Sometimes, Lately, and Almost Never
Posted in BLATHER & DRIVEL, PROJECTS on 09/29/2011 02:30 am by admin
LATELY, I have been much more involved with the mid to late nineteenth century than I can ever remember being. First, there was my attempt to develop a more thorough understanding of the context in which Lockwood de Forest developed. The Gallery was kind enough to buy The Landscape of Belief, Like Breath on Glass, and A History of American Tonalism 1880-1920, which I must confess that I haven’t yet read. This last oversight owes to a recent gift from designer Linda Chase of The Biedermeir Book, an incredibly engaging number that lets me indulge in my not-that-secret love of furniture.
SOMETIMES, I wonder whether I am anything other than a weather vane for the winds of the coming zeitgeist. Has anyone else noticed that the steampunk aesthetic also fetishizes the period? Moreover, has anyone noticed the new Pip Hop (aka Chap Hop)? Finally, could the Gallery’s recent acquisition of the Estate of Leon Dabo be any more perfectly timed for all of this? Any steampunk people want a lovely painting for your parlor? Just checking…
Finally, there is this whole PACIFIC STANDARD TIME project to go over. Yes, I did just spend nine years mastering the history of modern art in California (and LA, in particular). Yes, I did notice the multi-million dollar, Getty Funded, sixty-plus museum exhibition foofaraw devoted to the subject I have spent much of my career promoting. (See our latest exhibition here.) What can I say? I am ALMOST NEVER happy with my successes. This is pretty much a grand slam, which is why I am now moving on to the nineteenth century. Soon, I plan to find out what that whole Indie music scene thing was about.