Final Fall CAHA Meeting and Exhibition

The first Wednesday of December Chaffey Art History Association (CAHA) meeting is next week (12/06). The usual 12:30 meeting time coincides with the opening reception for the Winter Student Exhibition at the Wignall Museum/Gallery. So instead of meeting at the VSS building lounge we will meet at the Wignall to enjoy some art and free food :)

Due to students moving on from Chaffey to continue their goals of higher education, there will be openings for CAHA officer positions in the spring. This is a great opportunity to add some community involvement and a leadership position to your resume. If you are interested, please join us at the reception on Wednesday or send an email to contact@chaffeyart.edu

Honoré Daumier, This Year Venuses Again... Always Venuses!, Lithograph published as no. 2 from series in Le Charivari, 1864

Pollock’s Polarization

The opinions of art critics are polarized when it comes to Pollock’s work. Some feel his art is more pure in that it expresses art as art without referencing some other fake representation of reality, while some feel he is just spilling paint on canvas and calling it art. For example, Clement Greenberg, the famous and extremely influential art critic, felt that Pollock’s art was the culmination of progressive art. Greenberg believed Pollock was creating the best art of the time because it was free from historical content. Pollock’s work did not distract the viewer by referencing some other image, but rather the viewer had only the paint on canvas to examine. On the other hand, art critics like Craig Brown were almost offended that the “decorative wallpaper,” as they called it, could gain such a position in the art world. Reynolds News may have summarized the view of such critics best with its 1959 headline that read “This is not art--it's a joke in bad taste [1].” Ultimately every person makes their own decision on Pollock’s work and every person gives it their own level of art-significance.

The Treachery of Images

If you haven't been to the Magritte exhibition yet, it's worth adding to your to do list for the winter break.

LACMA:

Magritte and Contemporary Art: The Treachery of Images is the first major exhibition to explore the impact of Belgian surrealist artist René Magritte's (1898-1967) work on U.S. and European artists of the post-war generation. Featuring sixty-eight paintings and drawings by Magritte, including many international loans of his signature works, and sixty-eight works in diverse media by thirty-one contemporary artists such as Richard Artschwager, John Baldessari, Vija Celmins, Robert Gober, Jasper Johns, Jeff Koons, Ed Ruscha, and Andy Warhol, the exhibition examines the different and sometimes unconscious ways that pop, conceptual, and post-modern sensibilities have referenced Magritte's ideas and imagery. In addition, the exhibition installation is specially designed by conceptual artist John Baldessari and includes an inventive presentation that is playful and humorous, yet provides a deep visual understanding of Magritte's work. Magritte and Contemporary Art: The Treachery of Images is on view at LACMA from November 19, 2006, through March 4, 2007, and will not travel to other venues.

René Magritte, The Treachery of Images (This is not a pipe), 1929, oil on canvas, 25 3/8 x 37 in. (64.5 x 94 cm),
Los Angeles County Museum of Art

I think some of these related events might rival the exhibition.

Contemporary Art through Magritte: Approaches to a Duel Discourse
Sunday, December 10, 2 p.m. Brown Auditorium
Sara Cochran, Assistant Curator of Modern Art, provides perspectives on the exhibition and explores the changing intellectual and aesthetic concerns of artists working since the 1950s.
Free, no reservations required.

Retrospectively Yours: René Magritte and the 1960s Avante-Garde
Sunday, January 21, 2:00 p.m. Brown Auditorium
Art historian Sandra Zelman discusses the iconographic and stylistic similarities, as well as ideological affinities, between Magritte and pop artists.
Free, no reservations required.

Foucault’s Magritte and Other Metapictures
Sunday, February 4, 2:00 p.m. Bing Theater
W.J.T. Mitchell, professor of English and art history at the University of Chicago, will consider the way in which certain pictures by Magritte and other artists have become philosophical examples, removed from their art historical context to serve as the focus of more general discussions about the nature of vision, representation, and knowledge.
Free; no reservations required.


Conversations with Artists

Jim Shaw
Thursday, January 11, 8:00 p.m.
Modern & Contemporary Art Building, Plaza level
Artist Jim Shaw speaks with Sara Cochran, assistant curator of modern art.
Free; seating is limited; tickets required (available at the LACMA box office).

John Baldessari
Thursday, January 18, 8:00 p.m.
Modern & Contemporary Art Building, Plaza level
Artist John Baldessari, designer of the exhibition, speaks with Stephanie Barron, senior curator of modern art and exhibition co-curator.
Free; seating is limited; tickets required (available at the LACMA box office).


The Director’s Series: Conversations with Michael Govan

Jeff Koons
Thursday, February 1, 7:30 p.m. Bing Theater
The first talk in The Director’s Series features Michael Govan, LACMA CEO and Wallis Annenberg Director, in conversation with artist Jeff Koons about the current exhibition Magritte and Contemporary Art: The Treachery of Images, the influence of twentieth-century art on contemporary artists, and the role of artists in shaping the museums of the future.
Free, tickets required (available at the LACMA box office).

Goya recovered!

THIS IS FOR THOSE WHO WERE KEPT AWAKE OVER THIS CRIME. :)

FBI agents have recovered a 1778 painting by famed Spanish artist Francisco de Goya that was stolen en route to an exhibition earlier this month, according to FBI Special Agent Jerri Williams.

The painting was recovered in Newark, New Jersey, Williams said.

The painting, "Children with a Cart," which is estimated to be worth about $1.1 million, was stolen November 8 from a transport truck as it was parked overnight outside a hotel in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania.

The truck was taking the painting from the Toledo Museum of Art in Toledo, Ohio, to the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in Manhattan.

According to Leslie Wiser, the special agent in charge of the Newark FBI office, the painting, recovered Monday morning, appears to be unharmed.

Wiser would not comment on when, where or how the painting was recovered, citing an ongoing investigation, but said "comprehensive media coverage of the theft assisted the investigative team and led to the recovery of the painting."

The painting had been scheduled to be displayed in the exhibition "Spanish Painting from El Greco to Picasso: Time, Truth, and History," which opened Friday at the Guggenheim.

The insurer had offered a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to the recovery of the artwork.

Goya is best known for paintings, drawings and engravings of times of upheavals in Europe. Considered an early modernist, Goya was born in Spain in 1746 and died in France in 1828.

First Sican tumi to be found in situ.

Associated Press:

FERRENAFE, Peru - Archaeologists said Tuesday they have unearthed 22 graves in northern Peru containing a trove of pre-Inca artifacts, including the first "tumi" ceremonial knives ever discovered by archaeologists rather than looted by thieves.

The find, which prominent archaeologist Walter Alva called "overwhelmingly important," means that scientists can study the tumi - Peru's national symbol - in its original setting to learn about the context in which it was used.

"This discovery comes as an important contribution to know the burial rites of the elite of this culture," said Alva, who was not involved in the dig. He confirmed that no tumi had before been unearthed by archaeologists.

The tombs, more than 900 years old, were found next to a pyramid in the Pomac Forest Historical Sanctuary, 420 miles northwest of the capital, Lima. They are from the Sican culture, which flourished on Peru's northern desert coast from A.D. 750 to 1375.

The occupants "are clearly from the social elite and therefore some of them have gold objects, some of them have copper-gilded objects, but they are quite complex, well-endowed tombs," said Izumi Shimada.

Shimada, an anthropology professor at Southern Illinois University, began excavations at the site in July with Carlos Elera Arevalo, director of Peru's Sican National Museum. He said 10 tumi knives were found, including a 14-inch copper alloy tumi bearing the image of the Sican deity. [More...]

This is an example of a tumi, but not from this excavation.

Picasso, a Man of Many Talents

Before today’s lecture, I really had no idea Picasso was so talented and had experimented with so many styles. When I heard the name Picasso, I pictured brownish-grayish distorted paintings. Little did I know Picasso could paint in pretty much any style of the past. We saw examples of his work that imitated everything from Goya to Monet. But, as Picasso probably felt, these examples were just that, imitations. They were imitations of a style already established. Picasso desired a style of his own. After further experimentation, as seen is his Blue Period or Rose Period eventually Picasso settled into Cubism in cooperation with Georges Braque, who I had never heard of, but turned out to be a pretty significant guy. Additionally I had no idea there were really two main types of cubism, analytical and synthetic. Analytical cubism is what I would consider the more familiar cubism that consists of figures analyzed into basic shapes seen from multiple perspectives, where as synthetic cubism is a form of collage that was used to create compositions from synthetic material such as wallpaper. The two phases of cubism are similar, but also are radically different. Where as analytical cubism breaks down figures into flat shapes, synthetic cubism synthesizes or creates new forms from many different objects. Analytical Cubism and Synthetic Cubism can be seen as inverse operations, like subtraction and addition.

Stolen Goya

Goya masterpiece stolen en route to New York

NEW YORK (CNN) -- A reward of up to $50,000 has been offered for information leading to the recovery of a painting by a Spanish master that was stolen while being transported to the Guggenheim Museum in Manhattan.

The theft of the 1778 painting by Francisco de Goya y Lucientes was announced Monday by the Toledo [Ohio] Museum of Art and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, which issued a joint press release.


The painting, "Children with a Cart," is owned by the Toledo Museum, and is insured for more than $1 million dollars.

According to the release, it was discovered missing last week while being transported from Toledo to the Guggenheim, where it was to go on display later this week as part of an exhibition of Spanish art. The piece was being transported by a professional art mover.

The museums said the painting was taken through the Scranton, Pennsylvania, area en route to New York, and the FBI in Philadelphia was involved in the probe.

"We are pursing all logical leads and tips in this investigation," said Jerri Williams, an FBI spokeswoman in Philadelphia.

"It appears they knew what they were doing," she said, when asked if the theft was random or the work of a professional.

By Chris Kokenes

Hot and Spicey Movie Night

Please join the Chaffey Art History Association on Thursday, November 16 at 6pm in VSS room 108 for a Movie Night that promises to be hot and spicey!

This month mcdart will focus on first wave Feminism and its impact on a generation of artists determined to change the way art is made, consumed and practiced. We'll begin with an excerpt from a film that documents the first Feminist exhibition in history, Womanhouse. Artists participating in Judy Chicago's and Miriam Schapiro's Feminist Art Program at CalArts in 1972 mounted an exhibition on the theme of "women's work." An abandoned mansion in Hollywood was refurbished by students and transformed into a large exhibition space featuring an assortment of installation, mixed media and performance works. Cock and Cunt Play, written by Judy Chicago and performed by Faith Wilding and Janice Lester became a piece of empowerment for young Feminists and an infamous work blasted by critics long stuck in the patriarchal art historical tradition.

After that provocative introduction, mcdart will show Mary Harron's and Daniel Minahan's I Shot Andy Warhol starring Lili Taylor as Valerie Solanas, a 60s radical who wrote the SCUM Manifesto. The movie charters Solanas's attempts at forging a professional relationship with Pop art star Andy Warhol in order to get her writing published and noticed in the public sphere. Unfortunately, Solanas's plans go awry and Warhol is completely consumed by the fury of a woman scorned.

Of course we'll end our evening's entertainment with a lively discussion on the ideas surrounding the works shown. If you haven't made it to Movie Night this semester, you won't want to miss out on this one! Hope to see you there!


Update:
Don't forget there will also be free snacks and beverages!

O V I S

Chaffey College Art instructor Shari Wasson's exhibition O V I S will be at the SCA Project Gallery from November 11 through December 2.

Opening Reception: Saturday, November 11 from 6 - 9 pm. Concurrent with 2nd Saturday Pomona Art Walk.

Shari Wasson presents stylized mixed media drawings/collages featuring blind lamb heads and their wooly coifs. Through mingling metaphors and engaging notions of duality and paradox, Wasson weaves a metaphysical dialogue centered on seeking, finding, being, and becoming.

International Klein Blue

What is it about International Klein Blue that I find so appealing this morning?

Mexican archeologists find largest Aztec figure

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican archeologists unveiled the largest Aztec idol ever discovered on Friday and said it could be a door to a hidden chamber at a ruined temple under the heart of Mexico City.
...
The 12.4 tonne stone slab, 46 feet in surface area, was partially uncovered this month at the main Templo Mayor on the edge of the capital's central Zocalo square.
...
Excavators have been astonished by the size of the piece and its elaborate engraving of the earth god Tlaltecuhtli as they uncovered more of the slab in recent days.

Bergamot Station

Today Denise Johnson and I joined Chaffey students (see photos below) for an afternoon of gallery hopping at Bergamot Station in Santa Monica. With some 35 galleries and a museum on site there was quite a variety of art on hand. I am going to list just a few exhibitions that I found interesting, intriguing or provocative.

Katy Stone @ Patricia Faure Gallery

"Recognized for her innovative techniques, materials and installation methods, Stone's work is an intriguing coalescence of drawing, painting, and sculpture. Stone paints biological and botanically-inspired images with acrylic on clear Mylar [Dura-Lar] sheets. She then cuts the imagery to shape and layers the sheets to hang away from the wall. Viewed as a painting sculpturally projected, the work's already great depth is made all the more complex with an additional level of interest introduced by the tinted shadows cast through the paint on the Mylar."

Jeremy Mora @ Richard Heller Gallery

The Imaginary Wasteland is Mora's first solo exhibition of his small scale sculptures (small as in mere inches). The works can appear whimsical at first look, but upon closer examination many of his environments are a commentary on humanity's relationship to and impact on the world, while others present the viewer with a mysterious tableau to contemplate. The one here depicts two children observing a fallen nun.

Douglas Gordon @ Patrick Painter, Inc.

"This will be the first Los Angeles presentation of Black and White (Babylon), 1996. In this video installation 1960s footage of an erotic dancer is shown in slow motion on two separate screens leaning against the gallery walls. The larger video projection is presented upside down, while the smaller is normally oriented. The subject matter so altered, raises issues of time and perception as these become blurred, revealing what Gordon calls “the unconscious” of the film; in this case a generic stereotype of heterosexual male culture sublimated by a slackening of time and accentuated by Gordon’s choice of historical footage."

Students view Robert Stockwell works at Craig Krull Gallery.

Students at Patricia Faure Gallery.

Venerating the Dead in Mesoamerica

The Bowers Museum of Cultural Art presents "Venerating the Dead in Mesoamerica" by Dr. Virginia Fields, Curator of Pre-Columbian Art at LACMA.

The archaeological patterns and ancient art of Mesoamerica reveal that ancestors played a significant role in the daily lives of this region, providing support for kings and commoners alike. Dr. Fields will discuss how this important aspect of Mesoamerican life endures today and is especially visible in the commemorative activities of the Day of the Dead. This lecture will present an overview of the veneration of the deceased ancestors that is expressed through beautiful objects and ceremonies from ancient times to the present day.

The lecture is on November 4 at 1:30. It coincides with "Mexican Day of the Dead Family Festival: Celebration of Life" at Bowers Museum held Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 4 and 5 from noon to 4.

The Bowers Museum of Cultural Art
2002 North Main Street
Santa Ana, CA 92706
Phone: (714) 567-3679

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Relevant article from the University of Texas.

Mexico’s national holiday reveals celebrations that keep the dead among the living. By Christian Clarke Cásarez

As night falls, a young woman lights the candles surrounding the altar she created in honor of her grandmother who passed away two years ago. The ofrenda, an offering embodied in an altar of remembrance, is part of Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) traditions that welcome the departed home for food and festivities.

Rose petals and cigarettes line the path to the altar, which celebrates her abuelita’s fondness for gardening and smoking. A heart-shaped box holding the matriarch’s ashes sits beside a cup of coffee and a plate of pan dulce (sweet bread). Old family photographs provide a nostalgic black-and-white backdrop for the display. At the center, a pink and black prayer veil cradles a card bearing the grandmother’s name: María del Refugio, which in Spanish means Mary be our Refuge.

For more than 3,000 years, communities—from ancient Mesoamerica to modern México—have provided refuge to the spirits of loved ones who traverse the world of the dead to commune with the living.

November begins with Día de los Muertos, a national holiday in México. Throughout the country, communities diligently prepare for the two-day celebrations (Nov. 1-2) by creating altars and preparing special aromatic foods. Cemeteries bustle with visitors delivering flowers to gravesites and mausoleums. Papier mâchè skulls line store-window displays and paper banners with images of dancing skeletons drape across walkways. At night, city plazas welcome revelers whose marigold-festooned altars display personal trinkets and treats in honor of the departed.

Although Día de Los Muertos coincides with Halloween in the United States, the south-of-the-border tradition does not focus on candycollection or mischievous tricksters. For Mexicans, the symbolic visits from the dead are neither morbid nor macabre. They are celebratory.

Día de los Muertos remains an important and profound holiday laced with Christian religious symbols and figures, including the Christ on the cross and the Blessed Virgin Mary. The celebration has a rich historical and cultural tradition that springs from the human hope to never be forgotten.

History: Ancient Links to Ancestor Veneration

The celebration of Día de los Muertos bears striking resemblance with the tradition of ancestor veneration practiced by ancient Mesoamericans. The Aztecs, Zapotecs, Maya and other indigenous groups did not envision the dead inhabiting a reality apart from the living, but rather viewed the worlds of the dead and the living as deeply intertwined.

“Death and life were not separate states of existence for Mesoamerican communities,” says Julia Guernsey, an assistant professor of art and art history. “For them, the living and the dead co-existed, and they believed communication could take place between the realms.

“During this period, there were no community graveyards in our modern sense of the term. Instead, families typically buried their loved ones directly under the floors of their households.”

Mesoamerican burial chambers often were not permanently sealed. This form of ancestor veneration showed a great respect for the dead. Family members could enter the tombs and make offerings to their deceased ancestors long after they were laid to rest.

The living sought help from their deceased relatives who could act as intermediaries between the realm of the living and of the dead. In fact, vivid images of this practice exist throughout Mesoamerica. For example, a Classic Maya stela (or carved upright stone slab) from the ancient site of Piedras Negras in Guatemala, depicts the presentation of an offering to a deceased ancestor, who rests below in a chamber, swaddled in cloth as a mummy bundle.

“Such images provide rich evidence for long-established patterns of ancestor veneration, which appear to be echoed in the modern rituals of Día de los Muertos,” Guernsey says.

The indigenous traditions continued throughout the pre-Columbian period and beyond the arrival of Europeans when the rituals merged with Catholic practices to create a trans-cultural blend of celebrations, scheduled to coincide with the Christian holidays of All Saints Day and All Souls Day in November. [There's more...]