Art News
7 Things To Know This Week In Art
#1: Largest Macro-Mural in Mexico Changes Neighborhood Dynamics for the Better
Macro-Mural by artist collective Germen spans 209 houses lStreet Art News]
El color es mágica. Todos somos color. El color nos protege todos los dias. / Color is magic. We are all color. Color protects us every day.
In an effort to combat the pervasive drug-related violence wracking the city of Pachuca, the Mexican government commissioned Germen, an artist collective known for using street art for social good, to paint a mural in Palmitas, one of the barios in Pachuca. What resulted was a neighborhood-wide mural that spanned the façades of 209 houses. The town’s transformation was more than cosmetic; thanks to the infusion of color, violence in Palmitas has been completely eradicated.
In other “macro” news, have you seen this 1,000-piece rock band in Italy perform?
#2: Happy Birthday, Jenny Holzer!
“Vienna, 2006” from Projections, an ongoing series by Jenny Holzer [Jenny Holzer]
This week we celebrated the birthday of American artist Jenny Holzer, who turned 65 on July 29th. Holzer’s provocative public art installations blend narrative text with urban backdrops, prompting passersby to consider the deeper meaning of her words.
Love Holzer’s conceptual style?
Check out our new collection inspired by Jenny Holzer.
#3: Photographer “Paints” in the Style of the Impressionists using Multiple Exposures
Photograph by Matt Molloy in his Timestack series [Boooooooom]
With the help of digital technology, artist Matt Molloy captures a landscape in a series of photographs and renders the totality of the elapsed time, including the resulting brushstroke-like traces, in a single image, to striking Impressionistic effect.
See more of Matt’s work on Bo000000m.
#4: Thinking In Black And White
How to offset your art in a Black & White design scheme [Planete Deco]
Whether your style is traditional, contemporary or something in between, a palette of black and white can serve as the perfect backdrop for your art. This week, we shared tips on how to maximize the concept in your own home.
Read them here for inspiration.
Love black & white? Check out our latest Black & White Photography collection.
#5: A Renaissance Painting Reveals Extinct Variety of A Popular Fruit
Still life by Giovanni Stanchi from the 17th C. [Vox]
Notice anything strange in this painting?
A horticulture professor at the University of Wisconsin discovered that this painting by 17th C. Italian artist Giovanni Stanchi demonstrates the effects of crop breeding over the years: the watermelon above is a breed that no longer exists.
Today, we are familiar with a variety much more vibrant in color due to increased levels of Lycopene that have been manipulated over generations. Though we often equate the red color of watermelon with sweetness, this watermelon breed would have been actually very sweet!
For more, read the full article.
#6: New Jean (Hans) Arp Exhibition Hits Germany
Views of the Georg Kolbe Museum’s Jean Arp retrospective
The Georg Kolbe Museum in Berlin is presenting a new retrospective exhibition on German-French sculptor Jean (Hans) Arp, who is credited as a pioneer and co-founder of the Dada and Surrealist movements. Speaking on behalf of the Dadaists, Arp once proclaimed:
We do not wish to copy nature. We do not want to reproduce, we want to produce. We want to produce as a plant produces a fruit and does not itself reproduce. We want to produce directly and without meditation. As there is not the least trace of abstraction in this art, we will call it concrete art.
On view through October 11th, the exhibition displays the range of Arp’s oeuvre, featuring sculptures, photographs, poems, and more.
For more German exhibitions this summer, check out ArtNet’s roundup.
#7: Deborah Stevenson’s Collages Turn Feminism On Its Head
“Happy Dance” by Deborah Stevenson
This week we took a peek inside the studio of artist Deborah Stevenson to learn about her creative process. Deborah’s collages often mix 1950s depictions of women with surreal elements that remarks on female experience, breathing new life and meaning into images that otherwise objectify women.
Speaking of her work, Deborah explains:
The theme of aging is an extension of that exploration [of feminism]. That is why children recur, and why mature and elder women are subject matter for me – to restore the spirit of innocence to youth, and to honor the graceful beauty of aging, specifically as it applies to women. The images are meant as a rebuke and a challenge to the insult of cultural and commercial definitions.
Read our interview to learn more about Deborah.
Join us each week as we go inside the studio of a new artist!
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About the Author
Chelsea is the Marketing Associate at Saatchi Art. She likes Neoclassical art, text messaging, and that's pretty much it. Find her Tweeting @saatchiart, and Instagramming @saatchiart
