Give Peace a Chance: Peacenik Picasso at the Tate Liverpool

“How could you conceivably cut yourself off from other men and from the life they bring you in such abundance? In the name of what uncaring, ivory-tower kind of attitude?” Pablo Picasso said in a 1944 interview discussing the political nature of much of his painting. “No; painting is not there merely to decorate the walls of flats. It is a means of waging offensive and defensive war against the enemy." Picasso never felt comfortable with the false neutrality that many other artists espoused in the face of tyranny. Picasso: Peace and Freedom at the Tate Liverpool in London gathers together the political Picasso and provides a template for all thinking and feeling people on how to wage war artistically, to stand up for what you believe in, and, most importantly, to give peace a chance. Please come over to Picture This at Big Think to read more of "Give Peace a Chance."

[Image: Pablo Picasso. Dove in Flight in Rainbow, 23 October 1952. Lithograph 55.2 x 74.8 cm. Photo © Graphikmuseum Pablo Picasso Münster, Germany. © Succession Picasso/DACS 2010.]

[Many thanks to the Tate Liverpool, London, for providing me with the image above and press materials for Picasso: Peace and Freedom, through August 30, 2010.]

The Persistence of Memory: Christian Boltanski and Memory

In an exhibition currently at the Park Avenue Armory in New York City, a crane reaches into a mountain of clothes and pulls out at random a selection of shirts, pants, etc., only to release them to flutter back to their brethren. “No Man’s Land,” Christian Boltanski’s latest art installation, moves to the soundtrack of a thousand human heartbeats. The uninhabited clothing recalls the Holocaust, and Boltanski’s invites that connection. Memory, both personal and cultural, pervades all his work. A new monograph on the artist examines Boltanski’s career and the persistence of memory in both playful and humorous as well as dark and disturbing ways. Please come over to Picture This at Big Think to read more of "The Persistence of Memory."

[Many thanks to Rizzoli USA for providing me with a review copy of Christian Boltanski.]

Go Tell It on the Mountain: Ansel Adams at the Amon Carter Museum

Photographer Ansel Adams claimed that the goal of his art was “to rekindle an appreciation of the marvelous.” Ansel Adams: Eloquent Light at the Amon Carter Museum rekindles the marvelous aspects of the artist that over-familiarity threatens to extinguish. Through 40 photographs representative of different themes and periods of development in Adams’ career, this exhibition distills the essence of his work into one bright shining moment of clarity and, yes, eloquence. Please come over to Picture This at Big Think to read more of "Go Tell It on the Mountain."

[Image: Ansel Adams (1902–1984). Clearing Winter Storm, Yosemite National Park, 1944.Gelatin silver print, before 1975. ©2010 The Ansel Adams Publishing Rights Trust. Amon Carter Museum, Fort Worth, Texas Anonymous gift. P2008.5.]

[Many thanks to the Amon Carter Museum for providing the image above and press materials from Ansel Adams: Eloquent Light, which runs through November 7, 2010.]

Battle Royal: Renaissance Heavyweights in Jonathan Jones’ “The Lost Battles”

In 1504 no less a historic name than Niccolo Machiavelli, author of The Prince, brought together the two greatest artists of the time to decorate the walls of the Great Council Hall of Florence's Palazzo Vecchio. The aging Leonardo da Vinci and the up and coming star Michelangelo found themselves pitted against one another in a competition to decide whose work and whose style would reign supreme. Jonathan Jones’ The Lost Battles: Leonardo, Michelangelo and the Artistic Duel that Defined the Renaissance tells the story of this battle royal between the Renaissance heavyweights that somehow resulted in a befuddling draw thanks to the political intrigue of the times. With great detail and captivating insight, Jones puts us there between the battlers, always wondering who will come out on top. Please come over to Picture This at Big Think to read more of "Battle Royal."

[Many thanks to Simon and Schuster UK for providing me with a review copy of Jonathan Jones’ The Lost Battles: Leonardo, Michelangelo and the Artistic Duel that Defined the Renaissance.]

Back to the Garden: The Pastoral Vision in Britain at the Delaware Art Museum

“And we’ve got to get ourselves back to the garden,” Crosby, Stills, and Nash sang in “Woodstock,” the song that tried to capture the spirit of the generation-defining gathering. For artists working in Britain after the Romantic movement, getting back to the garden—getting back to a sense of the natural world as a spiritual realm—became the top priority. The Pastoral Vision: British Prints 1800—Present currently at the Delaware Art Museum traces the way artists tried to picture the pastoral aspect of British Romanticism over the course of two centuries. The results reveal much about both the art of printmaking and the art of depicting the abstract lurking in tangible reality. Please come over to Picture This at Big Think to read more of "Back to the Garden."

[Image: Morning of Life, 1861. Samuel Palmer (1805-1881). Etching, 5 3/8 x 8 1/8 inches. Gift of Dr. Charles Lee Reese, 1940.]

[Many thanks to the Delaware Art Museum for providing me with the image above and press materials for The Pastoral Vision: British Prints 1800—Present, which runs through August 15, 2010.]