Saturday, November 7, 2009

Vincent van Gogh: Happenings at Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam

Vincent van Gogh, Self-portrait, Spring 1887, oil on cardboard, The Art Institute of Chicago.


Over the last 15 years the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam has conducted extensive research into the life and work of Vincent van Gogh.


The Van Gogh Letters Project

October 2009 sees the culmination of the extensive and prestigious Van Gogh Letters Project. The 15 years of research since 1995 the Van Gogh Museum and the Huygens Institute of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences into Vincent van Gogh's letters have culminated in a special exhibition, the launch of a website encompassing the research results and the publication of a six-volume book in three languages. In this first edition for an international public, around 600 Dutch and some 300 French letters are published in the original language alongside a parallel English translation based on a new examination of the original manuscripts.

Exhibition - Van Gogh’s letters: The artist speaks
9 October 2009 - 3 January 2010 at Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam

"Van Gogh's letters will take centre stage in the exhibition Van Gogh's letters: The artist speaks. More than 120 original letters will be on show alongside the works that Van Gogh was writing about. These important documents have seldom or never been shown to the public due to their extreme fragility and sensitivity to light.

The combination of more than 300 works from the museum's own rich collection, including paintings, drawings, letters and letter sketches, offers a penetrating and comprehensive insight into Van Gogh as letter writer and as artist." [...] More info at Van Gogh Museum

Web edition: vangoghletters.org
The English-language web edition www.vangoghletters.org contains all 902 letters to and from Van Gogh in their original languages (Dutch and French) with new English translations and images of the authentic manuscripts. The letters are furnished with extensive annotations and illustrations of all works of art mentioned in the correspondence. The web edition also offers extensive search possibilities and will be freely accessible from 8 October 2009.

Book edition Vincent van Gogh- The letters
The six-volume publication Vincent van Gogh- The letters. The complete illustrated and annotated edition contains all the letters, complete with new translations, explanatory notes and illustrations of the more than 2,000 works of art mentioned in the correspondence. The letters have been included exactly as Van Gogh actually wrote them; in their original form without embellishment, rephrasing, adaptation or excision of passages. Compiled by Leo Jansen, Hans Luijten and Nienke Bakker. Design: Wim Crouwel. Published by the Van Gogh Museum, the Huygens Institute-KNAW and the Mercator Fonds. International co-editions with Thames & Hudson, Actes Sud and Amsterdam University Press. Six volumes, boxed, hardcover, 2,180 pages, circa 4,300 illustrations, available in Dutch, French and English.
Price € 395 (special offer price until 3 January 2010: € 325).


Van Gogh Blog
Follow Van Gogh on www.vangoghsblog.com: read Van Gogh's descriptions of his daily activities, accompany him to the places he visits, and share his opinions on art and literature. Available in English and Dutch from 6 October.


Ongoing Research into Van Gogh's studio practice in context

"'Studio practice' is seen here as the cumulation of working techniques, materials and knowledge deployed by the artist to achieve the desired effects in his work. The aim is to answer questions such as 'Where did Van Gogh acquire his knowledge and inspiration?' and 'How does the work of Van Gogh relate to that of his contemporaries?'. The research is concentrated on Van Gogh himself, on artists with whom he actually came into contact (such as Mauve, Toulouse-Lautrec, Signac and Gauguin) and on artists with whose oeuvre and way of working he was well acquainted (Monticelli, Delacroix and Millet)." More on this project from Van Gogh Museum Amsterdam

Source: Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam

Van Gogh and Monet - Research in progress: contemporaries
The Van Gogh Museum has been conducting exhaustive technical research into the paintings and drawings by Vincent van Gogh in its collection for many years now. In this video you'll get a behind the scenes look of the research.



To read my earlier post: Vincent van Gogh: artistic genius & tormented soul




To see ALL my posts tagged "van Gogh"

Monday, September 21, 2009

British artist Damien Hirst seeks identical twins


Are you an identical twin?


Be part of a Damien Hirst artwork at Tate Modern in London

London's Tate Modern is searching for identical twins willing to take part in a Damien Hirst artwork for the Pop Life exhibition. Throughout the exhibition, pairs of twins will sit in front of two of Damien Hirst's iconic Spot Paintings

Damien Hirst and Tate Modern are asking identical twins to participate for a number of shifts of four hours each during the span of the exhibition: 1 October 2009 to 17 January 2010 (exhibition closed 24, 25 and 26 December).

Here's a chance to be "immortalized" in a Damien Hirst artwork! Take a look at the video: the artist himself asking for your assistance.

More information & application process at www.tate.org.uk/go/twins

Good luck to you both!

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

Banksy versus Bristol Museum Exhibit & video

Banksy Versus Bristol Museum
13 June - 31 August 2009
FREE EXHIBITION
Open Daily 10 am- 5 pm (Currently last entry to the museum is 4 pm - queuing times are currently up to an hour, so the museum recommend joining the queue by 3 pm.)


Anonymous and infamous graffiti artist Banksy has returned to his home town of Bristol in western England for his biggest exhibition to date, which includes 70 new works.

Banksy has gained notoriety in recent years for his street art and using stencils to paint images on a diverse array of outdoor locations.


Image: Banksy graffiti art, Brick Lane, East End of London, 2004.

People have speculated on Banksy's identity in the past. Male, born in Bristol, England, around 1974 or 1975. If the Bristol Museum staff know Banksy's identity or have even seen him or spoken to him, they're not telling. This whole project at the Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery had been shrouded in mystery. . . it's a unique collaboration between an outstanding cultural institution and one of the region's most infamous artists.

For the exhibition launch, Banksy was quoted by the BBC as saying:


"This is the first show I've ever done where taxpayers' money is being used to hang my pictures up rather than scrape them off. This show is my vision of the future."

At the Bristol Museum, you'll see many of Banksy's works are hidden among the art museum's more traditional paintings, mimicking a 2003 stunt when he smuggled his own work into the Tate Britain gallery that went undiscovered for hours.

At the Banksy versus Bristol Museum exhibit, visitors will find unusual items amongst the museum's permanent collection, such as a "stonehenge" made from portable toilets greeting visitors on arrival, a burnt-out ice cream van which now replaces the inquiries desk, and a life-size historic biplane suspended from the ceiling which now provides refuge for a Guantanamo Bay escapee. There's swimming fish sticks in a fish bowl; a caged "Tweetie" bird, all wrinkled and naked; a lounging leopard "coat" in a tree; chicken "nuggets" feeding. Lots of fun stuff. And, of course, Banksy has filled the museum with his own take on "classical" art. Love him or not, Banksy has your attention, and he says plenty through his art. If you're in the area of Bristol, England, check out Banksy versus Bristol Museum - free admission, too!!

In the meantime, e-n-j-o-y this video look of Banksy versus Bristol Museum:




The Bristol City Museum and Art Gallery is situated in an Edwardian Baroque building on Queen's Road, next to the Wills University building. It is one of the few museums to have been awarded designated status by the U.K. government.




To see my earlier posts with a video:

Remembering Michael Jackson & original "Heal the World" music video from 90s

Sol LeWitt at MoMA & video

Color Chart: MoMA's Reinventing Color: 1950 to Today & videos

Victoria & Albert Museum, London, England & video

Damien Hirst & video

Pablo Picasso & video

Monet's Garden at Giverny & video

Vincent van Gogh Said ... & video

Robert Motherwell Bio & video

Major Cézanne Exhibit & video


Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Fiona Rae

Fiona Rae is a British abstract painter and is one of the Young British Artists. She was born in Hong Kong in 1963 and moved to England in 1970. Her art education included Croydon College of Art (1983-84) and Goldsmiths College (1984-87).

Fiona Rae was one of the artists in the seminal Freeze exhibition curated by Damien Hirst in 1988.

Young British Artists or YBAs (also Brit artists and Britart) is a group of conceptual artists, painters, sculptors, and installation artists based in the United Kingdom. The term Young British Artists is derived from art shows of that name staged at the (Charles) Saatchi Gallery from 1992 onwards, which brought the artists fame and recognition.

Fiona Rae was nominated for the Turner Prize in 1991 and for the Austrian Eliette Von Karajan Prize for Young Painters in 1993. She was commissioned by Tate Modern to create a 10-metre triptych Shadowland for the restaurant there in 2002.

Fiona Rae is now a Royal Academician and also a Trustee of the Tate Gallery.


Painting (low resolution copy) by Fiona Rae, Untitled (yellow), 1990.

"I like lively, heartfelt and witty art that can also be cool and ironic. Doesn't necessarily have to be painting, but that's my favorite thing, partly because I think it's the hardest way to be fresh and original in the 21st century."
-- Fiona Rae, during a 2005 residency at the Atlantic Center for the Arts.

Enjoy a visit to Fiona Rae's studio; video from The Tate.



See my earlier post & video on Damien Hirst's Auction Gamble.

See a video of installation of Damien Hirst's colored-dot painting "John, John" at MoMA's Color Chart exhibition.

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Color Chart: Reinventing Color, 1950 to Today

MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) in New York featured the exhibition Color Chart: Reinventing Color, 1950 to Today last year. Take a look at any or all these video art bytes from MoMA. I've downloaded five: Pop Rally Presents DFA Dance Party & Color Chart; an installation of Jim Lambie's ZOBOP!; an installation of Damien Hirst's colored-dot painting "John, John"; footage of Niele Toroni painting interventions; and an installation of Sol LeWitt's wall drawings. E-N-J-O-Y :)

Pop Rally: DFA Dance Party & Color Chart at MoMA






Installation of Jim Lambie's ZOBOP! as part of Color Chart at MoMA





Installation of Damien Hirst's colored-dot painting "John, John" at MoMA's Color Chart





Footage of Niele Toroni painting interventions in MoMA's Color Chart




Installation of Sol LeWitt's wall drawings in MoMA's Color Chart

Sol LeWitt at MoMA, New York, to June 29, 2009

Hi, everyone! Let me get this quick post in before I shut down for Earth Hour tonight,March 28, 8:30 - 9:30 p.m.There's always good stuff happening at the MoMA, Museum of Modern Art, New York. My visit to the MoMA was too long ago; I plan to return (looking back now,I was too young and too rushed to appreciate the art).

Focus: Sol LeWitt at MoMA, on view Dec. 5, 2008 to June 29, 2009

Sol LeWitt (1928-2007), an American artist whose work involved conceptual art and minimalism. His mediums included painting, drawing and structures.

Sol LeWitt said: "Artists are mystics rather than rationalists. They leap to conclusions that logic cannot reach." -- from 0-9 (New York), 1969, and Art-Language (England), May 1969.

For those not in New York and unable to see the exhibit, enjoy this art byte - a behind-the-scenes installation of Focus: Sol LeWitt. E-N-J-O-Y :)





Here's an installation of Sol LeWitt's wall drawing as part of an earlier exhibition held at the MoMA last year: Color Chart: Reinventing Color, 1950 to Today