Art and Photography Blog

Edward Weston at the Big Sur

I have always been a great fan of Edward Weston from my early days in photography. The New York Times published a nice article, In Point Lobos, Where Edward Weston Saw the World Anew and slide show, The California Coast Through Edward Weston's Lens. There are ten excellent examples of his work in the slide show. His son, Kim Weston, provides commentary on the slides.

The travel article, starts, “One exception to this biographic amnesia, and a worthy candidate for a plaque from the National Register of Historic Places, is Edward Weston’s house on the Monterey Peninsula. If American modernist photography can be said to have a spiritual birthplace that can still be visited, it’s his home on Wildcat Hill in Carmel Highlands where he lived off and on from 1938 until his death in 1958.”

The house is in the slide show. Many of his great photos were taken in the area and he made many of his prints in the house. This is a beautiful part of the world. His life is an inspiration to any artist. I would love to live in a place that I can paint and photograph.

Breakfast at Square One in Los Angeles - A Photo Opp

Square One provided a great breakfast in LA (see - Los Angeles Dining Update – February 2009). This place also offered some of the best photo ops which I am sharing a few below. I especially like the embracing bacon. I had a variation on eggs benedict with salmon on a potato pancake and grits on the side. How could I resist this? Fortunately my cholesterol runs low. It is located at 4854 Fountain Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90029 (323) 661.1109.

Photos of the Signs of London

On a recent trip to London I was struck by the many familiar signs from when I lived there in the 90s. Here are some.

Great Upcoming London Sculpture Show

I was in London at the end of March and had dinner with my artist friend, Karen Ay. Karen is participating in an upcoming exhibit, The Sculpture Show in London sponsored by V22 Presents. Here is a photo of the space form the show site.

V22 Presents is a series of projects produced in collaboration with artists, curators and art organisations in a variety of venues around London. For the second project V22 PRESENTS invited five artist curators to select works that engage with current developments and critiques in contemporary Sculpture. The site stated:

“The archaic term Sculpture can no longer contain the multiple directions and potentials that artists have attributed to it throughout its history. Through bringing together diverse approaches and understanding from international artists, groups and projects V22 PRESENTS: The Sculpture Show is an opportunity to engage with the diverse potentials that have come to encapsulate, and exist within, the definition Sculpture.”

The Sculpture Show 
will appear 26 April – 31 May 2009 and be open Wed – Sun 12 – 6pm at The Almond Building, The Biscuit Factory, Bermondsey, London.

It is organized into three groups. Karen Ay’s wrk is part of the Oysters Ain't which is curated by Simon Bill & Cedric Christie. They described the grouping in the following manner.

“Apparently there’s no workable, universally agreed, definition of sculpture these days. Your safest bet is to define it negatively - a sculpture can be absolutely anything in the world provided it’s not a painting…Oysters were, incidentally, until about 1850, the food of the poor. And ‘ain’t’ used to be something Gentlemen said. ‘It ain’t sculpture, damn you Sir!’ is the sort of thing they probably used to say. Now, of course, all that’s changed. “

I wish I got get back to see it and recommend it to anyone in London at the time. You can see Karen’s work at her new Karen Ay web site.

Photos of Cotswold Windows and Doors

When I was in the Cotswolds this late March, I was struck by the wide variety of windows an ddoors. Here are some of the best. You can click on a picture to enlarge it.

Photos of Changing Light at Onset Bay - Summer 2008

Here is more on summer travels to warm the winter. Last August I was in Onset MA for the 2008 Blues festival. We stayed at the Point Independence Inn. The changing light from mid-day on Friday to mid-day on Saturday on Onset Bay is seen from the porch of our room. You can click on the pictures to make them larger.

Photos of 2008 New England Fall Foliage in Boston Area

Here are some more pictures of fall foliage in New England as a follow up to my post last week about the the small pond near my house.