Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Florence + The Machine, The Band Perry and the Lady of Shalott in Music Videos

Today I thought I'd share a video from Florence + The Machine. My husband actually made me sit down and watch the video because he noticed all the mythological and Pre-Raphaelite references! We first encountered Florence + The Machine while watching the Colbert Report, and our first reaction (other than noticing that she had a great voice), was that she looked like she'd fallen out of a Pre-Raphaelite painting. Apparently this is no coincidence, and you'll notice that most of her videos contain references to the Pre-Raphaelites, though the video for "Rabbit Heart" is one of the most overt. From the minute you see the water behind her you can tell this is going to end in a send-up of the Lady of Shalott!



For an even heavier dose of the Lady of Shalott, check out The Band Perry's "If I Die Young". My daughter actually discovered this one on Vevo the other day!



Someone from the band is clearly a big fan of the Pre-Raphaelites! Of course Lady of Shalott is the most obvious reference (the video actually closes with a shot of Tennyson's poem), but I thought the scene at :38 (with the mother at the window) was a little evocative of John Everett Millais' Mariana. It's a very well done video, and the song is beautiful as well.

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Art History Carnival July 2011

Welcome to the July 6, 2011 edition of art history carnival. I hope that everyone is enjoying their holidays (we had Canada Day here July 1st, the Americans had the 4th of July, and Colombia will celebrate on July 20th - a lot of nations seem to celebrate their independence in July). Of course, Canada Day isn't exactly a celebration of independence. It's simply the anniversary of the British North America Act (about 144 years ago, Britain said something along the lines of "it's not you, Canada, it's us"). Anyway, after more than ten years living in Canada, I have to admit that it still feels a bit odd to have a royal visit that day, but when you consider that it was officially known as "Dominion Day" until 1982, it makes a little more sense. I was surprised to find that there are even massive Canada Day celebrations in Trafalgar Square in London each year!

And now to the July edition of the Art History Carnival...

art history



Monica Bowen presents altar of pergamon and baroque scholarship posted at Alberti's Window, saying, "This post largely deals with historiography, explaining why Baroque scholarship became popular in the late 19th and early 20th century." The post examines how the arrival of the Altar of Pergamon in Berlin caused revived interest in Baroque art because of the similarity it bore to the Baroque style (amusingly, some scholars even began referring to the Hellenistic style as "ancient Baroque").


Susan Benford presents Famous Paintings of Berthe Morisot posted at Famous Paintings Reviewed - An Art History Blog. Morisot was the first female artist to exhibit her works with the French Impressionists (the painting above is entitled "Child with Staked Roses", 1881). Her paintings are lovely and I appreciate that Susan has taken the time to share a little more about Berthe's life and work!


Next, take a moment to stroll along the streets of Paris with Anna (a student of Dr Ben Harvey, who is blogging as part of an independent study class on 19th century art from Paris), who has written a lovely blog post about one of her walking tours near her Paris Apartment entitled The Neighborhood posted at anna on art. Manet's Gare Saint-Lazare (shown above) is one of the many paintings that was created just a stone's throw away. Also, I highly recommend that you take time to read another of her posts, "Manet: Inventeur du Moderne," which she published July 5th. It's a lovely review of a current exhibit at the Musée d’Orsay, and is not to be missed!

exhibits



Paul Doolan presents a fascinating review of Rodchenko and Ai Weiwei in Photography Museum, Winterthur posted at ThinkShop. The exhibit highlights the artists' differing "takes" on communism. Rodchenko (shown above left) began his artistic life rather enamored of the Soviet Revolution, while Ai Weiwei recently experienced a brief stint in Chinese prison as the result of his subversive art.


Helen Webberley presents Vienna Art and Design exhibition, in Melbourne posted at ART and ARCHITECTURE, mainly, saying, "A blockbuster exhibition in Melbourne called "Vienna Art and Design: Klimt, Schiele, Hoffmann and Loos" prompted a re-analysis of the Vienna Secession. The paintings, architecture, furniture, jewellery and textiles explore and display modernism, individualism, nationalism and the creation of a new style concentrating on the use of colour, design and opulent glamour."

philosophy of art



Jean-Michel Basquiat's work catapulted him to rock-star status in the early 1980s. Although he died at just 27 years of age, his work continues to fascinate and inspire. junhax reviews a documentary of his life and work in Jean-Michel Basquiat | Junhax posted at Junhax


That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of
art history carnival
using our
carnival submission form.
Past posts and future hosts can be found on our

blog carnival index page
.



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, .

images courtesy Wikimedia

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Call for Submissions for the July Issue of the Art History Carnival

I hope everyone has been having a wonderful summer so far! We just got back from a trip to Jasper National Park yesterday. It was just gorgeous, and June turned out to be a perfect time to go (also, we're expecting another baby in August, so I wanted to go while I was still able to do a bit of hiking). I will have to share some pictures as soon as I get them off the camera! 

The July edition of the Art History Carnival  will be posted on Wednesday, July 6, 2011 (to give a little break to both Americans and Canadians). You can submit articles for inclusion in the carnival until 48 hours before the issue comes out (Monday, July 4th).

What kind of blog articles will be included? 
Posts covering all periods and art mediums are welcome, as are posts discussing art criticism, architecture, design, theory and aesthetics. All submissions will be carefully reviewed, so please, no spam. 

What is a Blog Carnival? 
According to Wikipedia, a blog carnival is "a type of blog event...similar to a magazine, in that it is dedicated to a particular topic, and is published on a regular schedule, often weekly or monthly. Each edition of a blog carnival is in the form of a blog article that contains permalinks links to other blog articles on the particular topic." 

Blog Carnivals are a great way to help your blog reach a new audience and to make new friends in the blogosphere! 

Who can submit? 
Anyone, as long as you have a blog! And If you don't blog, you can submit one of your friend's articles (except they better be good--I'll be reading them!). 

Can I host a carnival? 
Absolutely! Please let me know if you'd be interested in hosting the next issue of the carnival. 

How to submit articles
You have two options:

1. Use the submission form provided by Blog Carnival (this is easiest!). 
2. Send me an email. Include the title and permalink URL of the post you are nominating for inclusion in the carnival, along with the name of the blog. Please put "Art History Carnival" in the title of your email to help me recognize it in my inbox! 

One final thing to keep in mind: 
To keep things current, posts should have been written after the date of the last Carnival. If a post is six months old, I won't be able to include it in the Carnival, no matter how great it is.

Thank you for your participation! Share the news if you know someone who likes to write about art!

Friday, June 3, 2011

Art History Carnival June 2011

Welcome to the June 3, 2011 edition of the Art History Carnival.



art history


Kelly Knox presents Nekyia: Picasso and the Suicide Death of the Poet Carlos Casagemas posted at KWKNOXART -- ART AS TRANSFORMATION, saying, "This article explores the thematic shift in Picasso's early work surrounding the death of his friend and constant companion in Paris and Barcelona, very early in his career. Many critics (and possibly even Picasso himself) see the events of this period as the genesis of his blue period."



Susan Benford presents Matisse, Modern Art, and The Cone Collection posted at Famous Paintings Reviewed - An Art History Blog. In this post, Susan examines Matisse paintings from the Cone Collection which are currently on view at the Jewish Museum in New York until September 2011.

I was fortunate to have the chance to see one of the paintings from the Cone Collection at the recent Matisse exhibit at the Art Gallery of Alberta. The painting - Two Girls, Red and Green Background - was the last to make its way into the Cone Collection, and was seen by Matisse as his best work, and I quite liked it myself! You can catch a glimpse of the painting on Susan's website - I couldn't include it here due to copyright restrictions.




Susan Benford has also written a post entitled Female Painters: Sofonisba Anguissola . Sofonisba was among the most famous female artists of the Italian Renaissance (her self-portrait can be seen above). Read Susan's post to find out more about this talented young woman was already famous at age 15 - reminds me a little of Millais!



Helen Webberley presents Widener's sublime art treasures in Philadelphia posted at ART and ARCHITECTURE, mainly, saying, "This post investigates how the newly wealthy family of PAB Widener came to own one of the most important Gilded Age (c1880-1920) private art collections assembled in the USA. First he built a stunning mansion, Lynnewood Hall. Then he filled the mansion with Louis XV furniture, stunning porcelain, and paintings by Raphael, Vermeer, Rembrandt etc.

Later his son Joseph, himself a patron of the National Gallery, agreed to donate most of his family’s collection (600 objects) to the Washington gallery at the request of President Roosevelt."




Dr Ben Harvey presents Oscar Wilde: London Models posted at Emanata (Dr Ben Harvey). Have you ever been curious about the living and working conditions of artists' models in late-Victorian London? In this fascinating post, Dr. Ben Harvey reviews Oscar Wilde's essay "London Models", which was originally published in 1889 in the English Illustrated Magazine. Harvey has included images from the original illustrated essay, so you can see the article the way it was meant to be read. This post is not to be missed, and don't forget to read Wilde's original article as well!



Romeo Vitelli presents The Sculptress posted at Providentia, saying, "Camille Claudel was one of the greatest female artists of all time. And she paid the price for it." This piece follows Claudel from her early artistic endeavors and relationship with Auguste Rodin through to her eventual decline and final decades spent in an asylum. It's not a cheerful story, but the melodrama is the stuff of operas. A must read!



Francis P. DeStefano presents Giorgione and Patenier posted at Giorgione et al..., which compares and contrasts Giorgione's Tempest with Patenier's Rest on the Flight into Egypt.



Ever notice that historical figures often look very different from painting to painting? Especially in the days before photography?  Zsombor Jékely presents The Tale of Two Lovers and an Unknown Image of Emperor Sigismund posted at Medieval Hungary. In this post, Zsomber discusses the variations between a number of images of Emperor Sigismund of Hungary. It's a fascinating discussion (and the Tale of Two Lovers is interesting as well!).




That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of
art history carnival
using our
carnival submission form.
Past posts and future hosts can be found on our

blog carnival index page
.



Technorati tags:

, .

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Call for Submissions for the June Issue of the Art History Carnival

I hope that everyone has been enjoying a wonderful spring (we have even had sunshine here in Alberta, which seems like a miracle at the end of the very long winter!). It's hard to believe that summer is almost here. I'm also pleased to announce that, after a brief hiatus (the May carnival completely slipped my mind - if you saw me chasing after my adorable toddler you'd understand, I swear), the Art History Carnival is back on track for June. 

The June edition of the Art History Carnival  will be posted on Friday June 3, 2011. You can submit articles for inclusion in the carnival until 48 hours before the issue comes out (in this case, Wednesday, June 1st). I look forward to seeing what everyone has been up to!

What kind of blog articles will be included? 
Posts covering all periods and art mediums are welcome, as are posts discussing art criticism, architecture, design, theory and aesthetics. All submissions will be carefully reviewed, so please, no spam. 

What is a Blog Carnival? 
According to Wikipedia, a blog carnival is "a type of blog event...similar to a magazine, in that it is dedicated to a particular topic, and is published on a regular schedule, often weekly or monthly. Each edition of a blog carnival is in the form of a blog article that contains permalinks links to other blog articles on the particular topic." 

Blog Carnivals are a great way to help your blog reach a new audience and to make new friends in the blogosphere! 

Who can submit? 
Anyone, as long as you have a blog! And If you don't blog, you can submit one of your friend's articles (except they better be good--I'll be reading them!). 

Can I host a carnival? 
Absolutely! Please let me know if you'd be interested in hosting the next issue of the carnival. 

How to submit articles
You have two options:

1. Use the submission form provided by Blog Carnival (this is easiest!). 
2. Send me an email. Include the title and permalink URL of the post you are nominating for inclusion in the carnival, along with the name of the blog. Please put "Art History Carnival" in the title of your email to help me recognize it in my inbox! 

One final thing to keep in mind: 
To keep things current, posts should have been written after the date of the last Carnival. If a post is six months old, I won't be able to include it in the Carnival, no matter how great it is.

Thank you for your participation! Share the news if you know someone who likes to write about art!

Monday, May 16, 2011

Andy Warhol: Manufactured

Starting May 28th, the Art Gallery of Alberta will be hosting a special exhibition of Andy Warhol's work. Andy Warhol: Manufactured is an internationally touring exhibition of Warhol's work, and the AGA is the only gallery in Canada that is offering the exhibition, which will include his early drawings and commercial illustrations, his better known works, and also many of the films he made.

Warhol was certainly larger than life, and his work as an artist is easily eclipsed by his persona and the celebrity world he inhabited - which is a bit of a shame, in my view, since he was very talented! But as an artist he certainly demonstrates that keen observation of a culture is often a far more powerful force than pointed social critique. And his work certainly has enjoyed enduring popularity. I notice that one of his self-portraits just set an auction record for the artist last Wednesday when it sold for a cool $38.4 million.


Pretty nifty for the seller's estate, since the estimate was $20-30 million. Of course, I'm sure the publicity surrounding this piece didn't hurt either - CNBC featured the self-portrait last month during it's Power Lunch program (Christie's had direct interest in the sale, hence all the extra publicity). I often wonder how differently art auctions would turn out if there was more publicity surrounding recent auctions of, say, Dante Gabriel Rossetti's work.

Andy Warhol: Manufactured will run May 28 - August 21, 2011

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Feliz Cinco de Mayo!

Happy Cinco de Mayo everyone! For those of you that aren't aware, Cinco de Mayo commemorates the victory of the Mexican forces over the French at the Battle of Puebla, which occurred on May 5, 1862. It really has nothing to do with Mexican independence (which was declared 52 years before on September 16th), and it's not really celebrated much in Mexico. I don't really know how it came to be such a big holiday in the States (maybe because "Cinco de Mayo" is fun to say?), but it's certainly a great excuse to eat Mexican food and enjoy a margarita.




On an entirely different note, yesterday it suddenly occurred to me that I hadn't done an issue of the Art History Carnival for May! I know it sounds a little crazy that something like that could have slipped my mind, but I have been pretty busy lately. Being a stay at home mom certainly keeps me on my toes (my adorable 19 month old is the most active baby on the planet), but I have been forced off my toes for a couple of weeks after I ended up breaking one of them (no fun at all!). Also, my husband and I are expecting another baby in August!

I definitely will be doing an Art History Carnival for June, and my apologies to those of you who were looking forward to submitting posts for the May edition. I will make reminders for myself this time!

Image courtesy wikimedia