Holland Carter writes effusively about Willem de Kooning's long overdue retrospective at MoMA in The New York Times. And MoMA has some fascinating interactive timelines about his work and insights about his methods and materials. And, yes, de Kooning helped define abstract expressionism, but he was a dog artist too.
1997 Polaroid by Tim Burton
A retrospective of Tim Burton’s work opens at the Museum of Modern Art in NYC today. The exhibition “considers Burton’s career as a director, producer, writer, and concept
artist for live-action and animated films, along with his work as a
fiction writer, photographer and illustrator.” It runs until April 26, 2010. Visit MOMA for more information.
Dutch Interior (I), 1928
It takes a lot for me to consider getting on a plane and flying to NYC into the jaws on winter. But reading Holland Cotter's review in the NYT of Joan Miró: Painting and Anti-Painting 1927-1937 at MoMA got me thinking it might be worth it.
The enticement began with this passage:
"The exhibition illustrates, step by step, exactly how Miró stalked and attacked painting — zapped its conventions, messed up its history, spoiled its market value — through 12 distinct groups of experimental works produced over a decade. If, in the end, painting survived, that’s neither here nor there. The story’s the thing. Crisp, clear and chronological, the show reads like a combination of espionage yarn and psychological thriller set out in a dozen page-turning chapters."
Close up of Dog from Dutch Interior (I)
Then, there are the dogs, the strange, exotic beings from his Imaginary Dutch Portraits series. Although, I am not 100% sure the flying white and blue creature in Dutch Interior (III), is a dog. I interpret it as one, and I think Miró would be fine with my subjective take.
Dutch Interior (III), 1928
Finally, Cotter sums up Miró's journey through these decades and the exhibition itself:
"He must have been exhausted. I was when I reached the last gallery, but exhilarated too because I felt I’d been through something: not the blockbuster slog but the experience of one artist’s creative process and the experience of an exhibition as a form of thinking. Like reading a book, the process makes you part of the trip, not just a witness to it.
In this case the trip is fairly demanding but one I suspect that audiences with even a casual interest in how art is conceived and made will enjoy. From beginning to end, the particular audience I had in mind was a special one, art students.
For them the show could serve as a manual of anti-authoritarian moves. Unpopular Mechanics of Painting, you might call it. But it could also be a guide to living a creative life. This is particularly true for students who are under pressure to choose a single medium (painting, say) and stay with it; to firm up a signature style and stay with it; to get to the market early and stay there.
To these requirements, the Miró show says: no, no, no. Change mediums, like habits, as often as possible. Make your signature look a no-look or every-look, and keep changing that. Get to the market early if you want, but then go home and stay there awhile and work. Then stay longer. Destroy the artist you think the world thinks you’re supposed to be, and you’ll start to find the artist you are."
Well, I was ready to book a ticket east. Then, I stopped by MoMA's website and discovered their comprehensive online exhibition of the show. Awesome! In my cozy, sun-filled office, I took Miró's journey myself. Of course, nothing can compare to seeing these works in person, some are 7 feet tall, but for a hot-house flower like me. This was pretty great.
Joan Miró: Painting and Anti-Painting 1927-1937 runs until January 12, 2009. For more info visit MoMA.org.
(But I am still not forgiving Holland Cotter for calling Picasso's Le Rêve kitsch.)
Related Links:
17th Century Dutch Dog Paintings
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.
I highly urge you to experience the totally trippy futuristic Web interface at MOMA’s online exhibition of Design and the Elastic Mind. The show "includes objects, projects, and concepts offered by teams of designers, scientists, and engineers from all over the world, ranging from the nanoscale to the cosmological scale. The objects range from nanodevices to vehicles, from appliances to interfaces, and from pragmatic solutions for everyday use to provocative ideas meant to influence our future choices."
I, of course, was interested in dogs, and look what I found: a LED dog tail communicator. The designers, James Auger and Jimmy Loizeau, envision this device to help dogs overcome the evolutionary shortfalls they experience when being forced to live in a human world. Kind of a reverse Dr. Doolittle gadget. Very cool.
(photo reads: "I really love you" 90 wpm, "Alright?" 80 wpm, "Walkies" 55 wpm, "I’d Like My Dinner." 40 wpm)
Update 3.7.08: I received a lovely note from James Auger one of the LED Dog Tail Communicator designers. He shared one of his other ingenious dog devices, The Augmented Dog Hackle (above).
Auger writes, "The natural ability to raise the hair along the length of his back when
confronted with dangerous situations has been lost in many domestic breeds.
This proposal suggests automated hackles. Either heart rate variation
monitoring registers change in the dogs autonomous nervous system activity
automatically activating the mechanism or the dogs owner sensing
confrontation in the park activates the mechanism by remote control."
He also says that he’s tested it in the park and it does scare off other dogs. I’d love to see that experiment!