Quote of the Day

"Every intelligent painter carries the whole culture of modern painting in his head. It is his real subject, of which everything he paints is both an homage and a critique, and everything he says is a gloss.” - Robert Motherwell
“Sister Wendy Beckett has transformed public appreciation of art through her astonishing knowledge, insight and passion for painting and painters.” This set includes Sister Wendy's Story of Painting, Sister Wendy's Odyssey, and Sister Wendy's Grand Tour. Simultaneously delightful and scholarly--this is a must have for anyone interested in art history.
"Every intelligent painter carries the whole culture of modern painting in his head. It is his real subject, of which everything he paints is both an homage and a critique, and everything he says is a gloss.” - Robert Motherwell
“Most painting in the European tradition was painting the mask. Modern art rejected all that. Our subject matter was the person behind the mask.” - Robert Motherwell
Brois Kustodiev (click photo for larger image)The following link will take you to an older--but nonetheless interesting--article, on the CIA’s use of artists’ works as propaganda, during the Cold War:
“The Central Intelligence Agency used American modern art - including the works of such artists as Jackson Pollock, Robert Motherwell, Willem de Kooning and Mark Rothko - as a weapon in the Cold War. In the manner of a Renaissance prince - except that it acted secretly - the CIA fostered and promoted American Abstract Expressionist painting around the world for more than 20 years...."
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Considering that the general American public was not particlarly interested in modern art (or the work of the postmodernists noted above), the choice, on the part of the CIA, to use them actually demonstrates a certain sensitivity to the work that hadn’t yet been instilled in the population at large, in this country. Abstract Expressionism was certainly different from Soviet art. A documentary was released in 1995 that focused on this topic. The title is “Hidden Hands: Painting with the Enemy” and it’s listed on the IMDB. But, I haven’t been able to locate it. Maybe you’ll have better luck!
Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin (click photo for larger image)
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