Guten Rutsch!

Happy New Year! 

I hope this finds you enjoying the festivities of welcoming 2012, the year of the Water Dragon!  The following post recaps the past month, details some new works, art-related experiences, our visits to Munich, exhibitions in Berlin, and our enjoyment of the Weihnachtsmarkts while visiting with family and friends.

To begin with, my first open studios as an artist in residence at GlogauAIR took place on Dec. 16 & 17.  I showed oil paintings as well as works on paper, and we had a lively turnout, especially on the opening day.  Several Berlin Fulbrighters and new friends came by, and I met some interesting visitors at the event, which also featured the work of other artists in residence including performance, video, collage, photography, painting, sculpture and combinations thereof.  Here is a selection of works I exhibited. 

To see more, visit my updated website: http://www.caetlynnbooth.com/.

 

Winter Sonnenflecken, 8" x 12"

Alle sehen universum, 10" x 13"

 

Licht von unten 1, 10" x 13"

 

Licht von unten 2, 10" x 13"

 

Licht von unten 3, 10" x 13"

These images show the progression of After AE, The Conversion, after an Elsheimer titled "The Conversion of Saul."

After a recent visit to Munich to view works by Elsheimer in person, especially the painting "Flight into Egypt" and to meet with Dr. Dekiert at the Alte Pinakothek, I received a copy of Von Neuen Sternen, the catalog that accompanied a recent exhibition centering on this very painting.  It's written in German only, so I am excited about the challenge of translating to better understand contemporary discourse about this important work.  I will write more about my meeting with Dr. Dekiert later in this post.  

I have also recently acquired more reading material relating to Elsheimer including Lives of Adam Elsheimer featuring the translation of statements that other artists made about Elsheimer while he was alive or just after his death.  A short but interesting read as a window into his life, although it's striking just how little was recorded in the writing of his contemporaries and peers, who expressed so much praise for his work.

Lastly, because I enjoyed reading Camera Lucida by Barthes, I've also started reading Mythologies.  More about my take on this book will come in my next post, but already the unusual position Barthes' strikes creates an interesting perspective for considering the definition and place of mythology, and the assumptions that come from taking this relationship for granted in the creation of meaning and how this becomes lived expression.  Published in 1957, I'm interested to see where this inquiry leads, and how some of the ideas presented can be further understood through contemporary culture.

I also recently went to a lecture given by W.J.T. Mitchell at C/O Berlin ("Check Out Berlin").  The lecture accompanied the exhibition Bilder von Terror (Images of Terror), so as you can see below, there were several images of the attack on the World Trade Center as well as works that involve the brutality and violence of war.  Again, a Thomas Hirshhorn work (not represented here), also spoke to the brutality of images when used irresponsibly as gornography, depicting the mutilated bodies from recent conflicts.  His sloppy use of found images that he puts his name to without qualification is disappointing.

The lecture was interesting and political, especially because of the upcoming presidential election in the U.S., and because of the power and politics of images used for war.  Food for thought.

 

Photo credit: Tyson Washburn

Besides Berlin, we've spent time in Munich recently.  The train ride is always interesting. 

Photo credit: Tyson Washburn 

Sunset at the train station, waiting for our transfer.

Our trip in November was mostly "business." Of our three full days there, I spent two of them entirely at the Alte Pinakothek looking at Elsheimer's versions of the "The Flight into Egypt" and "The Burning of Troy," and meeting with Dr. Dekiert.

Here it is!  So amazing to see in person.

I took several photos, made sketches and took notes, but have only included a couple here.  This is a detail from "The Burning of Troy."  In it's entirety, I especially think the use of multiple contrasting points of light in the composition to create space and form is very interesting.

 

My meeting with Dr. Dekiert was great, and he was very generous with his time in answering the questions I had. We discussed AE's work in the context of other art and artists of the period, and Dr. Dekiert's perspective as an art historian helped to fill in some important gaps. In his opinion, AE was very much of his moment, influenced by changes in the schools of scientific thought taking place in the early 17th century.  AE ran in highly educated circles in Rome, and these new ways of thinking lead to new ways of seeing, evident in works such as "Flight into Egypt" with the Milky Way and several constellations represented in combination with religious narrative.  We also talked about AE's unusual inventiveness, breaks with tradition, how he evoked mood, the materials and format he worked in, and the intimate scale and viewing practices of the time for these works--they were cabinet paintings put into thick frames, intended to taken out and held while being looked at.

 

For consistency in approach for this project, I have been making a sketch and taking detailed notes about the aspects of each painting that interests me most.  It's been a very informative process to identify these kinds of attributes, and then invent my own process to make something similar happen in my painting.  The page from my journal above is an example of this, about the painting "Landschaft mit badender Nymphe" located at the Gemäldegalerie here in Berlin.

Here are some other paintings and painting details from the Alte Pinakothek collection in Munich:

There are several very large alter paintings with uniquely shaped panels.

This detail is from a large alter painting by Hans Holbein d. A.

Detail from Albrecht Altdorfer's amazing battle scene "The Battle of Issus/Alexander" 1529

Fra Angelico, 1440

The Rubens collection is the most impressive I've seen.  This is "The Last Judgement."  It's 6 meters high, and the scale of the museum was built specifically for this painting.  It's been in the same gallery since the museum opened in the 1830s.

I really enjoyed seeing all the smaller painted sketches that Rubens made before the larger paintings were executed by his workshop.

 

In several of the smaller galleries on the second floor of the Alte Pinakothek, a contemporary photograph by the artist Sabine Hornig is displayed alongside paintings that are much older.  I found it to be an intriguing and fitting curatorial break from the norm.

Here is another example of a photograph displayed with paintings from the 16th & 17th centuries.  The photograph speaks to the many layers of older works, but also the aspects you're confronted with as a viewer--that of looking through glass, only to find reflective surfaces that complicate the reading of pictorial space in both interesting and frustrating ways.  I thought it was a successful and important step to connecting art of antiquity with a contemporary vision.

By Claude Lorraine, and artist who Elsheimer influenced

We also popped over to the Neue Pinakothek.  Here are a few paintings/details from the collection:

Van Gogh detail

Van Gogh detail

Cezanne's first painting featuring Mont Sainte-Victoire

Thanks to Jeff, for his hospitality in Munich!  We had an insider's welcome, and a great visit.

And then back in Berlin at the Hamburger Hof Museum, we enjoyed "Cloud Cities" by Tomás Saraceno:

The scale of the galleries and quality of the exhibitions of some of the 20th century's most well-known figures is impressive:

Warhols galore!

And a room of Kiefers

The most surprising and fascinating exhibition was by an artist I wasn't aware of before. Several galleries were dedicated to Paul Laffoley's exhibition "Secret Universe II":

Due to the length of this post so far, I've left out several images I would have liked to include otherwise.  To view these images and more, including the Residenz, Treasury, reliquaries, BMW Museum, contemporary exhibitions, and other images from my brother's and Emily's visit, check out my Flickr account: LINK

My brother and Emily during their visit!  We've had a great time together for the holidays between activities in Munich and Berlin, cooking Christmas meals, going to Weihnachtsmarkts, and celebrating the New Years Berlin-style (loud, and all night long).

In closing, here are some images from the Weihnachtsmarkts--amazing light festivals focusing on food, drink, merriment and arts & crafts for gifts.  The Charlottenburg Schloss, near our apartment, put on one of the best light shows in addition to creating an intimate festive environment:

 

Photo credit: Michael F. Gerlach

We especially appreciated the lights because the sun sets at 4:30pm this time of the year!

Photo credit: B. Sabrowski

Our favorite Glühwein station.

Until next time, Zum Vohl und Guten Rutsch! I toast to your good fortune in the New Year with honey-Mead! (from the Mittelaltermarkt). 

XO Caetlynn

November Farben

Here it is; my newest post from the city that proclaims itself "Poor but Sexy!"  This one includes the announcement of open studios at GlogauAIR, images of recent oil paintings, books, highlights from several adventures, restaurant reviews, and observations: art and otherwise.

 

These are some paintings I've made recently that are inspired by Adam Elsheimer's work.  If you're in Berlin, come visit me during the December open studios event put on by the residency where I have my studio.  

Here's the info:

GlogauAIR -  OPEN STUDIOS

December, 2011
16th Fri 19 - 24h
17th Sat 15 - 21h

Location: Glogauerstr., 16, 10999 Berlin – Germany

 

 The following are more detailed images of new paintings:

 After AE: Moon Crop, 8" x 10"

 After AE: Reflected Moon Crop, 8" x 10"

Detail of two paintings on paper, made from observation of the cover of the exhibition catalog of AE's work in 2006. I have since visited Munich to view the original, and am working from my notes about Flight into Egypt, the painting that inspired me to write the proposal for this project.

 Lidlaufgang, 8" x 10"

 

Dämmerung an der Spree, 10" x 8"

 

We also traveled to Munich a couple of weeks ago, but I will dedicate a separate post to that soon.  It's a 6 hour train ride, so I took the opportunity to read You Are Not A Gadget by Jaron Lanier.  This humanist manifesto was extremely interesting, not only for the ideas presented, but because of the timeliness of everything Lanier discusses (published in 2010).  I will also note that I appreciated the attention to detail in the design of the physical object of the book itself, and it was gratifying to handle while reading because of the raised texture that followed the pattern on the jacket, the careful selection of font and half-tone printing, and the overall design.  Some quotes from Lanier's manifesto that I think are striking include:

pg. 5 "Being a person is not a pat formula, but a quest, a mystery, a leap of faith."

pg. 17 "The central mistake of recent digital culture is to chop up a network of individuals so finely that you end up with a mush."

pg. 23 "Someone who has been immersed in orthodoxy needs to experience a figure-ground reversal in order to gain perspective."

pg. 28 "Information is alienated experience."

pg. 83 "If you want to know what's really going on in a society or ideology, follow the money.  If money is flowing to advertising instead of musicians, journalists, and artists, then a society is more concerned with manipulation than truth or beauty."

Lanier's tone as an author and style of writing reads very much of the information age in the associations he makes, the variety of references he draws from, and in the synthesis and delivery of information.  This is a must read, especially for anyone interested in macroscopic technology theory.

I've also started reading the collection of essays compiled by W.J.T. Mitchell titled Landscape and Power (1st ed. 1994, 2nd ed. 2002).  I read a couple of these essays when contextualizing my graduate thesis paintings in writing, but I wanted to give this text more time and thought.  Although the theory and criticism presented reads as a little dated now, it is very interesting in how it looks at the history and the concept of landscape with a critical eye, and in how the agenda of theory and criticism in the mid-nineties can be examined through these works.  I will write more about what I find as I continue to read this compilation.

Besides painting and reading, the following images were taken during recent adventures around the city:

Los Angeles Zoo, only 9680 km that way!  Photo by Imran Shafi

 The zoo is in the Tiergarten, and we went when fall colors were in full effect.

 The mountain goats were especially amazing to watch as they catapulted themselves up and down the faces of the jutting man-made rock mountain replicating the terrain they would inhabit in the wild.

 Without planning it, we went into the big cat building during feeding time.  A few feet separated us from these large predators.  These cages are the indoor/feeding areas, but the cats have outdoor environments that they also access.

 The owls were also amazing to see at such close proximity.  The aviary was extensive.

Speaking of night owls, NYC should share the title of "The City that Never Sleeps" with Berlin.  In celebrating Tyson's birthday, we felt the flow of the night, and the lifestyle that it supports here.

 On our quest for an American-style burger, we found ourselves at White Trash Fast Food, a modish tattoo-parlor, restaurant and music venue that celebrates a kitschy, romanticized version of "White Trash" that had a lot more class than the term conjures in the US.

  

The ambiance of "White Trash"

 And the burgers were pretty good, too!

The following night, we combined forces with our friend Joe Lake, whose birthday is a couple days before Tyson's, to do it up right.  We started at the Polish bar Mysliwska in Kreuzberg, a fun place with a good DJ spinning records and tasty Mojitos.  By about 3am, some of the party was hungry, so we left to get the most delicious Schwarmas at Maroush.  By now it's 4am, so on to Roses, the fury-pink-walled gay bar that is a Kreuzberg institution.  Needless to say, the sun is rising as we're getting home.  With bars that stay open all night, and public transportation that runs 24/7, it's easier than you would think to find yourself staying out all night.  The U-Bahn at 6am on a Sunday is well-populated, although more subdued than earlier in the morning.

 Photo on left: from Mysliwska's website; photo on right from Qype review of Roses

 

Sunrise in Charlottenburg walking home from the U-Bahn.

Also this month, there have been some nice surprises in the gallery scene, such as Marc Handelman's recent show at Reception here in Berlin.  Luckily we were able to make it to the opening!

 It was great to see Marc, Jessica, and to meet their little one!

 A couple of paintings from Marc's show, Continuous Grounds.

I'm also investigating other galleries in the area.  We went to see Ingo Mittelstaedt's show Chromas at Galerie Koal--it was a good one.

 

Two photographs by Ingo Mittelstaedt from the exhibit.

 I've also been spending most Thursday evenings at the Gemäldegalerie, looking at "Old Masters," and revisiting the three works in the collection by Elsheimer.

 Adam Elsheimer, Hansaltärchen mit sechs Szenen aus dem Leben Mariae, 1597/98

 After Adam Elsheimer (the original was lost, this is a copy by an unknown artist),

Landschaft mit badender Nymphe, 1605

 Adam Elsheimer, Die Heilige Familie mit dem Johannesknaben un Engeln, 1599

 Painting detail

 Surface reflection, painting detail

The following are some images taken while wandering around our neighborhood...

 

 Interactive public art

 Recently we found an amazing Vietnamese restaurant in Charlottenburg on Wilmersdorfer Str. called Saigon-Today.  Next store is this fun Friseur.

 Outside the Deutsche Oper

 A recent find at the Charlottenburg Flea Markt.  A pipe case without the pipe.

 Other optical textures observed recently...

 

Building folding iPad...

 At the Holocaust Memorial, or Memorial to the murdered Jews of Europe.  Near Potsdamer Platz.

 

 Our friend and fellow Fulbrighter, Chrissy Matzen, was staying with us for the past week, so we've been going to many of Berlin's cultural hotspots together.  On the right, amazing Greek columns and statue at the Pergamon Museum.

 From the Middle East collection at the Pergamon.  These gates date from the 6th century BC and are made of glazed ceramic clay tiles.  From Babylon, unlike anything else I've ever seen.

 

Detail of the Babylonian entrance

Carved shell

Ancient Assyrian tablet, necklace of glass beads

 Carved stone cats that would have guarded the entrance to a temple

 Bracketing lips with gloved hands, with spotlight.  Photo by Tyson Washburn

In closing, it has been an exciting month where the rubber has started to meet the road.  Although Berlin still feels new, I'm beginning to feel more at home--instead of floating, I'm starting to get some traction in the studio, and in navigating this place more as second-nature instead of as outsider.

As always, more images can be viewed at my Flickr account.

Wishing everyone health and happiness for the holidays,
XO Caetlynn