Daily Art Fixx

visual arts blog, painting, drawing, sculpture, illustration and more!

E. E. Cummings: Writer and Visual Artist

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E. E. CummingsBorn on October 14, 1894, most people know E.E. Cummings, the writer. As a poet, Edward Estlin Cummings was very popular throughout the 20th century and received tremendous critical acclaim. Less well-known is Cummings’ accomplishment as a visual artist. Cummings considered himself as much a painter as a poet and he devoted a tremendous amount of time to his art. He also produced thousands of pages of notes concerning his own opinions about painting, colour theory, the human form, the “intelligence” of painting, and his thoughts about the Masters.

Cummings painted primarily in oils on canvas, canvas board, particle board, cardboard, and sometimes burlap. His painting is generally divided into two phases. Between 1915 and 1928, he produced large-scale abstractions which were widely acclaimed. He also produced very popular drawings and caricatures that were published in The Dial journal. Between 1928 and 1962, Cummings created primarily representational works including still lifes, landscapes, nudes, and portraits.

Cummings spent the last ten years of his life traveling, attending speaking engagements, and at his summer home, Joy Farm, in Silver Lake, New Hampshire. He died on September 3, 1962, at the age of 67 in North Conway, New Hampshire of a stroke.

For a more in depth look at the art of E. E. Cummings, visit EE Cummings Art.com.

Source: EE Cummings Art, Wikipedia

DAF Group Feature: Vol. 175

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Your Weekly Mixx! DAF’s Weekly Mixx is a selection of contemporary artworks and/or art related videos chosen from artist and gallery submissions and from our own search for new and interesting works. This week, we feature the work of  Michael Adamson, Bordalo II, Guennadi Kalinine, Christina Mrozik,  Derick Melander, Molly Wood, Oleg Oprisco,  Nicole Watt and a video on the installation “Narcissism : Dazzle room” by Shigeki Matsuyama. This installation is one of a series of dazzle camouflage themed works the artist has been creating since 2013.

Dazzle camouflage was a type of ship camouflage used during World War I. As its name suggests, it was meant to dazzle and confuse the human eye. In an era where radar technology did not exist, an enemy vessel’s range and heading needed to be visually identified for targeting. The complex black and white patterns painted on ships with dazzle camouflage made it difficult to ascertain whether a target was moving closer or farther away and prevented accurate firing.

The person in the room covered with dazzle camouflage uploads selfies to social media while surrounded by a larger self representing narcissism. In an era where much communication occurs over social media, metrics such as likes and follows fulfill our desire for recognition; however, the ease of which we can obtain validation from others leads to the growth of this desire, and we attempt to satiate it using our self-image or “larger self.” The boundary between self and self-image is unconsciously blurred by dazzle camouflage, and as a result, we ourselves cease to recognize our own boundaries. (via vimeo)

DAF Group Feature: Vol. 172

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Your Weekly Mixx! DAF’s Weekly Mixx is a selection of contemporary artworks and/or art related videos chosen from artist and gallery submissions and from our own search for new and interesting works. This week, we feature the work of Gemmy Woud-Binnedjik, Brad Jesson, Iva Gueorguieva, Rachel Ducker, Warren King, Coroso Zundert, Gemma Capdevila, and short video Aether – a spatial audio-visual collaboration between musician Max Cooper and architects Satyajit Das and Regan Appleton. It plays on the beauty of fundamental natural forms – waves, surfaces, symmetries and surreal landscapes, as the building blocks and underlying structure of the world around us – a modern interpretation of the luminiferous aether.

DAF Group Feature: Vol. 171

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Your Weekly Mixx! DAF’s Weekly Mixx is a selection of contemporary artworks and/or art related videos chosen from artist and gallery submissions and from our own search for new and interesting works. This week, we feature the work of Antony Gormley, Flora Borsi, Herakut, Kyle Stewart, Max Serradifalco, Murray Mcculloch, Scott Marr, Tony Cragg and a video by More Than who recently commissioned a unique art exhibition for dogs from British artist and inventor Dominic Wilcox. Wilcox’s interactive exhibits include ‘Cruising Canines’ – an open car window simulator, ‘Dinnertime Dreams’ – an oversized 10 foot dog bowl filled to the brim with hundreds of play balls to look like dog food, and ‘Watery Wonder’ – a series of dancing water jets that jump from one dog bowl to the next for dogs to chase. A selection of paintings and drawings created in a dog’s colour spectrum are also on display at the exhibition for the visiting dogs to enjoy.

Andy Warhol: 1928 – 1987

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Andy Warhol Self Portrait 1986Born Andrew Warhola on August 6, 1928 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Andy Warhol was a painter, printmaker, and filmmaker and a pivotal figure in the formation of the Pop Art movement.

Warhol was the son of working-class Slovakian immigrants. His frequent illnesses in childhood often kept him bedridden and at home. During this time, he formed a strong bond with his mother.  It was what he described as an important period in the formation of his personality and skill set.

Warhol studied at the School of Fine Arts at Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh (now Carnegie Mellon University), majoring in pictorial design. In 1949, he moved to New York City where he quickly became successful in magazine illustration and advertising, producing work for publications such as Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, and the The New Yorker.

Much of Warhol’s work in the 1950s was commissioned by fashion houses and he became known for his whimsical ink drawings of I. Miller shoes. In 1952, Warhol’s illustrations for Truman Capote’s writings were exhibited by the Hugo Gallery in New York and he exhibited at several other venues in the 1950s including a 1956 group show at the Museum of Modern Art. Warhol received several awards during this decade from the Art Directors Club and the American Institute of Graphic Arts.

Warhol was enthralled with Hollywood celebrity, fashion, and style and by the early 1960s these interests were reflected in his artwork. Borrowing images from popular culture, Warhol’s “Pop Art” paintings were characterized by repetition of everyday objects such as soup cans, Coca Cola bottles, and 100 dollar bills.  He also began painting celebrities such as Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, and Elizabeth Taylor.

Most of Warhol’s paintings were produced in his studio,  he called “The Factory”, with the help of assistants. Photographic images were screen-printed on to painted backgrounds and mechanically repeated – a process that mimicked the manufacturing industry and parodied mass consumption. During the Factory years, Warhol associated with and “groomed” a variety of artists, writers, musicians, and underground celebrities including Edie Sedgwick, Viva, writer John Giorno, and filmmaker Jack Smith.

Warhol worked prolifically in a range of media including painting, photography, drawing, sculpture, and film. Between 1963 and 1968 he produced more than 60 films and about 500 short “screen test” portraits of his studio visitors. His most popular and successful film was Chelsea Girls, made in 1966.

On June 3, 1968, Warhol and art critic/curator Mario Amaya, were shot by Valerie Solanas after she was turned away from the Factory studio. Warhol’s wound was almost fatal and would affect him physically and mentally for the rest of his life. (Amaya was released after treatment for bullet grazes across his back.)

The 1970s was a quieter decade for Warhol who concentrated more on portrait commissions for celebrities such as Mick Jagger, John Lennon, Michael Jackson, and others. He founded Interview Magazine and in 1975 published “The Philosophy of Andy Warhol” which expressed the idea that “Making money is art, and working is art and good business is the best art.” During the 1970s Warhol was also involved in a number collaborations with young artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, Francesco Clemente and Keith Haring.

In general, Andy Warhol was consistently ambiguous on the meaning of his work and appeared indifferent and ambivalent. He denied that his artwork carried any social or political commentary.

Warhol died in New York City on February 22, 1987 of a cardiac arrhythmia while recovering from routine gallbladder surgery. In his will, almost his entire estate was dedicated to the “advancement of the visual arts”. The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts was founded in that same year and it remains one of the largest grant-giving organizations for the visual arts in the United States today.

Sources: MOMA, Guggenheim, National Gallery of Canada, Andy Warhol Foundation, Wikipedia

DAF Group Feature: Vol. 167

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Your Weekly Mixx! DAF’s Weekly Mixx is a selection of nine contemporary artworks and/or art related videos chosen from artist and gallery submissions and from our own search for new and interesting works. This week, we feature the work of David Breuer-Weil, Floyd Elzinga, Gilles Bensimon, Gil Maia, Igor Melnikov, JR, Marchal Mithouard (aka Shaka), Mohau Modisakeng and Zeng Fanzh.

Edgar Degas: 1834-1917

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L'absinthe Edgar Degas 1876Hilaire Germain Edgar Degas was born on July 19, 1834, to a wealthy banking family in Paris, France. Educated in Latin, Greek, and ancient history at the Lycée Louis-le-Grand in Paris, Degas initially intended to study law, briefly attending the Sorbonne’s Faculté de Droit in 1853.

In 1855, he studied painting at the École des Beaux-Arts with Louis Lamothe, learning the traditional Academic style with its emphasis on line and the importance of draftsmanship. Degas was also influenced by the paintings and frescoes he saw during several trips to Italy in the late 1850s.

Degas exhibited his history painting “The Misfortunes of the City of Orléans “ at the Salon in 1865, but following that he began focusing on painting scenes of modern life. He favoured themes of ballet dancers, laundresses, milliners, horse racing and other every day scenes. His interest in ballet dancers increased in the 1870s and he produced over 600 works on the subject. In his later years, Degas created works of women bathing, entirely without self-consciousness and un-posed.

From the late 1860s onward, Degas also produced many small sculptures in wax. He concentrated on the subjects seen in his paintings–horses, dancers and women washing. His interest in this medium increased in the mid-1880s in part as a result of his failing eyesight.

Before 1880, he generally used oils for his completed works, which were based on preliminary studies and sketches made in pencil or pastel. After 1875, he began using pastels more frequently, even in finished works, and by 1885, most of his more important works were done in pastel.  In the mid-1870s Degas returned to the medium of etching and began experimenting with printmaking media such as lithographs and monotypes.

Degas saw his work as “Realist” or “Independent” and did not like being labeled an “Impressionist” even though he was considered to be one of the group’s founders, an organizer of its exhibitions, and one of its core members. Like the Impressionists, his aim was to capture moments of modern life, yet he had little interest in painting plein air landscapes and his use of clear, hard outlines, set his works apart from the other Impressionists. An observer of everyday scenes, Degas captured in his works, natural positions and movement of the human body.

Degas continued working until about 1912, when he was forced to leave his long-time studio in Montmartre. He never married and any emotional relationships he may have had, remain uncertain. Edgar Degas died on September 27, 1917, at the age of 83.

 

Sources: MET Museum, MOMA, Wikipedia

Rembrandt van Rijn: 1606-1669

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The Anatomy Lecture of Dr. Nicolaes - Rembrandt van RijnEven among the credible sources, facts and dates about Rembrandt van Rijn’s life are varied. Much of the existing information about Rembrandt originates from a 350-word essay published in 1641 by Jan Orlers’ guidebook to Leiden. Some research supports Orlers’ work while others contradict it. No personal letters remain and from the few professional ones, our knowledge of Rembrandt, one of the world’s most famous artists, remains incomplete. Included in this summary are details that appear to be consistent across texts.

Son of a prosperous miller, Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn was born in Leiden on July 15, 1606. He attended Leiden Latin School from 1615-19 and was enrolled at Leiden University in 1620.  He then left the university to study with the Leiden artist Jacob van Swanenburgh.

In 1624, Rembrandt moved to Amsterdam to apprentice with the leading history painter in the Netherlands, Pieter Lastman, whose colourful style and narrative approach would be an influence on Rembrandt’s work throughout his life. Rembrandt returned to Leiden six months later and established his own studio.

Rembrandt moved back to Amsterdam permanently in 1631 and partnered with art dealer Hendrick van Uylenburgh to capitalize on the growing market for history paintings and portraits. Rembrandt was interested in stories from the Old and New Testaments and preferred painting realistic emotion and narrative detail. He quickly became one of the most sought after portrait painters (individual and group) in the Netherlands, introducing more animation, expression and dramatic contrasts of light and dark. During this time, many students came to the van Uylenburgh Academy to study Rembrandt’s style of painting.

In 1634, Rembrandt married van Uylenburgh’s niece, Saskia. At the height of his career in 1639 he bought a large house on the Sint-Anthonisbreestraat that he borrowed heavily to acquire. The artist also liked to spend money, purchasing art and other objects that were beyond his means, a habit that would eventually catch up with him.

In 1642, Saskia died after the third birth and death of another one of their children, leaving Rembrandt to care for their son Titus. Following the complicated end to his common-law relationship with Titus’s nurse, Geertje Dircks, Rembrandt met Hendrickje Stoffels who would be his lifelong companion, and with whom he had his daughter, Cornelia.

By the late 1640s, Rembrandt was receiving fewer portrait commissions and his failed investments resulted in financial strain for the artist. Rembrandt remained well known, but his vigorous, broad brushwork and glowing palette differed from the prevailing taste in the Netherlands for a smooth, elegant style of painting.

This was also a period filled with personal difficulties, including his declaration of insolvency in 1656 and the sale of his house and collections in 1657 and 1658. Rembrandt moved to a smaller house on the Rozengracht in the Jordaan area of Amsterdam, where he continued fulfilling commissions for portraits and other works.

Beyond painting, Rembrandt created about 300 etchings and drypoints. His work as a printmaker ran alongside his career as a painter. He was a great innovator in this medium, often using traditional materials in unconventional ways. His impact on printmaking is still reflected in etchings produced today.

Rembrandt outlived both Hendrickje, who died in 1663, and Titus, who died in 1668. Rembrandt died on October 4, 1669 at the age of 63. With no money for a tombstone, he was buried in an unmarked grave in the Westerkerk, in Amsterdam.

Sources: Getty Museum, Met Museum, Met Museum(2),Wikipedia

DAF Group Feature: Vol. 162

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Your Weekly Mixx! DAF’s Weekly Mixx is a selection of nine contemporary artworks and/or art related videos chosen from artist and gallery submissions and from our own search for new and interesting works. This week, we feature Clara Drummond, Hopare, Stephanie Buer, Terence Koh, Njideka Akunyili Crosby, Mohammad Zaza, massju, Leisa Rich and the video Human Sound Objects, an interactive installation in which every participant becomes an object in an ever-evolving soundscape – by Giori Politi, Doron Assayas Terre and Eran Hilleli for the Herzliya Museum of Contemporary Art, 2016.

Visit the Submissions page for information on how to have your art featured in the Weekly Mixx.

National Aboriginal Day: Indian Group of Seven

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Professional Native Indian Artists Inc. book coverJune 21st is National Aboriginal Day in Canada. Established in 1996, it is a day for all Canadians to celebrate the cultures of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples, and their contributions to Canada.

June 21st was chosen because of the cultural significance of the summer solstice (first day of summer and longest day of the year) and because many Aboriginal groups mark this day as a time to celebrate their heritage. Setting aside a day for Aboriginal peoples is part of the wider recognition of Aboriginal peoples’ important place within the fabric of Canada and their ongoing contributions as First Peoples.

To celebrate National Aboriginal Day, DAF presents the work of the Professional Native Indian Artists Incorporation, better known as the “Indian Group of Seven”. Initiated in the 1970s by Potawatomi painter Daphne Odjig, the group consisted of professional aboriginal artists who came together to promote their work and change the way the western art world looked at Aboriginal art. Members of the group included Daphne Odjig, Norval Morrisseau,  Jackson Beardy,  Carl Ray, Joseph Sanchez, Eddy Cobiness, and Alex Janvier.

The precursor to the formation of the group occurred in 1972, when a joint exhibition of indigenous contemporary art was held in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The show called, “Treaty Numbers 23, 287 and 1171”, included Jackson Beardy, Alex Janvier and Daphne Odjig. The success of the exhibition led to the formation of the Professional Native Indian Artists Association in November 1973 which was funded by the Department of Indian Affairs. The PNIAI was incorporated in February 1974 by all seven members. Haida artist Bill Reid, although not formally signed on, was considered the eighth member and participated in some of the group’s shows.

The name “Indian Group of Seven” was given to the group by Gary Scherbain of the Winnipeg Free Press, referring to the well known Group of Seven who painted Canadian landscapes in an impressionistic style beginning in the 1920s.

“The group’s work covered the gamut from intensely spiritual to slyly humourous, deeply personal to fiercely political. It took Canada by storm, in both native and non-native communities.”

The “Indian Group of Seven” had numerous joint exhibitions in Canada. The last in which all participated was at the Dominion Gallery in Montreal in 1975. The group disbanded in 1975.

In September, 2013, the Mackenzie Art Gallery in Saskatchewan, organized 7: Professional Native Indian Artists Inc. bringing together 120 works including those featured in formative exhibitions of the Group along with a number of recently uncovered masterworks of the period. The exhibition toured to five other major Canadian Art Galleries in 2015-2016.

National Aboriginal Day events are held in every region across Canada. For a detailed list of activities, visit the Indian and Northern Affairs Canada website or contact an Aboriginal community or organization near you.

Sources: Native Art in Canada, Wikipedia, Seventh Generation Gallery

View Aboriginal work at Cedar Lake