Zooming into Fall with Lectures, Online Articles and Museum Appointment Info

 

Vincent van Gogh, Tree Roots, 1890

Dear friends of the New York Arts Exchange,

September is here with the promise of refreshing autumn breezes. And yet, confusion still reigns over the New York area as we continue to grapple with the Covid-19 pandemic.  Whom do we trust?  Where should we go without concern for our health?  Should I make an appointment with a museum or wait a bit until the museums test their new procedures?  

I prefer prudence and will continue to Zoom my classes at Mercy College and at other venues this fall.  

Here is Beth's Fall Schedule on Zoom.  Click on the titles to find the website and register with the specific organization.

Wednesday, September 23rd at 7 pm: "Vincent van Gogh's Auvers Period: Considering the Latest Revelations."  Hosted on Zoom by the Greenwich Arts Council

Free for Members of GAC; $15 for non-members.  Register through the GAC

Tuesday, October 13th at 10 am: "Three Important Contemporary Black Artists: Kara Walker, Kehinde Wiley and Yinka Shonibare."  Hosted by Learning in Retirement. 

Fee: $5.  Register through LIR.

Wednesday, October 21st at 7 pm: "Recycled and Refashioned: The Art of Ruby Silvious." Hosted by the Greenwich Arts Coucil.  This is an interview with Ruby Silvious with plenty of time for a Q and A.  Mark your calendars - not to be missed! 

Free to member of the GAC. $15 for non-members.  Register through the GAC

Thursday, November 12th at 7 pm: "Andy Warhol and the Pop Revolution." Hosted by Byram Shubert Library, Greenwich, CT.  Free.  Register through BSL.

James Tissot, Seaside (Portrait of Kathleen Kelly NewtonP, 1878

People often ask: What are you up to these days?  Well, I am ashamed to admit, I didn't "Marie Kondo-ize" my house, as I promised myself back in March  Instead I wrote articles on art, because this is my #1 passion.  Here are a few examples on the New York Arts Exchange blog: Lester Rapaport, Fereshteh Priou, Chizuru Morii Kaplan, and Ruby Silvious.

Jacqueline Marval, Les Odalisques, 1903

Here are my articles in Bonjour Paris articles since April 2020:

"The Marvelous Madame Marval: A Woman Artist Among the Fauves," April 7, 2020.

"Museum Musing for the Mother's Day in France: A Quiz," June 3, 2020.

"Man Ray's Muse and Model Adrienne Fidelin: An Interview with Wendy Grossman," July 6, 2020.

"Vincent van Gogh: The Last Painting in Auvers-sur-Oise," August 10, 2020.

"James Tissot: The Painter of 19th Century Modern Life," August 25, 2020.

And finally, museums are beginning to open again.

You have to make appointments, which at first seems strange until you discover that you don't miss navigating through the midday mobs.

Here are the websites for reservations in NYC:

Metropolitan Museum of Art: https://engage.metmuseum.org/admissions/tickets/

Museum of Modern Art: https://buy.acmeticketing.com/orders/198/calendar?eventId=5ef36ac25eeba32ee256c78d&cart 

Whitney Museum of American Art: https://visit.whitney.org/ga/ticketing.aspx?node_id=540044#/step1

New York Historical Society: https://tickets.nyhistory.org/?date=2020-9-11

Museum of the City of New York: https://35948.blackbaudhosting.com/35948/page.aspx?pid=196&tab=2&txobjid=ed762206-14a8-4ff2-b199-f89d6eaa8cf9

NB:

El Museo del Barrio has posted guidelines, but does not require reservations:

https://www.elmuseo.org/visitor-guidelines/

Farther afield:

Hudson River Museum, Yonkers: https://www.hrm.org/plan-your-visit/

Katonah Museum of Art, Katonah: https://katonahmuseum.simpletix.com/e/55816?aff=HomePageLink

Il Magazzino, Cold Springs: https://www.magazzino.art/booking

Bruce Museum, Greenwich, CT: https://brucemuseum.org/site/visit_us_detail/admission_reservations

Storm King Art Center, New Windsor, NY: https://stormking.org/visit/

Best wishes for your Labor Day Weekend,

Beth

Beth S. Gersh-Nesic, Ph.D.

Director and owner

New York Arts Exchange

www.nyarts-exchange.com

nyarts.exchange@verizon.net 

Perfect Pleasure: Ruby Silvious' Exhibition at Albany Institute of History and Art, through August 30, 2020

Recycled and Refashioned: The Art of Ruby Silvious reminds us that art must be seen in person. Even if today's digital approximations satisfy our curiosity, the artwork itself cannot be known, unless, of course, the work was meant to be only a digital image. Ruby Silvious' magnificently painted teabags, books, eggshells, kimonos, and whimsical pistachio nutshells require careful study. The textures and colors offer the eye such pleasure, lingering over every detail.  The creativity and beauty in every millimeter make this substantial show even grander. There is so much to see and savor.   

Ruby Silvious' show opened on January 25th and closed in March during the Covid-19 shutdown.  Fortunately, New York State museums opened on July 25th.  The Albany Institute of History and Art is housed in a beautiful building with plenty of space for social distancing. Visits require a timed ticket. And don't forget your mask! It's required.  NB: the show ends definitively on Sunday, August 30th.

Trips from Westchester straight up Route 87, take about 2 hours.  From NYC, add about 45 minutes
Plenty of parking spots are located next to the building, without charge.

Days open are Wednesday through Saturday, 10 am - 5 pm.  Sunday, 12 noon - 5 pm..  Please make an effort to see Ruby Silvious' Albany Institute exhibition as soon as possible.The pilgrimage is worth it!

From the Covid Blues Series:

Love and Peace,Beth and Ruby

Bonjour Adrienne Fidelin, Man Ray's Muse and Model, and Beth's First Museum Quiz

Dear Friends,

Bonjour Paris recently relaunched its website with a beautiful new look - refreshed and ready for the reopening of museums and other "non-essential" activities. Please support Bonjour Paris, the insider's guide to la vie française by signing up for the weekly newsletter today -  Merci beaucoup! 

My latest article in BP:

Photo from Roland Penrose, Portrait of Picasso, New York: Museum of Modern Art, 1971, page 64.

Photographed by Beth S. Gersh-Nesic

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing the art historian Wendy A. Grossman about her fascinating article on Adrienne Fidelin, the little-known muse and model who lived with Surrealist  American artist Man Ray for about 5 years (1935-1940).  The photograph above records the tight-knit group of Surrealists vacationing during the summer of 1937, hosted by the gallerist Marie Cuttoli (now the subject of an exhibition at the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia) and her husband Senator Paul Cuttoli. Note that Adrienne Fidelin, sitting on the extreme left, was identified as "a friend," as if the author did not know her.  That was far from the truth.  Adrienne Fidelin, known as Ady to Penrose et al., came from her birthplace Guadeloupe to Paris as young teenager, following the deaths of her parents. Dr. Grossman's essay about Ady, who was also the first black model to grace an American high fashion magazine, Harper's Bazaar, asserts that Picasso's painting Woman Seated Against Yellow and Pink II (1937) is based on her likeness. Indeed, we might consider this a Surrealist "portrait" in the same vein as other portraits from this period. In her Bonjour Paris interview Dr. Grossman described how she researched a person who became "invisible even in plain sight."

Claude Monet, Impression: Le Havre, 1872

Also in Bonjour Paris, my first museum quiz!  

Do you remember where you can see Claude Monet's Impression: Le Havre, the great namesake of the Impressionist movement?  Is it in the Musée d'Orsay or Musée Marmotton?  Test your memory of where to find Paris' best known works of art right here.

Bonne chance - et bon weekend,

Beth

Beth S. Gersh-Nesic, Ph.D.

Director and owner

New York Arts Exchange

www.nyarts-exchange.com 

Fourth of July Greetings

Hope you're hanging in there  . . . .

Happy July 4th!

With love and best wishes,

Beth

and

New York Arts Exchange

I

Juneteenth 2020 - Celebrating 155 Years Since the End of Slavery

From the mouths of babes we learn so many historically significant facts. Schools have been teaching youngsters about Juneteenth through children's picture books for several years. However, if you haven't been around elementary school children for a while, you may not be up on your Juneteenth traditions. This year consider sharing All Different Now: Juneteenth, The First Day of Freedom by Angela Johnson, adorned by the magnificent illustrations of E.B. Lewis.  Here is a sample on Amazon, along with other suggestions for books on the holiday. You can also check out your local libraries' websites and other websites on Juneteenth for information. Hopefully, Juneteenth will be an official national holiday next year.

Juneteenth Emancipation Day Celebration, June 19, 1900, in Texas

An annual celebration in Texas sinc 1866

Juneteenth 2020 marks the 155th anniversary of the arrival of Union General Gordon Granger in Galveston, Texas, on June 19, 1865, two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation was made law on January 1, 1863. While it was believed these African Americans were the last slaves freed, evidence tells us slavery was not totally abolished in the US territories until December 1865 with the ratification of the 13th Amendment. Today, in the age of Covid-19, we can celebrate in social-distanced gatherings, such as one at St. Barnabas Church in Irvington, from 2 - 6 pm; Mount Vernon this morning on the steps of the City Hall; and Haverstraw City Hall, Rockland County, at 6 pm. Or virtually, through numerous programs online. In Greenburgh, N.Y, we have a motorcade at noon, followed by a Zoom presentation at 8 pm. The link is here.

Courtesy of the New York Public Library

Programs are available through the New York Public Library System throughout the day too, online.  For more information click here.

Let us rejoice in the celebration of freedom for all.

Best wishes,

Beth and the New York Arts Exchange

Beth S. Gersh-Nesic, Ph.D.

Director and owner

New York Arts Exchange

www.nyarts-exchange.com

#BlackLivesMatter More Than Ever - May Art Enlighten Us and Inspire Engagement

George Floyd Memorial in Minneapolis, Minnesota, 

on the wall of Cup Food, site of his arrest and murder by police

We stayed home to save lives during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic (which is still active).  We left home to save lives by protesting in the streets for justice, following the murder in cold blood of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020. Today each of us has been called upon to save lives through our individual actions. Together, each of us can contribute to the health and welfare of our brothers and sisters, at home and around the globe. We can start by supporting the movement #BlackLivesMatter.

Black Between Painting and History

by Naïl Ver-Ndoye and  Grégoire Fauconnier

To inspire you, the New York Arts Exchange presents a virtual exhibition of street murals dedicated to the memories of African Americans who were victims of racial bias and hatred. Their fates are linked to centuries of persecution, recorded in art. In their excellent and lavishly illustrated book Noir Entre Peinture et Histoire (Black Between Painting and History) Naïl Ver-Ndoye and Grégoire Fauconnier analyze the history of black people by category, laying bare the racist tropes that persist through the ages.

Here, as a postscript to their book, we present a few murals created to honor the men and women recently murdered by police and civilians. These public images offer a place to collectively mourn, reflect and resolve to end racism. We must never forget. 

George Floyd (1974-May 25, 2020)

Mural by Eme Freethinker  in Berlin (Picture Alliance/Nurphoto/© O. Messinger)

Trayvon Martin (February 5, 1995-February 26, 2012)

Mural by Tatyana Fazlalizadeh 2018 with Liberated Peoples. NYC

With @thelisaprojectnyc @liberatedpeople @paramountnetwork @thetrayvonmartinfoundation.

Michael Brown Jr. (May 20, 1996 - August 9  2014)

Michael Brown Jr. Memorial Mural 

Courtesy of Arcadia Publishing

Eric Garner (September 15, 1970 – July 17, 2014

Eric Garner and Michael Brown Jr. Memorial 

outside Spike Lee's studio in Fort Greene, Brooklyn

Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images

                                         Sandra Bland (February 7, 1987-July 13, 2015

Mural by Kalkidan Assefa and Allan Andre, in Ottawa, Canada

Ahmaud Arbery (May 8, 1994 - February 23, 2020)

Mural by Theo Ponchevli, in Dallas,on Friday, May 8, 2020.

The artist said that he was inspired to paint the mural after seeing the video of Arbery’s death on a news broadcast and learning that today would have been his birthday.

 Tony Gutierrez/AP

Here are other tributes on Instagram.

In peace and in solidarity, 

Beth

Beth S. Gersh-Neకić, Ph.D.

Director and owner

New York Arts Exchange

www.nyarts-exchange.com