The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum

I visited this museum Saturday July 7th, it was a beautiful day for a long drive. When I first walked into the museum I was surprised by how Small it was. However, this museum was very different from any of the other museums I had visited. Although there was not a lot on display, I felt that the goal of some of the room set ups were geared toward making the visitor think, and leave the room with a new realization about the pieces of art on display along with feeling calm and relaxed. The museum did not allow pictures inside, as a work around, I took pictures of the pieces on display from the pamphlets that were available.

Here are some pictures of the outside of the museum.

Outside there were some interesting plaques on the grounds.

This one was an eye opener. I hear about medications being unaffordable on the news. This plaque made it feel more real and disturbing.

Global warming is all around us. I often wonder what the effects will really be when the polar ice caps melt at a faster rate. I really felt that this plaque was sad. I hope that this soldier is at least doing well if he is not already home.

This piece got my attention, it is right on the wall. The artist focuses on geometric form.


Mary Judge
Untitled Wall Drawing Ad101, 2007
Powdered pigment on wall
Courtesy of the artist and Metaphor Contemporary Art, Brooklyn

The artist has made three-dimensional works since the late 1990's. The pieces on display are from her Segmented Form Series.

Mary Judge

Segmented Form Series No. 102, 2007

12 Cast concrete sections

Mary Judge

Exotic Hex Series no. 101-107, 2007

Powdered pigment on 100% rag paper

David Abir
Tekrar
2004-2005

"The artist uses sound, light and building materials to create a space that is meant to involve you, the viewer, both physically and emotionally." When I walked into the room there was soothing sound, colored light shifts and a structure in the wall that you would walk up to. As I was walking up to it I couldn't tell if it was going to be a "play on lights" reflection or a cut out in the wall. This type of art is visual. I will not tell just in case anyone is going to be seeing this. The one emotion that I did feel was that reality was far away.












Neil Jenny
Baseball is Drama Constructed, 2000
Shelved silkscreen on primed canvas

I was in touch with this after my son's baseball game today. Way to much drama between the coaches. Lots of bad plays due to poor communication.





Neil Jenny
Idealism is Unavoidable, 2000
Shelved silkscreen on primed canvas

Neil Jenny

North American Aquatica (detail), 2006-07

Oil on wood in artist's frame

With this piece I was surprised when I walked up to it that the parts painted orange were not depicting a fire. They are leaves. Reminded me of fall that is coming all to quickly.

The room with the W(E)AVE's in it was really amazing. The music and lighting was so soothing. It was almost like being in an old large southern house. This room made me look and listen. The music had running water combined with music you would hear in a massage room, it was very light so it made me listen. The two artists collaborated on the W(E)AVE project specifically for the Aldrich Museum. Elana Herzog designed the weaves and Michael Schumacher did the sound compositions.

W(E)AVE

Elana Herzog and Michael Schumacher, 2006
Carpet, bedspread, blankets, staples on drywall

Arturo Herrera

Keep in Touch Set #5, 2004

Mixed media on paper

According to the pamphlet "Herrera uses fragments of well-known imagery in his abstract work." I looked and looked at this and came up with nothing familiar. What do you see?

Michael Somoroff
Illumination I, 2006 - 2007
Sculpture: resin, fiberglass, lime cement, pulverized marble

This sculpture was absolutely bold and beautiful on a bright summer day. The artist began working on Illumination I in 2004 after the Rothko Chapel in Houston asked him to propose a project for the Chapel's grounds. Somoroff is primarily a photographer.

Photo Album - Yale University Art Gallery

My trip to the Yale University Art Gallery sure was an adventure. Of course the day I picked, June 29, to go gallivanting to New Haven, the majority of the streets were blocked off due to filming for the new Indiana Jones movie. This made finding parking and the museum a mess since I don't know the area at all. My daughter kept asking if we could just go home. It turned out to be a beautiful day to park and walk to the museum. As always, the museum staff was friendly, helpful and sent me on my way with a map. (I always get a good laugh, when I travel with my daughter the first thing I'm always told is where the bathroom is :o)



Out of all of the museums I have gone to, this one had great art work, however, the atmosphere of the museum itself had no character or ambiance. There was no feeling of history in the building/set up like I had with my experience at the Wadsworth. There was plenty to see and think about. I hope you enjoy my photo's. I've taken my daughter on the majority of my museum trips and can not remember which pictures each of us took. My daughter has gotten really good at keeping the camera in focus now. Enjoy, I look forward to every one's input.



The following two pictures are of the entrance to the museum.






Joseph Stella
Battle of Lights, Coney Island Mardi Gras
1913 - 1914
Oil on canvas



I felt that this painting could generate many feelings depending on the mood you are in at the moment. When I first looked at it it made me think of the complete chaos in my day. Day's later, when I was going the the pictures to decide which ones to pose this one made me think of a nice summer day at the amusement park. The caption noted that the style for this painting is futurist.




Thomas Eakins
Maud Cook (Mrs. Robert C. Reid)
1895
Oil on canvas
Through this museum experience I have found that I'm not particularly moved by portraits. Many of the ones I had seen didn't have a lot of emotion and seemed stiff. However, I found that this one showed emotion. I wondered if she were day dreaming or exasperated with what she was looking at.


Henry Ossawa Tanner
Spinning By Firelight
(The Boyhood of George Washington Gray)
1894
Oil on canvas

Edwin Austin Abbey

Richard, Duke of Gloucester, and the Lady Anne

1896

Oil on canvas

Chauncey Bradley Ives

Undine

Between 1880 and 1892

Marble

Through this class I have found that I am attracted to statues. Undine was ther horoine of a popular romantic French novel in the 19th century. The story is that Undine was a water-spirit who gave up her care-free life to gain a soul by marrying the king that she is in love with. When Undine's husband is unfaithful, she is forced by the laws of the water-spirit's to kill him. This statue depicts the moment when Undine rises from the castles well spring to claim her husbands life. She is cloaked in a white veil. This statue was shiny to the point of looking wet. I almost expected it to be made out of wax. I've shown several pictures so you can see the vast detail. Beautiful!

Vincent Van Gough
Corner in Voyer-d'Argenson part at Asnieres
1887
Oil on canvas




Walt Kuhn 1877
Chorus Captain
1935
Oil on canvas


The artist did an excellent job capturing this "off guard" moment of the performer. Her weariness comes through in this portrait.

Pablo Picasso

Monter and Child (First Steps)

1943

Oil on canvas

William Henry Rinehart

Sleeping Children

1869

Marble

I'm finding more and more that statues of children are generally commissioned when the loss of a child has happened. Unfortunately for this era, the loss of a child was far to common. The original sculpture that was executed in 1859, served as a grave site memorial to the children of Hugh Sisson, Rinehart's patron. The artist was commissioned to make at least twenty eight replicas. This version is one of the replicas. Per the caption for this statue, at the time, there was a popular poem by Lydia Sigourney that promised "Not Dead, But Sleepeth". The pose of the children cuddling together is like an assurance that they would wake together in another life.

Pierre-Paul Prud'hon

Une famille dans la desolation (a Grief-Stricken Family)

1821

I'd like to think that this mother is absorbed in the peacefulness that comes with watching your child sleep. The caption for this painting noted that the full scale version is now lost. This painting was the prototype to depicting scenes of suffering among the urban poor.

Claude Monet
Camille on the Beach at Trouville
1870
Oil on canvas

I really liked how pright this painting is. I thought it was interesting that her facial features were not pronounced.

Mask (Kakuungu)

Suku

Congo (Kinshasa), late 19th - early 20th century

Wood, raffia, pigment, animal hair, and tortoiseshell

The African art was really creative. My daughter was fascinated by it and thought they were scary. Having said that it was interesting that the caption noted that these masks were made to instill instant fear, close up or from far away. The "charm specialist" of the initiation camp would call upon the mask to instill fear and respect to initiates and to threaten those who might inflict harm to his charges. The mask could also be called upon to cure impotence and sterility, and control the weather.

Martha's visit to the Florence Griswold Museum, July 1

This past Sunday, July 1st, I took a trip with my daughter to the Florence Griswold Museum in Old Lyme. We specifically went on Sunday because you can get painting supplies, including a canvas, from the education center and go where ever you want on the grounds to paint. Sunday was a perfect day, it was so nice out and the grounds are stunning. I did not expect to see so many flower beds in one place. I did not think to ask if any part of the flower garden was put in by Florence Griswold. We got all of our supplies together and headed down to the Lieutenant River to find a nice spot to sit and paint. It was so nice not to feel rushed, my children are generally not interested in looking at paintings with me. My son was saved by a buddy for some afternoon baseball time, he was thrilled he did not have to go. I’m really hoping they will both have some memory of the museums we have been to when they are in school and want me to take them to a museum. I’m hoping for the “mom, remember that museum with tons of steps, where was that, can we go again?” conversation. I had fun with my daughter trying to remember what colors are made by mixing other colors together. We tried to make brown and ended up with a gray/purple color.


Everyone I encountered at the museum was very helpful. I had explained to the very nice lady in the lobby of the main building that I was there for a class but understood that picture taking was not allowed. She told me to write down anything of interest and she would help me find them in a book so that I could take a picture of the painting form one of the books. I thought that was very helpful. They also gave my daughter a flip book of images to “spy” while we walk around. She actually found a couple of things and had fun with it.
The painting of interest to me was the Bow Bridge, painted by Edmund Greacen. What caught my eye was that he was what appeared to be a “local” artist. This painting reminded me of a perfect, relaxing, summer day. This painting is very soothing and warm as well as cheerful. I felt like I could have stepped into the painting and walked along the dirt road. When I came out and asked about the painting, of course, this patricular painting is one of the ones that is new to the gallery so they did not have any pictures of it. However the helpful lady had explained to her co-worker that I was there for a class and he suggested that he walk in with me so that I could take a picture!

Edmund Greacen (1877 - 1949)

Bow Bridge Lyme Ct. Ca. 1912

Oil on canvas

The Bow Bridge covered the Lieutenat River and was a favorite of the artists visiting Lyme in the early 1900’s. Greacen was different from most painters of the colony’s 2nd decade, in that he moved away from gestural impressionism toward tonalism in his painting of the Bow Bridge. In this painting the colors are blended softly to form colors that harmonize with the colors of the bridge and road. It is noted on the caption for this painting that this is the artists vision of a summer day. Part of the history of the original Griswold House was that an artist would invite another artist to the Inn to paint a picture to add to one of the empty slots in the dining room. Although Greacen was a regular at the Inn in the summer time he did not add a panel to any of the empty slots in the Groswold house dining room.

Here is a little bit of history behind Tonalism. In the early 1900’s, Lyme was known as the Lyme Art Colony. This art colony was formed by Henry Ward Ranger. He believed that they were forming a new school of painting in America. These artists were united by their joint interest in painting “rural life with great sensitivity and personal feeling”. These artists were recognized as Tonalists. This style grew in America from the 1880’s to the early 1900’s. This style is typically noted for the use of harmonious colors and delicate effects of light used to create, unclear, suggestive moods.

I was advised by the nice person who let me take the picture to go to the main house to see more paintings of the Bow Bridge and Edmung Greacen paintings.

When I made my way to the original Inn, looking for more Edmund Greacen paintings, the docent told me that it is often said “did the Bow Bridge make the artist or if the artist made the Bow Bridge famous.”

I hope you have all enjoyed my trip to the Florence Griswold Museum. I could go on and on about the history surrounding it. It really was great! Here are a few more pictures from my visit.

The main Griswold House


The main museum from a different angle.

My favorite artist finished her painting :o)

The river behind my daughter is the Lieutenant River.

June 16th - Wadsworth Atheneum

My trip to the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art was really terrific. Considering the Wadsworth is no where near the size of the Met, it was just as fantastic with the art work that it had on display. I was greeted by very cheerful people that gave me a map, were happy to hear I was there because of a class, and told me which exhibits I should focus on. After going through the lower levels I made my way up to the Faith and Fortune Exhibit. This exhibit consists of five centuries of European master works from the Renaissance to the Roman era. Many of the works of art in this exhibit were made to aid personal or public devotion, or as objects in the service of the church. Other works were made for secular purposes, (interesting for the time period), symbols of wealth, status and authority as sources of sensual and intellectual delight or as objects of everyday use. In these types of pieces you can see attitudes towards wealth, luxury and learning.

The exhibit that I found very captivating was the Baroque Art in Catholic Europe. Very interesting title, this was during the Roman Era and Christianity was not widely supported. Here again I was able to link my past religion class to my art experience. The 17th century is known as the age of the Baroque. Baroque, at the time, usually meant anything bizarre or exaggerated but then took on a flattering sense of splendor and liveliness. This style of painting took away the restraint that came with the earlier Renaissance period. These works of art are on a larger scale and were devoted principally to religion and have a symbolic representation that directly promoted the principles of the Catholic Church. In Italy Michelangelo was the first painter to make this new style popular.

When I walked into this exhibit the first thing that stood out to me was how the dark purple walls were a stunning accent to the paintings. The painting that I focused on is St. Catherine of Alexandria. I was really taken in by how young, almost child like, her facial features are, she is sensual and saintly. I kept looking at her face, her facial expression is brief/fleeting, I felt like I saw a different expression every time. The brushwork is very fluid. It truly was hard to believe that I was looking at the original painting and not a picture of it, the canvas was so smooth I wanted to touch it. The artists choice of colors could not have been more perfect. It really took me a while to realize that there are not many colors in this painting but the way they were brought together made this painting life like.

Bernardo Strozzi
Italian, Genoese, 1581- 1644
Saint Catherine of Alexandria, C. 1515
Oil on canvas

The caption for the painting said that Strozzi more than likely painted it for the home of a Genoese nobleman and not for a church. The Baroque style of the time really came through with the “flattering sense of splendor and liveliness”. Her bare toes, fabric on the floor, the pink in her dress, and the way the fabric looked as though it was blowing in the wind, gave the feeling that this was meant to be an uplifting playful painting. Maybe almost a pat on the back to Christianity since it was frowned upon at the time. As all of these thoughts were going through my head, the rest of the museum was active, sound seemed to travel slow and echo through the museum. I felt like I was in the middle of a service at the Vatican.


The artist, Strozzi, was a monk, born and trained in Genoa, then later moved to Venice.
Here is a little bit of history about St. Catherine that conveys the religious aspect of the time. Keep in mind that this is the Roman era where citizens were more likely to survive if they were a Pagan rather than a Christian. St. Catherine of Alexandria was an Egyptian Princess in the 4th century who had converted to Christianity. She was so knowledgeable about her new faith that she could debate and defend it to anyone. Catherine visited the Roman Emperor Maximum, and conveyed to him his errors in persecuting Christians. He tried, to no avail to have her renounce her faith, became frustrated that should would not and had her jailed. While she was jailed, anyone who visited her converted to Christianity. As a result, Maximum ordered St. Catherine to be executed upon a spiked wheel. Somehow the wheel was destroyed, therefore she was beheaded.

I hope you have enjoyed my blog about my experience at the Wadsworth Atheneum. Please let me know what you think. Here are some more paintings I was captivated by.

Salvator Rosa

Italian, Nepolitan, 1615 - 1673

Lucrezia as Poetry

This is also from the Baroque in Catholic Europe. The model is actually the artists mistress. Look at her facial expression, what is she thinking or did something funny/irritating happen.

1756 - Colonel John Trumbull - 1843

Battle of Bunker Hill June 17, 1775

Death of General Joseph Warren

American Revolution

Oil on Canvas

The caption noted that this painting does not focus on the outcome of the battle but about the many events taking place at that time. He even included an individual that is trying to decide weather to stay or flee. It was fantastic that the captioned was so detailed. My dad has an art book with this painting. I've looked at this painting with fascination for years.

and of course :o)

Norman Rockwell

American, 1894 - 1978

The Young Lady with the Shiner, 1953

Oil on canvas

New Britian Museum of Modern Art

The weekend of June 9th I went to the New Britain Museum of American Art. My kids were in tow and needless to say, not happy about going. It was raining out, and was the perfect day for them, and myself, to get an education on modern art. When we arrived I was not sure which building was the actual museum, the large art deco building or the quaint attached house. I meant to ask if the house like section had at one point been the “original” museum, the name of the museum is on it also. I was greeted by a very lovely person who gave me a map and stickers for my kids. Just a side note for everyone, if you get there between 10 am and noon, admission is free. Here is a picture of the beautiful house like section.

The piece that caught my attention right away was the first piece of art that I saw. The bronze Peter Pan by Harriet W. Frishmuth (1880-1980), was completed in 1936. As you may remember from childhood stories, Peter Pan is the boy who lived in Never Never Land, vowing never to grow up. This piece is absolutely stunning. It is a bronze with reddish brown patina. The story behind the pose of this statue is full of childhood wonderment. Frishmuth was commissioned for a Peter Pan to be placed near the grave of a cousin who had passed on. Frishmuth’s tradition was to ask her model what he or she would do in a particular situation. She told the Peter Pan story to her child model, then asked “if you were in the dark, in the woods, and you looked up at the starts for the first time what position would you take?” The child looked at Frishmuth looked at her with bright eyes and said “I’d take this pose”, and sat down on the model table in the pose of her Peter Pan. I thought that was a fantastic and touching story.

There is no detail left out in this sculpture. I had to keep walking around it to take in all of the detail. I really felt like I was brought to the magical place of Never Never Land where the simple pleasure of gazing up at the starts in the dark is new and exciting. The fascination and curiosity on the child’s face is clear, almost like he’s making shapes out of the stars he sees. One element that really stood out to me was how Peter Pan’s hands and feet on not on a flat surface, they are dipping over the edge of the base. I felt that this truly gave the statue a life like and innocent appearance.

I had to keep walking around it to take in all of the detail. I really felt like I was brought to the magical place of Never Never Land where the simple pleasure of gazing up at the starts in the dark is new and exciting. The fascination and curiosity on the child’s face is clear. It is almost as if he is using his imagination to make shapes out of the stars he sees, or is he possibly trying to figure out a constellation, or did he see a shooting star. One facet that stood out to me was how Peter Pan’s hands and feet on not on a flat surface, they are dipping over the edge of the base. I felt that this truly gave the statue a life like and innocent appearance. As you look at the pictures I have attached you can see the amazing features in the waves in the child’s hair, leg muscles, placement of his sleeves, the way his left ear rests on his clothes, all of the aspects are incredibly life like. It was almost as if the statue could have gotten up and walked away.

Again, Frishmuth left nothing out, right down to Peter Pan’s panpipe down by his feet. The panpipe is part of Peter Pan’s signature in the story, he always has it with him and plays it when he want to relax or ignore the grown up world. You can see all of the elements of the panpipe including the twine or straw that holds the instrument together.

The wonderment and imagination that Peter Pan has instilled in children over the years has come through in this statue. Frishmuth pride and love of her work truly came through in this piece of art work. I hope you have enjoyed my blog about Peter Pan and will put it on your list of pieces to see when you go to this museum.

Here is some history about the artist. Harriet Whitney Frishmuth was an American sculptor best know for your bronze works. She studied in Paris, Berlin and New York. While she was in New York Frishmuth worked as an assistant to Karl Bitter, a sculptor, and performed dissections at the College of Physicians and Surgeons. Frishmuth’s first commissioned piece came from the New York County Medical society in 1910 for a bas-relief (sculpture portrayed as a picture). As her career grew she became well know for her portrayal of females in bronze, most notably dancers. One of her finest pieces of work is the larger-than-life-size bronze that I believe is on display at the Met. You might want to add this to a list of pieces to possibly see when you visit the met.
The Great Depression affected her livelihood, as a result, she closed her studio in New York in the 1930’s and moved to Philadelphia. Frishmuth stayed active in the art world after closing her studio and was outspoken on her views of modern art calling it “spiritless”. She also spoke out about how she disliked the word “sculptress”.
Frishmuth received several recognitions and honors through out her career such as: the St. Gaudens prize, many awards from the National Academy of Design, a prize from the Grand Centeral Art Galleries, an honorable mention from the Golden Gate Internatioal Exposition and the Joan of Arc Silver Medal from the National Association of Women Painters and Sculptors.

Here are more pictures of pieces that caught my attention.
Dean Cornwell (1892 - 1960)
[Parisian Scene], for Philip Gibbs "Seargeant of Chasseurs
Oil on canvas

This painting reminded me of two broken hearts caused by war. I wondered if the Seargeant had just arrived and the lady had not see him yet.



Norman Rockwell
Weighing In
Oil on canvas

Have to love his realistic style. What are they looking at anyway? I would love to know the before and after weight.
Graydon Parrish (B. 1970)

Cycle of terror and Tragedy: September 11, 2001.

My son stopped and paid attention to this painting and called me over. It truly made me relive the sadness and horror of that day. This is an incredibly detailed painting that pulls in all the aspects of that day.

That is all for now :o)