We said most...

I hate public art.

Exhibit A:

Furror by Thomas Sayer
Lynx Light Rail Station, Charlotte, NC

Horrible. They look like giant stale gingerbread cookies. Really, really expensive tax payer funded cookies.

Exhibit B:

Il Grande Disco, Arnaldo Pomodoro
Milan, Italy

Pomodoro did one of these for Charlotte in 1973. It sits in front of the Bank of America building in uptown. I've always thought it looks like the Death Star.

Death Star, George Lucas
A galaxy far, far away

See what I mean?

It used to rotate on an axis but the city saw lawsuit potential so they had it immobilized.

My wedding photographer loved to pose couples in front of this thing (I adamantly refused.) Apparently it is sexy and modern. I don't know about you, but I don't see anything about Il Disco that says "Just Married!"

Mmmm

FOOD. That is the first thing that comes to mind when I think of Thanksgiving. Now, I know that it may seem a little superficial and maaaaay skim the entire meaning of the holiday, but I also know that I am not alone. There is an entire television network devoted to this basic need, for cryin' out loud. But that's beside the point. The first works of art that pop into my mind when thinking of food are:

Still Life with a Basket of Apples,
c. 1890sPaul Cezanne

The Art Institute of Chicago

and

Summer, c. 16th century

Giuseppe Arcimboldo

The Musée du Louvre, Paris

Ah, they are both so different and so cool. Cezanne's apples are all around pretty circular to go along with the whole geometric theme. While they do not look very realistic-something very characteristic of post-impressionism- they still look absolutely delicious. Cezanne captures the unevenness of the colors in apples just perfectly. Those are the types of apples I'd like to put in an apple pie (painting?) for Thanksgiving :) Ohh, the French. They know their food.

Arcimboldo's fruits and veggies are not so enticing. While they are very life-like in proportion to one another and have coloring and shading that's very realistic, the fact that they are grouped together to form a face is rather grotesque. Can you imagine something like Edible Arrangements (c) delivering one of these to your door? Gee, and I was just thinking I'd get a bouquet of gardenia-shaped melon slices from the boss this year! HR really went above and beyond! But seriously, It's a quirky idea for a painting and I like that. Arcimboldo is famous for paintings like these and I really think it shows a lot of creativity and prowess in painting. Anyway, have a great Thanksgiving everybody! We have a lot of things to be thankful for- and art is definitely one of those things!

Happy Thanksgiving!

When I think of Thanksgiving I often picture this. I know I'm not alone, it is pretty iconic.

Freedom From Want, Norman Rockwell c. March 6, 1943

On the surface, it's totally unrealistic. If everyone was smiling like that around our table I would be worried that they were all on crack or something! This is typical Norman Rockwell--it's nostalgic and happy and very American. It's why he is so well loved.

But look closer. The look on the Grandmother's face says alot.


She isn't beaming. Her lips are pursed and she is concentrating pretty hard on that turkey (which must weigh a ton, it's huge.) She looks tired too, but not because of cooking she has been doing in the kitchen-- all that silver on the table clearly shows that this isn't her first rodeo! No, she looks like she is worrying about someone who isn't there.

She wasn't alone in her worry. The millions of Americans who saw this picture in the Saturday Evening Post on March 6, 1943 were worrying about the same thing. They would worrying about their husbands, fathers, sons, and brothers fighting in Europe, North Africa and the Pacific. They were worrying about the Germans as they marched across Europe, gobbling up both lives and precious liberty. The cost of such a wonderful American life is painted right there on her face.

So give thanks for our military this year and say a little prayer for those that are missing their loved ones today. They are fighting for our freedom and the freedom of those abroad, just as they were on March 6, 1943. We need to remember to be grateful for their sacrifice.

Happy Thanksgiving.

We are not experts

We do not live in New York. We do not stand around at art gallery openings in black turtlenecks discussing the NYT style section and eating tiny feta cheese stuffed mushrooms. Neither of us has been on a gallery crawl and we don't own a collection of anything.

I just vacuumed my sofa and cleaned my basset hound’s ears while wearing a sports bra. I ate a brownie (okay 2 brownies...) over the sink. I’m listening to this. Now if that doesn’t confirm I am not some artsy fartsy academic I don’t know what does.

We are definitely not curator material, but we both love reading and writing about all types of art and the amazing (and often strange) people who create it. Our interests vary wildly:

From Derain

Mountains at Collioure c. 1905

to the Dutch Masters.

Jan Steen's Dissolute Household c. 1660's

Bernini

Apollo and Daphne c. 1620's
Borghese Gallery, Rome

to Thomas Cole.

The Oxbow c. 1836

...watercolor, architecture, installation, furniture, sculpture and jewelry. We heart (most) of it and we promise to keep you guessing as to what we are going to write about next. So please stop back by!