To Mask or Not to Mask
The word “mask” gets an emotional response from some folks in these days of pandemic. I wonder, if the masks we're asked to wear looked like these following examples from Davis Digital&rsq ...
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Curator's Corner
Gem of the Month: Nan Madol
Because 2019 is well into my eleventh year posting this blog, I’ve decided to initiate a new monthly feature for this year: Gem of the Month. As a fellow art historian, I know all too well their ...
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Curator's Corner
Temple on Active Volcano's Slopes! Pura Besakih
I’m naturally concerned for Pura Besakih (Mother Temple). It is situated on the slopes of Mount Agung, which is currently causing havoc with its eruption in Bali. It survived a major eruption of ...
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Curator's Corner
January/Hair
I had originally intended to post something about the month of January. That idea seemed lame to me when this piece by the late Hannah Wilke caught my eye (especially after I found out the backstory) ...
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Curator's Corner
What Type of Balance? You Decide.
I probably shouldn’t be using the word Balance after the latest election. Let’s ignore that by doing some visual exercises. I’m always intrigued with the issue of “balance&rdqu ...
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Curator's Corner
Letters Are Beautiful
I learned long ago how venerated calligraphy is in some cultures, and we speak of that in many of our Davis books. A short while ago as I was reading about contemporary Iranian artist Parastou Forouha ...
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Curator's Corner
The Beauty of Line: Papua New Guinea
What better way to explore the idea of beautiful lines than with Oceanic art. Oceania is a vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean that covers one-third of the planet's surface. Contained in Oceania are the ...
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Curator's Corner
The Malagan: New Ireland, Papua New Guinea
Since I first saw the Rockefeller collection of Oceanic art at the Metropolitan Museum in the early 1990s, I have been enthralled with the sophistication of sculpting, inlay, painted decoration, and c ...
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Curator's Corner
Utilitarian Object or Sculpture?
First of all, let me clarify the use of “utilitarian” or “decorative arts.” These are unfortunately terms art historians are stuck with from the 1800s art history gods in Weste ...
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Curator's Corner
The Essence of Essence
I’ve been reading manifestos by several early modernist artists from Europe recently (Kandinsky, Boccioni, Doesburg), and a recurring thought comes out in all of their writings. It is the idea t ...
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