Laughing Is Allowed

Title: The Descent of the Ganges. Location: Mamallapuram, India. Date: 7th C. Medium: Granite. Size: height approx. 30'


I often think that one of the reasons people "don't like" art is because they are afraid they must always be serious around it. For a person who has not studied the visual arts in-depth, they can often seem confusing, elitist, and humorless. O contraire mes amis!! One of my favorite pieces of art is The Descent of the Ganges pictured above. This work shows that even in serious religious art (it is a Hindu piece) there can be hidden gems and a wonderful sense of humor.

Below are two closeup images of the work that demonstrate this for the viewer. In the carving, there is a gorge going straight down through the middle which, is in place for water to come flowing down and fill up the pool below. Directly to the left of this "waterfall" we see an ascetic: he has spent much time in a difficult meditative pose, not allowing himself food or water, to show his serious religious devotion to Shiva. As a reward for such staunch efforts, Shiva is granting him a "boon," or what is his heart's desire.

If we trace our eyes diagonally down from this scene across the "waterfall" we see what at first appears to be another ascetic showing his deep devotion. Upon further investigation it becomes clear that this is no man but a cat who is surrounded by mice at his hind paws. This cat has cleverly imitated the holy and righteous actions of the ascetic in order to trick the mice into thinking he is benevolent and would not harm them. O contraire my little rodent friends, he is indeed going to eat you for dinner!

So the lesson for today is twofold: never judge a book (or cat) by it's cover, and do not assume art doesn't have a sense of humor.

    

May inspiration and creativity be with you!

School Days

Norman Rockwell, Knowledge is Power, cover for the October 27, 1917 edition of "The Saturday Evening Post."


With much of the country going back to school soon, I thought I would post about an interesting cover Norman Rockwell made for The Saturday Evening Post, the source for all that is Americana. It is often called Knowledge is Power from the writing on the chalkboard created by the student in the image. The young boy is presumably working on his punishment that was doled out, no doubt, because of some cheeky remark about why he must be in school.

The twist of the image, so common to Rockwell works, is in the "power" being transferred to the boy from his teacher by the "knowledge" he himself is gaining in the scene. His teacher is, probably inappropriately, being visited by a suitor in the classroom. We can see the man leaning up against her desk coyly, as he hides a ribbon wrapped package behind his back. The teacher looks uninterested with the man's presence, but, her cool exterior is betrayed by the flush of her cheeks. Despite being punished by his teacher, we can tell the boy is quite pleased by the situation: the happy look upon his face reveals that he too sees the irony in the picture, and knows he now holds some measure of power over his teacher.

How will the boy use this knowledge to his advantage?
Will the teacher make some sort of deal with the student to keep her love affair hush hush?
Does the man receive any kind of reciprocation from the beautiful teacher?
I hope this image makes you smile as you think of the knowledge that will soon be swirling about in the coming school year.

May inspiration and creativity be with you!

Annie Leibovitz is Broke??

Photo by Toni Cenicola

Annie Leibovitz is apparently in trouble...she may possibly lose her homes and the rights to her works. She was recently sued on July 29th for nonpayment of a $24 million dollar loan. Ms. Leibovitz took out the loan last year and used her homes, negatives, and the rights to her photographs as collateral.

All news reports that I have read have no comments from Ms. Leibovitz herself, so I do not have her side of the story to state here. Many do not seem terribly surprised that she got herself into such a financial state of affairs, because, Annie has spent notoriously large amounts of money on incredibly extravagant photo shoots. Adding more coals to the fire is the terrible losses she has experienced in recent years, including the deaths of both her father and partner Susan Sontag within months of each other in 2005.

As a result of her financial problems, Ms. Leiboveitz may loose the reproduction rights of her photography which she has guarded very closely over the years, as well as the negatives to many of her most legendary works. She is probably best known for her work with Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair, and advertising campaigns for American Express, Gap, the Milk Board, and most recently Louis Vuitton.

For links to some of her most famous works, such as Demi Moore pregnant, Whoopi Goldberg in a tub of milk, and John Lennon with Yoko Ono, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annie_Leibovitz

May inspiration and creativity be with you!

Film Update on "The Hobbit" from Comic-Con

photo credit to Ross Setford from the Associated Press



Several people have been asking me about the status of the planned film version of "The Hobbit" by Peter Jackson. Comic-Con started this Thursday, and Peter Jackson attended (as I stated in an earlier post) and dropped a few tantalizing tidbits of information. According to Friday's New York Times (article: "Lord of 'Rings' and Anime's Avatar Hit Comic-Con" by Michael Ceply):

1) Jackson intends to write and produce an adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit" and have Guillermo del Toro direct it.
2) He expects to deliver a script in three or four weeks to Warner Brothers.
3) He is hoping to start offering roles to actors in about two months.

So let's hope that script is ready, that Warner Brothers will swiftly approve it, and that they make the project a go for Mr. Jackson and fans ravaged by expectation.

The New York Times article can be accessed at: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/25/movies/25animation.html

May inspiration and creativity be with you!

Art Crime in Academia

Photo from: "Much Ado About Munch: Art Thieves Target Icons of Existential Angst," by Michelle Avis (http://overstockart.com).

ARCA or Association for Research into Crimes Against Art is sponsoring a non-accredited master's in international art crime studies. Considering the large amount of international art theft, arguments surrounding repatriation, and the resurgence of art theft in popular culture ( such as recent novels and films like The Art Thief and The Thomas Crown Affair) this seems like an interesting idea. Academic study in this area could spurn forth some intelligent interdisciplinary discussions and include many different subjects, such as: criminology, law, museum studies, art history, international business, art conservation, and private investigation, just to name a few.

The program is currently only three months long and offered in Amelia, Italy ( a small town in Umbria). I think this could have serious potential if the program is lengthened and the degree is formally recognized by an accredited university. Perhaps this program will help debunk some of the Hollywood myths about art theft and result in tighter security in galleries and museums worldwide.
For more information you can check out ARCA's website, http://artcrime.info/

May inspiration and creativity be with you!

Art Goes Reality T.V., Head for the Hills...

Photo by Todd Heisler, from the New York Times (full article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/20/arts/television/20bravo.html)

Over the last year or two I have read in the news several times about proposed reality t.v. shows about art. About a year ago I heard about a reality show that was being proposed to Bravo for just such a thing. It was to be produced by Sarah Jessica Parker and be in the vein of "Top Chef" or "Project Runway." I even talked about it at the end of my Art Appreciation courses and History of Modern Art courses to see what my students thought of such a debacle. Their reactions were often mixed, some saying it was an insult to the "real" art world, that nobody would watch it, and how on earth would they have challenges and such that are typical of reality show formats.

Well, imagine my shock, surprise, horror(?), when I popped open today's New York Times to see one of these proposed shows has been given a go and has begun there casting calls! The one proposed for Bravo and produced by Sarah Jessica Parker is apparently in process. They have been conducting their cast interviews in Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago (how did I not hear about that??), and New York. They are going to pick thrteen finalists who will compete for: a gallery show, cash prize, and a national museum tour. I am very curious to see several things, namely: who are the judges for this show, who is sponsoring this show, and which galleries and museums are going to show the winner's works?

I am a huge supporter of the dissemination of information, the accessibility of art to people from every type of background, but, I do respect art as an institution with a deep and rich history. What scares me is whether or not this will be some crazy dumbed down version of garage sale kitty statues and velvet clown art, or will this be a return of art to the public, for those viewers both educated and average? In the end I do hope it is successful, but I hope it is more reminiscent of Keith Haring than it is of Survivor.

May inspiration and creativity be with you!

An Ode To Silliness & Drawing: SpongeBob SquarePants!

One can hardly believe it, but, SpongeBob SquarePants has been around for over a decade. Compared to other animated programming that is aimed mostly at adults and teens, SpongeBob has remained unique, not only because it is created for children, or its simple innocence and pledge to silliness, but also in the method of its creation: SpongeBob's animation is still hand-drawn. In an age where everything is made with computer animation it is refreshing to see a cartoon that still employs the wonderful art of drawing. Each episode requires more than 20,000 drawings, just as older cartoons did like Bugs Bunny, for example.

With so many animated cartoons appealing to adults or teenagers, such as The Simpsons, South Park, and Family Guy, it is wonderful to see a cartoon living up to what they used to be: hand-drawn, light-hearted, and happy nonsense. While these other cartoons do have their places for adult viewers and come with tongue-in-cheek references for the older crowd, it is nice that we still have one animated show that is aimed at and created for children, and one which still uses the original artistic tool: the hand.

To honor the anniversary of this porous purveyor of all things silly, starting Friday Nickelodeon is running a fifty episode marathon, which includes ten new episodes, and on Tuesday VH1 is showing the documentary "Square Roots: The Story of 'SpongeBob SquarePants'."

May inspiration and creativity be with you!