Art & Culture

“Maple Viewers”

Kano Hideyori’s “Maple Viewers” Housed at the Tokyo National Museum

“Forensic Astronomer Solves Fine Arts Puzzles”

“Forensic Astronomer Solves Fine Arts Puzzles”

by Jennifer Drapkin and Sarah Zielinski via “Smithsonian Magazine“

“In painter Edvard Munch’s Girls on the Pier, three women lean against a railing facing a body of water in which houses are reflected. A peach-colored orb appears in the sky, but, curiously, casts no reflection in the water. Is it the Moon? The Sun? Is it imaginary? Does it matter?

To Donald Olson, an astrophysicist at Texas State University, the answer to the last question is an emphatic yes. Olson solves puzzles in literature, history and art using the tools of astronomy: charts, almanacs, painstaking calculations and computer programs that map ancient skies. He is perhaps the leading practitioner of what he calls “forensic astronomy.” But computers and math can take him only so far.

For Girls on the Pier, Olson and his research partner, Texas State physicist Russell Doescher, traveled to Asgardstrand, Norway, the resort town where Munch made the painting in the summer of 1901. By mapping the area and studying old postcards, the pair determined the exact location of the original pier (which had been torn down), the heights of the houses and the spot where Munch likely stood. They then retraced the paths of the Sun and the Moon across the sky at the time Munch was there.

They concluded that the setting Sun did not appear in that section of sky at that time, but the Moon did. As for the missing reflection, it was not an artistic choice, as some art historians had proposed, but a matter of optics: from the artist’s perspective, the row of houses blocked it. . . .”

“WWII Artifact Returns Home to Japan”

“WWII Artifact Returns Home to Japan”

via “KHON2″

“After almost 80 years, a piece of naval history is on its way home to Japan.

At the Wisconsin Maritime Museum in Manitowoc, the special shipment is underway.

Crews from Chicago, New Jersey, and as far away as Japan, are making sure an 11-foot, 1,600-pound replica of the Japanese luxury liner Hikawa Maru doesn’t get damaged.

The Japanese built the model 79 . . . .”

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“Fire Rages in Norway Heritage Village”

This is a great tragedy; our hearts go out to Norway today 😦

“Fire Rages in Norway Heritage Village”

via “Yahoo News“

“Oslo (AFP) – A large blaze on Sunday raged through a historic village in western Norway, destroying many of its famed 18th- and 19th-century wooden houses and forcing the evacuation of local residents, police said.

The fire in the riverside village of Laerdalsoyri, some 200 kilometres (miles) northwest of Oslo, began in a house on Saturday evening.

Fanned by strong winds, the blaze raged out of control overnight and it took firefighters until Sunday afternoon to extinguish it.

Laerdalsoyri is located in the West Norwegian Fjords area, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Police said 23 buildings including 16 homes were destroyed in the town, and hundreds of residents had to be evacuated. . . . .”

Additional Resources

“Art Exhibits for the Selfie Set”

“Art Exhibits for the Selfie Set”

by Richard Morgan via “Wall Street Journal“

“Carmelle Fernandez came down to Chelsea from the north Bronx with her cousin to stand in front of a pair of 18-feet-tall wooden characters. She asked a fellow visitor to Mary Boone Gallery to photograph them in similar poses as the sculptures—a shot destined for Instagram, Ms. Fernandez, a 30-year-old office assistant, said.

“It just makes you feel like you’re part of it,” she said. “It’s just fun. I think a lot of people take these photos. It’s hard not to.”

The exhibit, of sculptures and paintings by the artist KAWS, isn’t . . . .”

Out of curiosity, how long until the selfies themselves are considered works of art? I fully expect an exhibition to appear within the next 1-2 years focusing on the “best selfies” or “selfies that tell a story” theme.   It is a surprisingly important part of modern culture–the obsession with oneself and one’s own interaction with the world as opposed to merely appreciating the works and experiences of others. That being said, this is a great way to involve otherwise un-interested audiences in the arts.