According to the Museum of Modern Art, decalcomania has its origins in the 18th century but would later be popularized by surrealists like Max Ernst and Oscar Dominguez. I think the origins go back much further perhaps as early as … Continued
Even before Ulysses ports were starting points for adventure and welcoming sites of homecoming. They have been the nexus of cultures. New ideas arrive as others are exported. Life is sustained and enriched as trade passes through them. Inevitably, they … Continued
We have a preference for certain aesthetic patterns. In decorations we enjoy symmetry because regular repeated patterns do not distract us with irregular interruptions in the pattern. The reverse is true for paintings or sculpture. In a painting or sculpture … Continued
Monet’s late water lily paintings demonstrated nature’s capacity to inspire abstraction for later 20th century abstract painters. While Cezanne complimented Monet for his color harmonies he bemoaned his lack of formal structure. Monet did use classic serpentine designs but, he … Continued
In the multi millennial pursuit of representing our world in 2 dimensions we have devised mathematical formulas like Euclid’s theorems on perspective and Brunelleschi’s demonstrations of linear perspective. We have used mirrors, viewing windows subdivided with a cross grid of … Continued
In the late 18th century John Robert Cozens discovered he could make abstract patterns that could be perceived as landscapes. His insight was a hundred years premature. By the late 19th century Impressionists were already departing from their original agenda … Continued