Otnes Hotness

There have been a large number of impressive art exhibits in NYC so far this season. Anselm Kiefer was a favorite and you can read brief reviews of many more on my page at NearSay. A recent retrospective of work by collage artist Fred Otnes at Kouros Gallery also was a highlight.

Otnes names his inspirations as Pablo Picasso, Kurt Schwitters, Robert Motherwell, and Joseph Cornell. In turn, he has himself become an inspiration for countless mixed media artists.

The beauty of his work is in the compositions and, as the close-up shots below reveal, the small details.

The Power of Art

We all have the great opportunity to see endless amounts of art 24/7 online. I am tremendously lucky to also be able to see a wealth of art in person, in the museums, galleries, and auction houses in NYC. I never take this for granted.

But in truth, I am often underwhelmed. I see many works that do not move me. But every so often, an artist, an exhibit, or a single artwork knocks me over and reminds me of the true power of art. And this just happened when I visited Anselm Kiefer's exhibition 'Next Year in Jerusalem' at the Gagosian Gallery.

Like a cabinet of curiosities, this show is literally filled floor to ceiling with fascinating, emotionally powerful, and jaw dropping objects. The exhibit knocked me over like a hurricane. This is not 'pretty' art. But it does what art does best: it made me think, it made me feel, it made me rememeber, and it made me once again love the power of art.

You can read my more detailed review of the exhibition which will give you a better idea of the context of this haunting show in this post at NearSay. And because photography was actually allowed, you can join me on a walk through this amazing event.

The Book Guild: Chapter 13

Welcome to the fourth edition of The Pulse -- The State of the Art -- a survey in words and pictures of the online artist community. Nearly 150 artists have answered a list of questions which make up The Pulse. Their responses will be presented as a series of online and print projects. Secret Sunday was the first project and the links to all the secrets can be found on the sidebar of my blog. The Book Guild is the second project and Chapter 13 starts right now!


All artists participating in The Pulse were asked to name their favorite art books. The Book Guild will present this list, along with links, book reviews, giveaways, and interviews with many of your favorite authors. And as members of The Guild, I am hoping YOU will participate by leaving comments related to the books in each post - for example thoughts, book reviews, personal experiences, or a link back to your own blog posts that include artwork based on a project in the listed book.
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GIVEAWAY

Thanks to everybody who entered last week's giveaway for a copy of Journal Revolution so generously offered by author Linda Woods. The lucky winner is Annell from Somethings I Think About. Congratulations! Please contact me via email with your mailing address. And if you didn't win, you can purchase Linda's book here.
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Chapter 13: Cornucopia

For Gillian McMurray, Painting Wildlife Textures Step By Step by Rod Lawrence is her favorite art book. Gillian writes "I have many, many books on painting animals and this is the first and only book that really took me by the hand and showed me what I wanted to learn about painting wildlife fur, eyes, backgrounds, etc."

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Dina Wakley's favorite is What It Is by Lynda Barry. "Lynda focuses on writing, but the concepts are definitely applicable to art. Super inspiring and great to browse through when you're feeling stuck."

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The book Charles M. Russell, Word Painter: Letters 1887-1926 by Brian Dippie is the favorite of Dave Dube.

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Cory Celaya's favorite is Interpreting The Figure In Watercolor by Don Andrews

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The Way Things Are: The Art of David Ireland is the favorite of Barbara Kleinhans. Barbara adds "I flip through this book from time to time and imagine what it would be like to turn my home into a living art installation."

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Lisa Wright listed J W Waterhouse: The Modern Pre-Raphaelite as her favorite. She adds "It is officially termed a ‘catalogue’ but at £35 in hardcover, I definitely call it a book! I bought this after I went to the Summer Exhibition at The Royal Academy. Although I will treasure the book, no print could ever capture the vibrancy of the originals. I only wish I could have had the gallery to myself. Jostling with the hoards added too much stress to the occasion."

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Karin Bartimole says that she is "currently being inspired by The Book as Art: Artists' Books from the National Museum of Women in the Arts."

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Jaihn selected Karl Blossfeldt: The Complete Published Work (Taschen 25th Anniversary) by Hans-Christian Adam (Author) and Karl Blossfeldt (Photographer) as her favorite.

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As her favorite, Martha Marshall chose Miriam Schapiro.

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Lynne Hoppe's favorite was Raw Vision Outsider Art Sourcebook

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REVIEW

I received another, newly released book from F+W Media to review on my blog: Collage Playground: A Fresh Approach to Creating Mixed-Media Art by Kimberly Santiago and released on July 1.

I will admit that when I received this book I was not sure if there would be anything new to discover inside. After all, there have been so many books printed about collage and mixed-media art in recent years. But after spending some quality time with Collage Playground, I am happy to say that this book would make a great addition to the library of any collage artist, especially if you are new to the process of collage.

The book brings you back to the playground and takes the refreshing approach of looking at collage as a child looks at art - with discovery, fun, and abundant creativity. But Collage Playground is not child's play. While many of the techniques presented would already be familiar to a veteran collage artist, this book also covers such diverse areas as paper weaving, fiber collage, transparency art, positive and negative stenciling, using vellum, and creating your own collage sheets. Many projects have been included, with detailed material lists and clear step-by-step instructions and photographs. Helpful tips are sprinkled throughout as sidebars.

The cover is a good example of the type of images you will find inside, as it is actually created using pieces from multiple projects from the book. While the style of the art in this book does not match my own, the beauty of Collage Playground is that, with a little imagination, all the techniques and projects in the book can be easily adapted to any style at all.
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GIVEAWAY

It is giveaway time again. One lucky person will win a copy of Collage Playground, hot off the presses. Just leave a comment on this post by Saturday July 10th. Then visit again for the next installment of The Book Guild on Sunday July 11th to see who won!