Previous: Journals, diversions, quicksand (39)
Roundup
Post #1067 • October 5, 2007, 7:29 AM • 6 Comments
"This exhibition counters the cliché of African art as a treasure-trove of inventive form and spirited expression, presenting it instead as the product of benighted, superstitious people, deeply anxious about procreation, fixated on gender, and bewildered by death, with no remedy or salve except the spookiest kind of animism. Faces range from wide-eyed fury to inscrutible blankness, leaving one longing for a Rembrandt portrait." Holland Cotter, if he treated non-Western art the way he treats Western art.
"Well aware of the double-edged sword they wield, artists and astronomers who dream up images of astronomical exotica often spend considerable time deciding how best to illustrate new discoveries. In the case of exoplanets, they are guided by a few key pieces of information and a healthy dose of educated guesswork." (Reddit)
"[Michael Bierut] goes on to say that those who are blessed with the ability to make things look beautiful should embrace that. Absolutely. Do the thing you're good at, and don't do the thing you're not good at. But we don't think beauty is what design is all about. Design is about making shit that really works."
Chikanobu and Yoshitoshi woodblock prints. (Drawn!)
"The new issue of the journal Science In Schools presents an interesting project on how to make iron-gall ink, the same ink used by da Vinci, Bach, van Gogh, and countless medieval monks." (my brother, who gets credit for three roundup stories this week)
"Can I just say that this is possibly the best New Yorker cover ever?"
Studying global warming through old masters' paintings.
Turkey has long wanted to join the European Union. I say until artists no longer face jail time for criticism of the president, forget it. (AJ) Also via AJ, Schjeldahl's report from Istanbul.
Counterfeit art competition at Worth1000. (AM)
Department of Skills: That 1 Guy. More. More.
Tonight: They Might Be Giants, Anaheim.
2.
October 5, 2007, 9:17 AM
Link.
I've been waiting to talk about this until I heard something about a memorial service in Miami, but yeah, Robert died unexpectedly up in Vermont at the age of 39 and I'm upset about it. He was one of the good guys at Art Center/South Florida - welcoming to noobz like me, serious about his work, and productive. I remember his friendliness, his professionalism, and the time he explained the intricacies of the South Beach dachshund scene to me. I'm sorry I didn't know him better and my condolences go out to my friends who did, not to mention his wife.
3.
October 5, 2007, 10:06 AM
I am sorry to hear about Robert I knew him many years ago but we lost touch
A couple of months ago I was happy to hear from a friend that things were going so well with him. He was an amazing artist and you are right he was one of the good guys.
4.
October 6, 2007, 12:47 PM
"leaving one longing for a Rembrandt portrait".
no. i would never go so far as to long for that!
5.
October 7, 2007, 12:04 PM
Made my first visit of the season to hallowed (or hollow) Wynwood yesterday evening, to see the John Sanchez show at Dorsch on its closing night. I don't know if anything else was happening in the area at the time (not that it matters), but it didn't seem like it. There were fairly few people at Dorsch while I was there, which made it much nicer for me to see the work. I'm told opening night was insane, so I'm glad I wasn't able to make it then. Opening nights, of course, are largely social events.
John's a good guy who deserves to succeed, so I'm happy things are going well for him. It's a very solid show, mostly medium format paintings, with a few big pieces. He ranges from almost photorealist to almost abstract, with intervening stages in between. His "in between" approach is my preference; I think it shows him off to best advantage. For him, it seems to be a happy medium.
There is some tendency to charge up a picture with an eye-grabbing "special effect," particularly of light, because he has a facility for that and it does work, at least initially, but I'm not sure it would wear as well over time. It might become too much of a "highlight," too flashy, too obvious. It is still admirable as technique or skill, which is far more than one often gets elsewhere, but there's a danger to over-reliance on it.
One of my favorite pieces in the show, Late Fix, still has that light-related "hook," but it's more controlled, better integrated into the overall scheme, less showy but ultimately more intriguing and more effective. It makes less of an impact on first view, but it has a stronger grip. In other words, it doesn't overplay its hand. I reminded me of Hopper.
Anyway, I'm happy with my new approach to the "scene," or what we have of it. No more wild goose chases or looking for the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Yes, I could wind up missing out on something worthwhile, but that would be far less frequent and far less likely than wasting my time and being disappointed or pissed off. I'm past the games and the tricks and the posturing. It's very old and very pointless.
6.
October 8, 2007, 1:35 PM
I always considered myself lucky having Robert Flynn as a teacher. He guided me through so many artistic transitions by supporting and encouraging my creativity. He pushed me to break through boundaries and trust in my skills and believe in myself, and i am deeply saddened by this loss. He was a mentor, a friend, and a remarkable artist...and he will be missed.
1.
Geoff
October 5, 2007, 8:54 AM
Service Set for Art Professor Robert Flynn
By The View Staff
Article published September 26, 2007
Robert Flynn, an assistant professor of drawing in the Department of Art and Art History, died unexpectedly on Sept. 23 from a heart attack. He was 39. A campus memorial service will take place on Tuesday, Oct. 2 at 5 p.m. in 416 Williams Hall. All are welcome to attend.
Although Flynn's time at UVM was short — he began his post just this fall — his teaching career spanned many years. He taught drawing, painting, printmaking and art history at several institutions in Florida, including Barry University, Florida International University and New World School of Art, since earning his master of fine arts degree at Rutgers in 1992.
Flynn was also a celebrated artist. His drawings, paintings and sculpture, which explore life in the suburban backyard, won him a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship and a Florida Individual Artist Award as well as solo and group exhibits across the country at venues in Phoenix, Houston, Denver, Atlanta and Miami, among other locations.