Mod-Dog’s Kari Finkler is participating in design milk’s Sleepypod Ugliest Dog Bed Giveaway. Send them a photo of your dog’s ratty dog bed and enter to win this adorable Sleepypod.
Second place winner receives one of Kari’s lovely modern dog prints.
Contest runs until October 31, 2008. Enter to win.
My friend James Panozzo reports there are no dog artworks in this year's TarFest, the art, music and family fun festival on the Miracle Mile he started 5 years ago. But I plan to check it out anyway.
James has excellent taste, and it's always inspiring to take the pulse of LA's emerging artists, musicians and filmmakers. This weekend is packed with something for everyone. Even a Sunday morning fun run. (Darby and I will be watching football.)
Read my post about last year's Tarfest and James and my pig roast adventure, from which I am still trying to recover.
Visit TarFest's website for the full schedule that kicks off tonight with a juried art show.
P.S. TarFest is named for the La Brea Tar Pits, not LA's traffic.
P.P.S. check out this cool TafFest promo James just sent over by film fest curator Hunter Woo:
Venus with Cupid, Dog and Partridge by Titian, 1550
Right now, Athenians have a rare opportunity to see Titian’s Venus with Cupid, Dog and Partridge on loan from the Uffizi at the Museum of Cycladic Art’s current exhibition From Titian to Pietro de Cortona: Myth, Poetry and the Sacred
The show, mounted with Italian Embassy in Greece, is being held honor of official visit to Greece of the President of the Italian Republic, Giorgio Napolitano. It features 24 Italian 16th and 17th century paintings, including 7 by Titian.
I am in awe of this “new” dog art masterpiece. I must have seen it when I lived in Florence 20 years ago and visited the Uffizi often. But that was before I was a dog person, and before I knew a little dog named Minnie (my parents’ dog) who looks very much like the precocious pup starring this remarkable Venus.
Titian’s dog
My parents’ dog, Minnie
Speaking of Titian’s Venus paintings, did you know about the controversy regarding the *other* Venus at the Uffizi.
The Venus of Urbino by Titian, 1538
Mark Twain, writing in A Tramp Abroad in 1880, was completely horrified by this painting (he thought she was masturbating). But he was even more angry about the double standard he saw in what was permissible in art versus what was permissible in writing:
I saw young girls stealing furtive glances at her; I saw young men gaze long and absorbedly at her; I saw aged, infirm men hang upon her charms with a pathetic interest. How I should like to describe her–just to see what a holy indignation I could stir up in the world–just to hear the unreflecting average man deliver himself about my grossness and coarseness, and all that. The world says that no worded description of a moving spectacle is a hundredth part as moving as the same spectacle seen with one’s own eyes–yet the world is willing to let its son and its daughter and itself look at Titian’s beast, but won’t stand a description of it in words. Which shows that the world is not as consistent as it might be.”
But, you’ll note, that Mark Twain writes rather salaciously about what he is not allowed to right about. Clever, as always.
18th century dignitaries and art connoisseurs didn’t seem particularly offended by the other Venus, as evidenced by Johann Zoffany’s La Tribuna degli Uffizi (1772).
La Tibuna delgli Uffizi by Johann Zoffany, 1772
See, there’s nothing to get all riled up about. Just ask Picasso…
The Dream by Pablo Picasso, 1932
Related links:
Titian the Dog Artist
Titian’s Dog Art Returns to the Joslyn Art Museum
Best in Show
In March of 2006, Michael Dickinson, a British English teacher who had lived in Turkey for 20 years, decided to contribute some of his collages to an anti-Iraq War event. The "Peace Tent" was organized by the Turkish Peace and Justice Coalition (Baris ve Adalet Koalisyon–BAK).
Ten of Dickinson's pieces were accepted and placed in the tent. Then, two days before the show was over, Dickinson returned and added a new collage. No one noticed as he stuck it up and left.
But the image, Best in Show (above), depicting the Turkish Prime Minister Turgut Erdogan with the body of a dog, winning an American flag ribbon from President Bush, did not remain under officials' radar.
The next day, Dickinson learned that all his collages had been removed by the civil police, and the event's organizers had been arrested. Ultimately, the man responsible for the tent, Erkan Kara, was put on trial for violating Article 301 of the Turkish constitution, which makes it a crime to insult the "Turkish identity" or state institutions, including the armed forces. Kara faced 1-3 years in prison.
Dickinson accompanied Kara's lawyer to court and submitted a letter taking sole responsibility for the artwork. Outside court he held up this collage…
Good Boy
The authorities promptly arrested him. You can read his diaries of his 10 harrowing days in the Turkish prison, including sleep deprivation, food restriction, and a botched escape attempt, here.
Over the next 2 years there were 2 more trials, until last Friday, September 26, 2008 when he was finally acquitted. The judge ruled that there were "some insulting" elements," but the artwork "was within the limits of criticism."
Dickinson told the AP:
Michael Dickinson from his Yabanji website (yabanji is Turkish for stranger/foreigner/outsider)
This case has put a spotlight on free speech and human rights abuses in Turkey as they continue to press for EU inclusion. The judge even cited the fact that:
"This sort of art was quite normal in the European community, mentioning cartoonists in Spain and Germany, who sometimes caricatured politicians as pigs or other animals without being accused of insult.
His conclusion was that as Turkey was trying to join the European community a collage such as Dickinson's should not be held as a crime." (via Charles Thomson of Saatchi Online)
In the end, Michael Dickinson is relieved it is over and hopeful that his ordeal will enhance freedoms of other Turkish artists and writers.
I am intrigued by his work and the Stuckist Movement he is a part of. Stuckism was founded in Britain in 1999 by Billy Childish and Charles Thomson to promote figurative. The Stuckists were rebelling against the conceptual art of the Charles Saatchi-backed Young British Artists, i.e. Damien Hirst and Tracey Emin.
The name Stuckism comes from a comment, made by Tracey Emin to Billy Childish, her then boyfriend, which he turned into a poem:
Your paintings are stuck,
you are stuck!
Stuck! Stuck! Stuck! ( via Wikipedia)
Micheal Dickinson founded the Istanbul Collage Stuckist Group in 2004.
BTW, did you hear Maureen Dowd was banned from the McCain "Straight Talk" plane? There is speculation that now journalists are biting their tongues to avoid a similar retribution. Just because someone isn't thrown in a Turkish prison doesn't mean our own rights to speech and dissent aren't being shredded. It is shameful.
Angel Dane by Rachel Tyler
I am pleased to announce the winners of of Chicken Soup for the Soul: Dogs We Love are:
Linda Belthius for this response…
"My dog is Chicken Soup for the Soul because I have been blessed beyond my understanding with having her to help me through a loss of my dear sister-in-law. I was under so much stress I literally lost my hair, and without my Winnie to be there when I came home I think I would have sunk into a depression so deep it would have affected my whole life. Having to care for her and having her undivided love helped me to stay strong for myself and my family! She is an angel with fur!"
…and artist Rachel Tyler chosen at random.
I was so moved by everyone's responses. It was almost impossible to decide. But Linda's last line "She is an angel with fur!" really got to me. Inspired by her quote, I set up a new Dog Art Today photo album. I would love for you all to submit photos of your dogs so I can meet all your angels with fur.
Click here to submit your photo. Everyone's dogs are welcome. You don't have to have participated in the contest.
P.S. see more of Rachel Tyler's whimsical dog art at her website Pawsitive Art.
P.P.S. see all the great responses here (scroll down to bottom of post).
Hurray, The Butter is Finished, 1935 (reference to Herman Goering's statement, "Iron ore has always made an empire strong, butter and lard have at most made people fat.")
The Akron Art Museum's current exhibition John Heartfield vs. Nazi Germany includes over 40 socially conscious photogravures by one of the most brilliant and outspoken artists of the 20th century.
Born in Germany in 1891 as Helmut Herzfeld, he changed his name to protest WW I. As the Weimar Republic took hold of the country, Heartfield's collages became highly critical of Hitler and the Third Reich. Ultimately his work was banned during the height of the Nazi regime, only to be rediscovered in the late 50s. He died in 1968.
Look closely at the dates on these photogravures. These works are from the mid-1930s, and are concrete proof that Hitler's atrocities were no secret and no surprise. They are a reminder to turn to artists and not corporate news channels to *see* the world as it really is.
A Place in the Sun, 1935 (Mussolini, "I want to provide my people with a place in the sun!")
The Teaching of the Wolves, 1935
BTW, the Akron Art Museum is one of only three museums in the US to possess substantial holdings of Heartfield’s art. This is the first time they have all been on display. The exhibition runs until November 30, 2008. Click here for more information.
P.S. Heartfield's work is also a stark reminder of the dire consequences of what happens to an administration and a country that puts guns before butter.
Related links:
The images above are courtesy of George Eastman House, International Museum of Photography and Film
.
HEARTFIELD: Towson University's collaborative website site with MFA student Kate Chisholm who produced and directed a musical about John Heartfield's life and work in 2000.
The book Heartfield Versus Hitler by John Willett is available here.
The Sofa Dog is my new favorite dog breed. And Portuguese artist Belinha Fernandes’s blog, Papelustro, is my new favorite blog for inspiring collage art. She kindly publishes it in Portuguese and English, although her fabulous artworks speak for themselves.
See more of Belinha’s wonderful collages here.
Giorgio Cornaro with a Falcon by Titian, 1537
Tittian's Giorgio Cornaro with a Falcon, 1537, has been part of Omaha's Joslyn Art Museum's permanent collection since 1942. But 475 years of neglect and tinkering rendered it a drab, shadowy artwork known more for its Renaissance provenance than its mass appeal.
Then, in 2006, Joslyn's head curator, John Wilson, contacted the J. Paul Getty Museum's senior conservator of paintings, Mark Leonard, and asked if there was any hope for the aging masterpiece. Leonard took a look and felt that, "[he] had absolutely no doubt that it could look better, that what remained of the great power and force of the portrait could be recovered."
X-rays showed that Titian changed the position of the dog's head many times to get it just right.
After months of painstaking work, based on x-rays, science, and gut instinct, Leonard brought the Titian back to its full glory. It was recently returned to the Joslyn where it now claims a place of honor as one to the true gems of their collection.
Read Dane Stickney's Omaha World-Herald article to learn more about the painting's long journey back to art stardom. It's a great story.
P.S. Titian is one of my all time favorite dog artists. See more of his dog art works here.
When I first saw Jane Oriel’s pet portraits, I knew I would feature them today, the first day of fall. There is something so autumnal about her palette and something so cozy about her dogs. Here, dogs are at home, posing in front of intricate wallpaper, lounging around in the den. Even her outside paintings incorporate manicured branches, probably from no farther than the front lawn.
They remind me of one of my other favorite domestic dog paintings, Stove by Alex Colville.
Stove by Alex Coleville, 1988
And, I can’t help but comparing her impressionistic, swirly style to another artist who embraced the beauty of short days and ochre tones, Vincent van Gogh.
Self-Portrait by Vincent van Gogh, 1887
Yes, it’s true, Van Gogh the master of vivid, glowing yellows and oranges, knew how to dazzle with darkness.
In fact, MOMA’s current exhibition Van Gogh and the Colors of the Night proves it right now. If you can’t get to New York, read the NYT’s Roberta Smith’s illuminating review. And take a moment to witness the Van Gogh’s colors of night yourself via their excellent slide show.
Oh, and if you want your own impressionistic masterpiece visit Jane Oriel’s website to commission one for yourself.
Figure with Dog by Emil Nolde, 1912
Have you seen this painting? It was stolen this August from an Encino, CA couple’s home along with at least a dozen other works by artists including Marc Chagall, Hans Hofmann, Chaim Soutine, Arshile Gorky, Lyonel Feininger, Diego Rivera, and Kees van Dongen.
The pieces are estimated to be worth millions. There is a $200,000 reward for anyone with information leading to the the return of the artworks. So keep your eyes open, this dog art is hot.
Via Art Observed.