Mark's Art Blog

2006-11-16T06:57:00.000-08:00

Patrick Grizzell has this copy of Duchamp's famous Bicycle Wheel made by William Wiley.

2006-11-09T12:39:00.000-08:00

This print is in a customer's house. It is by a famous Turkish artist. I especially like the two grasshoppers having sex in the lower right hand corner.

2006-11-03T10:13:00.000-08:00

One of my collages from the 80s. I still like it a lot, but I haven't been able to convince anyone else.

2006-10-10T09:42:00.000-07:00

In a customer's house, a lovely print/painting of a woman on a Harley

2006-06-27T13:46:00.000-07:00

This painting belongs to a customer whose piano I've tuned thirteen times. I always look forward to seeing her and the painting.

2006-06-19T17:48:00.000-07:00

This painting, from a customer's house, is from a French artist in 1961.

2006-04-14T21:04:00.000-07:00

This is a giant drawing pad that John Kloss made for a window display showing student work from his drawing class. Nicely done!

2006-04-14T21:03:00.000-07:00

This is the poster from the show at Sacramento City College that I saw a couple of weeks ago. It's gritty, yet metaphysical.

2006-04-09T14:38:00.000-07:00

The silver pillow room is a permanent exhibition at the Warhol Museum.

2006-04-09T14:36:00.000-07:00

Jennifer and a Warhol photo of the young Schwarzenegger.

2006-04-09T14:33:00.000-07:00

Andy Warhol Museum.

2006-04-09T14:32:00.000-07:00

Jennifer in the Andy Warhol Museum.

2006-04-09T14:28:00.000-07:00

Some street art on the bridge.

2006-04-09T14:26:00.000-07:00

The Andy Warhol Bridge, formerly the Seventh Street Bridge.

2006-04-09T14:16:00.000-07:00

Some art in front of a theater in Pittsburgh. We were on our way to the Andy Warhol Museum.

2006-04-07T12:14:00.000-07:00

In this painting, Jesus has just said to a peasant, "I think you have something on your cheek," and then poked him in the eye. This had a strong influence on the Three Stooges.

2006-04-07T12:13:00.000-07:00

An atrium in the Carnegie Art Museum.

2006-04-07T12:09:00.000-07:00

The Carnegie Museum has de Kooning's final Woman painting... one of the great masterpieces of the 20th century. I see a lot of Diebenkorn in this... though Diebenkorn's reference was landscape, not figure. Though Diebenkorn wasn't as great a painter, he was a lot more consistent. Once he figured out his winning formula, he pretty much stuck with it.

2006-04-07T12:02:00.000-07:00

At the Carnegie Art Museum, we heard that there was a barns exhibit, and we of course thought it was paintings from the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia.

2006-04-06T20:08:00.000-07:00

The Pittsburgh airport has a Calder in it. Classy!

2006-04-06T20:06:00.000-07:00

This is part of a mural that covers a large wall in the Phoenix airport. It looks like they took clip art and turned the images into large aluminum shapes and then bent them up before mounting them on the wall. Crazy, jumpy effect.

2006-03-22T13:28:00.000-08:00

This painting is by Nina Weiss, who I know from when we were both at Tyler. Go look at her website.

2006-03-07T07:16:00.000-08:00

I have a customer who owns two paintings by Greg Kondos. One is a typical riverscape, but this one, which they commissioned specially, is of a golf course.

2005-12-28T18:05:00.000-08:00

This painting was in a customer's house. The artist went to El Camino High School and was a senior when he did it.

2005-09-27T12:54:00.000-07:00

A nice copy of Guernica on a wall at Hiram Johnson West Campus High School.

2005-08-29T18:17:00.000-07:00

These big birds are hanging outside the parking structure at the Sacramento airport.

2005-08-29T18:16:00.000-07:00

A portrait artist at the Saturday Market in Portland. He's much better than I was when I used to do them!

2005-08-29T18:15:00.000-07:00

This lovely bench is in the Seattle airport.

2005-08-29T18:14:00.000-07:00

It's a little hard to see, but this form (hanging in the food court at the Seattle airport) is made up of countless little fishes.

2005-08-26T21:17:00.000-07:00

The Pig, Seattle's most famous meeting place/public artwork.

2005-08-26T21:16:00.000-07:00

Another view of the Borofsky in front of the Seattle Art Museum, where you also can't take photographs inside.

2005-08-26T21:14:00.001-07:00

This is where the Seattle Symphony plays.

2005-08-26T21:14:00.000-07:00

I glimpsed this Henry Moore through the rear window of the car.

2005-08-26T21:13:00.000-07:00

The best thing we saw at the Frye was this fine self-portrait made up of many glued-together photographs.

2005-08-26T21:12:00.000-07:00

The Frye Art Museum which like many fine art institutions does not allow photographs inside.

2005-08-26T21:11:00.000-07:00

Sculpture by Claudia Fitch at a Park 'n' Ride in Seattle. It's like a classical temple in a lake which unfortunately was dry today.

2005-08-25T20:19:00.000-07:00

The Seattle Art Museum, with a big Borowsky in front.

2005-08-25T20:16:00.001-07:00

Also from the Harbor Steps.

2005-08-25T20:16:00.000-07:00

A piece of public art in Seattle's Harbor Steps.

2005-03-27T05:03:00.000-08:00

Philadelphia's City Hall is an amazing monstrosity.

The pride of Philadelphia

2005-03-26T09:58:00.000-08:00

When the city put up this Oldenburg clothespin, a lot of people hated it. Now it's a major symbol of the city, and one of the most succesful pieces of public art in the country.

2005-03-19T09:24:00.000-08:00

The inside of the Tower Terminal building.

2005-03-19T09:23:00.000-08:00

This is a war memorial in Cleveland across the street from Tower City.

2005-03-15T15:29:00.000-08:00

A typically brilliant society portrait by Sargent.

2005-03-13T14:21:00.000-08:00

A boxing picture by George Bellows.

2005-03-11T15:56:00.000-08:00

They don't have a whole lot of Renaissance art at the Cleveland Art Museum, but they have this lovely Botticelli.

2005-03-11T06:25:00.000-08:00

The Cleveland Museum had a lovely painting (not this one) by Mark Tansey up in their 21st century room. A woman guard informed me in her clipped, Germanic voice that not only could I not take pictures, but I was standing too close to the paintings (there is a three-foot minimum.) Some of the pieces have an alarm that goes off if you get too close.

2005-03-11T05:51:00.000-08:00

The Pantheon
Originally uploaded by mstivers.

This is a painting of my favorite building, the Pantheon. When I die, I would like my ashes poured through the hole in the ceiling.

2005-03-11T05:35:00.000-08:00

Puvis de Chavannes

Puvis de Chavannes's paintings are classical yet still look strangely modern. They don't really fit in any category. Some of Picasso's bather groups look similar.

2005-03-11T05:31:00.000-08:00

I walk by this Art Deco bus station on the way to the theater. Anne doesn't like walking by it, because "the brothers really like my big ass. They say, 'She's built like a sister!'"

2005-03-11T05:29:00.001-08:00

Severance Hall, the home of the Cleveland Orchestra.

2005-03-11T05:29:00.000-08:00

This is the Frank Gehry-designed building for the business school at Case Western. When I first saw it I thought I was hallucinating.

2005-03-11T05:26:00.000-08:00

HPIM2110
Originally uploaded by mstivers.

Several rooms after I took this picture, a museum guard told me that the Picasso estate gets very agitated about anyone using images of his paintings without permission. So, you never saw this picture.

2005-03-11T05:00:00.000-08:00

The Cleveland Trust Building. I hope to get a picture of the inside sometime.

2005-03-09T16:22:00.000-08:00

An Oldenburg on the way from the hotel to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

2005-03-08T12:43:00.000-08:00

This mammoth sculpture of a paper airplane is above some escalators in the Cleveland airport.

2005-03-06T06:54:00.000-08:00

You could walk past this artwork hundreds of times without noticing it. Inside each box is a photograph that you can see through the little window-slit. Together, they show a series of images of some large structure (a water tower?) being demolished. Very tough and urban.

2005-03-01T22:27:00.001-08:00

Between City Hall and the police station.

2005-03-01T22:27:00.000-08:00

Some walking animations on the City Hall steps.

2005-03-01T22:26:00.000-08:00

The park next to City Hall.

2005-03-01T22:25:00.001-08:00

A woman pulling her child behind her in a sled.

2005-03-01T22:25:00.000-08:00

Another view of "The Gates."

2005-03-01T22:24:00.000-08:00

Not the Midwest. This is of course Christo's "The Gates" in Central Park, New York.

2005-02-26T06:36:00.000-08:00

Thomas Hart Benton made this maquette out of modeling clay as a study for a painting.

2005-02-26T06:35:00.000-08:00

"Museum Guard" by Duane Hanson.

2005-02-25T15:27:00.001-08:00

The museum cafe has a nice view of Lake Michigan.

2005-02-25T15:27:00.000-08:00

This is the Cornell I'm looking at below.

2005-02-25T15:26:00.000-08:00

What is a museum without a Cornell treat? Incomplete. With it, an abode of bliss.

2005-02-25T15:25:00.000-08:00

This video installation shows a live beating heart (sounding like a kettledrum) displayed over a real bed with a blood-red blanket on it. Incredibly moving in person.

2005-02-25T15:24:00.000-08:00

I've always loved the TV/chair combination in the Greyhound bus station and I'm glad someone has put it to good use.

2005-02-25T15:23:00.000-08:00

I didn't write down this artist's name, but I love her painting. She has taken the look of graffiti and created a stream-of-consciousness style that is totally new to me. I feel like I'm looking inside her head. If you know this artist's name, please email me.

2005-02-25T15:20:00.000-08:00

When I first saw David Salle's work twenty years ago, I hated it. Now in the age of the Internet, it makes perfect sense.

2005-02-25T15:19:00.000-08:00

I love Jenny Holzer's work. I can stand and watch the aphorisms roll by for long periods. I would call her my favorite poet.

2005-02-25T15:18:00.000-08:00

A superstar photo by Cartier-Bresson. There was a whole hallway full of his pictures.

2005-02-25T15:17:00.000-08:00

This Robert Irwin piece is almost as ethereal in person as it seems in this photo.

2005-02-25T15:16:00.000-08:00

This piece was hanging in the long corridor between buildings.

2005-02-25T15:15:00.000-08:00

This Chihouly is also in the lobby. (He's everywhere!)

2005-02-25T15:12:00.000-08:00

The lobby of the Milwaukee Art Museum.

2005-02-19T07:57:00.000-08:00


This is from a funny parody of Christo's The Gates.

2005-02-17T14:51:00.000-08:00

In the heart of downtown Des Moines, three Skywalk bridges on three consecutive blocks.

2005-02-17T14:49:00.000-08:00

"Prairie Wind" by Mac Hornecker.

2005-02-17T11:56:00.000-08:00

Today, I went to the downtown branch of the Art Center, which is in a Wells Fargo building. They were showing a really excellent group of California artists. All the big names were represented, plus one of my favorites, H.C. Westermann, who I always associated with Chicago. But today I learned that he grew up in L.A., and spent some time in San Francisco where he became friends with William Wiley.

2005-02-16T15:22:00.000-08:00

The Art Center also has three Cornell boxes.

2005-02-16T14:41:00.000-08:00

I was just showing a friend a postcard of a Mannerist painting at the Art Institute of Chicago, and at the Des Moines I saw this contemporary Mannerist painting by John Currin.

2005-02-16T14:39:00.000-08:00

Animal Pyramid by Bruce Nauman. The Art Center has an 81 acre sculpture park attached to it.

Not your run of the mill sculpture park. This one features large scale outdoor sculpture on an 81 acre site in Greenwood Park, by four artists to dramatize the beauty of the park. Bruce Nauman's Animal Pyramid is literally a stack of bronze larger that life size well-balanced caribou, elk and foxes. Like much of Nauman's work it is enigmatic but impossible to ignore. The other artists are Richard Fleischner, Mary Miss and Richard Serra.
The master plan for the park was to allow space for twelve more sculptures, but a devastating flood in 1993 caused severe structural damage to the Art Center Building. Funds had to be diverted and the current status for completion of the park is not known.

Another unexpected pleasure

2005-02-16T14:04:00.000-08:00

The Des Moines Art Center is a world-class museum, which I must say I didn't expect. Unfortunately, they don't allow photography inside. But their contemporary collection is phenomenal. This photo shows part of Three Cairns by Andy Goldsworthy.

Very like a whale

2005-02-15T20:20:00.000-08:00

A whale? An anchor? No, it's Crusoe's Umbrella by Claes Oldenburg. The building behind it is the Greater Des Moines Civic Center.

2005-02-13T05:42:00.000-08:00

The Civic Theatre, where the Chicago Lyric Opera performs. Today I met a woman from Wichita (700 miles away) who says she comes to Chicago twice a year to see the Lyric Opera.

2005-02-11T12:58:00.000-08:00

It's true: the Art Institute has more Cornells than any other museum on earth. Here is one of the best.

2005-02-11T12:56:00.000-08:00

Jasper Johns is one of my heroes and I'm glad to see a recent work that has some of the beauty of his early work.

2005-02-11T12:55:00.001-08:00

When you enter the contemporary wing of the Art Institute you first see this big Warhol.

2005-02-11T12:55:00.000-08:00

From the contemporary wing of the Art Institute.

2005-02-10T13:15:00.000-08:00

This sculpture is in front of the steps of the Museum of Contemporary Art. I like it better than anything I saw inside (which they wouldn't let me photograph anyway).

2005-02-10T13:10:00.000-08:00

The Water Tower is the most famous of Chicago's pre-1871 (Great Fire) buildings.

2005-02-10T13:06:00.000-08:00

The new Public Library, which always makes me think of Ghostbusters or Phantom of the Opera.

2005-02-10T13:03:00.000-08:00

One of the highlights of Millenium Park is Cloud Gate, a 110-ton bean-shaped reflective sculpture. In the background you can see the gigantic white tent that is covering it. In the middle ground is one of the entrances to the Grant Park parking garage, which extends underground for three blocks.

2005-02-10T12:59:00.000-08:00

A bicycle rack on Michigan Avenue that looks like bicycles.

2005-02-09T03:36:00.000-08:00

The Chicago Theater has one of the nicest marquees and facades in town. Across the street is the Gene Siskel Film Center, which also is part of the School of the Art Institute.

2005-02-09T03:22:00.000-08:00

The base of the Marina Towers has an actual marina.

2005-02-07T15:27:00.000-08:00

Here's another land bridge that has three or four levels.