I just spent the day in Philadelphia and no sooner had I stepped off the train, than I found myself assailed by Art. I don’t mean a few nicely displayed framed pieces, or an aesthetic attempt at Public Art. I mean ART – a huge 50-foot tall sculpture of some cartoon character sitting right there in Philadelphia’s historic railway station.
Whether you love it or hate it, you can’t ignore it, and that is the point. This work by Brooklyn-based artist KAWS is an example of how far art institutions are willing to go to entice the public to come and see their exhibitions. By placing this oversized art piece outside their walls and in the public eye, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts (PAFA) is hoping to nab an otherwise inaccessible demographic. I was recently knocked off my feet by an incredible video of this very trend and just have to share it here. In this case, Amsterdam’s newly renovated Rijksmuseum re-enacted one of Rembrandt’s masterpieces in a local mall. Spectacular! I was grinning for an hour after watching it.
I can’t sign off before mentioning the wonderful ceramic works on exhibit at one of my absolute favorite Philadelphia galleries in Old Town – The Clay Studio. If you are still thinking little floral teacups when someone mentions the word ‘porcelain’, think again. Porcelain is at once exquisitely delicate, incredibly strong and versatile enough to match any artist’s vision. Here are some examples of contemporary porcelain works on display during the Science as Muse exhibition, unfortunately closing today.
(Yep, this last one is a weird one….)
Art and Beyond 