Click image below for more "still life"

Click image below for more "still life"
Francis Cunningham "Three Baldwin Apples" (1964) Oil on linen 5'' x 16''

Monday, December 21, 2009

Holiday Special: Lunch Time at the Cunningham Studio


I've been taking photos around Dick's studio, kitchen and apartment in general continuously.  Most of them are food related, as I have a habit of documenting my plates and cups, and their contents. Images have accumulated and since the holiday season is about sharing, among other things, food, I've decided in that spirit to put together a slideshow of lunches, teas and cookies, and scotches I've shared with Dick recently.

The image above is from a Chinese restaurant downtown I went to during the weekend.  The table there has a holiday look all year long. The empty bowl once had a delicious soup.

Now, lunch break at the Cunningham studio is the time Dick and I move over piles of documents, books and other objects on the table and set our plates generally piled with sandwiches or other delicious concoctions we created or Kitty supplied.  While eating we plot the next edit in the video or skim through a book Dick recommends, or plan the next blog entry.
Please enjoy the photos as a set here and as a slideshow here.

Enjoy the holidays.

Friday, December 18, 2009

The End Game Never Ends, and Self-Portrait

While I'm editing portraits, Dick is among other projects working on the three figure painting, which yesterday got its first spots of color. He's also touching up some nudes that we'll video very soon.







And then the most novel and fun for me at the moment, Dick has been pulling out various paintings from years ago which exhibit such variety of style. One of such paintings is a self-portrait as a "married buck right out of art school" with some early painting in the background done from the head, not nature.

Portraits: Floyd Woodbeck

Our second video, Portraits: Floyd Woodbeck, in the series about the models Dick has worked with and painted over the years, is ready. Floyd was Dick's neighbor, friend and he helped maintaining the Berkshires summer house, studio barn and land. If you want to watch or re-watch other portraits(one other at the moment), here is the playlist for the series on YouTube.

Thursday, December 17, 2009

December 2-16, 2009: Progress on the "three figure painting"




Dick is beginning with the oils today on his new painting of three figures.
We've been documenting the progress and here are the stages from December 2-16, 2009.
From the map,


through the underpainting,

and more underpainting,

to the finished underpainting,

Monday, December 14, 2009

Portraits: Mimi Scherb

The video introduction to our new video project, Portraits, received a bit more feedback from you than our previews videos. Thank you. We tried to cover more in each of the previews video and they took longer to produce and put up on YouTube. So, this time we're trying something different, shorter, rougher- more frequent, more focused videos. This time the subject is the models Dick has worked with over the years. First, Mimi with whom Dick worked from early in his career and whom he painted many times.



Your thoughts and reactions are as always welcome. Comment here, email or even snail mail. Watch for more videos here and on our YouTube Portraits playlist and Dick's YouTube channel.

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

New Painting and Portraits-Video in Progess

We are starting another project. Dick is painting every day; his model is here four days a week and I'm here shooting video, editing and writing the blog once a week. Hopefully we'll have more to show by the new year.
In the mean time we're posting two images of the new painting showing work in progress and a rough cut of the introduction for our new video.



[Images from December 2 and December 9, 2009]

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Studio Interior Sheffield (2009) Still Life Videos: Berkshires, Golden Section, End Game

This is our final word on the "Studio Interior Sheffield"(2009) painting and videos, the three videos have been so far called Summer '09 Still Life. See our entry on how it all started in the summer in Sheffield.



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Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Summer '09 Still Life: Studio in NYC. The What It Is, End Game.

Final, part three of Summer '09 Still Life is up on YouTube. I'd had some trouble uploading the big file, higher quality video, so I decided to lower the quality just a bit. You probably can't tell, except in a few places where the camera moves too fast, when painstakingly following Dick dancing around "the stage" in front of the paining, explaining "the what it is" and the "end game" of the painting process in general and particular.

Friday, November 20, 2009

"New Realism" and Philip Pearlstein & Al Held Exhibition

UPDATE: See the James Kalm video from the opening reception of Philip Pearlstein & Al Held Exhibition here.

Philip PearlsteinI've just added Al Held and Philip Pearlstein "PEARLSTEIN/HELD: Five Decades" now on show at Betty Cuningham Gallery to Dick's "want to see" and "recommended" lists, found here Dick mentioned the show to me the day before it opened and my appetite was whetted further when I saw James Kalm's short interview with Philip Pearlstein at the opening, found on Facebook and hopefully also coming to James Kalm YouTube channel. Dick has not yet seen the show after his successful cataract operation left him a bit disoriented for "more than" a few days.

In September/October 1997, Dick worked with Philip Pearlstein, George Nick and John Moore in Israel on series of paintings for an exhibition in 1999 in Tel Aviv Museum entitled "90th Anniversary of Tel Aviv; Contemporary City Scapes; Israeli and American Artists."

Al Held and Philip Pearlstein "PEARLSTEIN/HELD: Five Decades" at Betty Cuningham Gallery compares careers of two artists, as explained in the press release, "born in the mid – 1920’s: Pearlstein in 1924 and Held in 1928. The artists arrived in the center of the “art scene” in the late 1940’s at the time of the birth of Abstract Expressionism. Both tried their hand in Abstract Expressionism in the 1950’s, but by 1960, both had left Abstract Expressionism behind. Philip Pearlstein chose the route of representation – particularly of the female nude, a classic subject throughout art history. Al Held moved toward clear abstraction. Both shared the position that “Expressionism” would be dropped from their paintings. By the late 1960’s Pearlstein had committed to the “New Realism”, as stated in John Perrault’s manifesto:
No stories; no allegories; no symbols.
No hidden meanings; no obvious meanings.
No philosophy, religion, or psychology.
No jokes.
No political content.
No illustration.
No fantasy or imagination; no dreams; no poetry."

Of the two artists, in my opinion, Pearlstein is more relevant to what Dick's practice is, so I'll just talk about him.
Dick considers Philip Pearlstein revolutionary for figure painting. One of their common subject matters is the nude.
Our conversation today ended up on the issue of breaking tradition in art, and “New Realism,” which Dick lived through, but was not swept away by, holding to the humanity of the subject and its emotional and intellectual manifestations as well as the physical.
Dick says that he's greatly indebted to Pearlstein. "Philip broke with the Western tradition of the idealized nude and freed artists to look at the nude with their own eyes, fresh."
Dick is also "preplexed by why it's not generally seen that Pearlstein is cut out of the same cloth as Signorelli and Michelangelo in his sense of form and space," which I find interesting as an issue in art history and tradition to bring up in this context.

Francis Cunningham
[Image: Francis Cunningham "Reaching"]
-perke

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Buy Francis Cunningham Paintings Online + Group Show This Weekend

Dick's small premier coup will be in a group show of small paintings at Laurel Tracey Gallery in Red Bank, NJ. The show is inaugurating Laurel Tracey Online gallery and will be up until December 31. Please join Dick at the gallery for the the opening reception this Saturday November 21, 6:30 - 8:30pm. You can see and buy Dick's works on at Laurel Tracey Online starting Thursday. There are six works to buy online and many others are available in the gallery in Red Bank to see.




 Introducing Laurel Tracey Online

             

Opening Reception
Saturday, November 21st 6:30 - 8:30 PM

Please join us for an opening reception featuring
recent works by our gallery artists
and...
to celebrate the launch of our new online website

www.laureltraceyonline.com



small paintings, custom framed
 available to buy online starting Thursday, November 19th, 2009






10 White Street
Red Bank NJ 07701
732 224 0760
ltg@laureltraceygallery.com


Gallery Hours
Tue 1-5 PM, Wed - Sat 11-5 PM

Summer '09 Still Life: Studio in NYC. On the Golden Section Ratio

I originally planned two short videos on Dick's summer-long project, still life done in the Berkshires, but it ended up being three videos because of the amount of great material Dick discussed on camera. So, below is the video, part 2, recorded in Dick's NYC studio in which he discusses and explains his use of the golden section ratio in "organizing the surface of the canvas and its relationship to the space in the painting." If you have not yet seen part here it is  on YouTube and here is our blog entry on it.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

John Leavey: History, Artist and Model (Subject)

Today Dick and I worked on the rest of the summer still life video and manged to finish it. It's ready for somewhat time consuming compression process to be viewed on YouTube in a few days.  It's just like "varnishing" a painting before getting it out to the world.
At one point Dick and I talked about the distance between the painter and his subject, which brought us to the recent studio visit of one of Dick's long time friends from the Art Students League, John Leavey, or as Dick calls him, Jack.

Jack attended the Art Students League, where Dick met him in Robert Beverly Hale's class. Later they went to Edwin Dickinson's class.   Jack won a Prix de Rome and spent seven years in Italy. At one point he painted stage sets.  He's painted and drawn continuously and now lives in Bennington, Vermont.
So, now you have an idea about Jack.








When at Dick's studio, Jack made this drawing of triangles about HISTORY, ARTIST and MODEL. I like how it illustrates the disappearance of distance between history and the artist. For simplification, I think we can assume that the distance between the artist and the model remains the same.


At the top Jacques-Louis David looks at a 50 year old male model while he paints a "historical" figure, such as a Roman soldier.  As painting in the 19th century moves towards realism, the line of the triangle illustrated here, between the artist and history, gets shorter and shorter.  Courbet (Realism), Manet, Degas and we wind up in Jack's diagram with Toulouse-Lautrec. Lautrec draws a 50 year old man who is no more or less, a 50 year old man.  In Jack diagram photography is a straight line between the artist and the model, as there is no longer history.  (We find this problematic.)

Now, the question is what is the distance between Dick and his new piece, he's just started, here at the map stage, or his subjects in general?


-perke and Dick

Sunday, October 25, 2009

Still Life Summer 09 and Artist's Studio

In August I spent a weekend in the Berkshires as of previews entry here. At that time Dick and I worked one day on a video, which I managed to finally edit with helpful insights from Dick after his return to the NYC studio. Part one of two of this project introduces Dick's studio in the country and the still life in the middle of being work on. Enjoy the cliff hanger ending. Part 2 and more coming soon.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

About New Still Life Video & My Lunch with Dick and Michelangelo on the Tea Cup

8.22.09
Yesterday was my first full day working from Francis Cunningham studio and I spent most of the day editing video about his summer'09 sill life. I made a solid rough cut of part one and am up very early this morning getting the first sequence re-done. I'll just add that the October mosquitoes in my house were a big "help" getting me out of bed 6am. Anyone else has mosquitoes in Manhattan?

Today is Dick's check up day at the doctor's, and the pre-exam dietary restrictions prevented him from sharing this lunch with me yesterday. But, he had yogurt, other goodies and tea from Michelangelo cup.
Sandwich at dick's with michaelangelo cup

Next week, perhaps Dick will share the recipe for his famous sandwich when we start on part two of the video about the big still life.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

First Class Paintings and Drawings: October '09 Exhibitions Recommendations

Dick at work

Dick fresh back from the woods in Western Massachusetts while still searching for ticks in his clothes is making a list of the must see and recommended exhibitions, most of which he's not seen yet himself.
I've made him a MyNYAB account on NY Art Beat to bookmark his favorites, so they are handy and sharable here.
The list currently includes lots of 18th century, mainly drawings and some paintings from France, and it starts with Dicks favorite space, the Frick Collection followed by the Met, through the Morgan library, ending with the MoMA.

The Frick Collection has an exhibitions on of French 18th and 19th century drawings from the Frits Lugt Collection.
"Watteau to Degas: French Drawings from the Frits Lugt Collection" Exhibition
Venue: The Frick Collection
Schedule: From 2009-10-06 To 2010-01-10

At the Metropolitan Watteau's show of paintings which take on the theme of music and theater contemporary to the artist is the destination.
"Watteau, Music, and Theater" Exhibition
Venue: The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Schedule: From 2009-09-22 To 2009-11-29

The lower key, but highly valued Watteau show is followed by a minor blockbuster: Vermeer's "Milkmaid," which also include the Met's collection's Vermeers. Even is crowded, it's a must see.
"Vermeer's Masterpiece The Milkmaid" Exhibition
Venue: The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Schedule: From 2009-09-10 To 2009-11-29

There are more drawings at the Morgan Library, again including Wateau and more 18th century French drawings.
"Rococo and Revolution: Eighteenth-Century French Drawings" Exhibition
Venue: The Morgan Library & Museum
Schedule: From 2009-10-02 To 2010-01-03

"William Blake's World: 'A New Heaven Is Begun'" makes Dick's list for now.
"William Blake's World: 'A New Heaven Is Begun'" Exhibition
Venue: The Morgan Library & Museum
Schedule: From 2009-09-11 To 2010-01-03

Finally, something I brought up, since I already saw it, the Monet’s Water Lilies at the MoMA. Unlike the other blockbuster, Vermeer at the Met, the Monet room at the MoMA had ample room to enjoy the huge paintings and smaller work.
"Monet’s Water Lilies" Exhibition
Venue: The Museum of Modern Art
Schedule: From 2009-09-13 To 2010-04-12

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Take Home a Nude/ Figurative Painting / Sotheby's/ Gagosian

Dick is finishing his summer painting season in the country, while in NYC...


[Image: JENNY SAVILLE Mother and Child (After the Leonardo Cartoon), 2008 Charcoal on watercolor paper 59 x 47 inches (149.9 x 119.4 cm)]

The 18th Annual Take Home a Nude® Art Auction & Party Honoring John Currin took place Wednesday, October 7, 2009 at Sotheby's.

"Take Home a Nude" is a clever title and connected to Art Students League, so I thought it belongs on this blog.

"This year the New York Academy of Art holds its 18th Annual Take Home a Nude Event. Celebrities and prominent members of the New York art community always attend this showing of some of the city's finest figurative work. As with last year's auction, there is a wide variety of work, and artists will be showing off their skills, showcasing their techniques and walking those interested through the process of creating figurative art. The 2009 Event will be held Wednesday, October 7, 2009.

View the auction preview here

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Israel Hershberg Exhibition at Marlborough Gallery - Jerusalem Studio School

Dick is back in New York for a few days and we're meeting at his studio to shoot the rest of the video about the studio interior painting he's been working on in the country and which he finally completed.

But it's not the first time we meet in NY this late summer. We met a few weeks back in Chelsea, when Dick came to the city for the opening of the exhibition of Israel Hershberg at Marlborough Gallery.
Israel Hershberg Aria Umbra II, 2009 Oil on linen 36 5/8 x 98 5/8 in
Israel Hershberg "From Afar"
Venue: Marlborough Chelsea
Schedule: From 2009-09-10 To 2009-10-10

Francis Cunningham and Israel Hershberg Francis Cunningham and Israel Hershberg
Israel Hershberg was one of the students picked by Dick for High School honors class at the Brooklyn Museum Art School in 1966. Israel went to study at Pratt and teach at various US institutions. Dick and Israel have stayed in touch and remained friends.
Israel eventually moved to Israel, where he founded and continues to direct the Jerusalem Studio School.
Dick says that Jerusalem Studio School is the only institution he knows where Dickinson's way of looking and principles are still central today.
Israel took from Dick's teaching Dickinson's tonal work: color spots, plumb line and the finder. He used those tools to develop his own form of realism and teaches them the Jerusalem Studio School.

Saturday, September 5, 2009

Dick Cooking Sheffield Corn Video

On my personal blog on NY Art Wine I made an entry about the corn and wine I had with Dick. Somehow I omitted the best part, the video of Dick cooking Sheffield corn for our last Sheffield lunch. But, it now has been corrected and the entry includes the video of Dick demonstrating how to cook perfect corn. I'm also posting the clip here, since I did not include it in any of my preview entries.

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Weekend of August 22nd: Perke and Dick in the Berkshires

Despite the "micro burst" storm that tore through the Berkshires area and despite merciless mosquitoes, we managed to do quite a lot of work with Dick. I took scores of photos of the barn, of the outside and inside, but especially the studio. Here is the set and here the slideshow, to see almost all of the work and fun in photos an videos. Not yet ready is a longer video, which I'm beginning to edit now.
Talking with Dick about the still life he's currently working on demystified a lot of painting process for me and I hope to show Dick elaborating on it in our video.
This is part of the still life set up, of which only a fragment is visible on the canvas and on the "map."
8.21.09
The rest of the set-up. The dried fruit is a beauty.
8.21.09
Finally, an attempt by me to capture the whole of the setup with my still camera, as it is on Dick's canvas.
8.22.09
Something, I'd not known about Dick's painting process is "the map." He starts his longer projects with a map like this, transfers it to a canvas and then begins his "color spot" painting process. (The many maps that got saved would look great strangely as a B&W graphic novel, in my opinion.) The "color spot" process that Dick uses justly attracted attention of my companion to the Berkshires, partner at NY Art Beat and husband, Kosuke who brought attention to it on his Japanese blog. He touched upon the subject of the technique and wrote in general about our trip and some of the anecdotes that Dick is so good at telling.
8.22.09
Here is the yet unfinished still life on canvas.
8.22.09
When not working on our video and photos, or enjoying a few meals prepared by Kitty, Dick showed us around the area where he's been coming to paint every summer since the 60s. So, here is Perke and Dick by one of the pear trees.
8.21.09
I'm taking the the pear to the barn and then to NY. It was good after a few days of sitting on my fridge.
8.21.09
Walking through the swampy area in the back, from which we had to eventually withdraw, because my shoes were not ready for such an adventure and mosquitoes were biting strong.
8.21.09
At the falls, which Dick claims he used to run to daily after a day of work to cool off. We drove, due to the unstable weather and the mosquitoes.
8.21.09
Saturday afternoon in the barn- resting with tea before Kosuke and my leaving for NY- after a lunch of Sheffield corn, sandwiches and some wine which we'd bought for early Friday dinner in the barn. The dinner was supposed to be followed by Dick and Kitty's trip to a ballet by Ulysses_Dove. All of it was literally cut short by the storm. With the power and telephone out, we made the most of the evening by driving to the nearest restaurant for a good meal and plenty of anecdotes.
8.22.09

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Model Arrested at the Met. Dick Without Phone this Week.


Today a twitter friend tweeted the following "aaaah USA http://bit.ly/7qtS6", link leading to a Guardian story "Model arrested for posing nude at New York museum."
Next in the story, "Kathleen Neill charged with public lewdness after posing for a photographer at the Metropolitan Museum of Art." I thought Dick would be interested in this story, having himself had some of his nudes taken off the walls of a gallery in NY, in the 70s, if I recall right.

The show of photographs of the above mentioned nude model in public spaces will be closing, in a few days, August 30 at Chair and Maiden in NY.

"aaaah USA http://bit.ly/7qtS6", and I can only add, why in chains right away?

Dick might not be in touch or reading this until later in the week, as I believe he's still disconnected, due to the storm a week ago ripping out some trees near his barn and breaking some telephone poles and wires, which are probably still being fixed. Here is how it looked from the cottage where I was staying last weekend, right after the storm hit. Watch my short clip to the end and listen...



More images coming to my photo set(UPDATE now already there) from the Berkshires trip here.

Check out the "lewd" show if you're in NY before it closes.

Zach Hyman "Decent Exposures"
Venue: Chair and the Maiden
Schedule: From 2009-08-20 To 2009-08-30
Address: 19 Christopher St., New York, NY 10014
Phone: 212-255-0562 Fax: 212-675-6330

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Tools: Art and Labor. Photography: Malcolm and Szarkowski

Today, I finally found some time to work on Dick's website, rearrange chronologically the still lifes, adding a few in the process.
Since I'll be heading out to Dick's studio in the country to do a little photo and video shoot, and to breath in some fresh country air, I'm especially taken by the newly added paintings of tools of all sorts associated with art and labor.
Industry (1967) Industry (1967) oil on linen 40'' x 50''

Chime Knife and Barking Spud (1970)Chime Knife and Barking Spud (1970) oil on linen 28'' x 44''

Forest Tools (1985) Forest Tools (1985) oil on linen 72'' x 46''

Harvest Tools (1987)Harvest Tools (1987) oil on linen 36'' x 48'' Andso on.


And of course the studio table...Studio Table (1996-97)Studio Table (1996-97) oil on linen 36'' x 48''

Blogging-wise, I don't think we're ready to move on from the current topics of the nude and photography that are on Dick's mind and in his writings. Conveniently, Dick stays on the subjects in his phone calls too. I listened to a voice mail(thank you google voice!) Dick left me the other day, where he mentions another two photo related books and authors, Janet Malcolm and John Szarkowski.

I let the Wikipedia entry on Janet Malcolm be an introduction to this staff writer for the New Yorker.




John Szarkowski was best know to me as the author of several books on photography and a MoMA curator.



I'm sure Dick would have a few words to add here on both authors and their photography ideas.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Again on the Nude and Mapplethorpe Photography

Whenever the human body appears, in life or art, clothed or unclothed, there is an erotic potential. In art, whenever the erotic goes beyond potential to become itself the subject one may cross the line between art and pornography.

In art, the nude body is neutral. Sexual differentiation is a fact.
Unless the artist has gone intentionally past the line, whatever happens beyond the artist’s intent lies in the eye, or rather the mind, of the beholder.

For myself, the subjects of the nudes are the particular individuals, male and female, which I have painted. They have 3-dimensional form, in the painting as in life; they are capable of movement and in their postures express the connection between their inner self and its physical manifestation.

In the “Art of Painting: Reflections on Edwin Dickinson and Representation” (unpublished) I have written, “A great photographer of the nude such as Robert Mapplethorpe in his straightforward studies has understood light on form and the way the parts of the body move into each other in a dynamic relationship better than most painters, present or past...” I am interested in these nudes, not his homoerotic images or for that matter, his still lifes.

Francis Cunningham 8/6/09 (UPDATED 8/10/09)


Thursday, August 6, 2009

On Mapplethorpe

UPDATE: Dick found some mistakes in my transcription of his voice mail and I corrected it.


Note the new addition on the side bar, on the right hand side, the widget with Dick's book recommendations. To start with, it contains books, which Dick either mentioned to me in our conversations or handed me to peruse. The first was Kenneth Clark's "The Nude."

It was not the first time that I came across it. In my own research on the body in the films of Claire Denis I came across this title. It's interesting how such a "classic text" can be used even for contemporary film analysis, the text I have to admit I did not use to its full potential.



Later, Dick surprised me a bit, but not really, mentioning The Black Book. I think it's a natural due to Dick's interest in the nude. Here is what he told me he came up with before breakfast, "when often interesting thoughts occur," today and left it on my voice mail, to clarify the reasons behind his interest in Mapplethorpe's photography and in particular in his nudes.

"Whenever the human body appears in life or art, clothed or unclothed, there is an erotic potential. In art, whenever the erotic goes beyond potential to become itself the subject one may easily cross the line between art and pornography.
In art, the nude body is neutral. Sexual differentiation is a fact. Unless the artist has intended the erotic to be the subject, whatever further happens lies in the eye or rather the mind of the beholder.
For myself, the subjects of the nudes are the particular individuals, which I have painted, male and female, having 3 dimensional form in the painting as well as in life, capable of movement, and in their posture expressing the connection between their inner self and its physical manifestation.
I am interested in Mapplethorpe's straightforward nudes, not his homoerotic images or for that matter, his still lifes." Francis Cunningham 8/6/09


Finally, a title that Dick refers to in his writing a lot, but was cautious when mentioning to me for material for the blog. But I think Italian Painters of the Renaissance is a wonderful inspiration.

When on the Renaissance, there was a great show at the Met "Art and Love in Renaissance Italy", which I was lucky to see earlier this year and found it great and on top of that packed with visitors of all ages.

A quick final note to close the circle, Kenneth Clark was a great British historian, but also a TV personality, here is a DVD title, a series that covers a big chunk of European art history.
I understand the show was a hit when it was running.

Monday, August 3, 2009

All nudes are up and a welcome to the new readers.

Image: On the Beach Tom Johnson (1997) oil on linen 55" x 70

Really hot day in New York, with Dick away, in the barn - as he'd probably say, I worked from home on adding a few remaining nudes to the website. It's great to see them all together, but they look so much grander human size and in relation to objects around them and to each other.
Image: Francis Cunningham with "Stephen Ringold" (1983) by Francis Cunningham oil on linen 60" x 56"

We've finally informed Dick's friends via email about this blog and invited them to follow us here.
So, Welcome! Drop us a comment, so we know that you're watching.

Friday, July 24, 2009

New Text: A Vision of the Nude (Abridged for Linea)

We've decided to delete one of our earlier entries containing the essay A Vision of the Nude by Francis Cunningham, because it's too difficult to read as one block of text. At the same time Dick has recently ironed out a more readable version of A Vision of the Nude (Abridged for Linea), which I put up on his website in place of the older version. Enjoy the read. Let us know if you have questions or comments. Dick will try to respond in some form.

"The lack of rigorous training directed toward a specific visual goal – the nude – combined with a view of humanity that saw the model as more than a studio prop for learning to draw, paint and sculpt, led my sculptor colleague, Barney Hodes, and myself to develop new approaches. By focusing on the model, we were working on a nude that was neither idealized and classical nor modernist and anti-classical. It wasn’t a nude people expected or could readily categorize – a Venus or Apollo, say, or a Picasso or a Modigliani. It would be a different nude, and when we founded the New Brooklyn School of Life Drawing, Painting & Sculpture, Inc. (1979-82), we were on our way to articulating what that nude could be." -Francis Cunningham
excerpt from A Vision of the Nude (Abridged for Linea)

Another reason (a less important detail) to remove that previews version of A Vision of the Nude from this blog was the confusion about the authorship of the essay, due to an image of the bust of Francis Cunningham by Barney Hodes, which I'd originally used to break up the text.
Dick still thinks that the bust is a good illustration to his text.


"Francis Cunningham" by Barney Hodes

Here is another bust by the same hand of Barney Hodes:


"Mason Harding" by Barney Hodes. Photograph: by Christopher Wood

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

About this blog and its bloggers.


This blog idea came about after Dick and I, Aneta aka perke, made a short YouTube video on the occasion of his show "Saints" at St. Francis College, few months back in March 2009. We did not know how to best incorporate the video and the new essays that Dick worked on recently, so we started blogging them.
That was the beginning, but now we're hoping to record more than that.
From now on, assisted by Dick, I'll be writing casual entries, accompanied by images, in an attempt to record current developments in Dick's painting studio and country barn, on his website and more.