Your eyes and ears on the world of art and culture. We remind you that 18 years of back issues of eMusings can be found on our archives page.
As more of the world migrates to the online universe, we find wider choices to steer you to. Here are some of the best that we have culled from hours and hours of looking.
Boy Band star Harry Styles has started a new brand called Pleasing, with the intent of muting gender boundaries. Composed primarily of beauty products, the brand aims to "excite the senses and blur the boundaries", as well as to "expel the myth of a binary existence". His aesthetic aims to counter the current emphasis on concealmnet and hiding blemishes, replacing it with being what you are and taking pleasure in it. The performers' fans, known as "Stylers", can start to see products at the end of this month. (The emphasis on revealing, rather than concealing, can be seen in Whitaker's new images of the mouth).
gr-gallery in New York City is featuring the works of Chad Knight, pieces that they describe as "otherworldly". The exhibit shows digital artworks on canvas and encapsuled in epoxy resin. Knight was formerly a director of 3D work at Nike.
A new museum called M+ has just opened in Hong Kong. With 646,000 square feet of exhibit space, the Museum has been planned for over two decades. Its displays, shown briefly in a video here, are both entriguing and the object of considerable concern, attempting to emphasize the splendor of contemporary Asian art while at the same time avoiding alienating China. It remains to be seen if both goals, somewhat oppositional in nature, can succeed. There is no doubt, however, about the excellence of some of the works illustrated here.
A fashion company called Auroboros is presenting a dress made of salt crystals and recycled plastic. Called a "living" biomimicry dress, it changes shape and color in real time, imitating the growth of a flower. It was worn by an A.I. robot named Ai-Da at the London Design Festival, held at the Victoria and Albert Museum. The dress's underlying material is Perspex, a solid transparent plastic, with crystals that were heated and tinted with green dyes. A trailing length of recycled glass beads from Swarovski flows from the back of the garment.
Furniture called "Unfamiliar Passions" explores the culture and history of homosexuality throughout the ages. Regardless of the historical and cultural references, there are some stunning designs here that would elevate any contemporary environment.
Lovers of unusual architecture will want to see a 10-story residential building in Denver designed by MAD architects of China. The tower is actually 16 stories tall, but the first 10 stories feature what the architects call a "rift" and compare to a walking trail. It encompasses planted terraces and water features that the occupants can enjoy. The goal was to transform concrete into a kind of "second nature". MAD is known for designing buildings that look like mountains and other natural environments, even an airport terminal that looks like a snowflake.
An exhibition at the Getty Museum illuminates the classical antiquities that inspired the work of Peter Paul Rubens, especially the literature and art of ancient Rome and Greece. During his life, Rubens read both Greek and Roman literature in their original languages, collected marble and carved gem objects from the time of the classics, and corresponded with other antiquarians in Europe. This exhibition claims to be the first to look into the key influence of the Classical period on Rubens' art.
At the Denver Botanic Gardens Ana Maria Hernando works with the power of the Nusta, the female spirit of the mountains from Andean mythology. Hernando has spent her career celebrating the power of women to control their own lives, using domestic materials like thread, lace, embroidery and poetry to symmbolize how women are in charge of their destinies. "Voluptuous" and "volcanic" are two words being used to describe her current project.
Evocative and powerful sculptures and assemblages grab your attention in the work of Rodriguez Montoya. The artist is known to use discarded car parts, rabbit pelts, gold balls, steel zip ties and styrofoam - whatever the environment offers to him. His work has been called a "Mythology of Survival", arresting and powerful. One piece in particular speaks volumes.
From physical strength we move to the sensual and evocative in the work of Kinke Kooi, who belives in subtlety and the power of the unknown to move us. Fluidity and grace fill these images, from an exhibition called "Preventing the Sharp from Being Sharp". The works are seductive, pulling you magnetically into hidden worlds that seem to lurk just under the surface.
A stunning piece of Russian architecture graces the grounds of Expo 2020 Dubai. The building's sense of constant movement is meant to reflect humanity's "unstoppable progress, development and creation." There is no doubt that it immediately captures your attention. The pipes of different colors beautifully incorporate the architect's aim and are reflective of the Russian Avant Garde, the use of "a free treatment of line to generate new forms", as developed by the constructivist architect yakov chernikhov. The building is aurrounded by a pool of water, which both reflects the design and serves as a micro-climate.
Knowing that their object is sales does not detract from the excellent display of Edward Hopper's work at Christie's Auction House. They go on to examine the artist's work, his influences, his vision, and his importance. Anyone interested in Hopper will learn a great deal from the descriptive material that accompanies the work.
A previously unknown portrait by Alexej von Jawlensky has recently shown up at a German auction house. Jawlensky was a prominent German expressionist painter and a member of the Blue Rider Group. "Head of a Woman with Flowers in her Hair" had been in a private collection for the last 100 years. Although the subject is not revealed, it closely resembles another portrait that the artist had done of a woman named Lola.
c. Corinne Whitaker 2021
