HAPPY SPRING

It is finally spring in the Intermountain West (just a bit late and yes, it will be summer tomorrow), and I thought I would post a photo I took way back in 1999 while living in Paris and visiting Versailles.  Somehow, this just screams spring to me.  I am happy to see the bright sky these days, of course wishing Versailles was still only an hour from my apartment.  Oh well, at least it was once.  I love Paris in the spring time.....

ANOTHER GREAT IDEA FOR BLANK WALLS

My father has been collecting masks his entire life, and has ended up with quite an impressive collection.  Of course he had the benefit of travelling around the world on a regular basis for business, and was able to collect a most impressive mix of masks, heads, and relief sculptures from a wide variety of far flung places.  And what a great way to fill a large blank wall!  Of course proper configuration is most important, and takes the eye of a designer.  I look forward to inheriting these one day....hint, hint!

While this collection includes highly impressive objects, this is certainly an idea that could translate to a number of different collections.  Why stick to paintings when there is so much that can be hung on a wall?  Mirrors, plates, clocks....any number of objects.  Here are a few inspiration images:

Love this arrangement of plates in the DWR catalog:

Plates at my clients home:

Collection of mirrors:

So many possibilities, too few clients....

CHRISTO, AT&T, AND MY ART HISTORY CLASS

I am currently teaching a 101 college level art history class, and many of these students have had very, very limited exposure to art prior to this class. Yes, this past Wednesday evening, as we discussed Environmental Art, I was completely and utterly thrilled when I flashed up this image by Christo (an artist none of them had heard of prior):

 

and several of my students happily exclaimed: "It's just like the AT&T ad!"  Well, I must be a good teacher...or the connection is so blaringly obvious you really don't have to have much of a visual eye at all to see it. "Yes!  That is exactly right", I told them,....it is JUST like the AT&T ad.  Except Christo did it long before AT&T ripped him off.  Here is Valley Curtain  from 1972:

And his Gates from 2005:

 

And here is AT&T's version:

And more AT&T:

  

Here is Christo's Wrapped Reichstag from 1995:

And here is AT&T's version of wrapping buildings:

 

A poll by Huffington Post readers determined that 85% of people felt this was a complete rip off and not just a coincidental similarity.  Regardless to say, Christo and his wife/business manager protested and threatened to sue.  Now, the ad airs with a very tiny disclaimer: "The artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude have no direct or indirect affiliation or involvement with AT&T." 

For god's sake people, his wife's hair is even the same color as the AT&T fabric!  Come on! (His wife, Jeanne-Claude, is now billed as an equally contributing artist in his installations, however, I refuse to give her equal credit.  Sure, she keeps him sane and makes sure he is not totally taken advantage of during the sale and execution of his artwork, but totally equal they are not.  He is the artiste.)

And just one more here: Christo wrapping the Gold Coast of Australia:

And Christo wrapping islands in Miami (fyi, I actually still have a small piece of this pink fabric from when I visited back in the mid-eighties.  It sure looked cool, but alas, there were a number of dolphins that perished during the installation):

And here is AT&T wrapping some coastline:

So you see, it's not even just the fabric wrapping idea in general that was pinched, but generally, AT&T stole all of his location ideas as well.  Check it out for yourself on You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9U1k8q5A0gk

MY GUARDIAN LION

I have always had a fascination with guardian lions. Despite the fact lions are quite violent creatures that likely caused much havoc when we humans roamed the African plains, we seem to be drawn to their form. The oldest known lion depiction is a 32,000 year old cave painting in Germany. Apparently the Europeans have always loved the lion. Of course the Chinese have used lion garden statuary for centuries, from about the 5th century BC. Interestingly , lions were not native to China and the first sculptures were somewhat odd looking. They got better once the lion was imported from India, but they are still quite stylized. Here is a set of bookends I purchased while in Beijing:

For me the fascination is not so much with strength and power most often associated with these symbols. For me I prefer the status and romanticism that they conjure...of the old English variety... overgrown with ivy, protecting a crumbling, haughty residence. I suppose at heart, I feel I belong in such a grand English country estate, shut off from the world by an ornate iron gate and two stunning lion sculptures, where my days are spent throwing elaborate themed parties and wandering the moors writing poetry. Well, I have yet to acquire the country estate, however, I am happy to announce I am now the proud owner of a lion sculpture which guards the front door of my one-bedroom condo. Please see above, the beautiful photo taken by my fabulous photographer- Michael Tallman (http://www.michael-tallman.com/). Next week he will be supplying photos of the entire condo for your viewing pleasure.

Besides all the connotations of pedigree and old money, probably the thing I enjoy most about lion statuary is the wide variety of expressions and the distinct personalities they seem to present to the viewer. Of course, many are just plain regal and dignified such as these classics:


The NY Public Library lions:

And the Trafalgar Square lions:

Some are quietly distinguished and look almost sweet and cuddly, like the lions in front of Anthony's antique shop here is SLC:

And others look terribly stern; not so intimidating, more like a strict principal such as this one in New York's Upper East Side:

However, many are not quite as dignified...

Here is another set at Anthony's...he looks a bit shell shocked doesn't he? Quite surprised to see anyone at the gate at all.  More frightened of the camera than frightening:

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
My father's lion shield which I cannot wait to inherit one day... even if he is ever so slightly goofy looking:
 

And these guys just look annoyed:

Understandable when you see what they are in fact guarding (not exactly a chateau):

So what about mine? Well, I feel he is quite catty and sinuous....he evokes memories of the antagonist from the Lion King....what was his name again? Scar?

While he is trying to be fierce, he comes across as more than a bit bitchy. Look at that roar:

And look at this pronounced spine...is he starving himself for some event?

And that tail...not exactly manly...this is a sensuous lion. The first gay lion sculpture perhaps?

Please come back next week for the full effect of his surroundings!

UTAH'S LITTLE EPCOT

Those of you from the West likely did not experience the joys of Epcot as a child. What kind of parent would take you all the way to Florida when there was a perfectly good Disneyland over in California. Well, let me tell you, there is a difference. As an East Coaster, Epcot was always an integral part of any Disney World (not Land) trip despite the strong yearning for the fun rides of the Magic Kingdom instead of the highly educational so-called 'rides' such as the Innoventions Pavilion (yes, they make up new words, this is not a typo) or the National Treasures show featuring many dead Presidents lecturing about America's past. Not exactly what a child's vacation dreams are made of. However, I can't be too harsh with Epcot, as I always loved the country pavilions. Even at a very young age the travel bug was in me. However, not all country pavilions were created equal and it was generally agreed upon in the oh, I would say, 4th grade, that Mexico and Norway were the best, as they had the coolest rides. No, make that the fact they had rides at all. Sure it's fun to walk around a fake bazaar in little Morocco, or the streets of some Bavarian village, but a ride was gold. And no, I did not brainwash all my friends into agreeing upon Norway...they have a great ride, full of trolls and fierce storms at sea.

Well, children of the West, you don't need to journey back east to experience Epcot...I found out last weekend that Salt Lake has their very own little Epcot-esque park, the International Peace Gardens. Even though it was over 90 degrees, I ventured out to this park last weekend... all for the sake of your entertainment, and maybe a bit of my own too.

The International Peace Gardens are nestled next to the Jordan River in the Jordan Park, and very well maintained. The Gardens opened in 1947 by a hopeful group of women, the Salt Lake Council of Women. They installed a plaque which reads: "America bids the world to be done with the instruments of war and in the spirit of these gardens to cultivate the arts of peace." It was a time a great optimism, we can't blame them for that. So basically, they wanted to create a lovely garden that would bring together the countries of the world...at least those countries that happened to have at least one immigrant in Utah. So these women poked around the state and found as many local immigrants as possible, and asked them to design some sort of pavilion embodying their culture. These women were obviously warm-hearted...even offering the Germans and Japanese their own pavilions. They were serious about being done with war and apparently any bad feelings about the war too.

So I thought we could take a quick tour and I could point out my very favorite pavilions.

Enter...and instead of Mickey, you have this lovely lady greeting you...likely the head Councilwoman....or is it just 'peace'?  Probably the head Councilwoman posing as 'peace'.

And of course there are many predictable pavilions, such as China:

 

Korea:

And Japan:

But wait, I don't remember seeing onion domes featured in Japanese design...

India: (doesn't look much like Ben Kingsley though)

Anyway, Asia, you did a great job at creating pleasant and fairly accurate visions of your countries.  Africa, I guess there were relatively few immigrants from your fair continent in those days, so the women decided to just give you one area all together.  You all get along pretty well and the cultures are all pretty much the same right?

However, I must say Europe takes the cake in my view.  Europe, you went all out.  And who can't love the perfect replica of the Eiffel Tower...Gustave, this must make you proud.

Actually, I think the bench seating one is meant to use when contemplating the tower is actually much for French than the tower....

If I just sit on the bench and not look at the piddly tower, I might just be able to feel a bit French.

And Wales...isn't that the Guinness logo?  Oh, no, that's right, the Guinness symbol faces the other way...this is the Irish national symbol, sorry.  But I guess there's not much difference, right?  And by the way, Pavilion is often meant to be more than one item.

Switzerland, you certainly pulled out the big guns...I guess in the 1940's there was a bit more money to go around than most of the other European nations.  Sorry, lets not talk about the war.  I must say this was one of my favorites.  The Matterhorn in some sort of odd material that was likely once strikingly white!  And the lovely Swiss chalet below....all to scale, well, better scale than the Eiffel Tower, but probably not quite accurate...

But one country and one coutry alone pulled out all the stops.  Italy.  What is there to say?  Really, what?

Is this Italian dirt? An Italian sand box? Contemporary art perhaps? Are you being funny? Mocking the gardens? For a country so rich in culture, well, I actually was not disappointed. I loved the Italy 'pavilion' and it brought back fond memories of the EU Czech-commissioned sculpture by David Cerny displayed in Brussels last year. So, I must show you just a bit of it.

Did anyone get a chance to see this is person? I would have loved to, but I think many of the sculptures spent their life covered in black cloth to prevent any more insult to national pride. So, now for the back-story. When the Czechs gained the EU presidency last year, the president commissioned a Czech artist to create a sculpture to commemorate the event. Cerny put forth a proposal where 27 artists each from one of the EU nations would create a piece of artwork that would epitomize their country's culture. Sounds pretty similar to the Peace Gardens, huh? Anyway, the whole thing was a hoax/standard contemporary art of sorts...Cerny had no intention of hiring other artists. He instead, simply did all the works himself. And every work just plain mocked the particular country. And then he hung them all in a very public EU building. There was so outrage, disdain, anger, and some threats. Its understandable. While I find the whole thing rather amusing, I have the benefit of not having my country mocked. Norway has yet to have any interest in joining the mess that is called the EU.   But Cerny was just having fun and being a contemporary artist...no need for death threats...

A quick taste:

Romania, Dracula's theme park:

France, on strike, no art today:

Bulgaria, the Turkish toilet (OK, so this is pretty offensive):

The Netherlands, underwater, only things left are the Islamic minarets:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And Spain, covered in concrete and scaffolding:

 

And what did Cerny come up with for Italy?  Not dirt.  Just football:

Alas, I was unable to see the above works, so I must content myself with the Salt Lake Peace Gardens.  Have any of you locals had a chance to visit?  I highly recommend it!  See you next week!