“Water Marks”, the current exhibition at Pacific Grove Art Center (PGAC), features approximately 50 Monterey Bay area printmakers who have created etchings, woodcuts, screenprints, monotypes and mixed media prints focusing on the theme of water surrounding our beautiful Monterey peninsula. The Monterey Peninsula College (MPC) Printmakers is an association of artists who are passionate about printmaking in all its variety of forms and techniques.
This exhibit is analogous to a “watermark” in that the artwork requires more than a casual viewing. Printmaking can...
“For Independent Minds”–Grey Sparrow Press
The Internet has created vast new horizons for first-time artists and writers–for new voices. And indie publishers and self-publishing companies help create and reach new audiences for these voices. But it still is a daily battle to prove that the new distribution channels for creativity are just as good (or better?) than the traditional black-and-white print media.
Small presses have become a new and legitimate publishing force. Today these small publishers comprise approximately half of market share in the industry.
One such innovative and dynamic literary journal and press is...
“Out of Character: Decoding Chinese Calligraphy”– Ink Dancing On Paper
The Asian Art Museum in San Francisco is currently featuring an exhibit on Chinese calligraphy . Two rooms house a wide range of calligraphic styles from the private collection of Jerry Yang, founder of Yahoo. Video clips and animation aid the viewer in understanding the background for becoming a master calligrapher.
Chinese calligraphy and monochromatic ink paintings are closely related, dating from classical pre-Han through Tang dynasties (pre-3rd century BCE through tenth century CE). Emphasizing motion and emotion through stroke pressure, the five very distinctive calligraphic forms...
Dunhuang–The Caves of A Thousand Buddhas
Two weeks ago I visited the incomparable Mogao Caves at Dunhuang, a UNESCO World Heritage site, located in Gansu province, northwestern China, at the edge of the Gobi and Taklamakan deserts, directly north of Tibet. These caves remain one of the most well-preserved, splendid sanctuaries of sacred art in the world.
Mogao Caves
From the 3rd century BCE through the 12th century AD, Dunhuang was a prosperous oasis situated at the entrance to the Silk Road, where ancient caravans of Bactrian camels, donkeys, and horses carried cargo for more than 7,000 kilometers from China and Tibet through...
A Shanghai High
Shanghai skyline
I want to thank Susie Berteaux for being the guest blogger for the last two excellent posts, “Fairy Tale Updated” and ” Go for Broke”, while I was having a wonderful two-week adventure in China. Shanghai, our first gateway city to China — aka “the Paris of Asia”– is renowned for its historical landmarks: the Bund, the Yuyuan classical Ming gardens, the French and British Concessions, as well as the extensive and growing skyline, the “showpiece” of the booming economy of mainland China.
Shanghai is...
Rarely Seen Contemporary Works on Paper–Art Institute of Chicago Saturday, July 28, 2012–Sunday, January 13, 2013
DevilRecently I had the extraordinary opportunity to enjoy the visual imagery of the special exhibit, “Rarely Seen Contemporary Works on Paper” at the Art Institute of Chicago. What a visceral thrill! The Art Institute of Chicago is a temple of art.
"Untitled (Months)"
Works on paper are extremely light sensitive, so this exhibit, which filled four rooms of predominantly 20th century and 21st century art, is housed in dark, temperature-controlled vaults. Some of these works are being offered for the first time. While I was there, professors were leading their classes...