freaking out on the inside since 1981

Entries tagged as ‘art history’

leaf explorers

October 20, 2008 · 2 Comments

last week we learned about photosynthesis and chlorophyll.  as much as i like all of the other teachers at my school, really & truly like them, i still want to kick their tails in terms of Bringing the Educational Fun.  i wish i could’ve taken my crew to the wilds of vermont, or concord & lexington, to witness true explosions of color.  we witnessed half-hearted trees in the suburbs of the district but they enjoyed it all the same.  up next is trying not to gag over pumpkin guts for the sake of these lovely creatures, although it’s going to be tough:  i haven’t touched the soup of guts and sticky string in probably a decade.  i let others do the dirty work.  they can take those gritty pale seeds and make crafts out of them in geometric patterns.  halloween poetry.  don’t ask me i haven’t figured the plot out just yet!

boston is out of the playoffs and i am surprisingly nonchalant.  perhaps it’s because of how charmed we are on philadelphia, how we call it gritty & how that actually is a good thing.  the people have so much character, the girls are prettier because they don’t polish themselves too pristenely, all long and tangly hair and scruffy boots.  the bars all have old trivial pursuit genus editions and people care for one another.  i would like to live there, i think.  fingers crossed.  for now, we take advantage of all the free museums that DC has to offer.  we rubbed elbows with insistent geriatrics at the opening day of the pompeii & herculaneum exhibit – the national gallery had never had an ancient roman exhibit before.  i liked the shout out to epicurus but did they really need to use the word “hedonistic” in the placard just because homeboy was a glorious atheist?  i wish more of his tomes survived.  maybe someday they’ll excavate herculaneum properly and totally gut the digs of julius caesar’s father in law.  i’m sure they’d get some juicy stuff.

i need to get a life, because as i type i try to think of spelling words for my top group:  they spelled “bilingual” and “recitation” right without any warning or practice.  these are seven year olds.  i’m in over my head.

Categories: Art History or Film · Things to do in/around D.C. · photos
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Dora Maar and Sarah Siddons

June 24, 2008 · Leave a Comment

My true love (and unfortunately only my undergrad minor in school) is art history. I’m particularly fascinated by the way that children respond to art and their responses when posed comparison questions. One of the most productive exercises in elementary education/art history I’ve done is the Dora Maar / Sarah Siddons comparison.

Dora Maar was a Croation photographer/artist and one of Picasso’s lovers. He called her a lady in tears and he was initially fascinated by her because of her moody disposition and the fact that she spoke fluent Spanish. The proposed reason for her melancholy was the fact that she was sterile and thus unable to give Picasso any children, even as his other lovers were. Dora never really got over Picasso (and she is quoted by an author as saying “After Picasso, God.”) but she got some paintings and a house in France out of the deal. She also found solace in Roman Catholicism (how?) and regained her social artist circle after the demise of her relationship. Picasso’s portrait of her “Dora Maar au chat” fetched something like 95 million dollars at auction, the second highest price for a painting at auction ever.

Gainsborough painted the image of Sarah Siddons I believe as a direct response to Sir Joshua Reynold’s painting of Siddons as a muse. Gainsborough was by far the more masterful painter and I believe it shows clearly in his use of form and color. Still, both works portray a talented and wealthy woman of the stage, a clear idol of her time. This portrait of Sarah Siddons is one of the first images of the film All About Eve. Which is pretty cool, and revealing. Siddons is the epitome of class and grace the way that Neoclassicism and high society saw it.

And that’s why it’s always so interesting to see a group of children forced to decide which painting they prefer. It’s nearly always split 50/50, which is rare in the world of children and groupthink. Still, some children prefer the Sissons portrait for its refined beauty and realism. Some children absolutely love the Picasso painting for its use of color and odd shape. It’s amazing to watch children debate with one another and attempt to point out their opinions in the paintings.

And maybe it’s even more amazing that in groups of adults I’ve shown these to, the preference is still split about 50/50. There are those still adamant about the beauty and form of Siddons. And there are still others completely intrigued about Dora Maar. I love that this is a pairing that people can politely (yet passionately) disagree on.

Categories: Art History or Film
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liveblogging the passion of joan of arc (1928)

June 17, 2008 · 1 Comment

i came across the idea of liveblogging by reading the ESPN sports guy. which i am truly and humbly embarrassed by, as the sports guy skirts the line of misogny so perilously that i don’t know whether to hate him or offer him a dry shoulder to cry on and the chance to talk about how his mother didn’t love him when he was little. regardless of the issue at hand, his liveblogging has really got me through some dark hours of boston sports history. it’s also fun to read streaming text from somebody’s mind. since i was set to re-watch one of the epics of cinema, the passion of joan of arc, i figured that writing my own streaming thoughts might distract me from the overwhelming (and amazing) sense of dread that rightfully permeates the entire movie. the verdict? i wasn’t so distracted by it. but that’s probably a good thing.

the passion of joan of arc
directed by carl theodor dreyer
starring renee falconetti as joan
1928 – silent, with optional music score written specifically for it in 1994
french text with english subtitles



the passion of joan of arc deserves its crown as one of the most moving – and most ambitious – films of all time. what may be the most amazing aspect of the film is its physical journey: its master negative was believed to have been lost to a fire for 50 years. dreyer attempted to assemble a new cut based on remaining footage that he had, yet he died in 1979 believing that hi original cut was lost forever. not the case! most amazing of all, a preserved copy of this film was found in a janitor’s closet at an insane asylum in oslo in 1981. thus this jewel is preserved once again. renee falconetti rightfully deserves her title as creating one of the best performances on screen of all time. its quick shots and humanistic graininess all contribute to a festival of emotion that you can’t stop poring over. i attempted humor at the start of this liveblogging – i obviously failed by the end, when i was clinging to the screen like a sad puppy.

8:55 pm – pinot grigio, mushy strawberries are a GO. this movie was LOST for 50 years, only to be found in the closet of a mental asylum. can you believe that?

9:00 pm – already the close-ups of the crafty and misogynist priests are captivating me. supposedly dreyer tortured falconetti with ice cubes, etc. to get what he wanted from her in terms of anguish. sounds like the predecessor of lars von trier. yet with talent.

9:05 pm – i wish that st. michael would appear to ME. in the form of some to-be-named benevolent animal. a fox? a narwhal? the narwhal might be difficult re: getting myself to the sea.

9:06 pm – the priests in this movie are out for sinfully desired (and fixed) results in the same bloodthirsty way as david stern’s NBA front office commish.

9:07 pm – is it dreyer’s use of monotone light or did people just have more character in their countenances in 1928? i vote the latter.

9:11 pm – we wonder if these actors are primarily theatre actors. will research. (edit: yes, in fact, they are. falconetti discovered by dreyer performing on french stage)

9:21 pm – fuck the english. for all time. basically. england: wreckin’ decent humanity since 1431 (at least!)

9:22 pm - i can’t decide if falconetti is the most beautiful or gruesome human being i’ve ever seen. interesting problem to have.

9:22 pm - fly on her eye! i wonder if that fly was a paid actor – impeccable timing.

9:28 pm – “you are satan’s creature!” how many times have i heard that one before, especially from the folks genetically linked to me.

9:30 pm – i bet ingmar bergman must’ve been wild about this film. find it odd that i don’t know for sure. yikes torture chamber! with spikes and wheels. and a strangely meek little man running the show.

9:35 pm – the best part of this film, honestly, is how there are about 30 different agendas that vaguely interlap and you get to watch the chaos build into a hurricane.

9:40 pm – gratuitous bloodletting scene for a person weak with illness. can’t watch so i’m blabbering to you!

9:42 pm – “misguided lamb” – that should’ve been my blog’s name.

9:50 pm – “if you do not sign, you will be burned alive.“

9:55 pm – the peasant scenes approximately 1 hour into the movie are unreal. a flowing montage of semi-pious circus freaks. carnival atmosphere outside her jail as the rest of her hair is shorn. homegirl is never without tears dolloping her pretty eyes.

10:01 pm – my lower eyelashes totally clump together the same way when i’ve been crying too much. soul sisters!!

10:05 pm – she gets full strength and opens her eyes fully for the 1st time at 70 mins, 30 seconds. when she knows she’s going to the stake. amazing.

10:10 pm – omgg lengthy torturous stake scene. count on a dane to bring the suffering home.

10:11 pm – reminds me of this bosch painting:

and there you have it. i know the vast majority of the world would prefer to watch sex and the city: the movie. or maybe indiana jones. but i know that there must be some real souls out there who will appreciate my blood sweat and tears review. give it a chance and watch it.

Categories: reviews: i work hard so you don't have to
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