Alexander Thieme: Embedded

Artist Alexander Thieme paints himself into the background.

Sculptor Meredith Dittmar

Interview with sculptor Meredith Dittmar. Cool stuff!

Found via Fecal Face

Art of the Samurai

One of the first things I'd like to do upon my return to New York in a few weeks, is visit the Met's Art of the Samurai exhibition. It looks absolutely beautiful. And apparently because some of the items are so delicate they will be on view in rotation for a couple of weeks at a time.

Visiting (not living in) a Glass House

Yesterday Charles and I finally had the opportunity to visit Philip Johnson’s Glass House now part of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. In case you haven't heard of the Glass House it is one of the iconic mid-century modern houses in the country. Johnson actually lived in the house (although not full-time) and continued to build other structures and extensively landscape the vast property. I had seen photographs of the place before (there are multiple books on the House), but was not quite prepared by the wonderful play between the buildings and the landscape. Even if you're not sold on modernist architecture, don't worry as Johnson moved on to various styles and those are reflected on his property.
If you're in the New England area, I encourage you to take the trek out to New Canaan, CT and take this tour.
And if you do take the tour, you just might have the opportunity to meet Tricia White. Not only was she gracious, knowledgeable and in possession of a charming British accent, but she also is a talented artist. Her work is currently on show at hpgrp Gallery in New York.
And on somewhat related news, noted photographer of modernist homes, Julius Shulman has died. Although Schulman was known for photographing homes in California, he too made it out to Johnson's Glass House and some of his work can be found on their website.

Plastics!

An interesting article on Slate that looks at plastics in art and how it is proving problematic to museums, curators and art restorers.

“As plastics revolutionized the making of furniture, toys, health care products, and electronics, museums of industry, design, and medicine began snapping up plastic objects that were either historic (the first artificial heart) or culturally important (Barbie dolls). Plastics hold up well for the decade or so during which a consumer uses most products. But museums, unlike consumers, are in it for the long haul, and when plastics crash, they crash precipitously.”

Found via Slate

Toilet Roll Sculpture

Yup, sculpture made out of toilet rolls. The artist is Junior Jacquet.
Via Quipsologies

Tangled Alphabets: León Ferrari and Mira Schendel

Tangled Alphabets is a new show at the MoMA that looks at the work of 2 Latin American artists, León Ferrari and Mira Schendel. Their work has never been exhibited in the US in its entirety.
The show is on view from April 5th–June 15th.
And if you can't make it to New York, check out the exhibition website. It allows up-close views of these detailed works.