Ninja December 1st, 2008

The MET museum has approximately 20,000 original drawings tucked away in a storage room on the second floor. To view them, all you have to do is call 212-570-3912 for an appointment. The study rooms are open Tuesday–Friday, 10:00 AM–12:30 PM, 2:00-4:45 PM. It’s also helpful to have a list of whom you’d like to see. If you can’t decide on an artist, they have a massive card catalog for you to browse through.

Upon arrival, security will issue you a pass and provide you with a map to the drawing study rooms. You will not need to purchase a ticket for admission. However, you will need to check your coat and bag before entering the drawing study room.

The first drawing we saw was Michelangelo’s Studies for the Libyan Sibyl. The Sibyl is sandwiched between 2 sheets of glass. It’s actually a lot smaller than I expected—only 11 3/8 inches x 8 7/16 inches. Also, the red chalk is much brighter in person.

Penguin whispered that he loved the dramatically twisted pose and careful attention paid to the weight-bearing toe of this male figure. The anatomical study was drawn from a male model, and Michelangelo translated and softened these features into the female Libyan Sibyl frescoed on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel (see image below). Her prophecy proclaimed the virgin birth of a king.

On the reverse side of this drawing, Michelangelo started another study in black chalk, focusing on the legs for the Sibyl.

Our private viewing also included da Vinci’s Head of the Virgin. This image really doesn’t capture how well that cheek is rendered. For her cheek, he uses a gentle hand to acheive very soft, subtle modeling.

There’s a noticeable splatter of charcoal dust near her eye.

While there, we also saw drawings from Dürer, Hoffman, Ingres, and Seurat. Afterwards we checked out the Philippe de Montebello exhibition. Highlights include:

Marilyn Monroe, May 6, 1957
by Richard Avedon
Gelatin silver print

Close up of paintbrush hair in No. 13 (White, Red, on Yellow)
by Mark Rothko
Oil and acrylic with powdered pigments on canvas

Incidentally, if you get too close, you will trigger a heat-sensor alarm.

Bird in Space
Constantin Brancusi
Marble

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Tags: Constantin Brancusi, Da Vinci, Dürer, Hoffman, Ingres, Mark Rothko, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Michelangelo, Richard Avedon, Seurat

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Ninja November 26th, 2008

Penguin and I went to visit the MET yesterday to check out some of the drawings by Michelangelo, Leonardo, Dürer, Hoffman, Ingres, and Seurat (more on that later). Just mind-blowing! I was in awe of their seemingly effortless, undulating line work (guess that’s why they’re called the Masters, eh). I got a wee dizzy viewing Ingres’ seemingly impossible hairline line work through a magnifying glass.

After our private drawing viewing, we set out to explore the Philippe de Montebello Years: Curators Celebrate Three Decades of Acquisitions exhibition on the 2nd floor. Being that I do have a thing for texture and hair, these 2 images were my favorites. I hate that I’m so predictable.

Onésipe Aguado
Woman Seen from the Back, 1862
Salted paper print from glass negative

Hans Hoffman
A Hedgehog, before 1584
Watercolor and gouache on parchment

It’s nice to know that I’m not the only one who’s got a thing for hair. Please let me introduce 3 great, current artists who also feature hair in their work: Ruth Marten, Mr. Bingo, and John Ryan Solis.

Ruth Marten

New Yorker, Ruth Marten is a former tattoo artist (those skills translate well in her fine line drawings) and currently works as a commercial illustrator and exhibiting artist. She is represented by the Adam Baumgold Gallery.

Mr. Bingo

London-based illustrator/animator, Mr. Bingo, has a client list which includes Nike, BBC, Virgin, and MTV.

John Ryan Solis

School of Visual Arts Illustration grad, John Ryan Solis, currently works at the design studio, Vault49.

• The drawing room at the MET (5)
• Michelangelo at the Met (1)
• William Blake’s World: “A New Heaven Is Begun” (0)
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• Orphan: New Portrait Paintings and Drawings by Ana Bagayan (4)

Tags: A Hedgehog, before, Dürer, Exhibitions, Gouache, Hair, Hans Hoffman, Hoffman, Ingres, John Ryan Solis, Leonardo, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Michelangelo, Mr. Bingo, New York, Onésipe Aguado, Philippe de Montebello Years: Curators Celebrate Three Decades of Acquisitions, Portraits, Ruth Marten, Seurat, Tattoos, Vault49, Watercolor

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Penguin November 25th, 2008

Ninja and I will be going to the Metropolitan Museum of Art to get intimate with some of Michelangelo’s original drawings.

We’ll have about an hour and a half to examine some of his work that isn’t shown to the public. Hopefully, we’ll be able to take some pics (sans flash natch).

So if you’ll be near the area, DM me on twitter.

-Penguin

• I’m not the only one who’s got a thing for hair (2)
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Tags: Art, Illustration, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Michelangelo, New York

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Ninja June 12th, 2008

NvP reader, Tiffany Nelson, was kind enough to share her photos from the Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibit, Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy (which runs until September 1, 2008).

Enjoy!

Cheers to Tiffany!

• What’s going on at the MET? (6)
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Tags: Metropolitan Museum of Art, Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy

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Penguin June 9th, 2008

This weekend, we went to the Met to see its latest exhibits. Although I enjoyed Koons on the roof (when I first heard of it, I was thought “raccoons”), there weren’t as many pieces as I would have liked. The balloon dog is as cool as it looks (if you go to the back, it looks like the dog has an anus).

As I walked through the superheroes exhibit, I thought to myself, is this art? I loved Iron Man, and Batman is one of my favourite superheroes. Granted, comics has influenced mainstream pop culture tremendously in the last few years. Just because it’s influential and it’s put in a gallery doesn’t necessarily make it art.

When we went to the Guggenheim, Ninja and I talked about Art and Commercialization. I posed the question: Is it art if it’s commercial? I cited the example of movies and commercials. This is not to say these endeavors have artistic qualities, but the fact that it’s mass produced no longer makes it unique.

I hugged a $25 mil piece of art. If the “flower” wasn’t a one of, and instead mass produced for the gift shop, it would probably go for $25 instead. Because it is no longer unique, it is no longer worth as much.

As a filmmaker, I struggle with this idea of making art in a medium that wants to be commercial. I’ve watched great movies come out of the studio system. I’ve watched great movies come out of the indie system. Some of it is art, some of it isn’t. And I find that the two are inversely proportional to each other. The more commercial something is, the less it is about art, and vice-versa. Where do I strike the balance?

I don’t think I have any good answers.

-Penguin

• What’s going on at the MET? (6)
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Tags: Art, Comics, Filmmaking, Guggenheim, Jeff Koons, Metropolitan Museum of Art

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Ninja June 9th, 2008

There are 3 great exhibitions currently showing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art: Jeff Koons on the Roof, Photography on Photography: Reflections on the Medium since 1960, and Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy.

It was a bright, sunny, 95 degree Saturday at the MET, but the Jeff Koons rooftop exhibit was well-worth the wait (long line to the elevator) and the heat. The rooftop garden was quite crowded, but I managed to snap a shot of the balloon dog statue without anyone else in the frame (you can see some of the crowd in the reflection though).

Jeff Koons on the Roof

Exhibit runs until October 26, 2008 (rooftop access ends at 5 PM)
The Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Roof Garden (weather permitting)

+ View images from the MET for this exhibition

+ Jeff Koons
+ Balloon Dog (Yellow), 1994–2000
+ High chromium stainless steel with transparent color coating
+ 121 x 143 x 45 in. (307.3 x 363.2 x 114.3 cm)

It’s about celebration and childhood and color and simplicity—but it’s also a Trojan horse. It’s a Trojan horse to the whole body of artwork.
– Jeff Koons, on his Balloon Dog

Photography on Photography

Exhibit runs until October 19, 2008
Joyce and Robert Menschel Hall for Modern Photography, 2nd floor

+ View images from the MET for this exhibition

+ Hiroshi Sugimoto
+ Fidel Castro (Wax Figure, Madame Tussaud’s Museum, London), 2001
+ Gelatin silver print
+ 58 3/4 x 47 in. (149.2 x 119.4 cm)

Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy

Exhibit runs until September 1, 2008
Special Exhibition Galleries, 1st floor

Inspired by Superman’s costume, Rossella Jardini, the creative director of Moschino, substituted Superman’s iconic letter “S” with the letter “M,” for Moschino. For the men’s version, she placed the “M” into a heart-shaped field, a symbol used in Moschino’s branding.

Meet William, the MET hippo

Photo of William from the MET website

+ Statuette of a Hippopotamus, ca. 1981-1885 B.C.E.; Dynasty 12; Middle Kingdom
+ Egyptian; Middle Egypt, Meir
+ Faience
+ H. 4 3/8 in. (11.2 cm), L. 7 7/8 in. (20 cm)

If you have some spare time, you should also visit William, the MET museum’s mascot. You can find William in the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Egyptian galleries. He is made of faience and is covered with lotus blossoms, which represent the hippopotamus’s creative forces in nature.

An Englishman, Captain H. M. Raleigh, and his family owned a picture of the hippopotamus, which they named William. In 1931 the captain wrote an article for the magazine Punch about his picture of William. The name caught on, and since that time the little blue hippo has been known as William to almost everyone.

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Tags: Balloon Dog (Yellow), Exhibits, Fashion, Fidel Castro, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Jeff Koons, Jeff Koons on the Roof, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Moschino, Photography on Photography, Rossella Jardini, Superheroes

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Penguin April 18th, 2008

I was talking to Ninja the other day about Barney and video art. It got me thinking about art history in general. The way that I’ve understood art, is that it’s often times a reaction or response to a particular climate, movement, or idea. Key to this, is understanding art history. I was hoping that if I could trace where art has come, I can use that knowledge and apply it to film.

Luckily, the Metropolitan Museum of Art has a timeline of art history! The site offers maps, essays, timelines, works of art organized by geography or time period.

It looks like an amazing resource.

-Penguin

• What’s going on at the MET? (6)
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Tags: Art history, Essays, Maps, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Resources

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