Every life is many days,
day after day. We walk through ourselves,
meeting robbers, ghosts, giants, old men, young men, wives, widows,
brothers-in-love, but always meeting ourselves.--Joyce
The rest is
coincidence. I was first introduced to Giacometti when I was 17
in an art class at a suburban Philadelphia highschool with an
encouraging-inspiring teacher, free will and loads of reference
material including a book on Giacommetti presenting him mainly
as a sculptor. I painted landscapes with watercolor in Penn's
woods stoned on life, while weather permitted and otherwise read
these books for inspiration.
I met him in
a book and years later I ran into him at the Museum of Modern
Art [MOMA] in New York.
I went to the
Free Friday [Pay what you wish rather] at the Moma the weekend
of the New York Marathon and met my cohert Maegan out front to find she had already
paid 3 cents to get two tickets thinking perhaps her boyfriend
would come, I called and appeared at the Museum after a long dry
day at the Donald Heald gallery and a bus ride.
The show, studded
with sculptures, offered great insight into Giacommetti's use
of other media. His drawings, although vaguely familiar, are by
far the most compelling part of the exhibition. One drawing particularly
sticks out in mind boasting erasing tears on the page this personally
applied paper damage separates Giacometti from todays slick art
rendering trend. Giacometti's use of strong emotional stroke,
intense layering and manipulation makes a viewer feel the artists
presence in the works, after all you are looking at them in a
crowded museum full of the classless loafers, starving artists
and/or sorry saps that didn't realize it was pay what you wish.
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by Kate Sullivan
for
Popportraits.com
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Definately worth
a gander; the show is definately not pop but it is indeed
a major influence on Modern concepts of sculpture and our response
to it is so pop:
This show inspired
Maegan and myself to draw asses of art seers. Asses seem to be a
solid subject and we decided that we could sit in the museum and
draw people as they looked at the art, for example-
11/10/01 at
6:09pm man looking at Large Head of Diego at Moma second
floor, left off of escalator rear violation. -Drawing by Maegan Dolan
©2001
Some Day you
may see your ass-for-sale. Check out the Moma site for more information
on Alberto Giacometti, and look out for more from Kate Sullivan.
* We rode
the 6 downtown and met a woman who was lovely and at the same
time very scary leather faced x-wife who after seeing a smirnoff
bottle roll across the train informed us of her x-husbands downfalls
including his drinking problem, she continued to mention her recent
run into anthrax at the New York Eyes Nose and Throat hospital,
she is frank with us because obviously she has spent as much on
her face as i have on my private education, she was panicked and
heading for her home in St.Martin...we'll see.
** The next
day accompanied by a bag of lobsters 3 bottles of red and a feast
I never made it home after Playing Tony Hawk and high jacking
beers at a "Skater Party" and I woke in my Softball team's captain's
apartment with a cohert Claire and a bad taste in my mouth only
to witness the marathon as walked home along Wythe Avenue on a
glorious day in Brooklyn sun a shining and I am home. The runner
broke his foot. Beyond Belief.
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Known mainly for
his "gaunt" figures, Giacommetti's MOMA show also presents several
busts, one narrow dipiction some with holes in the back of their
heads, bronze is not cheap, this made me wonder about his personal
life and ability to finance his madness. Turns out his family seemingly
inbreed and well off from the Alps supported his habits and had
him apprentice with another Giacommetti, whom was in his day well
revered.
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Annette with Chariot.1950
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Art History aside
by today's standards Maegan and I are authoritities hugely appreciative
of great art, and good coffee. After the museum tour we ventured
east in Midtown to an Italian restaurant to meet with my mother,
an Aloe salesman, a marathon runner and his new girl friend. They
were just finishing their dinner and maintaining conversation. We
made it just in time for fine dessert and an espresso. So jacked
up on espresso.*
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