Finland, France, Norway, and South Dakota.

No, it's not my next travel itinerary. Just random bits of interesting things.

FILM:
We recently watched Finnish director Aki Kaurismäki's Le Havre (2011), a French language film shot in Normandy. Incredibly atmospheric, wonderfully unexpected. Highly recommended.

Jean-Pierre Darroussin and his anana.

Other films recently watched that deal with similar concepts of underemployment, illegal immigration, and acts of humanity: Rosetta, by the Dardenne brothers and Biutiful, by Alejandro González Iñárritu. Actually I couldn't get through Rosetta. Biutiful, while very good, was several hours of low grade misery. It really made me think closely about the overwhelmingly consumeristic tastes of the world. The cheap mass production and consumption of goods is so universally depraved. I could hardly enter a retailer today, jam packed with rabid customers and piles of stuff, without feeling sick. There's just too much being made and usually by people who are not necessarily regarded ethically. Do we really need all of these things? Of course not. No. But am I helping anyone but myself if I cut my intake of products (from Old Navy to Apple) newly made-in-China, India, Bangladesh, Tunisia, et cetera? I don't know the conditions under which most things are made, even those made in America or France or Italy. It's a difficult and emotional question. Best plan? Keep object based purchases down to a bare minimum, appreciate what I have, learn to make more things myself, and of course: travel! This must be the best way to spend money I think.

ARCHITECTURE:
While doing library research, I was thrilled to find out that this amazing medieval stave church in Norway...

Early Christian Borgund church, Norway, 12th century

was copied by architects in South Dakota! It's well known that the northern states of the Midwest were heavily settled by Scandinavians. It seems that there were plenty of Lutheran Norwegians in South Dakota. These guys were granted the original blueprints of the medieval church and went for it! I have never, ever been inspired to take a trip to that part of the country, but now I find myself puzzling together an adventure that will lead us right there. 

In both the original and the modern reproduction, wonderfully carved wooden dragons alternate with crosses, marking the combination of pagan beliefs with Catholicism.

This or This.

If you're around Houston this weekend and like creative stuff, you should take part in Art Workshop: Dyeing in America at Bayou Bend. Make your own organic pigments with textile expert Katie Knowles! Ever since my short stint at the Fabric Workshop and Museum where I created unique chemical dyes in the dye lab, I've been interested in mixing colors. Our summer adventure included a trip to Ikonium, a felt making workshop, where they also make their own organic dyes for wool and silk. The end results are gorgeous. I'm totally going to start doing this on my own. Look at these colors made from onion skins!

Oh man I really wish I were going to this dye workshop (go for me and report back!), but instead I am fulfilling a long standing dream of attending this...

Fourth Annual Anne d’Harnoncourt Symposium - The Art of Sculpture 1100-1550: Sculptural Reception.

Yes! Two days of medieval madness. 
The University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia), l'Institut national d'histoire de l'art (Paris), and Philadelphia Museum of Art announce a series of conferences and study days organized over the course of 2012 to advance the study of medieval sculpture:

1. January 2012: Paris, Institut national d'histoire de l'art (30-31 January) (with study sessions at the Musée du Louvre)

2. May 2012: Kalamazoo, Medieval Institute Annual Conference

3. November 2012: Philadelphia, Phila. Museum of Art & Univ. of Pennsylvania(with study sessions at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and Glencairn Museum)

I didn't make it to the first two conferences, but the third is the most interesting to me anyway. 

I'm especially excited about this lecture: They Are All the Work of Artists (Jer. 10, 9):  The Romanesque Portal as Liturgical Performance, Manuel Castiñeiras, Professor, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. I can't wait to hear what this Catalonian scholar has to say regarding the expression of liturgical performance in Romanesque portals. I wonder if he will mention my beloved Ripoll, which has sadly been ( temporarily!) abandoned by me. I have very high hopes for this conference as it, in many ways, falls in line with my QP topic from Tufts. Now that my library has arrived from Boston I can get back into inspired research and finally open that major book I actually bought at Ripoll.

¡¡Me at the Ripoll portal!! September, 2011.

To get in the medieval spirit and because it's Halloween, we watched Army of Darkness last night. It's fantastic and Bruce Campbell is dreamy.

Army of Darkness, 1992.

Donatello and People Watching.

Donatello's St. George at the moment when he meets the dragon, 1417, Florence.

Parisian children at a puppet show of St. George and the Slaying of the Dragon, 1963.

St. George is about to meet the dragon.

The Slaying of the Dragon!
This schiacchiato* relief, also by Donatello, is set in the base of the above sculpture. 

St. George goes in for the kill!

After driving back and forth to New Hampshire and talking about the brilliant works of great artists all week, I am tired. As a proper humanist I have worked both body and mind. You'd think that the last thing I would want to do is ponder more art. But no. I was dreaming last night about three things: 1. the quiz that I needed to write (an hour before passing it out in class) and 2. how incredibly lucky I am that I get to read and talk about art every day, learning all the time. This kind of work is not for making money (you do, but as any adjunct will tell you it is besides the point in many ways). This week in class we discussed Renaissance artists. Among them, Donatello and his extraordinary skills; his diversity, his ability to depict such a range in figures, his innovative ideas and expressions of psychological characterizations. I think it was these ideas that inspired my third dream.

Judith and Holofernes, Bronze, 1450's, Palazzo Vecchio, Florence.

Mary Magdalen, Poplar, 1450's, Museo dell'Opera del Duomo, Florence.

The third thing, from either my dream last night or a daydream, I'm not sure, was a hazy fleeting thought. It was based on the judgmental values of individuals. This is something that is important in art history, of course, as we all look at art with a different unique set of values and world views and life experience. 

When I arrived home I drifted toward my Netflix queue, looking subconsciously for something that might help me realize this kind of abstract, yet mundane thought. I turned on Abbas Kiarostami's Shirin, from 2008. This is a film in which there is no dialogue; the camera is focused on a group of women watching a film. All we see are lights flickering across their quietly expressive faces and what we hear is a moving tale. The film that they are watching is based on the stories of Khosrow and Shirin. These stories are from a medieval Persian love-poem filled with tragedy, usually linked to the artist Nizami. The story of the ill fated pair Khosrow, a pre-Islamic Sassanian king, and Shirin, an Armenian princess, expresses the metaphysics of spiritual longing.

Shirin, Abbas Kiarostami, 2008.

A scene from the beginning of the tale.
Khosrow (secretly) observes Shirin bathing, 1431, State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russia.

Khosrow at the castle of Shirin, Timurid Period, Iran, 15th century, Freer Sackler, DC.

Somehow, watching these people watch, each with their own individual interpretation of the narrative got me thinking again of my dreamy thought. I was swept away, imaging what connections they were making. The thing about art is that the viewer is always trying to find a way in, a way to relate. How were these women relating? For ninety minutes I never once got tired of trying to figure it out. My imagination was constantly animating. You can read a nice description of Shirin here. Of course, the director may have tricked me into thinking that these Iranian women were responding to Khosrow and Shirin, but it's possible that, as the article discusses, the actresses were instructed to meditate on their own love stories. Incredibly intimate and moving.

In the Spirit of the Beehive, Frankenstein is projected for a small town in Spain in the 1940's. In this scene, the audience is spied on. Their wide ranging responses to the film are captured.

Spirit of the Beehive, Victor Erice, 1973.

One of my favorite things to do at our local grocery store is stare at people (discreetly! with sunglasses on!) and imagine their entire lives. Every detail is developed based on the available iconography. Clothing, facial features, eyes especially, ornamentation, and most of all: the items in their shopping cart. I want to know the love stories of all of these people. 

*schiacchiato: flat, low relief carving style invented by Donatello

Organic Architecture Photo Essay: Fallingwater, Antoni Gaudí, and Vertical Gardens.

Fallingwater, Bear Run, Pennsylvania, Frank Lloyd Wright (American architect 1867-1959).

Designed 1935, built 1936-39 near the end of Wright's career, but still even before he conceived of the Guggenheim in 1943! 

This adventure was a thrilling stopover during a recent road trip which included visits to Pittsburgh. I've been wanting to get here for years and even though I lived in Philadelphia for so long I never made it until I moved north.

Here are some helpful terms and related concepts.

Organic Architecture: through forms and engineering, this style seeks to integrate landscape and structure to create harmony between dwelling and nature.

Arts and Crafts Style: artistic movement inspired by William Morris in England during 1860-1910, this style continued to influence artists internationally through the 1930's. Essentially this movement sought to eliminate industrial, machine made products in favor of those handcrafted, which would satisfy both the creator and the consumer.

Prairie Style: low-pitched roof, overhanging eaves, horizontal lines, central chimney, open floor plan, clerestory windows

Cantilever: a beam or structure that is anchored at one end and projects horizontally beyond its vertical support, such as a wall or column. It can carry loads throughout the rest of the unsupported length. 


At Fallingwater Frank Lloyd Wright cantilevered a series of broad terraces (made from poured cement) out from the cliffside, echoing the great slabs of rock below. By using natural materials: the pre-existing land, wood and stone, and glass to let in natural sunlight, blending the division between interior and exterior, the opposition to mechanical industrial production is evident. 

The above black and white images were taken on C-41 film, which can be developed using color film chemicals. I like the tones this kind of film produces, not too much contrast or depth.
I also took some fun shots with my Holga camera.

I especially liked the open floor plan hearth room with a cozy fireplace on one side and the rushing water coming up to the hatch on the other.
 

Hatch with glass top allows the sounds and breeze from the river to enter the room.
Very Renaissance palazzo-esque.

Sweet mid-century library.

Catalan architect Antoni Gaudí, 1852-1926, didn't necessarily integrate landscape with dwelling in the same way that FLW did. He was more interested in using organic forms in his structures. I got a chance to see many of his works of art last year in Barcelona (all photos are mine).

Casa Batlló, 1877. 

Sagrada Familia, started 1883, ongoing.

Nave ceiling.

Park Güell, 1898.

La Perdrera, 1906-10.

Vertical Gardens: These are living gardens assembled on the sides of buildings usually found in dense urban settings where green spaces are less abundant.

Vertical Garden, Caixa Forum, Madrid, 2009, Ecological Engineer Patrick Blanc (French, b. 1953).

I was lucky enough to catch this on my first trip to Spain and it was certainly memorable. The ultimate connecting of nature and architecture. 

Early Medieval + Islamic = Beatus' Commentary on the Apocalypse.

Follow this map.

In the center (top to bottom):

Early Medieval Migration period Sutton Hoo clasp (portable pagan art), early 7th c.

Great Mosque at Cordoba, Spain (horseshoe arch: reappropriated from Visigothic architecture in Spain to become emblematic of Islamic architecture, color blocked mosaic mihrab), 8th c.

Early Medieval Book of Durrow, St. Matthew the Evangelist (early example of pagan imagery in Christian books), 7th c.

Combine these three and then...

On either side (left to right):

Beato de Távara (see the scribes working away in a monastic scriptorium)
Heavenly Jerusalem, Morgan Beatus, both 10th c.


These are manuscript illustrations from the Book of Revelation by St. John the Evangelist, the fourth Gospel book, which discusses the Second Coming of Christ and the Last Judgment. The original pages were painted by Beatus in Spain around 725. During the 8th century, Christian Spain was occupied by Muslims and Cordoba became the Islamic capital of the West soon after. 

Despite the commentary of the manuscripts possibly serving as an allied rebellion against religious persecution (in this case Christian practices were limited by the Muslims), the style of the illuminations may have been inspired or influenced by Islamic art and architecture found in Spain, which refers back to the Early Medieval art of the Migration period and early Christian works on paper. 

Best Lesson Plan Ever: Early Medieval and Romanesque Art.

I learned recently that you should not present your "best lesson plan ever" to your students on the day before any kind of holiday break. Ah, my Romanesque presentation. You were beautiful, even if only 70% of my students saw it.

Since there are so many elements of Early Medieval art in both Romanesque and Gothic art, it is necessary to first look at the genesis. The art of the Early Middle Ages was made by pagan migratory tribes throughout modern Europe and Scandinavia.

EARLY MEDIEVAL: Shoulder clasp from Sutton Hoo, found in a ship burial site in England, 7th c. 

Detail: Cloisonné with garnet and animal interlace. 

The pagan art of the migratory tribes was later assimilated into Christian art in various and interesting ways.

Stave Church, Borgund, Norway, 12th c.

Painted Reproduction of the medieval Jelling Rune Stones, Copenhagen.

Carpet Page, Lindisfarne Gospel Book, 7th or 8th c.

As part of our discussion on Romanesque art, I was able to visually explain why I missed an entire week in September. It was wonderful to be able to talk, even briefly, about my particular area of interest. The students that were in class were very interested and had lots to say. It's a rare treat to discuss one particular style and region at length. And I got to show them Ripoll. Hooray!


One of my many wondrous experiences in Spain included the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya in Barcelona. Sadly, we arrived just before closing time, but we did get a chance to run wild in the Romanesque section for about thirty minutes. It was glorious! Full of frescoes that had been removed from at risk church walls and lovingly placed inside the museum. These are all from eleventh and twelfth century.

ROMANESQUE: Frescos from the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya, Barcelona, SP.

Apse of Santa Maria d'Àneu: Seraphim.

Apse of Sant Climent de Taüll.

"This is one of the masterpieces of the European Romanesque. Its genius lies in the way it combines elements from different Biblical visions (Revelation, Isaiah and Ezekiel) to present the Christ of the Day of Judgement. Christ appears from the background causing a movement outwards from the centre of the composition, which is presided by the ornamental sense of the outlines and the skillful use of colour to create volume. The exceptional nature of this work by the Master of Taüll and its pictorial strength have reached out to modernity and fascinated twentieth-century avant-garde artists like Picasso and Francis Picabia." (MNAC website)

Christ in Majesty.

Ripoll, SP, 12th c. Notice the similarity between the painted Christ in Majesty and the stone one.

To close the discussion on Romanesque art, I shared select clips from the Pillars of the Earth. Especially the scenes that talk about relics, pilgrimage, Abbot Suger, and new technology in the shift from Romanesque architecture to Gothic architecture. Of course these bits are little gems found in the company of bloody violence, sex, intrigue, torture, and other kinds of HBO material. Oh religion.