Art Talk
Art Talk
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Art reviews, news and announcements from KCRW's resident art critic, Edward Goldman. Both fearless and fun, Edward offers a unique "accent" on art. Formerly employed by the famed Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia, and a favorite on-air presence, he offers impassioned views on what he sees in the galleries and museums and at events throughout the world, and he isn't afraid to "speak truth to power."
Photo credit: Marc Goldstein
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So Many Tsars, So Little Time
It's been only a couple of months since my last trip to Amsterdam, so there better be a good reason to return so soon for yet another visit. And how could I say no to an invitation to attend the inaugural ceremony for the opening of the Hermitage Amsterdam, the ambitious collaboration between the famous museum in St. Petersburg and its colleagues in the Netherlands? While two previous attempts at branding by the Hermitage Museum – first in London and then in Las Vegas – turned out to be short-lived, this latest and most ambitious venture, in a beautifully restored 17th century building in the center of Amsterdam, seems to have real staying power...
All the Presidents' (Men and) Portraits
Sunday morning's ritual: a large cup of coffee and piles of newspaper spread out all over my bed. Then, out into the world to the farmers' market, with its abundance of color, texture, and taste. The Santa Monica market is brimming with eccentric characters vying for attention. Last Sunday, it was a slim, shirtless young fellow, with his pants so low that the only mystery remaining was whether he'd been circumcised or not. Looking at the multitude of his boring tattoos, I wondered if he had been exposed to art in school or had ever been taken to a museum. You see, I have a theory that if our schools provided a decent art education, then maybe young people like him would at least choose more interesting tattoos. And maybe with more art education in school, we would be spared the embarrassment of seeing hoards of abysmal portraits of our leaders in the halls and chambers of power throughout the nation...
Highs and Lows on the Museum Scene in LA
Let me come clean. Every time I visit the Metropolitan Museum, I skip the galleries displaying American art, and until recently, it was the same with the Huntington in San Marino. I would spend most of the time there savoring the world-class collection of English paintings and then finish by looking at a couple of temporary exhibitions. Not any longer...
Will Nude Edge Cowboy Out of White House?
On Inauguration Day, four months ago, I talked about the dream I had for what our new president could accomplish if he decided to become a champion of art. I imagined Barack taking Michelle and their adorable girls on a stroll through the National Gallery, and I fantasized about the president deciding to bring contemporary artworks into the White House – not only into the living quarters, but the Oval Office as well. What a great chance it would be to breathe new energy into the historic rooms, which have gotten a bit stale and could use a break from traditional images of cowboys roaming the Wild West...
So Close to the President, Yet So Far Away
President Obama's commencement speech at Notre Dame has gotten a lot of attention. I heard it on the radio and watched it on TV and was impressed by his eloquence. But when I saw on the front page of Monday's New York Times the photo of students with the president – big smiles and handshakes all around – I was taken aback by the unintentional lack of civility shown by the students. Take a look at the photograph...
It Takes a Village to Raise Museum Funds
For good, normal folks who might go to a museum only once in a while, museums present themselves in a stately, unhurried, dignified manner. But if you peer behind the curtain, 'calm' is the last word you would use to describe what's going on there...
Twitter as Big Brother?
Legacy Player:
In last week’s program I asked you for advice: ‘To Tweet or Not to Tweet...’ and respond you did – with humor, sarcasm, and good straightforward advice. To read all the responses posted, visit the Art Talk page of the KCRW website. Here are some excerpts...
To Tweet or Not to Tweet, That Is the Question
Legacy Player:
Looking back at the past thirty years, I see the pattern of my initial reluctance to embrace the technology of the modern world. First, I had to learn to drive a car, though some of my friends tell me that I still drive like a Russian peasant. Then, there was an especially embarrassing moment when I heard for the first time the word "fax" and mistook it for, hmmm...an unprintable profanity, and that's how l learned about the existence of fax machines. When I started to do my Art Talk, I would write and edit the text on an old-fashioned typewriter, until an assistant of mine eventually persuaded me to start working on a computer, so I got a used one, courtesy of her husband. Now, years later, I am spending most of my working hours staring at a screen, reading and sending an endless stream of emails...
Oh...to Be Sixteen Again
Legacy Player:
It's unbearably hot even here, in Santa Monica, near the beach. Damn those Santa Ana winds. To survive, I need to think and talk about something cool. How about this? A stone's throw from Venice Beach sits LA Louver Gallery, one of the mainstays of the Los Angeles art scene. There, for the next few weeks, you can find a small herd of horses roaming the galleries – some standing still, others grazing or lying down, maybe even sleeping...
Moved by Art
Legacy Player:
Compared to a journalist covering the disintegration of the international financial system or reporting from the battlefield in Afghanistan, there is an obvious advantage to being an art critic. After all, where else if not in the art business can one think about Death, Debt, and Divorce as something to look forward to, a renewable source of profit for auction houses when private collectors are pressured to sell their art as a result of these three famous "D's." Even when the news from the art scene is especially grim, an encounter with a wonderful work of art can still restore my spirit as I make weekly rounds through the galleries and museums...
From Russia with Art
Legacy Player:
Somehow in the last several weeks, Russian avant-garde culture of the early 20th century has been presenting itself with surprising consistency, both here in LA and during my recent trip to Holland. In Amsterdam I saw excellent early paintings by Kandinsky, and on the last day there, I was invited to see The Four Temperaments by Balanchine performed by the Dutch National Ballet. The theater was packed, and the dancers were very good. All that made me think about the famous Ballets Russes and its impresario Sergei Diaghilev, who introduced the whole world to the genius of Igor Stravinsky’s music in his ballets Petrushka and The Rite of Spring...
'I love plastic. I want to be plastic.' - Andy Warhol
Legacy Player:
Returning to LA from a ten-day trip to Holland, I jumped head first into the thick of things, trying to catch up with the new exhibitions in museums and galleries. First I drove downtown to the USC Fisher Museum, which has become the happy recipient of a generous gift from the Andy Warhol Foundation...
The Best Place to Get High without Getting Arrested
Legacy Player:
The name of the picturesque ancient city Maastricht, in the south of Holland, might not ring a bell in American ears, but in Europe it’s definitely well known as the place where the Maastricht Treaty was signed in 1992, giving birth to the European Union. Another reason to be aware of this city is TEFAF, the celebrated annual international art fair, often referred to as the ‘Tiffany’ of all art fairs. That’s where curators and discriminating collectors from around the world go in search of rare examples of Greek and Roman art, Old Master drawings and paintings, and fabulous pieces of furniture, tapestries, and porcelain that once upon a time decorated the stately homes of European nobility..
Is Old Master Art Still a Sure Thing?
Legacy Player:
The last couple of months, running into various art dealers, the first thing I ask is how they're holding up. No doubt, it's been a difficult time for the art market, where sales of contemporary art are way below what they were even a year ago. One exception was the recent sale of the Yves Saint Laurent collection, a big success, probably attributable to the worldwide recognition of the designer's name; people are willing to pay extra for an art work belonging to a famous person...
Beverly Hills Housewife for Sale
Legacy Player:
When you think about the most important Los Angeles cultural patrons of the last fifty years –- people who devoted their sizable fortunes and limitless passion to supporting and promoting the arts 0– three names spring immediately to mind: Dorothy Chandler, who gave us the Music Center, Marcia Weisman, the driving force behind the creation of MOCA; and, last but not least, Betty Freeman, a legendary patron of avant-garde music as well as a major collector of American post-war art...
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Host
Edward Goldman
Edward Goldman is the fearless art critic who speaks truth to the art world’s power – a must-listen for culture mavens.
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