Posted June 01, 2017in Art News
“Ruptures” is the title of the Des Moines Art Center’s latest show, through Sept. 3. It’s also a keyword in creative theory from Japanese aesthetics, to Hegel’s “Dialectic” and Arthur Koestler’s “Act of Creation.” Creativity depends upon conflict — ideological, cosmic or artistic. An exhibition that directly addresses this point
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Posted May 03, 2017in Art News
The new round of exhibitions in the metro are intergalactic in scope, with dark humor, lawlessness and narrow examinations of the environment thrown in. Who knew that Andy Warhol made a screen print portrait of Albert Einstein in his series “Ten Portraits of Jews of the 20th Century”? Despite all
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Posted April 05, 2017in Art News
“Working Part Time at the Five & Dime” is the first thing that most visitors see entering Chris Vance’s latest show at Moberg Gallery. It is a painting of geometric diagrams on a black background. Yet it’s so unlike Des Moines’ most popular artist that some people check out the
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Posted March 01, 2017in Art News
Many of the famous quotes about gold diminish it. “All that is gold does not glitter” (J.R.R. Tolkein); “Health is real wealth not gold.” (M.H. Gandhi); “Happiness resides not in possessions, and not in gold, happiness dwells in the soul.” (Democritus).” All those great thinkers and humanitarians lost the battle
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Posted February 01, 2017in Art News
Walter Hagen, who dominated golf in the early 20th century, was one of the most quotable athletes of all time. He’s credited for coining the phrases “No one remembers who finished second” and “Life’s short, don’t forget to smell the flowers along the way,” among other popular lines. I was
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Posted January 04, 2017in Art News
Artist of the Year Larassa Kabel transcended Des Moines and her own work this year. She is best known for uber-realistic drawings and paintings — particularly of horses hit by 18-wheelers — and for being chosen to do a Christmas card for the Obama White House. In the last year,
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Posted November 30, 2016in Art News
What a season it’s been. In one month’s time, Bob Dylan won the Nobel Prize for Literature, the Chicago Cubs won the World Series for the first time in 108 years, and Donald Trump was elected President of the United States. In the spirit of unbelievable times, let’s move over
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Posted November 02, 2016in Art News
Gallery Night this fall drew big crowds. Most people credited the marvelous weather, but top-notch shows had something to do with it, too. Artisan Gallery 218 assembled a busy show that covered a range of media. John Evans is showing landscape pastels, Elizabeth Rhoads Read brings some interest paper sculptures.
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Posted October 05, 2016in Art News
Three exhibitions at the Des Moines Art Center present intermingled insights on guns, streets, documentarians and artists. The shows are relatively unheralded. The main attraction featured a recently discovered dead nanny who hadn’t exhibited during her lifetime. Yet together they represent one of this museum’s great strengths — the ability
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Posted August 31, 2016in Art News
Perhaps because, as Picasso remarked, artists are children who never grow up, the art world marks time to a school year calendar. Summer is for vacation, frivolity and fairs. September returns the arts to more serious things. It is no different this year, although the better nature of this month’s
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