Pablo Ruiz y Picasso was born on October 25, 1881 in Málaga, Spain. By the time of his death at the age of 91 on April 8, 1973 in Mougins, France, Picasso had transformed the modern world in a myriad of ways. By his constant experimentation and prodigious creative drive he dominated the art of the 20th century and raised the bar for every serious artist that followed. His art instructed the general public in new ways of seeing and influenced modern architecture, design, dance, music and literature. The breadth of his talent and his prolific output are almost incomprehensible by any normal standards.
One of his most moving and eloquent paintings is “Guernica” which visually tells the story of the bombing of that small Basque town by Nazi and Italian warplanes. Created in 1937 for the World’s Fair, the painting is a sober warning to humanity and Picasso’s noble testament to the utter cruelty of war.
I recently found this exceptional video in which the creator, Lena Gieske, rendered “Guernica” in 3-D. As the camera moves through the painting the flat figures take form and Picasso’s cubist style is envisioned through the use of computer technology. Quite fascinating.
Rectangle, upper left, is area where da Vinci's fingerprint was found
A USA Today article details one of those things that still occasionally happens in the art world. A Swiss collector paid approximately $19,000 for a painting in 2007. The painting has recently been attributed to Leonardo da Vinci and appraised at more than $150,000,000.
The attribution came after a team of experts looked at the materials used; compared the style of the work with Leonardo’s known works; and found a fingerprint on the painting that matched Leonardo’s.
Herb Vogel was a postal worker and his wife Dorothy was a librarian, yet they amassed one of the largest and most influential art collections ever assembled in the US. The PBS series, Independent Lens, is airing a documentary tonight titled, “Herb and Dorothy”. The film details how this extraordinary couple turned their fervent love for art into a passionate obsession. Most of their collection now resides in the National Gallery of Art in Washington. The value of their collection is estimated to be in the millions and contains works by many of the leading artists of the latter 20th century.
Read the director’s account of her fascination with the Vogels and more about the film: Read Now
Click this link to read more about the program and find air times for your PBS station: “Herb and Dorothy”
The opening last week of Site Santa Fe’s new exhibition, “Talking Pictures” brings to mind the broader area of art called “electronic media arts”. In addition to video, EMA artists use materials such as computers, circuit boards, capacitors, magnetic resonance controllers, robotics and other equally exotic media to create art.
I found this fascinating video of artists who have used technology to create drawings that make sound and transform water faucets (and their friends) into musical instruments.
In an earlier post titled, “Does Art Really Matter“, I wrote, “while some people consider art to be about things, it is only nominally about objects. It is about ideas and emotions…” New York artist, Joshua Allen Harris exemplifies this idea in spades. Harris takes trash bags, tape and a prodigious imagination; mixes them with steam from sidewalk subway grates and transforms those materials into kinetic sculptures.
Ancient alchemists were always searching for a way to turn lead into gold. Artists, such as Harris, are able to turn humble materials into visual gold.
Remember when you were a kid and you saw a marionette performance? How, if the puppeteers were experienced at their craft, the puppets were transformed from wood into life – a very magical thing. Now imagine if the marionettes were several stories tall; giants moving through the streets of your city. Slightly scary maybe and amazingly cool.
A French street theatre troupe, Royal de Luxe, created a story celebrating the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall that features two gigantic marionettes controlled with cranes and steel cables instead of strings. The result is a surprisingly moving piece of performance art that includes the wow factor of “how did the hell did they do that.”
There is a great still photo pictorial of the event at Boston.com that describes the event as the giant marionettes make their way through the streets of Berlin.
To see a video of the event watch below. The narration is in German but the images speak for themselves.
F. Scott Fitzgerald once predicted that film would take the place of literature. Its certainly true that film now rivals the popularity of literature and its equally true in the art world that video has become a essential tool of many artists.
Site Santa Fe opens its’ new exhibition titled, “Talking Pictures” on October 10th. Featured artists include: Stephen Dean, Diller + Scofidio, James Drake, Kota Ezawa, Christian Marclay, Nic Nicosia, Bruce Nauman, Nadine Robinson, and Javier Téllez. Go to Site Santa Fe’s website to learn more.
Lawrence Matthews is the Executive Director of Deloney Newkirk Galleries, Santa Fe.
Want to e-mail me? Send it to lawrence [at] deloneynewkirk [dot] com.
