Brentford # 11 - You should watch
In which we distinguish between high art and low art
We still haven't watched Tiger King. It sounds very sensationalized. Like a Jerry Springer show trying to be a documentary. Sloth's reaction confirmed the insensitivity of the show. I've even heard audience reactions are having real consequences in the lives of the people in the show, that people from the show are getting harrassed. I told Sloth that and he hasn't watched an episode since, but I don't know if it's because Brentford was dismissive, or if it was because of what I said, or something else.
Have a look-see:
This recreate-art-at-home challenge was the best thing I found on the internet this week.
A quarantine theme…
A dog theme…
Simple but clever:
Just too good…
The bread loaves! LOL!
I think this is my favorite.
Is she wearing a jock strap?
There are so many good ones!
And isn’t this one just definitive of the current “mood”?
Oh my…
I also decided to contribute using Egon Schiele’s “Youth In Purple Cassock with Folded Hands” Just made one specific change. I like to call my version, “Make that call”.
And that’s about all the art I did this week!
Thank you to Clara Parkes of The Daily Respite for cluing me in! Here are many, many more and I think this is the actual source of all this quarantine art creativity. This article in The Met explains:
Like many cultural institutions, the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles is closed due to the spread of the coronavirus. But during this challenging time, the Getty has found a way to keep people engaged with their art—even though they can’t see it in person. They’ve challenged their social media followers to “recreate a work of art with objects (and people)” from the comfort of their own homes. And the internet did not disappoint.
After the museum shared some examples of this art challenge with its own staff, Twitter users began replying to the Getty with their artistic recreations. Some used their pets as stand-ins for the human subjects in art history, and everyone had to get creative about how they saw everyday items. One person used a dustpan to represent a blue house found in a Chagall painting, while another used half a dozen rolls of toilet paper to mimic the poofy shape of a powdered wig in an 18th-century Parisian painting. These types of recreations will make you laugh, and then they’ll have you looking around your own home to see what you could conjure up for a masterpiece from history.
The Getty isn’t the only account that’s promoting this type of creative challenge. They actually got the idea from Tussen Kunst & Quarantaine, a Dutch Instagram whose name means “between art and quarantine.” They have been sharing homemade recreations for weeks now, as has Covid Classics—a popular Instagram featuring “four roommates who love art… and are indefinitely quarantined.”
Coping:
This week I heard an acquaintance lost their father to COVID-19. I know this is just the beginning of hearing about the people we know who have died from it. I’m calling my friends and family more and more. Video chat and even just the sound of a voice is really great. It can all be a bit overwhelming, just the waiting and wondering. It makes me nervous - I worry about what other bad news is headed my way, and not if, but when. But I’m working on my thoughts and keeping active and practicing meditation and breath work. I learned it is helpful to practice the breathing (breathe in for 4, hold for 3, exhale for 8, modify as needed) often so when you really need it you will automatically call it up as an option. Like muscle memory, I guess. It all helps…if I remember to do it, and I’ve been remembering more lately. The other day I noticed it wasn’t a challenge to have good posture. Like my body was just standing up straight automatically. Good posture has been a life-long challenge for me, and I’m so pleased something is working to create some positive changes. It was only one day, but it was something. The mind-body connection is incredible, and there are ways to really do some good during these difficult times.
Bend your ear:
I have been a fan of R.E.M. for many years and this new song is quite poignant, rather soothing and very suitable right now. Enjoy “No Time For Love Like Now”
Stay safe, stay home, and call them. You know who.
Jenny