Black Swan Image Works Weblog

Wonderful Rockwell Kent Exhibit

mgking — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 19:44:10 +0000

If you are going to be in the Albany, New York area, you must see the Rockwell Kent exhibit now at the New York State Museum in the Cultural Education Center. [Link: http://www.nysm.nysed.gov/] This is a magnificent exhibit showing many of Rockwell Kent’s great illustrations as well as oils, bookplates, and many other things he produced. If you are not familiar with any of his work, this is an excellent introduction.

I was surprised to learn that much of the displayed material is from the Rockwell Kent collection housed at the Rockwell Kent Collection and Gallery at the State University [of New York] at Plattsburgh. [Link: http://clubs.plattsburgh.edu/museum/rkent1.htm]

My impression is that Kent’s reputation has suffered because of his association with left-wing causes from the 1930s through the time of his death in 1971. I remember being told by my junior high school art teacher that we should not confuse Kent with Norman Rockwell and that we could not appreciate Kent “because he was a Communist.” O tempes! O mores! It is an oddity that Kent did not enjoy a revival in the 1960s and 70s, a time that revived the reputations of many left-wing artists. Perhaps this exhibit signals the beginning of a long due Kent revival.

Buenos Aires Handwritten Cafe Sign

mgking — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 16:55:09 +0000

I’ve always admired the color and artistry of handwritten street signs. Here is one from our 2008 trip to Argentina.

Handwritten Buenos Aires Cafe Sign

New Graphic Work

mgking — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 03:00:50 +0000

I am working on several new graphics at the moment. Two of them are below. Once done, they will, like all of my graphics, be available as individual prints. Most of the prints are also available in limited edition series. The top item doesn’t have a working title; the lower, is called Cross and Orb.

When in Montevideo

mgking — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 19:48:37 +0000

If you are traveling to Uruguay, you MUST visit the Museo Gurvich in Montevideo. Located on the Plaza Matriz at 1377 Ituzaingó. The museum features the work of José Gurvich, a Uruguayan artist who lived a very brief life, dying in 1974 at age 47. He was also one of the more prominent members of the Taller Torres-García, the collective, workshop, and art nursery of the seminal Uruguayan Constructivist, Joaquin Torres-García. If you have ever wondered whence Fernando Botero, the Colombian artist who has graced the Denver Performing Arts Center with a wonderful statue, you need look no further than some of Gurvich’s drawings and paintings from the late 1950s and 1960s.

Gurvich worked in many mediums and his bas-reliefs are stunning.

I cannot say enough about the ocean of art created south of our border, and I am not just talking about Freda Kahlo. You owe it to yourself to seek out some of this work.

The museum’s website is http://www.museogurvich.org/

More Eva Peron

mgking — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 22:52:48 +0000

Eva Duarte Peron, the Evita of the Broadway show and Madonna’s poor cinematic imitation, still has a grasp on the imagination of some Argentines. Here are three images taken on a 2008 trip to Buenos Aires. The first shows the cover of the guide book handed out at Museo Evita , which is more shrine than museum; the second, the gate of the Duarte crypt in Recoleta Cemetary, which is usually decorated with fresh flowers; and last, one of the plaques that flank the gate to the Duarte family crypt.

Guidebook from Museo

Duarte Crypt in Recoleta Cemetary

One of the Evita plaques on the Duarte crypt

Recoleta Cemetary, Buenos Aires

mgking — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 01:58:02 +0000

Last year spouse and I traveled to Argentina. Here is a composition created from four funerary statues that are in Buenos Aires’ famous Recoleta Cemetary. Recoleta is the final resting place of Evita Peron, whose remains are in a family vault, although her husband’s remains are outside of Buenos Aires.

New Year’s Resolution

mgking — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 01:48:14 +0000

I will try to keep the blog fresh, which, for me, means a post a week. I thought that were this to appear on the web, it might help steel my resolve.

Michael

ThreadlessTees Contest Entry

mgking — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 21:55:38 +0000

Here is a design I submitted to Threadless for a theme contest on democracy. Too political? I don’t think so. The Declaration of Independence says “…and liberty and justice for all,” which to me is quite straightforward and not at all what the Colorado Society for Hateful Anachronisms [i.e., Mr. Dobson] wants it to mean. Your thoughts?

I was in error when I attributed the “liberty and justice …” to the Declaration of Independence. As spudhorse correctly noted, the text I quoted is in the Pledge of Allegiance.

And liberty and justice for all?

A work in process

mgking — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 18:11:49 +0000

Another something to look at as I keep fiddling with it.

Imperial Iron has BIG plans!

mgking — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 19:04:17 +0000

My good friend, Gloria Mendoza, who with her husband, Pedro, run Imperial Iron, an Ornamental and Public Art iron working firm that combines Gloria’s design talents and Pedro’s skill at the forge, want to construct a series of 1920s style figures that will be part of public displays. Here is the first project they are thinking about. This shilouette is based on a drawing by Gloria’s brother-in-law, that I have converted for them into a vector graphic. If you have a custom iron work project in mind, there are no better people to transform your thoughts into solid form! Contact them at 720-628-9993.