Art is Where You Find It

The New York Times has some poems in recognition of the day after Election Day. You might enjoy them. See you soon – Zoe

On Wednesday we’ll by joined at 2:30 by Prof. Jeffrey Bussolini, of the College of Staten Island, who is going to be talking with us about Dr. Atomic. We will finish class early, I do not anticipate us going past 4pm.

We’ll be seeing Dr. Atomic at the Metropolitan Opera in the evening at 8pm. The show goes until 11:25. The opera is in two acts with one intermission.

What have you found of interest in the NYTimes Arts section? Remember, save a copy of your comments on your own computer. The blog appears stable at this point but it is better to be safe than sorry, or so they say. And, Happy Halloween.

OK – time for your comments on the films we saw in class last week, including your general thoughts on either or both film, and ideas on some possible differences between ‘fine art’ and ‘commercial art’ that the films suggest.

The first film was called “The Way Things Go” [Der Lauf der Dinge], by Swiss artists Peter Fischli and David Weiss, made in 1987. The second film is typically referred to as the “Honda Cog Commercial”, by the advertising firm Weiden & Kennedy, made in 2003 for the Honda company. Parts or all of both films can be found on YouTube and similar sites.

You might expect an exhibit of pieces from pre-WWI Berlin to be a gloomy collection of dark, depressing works indicative of the impending war—at least, that’s the idea I had in mind as I walked towards a sign labeled with “Kirchner and the Berlin Street” in chunky block letters. I was definitely in for a surprise. Kirchner’s pieces are loud and bold, a riot of paint splashes and striking brush strokes. His subject matter is enticing enough in of itself; he chose to paint Berlin’s underground prostitutes, portraying them as sensual, mysterious creatures who were more than just nameless pieces of flesh. They are portrayed in fancy dress, with haughty smiles and arrogant poses. The paintings are exciting and slightly unnerving, grim and dark in a noirish way. The historical background of the pieces only serves to make them more memorable. At a time when Europe was about to descend into war, it’s incredible to find that artists were still able to create such awesome pieces of art, pieces that revealed a side of society most people never see.