MAD Again

The Museum of Art and Design on Columbus Circle in NYC can be counted on to have mind expanding things to see and people to learn about. This past visit, three of the special exhibitions touched me deeply.

COILLE  HOOVEN

First were the weird figurative sculptures by Coille Hooven. She works in porcelain and rarely uses colored glazes so the pieces are overall white. Many small and medium sculptures and vessels of a non-utilitarian nature populated the space, mainly depicting animals and unclothed females. The figures were transformed in some way or in settings that were alternately dream-like or nightmarish in feeling.

Symbolism is everywhere in her work, and in the informative texts that MAD always features as part of their exhibits, one can learn that the vessel can be a symbol for the soul, the moon a symbol for transformation, and a shoe a symbol for a metaphysical journey.






Coille Hooven was born in 1939, a month after her great-aunt, M. Louise McLaughlin, the studio potter who pioneered underglaze and china painting techniques in America. Hooven believes she is guided by her great-aunt's spirit, and if that is true, the guidance has been an effective one. Hooven too, has been "a maverick, " developing her own artistic vision while working in academia and alongside some of the country's most famous ceramicists (Voulkos, Arneson) during her long career.

MARGARET AND CHRISTINE WERTHEIM

Crochet Coral Reef: TOXIC SEAS is an amazing, colorful and important exhibit. The two artists, sisters Margaret and Christine Wertheim, and their organization the Institute of Figuring, collaborated on huge sculptures based on the form of coral and reef flora and fauna.

At the entrance to the exhibit is an enormous net filled with plastic (left) that the sisters had collected. They had done an experiment, saving all their plastic disposables for one month, and were shocked at the amount they amassed.














A wall-length blackboard presents a timeline of CO2 levels in the atmosphere over time and the history of plastic, with its development dates and production figures.




















Crochet is the preferred technique here, using audio and video tape, plastic bags, plastic netting, plastic toys, and other plastic trash, with more traditional crochet yarns to construct the sculptures based on real sea creatures.

Pod World - Wire and Beaded, beaded wired
sea creature by Sarah Simons,
knitted wire sea creature by Anita Bruce

Besides the Wertheim sisters, other craftsmen/artists contributed smaller and often exquisite works to the exhibit, such as the installation on the left.

I was informed, alarmed and awed by the exhibit. It accomplished communicating an important message that I can only hope becomes widespread.

HARRY BERTOIA

Still from a film about Harry Bertoia's sound sculptures

I was not prepared to be awed further that day, but that is what happened in the next exhibit on the floor below the Crochet Coral Reef.

Harry Bertoia became known for his wire furniture, but he was so much more than a furniture designer. He created jewelry, prints, musical instruments and sound recordings of incredible inventiveness. He was also, it seems to me, a man with deep insights.

Bertoia created a collection of sound producing sculptures with metal rods and wires that made sounds as they struck together. He called the sculptures collectively "Sonambient," and he made hundreds of recordings of his compositions (or were they improvisations?) on reel to reel tape.

The MAD makes their exhibit available to patrons to try their assemblage of sound sculptures at select times. I could only listen on headphones to recordings when I was there, and heard an otherworldly sound, rich in tonal layering. The stone barn in Pennsylvania where his Sonambient was set up is apparently still there, and can be visited.

Bertoia's Studio

The prints and the simple linear designs of his wire jewelry were difficult to photograph and don't show to their advantage here, but were exciting for me to discover.

Some prints were displayed with jewelry in the museum's cases.

Harry Beroia is buried on his property in Pennsylvania under a 10-foot diameter gong, his largest sculpture. Seeing his art, hearing his recordings and reading about his life and work, I gained an impression of a man who developed and grew in his understanding, to the very end. In his words, his life was...

 "An immersion into the vast recesses of the unconscious leading to the realization that the inner world is as immense as the cosmos outside...

Awareness of life is the purpose of life..."

Modern Heroics and MORE!

In the jumble of teeming streets, amidst the clash of architectural styles that is Newark, New Jersey, there is a fine collection of art and artifacts housed in the Newark Museum. I journeyed there in the backseat of a Honda Fit (THE car of choice on my street of tiny driveways) with two neighbors to see an exhibit called "Modern Heroics; 75 Years of African-American Expressionism."

Modern Heroics







Here is one of the museum staffers who was so friendly that she offered to take my photo with the large collage, Landscape with Camouflage, by Mickalene Thomas. At first I refused, but then I thought that perhaps it would be a good thing as then, one could see the scale of the artwork. When she had a hard time with my camera I took her picture to demonstrate.








It was a small show of what some might call "messy" artwork. Some were made from scraps, painted sometimes in a slap dash fashion.  A few were by "outsider" artists, child-like in their technique or naivete. There was humor, passion and mystery in this show, and it illicited a mixture of feelings in me.

There were two each by Bearden, Minnie Evans, Sallie Mae Rowe, and Norman Lewis, also an Emma Amos whose New York studio I remember visiting in graduate school at Banks Street College.













Here are two more pieces from the show: a painting by Norman Lewis and a sculpture by Kevin Sampson. I have become enthused by friends description of a recent show of Lewis' in Philly that I missed, but thus far I have only seen his work in a book. So it was with pleasure I saw an actual painting and a small drawing of his as well.

The Madjet is made from detritus found on the streets of Newark. It was inspired by Egyptian mythology, the label tells us, and an outsider artist's giant ark that once stood in a Newark vacant lot. For the artist it is symbolic of a spiritual journey. We are all on a journey - our life is a journey. I think if one pays attention to the spirit, or even if one doesn't, it is evolving or devolving as we so choose.

Nigerian Policeman, concrete, 

1991, Sunday Jack Apkan

I found many more sculptures and artifacts in other areas of the museum of interest to me. I spent a good deal of time in the traditional and contemporary African exhibits where the figure is a common subject.

Sokari Douglas Camp created this larger than life-size, steel figure of a male masquerader in 1995.

"Gelede" is a Nigerian performance that celebrates mothers. The woman on the figure's head represents the artist herself with her two children. In the tradition, men dress up with masks and costumes and act in skits satirizing mothers and society. An interesting tradition - why not? Mothers are loved and reviled both, let's face it. I know.

I stopped in my tracks when I saw these tall, ceramic figures. If I were an animated character I would have hearts streaming out of my eyes. They are towering, thin, and riddled with cracks. It is a wonder that they are standing. And I also wondered, how were they fired? Lying down?
























I learned that Etiye Dimma Poulsen, an Ethiopian-born artist living in Belgium, created these rather sad, stalwart figures over the years 1996-1998. She first fashioned an iron armature, covered it with clay and fired the sculptures in an outdoor kiln.

A Yoruba master craftsman, Bangboye created this "Epa Headdress" sometime in the early to mid-20th century. How anyone could possibly wear this very large and no doubt very heavy object on their head is hard to imagine. None of the symbolism or story behind the imagery is explained on the museum signage, but it appears rich in meaning.

Another drop dead, wonderful sight to my eyes were these striking, black painted steel sculptures by Algerian artist Rachid Koraichi. Les Priants, from 2009, is an ensemble, only four of the eight sculptures are shown here. The artist is a master of Arabic calligraphy and is inspired by Sufism, the mystical branch of Islam. I love them for their grace and expressive linear movement - not easily accomplished in steel.

And lastly, a few pots that interested me, for their qualities of simplicity, or craftsmanship or lack of fussiness that refreshed my self-critical being.

Two pots from Africa:

terracotta storage vessel, 20th century, Molowi

terracotta pitcher, early 20th century, Algeria

And from America:

olla, ca. 1000-1100, Anasazi

Bough pot with two necks, 1957-58, Katherine Choy

Much, much more to see at the Newark Museum, but that is all for one visit. Thank you Cate and Pat for inviting me on this excursion. It was worth the traffic hassle, don't you think?

Modern Heroics and MORE!

In the jumble of teeming streets, amidst the clash of architectural styles that is Newark, New Jersey, there is a fine collection of art and artifacts housed in the Newark Museum. I journeyed there in the backseat of a Honda Fit (THE car of choice on my street of tiny driveways) with two neighbors to see an exhibit called "Modern Heroics; 75 Years of African-American Expressionism."

Modern Heroics







Here is one of the museum staffers who was so friendly that she offered to take my photo with the large collage, Landscape with Camouflage, by Mickalene Thomas. At first I refused, but then I thought that perhaps it would be a good thing as then, one could see the scale of the artwork. When she had a hard time with my camera I took her picture to demonstrate.








It was a small show of what some might call "messy" artwork. Some were made from scraps, painted sometimes in a slap dash fashion.  A few were by "outsider" artists, child-like in their technique or naivete. There was humor, passion and mystery in this show, and it illicited a mixture of feelings in me.

There were two each by Bearden, Minnie Evans, Sallie Mae Rowe, and Norman Lewis, also an Emma Amos whose New York studio I remember visiting in graduate school at Banks Street College.













Here are two more pieces from the show: a painting by Norman Lewis and a sculpture by Kevin Sampson. I have become enthused by friends description of a recent show of Lewis' in Philly that I missed, but thus far I have only seen his work in a book. So it was with pleasure I saw an actual painting and a small drawing of his as well.

The Madjet is made from detritus found on the streets of Newark. It was inspired by Egyptian mythology, the label tells us, and an outsider artist's giant ark that once stood in a Newark vacant lot. For the artist it is symbolic of a spiritual journey. We are all on a journey - our life is a journey. I think if one pays attention to the spirit, or even if one doesn't, it is evolving or devolving as we so choose.

Nigerian Policeman, concrete, 

1991, Sunday Jack Apkan

I found many more sculptures and artifacts in other areas of the museum of interest to me. I spent a good deal of time in the traditional and contemporary African exhibits where the figure is a common subject.

Sokari Douglas Camp created this larger than life-size, steel figure of a male masquerader in 1995.

"Gelede" is a Nigerian performance that celebrates mothers. The woman on the figure's head represents the artist herself with her two children. In the tradition, men dress up with masks and costumes and act in skits satirizing mothers and society. An interesting tradition - why not? Mothers are loved and reviled both, let's face it. I know.

I stopped in my tracks when I saw these tall, ceramic figures. If I were an animated character I would have hearts streaming out of my eyes. They are towering, thin, and riddled with cracks. It is a wonder that they are standing. And I also wondered, how were they fired? Lying down?
























I learned that Etiye Dimma Poulsen, an Ethiopian-born artist living in Belgium, created these rather sad, stalwart figures over the years 1996-1998. She first fashioned an iron armature, covered it with clay and fired the sculptures in an outdoor kiln.

A Yoruba master craftsman, Bangboye created this "Epa Headdress" sometime in the early to mid-20th century. How anyone could possibly wear this very large and no doubt very heavy object on their head is hard to imagine. None of the symbolism or story behind the imagery is explained on the museum signage, but it appears rich in meaning.

Another drop dead, wonderful sight to my eyes were these striking, black painted steel sculptures by Algerian artist Rachid Koraichi. Les Priants, from 2009, is an ensemble, only four of the eight sculptures are shown here. The artist is a master of Arabic calligraphy and is inspired by Sufism, the mystical branch of Islam. I love them for their grace and expressive linear movement - not easily accomplished in steel.

And lastly, a few pots that interested me, for their qualities of simplicity, or craftsmanship or lack of fussiness that refreshed my self-critical being.

Two pots from Africa:

terracotta storage vessel, 20th century, Molowi

terracotta pitcher, early 20th century, Algeria

And from America:

olla, ca. 1000-1100, Anasazi

Bough pot with two necks, 1957-58, Katherine Choy

Much, much more to see at the Newark Museum, but that is all for one visit. Thank you Cate and Pat for inviting me on this excursion. It was worth the traffic hassle, don't you think?

Halloween Makes Ugly Beautiful

A call for entries to the Artworks of Trenton annual Halloween show inspired some art making and resulted in three pieces completed this week.

First for your enjoyment, this lovely lady's visage on a pillow cover. She is drawn with fabric markers and is embellished with a few sequins and gems to add sparkle to her eyes and a pair of brass earrings. I dyed a cut-up crocheted doily with blue black dye and sewed the random bits as a fringe around the perimeter. Written at the bottom edge, invisible in the photo, are the words, "SWEET DREAMS." 

"Blood on the Bayou" was drawn with a brush on canvas with leftover dye from the pillow fringe. Its adhesion to the primed canvas is uncertain, but anyway, I forged on and added color with oil pastel, watercolors and acrylic paint. Will it survive? I'll let it dry further and encase it in fixative and pray. Or cast a spell?

And finally, the most crudely designed piece of all - the "Witch Bride." She evolved from merely "Blue Witch" to bride when I determined that her svelte form was enhanced by the addition of my favorite round tablecloth.




































She is fashioned from sticks that are from my property - a forked limb of Japanese Honeysuckle for legs and torso, and a branch from the magnolia for her arms which extend behind her in a very awkward manner. I used to make small stick dolls and taught children in school to make them using this basic technique of tying two sticks together. The clothes were always wrapped and tied on with strips of cloth. With this large doll though, I did some sewing.

She has red sequin shoes on the end of her naked honeysuckle legs, but sleeves of black chiffon.

Her face was made with notions from my sewing box, her hair from yarn. The perfect teeth were found at last when I stumbled upon some shards of oyster shell. To these I added broken buttons.
Perhaps she will yet get a bouquet, but essentially she is complete. A tall gal, she must be hung and appear to float with supernatural grace and aplomb.

Though she sticks out her tongue, she is essentially a sweet one. Notice the red cloth that is a sign of her loving heart. You can see it in her eyes, too. She will be a loving though eccentric wife.

If she were alive that is. With dolls, especially ones you make, one always forgets.