Artblog | philadelphia museum of art

August 21, 2016 by Roberta

Artblog Presents Creative Africa – Francis Kéré

Francis Kéré is a Burkina Faso-born, Berlin-based architect known for his adaptive use of vernacular materials in structures like schools and other gathering places, especially in his native land. The Artblog video shows Kéré’s passion for community participation in his projects.

August 19, 2016 by Roberta

Artblog Presents Art Splash at Creative Africa – Philadelphia Museum of Art

This summer, Artblog dove into the Philadelphia Museum’s Creative Africa show — and into the wonderful summer program, Art Splash, that introduces moms, dads, and kids of all ages to the great art on view, and facilitates art making by the viewers, right there in the museum.

July 28, 2016 by Flora Ward

Splashing Around – Creative Africa and Nari Ward on Artblog Radio

At the Barnes Foundation, Nari Ward’s direct engagement with issues of race, culture, and class in contemporary America makes for an interesting counterpoint to the African art collected by Dr. Barnes (and by the Penn Museum) in the early 20th century. Finally, the three shows of contemporary photography, textiles, and architecture that fill the first floor of the PMA’s Perelman Building leave us with lots of questions about the “Africa” in “Creative Africa.” Just how fixed is regional or even national identity for both artists and artworks that circulate widely thanks to the global art market? What makes African art African?

April 29, 2016 by Andrea Kirsh

International Pop at the PMA

And perhaps this last is one of the most significant points the exhibition makes: despite an international interest in the commercial vernacular and the visual impact of the media, the works in the exhibition can only be truly understood within the cultures that produced them. This leaves serious viewers with the realization that the information in many of the introductory labels is insufficient background for a real understanding of the art and how it functioned in its native territory.

February 16, 2016 by Roberta

Artist Memberships at PMA (ICA still Free), Peggy Guggenheim documentary at iTunes, Leadership changes at Yale Arts+ CFEVA, and Opportunities for writers and artists

The PMA has introduced their first-ever Artist Membership. Between Feb. 24-28, artists can become members for $25. The application process includes documentation of artist status but the bar is set reasonably — Artists must show “documentation (via smartphone or printed piece) of how they share their work with the public. A website, Instagram or Facebook account, Etsy page, or a postcard of a past or upcoming exhibition will work just fine.”

January 31, 2016 by Evan Paul Laudenslager

Picture This at the PMA: India through contemporary photography

For the museum, this exhibit of Indian contemporary photography is a great complement to the PMA’s commitment to Indian art. For Philadelphians, the show is a great introduction to work that has not been widely exhibited here before.

November 16, 2015 by Roberta

Wrath of the Gods: From scholarly to vernacular at the Philadelphia Museum of Art

The art historical exhibit pivots around one of the PMA’s blockbuster items, Peter Paul Rubens’ “Prometheus Bound,” a tour-de-force figure painting of the big-muscled god being killed by an eagle in a particularly gruesome fashion. It’s a large painting both beautiful and terrifying, a scene of torture that accentuates the vulnerability of flesh.

October 18, 2015 by Evan Paul Laudenslager

Home at last: Dave Heath at the Philadelphia Museum of Art

Dave Heath (b. Philadelphia 1931) was abandoned by his family at an early age, growing up in the Philadelphia foster care system. This lack of a true sense of belonging clearly shaped both his need to connect with the world through photography and the sense of longing and solitude that hovers thick in the air around his work.