ANTLER ART and Georgia O’Keeffe (Day 30 of 365 Days of ART)

Hello Readers.  I hope this Tuesday finds you well.

I have decided to combine a Tuesday Texture post with Day #30 for the 365 Days of art. How does that sound to you?

First, here is my texture shot for this week- looking up at some old bricks and iron at Capital Ale House restaurant in downtown RVA:

Linked to N’s Tuesdays of Texture

 

Next, here is the antler art that was hanging on the walls at Capital Ale House (Downtown location).

We had the entire back room. 🙂

 

Last year this same banquet room had a dozen oil paintings with abstract designs and bold colors (left), but this year we found only two pieces of antler art (right).

Quick art history connection for Day #30 of the 365 Days of Art.

For many of us, when we see antler art, we think of Georgia O’Keeffe.

Sure, we think of O’Keeffe’s giant vagina flowers and her colorful building depictions.  Some of us might even recall Jesse’s (Breaking Bad) visit the O’Keeffe museum in NM, but her works from New Mexico always come to my mind.

You see, O’Keeffe had lived in New York City and she eventually relocated to New Mexico (but she lived all around the United States, residing in Virginia and the Carolinas).  When she was in New Mexico, she went out walking and driving and found she was inspired by nature.

I think if you asked her during her New York City days if she would enjoy painting skeletal remains she would likely say no.  However, imagine moving to a completely different place from where you have once lived.  Imagine going from tall buildings and concrete to a desert area with colorful earth.  In this new environment, the artist tapped into a new side of creativity.  As she soaked up the beauty around her during walks and drives to find painting areas, she found animal remains along the way.  She noted that they had an energy to them; consequently, immersed in this setting she began to paint antlers, skulls, and landscapes.

Here is a brief O’Keeffe life timeline:

In 1915, O’Keeffe had a charcoal phase where she did not use color. She experimented with swirls and design.

In 1919, she caught the Spanish flu and went to NYC so Stieglitz could help take care for her in Manhattan. Later that year, she returned to oil painting  and in 1924 she married Stieglitz and against his wishes, she painted scenes of NYC.

In 1927, she had a lump in her breast removed.

In 1929, she fell in love with the landscapes out west and said, “I never feel at home in the East like I do out here. . . . ”

In summer 1930, she spent the summer in New Mexico and created 30 paintings in under 90 days.

In 1932, O’Keeffe had a breakdown (was hospitalized too) sparked after there were problems with her commission to paint a mural in the women’s powder room at the new Radio City Music Hall. The canvas was pulling away and there were drying issues… but her breakdown was also related to the toxic relationship with Stieglitz and maybe even had to do with health issues and from burnout.

From 1934 to 1946, O’Keeffe spends half her time in NYC and the other half in NM, and she said her time in NM was, “burning anxiety away beneath the desert sun.”

In 1946, Stieglitz died from stroke and three years later, in 1949, O’Keeffe moved to NM for good.  (O’Keeffe’s on and off 20 year relationship with Stieglitz was up and down and he eventually cheated on her and that hurt, but it also helped bring the ball and chain bond to a close.)

In 1965, she painted Sky Above Clouds IV. It was an enormous painting: 8 ‘ by 24 ‘   – and it was her largest painting.  It is now at the Art Institute of Chicago.

O’Keeffe’s largest painting reminds me of plant cells – can you see the similarity?

In 1973, with eyesight problems, she worked with clay (with the help of a special young assistant who really helped her create and stay fresh).

In 1985, President Ronald Reagan awarded O’Keeffe the National Medal of Arts

In 1986, O’Keeffe died.

If you want to read more about O’Keeffe, check out THE ART STORY: “Through intense observation of nature, experimentation with scale, and nuanced use of line and color, O’Keeffe’s art remained grounded in representation even while pushing at its limits. From the 1940s through the 1960s in particular, O’Keeffe’s art was outside the mainstream as she was one of the few artists to adhere to representation in a period when others were exploring non-representation or had abandoned painting altogether.”

Okay – wishing everyone a great Tuesday.  I am still going to do “digests” for some of the 365 days of art, but because someone sent me a note sharing that they really liked the individual daily posts, I thought I would include some of those too.  See you tomorrow!

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