Lunar Eclipse...

On October 27th, TV viewers watching the Red Sox and Cardinals World Series were treated to a progression of camera shots focused on the evening's lunar eclipse. The earth's shadow transformed our view of the moon from luminous to dim to luminous again. Fascinating!...especially to a long-suffering Red Sox nation. It reminded me of a field trip to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The docent stopped my class in front of a painting by Eduard Charlemont entitled, The Moorish Chief. It was in a side room, off the main hallway.

The docent spoke of how Charlemont's work was not as popular as it once had been. You see, his style of painting had been "eclipsed" by his contemporaries. Artworks by Vincent Van Gogh and Paul Cézanne were now featured in the main galleries. What once was dismissed as rubbish is now HISTORY!; what once was prized is history. Such is fame.

I make it a point to see Charlemont's painting whenever I visit Philadelphia. It isn't my favorite...but it is a reminder. Work which elevates the spirit or moves the soul can be rendered mute if left without an audience to appreciate it. If you value creativity, if you find pleasure in the arts, do yourself a favor. On your next museum, concert or theater visit, make your first stop at the membership desk, and join! The arts without a context may be misunderstood...but the arts without an audience are dead. 

Artist Surf

I know I will never learn enough Art History! Perhaps I can make up for it by sharing information about someone you may not know well. This month's star is Lee Bontecou. Ms Bontecou attained recognition during the early1960's, a period of change which, surprise!, continued the historical constant of discounting work by female artists.  Lee began experimenting with an unusual drawing material (soot from an acetylene torch) in the late fifties. An artist with strong connections to education, environment, and the human experience, she used the torch's black residue to, in her words, "open things up". This new awareness led to sculptures like Flit, a combine structure with references to both consumer society and nuclear terror.

Bontecou's work may look different from decade to decade, but her inspiration and concerns supercede considerations which might steer her to making art with a discernable style. Given a continuing gender bias, it is not a surprise to hear that some art sources believed Ms Bontecou had stopped making art; however, she continues to create powerful reminders of humanity's fragility and interrelationship with nature.

To find out more about Lee, Google her; there's plenty more to discover.