Sunday June 22, I awoke and decided on a Fort Worth art adventure. Ray was off to his family reunion (it's tradition - I don't go). Anyway, I drove to the Kimbell Art Museum first. The current exhibition -
Modern Art and Politics in Germany 1910-1945 was a WOW and very timely for our current fraught American situation. And it was the last day - so a must see, and the Kimbell had quite a queue. I was glad to see so many people open to this exhibit.
above - Christian Schad's Sonja depicted the so-called "new woman" of 1928. In the aftermath of 1918's wartime, women won the right to vote. Lots of change afoot.
Numerous works of this time period were declared as "degenerate" art - denounced and confiscated. The artists were the earliest to express displeasure with what they saw brewing in Germany. Emile Nolde, Kurt Gunther, Curt Querner, Otto Dix, Paul Klee, Max Beckman, and George Grosz pushed the envelope and many had to flee.
Let's think about today - art bans, book bans, television and movies and more....hmmm
Horst Strempel's
Night Over Germany (oil on burlap) is a stunning, shattering work. Jewish families hiding in fear.
There was hushed admiration in the Kimbell. I'm sure many people left thinking...
After a light lunch in the Kimbell cafe, I walked down the block to the Amon Carter. Forty photos for forty years since Richard Avedon's American West exhibit. I remember that one - I was fairly new to Texas. The black and white photos of just regular folks are stunning. Crisp, clear, and the people staring back at you - their eyes say so much.
Here's a compilation of photos from the opening day. Avedon was THE photographer for famous people and Vogue. Then he explored the West - oil workers, ranchers - a tough life in the summer heat. One of the coordinators for the project was a photographer in her own right (Laura Wilson - mother to actors Owen, Luke). Her keen eye helped Avedon on the shoots.
I truly enjoyed my art afternoon. Then home for a dip in the pool. And Ray arrived home after a fine time with family and full from BBQ.
That's how we roll.
