What to Do This Weekend! June 15-16, 2013

What are you doing this weekend? Since I'll be riding out the storm headed to the DC area, I'm going to post about what I'd LIKE to be doing this weekend. The National Gallery of Art aka NGA is still showing its fabulous Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes, 1909–1929: When Art Danced with Music exhibit. This exhibit will not disappoint! 

Here's a snippet from the NGA website about the show:

Overview: The Ballets Russes—the most innovative dance company of the 20th century—propelled the performing arts to new heights through groundbreaking collaborations between artists, composers, choreographers, dancers, and fashion designers. Founded by Russian impresario Serge Diaghilev (1872–1929) in Paris in 1909, the company combined Russian and Western traditions with a healthy dose of modernism, thrilling and shocking audiences with its powerful fusion of choreography, music, and design. Showcasing more than 130 original costumes, set designs, paintings, sculptures, prints and drawings, photographs, and posters, Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes also incorporates film clips in a theatrical multimedia installation.

Looks awesome! I know, from a special behind-the-scenes tour, that this exhibit was expensive and time-consuming and is therefore of the highest quality. 

Check it out!!!

-Grace

Barnett Newman's Stations of the Cross

The National Gallery of Art in D.C. has an amazing collection of works by Barnett Newman. 

My favorite works by Newman that the museum has are his Stations of the Cross. 

The first Station of the Cross is Jesus is Condemned to Death. 

Here's Newman's first station:

First Station

1958

Here's the third station:

Jesus Falls the First Time

Third Station

1960

Skipping ahead is Jesus Dies on the Cross: 

Twelfth Station

1965

Jesus is Taken Down From the Cross: 

Thirteenth Station

1965/66

And finally, the fourteenth station, Jesus is Laid in the Tomb:

Fourteenth Station

1965/66

I appreciate the length of time Newman spent creating this series. I'd like to know the circumstances that caused Newman to take such a long time to make this moving collection.

Photographs of this collection don't do it justice. It has it's own large room at the NGA and the works are very large, measuring 78" x 59 15/16".

These works also capture the beauty of abstract art. Instead of meticulously painting out every scene from the Stations of the Cross, Newman has chosen to paint the abstract feelings of each scene. Since the Stations of the Cross are emotional, Newman has chosen to illustrate this feeling rather than the scenes themselves. 

View more of the Stations here. 

- Grace