High Museum of Art in Atlanta: Two Exhibitions

Salvador Dalí. The Christ of St. John of the Cross. 1951. Oil on canvas. 205 x 116 cm.

Viewed two special exhibitions at the High Museum of Art yesterday.

The first exhibition viewed was Dali: The Late Work.

Meet the man whose art—and personality—were larger than life. Dalí: The Late Work brings together a stunning collection of more than 40 paintings, plus film, sculptures and photographs—many never before seen in public. The exhibition considers for the first time the diverse body of work that Dalí created in the last forty years of his career. Reinventing himself during the 1940s, Dalí used his art to visually explore science, psychology, and religion—as he often said, painting the subject matter of his time.

There were numerous paintings I enjoyed viewing. Of course, Persistence of Memory, but that is a painting I have seen many times at MOMA. I was pleased to see the High Museum of Art was able to borrow it for this exhibition. Many of the paintings were not viewed in a public exhibition since the 1950's. I particularly enjoyed viewing the painting, The Christ of St. John of the Cross. I never realized that Dali experienced a re-conversion and his explicit interest in Catholic mysticism which inspired many of his paintings during that period of his life. I liked seeing that he had an interest in portraiture and his respect and interest in reviving it as a subject within Modern Art.

I also did not realize his disdain for Abstract Expressionism and Minimalism and specifically his disdain for Piet Mondrian. There was a strange film viewed and his diatribe regarding this disdain referring to 'painting in cynicism', an an abstract painting for the Guggenheim. Not specifically referenced, but I felt he was making a pun in his video on John Cage.

It seemed though as he grew older, aged and time moved on, his disdain lessened through looking at some of his later works where he employed some collage and abstract composition in his work. These later explorations though I do not think characterize his work classically as his early masterpieces.

Titian and the the Golden Age of Venetian Painting: 25 Masterpieces of the Venetian Renaissance

Beginning in October 2010, the High Museum of Art in collaboration with the National Galleries of Scotland (NGS) will present an exhibition of 25 masterpieces of the Venetian Renaissance, including two of the greatest paintings of the Italian Renaissance, Titian’s Diana and Actaeon (1556–1559) and Diana and Callisto (1556–1559). Titian and the Golden Age of Venetian Painting: Masterpieces from the National Galleries of Scotland will also include paintings and drawings by such Venetian masters as Tintoretto, Veronese and Lotto, on loan from the collection of the National Galleries.

The exhibition held a special opportunity for me to revisit Titian, and other Venetian artists, whom I had the experience of studying acutely when I studied abroad in Venezia the summer of 1989 through NYU. I especially love Tintoretto, one of Titian's students and his work has inspired my own works.

While though viewing the exhibition, I felt a change in how I perceived these paintings, or at least some of them, after contemplating reflections on Critical Theory I and the reading by Linda Nochlin, The Imaginary Orient. One painting in particularly struck me of the notion of 'woman as object' within painting as the subjective for generations. The painting I am specifically referencing is Diana and Actaeon, which made associations to paintings we discussed in Critical Theory I. You can view the painting at this link: http://www.high.org/main.taf?p=3,1,1,22,7,1

(Titian (Tiziano Vecellio, Italian, ca. 1485/90-1576), Diana and Actaeon, 1556–1559, oil on canvas.)

Faith: still in progress

Well I finally finished assembling and soldering my murrini portrait of Faith. The photograph is shows the piece lying flat, still on the workboard. A good amount of reflective light from the glass inhibits seeing all the murrini and millefiori. Problems still abound. Upon lifting the panel into the light, a few cracks are apparent in some of the pieces. One of the three will be easier to repair. My conclusion after working with this technique on two pieces, is that this process is not suitable for the copper foil technique (cft). I conclude that the soldering within the 'cft' messes with the annealing of the fused pieces. I do like the aesthetic though of the fused pieces comprising the portrait composition. If I continue with this thread, I may attempt it as a mosaic of the fused elements laminated on a clear sheet, versus leading the elements together.

In the future, I may also try a pure mosaic with just the murrini/millefiori without the fusing process.

I will attempt to repair this piece and re-fuse the 3 cracked pieces, but it is walking on eggshells.

At least I can say, I worked hard to this conclusion. I could always patch the broken pieces, but would like to see it beautifully and wholly intact, if this is possible.

I am documenting it now, because the future is not known.

Intuitive Painting/ Drawing: Diptych I

Above is this first large diptych, 6' x 4', with detail shots.

As I began this painting, I started these panels as separate pieces. In my late summer meeting with my mentor, she felt there was a strong connection between the two and asked me to think about these panels as a diptych. I had already started the 2nd, or at that point I thought the 3rd large painting, as a diptych. So in the process of the 1st panels, merged these as one piece.

We also discussed at that meeting, the possibility of treating the surface different in the drawing stage, and not to cover the painted canvas completely but to leave some area without the drawing.

I decided on this piece to start on the bottom with a softer lead, and progress towards the top with a harder lead, leaving the very top with no lead, allowing only the painted layers to be seen.

I feel a sense of satisfaction having completed this 1st large painting, and I think it may be the largest painting I have ever undertaken. I like working larger and more sustained, but I like drawing on top of the painted layers with the underground of the Rives printmaking paper, I think more than the canvas.

I might try painting on linen next semester with these Intuitive paintings, to see if that makes a difference for me in the feel of the pencil on the painted layers.

I have enjoyed making strides in my brush selection and varied whites and silvers through the semester. Reflecting on the paintings at the Phillips Collection back in late June, I feel a sense of serendipity in getting to view Pousette-Dart's Predominantly White paintings. It is kind of strange because I feel like I saw some of his works when I was a young adult artist, and attempted to employ a similar technique years ago, but within figurative work. It confirms to me that empathy we are called to as artists, through media, style, technique and subject matter.

Although my mentor has been supportive of my art hero thread, she feels these Intuitive works are where my strength lies, in revealing who I really am as an artist. While I feel very supported in that thought, I am not ready to release my other pursuits. I look forward to the residency to get critical feedback to assist my analysis and direction.

Intuitive Painting: Diptych II in progress

Here is a photo of Intuitive Painting: Diptych II in progress. This painting is approximately 6' x 4'. There are 2 1/2 layers of paint on the painting thus far. The silver is darker, using a different silver/ Gamblin brand. This painting has an underground of color on the panels which is inverted and that I will play into with the pencil layer(s) in its final process. The painting will receive 1 1/2 more layers and then dry before applying drawing to its surface.

I am hoping to complete one more large diptych within this semester. My daughter is in the process of moving into her own abode, so I will soon be able to use her vacant bedroom as a painting studio and vacate our dining room as a make-shift painting studio.

Considering the relationship of these paintings to my other work throughout the semester. I have thoughts to express about these connections. As I feel these paintings are visual prayers, I may like to explore the idea of creating prayer homages for my art heroes. Contemplating through the 'image and spirit' how my next pieces within this approach may be carried out. I like idea of Jungian psychology and spirituality in conveying homage through both objective and subjective means.

Art Heroes: Harvey Littleton

HARVEY K. LITTLETON, 8 x 10”, Vitreous Painting on Glass

b. 1922 Corning, New York; resides in North Carolina
Harvey Littleton, the man called the father of the Studio Glass Movement was not at first a glass artist. After receiving a Master of Fine Arts from Cranbrook Academy of Arts he embarked on the career of potter. Littleton received recognition for his work as a ceramicist in a national exhibition sponsored by the American Crafts Council at the First International Exposition of Ceramics in Cannes, France.
In 1959 he began to investigate the possibility of glass as a medium, and in 1960 had melted glass and cold-worked lumps of cullet. In the summer of 1962 the Toledo Museum of Art invited Littleton to lead a glassblowing workshop. It was in that seminar that Littleton introduced the idea that glass could be mixed and melted, blown and worked in the studio by the artist. Up to that time it was widely believed that glass objects could only be made in the highly structured, mass-produced world of the glass industry where the labor of making glass is divided between designers and skilled craftsmen.
That fall Littleton, who had been employed since 1951 as a ceramics teacher at the University of Wisconsin, began to offer glassblowing classes through the university at his farm outside Madison, Wisconsin. In 1963 he established a graduate course and glass studio at the university that attracted as students such well-known artists as Marvin Lipofsky and Dale Chihuly.
Museum recognition for Littleton's work in glass soon followed in the form of solo exhibitions at the Art Institute of Chicago (1963) and the Museum of Contemporary Crafts in New York (l964). His work is in prestigious public collections including New York's Museum of Arts and Design, Cooper Hewitt National Museum of Design, Metropolitan Museum of Art and Museum of Modern Art. His work is also featured in the collections of the Corning Museum of Glass, Detroit Institute of Art, the Los Angeles County Museum and the Renwick Gallery of the National Museum of American Art in Washington, DC.
Littleton retired from teaching in 1976 to devote his time fully to his work. He moved to Spruce Pine, North Carolina, where he set up his glass studio and produced his most technically demanding and beautiful series of works: the sinuous "Lyrical Movement" and "Implied Movement" groups, "Descending" forms and exuberant "Crowns" composed of multiple soaring arcs.
For more information on Harvey Littleton: http://www.warmus.org/newpage2.htm

Painting: Pilot Mountain from Pinnacle

I painted today in Pinnacle with view of Pilot Mountain. I thought all my Yankee friends would appreciate seeing the view of an area that was used as the basis for the classic show, "Mayberry". You remember in "Mayberry" they often referred to Mt. Pilot... well here it is!

Check out additional photos of my environment today (see link).

Pilot Mountain is about 30 minutes from where I live in Winston-Salem. Although this is the country and I am more of an urban dweller. I travelled for a little while, driving around looking for the 'right' view. Some views I found nearby were absolutely gorgeous but marked private property, some were too remote. Painting directly alone near the woods and mountains, reeks a little too much "Deliverance" for me.

I decided on a safe place behind a little country restaurant in Pinnacle called EJ's. The restaurant is closed on Sundays. Next door was a gas station and I could hear the music from the PA system throughout the afternoon. Heard a little Sade and John Cougar Mellancamp, so it was all good.

I enjoyed painting here more than the two days on the overlooks on the Blue Ridge Parkway. Less people gawking at what you are doing. I did have a couple people cheer me on from the gas station, and a couple came over as I was finishing, but mostly there was solitude.

The owner of the restaurant came by for about an hour midway through my painting, and I asked her that it was okay that I was painting on her property. She said it was fine.

I feel this is the strongest of the three landscape paintings. I feel I have just now warmed back up into the medium and aesthetics of landscape painting again. Once upon a time in my life, I had a strong artistic identity with the landscape. I am pleased to reacquaint myself, I felt none of the conflict I did the first two times.

Besides the gunshot I could hear in the distance and the wild dogs that came out to check me out, I felt attuned to my exploration outdoors, on this cool Autumn day.

Art Hero: Faith Ringgold / Murrini Portrait

Faith Ringgold: Murrini Portrait, 22 x 28"

Well I have finally arrived to the final stages for this sustained piece and rather large for this medium. I have worked with piecing hundreds, perhaps thousands of millefiori and murrini to create this portrait of Faith Ringgold, one of my female art heroes.

I am excited to see this in photographic documentation, because it is difficult to see it in reality as a whole with the color being impressionistic in nature. I have really enjoyed working with the tiny millefiori and murrini slices to build this portrait. I have conceptually painted with these bits of colored glass, collaging together textures and effects of color from transparency, to translucency, to opacity. I feel a real affinity with these tiny pieces, and that my little hands were especially made to work with these.

I am not finished. I plan to paint on the face, bringing more definition to the features of the eyes, nose and mouth, as I did with the test tile of Mom's Always Watching (see link).

My daughter, a recent MA grad from RISD, thought though I should document the piece at this stage, before I go any further with it, which I think is a good idea.

I probably would be further along with this piece at this point in the semester if I hadn't taken two weekends to travel and landscape paint. Actually I might again this weekend, but I think it is too cold and the colors are becoming more subdued.

This portrait of Faith was adapted from my 22 x 28" charcoal drawing of her completed in August. In reflection, I am pleased the AIB faculty pushed me to move away from adapting straight from photographs. Although I felt an initial resistance, the connection is more personal now.

My initial process followed what I learned from Esber, and his portrait works in plasticine.

My mentor, Terri Dowell Dennis met with me last week and was very favorable of my process, and outcome thus far. I was going to wait to show her this piece until it was complete, but then thought she might want to see it in progress. I am pleased she visited, and it gives me confidence to see it through to its fruition.

Terri as we closed our meeting told me she thinks I should just take some time to 'play with glass'. I like that idea, but feel very fragmented right now with numerous pieces left to finish up before going to Residency 2. Tony, my advisor, tells me to 'work hard'... and I always reply, "I am!"... Terri tells me to play (with glass). Well I may, but I think the AIB faculty's advice to explore was intended towards application of painting and drawing, so I think I have pushed the glass enough, for the present time. Although I have lots and lots of ideas!

I am having a blast, enjoying the semester, painting, drawing, working with drawing, painting and glass materials. I am looking forward to the next residency to hear the reactions and dialogue about next steps.

I will be meeting with Terri, my mentor, this Thursday at the Weatherspoon Art Museum in Greensboro to see a print of Kathe Kollwitz, from their collection, and their "Art on Paper" exhibition, for lunch, exhibition dialogue and connections to my work.

John Michael Talbot: Vitreous Painting on Glass

John Michael Talbot, Vitreous Painting on Glass, 8 x 10"

John Michael Talbot is a Franciscan musician who I have enjoyed over the years and his spirituality inspired my desire to seek becoming a Secular Franciscan. Talbot is also a Secular Franciscan and we follow the Rule of the Franciscan Third Order.

I have seen Talbot perform a couple of times, as well. He usually performs acoustic guitar as a solo vocalist. You can learn more about his biography and ministry at: http://www.johnmichaeltalbot.com/

My reference for this portrait is one that is different than I am used to, remembering him as a younger man. He must have grown his hair out in more recent years. At first I resisted this more recent image, but the chiaroscuro kept calling me back to this image of him. The painting reminds me of images of Father God or an older Moses. Perhaps that is visually what Talbot is trying to convey.

Painting and Journaling at Basin Cove/ BlueRidge Parkway

Here is a photo of my painting at Basin Cove on the BlueRidge Parkway. When I paint from observation I journal a compositional sketch and all the colors mixed and used in the painting. It has become a ritual for me.

As I have been painting outdoors and from focused nature, I feel a kind of inner conflict. I enjoy working, expressing from the environment, and reacting to what I see, but the nature of working with passer byes always places me in a situation of push and pull of what their expectations are. Questions are often accompanied by their casual observations, and sometimes are funny or awkward.

I almost feel I am performing in the midst of creating.

This painting of Basin Cove is a triptych, of three stretched panels, on canvas primed with rabbit skin glue and oil lead ground.

I love texture and desired to push myself to be more expressive than literal or illustrative. I love the Fauvists and the German expressionists and desire to achieve rich and visceral movement with color and texture. In this painting I used palette and painting knives to apply most of the color.

Working directly from life directly and outdoors has its challenges with time. Therefore the size of the painting needs to be practical to what can be achieved within this scope. Although I enjoy landscape painting from direct observation, I have questions and concerns about the feasibility of stretching an exploration out over the course of this program.