Tag Archives: Art

Summertime Art?!

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We often make choices based upon labels.  I am referring to the labels on consumer products.  A lot of time and creative energy go into designing a products image, the visual appeal, its brand.  As consumers we often reach for a product and buy that product based on the label.  Just the same with interiors when our eyes rest on a room’s focal point so to do our eyes stop at a product on the shelf that has a great label. The colours, the patterns, the artwork, just the same as a room’s décor!  Every summer we are bombarded with new and catchy labels at the liquor/beer store influencing us to make the purchase.  The label that has caught my eye this summer is the very colourful and artistically graphic Corona® beer bottle; there are 6 different unique labels in all.  The entire long-neck bottle is wrapped in a ‘beach cover-up’ of a tropical setting.  I like these summer labels with their great colours and beautiful graphics and in fact I find myself colour coordinating my bottle choice to my clothing!  One of the labels has graphics that would make a great piece of framed art.  (See photo 2 below)  I have had a few conversations with other summer imbibers, some like the labels and some do not like the labels.  Those who do not explain that the classic yellow and blue label is fine the way it was and feel a change was not necessary.  I can’t argue with that as I am also a big fan of classic pieces i.e. Furniture, but this summer I am just having fun with these labels and their riot of colour. 

      

                 

Waiting (and waiting) Room Art

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I had to pick up a friend recently from a medical clinic where she was having a ‘procedure’ done and was not permitted to drive afterwards.  So, I had to sit in the waiting room for a while, waiting (and waiting).  The waiting room was large enough that all of us ‘drivers’ were not sitting side by side and practically on top of each other.  The chairs were placed in a manner that enabled us to look in different directions so we were not staring at each other.  There was no window that looked outside but there was a flat screen television that allowed us to have some focal point to rest our eyes upon.  Of course there were many magazines and fortunately they were current issues.  Nothing worse than 2 year old magazines where you are reading about Christmas in June!  The chairs were clean too – that scores big points with me.  As I looked around this office/waiting room I could tell that a designer had designed this space.  The wall colour choice had been chosen by a professional not by the ‘builder’.   The chairs were coordinated with the paint and the carpet.  There was ambient light so there was a nice calm feel to the room, not glaring overhead fluorescent lighting.  And the thing that caught my attention the most was the art on the wall.  It was not some art that had been cast-offs and brought from home.  (I am sure you have been in a Doctor’s office with art like that!)  These pieces had been specifically chosen for this space.  But the thing I found most interesting was how the art had been hung on the wall.  The art was hung at the correct height (art is often hung too high) with appropriate space between the pieces (another common mistake) but I liked how someone had thought to stagger the art.  It gave me something while sitting here and waiting to reflect upon.  Interesting style.  I liked that it was ‘leftward’ of ordinary. 

     

The Frick Collection – NYC

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While in New York City it is almost essential that one visit an art museum.  It is more or less a NYC ‘rite of passage’.  With over 45 art museums in NYC there is something for everyone.  The most well-known museums, The MoMa, The Met and The Guggenheim are often the first choice for a visitor.  But NYC has so many more and often unknown art museums.  There is the MoCCa (Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art), the MAD (Museum of Arts and Design), the MOBIA (Museum of Biblical Art), and the Brooklyn Museum (the second-largest art museum in NYC!).  The art museum I chose to visit on this trip to NYC was The Frick Collection located in Manhattan.  As my time was limited (so many things to do!!), The Frick was a smaller venue.  The Frick Collection is housed in the former residence of American industrialist and financier, Henry Clay Frick (1849-1919).  Henry Frick was once known by his critics as “the most hated man in America” and the “Worst American CEO of all time” due to his lack of morality and ruthlessness in business.  There was even an attempted assassination on his life in revenge for his immorality.  Frick was an avid art collector whose wealth allowed him to accumulate a significant art collection and bequeath $15,000,000 (remember that this was 1919!!) and his mansion on Fifth Avenue to establish the Frick Collection.  One of NYC’s few remaining Gilded Age mansions, the neoclassical building, occupying an entire city block, houses masterpieces by artists such as Rembrandt, Whistler, Bellini, Vermeer and Goya.  Walking through the opulent Frick mansion was beauty in itself but the most amazing part of this museum was that there were no ropes or cages to guard the art and therefore I was able to appreciate all the art from mere inches away.  I have never been that close to a Rembrandt!!  Thank you Mr. Frick.

     

NYC Endless Possibilities

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Well I am home from New York City.  What a trip!  I now understand what ‘taking a bite out of the big apple’ truly means.  NYC is so large with so much to see and do that you can only take a small ‘bite’ out of the city each time you visit.  I am already thinking about my return trip and continuing where I left off.  The list of ‘What to do in NYC’ has infinite possibilities.  You could focus the entire trip on just visiting the art galleries and museums; there are so many fabulous ones to see.  You could spend days and dollars on just shopping as NYC is truly a shopping mecca.   You could spend your entire time watching countless performances on Broadway or off-Broadway.  You could spend days travelling the hundreds of miles of subway routes visiting the dozens and dozens of neighbourhoods in ‘the five boroughs’.  You could just focus on noshing your way through the thousands of restaurants that NYC has to offer as it is said that “NYC is not only the nation’s melting pot, it is also the casserole, the chafing dish and the charcoal grill” with great food from every corner of the globe.  While I was in NYC I stayed at the historical Waldorf Astoria with the thickest towels and the highest thread count cotton sheets which was so lovely to return to after spending 16 hours each day touring NYC.  I went to the Frick Collection (a premier museum) visited Macy’s, Saks 5th Avenue and Bergdorf Goodman, lunched at Barneys, dined at Pastis in Meatpacking District, visited Central Park and Central Station, took in a performance at Palace Theatre, toured Upper East Side right down to Battery Park and back up to Times Square and Upper West Side.  Rode the subway, took yellow cabs and walked and walked and walked.  Whatever your style or preference New York City is a definite must to visit.  I (love) NY!

      TIMES SQUARE, NYC

 

Local Art

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I recently attended the Art by Designers Exhibition, now well-known as the AxD event.  This unique show was originally created to bring awareness of Interior Designers’ artistic abilities to the community and promote the practice of interior design.  The evening also has a silent auction of Interior Designers’ donated artwork benefitting Inner City Angels.  Inner City Angels is an arts education charity that involves Toronto’s inner city children in innovative arts and learning programs with professional artists.  Over the years, Inner City Angels in their commitment to breaking barriers for inner city children has reached over 5 million children through art.  The AxD event is always well attended.  While noshing on delicious food and strolling through a fabulous gallery, I viewed the many pieces of art done by over 50 designers.  With each piece of art, the designer/artist had their bio.  One designer’s bio stated that “I make art because it’s hard to play by the rules all the time”.  Another designer wrote “As an interior designer my eyes are eternally open to my surroundings”.  The silent auction pieces were all on small, ~8”x10” canvases with each artist displaying their own unique style.  There really was some beautiful art here.  Also taking place this weekend which I plan on attending is the art sale, Small Paintings for Small Spaces.   The event takes place in a historical building that is only open to the public for special events.  So like the AxD event I get to walk through another great venue that in itself is very artistic.  Some art shows you even get to see the inner sanctum of the artist’s studio.  Both the AxD and Small Paintings for Small Spaces are great opportunities to acquire truly one of a kind, affordable pieces of art.  Often the artist just wants to cover their cost and have the opportunity to have a piece of their art hanging on your wall.  So this weekend do a little research in your local newspaper, magazines or internet and see what is going on in a neighbourhood near you.  As Stella Adler, an acclaimed actress once said “Life beats down and crushes the soul and art reminds you that you have one”.