Edinburgh Castle

Cannonballs from the Edinburgh Castle. As seen summer 2007 when I traveled to Scotland, Ireland, England, and Wales.

Ric Burns - Ansel Adams

A rousing audience was treated Thursday evening to a showing of the documentary film on Ansel Adams made by Ric Burns to commemorate the 100th anniversary (in 2002) of Ansel Adams. The screening was shown in conjunction with the Corcoran's recent opening of an exhibit showing 125 pictures from the Lane Collection.

Burns (younger brother of Ken Burns) is a documentary film maker in his own right. Born in Baltimore, Ric (aka Eric) studied English at Columbia and Cambridge. He told us he worked for more than a dozen years on his PhD, but I suspect never finished his dissertation. He said he learned everything he knew about documentary film making from his brother.

Burns has been interested in making films about artists. I have not seen either the one on Andy Warhol or Eugene O'Neill, but look forward to them. I also hope to see Ken Burns new documentary to be shown this Sunday night on PBS on World War 2.

More on Jacob van Ruisdael

Yesterday I posted a brief mention of van Ruisdael as representing the Golden Age of Dutch painting. Tuesday, September 18, New York Times, first page of The Arts section, reproduces a beautiful painting of Wheat Fields, by van Ruisdael. The Metropolitan Museum of Art has just opened a new show called the Age of Rembrandt that includes 5 van Ruisdaels, as well as paintings by Rembrandt, Frans Hals, van Ruysdaels (not to be confused with Ruisdael), and 8 by Gerard ter Borch.

For you Corcoranites, we own a lovely pair of wedding portraits by ter Borch.

According to the Times, the Met has "packaged" the show with a theme: money. Rather than sorting the works by artists and dates, it is sorted by the names and dates of the collectors who bought and gave the paintings to the museum. So you will recognize names like J. P. Morgan and Vanderbilt.

Jacob van Ruisdael

One of his landscapes from the 1650s. A magnificent Dutch landscape painter, van Ruisdael was considered one of the best of the Dutch Golden Age.

Monolith - Face of Half Dome

Ansel Adams. Adams caught this picture with his last plate, using a dark red filter. That is what created the very dark sky in the upper leftmost portion. The Corcoran Gallery of Art has two of these in its show. The first is somewhat smaller, printed in 1927 and on cream colored paper. The next, printed quite a bit later, looks very different, in part because of the different paper used.

Ansel Adams opens at the Corcoran

Some 125 images from the Lane Collection opened on Saturday, September 15, at the Corcoran Gallery of Art. Blake Gopnik provided a very favorable review in The Washington Post. And judging by the crowds that were there on Sunday, the audience liked it as well.

Adams was certainly a genius--in his own time and today. Adams was born in 1902 and tutored privately. He was actually preparing to be a concert pianist, but when he was 14 he took a hiking trip with his family and was hooked with his first camera. I wonder what he might have been had his nose not been broken in the San Francisco earthquake. Supposedly, he was sensitive about his looks and became somewhat of a longer, losing himself in exploring the beautiful Yosemite National Park in the Sierra Nevada mountains.

The exhibit is beautifully hung and the public clearly was drawn to the various images.

Symposium at The Phillips Collection

On Saturday, September 15, The Phillips in conjunction with the University of Illinois, hosted an all day symposium on the topic of Museums of Modern and Contemporary Art Today. Benjamin Buchloh from Harvard began the discussion. His thought provoking lecture raised many issues, among them "Does the museum stand for nothing?" Following was Suely Rolnik who addressed the issue of cultural capitalism through the metaphor of Lygia Clark and the struggle museums face in representing works, especially during a time of military and political unrest. Borja-Villel, head of the museum of contemporary art in Barcelona illustrated how his museum has moved from a classical model of the white cube, through various post-modern ideas, to an explanation of how his museum operates in a democratic milieu where the museum serves as the custodian of the work of art that ultimately belongs to the people.

The afternoon included a panel with Neal Benezra from SFMoMA, to Lisa Phillipos from the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York, to Kathy Halbreich, late of the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, and Jay Gates from the Phillips.

So what were the issues raised:

* judgment and expertise--who decides, what role do curators and "experts" play, to what role is played by the audience

* diverse audiences -- those in the "know" and all others

* funding and staying afloat

* collecting art that is ephemeral, happenings, performance pieces, conceptual

What was not discussed:

* globalization of art

* representation of the other

* the death of museums as we know them

I would love to hear your thoughts on this.

Weiwei's sculpture blows down during windstorm

How tragic. The beautiful Weiwei sculpture constructed from wooden doors and windows and located at documenta 12, blew down in a windstorm. You can read more about it here. You can see some photos as well as read about how Blake Gopnik, from The Washington Post, concluded that the art work at all the sites is directionless. Well, a little heavy handed for my taste.

Monet's Home at Giverny

Maril is posed in front of Monet's house. You can see the gorgeous, lush gardens.
This is a wonderful view of the Japanese gardens that inspired so many of his water lily paintings. If you have not seen the reopening of the water lily paintings at the Orangerie in Paris, make sure to put it on your next stop.

A week without art

This last week has been bereft of art for me and I really miss it. Make sure you find a way to NY to see the Richard Serra at MoMA. It closes September 10. The sheer monumentality of the work must be quite amazing.

And if you have time, take a trip up the Hudson River to DIA-Beacon. Situated in an old cracker factory, this venue has been open for several years and showcases much of the great sculpture from post - World War 2. Also stop at Storm King Art Center, 500 acres of wonderful sculpture--including Serra, Andy Goldworthy, and many others.

I am leaving for 2 weeks on a cruise through the British Isles. I hope to take some great pictures and explore art I haven't seen before.

Please check in periodically. I will try to post from the ship.

Maril

Elizabeth Murray dies in New York at 66

It seems as though my recent posts have been about death and dying. Today I am sad to report that Elizabeth Murray died from complications from lung cancer. I was fortunate to see a retrospective of her career that spanned some 40 years last year at the Museum of Modern Art. Murray studied at the Art Institute in her native city of Chicago. She received an MFA from Mills College in California. By 1967 she had moved to New York. Remember that Murray came of age after minimalism. But she wasn't doing conceptual art, nor performance pieces. She was neither purely an abstract painter nor one who was representational. Think about Philip Guston or Susan Rothenberg when you think of her work. And she was a painter, after all. But the art scene changed by the 1980s and young, brash men came into the forefront: Julian Schnabel, David Salle and Anselm Kiefer. The label neo-expressionist was used for them, and at times for her work as well.

Her work was in the Venice Biennale of 2007.

Murray's personal life reflects shifts as well. Her first marriage, to fellow artist Don Sunseri (and with whom she had a son) ended in 1973. Later she married Bob Holman and had two daughters.

It is with such sadness that I write about the loss of a wonderful painter. You can see some of her work and read more about her.

Fishers plan new museum in San Francisco

Donald (age 78) and Doris (age 75) Fisher, the founders of the Gap, have plans for a museum to showcase their own collection of modern art. They hope to build in the Presidio--a former military base in San Francisco now turned into a national park. Mr. Fisher was formerly on the board of trustees of the Presidio. Plans are to call the museum the Contemporary Art Museum; they hope to break ground in 2008 and be open by 2010. But we all know what happens to such ambitious plans. I was not able to find information on a proposed architect for this new museum.

Their collection (over 1,000 works) includes pieces by Chuck close, Richard Serra, and Alexander Calder. Now the collection is displayed at the Gap's national headquarters in downtown San Francisco. Their collection is said by Benezra (direction of SFMOMA) as one of the most important in the world.

Although some items from their collection are often displayed at SFMOMA and he is on the board of trustees, he wants more control and to make sure his work is really seen. As you know, all too often, museums acquire works of art and then are in a juggling position--trying to decide what to display.

I wonder how many collections are considered "one of the most important in the world." I haven't seen any of these pieces, but certainly the artists are first-rate.

I think back to over 100 years ago when William Wilson Corcoran decided to build a museum to house his collection. It wasn't too long before his new museum (now the Renwick in Washington, DC) became too small for growing collection and he had to build a second museum (the current Corcoran Gallery of Art on 17th and New York Avenue). You can find out more about the Corcoran's history here.

Did you know that the Riggs Bank was formed in 1836 when Mr. Corcoran opened a small brokerage house. By 1840, he had joined up with George Washington Riggs, a neighbor's son, to form Corcoran & Riggs. By 1844, the government made this enterprise the only federal depository in Washington. Corcoran got out of the banking business some ten years later in 1854. Riggs Bank became the bank of embassies and diplomats. In July of 2004 it was bought by PNC for 779 million dollars. For the history buff, you can actually review these partnership documents in the library at the George Washington University.

Simon Schama on Rothko

I am currently reading Schama's Power of Art, which is an account of 8 artists. I began reading at the end of the book and am currently reading about Mark Rothko. Absolutely fascinating. I earlier read a biography by Dore Ashton, but this reveals information I either forgot or didn't know.

Schama's work is currently being shown on public television. For a current schedule and additional information, go here.

Top Ten Art Collectors

Artnews magazine released the name of the top 200 art collectors from around the world. Here are the top 10.
Eli Broad - Corcoran had part of his collection a few years ago
Steven Cohen
Anne and Kenneth Griffin
Henry Kravis
Ronald Lauder
Sammy Ofer
Francois Pinault
Mitchell Rales - Collection housed in Glenstone, located in Potomac, Maryland.
Charles Saatchi - Housed in London; about to reopen in new location
Charles Schwab

If you want to know the names of the rest of the group, go here.

Jeremy Blake

According to The New York Times of Wednesday, August 1, 2007, Jeremy Blake, 35 years old was reported missing on July 17. His clothes and wallet were found on a beach in Queens. A bystander reported that she saw a man disrobing and walking into the water. Speculation is that he was despondent over the suicide of Theresa Duncan, age 40, his longtime companion. He found her body in their apartment. Blake, from Takoma Park, MD, received a degree from the Art Institute of Chicago and a master's from Cal Arts in Valencia.

Mr. Blake was known to bridge the gap between painting and film. His work is described as lush, color, and color-saturated. He began to make a name for himself in the 1990s using digital projections combined with colorful abstract geometric forms and photographic images. Some art critics described the work as Color Field paintings set in motion.

His work was to have been shown at the Corcoran Gallery of Art in October, in a show curated by Jonathan Binstock. His new work called Glitterbest--a collaboration he did with Malcolm McLaren--was to be part of this show. Binstock reports that the museum will try to present as full a picture as possible.

There was a dark side to this couple. You can read some of the details in Chris Lee's piece in the LA times.

Corcoran friends

Hi friends,

As we begin the fall, I am looking for a simple way for all of us to talk with each other. Maybe this will do the trick.

So, please post a reply--you don't have to sign in--and leave your name if you want to. Other people can make comments, but right now I am the only one who can post new messages or entries.

Marilyn

Preview Berlin - Lyons Wier - James Rieck

Berlin's youngest Preview Berlin will be held at Templehof Airport September 28 through October 1, 2007. James Rieck will be showing some of his newest work there. Initiated by 4 Berlin galleries, this art fair began in 2005. In 2006, there were 12,000 visitors. Its focus is on emerging artists and the 2007 exhibit promises to be even more exciting than previous times.

You will enjoy looking at some of Jim's recent work. Currently James is represented by Lyons Wier, a New York gallery recently relocated to 171 Seventh Avenue at 20th Street in New York.

Richard Serra at MoMA

This is a very exciting exhibit that opened at MoMA the beginning of June and runs through September 10. I plan to get up to NY to see it and you should as well. The exhibit is a retrospective of 40 years of his work. It also includes 3 sculptures made in 2006. You can read an interview with Serra on the website above as well as listen to him discussing his art in a video that shows his work. You can also listen to an interview from All Things Considered of April 24, 2007 that describes getting ready for the exhibit.

So here is the scoop on Serra. He was born in 1939 in San Francisco. He attended Yale University's School of Art and Architecture and graduated in 1964. He was actually trained as a painter. He then moved to New York Remember that during the sixties New York artists were experimenting with all kinds of things. He began to experiment with nontraditional materials such as rubber, neon and lead. Other sculptors used these materials. For example, Dan Flavin made extensive use of neon. Chakia Booker uses rubber extensively.

Nathan Austin in his blog gives you his own take on the exhibit. I had forgotten that there was a fatal accident in 1970 involving one of his works. Apparently another accident happened in 1988. Now I have not been able to verify these accounts, so I hope they are not just an urban legend.

When I return from looking at the Serra, I will comment further.

Welcome Back

I hope you have enjoyed by grand tour blog. Please make sure you visit it at
thegrandtour07.blogspot.com

I am now back on my regular blog and will post interesting art tidbits here from time to time. Make sure to check back periodically.

I really would like to hear from you. Please post your comments and thoughts.

Maril

Cloud Gate - Chicago

Corcoran Gallery of Arts visit Millenium Park in Chicago. This scene is taken under the "bean", a gigantic sculpture created by Anish Kapoor.

Alternate location for several weeks

Hi All,

For anyone who is reading this, I will be posting my art comments on TheGrandTour07 for the time being. When I return home, look back here for more info.

Eleven Days and Counting. Issues to Resolve

Today's Issue. Posting photos to our blog.

Although I have traveled extensively, it is again time to get ready for this trip. One challenge. I am not sure how to post photos to our blog from an Internet Cafe. Will we be able to send photos taken with our phones? What is the cost? How will we be able to transfer the photos? Can we use Picasa?

Beyond Art

I hope we can visit a market like this.

A Russian subway stop

Maril travels around the world. The Tretyakov Museum in Moscow was one stop I visited. Malevich's Black Square was an important work to see.

Sigmar Polke

The reclusive Mr. Polke is described in NY Times, Sunday, 27 May. I can't wait to see the 7 abstract paintings in the Italian pavilion. Now I don't know why they are in that space. He was born in Silesia, country that became part of East Germany at the end of the second world war. He lives in Cologne. So what is his connection? Does anyone know? His 2004 show at the Tate Modern gives you a sense of his work.

GETTING READY!!!

In less than 2 weeks, we will be departing for our own GrandTour of the art happenings in summer 2007. Tickets, hotels, etc. have been arranged. Now the fun begins.

Art Basel is our first stop. I'm not sure what to expect, but if it is anything like Art Basel Miami, we are in for huge crowds. We don't plan to buy anything, but then you never know. We will fly into Zurich and stay there as well. We plan to make our way by train between the two cities.

Documenta 12 is next on our list. We hope to drive there from Frankfurt. While in Kassel, Germany, we will also visit the other sights, including the birthplace of the Grimm brothers.

Munster Skulptur Project is our third place. A train ride takes about 2 hours, but we will go by car.

Venice Biennale is our last stop on this tour. Flying from Frankfurt, we will reach Venice and stay near the Accademia Bridge.

www.grandtour2007.com should provide an overview.

Maril

Art and travel lover, here's Maril. Watch for her comments.