The surrealist movement was, in part, a reaction to fascism. As a student I assumed some of the surrealist art was motivated by political protest, a refusal to make sense or be pretty. Looking around today at a world I thought I understood, but now seems misshapen and horrifying, I think I understand why the artists’ images bent and turned. Reality is not a firm and trustable thing, and it’s unsettling when it shifts.
Welcome to day 4 of our 30 Day Creative Challenge! This is a composition day in our 30 Day Challenge. Here’s an exercise that improves your compositions, without you even thinking about composition. It worked for Diebenkorn! The primary challenge is to respond to the creative prompts in these posts, and see what happens. The …
Excerpts from a diary Frida Kahlo kept for the last ten years of her life, published 40 years after her death. Frida marked few dates, kept no appointments or notes on personal events. Most of the pages are filled instead with her own internal mythology, an internal theater. Buy a copy of Kahlo’s Diary Image …
If you listen to NPR, you may have heard yesterday’s story on “Why Certain Poor Shepherds In Nativity Scenes Have Huge, Misshapen Throats.” According to retired surgeon Renzo Dionigi of the University of Insubria in Varese, Italy (NPR), goiters have been a sign of poverty and geographic location. The purpose of including goiters in paintings may have …
We’re doing a fun series of sketches in “Abstracting the Image” on Thursdays. Each week we’re taking a masterwork and exploring it with approaches inspired by contemporary abstract painters. The purpose of this exercise is to be able to lean on, and learn from the composition of the masterwork, while exploring a variety of ways …
Surrealism and Fascism
The surrealist movement was, in part, a reaction to fascism. As a student I assumed some of the surrealist art was motivated by political protest, a refusal to make sense or be pretty. Looking around today at a world I thought I understood, but now seems misshapen and horrifying, I think I understand why the artists’ images bent and turned. Reality is not a firm and trustable thing, and it’s unsettling when it shifts.
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Welcome to day 4 of our 30 Day Creative Challenge! This is a composition day in our 30 Day Challenge. Here’s an exercise that improves your compositions, without you even thinking about composition. It worked for Diebenkorn! The primary challenge is to respond to the creative prompts in these posts, and see what happens. The …
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Excerpts from a diary Frida Kahlo kept for the last ten years of her life, published 40 years after her death. Frida marked few dates, kept no appointments or notes on personal events. Most of the pages are filled instead with her own internal mythology, an internal theater. Buy a copy of Kahlo’s Diary Image …
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We’re doing a fun series of sketches in “Abstracting the Image” on Thursdays. Each week we’re taking a masterwork and exploring it with approaches inspired by contemporary abstract painters. The purpose of this exercise is to be able to lean on, and learn from the composition of the masterwork, while exploring a variety of ways …