swooning..

Have you heard of the artist named Swoon? She is not to be missed. Natalya here to tell you about Swoon's exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum. It was a spur of a moment visit, I only had my iPhone to take pictures with and I took a gazillion. No worries, it was painful, but I edited them down to just a few...

You do have until August 24th to go see this for yourself, but in case that doesn't fit into your summer schedule, here's a brief review and many links. Caledonia Dance Curry is quite an accomplished artist who started with traditional training (she attended my Alma Mater Pratt Institute), but after graduating was very discouraged with the gallery system and became a street artist. She has managed to fashion an amazing career from that start and is now an artist with exhibits all over the world. She known for her installations and this is her latest at the Brooklyn Museum.

I had never seen her installations before, just have heard about her and seen a bit about her in a documentary film Our City Dreams. Needless to say that I was completely overwhelmed by what I saw and I'm sure Kristin can confirm that my jaw was on the ground. The scale of this installation is immense and cannot be expressed in these photos. Do see the videos in the links above to get a sense of the scale.

plastic drop cloth (my heart fluttered). Swoon used the drop cloths that protected the walls during the installation in the installation.

gigantic tree draped in cloth and lacy cut outs for leaves is at the center and made for very dramatic shadows

cardboard tubes in a beehive like hut

a collage of larger than life prints of her beautiful drawings

delicate cut outs are draped on the floor where they curve and produce wonderful shadows

here are the tree roots, so you can see the fabric

more amazing drawings

two large handmade boats are part of the installation (made from scraps), but I was fascinated by the lace sails and the shadows they made

my kind of whimsical

this is a top portion of one of the boats

lacy cut outs cover many walls and backs of large figures

Hope you do get to see this exhibit, it's worth the trip! And happy Independence Day USA!

the hard stuff

It's hard to believe that metal can lids and bottle caps can be so textural and sculptural. Natalya here, I finally had a chance to see the El Anatsui exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum and I was blown away! Hurry it's only up until August 18th! Talk about such a different take on stitching..... 

I must share, as I have already shared on Facebook and on my own blog, this quote that just spoke volumes to me: "The process of stitching, especially the repetitive aspect, slows down action and I believe makes thinking deeper. It's like the effect of a good mantra on the mind."

Enjoy the images that I had a hard time winnowing down, I wanted to share all 80 or so...

That last image is a stunner. The metal manages to look light and ethereal too!

finding inspiration

Natalya here. I am currently in a bit of a slump. Nothing to worry about, just sort of stuck on how to begin a piece. I know where I want it to go, just having trouble starting. So I am procrastinating. One of the ways I like to procrastinate, besides organizing some pile (did that yesterday!), is by looking through my photos. I consider that inspiration in disguise.

Every now and then I find some forgotten gems, like these below from a visit to the Met this past spring. I went to see the Matisse exhibit and on the way out or in stumbled upon these wonderful textures that I just had to photograph.

Alquimia XIII, detail of a wall hanging by Olga De Amaral

Alquimia XIII, detail of a wall hanging by Olga De Amaral

Gorgeous wisps of thread drew me to this huge piece. I just adore the delicacy of it and the gentle yet vibrant color. And am fascinated by the materials: linen, rice paper, gesso, indigo red and gold leaf. What is "indigo red"? I'll have to investigate, and where on the piece is it?

Between Earth and Heaven, detail of a piece by El Anatsui

El Anansui's work has attracted me for years. To make trash look so gorgeous is a gift! I must not miss his exhibit at the Brooklyn Museum this summer.

Ceremonial wrapper from Indonesia, 19th or early 20th century (detail)

Indigo dye at its best, no? That delicate wisping of color....sigh...

Ceremonial wrapper from Indonesia, 19th or early 20th century (detail)

Same wrapper, just the other end of it with gold leaf doodles. If you look carefully at the reflection (this was behind glass) you can see the huge panels on the opposite wall and that'll give you a good idea of the size of this wrapper. What or whom did they wrap in this beauty?

Dartahal (1995) by Gedewon (Ethiopian 1939-2000)

Now these are doodles to impress! Ball point pen, lead pencil, graphite and ink on paper. Absolutely stunning detailed drawing... And what's wonderful to me about this, is that this is "talismanic art", meaning it's considered healing and is drawn for individual patients. A fascinating tradition of Ethiopian Orthodox Church.

So I have found these photos in my photo stash, now what? Well, just the act of looking at them and preparing this blog post has energized me. I feel inspired, I am itching to get my hands on some art materials and get to work! Off to the studio, I know what to do now!

Getting A Creative Jolt

Gloria Hansen here.

I’ve recently been in a place of pause, not making as much art as I’d like due to a variety of circumstance.  Such times have happened in the past, and I’m sure they will happen in the future. What’s important is finding a way to accept the cycle of creative flows and keep myself open to what’s around me. One way of doing this is taking in some art exhibitions with the hope that something strikes a chord and gives me a needed creative jolt. 

In late January while in San Francisco attending MacWorld, I spent a day at SFMOMA initially to see a Jasper Johns exhibit. While I enjoyed viewing that exhibit, what truly knocked my socks off and moved me to near tears was another exhibit called Jay DeFeo: A Retrospective.  I didn’t know much of her, but learned while perusing some information that she was an artist of the Beat generation of San Francisco who died of cancer in 1989 at age 60.  The more I viewed her work and learned, the more overwhelmed I became. The retrospective is now at The Whitney Museum of American Art in NYC until June 2, 1013, and I encourage anyone, especially those in need of inspiration, to visit.

Her most well-known piece (shown above, and I did get permission to photograph) is The Rose. It weighs nearly one ton (yes, one ton!) and took some eight years to complete. When I first viewed it, which is nearly 12 foot in height and some 8” thick, I thought it was made of layers of painted plaster.  It is, however, oil on canvas with wood and mica. I still have a hard time wrapping my head around nearly two thousand pounds of paint in a work she refers to it as “a marriage between painting and sculpture.”  It was eye-opening to listen to some of the stories, such as the painting was too large to fit out of her studio door and that a moving company was hired to remove the bay window and lower the work with a forklift!  It was only shown for a short time, and she was unable to find a museum home for it.  Because some thought it would take over 100 years for the oils to completely dry, eventually it was placed in a plaster mold and put behind a temporary wall for nearly 25 years years before a historic conversation restored it to public view.

However, I didn’t see her most well-known piece until the very end of the exhibit and I was already in complete awe.  Pieces such as The Eyes, which is graphite on paper, her many untitled photographs and works on paper, and her oil paintings such as The Jewel, Origin, and The Veronica,  held me absolutely captivated.  Even without The Rose, I was incredibly moved and humbled by her work. I still am.



If you cannot get to The Whitney, you may enjoy viewing this video, which runs about a half hour and goes through the show. You can learn more about her and her work, including news and events, at The Jay DeFeo Trust's website.  I hope her art and story inspires you as it did me.