Diane Green and Beth Gersh-Nesic: Q and A at Madelyn Jordon Fine Art, Sunday, Nov 20 at noon

Diane Green, The Space Between Madelyn Jordon Fine Arts, through December 20th 37 Popham Road, Scarsdale, New York Please join me on   Sunday, Nov. 22nd from 12-2 pm for  a Champagne Brunch Q & A with Diane Green on her work in the exhibition  The Space Between.   To RSVP, please reply to info@madelynjordonfineart.com Diane Green, 4 PM, 2013 View the exhibition here   Diane Green, Green, 2015 Looking forward to seeing you there! Beth Beth New York, aka Beth Gersh-Nesic Director New York Arts Exchange www.nyart-exchange.com

Paris in Tears

Arlene Rubenstein posted on FB a photo of herself and her beautiful family in front of the Paris Opera House with the statement "There are no words."   Yes, there are no words to describe the violence and violation to hundreds of carefree people out for a pleasant evening in Paris, hurting no one, simply out on the town to be with friends and family in a sports stadium, a concert hall, a restaurant and a shopping mall.   

There are no words to describe our outrage, pain and resolve to fight this element determined to wreck havoc through out the entire world.  Today, we weep not only for Paris, but for all the victims of terrorism - from Kenya to Boston to Beirut. 

Paris Coat of Arms

Fluctuat nec Mergitur

(toss at sea, but sunken)

(wounded but not defeated)

Here is a comment that responded to the news article printed in the NYT following the attacks in Paris on Friday: 

Blackpoodles

 Santa Barbara November 13, 2015

"France embodies everything religious zealots everywhere hate: enjoyment of life here on earth in a myriad little ways: a fragrant cup of coffee and buttery croissant in the morning, beautiful women in short dresses smiling freely on the street, the smell of warm bread, a bottle of wine shared with friends, a dab of perfume, children paying in the Luxembourg Gardens, the right not to believe in any god, not to worry about calories, to flirt and smoke and enjoy sex outside of marriage, to take vacations, to read any book you want, to go to school for free, to play, to laugh, to argue, to make fun of prelates and politicians alike, to leave worrying about the afterlife to the dead.
No country does life on earth better than the French.
Paris, we love you. We cry for you. You are mourning tonight, and we with you. We know you will laugh again, and sing again, and make love, and heal, because loving life is your essence. The forces of darkness will ebb. They will lose. They always do."

Let us wish Paris godspeed as she resists intimidation and resolves to move forward, back to normalcy -  to a genuine joie de vivre.

Nous sommes Paris.

 Vive la France!

New York Arts Exchange

Women Rule! Three Events Dedicated to Women in the Arts, Thursday, November 12th

Diane Radycki on Paula Modersohn-Becker

Galerie St. Etienne, 24 West 57th St.

Thursday, November 12th at 6 pm, free

Professor of art history and director of the Payne Gallery at Moravian College, Diane Radycki offers New Yorkers a rare opportunity to hear her speak about the first modern woman artist, Paula Modersohn Becker. Director of GSE, Jane Kallir wrote in her beautiful essay: "Paula Modersohn-Becker (1876-1907) was almost completely unknown when she died following childbirth at the age of thirty-one, but within fifteen years she had become a near mythic figure in her native Germany. Posthumous exhibitions were staged at museums and prestigious galleries throughout the country. The artist’s letters and journals, limited excerpts from which were first published in 1913, became a bestseller when an expanded edition appeared in 1919-20. And she was famously eulogized by Rainer Maria Rilke, whose early career had been intimately intertwined with hers. Although these literary elements did not exactly overshadow Modersohn-Becker’s art, they gave her story a tragic cast that belies the unsentimental rigor of her achievement.."

Here is the PMB exhibition online. Paula Modersohn-Becker: Art and LIfe, at Galerie St. Etienne, November 3, 2015-March 12, 2016

Margaret Oppenheimer on "Madame Jumel Collects"

Mid-Manhattan Library, 455 Fifth Avenue, 

Thursday, November 12th at 6:30 p.m., free

Eliza Jumel has been featured on this blog before as a "ghost" invented by the incomparable artist Yinka Shonebare, during his exhibition at the Morris-Jumel Mansion in Washington Heights. Margaret wrote to me: "The amazing Eliza Jumel—raised in a brothel, indentured as a servant, and confined to a workhouse while her mother was in jail—rose to become one of New York's richest women. Along the way she turned herself into an art connoisseur, acquiring more than 240 paintings in Paris between 1815 and 1817." Art historian Margaret Oppenheimer will bring Jumel’s pioneering collection back to life through a slide lecture of the paintings, their owner, and the early 19th-century art scene in New York and Paris at the New York Public Library - Mid-Manhattan.

Oppenheimer holds a PhD from New York University's Institute of Fine Arts and is the author of a newly released biography, The Remarkable Rise of Eliza Jumel: A Story of Marriage and Money in the Early Republic, as well as The French Portrait: Revolution to Restoration (2005), the collaborating writer of the first edition of Art: A Brief History (2000), and a contributor to A Personal Gathering; Paintings and Sculpture from the Collection of William I. Koch (1996). Her articles have appeared in Apollo, the Gazette des Beaux-Arts, the Metropolitan Museum Journal, and other publications. 

Margaret volunteers as a docent at the Morris-Jumel Mansion in New York City, Eliza Jumel’s former home. (Please join me for a tour with Margaret on Saturday, December 5th.)

Kathleen Gilje, Linda Nochlin at the Bar of the Folies Bergère , 2005

 

Kathleen Gilje, Self-Portrait in Bougereau's Assault, 2012 (detail)

Jovana Stokic, Professor of Curatorial Studies, School of Visual Arts, NYC

Maura Reilly, Chief Curator, National Academy of Art, NYC

"Linda Nochlin: The Art Historian as Seen By Artists"  - A Panel with Linda Nochlin

Maison Francaise, NYU - Washington Mews

Thursday, November 12th, 7 pm, free

A rare opportunity to hear celebrated art historian Linda Nochlin discuss portraits of herself with one of the artists, Kathleen Gilje, and two curators (former Nochlin students at IFA) Jovana Stokic and Maura Reilly.  Maura edited Women Artists: The Linda Nochlin Reader (Thames and Hudson, 2015). 

Which one will I attend - alas: none.  I teach "Picasso: The Artist, His Work and His Critics" on Thursday evenings at Purchase College.

Please join us for Margaret's tour on December 5th!   nyarts-exchange@verizon.net.  

Best wishes to my dear colleagues and friends as you celebrate this tribute to women in the arts!

Beth New York

aka Beth S. Gersh-Nesic, Ph.D.

Director

New York Arts Exchange

Happy Birthday, Pablo Picasso!

Feliz cumpleaños, Pablo Picasso. Today, you would have been 134 years old. And to celebrate your legacy, we bring attention to two great exhibitions of your work and about the influence of your work:

Picasso Mania! in Paris at the Grand Palais, through February 29, 2016

And Picasso Sculpture in New York at the Museum of Modern Art, through February 7, 2016.

Viva Picasso - Long may you reign as the art master supreme.

Beth New York

"Sins" of the Summer Continue through the Fall 2015

Hieronymus Bosch, Seven Deadly Sins and the Four Last Things, 1485

The Fairfield/Westchester Museum Alliance (FWMA) organized a sinned-filled summer and fall with its first united effort: the "Seven Deadly Sins."  Based on the "Eight Evil Thoughts" set down by Evagrius Ponticus, a Greek monk (345- 399 AD), and established by Pope Gregory I in 590 A.D., these moralizing concepts may seem a bit out-of-touch with our relativist 21st-century minds. Moreover, most of the curators missed the opportunity to teach us about the use of morality tales in art history. For traditionally, art was meant to uplift and ennoble, inspire virtuous behavior and give comfort to those afflicted by pain.  Art also promoted fame through portraiture - an act of pride, of course.  Pride, therefore, can do good - recording the faces of yore,

Fay Ku, Juno's Creatures, 2014

Graphite and oil on mylar, 42 x 30 inches

Courtesy of the artist and Claire Oliver Gallery, New York

Deputy director and curator at the Bruce Museum Susan Ball should take great pride in her wonderful selection of artworks and her ability to educate her audience. Of special note, the exhibition includes a mesmerizing Antoine Roegiers video of animated Bosch and Bruegel characters which act out all Seven Deadly Sins in brief humorous vignettes.

Gabriel Schlaching (1850-1912), 

Sweet Reflections, 1886

oil on canvas, 51 x 39 inches

Woodmere Art Museum, Bequest of Charles Knox Smith

Photograph by Rick Echelmeyer

According Dr. Ball: "The Seven Deadly Sins have played a significant role in theology, literature and art since the Middle Ages, Pride, or superbia, represents the mother of all sins and the one from which all others arise – the root of a many-branched tree.  .  . The debate about the definition of sinfulness in general and each specific transgression in particular has raged for centuries.  One might ask, at what point is the line between healthy self-esteem, or pride, and the sin of arrogant self-aggrandizement, or pridefulness, crossed?” 

So true!  I should note that there were attempts to conscious-raise in other exhibitions. 

Diane Burko, Arctic Cyclone, 2012

For example, "Wrath: Force of Nature" at Wave Hill, took on environmental issues with magnificent paintings that address the unpredictability of Mother Nature. Some were tumultuous, others calm. Together, the works delivered such visual pleasure their negative connotations seemed beside the point. (Please click on the title of the exhibition to see digital reproductions of the paintings and read the catalog.)

James Lee Byars, The Golden Divan, 1990

Greed at Neuberger Museum, Purchase College, exhibited Gold organized by the Curator of Exhibitions José Carlos Diaz at the Bass Museum. The press release stated: "Some artists explore the ritualistic use of gold to imbue objects with spiritual and eternal significance. James Lee Byars utilizes gold in pursuit of his idea of sacred beauty and perfection by including a tiny golden sphere in his Self-Portrait and using metallic fabric in The Golden Divan for one of gold." 

What does this have to do with "Greed"???  Plenty of eye-candy, but "Seven Deadly Sin"-ful it is not.(Please click on the exhibition title to view several examples in the show.)

Sylvie Fleury, Yes to All That, 2004

Sylvie Fleury at least has a sense of humor. The absurdity of this gold-plated garbage receptacle evokes a preciousness that teeters between excess and emptiness. "All that glisters is not gold," Shakespeare reminded us, i.e., a gilded veneer may lend value to worthless objects, such as Dario Escobar's 1999 Untitled (a golden McDonald's soda cup) or disguise potential dangers, as in Chris Burden's Gold Bullets (2003).

Emilie Clark, Sweet Corruptions, 2012-13

egg shells, fruit peels, bread crusts, shells, on wooden table

(liquids and solids in auxiliary jars)

Emilie Clark, "Untitled EHR/H-1," from The Delicacy of Decomposition series, 2015

Gluttony at Katonah Museum of Art, serves up the sin of garbage-making by aesthetically displaying various food scraps accumulated over a year.  The artist Emilie Clark views her studio as a lab and combines art with science to help us understand her installation Sweet Corruptions, 2012-13. Her  series of delicate watercolors of decomposing edibles (2015) surround a large wooden table groaning with egg shells, bread crusts, fruit peels and cheese rinds, arranged in an attractive composition.

However, one person's idea of  gourmet may be another person's idea of gourmand.  Do we really need 20 ounce servings of soda?  Apparently, Mike Bloomberg said "nay" and his NYC constituents said "forgettaboutit."  Gluttony is in the eyes of the beholder.  And waste, well that's another topic entirely - and suitable for a different show.

Adrien Broom, Envy and Temptation, 2015

Envy:One Sin, Seven Stories, combines digital photographs of actors and 3-D stage sets in order to dramatize classic fairy tales about coveting desirable possessions, from beauty to material goods. Unfortunately, the choice of Snow White set my nerves on edge, as I am a stepmother and believe that today's stepmothers need kinder publicity.  Why not consider the envy of siblings: Cain and Abel, Jacob and Esau, Osiris and Seth, Mufasa and Scar?   Why not an updated examination of Envy in today's media: Cribs, Housewives of Whatever, or The Primates of Park Avenue?

Marcy Freedman, Poster for Performance Piece, July 26, 2015

Lust at Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art proved to be the least appealing of the exhibitions and most inappropriate for its location: the only museum in a family town (Peekskill) should not bar youngsters under 18 years old from art. This decision may be the real sin perpetrated by this lifeless show. Nevertheless, In Bed with a Big, Bad Wolf, performed by Marcy Freedman on July 26, brought intelligence with a twist of humor to this fairly dull take on such a spicy topic.

Sin Najafi with Mats Bigert, Sloth, 2015

Sloth at the Aldrich Contemporary Art Center had the most innovative idea: engage the audience through direct participation.  Here, the visitor can sit in a comfy recliner and watch a video loop of curators explaining the other exhibitions in the FWMA SDS project.  However, right here and right now, as you read, you can out sloth the Aldrich's Sloth-y installation.  For the New York Arts Exchange provides the various links to the FWMA venues so that you can sit in your own easy chair in the comfort of your own home accompanied by gluttonous portions of your own favorite snacks tailored to your own greedy appetite. (After all, this the 21st century and you should be able to curate your own experience of the Seven Deadly Sins in your own way.)  

Two exhibitions have closed already.  Five still remain on view, but not for long.  May I suggest that you put Pride at the top of your to-do list - and take pride in the fact that you didn't miss this excellent show.

Closed:

Lust at the Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art, April 19 - July 26, 2015

Wrath at Wave Hill, June 7 - September 7, 2015

Still open:

Envy  - Hudson River Museum, June 6 - September 26

Pride - Bruce Museum, June 27 - October 18

Gluttony - Katonah Museum of Art, July 12 - October 11.

Greed  - Neuberger Museum, Purchase College, July 12 - October 18

Sloth - Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, July 19 - October 18

If you were to organize an exhibitions on Seven Deadly Sins in our time, which would you choose? Perhaps, an updated list might consider the Seven "Sins" that lead to death, such as murder, neglect, abuse, hazing, drug addiction, "doping" in sports, and excessive measures for beauty.  

Please write to me at nyarts@verizon.net or comment on my FB page.  I would love to hear your thoughts on "sinfulness" in the 21st century.

Best wishes to you all - whether you are atoning for your sins on Yom Kippur or indulging in the pleasures of mid-September or both,

Beth New York

September 11 - We Remember

In Memory of All Who Lost their Lives in the Terrorist Attacks on September 11 

and by working on the site in the aftermath

And to Michael Richards - whose light still shines upon us through his art:

Michael Richards, Are You Down?, 2012

Michael Richards Memorial, 2012

Miichael Richards, Tar Baby vs. St. Sebastian, 1999

Fall Courses 2015 and New Blogs

Michael Pupin's Birth Place in Idvor, Serbia

Happy end of summer and best wishes for the Labor Day Weekend.   I hope you all had wonderful experiences and enjoyed every minute of summer pleasures.

Please send me your list of art adventures.  Did you see "China" and Sargent at the Met?  Van Gogh and Whistler’s Mother at the Clark?

Hans Hofmann and "Pride" at the Bruce Museum?  "Alice" at the Morgan?

Did you see "Storylines" and Doris Salcedo at the Gugg?  Lots of old friends there (including a few from the New Museum Triennial we saw last May).  The Salcedo show is among my favorites this summer.

There is still time to catch them all.

This semester I won’t be able to give tours.  I agreed to give 3 courses at Purchase:

• Pop Art, Mondays and Wednesdays, 4 – 5:45 pm at RCC campus (starts today)
• Picasso, Thursdays, 6:30-9:50 pm, Purchase College campus (starts tomorrow)
• Museum History and Fundamentals, Tuesdays, 6:30-9:30 pm, Purchase College campus (starts Sept. 15) – this is for the certificate program in Museum Studies.

You are welcome to register for the credit class with Friends of Humanities – only $65 per course: https://www.purchase.edu/Departments/AcademicPrograms/LAS/Humanities/friendsofhumanities.aspx - if you are 60 years young or 60+.

If you would like to join the Museum Studies course, please let me know. This is a non-credit course and may not accept the Friends of Humanities privileges. Nevertheless, it's a great way concentrate on museum culture and have your say during our lively conversations.

Also – I started two blogs (in addition to this NY Arts Exchange blog):

"Summer in Serbia" http://summerinserbia.blogspot.com/    where I will add my pictures taken this summer, one batch at a time.

And Postmodern Mom: http://postmodernmother.blogspot.com/    where I post personal essays that have been rolling around in my brain for a while (inspired by the "Envy" exhibition at the Hudson River Museum).

I am sharing these blogs on Facebook, so if you are not on FB (or have not friended me on FB) and would like to receive these posts separately, please sign up to follow the blogs.  Many thanks!

I also started the Museum of Kindness on Facebook and have a blog for that too.

Please, please send me information that might contribute to this virtual museum. I would greatly appreciate it.

Please stay in touch – WRITE, CALL, TEXT!   I would love to hear from you.

And, please feel free to drop in to my classes. 

Love and hugs,

Beth

Beth S. Gersh-Nesic, Ph.D.

Director

New York Arts Exchange

www.nyarts-exchange.com