Positively 4th Street

I am a great fan of the numerous examples where Art and Science intersect and in so doing become indistinguishable.  I imagine there is a word to describe just that in another language, and if anyone knows that, please send that on to me.  I recently came across another such example on social media and am happy to pass this on:

These were created from derivations of Fibonacci's formula.  You might not recognize Fibonacci by name, but it was his formula that DaVinci used 500 years after Fibonacci to create the Golden Ratio.

It is here that esoteric formulas manifest into something beautiful or engaging or just plain cool.  'Art' graduates from something that engages more than just the visual.  I maintain that one of the barometers for a successful piece is how many senses are engaged.  These synesthetic experiences can create a powerfully emotional response.  When looking at a landscape can you feel the warmth of the sun- or smell the air... dampness,  a breeze, sadness, elation.  Does it create a feeling and resonate on a level that you can't quite understand?   It's revelatory when a piece resonates.  We don't have to understand why.  It's enough to enjoy it, but sometimes learning about a piece can add to the experience.  The same holds true for music, food, sculpture, smells, photographs, etc...

One of the great formulas that seems to continually manifest itself in artistic ways was discovered around 1,000 years ago by a guy named Fibonacci.  He was a mathematician. 

We create our world by how we interpret it.  It isn't what it is- It is how we see it (as the adage goes).
There is an argument that art requires a viewer.  It is created by our participation and would not exist if we did not view it.  I know that sounds like we are getting into an episode of the Big Bang Theory and Schrodinger's Cat- but maybe we are.  Maybe art requires a relative experience or relationship between the viewer and the piece. 

Chaos, Turbulence, and Van Gogh's Mystery

One of our brains greatest gifts is the ability to recognize patterns.  It enables us to survive, compete, and navigate our world.  It helps us to remember our friends, favorite foods, avoid dangers, read, and stop at a crosswalk.  One of the patterns we see every day is turbulence.  We see it in the wind on a pond, clouds moving in the sky, and cream in coffee.  I would venture to guess that most of us take these simple swirls for granted each day, but they are incredibly complicated things.  These structures give physicists problems and have proven difficult to express mathematically. 

While studying stars with the Hubble telescope in 2004, a group of scientists saw eddy's of dust and gas around a star that reminded them of Van Gogh's work.  After studying these eddy's and comparing them to Starry Night- they were able to realize that he was able to visually express with paint a remarkably high level of scientifically measured proficiency.  

Natalya St. Clair, author of The Art of Mental Calculation, addresses this subject in a short Ted ed video here: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/the-unexpected-math-behind-van-gogh-s-starry-night-natalya-st-clair






The intersection of Science and Art reassures me that many school curriculum's would benefit from teaching the two together.  Jackson Pollocks paintings and fractals; and  Fibonacci and Da Vinci to name a few.  The impressionists masterfully worked on the study of light and it's motion.  They manipulated paint on a canvas in a way that exposed the mechanics of our brain.  They tricked us into seeing cascading energy and light as it radiates, moves and fades away.   They created a dynamic experience out of static objects.  It's wonderful magic.  I hope you enjoy the Ted ed video.  

I'll leave you with a quote from Rothko: 

'A painting is not about an experience. It is an experience.'

yours

Trace

When the Walls Speak

 Leonardo da Vinci’s Lady with an Ermine, 

discovered by French scientist Pascal Cotte. Photograph: Lumiere Technology

I hear many phrases over and again in an art gallery.  Sparing you the more basic ones-  'If this piece could talk' is one I enjoy.  A variation on if these walls could speak... What if they could talk?  What if Hemingway's typewriter still holds hidden information.  Or if Gandhi's glasses still keep the memory of what they reflected.  Does the mythical spear head remember Achilles heel?  One of the joys of dealing with Art and Antiques is that among other things they are also historic documents.  They are cultural reflections, and they are fully imbedded in the society and culture in which they were originally created.

They may not be able to tell you the conversations they witnessed, or the events that took place in their presence, the plotting, intrigue, love, drama, or even just rudimentary events that swirled around them; however, a discovery by Pascal Cotte has helped to unveil the process by which they were created. 

This technology pioneered in France, called the LAM (layered amplification method) does just that.  It is able to record, analyze, and display each layer of paint on a canvas in the order in which it was painted.  In the photographs above you can see the evolution of da Vinci's painting of Cecelia Gallerani.  It reveals the process, evolution, and decisions the master made in this creation- and appears to do so without harming the painting.  I look forward to the revelations this technology will reveal- and hope that Apple will create an app for us all to use. 

Anatomy of Museum Bee Installation

I am excited to visit Omaha, Nebraska this week.  It is easily of my favorite towns.  The people are incredibly gracious, the development of the downtown is impressive, and the food/ culture/ and sites are interesting and refined.  I am exhibiting at the Lauritzen Garden Antique Show.  So- in preparation for the show I have included part of what we do here in the shop to prepare.  This Gif shows the initial preparations and creation of our 'Bee' wall.  For reference: this is six feet in diameter and made from pieces we create from antique frames.  For more information on our bees visit our website here. 

Behind the Scenes

Frequently I find paintings in distress.  There's nothing wrong with the paintings- the condition is fine.   In fact, they are typically in perfect shape.  The problem is that they are frequently housed in the most horrible, terrible, no good, very bad... frames (to steal from the children's book title).  It's often really difficult to see that they are anything at all. 

For that reason, a quick visit to the gallery usually reveals a number of paintings floating around without frames. You will find them leaning under tables, perched on chairs, nestled into a plate stand, hung on the wall, and even stacked up waiting for a frame. 

After all, No frame is better than a bad frame! 

I buy a lot of antique frames for this very purpose.  Not that there's anything wrong with new frames, but I prefer the old ones.  They integrate much more effectively and anything with patina and character is usually much better than not (wrinkles and gray hair included).   So I've detailed a few pieces that have been in the gallery for a while- and the frames that I think will bring out the better qualities of both the painting as well as the frame. 

One wonderful by-product from this process is that we recycle the left over pieces of frames to create  our 'Bee's' (pictured bottom right)

Introduction to Antiques: Part 1

One of my first assignments as an intern at Sotheby's in 1992 was to catalog an English chest of drawers.  It wasn't a terribly fancy or complicated piece, but furniture was foreign to me and it took much longer than I expected.  What took me fifteen minutes over twenty years ago, now takes a quick glance and a few seconds. 

The heads of the English Furniture Department at that time were Larry Sirolli and Peter Lang.  The patience Peter and Larry demonstrated while I ''worked'' for them was monumental.  My next assignment came quickly- and they led me to believe that I was to catalog the Important English Furniture Sale.  One of two major English furniture sales they had each year in New York City at that time.  After a quick drive from 72nd street up to the warehouse in Harlem- I was surrounded with 375 sublime items in need of classification.  Larry and Peter coached me through that first catalog- which really meant that I mostly wrote down what they dictated- and with flashlight in hand they both kindly pointed out the subtle details that distinguished them from others.

Since then, I have been searching for an easy introduction on the subject.  I figured there must be a course or book on Antiques that can get you started, but for the most part this knowledge is one that tends to be passed down orally through the ages.  Unlike Art History, which is part of the scholastic curriculum from Middle School on- Antiques and the decorative arts haven't had mainstream advantages.

Keeping with these oral traditions, and with a grateful nod to Peter and Larry, we have put together a series of video's on Antiques.  My principle interest is to communicate the trends and styles as simply as possible.  We hope that you enjoy the talks, and more importantly-- that these help you to experience the beauty, grace, and art hidden in these wonderful pieces.

Click Here to go to the first video.  

Antique Academy: Anglo Indian Tea Caddy

Trace Talks: Video Series!

We understand that you all can't all make it to the shop to visit,   so we are delighted to bring our talks to you.  We plan to cover antiques and fine art and introduce specific pieces in this 'behind the scenes' tour of the art world.

 

In our first talk, I'm delighted to introduce you to a piece that I have only seen once before in twenty years, and haven't had the opportunity to handle until now.  This is a rare object made in India under British rule from the 1830's.  Click here to go to the video on our YouTube Channel:

http://youtu.be/vFlE_-RP3lA




Look for more Trace Talks in the near future on our Blog/ and other Social Media outlets.  If you would like to be added to our mailing list send us a note at trace@tracemayer.com