Cool my eyes

 

 

 

My eye keeps being drawn to images dense with color and coolness.  I think the dry summer is starting to get to me.


1: Charles Burchfield via what were the skies like
2: by Olaf Hajek
3: 1945 New Yorker
4:  Morris Louis via secret little gem

5: Cover illus. by Józef Wilkoń for Tygrys o złotym sercu, 1963 From the collection of Hipopotam

Good signs

Someone in LA found a charming way to make us all look up from the sidewalk. 

Photo by Keith Johnson, found via Larchmont Buzz.

This is how I feel sometimes.


Photo by Christoffer Relander, found via This is Colossal.

VT Cairns

Stacking stones is part of our common heritage, and people to this day seem to get a kick out of taming rock.

In Vermont last week, I came across several formations by the river.  Hurricane Irene gifted the banks with a large assortment of quarried marble, from which people had fashioned a fire pit, thrones and miscellaneous collections.  I added to it some of my own pieces as well.  Later that day, my mother and I saw this simply built bench at a local nursery, which looked very similar to those down by the river. 

Driftwood Mobiles

Reba Stewart, driftwood mobiles (1961-62).

Ellsworth Kelly Plant Drawings

Wishing I was in NYC to see this at the Met.  Thanks for the heads up, Jean.

Leonard Edmondson

I first encountered these mid century prints at the Norton Simon Museum in Proof: The Rise of Printmaking in Southern California, part of the Pacific Standard Time series.  They were just to the left of the exit, and I lingered on them longer than any other piece.   What you can't see on your screen is the texture of the ink, which made me want to rub my finger along the rich washes of color -- at the same time exciting and calming, like I could be sucked into the lush backgrounds.

Leonard Edmondson's Botanical Gardens II and Tropical Garden I from The Annex Galleries.

For the love of a Rubber Tree

 

Moving plants indoors makes me worry.  By taking it out of its element, I wonder if I am depriving it of the symbiotic relationships it has come to rely on outside.  

But, I wanted an indoor tree, so in she came.  Without consciously realizing it, the placement mimics one of my favorite Alice Neel paintings.   I love the big juicy leaves and the towering stature of a rubber tree.  Now all I need is a dose of ennui and some navy loafers to match the painting completely.

Charmed

Sometimes I forget how much there is in the world to absorb.  My routine does not leave much room for lengthy exploration, which is unfortunate.  I am lucky to have a partner that shares many exciting discoveries with me, and I feel twice as lucky when I can share something with him.   This Elizabeth Bishop exhibit is just one of those things.

More here.

Night by Richard Misrach

I came upon these photographs by Richard Misrach today at the Geffen Contemporary as part of the Under the Big Black Sun exhibit.  Taken in the late 70s as a series called Night, each of these untitled pieces captures an eerie yet calm side of the desert.  The spotlight effect makes me wonder if the cacti were caught in the act -- like night vision glimpses of things that skulk through the desert; glimpses of private moments.  I feel lucky to gaze into this quiet world. 

The third photo down captures one of my favorite effects of night photos -- the the sky is indeed brighter than the horizon, and the hills are velvety dark in their own shadows.

I've never been to the desert, and it frightens me somewhat.  I sense dangers there I'm not used to like tarantulas and jackalopes.  These photos only reinforce that fear, but it's now an excited fear.

Photos sourced as follows: 1, 2, 3, 4.

Design Theory

My Design Theory class has me making small models out of anything I can find, as long as it is white.  I keep returning to working with paper, and paper just seems to want to look like Richard Serra sculptures.  Who am I to tell the paper what to do?

All images from Gagosian Gallery.  Found via even*cleveland.

Gaudier-Brzeska

I just discovered the birds of Henri Gaudier-Brzeska.    I'm convinced we're related through the mysterious French side of our family. 

Ghost Mobile

More on this later...

You've got to be kidding me....

Photos Jean-Luc Fournier. Courtesy Art:concept, Paris, and Zero Gallery, Milan.

Jeweled caddis fly larvae cases by Hubert Duprat as featured in CABINET, Issue 25, Spring 2007.

The bugs like the baubles.  

Via evencleveland (one of the most well thought-out blogs I've ever seen). 

Angie Lewin's Prints

Angie Lewin's prints capture what I dream about -- desks covered with remnants of long walks (dried seaweed, feathers, rocks and flowers), graphic plant stalks rustling, and colors that soothe.  I will be treating myself to her book, Garden Wisdom, with my next paycheck, and maybe someday I can afford an original print.  Reproductions in greeting card form found here.