Question of the Day | 03/25/2009 11:00 pm

Rembrandt? Picasso? O'Keeffe? Tell us: Who is your favorite artist?

The wOw women reveal the artists whose work they find simply breathtaking

Joan Ganz Cooney | 03/25/2009 11:00 pm

Joan Ganz Cooney: A Favorite Among Favorites

I have many favorite artists but I think that if I had my choice of any painting I’d choose the red Matisse in the Hermitage.

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Liz Smith | 03/25/2009 11:00 pm

Liz Smith's Godson: The Next Manet?

Well, it’s a toss-up between Rousseau and his tigers and jungles and Manet (no, not Monet) and his French people sitting around on the grass. But actually, it is my godson’s work in pencil, ink, crayon, chalk or paint that just knocks me out.

1 Comment

Judith Martin | 03/25/2009 11:00 pm

Judith Martin on Gentile Bellini

Tintoretto, for his magnificence; Giorgione, runner-up, for his. But when I am in a gossipy mood, I like to hang out with Gentile Bellini — nowhere near their class, not even the best painter in his immediate family — because he is so cleverly anecdotal.

1 Comment

Jane Wagner | 03/25/2009 11:00 pm

Jane Wagner Names Her Favorite Artist

Robert Rauschenberg

6 Comments

Julia Reed | 03/29/2009 1:05 pm

An Art Lesson With Julia Reed

Fortunately for me, my favorite artists also happen to be my really close friends: William Dunlap, John Alexander and James Surls. Dunlap serves on the board of the Ogden Museum of Southern Art with me, and is a phenomenally generous soul and walking performance-art piece in addition to being a really wonderful painter. Like Eli Manning, for whom he just did a huge Mississippi landscape, I am blessed to have many of his canvasses. (His wife, Linda Burgess, and daughter, Maggie Dunlap, are also gifted artists — I call them the von Dunlaps.) Roberta Smith compared Alexander to Durer after a show of his drawings at the Beadleston Gallery in Manhattan, and his retrospective at the Smithsonian last year was an amazing show (with an amazing book).

Surls, like Alexander, grew up in Texas and is a soulful writer as well as being a genius of a sculptor. One of my favorite (and most hilarious) photographs features Alexander and New Orleans art dealer Arthur Roger posing as Surls sculptures in my garden – oh, how I wish they were the real thing! The real thing is actually available for viewing right now on the Park Avenue median between 50th and 57th Streets as part of the New York City Parks Public Art Program.

I also really love the photography of Sally Mann, who is one of the nicest people I have ever met.

My favorite dead guys? The Spaniards: Goya, Velasquez and Melendez, whose stunning still-lifes are at the Prado. Melendez’s gorgeous self-portrait is at the Louvre.

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Read more about: Art, Artist, Arts, Culture, Painter, Photography

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Hi Beverly…It looks like Jane Cougar put the cat back….see above…goody!

By georgia fatwood on 04/01/2009 9:02 pm

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Georgia, thank you! it’s been a year since we started communicating. where is that red thing that you used to use? I always stopped to see what you had to say when I spotted it.

It’s been a while since I’ve had anything to say on wow. It had gotten so mean and spiteful. A thread about art is pretty hard to get mean about. This thread was so pleasant to read.

How is your old car? Mine is still running. It has 9 months to go before it has to go through DEQ again. It’s been quite a year and those of us who are very careful with our resources have a lot of company now.

I’m reserving judgement about wow. I had no idea that a bunch of women could be so hateful. Nice talking to you. Bev.

By beverly linens on 04/02/2009 3:35 am

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Hi Bev…I knew you were conspicuous by your absence…..The red thing was that clunky ruby heart…I lost it fooling around with something I found stuffed in the icon files….shoulda at least tried to fish it out for Valentine’s Day…..This was so pleasant…I could stay on this thread forever….want to comment every other post….

My car is not running…a 1988 Olds wagon that I adore….I am rural essentially and go long stretches without needing one….I’ve been talking to folks about have/have not a vehicle…..I’m thinking I will sell it and rent an Enterprise (they’ll pick you up) car for a week every two months…and run around like crazy…..It would be way cheaper than maintaining a car of my own….whadda ya think? What’s DEQ…? Has a bureaucratic ring to it…I’m trying to ignore the spite and malice departments…it ain’t easy…..I stayed on this thread a long time last night and when I went to bed I kept thinking about it…..It was interesting to see who was/was not posting here…..I went to your first post today (from last spring) and ran a quick scroll to see who’s "still here"….from a glance, I saw only seven that are here regularly these days….I miss a lot of folks who have left….but really, I can’t blame them….Best to you and Happy April…….

By georgia fatwood on 04/02/2009 12:34 pm

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I know nothing about art and certainly would never presume to speak about it with any kind of authority. I don’t know good from bad, I only know when it makes me feel something.

For instance Rembrant always feels dark and uptight to me. Van Gogh, for all his problems, worked with such beautiful colors, most of his works lift my spirits. Mary Cassat captured faces - especially children’s - wonderfully and makes me wonder what the subjects are thinking. Renoir is another one whose color tones I admire, and his works make me want to be a part of the action.

My friend, Anne Leuck Feldhaus, of Chicago, is probably best known for her pet portraits, but her vivid colors and folk art style makes me smile. I’m fortunate enough to own one of her still lifes - it has her trademark brilliant colors, but not colors she normally uses, and I really treasure it.

By Lauri Anderson on 03/26/2009 4:03 am

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Lauri,

"… I only know when it makes me feel something."

Sounds to me like you know everything you need to know about art.

Have a pleasant day. Best,

By N P on 03/26/2009 8:59 am

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N P––took the words right out of my mouth. Keep feeling, Lauri.

By phyllis Doyle Pepe on 03/26/2009 9:11 am

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Exactly!

By Dora M on 03/26/2009 11:09 am

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Lauri…I agree with the others…how things resonate with you and make you feel, to me, is the best barometer.

Love Van Gogh…. and this film about him was unforgettable, a real treat:

www.amazon.com/Vincent-Life-Death-Van-Gogh/dp/630191757X

By Suzanne de Cornelia on 03/26/2009 11:40 am

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Well thanks, all, for your words of encouragement. I often feel like I shouldn’t talk about art since I can’t really speak intelligently on the subject. Same with classical music. I only know when a piece moves me in some way. Suzanne, thanks for the link, I’m definitely going to check it out.

By Lauri Anderson on 03/26/2009 3:12 pm

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Lauri,

If you are interested, you could take a class in art history, or art or music appreciation. Or visit a museum and take a tour. You could see what your local library has to offer in educational materials. Take it slow. There is so much. You could choose the Impressionist period painters one month, then study Expressionism, then Cubism, etc. Too much to study all at once. And don’t tell anyone; keep it a secret. You could gain some information, some insight, some self-confidence, and maybe you would be more comfortable in discussions. No one has to know about your efforts. Just surprise them all! And remember, if you love it, if the art speaks to you, then it’s good. There’s no right or wrong in art. And no one can tell you otherwise. Best,

By N P on 03/26/2009 10:07 pm

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Lauri,

Hope you didn’t mind my "pushy" post here. Sometimes my nurturing side takes over, and I interpret comments as asking for help. And sometimes that wasn’t the case. In any event, I wish you a pleasant evening.

By N P on 03/26/2009 10:21 pm

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NP, Another really fun thing to do if someone has time, is to be a docent at a museum. I loved the experience. We had classes on Mondays when closed to the public….long time ago but I believe they were 3 hrs a week for a year and a lot of reading along the way. Very nice group and really enjoyable. No time for that today, but is always something nice to do at some point in life. Also, they had a terrific Friend’s group…and amazing speakers. After the year was up, you had to give a tour/answer questions to the Directors before ‘graduated.’ A friend in my class was about my grandmother’s age at the time, and the very lovely, gracious wife of a retired diplomat. She was so nervous the morning we were going to be ‘tested’ that she took a few swigs of sherry to steady her nerves [her husband told me] and was tipsy all during her presentation. lol. She was wonderful.

By Suzanne de Cornelia on 03/27/2009 12:28 am

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N P, I didn’t find your response pushy at all, and I do appreciate the suggestions. As luck would have it, right after I became unemployed recently I received some type of self-learning catalog in the mail with all sorts of dvds available on several subjects of interest to me. Once I am again gainfully employed, I intend to look into these, indeed beginning with the impressionists and onto a classical music appreciation course, and then who knows. I love to learn new things. Thanks again for your suggestions.

By Lauri Anderson on 03/27/2009 2:53 am

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Lauri - talk about synchronicity - we have almost the same name, and I have now been unemployed for six weeks. Happy job hunting! (the last half of my last name is Anderson :-) )

By Laura W-A on 03/28/2009 12:59 am

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Hi Lauri…see also the comment below…"you know everything you need to know…." I second that….It’s when it doesn’t affect you that might question it’s worth…."art" has got to be one of the slipperiest words in the English language…Go look at wikiquote or the other quote spots to see how subjective it is….wow…..and watch for the "definitions" that come from people who don’t make art…like the gallery/establishment, etc….It’s just something I think about a lot….I believe that my favorite observation about the nature of art is from Margaret Mead who said that the "primitive" societies she studied had no word for art….They simply did everything the best and most beautiful/graceful, etc. way they could….If you accept that, then we are all artists and everything is art….I suppose it is the "mindfulness" of the act…no matter what it is…that informs that definition….Tricky, huh?

By georgia fatwood on 04/01/2009 9:14 pm