Black Lives Matter, by Donalee Nelson
Barnett Newman’s Stations of the Cross: Black Lives Matter
From 1955 until 1966 Barnett Newman, one of the major abstract expressionist color field painters, worked on 14 canvases on what would be considered his masterwork. Often, Mr. Newman refrained from attaching names to his paintings but in this case he did. The series consists of 14 black and white paintings. The first has a black vertical line running down the center of the white canvas. As the viewer progresses to the next painting and the paintings thereafter, the black line becomes wider and more agitated. By the 13th canvas the black paint looks like it will fill the whole canvas and is frenetic. The pain it represents is obvious. Many expect the last painting to be completely black but it isn’t. Instead it is pure white. While the artist has made it clear that the first canvases convey excessive pain…the last painting represents the highest form of spirituality…release. Barnett Newman was Jewish and he painted this series as a memorial to the victims of the holocaust. However, Newman saw this work as having universal significance shown by its title and subtitle Lema sabachthani (why have you forsaken me). I cried when I saw the series. Newman declared that he could not go around painting flowers after that. Famed director George Stevens was known for screwball comedies until he was commissioned to go to Germany after the war. He was so disturbed by the death camps and what he saw that he never made another one. When I saw the killing of George Floyd and his funeral where all of his family members wore white I was reminded of Newman’s powerful work. Prejudice and racism must end. They have no place in this world as they diminish us all. Let’s make it the country we always thought it was. Black lives must matter.
Where you can see my artwork
My artwork is available at Rons. The shop is open from 10am-3pm. Call the shop at 805.489.4747 for the most up to date information. Rons is located at 850 W. Grand in Grover Beach a few blocks from the train station, a golf course and the beautiful Pacific Ocean. For more information go to Rons website at www.ronsingroverbeach.com or find him on Facebook. You can get in touch with me on Facebook messenger.
Most museums have an online presence and their galleries and shows are available virtually even while closed. Many are reopening.
The Catalina Island Museum has reopened but check www.catalinamuseum.org to find more information. Set to start June 20, 2020 the museum is presenting Frida Kahlo: Through the Lens of Nickolas Muray. Muray was a friend, lover and confidant of Kahlo and his intimate photos of her span the period of 1937 – 1946. This is a traveling exhibit and will be at the museum through September 27, 2020.
The Laguna Beach Art Museum is truly a museum dedicated to collecting California art. Currently showing is Granville Redmond: The Eloquent Palette which runs through September 20, 2020. The artist is best known for his wonderful California landscapes. Also on view through September 20, 2020 is Travels in Mexico: Watercolors from the Diane and E. Gene Crain Collection. The exhibit includes watercolors from the 1930s to 1980s done in Mexico by painters such as Millard Sheets and Rex Brandt. Also featured is +LAM+ LAB at Home online which is set up for all ages. This looks like a lot of fun so for all the information go to www.lagunaartmuseum.org.
Since it is temporarily closed, the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana is bringing many exhibits online. BOWERS AT HOME will give you a peek inside many of the exhibits that were scheduled such as Inside the Walt Disney Archives: 50 Years of Preserving the Magic. On display are more than 400 items such as costumes, original artwork, and props. Included are sketches for Fantasia and maquettes from Frozen. Take a look at www.bowers.org for more facts and interesting information.
The Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena invites you to Explore the Collection with a virtual tour of its wonderful artworks. To learn more about this go to the museum website at www.nortonsimon.org where you will find information on this, when the museum will reopen, and future exhibits.
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art is closed but has set up Watch, Learn, Listen, Read, Browse for those who would like to see more at the museum. Information is available at www.lacma.org about this program.
Since the Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles is also temporarily closed, check online for Virtual MOCA. Included are Back to School/, Giving Tuesday/, Past, Present &Future/,Movie Night/, Feel Good Friday/, Artists at Home/, and Book Club/. With Pleasure: Pattern and Decoration in American Art 1972-1985 is just one of many exhibits online right now. It is the first scholarly review of this American art movement and includes paintings, sculptures, ceramics, collages, installations and performance art. Fifty artists from across the country are represented here and many different mediums including carpets, quilts, embroidery and wallpaper are part of this show. The movement has been overlooked in the past as being inferior to fine art. Sometimes acceptance comes slowly. I can think of many fine artists who used pattern effectively in their work. Henri Matisse is the first that comes to mind. The work of Frank Stella is all about lines, shapes and pattern. Find views of this exhibit at www.moca.org which also has other information.
Michelangelo: Mind of the Master is currently in place at the Getty Center in Los Angeles. Since the Getty is currently shut down you can check it out from home. Do you know why the artist used red chalk for his drawings? Find out here. The Getty Center also has many other Online Exhibitions. Information at www.getty.edu will fill you in on all that is happening at the museum as well as dates for reopening.
The Santa Barbara Museum of Art has been undergoing a renovation. However a very special exhibit is planned to begin in October. Through Vincent’s Eyes: Van Gogh and His Sources is set to debut October 11, 2o2o. It features various artists’ works as well as literary works that influenced him. The show will include first editions that fired his imagination as well as paintings by Delacroix, Monet, Gauguin and artists of the Barbizon school. This will be a major traveling exhibit. Currently the museum has many activities available online and Portrait of Mexico Today, painted by David Alfaro Siqueiros while living in political exile in Los Angeles in 1932, has a home in the front façade of the museum. It is intact and is in a protected spot. Check on line at www.sbmuseart.org/ for more details.
While shut down during the pandemic, the de Young Museum has issued a call to all Bay Area Artists to submit work for an upcoming show. What a great idea! You can also go online for views of current exhibits. Check www.deyoung.famsf.org which will have all you need to know.
While the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art remains closed to the public it is open 24/7 online. The museum has gathered videos and articles from its various galleries for your enjoyment. So go ahead and take a tour. Visit the museum’s site at www.sfmoma.org for images and much more on their many exhibits.
The Seattle Museum of Art is asking everyone to Stay At Home with SAM. There are many interesting videos on the museum website. Go to www.seattleartmuseum.org in order to obtain more information. All are wonderful and the interactive videos online are great!
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas is open on a limited basis. The date for the opening of Ansel Adams: In Our Times has been moved to September 19, 2020 and will leave on January 3, 2021. Touring the American west with the photographs of Mr. Adams is inspiring. In fact, many photographers credit his work for prompting their interest in environmental causes. More than 20 pieces by these photographers will join in this show. Go to www.crystalbridges.org to find out more. Like so many other museums, Crystal Bridges has many online tours of its holdings.
The Clyfford Still Museum in Denver is reopening in July. Go online to learn more about this artist and his unique vision. Check out www.clyffordstillmuseum.org for all the details.
The Nelson-Atkins Museum in Kansas City, Missouri, while closed, is offering virtual tours of its latest shows and printable line drawings perfect for adding your own color choices. The museum’s website is at www.nelson-atkins.org and will provide more information. Their website declares that it stands with Black Lives Matter and is “working every day to reopen as an institution that is stronger, braver, and committed to the ideals of empathy, equity, inclusion, diversity, and accessibility. We stand with you now, and we will stand with you tomorrow.”
The Art Institute of Chicago has many exhibits available virtually and its store is open for business even though the museum is closed. More details are at www.artic.edu for these fascinating exhibits and things for purchase.
The Detroit Institute of Arts is making it easy to access many exhibits virtually. However, it is set to reopen in July. Guests of Honor: Frida Kahlo and Salvador Dali is very special since the artwork of Kahlo and Dali will be installed adjacent to Diego Rivera’s Detroit Industry Murals from 1932-33. The murals are magnificent and will add to the appreciation of the artist’s creation of a subjective surrealistic world of myth, dream, mirage and magic. Also From Bruegel to Rembrandt: Dutch and Flemish Prints and Drawings from 1550 to 1700 is available virtually and is from the museum’s collection and features more than 70 works on paper by these artists. There are also activities that sound like a lot of fun to keep everyone engaged, including drawing activities, writing activities, a community collage, and a tutorial on making stabiles like Calder. There is even a section for seniors, which has information on how to make watercolor greeting cards and book marks. How much fun is this! Check the museum website at www.dia.org to find information on these activities and its collections.
Currently the Smithsonian Museums in Washington D.C., including the Zoo and the museum in New York are closed. To find out more about future plans and reopening dates check out www.nmaahc.si.edu for information.
The National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. is offering virtual tours of many exhibits including Raphael and His Circle. Joining in on the 500th anniversary of his death, the Gallery will display 25 prints and drawings. Nine works of art will be by his closest followers, among them Caravaggio. Five paintings by the master will be on display as well as 10 engravings. The Gallery has also included educational content to keep those kids stimulated. The Sculpture Garden is open daily though with some limitations. Find more details at www.nga.gov with several examples for you to enjoy.
The Hillwood Estate Museum and Gardens has made it very easy to explore the museum and gardens from home. If you are a lover of the decorative arts this is a good place to go. The museum has reopened so you can make a reservation to visit Natural Beauties: Exquisite Works of Minerals and Gems, which includes close to 100 pieces either from Hillwood’s collection or on loan. The exhibit focuses on the history and beauty of the precious stones and has been extended through January 3, 2021. The museum’s website at www.hillwoodmuseum.org will give you information and reveal some of Post’s amazing pieces of eye candy as well.
One of my favorite museums, the Albright-Knox Museum in Buffalo, New York has some great activities for adults as well as children. Using famous artwork for inspiration you can make a print, a collage, or a large sculpture. Not only are they great learning experiences but are enjoyable. The museum’s website at www.albrightknox.org will keep you up to date with some interesting information and a timeline for its reopening.
The New York Historical Society is temporarily closed but has a beautiful website that you must see. The fourth floor of the museum has been turned into a Gallery of Tiffany Lamps from the museum’s extensive collection. This ongoing exhibit features 100 lamps, many designed by women. Also ongoing is Audubon’s Birds of America Focus Gallery which will display watercolor models for the artist’s work, The Birds of America. The society also has Picasso’s Le Tricorne on display. The painted theater curtain from the ballet was produced in 1919. Visitors to the site can also have a look at Ed Ruscha’s Fanned Book from 2013. There is much to see at the New York Historical Society so check out www.nyhistory.org and prepare to be surprised by all the wonderful historical pieces on view.
While all three of the Met’s locations are closed, many tours of exhibits such as Epic Abstraction: Pollock to Herrera are available online. This is an ongoing exhibit at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. With over 50 large paintings, sculptures and assemblages, the show covers the 1940s through the 21st century and has works by Pollock, Frankenthaler, Herrera, Twombly, and Nevelson as well as abstract work by artists from different countries. There is something for everyone including Racial Justice Resources, Art for extraordinary circumstances and Art and the expression of freedom. More information on these special shows is at www.metmuseum.org so look for highlights there.
Several interesting shows are at the Museum of Modern Art in New York this year. You can enjoy many online such as Dorothea Lange: Words and Pictures, which is her first retrospective in fifty years and shares many of the photographer’s images and words focused on the human condition. Judd is the first retrospective of the sculptor’s work in thirty years. His work, though using industrial materials, combines sculpture, painting and drawing. Felix Feneon: The Anarchist and the Avant-Garde – From Signac to Matisse and Beyond is also available to watch from home. Mr. Feneon was a collector, critic, publisher, and anarchist. The portrait that Signac painted of the influential gentleman is at the center of this exhibit along with over 160 artworks that Feneon admired and championed. Artists that he collected included Matisse, Signac, Bonnard, Seurat, and Modigliani. MoMA also has many free online courses, info on how to teach with art, etc. The museum website at www.moma.org has more information.
The Whitney Museum of Art in New York invites everyone to see many special exhibits online. From Palm Springs in California comes Agnes Pelton: Desert Transcendentalist with dates to be announced. Vida Americana: Mexican Muralists Remake American Art, 1925-1945 explores the many American artists who traveled south while many Mexican artists came to the U.S.A. The influence by the Mexican artists on American artists was profound. This exhibit features over 300 works by 85 Mexican and American artists. The major Mexican Muralists, such as Orozco, Rivera and Siqueiros, spent extended amounts of time here. In fact, we have several of these murals in California such as the Siqueiros mural at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art. By the way, the Rivera mural in Detroit is extraordinary. For more about this exhibit go to www.whitney.org and find much more information. The museum also has an amazing collection that is available for view online and has activities for young and old to keep all of us inspired.
Go to the Guggenheim Museum in New York and look through their wonderful collection of art. One that is ongoing at the museum is the Thannhauser Collection, which features many French masterpieces by such artists as Degas and Picasso. Don’t forget to check out other museum locations such as Bilbao and Venice. Bilbao has a great Giacometti show as well as one from van Gogh to Picasso. Feel free to go to www.guggenheim.org for information and to learn about and sign up for virtual art classes for students. The museum also has over 200 free art books online.
African Arts-Global Conversations at the Brooklyn Museum of Art seeks to place African art in an international historical context. The exhibit features 33 works and shows shared themes and ideas and how they developed in different parts of the world. The show is just one of many you can tour while the museum is closed. The museum provides pages of artwork to print and color, an art history quiz and flash cards so you can brush up on information about different works. To learn more go to www.brooklynmuseum.org for more details.
The Boston Museum of Fine Art’s online presence is set up so that you can follow exhibition tours and listen to artist interviews. It has a very interesting virtual show, Writing the Future: Basquiat and the Hip-Hop Generation, which centers around his painting, Hollywood Africans. Also at the museum is Monet and Boston: Lasting Impression. In honor of the museums 150th anniversary and to honor the museum’s commitment to the artist this show brings together many pieces owned by the venue. Please be sure and look at www.mfa.org to find more information as to when the museum will reopen and continue to check so you don’t miss anything.
The Peabody Essex Museum in Salem, Massachusetts is offering virtual tours of its collection, podcasts and stories while it is closed. The museum is set to reopen in the middle of July. As many museums are offering tutorials for art projects, so is PEM. They will show your kids how to make fish puppets, milk jug elephants and how to make prints using found objects. One place to find more information is www.pem.org where more detail is available.
At the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, online images of various collections are available. The museum has also designated Wednesdays as storytelling time. It has suggested a treasure hunt theme created around objects you find at home. There is a tutorial for making costumes and sets. Next it’s time to get ready for a performance. This will certainly keep families busy while the museum is closed. For more information check this out at www.vam.ac.uk if it is of interest.
The Tate Museum has several campuses, all of which are temporarily closed but are planning to reopen on July 28, 2020. Many exhibits such as Andy Warhol are available for viewing online. This major retrospective of his work is the first exhibit at the Tate in nearly 20 years. More information on these exhibits is at www.tate.org.uk with everything you need to know. While you are there, check out the amazing videos at the site about various exhibitions and van Gogh’s Starry Night over the Rhone. Currently the Tate is offering Tate Paint which allows you to pick a canvas and paint online. What fun!
At the National Gallery in London, Titian: Love, Desire, Death includes a group of six canvases commissioned in 1551. The artist was commissioned to paint a group of canvases based on Classical myths. After four centuries all six paintings are back together again. They travelled from Boston, Madrid and London and depict moments of high drama. The Gallery intends to open on July 8 but since it has been closed this exhibit along with others has been available online. You can view the collection, go on virtual tours and go behind the scenes. Find more details at www.nationalgallery.org.uk when you look for information.
The Louvre has been closed but expects to reopen at the beginning of July. You can still go online with your child and visit One Minute in a Museum. Believe me you will learn a lot too. Each minute focuses on a work at the museum with cartoon characters explaining the history of various artworks. If you are interested the museum website at www.louvre.fr has many more details.
Simply the Best:
Arcana: Books on the Arts is the best place to find books on the arts. This very special bookstore is located in the Helms Bakery complex in Los Angeles. If you are looking for something special give Arcana a call. I have known owner Lee Kaplan for decades and his selection of books is as superb as his taste is impeccable. Collectors and book lovers are in luck as he has scoured his archives and has many rare books for sale. Arcana: Books on the Arts is at 8675 Washington Boulevard, Culver City, CA 90232. For information go to http://www.arcanabooks.com or call 310.458.1499.
Michiko Jewelry Design is an incredible jewelry store in downtown Seal Beach, CA. The shop owner and artist, Carol Matsumoto, custom designs beautiful pieces. Michiko is at 228 Main Street. Call 563.431.3237 for more information or check www.michikojewelrydesign.com
Remember: the same actions still make a difference, and it is disheartening that the number of deaths is going up. Please make sure to do the right thing.
· Our Freedom depends on personal responsibility
· Social Distance…wear a mask, wear gloves, stay at home as much as possible…stay safe so you don’t put others at risk…don’t go to big parties
· Do something for another, help a neighbor or loved one
· Make masks…Our friend Flora Dalglish, who has a full time job and is working from home, moonlights making masks to donate…she has donated hundreds to those in need. It is my understanding that masks reduce the spread of the virus by 45%
· Do yardwork for someone who can’t
· Read that book you never got around to finishing
· Do something creative…draw, paint, sew, learn to play an instrument, write that memoir or novel or movie script.
· Watch YouTube and learn a new skill…build something
· Garden…grow food…give some away
· Help the local animal shelter…we collect old toilet paper and towel tubes that are made into toys for the animals
· Organize something…clean out drawers and closets…make your garage beautiful…get that scrapbook together and organize old photos…organize your kitchen or office