MetaFilter posts tagged with America and art

Can you find Satan?

Rhaomi — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 17:29:52 -0800

"This may truly be the most important new painting of the twenty first century." The McNaughton Fine Art Company presents "One Nation Under God" [cache], an... interesting take on American history in a nifty zoom interface. Artist John McNaughton, who calls himself "the only living artist in the world today" to practice the Barbizon School of French Impressionism, has an extensive body of less opinionated work for you to admire. Interview. Character list.

The art of Josh Keyes

tellurian — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 22:39:06 -0800

Animals isolated in dystopian tableaux.

"I played at August Wilson's funeral. You know what he wanted me to play? Danny Boy."

Ndwright — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 12:59:23 -0800

Wynton Marsalis waxes poetic (and music) at the Kennedy Center about art, freedom, jazz, the minstrel shows of yesterday and today, Walt Whitman, American history, the similarities between the Battle Hymn of the Republic and the Mickey Mouse Club March, rock and roll, and how it all ties together. Excerpts: "A financial inheritance can be accurately assessed in dollars, but what is the value of an artistic heritage? Who calculates the value of "Amazing Grace" or "Yankee Doodle" or "Go Down Moses"? ... "Random black folks on the plantation imitating the ways of white folks are imitated by itinerate white entertainers who blacken up and create plantation skits. Plantation owners then cull through their slaves for the most talented who then imitate the white entertainers’ imitation of black folks imitating white folks. These selected blacks are then imitated by professional white performers, and after the Civil War and the rise of black minstrelsy as an enterprise, white professionals were imitated by black professionals." ... "Artists effortlessly speak across time because the technology of the human soul does not change. Ask Eugene O’Neill who absorbed the spirit of the Greeks through the spirit of Wagner’s acolyte Nietzsche who told him what Whitman said was what Buddy Bolden said…Wake up!" Transcript

Why Does Hollywood Hate the Suburbs?

kliuless — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 11:01:35 -0800

In defense of suburbs: "Revolutionary Road," based on Richard Yates's 1961 novel of the same name, is the latest entry in a long stream of art that portrays the American suburbs as the physical correlative to spiritual and mental death.

A slice of true Americana

hadjiboy — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 11:08:36 -0800

The Diner: A true American hallmark, that first appeared on the horizon in the early 70's (the 1870's that is), and has remained a fixture on the American psyche since. If you've never been to one, why not go ahead and have your next meal there? There maybe one right around the corner from where you live. If not, well, like me, you can sit back and look at the glorious images that are available and hope that one day your dream comes true. But until then: remember to adhere to the Ten Commandments, and yeah--if you can--get a copy of Diner (youtube) and watch it. It might not be "strictly" about Diners, but it's fun all the same. [previously]

Photos by Cody Smart

dobbs — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 08:31:19 -0800

Pictures from hitchhiking across America. {via}

Kymaerica

tellurian — Wed, 09 May 2007 20:11:09 -0800

Have you ever come across a plaque commemorating an historical event that seemed well… just a little strange? Maybe it was the Krblin Jihn Kabin (KHS #1) in pCalifornia, Notgeon. Maybe it was the Noizomi in nMichigan, Raalberdus? Welcome to Kymaerica.

Death and Taxes

tellurian — Sun, 17 Sep 2006 17:12:20 -0800

US federal income taxes at work. A 2007 version is now available. [previously]

A xylowave occurs everytime an effect has no cause, or a cause has no effect.

tellurian — Tue, 01 Aug 2006 00:32:17 -0800

GX Jupitter-Larsen - noise maker, video artist [some NSFW] and inventor of the TNU.

Early experimental video

tellurian — Mon, 24 Jul 2006 21:00:15 -0800

The Vasulkas - an archive of early video and electronic art including a trippy Lilith (Doris Cross) and a hip Don Cherry. [via]

A change of style

tellurian — Tue, 11 Apr 2006 16:42:12 -0800

Robert Gregory Griffeth has deleted all of his galleries and in their place has posted these 12 enigmatic panels and a tracker (which, if accurate, tells me that there are a couple of hundred puzzled punters a day). [more inside]

Indigenous shape shifters.

klangklangston — Wed, 22 Feb 2006 14:03:05 -0800

The Proud Band of Fluxus Indians, Coon Rapids, Iowa.

9/11 in Comics

nthdegx — Sun, 04 Dec 2005 10:13:17 -0800

9/11 in comics, including the black-covered The Amazing Spider-Man #36 in its entirety.

Lee Friedlander: "I only wanted Uncle Vern standing by his new car"

matteo — Tue, 14 Jun 2005 11:41:53 -0800

Little visual miracles. For more than forty years that most American of photographers, Chevalier in the Order of Arts and Letters Lee Friedlander, has recorded modern American urban life -- with its jumble of people, signs, buildings, and cars, and television sets. He likes to turn a common blunder of amateurs -- photographing something nearby with one's back to the sun -- into a leitmotif. His shadow plays the role of alter ego, sticking to the back of a woman's fur collar, clinging to a lamppost as a parade of drum majorettes passes by, reclining like a stuffed doll on a chair. Clever jigsaw puzzles, his pictures frequently reveal themselves to be laconic, austere poems to what Friedlander has termed "the American social landscape',' meaning mostly ordinary places and affairs. "Friedlander," an exhibition of more than 480 photographs and 25 books covering decades of work, runs at MoMA through Aug. 29, before traveling to Europe until 2007. More inside.

just wow

amberglow — Sun, 11 Apr 2004 12:32:56 -0800

Mike Disfarmer had a photo studio in the resort town of Heber Springs, Arkansas throughout the 30s and 40s, creating images with an amazing blunt, unvarnished beauty and strength. Nothing speaks more eloquently about Disfarmer's artistry than the photographs themselves. His genius was the ability to capture without judgment, the essence of a people and a time.

Posters American Style

plep — Thu, 21 Aug 2003 23:23:44 -0800

Posters American Style - patriotic posters, posters that preach, commercial posters, events posters, etc.

moz — Mon, 31 Dec 2001 11:28:05 -0800

By the People, For the People: Posters from the WPA. From the website at the Library of Congress, the posters consist of 908 boldly colored and graphically diverse original posters produced from 1936 to 1943 as part of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's New Deal. Of the 2,000 WPA posters known to exist, the Library of Congress's collection of more than 900 is the largest. These striking silkscreen, lithograph, and woodcut posters were designed to publicize health and safety programs; cultural programs including art exhibitions, theatrical, and musical performances; travel and tourism; educational programs; and community activities in seventeen states and the District of Columbia. For examples, see a poster on the health dangers of Syphilis and one for the play Alison's House: A Poetic Romance.