Real Clear Arts

Judith H. Dobrzynski on Culture

Artworks

Don’t Regret Missing “Civilisation” — Not Anymore

KClarke'sCivilisationI never saw Civilisation. But I — and you — can easily access it now on a free website, along with 492 other documentaries about art, and hundreds more about science, history, war, Britain, America and so on.

The site is called DocuWatch, and I have no idea how new or old it is. It was called to my attention today by a Facebook friend, and — considering the snow that is paralyzing much of the Northeast corridor and some other parts of the country, it seemed like to perfect time to share it with RCA readers. Maybe you’ll have Wednesday off.

The landmark BBC series, Kenneth Clark’s Civilisation, which was aired in Britain in 1969  (I don’t know when it ran in the U.S.), is there in 13 episodes (It was remastered in HD in 2011). So is an 18-part art history series, a 36-part series on Italian Renaissance artists, 24 episodes on Impressionism, plus a different series on eight Impressionist artists, two on Hitler’s museum, 10 Sister Wendy’s, Robert Hughes’s The Shock of the New, Who the *$&% Is Jackson Pollock? and much more.

Hundreds of hours of free programming about art! 

Have A Merry, Merry Christmas

At this time of the year, when I take a few days off to celebrate Christmas with my family, I like to leave a painting that captures the moment. This year, it is Botticelli’s Mystic Nativity, 1500c. 1475, which is in the collection of the National Gallery, London.* I wish all my readers a very happy Christmastime.

Botticelli_Nativity

* Please see comments below — I got my Botticelli’s mixed up!

Art Institute of Chicago’s Newest Treasure — UPDATED

Creche-Wise-Man-8_360In New York, the Neopolitan Christmas tree and creche at the Metropolitan Museum is a tradition: people love it; many visit annually. (I am one of them.) This year, the Art Institute of Chicago announced that it has acquired its own similar treasure; it’s on view until Jan. 8. Here’s how the press release put it:

A thrilling new acquisition will be unveiled this holiday season: a mid-18th-century Neapolitan crèche. One of the very few and finest examples of such a work outside of Naples, the crèche is an intricate Nativity scene that reflects the vitality and artisanship that the city is still known for. The Art Institute’s crèche features over 200 figures—including no less than 50 animals and 41 items of food and drink—all staged in a spectacular Baroque cabinet with a painted backdrop. Elaborate, complex, and wondrous, the Neapolitan crèche is a rare example of the genre and a once-in-a-lifetime acquisition for the Art Institute.

Creche-Holy-Family-7_360You can read the rest here.

From the pictures — there’s a slide show at that link — it’s different than the Met’s but very beautiful. The wise man and the holy family, which I’ve posted here, are indicative.

Last month, curator Sylvain Bellenger told The Wall Street Journal: “It’s a very complex topic,” Mr. Bellenger said, “but it’s also simply a fairy tale. Just look at it, and you are 12 years old again.”

The Art Institute purchased the creche from Neapolitan collector Vincenzo Porcini. The Carnegie Museum of Art  in Pittsburgh also have one, but I have never seen it.

UPDATED: The diligent Jonathan Gaugler of the Carnegie has just sent me a link to this wonderful video about the Carnegie’s creche, which it has owned since 1957. I wish I could see it in person! Watch the video here.

Photo Credits: Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago

The Ai Weiwei – Olafur Eliasson Collaboration — UPDATED

Speaking of collaborative art, today I had time to check in on the Internet art project started by the ever-enterprising Ai Weiwei in collaboration with Olafur Eliasson. It was “released” in late November in an announcement from Friends of Ai Weiwei. It’s called The Moon — with a URL too cute to hide behind a link: http://www.moonmoonmoonmoon.com/.

thumb_markThe “premise” of the project is based on a massive digital sphere which, when launched, was “stark white canvas.” Users, AKA the public, are supposed to register, log in and make their own “digital marks” across the surface of this moon, “turning the satellite into a collaborative drawing space accessible by any one in the world.” And the message to me continued:

The project is meant to emphasize the global reach and interconnectivity of our ideas, recalling the old maxim that wherever we are in the world, we’re all looking up at the same moon. “Creativity defies boundaries,” the artists write in the introduction to the page. “Ideas, wind, and air no one can stop.”

thumb_mark (2)Ever skeptical, I went to the website, but didn’t register (too many passwords already!). But I was allowed to be a tourist – so I zoomed into a spot and found some marks that didn’t seem terribly interesting to me. On the side, you can choose “featured,” “latest,” “popular,” and “tags,” to get to marks others like, made recently, etc. See that question mark? That was recent one, as are the two little images below.

thumb_mark (1)Imho, this is a disappointment. From two good artists like this — admittedly not everything they do is great, but some is — I expected better.

The coolest part is watching the moon rotate and move into place when you click on something to view. But that’s not enough to be art, for me.

Friends of Ai Weiwei, btw, “has been formed to promote our universal right to “free expression” around the world. Our Friends are Individuals and Organizations committed to raising awareness to “free expression”, and “human rights”. Revenues from sales support the operating costs for this global initiative.”

UPDATE: ARTnews has now covered this project in more depth — though I have a quibble. The deck calls it “a giant leap for art.” I don’t think so, and that was reinforced by the article!

 

That $142.4 Million Bacon Is Going To Portland!

On loan, of course — not for keeps. Three Studies of Lucian Freud by Francis Bacon will go on view at the Portland Art Museum in Oregon on Dec. 21 as part of its Masterworks series.

Bacon-Freud-ChristiesThis is a great coup for Brian Ferriso, the PAM director, who’s been a big proponent of one-work exhibitions (as have I). According to Ferriso, “As soon as the triptych sold, I asked my chief curator [Bruce Guenther] to see if he could identify the buyer, which he did and subsequently asked to show it.  We have worked with and borrowed from this lender in the past.”

The two had been looking for a modern or contemporary work to present in it ongoing series, which brings “singular masterpieces to Portland,” and had previously included  Raphael’s portrait La Velata, Titian’s La Bella and Thomas Moran’s Shoshone Falls. 

Guenther, in the press release, said of the painting, “Bacon captures the spirit of Freud, rendering him as a tightly coiled mass of energy, ready to spring from the caned bentwood chair positioned in front of a brass bed. The expressive, volatile brushwork that delineates Freud’s hands and face acts as a brilliant foil to the smooth rendering of the highly abstracted objects and space.”

When the painting sold in November at Christie’s, it set the record for the most expensive work of art ever sold at auction. As The Wall Street Journal told the tale:

When the Bacon came up for bid about 20 minutes into the sale, at least four collectors took the bait. New York dealer Larry Gagosian and Korean collector and dealer Hong Gyu Shin bid in the saleroom against telephone bidders from the U.S. and China. Seconds into the bidding, Mr. Hong tried to spook his competition by lobbing a $100 million bid, but the telephone bidders remained undaunted and in the end, he bowed out at $126 million. New York dealer Bill Acquavella, bidding by telephone on behalf of a client, placed the winning bid of $127 million, or $142.4 million with Christie’s commission.

Part of the attraction stemmed from its history: The work was first shown in Italy and then at the Grand Palais in Paris, in 1971-72, in a Bacon retrospective. Then it was separated into three paintings, sold to three collectors, and went out of public view for more than 15 years — when an Italian collector reunited them in the 1990s. He/she put it up for sale this fall. “With this exhibition, this magnificent work comes into public view for a limited time before returning to a private collection,” the press release says.

Who bought it? I thought I’d seen some conjecture, but when I looked for it online now, I couldn’t find it. But the loan suggests it’s someone in the Northwest, and maybe word will leak soon. 

UPDATE: Readers tell me that the conjectured buyers were either the Quataris or Steve Wynn, according to Page Six… doesn’t look like either, does it?

UPDATE 2: Another source tells me that Bruce Guenther is close to Eli Broad and has borrowed works from him in the past. That would be interesting, because Broad is not known for paying top dollar.