The Life of Forms in Art
Posted: August 18, 2015 Filed under: Art | Tags: 30s, Alexander Calder, art theory, Calder, Henri Focillon, Hokusai, mobiles, modern art, spider, The life of forms in art, vie de formes Leave a comment“Hokusai tried to paint without the use of his hands. It is said that one day, having unrolled his scroll in front of the shogun, he poured over it a pot of blue paint then, dipping the claws of a rooster in a pot of red paint, he made the bird run across the scroll and leave its tracks on it. Everyone present recognized in them the waters of the stream called Tatsouta carrying along maple leaves reddened by autumn.”
Henri Focillon, The Life of Forms in Art (1934)
Spider, Alexander Calder, 1939
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A Monkey and a Woman
Posted: November 4, 2014 Filed under: Art, Photography | Tags: 30s, 60's, angry, Hansel Mieth, LIFE magazine, monkey, Puerto Rico, Rhesus Monkey, Silvana Mangano, swimming, water, woman Leave a comment
Left: Hansel Mieth’s portrait of a Rhesus Monkey in Puerto Rico in 1938
Right: Portrait of Silvana Mangano on the cover of LIFE magazine in 1960
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New Clouds
Posted: July 13, 2014 Filed under: Art, Painting/Drawing | Tags: 1937, 30s, Bengal School of Art, India, Nandalal Bose, New Clouds, Santiniketan, trees, women Leave a comment
New Clouds. Nandalal Bose. 1937.
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Disavowals
Posted: May 30, 2014 Filed under: Art, Photography | Tags: 1930, 30s, aveux non avenus, Claude Cahun, confessions, disavowals, eye, France, mirror, photography, Surrealism, woman Leave a commentAveux Non Avenus III. Claude Cahun. 1929-1930
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Leader and Companion
Posted: March 12, 2014 Filed under: Art, Painting/Drawing | Tags: 1932, 30s, abstract, Abstraction-Creation, alto, companion, dux et comes, edward wadsworth, leader, music, Paris, soprano, still life, Tate Leave a comment
Dux et Comes I. Edward Wadsworth. 1932.
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Celebration
Posted: February 5, 2014 Filed under: Art, Photography | Tags: 1937, 30s, anniversary, Barbara Morgan, blog, celebrate, dancers, girls, hands, jump, Martha Graham, one year, toes, women 2 CommentsCelebrating one year of Imponderabilia!
Martha Graham, Celebration. Barbara Morgan. 1937
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Landscape at Large
Posted: January 29, 2014 Filed under: Art | Tags: 20th century, 30s, abstract, british, collage, landscape, London, Nash, Paul Nash, Surrealism, surrealist, Tate Leave a comment
Landscape at Large. Paul Nash. 1936.
‘Landscape at Large’ is one of a group of landscape collages made by Paul Nash in 1936-8 in which real objects were used pictorially. The Tate Gallery also has ‘Swanage’ (made from photographs of objects and watercolour) and ‘In the Marshes’ (made from bark and sticks). From the title it is evident that this one was seen by Nash as an abstract landscape, with the shape of the bark suggesting perspective, and the texture and patterns of the materials making the features. The ‘at large’, although not explained by the artist, probably has its usual meaning of either ‘at liberty’ or ‘there in complete detail’, implying that the objects are standing in for themselves.
Text from Tate
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The Good Reputation
Posted: October 27, 2013 Filed under: Art, Photography | Tags: 30s, cactus, irony, Latin American Art, Manuel Alvarez Bravo, Mexico, nude, reputation, sleeping, the good reputation, woman Leave a comment
The Good Reputation, Sleeping. Manuel Alvarez Bravo. 1938-9.
Whether concealed by a fig leaf or locked by a chastity belt, a woman’s erogenous area has traditionally been kept hidden from view. Flouting convention, Manuel Alvarez Bravo staged this scene by clothing the model’s upper thighs, hips, and waist, and exposing her pubic region. Although this photograph challenges traditional representations of women, it alludes to confinement through the use of bandages around the model’s wrists and ankles. These devices can be interpreted as symbols of bondage and lack of free will.
In this seemingly serene setting, the star cacti lined up beside the slumbering model signal pain and danger. The plants impede the woman’s free movement, while at the same time protecting her from the sexual advances of a potential intruder. In naming this photograph The Good Reputation, Sleeping, Alvarez Bravo drew upon the Mexican proverb: Earn a good reputation, then rest on your laurels.
(Text from Getty)
