Cynematik • Cyndi Greening

Alec returned to the Valley of the Stunned for Christmas. He brought home some music for me. He sure knows my tastes! He was telling me the artist, Sara Bareilles writes and performs her own material. I loved the song LOVE SONG. Her website features a lot of her songs. She also video pieces. Check it out!

[Read more →]

BY CYNDI GREENING, PHOENIX, USA – I got home LATE Sunday evening. Flight delays out of LaGuardia. Missed flight in Denver. Two hour Super Shuttle trip home. No wonder I was wiped out yesterday. I was finally able to get my head back into work today. After two good meetings with distributors and broadcasters in NYC last week, I’m feeling eager to get going on this project and others. We were back at editing today and also started working on new scripts. I wish there were more hours in the day. There just isn’t enough time to do all of the things I want to do. And my phone call return is far worse than usual. Even five minutes is precious these days.

Last week, at the Met, I snapped this photo of Pam looking at a painting of Mary Magdelene. I ended up liking the photo so much that I wanted to use it even though I didn’t really have anything to write about it at that moment. Pam got me going with this whole “Where are all the women in art history?” question … not to mention, where are all of the women in history. This photograph evokes the gestalt of the inquiry. We’ve got a woman, taking a picture of a woman who is looking at a woman who appears to be hiding herself from view … the painting an interpretation by a man. An enigma wrapped in a cypher buried in a puzzle struggling to find the light of day. Or the organic form of one of those infinite mirror photos.

[Read more →]

BY PAMELA BOWMAN, MANHATTAN, USA – She went into teacher mode before we even arrived at the museum. I had to tease her and asked if there would be a quiz at the end of the field trip! She wasn’t sure if I was serious until she saw me trying to hide my smile. “My apologies. It’s just that I want you to suggest how you might want to look at the work as we … blah, blah, blah.”

To sustain ourselves, we bought an ice cream before we entered the museum. Good thing, because I needed that Ben and Jerry! That museum is HUGE!!

We began in the Renaissance area. Now, in all fairness I have taken art history classes. Cyndi calls them “Art in the Dark.” I called it almost flunking my first college course in my senior year! So I am wandering around looking at the artwork that I had studied and I immediately realized that it would have been much more impactful, memorable and understandable for me to have visited the Met for my class. I would have been able to see how artists, their skills and styles evolved through the centuries. It was enlightening to see how (and when) artists discovered how to represent perspective, human form, texture, light and atmosphere.

Sometimes, in seeing the work of these great artists I realized many of their pieces were just practice works or efforts at honing their craft. Each time we entered a new room, I noticed that I would be immediately drawn to a painting or sculpture or mural because I could “read” the story in the eyes of the subject. The posture of the body, the placement of hand or the attire of the subject would make me see what the artist was trying to evoke. It was amazing and inspiring.

Having my own personal tour guide did not hurt, except my feet! We ended in the Asian wing. I have always loved Japanese art. I am drawn to its simplicity and its complexity. It was a very peaceful and joyous way to end my tour.

And yes there was a full blown verbal test that afternoon. As we walked the down Central Park East and through the streets of New York, we discussed artists, movements, color and light. The discussion continues as we apply the work and knowledge of those artists to our current film project. Ever notice how sfumato and chiaroscuro in film is as powerful as it is in painting? Now, how …

[Read more →]

BY PAMELA BOWMAN, MANHATTAN, USA – I walked through the halls of the Metropolitan Museum of Art experiencing the work of great artists through the ages. It was an overwhelming experience. On each wall, in each crevice and around every corner was a record in some form of our history. I kept searching because I felt it was not complete. It was not whole. Finally I couldn’t stand it any longer.

“Cyndi, where is the artwork of the women? Where can I see paintings by women?” My question did not surprise her, but she did take a moment to answer. “There were very few women artists during the Renaissance period. It was not thought that women could be great artists. They were expected to stay home and tend to the children and take care of the house.”

“But wait, I have seen movies where women are tutored in art … like Sense and Sensibility.”

“Tutored as a school exercise yes, but not seriously taught as a career. Men could take the time to develop their skills, women did not have the luxury of time.”

She was trying to diplomatic. I was appalled.

“How can human history be really accurate without the perspective of women? You have got to be kidding me? There were no women artists? What if they wanted to pursue art? Would they be allowed to?” Later research revealed that there were a few women painters of the Renaissance but most of them were taught by famous fathers and created only miniatures. It didn’t appear that any women were making their living creating art. Surely there must have been women who wanted to create art as a way of living. The only famous woman artist she could come up with was Artemisia Gentileschi.

Cyndi brought me to a room where there were sculptures by Auguste Rodin and his confidante and lover, Camille Claudel. As a young woman, she studied at the Académie Colarossi with sculptor Alfred Boucher. At the time, the École des Beaux-Arts barred women from enrolling to study. A gifted sculptor and graphic artist, she caught Rodin’s eye in 1883. An idea of how women artists were received? The famous art critic Octave Mirbeau wrote that Claudel was “A revolt against nature: a woman genius.”

My heart was heavy as room after room showed the meticulous work of male artists. It seemed that so many of the pieces lacked warmth. The level of skill was exquisite but there was a dimension that was often absent. Perhaps it was the lack of feminine interpretation of life. How much richer our history might be if we all are encouraged to participate equally.

My first thought was, “Good thing I live in the world today.” But then we started the discussion of today. Is it much different? We find more women artists in the world of art than at any other time. But, how many is that, really? In my medium of film, how many women are represented? How many women directors do we have? Producers? Cinematographers? How are they received? The small numbers reflect the truth.

This is NOT a discussion of division but of inclusion. What would be possible if we all were included. I would NOT want people to look at my work simply because I am a woman any more than I would want to have my work NOT taken seriously because I am a woman.

The difficulty is that in the past many women behaved more masculine in order to pursue their dreams. While women entered the art (and other) arenas, the feminine was still missing. Everyone has something to offer this world. It seems that we should embrace our differences and relish in the three-dimensional realm of possibility when all are represented. I believe that I have something to offer and each of you do as well. It is the contribution of all of the points of view that is important.

Today we have the choice to support and nurture each other. It is my hope that one day, my grandchildren will be walking those same halls of that same museum but it will be different as the scope of art becomes wider and deeper. The artwork of today will reflect a fuller spectrum because we’re all represented. The picture it provides will be more complete. Wholly representative of the human experience.

[Read more →]

Jon Gipe’s Cabinet of Curiosities. David Pescovitz: The amazing Bart Nagel sent me a link to his friend Jon Gipe’s “Cabinet of Curiosities” online gallery. Gipe is a photographer and painter in Phoenix who Bart says was a big influence on his own photography. Not only are Gipe’s photos stunning, but I love the way he’s displayed them in a Flash slideshow “slideshow,” complete with fan noise from the projector. Link [Boing Boing]

[Read more →]

Making Artists: Warhols of Tomorrow Are Dealers’ Quarry Today. Some top art schools are taking steps to protect students from the hordes of hungry dealers and collectors. By CAROL VOGEL. [NYT > Home Page]

[Read more →]

LA Time’s rips into Thomas Kinkade AKA “Painter of Light”. Mark Frauenfelder:
Today’s LA Times has a character-assassinating cover story on Thomas Kinkade, the guy who paints scenes of woodland cottages with windows that seem to glow.

First, the Times discusses Kinkade’s alleged shady business practices, which have driven at least on gallery owner to ruin. Next the article launches into Kinkade’s alleged pattern of drunken and belligerent behavior.

In sworn testimony and interviews, they recount incidents in which an allegedly drunken Kinkade heckled illusionists Siegfried & Roy in Las Vegas, cursed a former employee’s wife who came to his aid when he fell off a barstool, and palmed a startled woman’s breasts at a signing party in South Bend, Ind.

And then there is Kinkade’s proclivity for “ritual territory marking,” as he called it, which allegedly manifested itself in the late 1990s outside the Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim.

“This one’s for you, Walt,” the artist quipped late one night as he urinated on a Winnie the Pooh figure, said Terry Sheppard, a former vice president for Kinkade’s company, in an interview.

Link [Boing Boing]

[Read more →]

I spoke with Matt Mahurin last week. You may remember me writing about Matt and his Sundance documentary I LIKE KILLING FLIES. The film was about SHOPSIN’S, a wonderful restaurant in Greenwich Village owned and operated by Kenny Shopsin. An outspoken, creative chef, Shopsin makes the documentary a tasty treat. During the conversation, Matt said I LIKE KILLING FLIES will be in theaters this spring! According to IMDB, the film is being distributed by THINKFilm. Be sure to watch for it in your local theaters.

Matt is a terrific artist, illustrator, photographer and filmmaker. He’s done some memorable portraits of folks like Tom Waits, Queen Latifah, David Letterman, Courtney Love, and Marilyn Manson. You may recall that Matt has produced music videos for Peter Gabriel, U2, REM, Tracy Chapman, Sting, Bonnie Raitt, Ice-T, Metallica, David Byrne and Joni Mitchell.

Matt was in L.A. editing his new feature film, FEEL. The screenplay for the film was actually written before I LIKE KILLING FLIES was produced. FEEL was backed by VOX3 FILMS (the same folks who funded the Diane Arbus biopic FUR which stars Nicole Kidman and Robert Downey, Jr.). FEEL is the story of a single day in a massage parlor. Four different men visit looking for some kind of emotional or physical connection. Simultaneously, the film explores the complex emotional experiences of the women who work there. Starring Billy Baldwin, Fiona Lee, Tom Bower, Kevin Corrigan and WRISTCUTTERS Clayne Crawford, I’ve got a good feeling about FEEL.

Matt is married to artist and illustrator Lisa Desimini. Lisa is also a fantastic illustrator! Lisa did the covers for Barbara Kingsolver’s books. Kingsolver is one of my favorite authors and I was so pleased to discover that Lisa created the covers of some of my favorite books! Lisa also illustrated numerous children’s books including TRICK OR TREAT, SMELL MY FEET and GOOD MOUSEKEEPING.

It must be fabulous in their house! Their whole lives are about art. The conversations at the dinner table must be fantastic. No doubt they’ve collaborated intellectually on numerous projects. (Lord knows we’re always talking about our latest projects around the house.) Anyway, they did a book together. Lisa wrote and Matt illustrated the children’s book MY BEAUTIFUL CHILD. In her review of their book, School Librarian, J. Mckee (Pittsburgh, PA) says, “Within its spare text and quiet illustrations lies the powerful message of teaching a child to appreciate the simple things in life through a parent’s unselfish love. This is one of the most beautiful books I have ever read.” As you can tell by the images on the post, they’re pretty talented people and their work is all around you.

[Read more →]

Japanese WWII duck-and-cover posters. Cory Doctorow:
The National Archives of Japan is hosting a collection of duck-and-cover civil defense posters from WWII. The scans are very high-resolution — what fun you could have with these as design elements! Link

(via Geisha Asobi)
[Boing Boing]

[Read more →]

Doubts Cast on a Trove of Supposed Pollocks. An analysis of six paintings claimed to be original works by Jackson Pollock casts serious doubt on their authenticity. This is such a good article … based on the FRACTAL PATTERNS, some Pollack’s may not be … By RANDY KENNEDY. [NYT > Home Page]

[Read more →]