talks
Kurt Schwitters and Diane Burko in Princeton; International Banking at Portikus
Kurt Schwitters: Color and Collage at the Princeton Art Museum through June 26, 2011 realizes the alchemists’ dream of turning dross into gold - in that Schwitters created his marvelous collages and assemblages from recycled garbage. This first U.S. survey of the artist’s work in twenty-five years does not attempt to cover his entire production; the roughly 80 works include several of the Merz assemblage paintings, a large number of exquisite Merz drawings (collages on paper), several small sculptural works and a reconstruction from photographs of the Hannover Merzbau, which was destroyed in WWII. While much of the work is ... More » »
Talk: Documentary PIX of Philadelphia at the Free Library
Today’s your last chance to do a truly civic feel-good thing–bid in a silent auction on a photo or print to help support the Free Library’s Prints and Pictures Collection.
Jared Diamond – Collapse and political will at the Philomathean Society’s annual talk
Irvine Auditorium was full for UCLA physiology professor Jared Diamond‘s talk last week. The talk was the Philomathean Society‘s Annual Oration on the theme of water, and the Pulitizer Prize winning author of Guns, Germs and Steel (1997) talked about the role of water management in the collapse of civilizations. As topical as tsunami or Hurricane Katrina, water management, done well, as it is in Iceland or the Netherlands can help a society flourish for thousands of years. Mis-managed, as it was for years in New Orleans’ inadequate levee system the result is billions of dollars of reparations and a ... More » »
Judith Schaechter on art and craft at the Philadelphia Art Alliance
There’s nothing like ducking out of a stormy evening straight into a former mansion – known to most city dwellers as the Philadelphia Art Alliance. On the evening of March 10, the black of an overcast sky merged into the quiet gray of a brick façade, the sleek wetness of concrete pavements became the brilliant glimmer of dark wood floors and the steady fall of raindrops transformed into bright, crystalline chandeliers cascading from the ceiling. Judith Schaechter, a local artist was giving a lecture that evening. Schaechter works with stained glass and teaches as an adjunct professor in the Crafts ... More » »
Alan Riding: On Cultural Life In Nazi-Occupied Paris
When the Nazi army rolled over Paris in late spring, 1940, and occupied the city on June 14, 1940, one might say the lights went out in the world’s greatest cultural beacon. But the truth is more complex, morally and aesthetically, as artists, performers, writers and others in the Paris culture industry either co-existed or collaborated outright with the occupiers. Artists and intellectuals “survived” the war in a fashion, and others, particularly in cinema, enjoyed a “good war.” Sartre famously burnished his war credentials after the Occupation; Picasso was largely selfish and unpolitical; painters Derain and Vlaminck traveled as visiting ... More » »
Contemporary Art, Who Cares? A conference in Amsterdam
Those who care for modern art and particularly for art produced since World War II face challenges unknown from their experience with earlier artwork; not only materials known to be impermanent (newspaper, latex, chocolate) or of unknown permanence (plastics, color photographs, felt-tip pen inks) but also working parts, intentionally ephemeral work, and pieces involving hardware, such as cathode ray tubes, that become obsolete. Some works also include living material (animal and vegetable), current vernacular items, refuse and/or garbage. The presence of the artist, who inevitably retains a connection with the work, although not always one supported by moral rights law, ... More » »
Community Meeting at Little Berlin
In conjunction with “Works on Paper Rejects”, inspired by Arcadia’s “Works on Paper”, Little Berlin is holding a community meeting about the issue of juried art exhibitions. We each apply to at least one juried show. It may be on a regular basis or maybe hardly ever. They are definitely in our minds. What’s the benefit for showing in a juried exhibit? Monetary reasons? Exposure? Is that really what making art is all about? When you’re applying to juried show it’s a form of social networking, a social networking involved with an art institution, art gallery, art association — art ... More » »
College Art Association Annual Meeting in Chicago; random thoughts
The plane to Chicago for the College Art Association (CAA) Annual Meeting left from a concourse I rarely use so I saw different art than usual as part of the airport’s Exhibition Program, which certainly provides the best distraction I’ve found at Philadelphia International Airport. Nick Kripal’s Swarm was a terra cotta landscape of an alternative, multi-culti character with forms cribbed from the kitchen cabinets; what looked like a Moorish dome turned out to have been cast from a pudding mold! I’d love to see him do animations based on them.
Events in Philadelphia and Elsewhere
An incomplete, biased and otherwise personal list of some of the events I hope to get to in the next two weeks: Tuesday, Feb. 2, 6 pm YOUNG-HAE CHANG HEAVY INDUSTRIES, a Seoul based web-art group, will be speaking at Temple where their work is part of Philagrafika. 126 AUDITORIUM, Temple University Architecture building, 1947 North 12th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19122 Free and open to the public Who wouldn’t want to hear from artists who did a web piece called CUNNILINGUS IN N0RTH K0REA? You can see it, and more of their work at their site.
Temple Philagrafika talk 2-5 today
I’m dashing toff to Temple Gallery for the artist’s talk inconjunction with the Philagrafika show there. The talk, featuring artists Carl Pope, Frencesc Ruiz, Barthelemy Toguo and YOUNG-HAE CHANG HEAVY INDUSTRIES, plus Curators Sheryl Conkelton and Jose Roca, sounds pretty interesting.
