It was inevitable—the leap from Duchamp’s readymades (like the infamous urinal) to paintings of readymades. This was exactly what Jasper Johns did in the 1950s. But his interest was in iconographic objects, things that were symbols, that stood for something within a culture. And what icon in American culture could be more famous than the…
‘We’ll always have Paris.“ Remember that famous line from Bogey to Bergman (Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, in case you’re too young to know) in the film classic Casablanca? Done in black and white, it’s vintage Hollywood. A must-see for film lovers. Here’s a short trailer. Paris fascinates Hollywood. Hollywood fascinates Paris, by far the…
Abstract art: a product of the untalented sold by the unprincipled to the utterly bewildered.Al Capp Purely abstract art has always puzzled me. You know, the type of art in which you cannot see a recognizable object—human or otherwise. Usually, I look at such a painting and wonder if I am supposed to read…
In Paris, amble along, without objective, but merely for the pleasure of watching and observing. Treat yourself to the unexpected.
Ah, the freedom of getting vaccinated against covid. I’m looking forward to museum-hopping again. Preferably in Paris, to me, the museum capital of the world. Many visitors to Paris scribble art-viewing into their itinerary. Not as often, though, I think as shopping and eating. But museums are great on a rainy day. Plenty of them…
Prague has a real treasure “hidden” from most tourist groups herded into the city for a day or three. The current entry on Prague in Wikipedia doesn’t mention it. And, though it’s listed as a top attraction, Lonely Planet does not showcase it as a highlight to a Prague visit. Regrettable, I’d say. Especially if…
My house has a shoji room. A room that’s special because dedicated artisans from an old country crafted it. To me, its walls are an homage to traditional craftsmanship rarely practiced now, replaced by machines which, I admit, can spew out very good products. I find this shoji room a thing of beauty but much…
A fire nearly destroyed the iconic Cathédrale Notre Dame in Paris—arguably the most famous cathedral in the world. Current efforts to restore it have been hampered, like most of life nowadays, by a deadly virus. Now that we all have to stop and take many deep—hopefully cleansing—breaths, we have the luxury to wonder about its…
All art in this article are the works of Pawel Kuczynski. The United States no longer produces much. Except wars. Since World War II we have been producing war after war, more or less continually engaged in actual war or in semi-war, getting ready for the next active engagement, assumed to lie just around the…
True, you may not know him. His surviving œuvre numbers less than fifty, most of it at the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. He did father other artistic, probably better-recognized Brueghels. And years ago, he had another five minutes of fame in a film called ‘The Mill and the Cross.” The film is an imaginative…
I don’t know much about Polish art, but have at least heard that Polish poster art is stunning. It has been used for political purposes (those of resistance movements, for instance) and entertainment (notably, movies). To take my first steps into Polish poster art I haphazardly searched and found The Legacy Of Polish Poster Design.…
Renaissance Florence is legendary. Dominating the global art scene of the late middle ages from the 14th century, its extensive legacy is still evident everywhere in the old section of modern-day Florence. But as they say, “all good things must end” and by the early 16th century, Venice had surpassed Florence as the center of…
Artsy Rambler 