RAVENS, CROWS, CORBIES…ALL THE SAME THING

Things can take a great juxtaposition in your life. These two crows sat side by side eating a piece of meat of some sort. After reading about a “murder of crows” and why they are named such as a group, (my blog of Aug. 28, 09)  I’ve been fascinated by them. These two sat side by side and shared their find companionably.

The photo below, from my new favorite artist, Chester Arnold, who confronts the exploitation of earth in his work, also provided a poem about ravens to accompany his painting entitled Two Ravens.  His two ravens are present in a desolated, destroyed, defoliated landscape, directly contributed to by the hand of man. He may be suggesting that man and raven are similar predators? My photo was taken the morning before I visited his exhibit at the Nevada Museum of Art.

In any case, I thought this old English poem quite an appropriate accompaniment to his painting. This painting is still for sale from the Catharine Clark Gallery in San Francisco.

TWO CORBIES

As I was walking all alane,
I heard two corbies making a mane:
The tane into the other say,
“Where sall we gang and dine today?”

“In behint yon auld fail dyke,
I wot there lies a new slain knight:
And naebody kens that he lies there,
But his hawk, his hound and lady fair.

“His Hound is to the hunting gane,
His hawk to fetch the wild-fowl hame,
His lady ta’en another mate,
So we may mak our dinner sweet.

“Ye’ll sit on his white hause-bane,
And I’ll pick out his bonny blue een:
Wi ae lock o’ his gowden hair
We’ll thick our nest when it grows bare.

“Mony a one for him makes mane,
But nane sall ken where he is gane:
O’er his white banes when they lie bare,
The wind sall blaw for evermair.”

Anonymous

NEVADA MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS

Yesterday, I visited the Nevada Museum of Fine Arts. Its changed considerably since my last visit. Bigger, new location in a beautiful modern building. No pictures are allowed inside but the roof sculpture garden and outside pieces will give you an idea of the quality of this museum.

This rock man seems to be doubled over in pain. A closeup even shows his rock fingers.

This beautiful sculpture is huge, as you can imagine. Remembering that outdoor work has to be weatherproof, it amazes me the physical work and ingenuity of pieces like this one.

I love the Inhale Exhale polished stone bench. You can sit on them and have lunch. They are of course best viewed without picnickers, but people enjoy sitting outside on this unique usable art.

The following piece was purchased and moved from Burning Man. (Not this year’s event.) The docent explained to me they wished they could have purchased the stacked semi trucks sculpture but it was just too big. The semi’s were open to climbing and kids were all over the thing. Makes me want to renew my commitment to attend  Burning Man some year.

An inside exhibit featured a metal artist named Bentson. He had his whole studio on display, with videos on  how he works. He calls himself a “blue collar artist” since he welds and hefts and brazes metal into pieces like this one from the roof top.

I liked this piece of his  with the buildings as a back drop.

This stone sculpture holds water in a narrow rivulet and birds fly in and out to drink from it.

A driftwood horse? It only appears to be driftwood. It is made of bronze and imitates driftwood. Driftwood for a permanent exhibit would be vulnerable to hands and weathering.

Reno’s downtown lampposts are artistically designed and beautiful. This one identifies the Arts District. Cool!

When I first looked at the indentation on this bench, it struck me as a spot for a shorter child to sit. Except, on looking closer, I see it was designed to miss the electric plug. Usable art design always tickles me.

From the roof, the views of Reno are refreshing, with the hills all around. Very enjoyable. Even so, the Museum has a Picasso, a Lichtenstein and many innovative and questing pieces. But one room was devoted to Chester Arnold. The exhibit is named, On Earth As It Is In Heaven. An amazing collection of mostly room sized paintings, vivid and thought provoking. His pieces have a message about America that  speaks to our proclivity for altering the natural landscape and questioning if we balance our exploitation with what is good for humanity. This exhibit is a must see.
http://www.ten2ten.com/arnold/index1.html
His website has little icons that get bigger when you click on them. They don’t reveal the power of his room  sized pieces.