Sunday, November 4, 2012
Dia Al-Azzawi
For 45 years, Dia Al-Azzawi has been a painter. His style may have changed, from the gritty detail of his ink drawings, through sculpture and prints to the bold abstract paintings of today, but one puzzle still dominates his work: how best to depict the Arab experience.
Monday, October 15, 2012
Winsor McCay and Google
Google search engine is epic today!!! They have recreated the adventures of Little Nemo in Slumberland for the 107th anniversary of Winsor McCay's comic strip's first publication.
Regarded as a comic-strip art masterpiece, the weekly strip first appeared on October 15, 1905 in the New York Herald as Little Nemo in Slumberland and later in New York American as In the Land of Wonderful Dreams.
The interactive and animated Google doodle celebrating the nightly dreams of the little boy called Nemo begins with Nemo dreaming about falling from his bed into a hole and being rescued by Princess Camille. After a series of little adventures, through Google-land (the interactive doodle strip is titled Little Nemo in Google Land) Nemo, as in the actual comic strip, falls out of his bed. In the different panels of the Winsor McCay Little Nemo Google doodle the letters of the Google logo - G-O-O-G-L-E - appear in a chronological order.
Winsor McCay was not only a newspaper cartoonist, but also a pioneer of animated films. He started off as a poster and hoardings artist and later moved to newspaper cartooning.
Regarded as a comic-strip art masterpiece, the weekly strip first appeared on October 15, 1905 in the New York Herald as Little Nemo in Slumberland and later in New York American as In the Land of Wonderful Dreams.
The interactive and animated Google doodle celebrating the nightly dreams of the little boy called Nemo begins with Nemo dreaming about falling from his bed into a hole and being rescued by Princess Camille. After a series of little adventures, through Google-land (the interactive doodle strip is titled Little Nemo in Google Land) Nemo, as in the actual comic strip, falls out of his bed. In the different panels of the Winsor McCay Little Nemo Google doodle the letters of the Google logo - G-O-O-G-L-E - appear in a chronological order.
Winsor McCay was not only a newspaper cartoonist, but also a pioneer of animated films. He started off as a poster and hoardings artist and later moved to newspaper cartooning.
Friday, October 5, 2012
Claire Carpenter
I went to see Claire Carpenters 3rd Solo show at the Cross Gallery last night, the work was beautiful...i'm a fan, it is on till the 27th of October.
There is a shifting blend of fantasy and recollection in Claire Carpenters predominately small scale tempera on gesso paintings. Using passages of loose rhythmical brushwork Carpenter conjures up a dream-like and intimate atmosphere and then weaves it together with intricate narrative details. This complex relationship between the remembered and real, abstracted and representational creates an uneasy balance and tension within the frame, as if each brush stroke hides a dark secret.
Meticulously rendered depictions of animals, human figures, shells and landscape details seem to loosely refer to the artists own memories and ask questions about how we see, how we know and how we remember. However this hidden personal narrative, is full of contradictions and is open to interpretation as we are never given enough information to be conclusive about what she is trying to say, forcing us to surrender and open up to what is before us.
There is a shifting blend of fantasy and recollection in Claire Carpenters predominately small scale tempera on gesso paintings. Using passages of loose rhythmical brushwork Carpenter conjures up a dream-like and intimate atmosphere and then weaves it together with intricate narrative details. This complex relationship between the remembered and real, abstracted and representational creates an uneasy balance and tension within the frame, as if each brush stroke hides a dark secret.
Meticulously rendered depictions of animals, human figures, shells and landscape details seem to loosely refer to the artists own memories and ask questions about how we see, how we know and how we remember. However this hidden personal narrative, is full of contradictions and is open to interpretation as we are never given enough information to be conclusive about what she is trying to say, forcing us to surrender and open up to what is before us.
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Monday, September 24, 2012
Eastbound & Down
I am dreaming about Kenny Powers after just finishing the second season of Eastbound & Down. This is a cringe American comedy television series broadcast on HBO, starring Danny McBride as Kenny Powers, a former professional baseball pitcher, who after an up and down career in the major leagues is forced to return to his hometown middle-school in Shelby, North Carolina, as a substitute physical education teacher.
The series was produced by Will Ferrell's production company, Gary Sanchez Productions. It is well worth the watch.
The series was produced by Will Ferrell's production company, Gary Sanchez Productions. It is well worth the watch.
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Leonardo Drew
Leonardo Drew is known for his dynamic large-scale sculptural installations. On the one hand, Drew’s sculptures can be seen as exercises in formalism rooted in the very experience of looking. On the other hand, these works explore memory by employing a wide range of material to evoke common elements of the human experience and of our diverse histories.
Drew has been making artwork since childhood, and first exhibited his work at the age of 13. He went on to attend the Parsons School of Design and received his BFA from the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and art in 1985. Since then he has shown in a variety of institutions such as The Hirschhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC, the Royal Hibernian Academy in Dublin, Ireland, The Art Institute of Chicago, The Miami Art Museum, and the St. Louis Art Museum. He has also collaborated with the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, and has participated in artist residencies at ArtPace, San Antonio and The Studio Museum of Harlem in New York City, among others.
Drew has been making artwork since childhood, and first exhibited his work at the age of 13. He went on to attend the Parsons School of Design and received his BFA from the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and art in 1985. Since then he has shown in a variety of institutions such as The Hirschhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC, the Royal Hibernian Academy in Dublin, Ireland, The Art Institute of Chicago, The Miami Art Museum, and the St. Louis Art Museum. He has also collaborated with the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, and has participated in artist residencies at ArtPace, San Antonio and The Studio Museum of Harlem in New York City, among others.
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