Being Busy

During my short blogging hiatus I've been busy with several exciting things:

1. I became Annie Cohen-Solal's assistant. Those of you who don't know of Annie should definitely Google her because she's an incredibly important writer, teacher, and figure in the world of art and culture related politics. Knopf is about to release her third book, Leo and His Circle: The Life of Leo Castelli. The book has already been reviewed by countless news sources and tomorrow there will be a review of the book in the New York Times, so keep your eyes peeled! (By the way, I am now working for Annie in the mornings and interning at Gagosian Gallery in the afternoons - talk about pressure! Oh well, nothing better than a thrillingly full, and might I add hectic/stressful, life!)

2. I submitted my MoMA twelve-month internship application, (though sadly I realized that when opened on a version of Word other than mine, the link to this blog gets cut from my resume).

3. I started a new blog: www.rookietoart.blogspot.com . Unlike this blog, through which I share events occurring in my life as well as my own aesthetic preferences, my new blog will be filled with imaginary conversations that take place between me and an art rookie. The conversations intend to show ways that art can be made accessible for people with absolutely no knowledge of art at all; in other words, I'm showing how engaging art can be, even for newbies. The idea for Rookie to Art stemmed from a question I responded to on the MoMA application, which was something like 'why are you applying for this position at MoMA?' I realized that quite clearly the reason that I applied for the curatorial internship at MoMA is because I have grown up on MoMA, have a deep love for their collection, and I want to help make their artwork meaningful to others. I fear that currently modern art museums cater toward an audience well versed in art history and theory, leaving those most in need of guidance, (the majority,) to fend for themselves. So, I thought, what better way to express the sentiment that art can be brought to life for everyone than to show my ability to do so?! And next thing I knew I'd written imaginary conversations between me and art-rookies, in which I help people feel confident in their ability to understand MoMA's art, giving them a taste that leaves them wanting more... The first of my MoMA rookie conversations is the one I submitted to MoMA within my application - it takes place in the Jackson Pollock gallery. The second conversation is the one currently posted on the blog - feel free to check it out. I have many more pending and hope to expand beyond MoMA's collection one day.

On a side note, though as always not entirely, I must say that I have the most interesting conversations about art with Andrew Kurland, (the friend who introduced me to the work of J. Siegan, who I posted about a few weeks ago). He often sends me links to artists and works he finds interesting; in fact, I think he told me about Maira Kalman vis-a-vis her New York Times blog And the Pursuit of Happiness, through which she never fails to churn out the most engaging and funny illustrated, completely random stories.

Anyway, I've been thinking about Gerhard Richter lately in light of my promise to share details/thoughts on the Richter exhibition that Alexander and I saw in Florence. I haven't yet come up with a full riff on Richter, but I did find the piece below which I shared with Andrew because I find it both interesting and beautiful.

I told Andrew that I like the colors, the movement, and the silky feeling which the medium produces. He agreed, adding that it looks like an ocean. I thought for a second and said, "The ocean!?! Yeah, maybe when the plague of blood hit Egypt!" So this piece changed from conjuring the image of a child exquisitely attuned to color theory, to a plague infested mess. (Or as Andrew noted, it could be the backdrop of an 80's dance party, shoulder pads and all, but that's besides the point...)

But fun and games aside, one of the qualities I admire about Andrew is his deep effort to be psychologically aware and emotionally conscious. So, channeling Andrew as I rode the subway home today, I thought of the potential subconscious reasons I might like the piece. Call this analysis simplistic but to me this painting is a bundle of excitement in an aggressive environment, that all in all seems to be a bit of a mess, a little confused. I cannot tell my life story in one sentence, but I'd say that describes me pretty aptly right now.

1. Cover of Annie Cohen-Solal's new book Leo and His Circle: The Life of Leo Castelli, which is for sale this week!

2. Gerhard Richter, G.A.4 (21.1.84), 1984. Colored ink, watercolor, pencil, and crayon on paper. Museum of Modern Art, New York.