ARTES MAGAZINE - Part 61

Michael Aram’s Handcrafted Metals Use Traditional Indian Methods

Olive_Branch_Dish_3[1] — Olive Branch Dish: 2″ high; 4.5″ dia.; Stainless Steel, Oxidized Bronze

Little did Michael Aram know the role that providence would play in his life while on a trip to India twenty years ago. As a recent college grad with a degree in fine arts and a care-free style, a trip to New Delhi to visit a sister and some friends seemed like a splendid idea. But, Aram’s trip was going to be different—on this trip he would discover his ‘true life’s work’.

On arrival, his senses were first piqued by the distinct, yet odd aroma of baking molasses! He would soon learn that this unusual ingredient was used in a sand casting process. He sought out one local craftsman in particular, who spent hours turning metal into utilitarian objects like scissors or buckets. The beauty of the finished products and the creative process used to create them caught him completely by surprise. The skill of these local artisans reflected a hand-wrought aesthetic often hidden by the locals to disguise the fact that each piece was, in fact, crafted by hand. Aram recalls these early, seminal experiences as ‘mind-blowing’.More

Randall Whitehead’s High-Tech Lighting Solutions Transform a Traditional Home

whitehead ext_trad — Exterior: Traditional homes reap benefits from energy conscious. Here, exterior lanterns use two 8 watt CCFL by Litetronics, providing 45 watts of light, lasting 25,000 hrs. Resembling standard household bulbs, they dim with a standard incandescent dimmer.

Our California-based lighting expert explains a remodeling project in dramatic before/after images that is both earth friendly and cost effective

People are constantly being hit over the head with green design. In these hard economic times homeowners are not moving into the next bigger house but are instead staying put and investing their hard-earned…if somewhat deflated…equity into upgrading their present residences. Energy efficient lighting plays a big role, especially here in California where Title 24 requires the use of high efficacy lighting in kitchens, bathrooms and outdoor areas.

Design magazines looking to remain current offer up contemporary architectural layouts and stark, eye-catching interiors. While it’s true that futuristic design and green design seem to go hand-in-hand, it’s not for everyone. How does the owner of a more traditionally styled house make use of today’s earth friendly lighting and interior design techniques? Can progressive lighting design be applied to non-cutting edge spaces to enhance the sense of warmth and comfort that these cozy interiors inspire? Absolutely!More

‘Primitive Art’ Re-Evaluated in a Global Art Market

15,000 year-old prehistoric Altamira cave painting

In the 1990s, I recall watching Sister Wendy Beckett, the reluctant celebrity spokesperson for a popular PBS series on art appreciation. This sequestered nun, who for decades had lived under a vow of silence, had gained notoriety for her views on famous works of art and now stood in her nun’s habit waxing vociferously before the prehistoric Altamira cave paintings. Self-taught and passionate about the history of art, she gestured at the figures of stampeding bison and elk behind her and said, “These images are 15,000 years old. In the millennia that followed, art didn’t get any better than this, just different.”

In a few words, she summed up the argument for why we should not apply the word, ‘primitive’ to any artistic or material object from cultures far removed from our own tastes and values, simply because we do not understand them.More

Oriental Rugs and ‘Green’ Design

As the movers and shakers of the handmade rug industry, the interior design trade plays a pivotal role in shaping the end consumers’ purchasing decisions. After focusing on the greenness of the handweaving process from the manufacturers’ standpoint (See “Special Green Report—Handmade Rugs—The Original Green Floor Coverings,” ARTES (Oct. 13, 2009), this article takes a hard look at what the country’s most reputed and green-attuned designers and other members of the design community are thinking. Do they view handmade rugs as an eco-friendly floor covering as compared to machine-made?

Noted New York-based interior designer Darren Henault of Darren Henault Interiors, says, “To me, the fact that handmade oriental and decorative rugs are green seems only logical and obvious.” However, for most members of the design trade, awareness of handmade rugs as being green is limited, if not virtually nonexistent. States Laura Bohn of Laura Bohn Design Associates, New York, NY whose work has been featured on CNN Style and HGTV: “I didn’t know that and never thought of it until now!” Adds Mary Douglas Drysdale of Drysdale Design Associates, Washington, DC: “As a group, the designers’ mission is to make things look good and is focused more on instant gratification which is not born out of long-term thinking.” Echoes designer Annette Stelmack of Stelmack & Associates III, Denver, CO and co-author of Residential Sustainable Interiors:1“ For [most] designers, the greenness of floor coverings is not a major preoccupation.”More

Nancy Graves’ Colorful Sculpture is Poetic, Whimsical and Highly Personal

nancy grave 1 — N. Graves, Stur (Glass Series) , baked enamel on bronze, 1983

The Sculpture of Nancy Graves

On exhibit at Ameringer | McEnery | Yohe Gallery

525 W 22nd Street New York, NY 10011

She was a painter, printmaker, and avant-garde filmmaker, but the American artist Nancy Graves (1939-1995) is perhaps best known for her groundbreaking sculpture that integrated Abstract Expressionist style with inspirations from science, archaeology, and the natural world. Graves’s work is not seen enough in New York, and a selection of small polychrome bronzes from the 1980s formed a tight, gem of an exhibition at Ameringer | McEnery | Yohe which ran from September 17th through October 24th. The exhibition was the first since the gallery’s relocation to Chelsea this summer.More

Bartlett Arboretum Features Art Inspired by Nature

A Reflection on the Kathy Hirshon Exhibit, ‘Spirited Trees’

At The Bartlett Arboretum, Stamford, Connecticut

October, 2009- January 1, 2010
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Unlike the other seasons, autumn takes its time in arriving. Almost overnight, spring seems to pop into bloom after the yellow crocus peeks out from under the frost. Summer rushes in, never allowing enough time to fully embrace its warmth and extra long days. Inevitably, winter arrives, as it always must, with a biting wind, and then lingers much too long.

Oriental Rugs Have Always been ‘Green’

With the explosion of the green movement affecting everything from automobiles to furniture, rug importers and manufacturers are taking a fresh look at their production methods only to discover that their industry has essentially been green all along. Others are developing ways to enhance the green credentials of their handmade rugs in terms of dyeing, washing, and recycling the waste generated during the production process. While significant strides have been made by the machine-made carpet industry towards making it more eco-friendly, carpeting is still mainly produced from non-renewable petroleum products which ultimately account for up to an estimated 5 billion tons of discarded product—up to 1% of U.S. landfills—most of which is non-biodegradable.

The Verde Collection, Design, Ve-06 OAT. Courtesy of Momeni, Inc.

While nylon can be recycled, the availability of such facilities is still limited. [2]Moreover, from a health standpoint, carpeting would appear to incur a greater incidence of ‘outgassing’ due to their higher chemical components and irritants namely dust and molds. Most offensive from the green standpoint are carpeting’s chemical treatments and synthetic backing. As for handtufted products, they are dismissed by most industry experts from being green despite their wool content because of their latex backing. More

Historic Paint Colors Find a New Market

lyman 2 color hx — 'Through the glass, brightly', view of the Lyman Estate, Waltham, Massachusetts

As I pulled up the long drive, lined with sturdy, shag-barked Maple trees, the snow-covered fields and a distant copse of fledgling oaks and birches to my right offered a glimpse of a Boston of long ago. Suburban neighborhoods and office parks now surround this pastoral vista, a gently rolling reminder of what much of this region (and in fact, most of 18th century America) looked like when the Lyman Estate property (“The Vale”) was acquired in 17…

My destination was the non-profit organization, Historic New England, based at the Lyman Estate in Waltham, MA. From there, a small and dedicated staff manages and preserves 36 historic properties in five New England states. Constructed over the course of four centuries (1664-1938), each serves as a small, freestanding museum and cultural milestone along the road of American architecture,

lyman color hx ext — The "Vale" or Lyman Estate, home of the Waltham, MA based Historic New England which manages 36 properties in 5 state

design and everyday living. In addition to their properties, the Otis House Museum, in Boston, houses their collection of over one-million records: historic photographs, architectural drawings, ephemera, manuscripts and other printed material pertaining to life in the region.

It was because of their historical archives and related research that I traveled to meet with Sally Zimmerman, Preservation Specialist, and an authority on historic paint colors throughout the period. Sally has devoted much of her professional life to investigating the composition, uses and fashion trends expressed by both exterior and interior paint in historic New England homes over the years. My goal was to discover how paint colors and technology has changed over the centuries and to learn more about the investigative techniques that are used to uncover this little-understood aspect of our cultural heritage.More

California Architecture Designed for Display of Art Collection

Cutting edge architecture has come to Modesto, California. The owners of this custom residence worked closely with architectural designer, Conrad Sanchez of Blue Design Studios, lighting designer, Randall Whitehead and interior designer, Nicki West to create a home around their extensive collection of established and emerging contemporary artists. The team also includes custom home builder, Mark Sweet of Mark Sweet Construction and electrical contractor, Bruce Trussler of Kirkes Electric whose combined talents were able to create outstanding results from inventive concepts. The end product is a striking and cohesive collaboration that shows how a team of design/build professionals can craft something that flows seamlessly between all the specialties involved on behalf of a forward-thinking couple who were pmodesto final-extart of the decision- making process from day one.More

Paris Landmark Focuses on the Arts and Green Design

viaduc de arts — Le Viaduc de Arts, Paris, France

When in Paris last, I visited Le Viaduc des Art. My good friend, Amy, born in Paris some 89 years ago, had taken me there once, but I welcomed another opportunity to discover and explore some of its certain surprises. It is, ironically, one of the more hidden, yet quite public treasures of Paris, located at the southeast end the city, in the 12th Arrondissement. Le Viaduc is only a few blocks from the Bastille Opera House (built over the demolished Bastille prison, where the historic ‘storming’ set off the French Revolution). Nearby, Rue de Lyon leads to Avenue Daumesnil, where the viaduct begins, hugging the tree-lined avenue all the way east to Bois de Vincennes.

Le Viaduc is a 19th century structure, originally used as an elevated rail line. Its path is supported by a series of supporting arches and the city has cleverly converted it into a long green walkway– ‘la coulee verte’. The promenade on top is planted with a profusion of plants, trees and luscious flowers–becoming a kilometer-long strip of verdant park ideal for long leisurely strolls. And underneath, the high vaulted spaces of the viaduct are now home to dozens of active studios, workshops, galleries displaying the work of artists and artisans and chic cafes. Le Viaduc itself and its series of arches, framed by sand-colored stone and dark red brick, take on the appearance of an elongated Romanesque-style structure.More

Green Window Design Saves Energy

Windows are a beautiful and essential part of any home, but they also contribute to higher energy costs by heat gain in the summer and heat loss in the winter. This article explores ways to reduce heat gain and loss with window technology, window film and window coverings to help save you money.

Window Technology: The two most important terms to know when buying windows are the U-Factor and Solar Heat Gain Co-efficient; both are measures of the window’s energy efficiency. The U-factor rates heat loss. The lower the U-Factor, the better the rating. The Solar Heat Gain Co-efficient measures heat gain by how much UVA and UVB light can pass through the window. Generally, the lower the number, the better the rating – depending on where you live.More

Tough Economic Times Put Power in Hands of Museum-Goers

Interpretation of Monet’s, Nymphia. Classic Impressionism and the retail tie-ins would bring out the crowds to museums in record numbers

In a 1999 New York Times report on museum attendance for the previous decade, increases of 20% were reported in the U.S., Europe and Australia. Based on a survey by The Art Newspaper, blockbuster exhibits by the likes of Monet, van Gogh, Gauguin and Winslow Homer’s private collection drew thousands of eyes and millions of dollars to some of the most established museums in the world. Shows featuring the ever-popular Impressionists (both French and American) appeared to be a can’t-miss formula for art institutions, both large and small. One spokesperson interviewed for the piece proclaimed that, The museum plays an incredible role in American cities: it’s a focal point, a place for entertainment, for shopping [my italics].”More

New England Impressionist Artists Paint the Coastal Landscape

coast hopper monhe — Edward Hopper, Monhegan Houses, Maine, 1916 (Portland Museum of Art)*

June 25- October 12, 2009

Florence Griswold Museum, Old Lyme, CT

October 24- January 31, 2010

The Portland Museum of Art chronicles the development of impressionist Connecticut and early modernist Maine with 73 features works drawn from the collections of the Portland Museum of Art and the Florence Griswold Museum, Old Lyme, Connecticut. The Call of the Coast: Art Colonies of New England, is on exhibit through October 12, 2009 and subsequently can be seen at the Florence Griswold Art Museum, in Old Lyme, CT, from October 24-January 31, 2010.

For the new-comer, it is clear that Portland, Maine is a city by the sea. Dozens of squalling seagulls perform acrobatics overhead, announcing the arrival of tourists by the droves. Busy Commercial Street divides the harbor from the retail district– restaurants and souvenir shops by the dozens—which weave their way up the narrow, cobbled streets through the historic neighborhoods on the city’s ocean-facing hillside. A warm sea breeze, redolent with the aroma of the fish processing plants on nearby Casco Bay, hangs on every street corner, reminding the visitor of the region’s sea-borne legacy and the city’s time-honored maritime traditions. This city-by-the-sea seems a fitting location for an exhibition of works by some of New England’s greatest painters of the early 20^th century, assembled, for a show celebrating their contribution to the region’s legendary scenery and people.

coast.lawson.cos cob — Ernest Lawson, Connecticut Landscape, 1902, o/c, Portland Mueaum of Art, H.E. Field Art Found. Collection, gift of Barn Gallery Assoc., Ogunquit, ME, 1979.13.31

The art colonies of New England played a key role in the creation of an American national identity in the early 20th century. Art colonies in Old Lyme and Cos Cob, Connecticut and Ogunquit and Monhegan, Maine were inspiration for nationally recognized artists including Edward Hopper, Childe Hassam, Robert Henri, and George Bellows, among others.More

Figurative Painting is Redefined by Culture of Stress

seville phill — Jenny Saville, Hyphen, 1999, o/c, Private Collection

“Paint Made Flesh” On view at The Phillips Collection, Washington, D.C., until September 13, 2009 and at the Memorial Art Gallery, Rochester, NY through January 3, 2010

phill exter — The Phillips Collection (new wing not shown), located in Washington, D.C.

For generations, artists have used a wide range of painterly effects to suggest the physical properties and metaphorical significance of human flesh. The Phillips Collection presents, Paint Made Flesh, a survey of figurative painting since the 1950s. Bringing together 42 provocative works from private collections and museums around the world, the exhibition features 34 internationally renowned contemporary artists rarely seen together, including Pablo Picasso, Francis Bacon, Georg Baselitz, Willem de Kooning, Alice Neel, Lucian Freud, Eric Fischl, and Julian Schnabel.More

Nantucket Island Artists Capture the Colors of the Sea

nantucket 2 — “Ahh! Nantucket in August”

Visiting the island of Nantucket in December—a splendid time to schedule a spontaneous holiday excursion—might find you light-hearted and in the mood for celebration. Yet with head tingling in search of a wool cap, hands begging for warm hiding places, and neck and shoulders aching from unnatural hunching in an effort to preserve both good spirits and heat, you might find yourself yearning for a visit to this magical island in the kinder month of August.

Ahh! Nantucket in August. Strolling down Washington Street’s emerging “antiques row,” your stride is now slow and thoughtful; your hands damp and sticky from dripping homemade ice cream in freshly-baked cones; your head and shoulders hunched more comfortably, as you wistfully peek inside one and then another and yet another charming gallery or shop dotting this remarkable island in the middle of the northern Atlantic.More