Picturing America - National Endowment of the Humanities

Picturing America, Webshot

"Great art speaks powerfully, inspires fresh thinking, and connects us to our past."

"Picturing America, an exciting new initiative from the National Endowment for the Humanities, brings masterpieces of American art into classrooms and libraries nationwide. Through this innovative program, students and citizens will gain a deeper appreciation of our country's histor and character through the study and understanding of its art." - Picturing America Homepage

Link Picturing America - NEH Web Site

Lending a Hand - A Game

Go to the National Gallery of Art website, search the painting collection and select five paintings containing what you consider to be the most interesting hand or hands. E-mail the information back to this blog. The most creative and interesting submissions will be posted.

Your selections may be from paintings from any era or style, single or multiple figures, narrative or not. There are no restrictions on the number of hands or what they are doing. The hand or hands may be a single detail or from the entire painting. 

Link National Gallery of Art, Washington DC

 Jacque-Louis David, Napoleon in His Study at the Tuileries, 1812, NGA

Felice Varini

This painted image (or installation) was created by the Swiss artist, Felice Varini. At first, it appears as a photograph of a simple white interior space with red circles drawn on it. In reality, it is a projection/construction painted on the interior that presents this experience from a unique view point. You might say it acts on our sense of the second and third dimensions and offers the viewer unique spacial experiences. What do you think?

Link More Images

Link Wiki

What is Pictorial Space?

"But, after all, the aim of art is to create space - space that is not compromised by decoration or illustration, space within which the subjects of painting can live." 

Frank Stella

Pictorial Space is elusive to most, ill defined to some, and oversimplified by others. What is it, anyway?  The Concept of Space in Twentieth Century Art by Christopher Tyler and Amy Ione tackles this topic. 

Link Article

Link Frank Stella

"What is Art?" Leo Tolstoy Responds...

The great Russian novelist, Leo Tolstoy, writes an essay on the purpose and meaning of Art.

Link Essay

Link Biography

Rock Stars as Painters

Rock Star Gallery in Scottsdale, Arizona specializes in fine art by...

Grace Slick - Jefferson Airplane and Jefferson Starship

Ronnie Wood - The Rolling Stones

Ringo Starr - The Beatles

Janis Joplin 

Jerry Garcia - The Grateful Dead

Paul McCartney - The Beatles

Jimi Hendrix

 How does celebrity, in any field, shape and color the transmission and comprehension of ideas - visual or otherwise? Are there expectations and qualitative implications? Are we able to see the work for what it is? Conversely, how does lack of celebrity influence the communication and comprehension of ideas? Does it matter?

Link

"What is Art?" Creature Comforts Responds...

This may be the most definitive definition yet! What are your thoughts?

iscribble.net - Shared Online Drawing 2

This looks to be the mothership of interactive drawing sites - very active! 

What do you think about interactive drawing? 

What does one learn from these collaborative experiences?

Link

Draw Pad -Shared Online Drawing

Interesting sociological insights into shared and anonymous online behaviors.

Draw Pad V2.o lets you draw live with others on a shared drawing pad.

Select different colors, line widths, chat live with other visitors via webcam or keyboard.

"Join the fun and draw online with other connected users in our shared drawing rooms. Start drawing anything you like or help other users finish their own drawings. Create a free account to draw using your own nickname."

Link

"Style and Culture"

Artspeak?

Words like "nice, inspired, juxtaposed, -isms, duality, investigate, en plein air" are used with some authority all the time in the art world. What these terms might really mean and does usage sometimes cloud our understanding?

Funny and thoughtful insights into the strange language of artspeak by Jason Brockert.

Link

Design, Form, Content

In a fascinating discussion, Paul Rand says, "All art is relationships, all art." He confronts these basic questions: Q. What is design? A. Design is the relationship between form and content. Q. What is form and content? A. Content is the idea and form is how you treat the idea.

How do we talk about these important questions that results in better paintings, better design?

What do you think?

Source: Paul Rand, Conversation with Students, by Michael Kroeger & Paul Rand, Princeton Architectural Press, 2008

The John Tusa Interviews on BBC Radio 3

A significant resource of interviews, transcripts, and recordings, exploring the creative process with people in the arts, such as:

David Sylvester

Frank Auerbach

David Hockney

Frank Gehry

I.M. Pei

Howard Hodgkin

Tom Stoppard

"Arts Matter"

 A very cogent and important argument about the arts and why they matter to all of us by John Tusa - a must read. Click on the title link.