Hello blog world! I am back. 2010 was let’s say BUSY. More busy then I could ever imagine. It’s 2011 and I feel like I can breathe again. I remember a conversation that I head early on in 2010 with one of my former co-workers. We were discussing how I went to Chinatown (NYC) for the Chinese New Year Celebration. Being of Chinese descent he at one point he mentions, “you know it is the year of tiger”. Since I love astrology and have studied it in depth, I have also read a bit about the Chinese animal signs. I wanted to hear from the horse’s mouth (i.e. someone whose culture it actually Chinese), I asked him. “So what is the year of the tiger all about?”
“Lots of activity. Lots of dramatic changes. You are going to be very busy and active this year.”
Um, that was an understatement. Hence the year long hiatus of Fever To Tell.
Well, I am back and I would like to share some art with you.
On December 30th, 2010, I went to The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. I have been there countless times as child. While it is not the most cutting edge museum in New York City it has a fantastic variety of every kind of art imaginable. It is a great starting point for those who want to get more into art, or for those who want an up close look at historical artifacts.
On this fine day I decided to explore the modern art wing- a wing I usually ignore because I beeline for the Medevial and Egyptian sections. Why do I do this? I figure since I am not in a modern art museum I should take advantage of soaking in all the artifacts, & things people used and cherished hundreds to thousands of years before it was even possible that I would ever exist. To think that one’s tomb might be in a museum thousands of years from now really trips me out. Imagine that in 3011 someone digs up your grave and puts in a glass case amongst the remains of Henry the VII, Picasso, Thomas Edison, Khubalai Khan, and Cleopatra. Is it disrespectful, or is it an honor? That, I do not have an answer for, but I do know that it is pretty darn amazing.
No more tangents. Back to my original purpose.
I stumbled upon an artist whose work I know I have seen in popular culture before. Her name is Florine Stettheimer. She was a turn of the 20th century artist from upstate NY who drew these art deco colorful pieces that were blatant social commentaries, as well as being something to marvel upon.
This piece is called the Cathedrals of Broadway. I really liked it. Not because it’s New York City-centric, but because the color and spacing is really kind of bizarre. You would think that the people in the frame should be a little bigger. After all, these “cathedrals” were constructed of the type of worship that is based upon humans themselves. What is Broadway if it is not a celebration of humans? It is our ability to act, emote, to put on a show and create a performance out of our stories. What entertainment really is is people. People costuming and highlighting their background and appearance with flowery dialogue, cockatoo frocks and sing songs about our feelings. But no, Stettheimer isn’t taking this perspective at all. Instead, she is creating this vast open space that is filled with color and movement, while her people are like pin drops, and her dazzling stars, colors, and signs take up most of the space. Clearly, the mayor, and the Roxy of this time period were quite important, nut they are more like monumental pieces rather than flesh, blood, and cabaret. However distant the pice may be from the actual people, there is a love here for what the admirer is portraying. I suppose this Florine was a fascinating person, and I am very much into this time period ( I believe it’s 1927). It seems as though her perspective is from very far away, but yearning to be inside. You can see that the scene as like a bouquet of fireworks and fanfare, rather than a distinct image. I love the abstract take, and I feel a intentional v shape in this painting. It’s times like this that I wish I was in school for art history.
While I will probably do some more research on Florine Stettheimer, I welcome any of you to fill me in if you know anything about her. The internet is a beautiful thing, and from I have found that she was also a poet. Here’s a poem that she wrote that seems describes a sketch of her elusive and (maybe?) magnetic personality. This just might explain a lot…
Occasionally
A human being
Saw my light
Rushed in
Got singed
Got scared
Rushed out
Called fire
Or it happened
That he tried
To subdue it
Or it happened
That he tried to extinguish it
Never did a friend
Enjoy it
The way it was.
So I learned to
Turn it low
Turn it out
When I meet a
stranger—
Out of courtesy
I turn on a soft
Pink light
Which is found
modest
Even charming.
it is protection
Against wear
and tears…
And when
I am rid of
The Always-to-be-
Stranger
I turn on my light
And become
myself.
