Art Of The Day Weekly
#95 - from 19 June 2008 to 25 June 2008
IN THE AIR
Beware, fresh vegetables
In The Omnivore’s Dilemma, a book that enraptured the Americans, Michael Pollan writes that potatoes in the USA have to be put to rest for six months before being sold, in order to get rid of their toxins. We know that what we currently eat has been irradiated with caesium 137 to be conservated and that school cafeterias make omelets with dehydrated eggs. Non-pasteurized camembert cheese almost got written off the market and chickens that have been soaked in bleach could become a daily staple: the precautionary principle is not going to make our food tastier. In a world where fruit scares us, can we hold it against the organizers of this exhibition for confronting, at the museum des beaux-arts of Caen, contemporary creators to Giacometti? They rejected an installation by Michel Blazy. The latter, who loves to play with mildew and deterioration more than anything else, intended to have cotton and rice germinate under cover. The persons in charge believed it was too big a risk for Giacometti's statues, even though the work had been commissioned by director of the Giacometti foundation herself. There was a risk the spores and bacteria would migrate and colonize the bronzes, giving them the appearance of a moss-covered trunk or of a corral barrier. Let the living beware!
A presentation of the exhibition «In perspective, Giacometti» at the musée des Beaux-Arts in Caen
PATRONAGE
Culture can also deliver profit
Resting on an old prejudice, patronage is almost non-existant in France – by comparison to the USA for example – or is limited to the sponsoring of sports. The Admical (Encounter of Corporate patronage) intends to challenge these certainties. Its report for 2008 gives a few encouraging figures: nearly one fourth of French companies with over 20 employees have committed to an experience in patronage this year. According to the estimates, out of the €2.5 billion invested in patronage for 2008, multinational companies continue nevertheless to weigh: €1.6 billion come from companies with over 200 employees, which even increased their spending by 60 % in two years. Over one third of companies(36 %)choose culture, 47 % intervene in solidarity operations, 26 % in sports. In terms of budget, culture is even better off since it picks up 39 % of the investments, compared to 32% for solidarity and only 5 % for sports. This could be an explanation for the dismal performance of the French team at the Euro 2008…
EXHIBITIONS
First Italian Divisionism
LONDON – Inspired by pointillism, and a forerunner of Futurism, divisionism appeared in Italy at the end of the XIXth century. Its representatives, who were interested in optic mechanisms and in the perception of light, spread touches of pure color over the canvas, marrying complementary colors. Following the euphoria of unification, the country went through a serious economic crisis. Divisionists believed the same was to happen in art, that there was an urgent need for renovation. The National Gallery has brought the best-known paintings by these painters who all had a strong social commitment. Some are not as well known as their work: that is the case for Pelizza da Volpedo, whose Fourth-Estate illustrated hundreds of schoolbooks. Others are largely neglected, such as Morbelli, an interpreter of the hard life in the rice fields in the Po valley, or Grubicy de Dragon, the theorist of the movement, whose large polyptych on Winter in the mountains we can see here. The only artist of this group who maintained a certain renown was Giovanni Segantini, even though he had fled civilization to isolate himself in the middle of the Alpine nature…
Fifteen years in the life of Annie Leibovitz
PARIS - Too often Annie Leibovitz’ work is resumed to her photographs of stars for fashionable magazines such as Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair or Vogue: John Lennon naked with Yoko Ono, Demi Moore pregnant or Brad Pitt. Actually, the American photographer tried out all types of photography. Portraits of course (from dancer Barychnikov to architect Philip Johnson), but journalism as well (the war in Sarajevo or the election of Hillary Clinton to the US Senate) and of course landscapes, from America to the Near East. Not to mention her introspection that allows us to see instants of life shared with the famous intellectual, Susan Sontag. The 200 images in the exhibition cover 15 years (1990-2005) of production by an artist who has become as well known as her models.
Contemporary art revealed through the sparkles
REIMS – One can easily bet that very few of these fifty artists will be known by the visitors: the visual artists exhibited in the cellars of the Pommery property are all young and have sometimes come from far. But maybe some of the future stars of European art are among them. The procedure is original since local contemporary art magazines, the real connoisseurs, were asked to do the selection work (2 artists for each of the 27 countries in the European Union). That is how we can now see these works by Miks from Latvia, Mette from Denmark or Christodoulos from Cyprus. Aside from the possibility of seeing a surprising site (and savoring a glass of champagne at the end), the visit is justified by yet another fact: half of the works were made in situ, some of them of very large dimensions.
ARTIST OF THE WEEK
Cy Twombly Quattro stagioni, Part III: Autunno 1993-94 MoMA © The Artist Synthetic polymer paint, oil, house paint, pencil and crayon on canvas 313.7 x 189.9 cm
Cy Twombly : the empire of signs
He is from the generation of the Post-War American giants, Rauschenberg, Warhol, Lichtenstein, or, to mention a few survivors, Jasper Johns and Ellsworth Kelly. Even though he studied in the same institute as many of his colleagues – the mythic Black Mountain College -, Twombly developed a personal vocabulary. Signs of an alphabet impossible to decipher – scratches, lines, stains, drippings – on large white beaches, which sometimes transmute into flowers with petals still humid. Twombly, who shares his time between the United States and Italy, is being honored simultaneously in two other countries. In London, the Tate Modern presents a complete retrospective focused on the great cycles, among that of the Seasons. In Madrid, the Prado falls into step with the other major universal museums by opening up to contemporary art, and presents a work, Lepanto, created for the Biennale of Venice in 2001 and encompassing 12 large paintings nearly 3 meters long. Inspired by the famous naval battle won by the Turks in 1571, his installation aims at being a dialogue with the permanent collection.
BOOKS
The other Prouvé
We all know Jean Prouvé, the steel magician, the inventor of the wall-curtain and the dismountable houses. But there is also Victor (1858-1943), the father, not as well known for it seems he was over talented. He demonstrated his talents in so many different fields that he is difficult to classify, except in the rather lose category of Art nouveau. This book, published for the 150th anniversary of his birth and coinciding with the three exhibitions dedicated to him in his native Nancy, has had to multiply the chapters to encompass the perimeter of his work. He painted, made stained glass windows and etchings, drew motifs for Gallé’s glasses or Majorelle’s furniture, sculpted, defined embroidery models for dresses, produced ads and did leather binding. Last but not least he was also a pedagogue, and for nearly two decades, from 1919 up to WW II, he directed the School of beaux-arts of his city. In his moments of leisure (did he have any?), he drew book covers and the invitations to the weddings of his seven children.
To be seen: three exhibitions until 21 September, presented on the website of the Ecole de Nancy
IN BRIEF
BERLIN – The Boros collection, gathered by advertising executive Christian Boros, is being shown as of 21 June in a reconverted blockhaus in downtown Berlin. Including 500 works by Hirst, Eliasson, Rehberger, Majerus and other contemporary artists, it can only be seen upon reservation.
BIOT -The national museum of Fernand Léger, after being closed for works for 4 years, will reopen on 21 June with the exhibition Fernand Léger et ses amis photographes (Fernand Léger and his photographer friends)
LONDON - The collection of works by Picasso (ceramics and drawings) that belonged to actress Lucia Bosè (who was married to bullfighter Dominguin) is up for sale on 25 June at Christie’s. The whole product will be given to the museum of the Angels, which she created in Segovia.
MAYENNE - The archeologic museum of the Castle of Mayenne, on a site occupied since the Antiquity, will be inaugurated on 20 June. It holds various collections, from the gallo-roman treasure of the ford of Saint-Léonard to the backgammon chips from the Xth century, including the medieval oil lamps.
PARIS-This is a huge auction: 4 days of sales, 3000 lots, that correspond to all the furnishings of the hotel Royal Monceau. It will be scattered by auctioneer Cornette de Saint-Cyr, from 19 to 22 June 2008.
PARIS - The program to restore the stained glass windows of the Sainte-Chapelle will be launched on 19 June. It will take seven years and will be financed by the patronage of the Fondations Velux.
PARIS-The Stations of the Cross made by Ladislas Kijno and Robert Combas between 2003 and 2005 is set up in the chapel of the Gobelins from 24 June to 2 October 2008.
ROME- The Quadriennale, the contemporary art event created in 1927, will hold its 15th edition from 19 June to 14 September 2008, at the Palazzo delle Esposizioni. It will welcome some one hundred artists.
SANTA FE (USA)-The 7th International Biannual of Santa Fe will open on 22 June until 26 October. The curator Lance Fung selected 22 «emerging» artists, of which most have never been presented in the USA.
VENICE -The 8th conference on «Communicating the museum», which brings together the persons in charge of communication of the major international museums, will be held in Venice from 25 to 28 June 2008.
WHITSTABLE (Great-Britain) – The Whitstable Biennale of contemporary art will be held from 21 June to 6 July, with a program focused on performance – from the concert given by ice cream car vendors to the ritual fire of a caravan.
ON ART-OF-THE-DAY.INFO
This week, do not miss
IT'S NOT ONLY ROCK 'N' ROLL, BABY!
BRUSSELS -What were patti Smith and Pete Doherty doing before they sang? They were painting no less! The most rock 'n' roll organizer of exhibitions, Jérôme Sans, a member as well of a band, is interested in stars who in the past were visual artists. Chicks on Speed, Brian Eno, Antony: they are all at the Palace of Fine Arts.
GOTHIC MASTERPIECES IN NORMANDY
ROUEN - Three centuries of artistic production, from the XIIIth to the XVIth centuries: from statues of the Virgin to sculpted groups of cathedrals, from stained glass windows to exceptional pieces of work with gold (among them the reliquary of Saint-Romain), the museum of Normandy presents the greatest group of Norman works of art ever brought together.