I am working on an image for an upcoming print exchange organised by Rona Green, an amazing, innovative and generous artist. The work is based on drawings and photos of a statue of the Yellow Jambhala in the Rubin Museum of Art. Whilst a linocut, I am using engraving tools and traditional linocut tools to achieve more of the tonal range of an etching. The drafts are printed using Graphic Chemicals letter press relief ink, a stiff ink that allows the fine lines to remain visible.
I used a drawing I made at the fantastic Rubin Museum as the basis for the relief print, and then played around. The original drawing and resultant prints are here. The latitude and longitude are based on the location of the Rubin Museum.
The New York Public Library is an amazing library – august in structure, steeped in history and teaming with life. Unfortunately when we visited the main reading room was closed due to a damaged ceiling, however the overall library was vast and impressive. I made bee-line for the map room, to check out the maps of central asia. I also made a quick sketch of one of the lions guarding the entrance.
The Metropolitan Museum ranks with the Rubin Museum as one of my favourite museums in New York, and frankly, of any location. The many and varied works are amazing. It is almost unconceivable to contemplate the wealth of objects (sculpture, paintings, jewellery etc) that the Met owns and has on display. Whilst there on a recent trip, I sketched a few such objects. I had thought I could quickly dash of a drawing or two of Giacometti sculptures. How hard could it be given the tortured and elongated forms I was trying to sketch. Well, certainly harder than I thought. I made two attempts to sketch the ‘Woman and Venice II (1956)’, with the second shown below along with the ‘Cat (1954)’.
Sometimes I find the most engaging and thought provoking exhibitions are the ones of which I had no expectation, and possibly would not have attended apart from chance. Thus being in New York in a certain period, and wanting to see a range of galleries lead us to the New Museum. The exhibition on show was ‘Here and Elsewhere’, an exhibition of work by 45 artists who share a background in the Arab world. The works ranged in scale from painted match boxes to 2 m x 2 m digital projections, from small scale sculptures to a massive sculpture of an abandoned, destroyed apartment block (easily 4 metres long). The works conveyed the deep seated emotions of the artists, reflecting the pain, frustration and pathos of the plight of displaced people and people suffering oppressive leadership. A deeply moving and unsettling exhibition.
As an armchair traveller with a fascination for Central Asia, Roy Chapman Andrews (1884-1960) is one of my favourite explorers. Boy wonder and tomb raider long before Lara Croft, according to the blurb on the reprint of his autobiography (Under a Luck Star) Andrews ‘came as close to superstar status as any explorer in the twentieth century’. Working for the American Natural History Museum (@anmh) his entire life, he lead the five legendary Central Asiatic expeditions from 1921 to about 1926. Exploring in Mongolia, the expedition found a plethora of hitherto unexpected dinosaur remains, including the famous dinosaur eggs found at a location named ‘Flaming Cliffs’. So it was with great enthusiasm that I visited the massive exhibition of dinosaur remains at the American Natural History Museum. I found an exhibition of dinosaur eggs, and references to Roy, including the first horned face dinosaur named after him (Protoceratops andrewsi). I could have spent weeks sketching in the main dinosaur hall.
The Rubin Museum of Art specialises in art of the Himalayas (@RubinMuseum). It is a gem of a museum, with exquisite, well presented artefacts, informative labels and an atmosphere of tranquility. I visited twice, sketching each time, and could have happily spent many more hours there.
The Alexander Calder circus at the Whitney Museum (@whitneymuseum) is a favourite. We laughed at the video showing Calder as puppeteer and narrator, and admired the whimsey of the figures.
The Woolworth Building was the highest building in the world from 1913 to 1930. Ornate, luxurious, a ‘cathedral’ to commerce. Festooned with strange creatures as internal gargoyles, including the cat below.
