Stewart's Strokes : Travel

7/5/2014

This past Monday I returned from a week long trip to North Carolina. From Wake Forest to Wilmington, there was evidence of a community of artists. Sculptures throughout the town and mini galleries setup above coffee shops were just a couple of things that intrigued me. A day at the North Carolina Museum of Art was a day very well spent. There were two buildings as well as an outdoor exhibit to explore, all for free.

The first building included many of the masters, of which I have only seen images projected on a wall during Art History courses, as well as sections of: European, Judaic, American, Ancient American, Rodin, Portraits, Ancient Egyptian, Classical, African, and Modern and Contemporary. The second included art of North Carolina residents and more Contemporary art, as well as education studios and special exhibitions.

I apologize in advance for the quality of the images. I was using my non-smart phone.

Jaume Plensa, Spanish

Doors of Jerusalem, 2006

Polyester resin, stainless steel, light

Patrick Dougherty, American

Out of the Box 2009

Red maple saplings

Kehinde Wiley, American

Judith and Holofernes, 2012

Oil on linen

Michael Richards, Jamaican American

Tar Baby vs. St. Sebastian 1999

Resin, fiberglass, steel, paint

Ralph Helmick/ Stuart Schechter, American

Rabble 2003

Jorg Lozek, German

Der Siebenschlafer 2005

Oil on canvas

Donald Sultan

Venice without Water, June 12, 1990

Yinka Shonibare MBE

Wind Sculpture II, 2013

Steel armature with hand painted fiber glass resin cast

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Images from the week of July 25th, 2014

1/19/2015

Three years ago, I was at home in New York finishing up my winter vacation as a Sophomore in art school. On a cold and snowy night, very much the opposite of tonight, I walked out of my family birthday party held at my great grandmother's. I had my then-long-distance-for-7-out-of-12-months boyfriend standing next to me and I faced my sister standing next to her then boyfriend. She was leaving soon. Though I had known for at least 6 months, it was finally setting in. I was leaving the state again, and she was leaving the time zone.

I am now in MA, and have had the chance to visit my sister in Chicago twice. Many people now know her as Windy City Thrifter. I know her as a brilliant actress.

I was always entranced when sitting in the Black Box by the realness brought about by the talent of the artists in front of me. I spent much of my life, at least once a year since I was in fourth grade, watching my sister bring a new character to life. As I got older, the material she worked with got heavier. I faced her as she helped bring to light body image issues and being a woman in Mirror, Mirror. A tidal wave of emotion was brought over me by the Laramie Project. While in college I missed a lot of her theater work. So I was especially excited to visit the second time around when I found out she was acting and and I needed to be dragged to rehearsal.

My second visit to the city of Chicago was an interesting one, on a personal level and an artistic level. Though I only spent three days, they were three days well spent. I had the opportunity to see most of the play after attending a few rehearsals. I even found myself analyzing the play and actors and, once again, enthralled in it. Besides attending rehearsal, and waking up early to run beside a beach-like-lake, we walked around and came across... ART! Not to mention I had an amazing chance to see real Magritte work; understandably, photography was not allowed.