Happy Independence Day

Have a great weekend everyone!

Declaration of Independence 

John Trumbull

Commissioned 1817

Oil on canvas

Cubism and Fashion

I'm going to a weeding this weekend and am SO excited to wear a new dress that I bought recently. I had been fawning over it for a while and thankfully had the patience to wait because it eventually went on sale!

Dress: CLASSIQUE

I haven't seen a dress like this before, (save maybe an ice-skater's costume but then it is usually be-dazzled to the extreme) and I found myself more and more drawn to the dress as I kept going online and looking at it.

Suddenly I realized why I loved it so much: not just because of the vibrant colors and fun shape, but the pattern is similar to some of my favorite and most well-known Cubist paintings!

Whether the designer was inspired by these artists or not, looking at these paintings I see many similarities with the bold, dark lines, geometric patterns and shapes. Even the top of the dress with the angular hem and tiered waist form bold, solid lines.

Although the dress isn't (or doesn't seem to be) a full pattern that has been deconstructed like a Cubist painting, similar design principles apply and I love the visual effect. I like to think I will be wearing a little piece of art this weekend, even if I'm the only one who makes the connection!

Man with a Guitar

Georges Braque, French

1911-1912

Oil on canvas

Samovar

Kazimir Malevich

1913

Oil on canvas

Ma Jolie

Pablo Picasso

1911-12

Oil on canvas

Road near L'Estaque

Georges Braque

1908

Oil on canvas

Doors

I love pictures of doors. 

On this slow moving Friday I found myself looking at different pictures.

 Here are some of my favorites!

 Happy Friday!

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The Anderson Gift

I just read this article about the Anderson family and their generous donation of pieces from their collection to Stanford University. Harry and Mary Margaret Anderson and their daughter Mary Patricia Anderson Pence, who live in Atherton, have been collecting 20th century art for over 50 years and plan on donating 121 works by 86 artists. The "Anderson Gallery" is to be constructed and opened in 2014 for students and Bay Area dwellers to visit. Artists represented in this great donation include: Robert Motherwell, Mark Rothko,  Helen Frankenthaler and Jackson Pollock. 

Lucifer

Jackson Pollock

1947

Oil, enamel, and aluminum paint on canvas

Although they have loaned their pieces out for special exhibitions, this is the first time the Andwersons have made such a donation, and feel that Stanford University, practically their backyard, will be greatly benefited by the contribution. I think it is wonderful when private collectors give to academic institutions. As a former art history student myself, having the art there on campus is great as it allows students to appreciate and study the works in a familiar setting and for up close and personal instruction that isn't always plausible when visiting works in a museum. 

Midnight in Paris

I saw Midnight in Paris the other night and was completely blown away by its amazingness! 

Without giving out too much detail, I had no idea that so many artists and creative genius’s of America’s Golden Era, the 1920’s, were included in the movie. There were certainly no spoilers in the trailers as I was completely taken by surprise.

Salvador Dali

Ernest Hemingway

Adriana and Gil

Some of my personal favorite artists had cameos (hello Matisse!) and each actor portrayed their role with finesse. I very much felt like a Parisian fly on the wall witnessing a glorious time in history. However, as Gil our protagonist learns, there is no time like the present. 

Full photo credits to Sony Pictures Classics

Oakland Museum of California

Discreetly located in downtown Oakland is a gem of California culture and art, the Oakland Museum of California. The museum, divided into three levels, tells the history of California and the Bay Area through numerous forms of media and allows for visitors to interact with the displays and leave their own images, writings and experiences along the way.

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The history gallery is based around the theme “Coming to California.” Vividly illustrated and extremely detailed, this exhibition gives a broad view of the development California over time: from Native American life in the west, the impact of Spanish colonization, construction of major cities and railways and the impact of the ever changing political climates in California, with a special focus on the Bay Area. The interactive exhibition is fun and interesting for children and adults alike and gives a unique insight into the evolution of California.

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The art gallery at the Oakland Museum includes over 70,000 works by California artists, ranging in disciplines and topics with subject matters significant to the California region and ideologies. Large-scale landscape paintings by Albert Bierstadt, Thomas Hill and William Keith, show the great skill of the artists and refined beauty of the Sierras in the late 1900’s. 

The photography collection includes Dorothea Lange’s documentation of the Great Depression across the US and a dynamic book of Carleton Watkins photographs of Yosemite. Figurative and abstract paintings by local and California artists bring life and color to this diverse collection.

Fourth of July, near Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Dorothea Lange

July, 1939

Photograph

The Oakland Museum is filled with fascinating information about California history, beautifully translated and displayed with an inviting and aesthetic approach, appealing to all of the senses.