Artist : Cy Twombly 1928 - 2011

 “It’s more like I’m having an experience than making a picture.”

Cy Twombly

We lost one of our greatest painters this week. He certainly lived a long life and was incredibly productive throughout.

Hero and Leander (to Christopher Marlowe), Rome 1985, 202 x 254, Cy Twombly.

My first experience of seeing one of his paintings in person was when I wandered into a room full of his chalkboard paintings at the Hirshorn in Washington DC twenty-four years ago. It looked something like this ...

from menil.org

After being blown away by those I followed his paintings for years, always instantly recognizable, always beautiful in their urgent, intense way. Look what he does to some paper and scotch tape. Stunning.

Untitled, 1974. Wax paper, pencil, scotch tape, collage 75 x 106cm. Cy Twombly.

And guess what? He attended Black Mountain College too. What is it about that school?! Today I spent some time delving into his sculptures. I had seen very few of these and had no idea he had created so many.

Untitled, New York 1953. wood, wire, twine, nails, housepaint and wax on cloth, 15 9 7/8" x 4" Collection of Robert Rauschenberg.

His gesture translates effortlessly between materials. His fingerprints show through it all.

Orpheus (Du Unendliche Spur) 1979. Wood, nails, paint, graphite. 266 x 244 x 22.2 cm. Collection of the artist by Cy Twombly.

Read his obituary in the New York Times. And visit his website here.

Artist : Kiki Smith

I've been needing a little inspiration lately, some different ideas to jolt me out of my comfort zone. Whenever I feel this way, I often return to Kiki Smith's works.

From Kiki Smith: A Gathering. Walker Art Center

My name growing up was Kiki, even my parents used it. And when I married, I took my husband's last name, Clark. One day, this young artist (oh my, was I young when I married) came across the name Kiki Smith. I wondered what kind of art Kiki Smith made compared to Kiki Clark's. I was in for a surprise.

Mine, glass, 38 units vary from 950x114x121 mm to 178x184x95 mm, 1999;
ⓒ Kiki Smith, photo by Ellen Page Wilson, photo courtesy of PaceWildenstein, New York

Prints by Kiki Smith. Image from mintdesignblog.com

Constellation, 2000. Mass MOCA

Fast forward ten years long after I'd lost my nickname. In the late 90's, Sotheby's auctions were online and my office was one of the few with high speed internet. I scored this lovely piece for a song ...

Silent Work, 1992. Silkscreen with rubber ink stamp, and candle.  19" x 29" Image from moma.org

MOMA even has a later edition than mine (ha, take that moma!).  I look at this every day with awe. This is the image that seemed to resonate with me the most today was the pojagi inspired website MOMA created for her 2003 show. Of course I love the design. It provides the perfect balance for her free spirited work. Hmmmm.

For more images of the above website go here or here if your flash isn't working, like mine, grrr. To see the entire installation for the  2005 Venice Biennale "Squatting the Palace", click here.

side stitch : Wrap up!

Today is the final day of the month long side stitch collaboration with Kitty Kilian! I thought for my last piece I should loosen up while creating something that says THE END! I had so much fun doing this project with Kitty. Knowing that she was over in Utrecht working away really made me push myself to accomplish more, so thanks Kitty! Kitty did quite a few pieces and you can see them here. So here's my final piece, Wrap up! I incorporated a lot of remnants from my work in the past month.

14. September 30, 2010. by hand. Wrap up! 2" x 5" Fabric, thread, and twine remnants.

I've decided that I want to continue doing a monthly side project for two reasons. First, it helps my work tremendously either by supplementing it or challenging it. Second, I really enjoyed knowing I was working alongside someone (even virtually) as we were able to ask each other questions, express our doubts, and encourage each other. I feel like I got to know Kitty so much better through this process even though our work didn't necessarily feed off of each other's.

So, on that note, I'm thinking about October's side project. I would love to collaborate with one or even several of you artists out there! Do you have any ideas you've been wanting to investigate on a small scale? I am pondering about process, looseness, 3D, etc. Please let me know if you'd like to collaborate in the comments and we can work on something together.