Art Stroll

Art Stroll: American Museum of Natural History, NYC

A couple weeks a friend and I went to the American Museum of Natural History. It was the first time in 17 years I was back there and I really enjoyed it. Now …I know that is going to be a question for some … “Wait…an Art Stroll there? But is it Art?” …Welllllllll….let’s think about it LOL

I loved the subway art when you get out of the subway station at the museum – lot’s of mosaics of different animals- here a beautiful bird.

Love the gorgeous windows …that would be a really cool stencil, don’t you think?

“The dioramas at the American Natural History Museum, when they were first built, were an opportunity for people to see a world that most didn’t get to travel to,”

I also think they are beautiful artistic interpretations of landscape painting.

 

 

The explanation about Japanese woodblock printing was amazing  – I really enjoyed all the little displays about crafts and arts in different countries.

In Japanese tradition there is a recognition of a spiritual quality in all materials, which must not be negated. Therefore each wood block for the printing process is used from both sides for each stage in a progression of the print. The use of only one side would deny the wood its total efficacy.

I loved seeing the different stages of the print- for this art form. …or is it a craft form ….well…what do you think?

gorgeous pieces of hand made containers and dishes

kids toys

and even drawings as explanations of certain pieces in the museum as well

Gorgeous sculptures – some of them actually not the real deal but remakes- but I would only know when reading the signs

 

and beautiful patterns

gorgeous pottery …anyone thinking of Picasso here? Why is his pottery art ..but this is craft?

gorgeous earrings …well ….maybe a bit tough to wear for me …but look at the inlay!

These two llamas were some of my favorites!

It was different and fascinating …and I know it is for some a far fetch to call some of the pieces art …but hey …it is an interesting ongoing question and if it is inspiring to me – then there you go…it is an art stroll. That’s all that counts…for me on my blog anyway – LOL  – but what do you think?

 

Nat

Comments (6)

  • Sue Clarke

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    Yes, those windows would make a terrific stencil!
    The blue block painting with the birds caught my eye right away.
    It’s all art to me.

    Reply

  • ARHuelsenbeck

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    Thanks, Nathalie! I love going to the museum with you.

    Reply

  • Janis Loehr

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    Thanks Nathalie… very much enjoyed this stroll and your comments. Art isn’t just on paper of course. Three dimensional art. The word “craft” doesn’t get the respect it deserves. Thanks again!

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      I agree Janis – craft has this weird connotation of being less worthy …It is so interesting why that is.

      Reply

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Different Kinda Art Stroll: Freeman Alley, NYC

Freeman Alley is a little …well alley  in the Lower East Side

you almost walk by and miss it. In 1909 people would line up in a so called “bread line” through the alley in the hope to receive some food from the Bowery Mission.

In a more and more polished looking part of the city …it is a refreshing to find some wheat pastes and graffiti – Lot’s of layers

At the end of the alley you find a restaurant -but I was more into the fire escapes !

Definitely have to come back and see what’s new when I am in the East Village next time. You find it off Rivington Street – don’t miss it ;)

Nat

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Trapped – Art Journal Spread

“See, I’m a person who wants to do a lot in a body of a person who wants to sleep a lot.”

LOL- so true! This was the beginning of a demo at a workshop and then I finished up the page -it is a bit weird- but I kind of like it. Noticed her mittens …that is what happens when you screw up the hands…you just add mittens ;)

Played with Stabilo Woodies, Ink and stamps

Here are some of the supplies I used for this spread


Nat

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Art Stroll: New Museum, NYC

A couple weeks ago my friend Thomas visited us from Germany and we spent a wonderful day with Kim and went to the New Museum in NYC for the Songs of Sabotage: New Museum Triennial 2018. This major exhibition, held once every three years, looks to highlight young, international artists working in a variety of media. .

Wilmer Wilson IV – staples and pigment print on wood.

Wilmer Wilson IV enlarges photos of people, most of them African-American, that he finds on fliers for parties and church events in his West Philadelphia neighborhood. He attaches the the prints to wood with thousands of staples so that the photograph is almost entirely covered, leaving just small sections clear.

Amazing from afar but upon coming closer eerie!

 

Gresham Tapiwa Nyaude – The New Zimbabwe (2018

 

Chemu Ng’ok’s paintings consider individual and collective identities and the role protest plays in their formation. Ng’ok was a student at Rhodes University in Grahamstown, South Africa, during the Rhodes Must Fall student protests, a social justice movement across universities in South Africa calling for the decolonization of education.

“Senzenina” (2018), an installation by the South African artist Haroon Gunn-Salie, memorializes the 2012 police massacre of striking miners in his homeland.

Cian Dayrit’s uses tapestry-like mappings, part fact, part fiction, of Philippine colonial history.

Zhenya Machneva, CHP-14 (2016)

Zhenya Machneva reflects on the collapse of the Soviet Union in a series of tapestries depicting scenes of industrial factories. Her use of traditional weaving methods mirrors the demise of traditional manufacturing in the wake of technological advances.

Janiva Ellis’s “Thrill Issues” (2017). Her vivacious paintings incorporate religious and racial stereotypes.

Daniela Ortiz, who is based in Barcelona, brings a selection of tabletop-size ceramic prototypes for anti-colonialist monuments, including a beheaded alternative to a Christopher Columbus statue in New York City. Ms. Ortiz has proposed replacements for monuments to Christopher Columbus in Madrid; Lima, Peru; and New York

Tomm El-Saieh, a Haitian-born painter based in Miami. His works are made up of tiny, obsessively applied marks

I really loved his work- I could get lost in it!

Tomm El-Saieh, Walking Razor (2017–18)

Claudia Martínez Garay, Cannon Fodder/Cheering Crowds (2018)

Claudia Martínez Garay deconstructs visual imagery in propaganda as a way of understanding worldwide labor and social movements. For the triennial, she scoured the International Institute of Social History in Amsterdam for posters and leaflets across the political spectrum, focusing on repetitive imagery of fighting warriors and animals. She is interested in how the same types of images have been used by right and left ideologies to manipulate the viewer. She reproduced the figures as painted wood cutouts and juxtaposed them attacking each other in this mural-size work.

It was an interesting and for sure thought provoking exhibition. It was interesting how different the three of us would “read” the artwork. This is the best part of an Art Stroll -going with different friends and then discuss. Highly recommended :)

Hope you enjoyed this Art Stroll to the New Museum.

Nat

Comments (6)

  • Sue Clarke

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    Wow…I’m totally loving the work of Wilmer Wilson IV!
    The detail in the staples…when just the hands show through…very powerful.
    TFS again…I look forward to your posts every day Nat.

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      So happy to have you Sue!!! Hope you are having a wonderful weekend. Yes- the work of Wilmer Wilson IV was super powerful !

      Reply

  • Janene

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    So grateful to you for posting these diverse and amazing pieces. I keep going back to “Walking Razor” – the colors and tiny little texture-strokes are really intense, and very inspiring. I also really loved the Russian woven textile pieces. It’s not a medium I’ve ever worked in, so I appreciate seeing it up-close. Thank you again, dear Nathalie!

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Janene- yeah the Walking Razor was super intriguing and I kept trying to figure out how it was done. Just like for you the woven pieces are super interesting to me – painting with yarn :)

      Reply

  • Deb

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    Natalie,
    Thank you so much for continuing to share your Art Strolls. We get to see exhibits that we otherwise would not. Your last comment in this post about seeing how differently we each “read” the various pieces is so true. Good to have friends to discuss it with. The “debriefing” of the stroll.

    Love the variety of your blog posts. Have enjoyed your posts from your Japan trip and the subsequently inspired journal pages. I look forward to your daily posts. Thanks for all the effort you put into them.

    Happy Friday!
    Deb

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Happy weekend Deb-!!! so happy to have you and that you enjoy the blog!
      I love going with friends and talk with them about art. Our different backgrounds and experiences as well as different knowledge makes up for interesting “readings” and conversations. My friend Thomas is much older and so it was really interesting what his perspective was – plus his knowledge of Latin for some of the tapestry was unbeatable- LOL. Have a wonderful sunday!

      Reply

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Start Over – Art Journal Spread

“You don’t have to wait for spring to start over”

Cherry Blossom inspired this journal page …my cherry blossoms are gigantic- hahahaha

I played a bit with my Art Graf Graphite, which comes in a tin – I like it and had totally forgotten it …As I mentioned before, the Reorganisation of my studio totally reminds me of all the treasures I have.

I also used some black ink on top of the graphite and for the blossom centers – I like the soft look of the graphite versus the very defined ink.

We have a lot of those trees in our street and I love the short time everything is a pink spring festival – for me it could last just a tiny bit longer ;)

Speaking of Studio Reorganization – I destashed some wood mounted stamps and stencils which are some of my super favorite designs and you can find them in my store in the Flea Market section :

Check it out- maybe you find something you would love to give a home!

And here are the supplies I used for the art journal spread above:


Nat

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Be Yourself – Art Journal Spread

“Very few people do this anymore. It’s risky. First of all it’s a hell of a responsibility to be yourself. It’s much easier to be someone else or to be Nobody at all!” Sylvia Plath

Loved using up some washi tape and washi paper which I “collected” for a while. the lady is from a sketch I did and I cut it out of a paper and then colored the image in and adhered it on top with Gel Medium.

I stamped the building stamps onto the different patterned washi paper and cut them out. I adhered them as well as the washi tape with Gel Medium. Even thought the washi tape has adhesive the adhesive won’t hold to long, so better just glue it down.

Some journaling and some stamping – love how the pattern and color mostly comes from the Washi.

Here are some of the supplies I used


Nat

Comments (2)

  • Sue Clarke

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    Glad to read about using the gel medium with washi tape as it doesn’t hold very well on canvas or over paint.
    Nice page and quote Nat.

    Reply

    • nathalie-kalbach

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      Thank you Sue! Yes – gel medium is the way to make sure that the low adhesive will keep on sticking. Washi tape will eventually even come loose from plain paper if not reinforced.

      Reply

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Currently Digging – May 2018 AIT

Once in a while I thought I would share with you some nifty finds – like an Artist who’s work caught my eye…, some Inspiration or the what, when and where that caught my eye and got my creative juices flowing, and Tools & Techniques I am currently digging like a new way to use a material or an application that I’m taking away. Hope you enjoy this.

Here we go for this month:

I am a huge fan of Cy Twombly and not only did I see some amazing paintings of his just recently, I was also at the Gagosian Gallery with Kim and another friend to see a collection of his drawings. No photos allowed there though – the following is from MoMA.

His vivid colors, scratching, dripping, writing – fascinating and so tactile. I especially loved his work in handmade books also shown at the gallery. Makes me want to grab my art journal and get loose :)

I have two words for you…Babylon Berlin

It is a German TV Series- which you can watch on Netflix which plays 1929 in Berlin during the Weimarer Republic. It is not for the faint hard – nor for someone who might have a problem with explicit pictures or language …

It is amazing! Not only is the criminal story great and the interweaving of historic facts and fiction, but the visual inspiration is so GOOD! Alone all the different scenes in rooms with the most amazing wallpaper, the clothing, the pattern , the colors. I could not stop watching and I def. would love to go back and now that I know how the story goes ;) I would love to look at some of the decoration again. I hope the English dubbed version is ok – I know that is sometimes a problem with those shows and I personally could not stand it …but then…LOL- lucky for me once …I didn’t have to ;)

Ok….ready? You gonna laugh but I am totally digging USING Washi paper and Washi tape.

Before I was just COLLECTING it but now that I am off to reorganize my studio once again and am therefore using tons of stuff …I am actually totally hooked using it ;)

Since I have been hoarding it for such a long time and also because the adhesive is not the best anyway – I apply some gel medium under the tape and paper and over it. Now …if you are a collector of Washi tape and paper …hopefully I made you wanna use it as well with this post ;)

See you soon again with some new nifty finds that I am currently digging !

Nat

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