Interesting Artist

Since I've been lately immersing myself in all things art (even more than usual), I thought I'd share this really interesting video I came across, about a French graffiti artist who calls him/herself Princess Hijab, and whose work relates directly to the ban on burqas in France, but also speaks quite well about the enduring and surprising power of the image in contemporary society, something I think we often underestimate in our visually-overloaded daily lives.

http://www.babelgum.com/5004778/princess-hijab.html

New York!

I'm back in the Big City, starting my foray into the exciting world of grad school - wish me luck, more updates soon!

(above is a photo of Duke House, home to my school, the NYU Institute of Fine Arts, image courtesy of their website)

synesthesia

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHnnGHgeyC0&feature=sub

I've been meaning to post this video forever, it's a really cool take on what it's like to have synesthesia, which is basically a blending of different senses. Some people can see sounds, taste colors, hear tastes. I have the most common form of synesthesia, where I see letters and numbers in distinct colors.

Apparently about 80% of synesthetes are artists, no surprises there.

sunsets and soirees

Some glamorous shots from our end-of-month festa on the roof of the Guggenheim, along with a particularly amazing sunset in Venice.

Summertime in Vermont

Glorious!

we no speak Americano!

After five incredible months, it's finally here: my last day in Italy. I can't really express what an inspiring, exciting time it has been, especially this past month spent in Venice meeting the most amazing people and spending my days with Picasso, Braque, Kandinsky, Delaunay, Ernst and a host of old friends over at Peggy's house.

As much as I'm sad to go, I'm excited to be headed toward a really exciting new beginning, the start of grad school in New York this fall! I am definitely ready to get back to the states, to home and family, and I know I'll be back in Europe soon.

After one last hurrah on Campo with everyone, I'll be boarding a night-train to Rome, where I'll arrive tomorrow and get on a flight to London and Boston. Thanks for sticking me throughout this great new blogging experience - I've really enjoyed it, and I'll definitely continue once I'm home!

xo

Peggy Who?

I've given a couple of public talks now on Peggy Guggenheim, and I have to say, she was one firecracker of a lady - in the museum she's so very present, it honestly feels like she's just going to walk around a corner.




What an energetic, passionate and flamboyant woman. It was her friendships and relationships with some of Modern Art's most important players that led to a collection that is incredibly comprehensive, representing equally from the ranks of the Surrealists and from the abstract artists.



She's equally famous now for her sartorial choices. The iconic batwing glasses were designed by American artist Edward Melcarth (above). Below, a relatively recent Harper's Bazaar editorial inspired by aforementioned glasses (courtesy harpersbazaar.com)

I ended up sharing a boat with her former neighbors a couple of weeks ago, and they remember Peggy in her 70s, sunbathing on the roof of her palazzo in a bikini, surrounded by handsome young men. She always took an evening ride in her private gondola around Venice.

I really recommend reading her autobiography, titled Out of this Century. It's quite a rollicking read to say the least! Below is a picture of Peggy's onetime New York gallery space, courtesy of guggenheim.com:


The other two images are from the Guggenheim and Rijksmuseum websites.