Filed under: Drawing, Fleeting thoughts... | Tags: art, artist, Damien Hirst, drawing, Ikea, John Kerry, Pencil, playdoh, portrait
So, I survived a trip to Ikea this week with my 5 yr old son. I think that because he found an enormous stuffed leopard to carry around with him and call, “Lepy”, he was reasonably accommodating. Yes, I am not beyond bribery, and yes…at least it was on sale…
He looks sort of sweet, right? Trust me…he came to our house bearing the filth of being dragged around Ikea. Now we have a UN of filth in our house…our domestic filth intermingling with this international/Swedish filth. Maybe I should be Secretary of State instead of John Kerry, based upon my diplomatic prowess in successfully bringing my 5 yr old through Ikea? Maybe if we bought everyone in Syria a “Lepy”, things would be better? Hmm…perhaps not. I’d better stick to being a domestic goddess, or demigod, rather, and leave the real problems in life to those more capable…
Case in point: this is the latest playdoh project that my son and I made:
Wouldn’t Martha Stewart be proud?
We decided that making a multicolor patty was clearly the best use of playdoh. Forget those fancy moulds and cookie cutters…PSHAW! (not MOLD…mind you, I’m not THAT bad of a housekeeper) Can’t you see Damien Hirst doing something like this??? No?
Is it not the sculptural equivalent of THIS?:
Damien Hirst, Beautiful revolving sphincter, oops brown painting, 2003
No?
Do I need to get out of suburbia more often?
Probably. Maybe we do have mold, and the spores are starting to affect my brain…
So, I finally got a chance to update my website with new artwork. YES! So, I’m going to do a little self promotion now…you’d better grab that double espresso…
Elizabeth Kostojohn, Are You Still There? #1, 2012, 15″x20″, Graphite on mylar
This series is titled, Are You Still There?, and it’s about the struggle to communicate in our significant relationships. (Everything is fine, Honeeeeeey!!! xoxoxo)
Elizabeth Kostojohn, Are You Still There? #2, 2012, 15″x20″, Graphite on mylar
Next:
Elizabeth Kostojohn, Are You Still There? #3, 2012, 15″x20″, Graphite on mylar
Next:
Elizabeth Kostojohn, Are You Still There? #4, 2012, 15″x20″, Graphite on mylar
Next:
Elizabeth Kostojohn, Are You Still There? #5, 2012, 15″x20″, Graphite on mylar
What do you think?
Do you know what I think?
I think that it’s going to be next to impossible to get people to volunteer to model for me…that’s what. Actually, my son wants me to draw him. Seeing as he typically refuses to have his picture taken, resulting in multitudes of photos of the side of his head, I’m surprised to hear that he wants me to draw a picture of him. Perhaps he only means a drawing of the side of his head? Hmm. Example:
Classic. Even less subtle:
Okay…okay…I can take a hint. Sheesh. I’m sure that Durer never had this problem…
Filed under: Drawing, Fleeting thoughts... | Tags: art, artist, housewife, John Wilson, playground, Stop & Shop
Well, winter has arrived in New England. Joy.
Yes, that’s FOUR DEGREES! I know…those of you above the arctic circle are laughing. Let me describe for you the layers of clothes that I must wear INDOORS: undershirt, then fleece long underwear top, then wool long underwear top, then a fleece jacket, and then my mint green fuzzy robe on top. Oh, I know…my outfit is “suburban housewife AWESOME”. I’m not taking a picture of it, though. I don’t want it to go viral and waste my fifteen minutes of fame on being the latest “Domestic Loser a.k.a. The Mint Green Marshmallow Mommy” on Reddit.
The big highlight of this week was my trip to the Danforth Museum. I LOVE that museum. They currently have a show of the works of John Wilson. Let me just tell you…his drawings/paintings/lithographs were STUNNING. I mean, drop dead stunning. Look at the lithograph of a baby held in a man’s lap:
John Wilson, Child with Father, 1968, lithograph
Okay, so my photo had an awful glare…this is from the Boston Globe:
John Wilson, Child with Father, 1968, lithograph
Isn’t that so beautiful??? His works were MESMERIZING. The density and the sensitivity with which he drew was really breathtaking. I honestly feel that I could look at that print for days. Look at the baby’s face! Look at the hands of baby and father interlocked! Am I the only one out there who is in awe of this??? IT’S AMAZING. More:
John Wilson, Self Portrait #4, 1997, ink
Again, sorry for the annoying glare. I am astounded by this drawing. Is he not so masterful at describing form??? If you are in the Boston area…you really MUST see this show. It’s open until March 24. I’m going to go often, so I may see you there. (You’ll recognize me as the rumpled housewife in the mint green robe.) More:
John Wilson, Roz #15, 1972, black pastel on paper
This is an enormous drawing. It’s so dramatic, and his lines are so gorgeous. Martha Richardson Fine Art here in Boston has quite a few of his works (and they own the drawing above). PLEASE check out their website here. His work captured many views of his world…both personal and societal. Some images are of injustice and despair, while others exude the palpable love that he had for the subject. I know that sounds sappy, but his work is so full of quiet emotion. I loved this show. I’ll have to go back many more times before it closes.
It made me think of the quiet emotion in my life…like, how I hate grocery shopping, plastic bags, and Stop & Shop. You know…really poignant stuff. This was the highlight of my grocery shopping week:
Work of Unknown Artist at Whole Foods in Woburn, MA
Okay. Don’t laugh, but I love this. WHO DID THIS???? It was up (stapled, actually) on the wall in the seating area of my local Whole Foods. IT MADE ME ACTUALLY LOVE THE GROCERY STORE…MOMENTARILY… Seriously, though…don’t you love this??? It’s a construction paper collage with marker. SO BRILLIANT. I didn’t see a price, so I assume that it’s not for sale. Too bad. Actually, because it was at Whole Foods, I know that I wouldn’t be able to afford it anyway. Hmph. (for those of you that don’t know…Whole Foods has the nickname “Whole Paycheck” because purchasing a single tomato requires a home equity loan.)
Speaking of crafty brilliance, here’s something that I made this week that I’m sooo proud of:
No, not the crumbs on the floor…the PAPER SPIDER! My five year old son asked me to make him a Mesothelae out of paper. What’s that, you may ask? Oh, just an enormous, prehistoric spider. I initially balked at his request, as he handed me several sheets of 8 1/2″ x 11″ printer paper. BUT LOOK! Didn’t I do a good job??? Do you think that I should give up pursuing art and just make prehistoric paper things? Hmm. Maybe. Maybe if I brought it to the Paper Source, I could get a “real” job. I’d probably have to get rid of the mint green robe though, so forget it.
Daddy has been out of town this week, so Mommy has had to come up with many fun thing to do in order for her to keep her sanity:
1. Turtle Bread
2. Lego subway station
3. Old school wooden playground.
This is an awesome playground that has an ENORMOUS, vintage wooden climbing structure. They are a dying breed typically replaced by the safe (a.k.a. boring) modern ones made of plastic. Pshaw. LOOK:
Isn’t that GREAT? Sigh. A true sign of getting old is reminiscing about playground equipment. Perhaps instead of moping about my age, I’ll celebrate my Gen X status by eating a fruit roll up whilst I watch reruns of Voltron and crimp my hair.
I know. Not cool. Sooo not cool.
Filed under: Drawing, Fleeting thoughts... | Tags: art, Dinosaur, drawing, Paleontology, parenting
So, I recently brought my son to a dinosaur exhibit at the Boston World Trade Center.
Total. Parental. Hell.
I imagined that there would be oh…50 or so of these large scale dinosaurs to look at. Great.
There were actually more like 15, which only filled 1/5 of the expo hall space. What was in the rest of the space, you may ask? Well…the rest of the space was devoted to:
1. A store where your children could obsess over dinosaur paraphernalia,
2. A dino bouncy house, for which you had to stand in ANOTHER a mile long line to BUY tickets for (because the tickets that you bought to get into it didn’t count), and
3. A dino mini-golf area, where you also needed to stand in the four hour line to BUY more tickets.
It was a total dino-scam. Do NOT go. Luckily, my son didn’t want to do the bouncy house or mini golf. He did want a mini paleontologist kit, though. I thought it sounded harmless enough…you dig out bones from a block of something. Cool, right?
Oh…SO unbelievably NOT cool. SO MUCH FILTH. There was dust EVERYWHERE… thick, reddish plaster dust EVERYWHERE. There was so much dust that I thought my son and I would develop black lung and/or a nasty rash. I am the worst housekeeper ever, but even I was in a filth panic. Me! Parents…do NOT buy this gift in the winter. This is an OUTDOOR gift. Actually, you may want to just forget it altogether.
DO NOT BUY THIS, EVER.
Yes, my son did work on it from 11:30 am – 3:30pm , with a brief break for lunch…but still. It was NOT worth it. I suggest that you be the slacker parent and neither take your kid to the dino-scam exhibit, nor buy this educational toy.
Consider yourself warned. So there.
I had high hopes of going to see some art this week, but it didn’t happen. I did install a cabinet door myself, though! Only 17 more to go! Woo hoo!
Here is a recent concern of mine that I’d like your feedback on:
My son can sometimes be a happy normal kid, and draw stuff like this:
These are aliens, I think.
Or, he can be kind of high strung, and draw things like this (on the other side):
(I erased the background scribbles from the other side for clarity)
Do you think that I should be concerned? Who was this for??? Me? What was I not supposed to touch? Wha? Thoughts?
This drawing, and other instances, sometimes make me feel unwanted. Example:
This lego ship is apparently using the couch. I guess I’ll just go sit on the floor with the red plaster dust and be sure not to touch anything. Is he trying to tell me something?
Don’t mind me…I just work here…
Just so that you don’t feel totally gypped from seeing any art, I’ve found this cool artist online:
Original Drawing of [Expedia City Breaks:Paris], 2012, pen on kentboard, h.42×w.29.7cm., Ogilvy & Mather collection
Kind of crazy, right? Look at this detail:
Detail of Original Drawing of [Expedia City Breaks:Paris], 2012, pen on kentboard, h.42×w.29.7cm., Ogilvy & Mather collection
ISN”T THAT SO COOL???? He/she draws these incredible images with tons of doodle-esque characters! AMAZING!!! Isn’t that incredible??? Talk about skill. I would like it more if he/she would not choose these famous images, but instead drew images from his own life. What do you think? Comments? Isn’t he/she SUPER TALENTED????? Check out the website here. Also, if anyone can clarify if Sagati is male or female, I’d appreciate it. (ありがとう)
Wish me luck avoiding the flu epidemic here!!! I’m going to go now and order a haz-mat suit online. I hope that I can wear it on top of my snuggie!!!
Filed under: Fleeting thoughts... | Tags: art, boston, cabin fever, Ori Gersht, poster art, vacation
For those of you only interested in art…please scroll down…
For the rest of you…HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! YES, I made it through what seemed like an endless school vacation. SO EXHAUSTING. I think that what made it more exhausting is that for some odd reason I also decided that it was time to paint the kitchen cabinets:
No joke. Do you realize how many square inches of surface area cabinets have??? BAJILLIONS. All the doors and hinges have to come off…holes patched & sanded…prime EVERYTHING (at least once), and paint everything (at least once). Because this project is such a royal pain in the tush, I decided that there was no way that I could afford to hire someone else to do it. BAH! Merry Christmas to me! (not)
(FYI…blue tape is an a tool of the devil which is only used by non-professionals in the hope that paint won’t get everywhere, but that’s a total lie. Did I mention that I also managed to dip the end of my hair in the paint can? Yeah, I know…that’s not the fault of blue tape, but whatever…)
It also snowed here:
That’s the igloo that my son and husband started. Yes, they were so stir crazy, that they started an igloo. It was four degrees here this week…FOUR DEGREES! (that’s Fahrenheit, FYI) Needless to say, the igloo is unfinished. Also:
Yes, I was so stir crazy that I was willing for my son to play with the science experiment kit that we have. This basically involves making a big mess with things like vegetable oil, baking soda, and food coloring. I’m kind of a high strung person, so giving my kid a large eyedropper filled with ANYTHING makes me nervous. It was okay. Nothing really bad happened, other than me having to clean up a big mess and vowing to mysteriously lose the science kit somehow. At least it gave me a break from our imaginative play with Lego, where I’m always the Lego astronaut who falls to earth, lands in the middle of a dinosaur trapping station, and somehow can’t see anything until one of the dinosaur-trapper Lego guys tells my astronaut Lego guy to take his helmet off.
Yes, I am totally serious…and no, like my cabinet project, that’s not a joke. In fact, I may have to run to the fridge right now to get a second soy ice cream sandwich just to have the strength to finish this post.
It’s been a long eleven days.
My son drew this. Do you think that he wrote my name on it because he was making the drawing FOR me…or do you think that he was making it OF me? I’m assuming that I’d be the large creature in the center with the tiny head and sharp teeth. Thoughts? Comments? Reassuring remarks? Why do I have so many legs and why is steam coming out of my shoulder? And what’s up with that back hair???? Discuss.
Okay, so one of the highlights of the week, besides me eating two, soy ice cream sandwiches in a row (FYI…husband is vegan, and no, that doesn’t explain why I ate more than one…), was going to the MFA to see the Ori Gersht show. If you are in the Boston area and are not in the middle of overindulging, as I am…then RUN to the museum to see this show.
His work…is…stunning.
I mean…SOOOO stunning.
Please take a look at the numerous links for him here, and here, and here, and here, and here.
In the photo above, he has frozen these flowers in liquid nitrogen, then blown them up with dynamite. A-MA-ZING. His work comments on beauty, life, death, destruction, violence, fragility, humanity, history…I could go on. His photos and videos are mesmerizing and painterly. He is thinking of the most heartbreaking subjects (Hiroshima…WWII…) and tapping into the agony of these events through his slow, videos and photography of beauty coming to an end. I wish that I could do his work justice with a poetic description, but I am lacking in both poetry and writing skills (and yet you’re still here!) Seriously, though…his work is breathtaking. The show at the MFA closes on Sunday. GO NOW. WAIT OUTSIDE, IF YOU MUST. DON’T WHINE…IT ISN’T FOUR DEGREES ANYMORE, IT’S THIRTY-TWO. DEAL WITH IT. IT’S WORTH IT.
Okay, enough ranting. Perhaps that faux ice cream is having an odd affect on me? Maybe that’s why vegans are grouchy all the time. (just kidding, honey!!!!)
There was also a postcard exhibit, and a poster exhibit as well:
Ib Andersen
I had to take a picture of this, as it made me reminisce about being an architect. Ah…the sectional perspective…classic. But, naturally, the non-architecture poster of a toothbrush was my favorite:
Niklaus Stoecklin
Isn’t that so fantastic??? I’m not sure which is my favorite part…the change in the toothbrush’s appearance as it exits the glass, or the look of the toothpaste tube through the toothbrush handle, or the pink reflection of light on the toothpaste cap. Either way…this is pretty amazing. It’s like Mario Testino decided to take a picture of his bathroom sink, or something. His toothbrush would look like Giselle Bundchen, while mine typically looks like someone who just ate two ice cream sandwiches. Hmmm. Maybe I should get a third??? Okay, maybe not…
Filed under: Fleeting thoughts... | Tags: Ambreen Butt, art, Carroll & Sons, Christmas, Parent, Toyota
Well, I made it through the holidays with my sanity mostly intact. WOO HOOOO!!! Now, I just have to make it through this vacation week until January 2, when school resumes. LORD HAVE MERCY. I’m sure that there are some parents out there with easygoing children. We’re not in that category. I keep trying to remind myself how I’ll miss this age in a year, but this thought doesn’t really help much. I just googled “child anger management.” Yes, we’re at that point. Did I mention that he’s only 5? I have gray hairs already set aside for his teenage years.
It’s kind of ridiculous to be “at that point” when we JUST had Christmas and my son’s 5th birthday. I know. Toys won’t solve childhood angst…even this one:
Yes. It’s hungry hungry hippos. LOVE. IT. Who’s world is not made more complete by this toy???? Apparently my son today at 5pm. I think that’s kind of the bewitching hour for kids anyway…that’s why the world created SpongeBob and Happy Hour.
Did I mention that my son has told me repeatedly that my smooches on his cheek are “irritating his skin”? Did I also mention that he walked into the kitchen the other day with his shoes, coat, and backpack on telling me that he was leaving? I fear that my chances for “Mother Of The Year” are slipping through my fingers. I quit my job as an architect to be a better mom. Is it working????? Based upon my recent parental “feedback”, I’d say “no”. I’m just glad that my son doesn’t know how to dial a phone yet, or else DSS might be at my doorstep any minute now.
In order to cope with my child’s angst and anger, I’m reawakening my drug of choice:
Yes…those are needles…but not the heroin kind. That’s knitting. For those of you that don’t knit…don’t start. It can be horribly addictive, socially isolating, and can create episodes of both euphoria and despair. Don’t even get me started on those crack dens called “knitting stores”. How bad can it really be when the result is a handmade woolly garment, right? Don’t be fooled. Just say “no”. The store employees are TOTAL ENABLERS. This is the kind of stuff they think is a good idea:
Hmm.
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
Ohhhhkay. NOW, I feel like “Mom Of The Year” in comparison to the parent of this poor child. Yes, that’s a HAT with a KNIT BEARD attached to it. No, I’m not kidding. People make these…many people. (None that you should get to know, though.) No, I’m really not kidding. I think that there should be a law against putting beard/hat combos on anyone who is not physically able to remove it IMMEDIATELY. Poor thing. Talk about irritating the skin…sheesh…I should show this to my son and perhaps he’ll consider himself lucky…
Besides not getting any artwork done, as it’s vacation/circus week here, I did manage (or rather, finagle) my way over to the South End to see the last day of a show at Carroll & Sons. I felt that I deserved to do this, as I had been waiting at the Toyota dealership that morning for my 50K tune up for THREE AND A HALF HOURS. You’d think with all of that time they could have cleaned out the explosion of crumbs on my son’s carseat…but I digress…
The show at Carroll & Sons was the work of Ambreen Butt. The title of the show was, “Beyond the Ideas of Rightness or Wrongness There is a Field; I’ll Meet You There.” I loved all of it, and I was so amazed at the breadth of her skill. Here are some images from the show:
So amazing, right? The radiating reliefs of toes and fingers were AMAZING. So beautiful, yet also a bit disturbing. The row of portraits are a sublime transformation of one person into another…brilliant! The huge collages which look like Persian rugs were astounding. As I managed to see this show on its last day, I can’t suggest that you run out and see it yourself. Take a look at the links to her website…she’s uber talented and I bask in her artistic virtuosity. It seems that she can do anything from beautiful paintings to compelling collages, to phenomenal sculpture…sigh. Super inspiring. Definitely check out her website.
Well, 2012 has been crazy, to say the least. I’m not even going to discuss the chaotic world news that puts me in a tailspin EVERY DAY whilst I masochistically tune in to NPR. The horrors. Next time, while I rock in the fetal position listening one of these harrowing stories, I’ll try to remember to bring my knitting. I hope that over the past year this blog has provided you, dear reader, with moments of levity, artistic inspiration, and an occasional, “WOW! There are REALLY crazy people out there!!!!” (I’ll forgive you if you include me as one of them.)
Happy Upcoming New Year’s Eve! (the holiday liked only by people between the ages of 21 and 25…*YAWN*)
Filed under: Fleeting thoughts... | Tags: art, Baking, Baking and Confections, cake, clock, drawing, Lego
Okay. I’m about to rant about something, but before I do…I’d like to acknowledge how lucky I am to have such problems in the wake of the recent tragedy in Connecticut. Peace be with those tormented families.
My excuse this week for not having interesting content (besides my crying intermittently as a result of the aforementioned tragedy) is that I was responsible for creating/coordinating/conducting my 4 yr, soon to be 5 yr, old’s birthday. I am not a party planner. I stress. I anguish over it. It’s not because I want the perfect party. I want a GOOD party that doesn’t cost me what would be the equivalent of a down payment on a small house. I kid you not…some places charge hundreds of dollars to host your party…and that does NOT include cake/pizza/favors. But, they highlight “FREE paper cups, plates, napkins!!!” Really?
The epic disaster for my attempted DIY party was…the cake. Let me outline for you my series of mishaps. Let me also advise you to always have someone ELSE make your cakes…someone with nerves of steel and a clue.
Things started off okay…I greased and floured a 13×9 cake pan. No prob. I slaved over making the batter. Looks good. THEN, I poured the batter into “the pan”…except that it WASN’T “the pan”…it was a different, UNGREASED pan. And then I baked it. I kid you not. I turned around to grease the pan for the next cake, and I realized my mistake. So, cake #1…ruined.
THEN, I rushed to make the SECOND cake…which turned out okay. As one wasn’t going to be big enough, I needed to make another. Here’s what the first two cakes looked like:
HMMM! I actually contemplated frosting the broken cake. Then, I regained my keen senses and realized that, much like time moving backwards and being in the fast moving lane at Stop & Shop, this was not possible.
Now, of course I’m out of ingredients for a third cake! SO, after getting new ingredients, I bake the THIRD cake. Now, it’s close to when we need to LEAVE for the party. Have you ever tried to frost a warm cake? I hadn’t until then. I thought, “What’s the big deal? Ok…it’s not cooled, but SO WHAT???”
Umm…yes, the frosting MELTED on the cake.
It looked like someone tripped and spilled their orange sherbet sundae all over the cake as the frosting melted into bright orange pools of pure sugar. STRESS. So, I SCRAPED OFF the melted frosting and rushed the warm cake OUTSIDE to cool off. I stealthily placed it UNDER the patio table, thinking that this would protect it from THE RAIN. Yes, it was raining! JOY. My parents were at the house, luckily, so I had my father be on duty to watch that some rabid squirrel didn’t come over and sit upon/start munching on the cake whist I mixed up MORE frosting (which is everywhere, mind you…along with a general dusting of powered sugar). I finally bring in the cooled cake and frost the friggin’ thing. Here it is:
Okay. Don’t laugh. It looked MUCH worse before, if that’s at all possible. Those odd, tulip shaped things are supposed to be dinosaur footprints. I know. How sad. Do you believe that it tasted good? No? Well, I don’t blame you.
ANYHOO…I think that the party turned out okay…and the cake tasted reasonable as well. I have noticed many more gray hairs on my head since Sunday, but no prob! At least I have hair! Action shot at party:
Needless to say, I understand that I do not have a career ahead of me in either: a. event planning, b. baking, or c. photography.
The big gift for my son was goldfish! (no, not the crackers…)
AREN’T THEY SO CUTE???? My son has been asking for a fish for ages. I contemplated the small fishbowls…but as I wanted a goldfish (not a catatonic beta fish), I opted for the slightly larger tank. DON’T YOU LOVE IT???
I’ve come to realize, however, that my gift of fish has not been as met with the same enthusiasm as the grandparent’s gift of Legos. Hmm. Another fail. I should have just stayed in bed that day.
Moving along…tis the season to be receiving packages in the mail, right? I recently ordered a cool clock…one of those old school “flip clocks”. The one I got was pretty plain…but THIS is the clock that I REALLY wanted:
I have coveted this clock for ages. It has different fonts that show up as it flips through the time. LOVE. IT. Here is a link to see it. Did you also see the price tag? $395!!!!! OUCH! So, I had to settle for a more conventional one, which I am very happy with. Still…I hold a special place in my heart for this clock. (any of you Powerball winners out there…I’d love one for Xmas! Thank U!!!!) Anyway, I was talking about packages in the mail. Here is how my clock arrived:
Package Fail
Umm….are you KIDDING ME? It looks like an elephant sat on it whilst eating its 1,000 pound lunch of hay. Wha??? How???
Believe it or not…the clock inside was actually undamaged. Ho Ho Ho! Lucky me!
Just so that you don’t feel that I’ve TOTALLY wasted your time with this post, here is some cool stuff to check out:
Check out the video here of this crazy thing. This is “Firewall” by Adam Sherwood. Please check out his website. AMAZING! I want one for my living room (next to my $395 font clock, which I don’t actually have). Next:
Isn’t that gorgeous???? This artist, Guy Denning. Sooo talented! Please check out his website here. Look under the heading “self portraits”. Amazing, right? I love how he draws. So loose, yet so accurate. BRILLIANT!
Okay, have a lovely holdiay! I’ll be making yet another birthday cake for my son’s ACTUAL birthday, which is Christmas Day. No joke. Oh, continued joy and happiness!!!!
Filed under: Fleeting thoughts... | Tags: Christmas, Christmas tree, Dust bunny, Holiday
Okay. Because I’m a strange person, we have a “tradition” of getting a real Christmas tree one year, and then using my vintage fake tree another year. This has not been without controversy. My stepkids refuse to acknowledge my supercoolvintagealuminumsparkly tree as a “tree”. I can’t remember what they call it, but “tree” is not permitted.
Now, I ask you…is THAT really sooooo wrong??? Look how festive and BEDAZZLED it is! (You know you want one.)
December is one of those months that I look forward to, and yet loathe. The holiday nonsense…organizing my son’s birthday party…etc. It’s enough to make my gray hairs breed with reckless abandon. I keep yelling at them to “quit it!”, but to no avail. Nobody listens to me around here anymore. Perhaps it’s my nagging tone of voice, or my incessant whining? Not sure…I’ll get back to you on that. I SAID, “I’LL GET BACK TO YOU ON THAT.”
(aren’t you glad that you don’t live here???)
Despite my holiday angst, check out the favor bags that I started to make for said party:
Not bad, huh? THIS is what I do instead of housework. (Sorry, honey!) Housework is tedious, mind-numbing and soul destroying. Making tyrannosaurus favor bags is uplifting, rejuvenating, and fun. BTW, my son asked “why roar?” WHAT’S WRONG WITH ROAR? He’s soooo nit-picky. I expected an “ooh” and “ahh”, not a scowl. When will I learn that the response that I hope from my son is never what I receive? Sigh. At least he hasn’t started criticizing my lack of housekeeping skills…
This post is not going to be long, as a dust bunny is tapping me on the shoulder and asking when I’m going to get off of the computer. Sheesh! They’re so pushy…
So I didn’t want to bore you with my domestic nonsense ramblings. As a result, I’ve found a few artists that I think that you should check out. I tried to find people who have a similar aesthetic to my own. Why? Because that’s how I learn things. You didn’t think that I was going to draw smashed up pears forever did you? (The correct answer is, “no, of COURSE not…only a moron would do THAT.”) Hmm…maybe that’s not the answer I wanted.
Isn’t that lovely? Check out her work here. I love her series on dry leaves. Such beautiful forms. It’s really great.
Here’s another person who works with graphite:
Her work is pretty impressive all round. Please check out her website. She works in so many different media. Really amazing breadth and quality of work. I bask in her artistic virtuosity. I also bask in her ability to make a beautiful drawing from piles of laundry. I certainly have THAT subject matter at home! It tends to look more like the messy piles rather than the neat stacks…go figure. Maybe I’ll try to create a still life with my dust bunnies as a start…
In the meantime, you have a homework assignment of telling me about other FABULOUS artists that I should know. I don’t see any at Stop & Shop, so I need others to guide me to MORE than just the cracker aisle, which I always seem to lose.
Check out here what those of us who don’t live in NYC are missing (besides a good bagel and just about everything):
Did you watch the video???? If not…YOU MUST. I may set up something like this in our living room. It will entertain as well as distract from the general disarray…a win-win!
(our living room floor’s perpetual state…) See? We have art is the suburbs!!! Except we pronounce it “aht”, here in the Commonwealth…
Brr. It’s cold. I’ve already started working on my winter layer of fat. Last night, I met with my “peer group” of artists to discuss our collective “art angst”. One person brought some holiday contraband…
TRADER JOE’S MINT JO JOE’S COOKIES!!!!
These are disgustingly good with crunchy bits of ground up candy cane in them.
NOM NOM. *wistful sigh*
I know. Why am I writing about cookies? This is not why you read my blog. You read it for my insightful art commentary. Hmm. That argument seems a bit weak. Actually, I don’t know why you’re here, but it’s nice to have you. Did you bring me cookies? No? Oh, okay…nevermind.
So, several weeks ago I went to the Art Complex in Duxbury. I’ll admit…it felt like it took an eternity to get there. It kind of stressed me out. ANYWAY, there was a fascinating show there called “Self/Fabricated“. This show was loosely “textile-centric” (kind of the way that I am loosely “cookie-centric”…but I digress…again), and about domestic life. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I really enjoyed it. I’ll post some images of some of the pieces that I liked (although there were others…but I’m tired, so this is it):
Leslie Schomp, Group of Miniatures, 2012/2011
Okay…I wish that I had taken this picture with my hand nearby so that you could see how absolutely TINY these are. Pay attention: these look like drawings, right? They’re not. The materials are….(wait for it….)
“Hair on cloth in dollhouse frames”
YES!!!! She has SEWN these TINY portraits!!! These were pretty astounding and I totally loved them. I know that it isn’t possible, but I really wanted to hold one in my hand, for whatever reason. So brilliant. Sewing with hair??? Also brilliant. The way that they are displayed makes perfect sense, but now I want to know who these people are. Are these self portraits? Hmm. I might be inspired by her tiny creations…
This is also by Leslie Schomp. I guess I really liked her work! This is made from “embroidery thread and pulled thread on found linens”. It’s hard to tell in this picture, but this piece is soooo delicate and amazing. Here is a close up:
Isn’t that amazing??? I love how wispy the background is. Her work was fascinating.
David Curcio, Happy House, 2008
This piece employs “woodcut, drypoint and stitching on Japanese paper”. I love the patterning, the mix of textures and mediums, and the lovely stitching. I especially like the “baby heads” (my quote) that are around the perimeter. Those are particularly delicate. Love it!
Candice Smith-Corby, Lost in My Chinoiserie Thoughts, 2012
Smith-Corby has many small, intimate gouache paintings on different surfaces in this exhibit. They are always vibrant, but often have an “isolated” feel to them. I loved this one especially because instead of painting on fabric, she painted on paper but detailed it as if it WAS fabric:
Isn’t that AMAZING??? She DREW that!!! So soo brilliant. I love that. She had quite a bit of work at this show, and it was all really interesting. Here is an installation that she made:
Candice Smith-Corby, Rearranged, 2009-2012
I loved how this domestic corner has slightly gone awry. Actually, my living room is not so different than this, except we have more junk and lego thrown around. (we’d no doubt get our money back if I bought a Roomba…we’re probably more in the market for something along these lines…)
I could tell that I was no longer in the Metro Boston area when I was leaving, as I saw THIS posted nearby:
HMMM! MEAT RAFFLE??? What, pray tell, could THIS be about? WHO RAFFLES OFF MEAT??? FASCINATING. I wonder what Girl Scouts sell in this area?
Speaking of meat…(hence the blog title)…my son drew this brilliant creation the other day:
Sigh. I have such love for this. In the upper right…we have a woolly mammoth. Standing on the right side of the excavation is a saber toothed tiger (note the sizable, saber-shaped teeth…nice!). The form on the left of the excavation is a huge digger/excavator working on the hole. Then, in the upper left, is another saber toothed tiger which is pouncing on said digger. BRILLIANT! I hope that he draws forever.
Speaking of…I better get back to my work. The sound of chainsaws and leaf blowers are sending me to the basement, much like daylight driving away Count Dracula…ARGGHHH! The NOISE!!!! The NOISE!!!!
Happy Thanksgiving, all! I had a lovely holiday with my husband’s family. We have plenty to be thankful for…friends, family, our health, our homes, and food on the table. We also made it though Sandy without much trouble, which can’t be said for a great many people on the East Coast. Not to be morose, but you can see an interactive map that the NY Times has made here of all of the fatalities. It’s unbelievable. So lucky, we are. (excuse the Yoda talk)
I also managed NOT to eat my weight in food on Thursday, which is a slight miracle…(although I think that peppermint Jo Joes cookies are now at Trader Joe’s…SAVE ME FROM THEM!!!) Not only was my restrained eating a miracle, but…
I ALSO GOT TO ESCAPE TO NYC/BROOKLYN ON TUES/WED!!! WOO HOO!!!!! I kid you NOT! I had to scramble to NYC for the LAST day that my friend had his show up at Agora Gallery in Chelsea. Here are some views:
And more:
OOOOO! I love those last three together. Here is a closeup of one of them:
These paintings are influenced by traditional sari fabric. George is from Kerala, and this inspires much of his work. (what inspires my work? How much I loathe Stop & Shop? But I digress…) Please check out his website, as my photography is shoddy. I was planning on attending the opening, but we had a snowy Nor’easter that day…so it wasn’t in the cards. This show was a big deal, as it’s not every day that one gets artwork in a NYC gallery…WOOT WOOT, George!!!
In my wanderings…here is another artist whom I also found in Agora Gallery:
I really liked her work as well. She was using watercolor on stretched canvas. Detail:
Dreamy! I love the areas of white in the painting. More:
Nice! Aren’t these amazing???
Apparently, lots of galleries in Chelsea are closed because of “super storm Sandy”. There was lots of flooding. Luckily, I did get to Pace Gallery to see the Chuck Close exhibit. A-MA-ZING! Check it out:
Okay. We’re ALL familiar with these works. But sometimes, we think that we know a work just by seeing it in print or on the web frequently. I felt that I had seen lots of Chuck Close’s works, so I wouldn’t be too surprised with what I saw. NOT SO. Seeing these works in person really blows your mind. GENIUS. PURE GENIUS. Just look at these series of self-portraits:
No, those aren’t digital manipulations of photographs. They are paintings. (I know that you know that.) But try to think that when painting these, he could only be at arm’s length to do it. So, he didn’t see this while working:
He saw THIS while working:
I know. Mind boggling, right???? My brain cannot process how he does this. He is totally a master of color mixing. Scroll up again to look at the paintings from a distance. Crazy, right??? I truly could have sat there all day staring at these (especially with a box of mint jo joes). I bask in his brilliance. I need to get out of the suburbs more often. Nothing like this is EVER at Stop & Shop. (and I’ve LOOKED, trust me…)
That evening…a friend’s restaurant was opening in Brooklyn: Root Hill Burger in Park Slope. If you live in the area, please go! I had the p01 burger…DELICIOUS! They also make yummy milkshakes too. Perhaps it was because we eat primarily vegan at home that the burger tasted other-worldly to me? Hmm. Nah. I am wondering if they deliver to Massachusetts, though…
Speaking of other worldly…my luck doesn’t end there! On Wednesday, I got to go to the BROOKLYN MUSEUM!
I had never been there before! I was going to see the work of Mickalene Thomas. But, before I GUSH about her work, I also saw some gorgeous work by Duron Jackson:
Duron Jackson at the Brooklyn Museum
Holy cow…this is GRAPHITE!!! Is it not the most GORGEOUS thing you’ve ever seen??? My photo is terrible. He’s also a genius. Can pencil on black be any more astounding? I think not. The shape is the outline of a jail, somewhere in the US. I apologize for not getting the title. He has a whole series of these drawings, and they are SPECTACULAR. Go. See. Now.
I’m just going to post some images of other cool stuff on exhibit (whilst I fantasize about mint jo joes):
Portrait by Alice Neel
Alice Neel is my portrait hero. I love her work. I was first introduced to her work by a drawing teacher of mine. Please look at her website to see more of what she does. Incredible. Next:
Jean-Michel Othoniel, Precious Stonewall, 2010
This is enormous and it’s made of GLASS. Othoniel had a wide variety of works in glass. Really astounding works. Look at these larger than life necklaces:
Jean-Michel Othoniel, Large Double Lacan’s Knot, 2011 (foreground) /
Lacan’s Knot, 2009 (background)
Also enormous…I can’t imagine how much they must weigh. They were pretty dramatic. I actually like this one better:
Jean-Michel Othoniel, Black is Beautiful, 2003
I like that better because I can really feel the weight of these beads. The previous ones feel odd to me, as they are clearly heavy beads, but the formation appears too weightless. So, my preference is the latter…it’s beautiful.
Okay, so NOW onto MICKALENE THOMAS!!!!!!!! Brace yourself…she rocks.
Mickalene Thomas, Interior: Blue Couch with Green Owl, 2012
LOVE IT!!!!! She has done a huge series of collages of what looks like trendy, 60s interiors. Then, she translates these collages into ENORMOUS paintings on panels with…(wait for it)…RHINESTONES. They are BEDAZZLED, and they are awesome.
Mickalene Thomas, Interor: Green and White Couch, 2012
Sooooo brilliant. She even outlines some of what must be the cut edges of the collage with rhinestones. These interiors are fractured, sometimes flat, sometimes appearing to have depth, with jarring color palettes. This is a detail:
Mickalene Thomas
And here is the original collage:
Mickalene Thomas
I’m so sad that my lousy pictures are NOT doing her works justice. BOO HOO!
Not only did she have paintings of interiors…she also CREATED interiors:
Mickalene Thomas
These “installations” were really amazing too. She creates so much cultural weight with these scenes. They are also collages, much like her paintings. I loved how her visions have become “real” in these works. My living room is just like that, except less hip and with Lego all over the floor…really similar.
Beyond her interiors, she has also done phenomenal paintings of women:
Mickalene Thomas, Le Dejeuner sur L’Herbe: Les Trois Femmes Noires, 2012
This work is enormous and astounding. I’m sorry that this tiny image can do it no justice. This painting is a “restaging” of Manet’s painting, Le Dejeuner sur L’herbe:
Manet, Le Dejeuner sur L’herbe, 1863
Brilliant! Here is a detail of Mickalene’s painting:
Mickalene Thomas
Here’s what I love about her work, and about art in general. I love that (in spite of her riff on Manet), I feel that I haven’t seen this before. I’m sure some of you are thinking…”duh, it looks like so-and-so”. Fine. But, for me, I was in AWE of the world that they created…a world that I CLEARLY am no part of. But her works allow me a glimpse into it…which I also love.
This is my thinking on her work (which may be wrong, as I am no art critic): All of her women appear simultaneously “powerful” and “feminine” to me. This is what feminine power can look like. Not to be misandric, but I love that no men appear in any of her works. Her work does not need to speak about women in reference/relation/contrast/comparison to men (see the Manet above). Her work exists in a world that eschews men. Men are only part of the diminutive audience that are fixed in the powerful gaze of her subjects. Somehow, I feel that a “YOU GO GIRL!” is in order. Is that too suburban of me???? Probably. (sigh)
I need to try to channel these powerful women as I go about my day…picking up legos…buying cheddar goldfish crackers at Stop & Shop…and cursing at myself for forgetting my grocery list.
She’s a genius. I bask in her glittery glory.
Filed under: Fleeting thoughts... | Tags: Boston Globe, Haim Steinbach, Sebastian Smee, Wheelock College
Yes, I did that. I sent a “press package” of my artwork to the ICA Boston. Don’t laugh…I know. WHAT WAS I THINKING??? This wasn’t my idea though. The woman who is the gallery director at Wheelock College suggested that I do this. BUT, I’m to blame for actually doing it.
To the ICA’s credit, they did mail me back my stuff with a nice rejection letter:
I thought that was quite kind of them! Right now, I have my artwork up in two locations. As a result, I have sent many harassing emails and press packets out to people. I have received a response, both negative, from only two individuals/institutions: 1. The ICA, 2. Cate McQuaid of the Boston Globe. On the plus side: even though they both had to say “no”, I do appreciate that they responded to me. On the negative side: now, the ICA may have some kind of restraining order on me…or have put me on the “watch” list of crazy local artists. No matter! I was just happy to have a response, albeit a total form letter. The ICA must know that crazy artists like attention.
I did go to the ICA this week, just to see what was going on there. LUCKILY, they had JUST put up a new show and I got to see it because it was MEMBER PREVIEW DAY. Brilliant! (you can see, though, the slippery slope that is created with such things…those that can afford a membership get treated differently and some may mistakenly think that this makes them more “special” or “important” than non-members…) I’m going to stop myself now from going on a political rant. Here’s the ICA, for those of you who haven’t been:
It’s a lovely building by Diller +Scofidio (now, Diller Scofido+Renfro). I realized that I wasn’t in the ‘burbs anymore when I saw this sign nearby:
Really? This practically warrants an entire blog post, but I’ll spare you THAT nonsense.
The big show that the ICA has now is called: This Will Have Been: Art & Politics in the 1980s. Sebastian Smee, of the Boston Globe, has written a really insightful review of the show here. Please read it. Now, in an artfully planned juxtaposition, if you are interested in a NON-INSIGHTFUL review, read on!
I’ll show some images first:
Jean-Michel Basquiat, Hollywood Africans, 1983
I love Basquiat. I love his work because I am interested in both how it looks and what I think that it’s telling me. I could stare at this all day (but the previously mentioned possible ICA restraining order may prevent that…) I love how this work seems to me to capture Basquiat’s ruminations…with doodles, overlapping marks, lofty and banal thoughts…LOVE.IT. Why can’t my doodles look this good? I’ll bet he could make my angst laden grocery list look awesome. Grocery lists aren’t edgy though, FYI. Maybe Basquiat’s lists were? I’ll bet that he didn’t go to Stop & Shop, though.
There is a lot of work on exhibit by many of the “heavy hitters” at that time: Richter, Koons, Mapplethorpe, etc. Overall, this is a pretty cerebral show. It seems to be capturing the spirit of that time, without trying to present the “highlights” of art during that period. It’s a culturally centered show, rather than art centered. (is that insulting? I hope not.) I enjoyed the show intellectually (if that’s possible for me to do considering my mild case of mommybrain,) but my general delight in the art itself wasn’t quite there. Probably my lack of cerebral-ness/cerebralosity was the cause. (see? case in point.) Here’s one that made me go, “hmm…”:
Haim Steinbach, Untitled (Cabbage, Pumpkin, Pitchers) #1, 1986
No, that is not one of my shelves at home. Any shelf of mine would have more stuff on it. Hmmm. Who is this making fun of? The art world? The audience? The bourgeoisie? (eh?) Our capitalist culture? Maybe it’s not making fun of anyone??? I kind of want that pumpkin. I wonder where he got it from? I actually like this piece better in retrospect. I guess he’s tying these disparate consumer goods together through form and palette and elevating it to “Art”? Hmm. I’d like it even more if I could take that pumpkin home with me. My take away from that piece of art is that I want that pumpkin.
From a drawing standpoint, I liked this:
Tim Rollins and K.O.S., Amerika VIII, 1986-87
I like the materials, the mix of flatness and depth, the weirdness… This somehow feels less “80s” to me, but that’s because I remember the 80s as an excess of neon, boxy clothing and acid washed jeans.
Kinda like that. What can you expect, though? I was a kid in the 80s. If I wasn’t cerebral then, I haven’t gotten any better on that account. I still love neon, though.
Another show that they had that I REALLY liked was the work of Os Gemeos.
Os Gemeos, Back in the Days, 2008
I love the feel of these paintings. I also love the space that is created inside that subway car. Next:
Os Gemeos, Untitled, 2008
Do you know who owns that one? Lance Armstrong!!! I kid you not. This could be the famous Lance Armstrong, or I suppose it could be some CPA in Hoboken. I’m voting for it being the doping bike guy.
They also have sculptural works:
closer:
Os Gemeos, Os Musicos, 2008
I love that too! Apparently this piece can make sounds, but they only do that on occasion. My membership did not also grant me a turn playing chopsticks on the keyboard.
I sometimes felt that the art looked like illustration to me, except that the content was usually a bit dark. Can someone please explain the difference between art and illustration? Perhaps that’s the difference? Intent? I like that the boundary between art and illustration isn’t clear to me in these works. Yet again, the ICA brings the unexpected to view, and I’m reminded again of how there are no rules, and how the ones that do exist keep changing. (how’s that for nonsense?)
WHEW! That’s enough thinking for one day! Now, I have to go to Stop & Shop and search for a vegan dinner that somehow makes itself…(if you answered PBJ sandwich, you’ve just qualified yourself to be a domestic slacker too! You are now a MEMBER of THIS most prestigious and venerable group of grocery store haters! Welcome! The receipt from your most recent pizza delivery constitutes your membership card, which, of course, has no expiration date.WOO HOO!!!!!!!!)
slightly wonky 