Balzer Designs

Adventures in Arting Podcast: Skill Building

Today's podcast is packed with fun art-related talk: my pottery obsession...er, class, the MFA Museum Council, and work by Yayoi Kusama and Cecilia Vicuña.

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I will do a long post all about pottery class very soon.  But in the meantime, here is the instagram video I talk about on the podcast with the guy making the little pots.  It's AMAZING (and if you don't see it, here is a direct link).

I also wanted to share two photos from the Yayoi Kusama installation (the first is inside the installation and the second is a photo of one of the "peepholes"):

And this is the Cecilia Vicuña piece:

And here is an historical quipu:

You can read more about quipus here.

Finally, here is a link to the Museum Council instagram account.  I posted a video of the Yayoi Kusama experience to that account:

And a video of Cecilia Vicuña singing:

(If you don't see the two videos above, click through to my blog.)

Thanks for stopping by!

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Sacré-Cœur

I think that this is the last of the posts from Paris.  At the top of Montmartre, is Sacré-Couer -- a beautiful church.  I might almost say that I think it's better than Notre Dame...but don't tell anyone that I said that!  Take a peek and judge for yourself:

It was beautiful and filled with art and artistic touches.  When we emerged from the church, there were two young men singing that soldier song from the Bizet opera, Carmen.  It was pretty magical.

If you're interested:

• Catholic Art
• Mosaic Art
• Top 10 Facts about the Sacré-Cœur, Paris

Thanks for stopping by!

Picasso Museum: Part Two

Here is part two of my Picasso Museum visit. Not everything you will see is inspired by Guernica, some of it is the beautiful architecture of the building (and a few photos of Picasso's work that seem to have been carried over from yesterday's post by accident as well as some more Picasso originals).  Enjoy!

So, two things to point out: (1) I did buy an eye mirror and drag it back home from Paris (of course) and (2) that wooden bench comes completely apart into those few parts you see stuck to the wall.  It's very cool design!

I would definitely go back to the Picasso Museum, especially because I *have* to go when all four floors are open for visitors, right?!

Thanks for stopping by!

Picasso Museum: Part One

One of the museums that I was the most psyched to visit in Paris was the Picasso Museum!  When we got there, they mentioned that two of the floors were closed at the moment, but I didn't care.  I was giddy with happy excitement to be there at all!

The exhibit I'm sharing with you today is work Picasso created in preparation for one of his masterworks: Guernica.  In case you don't know anything about Guernica, this is from PabloPicasso.org:

Probably Picasso's most famous work, Guernica is certainly the his most powerful political statement, painted as an immediate reaction to the Nazi's devastating casual bombing practice on the Basque town of Guernica during Spanish Civil War.

Guernica shows the tragedies of war and the suffering it inflicts upon individuals, particularly innocent civilians. This work has gained a monumental status, becoming a perpetual reminder of the tragedies of war, an anti-war symbol, and an embodiment of peace. On completion Guernica was displayed around the world in a brief tour, becoming famous and widely acclaimed. This tour helped bring the Spanish Civil War to the world's attention.

This work is seen as an amalgmation of pastoral and epic styles. The discarding of color intensifis the drama, producing a reportage quality as in a photographic record. Guernica is blue, black and white, 3.5 metre (11 ft) tall and 7.8 metre (25.6 ft) wide, a mural-size canvas painted in oil. This painting can be seen in the Museo Reina Sofia in Madrid.

Interpretations of Guernica vary widely and contradict one another. This extends, for example, to the mural's two dominant elements: the bull and the horse. Art historian Patricia Failing said, "The bull and the horse are important characters in Spanish culture. Picasso himself certainly used these characters to play many different roles over time. This has made the task of interpreting the specific meaning of the bull and the horse very tough. Their relationship is a kind of ballet that was conceived in a variety of ways throughout Picasso's career."

Some critics warn against trusting the political message in Guernica. For instance the rampaging bull, a major motif of destruction here, has previouse figured, whether as a bull or Minotaur, as Picasso' ego. However, in this instance the bull probably represents the onslaught of Fascism. Picasso said it meant brutality and darkness, presumably reminiscent of his prophetic. He also stated that the horse represented the people of Guernica.

I have never seen the actual Guernica in person, so I was delighted to have the opportunity to view much of Picasso's "study" work for the epic painting.  Not all of it was created as preparation for Guernica, but you can see how that work came out of this work.  Take a peek:











You might have noticed one piece in these photos that was not by Picasso.  Rather it was "inspired by Guernica" -- the art version of fan fic, I suppose.  Tomorrow I'll be sharing tons of photos of what I found on the second floor of the museum: work by other artists, inspired by Guernica.

Thanks for stopping by!

Musee de L'Orangerie

The famous Musee de L'Orangerie in Paris is known for its two oval rooms, each featuring four paintings by Monet.  You can read all about the specificity of the installation here.  It was quite wonderful to be surrounded by Monet's serene water lillies.  Take a peek (you'll notice that there's a photo that doesn't belong to Monet's water lillies -- 5 photos down -- but more about that in a minute):

I enjoyed the water lillies.  But I loooooved the exhibit in the basement.  Just eye candy everywhere.  We begin with the straight-on view of that one-of-these-things-is-not-like-the-others photo of a Joan Mitchell painting:

I find Chaim Soutine's work quite compelling.  His landscapes and figures always look windswept.

I know Andre Derain for his Fauvian landscapes.  I was quite interested to see his other work.  It feels so different!

I'm pretty sure that I stumbled up the stairs, out of the basement full of masterpieces, just drooling.  I was blown away.  I loved the way the exhibit was arranged -- by artist.  It really gave me a chance to bathe in each artist's unique style.  Swoon.

Do you have a favorite?  I'd love to know!