Art! The Perspective in the Creative Process: Part VIII

Howdy.

Here we are now further along into the year with more of the world’s things Art. With yet another take or reiteration on some of those things out there that assure us that people ‘are’ paying attention and are affected in some capacity or other with a 21st century response.

Quite a few reviews had mentioned the extensive summer season’s exhibitions for many well known and not so well known museums and galleries across the waters from the US. One was touting the largest exhibition space in Europe; Hamburg, Germany’s Deichtorhallen as a 27,000-square-foot hall with more than 300 workers in varying forms of media throughout.

And absconding (as someone did) this July in Russia, with 220 pieces of jewelry and other items to the tune of about $5million dollars from the St. Petersburg museum. As well, said items were supposedly not insured because of some pretext about ‘not’ being currently exhibited? And… a curator suddenly dies during inventory proceedings…

Humph…

And yet in the similar surroundings of sort; other museums in St. Petersburg, Russia that is, were doing major exhibitions this summer season. One even had sketches from a person who was stranded on the Mir spaceship. I would consider that a truly ‘off-the-planet observation & perspective’ of the cosmos that very few humans would ever get to encounter. Let alone express…

And speaking of theft in the art world (and no, I don’t mean copyright infringements or things like song or image pillaging, although those would certainly qualify), recovery was made by the Norwegian police of 2 paintings stolen off the wall in 2004 by gunmen at the Munch Museum in Oslo, of works by famed artist Edward Munch (The Scream).

Also this year finds the most expensive painting on record sold in June. $135 million for a “Klimt” work. This tells me there is definitely money out there in Art for some people, as well as dollar value availability. WOW!!!

Art takes it on…

New York Theater Workshop, takes on re-enactment of Colorado’s Columbine High School 1999 massacre, called columbines. It’s incredible to me to realize that it has been that long since that sordid affair.

World famous museum the Louvre in Paris, gets a dose with the Hollywood movie biz in the film The Da Vinci Code.

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And here we go with another round…

Again, more response to the fallout from the Danish newspaper cartoons that mocked the Prophet Mohammed awhile back. Now it seems that there is an exhibit in Tehran where more than 200 cartoons mocking the Holocaust are on display. Cartoons chosen from over 1,200 entries in a contest by a newspaper in response to the controversy from before. The pen as mighty as the sword, 21st century version or something like that. People ‘are’ paying attention to & using visual renderings of things, it seems. This one even comes with a $12,000 prize. An ongoing battle with cartoon characterizations in the newspaper? Many types of battlefields out there…

But Is It Art? What Is Art? Is “that” Art? Constantly the questions remain.

Pen & Paper. Those two simple tools have accounted for some of the most poignant and beautiful presentations of music, visual art & architecture, literature, etc. to behold (and be moved by), and still play a part in this modern world of our electronic & digital high-tech, cyberspace outrageousness. And as I have mentioned before there will always be Art. In its many guises and forms and with its many different interpretations and meanings to so many different people and such. A portcullis to a gateway of emotional responses, places and frames’ of mind. Quenching the thirst for culture for some, and rocking the boat of others.

Art is there even when it’s something many don’t feel comfortable with, believe in or even except to have any meaning. It can be profound and emotionally moving at times. Some of it even has a destructive affect on people, and a euphoric affect on others. Very much an integral part of the world go ‘round. And so…