Modeling for Munch

This blog serves so many delightful purposes for me. One is that it provides me with a space to simply share a painting that is either a longtime personal favorite or one I just happened upon via my searches. Today I discovered a knockout that impresses me with both the artistic creation and the modeling.

This painting from the great Norwegian artist Edvard Munch is called Model by the Wicker Chair. A work from 1921, it is considered a late period Munch, or the “Post- Scream” era. It refers to the last two decades of the artist’s life when he was living and working at his home in Ekely located in western Oslo. Today this piece hangs in the Munch Museum in Norway. I may never get there, but if I’m ever so lucky I will no doubt make a beeline through that museum to this vivid and intriguing painting.

The model was Annie Fjeldbu, one of many models who posed for Munch in his studio. A young dancer, she clearly knew what she was doing here. Whether the standing pose with bowed head was her idea or Munch’s, Annie presented it perfectly. The strength, stature, and sensuality of her body is evident, and her mane of long dark hair only adds to her natural charisma. Perhaps these qualities were the reason Munch placed her in a cluttered room setting – maybe he sensed that she could dominate the busy scene and hold her own among the objects, colors and splashy loose brush strokes. Annie is, simultaneously, part of and separate from her surroundings. With different views, she can be interpreted as emerging from the environment or receding into it. Or both. Yes, the blanket on the chair is prominent, but in my eyes Annie still wins. Either way, the composition is fascinating.

This is my new favorite painting. Enigmatic, moody, it just works really well overall. Artists help me out here. Why am I so taken with this painting? One sure explanation is that it conveys an authentic feel of model and artist working together, to which I can certainly relate. That’s probably what attracted me to it in the first place and why it elicited such a strong response. I’m so digging this painting! Great job Edvard and Annie.

Love and Affection

Well I had a crappy day. A lousy, crummy, shitty day. It started this morning with a serious blow on the professional front. I showed up to work only to discover that due to a booking error, two models were mistakenly assigned to the sculpture workshop. It is a small class, so only one model is needed. And since the other model arrived a few minutes before me, she got the job. I got bumped from a five day booking Totally sucks when that happens. Grrrr. I guess I should have caught the earlier train out of Queens. But hey, the art modeling profession is not without its glitches and messes, that’s for sure.

Then this afternoon I went through more disappointment, this time on the personal front. I won’t go into too much detail, but it was a breakup of sorts. This absolutely amazing guy and I decided to part ways romantically. Would you believe me if I said it was mutual? It was, I swear! Ok, maybe it was more 60/40, but close enough, with me being the 40

But I must soldier on. Even though this particular Monday has battered me a bit, it’s still a “Music Monday” here on Museworthy. It’s a blessing because I could really use some music right now, and the one and only Joan Armatrading is just the person to provide it. I love this woman. Born in the West Indies and raised in Birmingham, England, Joan Armatrading is an acclaimed singer/songwriter, who is known for her distinctive, resonant voice and  pure, honest, deeply heartfelt vocal delivery. There is no one like Joan Armatrading. In the realm of current female performers she is the polar opposite of the current trash of Lady Gaga and that ilk. Just curious; are those crazed Gaga fans who call her “original” and a “genius” on drugs or just stupid?

The song that first brought Joan Armatrading to prominence was 1976′s “Love and Affection”. It is stunning in it’s sincerity and emotional power – a plea for love, a desire to feel and experience love, a willingness to surrender oneself completely to the joys of love. In this video from 2007, Joan performs her classic “Love and Affection” on the BBC program “Later with Jools Holland”, and she sounds even better than she did 30 years ago if that’s possible. These are stirring, goosebump inducing vocals. I’ve pasted the lyrics below. The poignant sentiment makes me think of the extraordinary guy I had to say goodbye to this afternoon, so I’d like to dedicate this to him

As for me, well, tomorrow is another day. Life goes on . . .

I am not in love
But I’m open to persuasion
East or West
Where’s the best
For romancing

With a friend
I can smile
But with a lover
I could roll my head back
I could really laugh
Really laugh

Thank you
You took me dancing
‘Cross the floor
Cheek to cheek
But with a lover
I could really move
Really move
I could really dance
Really dance
Really dance
Really dance
I could really move
Really move
Really move
Really move

Now if I can feel the sun
In my eyes
And the rain on my face
Why can’t I
Feel love ?

I can really love
Really love
Really love
Really love
Really love
Love love love love
Love love love love

Now I got all
The friends that I want
I may need more
But I shall just stick to those
That I have got
With friends I still feel
So insecure

Little darling I believe you could
Help me a lot
Just take my hand
And lead me where you will
No conversation
No wave goodnight
Just make love
With affection

Sing me another love song
But this time
With a little dedication
Sing it, sing it
You know that’s what I like
Once more with feeling
Give me love
Give me love
Give me love
Love…

{Sax solo….}

Make love with affection

Sing me another love song
But this time
With a little dedication
Sing it, sing it
You know that’s what I like

Once more with feeling
Sing me another love song
But this time
With a little dedication
Sing it, sing it
You know that’s what I like

With affection
With a little dedication
Once more with feeling
You know that’s what I like
Love…

Matisse at MoMA

: old woman hobbles in with walker . . . drinks from Geritol bottle . . . puts in dentures . . . searches for reading glasses:

Just kidding everyone!! Having a little fun at my own expense, although the reading glasses part is true But my birthday was great and 42 is dandy. Already 72 hours into it and I have no complaints so far.

The Art Institute of Chicago has sent over an amazing gift to the Museum of Modern Art here in New York. The exhibit is called “Matisse: Radical Invention 1913 – 1917″ and I plan to see it for sure. Matisse is my guy! What’s most interesting to me about this particular show is that the works on display are largely monochromatic in palette and feature dominant shades of black and grey. For Matisse, the famous “color man”, this is compelling. The process of putting together this exhibit was quite labor-intensive, as the organizers used advanced digital imaging techniques and laser scanning to uncover the details of Matisse’s meticulous approach. This article from the NY Times explains it at length.

The highlight of the exhibit is Bathers by a River. A very informative and fascinating breakdown of this painting’s evolution can be viewed here.

Charles H. and Mary F.S. Worcester Collection, The Art Institute of Chicago

On a related note, the great Matisse is responsible for having brought an amazing artist, Christian Johnson, to this blog and subsequently to yours truly. When Christian contacted me about modeling, I took one look at his website and absolutely jumped at the chance! We had a great session yesterday which I hope inspired Christian as much as it did me. What a fun, challenging, and refreshing art modeling experience. Thanks Christian!

42

So I’ve begun the warm, sunny July morning of my 42nd year with profound feelings of serenity, contentment, and thankfulness. Throw in some fresh squeezed orange juice, a granola bar, listening to NPR, and feeding my feral cats, both of whom refuse to acknowledge my birthday! Little punks!  Now I’m  just stopping in to my blog to say hello to all of you before I log off to paint my toenails. I’m going out tonight and this is sandal season- must have pretty toes!

The rough patches of my early twenties and then my mid- thirties have led me to the surprising “payoff” of my forties. I never, ever would have predicted it! That I would be happiest and most-fulfilled at this age – after a divorce, my father’s sudden death, and several career changes – still confounds me. Forties? Really? My life experiences have left me not cynical, bitter, or pessimistic, but miraculously at peace. But how? Why? I recognize that art modeling deserves much of the credit, but it doesn’t explain everything. You know what? It doesn’t matter. For whatever reason, this has been my trajectory, my winding path, and it has steered me into a pretty fine place. I hope it lasts

Gustave Courbet’s Woman With a Parrot, 1866:

Love to everyone, and I’ll see you on the weekend!

Claudia

Street Jam

My birthday is this week – Thursday to be exact. This year I’ve decided to buy myself a birthday present. It’s not something I usually do, but when you are a woman in the 40-something age range, anything that can divert your attention from that depressing reality the better! Nah, I’m just kidding. That’s a load of crap. I don’t really care about my age, I just want a new camera

For almost three years, my trusty Canon PowerShot has served me very well. Small, compact, and lightweight, it sat snugly in the in the inner pocket of my Vera Bradley bag, ready to be whipped out in an instant when I saw something I wanted to photograph in the streets, parks, museums and art schools of New York City. Like a reliable friend, the little blue camera caused me no trouble and never burdened me with extra weight or bulk. It was the most unobtrusive item I carried, as opposed to, say, my makeup pouch. Now that’s bulky!

But the time has come for an upgrade. I’ve assessed my photographic needs and concluded that, much like the Tom Cruise character in Top Gun, my need is for speed. Speed baby!  So I have my eye on a great looking Nikon DSLR. Hopefully I will buy it this week. Yay! I’m still keeping the small one of course. I might as well have it on hand on the days I don’t bring the larger camera.

I thought I would use this “Music Monday” post as a swan song to my old Canon. I went through all my pictures and found a few shots I had taken of street musicians, of which we have many here in New York. They’re everywhere in our teeming metropolis – sidewalks, corners, parks, subways, train terminals – entertaining the swarming masses with their music. Some are ignored, some draw an audience, and some get their picture taken by artist’s models on their way to a job

A jamming saxophonist on the number 7 Train platform at Grand Central Station. The echo in that tunnel is intense, and sounds, musical or otherwise, really reverberate. This guy was a cool cat:

This is a poor photograph. A musician was playing the steel drum in Penn Station during the rush hour commute. His hands and head were moving constantly and came out terribly blurred. I can’t help but think that the scene would have been captured so much better with a faster camera. Or I just fucked it up, that’s always a possibility

Outside the Metropolitan Museum at the bottom of the steps, a sax and bass combo performed for the art crowd.

Glorious, Groovy Summer

Greetings darlings!! How is everybody? I’m doing well. Very happy that this summer is turning out much better than last summer in terms of art modeling work. Last summer was pretty bad. But this year I’m working steadily and it’s great!

I’ve been booked for the Sculpture Marathon at the New York Academy of Art for the last week of July. The instructors will be Harvey Citron and Cynthia Eardley. Also, Daniel Maidman and I have just begun our private work together. I’m really excited about it! We had our first session  today at his studio in Brooklyn and it went splendidly. Daniel and I are friends, we work well together, and enjoy each other’s company which is always a plus for private sessions. Best of all, Daniel is a fabulous figurative artist whose work I really admire. He’s planning a magnificent painting of me; big and nude. What else could you ask for? I’m thrilled to be posing for him and I will chronicle our progress on the blog.

The Artist’s Model by Benes Knupfer:

On a different topic, I only recently began my summer reading due to my busy work schedule. Since I’ve gotten such a late start I don’t think I’ll make it through my whole list! I rarely do anyway. But I want to recommend a book to those who like nonfiction and/or history. It’s Letters to Jackie: Condolences From a Grieving Nation, complied by Ellen Fitzpatrick. I’m almost finished with it. Very, very touching. Moved me to tears every other page.

Music Listverse

Have you noticed that people love lists? I don’t mean grocery lists or laundry lists. I’m talking about  those ranking lists – “Top Ten”, “Top 20″, “All Time Best/Worst” complied by so-called “experts” on the subject. There’s something about the list format that attracts us, and inevitably sends us into a fit of disagreement. It’s happened to me many times. The movie lists make me especially crazy, as I find myself objecting all over the place! (Am I the only one who thinks Citizen Kane is boring as shit?)

Rolling Stone magazine seems to be the arbiter of music-themed lists, so I thought we’d look a few of their editors’ selections for this week’s “Music Monday”. The November 2003 issue featured the “Greatest Albums of All Time”. Here’s the Top 20:

1- Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Beatles, 1967

2- Pet Sounds, The Beach Boys, 1966

3- Revolver, The Beatles, 1966

4- Highway 61 Revisited, Bob Dylan, 1965

5- Rubber Soul, The Beatles, 1965

6- What’s Going On, Marvin Gaye, 1971

7- Exile on Main Street, The Rolling Stones, 1972

8- London Calling, The Clash, 1979

9- Blonde on Blonde, Bob Dylan, 1966

10- The White Album, The Beatles, 1968

11- The Sun Sessions, Elvis Presley, 1976

12- Kind of Blue, Miles Davis, 1959

13- The Velvet Underground & Nico, The Velvet Underground, 1967

14- Abbey Road, The Beatles, 1969

15- Are You Experienced?, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, 1967

16- Blood On The Tracks, Bob Dylan, 1975

17- Nevermind, Nirvana, 1991

18- Born to Run, Bruce Springsteen, 1975

19- Astral Weeks, Van Morrison, 1968

20- Thriller, Michael Jackson, 1982

Wow, no Zeppelin in the Top 20? Holy crap. And Thriller ranks lower than London Calling? Whaaat? I have many opinions here, as you can imagine. Most of you may know that I am a huge Beatles fan. HUGE. And their heavy presence on the list is fine with me. Having said that, I really don’t think Rubber Soul belongs at such a high ranking. It’s a good album, but number five?

I’m pleased to see Exile on Main Street on there. The Stones at their best. Love that album! And Marvin Gaye’s What’s Going On is stellar. But I would have bumped that stupid, overrated, self-indulgent grunge Nirvana album and replaced it with Stevie Wonder’s Innervisions. And I don’t quite get the Number 2 spot for Pet Sounds. Ah but these lists are all subjective, right?

Agree with list, disagree with the list, it’s all good fun and it makes for terrific discussion. Looking at the album covers is even more fun. Here are a few from “the list”. Some of these are true classics:

From my iTunes, here’s “Tomorrow Never Knows”, a track from the Number 3 album, The Beatles’ brilliant Revolver:

Puff the Magic Skeleton

Art classes don’t generally reach frat house levels of mischief. But every once in a while a minor prank can be found in a studio setting. The resident skeletons tend to shoulder the brunt of the jokes. They’re such easy targets. The National Academy skeleton “Oscar” has been put through this, and today he was put through this:

It wasn’t me, I swear! I just took the picture

Livin’ Large

I’ve noticed that while large paintings are fairly common, large drawings are less so. I wonder why? Sketch group after sketch group I see the majority of artists drawing on 11 x 14 inch paper or smaller. Not that there’s anything wrong with that! People should work in the scale with which they are most comfortable. But I think that artists who tackle large scale drawings display a kind of “just go for it” fearlessness, and their generous longer lines appear freer, bolder, more uninhibited. Maybe there is truth to the phrase “size matters”. Wait, are we talking about drawing?  Sorry.

Rose is a student in Nicki Orbach’s class at the National Academy. I posed there a few days ago and she was working on big sheets of paper, mounted to a board, secured on an easel. With charcoal in hand, Rose just went for it, rapidly laying down broad sweeping lines imbued completely with the model’s movement and gesture.

This sketch was only a ten minute pose. I was sitting backwards on a small wooden folding chair, arms propped on the back, shoulders arched and tense, my hips practically falling off the seat edge, with one leg crossed under the other and shifted to the side. If that pose description sounds awkward that’s because it was! But for a brief ten minutes it was dramatic, curvy, and expressive – well worth the seat slat cutting into my thigh. Rose’s sketch is approximately 25 x 30 and she used the entire paper right up to the edges. Also, notice that she didn’t use a clean sheet. Instead, she worked right over a previous quick pose, so you can see parts of me reclining underneath. If you’re going to use expensive large paper, better not waste it!

The master of large drawing is my dear friend Fred Hatt. But Rose’s 25 x 30 is nothing to him! Fred draws so big he works on the floor on huge sheets of black paper. One of my favorites of Fred’s large pieces is this one titled Sky.

Rock And Roll Fourth

It would have been nice if the Fourth of July fell on Monday, but we’re not sticklers here at Museworthy. Let’s do an Independence Day “Music Monday”! Yeaaaaaahhh! This week it’s brought to us by the legend, the guitar god, Jimi Hendrix.

At the 1969 Woodstock festival, Hendrix famously gave an early morning performance of the Star-Spangled Banner. The thundering, ear-splitting, feedback-laden rendition is adored by some and reviled by others. Personal tastes aside, it should at least be acknowledged that Hendrix displays exceptional improvisational skills and creatively uses his instrument to replicate the sounds of bombs dropping, explosions, and a general feeling of wartime violence. Yet he still holds true to the song’s original melody. So whether you consider this version of our national anthem something treasonous and insolent or a brilliant avante-garde musical exercise, Hendrix’s  Star-Spangled Banner is an appropriate reflection of America’s mood during a tumultuous period in our history.

Happy Fourth of July everyone!

Mark Twain Looks at Titian’s Venus

In his 1880 travelogue Tramp Abroad, Mark Twain described it as “the foulest, the vilest, the obscenest picture the world possesses”. It wasn’t the nudity that prompted such a statement but rather “the attitude of one of her arms and hand”. The painting is Titian’s Renaissance masterpiece Venus of Urbino, and the “attitude”  to which Twain refers is one of implied self-gratification. Talk about an “active” figure!

The work was commissioned in 1538 by Guidobaldo Il Della Rovere, the Duke of Urbino. Although the Duke simply requested a nude, Titian made her – or titled her – “Venus”. But she is not the classical mythological figure to which we are accustomed. This is not Botticelli’s Venus. Instead, Titian’s is an object of erotica, a seductive siren whose blatant sexuality borders on obscenity, at least by 16th century standards.

This is Titian’s Venus of Urbino:

Titian was certainly not the first artist to paint a reclining female nude, but it’s that left hand placement which supplies the game-changing characteristic. Shocked viewers think, “This woman is pleasuring herself!”. Nonchalantly. Casually. Completely indifferent to the people in the next room. The sleeping dog, I suspect, could not care less

Like most of Titian’s models, the exact identity of his Venus is unknown, which is too bad. Many believe she was Titian’s favorite girl from a Venice brothel. Others think it might have been the Duke’s young bride-to-be. Either way, she is the immortal subject of what is widely considered “the sexiest painting” ever created.

As for Mark Twain’s reaction after having entered the Uffizi Gallery and laid his eyes upon Venus of Urbino, his words are taken terribly out of context. Internet articles quote him constantly as proof of the painting’s offensiveness, but they are missing the larger point. The entire passage needs to be read. Like the humorist and social commentator that he was, Twain’s expression of moral outrage was not literal but feigned to make a point about artistic incarnation.

Twain writes:

If I ventured to describe that attitude there would be a fine howl –but there the Venus lies for anybody to gloat over that wants to –and there she has a right to lie, for she is a work of art, and art has its privileges. I saw a young girl stealing furtive glances at her; I saw young men gazing long and absorbedly at her, I saw aged infirm men hang upon her charms with a pathetic interest. How I should like to describe her –just to see what a holy indignation I could stir up in the world…yet the world is willing to let its sons and its daughters and itself look at Titian’s beast, but won’t stand a description of it in words.

Twain is making the rather astute observation that a written description of such a scene – a woman touching herself – would prompt horror and discomfort, and probably cause the author to be run out of town. But a visual depiction – which carries beautiful, decorative qualities of technique and composition along with the scene – makes a sexy, lascivious painting tolerable, even acceptable, for it is still a glorious, timeless expression of nudity and sexuality despite pushing the boundaries of social mores. It is still celebrated, still embraced. Twain believes that he would never get away with it if he described it in writing and that painters are given more latitude. I think he has a point, don’t you? Processing words is a different mental exercise than processing images. Could it be that one of them makes us squirm more than the other?

So the next time an artist feels his freedom of expression is threatened or unappreciated, he should probably be grateful that he’s not a writer and keep in mind Mark Twain’s envious words that “art has its privileges”.

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