Showing posts with label Art. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Art. Show all posts

Sunday, March 10, 2013

Antique Maps


I recently came across a collection of antique maps and couldn't resist 
bringing some of them home.


There was quite a large collection that included locations all over the United States 
but I pulled out as many Massachusetts towns as I could find, especially cities
and villages along the ocean.



I would assume each map was a page in a large book but each one
has been cut into perfect rectangles and mounted on cotton so they can
fold into a little booklet.  Many of them are signed "F.H. Silsbee, Lawrence, Mass."
and a few are dated 1899.  I googled F.H. Silsbee and found he was a graduate
of MIT and a member of the New England Cotton Manufacturer's Association

You can see faintly on the back of the Falmouth, Mass. map the text on the back
that reads "Desription of Topographic Map of the United States."

Let me show you a few.



Beverly and Salem, Mass.


Plymouth, Mass.


Yarmouth, Mass.

And I love that some of the maps
of seaside towns are mainly open water leaving an irregular edge
that make abstract shapes.



Provincetown, Mass.



Truro and Wellfleet, Mass.



The maps have a very soft red, white, blue and black color palette
that would fit very easily in almost room.



Fall River, Mass.
(Of Lizzie Bordon fame.)

Since each map has a grid of nine panes, I think they would look great framed 
and hung in a grid of nine.



A project that would certainly drive me crazy
getting hung perfectly.


* BY REQUEST *

For present and former Salem residents, historians, witches and warlocks, I'm adding an enlarged image of the Salem map.  It's too bad there's not more detail but I'm sure some of you (Donna Seger) will see some things that have changed.

(It seems it won't enlarge when you click so I'm making it as large as possible.)



Saturday, May 19, 2012

Acme Fine Art


A great art exhibit opened today at Acme Fine Art at 38 Newbury Street in Boston.  If you're not familiar with the gallery, it focuses on artists connected to Provincetown.  Owners David Cowan and Jim Bennett have a great eye and their shows are always first rate.


Painting above is by Michael Mazur.

This "Provincetown Views" show captures views of P'town through the eyes of
the various artists that have spent time there over the past century.



This large show, hung salon style on several walls, includes a
nice cross section of periods, styles and media.

Here are a few highlights:



One of the earliest pieces is this wonderful 1916 high-key impressionistic
"Provincetown Garden" by E. Ambrose Webster.



"Fisherman's Family," an early Jack Tworkov from 1931, captures a moment in
time of this old fishing village.  I love how the interior
dissolves into a view to the lighthouse on Long Point.



Although lighthouses and water views aren't a specific theme, it would be hard
for any Provincetown Views show to omit them.

This is an early Hans Hofmann entitled "Lighthouse" from 1936.  It's electric.



"Toward Long Point" by Ron Shuebrook, 1969.



Ferol Warthen's Lighthouse, Provincetown white-line woodblock print from 1971.



Richard Baker's painting of the Provincetown Painters book not only
includes its own view out to Long Point but humorously includes the tape on the cover.

Anyone who owns this book knows the binding was very weak and
it's rarely seen without tape holding it together.



Even these two Giorgio Cavallon abstracts (right) paired beautifully
with a Helen Frankenthaler (left), evoke that view to the water.



A few paintings also represent Provincetown's interiors.

Mary Hackett's "Interior," 1971 depicts an old-school Cape Cod
cottage interior in her own sweet, folksy style. 



And Susan Baker's "Blessing of the Foc'sle" captures a delightful and fun
moment at the legendary Provincetown bar.  

Provincetown Views is a wonderful, diverse show and shouldn't be missed.
It is open through June 23, 2012.

38 Newbury Street, 4th Floor
Boston, MA  02116
617-585-9551

Sunday, April 15, 2012

Black and White

Sculpture, Mike Wright

First, I'd like to thank everyone who read my post on the New England Home Magazine design blog.  I tried to respond personally to everyone for which I had an e-mail address but for those I couldn't, I appreciate you taking the time to read and comment on the post.  The guest post "gig" is a two-post deal, so I have another one coming up soon that that will be art focused.

Second, my apologies both for the lack of posts and for getting behind on my blog reading.  I've been trying to achieve more balance in my life and, although it worked for a while, it just hasn't been possible lately.  Work has been occupying a great deal of my time.  I've had a lot of early mornings and late nights that just haven't left time (or energy) for much else.  

I haven't made much progress on the bedroom; in fact, I had a big mishap today...


When I rolled out the seagrass rug, I used a can of water-based polyurethane to weight down the corner and then immediately tripped over it.

The rug is ruined but my feet are really, really glossy...and, I'll bet, waterproof.

Since many of you seemed intrigued by the artwork teaser in my last bedroom post, I thought I would do a post on black and white artwork.  I like to collect artwork.  I buy it even when I don't have a place to hang it.  It's a problem, I'll admit.  I've even limited myself to artists who lived in Provincetown as way of controlling myself.  I've always wanted to have a big gallery wall of black and white artwork so I pick up pieces and just file them away.  Here are some of the black and white pieces for my someday gallery wall.


"Wreckage" by Tracey Anderson done as part of a series
in response to Hurricane Katrina.

Tracey is an artist I read an article about several years ago.  I found her so interesting I reached out to her to get to know her.  She's very outspoken about art that's purely decorative:  pretty for the sake of being pretty isn't art to her.  Her work is filled with icons and symbols that are characters of her own language, often what I perceive to be steampunk-type objects that listen to and watch us.   I find her and her work very interesting.



Sculpture by Mike Wright.  I'd love to incorporate sculpture into a gallery wall to give it more dimension.  To have this sitting on a little floating shelf would be really neat.



Peter Busa, ca. 1950s



Tracey Anderson, 2006



Fritz Bultman, 1961



You've seen this piece before in my living room.



Mike Wright, wood construction



Tracey Anderson



Paul Bowen, monoprint, 2010



A drawing by Peter Busa from his time at the Yaddo artists' community in 1942.



You've seen the piece before in my dining room.



Tracey Anderson, 2005



Suzanne Harding, mixed media



This is the piece, also by Tracey Anderson, that I framed to go over the bed.



It's kind of a harsh piece but I thought framing it in the ornate frame would give it a whimsical quality that would lighten it up.  



And I really wanted something that would be a nice textural contrast against the headboard.  It may be a piece that a lot of people dislike, or even hate, but that's okay.  I like art that makes people ask questions and I think the overall effect once the room is done will be good.  

I'm off to buy a new rug.




Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Helen Frankenthaler


Helen Frankenthaler in Life Magazine, 1956

When I went to MOMA a few years ago, there were a few artists' work that stopped me in my tracks.  Robert Rauschenberg, Cy Twombly, Willem De Kooning and Helen Frankenthaler.

In case you've never heard of her, or seen any of her work, I wanted you to see a little bit.


Mountains and Sea, 1952



Frankenthaler worked much like Jackson Pollack in the way she poured paint onto the surface of the canvas.  She was, however, unique in her use of thinned paint that soaked in and became part of the canvas rather than sit on top of it.



Jacob's Ladder, 1957




Mauve District, 1966


Robert Motherwell and Helen Frankenthaler in Provincetown.



Savage Breeze, woodcut, 1974





Green Thought in a Green Shade, 1981


Snow Pines, 2004
34-color Ukiyo-e woodcut, printed with 16 woodblocks

Amazing!



Helen Frankenthaler passed away today at the age of 83.  

She was a true American gem.


- - - - - - 

12/28/2011

I found more images of her and her work in real home settings so I thought I would add them.



This triptych is called Madame Butterfly from 2000.


Elle Decor











Helen in her NYC apartment, 1960s