La Disputa

Relics have always interested me, for they are allegedly “proof” of a certain (religious, legendary or mythological) event. Churches are built around such artifacts – the Basilica of St. Anthony has the saint’s tongue in a reliquary, for example. One of the most important and notorious relics is the Shroud of Turin (the famous blanket that covered Christ’s face post-mortem and came away with an imprint of that same face). There is a shroud that is kept at the Cathedral of John the Baptist, Turin, Italy. Of course there are many debates and mysteries concerning whether it is the real one.  Scientific research is having problems with what seems like a great forgery.

Cut for blasphemy…

(more…)

Today, I wanted to express my gratitude for movies inspired by, based on, and made about comic book stories. After a few certain movies that I won’t mention (cough’daredevil’catwoman’fantasticfouroneandtwo’cough), it looked as though these kind of movies were being made for the sake of gathering money from the public. But the past few such movies have perhaps turned that particular page (for this summer, at least). The movies still have commercial qualities in them; crazy special effects (I loved the Skyhook and the somersaulting truck in Dark Knight), deliberately long action sequences, and violent gasp-worthy fight scenes. But there is also artistic integrity, more respect for the original story’s intention and a new love for painstaking attention towards morals and responsibility (Dark Knight piled it on, but I’m also talking about Guillermo del Toro’s action sequence between Hellboy and the last forest god).

  (more…)

So, as usual, with the air of never learning, another work was chosen for a grand-scale restoration. This time it is Andrea Mantegna’s San Zeno Alterpiece, a magnificent work commissioned in 1457 Italian Renaissance by an artist from Northern Italy. This beautifully detailed masterpiece was perfectly executed by the artist, according to the whim of the commissioner, Abbot Gregorio Correr. As in the tradition of altarpieces, the SZA was a triptych (three panels to the painting) plus three scenes painted underneath in the predella. Each scene in the predella relates to the painting right above it in the triptych. So, since the triptych central panel shows Madonna holding the Child Jesus, the predella central panel shows Jesus in the same position (head lilted to the same side, arms outstretched on the cross as they are on his mother’s neck). Thusly, though it looks as though there are six paintings, there is really only one giant work.

Of course, in the spirit of everything that is respectful in the modern world, this altarpiece has been torn apart. The work has been moved many times, and each time something was taken from it. The full predella is in France since 1814. The bottom scenes in the original are copies made in the eighteenth century. The left panel of the triptych was stolen. In 1934, it went through surgery which thoroughly devastated the wooden support. Now it’s in fourteen pieces, waiting to be restored yet again.

Its due date is in May 2009, whereupon we’ll see the full restoration. I am sure I can’t wait.

Business cards are an important social networking tool for professionals, a way to showcase your work if you’re an artist or a designer, and something I didn’t even notice until someone asked me for mine. Oops.

(more…)

Summer usually brings a prevalence of tie-dye shirts and fanny packs, but these past few days I’m noticing a more pan-Asian flavor. On the subway, when I have nothing to do but stand around just looking at people, I’ve been seeing girls of all ethnicities don colorful sari-inspired blouses, bird and paisley motifs, and a more flowing style in general. Interior decorators and house owners have also been following the styles of India; I saw a beautiful collection of Buddhas at one house recently. Sotheby’s alone sold over one million dollars worth of Indian art this year.

And why not? The aesthetic and stories of India hold a lot of material for artistic endeavors. The mythology of India alone brings a substantial richness to the art. Eighty percent of the Indian population is Hindu and their art is pervasive across the country. Temple frescoes are covered with depictions of strange and exotic icons. Vishnu, the Supreme Being, is depicted in his fifth avatar (physical form) as a three-legged dwarf. My own favorite of the Hindu Pantheon is Ganesh, patron of art and sciences, god of wisdom. He sports a velvety elephant head and four of his own arms. Buddhism, though nowhere near as popular as Hinduism (along with two other religious sects, it accounts only for three percent of religious followers in India), is another religion that is depicted in paintings and statues.

Buying Indian décor, clothes and art can be a very gratifying experience. Each piece brings with it an exoticism of an old, beautiful culture into your home. Still, a buyer must know the caveats; forgery has grown its own legs in the Indian goods market. Forgers are unabashedly copying works of dead and living artists, signing desired names to be ready for sale in the Western world. If you are in the buyers market for a piece of India, make sure you know and trust your dealer. If you’re buying from a contemporary, living artist, make sure with them that it is their work. Afterwards, enjoy the growing trend and later, the classic piece that makes your home yours.