Piece de resistance- What's yours?

Reading Inside Design by Michael Greer (copyright 1962), I find myself enjoying this delightful and easy to read book on interior "decorating". What a welcome break from the tedious college bound interior design books often part of our course cirriculm (and $$$$!). Each chapter is exactly one page in length accompanied by a beautifully composed interior photo (predominantly b&w)- "decorated" by Mr Greer himself. The first chapter, Piece de resistance. His thoughts are that everyone must have at least one, and it should be both outrageous and priced outside of your budget.

"Whether or not you have much money to spend, but especially if you haven't, you need one marvelous decorative object which you love outrageously, which you may have spent far more for than you could afford, and perhaps which on one else in his right mind would ever have spend as much for as you did." -- Michael Greer

That got me thinking.....It's hard just naming one, and as a student of interior design, I love and have a passion for all things "beautiful", or should I re clarify, I love all things "inspirational". (...well that's another blog down the road.). So, what's my piece de resistance? Fortunately, there's many! Just last week, I visited the Indian store in Los Gatos and picked up a fetish and a folk art piece--an owl, which is now perching on top of my South American armoire. The fetish is sitting happily on top of the mantle underneath the pair of faux antlers (Fortunately I won the antelers at an ASID Design Award Ceremony! ). But I'm unable to stop there.... Then there's the beautiful custom bedding and window treatments in my master bedroom--coverlet, shams, pillows et all. And, how I love how the eyes follow the ceiling mounted crystal light fixture then up and down the leading ege of the window treatements from the crystal beads. Oh, and this was definitely priced out of my budget. Luckily for me, I was employed at Calico Corners so the employee discount was S-W-E-E-T! So you might guess where this is going...there's not just one piece de resistance going on in this home. It's all around. The goal is to have this follow me in every room--but that will take time and a lot of budget.

What's your piece de resistance? Do you dare to have just one? Some day I hope to own something "French" oh! la! la! perhaps from the Directoire or Art Deco period. Oh, and how about something zen, like a Japanese tea room, and on and on and on....

"It's too bad when the piece de resistance is so big that it detracts from the setting, but that's life; the piece de resistance, like a brown-eyed gene, tends to have its own dominant way."--Michael Greer

What makes a successful work of art: Wanders vs. Generation 1848 vs. Impressionists.

Who and what is right when it comes to the legitimacy of art: Does it need to be true to nature, realistic or based on an ideology? Does it need to be didactic, or do we want to escape into fantasy or should it capture a specific emotional moment in time - or can it simply be decoration? Furthermore, what captivates the spectator and patrons of the arts—is it the subject matter (i.e., upper or lower classes, martyrs, God, heros, female nudes, etc.),—or perhaps it has to have a scientific emphasis such as “optical properties” of light, color, textures, anatomy, etc.--or even still, should it be based on the artists’ masterful skill of the brushstroke? Let’s look at the three works of art I’ve chosen for this cotextual analysis to determine who’s right.

1). Millet’s, The Gleaners. The rural working-class is captured as subject matter as they go quickly through the fields at sunset to pick up the ears of corn missed by the harvesters. It looks like back-breaking repetitive work and certainly a thankless task. Their austerity contrasts with the abundance of harvest: haystacks, sheaves of wheat, cart and harvesters. Use of color hints at festive. The use of stark contrast of light (about a 20:1 contrast ratio of ambient light to dark (a trick used in lighting to create dramatic effect and form!) Colors are brightened and the highlights accent human anatomy—hands, necks, backs (all of which are needed for there labor). Subject matter are people who are obviously poor but the spectator does not get a sense of misery; one may feel compassion, and the scene is soothing (nature, color scheme). These people aren’t begging for food with their hands out, but are following the rules of the landlord. This piece was a bit controversial.

2). Bonheur’s, Plowing in the Nivernais, The Dressing of the Vines. Looking to animals and nature, it’s definitely accurate and extremely realistic --the soil looks so REALISTIC showing a grounded observation of nature! More idyllic than example #1. Bonheur demonstrates a sense of sympathies towards animals. Also note abundant rich soil to grow plants, abundant grass to feed the animals, and shepard doing his job (better than a desk job!) A balanced composition that has harmony, conservative and safe theme (not controversial), and had appeal at that time.

3). Monet’s Haystack Series- Impressionism. In stark contrast of Millet’s The Gleaners, Monet’s subject matter is not realistic in a sense of showing sympathies and/or passions to the unsung heros or to the lower classes' unseen efforts, nor didactic, nor does Monet look to the Romans to infuse mythological nymphs, puttis or Goddesses. The subject matter is simply the mundane haystacks themselves. Based on a series captured at various times of the day during different seasons with all emphasis on the play of light and color.

Which school of thought is correct? Believe it or not, I think an American Impressionist painter, James Whistler (not a French, Italian or Flemish artist!) hinted at it best when he was naming his works of art, “Symphonies” and “Arrangement:….hinting that “just as a symphony can be a pleasing composition of sound, so a painting can be a pleasing arrangement of form, regardless of its subject”. And, as Whistler stated during an art trial ( he was suing a critic who claimed his work had “no purpose”)--“It’s not how much time it takes to create a piece of work that determines the “value”, but it’s the “knowledge gained through a lifetime.”

So, who’s right? NO ONE AND EVERYONE. There are no absolutes—art just has to have good composition, harmony, balance and chiaroscuro –making it believable thus giving it appeal to the spectators, patrons—and hopefully the critics! Lastly, I believe an artist should stay true to his/her nature making them and their work authentic and one-of a kind—and hopefully demonstrates some accountability and responsibility.

Blog #7: The Role of Art in Society and "What is Missing?"-

In order to explain what I think the role of art in society is, I'm going to attempt to share two distinctly different examples then tie them together. So here it is: Yesterday in the San Francisco Chronicle I came across an article in the Arts section entitled, "Maya Lin unveils, "What's Missing". This NY artist and architect won the award for public art at the Academy of Sciences. She names her style as"moving art"--a way to create a memorial that almost could go wherever it wanted to go." This specific piece has several components of which one will remain permanent at the Academy, while the others, transient to multi locations. This memorial is dedicated to bringing awareness to the current crisis surrounding biodiversity and habitat loss. Although she is unveiling recorded extinct species sounds from a cone, it's not really about extinct species. It's about things that are disappearing right before our eyes ... from the joyous sounds of songbirds reminiscent from our childhood to now having to purchase water since our tap water isn't sanitary due to corporate dumping into our oceans and people littering out land.

Scenerio #2: Last week, my 5 yr old daughter and I went on our first "girls week-end" to MD. There we caught up with my 11-year old niece who was in a week-end long cheer leading competition. The competition was categorized by age and talent...Although impressed and amazed by the athleticism of these girls and boys, what really shook me was how they DRESSED (or undressed?) for the competition. Can I say "loss of innocence??" I was a cheerleader myself (back in the 70's and 80's) and boy have times changed! There girls, ranging in age from 5 to teens were exposing there bellies and for some, body piercing. As a mother, I was asking myself, "would I let me daughter" don such a costume in an environment such as this? And my answer was, "ABSOLUTELY NOT!". These young girls not only were wearing tops that ended at the bottom of the breast bone (top of rib cage), but were wearing heavy make-up. And, while not judging woman's/girl's bodies, some of the girls had no right wearing such little clothes. Although the 3-5 year old had full top coverage, I wish the older girls maintained such "vigilance". Was it really necessary to expose themselves like this? For what reason? How did it add value to their athleticism and performance? Could the judges see their heavy glittery eye make-up? In my opinion- none what so ever.

So, to tie in these two very different scenarios, I say--"What's missing today in art is lost innocense and responsibility/accountability. Today, for some artists, like Maya, their goal is to shed knowledge about our waining environment while for others, it's about shocking the audiences so that over time we get so de-sensitized and in this case, de-sexualized that our values get lost in the translation. Youth cheer leading competition is just one by-product. I wish there were a lot more compassionate, responsible and humane artists like Maya Lin.

Blog #6: Rembrandt: The greatest and most natural movement and emotion

Rembrandt was THE quintessential Baroque artist of his day. His undeniable masterful command/control of the what I call the 4 C's: Complex emotions, Chiaroscuro, Caravaggio, and Compassion (for his art and mankind).

In a letter to Huyghens, Rembrandt offered the only surviving explanation of what he sought to achieve through his art: "The greatest and most natural movement.", translated from "die meeste ende di naetuereelste beweechgelickheijt." The word "beweechgelickhijt" is also argued to mean "emotion" or "motive."

Above, I have chosen works that I believe to be good examples which exemplifies his command for the 4'C's.

Examples 1-3: Note how Rembrandt is able to draw the spectators eye to an area (here, the arm) to convey emotion as well as motive (i.e., praying with the hands, a servant arm who is holding a broom, and third, the act of love and trust between a man and woman). It's interesting that with these three examples Rembrandt chose the same antomical body part as an accent, by way of light, more so than the subjects themselves.

Examples 4 and 5, show Rembrandt's skill in conveying FEELING through gesture, expression, and Chiaroscuro--even with the ABSENCE of color. Pretty remarkable!

The final example, The Oriental, typifies the Baroque style simply by capturing the "attitude" of his subject by way of costume (turban), facial expression (confidence, indifference), and poise (distinguished). And, for good measure, he again uses light to convey one's attention to the turban NOT the man himself!

Die meeste ende di naetuereelste beweechgelickheijt!

Blog #5: Artemisia and The Country Bunny (and the Little Golden Shoes)

This painting, Madonna and Child, is believed to be one of Artemisia's earliest work. At age 16, she definitely demonstrates technical and compositional skills that many male artists never attained in their lifetime! In addition, , I notice such a sweet motherly tenderness which I haven't witnessed in past Madonna and Child paintings. This week, while at the library trying to locate the Artemisia's DVD (side note: not an easy task!), on my way out, my attention was drawn to a section of Easter books, and "The Country Bunny and The Golden Shoes" caught my eye. I checked it out planning to read it to my 5 yr old daughter. About 6 pages into it, my daughter grew bored, and wanted to know why the story was so long! I continued to read it without her and much to my chagrin, it held my attention. This book was written in 1939, and it's about 5 Easter Bunnies who have been chosen to deliver Easter baskets to all the children in the world. It is a highly coveted position---especially if you're a bunny. To be chosen, you must be the kindest, swiftest and wisest bunnies in the world. Needless to say, there's a lot of competition by the MALE species. But there was a young female bunny who dreamt one day she would be one of the five. However, she became a mom...and as the story unfolds, raises 21 bunnies. In spite of her responsibilities-- and to much dismay from her younger male competitors--she was awarded this coveted job by Grandfather Bunny. It's a heartwarming feminist story. So, my point is this, that despite society's prejudices--woman have proven to beat the odds, and lucky for us--accomplish amazing things leaving us and our children impressionable marks. In closing, Artemisia was the eldest of five children and the only one to show artistic skill. Her father recognised her abilities and began tutoring her. I guess there are some similarities between my two characters--Artemesia being the 5th Easter Bunny chosen by the old, kind wise Grandfather Bunny!

Chapter 20: High Renaissance (Sixteenth Century Art in Italy)

As I viewed the former piece, Entombment, by Pontormo (alterpiece in Capponi Chapel, Florence), I  immediately sensed that I had experienced these deeply personal  religious feelings a short while ago....and viola! I recalled the Deposition by Van Der Wayden  (Chapter 18. Was it really that long ago we learned about 15th century art in northern europe?) Coincidentally,  late one evening last month, since I couldn't sleep, I turned on the tube to catch the ending of The Passion of Christ, where Jesus was ridiculed and publicly beaten prior to carrying his (our) cross to his death.  The brewing emotions which grew, as I, the spectator, lay witness to the same story as told by 3 different people.  What strikes me is the following: how three distinct individuals can uniquely share the same scene/parable while  stirring up the same deeply profound  human emotions (deep sorrow, shame, compassion, love, hope...)

These two artists portrayed the same story with similar juxtaposition of figures (recall the "parenthesis" beginning and ending with Mary and Magdelaine of the latter piece, Deposition), but note Pontormo's use of an unusual color schemes (contrasting secondary colors and pale palette compared to van Der Wayden deep jewel tones used during the 15th century), different shifts in scale (note the boy in foreground catching Jesus) as well as his "artificial" placement of figures/objects ( note the ambiguous placement of the cloud in background as if for no other reason but to give little sense of the physical location which was atypical at this particular time).  All in all,  the spectator begins to sense (and perhaps learns to appreciate) a progression of craftsmanship over time as these artists perfect their work and attempt new ways of expression. For the first time, I now have a deeper understanding and even, greater appreciation, for abstract art....as a means to stir up different human emotion (perhaps shock?) by the spectators giving them something out of the ordinary (extraordinary, so to speak).

Chapter 19: Renaissance Art in Fifteenth-Century Italy

Painters of the 15th Century... who were they? Were they part Artist, part Mathematician, part Scientist, part Philosopher, part Illusionist or part Personality? Or… all of the above?
I have such a huge sense of awe, appreciation and respect for these artists since reading Chapter 19.

They delighted their patrons, supporters and viewers with their tricks of light, shadowing, color, perspective, and with the clever placement of every day items…. all to heighten our sense of reality. It’s spell bounding…almost too much to wrap around in my little brain of mine....but I'll tell you what...while finishing up my reading today, I had the tv on in the background. Tivo had recorded some of my cooking shows (Barefoot Cantessa, Ina Garten and Giada at Home, Giada DeLaurentiis ), and these talented chefs also extol their beliefs and principals of the importance of combining texture, color, taste, fresh ingredients, etc., and I made a connection-chefs and artists have a lot in common. Here's what they share: their love and passion for what they do, years of schooling and apprenticeship, the appreciation of and the effective application of the formulas/recipes --and sometimes dare to take risks by (i.e., using various mediums vs using various ingredients, combining different textures,etc.), and the ability to effectively solve problems both emotionally and logically--all with one common end--to serve us, the patrons and supporters. Oh, and some of them, are PERSONALITIES, too!