Stories of Art, Part II

Part I of my posts on James Elkins’ Stories of Art begged the questions:

Is the Story of Art History a multicultural one? Or is it an inherently Western Story?

Why does it matter {how the Story of Art is told} anyway?

the pale blue dot, from NASA's website

Before I can begin to answer these questions, I must look back at where the discipline of Art History began. Weird to think that at some point it was non-existant, no? In my world, it’s as essential as Math or English. But as far as the universe is concerned, Art History is barely a blip on the radar. Which reminds me, have you ever seen the famous “pale blue dot” photo of the earth taken by Voyager 1 as it exited our solar system? The earth appears as a single pale blue pixel lost in the vastness of space – as though it were a blemish on an otherwise dark spectral canvas that begs to be photoshopped out. That’s the kind of perspective I’m talking about ;)

New Song Sunday - A D@#n Good Goodbye

From the John Butler Trio (an Australian band whose albums have gone platinum down under) here is "Don't Wanna See Your Face No More"...

Finding Lost Treasure

Etsy is literally a treasure trove of handmade and vintage goods. The sellers number in the hundreds of thousands. How can one not feel a little overwhelmed at the prospect of browsing through so many goodies?

Welcome 'Treasury East', a permanent collection of member curated galleries;  each gallery featuring 16 items. {This is etsy's latest improvement to their former treasuries 'main' and 'west' - where galleries expired after two to three days and only featured 12 items.}

Here's one by 'Kathleencavalaro', featuring yours truly, called "Not Your Typical Mother's Day":

Strolling through the list of tempting titles also became less of a chore with the addition of the first three photos from the gallery to give you an idea of the things you'll find inside. This is harder to say then it is to see, come take a look for yourself, but don't blame me if you get hooked on hunting for treasure:
http://www.etsy.com/treasury/

New Song Sunday - "The Do" Over

from the family photo album, my big sis & a boy, circa 1972

How can I convince you how great this band is - by posting another of their songs, of course.

"The Do" lamenting a lost, yet useless, lover:

My Latest Read: 'Stories of Art' by James Elkins

"… Stories of Art is a terrific and transparent meditation on what’s at stake in the histories of art we all so glibly recite. Instead of writing yet another survey, James Elkins provides the little counternarrative that rubs up against the monumental survey volumes with a kind of graceful annoyance. This is the little buzzing bee that worries the elephant.” –Michael Ann Holly, Clark Art Institute (from the back cover of the book)

I’m writing this on my laptop, which is perched upon my own survey of art history book from college – Gardner’s Art Through the Ages, ninth edition. It is almost 9 ½” wide by over 11” long, it has 1,135 pages, weighs approximately 8 pounds according to my bathroom scale and currently has two bent and battered slips of paper sticking out the top from when I last perused it for inspiration. It’s great for pressing flowers or, if you can heft it, for whacking upside somebody’s head in self defense.

New Song Sunday - Playground Hustle

"Victory!"

Close-up scan from an antique french children's book about a 

boy fighting imaginary battles. Artwork by William Parkinson.

A duo from France,  The Do (pronounced like dough) have enjoyed the success of their debut album overseas since 2008. The U.S. release was only last week. They use an incredible range of instruments which combine to make a thoroughly unique & modern sound that doesn't take itself too seriously.

Another scan from Guy Le Batailleur, c. 1895

Artwork by William Parkinson

New Song Sunday, Vie en Rose

And now for something completely different....
from the indie duo Pomplamoose.
This is a 'VideoSong', where
"1. What you see is what you hear. (No lip-syncing for instruments or voice)
 2. If you hear it, at some point you see it (No hidden sounds)." (wiki)




c'est magnifique, n'est-ce pas?