EXPLORING HUE AT VAN VESSEM by Don Wilkinson Tiverton, Rhode Island - Along with red and yellow, blue is part of a holy trinity of primary colors from which all other hues are born. Its manifestations include navy, azure, baby blue, indigo, periwinkle, the absurdly named “true blue” and many others. It is ripe with symbolism: tranquility, peace and relaxation; conversely, it can be the avatar of melancholy, sadness and depression. In some parts of the world, it is the color of conservatism, while in the United States, blue connotes liber- alism. In religion, it was the favored hue to celebrate Jupiter, top dog in the ancient Roman pagan pantheon. In Catholicism, it is associated with the Virgin Mary; in Hinduism, it is the skin tone of Shiva, Vishnu and other gods. It is the color of the police, of the Navy, of one of the items a bride should wear for luck, of … [Read more...] about BLAUWW: CELEBRATING BLUE
Artscope Online
A NEW GENERATION AT CAA
UNDER-30 ARTISTS PUSH THE BOUNDARIES by Franklin W. Liu Cambridge, Mass. - Regardless of the prevailing generational societal values we identify with, is there an artist’s natural inclination to negate what came before in producing art that will be seen as a significant departure from previous generations’ work? The Cambridge Art Association (CAA) ponders these social dynamics when presenting the works of a select group of emerging artists aged 18 to 30 years old in its first exhibition of 2016, “30. Below.” Twenty-five artists were selected from a total of 150 artworks submitted for CAA’s consideration in what is CAA’s first emerging-artist exhibition bracketed by age category. Tinti was especially excited about “the breadth and diversity of eclectic materials, media and motiva- tions of the submissions,” and was further impressed by numerous works in which the … [Read more...] about A NEW GENERATION AT CAA
ART BASEL MIAMI BEACH 2015
THE ART WORLD IS HOT, HOT, HOT by Suzanne Volmer South Beach Miami, Florida - Upon entering Art Basel Miami Beach, one was met with Rosemarie Trockel’s large, abstract, reptilian-looking wall installation, a monochromatic work with scales sprung slightly from the wall in low relief. The trends of relief and monochrome echoed as one progressed through the hallways and booths ahead. Although the color vibrancy for which Miami is known was retained, the current of its profusion was less. Trockel’s swift amplification of textural influences and physical movement was installed adjacent to a large photographic print by Andreas Gursky. Placed at the fore on the outer booth wall of Sprüth Magers Gallery, both works started a dialogue of substrates reflecting trends later evident amid this year’s overall fair content. The artworks explored the idea of process and texture informing … [Read more...] about ART BASEL MIAMI BEACH 2015
SIX DAYS THAT CHANGED THE WORLD
EPPRIDGE’S TIMELESS LOOK AT THE FAB FOUR by Brian Goslow Danbury, Connecticut - It was, inarguably, one of those moments in which everything changed. On February 9, 1964, The Beatles played on the Ed Sullivan Show for the first time, setting Beatlemania into full gear and sparking a cultural shift that still echoes today. Photojournalist Bill Eppridge documented the Fab Four’s first tour of the United States for Life magazine, taking “Three thousand images on 90 rolls of film” — only four of which ended up being printed in the publication at the time. “Bill was in the Life magazine offices early on the day that the Beatles were scheduled to arrive at JFK Airport,” said Eppridge’s wife, Adrienne Aurichio. “The director of photography, Dick Pollard, saw Bill and asked him if he wanted to shoot their arrival. It was not planned as a six-day assignment. Bill turned it into … [Read more...] about SIX DAYS THAT CHANGED THE WORLD
FEELING BLUE IN VERMONT
TOM FELS’ CYANOTYPES by Arlene Distler Brattleboro, Vermont - To view Tom Fels’ cyanotypes this January at Mitchell • Giddings Fine Arts (MGFA) is to enter a magic kingdom, a secret world of trees and leaves revealed by alchemy. The process of cyanotype goes back to the mid 1800s. Then, and well into the 20th century, it was primarily used to make “blueprints” of notes and diagrams. The origin of the nomer is obvious — cyano- types are made by the application of light-sensitive chemicals to paper or fabric. These chemicals, ferric ammonium citrate and potassium ferricyanide, give a deep blue hue to the paper. The color is equivalent to Prussian blue in painting. The first use of cyanotypes as art, as an esthetic phenomenon in its own right, is credited to Anna Atkins, who created cyanotype “photograms” of seaweed. Because of her work with cyanotypes, Atkins is … [Read more...] about FEELING BLUE IN VERMONT
A Medium For Social Change
INTERNATIONAL POSTERS AT LAMONT by Linda Chestney Exeter, New Hampshire - It’s a fine art to be pithy while at the same time capturing your activist message in an image. That is the goal of “Graphic Advocacy: International Posters for the Digital Age 2001-2012,” the exhibi- tion that will be gracing the walls this January and February at Lamont Gallery on the Phillips Exeter Academy campus. Curated by Elizabeth Resnick, professor and chair of graphic design at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston, the show features 122 posters by artists and designers from around the world who present powerful visual statements addressing pressing social, political, economic and environmental concerns — issues ranging from global warming and freedom of expression to equality, poverty, terrorism and so many more. DISSENT MADE VISIBLE Resnick considers posters … [Read more...] about A Medium For Social Change