Wednesday, January 10, 2007

A Woman's World...

Earlier this evening, I had the pleasure of watching two documentaries that are being screened back-to-back at Film Forum. The great thing about Film Forum is that they show a lot of smaller movies that are specifically geared towards the arts and academia. The first of the films was called, With My Back to The World, which is about the artist Agnes Martin who passed away in 2004.

The movie is a quiet movie, full of the ideologies and insights of the artist renouned for her lengthy career crafting horizontal line and grid paintings.

Agnes Martin is one of my personal inspirations. In my studio, pinned to the wall, there is an essay entitled Beauty Is the Mystery of Life. This essay has fueled me onward to continue my artistic practices, even on those dark and doubtful days. It can be found in a book called, Uncontrollable Beauty: Toward a New Aesthetics.

The following movie was called, Squatting The Palace: An Installation by Kiki Smith in Venice. In an almost manic pace, the film traces the preparation of the exhibition, Homespun Tales: Stories of Domestic Occupation, held in the Fondazione Querini Stamplia in Italy. Smith is shown easily vascilating between media, sculpting, drawing, painting, and planning. I too am moved by Kiki Smith and her investigations into fairy tales and classical mythology.

Shown together, there is an interesting comparison and contrast between both female artists, examining the multi-facets of what it means to be an artist - particularly a woman artist. Each of the artists is vastly different from one another in style, practice, and generation, but in their disparity a common ground can be hammered out.

The screenings began tonight and will run for another two weeks. On Friday, January 12th, there will be a book signing for Smith and the directors for the Smith movie and a Q & A with the director of the Martin film. The activities begin at 7:30 PM in the main lobby of Film Forum.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Andrew! I don't comment often, but I check in periodically to read of your life in NYC, and I check Cynthia's blog as well. We're in downtown Seattle now, and loving it, writing and beading and crafting all sorts of fun stuff, in between experiencing the city. I've been working for Laura's company on the side and taking sushi and kitting classes, so I've got plenty to kep me busy. We miss you and everyone else so much--take care!

Anonymous said...

tony
hi andrew...i'm giving it another try...thanks for the comments on our blog...lets see if this one goes through...

Andrew Thornton said...

Hey Eva!

(In case you don't check your blog, I've posted this response here on my blog as well, just in case you don't see it there.)

It sounds like you've been keeping very busy! I haven't gotten a chance to visit Seattle, so I might have to drop by one of these days. I've heard many good things. Do you keep up with Tony and Lisa? They live in that neck of the woods.

I havven't heard from Laura in a while. But I LOVE Talisman Associates Inc.!!! I get most of my beading materials from them. Naomi is the best!

I hope that you both are doing well and that the new year is treating you kindly. It sounds like it has been. I'm glad to know that you both are happy, whole, and healthy! Miss you too!

Andrew Thornton said...

Hey Tony,

Looks like we have lift off! It's my pleasure to comment on Lisa and your blog. I believe that blogs are fundamentally about building community. They are, for me, a way of creating and maintaining relationships and friendships that might have otherwise fallen to the wayside. I'm just glad that we have all been able to keep in touch!

Anonymous said...

Unfortunately, I lost the password to that blog, which explains the lack of posts, so I don't really check it since I can't reply on there. We would love for you to visit! Seattle is great, and I know you'd enjoy it. I saw Tony and Lisa at the Tacoma bead show, when I worked it with Cynthia, but the town they live in is actually almost two hours from Seattle, so we haven't hung out. But I'd love to see any of you. When you visit, be sure to bring Cynthia and Greg and Azalea and Sheila and Frick and everyone...we'll squeeze you in if it means we get to hang out. :) Cynthia doesn't allow anonymous comments, so let her know I've been faithfully reading her blog and I love her new work, even though I can't actually post to her entries.

My real actual blog is at http://evajulianna.livejournal.com/ if you ever want to get in touch. Love!