{museum/event review}

{art review} Philadelphia Academy of Fine Arts: George Tooker

by Jamie on March 12, 2009

"In the Summer House" - George Tooker

George Tooker – A Retrospective:

Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (PAFA)*: 118 North Broad Street (near Cherry), Philadelphia, PA 19102

When: Now through April 5, 2009

Cost (“Special Exhibit” fees): Adults $15 ; Seniors and Students w/ I.D. $12 ; Youth (5 – 18) $8

George Tooker’s first museum retrospective in 30 years is taking place at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (PAFA.) Tooker’s paintings are, in turn, droll, luminous and dead serious. You can’t miss the social protest, as well as the technical mastery. Tooker worked with egg tempera (popular in the Renaissance, an arduous medium.) He is known for his 1950’s uber doom, gloom and alienation paintings Subway and Government Bureau.

Paintings I loved:

In the Summer House (1958): those resplendent lanterns!

Game of Chess (1946-1947): A young man reels in the face of a chess piece wielding young woman and her hideous mother. Back-story: Tooker was lovers with the painter Paul Cadmus; they were part of a gay circle of creative types in the 1940’s. He lived with the painter William Christopher (they had a home in Vermont) until Christopher’s death in the 1970’s.

Birdwatchers (1948): Central Park in the center of a Renaissance painting: John Currin immediately comes to mind.

Don’t miss the original Frank Furness designed PAFA building next door: The Victorian gothic design is at once elegant, ornate, warm and inviting.

*PAFA has educated Mary Cassatt, Maxfield Parrish, architect Louis I. Kahn and the filmmaker David Lynch.

For more info, see in-depth review by Edward Sozanski at philly.com

{ 0 comments }

{art review} Art on the Cheap: MOMA, ICP, NY Public Library

by Jamie on March 1, 2009

'Ruffled Neck' Michael Thompson&copy NYC 2007

'Ruffled Neck' Michael Thompson© NYC 2007

The luxury of an art filled afternoon can be accomplished, even in NY, on the cheap…

The art stroll:

International Center of Photography: 6th and 43rd – $12.00 general admission

This year, the ICP is focused on fashion:

Fashion Photography Now: Prints and magazine spreads-many from the Times Magazine and Italian Vogue.

This Is Not a Fashion Photograph: Considers the roots of contemporary fashion photography. Photographs by Gordon Parks, Bruce Davidson, Walker Evans, Robert Mapplethorpe and others. Loved the Japanese ode to Cindy Sherman

Edward Steichen–In High Fashion, the Conde’ Nast Years: Sumptuous dresses from the 1930′s (indisputably Oscar-ready for 2010) and a dazzling photo of Gary Cooper (Don Draper’s prototype, perhaps?)

Weird Beauty: Dare I say the most fun of all? A dandelion pouf of a dress, the turtleneck as architecture and a sodden Pepto Bismol pink eye.

Mark your calendars: (Richard) Avedon Fashion 1944–2000 begins on May 15(through 9/6/09.)

The Museum of Modern Art: 11 West 53 Street between Fifth and Sixth avenues–$20.00 per person; Free on Fridays 4:00-8:00 pm (Yet another reason to love Target!)

We joined the line at 3:30 and were admitted in by 3:45.

Major exhibition or not, a visit to the grand minimalism of MOMA is guaranteed to lift the spirit. Walk into any permanent collection room and encounter treasures; a crisp and precise Charles Sheeler or some wry and spooky Joseph Cornell boxes.

Marlene Dumas: Measuring Your Own Grave: Austere portraits with vivid eyes, a creepy, but oddly compelling baby. We caught the last day.

The New York Public Library: 5th Avenue and 42nd Street– Free!

Main Reading Room: Greet the lions, traverse those steps and behold the soaring splendor. Opened in 1911, the room is the length of 2 city blocks. The 52 foot tall ceilings are decorated with murals of clouds. Library patrons sit at huge oak tables, a grand literary tradition. On any given day, the library displays a small art, design or photography exhibit.

{ 0 comments }

The Philadelphia Stories — Ira Glass, Malcolm Gladwell, Mark Bittman

by Jamie on February 11, 2009

I recently spent very little money to listen to several smart and charming people confidently discuss some of their ideas and observations.

1/24: Ira Glass (NPR’s This American Life, Showtime) began his discussion in the dark at the Kimmel Center (2,500 capacity– not an empty seat!) He spoke passionately about the (almost lost) art of story telling (raise a question, action, action, action, reflection, answer the question.) His stories were powerful, compelling and often, quite hilarious. Glass curses the “topic sentence”, considering it the end of true discourse. His asides were witty and gossipy (in the absolute best sense of the word.)

Ira Glass video (Catch some of Ira’s ideas here.)

2/2: Malcolm Gladwell: (Outliers, Blink, The Tipping Point), Philadelphia Free Library author series. Gladwell, as always, was erudite and captivating. Diverse ideas about success and its barriers flowed freely (by way of an eye opening discussion about the ages of Canadian hockey players!) spurring myriad connections and insights.

In the midst of this whirlwind I began to wonder; is there any way that I can teach my 12-year-old daughter to someday view a future Malcolm or Ira as the hot guy?

2/4: Mark Bittman: (author of the utterly indispensable (and excellent gift for any occasion) How to Cook Everything , as well as the Minimalist columns/NY Times), Philadelphia Free Library author series. Once again, the auditorium, on a snowy evening, was full; people were waiting to listen to a cookbook author who was not going to discuss recipes.*** Instead, he proposed that for global/political, environmental, health and moral reasons we consider becoming “less meat-atarians.” His ideas were sensible, relevant and could cost us less money.

***I wouldn’t have minded a few recipes.

Is it the recession, coming in from the cold after the endless Bush years or a combination of world and personal factors that have so many of us craving new ideas and road maps for living? I came away from these evenings pondering the possibility of living life just a little differently.

{ 0 comments }

1/20/09–It’s been a long time coming…

by Jamie on January 23, 2009

Jean and I log endless miles obsessing over the ins and outs of the campaign. We promise ourselves that if Obama wins, we will trek to the inauguration, our teenagers in tow. Jean magically scores Silver Tickets for all.

6:30 am: 30^th Street station, Philadelphia: Bleary-eyed people of all ages begin to document this day by video and cell phone.

9:00 am: Our Amtrak train makes an unscheduled stop in Baltimore to disembark a passenger who is having an anxiety attack. I wonder, will this delay our Silver Ticket viability?

10:30 am: Washington DC: Where are the signs or officials to direct the millions of us? After countless wrong turns and dead ends (we briefly end up at a large party for tobacco lobbyists!), we are directed into the Purple Tunnel of Doom*** where thousands of people are grimly waiting. My thoughts grow softer towards the anxious Amtrak passenger and we leave the tunnel as soon as humanly possible.

11:30 am: The mall is officially closed and the swearing in ceremony is about to begin. Our Silver Tickets cannot help us. We stand with many others by a fence, 1 block from the mall. The sound is muffled. A man plays the ceremony from his cell phone, making sure that our kids can hear. There is a distinct and eerie time delay between the muffled speakers and the cell phone oratory. The crowd is proud and resolute in relishing the moment; our circumstances undiminished.

12:00 pm: Art saves the day—we decide to warm up, by walking. People are entering the Freer Gallery of Art. We follow through the museum and, Voila!, we exit onto the mall, a jumbotron directly in front of us. We listen to Obama’s tough, reasoned and intelligent (!) address.

Soon after, a helicopter takes George Bush away from Washington.

1/20/09 has arrived!

***A Facebook group was created, “Survivors of the purple tunnel of doom,” with hundreds of members.

{ 0 comments }