The forms of Agnes Pelton’s Sea Change (1931) channel the movement and energy of water, which the artist regarded as a metaphor for the ebb and flow of human thought. Created the year she left Long Island for the Southern California desert, Sea Change can be understood as a meditation on personal transitions; however, Pelton refused such specific readings of her art. Influenced by modern Theosophy, an esoteric blend of religion and philosophy, as well as the mysticism of the American Symbolist painters, Pelton believed that art channels the universal energies of the natural world through color and light, which are experienced rather than purely seen. She described color as “active,” likening it to a voice or “vibration” that is ideally perceived like “the fragrance of a flower [which] fills the consciousness with the essence of its life.”
Photographed in the Whitney Museum of American Art in NYC.
Felix Gonzales-Torres (1957 – 1996) ever-generous artworks invite viewers to participate in them — by eating candy from a gleaming pile of sweets making up one of his works, for example, or removing a poster from an endlessly replaceable stack of paper. Yet despite their decisive ephemerality, these works are imbued with both personal and political undertones. While invoking the allegedly content-free vocabulary of minimalism, Gonzalez-Torres nonetheless subtly hints at possible meanings through parenthetical subtitles he assigned to each untitled work. Continue reading Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Untitled (Water) at the Brooklyn Museum→
You are probably not surprised to hear me admit that my friends are always sending me photos of pink things, from every walk of life imaginable, to include in a Pink Thing of The Day post. This kind gesture is always inspiring, and it is very much appreciated that they think of me when they see a Pink Thing. But very often, that same thing has already been on the blog. And in other cases, I politely decline to write a post bout that pink thing, because I like to feature Pink Things which I actually see and photograph while I am out having an ass-kicking life. I feel that this keeps the blog more ‘authentic.’ Continue reading Pink Thing of The Day: Pink Pig Watering Can→
This very colorful mural by renowned street artist turned fine artist Kenny Scharf adorns one side of a building located near the corner of Lafayette and Prince Street in SOHO. The 50-foot high abstract painting is part of the Taking Back the Streets campaign from WAT-AAH bottled water to promote the popularity of drinking water among children and teens.
Variations on the Theme: Ice (Various Artists. Above Photo by Gail. All Other Photos Courtesy of Goldstein Communications)
The idea of “wearable art” in the realm of modern design is fascinating me to, so I was very excited to attend an opening reception last week for the American Jewelry Design Council (AJDC)’s exhibit at Forbes Galleries showcasing 25 years of outstanding jewelry design. Â The exhibition, Variations on a Theme: 25 Years of Design from the AJDC, will dazzle museum visitors with one-of-a-kind works from over 40 Designers who are AJDC members. Continue reading Variations on a Theme: Must-See Art Jewelry Exhibit at Forbes Galleries→
