Mother of Invention

Wouldn’t it be ironic if the origin of big, bad, brawny Jackson Pollock’s drip and splatter paintings was a wifely homemaker, mother, and grandmother from Brooklyn? And wouldn’t it be true? Gary Snyder Fine Art in New York City presents the work of Janet Sobel, whose early 1940s drip paintings inspired Pollock to explore the possibilities of that style and essentially found the Abstract Expressionist school. Rather than rise likewise into fame and fortune, Sobel moved with her husband and family to Plainfield, New Jersey, and enduring obscurity. Gary Snyder brings Sobel back to the big city and the big stage she deserves. Please come over to Picture This at Big Think to read more of "Mother of Invention."

[Image: Janet Sobel, Untitled (JS-032), c. 1944, oil on caning]

[Many thanks to Gary Snyder Fine Art for providing me with the image above and press materials for Janet Sobel at Gary Snyder Project Space: Drip Paintings and Selected Works on Paper, running now through February 27, 2010.]

All in the Family

“My pictures are like a family, each one has a special niche in my heart,” renowned art collector Chester Dale once said. “Does anyone ever place a dollars-and-cents value on a son or daughter? If they do, they don’t deserve them.” With his first wife Maud, Dale amassed perhaps the greatest collection of French art from the Impressionists to the Modernists. Upon his death in 1962, the childless Dale left his most lasting legacy—his collection—to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, with two conditions: one, that they be displayed together in a gallery bearing his name; and two, that the works never be loaned out. He wanted his family kept together forever. The NGA’s new exhibition From Impressionism to Modernism: The Chester Dale Collection is truly a family affair. Please come over to Picture This at Big Think to read more of "All in the Family."

[Image: Salvador Dalí, Chester Dale, 1958, oil on canvas. Overall: 88.8 x 58.9 cm (34 15/16 x 23 3/16 in.); framed: 111.7 x 81.3 x 6 cm (44 x 32 x 2 3/8 in.). Chester Dale Collection.]

[Many thanks to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, for providing me with the image from and catalog to From Impressionism to Modernism: The Chester Dale Collection, which runs from January 31, through July 31, 2011.]

Missing Person

When J.D. Salinger passed away recently, many casual fans who only remember him from tattered copies of The Catcher in the Rye lost long ago seemed shocked that he was still alive. Reclusiveness will do that. Influential comic artist Steve Ditko, the creator of the original look for seminal characters such as Spider-Man and Doctor Strange, submerged into seclusion years ago and has rarely surfaced since, content to work on the fringes of the comic world rather than compromise his art or his beliefs. In The Art of Ditko, edited by Craig Yoe, Ditko’s forgotten art of the past resurfaces for a new generation of readers who may not even know that his genius lives on, or ever lived at all. Please come over to Picture This at Big Think to read more of "Missing Person."

[Many thanks to IDW Publishing for providing me with a review copy and cover image from The Art of Ditko.]

Game On

The Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints may be set to meet in Super Bowl XLIV in Miami next Sunday, but a side bet between the Indianapolis Museum of Art and the New Orleans Museum of Art really caught my art-loving eye. What began as a friendly little wager involving nice but minor figures eventually escalated into a high-stakes game involving heavyweights J.M.W. Turner and Claude Lorrain. Please come over to Picture This at Big Think to read more of "Game On."

[Image: Turner's The Fifth Plague of Egypt.]

Work in Progress

One of the biggest criticisms of contemporary art is that it has no connection to the community. These works seemingly exist in a vacuum with no ties to the people who may not necessarily consider themselves art lovers. With its NEW FRONTIERS: Series for Contemporary Art, the Oklahoma City Museum of Art looks to bring contemporary art to the contemporary public, beginning with the work of New York City-based sculptor Jason Peters in Jason Peters, Anti.Gravity.Material.Light. Please venture over to Picture This at Big Think to read more of "Work in Progress."

[Image: Sculpture by Jason Peters from 2008.]

[Many thanks to the Oklahoma City Museum of Art for providing me with the image above for the exhibition Jason Peters, Anti.Gravity.Material.Light, which runs from January 28 through April 11, 2010.]

The Crying Game

Whenever I hear the name of Turner Prize-winning artist, Chris Ofili, I unfortunately think of the old Monty Python joke: “What’s brown and sounds like a bell? Dung!” For Americans who still remember Rudy Giuliani’s dung-inspired demagoguery in the mid-1990s, Ofili remains defined by that single word and single, controversial moment. A new exhibition at the Tate Britain and a revelatory new book, however, look to redefine this anger- and thought-provoking artist. Please come over to Picture This at Big Think to read more of "The Crying Game."

[Image: Chris Ofili, No Woman, No Cry (1998). Acrylic, oil, polyester resin, pencil, paper collage, glitter, map pins and elephant dung on linen. 243.8 x 182.8 cm. Photo: Tate. © Chris Ofili.]

[Many thanks to the Tate Britain for providing me with the image above from the exhibition Chris Ofili, which runs from January 27 through May 16, 2010, and to Rizzoli for providing me with a review copy of the first monograph on the artist, Chris Ofili.]

Relay for Life

I've never tried to raise funds on this site, but I've never been involved in something as important to me and my family as the fight against cancer, specifically The American Cancer Society's Relay for Life. Please consider clicking through to my personal donation page and giving something to help in the battle against cancer. Just last year our family lost my Father-in-Law, William, to cancer. Going through that experience really impressed on me how everyone has a "cancer story" in their life. Please help us make sure that our children don't have such stories to share someday.