Forwarding Address: David Livewell’s Woven Light and the Art of Andrew Wyeth

Sadly, the memorials to the art of Andrew Wyeth since his death early last year have been few. I personally find it difficult to understand the lack of response to the passing of such an important figure in American art. Wyeth’s own wish to be left alone has been respected, perhaps overrespected, by his family, adding to the deafening silence. David Livewell’s Woven Light: Poems and Photographs from Andrew Wyeth’s Pennsylvania breaks that silence through words and images that recall Wyeth’s art but also make us ponder its significance not only to him, but also to us. In his introduction, Bo Bartlett, one of the few young artists Wyeth allowed into his inner circle, writes that Woven Light “reveals the deeper layers of Andrew Wyeth’s art. These words will be a joy to those familiar with the specifics of Wyeth’s subjects and will bring a new awareness of the paintings to a broader audience.” Through these intimate poems and photographs, Livewell looks to bring this private man’s art to the public. Please come over to Picture This at Big Think to read more of "Forwarding Address."

[Image: The interior of the Kuerner Farmhouse in which Andrew Wyeth painted. This table scene inspired Wyeth’s painting Groundhog Day.]

[Many thanks to Mr. Livewell for the image above and a review copy of Woven Light: Poems and Photographs from Andrew Wyeth’s Pennsylvania]

Yo, Pablo: Picasso and the Avant-Garde in Paris at the Philadelphia Museum of Art

Who are the artists that people who know nothing about art know? Van Gogh? Michelangelo? Picasso? For museums trying to bring traffic through their doors, drawing in the non-art lover is more important than ever. Shows such as the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s Picasso and the Avant-Garde in Paris offer enough for the devotee of modern art to sink their teeth into while being accessible enough for newbies to cut their teeth on it, too. In addition to presenting a great artist to the public, Picasso and the Avant-Garde in Paris provides a textbook example of how museums can maximize their own collections to maximize their profits and chances for survival. Please come over to Picture This at Big Think to read more of "Yo, Pablo."

[Image: Tea Time (Woman with a Teaspoon), 1911. Jean Metzinger (French, 1883-1956). Oil on cardboard, 29 7/8 x 27 5/8 inches. Philadelphia Museum of Art, The Louise and Walter Arensberg Collection, 1950. © Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York/ADAGP, Paris.]



[Many thanks to the Philadelphia Museum of Art for providing me with the image above and press materials for Picasso and the Avant-Garde in Paris, which runs through April 25.]

School Assignments: American Illustration at the Delaware Art Museum

We tend to think of work done on assignment as being somehow cheaper than work springing entirely from the mind of the artist. Art on demand never strikes us as anything but commercial. If we allow that prejudice to prevent us from enjoying shows such as the Delaware Art Museum’s On Assignment: American Illustration, 1850—1950, the loss is entirely ours. Howard Pyle and his school of followers set a gold standard for illustration that turned mundane literature into sublime images. In our photography-dominated periodicals of today, Pyle and his people seem to belong not just to a different time, but to a different planet. Please come over to Picture This at Big Think to read more of "School Assignments."

[Many thanks to the Delaware Art Museum for providing me with the image above and other press materials for On Assignment: American Illustration, 1850—1950, which runs through January 2, 2011.]