art, culture and everything in between
Framing is a vital step in displaying art, but one that most people gloss over. After all, how hard can it be? Get yourself a cheap-o $5 frame and shove the item in there. Presto! But, if you want to have things look right, and more importantly preserve your framed item, it might need a […]
Nothing strikes me with horror like an empty wall. Perhaps that’s why I became a Victorian art historian— they loved clutter. However, I know many people who have next to nothing on their walls. Some of them are dedicated minimalists, and that’s their aesthetic. But others want to put something there, but are unsure. What […]
Last time we looked closely at a painting of Mary Magdalene from 1859. We went over what art historians call “visual analysis” and the historical and biographical context of the painting. I hope this made sense to many of you, and helped you to learn to look critically at a work of art. Now, let’s make […]
Last week, I wrote about how to visit a museum or gallery, and in that post I mentioned that you really need to look at the art. Like, for a while. But just staring at something doesn’t necessarily bring profound revelations— you need to know how to look and what to look for. So this […]
As an art historian, my friends and family often ask me to come with them when they visit a museum. Of course, I’m always delighted. Museums are my happy place. But I realise for many people museums are intimidating. They feel like they need permission to enter the hallowed halls of culture, or a guide […]
The critics are missing the point: Manchester Art Gallery has attempted to contextualise, not to censor. A rare but potent controversy has awoken this blog from its sweet, toddler-induced slumber. Even rarer, a modern, political discussion is being had in the Victorian art world. (We Victorian art historians don’t often make the news!) It appears […]
In the world of art, as in life, there are only two kinds of news… The Bad News The Delaware Art Museum is selling off anything that isn’t stuck to the wall. Well, it’s not quite that bad yet. But their director, Michael Miller (who was formerly employed by DuPont and has no arts background) […]
Welcome to a new segment entitled ‘We’ve seen that before’, because nothing makes us historians more smug than pointing out that some recent phenomenon has origins or parallels with something long established. (Read Part 1 of this series) In the epic age since Art Attack last added its own humble contribution to the myriad, weird and cool-wierd […]
What’s been happening in the world of art and art-related nonsense, you ask? Excellent question. Enjoy the smattering of links below, and be better informed. Smackdown at the Tate The controversy over Tate director Penelope Curtis continues. Basically, she’s given only a few rooms at the Tate Britain to the historical collection (1550-1900) and LOTS […]
Welcome to a new segment entitled ‘We’ve seen that before’, because nothing makes us historians more smug than pointing out that some recent phenomenon has origins or parallels with something long established. A few months ago, the Oxford English Dictionary announced that ‘selfie’ was the Word of the Year 2013. Since then, selfies and related (mostly […]