Celebrating Ships: James Bard
This week the Tall Ships came to Boston, as they usually do to help celebrate the 4th of July. It’s a thrilling spectacle; especially since these are ships from all over the world. This year it ...
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Curator's Corner
Wildfires in the West: George Catlin
I wish all of you a Happy Fourth of July! In celebrating living in the awesome United States of America, I would like to take time to focus your attention on the wildfires in the West, particularly Co ...
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Curator's Corner
A Horse is a Horse, Of Course
I’m always interested in artistic motifs that seem particularly important to certain cultures. What motif recurs in our world now? We’re so bombarded with imagery in contemporary society t ...
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Curator's Corner
What is "Contemporary Art"? Yoshitomo Nara
What comes to mind when you think “contemporary art”? I find it interesting that Picasso and Abstract Expressionism are still considered, by some, to be “contemporary” in ...
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Curator's Corner
Thoughts on Still Life: Willem Kalf
I like to contemplate terms that are used by art historians. One of them is “still life.” In French it’s nature morte (dead nature) and in German it’s Stillleben (sti ...
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Curator's Corner
Being Human in Contemporary Art: Tony Oursler
There are many artists who have personal visions. Some I am fascinated by, and by some I am left wondering. I’m not quite sure where I stand with Tony Oursler. I went to an installation of his w ...
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Curator's Corner
Memorial Day: Mathew Brady
I think it’s appropriate—with so many new veterans from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars—to salute American soldiers this Memorial Day. My daddy was a veteran of the army in World War I ...
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Curator's Corner
The Art of Fiber: Islamic Art
The Davis Art Gallery is currently holding a show called The Art of Fiber. It has always interested me that fiber arts were considered a “minor art.” It is one of the oldest art forms next ...
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Curator's Corner
An Ode to Mothers: Charles White
In my ode to mothers, after Mother’s Day, I dedicate this blog to my blessed mother who passed several years ago, and my dear mother-in-law. When I think of how much grief my mother put up with ...
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Curator's Corner
Edgar Degas Early Self-Portrait
As a painter myself, I find it fascinating to watch a famous painter’s progress from early to late work. In the case of Edgar Degas (1834–1917), I’m always over the top because he is ...
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