Episode 86: Thanksgiving: Norman Rockwell

Happy Thanksgiving! We hope that everyone enjoys their day of turkey, football, and family. Today we have a special holiday episode in honor of Thanksgiving, and what better artist to talk about than Norman Rockwell.

In the United States, Thanksgiving takes place on the 4th Thursday in November and has been a tradition since 1863, when during the civil war President Abraham Lincoln declared that a day of "Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens" be held.

The event that Americans commonly call the "First Thanksgiving" was celebrated by the Pilgrims after their first harvest in the New World in 1621.

Today, Thanksgiving is about being together with family and friends, eating turkey and pumpkin pie and watching football!

Freedom from Want, 1941-43

Ye Glutton, 1923

This Rockwell illustration was on the cover of Life Magazine, Nov 22, 1923. It is located at the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge, MA.

Thanksgiving: Girl Praying, 19443

This painting shows us a girl in worn torn Europe during World War II, giving thanks for a portion of an American soldiers field rations.

Thanksgiving Mother and Son Peeling Potatoes, 1945

This was painted during WWII. A mother and her son sit next to each other peeling potatoes, it looks like they are chatting while they work and are happy to be spending time together.

We hope you enjoyed this episode and HAPPY THANKSGIVING! Next week Chloe and Zach will be introducing you to Dale Chihuly.

Episode 85: Spanish Baroque

Hola listeners! Today we bring you the last of our Baroque installments:

Si, you guessed it, el Barroco español!

This art period is characterized by its Caravaggio-esque lighting (mucho dark), and heavy religious symbolism often involving Catholic saints and martyrs.

José de Ribera, The Martyrdom of St. Bartholomew, c1639. Museo del Prado, Madrid.

Feeling inspired yet? Take note of the upturned head, and the cross-like image of Bartholomew's body. Chock full of religious imagery!!

Ribera, Boy with Club Foot, 1642-43

Cute cute cute! The boy is the central focus of this image, so much so that he takes up almost the entire composition - the effects of humanism are in full swing ladies and gentlemen.

Francisco de Zurbarán,Saint Francis in Meditation, c1639, National Gallery

Take a moment to appreciate the clothing in this image, which alludes to the poverty that Saint Francis of Assisi put himself through in order to distance himself from worldly possessions and focus more on God and the salvation of others. He was a pretty rad dude.

Zubaran, Still Life with Lemons, Oranges, and Roses, 1635

Now, don't be fooled into thinking that this is merely your average, Joe-schmoe still-life. Oh no, this is again bursting with religious symbolism. The fruit is associated with Easter, the rose with the Virgin Mary, and the cup of water with baptism.


No Spanish Baroque discussion would be complete without a mention of that illustrious painting powerhouse, Velazquez!

Diego Velazquez, Las Meninas, 1656, Museo del Prado, Madrid

Isn't that dog adorable! The princess herself is pretty darn adorable as well, but I think most awesome of all is how much Velazquez felt the need to insert himself directly into his art, and this piece. Way to put yourself on a high pedastal man.

Velazquez, Water Carrier of Seville, 1619

This is quite an interesting piece. Notice the three stages of age - boy, older man, and really old man. There are also three different parallel water vessels. This can probably linked with the same riddle that the Sphinx asked of Oedipus - "What walks on 4 legs, then two, then three?" Hopefully this man didn't follow Oedipus' lead, but it makes for a good painting.

Finally some architecture, my favorite!

Cathedral of Saintiago de Compostela

Now there is some architecture! If French and Italian Baroque had a baby, it would look like this. Reknowned for its fanciful carving, this takes artistry to a whole new level. If only all of our buildings could look so beautiful!

Muchas gracias for listening and checking out our installment on the Spanish Baroque! Stay tuned next week for our Thanksgiving special on Norman Rockwell with Julia and Chloe.

Episode 84: 10 Architecturally Beautiful Museums

Hello blog listeners! Today we offer you our favorite architecturally beautiful museums. Obviously there are so many beautiful museums in the world that we did not choose to be part of this episode and we are not discounting them by any means, but for now here are 10 museums that we believe should be recognized for their architectural achievements, innovation and beauty.

NUMBER 1: Niteroi Contemporary Art Museum
http://www.macniteroi.com.br/

Niteroi Contemporary Art Museum, Oscar Niemeyer assisted by Bruno Contarini

Interior

Located in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and built in 1996 this museum reminds us of a UFO in shape and is surrounded by an enormous reflecting pool. It is fitting that this should be a contemporary art museum, it is very contemporary in style.

NUMBER 2: Milwaukee Museum of Art
http://mam.org/

Milwaukee Museum of Art, Eero Saarinen, David Kahler, and Santiago Calatrava

Interior

The War Memorial center designed by Eero Saarinen was completed in 1957 and was created to house a veterans memorial collection. It is shaped like a floating cross and Saarinen received a great amount of praise for his innovative design. The Quadrraci Pavillion was completed in 2011 and looks much like the sails of a ship.

NUMBER 3: Guggenheim Bilboa Spain
http://www.guggenheim-bilbao.es/

Guggenheim Bilboa, Spain. Frank Gehry

Interior

This Guggenheim Museum is located in Bilboa, Spain and is one of several belonging to the Soloman R. Guggenheim Foundation. The Guggenheim Bilboa was built to help the city regain its civil pride. After looking at the stucture for awhile it begins to take on shapes like a fish, a ship and a cruise liner.

NUMBER 4: Hanoi Museum

Hanoi Museum, Meinhard von Gerkan, Nikolaus Goetze, Klaus Lenz

Located in Vietnam, this stylistically modern museum has very simplistic elements which make it very aesthetically pleasing. The museum looks like an upside down pyramid which makes it very functional, as the largest galleries are on the top floor and can be lite very easily using natural light. Natural lighting is used throughout the structure and gives it a very authentic effect.

NUMBER 5: The Louvre Museum
http://www.louvre.fr/en

Louvre Museum, Paris France

Interior of pyramid entrance

Interior

Unfortunatly know one really knows who designed the original Louvre palace, but it is a wonderus site to behold. In the heart of Paris, France the Louvre is perhaps the most iconic museum in the world and is home to countless art treasures. It was originally the seat of the French monarcy until 1682 when Louis XIV moved his court to Versailles. In 1789 it became the Louvre Museum.

NUMBER 6: Weisman Art Museum
http://www.weisman.umn.edu/

Weisman Art Museum, Frank Gehry

Can you tell we like Frank Gehry? Located in Minneapolis, Minnesota this structure has every element of design that Gehry is known for. The building presents to faces, depending on which side it is viewed from.

NUMBER 7: The Royal Ontario Museum
http://www.rom.on.ca/en

The Royal Ontario Museum, Frank Gehry designed the "Crystal"

Interior

The modern addition added to the original structure was added in 2012 and designed by, yet again, Frank Gehry! It is known as "The Crystal" for very good reasons.

NUMBER 8: Dali Museum
http://thedali.org/home.php

The Dali Museum, Yann Weymouth

This museum combines all things rational and fantastical just as Dali's artwork did. Located in St. Petersburg, Florida this structure consists of a simple rectangle with free-form geodesic known as "the enigma" made of 1062 triangular pieces of glass.

NUMBER 9: National Museum of the American Indian
http://nmai.si.edu/home/

National Museum of the American Indian, Washington DC.

Another exterior view

Located in the National Mall in Washington, DC this structure embodies an Native American spirit. The structure was built with curvilinear lines meant to mimic nature. The entrance faces East, as is part of Native American culture and the dome opens to the sky, also an aspect of traditional Native American homes.

NUMBER 10: The Guggenheim New York City
http://www.guggenheim.org/

Guggenheim, Frank Lloyd Wright

The Guggenheim museum is located in New York City and is an example of Frank Lloyd Wright's architectural genius. Sadly Wright passed away before its completion in 1959.

We hope you enjoyed this podcast! Please share with us your favorite museums and join us next Wednesday for the final episode in our mini series on Baroque art! Julia and Lauren will be talking about Spanish Baroque.

Episode 83: Versailles

A Brief History of the Chateau de Versailles

Versailles

Started as a hunting lodge by Louis XIII in 1624, it was expanded to one of the largest palaces in the world at the time by Louis XIV. Then the French court was moved from Paris to Versailles in 1682. Prominent French architects, Le Vau, Le Nôtre, and Le Brun all worked on the palace which was built in four building campaigns under Louis XIV:

1.       1664-1668 – Expanded to accommodate a party of 600 guests in 1664

2.       1669-1672 – Le Vau enclosed the original hunting lodge on the North, West and South

sides

3.       1678-1684 –Jules Hardouin-Mansart designed the North and South wings, the 
          Orangery and the famous Hall of Mirrors. Le Brun helped design much of the interior. 
          He also worked on the gardens with Le Notre
4.       1699-1710 – The royal chapel designed by Hardouin-Mansart and finished by Robert           de Cotte.

Louis XV worked on expanding the Chateau as well but did not do nearly as much as Louis XIV. One of the most famous additions during his time was the Petite Trianon, later to be known as Marie Antoinette’s estate.

Petite Trianon

During the French Revolution in the late 1700’s the royal court was forced back to Les Tuileries palace in Paris. In the years following, much of the furnishings and artworks were sold or auctioned off (though the ‘important’ ones were not). The palace suffered during this time.

During the time of Napoleon the palaces was used once again (though not by Napoleon himself).

Around 1833, Louis-Philippe proposed that a grand museum be housed in the Palace of Versailles

Today the museum is still there and other French government business is still conducted there.  

Plan of the gardens of Versailles

Prominent Rooms:

King's Chambers

Queen's Bedroom

The Queen's Hamlet - built specifically for Marie Antoinette

Hall of Mirrors

17 mirror clad arches 357 mirrors in total. The ceiling is decorated with the triumphs of Louis XIV.

Gardens

Fun Facts:

All the materials to build and decorate the palace were made in France.

2,300 Rooms

67,000 square meters! 

Next week Julia and Jo talk about Architecturally Beautiful Museums. See ya next week!

Episode 82: Headstones & Grave Markers

Oh dearest listeners and savvy blog-goers, it is almost the most magical time of the year, Halloween!  And for this episode, we are bringing you a very special Arts and Facts episode on the world of the graveyard and its fabulous monuments!

Almost nearly all of the information in this episode came from:

Stories in Stone: A Field Guide to Cemetery Symbolism and Iconography by Douglas Keister, thank you Douglas for your wonderful publication!

There are are three basic types of graveyard markers and these are the tumulus, the sarcophagus, and the exedra.

The Tumulus:
 

One of the oldest forms, it is essentially a glorified burial mound. These are most often a build up of rocks with dirt and sod thrown on top to make it look like a hill. Examples of this include the of the tholos “Treasury of Atreus”, the Mycenean burial plot of an ancient king. Once thought to be the tomb of the great king Agamemnon (as has now been proved otherwise), it is still an amazing feat of ancient funerary architecture.

Interior shot of Treasury of Atreus, 1300 BCE, Mycenae

Exterior of Treasury of Mycenae

Exterior of Tomb of the Reliefs, Caere at Cerveteri, 5th-4th BCE

Interior of Tomb of the Reliefs

Elk Tumulus, Greenwood Cemetery in New Orleans, Louisiana, 1912

Alrighty, here is The Sarcophagi (literally body-eating stone, ew!):

These are often structures containing bodies, but they can also be purely ornamental, just demarcating the place over where the coffin actually resides.

Here are probably the coolest sarcophagi ever made. No, really, look at these guys. They get to have the skulls of the losers that they killed on their graves.

Chachapoyan sarcophagi at Carajia in Peru, 15th century AD

Sarcophagus of Tutankhamun, 1300's BC

et finalement The Exedra:

Now, the exedra is usually a curved outdoor bench with a high back, whose structure dates back to the ancient Greeks, who knew how to party it up with their dead ancestors!

Many of these modern exedrae feature permanent mourners, like below, that families would have installed so that there was always someone to stay in vigil over their lost loved one. I wouldn't mind a few myself.

Greenwood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York

Marshall Field Monument, designed and executed by Daniel Chester French and Henry Bacon, Graceland Cemetery at Chicago, Illinois

The Marshall Field Monument was done by the pair that would later create the Lincoln Memorial...hopefully this one doesn't smell of urine like the Lincoln one does. One can only dream!

Now let’s talk about some really weird local funerary artwork. And when I say local, I mean in the United States. We’re shifting gears to good ol’ Kansas, in the city of Hiawatha.

http://kansastravel.org/davismemorial.htm

The link above provides some more photos, and an excellent summary of this bizarre gravemarker!

Davis Memorial at Hiawatha, Kansas, 1930-1947

Guys, this is weeeeeird. I’m talking weird on the level that this looks more like a modern art installation than an actual gravesite.

It all started with a guy named John Davis, who in the late 1800’s married an important woman Sarah of the Hart family. The Hart family was very well off, and didn’t like the idea of Sarah marrying a lowly wage-earner like John. However, this didn’t stop the couple, and got married anyways.These two worked hard and brought up their own small fortune from farming and smart investments. Some say that John was abusive to Sarah, not letting her out of the house, and being that controlling type of man that typically no one likes. 

Well, it is easy to see that same OCD attitude of John coming through in the memorial that he had built for Sarah when she passed away in 1930. Sarah, when she died, left a nice chunk a change to her husband, as she didn’t have anyone else to leave it to, and so with 54000 dollars, John put it to good use.

The memorial started out with a simple headstone, but Davis had that removed, and, over the course of the next 17 years until his own death, a memorial grew that was an amalgamation of over 11 statues of John and Sarah throughout their lifetimes represented, with the final figure of John sitting alone with an empty chair sitting beside him, vacant for his lost wife. 

With that, we bring you the last of our Headstones and Grave Markers special. Be sure to sure check out the Davis Memorial in more depth, and tell this cool story to your friends, so you can feel special about your smart self!

Thanks, and have a safe, yet terrifying, Halloween!

Episode 81: Milton Glaser

“The act of making things is the path to discovery” -Milton Glaser

Milton Glaser was born in 1929 In New York. He was educated at the High School of Music and Art and Cooper Union Art School in New York. He went to Italy to the Academy of Fine Arts on Fulbright Scholarship. He and some other Cooper Union Graduates started Push Pin Studios in 1954, which is still going strong. "Glaser has been teaching at SVA for over half of a century. He thinks it helps him focus and prevent senility”. (from miltonglaser.com)

He and Walter Bernard (known for designing many magazines and newspapers, such as Time Magazine and the Washington Post) got together to start WBMG, a publication design firm. In 1974 he started his own design firm, MILTON GLASER, INC, which has done many things including creating the famous logo, I [heart] New York. 

Milton Glaser

In 2004 he won a lifetime achievement award from the Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum, which is "Given in recognition of a distinguished individual who has made a profound and long-term contribution to the contemporary practice of design."

President Obama presented Glaser with the National Medal of Arts in 2009. It is the nation's highest honor for artistic excellence. This was the first such award presented to a Graphic Designer. 

“These individuals and organizations show us how many ways art works every day. They represent the breadth and depth of American architecture, design, film, music, performance, theatre, and visual art," said NEA Chairman Rocco Landesman. "This lifetime honor recognizes their exceptional contributions, and I join the President and the country in saluting them." (taken from miltonglaser.com)

In 1977, William S. Doyle, Deputy Commissioner of the New York State Department of Commerce hired advertising agency Wells Rich Greene to develop a marketing campaign for New York State. Doyle also recruited Milton Glaser to work on the campaign. Glaser expected the campaign to last only a couple months and did the work pro bono. It became a major success and has continued to be sold for years. Doyle donated the original concept sketch and presentation board to the Museum of Modern Art in NYC.

http://www.moma.org/collection/object.php?object_id=128649 (Link to concept sketch Moma.org)

After 9/11 the logo became even more of a symbol of NYC. People purchased t-shirts and wore them as a sign of support for the city. Glaser created a modified version of the logo which said, “I {heart} NY More Than Ever” with a black mark at the bottom left of the heart which represented the World Trade Center.

 

Rainbow Room

Milton Glaser, Dylan, 1966, Columbia Records

"The Dylan emerged from two very different conventions. One is the memory echo I had of a silhouette self-portrait that Marcel Duchamps cut out of paper. I remember it very clearly, a simple black and white profile. The convention of Dylan’s hair really emerged from certain forms that intrigued me in Islamic painting...   

...the combination of Duchamps portrait and Near Eastern design elements produced a style some now consider peculiarly American". - taken from Graphic Design by Milton Glaser

New York Magazine was founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968, it is a weekly magazine about culture, politics, life and style. Glaser was president and design director until 1977. It was redesigned in 2004 and is currently under editor-in-chief Adam Moss. While it started out as more of a New York magazine, it is now more of an American magazine. It won Magazine of the Year Award in 2013.

What hasn't this man done? He’s amazing!

Some links:

http://www.ted.com/talks/milton_glaser_on_using_design_to_make_ideas_new.html

http://www.miltonglaser.com/milton/

http://www.moma.org/collection/artist.php?artist_id=2188

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IAJtYzV9c8 (Advice to Young Artists)

We'll see you next week for our Halloween episode on Headstones and Grave Markers with Carrie and Lauren