Jeffrey Gibson, an interdisciplinary artist, curator, and convener celebrated for his work in painting, installation, video, and performance, drew upon Indigenous kinship philosophies to create nashoba holba / wayaha / coyote. A testament to the importance and intelligence of the animal kingdom,…
BRICK BLOSSOM, 1981
Clay, sand, and sticks
Des Moines Art Center Permanent Collections; Purchased with funds from the Gardner and Florence Call Cowles Foundation, 1982.1
TIGHTROPE: NOISELESS 12, 2019
Reclaimed electrical wires and components on panel
Des Moines Art Center Permanent Collections; Purchased with funds from the Edmundson Art Foundation, Inc., 2019.17.a-.zz
STRUCTURIST RELIEF, RED WING #50, 1960-1966
Painted aluminum
Des Moines Art Center Permanent Collections; Gift of Louise R. Noun, 1968.36
Soft Shuttlecock, 1995
Canvas, latex paint, expanded polyurethane foam, polyethylene foam, steel, aluminum, rope, wood, duct tape, fiberglass, and reinforced plastic
Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, Partial gift, Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen, New York 95.4488
The Night Sky Over New York,October 21, 2007, 9 pm, 2007
Bronze and steel
FWA–Foundation for Woman Artists, Belgium
My Couch, 1976
Aluminum, thread, and lead
Collection of Carol Bove and Carson Terry
Crucified Christ, ca. 1300
Walrus ivory with traces of paint and gilding
The Cloisters Collection, 2005 (2005.274)
Statue of a Seated Woman from 101 CE–200 CE. “Here the figure’s head and arms, now missing, were made separately and attached by means of dowels, the holes for which are visible.” This was a kind of template (one of a few) for noblewomen, goddesses, and other exalted female figures.…
From the Sui (581-618 CE) and Tang (618-907 CE) Dynasties.…
I’ve never used an LUT, which stands for “Look Up Table”, and thought I’d give this one a try. The work is Fall by Allison Saar (2011). I cannot wait to take a picture of it when it snows.…
I can stare at photographs of the Nefertiti Bust all day. It’s just so alive. It was carved out of limestone and covered in stucco/plaster. The eyes were made out of quartz and affixed with beeswax. Just so beautiful. Wikipedia has a 3D model you can look at.…
Summary of Wikipedia article: Japanese kimono didn’t have pockets. They needed something to store their stuff in. So they made containers that they hung from their kimonos’ sashes1. The part that secured the container to the sash at the top was called a netsuke (“root attached”.) Here’s a really c…
The secret of life is to have a task, something you devote your entire life to, something you bring everything to, every minute of the day for the rest of your life. And the most important thing is, it must be something you cannot possibly do. Henry Moore Via this collection of lovely talks b…
Carved by someone in Ancient Egypt between 3700–3500 BCE. […] most of them represent nude females with their feminine attributes emphasised by carving and careful drilling. With their slim figures, narrow waists and full hips they present an ideal of the female body that will change little ove…
This beautiful piece was sculpted in Japan around the 13th century and is about three feet tall. The subject is a Zen Buddhist monk Shinchi Kakushin, who lived till the ripe old age of 95. After his death, he was given the title “perfectly awakened national teacher of the Dharma lamp” which is wh…
Hikaru Dorodango means “Shining Mudcake”. Start with a lump of mud and end with a highly polished sphere. Absolutely amazing. Here’s a short NatGeo video about Bruce Gardner, an artist who makes a lot of these. He says it took him 30 tries to make his first perfect one. https://www.youtube.com/wat…
This is one of the most seriously badass representations of Shakti I’ve seen in a while. The goddess is shown seated on obsessed boy (Corpse or Preta). The corpse is placed on a pedestal. The deity has a skeletal body, veins can be seen clearly. Its face is ferocious and wrathful; eyes are pop…
Vox on the history of plain-white Roman statues and how historians attempt plaster reconstructions with the original colors. Like this one:…
Q: Why make art? What do you find by doing it? What does it get you? Serra: I always wanted an alternative existence. And by that I mean I wanted to do something where I could study my own sentiments and experiences. And I found that I can do that in relation to making things and making art in pa…
Makes amazing sculptures. See the ones of Freddie Mercury and Doc Brown posted on social media quite often. Has an active YouTube channel.…
