CJB's Art Notes: Braunschweig = Brunswick

Greetings from Berlin!

A quick note if you're in the New York City area. Today and tomorrow (6/2-6/3) I have some paintings up in a group show at my friend Amy Lincoln's open studios in Bushwick. There should be a lot of interesting work to see, so if you’re free, check it out!
Saturday from noon-6pm
Sunday from noon-7pm
Location:
http://artsinbushwick.org/bos2012/directory/?q=caetlynn&day=&media=&pg=1&perpage=10#map

This entry details some new drawings, readings, a couple works from the Gerhard Richter show, our recent trip to Braunschweig and other adventures.

In addition to the sampling of works below, my website has received a refresher and new images:

http://www.caetlynnbooth.com/

Licht-Bildschirm, 12" x 16"

Recently I have been making works on paper as I get ready to begin the next several oil paintings I'm planning before our stay in the U.S. this summer. I've been going over my notes and sketches, and am excited to see what this evaluative step yields for my process.

Unterführung Landschaft 1, 12"x 16"

Unterführung Landschaft 2, 12"x 16"

On the left, Nass-Schein 1, 16" x 12"; on the right, Nass-Schein 2, 16" x 12"

On the left, Zweig Oculus, 16" x 12"; on the right, Als ich aufblickte, Hinlegen, 16" x 12"

Nachtwanderung 2, 10" x 20"

Nachtwanderung 1, 10" x 20"

I've been doing more reading lately, including Turps Banana, the catalog to the exhibition The Cosmos of the Russian Avant-Garde: Art and Space Exploration, 1900-1930, and the novel By Nightfall by Michael Cunningham.

The interviews of painters, by painters in Turps Banana is great reading/thinking, and the perspectives and values about painting are closely aligned to my own--I appreciate this publication's existence!

In the Cosmos catalog (cover image to the right), I've been really enjoying the curatorial/historical statements about early Russian conceptions of space, its context within mystical and spiritual belief and how this influenced representations of the unknown (as defined by Outer-space) by visual artists, and then how this influenced its prominence within popular cultural thought.

I came across By Nightfall (published 2010) via friend Stephen Lowman. It was an interesting take on a particular set of interpersonal relationships set in NYC with characters involved in the art world in one way or the other. Coincidentally, the compositional theme of "Flight into Egypt" as a nocturne was described in some detail. I for one think there's a lot of interesting material there, so I'm happy to read this response to this particular representation that I've been spending so much time looking at and thinking about.

The following images are a couple more from the Gerhard Richter retrospective (second visit was as packed as the first):

Recent observations of flora and fauna:

At the Schloss gardens

Photo credit: Casula_9

European Jay. I saw one from our window a few times and I hope he makes a re-appearance!

Two kinds of green

We also made a trip to Braunschweig (1:20 minute train ride SW of Berlin) earlier in the month to see two Elsheimer paintings, and to visit the town and meet with my contact for next year at the Hochschule für Bildende Künste Braunschweig (HBK) . It's a coincidence that I went to grad school in New Brunswick, and now I'll be spending some time in Germany's Brunswick, affiliating with Frances Scholz and participating in seminars periodically as a DAAD fellow. The original "Le Brunz." The following are some images from our trip there:

Braunschweig Martinikirche, building begun in 1190

On the left: unidentified building that caught my eye, on the right and below: images from the interior of the Martinikirche

While we were visiting Braunschweig, we stayed at the Ritter St. Georg, built in 1454. It was amazing!!!

The front of the Ritter St. Georg

Our room was very nice, but was a bit of a hobbit-hole especially for Tyson's overhead clearance

View of the Burgplatz

Braunschweig was also home to Henry the Lion, a very powerful prince in his day, the founder of Munich and Duke of Saxony and Bavaria during his lifetime. The following are images from the Brunswick Cathedral, also his grave site:

The giant medieval bronze candelabrum belonging to Henry the Lion, produced around 1188, one of the only of it's kind still surviving.

In 1845, medieval frescoes were discovered under the roughcast in the choir. The technique is secco, as opposed to al fresco, so the paint is applied to dry plaster resulting in paintings that are not as intensively combined with the undercoat, and therefore, less stable. These are some of the most important existing depictions of the cycle of the Holy Cross from the 1250s.

The following are other details of the church interior: