John Gushue . . . Dot Dot Dot

Even if your couch is very nice ...

I recall one of my friends saying something along these lines a long time ago. I saw this here. 

The Al Pittman monument in Corner Brook

Last summer, while the three of us were moseying around various parts of the province, we had a nice break in Corner Brook. One of the new additions to the city is a monument to Al Pittman, the late poet and author of plays like West Moon and children's books like Down By Jim Long's Stage.

It's a lovely monument, and a labour of considerable and obvious love by his good friend, Gerry Squires. [Read more about its unveiling last year here.] The monument can be seen in a small park downtown, and quite near the offices of the Western Star, where Al worked for many years.  

How hard could it be?

"More than in the other performing arts the lack of respect for acting seems to spring from the fact that every layman considers himself a valid critic." 
- Uta Hagen 

Results

"I don't mind being miserable as long as I'm painting well."
- Grace Hartigan 

Hanging there

"The best thing about a picture is that it never changes, even when the people in it do."
- Andy Warhol

[I took this photo of the chrome Andy Warhol statue in Union Square in New York City in 2011.] 

2001: A Dinky Odyssey

This is a painting called At The Drive-In, and it made me smile.

As seen here. 

Lifted

"Stealing things is a glorious occupation, particularly in the art world."
- Malcolm McLaren  

 

Steal like an artist

Some advice from Austin Kleon. 

Nevermind, a la Pantone

It says something about the cover of Nirvana's Nevermind that it can be recreated with Pantone samples, and be recognized. As seen here. 

A panoramic view of the Met

I used PhotoSynth on my phone to create this panorama (well, sort of a panorama) at one of the halls of the Met in NYC. So many wonderful things to see, I just spun around. 

To get a good view, click the image, and then click again to zoom and explore. 

Smile ...

... you're in a museum. 

This is a picture Nick took while we were exploring the Met - the Metropolitan Museum of Art - this weekend. I love reviewing the camera roll, and a) rediscovering things I looked at and b) seeing things I never noticed at all. This includes the above. 

 

The theatre

"I go to the theatre to be entertained. I don't want to see plays about rape, sodomy and drug addiction. I can get all that at home."
- Peter Cook

[Cook, a member of Beyond The Fringe, wrote this gag as a cartoon caption early in his career.] 

Buy art

Picky

"I don't much enjoy looking at paintings in general. I know too much about them. I take them apart." 
- Georgia O'Keeffe 

Getting to work

"If I didn't along with people, I just spent time by myself painting. And I didn't get along with people a lot." 
- Julian Schnabel  

 

Reviews

"A good review from the critics is just another stay of execution."
- Dustin Hoffman

Cut along the perforated line

Chuckle, chuckle.

I saw the above shot in this collection of street art from all over.

Public art in San Diego

One of the things we noticed in San Diego was the ample amount of public art around the city: statues, installations, paintings, multimedia work ... once I started looking for it, it always seemed to be there. I've already noted the moving tribute to Bob Hope and his volunteer work for the U.S. armed forces, which is near one of the most interesting statues in the city: a recreation of the famous VJ Day in Times Square photograph. (Martha and I copied or at least imitated that pose for Nick right here.) 

This is one of the statues built along the waterfront. If you look carefully, you can see Nick through it, having a close look at how it was erected. 

 

Dream state

"I have made my world and it is a much better world than I ever saw outside."
- Louise Nevelson 

 

In Venice, in full

Christopher Niemann's Abstract Sunday feature in the New York Times is a favourite (but unfortunately not weekly) feature. The latest one involves his trip to the Venice for the famed Biennale of the art world. One of his sketches:

Content

"I never painted dreams. I painted my own reality."
- Frida Kahlo

Artistic license

"Art is what you can get away with."
- Andy Warhol

[The image above is of The Andy Monument, a 10-foot, chrome-plated recreation of Warhol by Rob Pruitt and unveiled several weeks ago in Union Square in New York City.]

The aesthete

"He knows all about art, but he doesn't know what he likes."
- James Thurber

Anatomy and art

"A painter who has the feel of breasts and buttocks is saved."
- Pierre-Auguste Renoir

Mistakes

"Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep."
- Scott Adams