "Old Lyme" artists.

 

 The Twins: Virginia and Jane, 1917 by Joseph Pearson. 60 x 72 inches.

The painting shown here, "The Twins", is one of the most arresting in the collection. I know that every time we see twins represented we immediately want to compare it to Diane Arbus, but there is something about this painting that makes it hard to look away.

 

 

 

 

 

At the Philadelphia Museum of Art

Your professor in front of a Barnett Newman painting at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Even though it would mean a long day of museums, the travel logistics required a full day spent in Philadelphia museums. Since  have been to the Phildadelphia Museum of Art, I tried to limit what we would view and not get "museum fatigue". Even trying to be casual about the visit, it is such a treasure trove that it was too easy to keep moving on and on.

We did get to see the Vermeer Young Woman Seated at a Virginal currently on loan to the museum. This is one of the last paintings by Vermeer, and one of the most recent to be authenticated. This discovery made quite a splash in the art world, and while accepted as Vermeer (apparently the canvas is from the same bolt as used for other Vermeer works) it is still questioned by some. One theory is that it was actually done by his daughter, or that there was assistance, or completion by someone else. Prior to this, I had only seen it in photos, so was anxious to view it in person. Having done so, I can say that if it is in fact by Vermeer, it is one of the most unappealing Vermeers I have seen.

There was an interesting exhibit in the gallery devoted to American crafts. One artist new to me was Bruce Metcalf, a jeweler/sculptor who created some very strange and eerie pieces.

Chance Encounter in the Wasteland
Bruce Metcalf, American, born 1949

 

You can find more about this artist at www.brucemetcalf.com/

 

Do You Need to Go Outdoors to Paint? Maybe Yes, Maybe No.

Wooded Upland Landscape by Thomas Gainsborough. Is this a real place?

When visiting the Norton Museum in West Palm Beach several years ago, there was an intriguing label telling how Thomas Gainsborough created models of landscapes using such items as broccoli and mirrors to serve as references for his paintings. It seemed that no one else had heard of this, and this made me think that it was something I imagined. But while doing some research on the internet, I came across a reference to this. It was on ibiblio, and while I couldn't ascertain exactly what collection it was from, it seems as it is from a booklet produced by the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. From the booklet:
 

• Thomas Gainsborough, though he was London's most fashionable society portraitist, preferred his beloved English countryside. "I'm sick of Portraits," he lamented, "and wish very much to. . . walk off to some sweet Village, where I can paint Landskips." In spite of his romantic longing for nature, he seldom if ever painted actual views. In accordance with much eighteenth-century art theory, Gainsborough was convinced that nature in the raw was an unsuitable subject. Only after an artist had refined a scene through his sensibilities could he begin to paint.

• Gainsborough's late works, such as this vista of butter-yellow clouds wafting through a mauve sky over a verdant valley, are fantastic reveries. Such idyllic scenery and extraordinary colors do not, of course, exist in the real world; so, Gainsborough invented them in his studio. He experimented with theatri­cal lighting effects, illumin­at­ing his subjects with candles shimmering through colored fabrics.

• Another painter recorded that Gainsborough "framed a kind of model of landskips, on his table; composed of broken stones, dried herbs, and pieces of looking glass, which he magnified and improved into rocks, trees, and water." Here, shiny hard coal may have served for the wet banks of the brook, a crushed mirror for the glistening ripples, and broccoli and brussels sprouts for the foliage. Thus, from a scale model, Gains­borough did indeed "magnify and improve" nature, creating a quiet escape from life's travails. (Quotes from The Letters of Thomas Gainsborough, ed. Mary Woodall [Green­wich, Connecticut, 1963], 115, and Sir Joshua Reynolds, Discourses on Art [1797 edition], ed. Robert R. Wark [New York and London, 1966], 220.)

Wooded Upland Landscape by Thomas Gainsborough (British, Sudbury 1727–1788 London) Date: probably 1783. Gift of George A. Hearn, 1906. 
More information at the Metropolitan Museum of Art website.

 

 

 

At the other end of the spectrum is landscape work by a contemporary artist, Rackstraw Downes. We saw an exhibit of his works a few years ago at the Portland (Maine) Museum of Art. He paints from life, in a photorealistic style. His subject matter is often not picturesque, but is of  places in our environment such as landfills, trash-strewn railroad sidings, etc., with a technique that reminds us of the Dutch painters such as Vermeer.

Lincolnville Beach - Rackstraw Downes 1977

Medium: Oil on canvas

Dimensions: H. 12-1/4, W. 44-1/2 inches

 

Bequest of Douglas Dillon, 2003
More information at the Metropolitan Museum of Art website.

Tim's Vermeer

Tim's Vermeer is a a new documentary focusing on how the 17th century Dutch painter, Johannes Vermeer may have painted his works has will be showing this year (although not likely out here in the suburbs, so we may have to wait for on-line distribution).

 The film is a joint effort between artist David Hockney (who has long had an interest in the collaboration between photography and painting, and Teller and Penn, the famous magicians/illusionists. It is believed by the film-makers that Vermeer may have used a "camera obscura", a device with lenses/mirrors to project a scene from life, to use as a guide when painting. This raises some interesting questions about the use of technology when creating art. It seems to be quite accepted now, and in fact, many contemporary works could not be created without the use of computers, lasers, etc. Is it just the fact that Vermeer painted so many years ago what makes this controversial? Apparently, in the film, a non-artist will use the method to create a painting.

 

Young Woman with a Water Pitcher.

Johannes Vermeer (Dutch, Delft 1632–1675 Delft)

Vermeer has always been something of a mystery; he did not leave a large body of work, and there have been controversies over the authorship of works over the years.

Some questions, that will perhaps be answered when I can finally see this film are: Was it "cheating"? Does it matter? If in fact this was his method, it was not entirely unknown, yet we don't seem to have other artists painting at the same level as Vermeer. Why not? Was it the additional talent that Vermeer provided, or an artistic vision different from what others had?

 For more information about the work shown above, visit the entry in the Metropolitan Museum site.

Looking at Art through your Viewfinder"

"Purma Special" Attributed to Raymond Loewy  (American (born France) Paris 1893–1986 Monte Carlo)

There was a time when photography was almost universally prohibited in museums. Of course, in those days, the hauling about of equipment, and the large flash units would be annoying to other visitors.

Why are people doing this, and what is it doing to their museum experience. Certainly, many want to record the time when they finally come face to face with that iconic work that they only knew from pictures in the art texts. Others may want to make a collection of references for their own use. And some want to simply record part of their vacation, posing the family in front of Whistler's Mother they way they would pose with Goofy and Pluto at Disney World.

But there seem to be others who are obsessed with recording most, if not every item they look at. During one visit to the Phillips Collection in Washington D.C., a man wandered with an Ipad making a catalog of every item that was on view. And a woman was having great difficulty dealing with the reflection on a Berenice Abbott photo while she tried to photograph the photograph. What was the goal? I am sure there was a museum book/catalog that would have the images (professionally photographed under good conditions), and you could buy a postcard of the Abbott photo in the gift shop.

While visiting the Musee d'Orsay in Paris (home of some of the most famous impressionist paintings), groups of tourists moved from one to the next, photographing each. Were these mementos adding to their experience? Were they now removing themselves from their encounter with art, keeping it "at camera's length"? Is the visit not real until it is recorded? And will these digital images, like the millions of color vacation photos taken over the years, simply exist, unlooked at, not in shoeboxes, but in some computing cloud limbo?

In a Sunday New York Times Article Sept. 29,  "Hey Starry Night, Say 'Cheese' " , art critic Deborah Solomon discusses the phenomenon of picture taking, which has only grown with the availability of smartphone cameras. She feels that overall this will be good for "visual literacy", and enhance, not diminish our relationship with art. If only I could feel so sure of that.

Photo:

"Purma Special" Attributed to Raymond Loewy (American (born France) Paris 1893–1986 Monte Carlo)
Manufacturer: Purma Camera, Ltd., England 1937
Metropolitan Museum of Art, John C. Waddell Collection, Gift of John C. Waddell, 2000