Jackson Pollack (Jan. 28, 1912-Aug. 11, 1956), the great American Abstract Expressionist painter, celebrated his 100 birthday on January 28, but I’m sorry my post to celebrate his birthday is a little late. I found this great website where a person can paint his own Jackson Pollock. Check it out. It’s lots of fun. http://jacksonpollock.org.
One of Pollock's Masterpieces at MOMA"Autumn Rhythm" 1950 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC"Pasiphae" (1943) at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (oil on canvas) This was one of his earliest works that made him famous.
When I stand in front of a Pollock, I start to feel energized. His paintings radiate great energy. In a way they remind me of rock music, because energy seems to be what each is mostly about.
Yesterday, Sunday 1/15/2012, I attended a member’s showing of the new version of the American Wing at the Met. American Art as well as American history are two of my favorite subjects. The American Wing has been under renovation for some time. The new galleries that were added are beautiful. I took some photos. A few are below of paintings that I particularly like.
Painting of Saint-Gaudens painting (great frame)George Washington Crossing the Delaware by Emanuel Gottlieb Lentze 1851 in one of the new galleries.The Thinker: Portrait of Louis N. Kenton by Thomas Eakins (1900), one of my very favorite American ArtistsMrs Hugh Hammersley by John Singer Sargent (1892)F. Ambrose Clark (obviously one of the 1%) by Robert Henri (1904)
Yesterday, a gorgeous day in Manhattan, I visited the Museum of Modern Art in Midtown . On exhibit were works from MOMA’S permanent collection. I felt overwhelmed. I took lots of photos of art works I liked that I hadn’t seen before. I seem to go for the very textural works. I am especially liking Robert Rauschenberg at this time in my life. I like art from found objects because I do a lot of that myself. I’m a dumpster diver–which is what I think we are called.
First Landing Jump (1961)
Cloth, metal, leather, electric fixture,cable, and oil paint on composition board, with automobile tire and wood plank. “He composed this from a rusted license plate, an enamel light reflector, a tire impaled by a street barrier, a man’s shirt, a blue lightbulb in a can, and a black tarpaulin, as well as paint and canvas.” This is my kind of artist.
Bed (1955) by Robert Rauschenberg
A framed pillow, sheet, and quilt then scribbled on them with pencil and splashed them with paint. These bed clothes were Rauschenberg’s own, which makes it something like a self portrait.
(untitled c. 1952), This work is two canvases, one above the other. The line through the middle is where they join. It's a little hard to see here, but there is newspaper, the August 3, 1951 issue of the Asheville Citizen. Asheville, North Carolina is near Black Mountain College, where Rauschenberg was a student, underneath the light brown paint.
An Al Held painting in mosaic at the 53rd St. and Lexington Ave. Subway Station
(below) Mosaic that I found at the 86th St. and Lexington Subway station. I couldn’t find a plaque so I don’t know who they are by. It is based on the wheel of fortune motif.
Below: Mosaic’s from the #1 subway line at Houston Street in Greenwich Village. These mosaics are from a series of 5 called “Platform Diving” (1994) by New York artist Deborah Brown. They seem to equate being underground in the subway with being underwater.
Platform Diving–Notice how this is the #1 subway car and these mosaics are in the #1 subway station.
Platform DivingPlatform Diving
You might be interested in reading my post called “New York Subway Art,” which was the precursor to this post.
I read on this wonderful web site called Walking off the big Apple, which has everything you would ever want to know about New York and then some, the address of what is thought to be the location in Greenwich Village of where the restaurant once stood that Edward Hopper put into his painting “Night Hawks.” It’s at Greenwich St. and 7th Avenue in the West Village area. Below is a photo I took today of what the corner looks like now–a fenced-in empty lot.
Night Hawks was painted in 1942 when Edward Hopper was living in the Village and painted scenes he saw around him. Experts have identified this corner by examining the stores in the background of the painting and examining the stores in the background of this corner. Also Hopper lived in this neighborhood.
Greenwich St and 7th Avenue where it’s believed the original Phillies stood
Old Woman on a Bicycle 