Because of shifting job responsibilities,
quick sketches is no longer being updated. I strongly recommend, however,
the Rhode Island State
Council on the Arts' excellent blog which presents the kind of information
I had hoped to include here. Thank you for visiting! —Kathy HodgeDeVault
New Bedford didn't have an art
museum back when I was a student at Swain School of Design.
But in 1996 the New Bedford Art Museum was established, and
it's the current exhibit, "Visions of Moby-Dick",
pays tribute to New Bedford's history. My museum going companions
were appalled that I have never read Moby Dick, and immediatly
supplied me with a copy, but I didn't need to know the novel's
characters in order to appreciate the paintings of George
Klauba. In fact, I was glad in a way that I could appreciate
them at face value, for beautiful faces they had, not to mention
seas and skies. A very rich collection of paintings, jewelike
colors and a bit of evil to put an edge on the beauty.
The museum is exhibiting two other artists who tackle this
big theme, but take my advice, go downstairs, that's where
you'll find what you're seeking. Up till September 6.
Why a newspaper for the art world?
"I noticed that most writing about art forces the subject into
a ghetto: it takes it out of the common currencies of life, language
and value judgements. There are the professional art historians,
all theorising away in their distinct areas. There are the critics.
But much art criticism is not worthy of its name, since it is merely
celebratory, explains little if anything and is written in the most
awful, pretentious English. The Art Newspaper aims to remedy these
obstacles to approaching the world of art. We recognise that the
art world is part of ordinary life." So explains the editor,
Anna Somers Cocks. Check it out for yourself at www.theartnewspaper.com
Updated
07/25/05
Lee Bontecou didn't
spend much time in Providence, (she was raised
in Westchester, NY, and Nova Scotia), but she
was born here in 1931, and for that Providence
should be proud. There was a long awaited retrospective
at MOMA last summer, as which time projo.com
put together this slideshow.
I fist saw a piece
by Bontecou in the atrium of Brown's List
Art Center and it stopped me in my tracks. If
you're lucky it will be on display (or maybe
they'll show it to you if you ask). There is
only one book dedicated to her work that I know
of, which is called "Lee Bontecou: A Retrospective
of Sculpture and Drawing, 1958-2000, by Elizabeth
Smith, Robert Storr, Donna DeSalvo, Mona Hadler,
Lee Bontecou". Of course, seeing the photos
is nothing like seeing the real thing, but now
that her retrospective has ended, it might be
the best place to see a good overview of her
work. A warning though, don't take the text
too seriously, since Lee Bontecou herself felt
she had to set the record straight after seeing
the commentary by Robert Storr.
WaterFire celebrates it's 10th season
this year. How do you feel about the event's growth to 100 fires,
and 350,000 spectators? Do you prefer the festive atmosphere of
the expanded WaterFire, or did you prefer the more contemplative
atmosphere of the past?
The Cloud Appreciation Society is a
fun site which celebrates the just how cool clouds can be. They
have a Cloud
of the Month, clouds
that look like things, and, because they recognize that artists
have always appreciated clouds, they have a section of cloud
art, you can even upload your own! Now, what are you doing at
the computer? Go outside and look up....
Art commentary from NYC. A lively mix of art
and politics, all of which you may not agree with, but full of info on
what's going in in the galleries of NYC with hyperlinks to give you background
about where and when. The April 17th installment features work by Providence's
own Forcefield.
Updated 06/15/05
"Some paint comes across directly onto
the nervous system and other paint tells you the story in a long diatribe
through the brain."
Go into most bookstores, yes, even Borders,
and the art section will consist of the same tired impressionists, Andy
Warhol and Rembrandt. OK, so they're not tired, but you probably already
have seen very similar books in every chain bookstore. Why not browse
a bookstore which bills itself as being "For serious thinkers, readers
and writers"? Symposium Books, recently established at 240 Westminster
Street in Providence, has a collection of focused and scholarly books,
including an extensive selection of art and and art theory. All books
are usually 40-90% off the publishers' price. So put aside a little time
to browse, buy a book and go next door to Tazza to sit down with a coffee
and a book that makes you think. It's also a chance to look around and
catch up with big
things happening smack in the middle of downtown! Symposium has a
website too, at http://www.symposiumbooks.com/catalog/
The WetCanvas! forums contain over 3 million posts,
on subjects ranging from Abstract/Contemporary Art to Wearable Art. They claim
to receive over 4,000 new posts every day, and be one of the 100 largest bulletin
boards on the internet—the largest board focused on the visual artist.
That seems to be true, as all their forums are lively and up to date. You can
read the boards, but to post, you will need to register. I have registered and
it's very simple and spam free. The also have on-line workshops and demos on
techniques, including, for example, clever
ways to modify your French easel. And there's lots more on the site as well,
explained on their welcome page. www.wetcanvas.com/welcome.php
Ana Flores was born in Cuba and now
spends her time making art in Rhode Island and Nova Scotia. Her
site is well designed, very easily navigated and loads quickly.
I especially like the related text and links that she includes when
displaying some of her pieces. It would be nice to see larger versions
of some work, or detail shots, but overall this well designed site
is a very good introduction to her work and community involvement.
