Tuesday, March 27, 2007

The Namesake



Very nice movie about indian immigrants, mostly second generation. I was surprised how they put together indian, american and russian cultures (the main character was named after the Russian writer Nikolay Gogol). I like the way the relationships between the immigrant parents and their children who grow up in the new culture are portraited.

It is ironic though that even the "immigrant" movie happened to be about the upper middle class again.

Saturday, March 24, 2007

Revealed: Women, Art, Life, Success

I really liked the discussion. It was very informative. I think my favorite question was about combining artistic career with raising kids. (It was actually the first question asked by the audience members). There was a variety of answers united by one theme: "It's hard". Although woman who already have kids didn't regret it.

Here are a few comments that I liked:

"We behave like we have a profession. [ ] We have a calling." - Judy Baca

"When you do public art, you're invisible."- Kim Abeles

"For the public art, I'm always amazed how it can be so personal." - Kim Abeles

"You are talking about emerging... if it doesn't work, just re-emerge. [ ] Just find the place for yourself."


I also liked the comments of Judy Baca on the concept of success in art. I always defined it like being able to make the living with art. According to Judy, the real success in art is to be able to express yourself, to say what you want, and to work with people that you like.

Saturday, March 17, 2007

Drive By



It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon when I made it there. Here are the artists that I liked:

Bruce Gray (www.brucegray.com)
My favorite pieces are "High Heel Shoe#1" and "The Big Cheese #3" I think there is something about the dimentions of the work: It is interesting to see the small objects that we use everyday made as a large-scale sculptures.





Stuart Rapeport
Title: (choose from the following)
1. "School"
2. "Fish out of water"
3. "Don't Bite off more than you can chew"
4. "Bait"
5. "Fishwatch"
6. "The Stalker"
7. "The Infinite Patience of the Feline Eye"
8."Crouch"
9."Stay focused"
10."Look at the book picture"
11."Curiosty killed the cat"
12."Individual, family, friends, community, nation, world "
13."A dozen fish one cat"
14."look before you leap"
15."Safety in numbers"
16."Stay in school"
17."Bait and switch"

I chose #19.“Mother told me there would by days like this". Even though my mother never told me this, I still want to believe it. Especially now.



Farzad Kohan
Title: Puppeteers
Mixed Media 2006

Somehow this piece made me think of my current job at the company.

2007 Women's Music, Art, Dance & Word Festival: Celebrating Diversity



The show was opened at the 2nd City Council gallery on Saturday, March 10 (http://www.2ndcitycouncil.org) I really enjoyed the diversity of work that included all sorts of art mediums, as well as performances. Here are some pieces that I liked:

Judy Y
Model #5047
Lightjet C-print

This is the photographic portrait of a doll against dark background. The light on the mirrored image is perfectly symmetrical, and that probably makes it more disturbing. It talks to the value of the individual and the way it's perceived in the media.

Linda Bundlin
Ruby Slipper
35 mm Film Tapestry

This artist has been working as an editor for a while. Her piece is a collages put together from the pieces of 35 mm film. It looks like some sort of 3D installation from the distance, but then the viewer can move closer and see the individual images on the film.

Eileen Anderson
self-portrait
mixed media

This is a 3D installation of a female figure covered with the product labels and the wire (the kind of wire that is used on barber-wired fences for animals). "Women are often objectified and treated with disrespect".

Saturday, March 10, 2007

Casting Nature: François-Thomas Germain's Machine d'Argent





Casting Nature is the show of 18-century art that is designed around Machine d'Argent, a silver masterpiece by François-Thomas Germain. What makes the sculpture unique is that, unlike the other table centerpieces produced at that time, it had no function outside of being a decorative object.

Somehow this show really made me think of the purpose of art making. I noticed that the piece doesn't appeal to me emotionally, but, on the contrary, makes me thing of the dead rabbit and birds and regret the fact that the majority of humans are not vegetarian. Could it be because of my mindset on that day? But at the same time, the other silver pieces that had certain functionality assigned to them didn't evoke the same kind of feeling. (By the way, I'm not a vegetarian, although I'd like to be one.)



Similar is true about paintings. Speaking outside of the admiration of the technical skills of the painter, I felt sorry for the dead little birds. Maybe because in my mind little birds are not supposed to be eaten. Perhaps, for the 18th century person who didn't get much meat on the table, this art was telling a different story.

Perhaps there is a change in perception between 18th and the 21st centuries. During the period of Enlightenment, people (artists) were trying to replicate and rival the nature. Now, with all the ecological issues, there is a concept of how fragile life really is.


http://www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/casting_nature/

Icons of Sinai



I made it to the Icons from Sinai show on the last day. I wish it wasn't the last day, because the show was magnificent. To me, it really had a healing effect. I spent about 3 hours there, meditating on the icons and researching the historical background. One of the interesting things that I learned is that the monastery of St. Catherine was built at the spot where, according to the legend, Mouses saw the burning bush. There is also a very interesting (symbolic and poetical) parallel between the burning bush and the Virgin Mary.

Among the icons that had the strongest impact on me are the large icon of St. Peter (realistic-looking face-I believe that's what St. Peter looked like). Very interesting icon by El Greco with St Catherine's monastery at Sinai, the way he imagined it. Virgin Mary with Archangel Gabriel (I forgot the English name for the scene)-golden leaf-you can see the Holy Spirit descending. If you look at a certain angle, you can see the crucifixion in the center.

I wish I could come there again, but it was the last day of the show.