There is a book coming out the end of this month called, "365 Thank Yous" by John Kralik. The author had experienced a number of disappointments in his business and personal life. Instead of dwelling on his misfortunes, he decided to embrace "an attitude with gratitude". He wrote a thank you note each day in the year, not an e-mail, but an honest to goodness handwritten note, stamped and sent via U.S. Mail. The recipients were business associates, his children, and even his favorite barista at his local Starbucks.
I am thinking, what a great way to start the New Year! I love buying note cards of all types at gift shops, museum stores, galleries, and on-line. In fact, Eric Olson Gallery currently has a collection of art cards (blank inside) for sale at www.cafepress.com/windmillcreek.
So beginning with January 1, 2011, I shall write a thank you card each day. I can only hope that the recipients will pay it forward with their own card and brighten someone else's day!
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Friday, November 5, 2010
"Vatican Splendors" and Michelangelo
Yesterday, two friends and I traveled several hours in the pouring rain to see the “Vatican Splendors” exhibit at the Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh, a museum affiliated with the Smithsonian. It is the largest collection of Vatican art ever to tour North America.
It was obvious to me that the mission of the Catholic Church was not only to spread its word throughout the world, but that art played an important part in Church teachings. One of the most influential artists of the Renaissance period and my favorire was Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564). Michelangelo was a poet, scholar, architect, sculptor and painter. He was considered the supreme genius of Western art, superior even to the ancients.
In 1508, Pope Julius ll asked Michelangelo to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. The artist initially turned down Julius’s request. He was a master sculptor (“Pieta” and "David") and had no experience in the very difficult art of fresco painting, one of the highest arts of the 16th century.
The word “fresco” means “fresh”. Fresco artists always worked on fresh, wet plaster and could paint only a limited area at a time. As the plaster dried, the pigment became fixed into the surface. Michelangelo worked painfully lying on his back on his scaffold 60 feet above the ground.
Pope Julius feared that he would die before he could see the completed ceiling. Julius would impatiently stand below the scaffolding, asking the artist when he would be finished. Michelangelo answered, “When I can!” The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel took four years to paint and was finished in 1512. Pope Julius died in 1513.
It was obvious to me that the mission of the Catholic Church was not only to spread its word throughout the world, but that art played an important part in Church teachings. One of the most influential artists of the Renaissance period and my favorire was Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564). Michelangelo was a poet, scholar, architect, sculptor and painter. He was considered the supreme genius of Western art, superior even to the ancients.
In 1508, Pope Julius ll asked Michelangelo to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. The artist initially turned down Julius’s request. He was a master sculptor (“Pieta” and "David") and had no experience in the very difficult art of fresco painting, one of the highest arts of the 16th century.
The word “fresco” means “fresh”. Fresco artists always worked on fresh, wet plaster and could paint only a limited area at a time. As the plaster dried, the pigment became fixed into the surface. Michelangelo worked painfully lying on his back on his scaffold 60 feet above the ground.
Pope Julius feared that he would die before he could see the completed ceiling. Julius would impatiently stand below the scaffolding, asking the artist when he would be finished. Michelangelo answered, “When I can!” The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel took four years to paint and was finished in 1512. Pope Julius died in 1513.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Teaching is a Profession, Not a Fallback
In a recent discussion on one of the LinkedIn art groups about the merits and demerits of formal art education for practicing artists, the hoary old chestnut, "Those who cannot do, teach" came up again.
At the risk of sounded a bit like Andy Rooney, I intensely resent the implication that a teacher should be seen, by the fact of being one, as a failure in the "real" world. It is disrespectful and untrue. This misconception gives teaching a bad name and undermines the dignity of the profession.
Versions of "those who cannot do, teach" appear regularly in discussions about education, supposedly to demonstrate witty insight. Such statements are actually proof of a profound ignorance about the nature of teaching.
Becoming a good teacher requires mastering a complex body of attributes and skills, regardless of the subject matter. Such a body of knowledge includes compassion and patience, deep respect for the student, a drive to convey useful knowledge, planning, and presentation skills.
A good teacher is made, not born. Teaching well requires training, apprenticeship and dedication that is rarely compensated properly. Those who do it well are genuine heroes, because they provide the continuity for our culture and civilization. Teaching is not and should never be considered some kind of default or fallback option.
There is no linking relationship between being able to "do" and being able to teach or vice versa, except that high achievers tend to be good communicators and thus often make better teachers. Since art is a form of communication, those who do it well are excellent observers and communicators, which are requisite skills for teaching.
The corollary inference, that successful professionals do not become teachers, is also untrue. Skilled "doers" are often grateful for their opportunities, and frequently find themselves teaching as a way of giving back. Really smart ones know a secret: teaching is one of the best ways to profoundly learn a subject. Stellar teachers posses a profound grasp of their subjects and from the yin-yang relationship of teaching and subject knowledge, convey enthusiasm and love of subject to their students.
In my experience as a student at three art schools, my most revered teachers were those who also had the respect of their peers as professionals and practitioners in the real world. Real doers often make great teachers, especially when they understand that teaching itself is a serious and complex skill.
Granted: there are many poor teachers. Even so, it is more true to say, "Those who do well, teach well."
At the risk of sounded a bit like Andy Rooney, I intensely resent the implication that a teacher should be seen, by the fact of being one, as a failure in the "real" world. It is disrespectful and untrue. This misconception gives teaching a bad name and undermines the dignity of the profession.
Versions of "those who cannot do, teach" appear regularly in discussions about education, supposedly to demonstrate witty insight. Such statements are actually proof of a profound ignorance about the nature of teaching.
Becoming a good teacher requires mastering a complex body of attributes and skills, regardless of the subject matter. Such a body of knowledge includes compassion and patience, deep respect for the student, a drive to convey useful knowledge, planning, and presentation skills.
A good teacher is made, not born. Teaching well requires training, apprenticeship and dedication that is rarely compensated properly. Those who do it well are genuine heroes, because they provide the continuity for our culture and civilization. Teaching is not and should never be considered some kind of default or fallback option.
There is no linking relationship between being able to "do" and being able to teach or vice versa, except that high achievers tend to be good communicators and thus often make better teachers. Since art is a form of communication, those who do it well are excellent observers and communicators, which are requisite skills for teaching.
The corollary inference, that successful professionals do not become teachers, is also untrue. Skilled "doers" are often grateful for their opportunities, and frequently find themselves teaching as a way of giving back. Really smart ones know a secret: teaching is one of the best ways to profoundly learn a subject. Stellar teachers posses a profound grasp of their subjects and from the yin-yang relationship of teaching and subject knowledge, convey enthusiasm and love of subject to their students.
In my experience as a student at three art schools, my most revered teachers were those who also had the respect of their peers as professionals and practitioners in the real world. Real doers often make great teachers, especially when they understand that teaching itself is a serious and complex skill.
Granted: there are many poor teachers. Even so, it is more true to say, "Those who do well, teach well."
Monday, October 25, 2010
The Value of Art
Good or bad, art is a powerful force that has the power to inform, connect, and bond people to their culture and heritage. From the tole-painter who makes pleasant artifacts for local consumption to the greatest of all, art is the marker and indicia of a culture and it's level of civilization.
Art is a subject of intense interest and emotion to most people connected to the arts as either maker or consumer. Why? What underlies the power of art ?
Even though I should know better, since so many far better-qualified people have tried to answer the question, I'll try to dissect this omelette of passion. In the ideal world:
1. Good art connects us deeply to life itself. Art creates a complex bonding passion between maker and observer which informs and explicates life to both it's creators and it's consumers. As such, it provides spiritual sustenance, and while explaining life's mysteries it also proposes new mysteries, thus providing an almost addictive propulsive motivation to make more, buy more, and see more.
2. Good art, regardless of the power of the pocketbook, is egalitarian in the sense that it rewards connoisseurship. In this sense anyone can enjoy art and even become expert in it's appreciation.
3. Good art is a luxury that is most often enjoyed by those able to understand and buy it, and to a secondary degree by those who cannot afford it but are yet driven to see it in public venues.
"Spirit of Fire"
by Eric Olson
Is it lesser art if it is unsold and unknown?
Unfortunately, reality intervenes. The ability to acquire and consume art separates the moneyed from the plebian and thus we see the emergence of social and political drives that have nothing to do with art itself, and everything to do with power, dominance, command and control. At the highest level of this effect, we see the great robber-baron philanthropists who fund museums and give them important collections, in the median level we see those who combine a passion for their addiction with a passion for social position, and in lower levels, we see those who connect themselves to powerful patrons for personal aggrandisement, or who seek to make a buck in speculation. And of course, there are artist/businessmen who fit into each level themselves.
Is art and it's production inevitably tied to money and power? It is tempting to say so.
What of unknown, unsold art? What is it's value in society? Is it better art if it's famous or expensive?
What of unknown, unsold art? What is it's value in society? Is it better art if it's famous or expensive?
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Eric's Art to Appear in up to 200 Airports Nationwide
Eric Olson's internationally acclaimed "Transformations 2010" series artworks are now the primary creative element in a new national promotional campaign that will appear in as many as 200 airports countrywide. The client, Robin Imaging of Cincinnati is a prominent supplier of precision high-quality backlit images used in advertising displays for high-traffic public spaces such as malls and airports and also produces the ultra high-quality mounted images for Eric's prize-winning colorful high-energy abstract images.
Robin Imaging has begun to concentrate on working with fine artists and as part of their promotional program offered Eric the opportunity to be the exclusive featured artist in their "Unique Services for Unique Artists" campaign. Eric said, "It's tremendously exciting to have been chosen for this highly visible campaign. It's also thrilling to see a commercial organization using fine art to help build their public image and giving the artist full credit."
The campaign will feature Eric's artworks in brightly backlit airport "filler" ads as large as eight feet wide, to be placed in unsold advertising display areas. Each display piece will feature Eric's artwork filling the entire 96-inch wide image area. The first piece, based on "Flows of Thought," is already in production and will be sent to Dayton International Airport for immediate exhibition in the ticketed passenger concourse.
Other artworks in the series including "Beach Umbrella" and others, are being readied for use in other locations as openings appear. The "Transformations 2010" series can be seen at http://www.ericolsongallery.com/2x3
Below, the piece that will appear at the Dayton Airport.
Robin Imaging has begun to concentrate on working with fine artists and as part of their promotional program offered Eric the opportunity to be the exclusive featured artist in their "Unique Services for Unique Artists" campaign. Eric said, "It's tremendously exciting to have been chosen for this highly visible campaign. It's also thrilling to see a commercial organization using fine art to help build their public image and giving the artist full credit."
The campaign will feature Eric's artworks in brightly backlit airport "filler" ads as large as eight feet wide, to be placed in unsold advertising display areas. Each display piece will feature Eric's artwork filling the entire 96-inch wide image area. The first piece, based on "Flows of Thought," is already in production and will be sent to Dayton International Airport for immediate exhibition in the ticketed passenger concourse.
Other artworks in the series including "Beach Umbrella" and others, are being readied for use in other locations as openings appear. The "Transformations 2010" series can be seen at http://www.ericolsongallery.com/2x3
Below, the piece that will appear at the Dayton Airport.
Taking Digital Art Seriously
Are digital artists discriminated against in the art world? Digital artist Jim Plaxco thinks so and so do I.
The issue recently came up in the "pFAn" (professional Fine Art network) discussion group on LinkedIn. The original topic question was, are females are discriminated against in the art world? There was only one comment on the original subject, but Jim's assertion that digital artists are the ones most discriminated against stimulated a number of long and thoughtful comments about the prejudices that digital artists must face, and how they might be overcome. Here are some thoughts based on my own postings in that discussion.
Most legitimate digital artists feel the freezing snub of the art world. Nancy and I recently participated in an exciting and fulfilling international art event, the "Chianciano International Prize for Digital Art and Photography" in Chianciano Terme, (Tuscany), Italy. The exhibition covered two floors of the Museo d'Arte, and displayed work by over 100 digital artists and photographers from 35 countries. The work was superb, and varied from the lyrical to the logical. The artists were predictably all very different from one another in dress, appearance and demeanor. But one clear common denominator existed among all, a kind of group release and elation, as if the group was collectively thinking, "Wow, we're being taken seriously. AT LAST!"
Digital artists do face many forms of discrimination, and there are many reasons for it. Leading the list of course: ignorance. At a recent opening of my work in the States, a nice woman sincerely asked me, "Now, do you do the work or does the computer do the work?"
Adding to this dilemma is the perception that if the artist uses the computer as a tool s/he is taking some kind of shortcut, not doing real work or that that there is little artistic skill involved. Some of this may be due to early "art" pieces which were actually playful bits of programming. and may also stem from a variant of computerphobia. A competent digital artist would argue that the computer and printer combinations used to produce good digital art are merely tools, and that the image itself and its content and emotional effect on the viewer is the important thing.
Artistic quality is a matter of the artist's own talent, perceptions and sensibilities, never the tool. A talented artist can make art out of anything, as Lee Bontecue proved in the early 50's with her works made on cheap cardboard using black smoke from an acetylene torch. Conversely, technical skill is only a matter of training, whether it's oil paints or computers. A technical tour de force is only that - it takes an artist to make it into art.
Many otherwise knowledgeable art buyers, gallerists and curators de-legitimize a work if a computer is involved in its production, apparently because they think little artistic skill is required. I recall a potential buyer peering closely at one of my early works, especially admiring the precision of a fine rectangular rule around the image. When I explained that it was done in the computer he grimaced and walked away without a word. Apparently he felt that the minor skill required to hand-rule a line was legitimate artistically, yet the considerable skill required to manage complex image processing software is not. I’m sure that if he only knew how much work is involved in mastering complex color management, or acquiring and learning sophisticated equipment, or composing and processing intricate images with great subtlety, he would never have been so disparaging.
Basic misperceptions about the alleged simplicity of making computer art stubbornly persist. Even a good friend, a painter of traditional landscapes, bridled visibly when I claimed, "It takes at least as much time to master digital software as a creative tool as it does to complete an MFA as an oil painter." Fact: it’s difficult to develop high-level mastery of digital tools. I've been learning Photoshop continuously for over ten years and reckon that I’ve only mastered about half of what it can do.
Supposing we get past all this, there are still the fairly real problems of provenance and infinite reproducibility, and related to that, authenticity. A computer can print the same file an infinite number of times - therefore it cannot be real art -- or so the thinking goes. The fact is, no digital artist wants to spend time making copies of an image when there are so many other ideas to explore. And it would be nearly impossible to sell them.
The truth is that when all steps are totaled together it takes about as long to create and print a major piece of digital art as it does to make a medium-sized oil painting. Once it's done and a few proofs have been made, it's on to the next image - or onward with the unending quest to find buyers. We’re artists, not publishers. We make art and we're smart. And that’s why you won’t find digital artists making huge value-diluting editions.
But what about copies or art found on the Internet? Internet copying of legitimate digital art is not a genuine problem. Most digital art files are huge - much larger than the vast majority of images found on the internet. And most digital artists are savvy about rights management and licensing. Still, a quality piece of digital art must be authenticated and assurances must be provided so the buyer knows that the piece they are considering has been directly produced or at least approved by the artist as his or her own work.
Buyers have a right to buy artworks that are rare, special and which won't be diluted in value by copies. For this, one needs to limit production, make each piece special and legitimately the direct product of the artist, and of long-lasting archival quality.
This is why I've come to think that a strategy of using lab-tested pigment inks, archival paper, personally signing and dating each piece, using genuinely restricted limited editions, supplying legitimate certificates of authenticity and keeping a careful database of each piece made, sold, loaned, exhibited, or given - all must work together to provide the all-important buyer assurance.
The knowledgeable art buyer needs and deserves to know that the piece s/he buys is not only genuinely produced or approved by the artist but is rare, limited, made for the ages, and will not be diluted in value by a flood of copies.
And of course, the work has to be stellar. No artist can avoid the really hard work of facing themselves, meeting self-imposed challenges, stepping up their game and working to make the best possible art s/he can. Even if "the computer does all the work." Ha.
In the end, if we digital artists want respect, we'll have to earn it through education, professionalism and personal excellence.
The issue recently came up in the "pFAn" (professional Fine Art network) discussion group on LinkedIn. The original topic question was, are females are discriminated against in the art world? There was only one comment on the original subject, but Jim's assertion that digital artists are the ones most discriminated against stimulated a number of long and thoughtful comments about the prejudices that digital artists must face, and how they might be overcome. Here are some thoughts based on my own postings in that discussion.
Most legitimate digital artists feel the freezing snub of the art world. Nancy and I recently participated in an exciting and fulfilling international art event, the "Chianciano International Prize for Digital Art and Photography" in Chianciano Terme, (Tuscany), Italy. The exhibition covered two floors of the Museo d'Arte, and displayed work by over 100 digital artists and photographers from 35 countries. The work was superb, and varied from the lyrical to the logical. The artists were predictably all very different from one another in dress, appearance and demeanor. But one clear common denominator existed among all, a kind of group release and elation, as if the group was collectively thinking, "Wow, we're being taken seriously. AT LAST!"
Digital artists do face many forms of discrimination, and there are many reasons for it. Leading the list of course: ignorance. At a recent opening of my work in the States, a nice woman sincerely asked me, "Now, do you do the work or does the computer do the work?"
Adding to this dilemma is the perception that if the artist uses the computer as a tool s/he is taking some kind of shortcut, not doing real work or that that there is little artistic skill involved. Some of this may be due to early "art" pieces which were actually playful bits of programming. and may also stem from a variant of computerphobia. A competent digital artist would argue that the computer and printer combinations used to produce good digital art are merely tools, and that the image itself and its content and emotional effect on the viewer is the important thing.
Artistic quality is a matter of the artist's own talent, perceptions and sensibilities, never the tool. A talented artist can make art out of anything, as Lee Bontecue proved in the early 50's with her works made on cheap cardboard using black smoke from an acetylene torch. Conversely, technical skill is only a matter of training, whether it's oil paints or computers. A technical tour de force is only that - it takes an artist to make it into art.
Many otherwise knowledgeable art buyers, gallerists and curators de-legitimize a work if a computer is involved in its production, apparently because they think little artistic skill is required. I recall a potential buyer peering closely at one of my early works, especially admiring the precision of a fine rectangular rule around the image. When I explained that it was done in the computer he grimaced and walked away without a word. Apparently he felt that the minor skill required to hand-rule a line was legitimate artistically, yet the considerable skill required to manage complex image processing software is not. I’m sure that if he only knew how much work is involved in mastering complex color management, or acquiring and learning sophisticated equipment, or composing and processing intricate images with great subtlety, he would never have been so disparaging.
Basic misperceptions about the alleged simplicity of making computer art stubbornly persist. Even a good friend, a painter of traditional landscapes, bridled visibly when I claimed, "It takes at least as much time to master digital software as a creative tool as it does to complete an MFA as an oil painter." Fact: it’s difficult to develop high-level mastery of digital tools. I've been learning Photoshop continuously for over ten years and reckon that I’ve only mastered about half of what it can do.
Supposing we get past all this, there are still the fairly real problems of provenance and infinite reproducibility, and related to that, authenticity. A computer can print the same file an infinite number of times - therefore it cannot be real art -- or so the thinking goes. The fact is, no digital artist wants to spend time making copies of an image when there are so many other ideas to explore. And it would be nearly impossible to sell them.
The truth is that when all steps are totaled together it takes about as long to create and print a major piece of digital art as it does to make a medium-sized oil painting. Once it's done and a few proofs have been made, it's on to the next image - or onward with the unending quest to find buyers. We’re artists, not publishers. We make art and we're smart. And that’s why you won’t find digital artists making huge value-diluting editions.
But what about copies or art found on the Internet? Internet copying of legitimate digital art is not a genuine problem. Most digital art files are huge - much larger than the vast majority of images found on the internet. And most digital artists are savvy about rights management and licensing. Still, a quality piece of digital art must be authenticated and assurances must be provided so the buyer knows that the piece they are considering has been directly produced or at least approved by the artist as his or her own work.
Buyers have a right to buy artworks that are rare, special and which won't be diluted in value by copies. For this, one needs to limit production, make each piece special and legitimately the direct product of the artist, and of long-lasting archival quality.
This is why I've come to think that a strategy of using lab-tested pigment inks, archival paper, personally signing and dating each piece, using genuinely restricted limited editions, supplying legitimate certificates of authenticity and keeping a careful database of each piece made, sold, loaned, exhibited, or given - all must work together to provide the all-important buyer assurance.
The knowledgeable art buyer needs and deserves to know that the piece s/he buys is not only genuinely produced or approved by the artist but is rare, limited, made for the ages, and will not be diluted in value by a flood of copies.
And of course, the work has to be stellar. No artist can avoid the really hard work of facing themselves, meeting self-imposed challenges, stepping up their game and working to make the best possible art s/he can. Even if "the computer does all the work." Ha.
In the end, if we digital artists want respect, we'll have to earn it through education, professionalism and personal excellence.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
"Transformation" Series 2010
Beach Umbrella by Eric Olson
36 x 24" digital pigment ink on aluminum. Limited Edition of 5
A free-wheeling romp on the beach that celebrates
the joy of being outside and free.
Recently sold at Gala Charity Auction
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Harrisburg Magazine Exhibit
Yesterday, Eric and I had the pleasure of working with Patti and Len Boccassini at the offices of Harrisburg Magazine in Harrisburg with the installation of 14 of Eric's framed photographic landscape prints. The exhibit is sponsored by the Art Association of Harrisburg and is open to the public from October 5th - December 31, 2010. One third of the purchase price of the prints on exhibit will go to the Art Association.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Our trip to Mercersburg
Still recovering from jet lag after a 21 hour travel period from Italy to the United States. Not much time to waste (or sleep) before off and running to the next "art gig" so to speak. Eric and I packed 6 of his Transformation prints in the car this afternoon and traveled south from our farm on PA I 75 through beautiful country side where the foliage is just starting to turn red, orange and gold - almost like Eric's print "Gold Hot Rays". This was one of the prints on exhibit at the Museo d'Arte in Chianciano, Italy during our recent visit there for the awards for photographic and digital arts. "Gold Hot Rays" will remain part of the museum's permanent collection. Our end destination today was the Burgin Center for the Arts on the campus of Mercersburg Academy in the lovely town of of Mercersburg, PA. We were met at the Center by Mark Flowers, artist and instructor at the Academy who will curate the exhibit of Eric's prints and the paintings of David Bottini in a show called "Forces of Nature". The opening of the exhibit is Friday, October 8th with a public reception at 7 p.m.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
The Villa Serbelloni
This morning, Eric and I spent our last day in Italy in a very special place on Lake Como - the Villa Serbelloni, site of the Rockefeller Foundation's Bellagio Conference and Study Center. Eric's father Bill and his mother Betsy had spent many years at the Villa when Bill was the Director of the Center. Eric and his siblings Peter and Annie spent their school holidays at the Villa, and Eric was eager to return to the place that held so many happy memories for his family. We were invited to tour the grounds of the Villa, which is located on a hill high above the beautiful lake town of Bellagio.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Como
After a nearly six hour train trip, we arrived at Lake Como in the early evening Monday. We are staying at the Hotel Borgovico in the town of Como and will soon be exploring some of the more well known lake towns.
We met two nice, well spoken young men at the railroad station in Milan who were on their way back to their hometown Hamburg, Germany. They had been traveling all over Europe with back packs and guitars, playing music in town plazas for the sheer joy of it. They admitted being somewhat "travel weary", and I now can identify with them. I am looking forward to seeing Lake Como, but I will also be happy to be home at the end of the week!
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Goodbye to Chianciano
We leave by train tomorrow for Milan, and then on to beautiful Lake Como for a few days. We are sad to leave our friends the Peleggi family who own the Hotel Alba here in Chianciano. We are thankful for their warmth and hospitality. We also are honored to have been part of the exhibition at the Museo d'Arte Chianciano. At the awards ceremony yesterday, it was announced that over 1300 artists applied to participate in the exhibition and only "an elite group" of 100 finalists was selected from 35 different countries. We feel especially fortunate to have made new friends from the Phillipines, Israel, Holland, Germany, Norway and Turkey. Most of all, we treasure the special friendship of Elaine Poggi from Florence and admire her dedication to her Foundation for Photo/Art in Hospitals.
The best news came later today when Eric was informed that one of his pieces "Gold Hot Rays" will stay in Chianciano as part of the Museum's permanent collection. "Aquanta 8" will be delivered to the Gagliardi Gallery in London! Bravo!
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Breathing Art Everyday
I am reading "Bella Tuscany" by Frances Mayes who also wrote "Under the Tuscan Sun". She describes the Italians as being intimate with art, growing up with art every day. She writes, "Art always has been outside, something I appreciated, loved, sought, but something not exactly natural. American towns are often void of art and are often actively ugly. In schools, art is usually a luxury which falls with no thud when the budget ax swings. Art, music, poetry - natural pleasures we were born to love - are expendables, fancy extras, so very non-binary. The unnaturalness comes, too, from the hushed atmosphere of the museums, where most of us experience art. In Italy, so much art is in the churches. Artists were commissioned to paint churches, chapels, grain markets, banks, cloisters, city halls, bedrooms, cemetery memorials, and standards borne through the streets. Sculptors glorified the rich with statues and local piazze with playful and joyous fountains. The people began to breathe the art everyday. Art in Everyday Life".
We see art all around us here, in the small hill town churches, homes and gardens. The abstract patterns of the wine fields and olive tree groves are pleasing to the eye. I feel joyously content.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Monte Oliveto Maggiore
Adreamy day to drive and take in the landscape. We decided that our destination would be Monte Oliveto Maggiore, one of the great monasteries of Italy. We stopped for lunch in Trequanda where Eric tried the wild boar in a renaissance sauce with cocoa, currents and other "medieval" ingredients. I am still in love with the pasta in Tuscany, and ordered the green ravioli filled with spinach and cheese and a light goat cheese sauce.
The landscape leading to the monastery was a wild and dramatic, almost forbidding clay soil with deep crevices. We went around a curve and suddenly saw the red brick building, complete with moat and draw bridge. Once we entered the 15th century cloister, the impression of a fortress dissolved into the serene quiet of a walled court yard with magnificent frescos. Occasionally, we would see the Benedictine monks in their long white robes walking to chapel. The monks restore old books and sell herbs and honey.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Montefollonico
Art here in Tuscany is also found in the food and the gardens. We traveled again in the hill towns, with no particular destination in mind. We stopped at a gem of a village called Montefollonico, the last stronghold in the famous wars between Siena and Florence in medieval times. Today, the village is famous for its panoramic views of the Tuscan countryside and its cuisine. We ate lunch at a small family owned restaurant called "13 Gobbi". The chef still uses medieval recipes for dishes like "peposa"(Eric's choice on the menu, much to his delight), a stew made from meat from the famous white cattle here. I ordered homemade "Pici" (pasta) with pecorino cheese. The restaurant owner mixed the pasta at table side in a large, hollowed out wheel of cheese - fantastico! It is a good thing we walk a lot around here - mostly up hill. We finished our day with a stop at Church of San Biagio on the outskirts of Montepulciano, a masterpiece of honey and cream colored travertine begun in 1518.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Montepulciano and Senor Mazzetti
Today was our day to pick up our rental car in Chiusi. We were delighted to see our Fiat mini-SUV in front of the Hertz office. Eric is the designated driver, since my standard shift skills are pretty rusty. We drove the 15 minute trip back to our hotel in Chianciano. Our afternoon plan was to have lunch in town and then go out in the country side for a photo shoot. We decided to head in the direction of Montepulciano, a medieval walled town known for its wine. We parked below the town and started up the steep steps to the top level of the city wall in a zig zag manner. We came to a stop in one of the passageways where an elderly gentleman was busy in his workshop where copper pots are made. Eric asked him if we could photograph him and Senor Mazzetti invited us into his studio and later his private museum. This third generation skilled craftsman makes copper ware for famous and not so famous admirers. He had just completed a copper fish steamer for an American multi-millionaire. Senor Mazzetti has also made a chalice for the Pope and two lanterns for the Prince of Monaco. He also showed us a copper Donald Duck plaque for one of his grand children. We spent more than a half hour with this artisan whose pride in his work showed in his face as he spoke only in Italian about each piece he had crafted. We do not speak Italian, but we understood every word he said.
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Opening day for the exhibition in Chianciano. Before the event in the late afternoon, we were treated to a photographic tour of several towns in the area by our friend Elaine. We stopped for lunch in Pienza, a beautiful walled town about 30 km from our home base in Chianciano. I am sharing some of the "flavors" of the region - grapes for wine, cheeses, meats and home made pasta.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Room with a View
We arrived at our Hotel Alba in Chianciano, Tuscany in the dark last night after a long flight and train ride. The hotel owner asked us if we wanted a room with a view, and of course we said "yes". When we awoke this morning and opened the wooden blinds, this is what we saw from our floor to ceiling hotel window:
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
The Universal Language of Art
A new Facebook artist friend, Mona Youssef, has made a wonderful little video about art being the universal language of understanding. This universal language includes music and performance art as well as visual art. When we go to the Museo d'Arte in Chianciano in a few weeks to exhibit Eric's new work, it is safe to say that our knowledge of the Italian language is almost non-existent. However, we look forward to "speaking" with many of the artist representatives from 35 different countries by looking at the unique expressions of their creativity. Many of our collectors have told us that Eric's art "speaks" to them. We anticipate that the works of our international artist colleagues will have a special meaning for us as well, and that we all come together to spread peace and goodwill through art.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Going to the Fair
Our farm is in Juniata County PA and the County Fair begins this Saturday, September 4th. Eric was asked to judge the entries in photography in the Arts and Crafts building. We look forward to participating in this fun community event! This year, I am definitely going to try either the deep fried pickles or fried Twinkies from the food vendors.
Monday, August 30, 2010
Welcome!
This is our first post for our new blog! Our goal is to keep you posted on our adventures as we explore the world of art. Today, a lot of my time was spent on a catalogue raisonné using new software called GYST, which stands for Get Your * Together! We also learned today that our two prints "Gold Hot Rays" and "Aquanta 8" arrived safely at the Museo d'Arte in Chianciano.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)