Three Art Articles: Ellsworth Kelly, Sydney Art Gallery, Alexander Calder

As you know, I love to read about art and museums.  Here are three such articles that I thought were quite interesting and I thought you might too.  All of them are from The New York Times.

Ellsworth Kelly is an artist whom I deeply respect, but whose work does not personally resonate with me.  

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I find it rather cold.  It's very bold and graphic.  I think of him as being known for linear compositions.  That said, I read this article about him with some interest.  It's the most I've ever read about his process and I found that by reading about his process, I gained an avenue into better appreciating his work.  In the podcast that I'll be posting tomorrow, we chat with a gallery owner who shares that her buyers like to know about the artists' processes.  I have to say that it really does change the way you feel about the work.  Read the article and see if it changes your feelings!

I know nothing about Australian culture.  But, I did visit the Sydney Art Gallery of New South Wales when I was there.  Therefore, I read this article about their fundraising hurdles with some interest.  The issues seem to go beyond normal fundraising problems into some deep cultural issues.  I've been thinking a lot about the arts and arts funding lately.  I think all societies put their money behind the things they believe in -- business, religion, culture, whatever.  In a micro way, so do people.  I love buying original art rather than mass produced art -- for the wall, as jewelry, as furniture, as clothing -- in all aspects of my life.  Reading this article made me stop and think about the ways in which I can continue to support other fellow artists and help to educate and interest others in art.

If you've been to a museum with any kind of contemporary collection, chances are you've seen a Calder sculpture.

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I saw (and shared) an excellent selection of his work at SF MoMA last year.  This article is a review of an exhibit of Calder's work currently at the Whitney in NYC.  (Yes, I want to go super bad.  It's on my summer agenda!)  My favorite part of the review: At various times of day the museum has staff that activates Calder's mobiles!  Yes!!  Yes!!  Yes!!  Calder created pieces that were meant to move and yet so often when you see them in museums, they've been museum-ified: Don't touch.  Don't shake.  No wind.  And so they are still pieces -- not really the artist's intention.  I'm over the moon excited to see these kinetic pieces in motion!

I hope that these articles get your brain humming and your creative energy going.  The word is full of wonderful art and artists and for me, reading and learning about it/them is the key to enjoying so much of it!

Thanks for stopping by!