Did you miss me?
I had originally intended to post entries from Cuba but made a last-minute decision not to take my laptop – a decision I do not regret. So, sorry. There was no live blogging of Cuba, but I do have plenty to report. And you could just pretend I’m still there. Continue reading
As I wrote on TGBSW yesterday (The Art of Travel), art is often the best way to begin to get to know a place. A little over a year ago I wrote a paper on Walker Evans’s time in Cuba that I thought I would share as an example of how the eye of the artist can enlighten the soul of a place. Continue reading
It is art that makes life, makes interest, makes importance…and I know of no substitute whatever for the force and beauty of its process.
Henry James
As I mentioned previously, I’ve been reading Prague Pictures by John Banville and am relieved to find that my experience of Prague as indecipherable is not unique. But, as Banville’s title suggests, that isn’t the end of his musings. Banville finally begins to glimpse Prague through the photos of a long-time Prague resident: photographer Josef Sudek. Continue reading
Who knew it could take so long to recover from the holidays? With no more reality TV shows to prompt regular posts, I’ll need to make more of an effort to keep all-things-art-blog-related moving in 2012. Continue reading
Two of the three most memorable Christmas holidays I’ve had as an adult I spent on my own at home here in San Francisco. The city becomes quiet during the holidays – from about December 20th until after New Year’s – allowing a serenity that you can’t find any other time of year. The other of my three most memorable was spent in London, another large city that exists as a calmer version of itself at Christmas carrying over to Boxing Day. Continue reading
Another season of Work of Art is behind us, and I can’t help but feel a bit let down. The season finale proved a bit uneventful and more than a tad predictable. But, even though something seemed to be missing, the season produced some memorable pieces. Continue reading
It’s getting serious, so it was time for a road trip to get our surviving art prodigies out of the city to reconnect with small-town life. Destination: Cold Spring, NY. It was never explained why the producers chose Cold Spring for the challenge of finding a stranger to act as the subject of a portrait. Continue reading
This week I stand appalled. This episode was a good example of how a reality show can take a good idea and ruin it by trying to make a challenge unnecessarily difficult and by manipulating an outcome by offering a prize that is unrelated to the basic premise of the show. No artist on the judges’ panel was the least of the offenses this week. I guess the show’s producers couldn’t locate a high-profile underwear artist who would agree to appear on camera. Continue reading
I’m sorry for how late this post is. I’ll blame it on jetlag.
This episode of WOA was brought to you by Fiat. I don’t know about you, but I’m getting mighty annoyed with all the product sponsorships on this show. And my ire is not necessarily with having an episode sponsor per se but with having the challenges be so product driven.
The motivations were different. Circumstances this year required a reevaluation of prior Thanksgiving traditions. And trips are different when you are going to see loved ones rather than a place. I mostly needed a change of scenery, and, in that sense, my trip succeeded. But I can’t shake the sense that the trip lacked something. It’s an unfamiliar feeling. Continue reading