Buddha and Picasso at the British Museum

The Fall season has started at London’s British Museum with two excellent free exhibitions.

Images and sacred texts: Buddhism across Asia starts today. It covers Buddhist art and sacred literature from Sri Lanka to Japan and explains the core beliefs of what can be a difficult religion to understand. The artifacts are from the museum’s permanent collection–one of the biggest in the world–and include many items that have never been displayed before.

Picasso to Julie Mehretu: modern drawings from the British Museum collection started on October 7 and examines the interchange between artists over the past hundred years. It begins with Picasso, one of the most influential artists of the twentieth century, and ends with Julie Mehretu, an Ethiopian artist who is one of today’s most popular contemporary artists.

The British Museum is one of many free museums in London, including the Tate Modern, Tate Britain, National Gallery, and National Portrait Gallery. This helps cut the cost of a trip to what is otherwise a very expensive destination. The British Museum is deservedly high on every visitor’s list because of its giant collection of artifacts from every ancient culture, from Egyptian mummies to Viking swords. The ongoing series of free exhibits gives repeat visitors a chance to see something new with every trip.

Picasso to Julie Mehretu: modern drawings from the British Museum collection will run until 25 April 2011. Images and sacred texts: Buddhism across Asia runs until 3 April 2011.

Swinging new art exhibit comes to Vienna Museum

If you want to see one of Gustav Klimt’s pieces, you’ll need to cross through a world that may make you uncomfortable … and you’ll probably need partner. Haven’t figured it out yet? The Secession, a contemporary art museum in downtown Vienna, has plopped a swingers club between the museum and the Klimt – part of a project by Christoph Buechel, an artist from Switzerland. During the day, you’ll find mattresses, a bar and a whirlpool, as well as photos to make you blush. At night, of course, it becomes Element6, and anything between two among as many partners as you can assemble goes.

The project, which runs until April 18, 2010, is intended to recall the controversial “Beethoven” Frieze by Klimt that was exhibited first in 1902. Though it’s now thought to be one of Klimt’s most important pieces, it was originally considered to be pornographic (I guess the Austrians didn’t “know it when they saw it” back then). This time around, the Austrians aren’t offended. The right-wingers aren’t crazy about it, but the general public doesn’t seem disturbed. Gerald Adler, of the Kent School of Architecture in Britain, tells The Associated Press, “He’s putting it in a place that’s an accepted venue for avant-garde art, so it loses its effect.”

Three important American artists and their museums

Tom’s post about the exhibit in Paris of Andy Warhol’s work reminded me of the wonderful Warhol experience I had this past fall at the Wexner Center and my interest in going to the Warhol Museum on Pittsburgh. Museums dedicated primarily to the work of one artist is a way to really see what made a particular artist tick and why his or her work is important to the art scene and culture.

If you want to dive into the world of Warhol, Pittsburgh is a place to start. There are two other American artists who have had an impact on American sensibilities and American contributions to the art scene. Both also have museums dedicated to them. The museums are also places to see works of others who have shared similar muses.

There are other important American artists, but these are the ones I know have museums dedicated to them. If you know of others, please do tell. The museum in the photo is not Warhol’s. Any guesses whose it is and where it is? Read on to find out.

The Andy Warhol Museum

Where? Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Why there? This is the city where Warhol was born and grew up.

What’s at the museum? 12,000 of Warhol’s pieces that include paintings, photographs, prints and video interviews. This sweeping retrospective encompases Warhol’s artistic endeavors from the 1940s to the 1980s.

Why is Warhol important? Warhol whose scope and amount of work can make a person dizzy, is partly responsible for the fusion of art, popular culture and celebrity. The thing about Warhol that I find so interesting is how he turned himself into a celebrity in the process of helping other’s find their spot in the limelight, however fleeting. Warhol is the one who coined the phrase “In the future, everyone will be famous for 15 minutes.”

Famous works: The portraits of Marilyn Monroe and Chairman Mao, plus Cambells soup cans, Brillo Pads and Warhol’s self-portraits among others.

What else is there? The Warhol Museum is dedicated to promoting the work of other contemporary artists. This weekend is the last chance to see the exhibits: The Vader Project: 100 Pop Surrealistic artists’ versions of Darth Vader’s helmet and The End: a collection of works by artists in response to the economic woes in the United States. These end on May 3, so hurry.

The Georgia O’Keefe Museum

Where? Santa Fe, New Mexico. Why there? O’Keefe drew inspiration from New Mexico’s desert and made the state her home.

What’s at the museum? In the collection are 1,149 of O’Keeffe paintings, drawings and sculptures created between 1901 and 1984. This is the largest collection of O’Keefe’s work in the world. Through September 2009, the painting Jimsom Weed that hung in the White House dining room for 8 years will be on display. This is the flower pictured here.

Why is O’Keefe important? O’Keefe has held her own in a world dominated by men as an avant garde artist who helped form American Modernism. One trademark is her depictions of the natural world in a way that is lush, alluring, and sensual in a manner that is instantly recognizable as her own. Part of O’Keefe’s aim was to show “the wideness and wonder of the world as I live in it” as she put it.

Famous works: Flowers, cow skulls, New Mexico mountains and architecture.

What else is there? The museum also shows works of other contemporary American artists that typically highlight O’Keefe’s influence.

C. M. Russell Museum

Where? Great Falls, Montana Why there? Charlie Russell moved to Montana from in 1880 ate age 16. He lived in Great Falls until his death in 1926.

What’s at the museum? On exhibit in the permanent collection are 2,000 pieces of Russell’s artwork that show his development as an artist and a storyteller of Western life. Also included are items that were his that highlight his life.

Why is Russell important? With dreams of being a cowboy, Russell switched to being a full-time artist after years of combining the two professions. His love of American Indians and western life helped him create paintings and sculptures that tell the story of the West by someone who knew it well. One of Russells quotes that has a resonance, I think with travelers. “Lonesome makes shy friends of strangers.”

Famous works: American Indians, scenery, cowboys. Two paintings of note. The Jerkline and The Fireboat. The Jerkline is pictured here.

What else is there? Contemporary American western art and photography of other western-themed artists. Here’s a place to learn more about western life through the years. Contemporary artists’ work are also on exhibit, as well as Russell era artists. One current special exhibit that caught my attention is Photographing Montana 1894-1928: The World of Evelyn Cameron. Cameron was a female photographer who captured thousands of images of life and scenery of the West.

A Canadian in Beijing: 798 Arts District Accepts the Cultural Baton

The arts district of Beijing is called the “798” district. That’s its address, to be precise. It’s technically in “Da Shan Zi ???” (which is the area of the city) and this complex used to be a series of factories that have now all been converted to galleries and cafes. It’s quite beautiful and peaceful there and I have been meaning to tell you about it for a while.

My friend and I took the bus to the district. I don’t take the city buses here often because I frankly can’t figure them out. I’m sure they’re easy, but it’s confusing to me and I’d rather stick to the subways and taxis. Two out of three is not so bad, I say. Maybe I’ll work on understanding the Beijing bus system in my future, but not now. Anyway, this time it was fine because my friend is a Beijing expert and she knew exactly what bus to take, how much to pay and where to get off. Gotta love the escort service of seasoned ex-pats!

We arrived at “798” and I wasn’t sure what to expect. I have been through many gallery districts in North America, but I wasn’t expecting this labyrinth – a maze of alleys where any possible door could lead to another display of daring sculptures, huge paintings or strange installations of giant eggs or huge wax sculptures of naked men in the act of urination. I appreciate visual art but I’m not always a contemporary art lover, I must admit.

What I found especially beautiful about this area, architecturally, were how the above-ground pipes combined with the trees to form what felt like a living organism. The pipes were the veins and the trees were its limbs and the buildings housed the heart – the art. These pipes connected all the buildings and were obviously designed this way during the industrial activity of these old factories. Now, I have no idea If these pipes are still in use, but they seemed mythical somehow as they stretched above our heads and linked it all into one cohesive artistic force. If nothing else, may this be their perpetual use.

We turned a corner and came upon what my friend told me was a famous installation here in Da Shan Zi. It sits inside a circular, glassed-in, gazebo-style structure. It’s a series of posters that use very famous communist imagery like the face of Chairman Mao, the star motif, the colour red, large lettering, etc. These images are combined with the logos and slogans of famous brands like McDonald’s and Heineken as well as their logos and slogans. To me, this combination embodies all that China has become in its modern identity as a communist-capitalist country. Striking to see how branding exists in both a political movement and capitalist advertising. Both are so insistent. Both have spent time being ever-present and solicitous in this society. Communism is currently handing over the baton to capitalism and I feel as though this era is that moment of transfer. In my opinion, this art captures this perception precisely.

In one gallery there was a display of mops piled high all together. Yes, I said “mops” – the kind of mops that you’d use to mop a floor. These were all different brilliant colours, however. While it looked colourful and festive, I didn’t understand it until I looked at its reflection on the white wall. With a specially angled light pointing at it, it cast the shadow of a person’s profile with a huge mohawk, fittingly in black and white (of course, considering it was just a shadow). The artist had depicted something so everyday in a colourfully visible and elaborate way while something so unusual here which is commonly so colourful and elaborate (i.e. a punk hairstyle, which is growing in popularity, by the way) was muted and in the background.

The old begets the new.

Such is this entire district. Crumbling factory walls housing brand new ideas. Rusty pipes casting their reflection on shiny gallery windows. What used to be everyday here has now become a shadow. What is new and emerging is what was once just a shadow of a thought during the Cultural Revolution.

(Speaking of which, taking photos in art galleries is usually against the rules in Canada. Not so here. All photography was fine. This photo does not do the installation justice, but at least it gives you some idea.)

But, what makes me terrible as an art gallery attendee is that I did not take down the name of this artist, nor the gallery. I walked aimlessly and without my “investigative / photo journalist” hat on. I didn’t write anything down that day, actually. I just shot the odd photo and enjoyed the directionlessness. That’s just the way it was.

I did notice that many of the galleries are owned and/or staffed by non-Chinese (mostly white) people. There was a huge concentration of non-Chinese faces here, in face, which made me wonder how much this area caters to the ex-pat scene and tourist community as opposed to the local Chinese arts scene.

We didn’t stay for long but it felt like an important district to visit here in Beijing. I left joking that at least now I can tell everyone that I’ve taken in “some culture”! The joke is of course because this style of gallery is so very European or North American whereas the streets are where the Chinese culture sits fully and completely in every moment.

Leaving those busy streets for this quiet (and sometimes posh) gallery district was choosing to leave the inherent culture of what Beijing has to offer in its every breath. Instead, this 798 district “culture” is about taking in a new community, a new area, a new form of artistic expression here in China. And in its newness, it too has become part of what modern culture is here in Beijing – a small part, but still part of the culture of this city, nonetheless. So, I suppose that there’s no “leaving” of one kind of culture to take in another being done here; it’s more of an addition to what already exists. . . or, an extension into yet another definition of what this culture is.

Another leg in the race?

China’s joined the contemporary art relay.

And now, contemporary Chinese artists are starting to establish a global presence thanks to this 798 community, this movement, this newness. I’m sure their profiles will only continue to grow.

(And perhaps that’s what the egg is trying to tell me. . .)