Sunday, July 26, 2015 It took me awhile this year to come up with vacation plans. We needed something easy on the budget, as new tires and exquisite statue had cost a bit. And I suspect I might need new glasses and... ...I was at work and heard an ad from NAM, National Association for Music, that spoke of the rewards of music. "Just play", it ended. I was reminded of one of the segments on a Phoenix KAET PBS show about the Musical Instrument Musema and knew that this was something Julia and I would have great fun experiencing. So the planning was on! The Phoenix Art Museum is closed Monday and Tuesday. Sunday they open as late as noon, while MIM opens at 9:30am Sunday. So that sorted easily. Phoenix Art Museum Saturday, MIM Sunday and Heard Museum on Monday. We might stay another night on Monday so we can leave early in the morning? It had been a few years since we'd visited PAM. A couple of exhibits sounded intriguing: " American and European Art from the 1920s and 1930s" and "From New York to New Mexico: Masterworks of American Modernism from the Vilcek Foundation Collection". To our joy, photos were allowed everywhere, except for certain pieces, those by Stuart Davis, which I wouldn't have cared to photograph anyway. I hadn't realized with a nice little museum this is. I saw things I hadn't seen on earlier visits. Their Asian selections are lovely. There's a porcelain seated maiden in a lovely flowered dress, Japanese I think. No, Chinese:
A beautiful celadon green carved jade vase called for the camera:
Some funerary statues impressed us with their facial expressions: |
Chinese, 7th century Painted earthenware Museum purchase with funds provided by Asian Arts Council and many others, Phoenix Art Museum #2005.37 1-6?? Quite stern! |
Two plump Chinese figures with blushing faces were modeled after an important official's (memory less distinct, important as in the KING'S) favorite courtesan:
"The term 'fat lady' is used in both Chinese and English to identify this kind of sculpture. In the imperial Chinese capital of the Tang dynasty, the standard of feminine beauty changed between the seventh century and the eighth century. Emperor Tang Xuanzhong (r. 712-755) became extraordinarily infatuated with one of his concubines, Yang Guifei. She was reknown for her voluptious beauty. His subsequent neglect of political affairs led to the An Lushan revolt and his forced suicide, for which she was partially blamed." (From info card). But until that debacle, "Yang Guifei set the style for feminine beauty of her time." Gaston Lachaise's sculpture of his favorite plump model had Julia and I each aping her pose (I really should have taken photos of that).
While I wish I had snapped Julia with this statue, I did capture her with a huge cloissonné vase:
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"This rare example of the European fascination wit and embellishment of Chinese enamel wares is a testament to the high regard for the Chinese pieces that was prevalent during the nineteenth century. It also reflects the revival of cloissonné during the late nineteenth century in China. These circumstances were due to the fact that Franco-British expeditionary forces that plundered the Summer Palace at Yuanmingyuan (outside of Beijing) in 1860 ceded much of their hoard to their respective sovereigns. In February 1861, the French portion was placed on public view in the Louvre, Paris. Together with artifacts presented by Siamese ambassadors at Fontainebleau, these constitued the collection of the Museé Chinois, created at Fontainebleau under Empress Eugénie's supervision and opened in 1863. The fascination with these Chinese objects on the part of French artists led to the undertaking of the exquisite mount for this Chinese piece created by the renowned bronze foundry of Ferdinard Barbedienne. The mounting features a pair of Chinese-style dragons, thus completing a circle of cross-cultural influences that was unprecedented." (From the info card) Not only the French, the Dutch also had a frenzy for Oriental things:
Necessity and Invention Delft Ware "A change of dynasty and turmoil in China between 1644 and 1656 disrupted Dutch trade routes. Consumers lost access to blue-and-white porcelain from China in 1657, but the desire for it didn't wane. To fill the void, Dutch potters developed their own high-quality version, now known as Delft ware, named after the city in which it originated. This large covered jar is an outstanding example of this production. "Delft is not porcelain; it is faience, or earthenware. Delft potters did not have access to the kaolin clay that produces porcelain, and so their objects have a different chemical make-up and different properties. The clay object is coated in a tin oxide glaze to make it white; cobalt is painted on top, and then a transparent glaze is applied to make the object shiny. The decoration on this large covered jar includes disparate scenes that read as 'exotic' and 'Chinese', including palm trees, an elephant, and patterns that suggest mountains or floral elements. Other Delft pieces from this time show almost identical scenes - the elephant in particular - suggesting the potters shared pattern sources." So far, all of these pieces I remember are from the museum's own holdings. The Vilcek collection has an interesting sculpture by Alexander Archipenko:
(Note of July 29, 2015) I wondered if they were Czech, I could be related to them! :) Returning back to the museum's own holdings, I found a Matisse lithograph to add to my photo gallery of Matisse, "Matisse's Pieces" :)
And here's a Monet for "Mon Monets":
And I got a new view of that dear little Calder piece: |
I'll have fun going through my photos for many days afterwards! And today there will will be more happy snaps, too. Perhaps I'll go back to bed for some more shut eye? I do want to be well-rested for today. |
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