Though the National Gallery of Art’s Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes includes lots of costumes and video clips meant to bring the legendary dance troupe alive, the works on paper are the beating heart of this show. The illustrated costume designs by Léon Bakst, like this one for a rajah in the ballet Le Dieu … Continue reading »
I can’t get this painting out of my head. I saw it two weeks ago at the Gagosian in Chelsea, one of 59 paintings by Jean-Michel Basquiat hanging in the gallery’s cavernous white rooms. It’s massive, and they’ve placed it so you first glimpse it through a doorway in the second gallery, dramatically framed. It … Continue reading »
London. Watching the Olympics last year and getting hooked on BBC’s Sherlock (I was a latecomer) reminded me it’s been too long. I plan to correct that this summer, so seeing Bill Brandt’s 1930s photos of the city at the Museum of Modern Art this weekend only stoked my interest. I didn’t know of Brandt … Continue reading »
Best discovery of the week? National Geographic’s new Tumblr, Found, which publishes long-lost photos from the organization’s archives. If this shot, taken in 1924, is indicative of what’s in store, I’ll be checking in often. You could almost write a novel around this woman. Continue reading »
Thanks to the Google doodle, I was reminded of one my favorite artists this morning: The late, great Edward Gorey, who would have been 88 today. Maria Popova of Brain Pickings followed Google’s lead with a series of Gorey blog posts today, including one describing two of the artist’s “lost” stories, recently re-published under the … Continue reading »
While Americans down pitchers of beer and chicken wings in honor of Superbowl Sunday today, the world’s version of football continues on makeshift pitches across Africa, bringing everyday joy to kids who don’t have much but are astonishingly resourceful in their pursuit of the “beautiful game.” Belgium-based photographer Jessica Hilltout reminded me of that this … Continue reading »
I had been told about Venice, but seeing it in person is a different deal. It’s one of those places, like Key West of a different era, with such a strong sense of “otherness,” you wonder if you can begin to pierce it as a tourist. And the light — diffuse and reflective, liquid, saturating. … Continue reading »
I bought myself an early, sentimental Christmas gift this week: Howard French’s moody book of photographs, Disappearing Shanghai. French, a former Shanghai bureau chief for the New York Times, arrived in the city in 2003 and spent much of his free time wandering the longtangs, or lanes, in the old French Concession. His collection of … Continue reading »
My preference for Asian art is evident in my top five list this year, but I’ve added a couple American artists for good measure. Not a stellar year overall, but these five had staying power: 1. Colorful Realm: Japanese Bird and Flower Paintings (National Gallery of Art): Truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience. This collection of 30 … Continue reading »
Seeking creative inspiration on a still winter Sunday, I took to the blog Brain Pickings and the Writer’s Digest website, and stumbled on an artist and writer talking about where they find ideas. Illustrator Maira Kalman, in the video above, spoke recently at the Museum of Modern Art about seeing Rome with an empty brain, … Continue reading »
