Last November, I went to NYC for Thanksgiving. We packed so much into a few days, I haven't blogged about all of my adventures. Most importantly, I didn't have a chance to blog about my visit to the MoMA and the Tim Burton exhibit. Since Alice in Wonderland comes out next week, I thought I'd do an inspiration week on Tim Burton, a modern surrealist.
Last spring, I did an inspiration week on Dada, Surrealism and Salvador Dali as part of the creative process in developing the Surreal Rhythms beads. A style of bead more in the flavor of Dali and Miro. There is a more modern take on surrealism as interpreted by Burton and his many films. Walking through the MoMA exhibit, I was really inspired to see what modern surrealism looks like in film and art and wanted to write a few posts on the entire experience.
Have you gone to an art exhibit that inspired you?
6 comments:
Last year there was an incredible exhibit of Etruscan Art that certainly got my juices flowing. Primitive and modern all in one fell swoop.
Emanda
I loved this exhibit, one of my top favorites at MoMA, ever. The sheer expanse of this exhibit is inspiring alone. This man's mind must never stop! Does he ever sleep? A couple of the things I took away from this is, 1. to think things through all the way, give it not only a back story, but an anatomy- did you see the full anatomy of an alien that he created? Amazing detail. This will also inspire off shoots of ideas 2. don't be afraid to follow your gut, your emotion, your anything. Everything is beautiful in it's own way. Even if it is freaky and frightening!
I've been to so many! Some of my favorites were the Lee Bontecou exhibit that was at the temporary Queens location of MoMA. I also really loved an exhibit of "Wicked Plants" at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden by Briony Morrows-Cribbs. She did fine botanical etchings that were used for the Amy Stewart book.
Another show that was really thought provoking was the Mark Rothko exhibit at Pace Wildenstein a few years back. They showed them as they were meant to be shown according to the directions of the artist. The lighting was lowered and each had the appropriate space in between. Often times I feel like Rothko paintings are shown in a sterile environment and the magic of the hazy moment is striped away.
OH! And then there's Kiki Smith at the Whitney. She's just lovely and seeing her sculptural work in person was really moving. Life-sized magical moments in cast paper and heavy bronzes.
ANNNNNNNND... The Gates in Central Park. A lot of people didn't like them, but I did. I enjoyed how different they looked with each of the changes in the weather. And I also liked how The Ramble, a bird sanctuary that has a bad rap, was pristinely untouched and was a calm in the storm of people. This didn't stop me from climbing up to the highest point in The Ramble and looked down on swarms of people moving in and out of The Gates.
(And this is too funny, the verification word is: "sellit".)
I was in college when the Monet exhibit came to the museum in Chicago. My mother and drove down and took the train into the city. I didn't realize how big an event this was until I saw the swarms of people, ticket in hand who had waited for hours winding through other equally fascinating exhibits just to get to the entrance to the rooms. Standing so close to that art was magnificent. And I was amazed when we eventually got to the rooms with some of the water lily paintings. These things were massive. I remember that there were only a handful of paintings in that room, but the scope and size of them was so dramatic. How Monet had the vision to paint something so huge when his eyesight was failing him is miraculous. I got to view some of Andy Warhols soup cans up close last summer at a small exhibit in Las Vegas. I would love to go to more museums. Thanks for sharing this! Enjoy the day! Erin
Wow you guys! I love the very thoughtful comments from you. There's so much to be learned in an art museum isn't there and it has a lasting impact on us.
Joy - thanks for sharing what you learned from the Burton exhibit - I'll be writing about what I saw and thought next week. You've summarized so beautifully!
Andrew - your writing and mini review of the art exhibits and the artists you've seen are thought provoking and eye opening. I must admit that I'm unfamiliar with most of the artists you wrote about - but I will be sure to seek them out!
Erin - yes yes yes, I saw the Monet triptych of the waterlilies in the MoMa in November. Oh my! I never realized how large they were either. How impressive! Thanks for sharing your thoughts on it.
Emanda - I would soooooooo love to see some Etruscan Art - I went to the ROM (Royal Ontario Museum) in Toronto last week and saw some of King Tut's art and jewelry. It's just gorgeous and so full of meaning.
Thank you thank you thank you for taking the time to write such amazing comments! I learn so much from all of you each time you comment!
I loved the early Picasso exhibit I saw not too awfully long ago.
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