1901 - 1980
Italian
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John Martin
1789 - 1854
British
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Vote for the artist of your choice! Votes go in the comments. Commentary and links to additional work are welcome. Polls open for at least one month past posting.
Saturday, January 31, 2015
The Infinite Art Tournament Round 1: Marini v. Martin!
Marino Marini
1901 - 1980
Italian
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John Martin
1789 - 1854
British
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Vote for the artist of your choice! Votes go in the comments. Commentary and links to additional work are welcome. Polls open for at least one month past posting.
1901 - 1980
Italian
-----
John Martin
1789 - 1854
British
----
Vote for the artist of your choice! Votes go in the comments. Commentary and links to additional work are welcome. Polls open for at least one month past posting.
Friday, January 30, 2015
The Songs of the Fifty States: New Mexico
(What is "The Songs of the Fifty States"?)
New Mexico!
Size: 315,194 km2 (5th)
2014 Population: 2,085,572 (36th)
Statehood: 1912 (47th).
American Human Development Index: 4.52 (40th)
Art Mecca: Where is the art hub of New Mexico? I asked a current resident, who replied that "I don't think we have any must-sees. Plenty of fresh galleries though." I believe that this is generally true, but as you know, I like to be thorough. So, I also asked an actual professional artist who was trained at the University of New Mexico, but she didn't get back to me.
Talking about art in New Mexico is a bit quirky, anyway, in that maybe more than any other U.S. state it's got its own indigenous fine-arts culture. There are Native American traditions, there are various gradations of "Southwestern Art" -- some of which aren't at all tacky! -- and there is the "artists' colony" of Taos, through the stucco halls of which an impressive array of 20th century modern artists passed.
The combination of the happening local arts scene and the relative newness of most cultural institutions in a late-to-urbanize state mean that the art museums of New Mexico aren't your typical regional collections of obscure works by famous European masters. The closest you'll get to that sort of thing is the University of New Mexico Art Museum, which has a scattering of Old Masters stuff and quite a bit of Early Modern Art. Up I-25 in Santa Fe, meanwhile, is the New Mexico Museum of Art, which by all appearances is a bona fide, robust regional art museum that straight up doesn't give a damn about East Coast and European painting. I'd kind of like to check that out.
Which museum is more important? NMMA has about 8500 Facebook likes, whereas the UNMAM seems refreshingly oblivious to the whole social media thing. What the heck, they're only 60 miles apart. Let's visit both of them!
Michael 5000's New Mexico
First Visited: June 1, 1997 (33rd)
Most Recently Visited: July 25, 2014 (5th)
First Run In: May 25, 2013
Best Run: 4.04 miles, Raton, 5/25/13
Have Admired the Visual Arts In: No.
Have Geohashed In: No.
Have Slept Overnight In: Yes.
Counties Visited: 7/33 (41st)
% Complete: 21.2% (39th)
Mrs. 5000's Counties Visited: 17/33 (23rd)
% Complete: 51.5% (19th)
Mrs.5000 First Visited: Unknown
Mrs.5000 Most Recently Visited: May 26, 2013
Atlas of All Roads Travelled
The little green bit was added in May 2013. The red stretch was added on a hot July day in 2014.
 |
| Art in New Mexico is inextricably connected with Georgia O'Keeffe; here is her Black Mesa Landscape, New Mexico. |
Size: 315,194 km2 (5th)
2014 Population: 2,085,572 (36th)
Statehood: 1912 (47th).
American Human Development Index: 4.52 (40th)
Art Mecca: Where is the art hub of New Mexico? I asked a current resident, who replied that "I don't think we have any must-sees. Plenty of fresh galleries though." I believe that this is generally true, but as you know, I like to be thorough. So, I also asked an actual professional artist who was trained at the University of New Mexico, but she didn't get back to me.
Talking about art in New Mexico is a bit quirky, anyway, in that maybe more than any other U.S. state it's got its own indigenous fine-arts culture. There are Native American traditions, there are various gradations of "Southwestern Art" -- some of which aren't at all tacky! -- and there is the "artists' colony" of Taos, through the stucco halls of which an impressive array of 20th century modern artists passed.
The combination of the happening local arts scene and the relative newness of most cultural institutions in a late-to-urbanize state mean that the art museums of New Mexico aren't your typical regional collections of obscure works by famous European masters. The closest you'll get to that sort of thing is the University of New Mexico Art Museum, which has a scattering of Old Masters stuff and quite a bit of Early Modern Art. Up I-25 in Santa Fe, meanwhile, is the New Mexico Museum of Art, which by all appearances is a bona fide, robust regional art museum that straight up doesn't give a damn about East Coast and European painting. I'd kind of like to check that out.
Which museum is more important? NMMA has about 8500 Facebook likes, whereas the UNMAM seems refreshingly oblivious to the whole social media thing. What the heck, they're only 60 miles apart. Let's visit both of them!
Michael 5000's New Mexico
First Visited: June 1, 1997 (33rd)
Most Recently Visited: July 25, 2014 (5th)
First Run In: May 25, 2013
Best Run: 4.04 miles, Raton, 5/25/13
Have Admired the Visual Arts In: No.
Have Geohashed In: No.
Have Slept Overnight In: Yes.
Counties Visited: 7/33 (41st)
% Complete: 21.2% (39th)
% Complete: 51.5% (19th)
Mrs.5000 First Visited: Unknown
Mrs.5000 Most Recently Visited: May 26, 2013
Atlas of All Roads Travelled
The little green bit was added in May 2013. The red stretch was added on a hot July day in 2014.
Plans and Aspirations
It would be fun to drive around in New Mexico. But maybe that's just the seasonal affective disorder talking.
Thursday, January 29, 2015
The Infinite Art Tournament, Left Bracket Second Round: Bonnard v. Klimt!
Pierre Bonnard
1867 - 1947
French
Tied with Richard Parkes Bonington in his initial Round 1 outing, in March 2012.
Lost to Banksy in Round 1.
Ousted 20th Century artist R B Kitaj in First Round Elimination.
Gustav Klimt
1862 - 1918
Austrian
Beat Franz Kline black and blue, mostly black, in Round 1.
Lost badly to Paul Klee in Round 2.
Vote for the artist of your choice in the comments, or any other way that works for you. Commentary and links to additional work are welcome. Polls open for at least one month past posting, but likely much longer.
1867 - 1947
French
Tied with Richard Parkes Bonington in his initial Round 1 outing, in March 2012.
Lost to Banksy in Round 1.
Ousted 20th Century artist R B Kitaj in First Round Elimination.
Gustav Klimt
1862 - 1918
Austrian
Beat Franz Kline black and blue, mostly black, in Round 1.
Lost badly to Paul Klee in Round 2.
Vote for the artist of your choice in the comments, or any other way that works for you. Commentary and links to additional work are welcome. Polls open for at least one month past posting, but likely much longer.
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
The Wednesday Post
It's Army Day in Armenia!
And the 23rd anniversary of the founding of the Armenian Ministry of Defense!
If you live in Armenia, enjoy your day off! Everybody else, back to work.
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
The Infinite Art Tournament, Round 3: Kupka v. de La Tour!
Frantisek Kupka
1871 - 1957
Czech; worked in France
Defeated Wilfredo Lam in an unusual Cuban/Czech IAT Round 1 pairing.
Beat beachcomber Andres Amador in Round 2 by a single vote. YOUR VOTE COUNTS!
Georges de La Tour
1593 - 1652
French
Trounced Peter Lanyon in Round 1.
Walloped animal specialist Sir Edwin Landseer in Round 2.
Vote for the artist of your choice in the comments, or any other way that works for you. Commentary and links to additional work are welcome. Polls open for at least one month past posting.
1871 - 1957
Czech; worked in France
Defeated Wilfredo Lam in an unusual Cuban/Czech IAT Round 1 pairing.
Beat beachcomber Andres Amador in Round 2 by a single vote. YOUR VOTE COUNTS!
Georges de La Tour
1593 - 1652
French
Trounced Peter Lanyon in Round 1.
Walloped animal specialist Sir Edwin Landseer in Round 2.
Vote for the artist of your choice in the comments, or any other way that works for you. Commentary and links to additional work are welcome. Polls open for at least one month past posting.
Monday, January 26, 2015
The New Monday Quiz V
Wasn't that a great weekend? Don't you wish it had lasted just one more day? Well, at least you have the New Monday Quiz...
1. This painting is by an artist who broke with the abstractions of Byzantine style in favor of an expressive realism, helping to kick off the Italian Renaissance and the subsequent development of Western art. Do you know his name, punk? Well? Do you?
2. The third of its four parts is "A Voyage to Laputa, Balnibarbi, Luggnagg, Glubbdubdrib, and Japan." What's the title of this 1726 novel?
3. The movie ranked second on the imdb best films list, trailing only The Shawshank Redemption, begins with a wedding. The marriage will not go well. What's the name of the movie?
4. John Calvin, who might not have been completely unbiased, thought he was the "last good pope." In office from 590 to 604, he strengthened the power of the Papacy, dispatched Augustine of Canterbury to envangelize the English ("Non Angli, sed angeli"), and substantially revised the practice of Christian worship. His efforts at improving and standardizing sacred music was an influential step in the development of Western music. Name that Saint!
5. Here's a map showing the provinces of what country?
6. Element #79 is soft and easy to shape, and is very nearly heavy as Element #82, Lead! In fact, it's actually denser than lead, which makes it heavier for practical purposes. It's one of the least reactive metals on the whole periodic table. A terrific conductor of electricity, it is for some reason never used in wiring. What's its name?
7. One of your least important internal organs -- you could probably live without it with no ill effects -- it collects the bile from your liver and then squirts it into your small intestine on demand. What is it?
8. His 29 lines include
Heavens make our presence and our practicesHe's arguably one of the most famous unimportant characters in all of theater. Who is he?
Pleasant and helpful to him!
The Queen, your mother, in most great affliction of spirit
hath sent me to you.
My lord, we were sent for.
What, my lord?
My lord, I cannot.
9. Oops, I accidentally blurred a spot on this postage stamp! For many years, this was a postage stamp from a country that no longer existed, but that's not true any more. What country might you have used it to send a letter from?
10. "His use and development of Norwegian folk music in his own compositions put the music of Norway in the international spectrum, as well as helping to develop a national identity, much as Jean Sibelius and Antonín Dvořák did in Finland and Bohemia, respectively." You are most familiar with some incidental music he wrote for an Ibsen play. Name that composer!
Saturday, January 24, 2015
The Infinite Art Tournament Round 1: Marc v. Marin!
Franz Marc
1880 - 1916
German
-----
John Marin
1870 - 1953
American
----
Vote for the artist of your choice! Votes go in the comments. Commentary and links to additional work are welcome. Polls open for at least one month past posting.
1880 - 1916
German
John Marin
1870 - 1953
American
Vote for the artist of your choice! Votes go in the comments. Commentary and links to additional work are welcome. Polls open for at least one month past posting.
Friday, January 23, 2015
The Free Box Tapes #11, 12, & 13: Fusion, Essays, and 90s Indie Pop
The eleventh and twelfth Free Box Tapes were home recordings; lucky number 13 is a genuine indie-label commercial cassette tape.
Weather Report: Heavy Weather (1976) / Return to Forever, Romantic Warrior (1976)
Sixty-Four Words: The Weather Report side let out an ungodly garble. I rewound the Return to Forever side, and it seemed to be the epitome of what many people my age are thinking of when they say they don’t like jazz: slick, sterile, and self-indulgent virtuosity. Prog-rock without the rock, perhaps. But I could only give it one listen, and then the tape seized up terminally.
Disposition: Is in the landfill by now .
“Colo Trail”
Sixty-Four Words: This is “Journey to The Fluted Mountain,” essays by a Julie Davis about the hike she took on the Colorado Trail with her dog and some goats. (!) These are the kind of kitchen-sink pieces where any given new paragraph might begin “the Navaho people believe that…” Competent writing in an undemanding form, and probably more than you need to know about Julie Davis.
Disposition: I would be happy to send this tape to anyone who felt like listening to some essays.
My Sister Jane: Pain in the Middle (1992)
Sixty-Four Words: A jangly and more-or-less intentionally lo-fi guitar pop album that would not have been out of place in the famous early 1980s Athens, Georgia music scene. That’s a good sound! I bet I would have really liked this band live. The recording quality is not quite radio-friendly, but the album grows on me, especially since I noticed that there’s a song in 7/4 time.
Disposition: Isn’t it funny that 1992 is 22 years in the past? I shall keep this tape out of mild affection.
Thursday, January 22, 2015
The Infinite Art Tournament Left Bracket Third-Round Elimination: Arcimboldo v. J Bruegel!
The plan for today was to pit the winner of the Avercamp/Bellows Left Bracket Third Round tiebreaker against the winner of the November 2013 Anguissola/Agasse matchup. But, in the kind of art history drama you can only get at this blog, Avercamp and Bellows managed to tie in their tiebreaker.
Avercamp tied with Bellows. Bellows had tied with Ford Maddox Brown, and Avercamp had tied with Arcimboldo. So we could reasonably expect Arcimboldo/Brown to be another very tight match, right? Of course not. Arcimboldo trampled on Brown, 11 votes to 3.
That brings us to today's match, in which the extremely early surrealist will be taking on the second most famous Bruegel in all of art history! Jan Bruegel is a Left Bracket phenom, and has won four straight matches after losing to his dad in the opening match.
Mr. Brown had a good run; his 2-2-1 record included 27 votes in favor, 43 against. Also leaving us this week is Jan Bruegel's victim Arthur Boyd, who went 2-2 in the Tournament, chalking up 25 votes against 34.
Giuseppe Arcimboldo
1527-1593
Italian
- Defeated Jean Arp in Round 1.
- Thumped on sculpter Alexander Archipenko in Round 2.
- Lost to Italian master Fra Angelico in Round 3.
- Tied with Avercamp in the Left Bracket Third Round. YOUR VOTE COUNTS!!!
- Easily ousted Ford Maddox Brown in the Left Bracket Third Round Tiebreaker.
Jan Bruegel (the Elder)
1568 - 1625
Dutch
- Trounced by his father in Round 1.
- Took out Victorian Sir Edward Burne-Jones in a thrilling come-from-behind one-vote victory in First Round Elimination. YOUR VOTE COUNTS!!!
- Knocked out Agnolo Bronzino in the Left Bracket Second Round.
- Dispatched Arnold Böcklin in Left Bracket Second Round Elimination.
- Trounced Australia's Arthur Boyd in the Left Bracket Third Round.
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Vote for the artist of your choice in the comments, or any other way that works for you. Commentary and links to additional work are welcome. Polls open for at least one month past posting.
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
The Wednesday Post
Pintores Famosos
A postal collection of artists who have left the Infinite Art Tournament
Antonello da Messina
Record: 2-1-1 [forced out by grudge match rule]
Votes For/Against; Batting Average: 35-15, .700
Left Tournament: November 2013
Honored by: Italy
François Boucher
Record: 2-2
Votes For/Against; Batting Average: 18-30, .375
Left Tournament: May 2014
Honored by: France
Constantin Brancusi
Record: 2-2
Votes For/Against; Batting Average: 26-25, .510
Left Tournament: April 2014
Honored by: Moldova, France
Aelbert Cuyp
Record: 1-2
Votes For/Against; Batting Average: 17-20, .459
Left Tournament: April 2014
Honored by: Liechtenstein
Jean Dubuffet
Record: 1-2
Votes For/Against; Batting Average: 15-23, .395
Left Tournament: February 2014
Honored by: France
Thomas Gainsborough
Record: 1-2-1
Votes For/Against; Batting Average: 22-30, .423
Left Tournament: July 2014
Honored by: Maldives, Nicaragua, United States
Giordano
Record: 0-2
Votes For/Against; Batting Average: 9-15, .375
Left Tournament: January 2014
Honored by: Hungary
Arshile Gorky
Record: 0-2
Votes For/Against; Batting Average: 5-20, .200
Left Tournament: March 2014
Honored by: United States
Lucian Freud
Record: 0-2
Votes For/Against; Batting Average: 6-20, .231
Left Tournament: December 2013
Honored by: Guinea-Bisseau, albeit in a cravenly bogus issue
Kees Van Dongen
Record: 1-2-1
Votes For/Against; Batting Average: 27-24, .529
Left Tournament: February 2014
Honored by: France
Anthony Van Dyck
Record: 1-2-1
Votes For/Against; Batting Average: 20-29, .408
Left Tournament: November 2013
Honored by: Antigua & Barbuda, Belgium
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