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Illustrations:
Top detail, Ruth Weisberg, “The Resonant Image”, 2008, oil on
canvas, Collection of the ArtistZ
Bottom detail, Guido Cagnacci, “Martha Rebuking Mary for Her
Vanity”, 1660, oil on canvas, The Norton Simon Museum,
Pasadena
Corita, “enriched bread”, 1965, Serigraph on pellon paper, The
Corita Art Center,
Los Angeles
Vermeer, “A Lady Writing”, 1666, oil on canvas, The National
Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.
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ABOUT RUTH WEISBERG:
GUIDO CAGNACCI AND THE RESONANT IMAGE: Ruth Weisberg, artist and Dean of the Fine Arts Department at
U.S.C. was asked to select a work by the Simon Museum and respond to
it by producing works that resonate with the original seventh century
Italian painting in the collection at the museum.
This is the second time she has been asked to execute this type
of work, the last was at the Huntington Library and Art Museum where
she did work based on William Blake’s Dante’s Inferno.
This type of contemporary art is considered “homage” and/or
“appropriation.”
ABOUT VERMEER AND “A LADY WRITING”: This
work will be on exhibition at the
Norton
Simon
Museum
as a single work
exhibition on loan by the National Gallery, Washington D.C.
There are about 35 works extant by Vermeer, the 17th
century Dutch painter, only about 35 existing.
This one is only 17 11/16” x 15 11/16”.
It depicts a luxuriously dressed woman seated at a desk, quill
pen in hand, and is a signature image by this artist.
Vermeer was a painter of light. In
his study of optics he undoubtedly used a camera
obscura, or “darkened chamber,” the ancestor of the
modern photographic camera. This scientific device employed an
adjustable lens and mirrors to capture reflected light and project the
scene onto a viewing screen in its lid.
Vermeer analyzed the resulting images carefully because they
duplicate the selective focus of the human eye. Only objects at a
certain distance from the camera or the eye are in sharp focus. This
is exactly the optical effect Vermeer has generated in this work.
Precise white highlights glisten from the writing box, pearl earrings,
satin hair ribbons, and the chair’s brass tacks—all of which lie
equally in the middle distance. The near tablecloth is purposely
blurred, and the painting on the far wall is hazy. This is just as
they would look to someone concentrating specifically on the woman. Dean
Weisberg will talk about this body of work at the tour.
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION CORITA: A RETROSPECTIVE 1951-1985: Corita (1918-1986 aka Sister Mary Corita and Corita Kent)
gained international fame for her vibrant serigraphs during the 1960s
and 1970s. A Sister of the
Immaculate Heart of Mary from 1936, she ran the
Art
Department
at
Immaculate
Heart
College
in
Los Angeles
until 1968 when she
left her religious community and moved to
Boston
.
Corita’s art reflects her spirituality, her commitment to
social justice, her hope for peace and her fascination with life and
the world around her. Her
artistic aesthetic is characterized by the use of popular culture,
such as song lyrics, literary sources and advertising slogans as raw
material for meaning-filled bursts of text and color produced in
limited edition serigraphs. This
exhibition will present work which will illuminate her career and
historical impact by presenting a work from every year of her
distinguished 34 year career. Works
are loaned from private collections and art institutions.
A fully illustrated catalogue accompanies the exhibition.
Some serigraphs are available for collectors.
ITALIAN
& FRENCH BAROQUE PAINTINGS IN THE SIMON MUSEUM COLLECTION:
Prof. Steen will tour the Italian Baroque artists Reni
and Guercino as well as
the French Baroque works by Poussin
and Claude Lorraine.
ABOUT STEEN ART STUDY: Steen
Art Study is an entity for university degreed Ronald E. Steen as an
Independent Art Historian and Art Educator, founded in 1983, for the
purpose of conducting art education classes and programs and is
dedicated to making people aesthetic rather than art popular.
Among its activities is the reinvention of the art history
lecture format, which is dedicated to the idea that scholarship and
teaching need not be lifeless. Teaching,
lecturing and research for all art educational programs as well as
publishing and curating are activities within this capacity.
PROGRAM:
Wednesday,
January 7, 2009
10:30 a.m.
to
noon
The
Judson
Gallery
of
Contemporary and Traditional Art at Judson Studios
200 S. Ave. 66,
Los Angeles
,
CA
90042
Parking:
Lot
and restricted street.
(Thomas Brothers Guide page 595-E2)
1:30 p.m.
to 3:30p.m.
The
Norton
Simon
Museum
411 West Colorado Blvd.
,
Pasadena
,
CA
91105
Parking: Free lot.
(Thomas Brothers Guide page 565 G5)
GUIDELINES:
- Registration
is not extended beyond registered members and membership is not
transferable
-
Cancellation
made prior to the deadline date will be in full less a small handling
charge, unless the tour is under minimum.
-
No
full or partial refund will be paid after the deadline date unless there
is a waiting list, or the tour is under minimum
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