Praeterita

( Last Blog Post for a Month: Part 2 ) Artist Susan Shulman, who has been a guest blogger here before, recently went to New York City, where she had an “amazing weekend of non-stop interaction and injection of some much needed creative juice.” Here are her impressions of the visit. SKETCHBOOK MAYHEM For the past three years, I have participated in the travelling library of the Brooklyn Sketchbook project. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised when I entered the storefront in Brooklyn accompanied by fellow artists William Evertson of Connecticut, USA, and Heather Mathews who was visiting from New South Wales, Australia. We came to find our own moleskine artworks of the past few years and discover some of our friends’ creations as well. These sketchbooks travel around North America, visiting different cities, allowing the public to explore and read these unique artist’s books. Some of my artist friends had voiced their concern about the artist paying a fee to create original a...

This is the second part of a dispatch from a visit to Europe by the three artists of the Seeking Kali Collective ( Part 1 here ). Today, artist Susan Shulman recounts what she saw in Paris -- including a visit to the apartment of the legendary Matthew Rose. Musee Maillol, Paris The week I spent in Paris was a non-stop cornucopia of art adventures. One of the highlights was to see the vast collection of Artemisia Gentileschi's painting at the Musée Maillol. I had admired her work for many years and was struck by the mystique surrounding her life, and the challenges she faced being a woman master painter in the 17th century. She was born July 8, 1593, and died approximately January 1654. She was apprenticed to and trained by of one of Rome's greatest painters, her father, Orazio Gentileschi. His style of painting was heavily influenced by Caravaggio and so was hers. Agostino Tassi, a colleague of her father, raped Artemisia at the age of 18 and these charges became publ...

Guest blogger Susan Shulman continues her tour of art sites during a recent trip to Melbourne, Australia.  Part 1 here . *   *   * National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne Visiting the National Gallery was my first exposure to the depth and beauty of Aboriginal art. I went into rooms filled with mesmerizing iconography and colours. These spaces of beauty lured me into their dreamlike worlds. The first things that I noticed were the shields, symbolizing various aspects of the power of respected ancestors. Photo: Susan Shulman. In the beginning, the indigenous people adorned themselves, their shields, and the sand around them. They painted their “Dreamings.” The arc and circle shapes, designs, and tones of all the paintings evoke excitement on a very primal level of purity of expression. The dots are said to signify the sacred ceremonies of men. There were many great paintings, but taking photos was prohibited because of the sacredness of the imagery. These...

Susan Shulman is a Canadian artist who I have featured on this blog before in her collaborations with the Kalicorp Collective , and the Mount Analogue project. In the next few posts, Susan turns guest blogger with her impressions from a recent trip to Melbourne, Austriala. All photos were taken by Susan Shulman. *   *   * I spent three weeks combing the city’s galleries, museums and streets, eating and breathing art at every corner. What I thought would be an easy assignment has turned into an explosive overload of creativity. Melbourne is a city of inspiration, in a country of stunning beauty. It will take time to process all I have seen. These are the highlights. State Library of Victoria, Melbourne I went to the State Library of Victoria to meet Robert Heather, curator and manager of Collections Interpretations at the library. I had no idea about the size of the building I was about to enter. I was shocked to find myself at the “Hogwarts-like” domed librar...