Artist of the Week: Ann Toebbe

Red Plastic Plates, 2008, archival pigment print from
cut paper painting on cardboard, via 20x200

Ann Toebbe is a Chicago-based artist who paints vibrant interiors and exteriors from memory. Whether it’s the balcony of an old apartment, her mother’s dining room with its table set in red plastic ware, or the run down house on her childhood block, her bird’s-eye view encompasses every element of the space in one hyper-detailed canvas. Her flattened graphic environments (which are usually devoid of people) and everything in them, personify a moment in time, and perfectly describe the person who inhabits them. Just as in memory, the way in which Toebbe renders the space skews the viewer’s sense of reality. I just want to wrap myself up in her bright ol’ crazy quilts. 

Drying Our Boots by the Stove, 2008, archival pigment print from acrylic gouache on panel, via 20x200

Detail of Drying Our Boots by the Stove

Burning Down the Second House, 2008, archival pigment print from
acrylic gouache on panel, via 20x200 

Vacuuming the Carpet, 2009,
oil and acrylic gouache on panel, 33"x 40" via anntoebbe.com

The Bachelor, 2009, gouache on panel, 9"x 12" via anntoebbe.com

Toebbe’s work actually reminded me of my own childhood memories: watching the Disney version of Sleeping Beauty (is there any other?) and reading the Golden Book adaptations of Peter Pan and Lady and the Tramp. In my hunt for a photo reference, I discovered that they were all illustrated by artist Eyvind Earle. Check out the stylistic similarities for yourself: 

- Cathleen 

[Images from 20x200, anntoebbe.com, Michael Sporn Animation, and J.L.Clark's blog]

Design Always Repeats Itself: Lego Man Edition

So this Lego Man who "washed up" on the beach in Sarasota Florida has me thinking about another piece of art that showed up uncommissioned and unexpectedly and has been accepted as a piece of public art ever since.

Charging Bull created by Arturo Di Modica firmly planted itself in front of the NY Stock Exchange on December 15,1989. Now a symbol of American economic strength, Di Modica spent $360,000 of his own money, to cast, create and cart this piece of guerrilla art. After its installation police seized Charging Bull and put it in an impound lot. Huge public outcry and love for the bull caused the police to release it and install it two blocks south of the exchange where it still stands today.

Charging Bull is considered on-loan to the state of New York and is still in Di Modica's name as owner. 

Currently Lego Man is in police custody waiting for an owner to show up and claim him. I say we should all rally and have Lego Man permanently installed on the beaches of Sarasota. 

-Grace

Leave It To Me

These stunning silhouettes, created by paper cut artist Jenny Lee Fowler, are a fresh, new take on a classic heirloom. Based in Kingston, NY, Jenny cuts her custom portraits the old-fashioned way; freehand with close observation and a seriously sharp pair of scissors. Though her use of natural materials like leaves and bark is far from traditional (she mentions the leaves may "cure" with only slight shrinkage and color change over the years if kept pressed between the glass and out of the sun), her Etsy shop also features work made from more traditional black and colored paper, as well as some pretty pendants. Something like this could make a great Christmas gift for mom.

- Cathleen

[All photos from the artist's Etsy site]

The Happiness Project : Charles Spearin

Wednesday night Micky and I had a date with Feist at BAM. The show was great, though I'll admit it was somewhat difficult to stay awake what with the lullaby-lic tones of her new album, the dark theater, the cozy seats, and the bottle of wine we shared at dinner directly beforehand. 

What really excited me, though, what got me grinning and scooched up on the edge of my seat, was the opening band who called themselves The Happiness Project. Led by Charles Spearin, the ensemble played snippets of recorded conversations that they interlaced with horns and piano and strings. The cadence and melody of the speaker's words dictated the flow of each song, the voice acting as one of the many instruments in the composition. 

One of the songs was inspired by a conversation he recorded with a young neighbor named Vittoria. Her stumbling "likes" and "ums" are beautifully mimicked in the deep throaty horns of the jazz ensemble. It reminded me of how much I love when kids have a rasp to their voice, like they've been smoking cigarettes and drinking whiskey all night. Have a listen: 

Another was an interview he did with his friend Vanessa, who at the age of 30 received a cochlear implant and describes what it was like for her to hear for the first time. Here is a truncated live version of the truly moving song that I found on Youtube: 

My FAVORITE favorite was a recording of Spearin's daughter Ondine. First of all, I looove her name. And second: I've never heard a whine against almond butter sound so completely lovely. You have to listen to that one on the artist's website here : www.happiness-project.ca

Along with other beauties from the album. 

Love.


 - Cathleen

Heinz Maier

Let me start by saying, I could post a ton more of photographer Heinz Maier's work but I only want to give you a taste. Maier, a German photographer who says he only began taking photographs less then a year ago, has created these dynamic and sculptural high speed water droplets images. 

Absolutely amazing. The world never ceases to amaze me.

Enjoy more of his work here. 

-Grace

Artist of the Week: Matt Stone

Morning Glory, 2010, 

cardboard, wood, polyurethane, polyurethane foam, 

pins, wood glue, saw dust, paper, spandex, denim dye, resin

Morning Glory Detail

Matt Stone is a sculptor whose spectacular work I have always admired.  Like an alchemist, he combines all manner of mundane materials—wood, cardboard, pins, resin, saw dust, glue—into work that visually explodes, technicolor and psychedelic. He is Dr. Frankenstein with a grow-your-own crystals kit from outer space. The sculptures have a hulking, arresting presence in any room they occupy. And yet when you are drawn in close to each one, slowly examining it from every side, you notice these incredible microcosms in all of its nooks and crannies, like a teeming underwater wonderland, frozen in time. One can see a delicate balance to each sculpture’s composition, a beautiful sensitivity within its various textures, but also a sharp edge—attractive and dangerous all at once. The work is truly breathtaking in person, something lucky New Yorkers can now see for themselves at Matt's exhibition that opened last night in The Hole on the Bowery in the NYC. For those of you nowhere near the area, you will have to settle for the (still fantastic) 2-D version here: www.mattstoneart.com

Tectonic, foam, paper, wood, steel, resin, 

polyurethane, pins, spandex, 90"x 30"x 30" 

Tectonic Detail

Deadly Night Shade, 2010, 

cardboard, polyurethane, polyurethane foam, 

pins, wood glue, saw dust, paper tape, 5'x 5'x 2.5'

Forbidden Fruit

Campfire, 2011, steel, glass, polyurethane foam, 21”x 20”x 15”

Cyclone, 2011,
resin, cardboard, polyurethane foam,
spandex, steel, wood. 67”x 15”x 16” 

Cyclone Detail

- Cathleen 

[All photos courtesy of the artist's website.]

Uppercase Magazine

Has anyone read an issue of Uppercase Magazine?

Gorgeous cover art and the insides are dedicated to all things design. The magazine's subtitle or mission statement is A Magazine for the Creative and Curious. A year's subscription is $80. Yikes! I think I know what I'm going to be asking for for Christmas.

Also did you know that the now defunct blog A Collection A Day is now a book? Now you can live that year  of blogging over and over.

-Grace