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Modigliani nude fetches second-highest price ever paid for art at auction
Amedeo Modigliani, the Italian painter and sculptor, died young and led a rather gloomy existence. His birth coincided with the collapse of his father’s once-thriving business enterprises, and health problems plagued him from a young age. At 35 years old, he passed away from tubercular meningitis. It was in this state of financial and physical frailty, during the later stages of his illness, that Modigliani painted “Nu couché,” — in English, “Reclining Nude.” The work was one of a series of several dozen nudes that were shown during the only solo exhibition of the artist’s life, an occasion made notorious by the discussions it raised over obscenity in artwork. (So…
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Jackson Pollock: Instinct vs. Reason
It’s a complete mess. Loops of color tangled together and running rampant energize nearly every inch of the composition. Far from the reaches of common sense or common experience, we cannot be sure what exactly we are looking at, or how we should feel. However when facing down Jackson Pollock’s seventeen foot monster One: Number 31 (1950), there is an unshakable feeling that this grand piece was no accident. The lyricism behind his movements—a web of flicks, dribbles, drips—is a lot like life, a mixture of uncontrollable and controllable factors. Maybe it’s not such a mess, as much as it simply elicits the response: What the f$&k? Even Pollock himself…
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ALWAYS Win the War
Now, I’m not one to try and court controversy, but it has occurred to me that the act of war is just good business (for the winners anyway). Let’s take war crimes, death tolls, injuries, post-traumatic stress, and dubious reasons for inciting wars out of the equation for a moment. Instead, look at the opening up of jobs in the military forces. This means that unemployment figures go down, levels of education go up (excellent military and civilian training is provided in all manner of subjects), nationwide happiness is on the up (again, primarily for the winning side), and if we stick to the “to the victor the spoils” philosophy…
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Landscape Art, Depictions of a Nature That Might Cease to Exist
I’m supposed to talk about pretty landscapes and painters from the 17th century until now that have slowly incorporated said landscapes into their paintings more and more, until finally Landscape became its own genre. And fine: nature is nice; butterflies, yay. Instead, I’d like to note that BP is sponsoring this. BP! The company that is ruining similar landscapes to the ones we’re meant to enjoy in the exhibition. Did the corporation’s discussion for putting this on the agenda include a “yeah, we better show them now before the destruction and decimation of our planet is complete”? The extraction and ceaseless use of natural gasses and oil is doing palpable…
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