Dec 31
Composition VIII (Komposition 8) by Vasily Kandinsky (Photo: Guggenheim Museum, New York City)
If Christmas was gentle and sensitive Giotto, New Years is energetic Vasily Kandinsky. Above is Composition VIII made in 1923 with all the exuberance, joy and motion of the jazz age.
All the best in 2012!
Madonna and Child by Giotto (National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC)
To celebrate Christmas, here is one of my favorite Madonna and Child paintings by Giotto, done between 1320-1330. Despite the fact that baby Jesus resembles a little man, there is a delicacy and sensitivity in how both figures are holding or reaching for the flower. The painting to me is one of the first Renaissance works and a lovely, peaceful image for Christmas.
Dec 19
Reim Cathedral Light Show (Photo: Reims Cathedral)
As if the Gothic cathedrals of France were not beautiful enough already, several have been illuminated this year in dramatic and vivid colors. These shows will continue for the last few weeks of Dec 2011 if you are fortunate to be in France.
Angel from Reim Cathedral facade colorized and illuminated in a light show (Photo: Reims Cathedral)
The Reims Cathedral celebrated its 800th anniversary this year. It’s light show elegantly chronicles this history illustrating the cathedral as if an illuminated manuscript, a geometric architectural plan, under construction and finally completed with painted facade statues. The cathedral is also illuminated as if one huge stained glass window and then spends several minutes flashing between a range of Monet-esque abstracted palettes. The Reims cathedral light show continues until Dec 31st. A fairly good video of the 25min show is available in two parts online:
The Amiens Cathedral is also illuminated through December in a similar fashion. There is no flashy show but you do have the chance to visualize the originally painted facade of the cathedral. Like Reims, the image projection and matching is incredible, although you can see some of the shadows in the close-up image below.
Amiens Cathedral light show - detail of kings (Photo: Amiens Cathedral)
Jaume Plensa’s “The Alchemist” at MIT (Photo: DaydreamTourist)
Many modern artists find themselves returning to familiar themes for continued exploration. Catalan artist Jaume Plensa has created a catalog of large curved metal sculptures shaped into contemplative figures. I find something other-worldly about these figures, especially those made of letters, as if this were some futuristic totem waiting for us to decode them.
Nov 30
Classic travel posters of the 1920-1940s have got to be some of the most gorgeous but overlooked pieces of art ever. Combining both travel nostalgia and crisp graphic design, the images are evocative and interesting. I want to hang one on my wall then pack up a hard case travel trunk and decorate it with stickers from each of my destinations! Here are some of my favorite travel posters from an exhibit held last year.
All images are from the 2010 Boston Public Library exhibit, “Away We Go!” You can view the entire exhibit on Flickr.
Daydream Tourist 