ART

The new year brings new changes and a further appreciation of the art world. President Obama just recently passed a bill that requires every town to install a playground that can also pass for an art gallery. Fish Creek, Wisconsin will be one of the first towns in the country to start construction on January 1st. The small town has employed the esteemed art critic and artist, "Art" to design the highly anticipated, indoor, art gallery/playground. She plans on using an abandoned barn, about half the size of one Titanic. Her designs are not complete, but she is certain about a few things. Upon arrival, each visitor will receive a pocket chair and a paper bag that contains a radio that continuously plays the soundtrack from the phenomenal flick, The Bodyguard. "Art" will also hang large swings and giant curtains throughout the barn. Decorating the walls will be large portraits of Vladimir Putin and Peter the Great. This groundbreaking project is estimated to be completed in 2 score years.

PS For more information, and an overall better explanation of this project, please read the January issue of the Viking Voice

"The Event of a Thread"

"The event of a thread" is a new art installation at the Park Avenue Armory in New York. This performance art piece is simple. It consists of one very large piece of fabric and 42 large wood-plank swings. The artist, Ann Hamilton, placed large swings, big enough to fit 2-3 people, on either side of a white hanging piece of lightweight fabric that moves once people start to swing. Some may not even call this piece of art "art," but rather theater. In addition to the virtually quiet moving curtain, the 55,000 square-foot room is filled with the sound of radios in paper bags, pigeons, and actors reading snippets of text. Hamilton decided to have the actors read works by authors such as Aristotle and Charles Darwin, that rotate daily. In addition, there is a writer that sits at one end of the room who writes whatever comes to mind. Go to the following link to view a video of this interesting piece of work.           http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/07/arts/design/ann-hamilton-at-the-park-avenue-armory.html?ref=arts&_r=0

Pushing the Limits of the Canvas

"I lost my language because we traveled so much," 81, Ms. Denes recently said in a New York Times interview. From a young age, Agnes Denes wanted to be a poet. However, since she was forced out of Hungary into Sweden due to the Nazi occupation, then to the United States by the time she was a teenager, she had no definite language. However, she didn't give up on her art dream completely. Denes became more and more interested with the visual arts. She began as a painter, but she felt like that medium was too limiting. Denes wanted to go past the edge of the canvas. "Rice/Tree/Burial," is a on of Denes many fascinating pieces. It is believed to be the first ecologically conscious earthwork. (Ecologically friendly and art equals a win win) Denes planted rice seeds in upsate New York, along with planting a time capsule filled with some of her haiku. This combined communication with the earth and the future. All of Denes' artworks combine her interest of math and psychology, but they are still extremely aesthetic. Dene even moved out of her beautiful apartment filled with antiques to a loft because she wanted to be able to roll out of bed and make art. Agnes Denes still has more to say, but she said, "I feel so restricted at being caught in my lifetime."

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/02/arts/design/agnes-denes-stretches-the-canvas-as-far-as-can-go.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&ref=design&adxnnlx=1354474886-vv/4IrMeZUVdchsblYJYC

Slideshow of some of Agnes Denes pieces of work:
http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2012/12/02/arts/design/20121202-DENES.html?ref=design

Pop Art goes Sinister

When it comes to modern art, Pop Art is the largest form of income. People will pay big bucks for a painting done by Andy Warhol. There have been many museum displays of Pop Art recently such as "Regarding Warhol" at the Met in New York and the touring exhibit, "Lichtenstein survey" which is currently located at the National Gallery. However, like everything these days, people are always looking for the next big thing. They Whitney art museum in New York has taken the next step with a new exhibit called "Sinister Pop." Organized by the museum's curators, Donna De Salvo and Scott Rothkopf, displays Pop art with a sinister twist. The art on display features consumerism of the early 1960s, antiwar, and anti-corporate sentiment of work. It also includes photographs from the 60s and 70s. Some of the paintings include Warhol's race riots and electric chair, paintings of gas stations, and barred-off highway landscapes. This new exhibition evokes gloomy thoughts within the frequent visitors.  

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/26/arts/design/sinister-pop-at-the-whitney.html?ref=design&_r=0
 

'Absorbed by Color'

The Heckscher Museum of Art in Huntington, N.Y. is hosting "Absorbed by Color: Art in the 20th Century." This show is a tour of color in 20th-century paintings. This display is ambitious, but the "younger sister" of the 2008 Museum of Modern Art's "Color Chart: Reinventing Color, 1950 to Today" exhibition. "Absorbed by Color" is not a collaboration of well known artists and paintings, instead, it leans toward lesser-known and overlooked artists. Artists featured in this display include Joseph Albers, George Biddle (influenced by the famous impressionist, Degas), De Hirsh Margules, James Henry Daugherty's and many more talented artists. The curator decided to arrange this exhibition by color, grouping the reds together, the yellows together, ETC. Some may say that this is a childish way of displaying this show, but it will attract the largest possible audience.        http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/11/nyregion/a-review-of-absorbed-by-color-at-the-heckscher-museum-of-art.html?ref=design

Art Comes Alive at the MoMA

Even a dangerous hurricane cannot stop an exhibit at the MoMA in New York City from going off without a hitch! The Museum of Modern Art has had a dance series and the last installment was interrupted by Hurricane Sandy. "Some sweet day" is the series finale. The artists, Deborah Hay's and Sarah Michelson included racial themes. In this exhibit, the dancers mingled with the audience. The choreographer, Ralph Lemon said that, "It's been a difficult week." This performance provided a relief from the horrible events from the past week, if only for a moment. The dancers came from a wide range of dance companies.       http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/05/arts/dance/sarah-michelson-and-deborah-hay-in-moma-series.html?ref=arts&_r=0

Scratching the Surface, Two Picassos Revealed

When Picasso painted "Women Ironing," he was only 22. It was 1904 and he was living in Paris trying to be a successful painter. Picasso is known for starting one painting and then mid way through, he would abandon it. For years, art historians have guessed that there is a painting underneath "Women Ironing." Images were even taken with an infrared camera in 1989, revealing a portrait of a man with a mustache. People do not know who the man is and whether or not it was painted by Picasso. Some believe that it is a portrait of Benet Soler, a Barcelona tailor and friend of Picasso. There is said to something next to the man, and some people think that it is a sewing machine which would support the Soler hypothesis. When the painting was transferred the Musee d'Art Moderne in Paris in 1952, a thief broke in a tried to steal it by cutting it out of the frame. He was caught before he could steal it, but he caused substantial damage. The painting was fixed, but people started to notice more color seeping through the grey tones. When the painting was further inspected, people found the man standing next to an easel instead. The Picasso like brush strokes and his positioning makes people think that this is a self portrait instead. People are still in disagreement to who the mysterious man is. "Women Ironing" is currently located in the Guggenheim Museum.http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/25/arts/design/under-a-picasso-painting-another-picasso-painting.html?ref=arts&_r=1&     

Kids Mistakenly Eating Laundry Pods

The CDC has recently released a new warning for parents concerning children mistaking laundry pods for candy. This past summer, during a 30-day period, there were more than 1,000 cases of poisoning from detergent among kids. Of those cases, more than 400 were connected to detergent pods. There was an average of 10 cases a day during May. More than 90% of the cases occur with children under the age of 6. These laundry pods are the most dangerous form of detergent poisoning. Kids have been rushed to the hospital due these laundry pods. The makers of Tide detergent are planning on making their detergent pod containers, which resemble a candy jar, childproof. However, the responsibility falls on the parents to keep detergent out of reach from their children.    http://abcnews.go.com/Health/laundry-detergent-pods-emerging-public-health-hazard-kids/story?id=17514676#.UIVhumdTBEM

The Younger "Lady with the Mystic Smile"

http://todayentertainment.today.com/_news/2012/09/26/14115751-younger-version-of-mona-lisa-to-be-presented?liteIn 1913 a painting was discovered in a manor house in the west of England. But this just wasn't any painting. This painting is said to be the first Mona Lisa. The girl in this picture is extremely similar to Leonardo da Vinci's "Mona Lisa" except that she appears to be about 10 years younger. It is still undecided whether Leonardo copied this painting, or this unknown artist copied him. What is known is that the painting is on canvas, not Leonardo's medium of choice which was wood. Currently the "Mona Lisa" or "La Giaconda" is located in the Louvre. This newly discovered painting is located in a Swiss bank and is under extreme examination.   

Impressionism and Fashion Collide

Currently on display at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, is “Impressionism and Fashion”, just in time for Paris Fashion Week. This fascinating exhibit explores the relation between fashion today and the fashion in paintings from the late 19^th century. During this time, fashion became an expansive industry and also a form of leisure. This show is with collaboration with the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Art Institute of Chicago and is planned to come to the States next year. This display is showing the comparisons between fashion today and fashion from the 1800s. Throughout this show, there are paintings done by famous impressionists including Monet and Degas. Next to these paintings are modern clothing that represent the clothing that is displayed in the famous paintings. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/04/fashion/impressionism-and-fashion-at-the-musee-dorsay-in-paris-looks-at-impressionists-take-on-style.html?ref=style 

HOW did the tourist cross the road?

Be relaxed and self confident.
Look two ways or make eye contact with drivers.
Walk slowly with purpose.
Never step back.

These are the tips that tourist receive while visitng Vietnam. Instead of discussing resturants, the weather, and art museums, they discuss how to cross the street. The streets of Hanoi Vietnam which were once quiet, have become extremely busy due to the capitalist fervor."We were terroized the first day," one tourist said commenting on the busy streets. Many tourists are terrified of the busy streets and the constant honking. Even though the Vietnam's driving handbook says that drivers must yield to pedestrians, they almost never do. Most people don't even stop at red lights, unless a cop is present. There were 11,000 deaths, and four times that the amount of injuries, caused by car accidents in the past year. The biggest tip of all is to just use public transportation.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/28/world/asia/hanoi-traffic-daunts-tourists.html?ref=world

Questions Come Alive at the Smithsonian

In a country where most students are just lectured towards all day and do endless amounts of busywork, the Smithsonian Institution is going against the norm. They are having visitors ask questions, wonder and be creative. Many of the Smithsonian's previous visitors believe that the museum is dull, but a new ad campaign is trying to change their minds. This 1.4 million dollar campaign includes a new website design http://seriouslyamazing.si.edu/ which features questions and answers geared towards adolescents and teens. The Smithsonian is not launching these new features because they are running low on money, in fact their sales have been up in the past few years, but they are trying to raise money for research and to maintain all of their buildings. Many people don't know that the Smithsonian also has a magazine and a TV channel. Some of the questions featured on their new colorful website include:

•  What is a laufmaschine?
•  How far did John Wilkes Booth get on his broken leg after assassinating President Lincoln?
•  How many armored guards accompanied the Hope Diamond to the Smithsonian?
•  What do a Dead drummer and an astorphysicist have in common?
•  What was a hot hairstyle for the founding fathers?

To learn the answers to these and many questions visit  http://seriouslyamazing.si.edu/ today!

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/21/arts/design/smithsonian-seeks-to-remake-stodgy-image.html?ref=arts

"The Scream" at the MoMA

                The most expensive piece of artwork ever sold at an auction was one version of Munch’s “The Scream”. It sold for 120 million dollars this past May at Sotheby’s. The owner is lending it to the Museum of Modern Art, or MoMA, on October 24^th. It will be on display for duration of six months. This painting is a symbol for anguish and terror. The four versions of the scream were painted from 1893-1910. The other three are located in Norwegian museums. This particular painting, going on display, is the most colorful and has a frame with a poem painted on by the artist, Munch. You can view this painting from October 24^th- April 29^th on the museum’s fifth floor.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/18/arts/design/munchs-scream-to-hang-for-six-months-at-moma.html?ref=arts

"The Upside Down Tree" is at Risk

The survival of Madagascar’s unique species and one of the world’s only biodiversity locations is at risk. The country of Madagascar is an island off of the South eastern coast of Africa. Since its ecosystem is isolated from the rest of the world, 90% of Madagascar’s wildlife can only be found there. One of the well known species that calls Madagascar home is the Baobab tree. Also known as “the upside down tree”, because its branches look more like roots, this tree has many uses. The extract from the leaves are used for medicine, its rare fruit is a high source of vitamins, the bark makes homes, and their excavated trunks are used for water storage. Since Madagascar is one of the poorest countries (the average person lives on $2 a day), agriculture is the main source of income. This causes deforestation and a severe risk for the ecosystem of Madagascar.    

 http://articles.cnn.com/2012-08-31/africa/world_africa_madagascar-deforestation-baobab_1_baobab-madagascar-medicinal-plants

Stereotypes in Toeshoes

Prejudice people still exist in United States today and the arts is no exception. As the ballet performing season is approaching, the calendars of dance companies around the country are being announced. Of course there are the typical ballets such as the “Nutcracker”, “Giselle”, and “Swan Lake”; but there are a few new ballets that are raising some red flags. “Raymonda” and “Le Corsaire” both depict people from the Middle East as “fools”. While “Firebird” highlights the Aryan-ideal racial look. Even though dance companies are consisted of people with varied backgrounds, a comment on the New York Times article Stereotypes in Toeshoes, points out that most dancers tend to be, “guided toward companies that ‘match’ their perceived cultural attributes.” An example of one of these companies is the well know Alvin Ailey Dance Company.  

 Read the New York Times Article Here!