What is it with Pablo Picasso lately - there’s two major shows in New York (at least) that focus on his work - with the Whitney focusing on Picasso and American Art while the Guggenheim highlights Picasso compared to other Spanish artists of all time.

 

I should have started from the top of the spiral and worked my way down - that’s what the Guggenheim is designed to encourage - but I usually walk from the bottom up - and made it a little more than halfway up the spiral ramp before the museum was closing - so I’ll have to come back at least one more time.

Unlike a typical show where the artist is highlighted - here the genre is exhausted - IE: Picasso landscapes are compared to landscapes of other Spanish Artists across time.  Same thing with portraits and still lifes.  Some of the finest Spanish paintings are here in this show on loan till late March, 2007.

Some thoughts - the best art in the show had a consistent quality - great art is about the idea beyond the painting - it’s not the painting itself - but the thought and energy behind it that matters the most.

IN fact, most of Picasso’s paintings in this show were done in one or two sittings - often a sketch or two a day.

There’s so many good shows here in NYC right now because there is an abundance of art that can be loaned to create all kinds of shows, like this one.  In a way, it’s totally irrelevant how long it takes to do a work of art - Picasso’s work is compared to artists that lived 350 years before he was born - these works placed side by side showed Picasso’s greatness.

Anyway - it’s time to go to bed.

I was not sure I’d like this show about Shrinking Cities at Pratt and I did not really connect with it - not only that …. I was not even trying to understand it - it was too much effort to read all the information about it.   But I did take a walk around the gallery a couple of times and tried to see if there was anything I could connect with … and there was not.

 

Here’s some notes about Shrinking Cities:

The conclusion of a three-year project of the German Federal Cultural Foundation, under the direction of Philipp Oswalt (Berlin), in cooperation with the Leipzig Gallery of Contemporary Art, the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation and the magazine Archplus, Shrinking Cities examines the phenomenon of urban population decline from an international perspective. Artists, architects, filmmakers, journalists, and cultural and social researchers present the changed reality in these regions using examples of four cities and regions: Detroit, Michigan, USA; Manchester/Liverpool, United Kingdom; Ivanovo, Russia; and Halle/Leipzig, Germany. The topics range from neglect and the appropriation of spaces to the development of innovative subcultures and criticism of city planning.

Pratt Manhattan Gallery will present phase 2 of this exhibition, interventions while Van Alen Institute, New York will simultaneously present Shrinking Cities, phase 1, international research, December 8 – January 21. A symposium is being organized for February 2007.

Like I said - architectural shows about social reform …. interesting to some..but not to me.

I wanted to post something tonight - been pretty busy with my web analytic work - but here’s a thought - Art Newspapers …on the web - are there any? How many? Are there any Art Newspapers devoted to art in NYC?

I found The Art Newspaper to be pretty good, but not really about NYC - just things in the Art World in general.

Art Daily is another Art Newspaper - again it’s not about NYC - and it does not look as interesting as The Art Newspaper.

The ArtJournal seems seems to be the best of the three (save the best for last?).

I liked this entry from December 2nd.

“ When Admission Is Free, People Flock To Museums (Who Knew?) Admission to England’s museums and galleries has been free for five years. “To mark the occasion, the government released figures which showed an average 83% rise in visits to museums and galleries which formerly charged. That is 30m extra visits, says the government, and something to be celebrated, according to the culture secretary, Tessa Jowell.” But some warn that if the state cuts its support, the price barrier may have to go back up. The Guardian (UK) 12/02/06″ 

Yes, free admission for all museums does seem to help bring more people in. Actually, I think it’s the shows at museums that bring people in - and there are so many good ones in New York right now.