by Sandy | Sep 28, 2011 | Art, Blogroll, Events, Exhibits, Galleries
We all know Mr. Dylan is a master song writer/singer – he received an honorary Pulitzer Prize in 2008 for his “profound impact on popular music and American culture, marked by lyrical compositions of extraordinary poetic power.” But did you know that he also paints?
You can see some of them at The Gagosian Gallery in New York City until 10/22/11:
“The Asia Series, a visual reflection on his travels in Japan, China, Vietnam, and Korea, comprises people, street scenes, architecture, and landscapes, which can be clearly identified by title and specific cultural details, such as Mae Ling, Cockfight, The Bridge, and Hunan Province. Conversely, there are more cryptic paintings of personalities and situations, such Big Brother and Opium, or LeBelle Cascade, which looks like a riff on Manet’s Le Déjeuner sur l’Herbe but which is, in fact, a scenographic tourist photo-opportunity in a Tokyo amusement arcade.”
The Asia Series * Until October 22, 2011
Gagosian Gallery, 980 Madison Avenue, New York
by Bob Martin | Sep 23, 2011 | Art, Galleries, Museums, Photograhy
Children with Doll - Gordon Parks
It is a common practice to revise history or at least the telling of it (Michele Bachmann on slavery) so that it justifies the needs of the powerful. To understand the prominence of the United States of America in the world it is necessary to understand the history of the African in America, their contribution to the wealth of the nation and its cost. Preserving the truth, artists (through their work) have left us images and stories that invite wonder.
James VanDerZee, Gordon Parks and Roy DeCarava are just a few artists who left us with incredible imagery that grabs our attention about the past and correctly makes no prediction about the future.
Until November 6, 2011, at the Norton Photography Gallery – Phoenix Museum of Art, Gordon Parks’ “Bare Witness”, a record of the 20th-century and the “unfulfilled promise of equality for African-Americans” will be on view. Much of the pain of the 20th century still exists, this exhibit and others like it serve to educate and lessen the hurt.
by Bob Martin | Sep 16, 2011 | Art, Exhibits, Galleries
©David Byrne, courtesy The Pace Gallery and Pace/MacGill
One of my many beliefs is that interesting art is a representation of where we are now. What interests or upsets people now, what do we laugh at or recognize in ourselves?
David Byrne’s work as a recording artist, producer and visual artist has always given me unexpected joy. GottaGo is delightfully funny.
Apps for our smart phones, pads and computers are all the talk and are destined to make our lives obsolete, by taking complete control of our thinking and shielding us from our humanity. Which is funny in a way.
Lets be honest with ourselves, only an app can consistently say anything worth saying in 140 characters less.
David Byrne: Tight Spot at the Pace Gallery
Sep 16, 2011 – Oct 1, 2011
by Sandy | Aug 10, 2011 | Art, Blogroll, Exhibits, Galleries, Reposted
Abstract Expressionist Helen Frankenthaler has an exhibit on view, “Paintings 1961-1973” at the Berggruen Gallery in San Francisco. She “introduced the technique of painting directly onto an unprepared canvas so that the material absorbs the colors. She heavily diluted the oil paint with turpentine so that the color would soak into the canvas. This technique, known as “soak stain” was used by Jackson Pollock and others…”
FYI: Abstract Expressionism was an American post-World War II art movement. It was the first specifically American movement to achieve worldwide influence and put New York City at the center of the western art world, a role formerly filled by Paris. (per WikiPedia)
Helen Frankenthaler *“Paintings 1961-1973″
John Berggruen Gallery, 228 Grant Avenue, San Francisco, CA
by Bob Martin | Jun 30, 2011 | Art, Exhibits, Galleries, Museums, Photograhy
Until August 21, 2011, “Faces, Places and Spaces”, a collection of photographic works of art that show the “creative energies and output of amazing artists rooted in African-American life and culture” will be highlighted.
“This exhibition, exclusive to the Harvey B. Gantt Center, offers viewers insight into the range of Moutoussamy-Ashe’s interests and observations as an artist. We see imagery from the African, Asian, and North American continents, from the 1980s, and as recently as March 2011. She muses about herself and the people she has encountered.”
The Harvey B. Gantt Center For African-American Arts & Culture, consistently, have exhibits that I want to see and I need to plot a way for myself to get to Charlotte, NC.
by Bob Martin | Jun 14, 2011 | Art, Creativity, Exhibits, Galleries
June 18–October 23, 2011 Chris Martin: Painting Big at the Corcoran Gallery of Art
Chris Martin "White Bread"
Martin’s abstract paintings live in the real world with shapes that are easily identifiable, like “White Bread” or the more literal “Godfather of Soul” that offer comfort to the eyes and mind. His work is about him and not a challenge for the viewer to figure it out.
