Hauser and Wirth displays the works of over thirty emerging contemporary artists, including the famed Louise Bourgois, who currently resides in New York City. Ms. Bourgois has pieces on display in numerous museums around the world, so her involvement in the new Hauser and Wirth gallery opening can only be seen as a boost to the publicity of the event. Surely her name and reputation alone can be expected to draw art followers. Added to the plethora of other artists showcased in the gallery, the opening in September should be a truly gala event.

One has to wonder what other local New York galleries are planning in relation to this new opening. Competition exists even among the elite in the art world, so it will be interesting to see the effect of this new gallery opening on the existing galleries in the area. If you are in or near the Big Apple, it will be an event worth attending!

Art reflects culture, and culture influences children’s views of the world around them. If children live with beauty and stimulating images around them, they will learn to be perceptive to beauty in their world. If they are taught to express themselves through art, allowing their thoughts and emotions to be conveyed outwardly through paint, clay, pencils, or other media, they will learn to allow their emotions to flow outward in a healthy manner that benefits their surrounding family and culture. Certainly there is much to be gained by exposing children to art in its many forms and encouraging them to explore their own involvement in different venues.

There is a caution, however. Children can easily be overwhelmed by too many choices, too much material, and too wide a circle of opportunity. Their minds perceive a slightly smaller circle than an adult’s mind, and their exposure should be geared to feed their curiosity, not bombard them with more than they can take in at once. Every great adult artist was once a curious child. That’s a good point to remember.

One trend is that of tattooing a photograph of a person. Even women sport tattoos of their children or loved ones across a shoulder blade or lower back, and the skill required to render such a portrait with accuracy is impressive. Just as not everyone can sketch a portrait on paper with a pencil, it is definitely an acquired skill to draw a face with ink in a tattoo gun. A tattoo artist may spend days practicing on paper before placing the final artwork on a client’s skin, where using an eraser for a mistake is simply not an option.

Whether one considers a tattoo a piece of art might depend upon whether one has a tattoo of their own. Most tattoo wearers do consider them to be art that reflects something about themselves and their personality…which is what most forms of art do in one way or another.

Ordinarily, painting or drawing on walls, buildings, sidewalks, cars, trees, street signs, or just about anything else that isn’t a canvas or obvious art project would be considered inappropriate. Children are taught from the time they are young that they should color in their coloring books, draw on their paper, and paint on a canvas. But what about when an artist uses a larger “canvas” such as public property that doesn’t belong to them? Obviously scrawled obscenities or gang insignia would be recognized as inappropriate, but what about when the finished drawing is actually esthetically pleasing?

The truth is, there are thousands of exquisitely done pieces of art on building walls, buses, sidewalks, and trash dumpsters in cities all over America. But the artists will never be paid or even positively recognized for their creativity, in fact, if recognized at all they will likely go to jail. Graffiti is graffiti, whether it is an amateur rendition of stick figures playing baseball or a Van Gogh quality still-life painting…it doesn’t belong on property that does not belong to the artist.

Unfortunately, the question of “art or graffiti” becomes difficult to answer when one allows the quality of the piece to be considered. People are permitted to decorate their own property with art all they want, but not someone else’s, and certainly not property that is considered public domain. “Art or graffiti” is not a question answered by “quality” but by “ownership”. If it’s not yours, don’t decorate it.

“The Outer Post” is one such site that has appeared on the scene, providing feedback on artists’ products and promotion, and enabling artists to find not only each other but also customers for their wares. One of the biggest challenges for artists is marketing their products. For an artist to create, they must have time and energy…but time and energy cost money, which means that the artist must develop an income. This means getting their products to potential customers, and social networking helps that happen. It also helps artists to meet each other and learn from each other, furthering the skills and creativity of all involved.

Hopefully we will see more of these types of sites popping up, supporting artists in their endeavors and helping them to build successful businesses from their craft.

While modern art may not be the favorite of some, this is a wonderful opportunity to see works from several world-renowned artists who have shaped the landscape of the modern art world. Though definitely not the peaceful scenery of a Renoir, these pieces speak of the mindset of more than a century of artists who have blazed new trails and created a place for their talents where previously none had existed. The skill and imagination exemplified in this display are enormous, as are some of the pieces themselves!

Newly arriving artists are also on display among the more well-known, adding to the enjoyment of this collaboration. Anyone who has opportunity to partake of this event will definitely be glad they did. Louis Vuitton was founded during the Industrial era and obviously continues the tradition of hard work combined with creative ingenuity, clearly on display in Hong Kong.

Most of us visit art galleries in person because we just want to set our eyes on something lovely, or perhaps to relax in an atmosphere designed to simply bring pleasure to the senses. Usually that means driving into the city nearby, finding parking, and braving the elements to get to the little artsy spot of our choosing. Not anymore! Into the age of the Internet comes the ability to browse such galleries within the comfort of our own homes right from our own computers. Of course, this also gives artists a greater opportunity to display their work, and that is always a positive thing.

Enjoy visiting the Vision Grove, an excellent art tour available right there on your computer! And be sure to leave a comment of gratitude for the effort that goes into each piece. After all, art is work, too!

Monet was born in Paris but didn’t grow up there. When he was still a little boy he started to show a lot of artistic talent, which his family encouraged.

He served in the military and then later took painting lessons. Those lessons coupled with his natural talent and abilities, allowed him to produce works such as Water Lillies, Iris, Nympheas, and Impression – Sunrise, among many others.

One of the most notable things that Monet did was paint the same subject, over and over, under different lighting. The light changed more quickly than he could paint, so he worked with several canvases set up at once, moving from one to another each day as the sun moved across the sky. Eventually Monet’s health started to decline and it was more difficult for him to paint but he continued right up until the year that he died from lung cancer. He was eighty-three.

Iris
Water Lillies
Impression – Sunrise
Nympheas

Not everyone understood what Dali was trying to say with his creations but there was no doubt that he was a very talented man. He also painted The Persistence of Memory and Sistine Madonna, along with a lot of other works. The main problem he had with his art was that he couldn’t go through schooling for it because he believed that he was more talented than those who would be grading him.

Because of that he never took the final exams for his studies and was twice expelled, as well. Dali believed that his exhibitionism and eccentricity helped him to be creative and that he needed to be able to express himself so that he could continue to produce artwork. He eventually stopped painting because of palsy and died a few years later from heart failure.

The Persistence of Memory
Sistine Madonna
The Great Masturbator
The Metamorphosis of Narcissus
 

Most people have seen these paintings more than once, or at least seen representations of them. They might not be sure who painted them but they know that the paintings are popular and that they have a lot of beauty and creativity. Van Gogh also painted Irises, and The Potato Eaters, two paintings that you don’t see represented as much in textbooks and other media. Van Gogh was born in the Netherlands to a family that was involved with the art world, so it seemed only natural that he would be involved with it, as well.

He went to school for theology but failed miserably and hated what he was doing. Eventually, however, he committed himself to his art, which was his true calling, but struggled with depression and mental illness, even being institutionalized for a period of time. Eventually, Van Gogh took his own life.

Starry Night
Sunflowers
Irises
The Potato Eaters