The Getty Museum

Someone, who shall remain nameless, asked me what else there is besides a temporary exhibit at the Getty. What I love about the museum are several things. The view for one is amazing. The gardens are beautiful, reminiscent of the gardens at the Huntington Library. But within their permanent collection are some gems.

As a kid, it was the Impressionists like Monet and Van Gogh who inspired me to paint and draw. The Getty has a couple of Monets and Van Goghs, and while they may not be Starry Night by Van Gogh or Monet's Water Lilies, I like these pieces just as much.

Within the collection Van Gogh's Irises look as if they are waving in the wind. His heavy handed brushstrokes added a level of movement to the canvas that you don't see in the post-post modern art world of unintelligible found object sculptures and installation pieces.

Perhaps my love of sailing and the sea cloud my judgment a bit but Monet's painting called Sunset is such a romanticized scene of sailboats through the sea-mist as an orange sun sinks below the water line. I can almost hear the water lapping the the hull of the sailboats in Santa Cruz when I look at it.

In my French Painting class with Donna at UCSC, an artist we studied in detail really caught my eye. David (pronounced Dav-eed) was a prolific history painter. History painting was the biggest division of the Paris Expositions that were held at the Louvre when it was used as an artists' academy in the 18th Century. The genre of history painting is fascinating, as it is the depiction of a moment in history or mythology. History paintings were extremely large scale and grand. David excelled within this genre winning the grand prize at least once that I know of. The Getty has a David. It is my favorite painting in the entire museum.

This piece is called the Farewell of Telemachus and Eucharis. Telemachus is the son of Odysseus. Eucharis was a wood nymph and the consort of Telemachus. At the time of the Odyssey, Telemachus was at home with his mother. A goddess comes down to tell him to go search for his father, who at the time was trapped on an island with the Cyclops. David chose this moment of farewell and depicted it with a tenderness that you can feel from looking at the image.

Within the frame are two figures, our lovers. They are young, as you can tell from the ruddiness of the cheeks. Eucharis rests her head on Telemachus as he looks into the distance. The colors are remarkably intense, much like the bright acidic colors of Michelangelo, who was much earlier than David. Their figures are soft with youth, skin tones and cloth are true to life. You feel the tenderness of the farewell. I can sit and stare at it for hours, feeling that moment of goodbye.

Go see it and tell me what you think.

Bernini's Portrait Busts

So the show at the Getty was on Bernini's Portrait Busts. One of the big characterstics of the baroque was the importance of showing people as living entities. With the Renaissance, the figures of David by Michelangelo and others were frozen, with more of a focus on classicism and perfecting the form. Baroque embraces the classic form but adds a level of drama and expression to the faces that make them come alive. I loved Bernini's sculptures because he used different colored marbles rather than only Carrara (the white marble of the Renaissance). It created dimension where there might otherwise not be.

His series' of busts were of notable figures within the papal court mostly, with other powerful characters rounding out his portfolio. What was so groundbreaking were his uses of the sculpture tools to score and treat the marble to add a hint of a beard, or to imply thinning hair. in contrast, he also used drills to create elaborate coiffures and intricate lace designs. What I found interesting as I walked through the busts, was that he created irises for the eyes, rather than leaving them blank as the Renaissance masters did. This makes the faces of his subjects come alive, as if they might talk to you as you walked by.

I got chills as I walked up to the bust of Constanza Bonarelli. She was a consort of Bernini's. Her hair is coming loose, her eyes wide open, her lips parted as if she was out of breath. This treatment of her portrait bust implied sensuality and a sexual connection between the sculptor and the sitter. we studied this bust for a week in Soussloff's Bernini seminar and it was amazing to see it in person after all the discussion.

In all, the exhibit was very well put together. I was surprised at how many pieces they had managed to borrow from other major museums around the world. It just speaks to the Getty Museum's clout in the art world. I am so glad I was able to see it.

Bernini

I am in my hometown tonight, on the eve of my father's birthday. My father and mother and I celebrated by meeting at The Foundry on Melrose Ave, and caught Louis and Keely: Live at the Sahara. On my to meet them, as I drove up Santa Monica Blvd, I noticed banners for a Bernini exhibit at the Getty Museum. Now, who is Bernini?

GianLorenzo Bernini was an Italian Baroque artist whose strength lie in his skills as a sculptor. The period of the Baroque followed on the heels of the Renaissance. While the Renaissance was about nature, and its perfections- the Baroque period moved away from classicism and into its own genre. What made a piece Baroque is its depcition of a "transitory moment." For example, in the story of Apollo and Daphne, Daphne was a virgin who caught the eye of Apollo and many other suitors who would have her. So she devised a plan. No one was as fleet of foot as Daphne when she ran through the woods. She challenged her would be suitors to a race. The man who would catch her could claim her.

Apollo was no mere mortal, he was a god from Olympus and as he pursued her, she knew that she would lose. She called out to Poseidon, the god of the ocean and trees, to save her- and keep her honor pure. In response, as Apollo gained, Daphne was transformed into the laurel tree. Consumed with regret, Apollo made a crown of her leaves. Which is why the laurel was used in the Olympic games. Bernini's sculpture of this moment is depicted in Apollo and Daphne.

He chose to depict the moment of Daphne's transformation- a perfect example of this transitory moment.

I took a class on Bernini at UCSC from the nation's leading scholar. Cathy Soussloff made her name in the art history community with her identification of a sculpture by Bernini at a college in the midwest. I am curious to see if she was called upon to help curate this exhibit. A review will be forthcoming....

Yay for art!

In my plan to start this blog, I had originally intended to begin posting right away but there was a great hard drive disaster of 2008 and thusly, i didnt start it. But here I am now. Incidentally, I have big plans. This will test out my writing skills as I have decided to use this a testing grounds for a column I want to pitch to Surfer Magazine. I like the water, and surfing, and all those things entail: Surfboard art, water art, maybe even some tattoing if its artistic. and having to do with water and the like.

A few weekends ago there was a great surf competition called the Roxy Surf Jam. Its put on by Linda Benson, a longtime surfer and resident of San Diego. Its an all girl competition and Im sure most of them came into Starbucks before their sets. Taking advantage of my day off, i went down to check out the booths set up for people who don't actually want to watch the surfing. But it gave me a chance to check out the surf art. I met with Chris Pederson of Forever Stoked and spoke with him about his work.

He is stationed in Morro Bay. And the brand name Forever Stoked has several artists beneath the name. He seemed to be the leader of the pack. His artwork was a blend of airbrushing and oils. The compositions are not cluttered like a Hieronymous Bosch painting. They reflect the simplicity of a surfer's loves- good waves, and unblemished environment. The airbrushing made the waves look glasslike, almost surreal in perfection. Of the 6 artists, there is one female artist. Her contribution to Forever Stoked was mostly manifested in jewelry pieces. the paintings were beautiful and printed onto pendants made of wood, leather cuffs, and hemp cuffs. Pricing was mid range for art. The colors are bright and acidic, much like Michelangelo.

I can see a trend in this artwork, a mixture of love for bright colors, and perfectly lined up sets. They mirror the style of the Hawaiian Island Creations brand art. Hopefully, he will want to meet up with me for an interview so that I can create a mockup article to send to Chris Mauro.

in other news, I also sent in a resume to the San Diego Museum of Art to be a gallery attendant. Long hours standing in a museum, making sure people dont touch the paintings may sound boring but its a foot in the door.