Cirque du Soleil

A song from Cirque du Soleil provided the rhythm for the Canadian synchronized swimming team to compete at the Olympics this year.  The talented musical artists of Cirque du Soleil typically perform live during their spectacular shows and I have been fortunate enough to see (and hear) two acts.   I went to see La Nouba many years ago in Orlando and caught Corteo in Barcelona last winter.  Both were simply spectacular!  Words cannot describe the sheer amount of creativity, coordination, and vision it must take to construct a Cirque du Soleil show. 

I recently read an article in El País that explains the origin of the Jean Rabasse’s initial inspiration for Corteo’s set design: an art exhibition at Canada’s National Gallery titled “The Great Parade: Portrait of the Artist as Clown.”  The way that many artists are able to recapitulate, spark, and refashion previous works of art is wonderful.  Whether it is providing a familiar beat for Olympic athletes or igniting an innovative idea in an individual, art has the ability to stimulate and engender our creative capacities.  For this reason, art is a tremendously valuable commodity that has the ability to impact our daily lives and the communities in which we live.

For a preview of Corteo-

http://www.cirquedusoleil.com/en/shows/corteo/default.aspx

Ruth Abrams

Today, Yeshiva University Museum in New York will celebrate the opening of their Ruth Abrams retrospective "Microcosms."  When the female artist passed away in the late eighties, The New York Times pronounced Abrams as an artist and “woman unfairly neglected in a macho era.”  Working in the shadows of iconic Abstract Expressionists like Pollock, The Huffington Post describes the woman’s work as “largely overlooked in her own time, and nearly forgotten after.”  Now through January 6, 2013, Abrams’ first solo exhibition will shed light on this often-overshadowed female painter and demonstrate her work as worldly and worthy of recognition.

Yeshiva University Museum Opening Information-

http://yumuseum.tumblr.com/RuthAbrams

The Huffington Post Article on Abrams-

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/09/ruth-abrams-overlooked-je_n_1760689.html?1344537956&utm_hp_ref=arts&ncid=edlinkusaolp00000008#slide=1354875

A Sunday Afternoon

My boss recently told me that his favorite work of art is A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte by Georges Seurat.  This epitomic pointillist painting is a highlight of The Art Institute of Chicago’s collection.  As an undergraduate student, my professor explained that Seurat appropriated contemporary scientific knowledge about color and perception.  The artist learned that the observation and sensitivity of color depends on the surrounding environment.  As a painter, this idea provoked Seurat to explore the possibility to create the effect of certain colors, without actually using that particular color.  For example, if you stare at the red circle then quickly hold a white piece of paper over your computer screen, you will see red’s complimentary color in the form of a green circle.  A Sunday Afternoon exemplifies Seurat’s experimentation with color perception in his application of adjacent complimentary colors, ultimately creating his characteristically bright figures.

The Art Institute of Chicago-

http://www.artic.edu/

Visual Art at the Olympics

Did you know that the Olympics used to award medals to artists?  Walter Winans’ An American Trotter won gold in the sculpture category at the 1912 games in Stockholm.  Artists involving athletics in their work were invited to compete for the first four decades of the Modern Olympics.  Today, the fine arts continue to play a less competitive role at the games as part of the Cultural Olympiad.  For example, visitors can see many of the faces that made the London games possible at the National Portrait Gallery.  I think the visual arts are an important component of the games because they can communicate to a vast audience, regardless of their nation, ethnicity, or religion.

Thanks to Ally Walton for sending me this interesting article-

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/When-the-Olympics-Gave-Out-Medals-for-Art-163705106.html

Cultural Olympiad-

http://www.london2012.com/about-us/cultural-olympiad/