(photograph by Richard Avedon from The New Yorker’s website)
Above is Richard Avedon’s portrait of Martin Luther King Jr. with his father, Martin Luther King, and his son, Martin Luther King III, 1963. The image is part of the 1964 book Nothing Personal, Avedon’s collaboration with writer James Baldwin.
Finnish Postcard- Not Even for the Weekend
This song by LA band Finnish Postcard is from their 2023 album, How to Mute Crows.
They will be playing with Cooking Steak, Laminate, and Badvril at Genghis Cohen in Los Angeles this Friday, 1/19/24.
Danny Brown- Jenn’s Terrific Vacation
Every month I listen to the majority of bands/singers/musicians/artists who are playing in Los Angeles and select some for a monthly playlist. It includes a variety of genres and usually newer work by the artist.
The song above is from Danny Brown’s 2023 album, Quaranta.
Below is the playlist for December 2023.
This mural by Bunnie Reiss was created for the 2023 edition of the SHINE Mural Festival in St. Pete, Florida.
Also check out her Instagram for updates on her current work.
Kenny Beats- Last Words
This song is from Kenny Beats‘ 2022 album, LOUIE.
He will be performing in Los Angeles at Don Quixote on Saturday 1/13/24.
There were a lot of great songs to choose from this year and above are my selections. The songs included are mostly from indie bands but there are a few hip hop and R&B songs included as well.
As always, I hope that listeners will hear some familiar songs but will also find new favorites in some of the lesser known artists.
Frank Weston Benson, “Natalie”, 1917, Oil on canvas
Childe Hassam, “Gathering Flowers in a French Garden”, 1888, Oil on canvas
Luther Emerson Van Gorder, “In the Park”, before 1894, Oil on canvas
Tampa Museum of Art’s current exhibition, Frontiers of Impressionism: Paintings from the Worcester Art Museum, features paintings by American and European impressionists and is a lovely reminder of the extraordinary works these artists created during this time period. The enduring popularity of the impressionists throughout the years makes sense when walking among these paintings. The use of color and brush work, as well as the details and beauty of the subject matter (not to mention the wealth and comfort often depicted)- make the viewer feel like they are being transported through time to the artist’s idyllic world.
From the museum-
In 2024, the term “impressionism” celebrates its 150th anniversary. Such a significant occasion inspires reflection on the profound impact that a relatively small group of artists in Paris made by positing a new mode of painting: one that favored painting outdoors over in a studio, immediacy over planning, the everyday over the grand, and the fleeting over the eternal. In doing so, the impressionists upended centuries of traditions in European art. This exhibition explores the radical impulses behind impressionism and its seemingly endless adaptability, as artists from around the world came to Paris to study and returned to their homelands, assimilating what they had absorbed and propelling the movement further.
The Worcester Art Museum pioneered new artistic horizons by embracing impressionism early in its history. The French and American impressionism collections at the Worcester Art Museum have long drawn visitors to the galleries. The first directors purchased works by Monet from his Parisian dealer, Durand-Ruel, as well as directly from American impressionists, making the Museum one of the first in the United States to collect impressionism actively as contemporary art. Over the past 125 years, this collection has grown, encapsulating the story of the movement’s roots and emergence in France and its subsequent expansion to the United States, Germany, Scandinavia, and beyond. Highlighting more than 30 artists, including Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Camille Pissarro, Mary Cassatt, Childe Hassam, and Max Slevogt, this exhibition demonstrates impressionism’s international allure, captured in subjects as far-flung as Monet’s famed Giverny lily pond to the natural wonders of the Grand Canyon.
Below are a few more selections from the show.
Max Slevogt, “Selbstbildnis im Garten (A Self-Portrait in the Garden at Godgramstein), 1910, Oil on canvas
Max Slevogt, “Selbstbildnis im Garten (A Self-Portrait in the Garden at Godgramstein), 1910, Oil on canvas (detail)
Paul Signac, “Golfe Juan”, 1896, Oil on canvas
Thomas Cole, “View on the Arno, near Florence”, 1837, Oil on canvas
Lovis Corinth, “Vordem Spiegel (At the Mirror)”, 1912, Oil on canvas
John Singer Sargent, “Katherine Chase Pratt”, 1890, Oil on canvas
About the unfinished painting above (from the museum)-
A successful society portraitist, Sargent painted the elite from his international social circles. In June 1890, Sargent visited Worcester, Massachusetts, where he was inundated by requests for portraits. The sitter’s father, Frederick Pratt, a noted collector and eventual acting director of the Worcester Art Museum (1908 and 1917), became friends with the artist and invited him to return a few months later to paint his daughter, Katherine- although the idea for Katherine’s portrait originated in Sargent’s first trip to Worcester, when he had made a sketch of hydrangeas. Sargent’s vision of Katherine against a backdrop of flowers, however, proved less than satisfactory for his client and he abandoned the painting for another, more formal depiction. As an unfinished work, this painting reveals the immediacy of Sargent’s process, with careful attention to broad swaths of color and patterns in the brushwork to convey flower petals or folds of clothing.
This exhibition will be on view until 1/7/2024.
This year The James Museum partnered with SHINE Mural Festival and Chenlin Cai to create the mural seen above, The Path We Came. It was inspired by the museum’s current exhibition From Far East to West: The Chinese American Frontier.
Hung Liu “Portrait of China Mary”, 2006, Oil on canvas
Currently at The James Museum in St. Pete, is From Far East to West: The Chinese American Frontier, an informative show that includes many beautiful paintings. There’s so much history in America that often doesn’t get taught in school. This is a great opportunity to learn about this immigration story through artwork as well as text.
From the museum about the exhibition-
While European American settlers gradually pushed the United States frontier westward throughout the 1800s, the West coast of the country was developing independently as well. Accelerated by the discovery of gold mid-century, the population boom included Chinese immigrants who crossed the Pacific Ocean to California.
Most 19th century Chinese immigrants came to their new country from the coastal Canton region (province of Guangdong today) in southeastern China. Starting over on a different continent away from familiar surroundings and culture would be challenging, but for many decades anti-Chinese hostility and exclusion laws made settling in the United States even more difficult. The achievements of Chinese immigrants paved a path for future generations and are a testament to strength and perseverance.
The foundation for the exhibition highlights narratives of Chinese America from the 1850s to the 1930s. The paintings-all created by Chinese Americans in the 21st century-reflect inspiration from this history. The painters are also fueled by their own, more recent immigration stories to the United States after China’s Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) and their rigorous art training in the government-sponsored movement of Socialist Realism. After China opened to the rest of the world in the late 1970s, many Chinese artists-like Mian Situ, Jie Wei Zhou, Benjamin Wu, Hung Liu, and Z.S. Liang, all featured here were inspired to immigrate to the United States in search of greater opportunity.
Here, these artists’ historical interpretations speak to culture, identity, community, and resilience. Related objects and ephemera from the period support these stories. From the Gold Rush to Angel Island, this exhibition reveals often overlooked but significant contributions and perspectives of Chinese immigrants that deepen our understanding of U.S. history.
Hung Liu “Dandelion with Small Bird”, 2017 Mixed media
About the above painting from the museum-
Dandelions and their fluffy seed pods can be found anywhere in the world and thrive wherever they land. Their migratory nature allows them to survive a journey across vast lands even across oceans and take root anywhere in the world. For Liu, the dandelion represents her own tenacity and ability to thrive in the face of adversity.
The dandelions, fragile in nature and tattered by the lightest breeze, mimic how images, and personal narratives, too, can be scattered by time and the winds of history —as well as by the rhythms of feast and famine …
–Hung Liu
Mian Situ “Blasting a Route Through the Sierra Nevada, 1865, Central Pacific Railroad”, 2018, Oil on canvas
Mian Situ “The Gold Seekers , Chinese Camp, 1850”, 2015, Oil on canvas
Jie Wei Zhou “Dragon Parade”, 2012, Oil on Linen
This exhibition is on view until 1/28/24.
This painting, Night Breeze, by Sarah Lee, was part of a group exhibition last year at 1969 Gallery in NYC. It seemed like a good choice to post in honor of tonight’s full moon, the last of 2023, known as the Cold Moon.
Lee is currently part of two group exhibitions- Quiet Storm at Long Story Short’s Paris location and Standing Still at Gana Art’s Los Angeles location.