It's Art Time

Three New York art museums

take on the complex topic of the Caribbean

Agostino Brunias, A Planter and His Wife,

Attended by a Servant, ca. 1780.

From “Counterpoints” at El Museo del Barrio.

YALE CENTER FOR BRITISH ART,

NEW HAVEN, PAUL MELLON COLLECTION

The first thing to understand about “Caribbean: Crossroads of the World,” the cluster of exhibitions opening concurrently at El Museo del Barrio, the Studio Museum in Harlem, and the Queens Museum of Art in June, is that these aren’t shows of Caribbean art. They’re shows of art about the Caribbean.

That distinction is crucial, says Museo del Barrio curator Elvis Fuentes, a driving force behind the landmark project. In the planning for more than five years, “Caribbean” is an unprecedented collaborative effort to consider the multiple historical, cultural, and social forces that shaped not only 28 countries but also their diasporas in North and South America and beyond.  Read more.

Not all art is catches the eye . . .

Relax, it's a sculpture. 'How I Roll' is a modified

Piper Seneca airplane rigged to rotate 360 degrees

above the sidewalk.

The piece will be on display near

Central Park until Aug. 26. 

http://www.msn.com/

And, not all comes from the US . . .

On a hot afternoon in December 2011, artist Cai Guo-Qiang set off a series of explosions in the desert outside of Doha, Qatar. Plumes of black smoke made patterns against the stark blue sky, and a rainbow appeared over the landscape. Scheduled to celebrate the opening of his retrospective at Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, Cai Guo-Qiang’s daytime fireworks could have been mistaken for a military maneuver or a terrorist attack given the event’s location, in the Middle East. In minutes, the display was over, embedded in the memories of the audience on hand.   Read more.

Cai Guo-Qiang’s Black Ceremony, 2011,

commissioned by Mathaf:

Arab Museum of Modern Art, Doha, Qatar.

LIN YI/COURTESY CAI STUDIO/COMMISSIONED

BY MATHAF: ARAB MUSEUM OF MODERN ART,

DOHA, QATAR

And, not all modern art makes sense . . .

Linder, Tormentil, 2011,

duratrans on lightbox,

146.5 x 106.9 cm / 57 5/8 x 42 ins,

edition 1/2 + 1 AP, (MA-STERL-00550) 



Or, is much different than a photograph . . .

Cindy Sherman. Untitled #466. 2008.

Chromogenic color print,

8' 1 1/8 x 63 15/16" (246.7 x 162.4 cm).

The Museum of Modern Art, New York.

Acquired through the generosity

of Robert B. Menschel.

© 2011 Cindy Sherman