Palm Springs 2020

The weather is perfect for this year's trip to Palm Springs. Our new puppy is enjoying the fenced in property with lots of space to run around.

Still Life With Stuffed Friends

It's much preferred over a 3-day road trip in a car.

We frequented the City of Palm Springs - Dog Park, near the airport and City Hall. The wrought iron fencing and gate decorations are amazing!

They reminded me of the gates by Gustav Vigeland of Frogner Park in Oslo, Norway (see my post entitled, "Baltics (7 of 7) - Oslo, Norway").

But enough about my photogenic dog, there are lots more artful things to see in Palm Springs.There is a Chihuly glass sculpture on display at the Palm Springs Art Museum (see earlier post). I call this my "Chihuly Poolie", patterned after his floating glass objet d'art.

One of the current exhibitions on display at the Palm Springs Art Museum is entitled, "Alexander Girard: A Designer's Universe. The following Girard work is inspiring me to do a graphic design project with my 5th-graders and maybe my seniors. It is also reminiscent of Kandinsky's Circles. If you examine each of the 80 matchbox cover designs you will see words printed on the frames. This will work perfectly for my ~76 5th-grade students. I'm anxious to see the unique designs they will come up with and how they would contribute to a collaborative composition. 

I am further inspired by the exhibition at the Architecture and Design Center entitled, "Jim Isermann. Copy. Pattern. Repeat." I can envision using one of his graphical flower artworks as a replacement project for the hand and concentric circles project that was inspired by Salvador Dali and used to teach about warm and cool colors. This would be a creative way to combine the concept of pattern along with the idea of using non-traditional contrasting colors of different values. I think it would be fun to use two primary colors and the secondary color between them. The challenge would be to find a medium that allows the blending of colors (e.g. painting) rather than using watercolor markers that may not be available in a range of colors/tints. This would also teach color mixing, unless we decided to use one of the larger boxes of Crayola crayons. Outlining the shapes using white oil pastel or crayon may allow neater painting using watercolors to fill in the areas.

I was thrilled to find two large works by Abstract Expressionist, Helen Frankenthaler, who had been part of a previous exhibition at the PSAM that showcased 12 Women of Abstract Expressionism. This large painting was pretty close to the railing on the upper level of the museum so it was difficult to photograph.

The second painting was strangely monochromatic with only subtle changes in tones from orange to pink and a single dark stroke (that seems out of place). It's called "April Screen" and was painted in 1972. Another couple of patrons and I stood looking at it for several minutes until we each began to see something different. I love how abstract works are open to interpretation. When you look up into the sky at a cloud, you may see shapes that form something familiar, but in reality it is simply the atmosphere. It's still fun to look!

You may also enjoy this painting by Karl Stanley Benjamin, entitled "Interlocking Forms (blue, lavender, white)" (1959). This painting was in a section of the museum that included Op-Art works by artists such as Victor Vasarely (below). If you rotate it 90 degrees to the left it could be an abstraction of the rock formations photographed below.

                 

If you're interested in exploring outside you will enjoy the natural beauty and unusual scenery at Joshua Tree National Park, including yucca trees and breathtaking rock formations.











Here's a painting by Sue Messerly that I found on the Internet that captures both the yucca trees and the rock formations.

Perhaps my most favorite find at the art museum is this two-sided modern (1980) Op-Art work by Yaacov Agam. It is intriguing to see another accordion-pleated work. Recall the double portrait of the Danish Monarchs that I found at the Rosenborg Castle in Copenhagen (see other posts).

This appears to have been assembled in vertical triangular strips arranged horizontally to form two distinct images when viewed from alternate sides. I should have photographed it from the front as well.

Mona Lisa

We visited the Louvre Museum in Paris, France, in May 2011. The largest museum in the world houses one of the smallest and most famous and valuable paintings -- Leonardo da Vinci's "The Mona Lisa". Knowing how popular she is, we entered from Portes de Lions and hurried past many other artworks to get to where she was being displayed. (As of 2019, that entrance is closed.) It was difficult to see her as she was behind glass and recessed. Alas, my photograph has my reflection in it!



I once had a book of illusions that suggested viewing pictures of the Mona Lisa upside down in order to have your brain perceive her smiling. Try it some time. The PTA's resident art teacher at the school where I volunteer likes to have her 5th-graders do a portrait of Mona Lisa. They turned out awesome!






When I teach my lesson on Johannes Vermeer, using his "Girl With a Pearl Earring", I tell my students that she is often referred to as the Mona Lisa of the North. What a great way to integrate art with geography!







Today, one of Seattle's portrait artists -- Troy Gua -- enjoys combining two famous people into a single morphed image. Here is his George Washington and Mona Lisa combination, entitled "Made in Heaven." It makes me wonder what Gilbert Stuart and Leonardo would have thought about this painting!






In one of my posts about the Baltic Ports, I talk about seeing "Madonna Litta" at the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia. Another portrait painted by Leonardo da Vinci (and Giovanni Antonio Boltraffio) equally small like his Mona Lisa.

Artist Jeopardy

Back in 1998, during my 'Projects, Projects' seminar with the Interurban Center for the Arts
at Green River Community College, we played the following (updated) Jeopardy game
with prospective art docents from local school PTAs.

                             EXPRESSIONISTS

 

                                                         MASTERS

                                         MODERNISTS

Talking Art & Travel

I am planning to give a talk entitled, "Art of the Baltic Countries", at local senior centers in March and April of this year. My presentation includes the content of the seven posts about the Baltics and lasts 90 minutes.

"Travel to over seven cities in seven countries – Copenhagen, Denmark; Stockholm, Sweden; Helsinki, Finland; St. Petersburg, Russia; Tallinn, Estonia; Warnemünde (Rostock and Berlin), Germany; and Oslo, Norway – and discover art along the Baltic Sea. This presentation is a visual journey through art museums, churches, quaint villages, and historic architecture and landmarks."

While touring these countries you will find Art in all sorts of places. The architecture is often older than what you may find touring North American cities and amazingly well-preserved. The buildings themselves are quite ornate and are interesting on the outside when viewed from a tour bus or on a guided boat ride. Hidden treasures are found inside buildings, such as castles and palaces, churches, courthouses, theaters, and of course museums. This double portrait depicts Frederik IV and his sister, Sophie Hedevig, in a room at Rosenborg Castle in Copenhagen, Denmark.




I enjoyed seeing the colorful buildings of Denmark and the statues and sculptures scattered around the cities we visited. The Hop-On-Hop-Off buses were an amazing convenience as were the guided water tours. Many of the cities we visited are made up of several islands with bridges and waterways meandering through them. It was much easier to photograph the scenery from an open watercraft than from inside a fast-moving bus. And through a window! The tour buses make several stops, though, in a place like St. Petersburg, you need to stay close and with your group.

While on a Princess cruise that covers an 11-day trip stopping at seven ports, you are encouraged to spend your time wisely. The excursions are totally worthwhile and the guided tours a fascinating way to soak up all the history and important not-to-be-missed sights. One could spend weeks visiting the 5 buildings comprising St. Petersburg's Hermitage Museum in order to see its 3 million works.






It's also fun to explore on foot and absorb the local culture up close. In order to see this bronze statue of "The Little Mermaid", by Edvard Eriksen, you need to take an early morning walk to avoid the masses of tourists flowing off the buses. Even from the water, your view of the statue may be obstructed by the swarms of people.

We got to visit Copenhagen for three days prior to our cruise and made use of our time quite wisely. The 3-day bus pass was affordable and perfect for getting around the city without taxis. Even if we repeated some of the routes to enable getting to a specific area again, we had the option of listening to the guide or simply catching a glimpse of something we may not have seen on a previous trip. We were often on the upper level (weather permitting) which afforded yet another perspective.