Friday, September 25, 2009

To have an adventure . . .

Today is the birthday of Mark Rothko (September 25, 1903 – February 25, 1970) born Marcus Rothkowitz, painter and printmaker.


"To us art is an adventure into an unknown world, which can be explored only by those willing to take the risks." - Mark Rothko

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

To create new appearances . . .

Today is the birthday of Jean Hans Arp (September 16, 1886 – June 7, 1966), sculptor, painter, poet and abstract artist. He was one of the founding members of the Dada movement or Dadaism in Zürich, Switzerland (1916) and is considered a pioneer of abstract art. Jean Hans Arp was a prominent experimentor of automatic drawing and developed this technique to create his sculptures.

Cloud Shepherd
Jean Hans Arp
Bronze Sculpture (1953)
Ciudad Universitaria de Caracas
*Photo by Alejandro Bárcenas

"The important thing about Dada, it seems to me, is that the Dadaists despised what is commonly regarded as art, but put the whole universe on the lofty throne of art. We declared that everything that comes into being or is made by man is art. Art can be evil, boring, wild, sweet, dangerous, euphonious, ugly, or a feast to the eyes. The whole earth is art. To draw well is art . . . . The nightingale is a great artist. Michelangelo's Moses: Bravo! But at the sight of an inspired snow man, the Dadaist also cried bravo." - Jean Hans Arp

"Art is a fruit that grows in man, like a fruit on a plant, or a child in its mother's womb." - Jean Hans Arp

"I wanted to create new appearances, to extract new forms from man." - Jean Hans Arp

*Sculpture image source (1)

Monday, September 7, 2009

To keep busy . . .

Today is the birthday of Anna Mary Robertson Moses better known as "Grandma Moses" (September 7, 1860 – December 13, 1961), folk artist.

Grandma Moses began painting in her late seventies and by the time of her death in 1961 at the age of 101, she had created over 1500 works of art.

Oil and tempera on Masonite (1951)
45.6 x 61 cm
(17 15/16 x 24 in.)
Brooklyn, New York

"What a strange thing is memory, and hope; one looks backward, the other forward; one is of today, the other of tomorrow. Memory is history recorded in our brain, memory is a painter, it paints pictures of the past and of the day." - Grandma Moses

"Painting's not important. The important thing is keeping busy." - Grandma Moses