Loving New York in the 1930s in Paris in 2012

 On a recent trip to Paris, we happened upon a wonderful exhibit at the Jeu de Paume Museum. It was a real treat, a retrospective on the American photographer, Berenice Abbott, who spent many years in Paris, in the 1920s, socializing and working with many of the great intellectuals and artists of the time. To quote from the program description:

 The exhibition also features a substantial selection of images form her Changing New York project (1935-1939), for which she is best known. This undertaking was Abbott’s own initiative but was financed by the Works Progress Administration, part of Roosevelt’s New Deal efforts to combat the Great Depression. Conceived as both a record of the city and a work of art in its own right, this ambitious government commission focuses on the contrast between the old and the new in the rapidly changing city.


 I love the subject and her images are an incredible record of the City during the early 1930s.

And, of course this invitation was eye catching - an 1926 exhibit of her portrait work.

Jean Cocteau , poet and more, was one of her subjects

The exhibit is currently in Toronto thru September 19th.

Because this is the mood I'm in - what about you?

Dhyāna

I took these photos recently while touring gardens in Bucks County, PA.

Exploding Vegetables!

Martin Klimas, a German artist, sends a projectiles into vegetables and the result is explosive! To see more of Klimas' exploding veggies and fruits (a statement about "our" growing interest away from junk and toward health foods), please visit Feature Shoot where I had my first taste of his work. (Sorry, that was really bad!)

And, however tempting this might be, I wouldn't recommend using projectiles at the dinner table.

A Face Near You

TRAILER " WOMEN ARE HEROES" from SOCIAL ANIMALS on Vimeo.

CAUTION  -  INTENSE  - BUT WORTH WATCHING

Sometimes art raises questions.
Sometimes artistic expression is political.
Sometimes art provokes.
Sometimes art conveys joy where we would not expect joy to exist.

Guerrilla art. Pervasive art. Both terms describe works by JR, a twenty seven year old French artist who was just awarded the 2011 TED prize - $100,000 and a chance to change the world. (Last year's recipient was Jamie Oliver whose wish was to change the way the world eats.)

The trailer above for JR's Women Are Heroes film (shown at the Cannes Film Festival in 2010) is intense. It explores the dignity (or indignity) of women who are often targets during conflict. This is the theme of JR's 2008 Women Are Heroes exhibition where he photographed the faces of women from different parts of Africa who had each suffered much hardship. He then posted the photos in huge format in their own cities - in the streets, on buses, on the sides of buildings. The exhibition and the film both express pain and joy in the midst of art, culture and politics.

As far as JR's exhibitions go, I would love to hear your response to the question - which is the actual art  - the original photograph or the installation? There can be no doubt that effects of each are very different.

To see more about and from JR, but not to actually see him as prefers anonymity, click here to visit his website. There are images from other exhibitions and it is a real treat.