In Chicago I photographed this painting of the Italian Riviera by Claude Monet because it reminded me of something I'd seen.
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| Bordighera by Claude Monet, 1884. Italian Riviera |
Eventually I remembered my photo from Coit Tower in San Francisco. Both feature views of saltwater though Monet's has a town in the mid-ground while mine has the bridge. Similar greenery surrounds both on all sides. I like the way nature takes the foreground and background, adds the detail, and keeps drawing my eyes from the man-made objects. Putting the darkest objects in front brings needed cool shade to a hot summer day.
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| The Bay Bridge from Coit Tower, San Francisco |
The Art Institute of Chicago staged Music and Movement: Rhythm in Textile Design. It was only four small rooms but covered the world and the ages. The ones I've thought about most though are all from the 1970's.
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| Music and Movement exhibit at the Art Institute of Chicago |
At least half the textiles were dress and upholstery fabrics including Gallop, a stunning knit by Hans Krondahl from 1972 which ignited memories of Eedweard Muybridge's photography.
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| Gallop (screen print dress fabric of knit nylon) by Hans Krondahl for Katja of Sweden, 1972. |
Leland Stanford, one of California's governors and later founder of Stanford University, hired him to prove whether or not all a horse's feet left the ground when galloping. Horse in Motion resolved that question.
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| Horse in Motion by Eadweard Muybridge, 1878. |
The zoetrope projects circular paper strips of still photos that appear to move when the device spins. Muybridge made improvements he called the zoopraxiscope in 1879. As such he is considered the founder of the motion picture industry.
The Cantor Center in Palo Alto exhibits one of these machines as well as a viewing of a moving photo series.
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| Zoopraxiscope by Eadweard Muybridge, Cantor Center for Visual Arts, Stanford University |
The fabric also nods to the Carousel Bar at the Fairmont with its murals of performing horses and in fact, any scene with racehorses - from the Kentucky Derby to Ben Hur.
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| Murals at the Carousel Bar, Fairmont Hotel, San Francisco |
Baker and Brady were close friends for years. He finally established a home in Cuernavaca, decorating it with the lavish colors of his adopted country and artwork created by himself and his friends. Now the Museo Robert Brady, it includes a statuette of Baker in her iconic costume.
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| Wool and cotton Josephine Baker tapestryby Robert Brady, 1974. |
The Baker tapestry reminded me of The TVA Quilt I'd seen years ago; fortunately I found this image through the internet. In 1934 Ruth Bond and Rose Cooper headed a club that made the quilt they named Uncle Sam's Helping Hand to "honor the part black people were playing to transform the South." It is still on display at TVA building in Knoxville.
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| Uncle Sam’s Helping Hand quilt designed by Ruth Clement Bond and quilted by Rose Lee Cooper, 1934 |
For Bessie's Blues Faith Ringold, a well-known author and quilter, repeated images of blues singer Bessie Smith in a layout that references both traditional quilts and Andy Warhol's pop imagery. The colors also repeat those of the Baker tapestry.
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| Bessie's Blues by Faith Ringgold, 1997 |
My initial impression was cyanoprint but it's actually acrylic paint.
I like the subtle variations of blue that help the blocks retain their edges, the color scheme, and the repeats with variation. Oh, those borders fabrics mixing curves from oversized florals with simple rectangles. And then finding another soft background floral so the rest of the work floats on top.
Enjoy the day, Ann
