August 2006 Archive

Weekly Update – Indian mini drawings at the PMA

This week’s Weekly has my review of the excellent “Lines of Thought” at the PMA, a show of working drawings by masters of the Indian miniature genre. Below is the copy and here’s the link to the art page. And for more photos, see my flickr. It’s a Small World After AllA collection of Indian miniature paintings accentuates the creative process. A Young Goswami, Late 19th – early 20th centuryIndia, Rajasthan, NathadwaraOpaque watercolor on paper13 1/2 x 10 1/4 inches (34.3 x 26 cm)Bequest of Dean Walker, 2006 If you’ve ever wondered how Indian miniature paintings are made, “Lines of ... More » »

Jeff Kilpatrick: Cartoons and a cause

self-portrait by Jeffro Kilpatrick Fishtown may not yet be the center for Philadelphia art, but the neighborhood has a slowly growing presence. A show by cartoonist Jeffro Kilpatrick kicked me into a wider orbit and got me into Bambi Gallery–at long last (in case this link is still down, I put the gallery info at the end of the post). Bambi is one of those little places that mixes art, crafts and miscellany, but unlike so many of these off-the-beaten-track galleries, it really does put its main emphasis on the art. Maybe it’s because owner Candace Karch is herself an ... More » »

Tuesday rumination: How’s the business of art?

Philadelphia Museum of Art (picture courtesy of the museum). See it big and check the notes to see where the new Perelman Building expansion will be. Provoked by the closing of Spector Gallery, a reader wrote me at the Weekly asking for more stories about the business of art in Philadelphia. See post for more. The reader felt that there was a conundrum here that needed teasing out: To wit, the economy seems booming, public art institutions like the PMA and PAFA seem to be expanding. Even the Barnes will be digging its way out of a financial hole. Yet ... More » »

Paul Laffoley’s evil twin

Paul Laffoley’s Temporality, from the Kohler Art Center exhibit Utopia. This is a scan of Kohler’s brochure of the show and it was too big for the scan bed so the right edge is cut off–sorry. I knew when I saw Paul Laffoley’s paintings in the group show Utopia at Kohler Art Center that they rang a bell. (See post) I had seen similar, systemic, poster-like works in my own home! Steve had brought home a number of DARPA (Defense Research and Planning) posters a while back. And by George (pun intended) aren’t Laffoley’s works and the DARPA poster similar ... More » »

Don’t Think "She Lost It" With Her New Exhibit

Posted by Caitlin Detail of Bourgeois’ 1992 performance at the Fabric Workshop, “She Lost It” The Louise Bourgeois exhibit at the Fabric Workshop highlights the artist’s recent works in different materials, concentrating on her use of textiles. The majority of what is on view revisits her 1992 performance “She Lost It,” which revolves around a 245 foot-long scarf with red writing. A video documentation of the performance is on display in the lobby, with catchy dance music (you may recognize the 90′s hit “Rhythm is a Dancer”) accompanying the images of the original exhibit and the live-performance. I recommend watching ... More » »

In memory of sculptor Richard Lieberman

sculptures in this post by Richard Lieberman, who died two days agoWe received this heartfelt email a couple of days ago from Amy Masterman, Executive Director of the Allens Lane Art Center, where Richard Lieberman taught right up to the end of his life. Richard died today, August 17th. He was born in Kiev, Ukraine, about 93 years ago. Richard’s life was about sculpture. He was smart, outspoken, critical, visionary and absorbed in sculpture. We will be planning some things to commemorate Richard and will be in touch about a memorial event and/or retrospective. He was not only ground-breaking and ... More » »

Portraits of a dying breed

The careful attention to how the clothes are lit in Chris Crisman’s photos is one of the ways he makes his figures heroic The photo portraits of post-WWII steelworkers hanging in at the FUEL Collection gallery intrigued me for so many of the choices photographer Chris Crisman made. The series, part of his Titusville Steel Project, are large color prints, their size a statement of the respect Crisman gives to his subjects, all men of his father’s generation who worked in the local steel mill. Even outdoor spaces feel airless in Chris Crisman’s photos of retired steelworkers What makes these ... More » »

Tesoros at the Philadelphia Museum, first peek

Altarpiece of the Virgin of Sorrows, c. 1690. Gilt and polychromed wood, oil on canvas, silver, cloth. Mexico. Being assembled in the PMA great stairhall the other day. When I stopped by the PMA the other day to see the Lines of Thought exhibit in the Asian Arts section (Gallery 227, HIGHLY recommended–I’ll have a review next Wednesday in the Weekly and see my flickr for pix of that show), I spied Curator Joe Rishel giving a preview of the upcoming Latin American art show, Tesoros, to a group of folks that were gathered with him at the stanchions in ... More » »

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