Speaks

Having recently had a speakeasy experience, I am alert to hidden bars.

You could easily pass this door without a thought about its late night program.

Having your name over the door technically disqualifies you or rather your joint as a speakeasy!

All of these are technically not secret enough to be speaks, but they harbor a mystery.

Back alleys, belowstairs steps and small doors are also mysterious. Enough for me.

At the Guggenheim

For my art date to the Gugg with L-M; I mistakenly decided that Th was a pay-what-you-will so I joined up. Now I can spend my life at my least favorite architectural contraption.

Don’t get me wrong, that ramp is perfect for art gazing. Check out Rashid Johnson’s artscapes which include potted plants (note they are there because they need nurturing).

My animus towards the legendary Frank Lloyd Wright extends to this potted plant of a building but also to the man I met reading Loving Frank.

Art making

The feminist, the spiritual, the mystical is emerging as part of the history of art. Art no longer is defined exclusively as white and male.

It never belonged exclusively to the patriarchy.

The American Folk Art Museum is a showcase for art created by  non-traditional makers and self – taught artists.

Last week, AFAM offered via Zoom a fascinating presentation in conjunction with an exhibit of Shaker creations, which has since closed.

The panel, Mystical Abstraction: Women, Spiritualism and the Arts, stands on its own. (Click above or here to enjoy on YouTube.)

We visited images created with the goal of connecting humans to the mystic or spiritual by women makers.

We learned of artists whose work informs and expands human knowledge.

We met women creators who channeled the devine.

The panel included Hilma’s Ghost a pair of collaborative artists, Sharmithsa Ray and Dannielle Tegeder and art historian and author Jennifer Higgie [The Other Side: A Journey Into Women, Art and the Spirit World]. The program was moderated by the Museum’s curator, Mathilde Walker-Billaud.