Art and Photography Blog

The Gates of Somerville are Restored

The Gates of Somerville made a big impact on the Web with millions of visits when they first appeared in early 2005. They were a take off on Christo's Gates of New York. This site was not meant for the massive visiors it attracted and soon was taken down. Last May I went to the Somerville MA Open Studios and was pleased to see the actual Gates of Somerville on display and meet the creator, Geoff Hargadon or simply Hargo. Hargo has a studio in Somerville that was open as part of the Open Studio event. As I mentioned above, in February 2005 he displayed photos of his cat looking at the gates he created from lost cost matierals in honor of Christo’s Gates of New York. The mayor of Somerville declared a Hargo day for the positive attention brought to the city. The mayor’s proclamation was also on display at Hargo’s studio. Hargo has put the gates back up on his Not-Rocket-Science site. There is also a nice comparision with Christo’s Gates of New York. Christo’s gates which cost $21,000,000 and Hargo’s gates which cost $3.50. Christo’s work was on CNN 204 times while the Somerville Gates were on twice. The cost ratio was over $100,000 per CNN visit for the New York Gates and $1.75 per CNN visit for the Somerville gates. The Boston area wins over New York again on another important measure.

Fluid Thinking - Great Artist Blog

My friend, Karen D’Amico, an artist working in London, writes a blog to talk about her art and other stuff. It is called Fluid Thinking: “and observations on making art with the odd rant occasionally thrown in.” Karen has a web site that she has maintained for some time. It is does an excellent job of displaying her art. She builds ephemeral three dimensional objects and then photographs them with very inviting results. Her statement says that “identity is a mutable construct, often occupying more than one space simultaneously, residing somewhere in between rather than being absolute.” Karen has been doing this for over two years now.

Karen wrote in her first post, beginning blog…, “I've decided to start a blog in order to compile an ongoing diary of thoughts and observations in relation to my art practice, with the odd rant or random thought thrown in. I've kept written diaries and sketchbooks on and off for years, mainly as a means of exploring ideas and possibilities when making work. For me the interesting bit has always been the slow realisation that certain ideas continue to reoccur over time, though sometimes in different formats, and I've found this to be a useful compass. So it seemed logical for the next step to be a blog - a place where ideas can unfold and at the same time, have information chronological and easily accessible for future reference.”

There is more to this post and a number of other interesting ones. While her web site shows her art quite well and contains a statement about the thought process behind her work, which is quite conceptual, her blog now starts to convey the ongoing thinking behind her work and what it is like to be a working artist in London. I highly recommend it for anyone interested in the topic as Karen is an excellent writer, as well as an interesting artist. The April 25th post Opennings has one of her most recent works, along with (un) veil, mirror, mirror and intersections.

Karen also has a long list of art blogs and art sites, as well as London galleries.

Drawing of Spring Cleaning

This is a 23" x 29" black ink drawing on white paper. It was done in my library to show a bit of confusion.

Ansel Adams Exhibit 2006 at Boston's MFA

Last year I went to the Ansel Adams exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. It exceeded expectations as I was usually have only a passing interest in his work. The day started well when we found a metered spot on the street, saving significant money over the lot. Little did I know at the time that the show was so interesting that I would have to go out and put more money in the meter as the time got close to the two hours you can pay at one time and there was more show to see. This is the first time that has happen for me at an MFA special exhibit. This does not mean that it was my favorite, just that it was quite good and took a lot of time to process. My favorite photo is actually the one they showed on their web site, a close up of a rose and not your usual Ansel Adams scenery shoot. I bought a print at the shop afterwards. As the MFA site says: “Because the exhibition is drawn from the largest private holding of his work in the world, rarely exhibited photographs from the 1920s through the ’70s are hung side by side with the iconic images that made Adams famous. Footage of Adams mountain climbing, a large-format camera on display, and video of the photographer in the field and in the darkroom add to the complete picture of Adams as artist and outdoorsman.” See if you can find the catalog.

Still Life Spring 2006

This is a 23" x 29' ink drawing on white paper.

 

Painting of Still Life with Peaches

This is a 18" x 24" acrylic painting adapted from Gauguin's painting by the same title done, Still Life with Peaches, in 1889. His work was 9 7/8" x 12 3/8".  This was done from a reproduction. I tried to see the original which is at the Fogg Museum in Cambridge but it was in storage. I made a few changes from what Gauguin did but tried to capture the style of his work as a learning exercise. I plan to try a few others such as Cezanne and Manet.

pt at large – Good Source for Boston Area Art Reviews

My friend Paul Tamburello writes the blog, pt at large, that covers many things in the Boston area. Paul provides useful reviews of art exhibits, along with his comments on food, theater, and music in the Boston area.  Here are two recent reviews, Close Up: Big photos reveal little, and Copley Society "Shades of Frost", Cool for Collectors of All Stripes. I appreciate that he always includes a number of photos with his posts.  I have also discovered a number of new places to eat  from his writing, including Vicki Lee’s Café, Superb food on a small scale. I was just there last week for some excellent potatoes and onions with a grilled cheese and caramelized onions.

Great Design Books from Png Ming

There are many great design books. The Japanese blog, Ping Mag, has put together a comprehensive review of the best graphic design books money can buy, described as a “a ramshackle list of design texts that I consider utterly invaluable to the education of a graphic designer.”

He adds, "The education of graphic designers is often a haphazard process. A number of designers working today came to their positions without formal design education. Undergraduate design education often leaves much to be desired…I understand my place in history a little bit better because of these texts - they helped inform both my work and my attitude toward my profession.”

Ping Mag gives a short review of each book. The emphasis is on type rather than images.

The books they suggest are:

1. A History of Graphic Design by Philip Meggs

2. The Elements of Typographic Style by Robert Bringhurst

3. Looking Closer I-III, Texts on Type: Critical Writings on Typography, Graphic Design History, Design Literacy: Understanding Graphic Design, The Education of a Typographer

4. Design Writing Research by Ellen Lupton & J. Abbott Miller

5. Stop Stealing Sheep by Erik Spiekermann and E.M. Ginger

6. Envisioning Information by Edward R. Tufte

7. Josef Müller-Brockmann: A Pioneer of Swiss Graphic Design by Lars Müller

8. Jan Tschichold: A Life in Typography by Ruari McLean

9. Unjustified Texts: Perspectives on Typography by Robin Kinross

10. Type and Typography by Phil Baines and Andrew Haslam, Thinking with Type by Ellen Lupton and Oubunshotai by Akira Kobayashi

There is also Idea Magazine and Eye Magazine, as well as Speak Up, a design criticism forum. Thanks to the IF Team for pointing to this blog post.

Drawings of Paris 2006

These are 23" x 29" ink drawings on white paper done from photos of Paris. The one on the left depicts an open front bar in the 12th.  The one on the right shows people resting near a reflecting pool by the entrance to the Louvre. 

 

Photos of New Orleans After the Flood

The Met in New York had an interesting photography exhibit last year. It covered post Katrina New Orleans as our modern Pompeii. I have been there and can picture in my mind the photo opps Ploidiri had. As the NY Times said, “Chernobyl to Havana -- in sometimes dangerous, topsy-turvy, out-of-time places -- generally bears witness to profound neglect.” Parts of New Orleans gave him must have served him well. The Times concludes, “(His pictures) simply testify, as Mr. Rosenheim (in the intro) puts it, ‘to a city that care forgot.’ It's good of the Met to remind us.” 'New Orleans After the Flood: Photographs by Robert Polidori,'' was at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Fifth Avenue at 82nd Street. If you hear of it appearing again be sure to go. here is the benefit of the Web. If you go to their New Orleans After the Flood: Photographs by Robert Polidori site you can still see the pictures.

New Orleans is where I grew up and I wrote about my recent trip in a series of posts on one of my other blogs. Here are the links.

New Orleans Update 2007 Part One: the Paradox of Two Cities Remains

New Orleans 2007 Update Part Two: Restaurants

New Orleans 2007 Update Part Three: Live Music

New Orleans 2007 Update Part Four: Buying Music at the Louisiana Music Factory