10/11 Academic Decathlon The Great Depression Art Selection #4 - The Riveter

The Riveter (mural study, Bronx, New York central postal station), 1938, Ben Shahn, tempera on paperboard, image: 33 x 14 3/4 in. (83.8 x 37.5 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum

Here's another connection with Diego Rivera! It was a small art world during the Great Depression! Ben Shahn (1898-1969) was a can do kind of artist - he cleaned paint brushes for Rivera when he painted the Rockefeller Center mural, took pictures for the FSA in California and painted his own murals in a government-sponsored model community in New Jersey. He came from a Jewish Eastern European immigrant family and through perseverance made his way to Brooklyn. His main style of art is social realism, a style that featured the hard life of the working poor and criticized the social structure that causes such problems. His first major work, The Passion of Sacco and Vanzetti was spawned by Shan's sympathetic leanings for the defendants as a liberal immigrant himself.

His career included not only working with Rivera, but also with Walker Evans, a well known photographer that taught Shahn about working with cameras. When he was not awarded some mural proposals, Evans recommended Shahn to another government agency, the Resettlement Administration. Traveling through the South and Midwest with his love and companion, Bernarda Bryson, he documented the life he saw, but photography was not to be the medium of choice for Shahn. Photography was a study for his paintings. He continued getting commissions, including a mural at the Bronx Central Postal Station.

The Riveter was a study using tempera on paperboard for the "Resources for America" mural cycle at the Bronx Central Postal Station. The compelling composition uses the vertical space to box the workman into a compressed space. You can think of it as though you had put a photo into Photoshop and cropped tightly down on the subject. This compressed scene focuses on one worker. The environment he is in, which you see little of because of this close up study, seems to be a factory. There is a lot of ambiguity to the painting - what city is he in, what kind of factory is this, what is he working on? By keeping the details vague, this one workman symbolizes factories and workers all across America doing the same type of work. The face of the worker is not complete enough for clear identification. Even the color palette of coveralls and skin color blend together so you're not sure what ethnicity he is from. The white gloves provide a focal point with a red power cord leading from the machine. It looks like an artery not only in color but in the placement of the composition and serves as a symbol for industry being the heart of the American economy.

Shahn won this commission out of 189 submissions. Perhaps because his composition combines the universal with the realistic and his ability to represent such an important aspect of American life - industry. It represented every man and was easy for any viewer to understand. During this time of the Great Depression, his painting did not focus on the unemploymed, but the employed by putting the worker on a pedestal and making him the heart of American industry.

10/11 Academic Decathlon The Great Depression Art Selection #3 - Tenement, Mural Study

Tenement (mural study, Depart of Justice Building, Washington, D. C.), 1935, George Biddle, tempera on fiberboard, 40 1/2 x 31 1/2 in. (102.9 x 80.0 cm.), Smithsonian American Art Museum

George Biddle (1885-1973) was born into a wealthy family who expected him to become highly educated and establish a law career. He got a law degree, but traveled to Paris (the art capital of the world at that time) and enrolled in a famous art school, the Academie Julian. After serving in WWI, Biddle began his art career. On a trip to Mexico in 1928, he met Diego Rivera. They proved to be valuable networking friends, each recommending the other for work in each other's countries. Franklind D. Roosevelt was a former classmate of Biddle. George wrote him a letter, and was able to get his ear about painting murals in the Department of Justice. He got the commission and dedicated the rest of his life to public art. In the first mural of a five-panel series Biddle did for the federal government, he contrasted just and unjust societies. The final panel, Tenement, depicted the private lives of poor Americans. This art thrust the struggles of America's poor right in the face of the government.

Tenement is a single wall that's divided into three areas. His cut-away view of the inside of the apartment building shows immigrants and poor families going about their daily lives. The left section is a vertical section showing the outside of the building with bars on the windows and laundry hanging to dry. Utility poles lean left and right suggesting disorder in this urban environment. An old woman is in the foreground of this section and holds an axe and some firewood. This figure and it's placement tie into the figures on the right side of the composition that are inside the building. He compositionally connects both inside and outside with these figures. The people inside are working, playing or taking care of their family, but all have dull, unemotional expressions. It's as though they are just going through the motions of daily life.

The crowding, barred windows, and forlorn expressions suggest their homes are just lonely prisons for them. They are tired but enslaved to the poverty they endure day to day. By placing this mural in the Department of Justice, Biddle hopes to show the people that are making decisions some of the people they affect. "He underscores this point by including two quotes in the mural. At the bottom of the right-hand field, Biddle paints a plaque reading: “brandeis: if we would guide by the light of reason we must let our minds be bold”. The quote is from Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis (1856–1941). It joins another quote that appears at the beginning of the five-panel series, “The life of the law has not been logic; it has been experience,” attributed to Oliver Wendell Holmes (1841–1935), who had just retired from the Supreme Court in 1932." (Quote from the DemiDec Art Resource Guide - thanks DemiDec for what you do for Academic Decathlon!!)

The first quote is imploring the viewer not to turn away from the hard images of poverty. And the second quote grounds in the subject matter that Biddle has chosen. He is challenging the notion of just law and visually states that it is not enough to have the law of Justice. Justice must also mean helping all by improving the lives of people in their society. Pretty in your face, huh? And all under the wing of a public art vehicle. He radically changed the course of Depression-era art.

George Biddle at work on his mural Society Freed through Justice in the U.S. Department of Justice Building., Washington, D.C., 1936

Artist of the Week - Ray Villafane

My art teacher friend forwarded images of Ray Villafane's carved pumpkins and I was hooked on several levels. Definitely blog worthy, but also art class lesson worthy!

1. I gave 6 weeks exams to all of my 170 students yesterday and it was grueling work! You think test day would be an easy, quiet day, but au contraire! We needed some fun today. I'll just leave it at that.
2. Halloween is Sunday, so there is a definite timely, holiday theme to the art.
3. We had a pep rally at school this morning which meant the kids were all hyped up and we would have shortened classes from 50 minutes - what to do to engage the kids?
4. It falls into my blog category of "food art" which I love, think is fun and is a popular category on my blog (especially with my students).
5. We are getting ready to do a clay relief sculpture in my sculpture classes, so it's an excellent lead in before designing and executing their projects. Lots of juicy ideas.
6. We are also getting ready to start contour drawing in Art I - his work uses lots of line and would be really fun to draw using any number of contour drawing techniques. Another great lead in.
7. It looked like a fun thing to do today for them and for me! We all needed some fun!

So that was the lesson - a review of the body of his work, the television interview (linked in the post title) and the great tutorial on his website about his sculpture process. They enjoyed it. So.......I'm challenging my students and the reader to go carve a pumpkin! You probably won't be able to compete with his 15 or more years of pumpkin carving expertise, but you might get a new idea or two to try. Go for it! Halloween cometh!

The Business of Art: Forgery

The drawing known as La Bella Principessa - by Leonardo da Vinci?

What's the big deal about forgery? Only tons of money! And think of the reputations great art collectors and museums have at stake when being duped into buying a fake. Check out the link in this post headline to read about 11 of the most controversial art forgery stories.

10/11 Academic Decathlon The Great Depression Art Selection #2 - Aspects of Negro Life: Song of the Towers

Aaron Douglas. Aspects of Negro Life: Song of the Towers. Mural series comprised of four panels: Song of the Towers, From Slavery Through Reconstruction, An Idyll of the Deep South, and The Negro in an African Setting. Oil on canvas, 1934.
The New York Public Library, Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Art and Artifacts Division.

I have a special connection to this work. When I went back to college (at the age of 47!) to finish my bachelor's and become certified to teach art, I had the privilege of taking some Art History classes (which I went on to teach and love with a passion). The last class I took was an African American Art class, taught by Dr. Jennifer Way at the University of North Texas. The reading list was long. The course had a sizable focus on the Harlem Renaissance which I knew NOTHING about! How was that possible? Such a fantastic flowering of artistic expression born in the United States, and I had never even heard about it. Dr. Way gave us a challenge - go to our comprehensive art history textbooks and search for African American art in them. Nada. Nothing - or next to nothing. The tome of Art History (unnamed but easily guessed at), out of over 1,000 pages of art history, had two paragraphs about the Harlem Renaissance and a pitiful representation of modern and contemporary African American artists. I was appalled and it left a lasting impression for me. This period of artistic expression should be taught and celebrated! Aaron Douglas' work excites me so because of not only the formal qualities of his paintings, but the modern expression, the passion and the soul of the African American that he depicts. I just love his work.

The Harlem Renaissance was an incredible explosion of intellectual and artistic talent between 1910-1940 in Harlem, New York. The neighborhood was largely black, impacted by the Great Migration in which over one million and a half African Americans left rural areas across the U.S. to find work and new opportunity in urban centers like New York City. The new demographics spawned a search for new expressions of black cultural identity from their African heritage and ancestry. The artists of this time were looking for ways to come to terms with the duality of their African roots and their American birth rite. Sadly, the Depression hit the movement hard in the 1930s and it withered, but it spawned incredible talent: writers W.E.B. DuBois and Alan Locke, poets Langston Hughes and Countee Cullen, visual artists Aaron Douglas and Jacob Lawrence, and jazz musicians Billie Holiday, Count Basie and Charlie Parker.



Douglas was born in Topeka, Kansas, studied art at the University of Nebraska and taught art in Kansas City. He went to Harlem in 1925 and started working as an illustrator for books for Cullen and Hughes as well as African American magazines Crisis and Opportunity. His work was critically acclaimed and eventually he was commissioned to paint a four-panel series for a branch of the New York Public Library - Aspects of Negro Life.

Song of the Towers is the last panel and the only one that has an urban context. The central figure is playing a saxophone (symbolic of the jazz movement) in the midst of the New York City skyline. The emotion displayed is not clear, is could be celebratory or defiant. Far in the distance is the Statue of Liberty, an icon of freedom, in the center of concentric circles that radiate out in the composition. The figures are in silhouette against the jutting, rectilinear buildings thrusting skyward. This style of portraying the men in this abstracted way became known as "Egyptian form" style because they are shown in profile. The lower part of the painting show men with industrial imagery - cogs and smokestacks. The figures are tense and struggling juxtaposed with the central figure which speaks of equality for African Americans in this new time and place. The colors are warm and throbbing. This is not a calm image. There is visual tension with the use of the complimentary colors of red and green. The green is not the color associated with growth, but has an ominous feel.

Aspects of Negro Life depicts the development of African American culture from the village in Africa, through the crisis of slavery and racial oppression, ending in the glimpse of the Harlem Renaissance in the Song of the Towers. The series has visual unity compositionally, repeating the elements of the silhouette, concentric circles and bold color. The power of the silhouette is its ability to represent a group without individuality, making it more powerful visually. This celebration of the African culture was an important step to illuminate the accomplishments of African Americans, though it would be decades before they would begin to gain rights and freedoms and not be treated as second-class citizens. This modern imagery was important as a sign of progress for men and women who had much to give to America.

Aspects of Negro Life: The Negro in an African Setting

Aspects of Negro Life: Idyll of the Deep South

Aspects of Negro Life: From Slavery to Reconstruction

10/11 Academic Decathlon The Great Depression Art Selection #1 - Detroit Industry, South Wall

Detroit Industry, South Wall, Fresco, Diego Rivera, 1932-1933, Detroit Institute of Art (Thanks to Daniel at DemiDec for providing me with their Art Resource for my blog work - DemiDec rocks!!)

The link in the post headline takes you to the Detroit Institute of Art's website. The image has a rolling magnification feature to it which gives you a more close up view of the work. I highly recommend it!

Diego Rivera is on of the most important artists from Mexico. Diego Rivera's training as an artist was grounded in the traditions of European art traditions - he received a scholarship to study in Europe at 21. This training heavily influenced his own aesthetics. He lived during a politically tumultuous time - the rise of both the Communist Party (of which he was a member) and the continued rise of capitalism in the United States (important patrons for him in his career). He struggled to walk a line between them both, but was not entirely successful in negotiating between these two disparate ideologies Some of the commissioned works by US capitalists such as JP Morgan, angered the Communist Party members and Rivera was expelled from the Party. The communists believed in the abolition of private property and social hierarchy in favor of a classless society with government ownership and regulation of resources. Accepting art commissions (and the money paid!) from US capitalists angered the Communist Party. But that wasn't his only problem! His artwork and the imagery in some of his frescoes was grounded in not only portraying the political ideals of Communism, but also included their political leaders. This did not make his US capitalist patrons happy either. He spent a good part of his illustrious career caught between a rock and a hard place!

The Detroit Industry frescoes were true, or buon frescoes. Rivera was known as the leader of the Mexican Renaissance because fresco painting was very popular during the European High Renaissance (remember Michelangelo & the Sistine Chapel?) and because by 1930 Rivera had painted over 17,000 square feet of buon fresco -he became a master. Just like Michelangelo, Rivera had to paint his mural around the architecture of the building, the Garden Court at the Detroit Institute of Arts. The work we are looking at was on the South wall and is integrated around the doors and colonnades.

The fresco illustrates the process of assembling a Ford car in the assembly plant. You see pipes, pumps, wheels, and an assembly line of workers showing the process of building a car from beginning to end. The wall is divided in sections - notice the bottom panels that are painted in shades of grey paint - this technique also comes from a Northern Renaissance tradition and is called "grisaille". You see Henry Ford teaching a class in these grisaille panels. Just like in Northern Renaissance altarpieces that represent the patrons of the work; this work shows Edsel Ford (the president of Ford) and William Valentine (the head of the Art Institute) in these grisaille panels. The allegorical top panel represent the universal concept of man in people of different races. The entire wall is symmetrical in balance and changes scale, from the large panels on top to the smaller, more intimate imagery in the panels on the bottom.

Rivera's preparation for this project was intense - he photographed and studied the Ford Motor Plant for months in order to capture the true spirit of the manufacturing process. He made sure to include the people and businesses of Detroit into his imagery, but it included a stylized imagery that would appeal and relate to anyone who viewed it. This allowed the artist to portray an Ideal vision of Detroit which produced abundance and harmony. Because the Great Depression had crippled the city and slowed it's production, this public work of art was meant to help heal the spirit of the people and the city. His work was intended to satisfy the patron who commissioned it, but it was also meant to touch the spirit and souls of the people of Detroit.

Red Bull Art of the Can

Liberty Rising, Irene Juliet Deely, Boise, Idaho, Metal

OMG! I realized that today was the last day for the Red Bull Art of the Can exhibition at the Galleria in Dallas! It's the night before the first day of school, and I'm in a panic that I HAVE to go to the mall (which I hate to do) and go see the exhibit and take some pictures. Mr. Miller graciously accompanied me and we zoomed to the middle of the mall to see the exhibit.

I'm teaching sculpture this year, and I thought I have to show my students this work. I have this great book that shows you how to work with tin cans to make art (I even have my own tiny rocking chair made from a tin can) - this might be a great project for my students to do. There could even be one of them who might come up with a fantastic sculpture utilizing this technique!

We zoomed and I frantically documented the exhibit. I loved seeing the work - so imaginative, so well crafted, so artistic! From the huge plane that hung overhead, to the fashion items, paintings, and sculpture, this competition draws from all ages and art backgrounds. In 2010 there were only two venues: July 31 - Aug 22, 2010, the Galleria, Dallas, TX and the spring show in Miami, Fl, South Beach, March 4 - 14, 2010. I don't know when the deadline is for a 2011 show, but keep your eyes peeled. I'm really glad we made it to the last day of the exhibit.

Here's what the website says for Liberty Rising: 'For full-time studio artist and gallery owner Irene Juliet Deely, inspiration didn’t come from a statement but from a question: “When pursuing big dreams one often comes face to face with obstacles that demand extraordinary effort to overcome. What might help to fuel such achievements?” she asks. The model for her sculpture is an eight-foot cast bronze that is currently on exhibit in San Antonio. “Liberty Rising” displays the indomitable spirit of Liberty cloaked in voluminous folds of Red Bull’s red, silver and blue.

“Liberty Rising” incorporates 42 Red Bull cans into an intricate welded-metal form of a familiar American icon. The judo-kick stance makes one think of Lady Liberty as an action figure with a sense of humor to boot. The sculpture is indicative of the title of Irene’s own gallery, “Woman of Steel.”'



I've included this exhibit with an Environmental Art tag because at the exhibit, there was a sign that said "Recycle". Simple sign - simple action. Do it.

Artist of the Week - Chris Jordan

Light Bulbs, Chris Jordan, 2008, 72x96"
Depicts 320,000 light bulbs, equal to the number of kilowatt hours of electricity wasted in the United States every minute from inefficient residential electricity usage (inefficient wiring, computers in sleep mode, etc.).

Educating ourselves in regard to our consumption and waste is a step toward modifying behavior. Starting to make changes on a personal level will begin the shift into societal change. Chris Jordan's work represents visually the staggering statistics of how we use resources and dispose of our waste without thinking about the ramifications.

The post headline leads you to a TED talk in which he explains his work and his hope that we can each raise our consciousness to the various issues his manipulated photography highlight: how much electricity we use, how many trees we cut down, how many plastic cups are used on air flights every day, etc. Once we are informed about the issue, we can begin to make changes in our every day life.

I particularly love this piece which is evidence of part of the collective moving in the direction his work wants to take us. Our collective web is strengthening.

E. Pluribus Unum, 2010, 21x21 feet, laser etched onto aluminum panels
Depicts the names of one million organizations around the world that are devoted to peace, environmental stewardship, social justice, and the preservation of diverse and indigenous culture. The actual number of such organizations is unknown, but estimates range between one and two million, and growing.

Concept and design: chris jordan
Computing and design: Craig S. Kaplan, University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
Organizations database research: Paul Hawken

Art Competition to Rebrand BP Logo

I'm upset. I've watched this oil volcano catastrophe unfold and felt helpless and frustrated. Really, even those words can't express the sorrow and horror I have felt. What to do? I made a decision that this summer my blog will focus on art that responds to social and political issues. There is nothing new in this form of artistic expression but it has a power that can help turn thinking into action. I don't think we can call it post-postmodern anymore - where are we in the art timeline now? I'll be researching this over the summer to see what I can find out. For those of you checking my blog, I welcome your input.

To start, I ran across this competition of Greenpeace UK to rebrand BP's logo. Check out the responses. As I post this there is still a day left in the competition if you want to enter your design. Entry info here.

Artist of the Week - Jud Turner

"GreedEater", April 2010, 48" x 18" x 7" (wall hanging), found object assemblage

Thanks, Dan, for bringing my attention to the work of Jud Turner! Definitely blog worthy!! His artist statement really resonated with me - I love reading about quantum physics (books for the layperson) and ponder about the dichotomies of life. Turner's work brings contemporary issues into the artwork and the viewer must grapple with them. Just last night, I was listening to a discussion on public radio's "Marketplace", about the ongoing saga of our nation's big bank greed and possible illegal machinations. How cosmic that I see "GreedEater" this morning made out of machine parts! Ha! It made me laugh!! Artists often reflect society in their artwork - it's powerful stuff. Check out Turner's website in the Post title to see more of his work - love it!

"Paradise Lost", December 2008, 12" x 10" x 8", found object assembley

Art Club - DMA Art Installation

"Below the Surface - Above the Surface", Art Club Installation

OK - I know! If you check out my blog, you are probably wondering - wow!!! Why all the pictures? Simple - I am really proud of the thirty 9th & 10th grade students who are in our school's art classes and art club and worked their hearts out - mostly after school and on a couple of Saturdays, to complete this wonderful art installation that is currently on display at the Dallas Museum of Art. The exhibit is part of the Young Artists Exhibition in conjunction with the museum's annual Ball, and we were lucky enough to be asked to participate in the project.

The theme this year is "Coastlines: Images of Land and Sea" which inspired a full fledge exhibit by the museum as well as the student artwork. Our students installation is entitled "Below the Surface - Above the Surface" and shows the dark and light sides of the sea. Davy Jones is rising out of his watery grave and is reaching to the light side where the mermaid rests on a floating chunk of a sunken vessel. An ominous sea monster is surfacing around the figures and the ship. The sky is transitioning from a storm to a breaking sunrise with the choppy waters becoming calm and serene. The sand castle features a lovely poem that tells the tale, nestled in the sand and shells of the beach.

The students really outdid themselves! From concept to completion, they used brains and brawn to create their art. They cast their own bodies in plaster strips (for the life sized versions of Davy Jones and the Mermaid) - I know because I had to cut them out of most of their casts! The canvas backdrops (each side 10' X 10') were stitched, primed and painted spinning off Thomas Cole's painting of the Ox Bow, but other storm and sea visual references were utilized for them to create this beautiful sea and sky (which is painted out of house paint).

The Connecticut River Near Northampton, Thomas Cole, 1846 Oil on canvas Metropolitan Museum of Art, Manhattan, New York, USA

They used paper mache to create the VERY realistic looking sea monster tentacles (complete with suckers!) and created a sand castle that never gets washed away by the ocean. The ship and raft were built out of cardboard. It was installed yesterday afternoon, and we take a DART train field trip to the reception tomorrow afternoon. 13 other schools have student artwork in the exhibition and I encourage the reader to visit the museum during the dates of the exhibition 4/15 - 4/25/2010. This Friday, 4/16, is the DMA Late Night - if you are attending the festivities, be sure to check out this fantastic display of student artwork from around the metroplex!

Davy Jones, Wrecked Ship, Sea Monster and the Mermaid

Davy Jones

Sea Monster Tentacles

The Sand Castle and it's Poetic Tale

Artist of the Week - Clark Little

Red Dirt

There are times when I love the way stuff becomes viral on the Internet. My sister forwarded me an email with images of Clark Little's amazing ocean photography. Thank you! This California native not only loves the ocean, but has an incredible sense of timing and a true artist's eye to see the beauty and drama of the ocean. My husband loves the ocean, but I have had little time at the beach since my family bonded with the Colorado Rockies and that is where I feel at home. Mr. Little's photography is beautiful, dramatic and compelling - though I think I could spend a lot of time on the beach and never "see" what he is able to capture with his camera. Check out his website which is linked to the post title.

Sun Curl

Food Art: Peepshi

Easter Sunday and there has not been as much sun in Dallas as I had hoped. Had the croquet set up, the hammock swinging invitingly in the breeze, but the darn misty rain has made the out of doors not so desirable.

So! What to do!? How about posting to my blog (which I have not done in a looonnnnggg time)? What to think about? FOOD! We did have a large, yummy Easter feast at our house with all the usual suspects: deviled eggs, ham, coconut macaroons, fruit salad and candy. Candy and Easter just go hand in hand. But what to do with all that leftover candy? Peepshi! Just found it today, but it falls right into a category that is near and dear to my heart (and to many reader's hearts as well) - Food Art.

I just love the creativity people have and the fun, humorous way they find art materials everywhere - especially with foodstuffs. Check out the slide show from the Washington Post's Peeps Diorama Contest for some incredible art made with Peeps.

At any rate, Peeps and sushi have gone bump in the night to create sushi. Click on the post headline to learn how to make your own. Enjoy!

09/10 Academic Decathlon French Revolution Art Selection #18 - Princesse de Broglie

Princesse de Broglie, 1851–1853, Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres, Oil on canvas; 47 3/4 x 35 3/4 in. (121.3 x 90.8 cm), The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Jean-August-Dominque Ingres is one of my favorite artists! In one of my early drawing classes in college, my professor had us select a work of Ingres' to copy. For some reason I chose one with LOTS of draped fabric, and so I began to imitate his mastery. I was humbled from this exercise but bonded with him in a big way. His approach is so beautiful, flawless and radiant it almost leaves me speechless.

His Neoclassical style comes naturally as he studied under the great Jacques-Louis David, France's premier painter during the Revolutionary period. Raphael became another great influence in his art - Ingres blended the idealism and naturalism of this great Renaissance artist. He explored many themes of history and mythology, but he thought of himself as a history painter. He also painted some of the most important female nudes, some of which are influenced by the exoticism of the Orient that the Romantic artists loved.

Ingres was also an important portrait artist. These are the works that he is most famous for. He was unbelievably prolific! His portraits have dates ranging form 1800 - 1867, the year he died. And though he thought of himself as a history painter, he displayed his portraits alongside his other paintings throughout his career. Remember, the Academy held history painting as the most important subject matter, so it's no wonder he wanted to be known for that genre. He painted many wealthy patrons throughout Europe as well as Napoleon Bonaparte. Before each portrait, he created detailed drawings that included tiny details, though some of his drawings were finished artworks.

This beautiful painting of Princesse de Broglie is stunning. His approach is so detailed and perfect, it is photo-realistic. The Princess was a reserved woman who came from a wealthy Catholic family. She was well educated and wrote a book about Christian virtues that her husband published after her early death at 35. She is shown in this painting in three-quarter length pose. Her gown is made of blue satin with lace trim at the sleeves and neckline. The gold pendant she wears was chosen carefully to communicate her wealth and refinement, but she also wears pearl earrings, a ruby and diamond bracelet and an additional pearl cuff necklace as a bracelet.

She is calm and serene and leans casually against a gold damask armchair in the family's sitting room. The room is kept deliberately simple to allow the focus to be on the Princess. A fan, gloves and shawl are draped across the back of the chair as if she is about to leave for the evening. This portrait was highly lauded and the family quite pleased with the end result. Five years after it was completed, her husband put it behind curtains after her death from tuberculosis. It must have been very sad to curtain this beautiful image, she is so much alive in her portrait.

Self-portrait of Jean-August-Dominique Ingres.

09/10 Academic Decathlon French Revolution Art Selection #17 - Bust of Voltaire

Bust of Voltaire, (1778), Jean-Antoine Houdon, Marble, H. 18 7/8 in. (47.9 cm)

Jean-Antoine Houdon's most famous works are busts of the men and women of the Enlightenment, both in the United States and France. He was highly sought out for commissions of famous men and women. Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson helped him receive a commission for a sculpture of George Washington. He was especially skilled in creating beautiful, realistic sculptures of people because of his high skill in representing the human form. He studied under a surgeon who trained his students by having them study from cadavers - a huge benefit for understanding the human body.

This piece, Bust of Voltaire, was made just before his death in 1778. Voltaire was an important figure during the Enlightenment. Both a philosopher and writer, he produced poetry, plays, novels, essays, books, and pamphlets on a wide variety of topics. He was one of the leading figures in intellectual thought and had a large influence on the American independence movement as well as the French Revolution. Because of his criticism of the French government and of organized religion, he was exiled from Paris and lived abroad for many years. He returned to France about 20 years before his death, and returned to Paris in 1778 to sit for this portrait.

This sculpture is referred to as "tête nue," or bare headed (without wearing a customary wig). His torso is nude, and is lacking the clothing and hairpiece of a contemporary man. Houdon uses great verism (realism) in portraying this man at 83 - his face is wrinkled, his face drawn, his closed taught smile hints at toothless gums and his eyes have a penetrating gaze. There is certainly a reach back to classicism in this sculpture - look at Greek and Roman busts - and has a balance between naturalism and idealism. But he is careful to record the individual characteristics of the man in a way that would represent his spirit beyond his lifetime, goals in keeping with those of the Enlightenment.

09/10 Academic Decathlon French Revolution Art Selection #16 - Self-Portrait with Two Pupils, Mademoiselle Marie Gabrielle Capet (1761–1818)...

Self-Portrait with Two Pupils, Mademoiselle Marie Gabrielle Capet (1761–1818) and Mademoiselle Carreaux de Rosemond (died 1788), 1785, Adélaïde Labille-Guiard, Oil on canvas, 83 x 59 1/2 in. (210.8 x 151.1 cm), The Metropolitan Museum of Art

In the business of art, it is refreshing to find a woman who has made her mark in a male dominated world. Adélaïde Labille-Guiard was able to break into the profession during pre-revolutionary France. Her work focused on portraiture and she was quite successful. Portraiture and still-life painting were deemed appropriate for female artists. Grand history paintings included the male figure and it was culturally unacceptable for women to study the male nude. She married in 1769 but was divorced by 1776 (no doubt also frowned on by society!). Despite these societal obstacles, Labille-Guiard was able to support herself as a teacher and portrait painter.

She set up her studio in the early 1780s and by 1783 had eight female students. She painted members of the aristocracy and the royal court as well as male members of the Royal Academy. She was honored by being admitted to the Royal Academy as a member, but she was not allowed to study or teach at the institution. Just because she was accepted doesn't mean all of the male members were happy about it. She must have had good self-esteem and perseverance, because she was constantly gossiped about and even accused of not painting her work herself!

You can see her self-confidence in this self-portrait; she is in the center of the painting, seated in her studio at work on a large canvas. Her students look on with appreciation and excitement. By dressing in an elaborate and expensive gown, Labille-Guiard represents herself as a painter and a woman of society. Her posture emphasizes her shapely figure and her gown is arranged to be shown at its best advantage. Her studio is also portrayed to be large and luxurious - it is appointed with fine furniture as well as sculptures letting the viewer know that she was financially well off.

We see the back of the canvas, but not what she is painting. Art historians have three ideas about what that painting could be of: (1) it could be the self-portrait that we are looking at, (2) it could be a portrait of one or both of her students, or (3) or there could be another subject outside the scene we see who is having their portrait made. By including other people in her self-portrait, she demonstrates her ability to portray groups of people in one painting. This opened her commissions to patrons who might want to have family groupings immortalized. She was a clever entrepeneur: she used the painting as an advertising tool so the viewer of this painting could imagine themselves as her subject. Her direct gaze at the viewer is enticing and inviting: why not let me paint YOUR portrait!

09/10 Academic Decathlon French Revolution Art Selection #15 - Portrait of a Young Man

Portrait of a Young Man, ca. 1760–65, Pompeo Girolamo Batoni, Oil on canvas, 97 1/8 x 69 1/4 in. (246.7 x 175.9 cm), The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Pompeo Girolamo Batoni was an accomplished artist who painted altarpieces, historical and allegorical paintings and portraits. He painted portraits of many important dignitaries in Europe - patrons from Austrian and Russian courts, royal courts of Europe and portraits of Pope Clement XIII and Pope Pius VI. Since he was located in Rome, it was not unusual for these aristocratic patrons to pop into his studio when they visited Rome. You might say he was a favorite stop on the Grand Tour. He painted portraits of them posed in standing positions, leaning against an antiquity, decked out in their royal finery. His skill is seen in these portraits - even though he painted many, each one was unique.

This young man is not identified, but it is thought that he is French. He is shown in a luxurious space. The objects shown in the painting were deliberately selected to show that the subject was not only educated about the discoveries of the time, but also had the tools in his possession. Books, paper and pens are strewn casually demonstrating this devotion to studies and writing. The people of this time period were enthralled with the work of the Romans. We see guidebooks to Rome in the painting. Rome was an essential stop on the Grand Tour - the city and its history were pivotal to a well-rounded education. Word got around. His reputation became inexorably linked with the Tour, and the wealthy patrons were led to his studio where hundreds of people sat for their portraits and contributed to his illustrious career.

09/10 Academic Decathlon French Revolution Art Selection #14 - Young Jewish Woman of Algeria

Young Jewish Woman of Algeria, Seated, 1846, Théodore Chassériau (French, 1819–1856), Watercolor over graphite, sheet: 11 3/4 x 9 1/8 in. (29.8 x 23.3 cm), The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Théodore Chassériau (called the Unknown Romantic in an exhibit at the Metropolitan) has quite an artistic lineage. He entered the studio of Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres at the age of eleven. (Remember that Ingres was a former student of David and was a classicist) which resulted in Chassériau having a strong classical approach to his work. But that was not the only influence he had - he also was interested in the rich colors and romantic themes of the work of Delacroix. He ended up, like Delacroix, traveling to exotic places like northern Africa and the Middle East.

He died young at the age of 37 after an illness, but he produced a large number of paintings, murals and drawings, many of which were portraits or studies of historical, religious or literary subjects. Before his death, the new movement of Realism was on the rise and his work began to be viewed as establishment. His reputation declined and perhaps this contributed to this nomenclature of "the unknown romanticist".

This work, Young Jewish Woman of Algeria, Seated is a small work of graphite on watercolor paper. There are some notes on the right side of the drawing leading one to think they may have been for a later work. I love this piece. The young woman is looking directly at the viewer, and is in an informal posture. Her face is drawn with more detail than the rest of her body. Her clothing and the environment she is in is handled in a sketchy way. The fact that she is sitting on the floor is unconventional for French thinking - it would have been unseemly for a woman to be sitting on the floor; in French society she would have been sitting on furniture. This scene, which is somewhat voyeuristic, would have been appealing to those interested in romantic subjects. To my eye, it is beautiful and she is lovely. I am enchanted with so much beauty described in so few lines.

09/10 Academic Decathlon French Revolution Art Selection #13 - Royal Tiger

Royal Tiger (Tigre Royal), 1829, Eugène Delacroix, Lithograph, second state of four; image: 12 15/16 x 18 7/16 in. (32.8 x 46.9 cm), The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Eugène Delacroix could be considered the most important of the French Romantic painters. He also was born in a wealthy and educated family. This was an advantage he had throughout his illustrious career. He was trained in the classical tradition by Pierre-Narcisse Guérin who followed in the footsteps of David. Delacroix was more connected to contemporary writers such as the poet Lord Byron. He was attracted to literary subjects and used them as subjects for his paintings. His first work presented at the Salon of 1822 was Dante and Virgil and was inspired by the epic poem The Divine Comedy.

One of my personal favorites of Delacroix is the emotional and dramatic painting, The Death of Sardanapualus, which resides at the Louvre Museum in Paris. The Last king of Nineveh has learned of the fall of his kingdom into enemy hands, and he orders all of his property (including his concubines) be destroyed. He watches with a certain distance, and yet there is a melancholy air to the King. This painting epitomizes the Romantic movement, full of color, richness, passion and the message that man is not in control, not even kings.

Far off exotic places were favorites of the Romanticists, and Delacroix took a trip to North Africa in 1832 which had a tremendous impact on his art. The exotic costumes, people, geography and wild life caught his attention and he produced thousands of oil paintings, pastels, watercolors, lithographs, drawings and sketches.

Royal Tigeris a lithograph. Lithograph comes from the Greek for stone (litho) and mark (graph). The artist draws on a stone with a greasy crayon. When the stone is inked, it bonds to the crayon and is repelled by the damp, clean stone that surround the image. Romanticists liked lithography because it was a direct method of working, drawing directly onto the stone, and allowed a spontaneous working method.

Delacroix was very interested in not only horses, but also lions and tigers. However, this drawing was based on his observations of a dead tiger treated through taxidermy, not a living tiger in the wild. He did, however, attempt to illustrate the tiger as if he was seeing it in its natural habitat. There is no narrative to this scene; you see the tiger in great detail and see the light variations on its coat. Lions and tigers appealed to the romanticists as they were exotic - they were, after all, powerful animals that man had no control over except if hunted. Delacroix was interested in going beyond man's ideas and liked to imagine the world through the eyes of the wild animal believing that it would enable him to have greater understanding of not just the animal's primitive nature, but man's as well.

Self-Portrait, Oil Paint, Eugene Delacroix, 1837, 21.26 inch wide x 25.59 inch high

A Post to the Artist Formerly Known as a Weaver

Copper Temple, Christine Miller, 2005, Mixed Media

Wow! A new Year and a new Decade (capitalization for emphasis). A lot of life is behind me (I'm 55), and a lot is ahead (God willin' and the creek don't rise!). This year, more than ever is a time to take stock. I have been a textile artist - knitter, sewer, crocheter, embroiderer, needlepointer, stitcher, basketmaker and weaver - 43 out of the last 55 years of my life. The last five years (which have coincided with my becoming a classroom art teacher) have been devoid of my former self. It has caused me puzzlement and consternation. How could this be? How could this have happened when I continued to create, sell and exhibit my work no matter what came my way during the bulk of my life? How has this job of "teacher" usurped my lifelong passion of being a textile artist? What in the world am I going to do now? Where do I start? These are questions I never worried about - one project after another would present themselves to me and I would follow the path. But now they haunt me - taunting me, demanding answers I don't have.

So - this post is personal and I hope transformational. I am rededicating myself to my former self. I have rejoined my local fiber organizations - the Dallas Handweavers & Spinners Guild and the Dallas Area Fiber Artists. I have attended one meeting of the DH&SG in October. I haven't woven a lick in 4 1/2 years, but it is time to get back on my horse and ride. My studio is a mess, my idea jar empty and the fire in my heart a simmering flame, but hope springs eternal. I am adding a new category for these posts - Artistic Journey - and I will use it to relight my fire. Thanks for listening...