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new art
Post #363 • September 9, 2004, 6:31 AM • 23 Comments
Still on the easel and glistening in the lamplight: Hurricane Frances Self-Portrait, 17 x 14 inches, oil on canvas.
2.
September 9, 2004, 8:06 PM
the tape on the windows is a good touch, gives the painting some personality and familiarity. some nice vibrant contrasting colors too.
3.
September 9, 2004, 8:09 PM
is there gonna be a hurricane ivan portrait? with this kind of weather there could be a series!
4.
September 9, 2004, 8:35 PM
Franklin, looks good. Keep pushing the color, the funkier the better.
5.
September 9, 2004, 9:24 PM
HERE WE GO AGAIN! Ok Ivan is definitely coming. A mandatory evacuation of the keys was sent out this morning. Clik on my url if u want to see a funny rendition of the projected path.
6.
September 9, 2004, 9:50 PM
Ivan.
Jeez, you guys are just getting pummled aren't you?
Does Pat Robertson have anything to say about this?
7.
September 9, 2004, 10:54 PM
Thanks to all for the compliments. I've been pushing on the color and I feel glad to read that it's working. The Ivan portrait will feature a rectangular hole where the taped-up windows used to be.
Dan: I've lived down here for 28 years and I've never seen the likes of it. How does "Artblog.net: The Chicago Years" sound to you? (Actually, I feel a little chilly just thinking about it.)
8.
September 9, 2004, 11:14 PM
I've been wondering what effect all this weather is having on the art scene/ safety of artwork in museums, etc.
I have a good friend in Sebastian (near the ashram there), artist and recent transplant to FL who I'm sure is absolutely freaked. Haven't heard from him, so with luck he's off with friends.
If I had to evacuate and leave all my paintings and crap behind, I don't know that I could bear it -- but it would take weeks to pack up and send it elsewhere.
Like the painting a lot -- on canvas or board? And thanks for your comments about my little landscapes. I do a bunch each summer -- favorite size is 10 x 14 inches. Not so many this year.
Stay safe.
9.
September 10, 2004, 12:25 AM
Franklin, great new direction for you, though i did also like your last figure reclined. Bold thick strokes, marrying Joan Brwon to Karl Schmidt-Rotluff. Keep it up; looking forward to your show.
10.
September 10, 2004, 12:28 AM
Franklin:
I know you'll keep that shiny, paint-streaked head safe. Someday, I hope to rub it for luck in person.
From 2,000 miles away, for what it's worth, I think this is the best self-portrait you've done. The color, yes, but the confidence of the paint strokes! That nose -- boom boom boom -- those streaks on your right cheek . . . but especially for me the nine or ten masterful strokes between the nose and the chin, which define the mouth. The little white streak that defines the lower lip. Wow. The jittery eyes -- you look like the drop edge of yonder -- didn't you say the madness was continuing at the time, alone with the hurricane? -- the eyes remind me of a line from James Lee Burke about a somewhat unbalanced character: "The look in his eyes reminded me of sweat bees pressed against glass." A really strong piece; I keep coming back to it throughout the day.
We wish we could send all you Floridians some tranquility.
Jerome (and Catherine)
11.
September 10, 2004, 12:44 AM
Forgive me but I'm a little disturbed and need to vent
Although we are always at risk for bad shit to happen, we dont run around panicking expecting the worst unless we are mentally dysfunctional. Why is everyone anticipating the nastiest possible outcome out of this?
I think that the recent weather reports are lacking objectivity. It seems that the style of most forecast models are somewhat deceitful. For example, while the probability of the Hurricane hitting anywhere within the cone is the same, there is always a track line drawn in the middle of the cone I believe most people automatically assume that this is the most likely path of the hurricane. In addition to this, our very skillful weather reporters faded one hurricane with the next before Frances was over, not allowing for any breathing time.
Even if we were to get hit it wouldnt happen until next week. Why worry now? All we can do is wait a couple of days and well have a better idea of where this thing is going.
Fortunately I have something to do tonight that will hopefully take me away from all this stupidity. See you at Placemaker Gallery, MAM, The moore Space and maybe the other places Franklin mentioned yesterday.
12.
September 10, 2004, 1:14 AM
Fresh Paint: I wonder about the safety of art too. I could bear to see mine perish - I regard it as much as a storage problem as a legacy. I paint on panels normally but did the above on a canvas, which I find easier to deal with at smaller sizes. Thanks for the props.
Rabinowitz: Thank you.
JdB &CK: your wishes for our tranquility seem to have had an effect - The NHC is now tracking the storm clear into the Gulf. Nice work.
Nata - speaking for myself, I agree with you on the news, which strikes me as hysterical on all topics including the weather. I refuse to let a TV into my house for that very reason and several others. I don't presume the worst - please forgive me for the gallows humor above. If you see me at the openings come up and introduce yourself. I have a shaved head, a worried look, dramatic cross-lighting, and thick strokes of paint on my face.
13.
September 10, 2004, 2:58 AM
Franklin, I was definitely not referring to you when I talked about people anticipating bad things I was talking about everyone else freaking out.
I know what you look like and although we have never been introduced we have exchanged emails and I think we have even done the traditional head nodding at various art events. Unfortunately I have already left the art openings and didn't see you. I may go back out if I see you Ill say hi
I want to find out the name of a German artist whose paintings and sculptures I saw at the De La Cruz home recently. I think you may enjoy his work. Ill get back to you tomorrow with his name.
Happy Thursday
Natalia
14.
September 10, 2004, 5:51 AM
Nata, do you own a house in Miami?
15.
September 10, 2004, 6:31 AM
Oldpro: what do you think?
16.
September 10, 2004, 7:07 AM
I like the strong use of light. And its brutal angst reminds me of a painting recently stolen.
17.
September 10, 2004, 7:19 AM
I certainly agree with you about the media overkill, but when you own a house with every object and thing you value in it, and a cat 4 or 5 killer storm is headed right up toward you, you worry. At least I do.
18.
September 10, 2004, 7:37 AM
I know this won't matter much, if at all, to anybody, but I feel like saying it publicly, and I trust Franklin won't begrudge me the indulgence. I, a confirmed artaholic, chose NOT to go to the first Design District Second Thursday of the season (such as it is), as it promised me little, which it would no doubt have delivered. I feel no regret, but rather a kind of liberation. From now on, rather than going to any and all shows at even the most dubious venues, I will only go to those that hold out reasonable hope (note I didn't say certainty) of being worth my time. Man does not exist for art; it's the other way around, and art had better deliver the goods.
I've been this way before. I love opera, and for the first few years after moving to Miami, I assiduously attended our local opera company's productions at the dismal Dade County Auditorium. I eventually realized I was spending a fair amount of money to be fairly consistently disappointed. I, silly fool, only went for the performance on stage, not to see and be seen or show off clothes and jewelry. When, for instance, one goes to Lucia, and the soprano sings the Mad Scene like she's gingerly negotiating her way through a mine field, there's a serious problem--no matter how svelte she is or how nice her costume. When the tenor in Turandot gets to "Nessun dorma," which everybody's been eagerly awaiting, and he can't pull off the climactic high note with any conviction, I want my money back, AND a written apology.
Well, you get the idea. I'm that kind of guy.
19.
September 10, 2004, 7:47 AM
P.S. Nice portrait, Franklin, especially the purple outlining vs. the orange of the shirt. Still, I prefer mine, which did NOT reproduce well, but here it is: http://www.einspruch.com/pages/art/gallery08art/12-apr-self.jpg
20.
September 10, 2004, 9:20 AM
Holy crap, Jack, you should've seen Houston's Lucia last January ('03). Custom-written cadenzas with... well... killer ornamentation. Stunning.
21.
September 10, 2004, 7:07 PM
So who was the Lucia, Hovig? Maybe I could write a nasty letter (again) to the director of our local opera company and tell him to hire her for Miami's next Lucia--as opposed to someone who, instead of singing like a maniac, drives people like me mad with frustration.
22.
September 10, 2004, 7:12 PM
I understand Oldpro. All we can do is get insurance and make sure our lives are not at risk worrying doesn't help and I believe could be avoided.
---
As far as the artist I mentioned before, his name is Jonathan Meese...I tried to find the paintings I saw in key Biscayne on the Internet, instead I found this bronze sculpture (which I also saw) and other works that can be found on the same website but do not resemble the ones I experienced. They are all part of a series called mother. The paint looked so thick as if he had squeezed it out of the tube directly onto the surface. I'll try to get some images but they definitely need to be experienced in person- which by the way is not difficult to do; email me if you want to go to see her collection.
23.
September 10, 2004, 7:53 PM
No way! You can't have her! She stays in Texas!
Uh, I mean-- sorry--
Her name is Laura Claycomb [warning: cheesy site].
She was also an astonishing Gilda the previous season, and a fantastic Cleopatra this year. You can hear her HGO versions of those roles here (Gilda's full songs posted midway down, Cleo's short video clips at bottom), but her Lucia's not posted at all. (Arg!!)
(She sang Caro Nome lying on the floor for much of the song. You'll die to hear it.)
C'mon over, visit our little Houston, see her for yourself in Idomeneo with me and the missus next Feb 5.
1.
oldpro
September 9, 2004, 7:42 PM
If Frances makes you look that worried, wait until Ivan.