Reflections on the Art Scene during 2024
Original Photography by Anne Lloyd
For Art
Eyewitness, 2024 began and ended on the steps and exterior plazas of the
Philadelphia Museum of Art. Unusual, unorthodox and compelling works of art,
positioned by the west and east entrances of the PMA, provided appropriate
imagery for an unconventional year.
During the first two months of 2024, Anne and I made several visits to the Toll Terrace at the west entrance to the PMA. On view were three statues, carved in soap, by the Korean sculptor, Meekyoung Shin.
The statue group, entitled Eastern Deities Descended, was based on 1928 designs for
the still uncompleted pediment overlooking the east entrance of the Philadelphia
Museum of Art. The soap sculptures portrayed three figures from Asian history:
the Biblical prophet Isaiah, a goddess personifying India and King Xerxes of
Persia
Meekyoung Shin’s sculptures provided an ironic commentary on the impermanence of time and the brevity of human life. Exposed to the elements, the Eastern Deities Descended gradually lost much of their luster. (Isaiah also lost hist right hand and staff, as can be seen in the above photo). In place of glistening “sparkle”, King Xerxes and his companions gained a measure of nobility that was truly remarkable.
When the “soap people” (as we called them) were removed
at the end of February, Anne and I felt a real sense of loss.
The wheel of
time moved on and kept moving. In December 2024, also for a limited period, another
work of art was displayed outside of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, near the
east entrance of the PMA. This time it was a bronze statue, Rocky Balboa,
sculpted by A. Thomas Schomberg in 1980. The statue was positioned on the spot
immortalized by Sylvester Stallone’s 1976 film, Rocky.
The “Rocky Steps”
are a popular site in Philadelphia, with people recreating the famous movie scene
where Rocky, in training for the biggest boxing match in his career, sprints up
the steps and elevates his arms to the sky. This gesture is a pledge of his
determination to go “the distance” of the eighteen round fight – and thereby
transform himself from a bum to a hero.
The statue of Rocky
Balboa is owned by Sylvester Stallone, on loan for a month to Philadelphia,
where he grew-up. An incredible procession, its ranks continually replenished,
made its way to the top of the steps to pose by the statue.
When the big
moment arrived, many people jogged the last few feet to the statue, before
turning around, arms and fists raised to the sky. A friend or family member then
snapped a picture or two and a precious moment of memory was recorded.
Are Meekyoung Shin’s Eastern
Deities and Schomberg’s Rocky Balboa
great works of art? To answer that question we have to set our emotions aside. When
an impartial comparison is made with an accepted classic, a statue by Auguste Rodin,
for instance, the verdict is obvious. Neither of these artists is going to win
first prize.
There are,
however, many standards by which to judge art.
One of the
metrics for appraising a work of art is how well it enables art lovers to respond
to changing circumstances, reflect upon enduring
ideals – and decide for themselves about issues of importance.
Insects’ tools are their limbs with which they are equipped from birth and which they cannot change; but genius puts forth unseen hands which, throughout the artist’s working life, are ever changing and enable him to extract from forms, both living forms and those immune from death, the makings, often unlooked-for, of his metamorphosis.
During 2024, a
number of the exhibitions reviewed in Art Eyewitness surveyed the lives of
artists and creative individuals. Every one of them underwent notable processes
of metamorphosis. Beatrix Potter, Julia Margaret Cameron, Alexey Brodovitch,
Gustav Klimt, Mary Cassatt and Belle da Costa Green experienced dramatic
transformations in their lives and art.
Many of these life
changes underwent further, often unexpected, alterations. No one could have
predicted that Beatrix Potter’s charming, illustrated letters to a sick child would
lead to a series of best-selling books and international literary acclaim.
Then, in later life, Potter used her fame and fortune to help preserve Britain’s
natural environment.
A treasure trove
of Potter’s drawings and letters have been preserved, many in the collection of
the Morgan Library and Museum. The Morgan used a selection of these in its 2024
Drawn to Nature exhibition, surveying Potter’s storied life.
The exact opposite was true for Alexey Brodovitch. Scarcely anything of the personal archive of this hugely influential artist/designer survived a life shadowed by exile and disaster.
This past year, Alexey Brodovitch was highlighted in a brilliant, long-overdue exhibition at the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia. After escaping from Russia following the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, Brodovitch eventually found his way to the U.S. With little formal training, he used his unparalleled artistic abilities to secure the position of Art Director at Harper’s Bazaar in 1934, remaining there until 1958.
Exhibitions which focus on the oeuvre of a single painter or sculptor seem ready-made for the theme of personal transformation. But that’s not always as easy as one might think. This is especially true in the case of multi-talented artists where the temptation to highlight one particular aspect of their creative genius is difficult to resist.
One of the most highly anticipated exhibitions of 2024 was Mary Cassatt at Work, presented by the Philadelphia Museum of Art. The exhibit took a topical, rather than chronological, approach to Cassatt’s career. It focused on Cassatt’s print-making methods and her mid-to-late career paintings and pastels. This was richly rewarding in many ways, but disappointing in terms of evaluating Cassatt’s overall artistic development.
Scant attention was given to Cassatt's early, pre-Impressionist work. Only one of her Spanish inspired paintings was displayed, without any commentary. Thus, visitors to the exhibition were deprived of the opportunity to gauge the true measure of her metamorphosis.
Change, transformation and metamorphosis were also key to comprehending many of the 2024 exhibits which surveyed broad themes, rather than focusing on a single artist.
Crafting the Ballets Russes was one of of the highlights of the Morgan Library and Museum's 100th Year Anniversary. The exhibition was based on a collection of original music scores commissioned by Serge Diaghilev, the impressario of the fabled dance company.
Crafting the Ballet Russes packed a huge array of documents, pictures and memorabilia into tight gallery quarters. This required close attention from visitors, especially those like me who do not read musical notation.
Fortunately, the catalog of Crafting the Ballet Russes published by D. Giles company is a model of design excellence. The page layouts almost seamlessly integrate text and images, yielding important insights on musical scores like Igor Stravinsky's Firebird or Leon Bakst's costume designs for Afternoon of a Faun, inspired by a study-visit to Greece.
Paris 1874: the Impressionist Moment at the National Gallery in Washington D.C., was another information-rich look at a seminal event in art history, 150 years ago. A brilliant collaboration of the National Gallery with the Musee d’Orsay, Paris 1874, it presented a balanced appraisal of the first Impressionist exhibition and its rival, the Paris Salon of 1874, showing that there were paintings of great merit in both venues.
Revolutionary
elements were indeed apparent in many of the works of the société anonyme artists
in their 1874 exhibition. However, Monet, Renoir, Degas and their colleagues were
more concerned to sell paintings than in making a political statement or social
commentary. A number of paintings in the Paris Salon, by contrast, showed considerable sensitivity on subjects ignored by the Impressionists: religion, war and peasant life in the provinces of France.
One of the many reasons for the success of Paris 1874 was the ability of the exhibit curators to stay focused and suppress the urge of answering all of the questions which their exhibition raises. The curators of Paris 1874 refrained from definitive answers, leaving the decision making to us. That is the mark of an outstanding exhibition which this blockbuster at the National Gallery certainly was.
Grappling with the complexities of 19th century painting or exhibits dealing with even earlier epochs, such as Siena: Birth of Painting, 1300-1350 at the Metropolitan Museum, might seem of little moment, given all the issues and concerns of the present day. Yet, any opportunity to sharpen our skills of discernment can be of service later, often when we least expect it.
Such a moment arrived in 2024 during our visit to The Time is Always Now exhibition at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. This exhibit explored the ways that figurative art can "illuminate and celebrate the nuance and richness of Black contemporary life."
Several artists, whose work I was not familiar with, were displayed in The Time is Always Now. I was particularly impressed by the screen prints of Lorna Simpson and portrait paintings by Jordan Casteel.
Text: Copyright of Ed Voves, all rights reserved
Original photography, copyright of Anne
Lloyd, all rights reserved
Introductory Image:
Anne Lloyd, Photo (2024) A. Thomas Schomberg's statue, Rocky Balboa, on special loan/display, near the east entrance of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.Anne Lloyd, Photo (2024) Henri Cartier-Bresson's Alexey Brodovitch, 1962. Gelatin silver print:: 8 x 11 3/4 in. (20.2 x 29.9 cm) Philadelphia Museum of Art. collection of Dorothy Norman, 1971.
Cover art and page spread from Crafting the Ballet Russes (2024), courtesy of D. Giles, Ltd.
Ed Voves, Photo (2024) Gallery views of Siena: Birth of Painting, 1300-1350, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Photo shows predella panels from Duccio's Maesta.
Anne Lloyd, Photo (2024) Lorna Simpson's Collide, 2019. The Forman Family Collection.
Anne Lloyd, Photo (2024) Jordan Casteel's Yvonne and James (detail), 2017. Oil on Canvas. Joyner/Guiffreda Collection.
Anne Lloyd, Photos (2024) Gallery views of Steve McQueen's Static, 2009. Film/ video. Philadelphia Museum of Art. Partial gift of The
Katherine and Keith L. Sachs Art Foundation and purchased with the Modern and
Contemporary Art Revolving Fund, 2010 |
