Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - mixedmedia's Art Appreciation Thread...NSFW, but in a beautiful way

fresnelly · 11-02-2007, 06:10 PM

I'm finding this thread a bit overwhelming. Some of these works are so forceful and unapologetic. I feel very small.

This is a chalk and stump sketch by Henri Matisse called Woman Leaning With Elbows On Table done in 1922. This measly scan doesn't do it justice as it's almost life size and the shading is far more varied in reality. It's part of the Courthauld Collection and I saw it when it toured through Toronto a few years ago. That's an amazing collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist masterpieces, but this simple portrait the one that stopped me cold. I could have sat in front of it for hours.

I'm also blown away by Ron Mueck's hyper realistic sculptures, not only for their detail, but how he plays with scale and seems to capture stories like the best photojournalists. The sculpture Spooning Couple is about three feet long and was displayed on a podium close to the floor. I approached it from the back and assumed they were sleeping until I rounded their heads and saw that their eyes were open in insomniac stares. It was like I stumbled out of the gallery into their bedroom by accident. My sudden sense of awkwardness and imposition was very, very real.

11-02-2007, 06:10 PM	#21 (permalink)
fresnelly Functionally Appropriate Location: Toronto	I'm finding this thread a bit overwhelming. Some of these works are so forceful and unapologetic. I feel very small. This is a chalk and stump sketch by Henri Matisse called Woman Leaning With Elbows On Table done in 1922. This measly scan doesn't do it justice as it's almost life size and the shading is far more varied in reality. It's part of the Courthauld Collection and I saw it when it toured through Toronto a few years ago. That's an amazing collection of Impressionist and Post-Impressionist masterpieces, but this simple portrait the one that stopped me cold. I could have sat in front of it for hours. I'm also blown away by Ron Mueck's hyper realistic sculptures, not only for their detail, but how he plays with scale and seems to capture stories like the best photojournalists. The sculpture Spooning Couple is about three feet long and was displayed on a podium close to the floor. I approached it from the back and assumed they were sleeping until I rounded their heads and saw that their eyes were open in insomniac stares. It was like I stumbled out of the gallery into their bedroom by accident. My sudden sense of awkwardness and imposition was very, very real. __________________ Building an artificial intelligence that appreciates Mozart is easy. Building an A.I. that appreciates a theme restaurant is the real challenge - Kit Roebuck - Nine Planets Without Intelligent Life