Pointing out an important distinction between yesterday’s sculpture and today’s sculpture: yesterday’s was made by a woman and today’s by a man. Yesterday’s was fully clothed; today’s has a breast hanging out. It’s pretty much like that across the board when you put artwork side by side: even nudes of the same relative time period are generally partially or artfully draped more often in female-driven works v. male-driven ones. Also, I’m not sure what a boob hanging out has to do with faith as a virtue, even in a classical sense of morality, so I’ll just leave that hanging out there like the proverbial elephant in the room.
Tag: American art
Friday
To be honest, there are very few American sculptors. There are even fewer American sculptors of the feminine persuasion. Feminist feminine sculptors can probably be counted on one hand. And, boy, do we need more of them if this is what they can achieve.
Thursday
THIS PAINTING. This painting, you guys. This is the one painting that I always come to when I need to stop, take stock, and unwind, unravel, and put my sanity back together into a cohesive piece. This is a miracle in paint. From afar, it doesn’t look real. The closer you get, the more insanely realistic it becomes. By the time you’re within a few feet, you could swear you can hear the waves cresting and you’re going to get splashed with water. It’s some crazy mind trickery, but oh… oh, what wonderful trickery. It is, without a doubt, in my top twenty pieces of art ever – but it has such stiff competition.
Wednesday
This has kind of turned into the stereotypical model of the form of George Washington portrait, and I’m not entirely sure how accurate it was to begin with. I mean, to be fair, I’m sure the likeness was at least somewhat correct, however, it seems like they’ve managed to suck all the life out of him.
Monday
This may simply look like a bunch of squares and rectangles in a circle, but it’s really so much more than that. I’ve spent a long time trying to understand the compositional balance between the placement of the colors and the sizes of the forms and there’s just some bloody piece I’m missing. But regardless, it’s a beautiful piece of art.
Friday
This work reminds me of cuneiform writing, or perhaps calligraphy, stark ink against bright canvases. It’s a very visceral feeling in my gut when I see this painting, a feeling of solidarity.
Thursday
This multi-layered optical illusion reminds me of a flock of migrating birds. As such, rather than chaotic, I find it rather peaceful.
Wednesday
My love of all things Bauhaus-inspired stems from a deep love of modern unconventionalism and bringing a sense of shaking up the order of things that have been the same for a very long time. In this case, Albers has taken a geometric design that was similar to ones that were used often in Bauhaus textiles and has spun it around and turned it into something deeply alluring and unsettling at the same time. It is fascinating to see what the difference in print medium v. fabric medium can do to affect the feel of a design.
Saturday
This pitcher is one of a few objects that hangs out in a case at the bottom of the grand staircase at SLAM. I always have to fight the urge to rage and scream and throw a tantrum because TIFFANY PITCHER TUCKED AWAY IN THE MOST INAUSPICIOUS PLACE EVER OMFG WHAT ARE YOU PEOPLE EVEN THINKING. And then I stop and remind myself that I’m way more stressed out about it than everyone else in the building is and that I should stop and get a life. But look at this gorgeous silver work and tell me that it doesn’t deserve better placement than just tucked away at the bottom of the stairs.
Thursday
This is another University City pottery piece, again, deceptively simple in its design but devilishly complicated in its execution. It literally gleams in the light from the gilt and it’s the kind of vase you’d imagine them sourcing to use on the set of Downton Abbey or something of that ilk.