#museusm

[tammuz]

Tile mosaic panels from Safavid Isfahan, dating back to the late 1400s. The Safavid dynasty (1501-1736 CE) ruled modern-day Iran, Iraq, Azerbaijan,  Bahrain, Armenia and parts of Georgia and Afghanistan. Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA.

Photo by Babylon Chronicle

[npr]

It might be considered nosey to thumb through someone else's little black address book, but that doesn't bother Mary Savig, curator of manuscripts at the Smithsonian Archives of American Art. "It is very nosey and that's why I really enjoy doing it," she says.

The "Little Black Books" of some major and minor American artists are currently on view in a show at the Archives of American Art in Washington, D.C.

"We can read correspondence and read diaries, and we can find out so much more about their process as artists, their everyday lives," Savig explains. The books show "the importance of their social networks, and how they would learn from each other and push each other to experiment in new ways."

Peek Inside The 'Little Black Books' Of Some Famous American Artists

Photo credit: Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution Caption: (top) Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner's address book, circa 1950-1956 (bottom) Bernarda Bryson Shahn's address book, 1972-2002

[romanlovesbooks]

Sister Act and art...lots of art.

Son this again, will be a long post about art and a lot of thoughts around it, as I went with my family to the Guganhimmer museum today (that is most likely spelt wrong) however for those that don't like art, I'll start with the show I just saw, and then finish with the lengthy art post. So I just saw Sister Act on Broadway. And before I start this you need to know that I will always be a Drama nerd, I will try and be in and perform in and espically see as many shows as I can before someone forces me not to. On that note, Sister Act was a really wonderful and amazing show, the music was surperb, the jokes funny, the characters real and most of all it had heart. I really love musicals and performances that have heart. (although I have seen quite a few good ones that haven't...) anyway besides everything else that was wonderful about this musical, I really thought that the musical really captured the real Christian spirit that being one of love and friendships and relationships and thats one of the things I reallgy enjoyed. Ok now onto art. The museum, ( I am not going to spell that again.) was really, really interesting. It wasn't particularly big, but as soon as you walked in there was a massive display hanging from the roof. It contained all these weird things...I'll call them, hanging down, many were provocative, some were confusing and most were morbid, it was really well set out, as, as you went up around the ramp inside the museum, you slowly saw more and more of the artwork. It really provoked thought and made you question many of the artworks. However what really surprised me, were the artworks I saw. I saw more traditional artworks, as well as some Van Goghs and and Picassos, there were then abstract art, some bordering on surrealism, non-objective art and even some pop art. Now I'm not one to usually goes and classifies art, I usually like all art as it provokes thought in me. However when I was examining the Kadeqsky (I think that's how it's spelt) exhibition on abstract and non-objective, I was struck by the wondering if people really need to understand art. To understand what that circle represents or why that line is there. I mean you see a portrait of a human being or a landscape and you understand,,.but with abstract people try to know what it means. What if we aren't meant to. What if the shapes and the lines we try to see meaning in, are there to create an interesting picture, what if they were painted to music,,,what if, what if, what if... When looking at abstract art, I now plan to enjoy it for what it is, and not try to engage my mind trying to figure put what that particular three lines are supposed to mean, and more engage myself with the way the colours, the shapes the thoughts...the musicality of the whole picture that joins together to create something that engages me. I loved it. I Now believe that art and music are somehow intrically intertwinned, and that there is a beauty there, waiting to be discovered. Hope you all had a good day