San Francisco Chronicle: Full article here ANGELA DOLAND, Associated Press, 07/16/10 The enigmatic smile remains a mystery, but French scientists say they have cracked a few secrets of the “Mona Lisa.” French researchers studied seven of the Louvre Museum’s Leonardo da Vinci paintings, including the “Mona Lisa,” to analyze the master’s use of successive ultrathin [...]
Archive of posts filed under the Articles category.
Old Masters and Modern Science
I do not post as much as I would like to these days, but do feel compelled to note this recent review by Michael Kimmelman in today’s New York Times, titled Old Masters and Modern Science. It looks at an exhibition at the National Gallery in London about the chemistry of painting. According to Kimmelman, [...]
Ann: Leonardo Reviews Quarterly 1.01 | June 2010
Now online here Leonardo Reviews is the work of an international panel of scholars and professionals invited from a wide range of disciplines to review books, exhibitions, CD-ROMs, Web sites, and conferences. Collectively they represent an intellectual commitment to engaging with the emergent debates and manifestations that are the consequences of the convergence of the [...]
Article: Scale models of museums aid designers
Great article by Kenneth Baker on how museums make models of the museum’s gallery spaces and all the objects that might appear in a given show, using foam core, balsa wood and cardboard. Paintings and photographs get miniaturized to scale using Photoshop. Read more
Article: Mona Lisa smile created using ‘trick’
Austrian neurologists say analysis of the masterpiece shows her face appears to shift depending where a person focuses their gaze. If her eyes are stared at, it appears she has a subtle smile on her lips. But if the onlooker shifts their gaze to her mouth, then the smile disappears. Professor Florian Hutzler, a psychology [...]
Article: Artist Ai Weiwei makes rare U.S. appearance to talk about digital activism
The Los Angeles Times has an article on a visit to the US by Ai Weiwei, a visual artist who has carved out a second career as a digital activist is a prominent online voice against censorship and other forms of oppression in China. Here
William T. Wiley shows open in the SF Bay Area this week
I’ve been looking forward to the William T. Wiley retrospective (What’s It All Mean: William T. Wiley In Retrospect) that opens at the Berkeley Art Museum on March 17th. When I read Kenneth Baker’s review on the retrospective this morning it occurred to me that I fall into the category of those who can’t think [...]
Article: Rights battle over Polaroid sale
LONDON. A group led by a former US magistrate judge has launched an 11th hour campaign to prevent the auction of photographs from the Polaroid collection. Judge Sam Joyner and others are working towards filing a motion for a rehearing at the Minnesota bankruptcy court that awarded sale rights to Sotheby’s last August. A selection [...]
Article: Caravaggio: An Italian Anti-hero’s Time to Shine
When art history is on the front page of the New York Times, it is worth mentioning it here. This article, by Michael Kimmelman, argues that Michaelangelo has been bumped from his perch atop the Italian art charts by Caravaggio. Kimmelman cites a study by Philip Sohm presented at the College Art Association (CAA) meeting [...]
Education Reform debate
One of the most thought-provoking books I’ve read was Other People’s Children: Cultural Conflict in the Classroom by Lisa Delpit. A MacArthur fellow and educator, Delpit argues that many minority students are erroneously labeled “underachievers” due to failures of communication between teachers and students. Delpit’s persuasive arguments for balancing creative thinking with structured learned came [...]
