Posts

Showing posts from July, 2006

Does Gorky Make You Smarter?

Image
Arshile Gorky "The Artist and His Mother" 1926-36 oil on canvas 60 x 50 in. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York Gift of Julien Levy for Maro and Natasha Gorky in memory of their father © 2000 Estate of Arshile Gorky/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York Today's New York Times reports that a new study by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum suggests that "learning about paintings and sculpture helps children become better students in other areas." The study cites "improvements in a range of literacy skills among students who took part in a program in which the Guggenheim sends artists into schools. The study, now in its second year, interviewed hundreds of New York City third graders, some of whom had participated in the Guggenheim program, called Learning Through Art, and others who did not." "The study found that students in the program performed better in six categories of literacy and critical thinking skills — including thorough descripti...

Twitchell Files Claim Against Labor Department Over Loss of Ruscha Mural

Image
From the Los Angeles Times : "On Thursday, attorneys representing artist Kent Twitchell filed a claim against the U.S. Department of Labor in connection with Twitchell's large-scale mural "Ed Ruscha Monument" — a six-story portrait of fellow artist Ruscha on a building owned by the federal agency — being painted over in early June. Twitchell said he received no notice, as required by law, that the paint-over would take place."

Giant Clams Invade the Departure Lounge at SFO

Image
Underwater Display: Terminal 1 San Francisco International Airport Summer - Lots of traveling in the heat and lots of time in airport departure lounges. The San Francisco International Airport has an interesting program of curated exhibitions. Terminal 1's current display concerns the sea - "Aquarium: Underwater Planet" The exhibition is presented in conjunction with the Steinhart Aquarium from the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. (All the current exhibits at SFO are listed at sfoarts.org. ) Specimens gathered long ago float in amber colored jars bringing to mind Doc Ricketts' Lab in Monterey or even the mutated human/sea creatures who serve Davy Jones and torment Johnny Depp in “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest." I found A O Scott's review of the reviewers- "Avast, Me Critics!" - in the New York Times to be an entertaining take on the role of critics in contemporary American society: "Are we out of touch with the aud...