Is an Artist’s Studio a Window into Their Soul?

If the eyes are the windows of the soul, can the windows of an artist’s studio—the vistas they viewed daily for inspiration—offer a glimpse into their soul? In anticipation of the upcoming exhibition Andrew Wyeth: Looking Out, Looking In, set to open at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, on May 4^th, the NGA and the Brandywine Conservancy and Museum of Art teamed up to give the press a crash course on the deceptively realist and deceptively difficult artist Andrew Wyeth. The NGA show hopes to open a new window on the appreciation of Wyeth by focusing on the theme of windows in his work, which they believe will breathe fresh air into studies of an artist whose decades-long reclusiveness before his death in 2009 seems to have shuttered public affection and understanding of the man, his art, and the landscape that shaped both. The specific case of Andy and the Brandywine region outside his window raises a more general question, however, of whether we can understand an artist better not just by looking at their art, but also by seeing what they saw—looking out their window to look into and through their imagination. Please come over to Picture This at Big Think to read more of "Is an Artist’s Studio a Window into Their Soul?"

Can We Learn to See How Artists See?

We all dream of mastering a skill like a pro—to skate like an Olympian, sing like an Idol, or go to the hoop “like Mike.” What if we could learn to see how an artist sees? “It’s so important to move through the world with this kind of wonder,” artist Bo Bartlett says of putting on an artist’s eyes in SEE: An Art Road Trip. “It all passes so fast.” Directed by Bartlett with his wife and fellow artist Betsy Eby and filmmaker Glenn Holsten, SEE challenges and inspires us to see the world through an artist’s eyes not necessarily in hopes of making art but, more importantly, in hopes of our appreciating the beauty that rushes past us and our high-speed everyday lives. Part road trip, part art history lesson, and part existential drama, SEE at all times conveys a vision of a more aware, more visually activated life that most of us only dream of but can finally experience, if only fleetingly, through these pros’ eyes. Please come over to Picture This at Big Think to read more of "Can We Learn to See How Artists See?"

How Michael Palin Broke the Silence of The Helga Paintings

Not many art stories make the cover of both TIME and Newsweek in the same week, but the revelation of Andrew Wyeth’s infamous “Helga Paintings” in 1986 caused a news stir that spilled outside the confines of the culture sections. The tale included all the ingredients of a ripping yarn for the masses—deceit, fame, big money, and a pinch of sex to spice things up. The “Helga” of the “Helga Paintings,” Helga Testorf, fled the paparazzi at the time and maintained her silence both about the paintings themselves and the nature of her relationship with Wyeth before, during, and years after their creation. In the BBC Program Michael Palin in Wyeth’s World, former Monty Python member and amateur art historian Michael Palin finally entices Helga from the shadows to speak about the paintings and the painter. What she shares raises new questions about the works as well as what the legacy of Andrew Wyeth should be. Please come over to Picture This at Big Think to read more of "How Michael Palin Broke the Silence of The Helga Paintings."

How Raymond Pettibon Puts Words, Pictures, and Anger Back Together

“I could erase an entire life,” thinks a pensive Adolf Hitler as he stares into his mirror in one of the many striking images from the career of artist Raymond Pettibon. In our time, when words mean little and images deceive, Pettibon creates art that rewrites the meaning of words and images erased by modern society by uniting them in fascinating ways that all share a common, simmering anger. How words and pictures have been rent asunder, and how art can undo that divorce, is the subject of a major monograph on the artist titled Raymond Pettibon. A child of the late ‘60s, Pettibon found his groove in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s, but his art and his message feel just as relevant and important today. Please come over to Picture This at Big Think to read more of "How Raymond Pettibon Puts Words, Pictures, and Anger Back Together."

Putting Andrew Wyeth into Pictures, Words, and Music

When composer Van Stiefel realized that he wanted to somehow set the paintings of Andrew Wyeth to music, he searched for the words to marry to his expressions in sound. Fortunately, he found David Livewell’s Woven Light: Poems and Photographs of Andrew Wyeth's Pennsylvania, a set of poetry about Wyeth’s art that the artist himself called “powerful” and “deeply moving” before his death in 2009. This marriage of pictures, words, and music enjoyed its world premiere on January 12^th. Stiefel’s Wyeth Songs redefines the idea of multimedia, snatching it back from modern technology and reclaiming it for the old school ideas of community, tradition, and love. Please come over to Picture This at Big Think to read more of "Putting Andrew Wyeth into Pictures, Words, and Music."

[Image: Barry Moser. Andrew Wyeth (relief engraving). Illustration for poster for Wyeth Songs concert.]

[Many thanks to David Livewell for providing me with copies of Woven Light: Poems and Photographs of Andrew Wyeth's Pennsylvania and Shackamaxon as well as many enlightening conversations about the project. Many thanks also to Barry Moser for allowing me to use the image above.]

[Full Disclosure: David Livewell is a personal friend of the author.]

Are the “Real” Wyeths Hiding in the Sanderson Museum?

There may be no American artist so linked with specific places and the history of those places as Andrew Wyeth. Wyeth spent his summers in Cushing, Maine, but the other three seasons found him in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania. When Andy’s father, the artist N.C. Wyeth, first came to Chadds Ford to study with Howard Pyle, the native New Englander found himself ignorant of the local landscape and history. The man N.C. turned to (and later Andy and Andy’s artist son, Jamie) for that knowledge as well as dear friendship was Christian C. Sanderson, self-appointed local historian of the Brandywine River Valley and hoarder of all things historical. Chris passed away in 1966, but friends took his treasure trove and transformed it into today’s Christian C. Sanderson Museum. In addition to being a repository of some of the oddest and most touching artifacts of American history, the Sanderson Museum might just be the one and only place to see the “real” Wyeths—America’s greatest art dynasty. Please come over to Picture This at Big Think to read more of "Are the “Real” Wyeths Hiding in the SandersonMuseum?"

[Many thanks to the Christian C. Sanderson Museum for providing me with the image above, press materials, and a review copy of The Christian Sanderson Museum—Tom Thompson Remembers by Gene Pisasale.]

 
[Image: Andrew Wyeth (illustrator) and Christian C. Sanderson (compiler). Map of Historical Chester County (detail), 1937. One of 5,750 printed by Beck Engraving Company, Philadelphia, PA. Original pencil drawing hangs in Christian C. Sanderson Museum. Actual prints from the original 1937 set available for sale from the museum.]

What Secrets Lurk in Andrew Wyeth’s Studio?

When painter Andrew Wyeth passed away in 2009, the reclusive painter took many of the secrets behind his art to the grave. When I heard that the Brandywine River Museum had opened up The Andrew Wyeth Studio, where both the art and the legends happened, I wondered just how many secrets would be revealed and how many would lurk in the shadows, still hiding somewhere and somehow. Wyeth worked hard for his cherished privacy during his lifetime, so entering his domain even after his death feels like an intrusion. But if an artist’s studio is a window into his soul, then a walk through Andrew Wyeth’s tour is a journey into the darkest and brightest depths of his art.Please come over to Picture This at Big Think to read more of "What Secrets Lurk in Andrew Wyeth’s Studio?"

[Image: Table covered with paints and brushes inside The Andrew Wyeth Studio. Photo courtesy of David Livewell. Copyright David Livewell.]

[Many thanks to the Brandywine River Museum for providing me and a colleague with press passes to view The Andrew Wyeth Studio, tours of which are held Tuesday through Sunday through November 18, 2012. The accompanying exhibition A Painter's View: The Andrew Wyeth Studio is on view through October 28, 2012. Many thanks, too, to David Livewell for his photography and invaluable insights on the Wyeths.]

[Please note that I will be posting on the Christian Sanderson Museum, home to many works by the Wyeths as well as an idiosyncratic, yet unforgettable collection of Americana.]