Left: Cindy Sherman, #199 (1989)
Above: Cindy Sherman, #199 as exhibited at the Bremen Kunsthalle, Bremen, Germany.
Welcome to The Art Section
Time and place have always been important signifiers for just about everything, but they are particularly important when thinking about and viewing artworks. The context of the space in which the artwork is experienced shapes the meaning.
Last year at this time I was in Bremen, Germany where I discovered to my delight in a gallery of the Kunsthalle a room filled with Northern European landscapes and portraiture. Intermixed with these paintings are a few poignant works by contemporary artists. There is a Cindy Sherman hung above a Rembrandt, her self-portrait in a white bonnet in much the same pose as the figure in the oil painting beside her on the wall of the gallery. In this same gallery whose wall is filled with landscapes and seascapes, I saw a wonderful video work. Mixed in with the mostly seventeenth century works is a vertical video work by the Bremen artist Marikke Heinz-Hoek. I am delighted to present her work in this issue.
Floriana Piqué traveled to ‘s-Hertogenbosch in the Netherlands to see the work of Hieronymus Bosch in the town where he made his paintings five hundred years ago. This exhibition at the Het Noordbrabants Museum presented an opportunity to better understand and celebrate the artist in his hometown.
Aimee Rubensteen writes for us about the fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi and his exhibition at the Jewish Museum in New York City, his hometown. Aimee is concerned with what it means to see Mizrahi and experience his vision in the context of this particular institution.
It is important to think about works of art in the context of where they were made, where they are shown, and to celebrate artists where they live and work.
Cheers,
Deanna
Deanna Sirlin
Editor-in-Chief
The Art Section
Deanna Sirlin is an artist. Her recent book is She's Got What It Takes: American Women Artists In Dialogue was Published by Charta Art Books 2013.