Category Archives: art

SUGGESTIONS FOR ARTISTS WHO WANT TO DESTROY SOME OF THEIR ART.

SUGGESTIONS FOR ARTISTS WHO WANT TO DESTROY SOME OF THEIR ART. Annalisa sent me a link to this post on James Gurney’s website, Gurney Journey. Gurney discusses a general problem that artists have: “In the back of every artist’s closet … Continue reading

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WHEN ROBERT RAUSCHENBERG DESTROYED HIS OWN ART.

WHEN ROBERT RAUSCHENBERG DESTROYED HIS OWN ART. In a comment here on my post about Annalisa taking a sledgehammer to one of her sculptures, Jane called attention to a work of art by Robert Rauschenberg entitled “Erased de Kooning Drawing”. … Continue reading

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CONCEPTUAL ART—DESTROYING THE GIANT HEAD.

CONCEPTUAL ART—DESTROYING THE GIANT HEAD. Annalisa had long wanted to get rid of the giant head sculpture, but it was too heavy to lift by anyone other than a pair of Muscleman Movers. A couple days ago, Annalisa bought a … Continue reading

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CONCEPTUAL ART—THE GIANT HEAD.

CONCEPTUAL ART—THE GIANT HEAD. When Annalisa was in college, she took a required sculpture course. Annalisa had done a lot of painting, but very little sculpture. One of the assignments was to sculpt a life size head of themselves—a self … Continue reading

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ARE FACES SYMMETRICAL?

ARE FACES SYMMETRICAL? I remember being told by a young lawyer that there was a period in art history when it was believed that all faces were symmetrical—even though every face they encountered should have refuted the notion. I asked … Continue reading

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THE AMBIGUITY OF THE BUDDHA’S FACES.

THE AMBIGUITY OF THE BUDDHA’S FACES. William Empson and his book SEVEN TYPES OF AMBIGUITY changed how I look at literature (and legal cases and at life). (Here is a post about Empson’s analysis of at least 8 different meanings … Continue reading

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UNFINISHED ART.

UNFINISHED ART. Annalisa sent me this link to a post by Donato on the Muddy Colors website about an exhibit of unfinished paintings at the new Met Breuer Museum. The title of the exhibit is: Unfinished: Thoughts Left Visible. The … Continue reading

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HOW SHAKESPEARE WROTE FOR MOVIES.

HOW SHAKESPEARE WROTE FOR MOVIES. On the whole, I watch a movie or a play for the story. I think most members of my generation do. In contrast, I have met members of what I guess would be called the … Continue reading

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CONSTABLE KNEW THE SKY.

CONSTABLE KNEW THE SKY. I posted here about how Constable devoted a period in 1821 and 1822 exclusively to cloud studies and said that: “the sky was the ‘chief organ of sentiment’ in his paintings.” Alexandra Harris has written WEATHERLAND … Continue reading

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THE DISCOVERY OF A NEW BLUE PIGMENT.

THE DISCOVERY OF PRUSSIAN BLUE. I posted here about how the discovery of Prussian blue in 1704 made generally available for the first time a palette of oil paints which covered the full color wheel and encouraged a great deal … Continue reading

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