I Went To Spain and.....Part I: Reina Sofia Museum

I suppose it's somewhat silly to begin a post on Spain with photos from the sky, but I actually like these. I'm not a photographer, and I'll never claim to be, but even a blind squirrel can find a few nuts.

Miami, March 2013. Photo by Carolyn Jacobs

Carolyn Jacobs,  Sunrise in Espana, 2013

Not my hotel, Madrid, 2013. Photo by Carolyn Jacobs

Not my hotel, but across the street from my hotel, and a far more interesting building than my hotel in Madrid.  I don't know much about Spanish history, but the first thing I realized--without the aid of any history or guidebooks---is that the Romans were no where near the old city when it was first laid out.  It is a crazy maze of meandering streets that make no sense. I missed me some good old-fashioned Roman urban planning while trying to figure out where the hell I was going in Madrid. Love 'em or hate 'em, those Romans had a good sense of direction. Spaniards....not so much.




In general, Spain's economy is in the toilet. This bank had closed just days before, and protestors had lost their life savings. It was rainy and chilly in Madrid the entire time we were there, but I think there is a general vibe of exhaustion in the city.  People are just hunkered down and hoping to survive.

The Reina Sophia Museum
The Queen Sophia Museum is the modern art museum in Madrid.  The Prado takes you, basically, from the Renaissance into about 1850, and then the Reina Sophia takes over.  The big contemporary exhibit on display was Spanish artist Christina Iglesias, and it was quite lovely. Here's a link to the exhibit: Christina Iglesias: Metonymy

Christina Iglesias at Reina Sophia Museum, Madrid. Photo by Carolyn Jacobs

Christina Iglesias at Reina Sofia Museum, Madrid. Photo by Carolyn Jacobs

Christina Iglesias at Reina Sofia Museum, Madrid. Photo by Carolyn Jacobs

Christina Iglesias at Reina Sofia Museum, Madrid. Photo by Carolyn Jacobs

Here's a link to her website: Christina Iglesias She uses a fairly wide variety of materials, and I particularly like that it feels painterly without forcing it.  The interaction of object and space is beautifully handled.

New York--November, 2011 edition

New York in November.  I got lucky---the weather was fantastic, so there was nothing to distract me from the work and my aching, ham-like feet.  First on the agenda was a trip to Danese to see the April Gornik show.

Light in the Woods, April Gornik
see more at www.aprilgornik.com

I had high expectations for this show---maybe unrealistic expectations. There is a sense of stillness in the work.  It is not about representing or rendering nature, but being within in.  It is lovely, but I walked away feeling somehow unfulfilled.  I still haven't figured out why.

Then on to the de Kooning retrospective at MoMA, and the teeming masses of people taking advantage of Target Free Friday. A woman with her eyebrows plucked into a constant state of surprise.  It was really too crowded to actually enjoy the exhibit, but it is a striking exhibit all the same.  de Kooning is a little uneven, I think.  I really don't like the "women" series at all, but the man sure could wield a paintbrush. My favorite series is the black and white theme.  God, I wish I had painted those. They are utterly perfect.

Painting, Willem de Kooning, 1948
MoMA, http://www.moma.org/interactives/exhibitions/2011/dekooning/

On to the Metropolitan and the Steigliz and His Circle exhibit.  I enjoyed this show, which included many of the 291 artist he promoted.  Steiglitz was really promoting some wonderful and radical work early in the 20th century. I think he often gets  a little overshadowed by the O'Keeffe fame.  My favorite O'Keeffe works have always been the abstract pieces she exhibited with Steglitz early in her career.  I was excited to see watercolors by Arthur Dove, Charles Demuth, and John Marin in this exhibit. They are just so fresh and experimental.  Love.

Charles Demuth, Yellow and Blue, 1915

http://metmuseum.org/collections/search-the-collections/210008728?pkgids=175

Next, I spent some time in the Africa/Oceanic galleries, which are fascinating.  The Head of an Oba with a carved tusk inserted into the top is powerful.  I can certainly see how they are representations of physical and spiritual powers. There is something rather sweet about the Dogon Couple.  And, I feel this will creep into my work somehow/someday:

 Power Figure, Congo
He's got all sorts of mystical and mysterious powers, including a little stomach shelf to hold medicines. I want one.

 

Bis pole

I want a bis pole too. These are just amazing and intricate, and majestic. They were meant to honor the dead of the Asmat people, as well as a reminder to avenge their deaths, because they believed no death was accidental.  After the ceremony/feast, they would be allowed to decay naturally and nourish the earth.

Finally....Amsterdam....Part I

First of all, Amsterdam is lovely, more quiet than I expected, and has more canals than even Venice. So, it's lovely to stroll through, and not too large a city---easy to navigate.  I did my homework on that end; I knew the locations of all the museums, public buildings and coffee houses I wanted to visit before I even boarded the plane. I did not, however, take the notice that two of the large museums were under renovation, assuming they would be still vast enough to keep me happy and occupied. Wrong. Rijksmuseum, which is normally prodigious, was limited to one small wing.  Lovely work, but excessively crowded with 10 second per image visitors. And no cameras, phooey.

Anyway, two images stood out to me...one surprised me, and the other seduced with with it's richness. Both reminded me that there is no substitute for experiencing work in person.

 Willem Van der Velde I
Battle of Terhide, 1657, ink on canvas
Ink on canvas! Delicate. Lovely.  I am not fond of the subject matter in any way....just the technique.

Rembrandt's little self-portrait is so much richer in person than I ever realized...I've studied a few Rembrandts, but was so conscious of the richness of color here---more intense than those in New York, by far.

More later....

Sunrise over Jacobs' Ridge

View from my parents back porch......As Thanksgiving approaches, I'm feeling a little homesick. If you pan to the left of the frame of the photo, you'll see a large, old strip mine.

New York---October 2007

Just a quick recommendation on the Julie Heffernan exhibit currently on view at PPOW in Chelsea. In some ways, it's more of the same...there aren't any real surprises, but since I get a kick out of her work, I'm okay with that. There is some variation on the background---in one a figure looms behind the "self-portrait", which created an interesting juxtipostion. And dang, the girl can paint!

If I remember correctly, this one is titled "Men in Power" and one of the "men" in the little portraits is Condalezza Rice. I got a little chuckle there---in part because I wasn't expecting it.

Mary and I finally took the time, and the long, bumpy bus ride to visit the Cloisters at Fort Thomas Park....and I'm pleased to say it was worth it! The Unicorn Tapestries....just delicious.

The Merode Altarpiece is in a small room, and lordy, what an impact! I think it could hold a room 5 times the size. The color is so intensely beautiful...it's one of those paintings that give you a lump in your throat, and you feel yourself being drawn back to it when you try to move on.

The Age of Rembrandt at the Met was crowded, and a bit of a yawn, as it was primarily work from the Met's own collection. Though it's always a treat to see Vermeer, and I do like Rembrandt, you just couldn't get close to them for the crowds. The new Greek and Roman galleries are very nice, and I'd never gone through the Etruscan gallery before. There was an Ab Ex show that was kind of nice to see, though it was primarily from the permanent collection...but after years of looking at them, I've been taking a break for a few years, and I'm pleased to say I was able to look with fresh eyes. The Neo Rauch (sp?) show---you know, it was charming in it's way, but kind of slip shod in other ways---and I can't remember it very well now that it's been a week ago. But, boy that Merode Altarpiece is probably drowning out those images anyway....

Little painting of St. Peter's

Reality check time! Of all the kinds of paintings I make, I suck the most with architectual paintings. Trust me, St. Peter's isn't nearly so crooked as it appears in this little study. I took a snapshot of the dome from the Vatican, while trekking the 19 million miles of hallway galleries to the Sistine Chapel.

I do love Rome, and the Vatican/St. Peter's is achingly lovely. Hmmm, what is most memorable about the Vatican and St. Peter's? Well, several things come to mind....the grounds are gorgeous, for one. The hallway galleries are not that exciting to me, which is a good thing, because the sea of people heading to the Sistine Chapel will sweep you along with them----it's as if they are in a horse race and cannot be distracted from the finish line. The Sistine is breathtaking. Mary pointed out to me that we tourists enter the Sistine with the dammed in Michelangelo's The Last Judgment....haha! So Christ sends the souls of the saved to heaven on the left, and cast the dammed to hell on the right....enter the tourists.

As all the dammed walk in to view the chapel, we hold our possessions and our arms close to our bodies, tilt our heads, and slowly turns circles, mouths agape as we drink in the ceiling. We sort of gently bounce off one another----like a slow motion pinball machine. If I were an installation artist, I would have fun with this imagery :-)

St. Peter's was also stunning....and I was so please I was able to receive communion while there. I wanted to go to the top of the dome, but felt it would take an act of God to get me there.

Little painting of St. Peters is now in private collection.