VISITING MUSEUMS: WASHINGTON D.C.

Ever since I was little Washington D.C. has been the home of all museums. I mean it has the best set up a museum lover could ever imagine. Walking distance from a museum all about our navigations through space is a museum filled with skeletons from dinosaurs to frogs which is next to a museum filled with glorious art work. The art museums alone in Washington D.C. are numerous, there is the National Gallery of Art which is broken up into two giant wings, plus there is the National Portrait Gallery and Smithsonian American Art Museum which are combined and hold so much variety of art work, and we can't forget about the Hirschhorn. Then there are other museums such as the Holocaust Museum, International Spy Museum, the Museum of Women in the Arts, Newseum, and so many more. But before I write about every museum in D.C. lets just stick to the art museums and what exactly you can expect to see.

To start lets go to the National Mall to see the National Gallery of Art (West building and East building). In the West building you can see more historic works of art such as European paintings and sculptures ranging from the 13th to 16th Centuries. There also is a good amount of American art and they always have a few temporary exhibitions going on which are very interesting. Then in the East building you would find a large amount of Contemporary and Modern works along with their Film series they almost always have running in their auditorium. If you know whether you'd enjoy a more contemporary feel then head to the East building but if you'd rather see some historical art then go to the West building.
 

National Gallery of Art West Building

National Gallery of Art East Building

Next on the National Mall is the Hirschhorn museum of art. This museum is the round building and it is smaller than the other museums but it does hold a great collection of art. While I was visiting they only had two temporary exhibitions going because of renovation. But both of which were fantastic. It's easy to get lost within the art but nice to flow right around the Hirschhorn (because it's a circle) so you almost forget to worry about seeing everything because you kinda have to walk through each room to get to the next. They had a large variety of mediums in there as well from video, drawing, painting, sculpture, and photography. I personally loved the Destruction and Gravity's Edge Exhibitions. I loved so many pieces from both. Which I can get into in another post.

Hirschhorn Museum

Next on the list is the National Portrait Gallery and American Art Museum. This combined museum is awesome. I love portraiture so this is my favorite museum of all time. You can find anything from Nam June Paik pieces, to Georgia O'Keeffe paintings. Plus portraits of people ranging from the Presidents to Eminem and LL Cool J. It's hard for me to actually write about how amazing this museum is and how ranged the art work is within it. One section of the museum is American landscapes and gorgeous marble sculptures and another is a collection of over 100 TVs stacked all screaming at you to watch this amazing billboard of images and Eric Fischl paintings. It all depends upon preference and what you want to get out of a museum but I will always love the collection they have at the National Portrait Gallery. Sometimes their special exhibitions can be amazing and blow your mind, other times they can be strictly historical and you learn more about the person in the portrait than the art of the piece, which is okay too. 

American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery Interior Courtyard

If anyone has any questions about specifics about the museums or want to know more about something within the galleries, leave a comment!

Citations:
West Building Image: http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/North_America/United_States_of_America/Washington_DC/Things_To_Do-Washington_DC-National_Gallery_of_Art-BR-1.html
East Building Image: http://www.viewpictures.co.uk/Details.aspx?ID=107181&TypeID=1
Hirschhorn Image: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hirshhorn_Museum_and_Sculpture_Garden
American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery Image: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Portrait_Gallery_%28United_States%29

A WHOLE MUSEUM DEDICATED TO WOMEN

In Washington D.C. there is a museum called the National Museum of Women in the Arts. This museum has been around since 1987 and promotes women not only in the past but also the current strong women artists of today. Their mission: "The National Museum of Women in the Arts brings recognition to the achievements of women artists of all periods and nationalities by exhibiting, preserving, acquiring, and researching art by women and by teaching the public about their accomplishments."
The NMWA is located in the heart of Washington D.C. and is in a gorgeous "Renaissance Revival" style building. This building holds over 4,000 works from the Renaissance to Contemporary all by women.

Great Hall and Mezzanine taken by Tom Field

But enough of the advertising, which I don't get paid for anyways, this is one of the few museums that is fully dedicated to women. By that I mean that this museum began by two women who were simply art historians collecting art. It then grew into this non-profit statement for women. It's not just any museum it's renown and has many advocates. This is a large support for women in the art world. This is a place to be seen and to be comfortable. It's definitely a place to visit if you're ever in Washington D.C.

Citations:
http://www.nmwa.org/

VISITING MUSEUMS: BALTIMORE

If you are from Maryland, or Baltimore itself, then you know of some of the great museums this city has to offer. As an outsider here are some things that I learned while visiting:

-The Baltimore Museum of Art. go there. It may be under renovation currently, but it's plans are big for when they reopen the entire building. But even though it is under renovation, it's still a great museum. It's not overwhelming even though they offer a lot (Contemporary, German Expressionism, Impressionism, European Painting and Sculptures, Modern, and Antioch Mosaics) Their Contemporary Wing includes very amazing artists from a collection of Andy Warhols (that will blow you away) to new artists like Jonathan Latiano who really knows how to fill a space with Installation art. My favorite was one of my idols: Robert Longo. They have two lithographs of his Men in Cities drawings (I may have cried...). Anyways, they have a cool exhibition on Sterling Ruby too which is worth looking into. Like I said it's not overwhelming, the collections are amazing and you can definitely take your time walking around and really see everything and not feel like you're missing out. 

Contemporary Wing of Baltimore Museum of Art

-The Walters Art Museum. I found this museum to be very similar to the Metropolitan Museum in New York minus the Contemporary Art and Photographs. It has a great amount of history shoved into one four story building. They offer a lot of really different stuff there such as a Chamber of Wonders and Armor as well as a Sculpture Court and of course Medieval Art, Renaissance and Baroque Art, Asian Art, Ancient Worlds (Greek, Etruscan, Roman, Egyptian, and Near Eastern), and 19th Century Art. I was quite impressed with their collection for all of these sections. It's definitely a large museum and even though each area might not be large, there is still a ton to take it. It holds the interest of everyone (unless you only like Contemporary and Modern works).

-American Visionary Art Museum. Now this museum is kinda off the beaten trail but it is really interesting and has a very different spin on art. This museum currently has a Singularity Exhibition going on with many different opinions of what Singularity is. Which is great, because you get to almost step into the artists shoes and figure out what it means to them and what exactly they are trying to portray. The diversity of materials and styles is amazing, you can go from wood sculptures to ballpoint pen drawings, to installation within a few minutes and still be in the same exhibition. It's all very offbeat artwork and really shows how these people are more interested on their work as a project to learn something instead of being an artist and showing your work. They also have an entire building to Kinetic pieces, which move and are cars or floats or on bikes. Really neat stuff, people are so creative. 

Visionary Art Museum Entrance

That's all of the museums I was able to go to but I'm sure Baltimore has a ton more to offer. I know they have an amazing Science Center right near Inner Harbor as well as the awesome Aquarium. Overall the city is very nice and clean, you really feel like you can walk all around it.

Citations:
Baltimore Museum of Art Image: http://bmoreart.com/2012/09/from-september-urbanite-new-bma.html
Walters Art Museum Image: http://blogs.ischool.utexas.edu/newmedia/category/early/cabinets/
Visionary Art Museum Image: http://www.destination360.com/north-america/us/maryland/baltimore/american-visionary-art-museum

"REINVENTING THE "F" WORD: FEMINISM!"

There is this super hero group of feminists called the Guerrilla Girls, if you weren't already aware. These women take on the names of dead female artists as they promote women's rights and when in public making speeches they wear guerrilla masks so that their identities do not distract from what they are promoting. This organization is very secretive and works worldwide so they have many anonymous people working to put up posters in various cities. Here are some of their posters:

Guerrilla Girls, [no title], 1985-90, screen print on paper

Guerrilla Girls, [no title], 1985-90, screen print on paper

Guerrilla Girls, [no title], 1985-90, screen print on paper

These are in the Tate museum(s) in Great Britain and they're apart of the the Guerrilla Girls Talk Back series of many screen prints about their views. The group's official opinion about their philosophy on their art is:
"We try to be different from the kind of political art that is angry and points to something and says 'This is bad.' That's preaching to the converted. We want to be subversive, to transform our audience, to confront them with some disarming statements, backed up by facts—and great visuals—and hopefully convert them. We carefully craft everything we do. We try to twist an issue around and present it in a way that hasn't been seen before. We usually test-drive a project by showing it to a few people beforehand to gauge their response. We've also learned that focusing on one aspect of an issue is better than trying the change the whole world in a single work."
The Guerrilla Girls even made an art history book titled "Guerrilla Girls: A Guide to Western Art" which includes all of the behind the scenes looks at women's rights in the art world. This book isn't just a whim, but it's used as a college textbook worldwide.
Don't start to think that this group is all done protesting, they still are holding exhibitions of their screen prints across the world as well as writing books and putting up billboards. So keep a look out!

Citations:
http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/guerrilla-girls-no-title-p78793
https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/guerrilla-girls-no-title-p78797
https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/guerrilla-girls-no-title-p78796
http://www.guerrillagirls.com

WOMEN IN ART: JUDY CHICAGO

If you've never heard of Judy Chicago you cannot call yourself a fan of Feminist Art. She created one of the most influential and important pieces of art in Feminist Art History. The Dinner Party is her claim to fame in 1979 and will keep people talking for many years to come. If you still have no idea, then keep reading.

The Dinner Party is an installation piece of art which included 39 place settings for historical or mythological women. Even though it has toured continents, it is now permanently based in the Brooklyn Museum, New York. 

Judy Chicago, The Dinner Party, 1974-1979, ceramic, porcelain and textile, Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Elizabeth A. Sackler Foundation, 2002.10. © Judy Chicago. Photo: © Aislinn Weidele for Polshek Partnership Architects

One of the most amazing things about this piece is that the floor is made of white triangular tiles with 999 notable women inscribed, this is called the Heritage Floor. "Chicago states that the criteria for a woman's name being included in the floor were one or more of the following:

1. She had made a worthwhile contribution to society
2. She had tried to improve the lot of other women
3. Her life and work had illuminated significant aspects of women's history
4. She had provided a role model for a more egalitarian future."

The women that have place settings range from three time periods: Prehistory to the Roman Empire, Beginnings of Christianity to the Reformation, and American to the Women's Revolution. 

Judy Chicago, The Dinner Party (Hildegarde of Bingen place setting), 1974–79. Mixed media: ceramic, porcelain, textile. Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Elizabeth A. Sackler Foundation, 2002.10. © Judy Chicago. Photograph by Jook Leung Photography

Judy Chicago (American, b. 1939). The Dinner Party (Margaret Sanger place setting), 1974–79. Mixed media: ceramic, porcelain, textile. Brooklyn Museum, Gift of the Elizabeth A. Sackler Foundation, 2002.10. © Judy Chicago. Photograph by Jook Leung Photography

 Each of the separate table settings have a "vagina butterfly" theme to them. This alone has created both criticism and praise. People still feel uncomfortable about this and they vocalize their thoughts. While others find it very empowering and amazing and fully support the forward thinking. It's amazing to think that this piece can still cause great controversy even though it came out 35 years ago.
What's your opinion?

Citations:
Image: http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/exhibitions/dinner_party/
Quotes: Chicago, Judy. The Dinner Party: From Creation to Preservation. London: Merrell (2007) , Heritage panels , page 289.
Information: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dinner_Party#cite_note-Chicago_2007-5

WOMEN IN ART: HELEN FRANKENTHALER

Many women did not consider themselves feminists by being a woman artist, but they were. The sad fact that simply following your passion could have made you a feminist is weird to think about in today's world. But it still very much a part of society, we owe it to some of the women who unknowingly started a strong movement. One of these women was Helen Frankenthaler.

Helen Frankenthaler was an Abstract Expressionist Painter and was a large contributor to the postwar American painting society. Her first piece to launch her career was Mountains and Sea.

Helen Frankenthaler, Mountains and Sea, 1952, oil and charcoal on canvas

This piece was pretty different for the viewers because of a few things; for one the colors look like they would be watercolor, but instead they are oil, which is surprising. Another thing is that she worked on unprimed (and unstretched!) canvas which allows the paints to seep into the canvas creating what is considered a "soak stain". Another artist who not only influenced her work greatly but also used the soak stain technique was Jackson Pollock.

Helen Frankenthaler, A Green Thought in a Green Shade, 1981, oil on canvas

Helen Frankenthaler, Nature Abhors a Vaccum, 1973, oil on canvas

"A really good picture looks as if it's happened at once. It's an immediate image. For my own work, when a picture looks labored and overworked, and you can read in it—well, she did this and then she did that, and then she did that—there is something in it that has not got to do with beautiful art to me. And I usually throw these out, though I think very often it takes ten of those over-labored efforts to produce one really beautiful wrist motion that is synchronized with your head and heart, and you have it, and therefore it looks as if it were born in a minute." In Barbara Rose, Frankenthaler

Citations:
Mountians and Sea: http://artchive.com/artchive/F/frankenthaler/frankenthaler_mtns.jpg.html
A Green Thought in a Green Shade: https://paintingowu.wordpress.com/tag/helen-frankenthaler/
Nature Abhors a Vaccum: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/28/arts/helen-frankenthaler-abstract-painter-dies-at-83.html?pagewanted=all
Info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helen_Frankenthaler#Influences

WOMEN IN ART: GEORGIA O'KEEFFE

I've had a few people ask me why I've been doing posts about women recently. It's March so it's Women's History Month! Why not support the amazing women who have helped move our art world forward?

One amazing woman who really changed art of the 20th Century is Georgia O'Keeffe. Not only was she was married to a man who was the Founder of Modern Photography in America, Alfred Stieglitz, but she also was an inspiring naturalist painter. She started off being a landscape painter and once she got more well known, because of Stieglitz's Gallery, she began painting flowers in a sexual and dynamic manner. 

Georgia O'Keeffe, Red Canna, oil on canvas, 1926

Georgia O'Keeffe, Jack in the Pulpit No. IV, oil on canvas, 1930

Later in her life she went to New Mexico and was extremely inspired by the nature she found. There is a relation to her flower paintings in the skies of her newer landscapes and paintings. Her main style is abstract nature, where one can easily find the nature inspiration there still are twists to application of color by using blocking.

Georgia O'Keeffe, Cow's Skull: Red, White, and Blue, oil on canvas, 1931

"When you take a flower in your hand, and really look at it, it's your world from the moment. I want to give world to someone else." -Georgia O'Keeffe
O'Keeffe was able to paint to such a wide audience which allowed her to have a large following. Her work is widely renown and will continue to influence artists today.

Citations:
http://www.wikipaintings.org/en/georgia-o-keeffe/jack-in-the-pulpit-no-iv
http://www.biography.com/people/georgia-okeeffe-9427684
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/episodes/georgia-okeeffe/about-the-painter/55/
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/geok/hd_geok.htm
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/52.203

WOMEN IN ART: MARY CASSATT

A very widely known American woman artist is Mary Cassatt. I remember learning about her when I was still in elementary school. She was born around Pittsburgh, PA and moved closer to Philadelphia for her childhood but then lived most of her adult life in France (where she became friends with Edgar Degas). At a young age she traveled around Europe and was able to go to Paris World's Fair in 1855 to see many many amazing artists (Ingres, Delacroix, Courbet, Corot). This is where she began her first artistic impulses even though her family didn't support her becoming a professional artist.

Eventually she moved to Europe and was a huge part of the Impressionist Movement. She studied under many artists and became friends with Degas who greatly influenced her work. "Degas had considerable influence on Cassatt. She became extremely proficient in the use of pastels, eventually creating many of her most important works in this medium. Degas also introduced her to copper engraving, of which he was a recognized master, which strengthened her control of line and overall draftsmanship. She became the subject in his series of etchings recording their trips to the Louvre. They worked side-by-side for awhile, and she gained considerably from his technique and knowledge."

Mary Cassatt, Little Girl in a Blue Armchair, 1878

Here's another one of her pieces that set her in the Impressionist movement:

Mary Cassatt, Summertime

Later on in her career she began to become influenced by Japanese drawings, like many artists had, and so her works became more illustrative. With great simplicity and blocks of color she was able to create a beautiful collection of aquatints.

Mary Cassatt, The Coiffure (study)

She was a great and prolific painter of her time and was rubbing elbows with the best of the best. Mary Cassatt's work has sold millions of dollars and she is highly influential and original. Whether you enjoy her Japanese influenced aquatints, her super Impressionist paintings, or her Degas inspired pastel drawings she is a one-of-a-kind artist that is necessary in Art History.

Citations:
All information and pictures were found at www.marycassatt.org

WOMEN IN ART: JENNY SAVILLE

One artist that many painters seem to find very influential is Jenny Saville. Her work is very grotesque and unique making her opinions heard. For this post I will briefly discuss what I know about her and show you her work. 

Saville became quite famous at a young age while finishing up college. In her 20s she was creating huge pieces of the human figure. "(Flesh) is all things. Ugly, beautiful, repulsive, compelling, anxious, neurotic, dead, alive." which I feel perfectly sums up her work. Her pieces mainly show flesh and she has perfected an active way to paint it. 

Jenny Saville, Red Stare Head IV, 2006-11, oil on canvas, 99"x73"

"Fascinated by the endless aesthetic and formal possibilities that the materiality of the human body offers, Saville remits a highly sensuous and tactile impression of surface and mass in her monumental oil paintings. In the compelling Stare paintings she renders the contours and features of the face and the nuances of skin texture and color in strokes both bold and meticulous. Enlarging the facial features of her human subjects to a vast scale and rendering them in layer upon layer of paint, she imbues in them with a sense of mass and weight that is almost sculptural and at times wholly abstract. Intense pinks, reds, and blues erupt through pale skin tones, disclosing the internal workings of the painting like the flesh and blood of a living organism."

While Red Stare Head IV relates to her older paintings of hanging meat, she always painted figures in hopes to show how foreign and uncomfortable bodies can feel.

Jenny Saville, Propped, 1992, oil on canvas, 213cmx183cm

Her use of text and linework in throughout most of that certain collection in subtlety. But the underlying tones really brings almost a feminist feel to her pieces. There are tons of impressive pieces in this collection I highly suggest looking into because I can't even begin to put them all in here. Because of her interest in bodies and modifying she took some time and just observed plastic surgeons. This helped her to understand the mindset of the person getting something done and also why and how they went about it.

Her newer pieces were all based around Motherhood and she portrayed herself with her child. These newer pieces still have the same fantastic Saville skin tones and brushwork but also included more drawing and line work. The line work really pushes the idea of movement and how children are constantly wiggling and growing.

Jenny Saville, The Mothers, 2011, oil on canvas, 106"x86"

Ever since this collection we haven't seen much work out of Jenny Saville, but hopefully she is continuing working and creating these beautiful contemporary masterpieces.

Citations:
Red Stare Head IV and quotes: © Jenny Saville 2011. Courtesy of Gagosian Gallery http://www.gagosian.com/artists/jenny-saville
Propped: http://www.saatchigallery.com/aipe/jenny_saville.htm

INSPIRATION CAN COME FROM ANYWHERE

I think a lot of artists think that only artistic inspiration is important and that we always must know other artists who are inspiring us. A lot of people think the opposite and that it is important to have other influences like nature. I find that the combination of the two is very important and it shouldn't be a battle of which is more important.

Having a list of artists who influence your work is very crucial to growing and improving. Following big name artists or really any professional artist will allow you to see things within their work that influence your own. For instance, Jenny Saville, an artist who I will talk about later in the month, has a variety of influences one of them being Francis Bacon. So just to see the connection lets compare two of their pieces:

Jenny Saville, Rosetta 2, 2005-6, oil on watercolor paper mounted on board

Francis Bacon, Self Portrait with Injured Eye, 1972

When you first look at the two paintings there are obvious similarities, like portraiture. But going beyond that there are similar ways of how their paint and the colors they use. Both of these artists use colors not necessarily noticed in real skin tones, they're slightly exaggerated. For instance in Saville's Rosetta 2 there are beautiful purples and blues throughout the piece and in Bacon's there are purples, blues, and reds. Another similar characteristic is the brushwork they use. There are parts which are carefully worked but others that are just one generic swoop of the brush like in under the right ear and on the chin of Bacon's and on the left cheek into the neck of Saville's. 

On the other hand it is important to be influenced by what is around you and other things not related to art. Subjects from Geology and Nature to the mechanics of a car can be used for inspiration. This is the basis of what we do and what motivates us. When we find something we find beautiful we want to create art from it and that could be anything. An artist like John F. Simon Jr. who does multimedia pieces is inspired by Geology. You might not be aware of it from first looking at the piece but once you make that connection everything has a different meaning. 

John F. Simon Jr, Endless Bounty, 2005

As artist's we are allowed to be in awe of really strange things. We should take advantage of that and not allow ourselves to get embarrassed for staring at a tree for an abnormally long time in public. Own it and fully let it inspire your work so that you can be the best artist you can.

Photo Cites:
Rosetta 2: http://www.gagosian.com/artists/jenny-saville/selected-works
Self Portrait with Injured Eye: http://www.queerculturalcenter.org/Pages/Bacon/FBFaces.html
Endless Bounty: http://artdaily.com/news/67295/John-F--Simon-Jr--s-multimedia-works-inspired-by-geology-and-Kandinsky-on-view-at-the-Phillips-Collection

FEMINIST ART MOVEMENT

It's March and that means it is Women's History Month! This entire month I'll try to stick to talking about women in the art world. To start it off let's talk about the Feminist Art Movement, a movement that brought all genres of art into one strong force. A great book to look up would be WACK! Art and the Feminist Revolution because it has many many examples of artists who defined the Feminist Art Movement and pushed for equality.

In the 1970s, Art moved from Modernism to a movement that opened doors to many different types of artists with many different ideas of what art could be. One of the most interesting things about this movement is that if you were a woman artist and making art, you were in the feminist art movement no matter what. It didn't have to be controversial or make a statement about women in the art world it just needed to be art. Of course there were many pieces that were speaking their minds and they were in the forefront of the revolution. 

Some think that one of the inspirations for the Feminist Art Movement was Yoko Ono. Especially her piece "Cut Piece" where she invited anyone to come up and cut her clothes as she just sat there unemotional. In 1965 this was pretty huge in the art world, and this piece was considered one of the most shocking art performance pieces ever done. You can see parts of this performance here:

Inspired by Yoko Ono's performance piece, another performance artist, Marina Abramović did a piece titled "Rhythm 0: 1974". In this performance Marina sat there just as Yoko did unemotional and had a table with a rose, feather, honey, whip, scissors, scalpel, gun, and a single bullet. In the end, it was a test of how people react which started off more passive and ended very aggressive. At one point a person even aimed the gun at her. Brave as she was, Marina Abramović is someone who put her idea before her personal boundaries just to get the point across. 

In total the many artists of the Feminist Art Movement were trying to express sexual, material, social, and political views on women. Here's a list of just a few important feminist artists that were apart of the Feminist Movement or inspired by it: Jenny Saville, Helen Frankenthaler, Grace Hartigan, Bridget Riley, Mary Beth Edelson, Yvonne Rainer, Silvia Kolbowski, Cindy Sherman, Barbara Kruger, Kiki Smith, Chantal Akerman, Lynda Benglis, Theresa Hak Kyung Cha, Valie Export, Mary Heilman, Sanja Ivekovic, Ana Mendieta, Alice Neel, and Annette Messager and many many many more. 

+Stay tuned this month for more about women in art+