If you read the previous post about a secretary who discovered an Andy Warhol self portrait in her closet and put it up for auction, you will be pleased to know that she has been amply rewarded for her services (she had worked for the artist for free). The painting just sold tonight at Sotheby’s Contemporary Art Auction for $6,130,500. That is 4 times the original sales estimate of 1.5 million.

Another Warhol in tonight’s auction titled, “200 Dollar Bills” had a high estimate of $12,000,000 and sold for an astounding $43,762,500.

Overall the art market has been gathering some steam over the past few months and Sotheby’s sale tonight was a huge indication that the market is poised for a resurgence. A vast majority of the works sold at estimate or above their high estimates.

A former receptionist for Andy Warhol in the late 1960’s recently found a Warhol self portrait that had been stored in her closet for over 40 years. The painting was a gift to her and will be auctioned November 11 at Sothebys. It is estimated to sell for between 1 – 1.5 million dollars.

Read more.

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.

Read the USA Today article.

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.

Moleskine Notebooks have a cult following. Its no suprise since they are unquestionably the coolest notebooks in existence. The quality of the paper, the way they feel in your hand and their look have an intoxicating effect on their owners that’s hard to explain.

The first time I saw one was in Milan several years ago. Since then they have become available here in the states at some retail stores, mostly bookstores (Borders), specialty shops (art supply stores and pen stores) and online at the Moleskine site. They have a rather romantic history since of some of their devotees were Van Gogh, Matisse, Picasso, Jean Paul Sartre, Gertrude Stein, Hemingway, etc. .

Over the past few years artists have been posting images from their Moleskines online and there have also been exhibits in galleries and museums. One of the best online sites to check out Moleskine art is SkineArt.com. There you’ll find literally hundreds of examples of artist’s notebooks from across the globe done in every imaginable style.

Couldn’t resist posting this photo I took of a dog on the square in downtown Santa Fe. There’s a metaphor here somewhere.

Michael von Helms at the Ore House, Santa Fe

Got a chance to share an amazing bowl of Green Chile Stew at the Ore House on the Plaza here in Santa Fe with Michael von Helms. After that we went to his studio in Tesuque.

It was great to see his latest work, he’s been working hard over the summer and produced some superb new paintings. Aside from viewing new work, one of the things I’ve always liked about artist studio visits is seeing the creative chaos of the artist’s space. Here’s a couple of photographs that sum up Michael’s process – exuberant, intuitive and full of color.

Click here to see Michael’s work on the DNG website.

Watch this video interview with Michael in his studio: