Art Done Outside

Matthew Airent's Angel by Reverend Howard Finster, 1987, Private Collection.

Reverend Howard Finster is categorized as an "Outsider Artist," which means that he was basically self-taught and that he created his art out of a inherent need to express himself. His art took many forms including his home Paradise Gardens, located in Summerville, GA. The city hosts a festival every year in his honor (it is May 5 & 6 this year).

The First Male Supermodel


A project called Corsi: The World's First Male Supermodel a documentary by Jake Gorst that tells the story of the actor and model who worked with important late 19th and early 20th century artists and whose face and figure can be found in paintings and statues all over the world.

 Corsi posed for this series by British Pre-Raphaelite artist Edward Burne-Jones

The Hand Refrains, Pygmalion II by Edward Burne-Jones, 1875-78, Birmingham City Museums & Art Gallery


Gorst is looking for funding via Kickstarter his project deadline is April 20th.

Faster Than a Speeding Bullet


Sadly, this plan which would make travel easier along the I-80 corridor and offer an alternative to cars, has been shelved in OH, but continues to gain footing in MI and IL. Then OH will have to play catch-up instead of being ahead of the game. The poster is the thing that caught my eye. It recalls the WPA travel posters of the past. Could not find a credit for who designed it, does anyone know?

Beadspread as Wall Hanging



Portrait of the Artist's Wife by Louis Grell, 1922 available at Aspire Auctions

Louis Grell was born in Council Bluffs, IA he studied art in Europe and eventually ended-up making his home in Chicago where he lived and worked at the famous Tree Studios building. He is best known as a muralist. This painting is being offered for sale at Aspire Auctions as part of their February 2012 sale.

Auctions without Boarders


Some of you may know that I am an adjunct art history instructor, but I have recently begun working at an online auction house based here in Cleveland called Aspire Auctions. I was looking for something part-time to do in those months between teaching assignments (and paychecks) and I have always been a collector and interested in antiques, so this seems to be the answer. The company runs the auctions online, so their clients are all over the world.

Worth the wait and the $1.99

Having been a fan of Post Secret for years I was excited to see what the app would be like. It is addictive and different from the website, in that each post made shows up immediately. You can view geographically or by time posted. It is not curated like the website. Maybe a spell check feature will come in the future. It is a paid app and available for the Android or iPhone. Here is a link. This is an unpaid and unsolicited endorsement, from a fan of the Post Secret Project.

Abstract Meaning


Elegy to the Spanish Revolution, 70, by Robert Motherwell, 1961, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, © Dedalus Foundation, Inc./Licensed by VAGA, New York, NY

Motherwell was both a painter and an art historian. He is responsible for explaining the his work and the work of his fellow Abstract Expressionists to the world. A task that is still daunting, even today, sixty some years later. Motherwell combined his travel experience with his style of Action Painting to create bold works that were always poignantly titled.

Art App


I have only had my iPhone for a short time, so I had not seen this app before, but I love it! You can download images and even take a an art quiz (my best score so far: 48170 145/150 in a session time of 12:33 min). I have even been introduced to a couple of artists whose work I had not seen before, all for only 99 cents.

This is not a paid endorsement, it's an art lovers endorsement.

Cold


The Ice Maiden by Edmund Dulac, 1915,
illustration for The Ice Maiden by Hans Christian Andersen, 1861.

In the story of The Ice Maiden, a young boy falls into a crevasse in a glacier and into the the realm of the Ice Maiden who bestows a kiss on him, but he is rescued before she can make him completely her own.

She sails on a light pine twig over the foaming river below, and leaps lightly from one rock to another, with her long, snow-white hair fluttering about her, and her blue-green robe glistening like the water in the deep Swiss lakes.

She is not a kindly maiden, but a cruel and beautiful one, just like winter.