Tag Archive "david-hockney"

London Drops an H-Bomb or Two

It is difficult to commute on the Tube everyday without seeing some mention of the upcoming 2012 Olympics. In light of this increased global attention and the spirit of the world’s nations coming together, I’d like to consider this year’s museum offerings and the subsequent pressure to represent England’s national identity.  Of all the shows happening this year, Damien Hirst at the Tate Modern and David Hockney at The Royal Academy come to the forefront. Now, I don’t pretend to be an expert on the very British of the British (especially as a Canadian living in London), but intend, instead, ... More » »

‘Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture’; an exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery

There are now two stories about Hide/Seek: the exhibition, and the controversy. This piece will cover the first; a second one will address the controversy. Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture, at the National Portrait Gallery, (NPG) , Smithsonian Institution through Feb. 13, 2011) is a serious examination of artistic conventions, particularly those of portraiture, as they concern a subject heretofore unspoken in the polite precincts of mainstream American museums. It addresses the manner, sometimes overt but often hidden, in which sexual difference has been manifest. The artists and their sitters include straight, gay, and the fluid range of ... More » »

Help from the Computer Lab

It’s not often that I find myself heading for lectures sponsored by applied mathematicians, but last Spring I went to the Math department at the University of Pennsylvania to hear David Stork talk about the usefulness of computer modeling for art historians.

More Museum Studies; Artists as Docents

Rijksmuseum Amsterdam with banner for For the Love of God Damian Hirst, November – December, 2008 I arrived in Amsterdam on Dec. 14 on an overnight flight, took a nap and awoke to the suggestion from my friend, Barbara that we go to the Rijksmuseum for the last day of an exhibition. The work in question was For the Love of God, Damien Hirst’s diamond-encrusted skull along with a small room of paintings that Hirst selected from the museum’s collection.