If you went to Carnegie International this year looking for a survey of contemporary artwork and artists, what you encountered is probably not what you expected. What's on view is a mix of commissioned works, found works and historical works, some of it beautiful, most of it disconcerting and altogether quite heavy. It's a tour … Continue reading I found the end of the world and it’s in Pittsburgh
Category: Museums
Rethinking Art and a New Museum Building in Houston
Were things different this past weekend, we would have been in New York perusing Alice Neel: People Come First at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. With bad weather, airline cancellations and other factors in the way, with a drive to Houston we could check something off our list and rescue the weekend. There's a healthy … Continue reading Rethinking Art and a New Museum Building in Houston
Committed Art – Keith Haring at the Arlington Art Museum
In a news segment from the 1980s, Dan Rather refers to graffiti as something that is committed. As we know it, graffiti can be traced to 1960s Philadelphia, not so far from the Kutztown home of Keith Haring. He's perhaps the artist best known for it. Graffiti would soon be taken on by artists in … Continue reading Committed Art – Keith Haring at the Arlington Art Museum
Early Branded Furniture
Quick - what's the oldest-known ingredient? If you guessed an onion you are correct, at least as far as what I have read goes. Another question - what was the onion capital of colonial America? You may or may not have guessed New London County, Connecticut. I didn't know that either, but I was curious … Continue reading Early Branded Furniture
Gary Jurysta at SAMA Altoona
The retrospective exhibition for Gary Jurysta at the Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art in Altoona spans over half a century. Upon arrival, I mistakenly took it for a group show, as no single theme dominates the 50 years of art making. What connects the works is an unwavering pursuit of abstraction. That underpinning dictates regardless … Continue reading Gary Jurysta at SAMA Altoona