Neil Halstead @ Triple Door

Last minute we decided to see Neil Halstead at the Triple Door. We are glad we did because it was a great show. About a third of the show was Halstead performing songs solo on guitar and the remainder of the show he was accompanied by a bassist and another guitarist. The show set came mostly from Halstead’s two solo albums Sleeping on Roads and Oh! Mighty Engine, but there was at least one Mojave 3 song and one Slowdive song that I could pick up on.

Opening the show was Weinland, a band from Portland, that we’d never heard before and were impressed by. Great songwriting and sound. We purchased two CDs. (Sorry Neil, we already have your CDs.) The best part of the evening: we walked out with our hearing intact.

Frye Museum – The Munich Secession

The show The Munich Secession and America is at the Frye Art Museum from January 24, 2009 to April 12, 2009. It’s an interesting show and definitely a worthwhile a trip to the museum – even if the words Munich and Secession in the same sentence seems a little intimidating.

The first question in our minds was: “Who seceded from what?” The answer is that a group of German artists in the late 19th century seceded from the Künstlergenossenschaft – which was sort of the sanctioned art exhibiting venue in Germany founded in 1868. The secessionists found the Künstlergenossenschaft a bit lame, too democratic, catering to popular tastes, and really not that diverse. So, eleven artists kicked off (in an orderly way) the Munich Secession in 1892.The movement emphasized experimentation, individualism, and diversity in art as well as a departure in how artwork was shown. Rather than using the salon-style (many paintings crowded together) presentation, the secessionists opted for sparse presentations, close to what we are accustomed to today. The Munich movement followed and preceded other secessions. All of the secessions, collectively, in the late 19th century are considered important in helping to form the basis of the 20th century modern art movement.

Many of the key works of the Frye Founding Collection are works that fall into the Munich Secession category. One of the best known works in their collection is Franz von Stuck’s Sin (one of the many versions of this theme). Other works you’ll see at the exhibit include Max Slevogt’s Wrestling School – 1893, Eugen Spiro’s Baladine Klossowska – 1901, Oskar Zwitnscher’s The Dead Man by the Sea – 1913, Leo Putz’s Summer Dreams – 1907 and our favorite of the show: Hans Thoma’s Calm Before the Storm.

Pictured on the brochure is Spanish Dancer by Otto Hierl-Deronco.

Fattori e Il Naturalismo in Toscana

We caught the exhibit Fattori e Il Naturalismo in Toscana today at Villa Bardini. Fattori is the last name of the Italian artist Giovanni Fattori (1825 – 1908) who was the founder of the important Tuscan painting movement called Macchiaioli. The Macchiaioli movement took place in the second half of the 19th century in Italy and is considered by some to be the forerunner of the Impressionist movement in France. The Macchiaioli painters painted nature as they saw it in the Tuscan countryside and even cities. The name of the movement derives from the word “macchia” or spot.

The exhibit contains 35 paintings – many never on public display before. The Roberto Capucci exhibit can also be seen on the same entrance ticket but not the garden, unfortunately. Be sure to stop and enjoy the view from the top floors of the museum back on to the city. The Bardini museum sits quite a bit above the city, yet isn’t that far away.

Rosa Dei Venti – Giampaolo Talani

 

The free exhibit Rosa dei Venti (Compass Rose) by the Italian artist Giampaolo Talani is in the Sala d’Arme (Weapons Room) of the Palazzo Vecchio. Basically, this is the north (original) entrance of the building. His work is familiar and vague at the same time. The colors and seemingly simple themes are very appealing. Talani is an expert in fresco painting and many of the works on exhibit have the look of a fresco without being one. He produced the very large mural for the Santa Maria Novella train station (Florence’s main station) called Departures. (Travelmarx is ashamed to say that we are not sure we can recall the mural at this moment, but promise to pop in and check it out ASAP.) The Talani show runs from March 7th to April 27th 2008. 10:30 - 6:30 every day.

Cina – Alla Corte Degli Imperatori

The exhibit Cina – Alla Corte Degli Imperatore (China – In the Court of the Emperors) is at the Palazzo Strozzi, Florence from 7 March to 8 June, 2008. The Palazzo Strozzi is a beautiful Renaissance palazzo to see an exhibit in. The lighting and the signage are good. The exhibit space is on the piano nobile (next floor above ground floor) in a series of eight rooms around the main courtyard. The courtyard has a huge Buddha greeting you as you enter the palazzo from the west. 10 Euros for a ticket.

The exhibit focuses on the Han Dynasty (23 – 220) and Tang Dynasty (617 – 907). The Tang Dynasty was considered “l’età d’oro cinese” (the golden age of China) when there was a period of progress and stability. We liked the exhibit and learned a little about Tang Dynasty. I think we can tell the difference between a Buddha (big ears, simply dressed?) and Bodhisattva (usually with jewelry?) now and understand how strangers were portrayed (long noses and goatees?). One interesting point was brought up in the audio guide (5 Euros) on a group of statues of women riding horses: that women’s rights during the Tang era were fairly liberal compared to later periods or other countries at the time. For example, the three statues showed the women riding horses astride in the saddle and not sidesaddle.
For more information go to the exhibit site at http://www.cinamaivistafirenze.it/.

In the Strozzina there was an exhibit called Cina Cina Cina! – Arte Contemporanea Cinese Oltre Il Mercato Globale (China China China! – Chinese Contemporary Art Beyond the Global Market). The Strozzina is basically the basement of the Palazzo Strozzi. It’s an odd space that lends itself to more modern shows, for example, the previous show Sistemi Emotivi. The current exhibit makes a lot of use of video, some banal, some spooky. The show tries to explore the question of what the China phenomenon is by looking through the eyes of three Chinese curators. The curators give the viewer a chance to see three points of view of how current Chinese artists are impacting the international art system. To tell you the truth, I didn’t get this until I reread the pamphlet for the show about five times later. And, I’m not sure the viewpoint came across to us. Maybe we were saturated from seeing the top floor exhibit and this was just too much?

The previous shows in the Strozzi and Strozzina were Contro Moda and Sistemi Emotivi, respectively.

Giorgio de Chirico - La Metafisica continua

This show (February 28 – March 30) on Giorgio de Chirico was running while we were visiting the Modern Art Museum of Palermo. It seemed quite popular. We didn’t know much about de Chirico before going and had a better understanding after we left. But, afterwards we both turned to each other and confessed that we did not care for his work. It didn’t speak to us, especially the horse/mythological paintings. Looking at them hurt the eyes. Here’s an example.

Max Ernst Nella Collezione Würth

Part of the visit to the Palazzo Reale in Palermo included an exhibit of Max Ernst. The folks sponsoring the restoration of the Capella Palatina are the Würth Company out of Germany – and many if not all these Ernst works are from their private collection. We didn’t know much about the art of Max Ernst, but after the visit were a little better informed about this German artist. Like the Chirico exhibit we also saw, we both decided it wasn’t our favorite. Maybe because the surrealist movement (which Max Ernst was a part of) had core ideas that we didn’t really agree with. (Or maybe, we are snobs stuck in Renaissance mode – infected by everything Florence?)

Orsi e Sciamani

This was a free exhibit put on by the Museo di Storia Naturale of the University of Florence. The exhibit highlights the relationship between bears (“orsi”) and shamans (“sciamani”). In particular, the exhibit focused on the Ainu people of Japan and the Laplanders of Northern Europe. The contributions of several key Florentine scientists are highlighted including Fosco Maraini (1912-2004), Arnold Henry Savage Lander (1865-1924), and Stephen Sommier (1848-1922). The exhibit ends on the 29th of February, 2008.

Contro Moda

Today was fashion day. After Roberto Capucci and a lampredotto panino (Mercato del Porcellino) sandwich (a slightly strange interlude), we hit the ControModa show at Palazzo Strozzi. This show is dedicated to fashion and, in particular, items from the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. It was interesting and gave us a new appreciation of fashion if not a basic schooling in who’s who. Particularly interesting was the contribution of the Japanese to fashion, especially in pushing the boundaries of Italian/French sensibilities.

Shown above are a Pucci cape (“sponge” cape) and a Miyake woman’s coat.

Florence Biennale 2007

We visited the Florence Biennale today spending about 5 hours. We still didn’t see everything. The event is at the Fortezza da Basso. There was definitely a lot of art to see – “…more than 800 artists from 74 countries, the Biennial of Florence is the largest Contemporary Art [Exhibit] in the world.” Each artist had space to show a few pieces (3-5). In about 50% of the spaces, the actual artists were there to speak with. It was a bit intimidating and frustrating because even in several hours you couldn’t talk to or stop and admire all that you wanted to. There were a large number of curators and gallery owners at the Biennale (we think) perusing. The goal isn’t about selling, but about the “diffusion” of art, though most pieces if not sold already probably, could be purchased.

The list of artists’ work we saw is long, here are a couple of things that stood out for us:
--Spent an hour or so talking with artist Nancy Reyner from Santa Fe.
--Played around with the multimedia exhibit named “Se mi sei vicinio” (“if you are near me”) by Sonia Cillari.
--Admired an exhibit named “s.h.e.” by Natasa Teofilovic
--Found a marble bust of Bill Gates - we just can’t escape Microsoft is seems