Luigi Russolo was a futurist painter, experimental composer, and instrument builder. In his 1913 manifesto "The Art of Noises" he declaimed the death of traditional Western music and foresaw the dawning of a new music based on the grinding, screeching, moaning, crackling and buzzing of mechanical instruments. He and his assistant Ugo Piatti built the Intonarumori to bring these new sounds - "the palpitation of valves, the coming and going of pistons, the howl of mechanical saws, the jolting of a tram on its rails, the cracking of whips, the flapping of curtains and flags" - to life. Listen to them, then and now.
posted by fire&wings on Oct 28, 2009 - 10 comments

The Art & Life of Annie Truxell [via mefi projects]: Annie Truxell is a well known painter who has lived a long and fascinating life. Her adventures have been legendary, encompassing Greenwich Village in the 50s, London in the 60s and India in the 70s. She was friends with Franz Klein, Bill de Kooning, Truman Capote, Terry Southern, Mati Klarwein & many other wild & woolly people.
posted by The Whelk on Jul 12, 2009 - 11 comments

Self Portrait of the painter Tamara de Lempicka; Born Maria Gorska 1898 in Poland. Lempicka lived a Life of Deco and Decadence. Her portraits are known for mixing “lighting by Caravaggio, tubism by Fernand Léger and lipstick by Chanel”. Her Complete works are viewable as a slideshow. Criticised as portraying the dubious glamour and discipline of fascism; she became the most talked about Art Deco painter of her time; her erotic portraits are testaments of the glittering 1920's. Here is a reassessment (pdf). She died in 1980 and her ashes were scattered over the volcano Popocatepetl . (wiki) (some links nsfw)
posted by adamvasco on Apr 27, 2009 - 12 comments

19th century American landscape artist George Inness. [more inside]
posted by ecorrocio on Feb 18, 2009 - 7 comments

Bohemian owner of bookstore/vintage clothing shop, forced out of his store last year and facing eviction from his basement apartment, is profiled in the New York Times in August 2008. NYT photog notices his paintings, contributes some art supplies and introduces him to a gallery owner. Heartwarming consequences ensue. [more inside]
posted by GrammarMoses on Dec 31, 2008 - 7 comments

I'll bet if you aren't Polish you've never heard of Jerzy Duda-Gracz. Poor guy doesn't even have an English Wikipedia page [pl], even though he's the most popular post-war painter [pl] in his homeland. Come inside to see some of his work. [more inside]
posted by Meatbomb on Jun 30, 2008 - 17 comments

Robert Rauschenberg (previously), painter, sculptor, perfomance artist, printmaker, photographer, theater designer, technologist, dead at 82. [more inside]
posted by krautland on May 13, 2008 - 59 comments

Norval Morrisseau died on Tuesday. Known also as Copper Thunderbird, the Picasso of the North, and the Father of the Woodland Indian school of Art, he was the first to record his culture's oral traditions in his paintings.
posted by meringue on Dec 6, 2007 - 15 comments

Filipino-American artist Jhoneil Centeno is a painter, photographer, digital artist, game developer, and bow and arrow maker. He explains his art and his technique. Title quote from Lucid Skin review (NSFW).
posted by desjardins on Aug 16, 2007 - 11 comments

Peter Doig's White Canoe just sold at auction for £5.7M making it the most expensive work by a living European painter. Gallery 1, 2.
posted by johnny novak on Feb 15, 2007 - 39 comments

He's 74-years-old, which makes him the world's oldest primate. He was a movie star. He lives a comfortable life as an older retiree. In his spare time, he paints. In fact, if you like, he will paint a painting just for you, and the money you donate for it supports his primate sanctuary. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Cheeta.
posted by Astro Zombie on Sep 5, 2006 - 37 comments

Bassist turned painter Mikey Welsh - of the post-grunge rock band Weezer - is a self taught painter who likes to spread the paint with abandon. He cites Robert Rauschenberg and Jackson Pollock as his inspirations and - while not in their league - one can see that influence. According to Outsider Art. info; "In front of [his] art, its hard to keep physically or mentally still."
posted by Rashomon on Feb 17, 2005 - 44 comments

They're dogs... and they're playing POKER!! They've been hailed as some of the most important works of American art ever painted, they've been featured on television from The Simpsons to ESPN commercials to Cheers, but how much do we really know about the works of Cassius Marcellus Coolidge? For everyone that ever looked at the dogs playing poker and wanted to know more, here is the ultimate resource, including, of course, a gallery. Please excuse the cornea damagingly horrific site design.
posted by jonson on Mar 13, 2003 - 9 comments

This year three first rate Canadian painters have passed away: Kazuo Nakamura (b.1926), was a member of the Painters 11 (flash site, doesn't seem to be working right now, short articles here, and here). Jean-Paul Riopelle (b. 1923) was a member of Les Automatistes whose Le Refus Global helped to completely reshape Quebec culture. Riopelle passed away last March. Finally, Michael Forster (b.1907?) was a WWII vet and a war artist. He passed away in July.
posted by slipperywhenwet on Aug 8, 2002 - 3 comments

Apropos of nothing, here's some art for yinz. Too many do not know Arthur Dove's work, the earliest American abstract art.
posted by engelr on Jun 21, 2002 - 9 comments