Fondation Louis Vuitton

I was recently at LACMA and in addition to seeing The Sympathetic Imagination, I also saw the Frank Gehry exhibition which includes an incredible collection of architectural models of Gehry’s life’s work. Included was the model for Fondation Louis Vuitton , one of his most recent creations which opened its doors in Paris in 2014.

The Fondation is a museum dedicated to contemporary art and was funded by the LVHM Group which owns brands such as Celine, Marc Jacobs and Louis Vuitton, among others. I can’t wait to visit it the next time I am in Paris!

(First photo by me, second photo by Iwan Baan for Fondation Louis Vuitton.)

The Sympathetic Imagination

This past weekend I saw The Sympathetic Imagination  by Los Angeles-based artist Diana Thater. The exhibition is a survey of her film and video work. I’d read about it and had been wanting to see it and am so glad I finally did.

The LACMA website describes the works as, “…dynamic, immersive installations.” It goes on to say that they “challenge and invert accepted positions and realities through the deployment of color, movement, scale, and architecture.” It is an extremely accurate description. The colors and images make you feel fully immersed and as though you become one with them. I can’t recommend this exhibition enough.

If you live in LA or plan to  visit, go see it. It’s on view until April 17.Luckily for me, I am member  of the museum and can return again to see it as many times as I want before its run ends.

(Photo by me of Big Red Sun, 2000 by Diana Thater)

Architectural Ballet Photos

One of my clients is a ballet company, so I am somewhat immersed in the world of ballet, which isn’t a bad thing to be immersed in at all! As a result, I keep tabs on ballet related news and the other day, I came across this and other photos by Kyle Forman, former New York City Ballet corps de ballet dancer, who has turned into a photographer. His photos show various dancers from New York in different architectural settings, which is not the way most photographers photograph them and which makes Forman’s images unique and interesting to look at.

You can see more photos included in a video here, however,  if you’re in Massachusetts, you can see Forman’s exhibit, Bodies/Buildings at Jacob’s Pillow Dance.

(Photo by Kyle Forman via Vanity Fair)

Art Portraits Taking Selfies

Have you seen the Museum of Selfies Tumblr? It was started by Danish art director Olivia Muus. She began the blog by taking photos of old painted portraits and placing her smartphone in front of them in the National Gallery in Denmark,  making it appear as though the portraits were taking selfies. Now, she is compiling a collection of photographs from other people and adding them to the blog. The phones really give a whole new perspective to the works.  I definitely think the next time I visit a museum I will do that too, with no flash, of course! You can see more photos and make your own submission here.

(Photo by Ny Carlsberg Glyptoktek via Museum of Selfies)

American Cool

If you live in the Washington D.C. area or plan to travel there soon, check out American Cool  currently on view at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery. The exhibition is described as referring, ” to those who have contributed an original artistic vision to American culture symbolic of a given historical moment.”  Included in the exhibition are photographs of James Dean, Jean-Michel Basquiat and Patti Smith, among others. You can see more photos here.

(Images via The Guardian courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian. Debbie Harry, 1978, Robert Maplethorpe. Elvis Presley, 1956, Roger Marshutz)

Happy Spring and Macarons Day!

 

Happy first day of Spring and happy macarons day! In Paris, pastry shops give away free macarons each March 20. It was a tradition started by celebrated French pastry chef Pierre Herme. So, kick-off spring with a colorful and tasty macaron even if you don’t live in Paris!

Art Replaces Ads

Things at work has been very busy for me during the last few weeks and that means I’ve been escaping mentally to Paris when I have a moment or even a few seconds to do so. Like I’ve mentioned before, Paris is my happy go to place  when I need a mental break and lately, I’ve been going there a lot!

The other night as I was looking at random photos of Paris online for a bit of escapism, I came across French artist Etienne Lavie’s “billboard ads” which he has placed throughout the city. He has called the project, OMG who stole my ads? He covers billboards and ads with classic works of art. As someone who works at a museum, I love this idea of bringing  art to people in this manner. Would you like art to replace advertisements and billboards  where you live?

(Images via Etienne Lavie)