Disclaimer: Some images within this blog post contain nudity.
While I was in New York City this past week, I took the ferry over to Governors Island to see the exhibition Race and Revolution, which was curated by my friend Katie Fuller. I met Katie a couple of years ago when I was working in the Education department at the New-York Historical Society. The exhibition has a handful of talented artists commenting on issues of racial inequality, slavery, the denigration of Native Americans, and the impact of those and other issues in American society today. It's especially interesting to know Katie, personally and professionally, and to see her interests and passions come to fruition within the exhibition space.
The exhibition is powerful. The art is displayed in a thought-provoking way that is appropriately situated within an old house on Governors Island. One of the exhibited pieces "...and counting" by artist Ann Lewis, was displayed prior to Race and Revolution at the Democratic National Convention this past summer in Philadelphia.
It was thrilling to see Katie and all the hard work she, her interns, and the artists, invested into making the exhibition come to life. After September, the exhibition will be to moving on to Stanford, Connecticut. If you have an opportunity and are in New York, please stop by Governors Island and see the exhibition.
Congratulations, Katie! I'm so proud of you and the work you're doing!
The entrancing story and career of John James Audubon comes to life at the New-York Historical Society with a three-part exhibition series that showcases the watercolors and prints that made Audubon infamous. Born in the late 18th century in Haiti, having fled the Haitian revolution, then grew up in France only to flee to America from the French Revolution. Discovering the beauty of the natural wonders of America, Audubon spent most of the rest of his life capturing the birds of America.
The genius behind Audubon was the development of a subscription format to sell his prints to wealthy customers, willing to pay a hefty sum to receive a selection of prints, called fascicles. The fascicles comprised of five prints, one large print, one medium print, and three small prints. The prints could have been collected on a subscription basis, some collectors could've purchased complete books known as elephant folios. There are only about 120 remaining elephant folios known to exist.
Although Audubon unfortunately died in poor economic conditions, his wife having to sell his watercolors to the New-York Historical Society during the Civil War, his legacy as artistic innovator, bird enthusiast, and true American, is a wonderful and inspiring story.
It's been a while since I've been able to blog so I'm so thrilled that I figured it out. I've had lots of great experiences, ideas, and things I'd love to share to anyone who is willing to give me the time!
First of all, I'd like to thank all of my friends and family who have been so incredibly supportive for my artistic endeavors! As most people who see me at my day job(s), I've been running around between the New-York Historical Society and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Not much time to really create anything, but now with this blog I can keep more focused on at least thinking about art!
2013 will be a good time for me to show you all the great trips, art experiences, and inspirational occurrences that happened in 2012. And I'm sure I'll have plenty to share from the new year too!
Some current Things on my website I'd like to highlight:
Stay tuned for many more Fancy Things!
