Art, Ruminations
Ai Weiwei is an artist.
Born in 1957, he currently resides and works in Beijing.
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This innocuous biography is all that is listed on the artist’s website, along with a simple link to a Wikipedia biography; however even the information on the 28 page Wikipedia does not fully describe the complex personal history and passions of this remarkable man and artist.
Based on a couple of intriguing images and equipped with only a bit of knowledge about this artist I made plans to go to the Brooklyn Museum to see:
Ai Weiwei: According to What?
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Art, Printed Matter
Hang, 5 years old, attends boarding school in Bejing China
I REALLY like printed matter!
I am always on the lookout for books on interiors, photography, history, fashion, culture, art, architecture; places I have never been to, as well as ones I have.
This seemingly insatiable pursuit over more than 30 years has resulted in my having an extensive library of printed matter. You can be sure that I will be sharing some of these books here in future posts.
Recently, I ran across something about a book entitled Where Children Sleep – it looked promising and without hesitation, I ordered it immediately…
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Art, Design, Ruminations
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The New York City subway system of 2014 can be a remarkably efficient way to get around the city; however even in recent history this was not necessarily the case.
When I first visited New York City as a young adult in 1976 I stayed in Times Square with my brother and a bunch of art students from the Midwest – it was thrilling!
My eyes bugged out of my head ….
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Art
Last week was an extremely busy week in New York City for fine art.
Art galleries from all over the United States and the World came to a very broad range of art fairs showing the newest of the new, and the finest of the fine, and lots of things in between. Some of the fairs insist on works that are shown have never been seen or sold before, often by younger less recognized artists, while other fairs focus more on ‘secondary market’ works that have found places of significance and value in the marketplace.
I was looking for art for a few current projects and focused my time and energy on Pier 92 of the “Armory Show” which focuses on Modern (versus contemporary) and the “The Art Show” sponsored and run by the ADAA (Art Dealers Association of America) at the Park Avenue Armory.
One of the works that I found was by an artist named Grace Hartigan – a name that I recognized, but whose work and history I could not immediately place – so I did some digging and want to share some of what I learned here.
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Art, Design
Last week, Elizabeth Williams, the Curator of Decorative Arts & Design at the RISD Museum visited my design studio to look at a wide range of objects that I am now offering to her department at the Museum.
Some five years ago I was invited to join the Board of the RISD Museum. As a student at the Rhode Island School of Design I loved, enjoyed and learned a great deal about the history of the Fine and the Decorative Arts at the Museum, so I was happy to offer help and assistance in any way that I could, and was thrilled to have a reason to visit Providence 3-4 times per year.
Over the last 5-10 years I have accumulated lots of objects – of various scales, materials and time periods – that are of specific interest to me. In the course of my professional life I regularly ‘shop’ and buy items at auction, and have been a very active participant on eBay (another form of auction) for over 14 years. Many of these items I have purchased for my personal use and pleasure; some I include in design projects; and others have been accumulating in closed cabinets in my office ‘for the Museum’. I think Elizabeth was surprised to find dozens of items for her review and consideration.
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Art, Design, Ruminations
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“Metropolitan Vanities: The History of the Dressing Table” at the Metropolitan Museum is an exhibition that seeks to provide a view into the extensive history of the Dressing Table – from the Ancient to Modern, and a nod to today.
In addition to sharing some images from and thoughts about the exhibition, I want to share a few examples of these very personal spaces that I have designed for my clients.
A wall mounted ledge with two drawers, oval mirror, and daylight from an adjacent south facing window creates an intimate space for the finishing touches of dressing in a New York City apartment
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