Monday, June 20, 2011

The Art of Being a Woman Artist or The Art of Penis Envy Done Correctly



The Guerrilla Girls, are a glorious group of women artists who protest (in Gorilla suits) the fact that women have still not penetrated (I like that) the art world glass ceiling. This is a poster manifesto they wrote and printed in 1988. How very sad that almost a quarter of a century later all those bullet points still hold true. 
The art world is a cold and unfriendly place. It's good to know that I have these courageous women fighting in my corner with me. Pass the Gorilla suit and give me a protest destination, I'm there!







Sunday, June 19, 2011

The Art of Fatherhood

Today I present a work by Paul Cezanne. It is a tender and loving portrait of his father Louis-Auguste in 1866. Louis was a father that all artists would love to have. He was kind. He was generous. And he was supportive of his artist son. Yes, it may have taken a couple of years for this banker father to finally let go of the bourgeois fantasy of his son Paul coming into the family banking business as a lawyer, but he did. And his financial support and generosity gave the world paintings that are a gift to all. So Happy Father's Day, especially to loving fathers of artists. You hold a special place in this heart.


Paul Cezanne, The Artist's Father, 1866