Author: juliemlmitchell_lchs7g

Spring Into Art!

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Spring is in the air! It’s almost daylight savings time, the ground is gloriously brown, my kids shoes are filthy with mud… yes, we just had a blizzard last Wednesday, but never mind that- it’s most definitely Springtime! Don’t you find everyone in a better mood? At least until allergies start hitting? I just love it. Friends from school start showing their faces again after a long winter of doing the carpool line, everyone is discussing Spring Break plans, Easter is right around the corner… life is good in the Spring, if you ask me.

Judging by the number of paintings featuring Springtime scenes, artists must be as moved by Spring as I. Claude Monet did some of his best work during this season, as did Van Gogh. Persephone, the goddess of spring, has inspired plenty of beautiful art, and birds and blossoms are popular subjects for numerous artists. One of my personal favorite warmish weather artists is John William Waterhouse.

A Song of Spring. It’s still too chilly in Michigan to go topless, but good for her!

I love Waterhouse’s paintings and not just because his subjects are often redheads. I think they’re beautiful and flowy, which fits my Spring mood exactly. His details are gorgeous, his subjects are interesting, and his technique is top notch (says the girl who has no technique). He often painted scenes from Greek mythology, but my favorites are A Song of Spring (above) and Windflowers:

He painted this in 1902, but couldn’t this be a breezy hippie wedding in 1968?

There is a theory floating around that the subject in Windflowers may represent Persephone. We know Waterhouse was a fan, having painted her before, plus the flowers are apparently the same sort of poppy as those that Persephone was collecting before Hades kidnapped her. I think it’s a pretty solid theory. In other news, if I ever open a flower shop it will be called “Persephone’s Poppies.” 

Until next week (when we may very well have an ice storm!), put a little Spring in your step!

Win One for the Gipper!

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Last weekend we had a hockey tournament in South Bend, with three of our five games at Notre Dame. Their ice arena is not even ten years old, and is beautiful. What’s even better is that right next to the rink is a sculpture park and across the street from that is a Starbucks! I could live in that little triangle and never want for anything again!

Notre Dame also has an amazing art museum, but I didn’t get a chance to visit- next time! I did make a point to get up close and personal with the iconic Touchdown Jesus.

Normally, you know I would stand in front of this doing a touchdown sign. I don’t know what happened. Pre-hockey game jitters, I think. I’m disappointed in myself.

The “real” name of this mural is “The Word of Life,” and it is enormous! It takes up the entire side of the library facing the football stadium. It’s almost as big as the stadium itself. Just kidding, but it is 134 feet tall and 68 feet wide. Millard Sheets was commissioned to do the mural in 1963. Jesus is front and center, of course (no word on whether the touchdown hands were purposely mimicking the “touchdown” signal or it’s just a happy coincidence) and saints and scholars from throughout the ages are taking up the rest of the space.

The mural consists of 324 panels, including 81 different types of stones from 16 countries. Impressive!

Now, I know you are dying to pop in your “Rudy” VHS tape, so I will leave you to it. “I want Rudy to dress in my place, Coach. He deserves it.” And I cry.

Art for the Heart

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In case you didn’t get enough romance on Valentine’s Day (I, for one, had dinner with my mom, sister, and sister-in-law. Lovely, but the opposite of romantic.) let me help! Things are about to get steamy at Nice and Easel. If you are a blusher, hold on to your Victorian-style hand fan and get ready to cool yourself, because we’re looking at romantic pieces of art today.

Rodin’s marble sculpture: “The Kiss” Their love was solid.

Before there were soap operas, there were scandalous sculptures. Auguste Rodin wasn’t impressed with his sculpture. He called it a “knick-knack following the usual formula.” The Kiss features a marble Francesa da Rimini, having an affair with her brother-in-law. Rodin was commissioned to create bronze doors for a new museum in Paris. The Kiss was going to be part of the cast, but Rodin decided against it. Instead the sculpture sat half-done for a decade in his studio. When he did release it, people went nuts because it’s hot. Less hot: da Rimini and her BIL were murdered by her husband when he found out about their affair. Dante meets them in the second circle of hell. You might say it’s one hell of a sculpture.

I wonder how many couples have gotten engaged here? Love it!

I know you know this one. Robert Indiana did an entire series of LOVE sculptures that have become iconic. He created about fifty of them around the world in different variations, but always with that Indiana flavor. In the same way Rodin wasn’t enamored with The Kiss, Indiana didn’t “love” the LOVE series. I mean, he was probably just sick of making it over and over, right? Plus, he became known as a bit of a one-hit wonder. He lived out his last years as a recluse on an island off the coast of Maine.

By artist Antonio Canova. Hot name. Hot sculpture.

Last week my eight-year-old came home from school and confessed she and her friend got hushed by the teacher because they couldn’t stop saying “stupid cupid” and they were cracking themselves up. Of course I played Mandy Moore’s song for her right away. Psyche Revived by Cupid’s Kiss is one of my favorite romantic pieces of art. It’s so soft and dreamy and tender. Cupid is saving Psyche’s life (she stupidly opened a flask from Venus despite warnings) with a kiss. Later the gods give permission for the two to marry, making Psyche the goddess of Soul. Sigh. 

I hope your Valentine’s Day was less scandalous than da Rimini’s inter-family affair, fun as Indiana’s LOVE icon, and romantic as Cupid’s kiss. XOXO

The Light and Dark Side of Magic Realism

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Over the weekend I enjoyed a little stage art. My daughter and I saw The Illusionists, a Broadway show featuring six different magicians specializing in different types of magic- we saw The Daredevil, who did Houdini-esque stunts, The Elusive (now you see it, now you don’t!), The Sleight of Hand guy (he had a fancier name), etc. My favorite was the Mentalist, and not just because he wore suspenders and a bow tie. With tons of practice I could at least understand the other magicians, but he left me totally confounded. The only explanation is that he really was magic!

Magic realism was never my favorite kind of art, but now I’m torn, like a girl sawed in half. It is often such dark art, like this self-portrait by Ivan Albright (ages ago I posted about his painting in the Chicago Institute of Art, That Which I Should Have Done I Did Not Do):

I admire it. There’s no denying Albright’s talent, but his stuff is a little dark for me. Most magical realism is. But then I see something like this by Canadian artist Rob Gonsalves, and I swing like a hypnotist’s watch and LOVE magical realism!

This (tree)tops all.

Wikipedia cites Matthew Stretcher defining magical realism as, “what happens when a highly detailed, realistic setting is invaded by something too strange to believe.” Like the time I saw a guy give a pufferfish CPR and it came back to life, maybe? Have you ever experienced anything too strange to believe? What about the Spanish magician who announced he was going to disappear? “Uno!” he exclaimed, “Dos!” And then he vanished!!! Without a tres.  

Avocadon’t You Love Superbowl Ads?!

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Before there was Nice and Easel there was AdBits, my first blog. Yes, my love for art extends to the creative art that is media in the form of commercials. Now we only have Netflix, so I never get to see commercials anymore, but Superbowl Sunday? Is a happy day for me. Here were my favorite commercials in no particular order:

    Turbo Tax (all people are tax people)
    Snickers (the world needs a Snickers)
    Avocado Baby Gear

Honorable mention goes to the Google ad with Loretta. It lost points for making me face mortality.

Let’s talk about number three. Avocados are having their moment, aren’t they? At Christmas we had to buy some secret Santa gifts for my kid’s teammate and she was like, “Oh, just get her anything avocado.” My daughter herself received an avocado heating pad and shirt that says “Avo Great Day!” My other daughter has a shirt that reads, “Just a Girl Who Loves Hockey and Avocados!” Then Molly Ringwald (I heard they paid her a lot of avocadough for this roll) comes along with a killer commercial for this amazing fruit, that we sort of think is a vegetable, but really not that either.
I never realized how often avocados show up in the most famous pieces of art, until I really started looking. Take these for example:

Avocados are amazing time after time.

Avocados rock!

The Birth of Venus’ love for avocados.

And just in case you came here, really trying to learn something serious today, let me offer you this: There is no famous avocado art. But here are some avocado fun facts that really guac! Er… rock!

    People in South Central America have been eating avocados for 10,000 years!
    Americans haver been eating it for about 50 (and we think we’re trendy- ha!)
    Avocados have had some other names throughout history: Fertility Fruit, Alligator Pear, Butter 
        Fruit
   Avocados have a long-standing reputation as an aphrodisiac. FYI. (Valentine’s Day is coming up! 
       Maybe a nice bouquet of avocados for your sweetheart?)

I promise next week I’ll be back to talking about art. I just couldn’t resist that funky fruit! I know- my lack of discipline is PITiful.

Art in Michigan

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One reason I decided to blog about art is that I knew I would never be short on material. It is everywhere we turn! Yesterday my friend Carla and I visited the IQhub in St. Johns, MI- eleven short miles from my house, yet I’d never been. They are featuring some local artists right now, so there were no excuses for me to not pop in and check it out!

I found my favorite piece of the day the minute I walked in. Carla said it was also her mom’s favorite.

The umbrella painting is one of Theressa Levett’s three piece series in the exhibit. The other two are equally awesome:

Levett is a new featured artist in the Clinton County Arts Council gallery too. (Carla? You up for another field trip?!) I Facebook stalked Theressa (as you do) and became even more enamored with her work. She hails from London, Ontario and currently resides in Grand Rapids (which is quickly becoming a mecca of amazing art- she’s in the right place if you ask me!) Keep an eye on her. I have a feeling we’re going to be seeing great things from her!

And speaking of great things- you have to see this. Ivan Iller has won Lansing’s Scrapfest two years running. Obviously. Because, ohmygosh, look at this awesomeness. 


And can we talk about the elephant in the room? 

This video was too big, but do you see the crank on the side? This beast moves!


Iler’s art can be seen all around Lansing, and not just during Scapfest. You’ll notice his Portrait of a Dreamer downtown by Impression 5 and Lugnut Stadium. Or Splash at the splashpad in St. Johns. Or The Ledges in Grand Ledge (this is my favorite local sculpture and I just learned he made it!) I’m willing to bet he wins Scrapfest again this year too. Somebody give this guy a run for his money!

Like I said, art is everywhere, but Michigan is making it especially accessible. High five, Michigan!

CharlesTON of Beautiful Art

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If you run into me and I’m speaking a bit differently and saying “y’all” a lot, it’s because I just got back from Charleston, South Carolina! You won’t recognize the dialect exactly because my southern accent sounds a lot like my British/Australian/Irish accent. It didn’t stop me from using it the whole three days I was there. And the two days since I’ve been back. I think it’s charming and enduring and my family? Doesn’t.

This was my first trip to Charleston and it was so fun! I loved the history, food, architecture, scenery, and of course- the art. We visited the Gibbes Museum of Art, which was full of beautiful art AND had a scavenger hunt on hand for my daughter. You know art museum scavenger hunts are among my favorite things in this world, so that was a huge win right off the bat.

It’s always so hard to pick my favorite piece of art, but I force my kids to do it, so I must as well. Here was my favorite:

The Green Fan (I, for one, am a fan. Of the fan.)

Isn’t she stunning? She was painted by Robert Henri, who was fascinated with Spanish culture. He visited Toledo, Spain (Not to be confused with the less exotic Toledo, Ohio. Which actually wouldn’t have been such a stretch because Henri was born in Cincinnati.) in 1912, which is where he painted this young lady. Henri was into realism like Picasso was into cubism. “Boisterous realism” is how one article put it. He was a member of “The Eight”- eight artists who were bucking American Impressionism and faux-Classicism. Henri’s motto was “Art for life’s sake.” He went on to be a renowned art teacher, in addition to a prolific painter. His book “The Art Spirit” has been described by young artists as life-changing. That’s a pretty good review, if you ask me. I trust his book is full of lovely quotes like this one I read: “Your work will be the statement of what have been your emotions.” And “The stroke is just like the artist at the time he makes it.”

Just for fun, here is another painting he did of Felix Asiego, who was a horrible person and happened to be Rita Hayworth’s father.

Portrait of El Matador, Felix Asiego (or Portrait of El Jerko)

So next time you’re in Charleston, let me recommend the Gibbes Museum of Art. It gibbes me all the feels, y’all.

Shedding Light on Jesus’ Arrest

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Right before Christmas we were robbed. There was quite a ring of people involved. Some of them were caught, some not. We got some of our stuff back, we’re still hoping to get some other stuff back. It was disheartening. Yesterday, my Dad’s truck was broken into. His neighbors’ cars were broken into too. And of course, there’s the hacked credit cards. It seems like at least once a year we have to order a new card because someone got their thieving little paws on the last one. I’ve had it up to here with these bad guys! I’m just going to say it- they suck.

They suck, but not as bad as Judas Iscariot! Talk about a bad guy. Caravaggio captures the worst betrayal the world has ever seen in his painting, The Taking of Christ.

What a riot! An IscaRIOT to be exact.

The painting gives us a front row seat to the moment after Judas’ infamous kiss. Jesus is leaning back, dismayed, but resigned, while his best friend John (far left) realizes what is happening and runs away, yelling, maybe alerting the other disciples? Jesus’ hands are still folded from his desperate prayer, which really conveys his innocence, and Judas’ jerkiness. The soldiers are seizing Jesus already, without waiting for Judas to fully pull away from the kiss. Caravaggio himself is holding the lantern on the far right. I knew he became famous for his unique lighting technique in paintings, I didn’t know there was a name for it beyond “unique lighting technique.” Apparently, the artsy term is “tenebrism.”

In the center, you might notice the soldier’s armor is especially shiny. He didn’t just go through the car wash as it may seem, but Caravaggio wanted viewers to see their reflections and be aware of their own sin and betrayal of Jesus. Pretty deep for a guy who was known for his temper and was handed a death sentence for murdering (at least) one guy.

There are a dozen or so copies of this painting, but the original and most famous hangs in Dublin. It was missing for 200 years before someone realized it was hanging in the Society of Jesus dining hall in Dublin in 1993. 

I especially love the expressions in the painting: John’s panic, Jesus’ grief, even Judas looks a bit conflicted, in my opinion. Truthfully, the entire painting is quite arresting.

Moustaches: They Can Really Grow On You

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In college my roommates and I used to watch Jeopardy all the time. (I was super cool. Super.) I may even know not one, but two people who were on Jeopardy! Since then, I haven’t been able to watch as much as I’d like, but you better believe I tuned in last night for the first of the JeopardyGOAT episodes. It did not disappoint! Of course, every episode of Jeopardy now is just a little heartbreaking because of Alex Trebek’s cancer diagnosis. But he’s such a champ. I think it goes without saying HE is the Jeopardy GOAT.

Though Alex Trebek doesn’t have his moustache anymore, I will forever picture him with it. In honor of our favorite trivia hero, here are some famous pieces of art featuring moustaches.

Hand on my heart, I thought this was Jack Sparrow at first.

I absolutely love the clarity of this self-portrait by Gustave Courbet! Plus, it is incredibly relatable. I feel like I have this wild-eyed, hands to hair in freak-out mode look, at least a hundred times a day. We’re out of coffee, we’re running late, we forgot a hockey stick, the guinea pigs are loose, etc. etc.

What’s better than one moustache in a painting? TWO moustaches in a painting!

It’s another self-portrait! Paul Gaugin painted himself sporting a low handlebar moustache avec goatee. He is channeling his inner Jean Valjean in this painting to signify his feeling outcast from the Parisan art society. The painting was part of an agreement between he and his buddies Vincent van Gogh and Emile Bernard (that’s him on the wall!) to do self-portraits emulating Japanese printmaking.

I moustache you your thoughts on waxing.

You had to know I wasn’t going to do a blog post on moustaches and not feature our girl Frida Kahlo. She did this self-portrait in 1940, after her divorce from Diego Rivera, with whom she had a crazy tumultuous relationship. She was in tremendous physical pain during the time of this painting, and had endured about 35 surgeries since she was in an accident at age 18. This portrait shows her enduring the pain with a stoic grace. Much like one might endure waxing and plucking facial hair.

Monkeying Around in 2020

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Happy New Year! I don’t know about you, but I have a good feeling about this year. Something tells me it’s going to be fun and funny, yet poignant and productive. Not to mention the art. It’s going to be full of fantastic art- both new and old.

There’s a lot of pressure deciding what painting to feature in the first Nice and Easel post of the year. Of the decade! What is the perfect piece of art to kick off 2020? I knew the second I laid eyes on it.

You know I go bananas for animal art. 

David Teniers the Younger was quite prolific for a guy I’ve never ever heard of. In addition to being a very versatile artist, he was a curator, innovator, and educator. Apparently, he was the “leading Flemish genre painter of his day.” I mean- have you ever heard of him?! He’s a great painter! He’s credited with about two thousand paintings. That’s almost one for ever year since we switched from BC to AD! He was eighty years old when he passed away, so assuming he started painting the very year he was born… (math, math, math…) he doled out about 25 great paintings every year! 

Also, Teniers seems like fun. For one thing, he painted a monkey encampment, kicking off a monkey movement so fully adopted by artists across Europe that it got its own name: singerie. The dogs playing poker never got their own genre name, but you better believe Teniers monkeys did. Here are a few other singeries by other artists influenced by Teniers.

Monkeys in a barbershop! van der Borcht’s singerie is a “cut” above the rest.

What do you call an angry monkey? “Furious” George.

This captures the world’s first use of the phrase, “See you soon, baboon.”

Additionally, Wikipedia says Teniers was a miniaturist. You have to a have a certain je ne sais quoi to be a miniaturist, and I think it makes him that much more enduring. While some of his art may have been mini, his talent was giant. And you know any artists putting animals into their paintings holds the (mon)key to my heart.