Misfits of Modernism II

For those of you who know me, you also know that my love of modernism encases a serious appreciation for modernist architecture. Back in 2005 I joined the cause to help protect one of Richard Neutra's buildings in Gettysburg known as the Cyclorama Center. Misfits of Modernism Architectural Reception and Benefit was hosted with the help of famous interior design retailer Design Within Reach. deedee9:14 donated two original pieces to the auction.

This year, we are back and presenting Misfits of Modernism II. This event, hosted by the Recent Past Preservation Network and Design Within Reach, will showcase the brilliant, but largely unrecognized, works of historic modern architecture and landscape design in Philadelphia and its surrounds. The event will focus on the immediate threat surrounding Richard Neutra’s Gettysburg Cyclorama Center The 1961 Cyclorama Center, a modernist Cold War-era homage to Abraham Lincoln and the Gettysburg Address, is slated for demolition by the federal government as part of a landscape redevelopment. The event will also highlight additional endangered works around Philadelphia with presentations by local preservation advocates.

Bid on my latest piece entitled "Dull Wit" to help fund a worthy cause.



Suggested donation of $15, $10 for members of RPPN at the door—Proceeds to benefit the campaign to save Richard Neutra’s 1961 Cyclorama Center at Gettysburg. 6:30 – 9:00 p.m., RSVP’s requested at philadelphia@dwr.com or 215-735-3195.
http://www.recentpast.org; http://www.dwr.com

A Love Letter

This is the love letter I cannot erase, I cannot take back, I cannot hide from. It is firmly written on canvas and will outlast any paper I've got. I cannot take back what was written. It was a moment of courage and I swear by the words written here. This piece will live on in my bedroom only.

My Kid Could Paint That

I'm not sure how many times I've heard these words uttered by people under their breath at an opening night exhibition, or as I came across other artists even who just didn't understand my artwork. Many abstract artists in fact have had their works, their talent, their motives, and the cost of their pieces questioned and debated under the same idea that "my kid [also substitue with chimp or elephant] could paint that." Modern abstract art is seen as a con game of sorts which is only supported when someone like child or animal artists can produce work of similar style and quality as professional adult artists and also command exorbitant prices for the work.

Today, the question surrounding exactly what is modern art is being raised in a briliant documentary by director Amir Bar-Lev. The film "My Kid Could Paint That" looks at the controversy surrounding child-prodigy Marla Olmstead who at age four became a global phenomenon because of her amazing abstract paintings. [TRAILER: http://www.sonyclassics.com/mykidcouldpaintthat/]

Marla as a toddler was selling work for amounts of money that long standing adult career abstract artists couldn't and never would command. The story looks at many different aspects from the fickle art world and how it values art, to the ideas of what constitute modern art in and of itself. The big questions raised seem to be, how can abstract art command such rediculous prices whether it was painted by 4 or 40 year old?

I would have been interested in knowing myself what other seasoned artists felt after viewing the documenatary. We've seen before that every few years a child is suddenly held up as a prodigy in the art world compared to the likes of Picasso or Pollock. But by the time the same child reaches age 13, we don't hear of them or their work anymore.

In the case of Marla, I think she's a gorgeous little girl who is lucky to have parents who support her level of creativity. But at the same time, her work is only commanding such prices because she is a child. Marla is not developed enough to speak to her art or tell the story behind it in the same way an adult artist could. She is unable to explain technique, form, or content. In essence, one might say if she is producing the work herself, then she's producing it from a wholly emotional or inspiratonal place that leaves things like technique, style, and logical thought out of the process.

We will all wonder if she truly enjoys her painting or if she does so because she sees the positive response it generates in her parents. Children like to please so many motives might be challenged.

The film is set for limited release in Los Angeles and New York Oct 5. I encourage everyone to see it and weigh in with their own opinions on the subject.