S+ART

Artists in the Washington DC Area to SEE!

Happy Art Viewing....

 

Jenny Freestone: New Prints

April 27 through May 29, 2011

Washington Printmaker's Gallery, Silverspring MD

 

 

To see more of her work which is extremely delicate and precise all at the same go to:

http://washingtonprintmakers.com/

 

 

Lu Chunsheng: Perspectives: The History of Chemistry I

The Freer and Sackler Gallery

The Smithsonian Institution

Washington DC

Famous photographer and video artist makes a movie not about chemistry at all

http://www.si.edu/Exhibitions/Details/Perspectives-Lu-Chunsheng-4668

 

 

 

Max-Karl Winkler: Cuttings from a Winter Garden

June 1 through June 26, 2011

Washington Printmaker's Gallery

Silver Spring, MD

A teacher here at The Smithsonian Associates!

http://washingtonprintmakers.com/exhibitions/upcoming

 

 

 

A. Balasubramaniam: Sk(in)
May 26−October 30, 2011

The Phillips Collection

 Washington DC

 

Not on view yet but opening this Thursday....

http://www.phillipscollection.org/homepage.aspx

 

 

 

-Patricia Burns

Abstract Photographs of our Planet

Everyone knows the Library of Congress has books, but may not realize the collections of artwork and other media held by the Library or that they also have exhibitions to share these collections with all of us. 

 

When Earth is viewed from space, cloud formations, coastlines, mountain ranges, islands, rivers, and other landforms transform into abstract patterns with striking textures and brilliant colors.  Earth as Art, a collection of U.S. Geological Survey photographs of our planet taken from above, goes on display at the Library of Congress, in the exhibition hall outside the Geography and Map Reading Room located on the basement level of the James Madison Building, starting Tuesday.  The 40 images were taken by Landsat satellites that have for nearly 40 years captured images of the Earth’s surface, providing data for applications in business, science, education, government and national security.  The satellites monitor important natural processes and human land use such as vegetation growth, deforestation, agriculture, coastal and river erosion, snow accumulation, fresh-water reservoir replenishment and urbanization. At the close of the exhibit next May, the collection of photographs will become part of the Libary's Geography and Map Division, which also holds photographs from the first Earth as Art exhibit in 2006. 

 

 

Coahuila, Mexico. Kodak R3 facsimile map, [1" = 1.5 miles (2.4 km)], November 28, 1999. geography and Map Division, Photograph Courtesy of Library of Congress.

 

Stop by the exhibition hall between 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Saturday to see this photographic collection selected by The U.S. Geological Survey based on their aesthetic appeal rather than their scientific value.

 

-Angela

 

Ad Reinhardt

 

http://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/container/viewer/Sketch-for-Fine-Artist-Strike-Leaflet--250475

 

“I don’t know anything about art, but I know what I like….”

 

“Yeah, isn’t it nice that the obligation to be intelligent doesn’t extend to the field of art?”    -Ad Reinhardt

 

                                                        Collage, Ad Reinhardt 1940.

 

-Patricia Burns

Photography at the Smithsonian

Have you heard of the Smithsonian Photography Initiative?  I discovered it only when trying to find photo-centric exhibits currently on view at the Smithsonian museums, which is what this post was originally about.

A division of the Smithsonian Institution Archives, the Smithsonian Photography Initiative (SPI) is a web-based tool to maximize exposure to the Institution’s photography collections comprising more than 13 million images (many of which have not been fully researched) in nearly 700 collections and research centers, and are organized by museum and discipline.  In addition to the cataloguing of all these photographs, the SPI website also manages a list of current and upcoming photography programs both online and on their walls.  



Uncle Beazley On The Mall - Six children play on the sculpture "Uncle Beazley," the 25 foot long replica of a triceratops, placed on the Mall in front of the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH), 1976, by Unidentified photographer, Photographic print, Smithsonian Institution Archives, Record Unit 95, Box 33, Folder: 23, Negative Number: 76-13824-31A.

In 2008, click! photography changes everything debuted and stimulated conversations about how photography has changed our lives and enabled us to document, report, and interact with the world.  Its impact on modern life since its invention has affected and changed who we are, how we form memories, and how we choose to live our lives.  In the two years this project was open, nearly 100 authors contributed, writing about the ways photography helped the evolution of modern life.  Be sure to check out each of the six themes.  But, be warned - you’ll lose track of time (this post almost didn’t get written....).

There’s even a blog.  The Bigger Picture provides an insider view of the photography collections and highlights curatorial work, as well as staff members and the photographers, themselves.  

And, it doesn’t even stop there.  The Smithsonian Institution shares photographs on Flickr and invites participation in the form of tags and comments.  It can all be very overwhelming, so maybe start with their organized sets and find the ones that interest you.

So, back to my original intent for this post:  photography exhibits at the Smithsonian.  Actually, just click on this link to access a listing of all the collections available online.  Like, Freeze Frame: Eadweard Muybridge's Photography of Motion taken in the 1880’s or American Photographs: The First Century, a selection of from The Charles Isaacs Collection of American Photography.

And, coming full circle, here’s what I was originally looking for - a schedule of photography exhibits in the Smithsonian museums.  That only took two hours.  

Have fun!

--Angela

Inspiration For Monday

 

 Now I am not in the Al Gore global warming camp, but this TED talk on the animals in Antartica and The North Pole was truly inspiring and moving:

 

 

 

This painter (below) Pakayla Rae Biehn has a show opening this week  May 21, 2011 at Thinkspace Gallery in Culver City; just loved her painting that was posted on another blog  http://profile.typepad.com/meighanotoole

 

Check out the artist's blog as well:

http://www.youshouldtakecare.com/

 

 

MakerBot a new 3D printer from Brooklyn, New York based company:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/14/arts/design/makerbot-is-a-new-3-d-printer.html

MakerBots or printers top out at $1300, Also check out the company blog : http://www.thingiverse.com/

 

 
Hyperboloid with base, desktop pencil holder by relet

Copy of Hyperboloid with base, desktop pencile holder, by MakeALot http://www.thingiverse.com/derivative:9416 

 

I love new technology sign me up! And when you think about 1300 for a printer that makes things not so bad...

 

 

Patricia Burns

Picasso

My mother said to me, "If you become a soldier, you'll be a general, if you become a monk you'll end up as the pope." Instead, I became a painter and wound up as Picasso.

- Pablo Picasso 

 

LAST CHANCE: The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond Virginia

Masterpieces from the Musée National Picasso, Paris

Feb 19, 2011  – May 15, 2011

 The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts proudly announces a landmark exhibition in honor of its 75th anniversary, Picasso: Masterpieces from the Musée National Picasso, Paris. VMFA is the only East Coast venue for the exhibition’s seven-city international tour. The exhibition, which will be on view from February 19 through May 15, 2011, is co-organized by the Musée National Picasso, Paris and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. Tickets are available now.

http://www.vmfa.state.va.us/Picasso/

For more information on Picasso pick up a recent ARTnews Magazine at your local bookstore:

http://artnews.com/issues/issue.asp

 

 

 

-Patricia Burns

Results of Andy Warhol and Ai WeiWei

    The other day I posted about the predicted sale of Andy Warhol's "Sixteen Jackies." The results are in and the piece sold for only a mere $20.24 million (including commission)... Inflated prices maybe?

Jeff Koons' "Pink Panther" sculpture, as shown below, managed to bring in just under $16.9 million, but both works had been estimated to sell for $20 million to $30 million a piece.

 

Ai WeiWei is still in jail and Chinese communist rulers have still refused to give his whereabouts to the public.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/detained_artist_ai_weiweis_work_goes_on_display_in_london_as_fellow_artist_calls_for_action/2011/05/11/AFduhnnG_story.html?wprss=rss_world

While a colleague, famous sculptor Anish Kapoor has dedicated his most recent work to Ai WeiWei in support of the detained and imprisoned artist:

                            Anish Kapoor's, "Leviathan" at the Grand Palais in Paris

http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2011/may/10/ai-weiwei-anish-kapoor-sculpture

 

 

 

People all over the world are asking for Ai WeiWei's release. I find it inspirational that people are CONTINUING to show their support in anyway they can even if it does not reach China's ears.

 

 

                                                            Protest in Hong Kong

 

 

 

"The website Common Dreams reports that activists supporting well-known Chinese artist and government critic Ai Weiwei, detained last month, beamed his image on buildings in Admiralty, Hong Kong in an unprecedented "flash graffiti." Authorities are not happy."

http://artistsspeakout.com/2011/05/supporters-of-ai-weiwei-beam-flash-graphic-of-imprisoned-artist-onto-admiralty-building-in-hong-kong/

 

 

 

-Patricia Burns-

"Sixteen Jackies" one of Andy Warhol's most popular pieces is expected to fetch at least $30 Million at Sotheby's in New York May 10, 2011

 

Being good in business is the most fascinating kind of art. Making money is art and working is art and good business is the best art.  

    -Andy Warhol

  

"I heard the news over the radio when I was alone painting in my studio. I don't think I missed a stroke. I wanted to know what was going on out there, but that was the extent of my reaction.... Henry Geldzahler wanted to know why I wasn't more upset, so I told him about the time I was walking in India and saw a bunch of people in a clearing having a ball because somebody they really liked had just died and how I realized then that everything was just how you decided to think about it. I'd been thrilled having Kennedy as president; he was handsome, young, smart--but it didn't bother me that much that he was dead. What bothered me was the way the television and radio were programming everybody to feel so sad. It seemed like no matter how hard you tried, you couldn't get away from the thing.... John Quinn, the playwright ... was moaning over and over, "But Jackie was the most glamorous First Lady we'll every get."

-Andy Warhol on hearing about John F. Kennedy's assassination

http://www.artsconnected.org/resource/90643/andy-warhol-16-jackies-1964

 

 

 

http://www.artdaily.com/index.asp?int_sec=11&int_new=47129&int_modo=1

 

 

 

For a Warhol piece you can see in person:

 

 

Marilyn Monroe's Lips,Andy Warhol, 1962. Synthetic Polymer, silkscreen ink and pencil on canvas, 82 3/4 x 80 3/4.-This piece is currently on view at the Hirshorn Museum

-Patricia Burns

Photography Classes in the Studio Arts Department

If you're wondering how I started writing this weekly photo post here on the Studio Arts blog, it might surprise you to hear that it just fell into my lap.  One day I received an email from Studio Arts instructor Leland Bryant asking if I had any interest in writing for the blog.  He put me in touch with MaryBeth Kelley who manages the Studio Arts Department of the Smithsonian Resident Associate Program and, 18 months later, I've written over 50 posts.  Maybe you're wondering how I met Leland?  Well, I simply took one of his classes.  Actually, I took the class twice.

 

On a whim in early 2007, I signed up for the Introduction to 35mm Photography class with a friend who wanted to learn more about film and the developing and printing processes.  While I had been processing my own film for several years, and even printing on my own in my home darkroom, all of my information had come from books.  Without hands-on training or the opportunity to ask questions, I felt there was a lot I still had to learn, so I decided to join her in the class. 

 

The instructor was this cool guy named Leland who took us through our camera's controls and explained how they all work together and talked about film and negatives and the smell of fixer.  At the end of the course, I felt my printing skills were still weak, so I registered to take the course again in the next session.  Leland didn't mind that my focus was on printing and let me and a few others proceed to the darkroom while he focused on developing with the rest of the class, checking in on us periodically to make sure we were on track and to answer questions.  Taking this class helped fill in some of the blanks I didn't know I was missing and introduced me to the other classes offered there.

 

Leland talking about shadows and light during a class outing in the Smithsonian courtyard. Photo by Angela Kleis

 

Speaking of classes, the Studio Arts department is now enrolling for the summer session set to start in June and July.  Take a look through the course catalog at all of the photogrphy classes, and become familar with the instructors, Sign yourself up for one of the open darkroom sessions (they offer both color and black and white) to improve your own printing skills and learn new ones.  If you've been shooting digital for awhile but are interested in returning to film, dust off that 35mm camera and take the Introduction to Black-and-White Photography class as a refresher course.  For those of you just starting out, The Joy of Photography class, taught by Leland Bryant, is a beginner-level course designed to introduce students to their film or digital cameras as a creative tool.  Digital Camera Basics is a hands-on workshop covering what you need to know to use that digital camera to it fullest potential, while Getting to Know Your Digital SLR will introduce you to the camera's settings through lengthy photo sessions along the Mall and make sure you understand that camera inside and out.

 

Studio Arts also offers drawing and painting classes, as well as fiber arts and various other media.  Check out the online catalog to find the one that's right for you.  Say hi to Leland for me, please.

 

-Angela

Archives of American Art Smithsonian Institution: Digitized Collections!!!

    One of the coolest new discoveries I have made here at the Smithsonian is the Archives of American Art. The collection is full of artist's and other important art players personal papers, artwork, sketchbooks, journals, and intimate portraits not seen before in such a accesible way. The Archives of American Art took years to digitze items in their holdings so I praise their efforts!  You can search the collection on the page below: 

http://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/online

I am sure there is much more to come in terms of items ie papers, artwork, books, journals etc. that can be digitized, but for now there is a massive amout of information available to researchers and others just wanting an inside look into the psyche of artists and the rest of the art community.

 

Jackson Pollock at work in his studio

http://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/container/viewer/Jackson-Pollock-in-His-Studio-by-Rudy-Burckhardt--286111

 

 

Photograph of Marcel Duchamp, 1965

http://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/container/viewer/Photograph-of-Marcel-Duchamp--191688

 

 

 

 

 

-Patricia Burns