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I’ve lost count of how many hours I’ve spent exploring the Charles W. Cushman photograph collection. They are all beautifully preserved in vivid color with detailed supporting notes, and his vast archives are all digitized and organized into a keyword-searchable database. With almost fifteen thousand Kodachrome slides that span from 1938 to his death in 1972, there is always a reason to go dip into the colorful world when I need a dose of inspiration from the legacy he left behind. New favorite searches: Greece > one twothree and Mothers & children > onetwothreefourfive.
(All images copyright Charles Cushman Collection, Indiana University Archives.)
There are no rules for good photographs. There are only good photographs. Ansel Adams
The other day I was looking through the piles of some newly developed film, and then again at some of my digital shots, and pictures taken by my iphone with fun “toy camera” apps. Sometimes (not all the time) there can be such a fine line where you can barely differentiate what equipment an image was created with. We live in some exciting times in art, don’t we? So many tools at our fingertips. It’s almost impossible to choose.
I’m not a purist. And I’ve mentioned before that I’m not that technical of a photographer. While I do tend to gravitate towards film more than digital, I never say no…I just want to take pictures and never stop. I just want to see the world through my lens.
I live my life respecting other’s decisions because I want to be respected too – and that definitely comes in regards to how others create their art. But I find it puzzling how so rigid some rules that are put on by other photographers – which should be personal – can get so political about this type of film or that type of brand or this type of what have you as the superior way as the only way. Hmm. There is a stereotype (false, might I add) that artists hate rules. Good artists live by rules, create their own boundaries and practice practice practice. We need them to survive and to improve and to hone our craft. But it gets so tricky when you begin to throw theory into everyone else’s way, doesn’t it?
Once a long while ago, but not so long ago, I was conversing with a friend (*) on this very subject. And in her infinite wisdom, she said that she appreciated a photo however it came into this world. I couldn’t agree more. The End.
*Meg W, if you are reading this…it’s you I’m speaking of.
(Picasso painting on glass from ‘Visit to Picasso’, a documentary by Paul Haesaert)
The Guardian reports breaking news: “A hooded thief has stolen five masterpieces including a Picasso and a Matisse in a dawn raid from a Paris museum today. The daring heist is set to be what may be one of the biggestcrimes in art history…”
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No – easily the greatest art theft conspiracy in history would be a nearly impossible act to follow. It is estimated that the Nazis stole one fifth of Europe’s fine art over the course of the Second World War and ruined many works they claimed to be degenerate. The Nazi conspiracy to steal the world’s greatest works of art is a far more complex and destructive crime, possibly the greatest organized criminal act against human culture, outdone only by Hitler’s racial conspiracy of the genocidal annihilation of Europe’s Jews.
The theft is told in the documentary I’m fresh from watching from my Movies about Art & Artists list, called “The Rape of Europa.” I found it to be one of the most riveting, fascinating films,withfrequent horrific archival footage and pictures, chilling interviews and triumphant heroes - I just can’t stop thinking about it. The Rape of Europa tells the epic story of the systematic theft, deliberate destruction and miraculous survival of Europe’s art treasures during the Third Reich and the Second World War. This film is a must-see for any lover of art or history.
When a painting goes missing – in the few or the thousands, we all lose a piece of our heritage. If you are looking for something to do on Memorial day, watch this movie and remember the richness of family and culture and all that is beautiful in this world despite those who wish to take beauty away from us. Good prevails. There are those who were able to rebuild their lives after all that was taken from them.
My mind is going in all sorts of directions after seeing this (I knew the facts about Hitler’s perverted “artistic” sensibilities, but not to the extent of the stolen art.) I can’t wait to start reading Museum of the Missing: A History of Art Theft and The Monuments Men.
Revisiting some archives for a project, I came across this mixed media collage I had made years ago with some of my drawings, stitches, fabrics, and photos taken of Max when he was just a baby with the polaroid i-zone camera…
I’ve been faithfully watching movies about art/artists and checking them off the list. Screenshot of the latest seen and added to the list? Helvetica. (Also the typeface of choice for true nature, ahem.) So good.
I’ve written and spoken about this book many times before, and there is good reason. This compilation of letters, notes and lectures to the Robert Henri’s students are loosely organized by technical advice, inspiration and teachings that I come back to again and again. A favorite aspect of this book is how I can turn to any page and just jump in. I can’t help but feel like he was somehow a mentor of mine when I growing up… I found a paperback edition when I was around 15 at a used book store and it’s been dogeared and referenced ever since. No artist should be without this one! (On a side note, I’ve also noticed the my reactions to his paintings I’ve been fortunate enough to see at museums strike a very personal chord with me, the same feeling I’ve had before when seeing art professor’s works in galleries have on me. Since this book is all in text, it was much like being taught at school, without ever seeing the professor’s personal work but learning from their style and being schooled in everything they could pass on to me. Then: seeing everything come together in their vision on the wall, understanding how every brushstroke from their hand came onto the canvas for the first time… you understand that work more intensly, more intimatly, it’s a a non visual language that you understand from that mentor relationship.)
+ The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life by Twyla Tharp
I know a book is worthy of teaching me something great when instead of just sitting down and plugging through it, I reach for my notebook and pen and cannot stop taking notes through the length of it. There is an impression (stereotype?) out there that artists, because of their independent nature and willingness to change up the rules, don’t work well or are unreliable and flightly, etc. Though I know that holds up for some, Twyla proves in a stern fashion that there is a great discipline to craft, and it takes more than luck or talent to fulfill that potential. This one will whip you into shape!
+ Trust the Process: An Artist’s Guide to Letting Go
If you are going through a rough patch, creatively speaking. If you are lacking confidence. If you are not sure what step is next. If you doubt that you should even start on the path of being an artist. If you don’t know where or why to begin. This is the book for you, truly a favorite. (Hey, you might even avoid some psychotherapy picking this one up.)
+ Walking in This World by Julia Cameron
I read this so long ago, but had to include it in my list because I remember so many lightbulbs going off over my head while reading it. It was like a bouquet of wattage floating over my red hair, but I know I need to go back and reread it to recall exactly what it was. Most any Julia Cameron book will bring the artist to a good place in my opinion, and she certainly has a lot to choose from. I’ve read most of her books, but this one in particular is special because it inspired the theme to my blog from one little line, “When we express our creativity, we are a conduit for the great creator to explore, express, and expand it’s divine nature and our own. We are like songbirds. When one of us gives voice to our true nature, it is contagious and others soon give tongue as well.” (Bold added so ya’d notice the name there, grin.) I have tried to live by that since those words sunk in years ago, it’s become the spine in my work and I love to feel my enthusiasm build when I hear it flowing in my mind.
What about you, do you have some favorite encouraging books for artists? I’d love to hear your recommendations!
+ Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke
Lisa suggested this one as one of her favorites and I have to agree, there’s a reason it’s popular among artists! Go grab a copy if you haven’t had the chance to read it, it’s a slim little collection of letters, but you might want to take your time and savor it.
Thiebaud is one of my favorite painters, if for some reason you aren’t familiar with his work, I found a few videos that highlight some of the reasons I think he takes the cake…
The documentary Who Does She Think She Is? will have a screening tonight at Seattle’s SIFF Cinema. A film that asks the question—“Can women be artists and mothers and wives?” —and answers with a resounding “Yes!”
with her small stature, kazuyo was barely visible over the podium and all dressed in black. i noticed with a smile that we were both wearing glossy black boots. with little introduction or conclusion at the end, she jumped right in with an unbelievably deep voice, describing her various works projected onto a giant screen. she only paused from time to time to find the right word in english. the next day she would be flying to paris at six in the morning and i wondered if she knew how excited we all were to hear her speak.
the highlight was seeing the sketches and models of their unfinished projects – like flower house: where the client’s wish is for “not a house with a garden, but a garden with a house.” (ohhhh!) always concerned with the spacial relation between the outside of their structures as much as the inside, what excites me about sanna’s architecture is how they embrace real problems and complexities within deceptively simple appearances. i think art like this speaks to me the most. nothing to add, nothing to take away.
while explaining her design process for the glass pavilion created for the toledo museum of art it just seemed impossible to understand unless actually experienced. depending on the weather, or the position and movements of your body and location within the building, the curved glass walls can be transparent, or opaque… and something new happens with the structure. reflections of the trees behind you are before you, scenery of the artificial comes through with the natural. like another dimension. places like this, you just really have to be there, walk through and out and around. places like this are works of art themselves. i haven’t felt this stirred up about architecture since experiencing the MAC by oscar niemeyer.
it was a packed house and as the crowds filled out of the hall i felt a satisfaction and pleasure that comes with being in the presence of a great mind. the wind was chilly, but it was a beautiful clear night in seattle. pulling my trench a little tighter around me and headed towards my car, i wistfully added sanaa’s rabbitchair to my dream list of things too lovely not to have. too bad you can only find them in japan.
too good that seattle is the closest american city to asia…
