Monday, February 13, 2012

New beginnings.

Around the art department, we've been calling it the Louise Nevelson Project, which is what this blog should be named instead of the Shadowbox Mural.  However, this is a blog to educate the masses, and Louise Nevelson, outside of art circles is not commonly known.

     To be blunt, she was one audacious woman.  I just love older people for the reason that they can do exactly what they want, without a care for what others think.  She created quite the persona in her later life, with her kerchiefs and her false eyelashes, and perhaps one day I'll be old enough to discard my concern for other's opinions to emulate the look. 
     So why is this truly the Louise Nevelson Project?  Her artwork is the inspiration for a mural which is hopefully going to come to fruition within the next couple of months.  Upon first impression, I never really thought much about her wall pieces.  In fact, I thought that it seemed a bit too similar to an episode of Hoarders , but when I force myself to look, no, to truly STUDY, they feel like small habitats to me.  The pieces are millions of tiny nooks to curl up into, to hide in the shadows and ignore the outside world for a bit.  She worked under Hans Hofmann, whose major influence was to work with a limited palette.  She calls black the "total" color, the color that is all colors.  To see a piece in front of you is an experience like no other; the black wraps around you creating a cocoon of coziness. 
How do you feel?

Louise Nevelson, Sky Cathedral, 1958
I'm not a feminist. I'm an artist who happens to be a woman. – Louise Nevelson

3 comments:

  1. OK, I'm intrigued. The project sounds very cool, but the color sounds very dark. I think this is something I need to experience for myself.....

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    1. Don't you worry. I don't think that we will go quite so DARK as Louise Nevelson... I think I'd just like to take the theme of making a monochromatic mural so that you can concentrate on the form of it.

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  2. Oh so intriguing! I feel like antique-styled home comfort when I look at her mural (if that makes any sense). I love the monochromatic dark tones of it - it gives the project depth and mood as well as the ability for the viewer to concentrate on the details. If we can pull off something even merely close to that.. It will be amazing!

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