Modern Art

My dear friend Janča posted this on her facebook.com wall.
It makes me happy because it's SO true!

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Here's to modern art (my favorite)!

Mini Monet

Kieron Williamson has true artistic genius, and believe it or not he is only nine years old! He began drawing at the age of five when his family was on holiday in Cornwall. He asked for a sketchbook after seeing the boats at the port. "The very next day he was drawing pictures of boats and as the holiday progressed he began to add backgrounds, scenery, hills and houses."


As time went on, his work progressed. His first exhibition sold out in 14 minutes! I saw this video on NBC.com, and was amazed!

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Here's another one of my favorites (which also happens to be Kieron's as well).

Pretty unbelievable, huh?
Here's to those with talent, who bless the rest of us with their work!

Once upon a time...

...a very lucky girl living in Washington DC was visited by the best mother in the world (who happens to live in the other Washington). Whilst gallivanting about the delightful town of Philadelphia, art was seen, historical monuments were visited, and delicious food was consumed.

It was an amazing day. I had the day off from work, so we headed up to Philly first thing, and went straight to the Barnes Foundation. Oh my art collection!

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It is one of the absolute best collection of French Impressionism, Post-Impressionism and Early Modern Art. I was in heaven! The collection includes  181 Renoirs, 69 Cézannes, 59 Matisses, 46 Picassos, 18 Rouseaus, 11 Degas, 7 Van Goghs, 6 by Seurat, 4 by Manet, and 4 by Monet. When I said I was in heave, I truly was! 


The collection is housed in the estate of the late Dr. Albert C. Barnes. In 1922 he founded The Barnes Foundation to  "promote the advancement of education and the appreciation of the fine arts" (source). The unique display of the art contributed to this. I won't go into much more about the Foundation, because it is quite controversial, really. If you are at all interested, I suggest watching a documentary on The Barnes Foundation called The Art of the Steal. 

Not only did we gallivant around Philly, but we also road tripped it to Valley Forge and Lancaster. The wind was so strong in Valley Forge, that the electricity went out at the visitor's center. We opted for the car tour--good thing we did, as there was a humongous Boy Scouts of America camp going on. Luckily we were able to beat most of the crowds, or at least get ahead of the boy scouts.

(The house where Washington stayed and some surrounding buildings)

Lancaster was a bit of a disappointment. We tried to make it to the Amish Market, but it was closing down as we were walking in. The town of Lancaster itself was quite beautiful, but we noticed that there were quite a few men loitering about, looking a bit rough around the edges. Quite the juxtaposition. We did pick up some jam (complete with "Shannon's Strawberry"), and headed to the outlets. 

(The center of town)

(An Amish buggy waiting in traffic)

 On Washington's birthday we headed down to Mount Vernon. It was rainy and wet, but little did we know that Mount Vernon was going to be free! We were pretty excited, and spent some time on the grounds. We also got to see Dean Malissa, aka The Official George Washington (Malissa has done a program or two for our department). Mom thought it was pretty cool. 

Afterwards, we drove through Old Town Alexandria, got caught up in the parade traffic and subsequently left. We lunched in Georgetown, walked around a bit, and then headed home. I was so sad to see my mum, and her little yellow bug go! 

It was a wonderful visit!

 Mom, we should do it again sometime! 

"She's Crafty...

...and she's just my type."

Can I just say that I wish the Beastie Boys would make a comeback? Good news for you, this isn't about the Beastie Boys, or even about music. It's about my craftiness. Not in the  devious, scheming sense of the word, but rather in the artistic, creative sense.

My roommate Rach and I decided that our condo lacked the festiveness that should accompany the upcoming holiday. We got ourselves to AC Moore, and bought supplies to correct the problem immediately.

And we did. 

After much cutting, gluing, and glittering (is that a word?), our masterpiece was hung:

You have to admit that it's pretty dang cute,  if I dare say so myself. Can you guess which banner pieces I did myself?

Now we just need some random hearts and other such stuff to decorate the rest of the condo.

Here's to February and all it's goodness, despite the relatively cold and snowy weather!

My new favorite...

Sculpture. 

Unfortunately I don't know the name, nor the artist...

I didn't do my homework.

But isn't it the greatest?

Summer in Essence

We Summer, Wolfgang Tillmans, 2004

Ever since my eyes first laid upon the prints of Wolfgang Tillmans during his show at The Hirshorn Museum the summer of 2007, I knew I was in love. Since then, Tillmans has become my absolute favorite photographer. His unique, introspective works of art question the traditional meaning of landscape, and captures what it means and how it feels to live in today's world.

We Summer, 2004, is my favorite. To me, it captures the essence of summer. I love the way the bubbles abstract the light, and give life to the scene. I love the energy, the color, the light.

I don't know if it is because Tillmans reminds me of my summer in DC as an intern, or if it's because I somehow link him in my mind to one of my favorite groups--Bloc Party (I think is the whole German/Eastern Europe connection)--but his art speaks to me. The method and the meaning behind his art is something I hope to someday possess.

Wolfgang Tillmans--BRILLIANT I say!