Modern Art Kimono

My collection of 'Modern Art Kimono' will be shown at the Portland Japanese Garden in October/November 2015. I'll be working on the exhibition with co-curator Diane Durston, the Arlene Schnitzer Curator of Culture, Art, & Education, during the next year to create the show. This is an exciting development for me, and I love any opportunity to show my collection. You can view some of the kimono that will be included on my Web site: lorenzhermsen.com/kimono.
   The Japanese Garden Web site is here: japanesegarden.com

lorenzhermsen.com/lh_collection

Beautiful Old Technology

In my home town, Independence, Iowa, there is an old grain mill on the Wapsipinicon River that has been preserved. It's one of the few remaining in the state, and one of the largest. It is full of wonderful old, mostly wood technology for processing various types of grain. 
http://www.buchanancountyhistory.com/mill.php

A grain-grinding wheel, about 4' in diameter. 

There were also some great old logos, some of which I remembered.

lorenzhermsen.com/lh_collection

Painted Houses of Burkina Faso

I'm very tempted to do some painting like this on the side of my garage...

To read the article and see more images of these houses, go here: 

Painted Houses of Burkina Faso

Cedar Rapids Museum of Art (con't)

Mauricio Lasansky (1914-2012) was an Argentine printmaker and teacher who taught at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, 30 miles from Cedar Rapids. How his work ended up in the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art rather than the excellent University Museum of Art is a mystery, but I'm glad it has a home somewhere. This museum has the floor of a whole wing dedicated to his work, and rightly so. 

Darwin, 1985, Intaglio print

La Lagrima, 1945, Intaglio print

Carl Van Vechten (1880-1964) was born and raised in Cedar Rapids. He became the first American critic for modern dance for the New York Times. In 1930, he began photographing his famous friends and acquaintances, many that he had promoted in the 1920's from the Harlem Renaissance. Much of his photographic collection was donated by him to the Cedar Rapids Community School District, and are being exhibited at the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art. 

Katherine Dunham, 1940

Pearl Primus, dancing the Hard Times Blues, 1943

lorenzhermsen.com/lh_collection

Cedar Rapids: Who'd a Thought It?

I have just returned from 10 days in Iowa visiting family. Each time I go, I try to take in a cultural gem that I haven't seen before. This bank I had seen from the exterior, but finally was able to experience it from the inside: Louis Sullivan's 'Jewel Box' bank in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The building functioned as a bank until 2008, when it sustained major damage in the flood of that year. Nearly $1 million had been spent on its restoration in 1991. Its fate was uncertain until it was bought in 2012, restored again, and is now an Italian restaurant/bar called Popoli. Most of the original fixtures remain, as well as the murals and stained glass. The main vault, with a 22-inch thick round door, is now a private dining room, and a smaller vault is the wine cellar. My sister, brother-in-law, and I had dinner there on June 19 and the food was excellent. If you are ever in Cedar Rapids, it's worth a visit, as is the Museum of Art (see below)

Cedar Rapids also has a very good, small art museum. It's virtues include a large Grant Wood collection (he was from here), and an entire wing dedicated to the print maker and teacher Mauricio Lasansky (to be covered in my next blog).

The museum was showing of Grant Wood's early work, before he developed the trademark style he is known for. This earlier painting belongs to the American Impressionist movement, as he was heavily influenced by the French Impressionist art he saw on his three trips to Europe in the early 1900's. However, on his last trip in the late 20's, he visited Germany and was exposed to both Northern Renaissance painting and the current art movement called New Reality; when he returned home to Iowa he began painting in the style with which we are most familar, as in this painting called 'Young Corn':

His earlier work in the American Impressionist style is quite accomplished, and often overlooked:

Van Antwerp Place, 1922-23

Gate in the Wall, 1920

Yellow Door, St. Émilion, 1924

Amber (Indian Creek – Fall), 1927

To be continued...

lorenzhermsen.com

Make Art, Not War

Syrian artist Tammam Azzam and his personal Gustav Klimt’s “The Kiss” on war-torn building in Syria.

http://loves.domusweb.it/freedom-graffiti/

A Marriage of Two Cultures

In my never-ending search for kimono to add to my Modern Art Kimono collection, I came across this one: Picasso Wedding Kimono

Is it beautiful, or just bizarre? You decide.

Charles James

I would love to be able to see this show at the Met:
Charles James at the Met

And here's a lengthy article about him from the New Yorker:
Dressing Up

I love his description of the Taxi Dress, a wrap dress, the last one shown on the Met page. He says it's designed to be gotten out of fast enough to have sex in the back of a NY taxi cab!

Full Circle

In 1973, when I visited the Alhambra in Granada, Spain with my sister Judie, we were fascinated by the geometric tiles there, and knew that they were designed using mathematics—though exactly how, we weren't sure. 

Last week, at Monograph Bookwerks, a bookstore of used art books in Portland, I discovered that they had just purchased an old library of textile-related books. I was able to look through them only briefly, but found a book from the 70's called 'The Language of Pattern', which explains the mathematics behind Islamic pattern design. It's dense. I was able to create this design based on the hexagram—pretty simple, but it's a start. I wish I had more time to devote to studying this book in a concentrated way, and at some point in the future I will. It should be very useful in creating new scarf designs.

lorenzhermsen.com

Creating Something Beautiful Out of Nothing

Using different types of local mud, dirt and dust, Japanese artist Yusuke Asai created an immersive mural that covered the walls and ceiling of a school classroom in a remote village in India. - See more at: http://www.junk-culture.com/2014/05/artist-uses-mud-and-dirt-to-create.html#sthash.7IgEDHQA.dpuf

Springtime in Portland

I have never lived anywhere that spring was more glorious than Portland, OR. Each week beginning around March 1, something new comes into bloom. The sheer number of trees in the city, budding their bright green tiny leaves, is delightful. Here's proof:

Portland has a number of HUGE trees that have been designated Heritage Trees; they are protected. Here's my favorite, a beech that must be 8' in diameter.

http://lorenzhermsen.com/lh_collection.html

Lisa Kaser

Yesterday I went to an artist talk by my friend Lisa Kaser, at Waterstone Gallery in Portland. Lisa creates wonderful, quirky, endearing, and a bit disturbing figures from found objects, wool felt that she makes herself, and beeswax. I love her new work, which is larger than her previous figures; these are about 18" high. Lisa also does prints, wall hangings, and has illustrated a Korean children's book. She's a true original and a treasure. She's incredibly prolific and has made her living from her art for some time.  waterstonegallery.com

Ray Morimura

Last evening, I had the privilege to be invited to the premiere of a show of Ray Morimura's woodblock prints at the Portland Japanese Garden. I have always loved block prints, and his are exceptional. 

I highly recommend the exhibition, which lasts until May 4, 2014: Morimura Prints @ Japanese Garden

http://lorenzhermsen.com/lh_collection.html