big time art in miami

The art world is buzzing in preparation for America’s biggest art fair, coming December 1-4:  Art Basal Miami Beach. Art is featured from more than 260 galleries from all over the world.  The show exhibits works by more than 2,000 artists of the 20th and 21st centuries.

Soundsuit #1, 2009 , by Nick Cave

Cave’s Soundsuits are so named because they do make sounds when worn.  Scavenged materials make up the bizarre fashions, with items such as old bottle caps, beads and rusty iron sticks.

Robert Indiana, Art

Indiana is an icon in the world of pop art, famous for creating the graphic “Love” with the letter “O” tilted at a slant. “Love” was made into a stamp, probably the most widely distributed Pop Art image with 300 million issued.

Nevin Aladag, Makramé, 2011

Born in Turkey, Aladag lives and works in Berlin. Her sculpture is created with wire cable.

This is the tenth exhibition of Art Basal Miami Beach.

“The exhibiting galleries are among the world’s most respected art dealers, offering exceptional pieces by both renowned artists and cutting-edge newcomers. Special exhibition sections feature young galleries, performance art, public art projects and video art. The show will be a vital source for art lovers, allowing them to both discover new developments in contemporary art and experience rare museum-caliber artworks.” – Art Basal Miami

secret postcard art

The RCA Secret 2011 celebrated its 18th birthday this year.  The Royal College of Art in London holds a huge one day sale each year featuring postcard sized art for about $70. Sounds expensive to you?   Maybe not so much, considering you could own an original Manolo Blanhik, Olafur Elaisson or possibly an Anish Kapoor.

Yoko Ono

The Secret is that buyers do not know who has created each piece until they buy it and then check the signature on the back. This year there were 2,900 works of art, created by 1000 invited artists, including RCA postgrad students.

Manolo Blanhik

The Secret Sale is held to raise money to cover the budget for the grants and bursaries, with the goal being over $200,000. Postcards by famous artists can go up for auction at prices as high as $24,000.

Anish Kapoor

People line up for days before the sale, camping out in chilly weather so they are among the first to purchase a Secret piece of art. Buyers can purchase up to 4 pieces. Go to the RCA Secret website to see more details, and view images of all of the art: http://dams.rca.ac.uk/res/sites/RCA_Secret/index.html

bring it on

It’s been damp and drizzly and chilly in the Midwest lately.  I say either fly me to somewhere tropical, or bring on the snow!

Linda Oeffling, Stained Glass Snowflake, iridized krackle

Featured today are some snowflakes coming out of the studio.  Stained glass work, they are copper wired along the outside rim so they won’t pull apart in time.

Linda Oeffling, Stained Glass Snowflake, frost glass with dichroic center

The snowflakes with more open design have a spot of dichroic glass at the center.  Dichroic glass is an interesting material, originating with the aerospace industry.  In a special manufacturing process, metal oxides bond with glass in a vacuum chamber.  The resulting material reflects certain wavelengths of light and allows other to pass through. The result is a glowing, eye-catching glass that brings a sparkle to the project, capturing light in a unique way.

thanksgiving traditions in art

In my search for Thanksgiving art, I found some hilarious classic cards featuring odd things, like a baby on a platter, and a turkey with a smiling, blond, little girl’s face.  Then I moved on to inaccurate depictions of Native Americans, and pious Pilgrims.  I had to leave it at two pieces of artwork that simply convey warm, Autumn feelings and leave it at that!

Thanksgiving, c. 1935, Doris Lee
American, 1905-1983

Doris Lee’s artistic career took off when “Thanksgiving”  won the Logan Prize in the annual at the Art Institute of Chicago. Her style ranged from her early folk art pieces to abstract style, and she moved between fine art and illustration with ease.  Read an interesting article about Lee from the New York Times 2008: Offering a Painter for History’s Reconsideration

Grandma Moses, CATCHING THE THANKSGIVING TURKEY, 1943

Anna Mary Robertson Moses, Grandma Moses, is known as the greatest American folk painter of the twentieth century. She was the first American painter to achieve a significant international reputation in the post-World War II era. From humble beginnings as a self-taught artist on her farm, she became famous later in life and remains iconic today.  Read more about Grandma Moses at: www.all-art.org

Have a happy, healthy, appreciative Thanksgiving!

the art of science awards 2011

Princeton University has just released the winners for the Art of Science Exhibition, a competition in its fifth annual year.

The Art of Science, 2011, First Place Winner, Chaos and geomagnetic reversals
Christophe Gissinger (postdoc)
Dept. of Astrophysical Sciences/ Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
The magnetic field of the Earth has reversed its polarity several hundred times during the past 160 million years. This image shows a simple deterministic model illustrating the geomagnetic reversals.

There were 168 submissions this year, with 56 chosen as award winners for this year’s theme,”Intelligent Design”. The images were all produced during the course of scientific research.

Fireworks
Yunlai Zha (GS)
Dept. of Electrical Engineering
Arsenic sulphide dissolved in a solution displays colorful random patterns after being spin-coated and baked on a chrome-evaporated glass slide.

Iron Lotus
Elle Starkman
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory
A ferrofluid is a liquid mixed with small metallic particles that can become magnetized in the presence of a magnetic field.

Visit the Princeton site to view all of the images, and read about cutting edge scientific development:  www.princeton.edu/~artofsci/gallery2011

“The Art of Science exhibition explores the interplay between science and art. These practices both involve the pursuit of those moments of discovery when what you perceive suddenly becomes more than the sum of its parts. Each piece in this exhibition is, in its own way, a record of such a moment.” -from www.princeton.edu

Monday’s favorite things

Today’s favorite – glass art by self-taught artist Craig Mitchell Smith.

Wind, by Craig Russell Smith

I think the ultimate placement for glass is outside.  It seems contradictory, such a delicate, fragile material.  Yet it withstands wind and weather, and its beauty in natural light is breathtaking.

The Gift Blue, Craig Russell Smith

Smith works with metal smiths to create sculptures combining glass and metal. His forms are created in a kiln.

Making A Wish, Craig Russell Smith

Starting with a background in painting, Smith has also done interior and garden design, set design for theatres, and floral design.  With no training in working with glass, he experimented with jewelry, then quickly moved into kiln formed sculptural pieces.

Fountain: Flight of Water, Craig Russell Smith

About a year ago, in October of 2010, Smith opened his own gallery in Okemos, Michigan.  Visit his website to see more: www.craigmitchellsmith.com

 

busy weekends coming

Ah, it’s Friday, but is that a sigh of relief at the end of the week, or a new breath to gain energy for all that can be done over the weekend? With Affair of the Arts complete, I am looking forward to another art show that is a lot of fun. If your weekends are busy, this show gives you plenty of options to choose from.

Crossing Borders Art Tour and Sale

Come to visit ~ Leave Inspired
November 19th and 20th  Saturday & Sunday
&
December 3rd and 4th  Saturday & Sunday
HOURS – Saturday 11AM – 5PM  &  Sunday 11AM – 4PM

This Art Tour gives you a chance to peek inside the studio world of working artists.  Visit their website to view a map and plot out where to start your day: crossingbordersarttour.weebly.com

Here are a few photos to get you started.  Click on the link above to view more – lots of artists and studios participating!

Carriage House Pottery & Gallery

Metal Sculpture by Don Rambadt

Photography, Paintings, and more at the Wilmot Artisan Market

Glass Blowing Demos and Shop at Fox River Glass:
http://angelofico.com/ & http://www.karennaylorglass.com/

a visit to turkey

Fellow studio worker, Tom, and his wife recently returned from an incredible trip to Turkey. They came back with treats for us in the studio (Turkish wine and Turkish Delight – yum), and many stories of amazing historic sites.  It reminded me of something I came across and wanted to share.

Muqarnas, photo from www.masabih.org

I am attempting to create more detailed, intricate glass mandalas, and what amazing inspiration can be found in this art form. Muqarnas is Arabic for “stalactite vault”. This type of architecture can be traced back to the tenth century, in northeastern Iran.  The earliest example can be found near Samarra.

The Imam al-Dur Dome, view of the muqarnas dome from the inside
Photo:  Ilkhanid

Muqarnas can be constructed in brick, stone, stucco or wood.  They are then traditionally decorated with paint, or painted tiles.  The final small, pointed niches are then applied to domes, or the undersides of arches and vaults.

The Alhambra: Hall of the Abencerrajes and Hall of Kings (or Hall of Justice)
Photo: www.bluffton.edu

The Alhambra is one of the most famous sites containing muqarnas. Located in Grenada, Spain, it was a fortress and palace, as well as a small city. Restoration has been taking place for the past 100 years, and it is still being explored and excavated.

I found a some wonderful, large images on Flickr:  Muqarnas and Mocarabe, a gallery created by Ilkhanid   Enjoy!

ooooops . . .

Next time you make a mistake at work, think of this story and maybe you won’t feel so bad.  A dedicated German cleaning woman diligently scrubbed away a stain on a piece of artwork.  Only it was part of the artwork.  And the piece was worth about 1.1 million dollars.

Wenn’s anfaengt durch die Decke zu tropfen (When it begins to drip through the ceiling),  Martin Kippenberger
Photo: EPA

The artwork includes a plastic bowl painted to look discolored by water.  The cleaner thought it was an actual stain, and scrubbed the bowl until it looked brand new.  The poor woman was unaware that museum ruled prohibit cleaning staff getting within 20 centimeters of any piece of art. The museum reported that it is now impossible to return the work to its previous state.

Close-up of Wenn’s anfaengt durch die Decke zu tropfen

Kippenberger, a German artist known for working in a variety of styles, died in 1997. He was the leader of a group of German “bad boy” artists that at emerged in the wake of Neo-Expressionism, and made as much trouble as he did art, appropriating other artists’ work and once buying a gas station in Brazil and naming it after himself. – from The Washington Post

floating works

Artist Haruka Kojin is all over the blog sphere these days, with many sites featuring her newest installation, “Contact Lens”.

Haruka Kojin, Contact Lens (image by designboom)

This installation is on display at the Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, in an exhibition entitled, “Architectural Environments for Tomorrow.” Kojin’s art displays a distortion of reality, using two different types of lenses. One is flat, and the other type is a curved surface, displaying a skewed view of reality.

Haruka Kojin, Contact Lens (image by designboom)

In looking through past installations, I love the quality of her work, suspended, reflected.

Haruka Kojin, reflectwo (2006-11)

Haruka Kojin, Walk in ‘Ma·Ma Spaghetti

Kojin was born in Hiroshima in 1983, and completed her Master degree at the Department of Inter Media Art, Tokyo University of the Arts.