Contemporary Collage Artist Works in Narrative Style
This artist defines
the dynamic connection
between life and art
in his own unique way.
Peter T. Tunney is a man with a lot on his mind. But, in spite of an almost continuous barrage of thoughts, feelings, opinions and ideas that might appear to the listener like a random Blitzkrieg of mental energy directed toward, but not exactly to, the listener, they do cohere and assume a vector that has the power to convince, somehow converting you into an unwitting ally for any of his highly-spirited causes.Those ‘causes’ can run the gamut from global warming to economic meltdown to spiritual Nihilism, to urban survival, to a recently-read dead poet’s view of life’s never-ending follies, to selling art.More
Aldrich Museum Features Edward Tufte Sculpture Exhibit
Information graphics designer, Edward Tufte, experiments with shape, scale and texture in his exploration of the three-dimensional world
left: Airspace, aluminum, 16′, 2008
From Skewed Machine (cast iron, 2007, right), a tractor rearing vertically upward and tilted on its 
hind corner, Edward Tufte’s sculpture exhibition – at the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum June 13, 2009 to January 17, 2010 – liberates us. Shouldn’t a tracto r be on the ground? It’s our assumptions that are upended. As the piece gently decomposes on the lawn, shedding flakes of rusted iron like so many previously conceived notions, Tufte offers us an alternative to “way finding” as he calls it. In order to “see deeper” he abandons procedural artwork that suggests a formulaic response to our world.
Moreover, the works serve as components of an investigation by the artist at his laboratory situated among 145 acres of fields in Cheshire and Woodbury, Connecticut www.tufte.com. It is in this relative isolation that the works succeed in their de-isolationist perspective, incorporating weather, animal and plant life, and light to project joy, delight and integrity. It looks like this, a stainless steel sculpture punctured with a dot sequence on one side, creased to a carved undulating flap on the other, declares that art need not refer to another thing to be understood.More
Country French Kitchens in American Homes
‘Country French Kitchens add color and style to the American Home’
left: A touch of eclecticism, whimsy and a touch of joie de vivre for a home’s most important room
We Americans possess an enduring fascination with French culinary arts, French design, and indeed, the French art of livin g. Joie de vivre tugs at our heartstrings and con
tinues to pull us, inspire us and motivate us to infuse it into our own living spaces, lifestyles and families.
This chandelier shows off the homeowner’s prized copper collection, illuminating the counter sitting area
No singular room in the home moves us towards joie as does the kitchen. It is the heartbeat of the home, the room where roasts are basted and hearts repaired, where recipes are filed and homework checked. The kitchen serves purposes as varied as our family members’ personalities, yet requires our earnest attempts at infusing joie de vivre—the cheerful enjoyment of life—into those human beings whose lives we are nurturing.
The French have always embraced this notion of infusing joy into everyday routines and personal spaces. They have long recognized the value of nurturing: with nurturing meals and conversations; with loving preparations and presentations. And we desire to impart this to our home and families, regardless of how far we live from authentic French culture.
Artists Reinvent Themselves in Face of Economic Downturn
OPINION POLL:
It is an indomitable part of the human spirit to find hope in despair; a reason to keep believing when people and causes we once believed in are no longer there- when the footing of our comfortable existence appears to shift with the unsettling suddenness and violence of an earthquake.
The global events of recent months have led to surprise after surprise, as we watch long-standing economic and commercial icons tumble and fall under the weight of decades of poor judgment and bad choices. One is reminded of the poet, Shelly’s words about the fallen statue of a once-powerful king of ancient times, in his 1817 poem, Ozymandias, where he reminds us that, with the ruins of time, “Nothing beside remains. Round the decay of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare the lone and level sands stretch far away.” But, within the difficult scenario of tough economic times lies a kernel of hope and the seeds of a revolution for those of us in the design/build community who are willing to pay attention.
A one-hundred-and-four year old woman recently reminded me that her experience of the Great Depression of 1929-35– far more serious and far-reaching than what we are currently undergoing—did not impact on daily life for most people in the same way as today, More
Color Consultation is Key to Future Product Success
Bringing colo
r to life and life to color in the fascinating world of color planning
Leslie Harrington wants you to believe.
As a color expert, she sees the difficulties people have in putting color into their lives. “It’s a risk to move in the direction of bold or lively colors,” she says, “because color can be intimidating. Many couples come to my studio having reached an impasse—particularly older couples. Because they can’t agree, they reach a compromise—a non-color for the walls or fabrics in a room.”
Leslie observes that younger couples and individuals (under 40) have less difficulty making color choices. “They see color commitment like so many other aspects of their lives—dealing with constant flux in their careers and living situations means they are more comfortable with a risky color choice because it can always be replaced. Twenty-to-forty percent of all paint is purchased to cover a mistake,” she explains.More
Art Conservation: Preserving the Past with Mixed Results
OPINION POLL:
“Time Will Tell: Ethics and Choices in Conservation”
Through September 6, 2009
Yale University Art Gallery
1111 Chapel Street, New Haven, Connecticut
What might happen to Dorian Gray’s portrait after the story ends? Decayed by age, it has experienced the ultimate restoration, having been returned to a pristine original state by its subject’s effort to destroy it. This is an irony, of course, and one hopes that the murder of the artist and the suicide (if unintended) of the subject are not absolute prerequisites for the kind of resolution being sought by the various curators and conservators whose projects are on view in this necessarily wordy exhibition.
But it is impossible not to think of the Oscar Wilde novel when looking at Antoine Pevsner’s assembled portrait of Marcel Duchamp, crumpled in upon itself, with parts of it turned to rust and powder. The composition of cellulose, copper nitrate and iron was a recipe for self-destruction. It’s gone, turned to something not unlike a desiccated corpse on the shelf of a monastic catacomb which, if it were displayed vertically as it was meant to be, would immediately disappear.
But what it has become is extraordinary in its fragile futility. There is nothing to be done. A replica has been fashioned of different materials which current evidence suggest may be more stable than Pevsner’s original choices (the artist was aware of the work’s defects, and made alterations, which only hastened the damage), but is a chill approximation at best. And is there anything but a difference of degree which separates this piece from any other work that is not the “foster-child of Silence and slow Time,” (as Keats’s hidden Grecian urn briefly was) but rather, is held in the abusive care of its actual parent, ruin?
Conservation begins by giving a definition of loss. But to know that there was a loss is not always to know precisely what the loss was. The absence may be in some way diminished, without being accurate. This is the case for a 1st century Roman figure with a right arm from some other sculpture attached to it. The mistake can be removed, but not corrected. No restoration can be absolute.
Conservators sometimes develop ideas of salvation that resemble those of the army officer in Vietnam who reported having destroyed a village in order to save it. A 6th century mosaic removed and embedded in concrete is a hulking fragment, alienated from both past and present. In contrast, repairs made to a Korean tea bowl and Greek drinking cup in their own time were meant simply to preserve them for use, not to guarantee their survival as museum objects. There is also accidental preservation as in the underside of a lid on an Italian wedding chest where the painting of a female figure, nude save for hips bound with a fringe of flowers and pubic leaves, was kept safe for its private audience of forsaken modesty.
Among the mockeries of restoration and restorations as betrayal included here is a restoration as benign fiction. A 16th century painting, Conversion of St. Paul, not a forgery, was later remounted and then had old worm eaten wood applied to its back in order to make it appear consistent with its history.
Thomas Wilfred’s early twentieth century light machines made use of a now obsolete technology which, if operated, would accelerate the complete breakdown of his slapdash electronics. But is the real question here one of reconstructing the effects or the mechanism? What would he have used had it been available, given that there was nothing permanent to what he intended?
A drawing for Edward Hopper’s painting, Sunlight in a Cafeteria, contains what endangers it in its title – its charcoal on acidic paper, already unstable, is slowly erased by light. The painting itself is also on view, with a graph recording the “Fourier transform infrared spectra” of copal varnish used, and now darkening, on its surface. But I came away angry that I had been given this information. There are things that one should refuse to know for the sake of encountering the work itself, damaged as it might be.
The motives for restoration sometimes involve competing strategies, where later choices are a critique of previous ones. A number of early European paintings in Yale’s collection were at one point reduced to only what was verifiably original work. What resulted in some cases resembled an primitive seafarer’s map, with islands and archipelagos of color isolated on a wooden sea. A 14th century Sienese panel of the, Virgin and Child Enthroned, that was subject to this imperious treatment has now been carefully, if only partly, repainted. Before that, according to one curator’s passionate assertion, it had been “too painful” to look at. 
But, as I reflected later, perhaps that was the point that actually needed conserving. Losses require our attention, especially when ideal preservation would mean removing every work of art from our sight. This does not require making of the museum some chilled mortuary for dying paintings. Rather, we should stand in front of each and, like Yeats, “for every tatter in its mortal dress,” sing.
by Stephen Vincent Kobasa, Contributing Writer
______________________________________________________
This essay first appeared in the New Haven Advocate, July 16, 2009
http://www.newhavenadvocate.com/article.cfm?aid=13822
Learn more about Constructivism as an art movement at: www.wikipedia.org/wiki/constructivism_(art)
Artist Daud Akhriev: The Frenchboro Paintings
At the narrow margin where land meets sea, beauty and ruin co-mingle. The source of inspiration for so many artists and writers, the waterfront can also stand as a symbol for despair. At once the Giver of Life, Ocean can be a cruel taskmaster, exacting a dear price from those that labor on or near its shifting tides.
In an exhibit entitled, Catching the Light: The Frenchboro Paintings, at the Archipelago Gallery in Rockland, Maine, artist, Daud Akhriev, captures in his paintings and pastels the contradictions and hardships of Maine coastal living in a collection of powerful and compelling images. Sponsored by the Island Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated to cultural awareness, conservancy and research along Maine’s island-rich coastline, the show features both portraits and landscapes by this Russian-born artist, now residing in Tennessee.More
Art, Architecture and Design: Learning from History
EDITOR’S LETTER: Preserving the past for future generations…
In ways that were not entirely planned, this issue of ARTES is about preservation of our cultural resources, in the broadest sense of the word. The green design movement has done much to increase public awareness about the treasures of a planet that seems to grow smaller and more fragile each day. Our Departments (now called Categories) will continue on the theme of discovering and appreciating treasures that are within our reach at museums and galleries and a wide variety of other stories on art and collectables that might just arise from unexpected sources.
But, we did not stop there…
For a Features story, I undertook a ‘working vacation’ and headed up the Hudson River to learn more about the community of 19th century painters who lived and worked there in the, capturing the natural beauty of the river and the surrounding Catskill mountains. I discovered that they, too, harbored deep concerns about the impact that industrialization and population expansion would have on the environment, as early as 1825!
Henry David Thoreau, well-known for his part in an active environmental movement during that same period, spoke for an entire group of painters, writers, poets and philosophers of the time, when he famously wrote, “In wildness is the preservation of the world”. His call for a “direct experience of nature” propelled artists like Cole, Church, Cropsey, Bierstadt and others to travel the world and portray the wonders of nature and, through the use of light, color and scale, to illustrate our diminutive place in what they believed to be tangible evidence of God’s hand at work here on earth. As I navigated the rough trails and steep climbs that brought me to some of the very sites pictured in their now-famous works, I recognized the extraordinary physicality they must have brought to their mission—recognizing that they painted miles from home, while relying on portage of all equipment, good weather, basic tools-of-the –trade (paint tubes had not yet been invented!) and the means to carry freshly-painted studies of a scene back to the studio, safely (as a painter, I can attest to the fact that this last step is no easy task). They were rewarded for their sacrifice, however, as their dramatic images have moved many generations to view the gifts of the natural world as both sacred and awe inspiring.
This month, ARTES will present a comprehensive field report on the Hudson River Valley and its inextricable role in the development of the preservation movement, as well as our self-image as Americans. See: River of Dreams- In search of the American Identity in literature, poetry and art
As a unique feature, representing a first-step toward becoming a multi-media resource for our readers, ARTES presents an expanded interview with Robert A.M. Stern, Dean of the School of Architecture at Yale University. In streaming video format, my conversation with him regarding the sources of inspiration and objectives of architecture are explained in his own words. On the preservation theme, he too, points out the importance of learning from the past. Once again, we are pleased and honored to have this eminent architect
as part of our offerings to readers (and now, viewers!).
California-based, Randall Whitehead has now joined the magazine as a feature editor and this month, his story on the conversion of a traditional residential dwelling to a dramatic Transitional beauty once again demonstrates how skillful design and lighting can make all the difference—conservation at its best!.
ARTES also presents Part II of a story by Alix Perrachon on another art form– Oriental rugs– and their ‘green’ features during production. In addition to their environmental sustainability, their beauty, range of styles and versatility make them one of the great treasures of centuries past and a precious addition, worth preserving, for any décor today.
Together with these Feature stories, ARTES continues to build its Department offerings with experts in their respective fields providing insights and information on topics related to fine art and design, where care and stewardship of artifacts from the past become the common thread that runs through their stories. With those themes in mind, we also welcome Stephen Vincent Kobasa, as this month’s contributor to Opinion Poll, with a piece entitled, Showing Time: Can art be saved? Should it be?
Thanks for being part of our growing family of readers,
Richard J. Friswell, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief
Old Masters on Display at The Bruce Museum
Rarely viewed outside of their native Puerto Rico, this collection of masterworks reminds us that art and allegory can combine forces to both entertain and enthrall
left: Charles Melin, Assumption of the Virgin, ca. 1630, o/c, Collection Museo de Arte de Ponce, Foundacion Luis A. Fwrre, Inc., Ponce, Peurto Rico
“All things human hang by a slender thread; and that which seemed to stand strong suddenly falls and sinks in ruin.” -Ovid
Rarely do we experience the extraordinary resonance of Old Master works in the context of a traveling museum exhibition. Their power and drama is often stripped by slick installations. But Masterpieces of European Painting from Museo de Arte de Ponce feels right at home in the hushed, if not spatially constrained galleries of the Bruce Museum, Greenwich, CT (from June 13 – September 6, 2009
Works by Lucas Cranach the Elder, (1472-1553), Peter Paul Rubens, (1577-1640), Francisco de Zurbaran, (1598-1664), Anthony van Dyck (1599-1641), Francisco Goya, (1746-1828), to the Academic work of Jean-Leon Gerome (1804-1924) and others, synchronize intellectually and physically with the space. As if a succession of worthy ancestors whose visages are enticingly lit, these 50 plus works span nearly 500 years of painting to reveal the tales of classical mythology, Biblical stories, Tennyson’s poetry and the minutiae of daily life.
Inspired by a European trip in 1950, Puerto Rican industrialist Luis Ferré acquired major examples of 14th through 20th c. Italian Baroque, Spanish, Flemish, Dutch, French and – underrepresented here – British Schools of painting in a fevered period of collecting. Reubens specialist Julius Held, spurred Ferré’s connoisseurship, advising that: “The only thing that matters is that the picture – any picture, that is – is of high quality.” The result was the founding of the Museo de Arte de Ponce, designed by modernist, Edward Durrell Stone in 1962 and currently undergoing renovation.
The collection bears emblematic European themes to the west. Works such as Philippe de Champaigne’s Presentation of Christ in the Temple, c. 1648, executed in preparation for a Parisian high alter, becomes an icon of religiosity. Raimundo de Madrazo Y Garreta’s late 19th c. painting Woman Seated in the Garden exudes a lushness that invites one to “stick their nose in it” as noted by Executive Director Peter C. Sutton, who brought the exhibition to the Bruce Museum for its only Northeast venue.
Curator Cheryl Hartup and Associate Curator Richard Aste have culled works that demand inquiry or allow legibility and demonstrate painting styles that range from exactitude to gestural. Readily accessible is Ruben’s Head of the Oldest of the Three Kings (The Greek Magus) ca. 1620, depicting Caspar’s reverie. Luminosity reverberates from his upturned hands cupping a lustrous bowl to iterations of silken hair that frame his face like rings around an alabaster stone dropped into an unfathomable sea.
Narratives that are removed by time, exemplified by Pompeo Batoni’s Antiochus and Stratonice, and Francesco Furini’s Cephalus and Aurora force us to reach back into history. These ambassadors for Ovid’s message of transience in an un-ironic, florid, even frivolous time are enhanced here in a layering that is at once grounding and exhilarating
Collector, Luis Ferré was said to be reminded by his advisor, Julius Held that, “Art is not acquired from one school or another; nor should a museum be dedicated to that purpose. A museum and its art is there for the centuries.” This portion of the Ponce collection, to be on view in just a handful of cities in the U.S., serves as an example of the timeless quality that beauty and lessons from the past have to teach us today.
by Diane Dewey, Contributing Writer
Tang Dynasty Sculpture and Ancient Chinese Lifestyle
Tang Dynasty Camel and Rider is a thousand-year-old treasure within reach of many collectors
This extraordinary early Tang Dynasty (618-907 c.e.) camel and rider (20” tall x 14” wide) is representative of a golden period in Chinese cultural history. After hundreds of years of regional conflict and division, central China was unified under as series of powerful emperors and entered a long period of peace and creativity. Stimulated by contact with India and the Middle East, the arts flourished. Buddhism, originating in India, found its way to China in the time of Confucius and this introspective faith was soon adopted by the royal family to become a permanent part of Chinese culture. Not only painting, but music, opera and poetry also became popularized.
Much of the figurative clay and polychrome figures from this and the earlier Han Dynastry (206 b.c.e.-220 c.e.) were tomb figures, interred with the wealthy to accompany them in the afterlife. Currently very sought-after, these expressive and skillfully crafted figures tell a story of life little-changed over the centuries.
Technically, the structure and design of this camel and rider represent an innovation in the shaping and firing of the clay for that time. Since the long legs of the animal could not be rendered in wet clay without some structural reinforcement for the weight of the body of the animal and figure, internal cast iron supports were used for the extremities. These struts were first coated in wax before being surrounded by clay. In the firing, the melting wax would escape thought a tiny hole in the foot leaving a small space behind. This technique prevented the expanding metal from cracking the clay as the figure baked in the kiln. A delicate, gravity-defying figure was the result.
This rare and expressive sculpture is available through The Mandarin Collection in Westport, CT. It has been authenticated using Oxford University’s carbon dating system. Price: $66,000. Contact C.C. Wong at 203.454.4030 for more information.
Read more about China’s Tang Dynasty at: http://www.bambooweb.com/articles/T/a/Tang_Dynasty_art.html
Neuberger Museum Expands its American Art Exhibit
The Neuberger Art Museum, in Purchase, NY, is located in the heart of a college campus. Its austere architectural style, best described as post-apocalyptic, belies the treasures to be found there. Portions of wealthy investment banker and avid 20th century collector, Roy R. Neuberger’s collection will soon be reconfigured in a new permanent show, “Framing American Art”, on view in the Stairway Gallery, in celebration of the museum’s thirty-fifth anniversary (targeted for July, ’09).
left: Richard Diebenkorn, Girl of a Terrace, 1956, o/c, Collection Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase college, State Univ. NY, Gift of Roy R. Neuberger. photo credit, Jim Frank
A beautifully-lit and voluminous second-floor gallery provides the current collection with lots of room to stretch out and make its point. Roy Neuberger, a visionary collector (born in 1903), was there at the creation—of the American modernist movement, that is—and leveraged his interest in emerging contemporary artists of the second half of the century to acquire other seminal works of earlier periods. As a result, his collection relates the story of American modernism as told through the visual arts from a unique, first-hand vantage point.
Edward Hopper, Barbershop, 1931, o/c Collection of Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase Campus, State univ. NY, Gift of Roy R. Neuberger. Photo Credit: Jim Frank The show’s works lead the viewer through a range of painting and sculptural styles and themes that nimbly illustrate the emergence of the distinctively American, Abstract Expressionist movement, known as the New York School. While many apply the term ‘modern’ inclusively to describe the entire 20th century art scene, there are critical lines of distinction differentiating creative output in the visual arts in the decades leading up to and following World War II. In this well-conceived installation, what may have been a study in contrasts becomes the story of how abstract expressionist painting is firmly rooted in the earlier phases of the modernist movement. The social and political influences at work during three distinct, but related periods– spanning nearly 60 years—is lent some clarity by the passage of time and a dose of historical perspective. The point being that, in spite of an apparent break from tradition and the seemingly radical shifts in painting style by some artists after the war, there were also shared influences that often bound these artists together over time– becoming the common thread that weaves its way through this exhibition.
With works carefully selected from the museum’s extensive permanent collection, the text panels allow for a self-guided tour of modern American art, from its socially-conscious inception in the first two decades of the century, to the assertive, make-new-rules, color splashes and drips of the post-war Abstract Expressionists.
The exhibition’s three sections include: The evolution of realist practices through WW II (American Scene Painting); the relationship of U.S. painters to their peers in Europe and their efforts to define a native form of abstraction (Early American Modernism) and the critically-heralded invention of abstract expressionism in the period after WW II (Post-War Abstraction).
According to Helaine Posner, Chief Curator, this newly-hung, permanent Neuberger show (including additional works from the permanent collection by Marsden Hartley, Arthur Dove and others) will provide an excellent opportunity for a thumb-nail overview of art and sculpture being created during a period of rapid social and political upheaval in the world [3]. That, along with a constantly-changing and imaginative series of exhibits in its other galleries, makes a trip to the ‘Neu’ on the outskirts of White Plains, NY and in the heart of the State University of New York (SUNY), well worth the trip.
By Richard Friswell
For, “Speaking of Art”
For more information on current exhibits, go to: www.neuberger.org/exhibitions
Learn more about Roy R. Neuberger and his book, So Far, So Good, written at age 94 at:
http://books.google.com/books?id=tcvOAAAAIAAJ&dq=Roy+R+Neuberger
[3] Art Since 1914, brief & beautifully written: http://www.jonatack.com/writings/art/1914.php
French Impressionism: The Secret of Gustave Caillebotte
Brooklyn Museum, NY, through July 5, 2009
When Impressionism is mentioned, Monet, Renoir, Degas come to mind, but less frequently among the names is that of Gustave Caillebotte (French 1848–1894). Yet, he was very much their equal and a skilled and prolific painter. Wealthy, he had no need to sell his art. He supported his friends by buying their art, financing the Impressionist shows –considered radical in his day– and in the case of Monet, frequently paying his rent. Moreover, Caillebotte was a lawyer; a philatelist whose stamp collection is in the British Museum; a town councilman; a nautical engineer and famed yachtsman. Rarely seen together, the Brooklyn Museum re-acquaints us with Caillebotte’s work after a 30-year absence from its galleries. An intellectual and a modern man, with the means to support his focused passions, he bequeathed his substantial collection to his country—presciently saving much of Impressionist art for France.
Caillebotte was born eldest of three sons of a twice-widowed father and his third wife, into the grand bourgeoisie, whose family fortune stemmed from cloth supplied to the French military. He began drawing and painting at age twelve, served in the National Guard and was released in 1871, right before the Franco-Prussian War and the Paris Commune ended. He turned to art, passing the exam for L’Ecole des Beaux Art in 1873. He soon became a member of a fringe art circle, the works of which were textured, loose and colorful in style, earning them the critically derisive term, Impressionism.
The Brooklyn Museum has assembled a number of his works for the exhibit, drawn from private and museum collections in Europe and the U.S. Technically brilliant works like, “Floor Scrapers” and “House Painters” were rejected by tradition-bound venues of the day as “vulgar” and “too working class.” His renderings of Paris street scenes, the moods of the rivers, rowing shells and the muscular men who powered them, all done en plein air, reveal his mastery of light and the human form. His clever use of the perspective in his compositions, such as placing the Parisian streets at an angle while coming directly towards the viewer in works like “The Pont de l’Europe ” and “Man on the Balcony” ( left), creates a sense of immediacy and intimacy—as if we are standing there on the bridge or at the balcony overlooking the boulevard in 19th Century Paris—sharing the drama to the moment in the scene. Likewise, in the “Oarsmen Rowing on the Yerres” (above), Caillebotte’s perspective puts us there in the same boat, sitting on our side of canvas, being transported by the oarsmen and basking in the same sun whose light rests on their out-stretched muscular arms.
Despite his other ardent pursuits, Caillebotte continued to paint, even after the Impressionists dispersed and up to his sudden death at 45. The “Unknown Impressionist” has secured a place in the pantheon of great painters of his day.
(At the Brooklyn Museum, through July 5, 2009)
by Linda Y. Peng, Contributing Writer- The Artful Traveler
For more about Gustave Caillebotte and to see more of his work go to: http://www.gustavcaillebotte.org
Visit the Brooklyn Museum at: http://www.brooklynmuseum.org
200 Eastern Parkway, Brooklyn, NY 11238 (718) 638-5000
Learn about the Paris Commune and why it mattered to the Impressionists at:
Google Search – “Paris Commune and Impressionism”
New York City Penthouse Designed for Optimum Space Use
A knife-edged January wind, with temperatures hovering near zero, turned the short hike from Grand Central Station to East 35th Street into a gauntlet. A bright, sun-filled dome of blue hung over the city, making the towering buildings along the way appear like massive stalagmites rising with stony determination from an icy concrete floor. Multitudes of huddled figures, dressed in black and gray, with an occasional shock of color in a scarf or knitted hat rushed by, head-bowed. They sought more refuge than destination in the darkened doorways that bordered the streets, the winter-sun’s rays too weak to offer life-affirming warmth to those, like me, far below.More
Invitation to read a new on-line arts magazine
This is the premier issue of A R T E S, an e-magazine that will deliver news and information of interest to those that live with, work on behalf of and love the world of fine art and design. Publishing a ‘virtual journal’ is an oxymoron (like plastic silverware or jumbo shrimp!), since publishing usually means the application of ink to paper after weeks or months of diligent and careful planning– and at great expense.
Without relinquishing the diligence and care in preparing this missive each month, we at A R T E S are striving to achieve a number of important goals: work economically, save time and our precious natural resources while continuing to inform you of the latest and most important events and developments in the arena of art, design and creative thought; as well as introduce the products and services that best support the luxury-lifestyle of our readers, their clients and a significant segment of the world that appears to have a never-ending curiosity about such things.
But therein lies the difference…
The unique feature of this monthly e-magazine is that it will contain regular updates between issues in the form of a weekly (or even twice-weekly) newsletter. Additionally, we are inviting content from our readers! Articles in each issue and the intervening newsletters may be conceived, written and/or produced by the professional community to which it is directed. As editor, I will review submissions and make selections to soon thereafter can appear on the ‘pages’ of A R T E S . My goal is to hold to the mission and look of the magazine. Not every story can run and the criteria for selection will adhere to the stated purpose of the project; i.e- to bring news and information about art, design, creative thought and examples of luxury lifestyle to an expanding (and hopefully) national or international readership.
A new Web site has been created www.artesmagazine.com. Go to the Web site regularly to view new content and updates. Past issues will be archived by topic and exclusive products will be featured there. Links will be included, as well as spin-off material that will enrich the reading experience and become a resource for the future.
So, PLEASE, post your ideas and materials to info@artesmagazine.com and let me know what you need A R T E S to be for you. My goal is to have this dynamic journal reflects the emerging needs and interests of our readership.
Thank you,
Richard J. FriswellRichard J. Friswell, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief