Other artists Archives - Page 9 of 30

by Marja-Leena

Michiko Suzuki: Flicker of Life

I’ve written about my friend and fellow printmaker Michiko Suzuki several times here but I missed telling you about her most recent solo exhibition Flicker of Life ~ Selected Works (1993 – 2008) held at the Penticton Art Gallery in Penticton, BC. She now has a lovely slide show of it that I think you will enjoy, just click on slide show. What a beautiful space and Michiko’s work looked fantastic there!

Also, you may like to read her exhibition statement on the gallery’s site.

And here’s more about Michiko in my earlier posts:
August 2004
October 2005
September 2006
October 2006
April 2008
(UPDATE April 8th, 2009: The link to the slide show is now fixed. Please try it and let me know if there are still any problems viewing it. Thanks to J for spotting the error!)
UPDATE August 3rd, 2012: The exhibition is now also viewable in video.

April 6, 2009 in Art Institute (Printmaking), Other artists, Printmaking by Marja-Leena 19 Comments »

by Marja-Leena

a Wm. Kentridge video

This was sent to me by artist friend Dorothy:
In “Taking a Line for a Walk” (2007) William Kentridge performs what looks like pantomime until, as it repeats, bare bones animation gives his moves meaning.
Delightful! And I see that William Kentridge is showing at SFMOMA March 14th to May 31st of this year. Dorothy says she’s going to San Francisco and will see the exhibition, lucky lady!

************************************************************
Added March 13th:
(Poet Joe Hyam sent me this astonishing response. I feel this deserves a place up front with Kentridge’s video rather than buried in the comments.)

Some years ago I wrote this poem beneath the Paul Klee quotation:
The original movement, the agent, is a point that sets itself in motion. A line comes into being. It goes for a walk, so to speak, for the sake of the walk.

From the black seed of the first explosion
Grew a line, sinuous, filament-thin,
Walked out through matter, aeon after aeon,
Till it paused to rest at the place we’re in.
Do you want to see what drawing or text
Is described in particles of light? What next?
With straining eyes you crane your neck
To see if anything familiar is left
Amid the spongey darkness of the wreck
Of its ventures all clogged up and cleft.
What will happen to it in the end
Turns into a game of let’s pretend.
You watch the screen and click the mouse
But nothing shows. Is there an actor in the house?

The only change I would make now as I look at it again is the last sentence. “Is there an artist in the house?” might be more appropriate.
I was so pleased to see this video about taking a line for a walk that I felt I had to respond immedately. I had long nurtured and taken pleasure in Klee’s idea, which says so much about a particular attitude to drawing. I wrote the poem when I first encountered the quotation at an exhibition at the Tate Modern, but I can’t remember precisely when.

(Thank you, Joe! If you don’t know Joe Hyam’s work, please get acquainted with his thoughtful and beautiful daily observations at Now’s the Time and the amazing Compasses, Handbook for Explorers, a poetry and photo collaboration with Lucy Kempton.)

March 11, 2009 in Art Exhibitions, Films, Other artists by Marja-Leena 6 Comments »

by Marja-Leena

Ihaya: Trees and Water

Tomoyo Ihaya, Ladakh Indus I, 2009, mixed media.

I haven’t posted about any exhibitions in a long while but here’s one that I want to share. My friend Tomoyo Ihaya is presenting “DRAWINGS – TREES and WATER”:

Trees and water are recurring subjects in Ihaya’s artworks. In her eyes, they are symbols of growth and life, essential to human and other creatures’ existence. Profoundly influenced by her recent travels and life in India, Ihaya’s new series of works are extremely relevant in today’s eco-conscious world, but more specifically pertain to the artist’s personal journey. The underlying environmental theme echoes insights on the effect of western influence over Indian culture while the importance of living well with insight and an open mind reminds one not to take the basic fundamentals of life for granted.

OPENING: Friday, February 27th, 2009, 3-6pm, with the artist in attendance
Exhibition runs until May 15th, 2009
at ART BEATUS, 108 – 808 Nelson Street, Vancouver

Please read more about Tomoyo and her influences on the gallery’s site. And this excellent article with photo in the Straight (half-way down).

Tomoyo is a sensitive and prolific artist who exhibits frequently, so it’s no surprise she appears on these pages several times, first in January 2005. Please search for more if interested. Way to go, Tomoyo!

February 24, 2009 in Art Exhibitions, Other artists by Marja-Leena 5 Comments »

by Marja-Leena

Tapio Wirkkala, Finnish designer

Go fetch yourself a cup of your favourite brew, sit down and watch this gorgeous 16 minute video on Tapio Wirkkala, in English and some Finnish. Virtual Finland* presents him as “a father figure of Finnish applied art who merged form and function in a dialogue between thought, hand, eye and material.” He is an amazing artist whose name and work, to me, is synonymous with Finland.

I’m proud to own a few pieces of his, such as some Tapio glasses and Ultima Thule (ice) bowls. I’m also particularly fond of the name Tapio (pronounced TUP-e-o), the name of my brother and the name of a pagan Finnish god of the forest. As you will see in this video, that name was significant for Wirkkala as well, who found nature especially in Finnish Lapland was a profound source of inspiration as well as solace and strength.

There’s more about Tapio Wirkkala elsewhere in Virtual Finland*, at Finnish Design and at Wikipedia.

Added Dec.6th: Today is Finland’s 91st Independence Day! I will place two candles in the window and light them at dusk. Hyvää itsenäisyyspäivää to Finland and my Finnish readers!

*Sadly, the Virtual Finland site no longer exists so links have been removed.

December 5, 2008 in Culture, Finland, Estonia & Finno-Ugric, Other artists by Marja-Leena 11 Comments »

by Marja-Leena

Male Self-Portraits

500 Years of Male Self Portraits in Western Art is another* wonderful video slide show set to music, created by Philip Scott Johnson.

I like the provided list of the artists in order of appearance, useful for the few I did not recognize or remember:
0:08 – Leonardo da Vinci 1452-1519
0:15 – Francisco Goya 1746-1828
0:22 – Albrecht Dürer 1471-1528
0:29 – Sir Joshua Reynolds 1723-1792
0:35 – Rembrandt 1606-1669
0:42 – Andy Warhol 1928-1987
0:48 – William-Adolphe Bouguereau 1825-1905
0:55 – Henri Matisse 1869-1954
1:02 – Eugène Delacroix 1798-1863
1:09 – Jean-François Millet 1814-1875
1:15 – Jan van Eyck 1395-1441
1:22 – Peter Paul Rubens 1577-1640
1:28 – James McNeill Whistler 1834-1903
1:35 – John Singer Sargent 1856-1925
1:42 – Kazimir Malevich 1878-1935
1:49 – Nicolas Poussin 1594-1665
1:55 – Paul Cézanne 1839-1906
2:02 – Paul Gauguin 1848-1903
2:08 – Vincent Van Gogh 1853-1890
2:15 – Dante Gabriel Rossetti 1828-1882
2:22 – Diego Velázquez 1599-1660
2:28 – Nicholas Hilliard 1547-1619
2:35 – Anthony van Dyck 1599-1641
2:41 – Titian 1485-1576
2:48 – Paolo Veronese 1528-1588
2:55 – Lucas Cranach the Elder 1472-1553
3:01 – Édouard Manet 1832-1883
3:08 – Pablo Picasso 1881-1973

Thanks to artist Harry Bell for featuring this at Boogie Street!

*Some of you may remember the fabulous slide show of Women in Art that was featured on a lot of blogs last year. After seeing the above, I revisited my post on that and noticed that it was no longer working, so I’ve updated the link. It is also by Philip Scott Johnson so check out the interesting information and more fascinating artist videos by him. What great time-sinks!

November 20, 2008 in Other artists by Marja-Leena 8 Comments »

by Marja-Leena

older female geeks

Natalie%26god.jpg
from cover of The God Interviews by Natalie d’Arbeloff

Natalie d’Arbeloff, artist, cartoonist, author of the amazing The God Interviews and blogger with alter-ego Blaugustine continues to inspire me with her colourful career and many talents, her humour and her energy. Recently she won a prize to be a guest editor for the Guardian newspaper’s Women’s section.

Here’s the first fabulous article she wrote: Where are all the older female geeks. As Natalie invites older women to take up blogging, I’m thrilled and honoured to be one of the listed bloggers; thank you, Natalie!

This week must be a very good one for older women bloggers, as I’ve also been mentioned by Virginia DeBolt at the BlogHer conference blog, thank you!

I’m looking forward to checking out the new blogs I’ve been introduced to by virtue of being in their company in this way, via these connections that are made and woven like a giant web. Like Natalie and Virginia and many bloggers, I am an ambassador of blogging, raving about its benefits and pleasures to everyone. Even after over four years of blogging, I’ve never thought of myself as a geek. Blogging software is enabling and easy after the initial learning curve if you are reasonably competent on a computer, plus I believe that a MAC is easier. I’m fortunate in having a couple of ‘geeky’ family members help me in getting started and with any rare problems that occur that I cannot handle.

If you are a new visitor here thanks to Natalie, the Guardian and Virginia, welcome! If you want to know more about why I blog, you may be interested in reading this interview. For a quick look at some of my art work, please visit the gallery (top left bar). Comments are always welcome and appreciated and I try to respond to each.

Finally, on the subject of older bloggers and issues of aging, I wish to point out Ronni Bennett’s excellent and well-researched blog Time Goes By. Today I learn that she is now contributing occasional articles to the Wall Street Journal on the same subject!

UPDATE June 15th: Thanks to Erika’s comment below, I’m eagerly checking out Came of Age Before Computers, a blog by Nancy Strider, an older female new media artist and geek! To quote her byline:

This website looks at some issues faced by “COABC’s”. These are elders, often our parents, who find themselves isolated on the other side of the digital divide because they came of age before computers. Nancy Strider examines the impact on daily life that results from lack of skills, access – or interest – in electronic tools like computers, email, and cell phones. She also makes positive suggestions for using the internet itself to facilitate a more lively engagement in the face-to-face world.

In contrast, I look at our granddaughters, 7 1/2 and 2 1/2 years old, who are already computer literate!

June 14, 2008 in Blogging, Books, Other artists by Marja-Leena 8 Comments »

by Marja-Leena

exhibit in Squamish

I’m pleased to announce that my friend Bonnie Jordan and I have a selection of our prints on exhibit in the new Artisan Gallery in the town of Squamish, north of Vancouver.

Here’s how the space is described in the Squamish Arts Council‘s newsletter:

For the past three years, Squamish Arts Council Directors have been working with the DOS [District of Squamish] and developer Talisman Homes to bring to life a District required amenity contribution art exhibition space at 1336 Main Street. The space is defined as a window gallery which is intended to be viewed form the outdoors 24 hours a day. The unexpected infusion of 80 feet of visual art enhances the downtown outdoor experience and ambience, and provides much need exhibit space for local and visiting artists. [This space] is particularly beautiful at night with the gallery lights, colors and shadows redefining Main Street.

The space is managed by Maciek Walentowicz and Susan Remnant, both artists and teachers. They were a wonderful help in hanging our works. Our thanks to them and the SAC for this opportunity to share our work with this community and to extend support to the efforts of the Arts Council.

Above is a glimpse of Bonnie’s work. Some readers may remember Bonnie’s name in these blog pages. She was one of the artists who exhibited with me in Vaasa, Finland in 2002, our most exciting one we’ve had I think, so please check out my micro-site Traces. And here is an article I did later of her work. The top and bottom works are in the Artisan too!

And here’s a look at my section. Our exhibit will be up for about three months, so if you are visiting or live in the Vancouver area and you are planning a trip up the Sea-to-Sky to Whistler, please stop in to Squamish and see our display.

Out of town readers may be interested to know that the town of Squamish sits on the north shore of beautiful Howe Sound next to the Sea-to-Sky Highway and the magestic Coast Mountains. It’s only about an hour’s drive north from Vancouver, so it has grown a lot in recent years as a bedroom community and as a popular recreation area as well as for being close to Whistler. It’s a mind-blowing gorgeous drive, but there’s some major reconstruction of the highway in preparation for the Winter Olympics in 2010 that astonished us with it’s immensity, but did not slow us too much.

June 7, 2008 in Art Exhibitions, Canada and BC, Other artists, Recent Exhibitions by Marja-Leena 13 Comments »

by Marja-Leena

a letter from Teju

My friend Teju Cole is the author of Every Day is for the Thief, which began life as a temporary blog, and was published in Nigeria last year. He is at work on another book, a novel about a young emigre psychiatrist in New York. In the meantime, he is also taking photographs, including these, which he sent me recently in this beautiful letter:

Dear Marja-Leena,
I am more conscious in spring that everything has its own life. It is most obvious with plants because that is where the visible drama is. But, because of the activity of form and color going on in them, I also notice what is happening elsewhere. The rain, the setting sun, puddles in the street, even statues: everything seems especially full of presence at this time. I would almost say that the world appears to be thinking, or lost in thought.
love,
Teju

Thank you, Teju, for allowing me to share your letter and your powerful and mysterious photos with my readers here!

This is the perfect opportunity for me to very-belatedly mention that I purchased a copy of Teju’s novel some time ago and truly felt moved and changed by his amazing words and photos, just as much as I loved his writings on his several too-temporary blogs. (Did I ever write to tell you this, Teju?)

Every Day is for the Thief is published by Cassava Republic and is available through Amazon. Here are two great reviews, by Languagehat and by Ethan Zuckerman.

May 29, 2008 in Books, Other artists, Photography by Marja-Leena 6 Comments »

by Marja-Leena

Robert Rauschenberg 1925-2008

I’ve just learned that one of my favourite contemporary artists has died at 82: Robert Rauschenberg.

The New York Times has a very good obituary on him. In case you cannot get past the registration wall that it may fall behind, I’ve saved it here as a PDF.

I’ve just fetched my copy of the monograph Rauschenberg: Art and Life by Mary Lynn Kotz, (2004. Abrams) (cover image above) and am revisiting my favourite images while pondering on his vast output and influence on so many artists.

May 13, 2008 in Being an Artist, Books, Other artists by Marja-Leena 4 Comments »

by Marja-Leena

artsy afternoon

Whenever I have to take the car over town somewhere, I usually try to do several things on that journey, to maximize pleasure over pain, for I dislike driving in Vancouver’s crazy traffic, and then there’s the cost of gas. So it was that I had arranged a date with my husband for yesterday afternoon. After a visit with my wonderful naturopath, I headed over to nearby Granville Island. I wandered for about an hour around some wonderful shops like Maiwa, highly tempted by their lovely artistic clothing and Asian fabric arts. Thinking about sewing, I checked out their craft supply store but did not find what I’d hoped for… maybe next time.

Then my husband arrived, having cycled from work. As always when we meet after work somewhere in town, he finds our van in a designated area, loads the bike inside and changes from cycling gear to regular clothes that he’s left in the car the night before, then comes find me. It’s such a delight to meet like this, makes me feel like twenty-something, almost.

Together we went into the Circle Craft Gallery to see our Finnish-Canadian friend Kaija Rautianen’s exhibition of Jacquard tapestry weavings, entitled Natural Images: Bear Encounters. Lovely work as always, and a very interesting process. Kaija’s images of bears were taken on a sailing trip up the coast of BC, where the bear is considered sacred by the First Nations. I thought of how the bear was also sacred to some of the ancient people in Finland* as well. Check out this excellent review.

Next stop was Emily Carr University of Art and Design (formerly Institute) to see the Emily Carr Grad Show 2008. Read about it on daughter Erika’s blog. We saw the website she assisted in creating, like she did last year when she was a grad. I didn’t have the energy to go through the entire massive show, but what we did see was impressive.

By this time we were hungry and headed over for an always wonderful meal in a favourite restaurant on this Island, overlooking all the boats in False Creek, with the city’s highrises glowing in the sunshine on the other shore. Nice date, don’t you think? I only wish I’d remembered the camera.

(*expired link has been removed)

May 8, 2008 in Art Exhibitions, Being an Artist, Other artists by Marja-Leena 7 Comments »

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Michiko Suzuki: Flicker of Life

a Wm. Kentridge video

Ihaya: Trees and Water

Tapio Wirkkala, Finnish designer

Male Self-Portraits

older female geeks

exhibit in Squamish

a letter from Teju

Robert Rauschenberg 1925-2008

artsy afternoon

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