Sunday, February 24, 2008

Monet: That's what I want

Went to see the “Monet to Dali” exhibit at the Frist today and greatly enjoyed it. Rodin, you da man. I never knew his The Thinker was supposed to be based on Dante. Man, Dante must have really been one chiseled, muscular dude. Did they have Pilates back then or something?

I remembered today something that the art students I knew at Vanderbilt often said: Don’t put a fancy frame on your paintings because it overshadows the picture itself. I accepted their wisdom at the time. But seeing all the Monets and Picassos and Van Goghs today, I noticed how many of them were displayed in huge, ornate frames – the stuff you pay the major cash for at the frame shop. So, was the advice incorrect? Or is it that when you’re Monet, the rules don’t apply to you?

I tend to think it’s the second, not the first. Breaking the rules – wasn’t that what Monet and Picasso and all those guys were trying to do with their art anyhow?

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