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Art

Will I ever understand Abstract Art?

· We will find out. Or not. ·

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I know very little – really next to nothing – about abstract art. Sometimes I think that interferes with my appreciation of abstract paintings, sometimes the opposite seems to be true. Same for creating abstract photographic montages. So I figured I take this week to learn something about it and share what I found. Be prepared for a lot of direct quotes – and a lot of digression when other things popped up in my reading.

Here is a quote from Charles Jencks, critic, landscape designer, polemicist and one of the most interesting writers explaining modernism: …”For the founders of the Museum of Modern Art, the canonic story of Modern art led from Neo-Impressionism through Fauvism to Cubism, the Bauhaus and Modern Architecture (capitalized, as the gospel ought to be). This canonic trajectory led directly to Abstract Art, and it determined the arrangement of works in the galleries of MoMA right into the 1980s. This canon also justified a view of history as aiming toward abstraction as its goal, and, at the same time, validated the major bloodline of Modern artists from Picasso through Jackson Pollock…” (MoMa has now changed its exhibition patterns away from historical periods towards subject driven collections – underlining in the quote by me.)

The attached article http://www.harvarddesignmagazine.org/issues/14/canons-in-crossfire is really about architecture and cycles of creativity – I came across it accidentally because it quoted a book I am interested in  – Creating Minds – An Anatomy of Creativity Seen Through the Lives of Freud, Einstein, Picasso, Stravinsky, Eliot, Graham and Ghandi – by Howard Gardner. (Hey, in English! Paperback!) But it got me wondering about what someone who clearly thinks aiming towards abstraction can NOT be the goal, would strive for instead. Turns out Jencks believes the desire to know and relate to the universe, to understand the cosmos, is one of the strongest drives of sentient beings. His landscape art, abstract and yet content driven, is attempting to do just that. Look at his website http://www.charlesjencks.com/#! under projects and you understand what he’s after.  Do I now know more about abstract art? Hm. Not really. Stay tuned.

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Worpswede

· A German Artist Colony ·

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My grandmother Dora grew up as one of 11 children on a small holding in Lower Saxony; her parents worked the lands for large estate owners, and had a small plot of their own to feed the ever growing family, a hard life. The soil is sandy there, not very fertile, with large swaths of heather, juniper and crooked birch woods; you can look at paintings of that landscape if you visit the museums in what remains of one of the preeminent artist colonies in Germany, Worpswede. http://www.worpswede-museen.de/en/kolonie-kuenstler/colony-and-artists.html

These days the most famous visual artist from that village is Paula Becker Modersohn, who was heads and shoulders ahead of her time, a precursor to German expressionism. She was a rebel, lover of Rainer Maria Rilke and, it is rumored, his wife Clara, wife to Otto Modersohn, tragically dead of a postpartum embolism at age 31. She sold perhaps one painting in her lifetime, surrounded by a bunch of more or less talented landscape painters who ruled the day. There are more than ten biographies about her, none of which I could find in English translation and she now has her very own museum in Bremen.

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Worpswede is a big tourist attraction, lovingly restored, with museums, historical homes, pretty pine forests. A recent German novel, Concert without Poet, that depicts the poet Rainer Maria Rilke’s bad boy days in Worpswede became a national bestseller and serves as yet another draw for the curious. It undercuts the narrative of the happy big family of artists in prewar times, and dishes out juicy gossip. Another untranslated novel, The Man who fell through the Century, describes the involvement of several colony artists with Naziism, dealing another blow to the Worpswede hagiography. In any event, the village is off the beaten path from the cities most Americans plan to visit, but a true locus of German art history.

The lead montage is based on a sculpture by Bernhard Hötger, the other montage on an excerpt of a Becker Modersohn painting of a little village girl. The panting below is a sketch by one of my favorite male artist of that Worpsweder group, Hans am Ende.
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Les Corbeaux

· Bonus: Trompe L'Oeil at the Louvre ·

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If memory can be trusted – and I wouldn’t, necessarily – the background of this montage was based on a photograph taken two years ago at the Louvre. Something about that luscious chair appealed. The focus, however, was supposed to be the crow – a bird species I hold special feelings for. When my children were young I convinced them (probably one of the last times I convinced them of anything) that I could communicate with crows, and you could see me flapping about the backyard, wildly cawing, to the consternation of the bird population and probably the amusement of the rest of the neighborhood.

Crows are not just quite intelligent birds, they are culturally adaptive, superb tool makers and sport an incredible multitude of voices and expressions. For a short introduction there is the TED talk below, for longer perusal there is an interesting book, In the Company of Crows and Ravens, by John M. Marzluff.

https://www.ted.com/talks/joshua_klein_on_the_intelligence_of_crows?language=en

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If you are lucky enough to travel to Paris in the next months and if the Louvre is on your list of things to see, you will be surprised. The I.M. Pei pyramid in the courtyard, so controversial at its inception and so beloved now, is playing hide and seek. Muralist JR, commissioned by the museum, is casting a trompe l’oeil spell over the structure. The article below explains in more detail (and is surprisingly catty when discussing work of another graffiti artist, Banksy.) https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/jonathanjonesblog/2016/may/26/louvre-pyramid-trompe-l-oeil-jr-im-pei-paris-museum  I, by the way, when first visiting, was startled by all these people in front of the pyramid holding up their arms until I inquired: if you photograph them from a specific angle, it looks as if they are touching the top of the pyramid.  Another bit of useless knowledge crowding my brain……

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What ever happened to NEVER AGAIN?

· Visit the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education ·

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On December 17, 2012, the Simon Wiesental Center issued a travel advisory for Copenhagen and Denmark, following a warning by the Israeli Ambassador to Denmark, advising Israelis not to wear kippot, jewelry with religious symbols, or to speak Hebrew on the streets of the Danish capital. The advisory followed reports of physical attacks on Jews in Copenhagen. This in a country which throughout Nazi occupation during WWII treated their fellow Jewish citizens as equals. And in striking acts of courage and humanity, Danes saved all 7,500 Jews from certain death at the hands of the Nazis by spiriting them out to neutral Sweden. Norway had issued a travel warning already in 2006.

Last year the Central Council of Jews in Germany advised against wearing the traditional Jewish head covering in what they called “problematic areas,” later named as Muslim neighborhoods in Berlin and other large cities. http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/german-jews-advised-against-wearing-kippah-a-1020890.html  This year, the head of the Jewish Community in Marseille followed suit, sending out a warning after an attack on a teacher (although France’s head Rabbi Haim Korsia urged Jews not to follow that advice. http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/france-marseille-jews-urged-not-wear-skull-caps-public-1537608 .) Note, by the way, that many of us recoil at the idea of seeing people forced to give up their traditional religious clothing for fear of persecution, but have little to say about the state bans of wearing Hijab in many countries.

The lead montage is based on a photo taken at the Jewish Museum in Berlin (Albertine Mendelsohn-Bartholdy, by August Kaselewsky.) The museum’s paintings and photographs of middle class German Jews (see below, Max Slevogt, Familienbild Plesch 1928) bring home once again the striking fact how completely integrated and indistinguishable Jews were from the rest of the population  –  little did it do to prevent catastrophe.

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Shout out to a Jewish Museum of our own: The Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education http://www.ojmche.org  – do yourself a favor and grab the last days of their current exhibit of photographs of photojournalist Ruth Gruber who was a twentieth-century pioneer. The photographs in this exhibition span more than fifty years, from her groundbreaking reportage of the Soviet Arctic in the 1930s and iconic images of Jewish refugees from the ship Exodus 1947, to her later photographs of Ethiopian Jews in the midst of civil war in the 1980s.

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Off the Beaten Path

· Museo de Arte de Ponce ·

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This week I decided to dig for some of my favorite montages in the archives as long as they were connected to interesting locations and/or facts.  Some have been exhibited, some are just personal favorites. Several were precursors to a series called “Zwischenräume” – The Spaces in Between. This series was partially inspired by a stanza from Georg Kreisler’s “Song of Reality,” which he wrote in exile in the US having fled Nazi occupied Europe, describing the tension between truth and fiction, science and fantasy – something that holds for much of current political discourse but also, alas, for science reports.

Today’s montage was based on a famous painting by Sir Frederic Leighton, Flaming June. I expect her to get up any moment and dance – have to ask Martha in which ballet. I found the painting in a small but terrific museum in the middle of nowhere in Puerto Rico – the Museo del Arte de Ponce. http://www.museoarteponce.org. It is architecturally interesting, holds a fine and substantial collection of European art, particularly pre-Raphaelite pieces, and, most importantly, gives equal attention to modern Caribbean artists. The Leighton piece attracts visitors in all its orange glory, but there is much to see for more discerning patrons as well, including modern sculpture outside. My day there, in all its perfection, found a worthwhile ending with a number of daiquiris at dinner…

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Puerto Rico is in trouble. Puerto Rico’s population has been falling for nearly a decade, and the pace of decline has accelerated in recent years. Although a slowdown in the island’s natural population increase has contributed, a more important factor recently has been a sharp surge in the out-migration of its citizens. Nearly one-third of those born in Puerto Rico now live on the U.S. mainland and it is mostly the younger people who leave. Part of the reason is the huge economic crisis faced by the island. Here are some of the details: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/06/29/things-in-puerto-rico-are-getting-really-bad-what-you-need-to-know/.  Clearly, an increase in tourism would benefit the dominion, and one wonders why people aren’t enjoying the weather, the tropical beaches, the charming capital with its old forts and plazas in larger numbers. You don’t need a passport, or foreign currency, everyone speaks English and the island has a diverse biosphere, from arid regions to rainforests to caribbean beaches. Below is a photograph I took at the old Fort in San Juan – the figures reminded me of Aglaea (Splendor), Euphrosyne (Mirth) and Thalia (Good Cheer) aka the three Graces.

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From Smirk to Smile

· Cultural aspects of smiling ·

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Can we explain why people in some countries smile and in others don’t? Why women smile more often than men? Scientists have certainly tried to do just that – and the data are a mess, if you look at them closely. Some hypotheses are interesting. You could assess countries for a factor called uncertainty avoidance  –  cultures with unstable political and economic systems, where the future is seen as unpredictable and uncontrollable are low on this scale and perceive smiling as a stupid sign of overconfidence. If, on the other hand, you rate countries for corruptness, you find that smiling is perceived to be correlated with dishonesty. Masculinity of a culture or hierarchically structured cultures might have an influence on smiling, as does the fact that some cultures value happiness less than others. Details can be found here: http://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2016/05/culture-and-smiling/483827/ Read it and frown.

The busker in the montage above came from Poland – unclear if the frozen face is part of his national or his caked-on make-up. You find a lot of them in touristy areas close to the Eastern borders, hoping for the support of generous tourists appreciating their act. Below are his American counterparts, maybe it’s the make-up after all….

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I learned quite a bit from the attached piece on the smile in portraiture throughout the centuries. The images alone are worthwhile a short perusal. (Carravagio’s Triumphant Eros included.)

http://publicdomainreview.org/2013/09/18/the-serious-and-the-smirk-the-smile-in-portraiture/

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Note, my musings don’t end on a smiley face, maybe the hierarchical structure of my German upbringing is counteracting gendered tendencies……

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Curtain Call

· Open and closed ·

 

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They’ve delivered quite a performance, those curtains. In real life and in art. Time to call them back for a bit of applause. They divide rooms, shelter from the cold, keep out the light, let in the light, soften the light. They assure privacy, they hide and they reveal. Iron curtains divide nations, velvet curtains enhance the stage, netted curtains keep mosquitos at bay.   They’ve been used since antiquity and adapted to each historical time, from simple woven linen and wool in 17th century European homes to the pomp around the Rococo period where velvet and silk ruled, particularly around canopy beds (or so tells me the encyclopedia brittanica http://www.britannica.com/topic/curtain-interior-decoration.)

If you search for painted curtains in an effort to find good art, you get a zillion ads for painted shower curtains, van Gogh’s Starry Night seemingly one of the favorites. But I lucked out by finding a wonderful collection of classical paintings here http://www.apollo-magazine.com/drawing-the-curtain/. Moreover I learned a lot from the art historian’s evaluation of the role of curtains in painting. What stuck with me most is the fact that the painted curtain is a divide between the content of the painting and the viewer, being part of both worlds, covering and uncovering, inviting exploration while interposing. For today’s classical painting I chose William Larkin (early 1580s – 1619) who painted the court of James I in England, and was know as The Curtainmaster. Almost every one of his portraits was framed in curtains, of varying colors and materials, and although the paintings seem flat overall, the folds and fluidity of the drapery is impressive.

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And let’s not forget all those who have to wash, starch and iron those curtains….

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Fabric in Contemporary Painting

· The brilliant work of Henk Pander ·

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I can photograph art and fabric (see above, taken in Henk Pander’s studio), but I could never be a European art critic. I would die a premature death by choking on sentences like these: “At times it is silent and undefined and other times it narrates stories that are characterized by a deafening stillness, and yet, his paintings encompass a peaceful void that is marked by hints of playful elements throughout – entirely free of catharsis.” What does a void free of catharsis even mean??? This blurb by London-based Beers Gallery (actually an interesting place to learn about contemporary painters) referred to Sebastian Schrader, a relatively young German painter whose work I photographed at the last Biennale. http://www.sebastian-schrader.de/about.html  He paints fabrics in the most photorealistic style, and they are almost drowning the figure(s) they surround. Not sure, though, when the peaceful void crosses the line to a vacuous piece…..
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Compare this to a master of our very own, Portland-based Dutch painter Henk Pander – http://henkpander.format.com/#1, whose works can be described in very simple sentences. No obfuscation needed. The paintings are alive. They embrace light, color, and are steeped in art historical traditions. They lovingly depict their subjects without being saccharine. They have no need for meanness but can please with irony. You almost feel the painted fabrics and certainly feel the elegant brushstrokes. The narrative is often complex and thus intellectually challenging. My personal yardstick for a good painting is the question: if I laid eyes on this first thing every morning how long would it take me to get bored?  In Henk’s case (and full disclosure, he is a dear friend) the answer would be: maybe around 3053 should this world and I still exist. Go see for yourself at the Portland Art Museum to experience the full impact of his artistry. Below are Life’s Reward, Portrait of Delores, (Henk’s beloved wife who passed some years ago,) and Prayer before the Night, respectively, courtesy of the artist. 

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The Right to Dry

· The American ban on Clotheslines ·

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I cannot take credit for inventing this slogan – it is the name of a movement that fights against state laws and community bans on drying your laundry outside. Officially more than 60 million Americans are prohibited from hanging their laundry outside, in their own yards or balconies and porches. The 2 minute clip below is a poignant introduction to what served the interest of the electricity industry (with former President Regan and Nancy as their spokespeople!) and those selling dryers. https://vimeo.com/36605168

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Hurrah for sustainability movements that fight these bans with clever digging out of laws that can be used against them. As of 2012 they voided the ban (or made it unenforceable) in 19 states (including Oregon) by referral to solar access laws. Many of these are from the 1970s and hidden clauses in state property laws. A 1979 Oregon Law, for example, says any restrictions on “solar radiation as a source for heating, cooling or electrical energy” are “void and unenforceable.” Clotheslines appear to fit under the umbrella of Oregon’s and other states’ solar rights because systems for hang-drying rely on the sun’s radiation to evaporate water in wet laundry. Given how much electricity and money you save, prolonging the lifetime of your clothing and eliminating pollution, it seems insane not to allow outside drying. (However, my clothesline does not look as arranged as this one….)IMG_5097

Since my photos were taken in Italy I though it fitting to match them with Lavanderas, by an Italian painter, Antonio Donghi (1897- 1963), who was part of Italy’s neoclassical movement in the 1920s and was sometimes compared to Rousseau. Unknown

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Fabric on Stage

· How fabric makes movement more beautiful ·

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Whether you see someone doing a little jig on the street or you watch the most amazing ballet performance, the appreciation of  people’s movements is often enhanced by the costumes they are wearing. In addition to providing warmth and protection, fabrics have been used throughout centuries to augment certain aspects of human performance, be it on stage, or in the boudoir, on the sports- or the battle-field, in uniform, tribal colors or under one’s flag.

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The dance aspect was driven home to me last summer at the Philadelphia Art Museum which presented a nifty little exhibit on Dance – Movement/Rhythm/Spectacle. Paintings, lithographs and photographs about dance from the museum’s collection depicted costumes and dresses that caught my attention. The cross section below ranges from Toulouse-Lautrec from the portfolio Le Café Concert, Carlos Mérida Dance of the Quetzals, Leon Bakst The Pilgrim for the Ballet Russe’s performance of Le Dieu Bleu; one of the represented photographers was Barbara Morgan who photographed Martha Graham’s company at length.

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And then there was Loîe Fuller, who knew how to make fabric fly – I just learned about her from indispensable dance critic Martha Ullman West who keeps me on my toes. The short clip below is a marvel.

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Fuller was partly responsible for the creation of one of the great treasures of WA, the Maryhill Museum.  I will devote another essay to that jewel eventually. For now, here is a clip of the fabulous 1946 exhibit that is now in their permanent collection, of French fashion on small mannequins, all the fashion I am willing to mention in the  context of fabrics. I cannot recommend a visit of the museum strongly enough. Eclectic only begins to describe it. http://www.maryhillmuseum.org/visit/exhibitions/ongoing-exhibitions/theatre-de-la-mode

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