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Art Stroll: Making Modern at MFA Boston

When I was in Boston a couple months ago to visit my friend Julie Fei Fan Balzer we went to the MFA in Boston and saw the Making Modern Exhibition. The exhibition explored “what it meant to be in the vanguard of Modern art in the 20th century. Modern artists working in the Americas were influenced by a variety of contemporaries, teachers, rivals, and friends. Incorporating diverse sources of inspiration, 20th-century painters took their artistic practice in dramatic new directions.”

Georgia O’Keeffe, Calla Lily on Grey, 1928 – Oil on Canvas. O’Keeffe was influenced in the composition of this piece by her teacher Wesley Dow who taught that artists should not copy from nature, but rather capture nature through the exploration of composition with elements like lines and colors.

Marsden Hartley, Arrangement – Hieroglyphics (Painting No. 2), 1914 – Oil on Canvas. Hartley who lived in Germany between 1913 and 1915 was deeply inspired by Native American art which he encountered at Berlin’s ethnographic museum and also by artist Wassily Kandinsky. I do love his frame, a perfect sample how artist often made frames being part of their artwork.

Stuart Davis, Hot Still-Scape for Six Colors- 7th Avenue Style, 1940 – Oil on Canvas. Davis painted this in his studio in Greenwich Village and it was as he said himself a “product of everyday experience in the new lights, speeds, and spaces fo the American environment” I love the colorful energetic composition and it does speak 1940s-jazz-time-NYC to me.

Stuart Davis, Adit, No. 2, 1923 – Oil on Canvas. Davis visited Paris in 1928 and this painting is inspired by the urban landscape of Paris.

In the 1920s and 1930s Artists and designers tried to capture the excitement, the speed, the intrigue and surprising loneliness of urban life, in their paintings, music, writings, fashion and furniture.

I love love everything in the above picture- can I have this in my living room, please!

Edward Hopper, Drug Store, 1927 Oil on Canvas. This painting conveys an eerie nocturnal solitude through the brilliance of electric light. It is slightly discomforting.

Walter Augustus Simon, 715 Washington Street Greenwich Village, 1947 Oil on canvas with additional Mixed Media. Simon lived in this building as a student and later with his family. It shows the intimate space with the ground level shops, failings, walls and fire escapes.

Eldzier Cortor, Room No. V, 1948 Oil on Masonite. Cortor build up the painted surface with delicate skins of color that suggest cracked walls. He also chose the distressed and old frame with this painting.

I love the visual and actual texture in this painting.

Eldzier Cortor, Environment, 1947 Oil on board. Cortor extends the thickly painted rooftop patched by newspapers and other items into our space.

Amazing!

Hans Hofmann, Swamp Series II – Autumnal Glory, 1957 -Oil on canvas. Hoffmann once said ” A picture should be made with feeling, not with knowing. The possibilities of the medium must be sensed. Anything can serve as a medium …” He taught his students to layer color and form, creating as in this painting, movement and depth.

Jackson Pollock, Troubled Queen, 1945 -Oil and alkyd on canvas. Pollock was familiar with Picasso’s early works, which often display masklike treatment of heads and interpenetration of figure and ground. This painting also marks a transitional moment in Pollocks career as he already moves toward the “drip” paintings for which he later becomes most known. I love this sample of where inspiration from another artist meets a different artists’ own interpretation and style.

I really loved this exhibition and its attempt to explore what influenced and inspired the work of those artists. It is amazing to see the connection between old ideas and new ideas, surroundings and Zeitgeist and how new movements are being born. It is what makes art so incredibly interesting and provides such a trove of inspiration while taking an Art Stroll.

I hope you enjoyed this Art Stroll as much as I did!

Nat

Comments (3)

JoAnn

November 2, 2016 at 1:38 pm | #

Thank you so much for sharing – JoAnn

Reply
Joi@RR

November 2, 2016 at 9:49 am | #

Many of the designs in these and the buildings (of course) remind me of your art Nat. Thanks so much for sharing – I always enjoy your art walks! j.

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- Mary Jane Huth
  
  November 2, 2016 at 10:54 am | #
  
  Thanks so much I love all your art walks! It’s soo great to see all the amazing art from all over the world!
  
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Art Stroll: MFA Boston Permanent Collection

Art Stroll Boston

At the end of August I visited my friend Julie Fei-Fan Balzer in Boston and of course we took some Art Strolls.

I wanted to share with you some inspiring pieces from the permanent collection …

besides this amazing view up

Endlessly Repeating Twentieth Century Modernism by Josiah McElheny

It is a fascinating mirrored installation and McElheny hand-blew each glass vessel based on Italian, Austrian, Czech and Scandinavian designs from 1920-1990. I loved it so much and couldn’t stop looking at it. I wonder how I can incorporate the idea of endless elegance into a piece of my own art.

La Japonaise (Camille Monet in Japanese Costume), Claude Monet, 1876
The colors and details in this picture- from the Costume to the carpet are just mind blowing. I did not like the frame around this painting- it is sooo pompous and takes away so much from the painting – I am sure it is not the original frame and one of those Museum’s early “let’s make sure all artwork gets the same frame” craziness, as I wrote about in my Art Strolls here.

Rouen Cathedral Facade, 1894 and Rouen Cathedral Facade and Tour d’Albane (Morning Effect), 1894 by Claude Monet – Oil on Canvas

I love those paintings. They glow, atmosphere and the texture and impasto is just unreal. It makes me want to touch it.

Paysage de Banlieue, 1905 by Maurice de Vlaminck. Students of my Art Rules class might remember that we talked about a couple of his paintings in the Fauvism part of the class. I always love how my students are as intrigued as I am by the marks and colors . It is truly inspiring to discover this style in your own art journal.

Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?, 1897–98 by Paul Gauguin. “In 1891, Gauguin left France for Tahiti where he created paintings that express a highly personal mythology. He considered this work to be his masterpiece and the summation of his ideas. Gauguin’s letters suggest that the fresco-like painting should be read from right to left, beginning with the sleeping infant. He describes the various figures as pondering the questions of human existence given in the title; the blue idol represents “the Beyond.” The old woman at the far left, “close to death,” accepts her fate with resignation. ” (from MFA Website). It is a massive painting and keeps you with it’s Narrative and Symbolism.

Lullaby: Madame Augustine Roulin Rocking a Cradle (La Berceuse), 1889 by Vincent Van Gogh. I love the vividly colored patterned background! The texture of her hair – and the colors are just glowing.

The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit, 1882 by John Singer Sargent.

Mrs. Charles E. Inches (Louise Pomeroy), 1887 by John Singer Sargent.

Rehearsal of the Pasdeloup Orchestra at the Cirque d’Hiver, about 1879–80 by John Singer Sargent. This last painting was actually my favorite of his paintings. I love the monochromatic color palette and that you can almost hear the music. Apparently John Singer Sargent was influenced by artwork by Edgar Degas he had seen in 1877 (check out my Art Stroll through the Degas Exhibition at MoMA recently) – and that makes total sense to me. Love how he took the inspiration and made his own piece.

Hope you enjoyed the Art Stroll through the Permanent Collection of the MFA in Boston. If I could I would go every week to a museum for a little art inspiration.

Nat

Comments (2)

Jean Goza

October 24, 2016 at 10:39 am | #

What an amazing collection you shared this morning. I am hard pressed to pick a favorite. Thanks for the “stroll”.
Jean

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- nathalie-kalbach
  
  October 28, 2016 at 7:29 am | #
  
  thank you Jean for joining the Art Stroll !
  nat
  
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Art Stroll: Cooper Hewitt Design Museum, NYC

Art Stroll Cooper Hewitt New York City

A couple weeks ago I went on an Art Stroll with my friend Andrew and he suggested we should visit the Cooper Hewitt Smithsonian Design Museum. Well – I haven’t been there yet- so of course I was up for it!

And boy was I glad went- it was so much fun and so worth it- btw- it almost right at the Guggenheim where we did another Art Stroll that day, so if you are ever in the area :)

Upon our entry we received a big pen which, we were told has two functions.

to use on certain interactive stations to do your own designs and
to save the information of everything you saw and want to keep track of and the designs you created

Or as a very sweet guard said to me: “You can collect the whole museum and take it home with you!”

HOW COOL IS THAT . Big shout – I loved it. It definitely changed the way how people including us viewed the museum. You weren’t so focused on writing things down or photographing everything – and yes I know there are avid hater of the fact- but this is how information and things get consumed nowadays and I feel as this was the smartest most amazing way of a museum to embrace it, go with it and make it better for everyone! People do not feel they are missing out on taking home the memory ..they take the whole museum home *wink

Here is Andrew in front of a wall paper creator – I made a simple one for him

Here he made one for me. I like it ….maybe just one tiny section of a wall because I might get a bit 70s if I’d had this all over my walls- but it is fun !

Love this poster *wink

here is Andrew creating a vase.

Poster Generation Vielfalt, Götz Gramlich 2014. I loved this- this is how our election posters look like during our election time in Germany – which lasts only a couple weeks- oh boy you wish *wink. Often times those posters change over the time either by weather or by protesters. So the design of Gramlich for an election was actually a play on that. Gramlich’s poster series Generation Vielfalt was designed for the progressive political party Generation Heidelberg. The posters were displayed over time to show a transformation. Here, the second poster in the series shows the image partially torn away to reveal a new message underneath. I love the idea of revealing a new message by tearing away a layer on the top.

This is a Graffiti v-neck tee and pants. It was designed by Melitta Baumeister. I think it has my name written on it – how cool is that. If I’d longer legs I would take it home with me- but the tee would do *wink . Definitely a reminder for me to do some more wearable art!

This is a magazine. It was designed by Theseus Chan and printed byAlsOdoMinie and made for WORK. Its medium is die-cut offset lithography over silver foil on paper. Andrew and I agreed it would make for a really cool siding for an art journal.

This is Andy standing in a PolyThread knitted textile pavilion. It was designed by Jenny E. Sabin. Its medium is 3d seamless whole garment digitally knit cone elements; photoluminescent, solar active and drake yarns; twill tape; aluminum tubing. Now that is a mouthful and pretty pretty amazing.

These are prints by Kyuha Shim.

upon closer inspection you see that they are made with stamps- so so so cool!!!! I almost squealed.

Shim created these ninety-two custom rubber stamps to produce his series of prints Seeing through Circles (2013) above. The stamps have with visual densities that roughly match the brightness or darkness of sixty corresponding pixels. Printing the stamps together creates a texture similar to digital printing.

This sculpture was designed by The Haas Brothers, Nikolai Haas andSimon Haas and collaborator: The Haas Sisters of Monkeybiz andMonkeybiz.

glass beads, wire, wood, mixed fiber stuffing, and cast bronze

The colors made me happy and I would have loved this as a toy as a kid!

Some beautiful textile pattern design!

loved this airy piece …and forgot to use my pen on it – so ….unfortunately I have no information on who designed it but I thought it was really

Sou Fujimoto Architects created this series of models for the 2015 Chicago Architecture Biennial. Called Architecture Is Everywhere, the project discovers architectural possibility in found objects and everyday materials. Simple artifacts such as a lottery ticket, an ashtray, or a ring of binder clips become intriguing structures when placed on pedestals with tiny human figures. In the words of Sou Fujimoto, “This is kind of a funny trial to expand our ideas of architecture beyond our usual understanding.”

This looks way cooler in person -you have to see it. It mad me giggle !

That a treasure of inspiration was found in this museum. I am getting all excited again while writing the post and looking at the photos again.

Hope you enjoyed this Art Stroll! There are more to come soon !

What was the last museum exhibition you went to that knocked you off your socks?

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Nat

Comments (3)

Kim

October 18, 2016 at 3:11 pm | #

So cool to explore design in such a hands on way!

Reply
Natalya Aikens

October 1, 2016 at 1:59 pm | #

I love that museum! And I haven’t been there for a while, tis time…. Thank you for my virtual visit!!

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Sue Clarke

October 1, 2016 at 10:00 am | #

First of all, how exceptionally cool is that pen to take the museum home with you?! Unfortunately I don’t get to museums as often as I would like to, but the last time I was in one it was in Washington, D.C. and the art of super cool and different. This one piece which was a series of TV’s stacked on top of each other (to show the Vietnam War and how America saw it on TV) really made me stop and think. Just a stack of TV’s used as art (and very well arranged I must say). In this post I especially liked the small humans arranged on the screws and such. Thanks, once again Nat, for bringing art straight to my computer for me to see. Love it!

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Art Stroll: Moholy-Nagy: Future Present at Guggenheim

Art Stroll Guggenheim Moholy-Nagy New York City

The retrospective of Laszlo Moholy-Nagy at the Guggenheim – Future- Present- was Andrew’s and my second stop for an art stroll a couple weeks ago.

Meandering from bottom to top in a spiral his work developed from the 20s to the mid 40s in front of the viewers eyes.

The Bicyclist (Still Life) Moholy-Nagy, 1920-22, Oil on Canvas

I loved seeing this and how the geometric shapes evolved into something else with time.

Yellow Circle and Black Square (Gelber Kreis und schwarzes Quadrat) by Moholy-Nagy, 1921, Oil and Graphite on Canvas

Moholy-Nagy believed that art could be a vehicle to for social transformation and was combining technology and fine art elements. He experimented with a wide variety of mediums.

Coming from the Dadaglobe Exhibition Art Stroll just a couple hours before- we loved seeing the artwork below. Moholy-Nagy who was born in Hungary-Austria in 1895 moved to Berlin in the 1920s where he met the Dada artists who influenced his work.

Between Heaven and Earth (Zwischen Himmel und Erde) by Moholy-Nagy, 1923, Photomontage (gelatin silver prints, including one photogram; photomechanical reproductions and graphite) on paper

Slide (Rutschbahn) by Moholy-Nagy, 1923, Photomontage (cut and pasted printed papers, sprayed gouache, ink and graphite) on board

I also loved his modern and funny advertisements. Again of course it is only funny when you can read German

but so the one on top here says “everyone is born naked to this world and should not be disadvantaged in the daily struggle of existence by ugly clothes. The birthright that everyone should access to good clothing was realized by SS (Schröder-Spezial) ” – I guess they had a way longer attention span for advertisements back then – lol

The top here is showing off the good material their clothes are made off and …and the one on the bottom let’s you know if you walk around with open eyes you will spot how superior the clothes of this menswear house is.

Advertisements for Schroeder-Spezial – a menswear chain store, 1930

Advertisement for the London Underground, 1937

CH Beata I by Moholy-Nagy, 1939, Oil and graphite on canvas

In 1937 he was appointed to head of New Bauhaus in Chicago and later he opened his own School of Design there. I love seeing traces of the beginning artwork still there but developed more into something else.

Space Modulators:

Moholy-Nagy’s technique of suspending Plexiglas sheets with clips or rails several inches in front of white panels allows light to pass through the clear areas while the painted passages generate modulated shadows that become part of the composition. He described this process: “I scratch lines on the back of the transparent sheet and rub color in; the same I do wit the front, rubbing another color it. Light does then what I could not do. A sparkling, vibrating color effect through the addition of the shadows which produce mixtures as no one could on the palette.”

At times, he would manipulate the Plexiglas, as with the work above, by heating the plastic sheets – sometimes in his kitchen oven – and then shaping them by hand to enhance their capacity to distort light and imply undulating movement. Moholy-Nagy died at the age of 51 of leukemia.

Leuk 4 by Moholy-Nagy, 1945, Oil and graphite on canvas

This painting was done a year before his death and is depiction cancer cells. Without context it looked not sad – but knowing the context it made me sad . But here we have another prove of how art can reflect something that happens in the artists live in a symbolic and hidden way- if you wouldn’t see the name of the painting – you might not really know.

More Space Modulators:

The Guggenheim was the perfect setting for this retrospective and enjoyed it a lot. It is timeless art and even though it has nothing to do with my own style and taste I appreciated his thoughts, ideas and development of his style.

And from here Andrew and I set out for another stop on our crazy art stroll that day… but that is for a different post *wink

Hope you enjoyed this Art Stroll today !

Nat

Comments (4)

Karen Amdur

March 23, 2017 at 10:12 pm | #

Nice to revisit the exhibit which is fabulous.
Just saw it at LACMA in LA.
Thx for creating your tour.

Reply
- nathalie-kalbach
  
  March 24, 2017 at 6:29 pm | #
  
  So glad you enjoyed seeing it again -Love that it was also in LA! Thank you for your visit Karen!
  
  Reply
nathalie-kalbach

September 16, 2016 at 9:36 am | #

Glad you enjoyed it Joi :) I wish you a wonderful weekend as well! Nat

Reply
Joi@RR

September 16, 2016 at 8:42 am | #

Sooo interesting Nat. I just wanted to keep looking at each piece – they just draw you in but in such a different way. It felt more like looking at architectural pieces somehow!!! Between Heaven and Earth made me laugh – pretty neat!!! And the advertisements were fun. Really a treat to see your stroll and that fabulous building too. Thanks bunches. Have a super weekend. j.

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Art Stroll: Dadaglobe Reconstructed at MoMA

Art Stroll Dada Dadaglobe MoMA

A couple weeks ago Andrew Borloz (check his amazing new stencils out!) and I met in the City for a an extended Art Stroll, to be precise – three art strolls and this is the first of them.

Our first stop was the Dadaglobe Reconstructed exhibition at MoMA. Dada is an Anti-Art Movement founded in 1916 in Zurich which spread all over the world. Dada embraced the idea of art as protest and rejected the idea of art as commodity. The world had changed after WWI and artists were ready to break down hierarchy, breaking rules and thinking about what was going on in the world. Usual themes of Dada were politics of the time, new technology, ideas of authority – striving to equalize, turning everyday objects into art. Dada revolutionized Modern Art, anything was possible, mixing ideas, embracing everyday objects as potential art materials, using collage etc.

Dadaglobe was planned by Tristan Tzara, one of the founders of the Dada Movement. He wanted to create a book to be published in 1921 and invited 50 artists from 10 different countries to submit artworks for the book. The work was to be mailed and usually in the size of the later book pages. Reaching out this way was in itself revolutionary as it was a collaboration of international exchange in a time of Nationalism where many resentments against other nations existed and some countries weren’t allowed to travel everywhere. Unfortunately for financial and other reasons the book was never published, but what remained were some of the artwork that was sent in, and the cataloging how Tzara envisioned the layout of the book and the order of the artwork.

In his solicitation letters Tzara instructed his fellow artists to provide 2-3 reproductions of their work, drawings, a book page with text and a photograph of themselves which they could alter freely. The last part of the instructions was the one that the artists seemed to have the most fun with and went wild.

Rastada Painting, 1920 by Francis Piciabia, cut-and-pasted printed paper on paper with ink

In Picabia’s self portrait he describes himself as a failure, a wag and a gigolo and represents himself as a clown .

Francis Picabia, 1920 Ink and watercolor on paper

In this drawing Picabia created an calligraphic signature and then signs it , mocking conventions of authorship and authenticity.

I had to keep in mind that all the artwork in this exhibition was not made for the wall, they were made for reproduction in book form and the exhibition shows more or less the Making of a Book.

Portrait of Sophie Taeuber with her Dada Head by Nic. Aluf, ca. 1920 –

I love that the self portrait shows her with the artwork below – it was wonderful to see the original work

Dada Head by Sophie Taeuber, 1920 Oil onturned wood

which she then also had painted. Again I loved that they included the original artwork which she submitted as a photograph for the book.

Dada Composition (Flat Head) by Sophie Taeuber, 1920, Oil on Canvas

Compressing her sculpture onto the plane of a canvas – flatten three dimensions into two.

Bride by Marcel Duchamp, 1912, oil on canvas

Submitted was a photograph of Duchamp’s painting.

I really loved the pieces below- one of the reasons is that the german text is actually quite funny – I know… unfair ;)

Dada Milky Way (Dada Milchstrasse) by Johannes Bader, ca. 1919-1920, cut- and-pasted printed paper sand cut-and-pasted gelatin silver print on printed paper

Advertisement for Myself: Dada Milky Way by Johannes Baader, 1920, cut-and-pasted printed paper and ink on printed paper

Baader wrote Hannah Höch after he received the invitation by Tzara that he was very excited about this clever and good idea for a collaboration. How cool is that?

Manifesto W5 by Max Ernst, 1920, cut-and-pasted printed papers on colored paper

This is my favorite- I love Max Ernst and his humor – he is one of my favorite artists and a lot of the techniques that we as Mixed Media Artist use were actually invented by him. The above work says “Speak loud! Be brave!”

The Human Eye and a Fish, The Latter Petrified by Johannes Theodor Baargeld, , 1920, cut-and-patered paper, ink and pencil on paper

It was a fun exhibition and I loved that the movement of Dada and the projects for Dadaglobe got many later very famous artists inspired and trying new things and approaches to their art. That is why collaborating with other artists can be such an rewarding and inspiring thing to do!

And then Andrew and I continued our Art Stroll uptown to the Guggenheim Museum…but that is a different post :)

Hope you enjoyed the stroll.

Nat

Comments (2)

nurse-ratchet

September 3, 2016 at 9:27 am | #

Imagine, an art lesson relaxing in bed on a Saturday morning! Awesome, as always my FLGL❤ And thank you for introducing me to Andrew’s stunning art and stencils?

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- nathalie-kalbach
  
  September 3, 2016 at 11:21 am | #
  
  oh that sounds like a great saturday morning my sweet Canadian lady :))) Glad you liked it and yes- Andrew’s stencils are amazing!!!
  
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Art Stroll: Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati, Ohio

Art Stroll Cincinnati Contemporary Arts Center Do Ho Suh Home

When I was in Ohio for the photoshoot for my book, I was able to visit the Contemporary Arts Center in Cinci and boy was that an inspiring and amazing visit! The Do Ho Suh exhibition was just breath taking.

Do Ho Suh was born and lived in Seoul, and then in South Korea, New York, Berlin, London and other cities in the world. Being away from home caused him to reexamine what exactly home meant to him and made him more aware of its value. This focus continues to influence his work. “I want to carry my house with me all the time like a snail.”

Most of his live sized installation of places he lived at are made of translucent polyester fabric and stainless steel tubing and wire and walking through these installation give you a feeling of ghostly remembrance of other places.

Do Ho Suh, Wielandstr. 18, 12159 Berlin, Germany – 3 Corridors, 2011

It was interesting how familiar the Berlin-Apartment felt to me- I knew the door handles- the windows, the intercom – things that I have had in apartments I lived at in Germany.

The craftman ship was also just crazy- the embroidered little details that made you want to touch the items – invoking an even more familiar feeling when just the shape.

“I’m interested in transitional spaces [staircases, bridges, doorways] rather than destinations. They connect to different spaces, but at the same time they separate the spaces. I truly believe that life is a passageway.”

This is a live sized hallway of an apartment building in New York.

348 West 22nd Street, New York, NY 10011, USA Apartment A, Corridors and Staircases – Do Ho Suh

Polyester fabric, stainless steel. 2011

Reflection – Do Ho Suh – Polyester fabric, stainless steel tube, 2005 to 2011

The exhibition also showed some artwork – watercolor paper with embedded cotton threads.

Rubbings of a radiator on sheer transparency paper.

Below are some artifacts from the places he lived. He invites us into his homes and introduces us to the everyday items, memories and emotions that dwell within.

I found this concept so interesting – because you get so used to all those things- and I have moved quite a bit in my live- even continents as you know and I can remember funny things in the places I lived- like the old fire oven of the timber wood house we lived in – I would love to have a rubbing of that oven or a sheer fabric installation, or the metal door with swirls we had in my first student-apartment in Hamburg. When you move a lot, you have to make yourself constantly home at different places and after a couple moves it is not dependent on location anymore. It starts with some familiar items you bring along- but mostly for me it is where the man and the fluffy cat are and when you start having local friends you get a fuzzy feeling of “yes, this feels like home” . I feel at home here- but I also long for my home in Hamburg but is more the longing for a memory of a home.

I know the word “home” means different things to different people. For Do Ho Suh, home can be reconstructed through fabric and memories of architectural space. For others, the smell of warm soup or the sound of a creaky door may elicit a memory. I think it is such an interesting topic to discover with art, Do Ho Suh created memories of homes that he could fold together and put in a suitcase and bring to a new place. I create art of the places around me to get familiar with the area and make it home.

What does home mean to you? Is it tied to a location or feeling?

Nat

Comments (8)

Barbara Greve

August 12, 2016 at 7:41 pm | #

I lived in Seoul Korea for about a year when I was younger; ok, MUCH younger. I was so blown away by the complete lack of space. People live in little huts right up next to big freeways and their homes are very small so that they have one room but it changes into many different rooms; like they’re living room becomes several bedrooms. I can see why a lot of these mudane things can seem almost mystical to him and he makes these highly intricate woven scuptures out of them. I really love this exhibit. Thank you for sharing!

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- nathalie-kalbach
  
  August 15, 2016 at 4:38 pm | #
  
  How amazing that you lived for a year in Korea- that must have been such a great experience! Glad you liked the artstroll.
  
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Joi@RR

August 12, 2016 at 9:30 am | #

So very interesting and unique. I can’t even imagine creating something like these. Hehehehe – that potty was so fun!!! Thank you, once again, for bringing your world to us Nat..

In our 44 years of married life, hubby and I have moved over 100 times. We have rented, purchased, shared and even been homeless! For me – home is simple. Bloom where you are planted!

Today – home for me is my sweet hubby, my computer and my paints. ALL OF YOU are HOME to me – sharing art daily and hearing your stories. It’s enough. Hugs, j.

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- nathalie-kalbach
  
  August 15, 2016 at 4:39 pm | #
  
  Awe can relate about what you say about home :) hugs back to you!
  
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Rae

August 11, 2016 at 5:47 pm | #

So this may be my favorite art stroll you have shared so far. I love it so much. Home is VERY special for me as well and this was just amazing! I would love to see it one day. Thank you for sharing with us! xx

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- nathalie-kalbach
  
  August 15, 2016 at 4:40 pm | #
  
  So glad you liked it :) One day we will go on an artstroll together :)
  
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Sue Clarke

August 11, 2016 at 8:18 am | #

HOME is when I am feeling at peace (within myself) at any location and/or when I’m with my husband, son and dog. More a matter of who I’m with and how I feel than where I physically am. Although it does feel nice to “get home” after being away on vacation. Have a wonderful day at home OR away Nat!

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- nathalie-kalbach
  
  August 15, 2016 at 4:40 pm | #
  
  This is so true Sue!!! have a wonderful day wherever you are at the moment too, Sue!
  
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Art Stroll: Grayson Perry at MAC in Sydney, Australia

Art Art Stroll grayson perry

A couple of months ago, I was in Australia and visited a couple museums but I wanted to spread out the posts for you a bit- so finally I would like to take you on an art stroll through Grayson Perry’s exhibition at MAC in Sydney.

“Grayson Perry is one of the best known British artists of his generation, acclaimed for his ceramics, sculptures, drawings, prints and tapestries. With a keen eye for detail and a love of the popular and vernacular, Perry infuses his artworks with a sly humour and reflection on society past and present.” (MCA)

I love how Grayson Perry celebrates craft and wants to get rid of the idea of high art and low art.

In this ceramic he combines heraldic images with important names and dealers in the art world.

For Perry Art and Craft are very firmly linked.

X92, 1999

Woman of Ideas 1990, glazed ceramic

Britain is Best, 2014 – hand embroidery, silk, glass beads, sequins, cotton thread.

Insanely amazing and again – a message on a wall tapestry.

Comfort Blanket 2014- tapestry

Map of Truths and Beliefs 2011 – acrylic wool and cotton tapestry

As you can see the scale of the work was massive!

Perry says “It is not about being perfect, it is about a give and take between the maker and the material, and the imagery they are using. It is a conversation. Often the most interesting thing happens, is when you allow the material to fight back.” This really speaks to me!

Part of the exhibition was also a great range of Perry’s sketchbooks. He says that drawing in his sketchbook is an almost daily activity and when he puts an idea down he takes it very seriously. No idea is wasted and there will come a point when he will make a work from the drawing. He has a backlog of categories of objects he wants to make.

I loved seeing his sketchbook above and then the actual tapestry that came out of it!

This was truly a treat – I hope some day Perry makes it to the U.S. as I could have spent hours at the exhibition looking at the messages, the imagery – the connection of craft and art. His artwork is inspiring and amazing and his thoughts on society, art and craft are very interesting and appealing to me.

And on this note ….one last goof ball pic from Australia :)

I hope you enjoyed this art stroll!

Nat

Comments (3)

Joi@RR

July 29, 2016 at 3:28 pm | #

Heheheh – you two gals ALWAYS make me giggle when you are together!!! This was so interesting to see Nat. Amazing creative thinking – wow. Just kept looking and looking!! Thanks bunches for such great photos and post. Xj.

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Sue Clarke

July 28, 2016 at 2:08 pm | #

Love the tapestries! Especially fun to see the leap from the page to the wall. I enjoyed this stroll.

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Kim

July 28, 2016 at 9:06 am | #

One of my favorite Art Strolls – such a thought-provoking artist! I’m with you – I would love to see more of his work and to really spend time taking it all in. Seems like he also has a sense of humor :) Thank you for sharing both the imagery and some of the big themes behind the work!

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Art Stroll: Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney, Australia

Art Stroll Australia Contemporary Art Museum Sydney

A couple of months ago, I was in Australia and visited a couple museums but I wanted to spread out the posts for you a bit- so finally I would like to take you on an art stroll through the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney, Australia.

Isn’t this an amazing piece? It was quite big – Noah Eshkol, Window to the Sea, 1975, Cotton, pique, satin

Noa Eshkol, Window to the Night, 1981 – cotton, cotton lawn, flannelette, twill, cretonne, jersey, percale, pique, poplin, satin, taffeta, repp with lurex threads, crepe fabric.

The material list reads like a “Who is Who of Fabric”, don’t you think? These pieces made me wish I was a sewer …I am not, but I would like to include more fabric and sewing into my work.

Daniel Boyd, Untitled, 2016 – oil, charcoal and archival glue on linen.

The details are just so amazing and I love the combination of classic charcoal drawing on top of aboriginal art.

Daniel Boyd, Untitled, 2016, oil, digital print and archival glue on canvas

Mesmerizing!

Daniel Boyd, Untitled, 2016, oil, charcoal and archival glue on linen

Boyd translates and re-contextualizes historical images and explores ideas of strength, spirit and aboriginal resistance while at the same time commenting on science, evolution and Darwinism.

“He uses dots as a veil to create scenes that appear incomplete, leaving space for the viewer to complete the story, and mirroring how history is partial and completed through memory and myth.” – Signage at MCAA

Nina Beier, Allegory of Charity, 2015 – ceramic cups, coffee beens, resin, wood, metal

Look at the crackle texture!!!

Gordon Bennett, Abstraction (City dweller), 2013, acrylic on linen

Gordon Bennett, Abstraction (Ntive), 2013, acrylic on linen

“These two paintings are part of a larger series that superimpose the faces of contemporary Australians over earth-toned figures bearing similarities to representations of primitivist figures in the paintings of late American Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat”. What a wonderful example on how an artist got inspired by a different artist, and translated the inspiration into his own cultural background and style – into something entirely new that only a little hint off the inspiration is left. I love this!!!!

Gordon Bennett, Untitled (dismay, displace, disperse, dispirit, display, dismiss), 1989, oil and synthetic polymer paint on canvas

Bennett is interested in the power of language and the way it shapes culture and identity.

Newell Harry, As Veneral Theists Rest/The Natives Are Restless, 2008, letraset, black and white gesso and ink on craft paper backed with interfacing, lights, beads, rubber, wool, wood, ceramic, plant fibres, metal, string, cotton, shell, transformer

This was such an amazing piece to explore visually – I did restrain from touching it- but it was very very tempting. BTW- this was the first museum where I actually saw two different people touching paintings and being told off by the guard. I had never seen this before but heard that this happens quite often from one of the Conservators at MoMA and I am just astonished. Tempting – yes – but big no no!

Tim Johnson Four elders, 1986, oil on canvas.

again so amazing to see the painting from further away and from a very close distance.

Wait…who is this goof ball in my pic? Awe- my sweet friend Julie- LOL. We had such a good time :)

These pieces on bark were just so amazing- I would love to have some of those hanging in my living room!

I hope you enjoyed the stroll and those images and materials inspired you :) have a wonderful creative day!

Nat

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Gayle Kush

July 3, 2016 at 7:16 am | #

I am a fiber artist and work almost exclusively in fabric and sewing. I follow your blog because very much of what you do on paper transfers over onto fabric wonderfully! I find a lot of the tips and ideas you have to be useful in my work. Especially your stamps and stencils!!! I paint on fabric all the time. You should try your techniques on fabric (with fabric paints if you plan on sewing anything) once. You just might like it!!!!

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- nathalie-kalbach
  
  July 6, 2016 at 8:59 am | #
  
  Gayle- how wonderful to hear that you are actually work with fabric and sewing! You made me totally tempted to try out some new things with fabric- thank you :)
  
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Sue Clarke

July 2, 2016 at 9:28 am | #

Hello Nat,
Yes, I did enjoy the stroll.
I would love to be around when you and Julie hang out…I can just tell that you’re both having some crazy fun!
The dot painting are my favorites.
Peace,
Sue

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- nathalie-kalbach
  
  July 2, 2016 at 9:50 am | #
  
  We would love to have you :) Have a wonderful 4th July weekend, Sue! big hugs,nat
  
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Art Stroll: Jackson Pollock – A Collection Survey at MoMA

Art Stroll Jackson Pollock MoMA

A couple months ago I went to MoMA and saw this wonderful exhibition of Jackson Pollock’s work tracking his artistic development from the 1930s, when he made loosely figurative images , to the early 1950s, when he pioneered the radical abstractions for which he is best known by pouring and dripping paint onto canvas or paper. It was a wonderful exhibition and I loved seeing the evolution but also getting an insight of how he took certain things further and further and how some of his early elements morphed into something more abstract or vanished in the end.

Jackson Pollock, Untitled (Sheet of Studies), c. 1939-42, Black colored pencil on paper

Jackson Pollock, Mask, 1941, oil on canvas

Jackson Pollock, Untitled (Animals and Figures, 1942, Gouache and ink on paper

Drawing was an independent medium for Pollock – so his sheets were never studies for paintings. Yet you can see similarities to his paintings – like in the one below – The She Wolf . Vibrantly colored lines that are laid on top. Fusing two different layers was a strategy Pollock would continue to develop over the next several years.

Jackson Pollock, The She-Wolf, 1943, oil, casein and gouache on canvas

He began covering the canvas with a layer of multicolored splatters, washes and drips and then superimposed the black outline of the wolf, whose head faces left. Finally he added thick white lines to highlight her shape and dense areas of gray-blue at the edges to bring further relief.

Jackson Pollock, Stenographic Figure, ca 1942, oil on linen

Screen prints 1943-1944 – Pollock experimented with screen printing in this time and worked briefly at a commercial silkscreen workshop in 1943. These screen prints above predate his first abstract “drip” paintings at least 2 years. Apparently Pollock and his wife artist Lee Krasner used those screen prints as greeting cards!

Painting, ca. 1944, Gouache on plywood

Full Fathom Five, 1947, oil on canvas with nails, tacks, buttons, key, coins, cigarettes, matches, etc.

This is one of Pollock’s first “drip” paintings. While its top layers consist of poured lines of black and shiny silver house paint, a large part of the paint’s crust was applied by brush and palette knife.

The nails, tacks, buttons etc. are all encrusted in the paint and add to the texture.

Untitled, c. 1944-45, engraving and drypoint

Gothic, 1944, oil on canvas

Pollock told a critic that this composition was based on Pablo Picasso’s 1907 masterpiece, Le Demoiselles d’Avignon. Just a whisper of this inspiration piece, yet …if you know it you can see it …and still it is something totally new and Pollock!

Number 1A, 1948, oil and enamel paint on canvas

I love how you can see his fingers on the left – the hand of the artist- it makes you look for these things in all of his drip paintings.

One: Number 31, 1950, Oil and enamel paint on canvas

Untitled, c. 1950, ink on paper

this makes me want to fling some ink :)

White Light, 1954, Oil, enamel and aluminum paint on canvas

This is one of Pollock’s last paintings and the only one he completed in 1954- he squeezed paint directly from a tube on the canvas – also used a brush to create subtle marbling effects by manipulating wet paint in certain areas.

It was so inspiring and wonderful – the texture and the vibrancy of the colors – and of course – do not forget the scale.

I hope you enjoyed this little stroll – until the next one.

Nat

Comments (3)

Sue Clarke

June 13, 2016 at 4:49 pm | #

One of my favorite art pieces that my son has made is a Pollack-like painting that he did in elementary school. Delightful texture.

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Joi @RR

June 13, 2016 at 10:42 am | #

Such incredible texture…. loved seeing these Nat. Thank you.X j.

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stephanie

June 13, 2016 at 10:39 am | #

great images to see his early work

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Art Stroll

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What was the last museum exhibition you went to that knocked you off your socks?

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