Eric Discerning

Posted by Maverick ~ on September 1, 2018
Posted in: Art, Music, Photography. Tagged: , , , , , , .

Eric Discerning (2010)
David Hilliard
American
Inkjet Print

Image of man seated on blue wooden chair in front of window. He is wearing jeans and a wrinkled shirt with the sleeves rolled up. In his right hand, he holds a partially eaten apple. Fruit (pear, strawberry, kiwi, plum, and apple) is laid out on the small white table beside him - each with a large bite taken out of them. Near the lower right is a plate filled with fruit next to a wooden post. This is one image printed across three separate sheets/mounts with narrow white margins.

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The Three Graces

Posted by Maverick ~ on August 31, 2018
Posted in: Art, Music, Photography. Tagged: , , , , , , , , .


The Three Graces, 1535
Lucas Cranach the Elder
German (Wittenberg, Weimar), 1472–1553
Oil on wood panel

"The subject of the Three Graces was associated in antiquity with elegance and beauty, and the trio was oftentimes depicted as handmaidens of the goddess Venus. The Graces became popular in the Renaissance with a revival of interest in the ancient world and because of the opportunity they represented to accentuate their natural potential for sensuality. Here, Cranach's nudes illustrate this Renaissance interest, but their slender proportions are Gothic. The figures are highlighted against the dark background making their bodies look more sculptural."

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Wings and Beautiful Things ~

Posted by Maverick ~ on August 30, 2018
Posted in: Flowers, Photography. Tagged: , , , , , .

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“Art is the fatal net which catches these strange moments on the wing like mysterious
butterflies, fleeing the innocence and distraction of common men.” — Giorgio de Chirico

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“The wings of transformation are born of patience and struggle” — Janet S. Dickens

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“Beautiful Things” 

De Kooning Breaks Through

Posted by Maverick ~ on August 29, 2018
Posted in: Art, Music, Photography. Tagged: , , , , , .

De Kooning Breaks Through (1987)
Red Grooms (American, born 1937)
Three-dimensional color lithograph cut out, folded and assembled into a Plexiglas box

"This is a colorful and dramatic three-dimensional print that depicts a man riding a bicycle toward the viewer. A woman—with huge eyes and monumental breasts sits atop the handlebars—and the two literally breakout of the two-dimensional surface into the viewer’s space.

Red Groom's witty portrait depicts the legendary artist Willem de Kooning riding a bicycle with a woman on the handlebars.  This woman is the subject of de Kooning's celebrated painting Woman and Bicycle (1952-1953).

The print parodies de Kooning's highly expressionistic painting style, as Groom's humorous portrait brims with visual puns.  De Kooning is literally breaking through, suggesting the extraordinary nature of his contributions to art history."

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Piece

Posted by Maverick ~ on August 28, 2018
Posted in: Art, Music, Photography, Uncategorized. Tagged: , , , , , , , .

Piece
(2011)
Archie Scott Gobber
(American, born 1965)
Enamel on canvas

Archie Scott Gobber makes art with words.  Piece could refer to a "piece of art" a phrase often used in art historical texts, or it could recall other meanings for viewers.  By superimposing the word piece over a peace sign, Gobber suggests that words are rarely straightforward.  "Ultimately," the artist says, "my work seeks to engage the viewer as a partner in an ongoing dialogue while realizing the goal of the artwork is what it conjures."

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Portrait Study of a Child

Posted by Maverick ~ on August 27, 2018
Posted in: Art, Music, Photography. Tagged: , , , , , , , , .

Portrait Study of a Child
1891
Lilla Cabot Perry
American, 1848 – 1933
Oil on canvas


"Portrait Study of a Child presents Lilla Cabot Perry's poised seven-year-old daughter holding a violin. Confronting the viewer directly and by herself, this likeness of Alice Perry, unlike more sentimental depictions of children of the period, suggests the growing professionalism of women's creative endeavors throughout the late 19th century.


An elite Bostonian, Perry gravitated toward an artistic career beginning in the 1870s and responded to wide-ranging influences. The firm figure drawing evident in "Portrait Study" suggests her Parisian academic training, while her focus on children reveals the impact of painter Mary Cassatt. Furthermore, the portrait's restrained palette indicates Perry's admiration of James McNeill Whistler's unconventionally poetic approach to painting."

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Irene Henry

Posted by Maverick ~ on August 25, 2018
Posted in: Art, Music, Photography. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , .

Irène Henry (1894)
Henri-Gabriel Ibels
French, 1867-1936
Color lithograph

Henri-Gabriel Ibels was a prominent figure in avant-garde circles in 1890s Paris and well-known for his inventive poster designs, characterized by areas of flat color and a strong sense of decorative pattern. In this poster, he represents the singer Irène Henry performing outdoors at a café-concert, L'Horloge, on the Champs Élysées in Paris. Café-concerts enjoyed great popularity in late 19th century France and served as a more informal space (allowing consumption of food and drink) than more conventional concert halls. Here, Irène Henry artfully leans forward and is silhouetted against the trees, gas lights and evening sky. The poster announces that she performs "tous les soirs" or "every night."

Portrait of My Aunt, Caroline Walter Neustadter

Posted by Maverick ~ on August 24, 2018
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Portrait of My Aunt, Caroline Walter Neustadter, 1928
Florine Stettheimer
American, 1871–1944
Oil on canvas

"Before her death in 1944, Florine Stettheimer requested that all her paintings be destroyed. Fortunately, her family did not heed her wishes. Painted from memory, this portrait depicts Stettheimer’s beloved aunt who had passed away 16 years earlier. The pastel-colored setting, fanciful details, and flourishes incised into the heavy impasto (thick paint) enliven this memorial portrait. Stettheimer’s style has been regarded as naïve-looking yet sophisticated. It inspired comparisons to folk art, which was celebrated by many modern artists in the early 1900s."

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