Object as Communication

Suprematism, 1915 by Kasimir Malevich, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam

Malevich is the Father of the Suprematist movement which led to Abstraction. He considered his ultimate goal to be communication through "non-object" representation, culminating in a final "white on white" painting. He considered the conveying the feeling of a work more important than portraying an object. After the Russian revolution in 1917, he became a teacher and was quite influential on the Bauhaus artists, architects, and designers.

For Liz

Drowning Girl by Roy Lichtenstein, 1963, MOMA, NYC

The controversy about Lichtenstein’s work stems from his "lifting" images from 1950's and 60's comic books, enlarging them, and rendering them in paint. This part of his career is only the tip of the iceberg, as his work went in many other directions through-out his long career.

Strutting

Child Wearing a Red Scarf by Edouard Vuillard, c. 1891, The National Gallery of Art (US)

This is one of my favorite Vuillard pieces. It is not very big, but I just love the little girl. She seems so proud to be wearing that "grown-up" scarf  (reminds me of myself as a girl, always wanting to wear something beyond my years).

Vuillard was interested in color and he and other like-minded art students (Pierre Bonnard was one) were influenced by Paul Gauguin's use of color and Symbolism and belonged to a group called Les Nabis.

Scissorhands

Papercut for Benj. S. Farret, 1848 artist unidentified, American Folk Art Museum

The Chinese developed the art of papercutting and it has been used for generations throughout the world. The tools are only paper and scissors so it is accessible to the majority of people. It became an important part of the Jewish folk art history beginning in about the 17th century.

God is in the Details

Gone by Isabella Kirkland, 2004.

Influenced by the exacting reality of the Dutch Still-life, artist Isabella Kirkland studies the plants and animals she depicts in her detailed artwork. In Gone, she shows us species lost to man's expansion through colonization by both hunting and our tendency toward being oblivious to everything but ourselves. 

Glass Worlds

Glass artist Amber Cowan creates amazing pieces by layering elements on top of each other. Take a minute and go see images of her work, you will be amazed.

Amber Cowan

Nympheas

Water Lily by Georgia O'Keeffe, 1921, Georgia O'Keeffe Museum

I saw this lovely pastel drawing by Georgia O'Keeffe today and had to feature it. It is different from her larger, closer, interpretations of flowers, but no less striking. The

Georgia O'Keeffe Museum is located in Santa Fe, New Mexico and features not only her work, but that of many of her contemporaries.

Thank you @KellyResists on Twitter for better image.

Oil Rig

Regionalist artist Thomas Hart Benton studied in New York but was always drawn back to the middle states of the US where he grew up. There is a lot of material about Benton and I would recommend the book by art historian Henry Adams.

Site Specific

Ahuja Azure, Cirtron and Amber Persian Wall by Dale Chihuly, 2010, The University Hospitals' Ahuja Medical Center, Beachwood, OH

Dale Chihuly is the most famous glass artist in the world. Since the later part of the 20th century, his installations have been gaining in popularity and recognition.

Chihuly himself no longer blows the glass in his pieces, but he conceives and designs them and oversees their installation.

Saving The Past for the Future

St. Hedwig by Joseph Felix Męcina-Krzesz, 1914, Location of Original Unknown.

The Museum of Divine Statues in Lakewood, OH is housed in the old St. Hedwig Catholic Church and this lithograph image of the Saint for whom it is named was gifted to the museum. The museum features rescued and restored Catholic religious statuary from many of the churches in the area that have been closed in the last few years. It also has a fine collection of stained glass, as well as, furnishings, fixtures, and other artwork from many area churches. 

New York Times Article

Museum Twitter: @modscle

Museum Pinterest

Working for Royalty

Bread Fruit, 1955 menu cover by John Kelly for the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, Oahu.

Kelly's family arrived on the Islands in 1923 for a short visit and stayed. He was a print maker and during his career created some of the most beloved images of the Hawaiian Islands.

Private Gifts Turned Public Treasures

Imperial Peter the Great Easter Egg by the Fabergé firm, 1903,

By the Russian jewler Peter Carl Faberge. This egg was made by his shop in 1903 for presentation from Tsar Nicholas III to Tsarina Alexandra in commemoration of 200th anniversary of the founding of St. Petersburg by Peter the Great. The royal tradition of  gifting elaborate Easter eggs began with Tsar Alexander III, and continued until the revolution in 1917.

Interactive Art

 These photos are from the Nick Cave exhibition in 2015 HereHear at the Cranbrook Art Museum

The show has featured interactive happenings throughout the metro Detroit area and there are still a couple of events coming up. You can check the Cranbrook museum website for more information.

The Home of the Gods

Restoring the Parthenon is taking longer then when it was built by the ancient Greeks. They are making progress but politics and funding are always an issue.

Parthenon, Greece

What Lies Beneath

Excavated Moai Photo: Easter Island Statue Project

This article on Artnet features the amazing excavations taking place on Easter Island as the mysterious Moai statues are much more then they appear.

Garden Fairies

Garden Sprites designed by architect Frank Lloyd Wright from the Arizona Biltmore Hotel.

Hands Are Hard

Portrait of Journalist Sylvia von Harden by Otto Dix, 1926.

Otto Dix is known for his colorful and harsh images of life during and after Germany’s Weimar Republic. He was a gunner in World War I.

Brilliant Poppies

Unikko (Poppy) Design by Maija Isloa for Marimekko, 1965.

Marimekko created some of the most iconic designs from the mid-twentieth century. The bright bold prints created by artists like Isloa were exactly what people were attracted to, with their colors and shapes.

One of the Guys

Mary Cassatt

The Flint Institute of Arts

.Lydia was Cassatt's sister and a frequent subject in her paintings. Cassatt lived and studied Impressionism in Paris where she specialized in paintings of women and children and a look into their private lives.

People Are So Clever

An article in the Washington Post covers people recreating famous works of art with all different types of things while in quarantine. It will lighten your mood and remind you how clever people are. #gettychallange

Article from the Bedford Citizen