Tag Archives: art

Therianthropes

Posted on January 12, 2020 by JMN

In December 2017, an Indonesian archaeologist discovered a cave painting on the island of Sulawesi that dates back at least 43,900 years — “the oldest pictorial record of storytelling and the earliest figurative artwork in the world.” In the story … Continue reading →

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Feminized Heroes

Posted on January 10, 2020 by JMN

Images of historic persons have been depicted recently in novel ways by artists in Mexico and in Canada. Both cases have a gender-fluid slant; the contrast in public reaction in each country is notable. Emiliano Zapata, betrayed and killed in … Continue reading →

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Degas: Opéra Superfan

Posted on December 23, 2019 by JMN

This painter who “didn’t like women,” in van Gogh’s estimation, found at the Opéra [de Paris] an arena of desire and depredation that he could translate into pure form — beautiful and stifling, modern and cold. This is the truth … Continue reading →

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Benjamin Creme

Posted on December 19, 2019 by JMN

This article introduced me to Scottish artist Benjamin Creme. Mr. Creme, who died in 2016 at 93, was born in Scotland and started painting at age 13. At 16 he dropped out of school to focus on his art… Inspired … Continue reading →

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Tenangos

Posted on December 19, 2019 by JMN

The tenangos, as the embroidered pieces are called, have evolved into richly detailed works reaching a worldwide market. Tenango embroidery is made by the indigenous Otomí community in the Mexican state of Hidalgo, whose main town is Tenango de Doria. … Continue reading →

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“Do Not Erase”

Posted on December 9, 2019 by JMN

For the last year, Jessica Wynne, a photographer and professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, has been photographing mathematicians’ blackboards, finding art in the swirling gangs of symbols sketched in the heat of imagination, argument and … Continue reading →

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Outrenoir: Ultra-Black

Posted on December 6, 2019 by JMN

French painter Pierre Soulages turns 100 this December, 2019. He is being accorded an exhibit at the Louvre. The only other painters given an exhibit there during their lifetimes were Picasso and Chagall. Since 1979, Soulages has worked exclusively in … Continue reading →

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‘Your Painting Is Your Best Friend’

Posted on December 2, 2019 by JMN

Cecily Brown, age 50, is the daughter of British writer Shena Mackay and David Sylvester, the art critic and curator. When Brown was 18 and struggling financially, the painter and sculptor Maggi Hambling let her paint in her garage. “Maggi … Continue reading →

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Celia Paul

Posted on December 1, 2019 by JMN

Celia Paul was one of five daughters of Christian missionaries. She spent her early childhood in India, then in Exmoor, southwest England. Her father became bishop of Bradford. “Why, she wonders, did he have all these children he didn’t have … Continue reading →

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Glitter Jitters

Posted on November 29, 2019 by JMN

Here are nuggets tweezered from a story about heartburn in the high-dollar art market. This time around, there are few museum-quality works by the most famous artists to tempt billionaires — no painting or sculpture is estimated to sell for … Continue reading →

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