Polly Morgon Death and art

successful artist! #2 (Julian Schnabel)

Here is a curious film about the very larger than life Julian Schnabel, the contemporary American artist. (link http://bcove.me/5igmdm3n) 

Regardless of what people think, (and it is a very diverse landscape of opinion) he is certainly a prolific artist who has created a successful career for himself. Despite that he irritates so many, perhaps by his success and hubris, he is nonetheless, an American artist with Brobdingnagian proportions. And because Americans generally have big imaginations, they usually make big things with them and their success is over-the-top as well. Alas, hype is both the fat and gristle for success in the US today.

This nation is still pushed and pulled by the notion of Manifest Destiny, and in the art world it is no different. Culturally speaking, across the board, everything has turned muscular.

In America, museums and galleries are now monuments to the large scale and ambitions reflecting large egos. 

So, Schnabel fits in. In fact, he is an incarnation of that Manifest Destiny in the American Art world of today. He is a worker, ceaselessly pushing the boundaries of his materials. He seems to have modelled himself after Picasso in many respects. Why not? Picasso was a clever entrepreneur he brought Madison Avenue into the art studio.  

Whether I 'like' or 'dislike' their work is almost beside the point. Success breeds success in this new media-driven world. In any event, this is a lovely little film. 

starlings

Before dawn breaks
Into shattered glass:
The starlings.

Raul Dufy forever!

Its May after all, so let there be joy too.

npr

5x5 My Commute with NPR from Mariann Davis on Vimeo.

sunflower shower head

This is an Australian classic which made me think of Vincent, of course.

shut

Sidney Nolan, revisited

What I find interesting about this painting is that all of its parts seem to work so well on both plastic and surface levels of painting. There is a marvelous light throughout. Aside from this 'Formal' side of the work it is an extraordinary image; an image worthy of Goya.

l'air de rien #189 (the beach)

l'air de rien #189 from cloudsandsea on Vimeo.

l'air de rien #188 (Fish!)

fish from cloudsandsea on Vimeo.

three watering cans!

5 X 5 snow

"Snow" 5x5 from Giovanni Gaetani on Vimeo.

2 watering cans!

windowpane!

The Windowpane from Kurt Buchmeier on Vimeo.

the watering can!

tripping in New York

New York City Subway Stairs from Dean Peterson on Vimeo.

good morning

5x5" - Good morning - Start the day as a winner :^) from Mohsen Beirami on Vimeo.

Mirror

In the rearview
Mirror
An old lover.

grey

Inside the grey sky,
A painting
Of the grey sky

back to front

GANESH VERSUS THE THIRD REICH: Promo from Back to Back Theatre on Vimeo.

Melbourne Art #1

Why does so much Contemporary Art seem so un-necessary?

After a three day museum trip to Melbourne and having seen lots of "installation work" in various venues this question nags at my very insides. I know I could be crucified raising the issue but it keeps coming back every time I enter cavernous spaces but leave feeling so under-welmed. Is it just me, or do others also crave an experience which just might leave me with a sense of poetic awe?

But after saying all this, I admit there were surprises, one of which by the painter and ceramist Angela Brennan of Melbourne.

wedding

The wind blows
Before the wedding,
And afterward.

Bush, The Post-Modern

So, who would have thought that George Dubya would turn his thinking into Painting? I confess to admit it, but he is not without talent. Yes, done from photos, sure,... and yet, there is a personality in these things which is one of the main ingredients that make or brake an artist in my opinion. Its the force of one's originality which can bring life to an image. And, yes, there is something in these portraits as quirky and homegrown as they seem. That he cynically wreaked havoc on the Middle East, adding American blood to the already violent fields of Irak, it makes all this seem just a tad post-modern. (Love the Putin!)

zee french cafe

1 Minute: a french coffee break from Slot B on Vimeo.

moo moo

The cows don't care 
If its Sunday
Moo moo.