Art Herstory’s Post

It might be a tree in blossom, some daffodils, an ancient cottage, an old stone wall, the dawn sky… Such things may delight us but can also make us sad, for we know ourselves well enough by now; we know our difficulties holding on to anything nice for very long, we know how many special things we’ve glimpsed and wanted never to forget and then let slip entirely from our minds (the trip to the islands, the mediaeval town by mountain, the evenings by the lake, the fields of poppies, the painting in the upper gallery of the provincial museum). We sense how far in exile we live from what we really cherish. Nowadays, what we mostly do in the presence of beauty is – of course – take a photo. And never look at it again. What if we were to try something else next time? What if we attempted to understand what was stirring us rather than merely walking off with its physical image? When we see a tree in blossom in a city street, what if we stepped back on the pavement and asked ourselves – like a martian, a child, philosopher or a lunatic – why this thing delights us and might even threaten to make us a little tearful. What if we took some notes under a blatant heading: Why X moves me… The more we understand, the more we stand to remember. Our lives may become so much richer once we become better at preserving what has touched us. To read our full article, follow the link. https://lnkd.in/ej4adW8s

#foodforthought When demand exceeds supply, the forger will immediately appear. In Ancient Rome, when Greek sculpture became a symbol of status and authentic works were no longer available, Roman artisans quickly filled the void. Today, experts believe that nearly 90% of "original" Greek statues were made by Romans. At least that's what Thomas Hoving, former director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and author of the book "False Impressions: The Hunt for Big-Time Art Fakes," claims. Between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries, clandestine workshops in Europe produced works in the style of masters like Michelangelo, Titian, and Ribera, and these forgeries continue to surface to this day. Some may never be identified as such. The falsification of artworks was so widespread that it seems even great masters were involved; a young Michelangelo once played a prank by sculpting a fake "Roman" sleeping Cupid and the head of a faun, which he buried in a garden to be discovered later. He later admitted what he had done. Provenance is a must-read for anyone interested in the intricate world of art forgery. Salisbury and Sujo's investigative journalism exposes the elaborate cons orchestrated by John Drewe and John Myatt. From fake ownership histories to mimicking famous artist styles, the lengths these forgers went to will leave you amazed. #Provenance #ArtForgery #InvestigativeJournalism

''Gnawing Time" #2 Bronze / granite H: 56 cm Single copy When I was a student I visited a lot of museums, that was actually a school assignment, the problem: I didn't really want to look at other people's art, I had collected so much information over the years and I didn't want my own view of art to be "polluted" or influenced by. My motto at the time: a wild rose is always more beautiful than a cultivated one. So I went to natural history museums, that's how I filled my hours, without getting into trouble with my art teachers. I could wander around for hours, looking at the carcasses of long-gone creatures that once populated our earth, wondering about the worship of extinct creatures, while animals of all kinds die out daily... what hypocrisy. That's how I finally came up with the concept "Gnawing Time" Bone shapes, whether real or conceptual, highly polished in bronze. You know: people are just like magpies... as long as the but glitters, it is interesting. But ultimately it is an indictment of the establishment that keeps us occupied with the past, what lived there, what it looked like and then we pay out of curiosity to be able to stare at it like a fairground attraction. What disappears every day in this beautiful world is, in my opinion, more important.

Excited to share that I have an essay, 'Commissioning and creating public sculpture: conversations with contemporary artists', included in 'Ireland: the Matter of Monuments' by Colleen Thomas and Paula Murphy. Ireland: the Matter of Monuments This collection considers Irish monuments from the medieval to the modern era. The essays presented here acknowledge the plurality of values associated with Irish monuments. Taking a holistic approach to the topic, the volume contains contributions from art historians, archaeologists, historians and heritage practitioners. The multidisciplinary and intersectoral contributions are placed in dialogue with one another, providing a discussion of Irish monuments that is unique in its comprehensiveness. The integration of research on early Irish monumental work with that of the more modern period, situating all Irish monuments on a continuum of shared concerns, is a significant pioneering element in this field. The range of perspectives represented in the book reflects the complexity of cultural heritage in contemporary life and opens the conversation to include a wider range of views. It will be a valuable resource for scholars, students, learned societies, public bodies, communities in Ireland and for anyone interested in sculpture. More information available here: https://lnkd.in/ebUBUMGk

As people contemplate their summer holidays, I put forward the suggestion that if you enjoy history there is no place like London. The British Museum (and the myriad of war, airplane and castle based museums) is mind boggling as at the height of their power, the empire merrily “collected” treasures from every corner of the world. In my opinion, the only rival would be the “collected” pieces that are stuffed into every corner of the Vatican (The irony of Greek gods everywhere is something to behold). The below gives a brief glimpse into a few of the treasures they hold and a small sliver of the fascinating history.

Our history has always been carried in song, on canvas, or on the page. That won't change. #ArtAsHistory #HistoricalArt #ArtisticTimeline #HistoryThroughArt #ArtVehicleOfTime #PaintingThePast #SculptingHistory #CanvasOfCivilizations #ArtifactsTellTales #MasterpiecesOfHistory

The airwaves are awash with the anticipation of #EJI’s latest legacy site, The Freedom Monument Sculpture Park. Every publication from every corner of the globe seems to echo the whispers of ‘Black Renaissance’. It’s a flood of excitement, a torrent of hope. This park, opening in late March 2024, has already etched its name among the top travel destinations for 2024. Two million visitors are expected to pilgrimage to its hallowed grounds, drawn by a beacon of justice that ignited in 2020, fueled by the flames of George Floyd’s tragedy. In a world where the very essence of Black history is under scrutiny, this park emerges as a sanctuary of truth. It’s not just about the sculptures, though there are 48 of them, crafted by 27 artists from lands near and far. It’s about the stories they tell, the narratives they weave, the essence they embody. This merging of art and history, etched into 17 sacred acres, transcends mere physicality. It’s a journey of the soul. I remember my own visit in December 2023, leaving with a heart heavy with emotion, a spirit lifted by the profound sense of being truly understood. As Johnnetta Cole eloquently puts it: ‘this place speaks to us all. It whispers of the past, urging us to confront it, to acknowledge it, so that together, we might inscribe a different story upon the tapestry of our shared future.’ #BlackRenaissance #ArtForChange #LegacyOfJustice #eji #freedommemorialsculpturepark #montgomery #alabama #slavery #sculpturepark #blackhistory #art #publicsculpture #news #articles #press #coverage #blackfemalesculptor MTArt Agency Marine Tanguy millimetre

In Chimú art, birds were often depicted with elaborate headdresses, wings outstretched, and in various dynamic poses. The depiction of birds in Chimú art served multiple purposes, including religious symbolism, representation of nature, and as decorative motifs. Read more on our blog! https://lnkd.in/gJaHTU8r

Treasures of the new world heritage. Fascinating, provocative, controversial. Owners of my philosophical graphic works will have the opportunity to view some of the original images in this catalog. #artwork, #heritage, #worldwide, #catalog, #graphicdesign, #treasure

Of course, Romantic landscape painters didn't depict only Middle Ages Gothic-style or ancient Greco-Roman ruins, especially the latter according to a Neoclassical fashion. Sometimes, they were attracted also by more exotic ones. For instance, at https://lnkd.in/dkgyBbWN we may have seen how the American Hudson River School artist Robert S. Duncanson depicted some remains of old Maya temples, then recently rediscovered in the Yucátan, Mexico. Here, let's consider the Italian-Swiss and tireless traveller Carlo Bossoli. Before travelling, he grew up at Odessa, in the Ukraine on the Black Sea, where his parents had emigrated from Lugano. No wonder, one of his colour print collections is titled «The Beautiful Scenery and Chief Places of Interest Throughout the Crimea, from Paintings by Carlo Bossoli» (London: Day & Son, 1854 and 1856). For a long time, those were contested lands of conquest. Not seldom, the various dominations left more or less imposing ruins. Below, from left to right and top to bottom, four relevant examples: “Remains of Ancient Chersonessos, near Sevastopol”, “Remains of the Genoese Forts of Ciufat-Kale”, “The Ruins of Chersonesus, Crimea”, “Ruins of the Genoese Fortress in Sudak.” The Chersonese – today Kherson, Ukraine – was a Greek colony, founded in the 6th century BCE, on the south-western coast of the Crimean peninsula. Part of the Russian Empire by the 19th cent., the region retained a Tatar or Turkish population, having been under Ottoman rule from the 15th to the 18th centuries. As to the medieval fortress in Sudak, it was part of the Genoese colonies in Crimea, in particular Caffa, modern Feodosia or Theodosia.