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THE RHODE ISLAND SCHOOL OF DESIGN MUSEUM OF ART PRESENTS TWO EXHIBITIONS
Art Daily
http://www.artdaily.org/index.asp?int_sec=2& amp;int_new=29356
March 2 2009
PROVIDENCE, RI.- The RISD Museum of Art presents two complementary
exhibitions which highlight portraits of artists. Yousuf Karsh:
Portraits of Artists and Facing Artists: Twentieth Century Portraits
from the Collection will showcase the work of the photographer Yousuf
Karsh and other artists such as Andy Warhol, Lucien Freud, and Pablo
Picasso. The two exhibitions are presented in adjoining galleries
and offer the visitor the opportunity to make connections between
the various artists.
The Karsh exhibition celebrates the 100th anniversary of the birth
of Yousuf Karsh (Canadian, born Armenia, 1908-2002) as part of a
nationwide celebration. Karsh is one of the most celebrated portrait
photographers of the twentieth century. More than 15,000 people
sat in front of Karsh's camera--from ordinary citizens to such
influential figures as Winston Churchill and Albert Einstein. Karsh
made a concerted effort to record the century's most accomplished
individuals, especially those in the arts. A selection of twenty-seven
photographs of visual artists and designers comprise this exhibition;
all are promised gifts to The RISD Museum from the artist's estate
administered by his wife, Estrellita Karsh.
Karsh's portraits are collaborations. His charming manner and ability
to connect with his sitters come through in the images, which reveal
as much about his admiration for his subjects as they do about the
subjects themselves. As fastidious as he was spontaneous, Karsh
researched his subjects and planned his shots before every sitting,
but he was always alert to the opportunity of the moment and eschewed
choosing any single portrait convention. When he photographed Jasper
Johns, for example, he changed his initial plan to show him with one
of his paintings, instead tightly framing the artist's penetrating
gaze to better capture his cerebral nature. For his portrait of Josef
Albers, Karsh posed the artist seated in profile, creating geometry
within the frame that echoes Albers's celebrated Homage to the Square
painting behind him. In the nearly full-length portrait of Russell
Wright, the designer gazes out a window in a domestic setting that
perfectly suits his dishware and furniture.
Karsh wrote about his sittings in a diary. Several of his entries
are included with the portraits on view, offering insight into his
experience of his collaborations.
The exhibition of portraits drawn from the Museum's collection consists
of portraits of literary, performing, and visual artists by a broad
range of twentieth-century artists associated with the genre. It
is intended to give context to the Yousuf Karsh's photographs in the
adjacent gallery by grouping the works by portrait type so that viewers
will see how artists have embraced the conventions of portraiture and
how they have expanded its parameters. Some of the portraits on view
include Marlene Dietrich by Cecil Beaton; Stephen Spender by Lucien
Freud; Brassaï by Pablo Picasso; and Mick Jagger by Andy Warhol.
Art Daily
http://www.artdaily.org/index.asp?int_sec=2& amp;int_new=29356
March 2 2009
PROVIDENCE, RI.- The RISD Museum of Art presents two complementary
exhibitions which highlight portraits of artists. Yousuf Karsh:
Portraits of Artists and Facing Artists: Twentieth Century Portraits
from the Collection will showcase the work of the photographer Yousuf
Karsh and other artists such as Andy Warhol, Lucien Freud, and Pablo
Picasso. The two exhibitions are presented in adjoining galleries
and offer the visitor the opportunity to make connections between
the various artists.
The Karsh exhibition celebrates the 100th anniversary of the birth
of Yousuf Karsh (Canadian, born Armenia, 1908-2002) as part of a
nationwide celebration. Karsh is one of the most celebrated portrait
photographers of the twentieth century. More than 15,000 people
sat in front of Karsh's camera--from ordinary citizens to such
influential figures as Winston Churchill and Albert Einstein. Karsh
made a concerted effort to record the century's most accomplished
individuals, especially those in the arts. A selection of twenty-seven
photographs of visual artists and designers comprise this exhibition;
all are promised gifts to The RISD Museum from the artist's estate
administered by his wife, Estrellita Karsh.
Karsh's portraits are collaborations. His charming manner and ability
to connect with his sitters come through in the images, which reveal
as much about his admiration for his subjects as they do about the
subjects themselves. As fastidious as he was spontaneous, Karsh
researched his subjects and planned his shots before every sitting,
but he was always alert to the opportunity of the moment and eschewed
choosing any single portrait convention. When he photographed Jasper
Johns, for example, he changed his initial plan to show him with one
of his paintings, instead tightly framing the artist's penetrating
gaze to better capture his cerebral nature. For his portrait of Josef
Albers, Karsh posed the artist seated in profile, creating geometry
within the frame that echoes Albers's celebrated Homage to the Square
painting behind him. In the nearly full-length portrait of Russell
Wright, the designer gazes out a window in a domestic setting that
perfectly suits his dishware and furniture.
Karsh wrote about his sittings in a diary. Several of his entries
are included with the portraits on view, offering insight into his
experience of his collaborations.
The exhibition of portraits drawn from the Museum's collection consists
of portraits of literary, performing, and visual artists by a broad
range of twentieth-century artists associated with the genre. It
is intended to give context to the Yousuf Karsh's photographs in the
adjacent gallery by grouping the works by portrait type so that viewers
will see how artists have embraced the conventions of portraiture and
how they have expanded its parameters. Some of the portraits on view
include Marlene Dietrich by Cecil Beaton; Stephen Spender by Lucien
Freud; Brassaï by Pablo Picasso; and Mick Jagger by Andy Warhol.