Archive for May, 2010
Playing it Safe?
May 24th, 2010
Chatroulette is our latest internet phenomenon, a social networking site that connects you via webcam to strangers from across the world. Fans say it’s addictive (Ashton Kutcher, Kate Moss and Kelly Osbourne are among the high-profile users), but critics says it’s obscene. I should stress I’ve never been on Chatroulette and nor do I intend to try it, but it’s easy to get a sense of it from the sidelines. A mix of Twitter and Skype, it was started last year by Andrew Ternovski, a 17-year old from Moscow. It now gets 1.5 million visitors a day and has made such a splash that US universities are already giving seminars on it.
Birds of a Feather
May 23rd, 2010
It’s Pentecost, one of the prominent feasts in the Christian liturgical year. The name comes from an old Jewish agricultural festival that took place on the fiftieth (‘pente’ means five) day after Passover. Today can also be called Whitsun, especially in England. Whitsun falls on the seventh sunday after Easter and commemorates the descent of the holy spirit upon Christ’s disciples. After his death, resurrection and ascension, the disciples (now 12 in number, joined by Mathias instead of Judas) met with Mary and others on this day. When they were “all with one accord in one place… there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind.” The Gospels describe something like a rush of air as the men each sensed a surge of inspiration: suddenly they felt “cloven tongues like as of fire” which “sat upon each of them.” The story goes on to tell that the disciples were “filled with the Holy Ghost” and were able to speak in such a way that “every man heard them… in his own language.”
Pedal Palooza
May 22nd, 2010
Is anyone saddling up for tomorrow’s Bike DC, the Washington and Arlington community bike ride? It’s being billed as “a ride through the heart of our nation’s capital” and will take place on over 20 miles of car-free streets. The route is designed as a catch-all circuit, rattling on by some of the city’s top sites, from Pennsylvania Avenue, close to the Capitol, past the White House, to the Marine Corps Memorial, Arlington Cemetery and the Air Force Memorial. Bike DC is being called a ride, not a race, with families taking part as well as more serious cyclists. But for me, biking is best-served with a bit of speed, and the idea that you shouldn’t separate pedals from some pace is behind today’s picture pick.
Take a Seat
May 21st, 2010
The Art+Media House is all about giving young people the training they need to create and express themselves. It introduces them to the basic skills of a specific artistic medium that interests, like drawing, painting, photography or graffiti. The project is also keen to get kids to focus on the subject they know best – themselves – so they can draw inspiration from their own lives, communities, and cultures.
Check out this week’s video blog. And special thanks to the Art + Media House in Columbia Heights and all of their talented artists.
Cashing in on Cut and Color
May 20th, 2010
From time to time, there’s a flash of the fact that modern art is everywhere. I’m not talking on the well-watched walls of MoMa, Tate Modern or the East Building of the NGA. Instead, I’m talking everywhere. We’re looking at Henri Matisse today, a man whose fiercely free use of color liberated art at the start of the 20th century, making it OK for artists to not slavishly imitate the appearance of the external world. Frenchman Matisse (1869 – 1954) is a looming-large legend in the annals of art history, whose influence on all sorts of artists is established and impressive. Mark Rothko, much-admired Abstract Expressionist, used to stare for hours at Matisse’s The Red Studio (1911) in the MoMA in New York, until he was moved to tears.
Mum’s the Word
May 19th, 2010
In the NGA the other day, this portrait caught my eye. Towering tall in front of me, I started to think about the people and pet painted: elegant young mother with piled-high hair, adorable kids, cute dog. I wondered about their lives, their lands, their likes, their dislikes. But back in the (18th-century) day, wondering would have been the end of it, since to delve beyond a seamless surface such as this would have been inappropriate and nigh’ on impossible…
Sand Storm
May 18th, 2010
I recently came across a video of Kseniya Simonova, a Ukrainian sand artist. Beguiling to see, she scatters and shapes sand across a light box, as if painting with the particles. See here for the performance that won her Ukraine’s take on America’s Got Talent, in which she uses sand to interpret Germany’s occupation of her country during World War II. Be prepared though, to feel shocked, somber and staggered after seeing this.
