eMusings

The joy of the Internet is also its drawback: there is simply too much information, much of it excellent, for the mind to absorb. I hope that in making these suggestions for your web surfing I have singled out some of the best.

The Prado Museum is mounting an exhibition of the art of Van Dyck, that brilliant artist who died at 41 but produced a prodigious body of work. The show emphasizes the efforts of the young Van Dyck to both learn from and get away from the influence of his mentor and later rival, Rubens.

At McKenzie Fine Art a group of delicate, patterned paintings by Angie Drakopoulos and Daniel Hill question the necesssity of noise and shock in so much current art practice. Lines, dots, and patterned surfaces hint, as Drakopoulos says, at the potential rather than the actual. There is a sense of the ethereal and the rare in her vision that are uplifting. Daniel Hill uses photography and painting to "remind us of our capacity to wonder".

Caren Alpert takes photographs with an electron microscope to explore the mysterious in the mundane. She focuses on food, as landscape, as part of a grander ecosystem, and more recently as a source of nourishment. Her close-ups of food are transfixing and full of ambivalence.

The Victoria and Albert Museum has put together a video caled "Art in the Digital Age", by which they mean primarily art designed for the Internet. This is volume two; volume one is available on the site as well.

The enigmatic artist Georgia O'Keeffe continues to fascinate historians and art lovers alike. On the 125th year after her birth, a series of photographs of her is online, many of them taken by Alfred Stieglitz in the 1910's. Some of them are well known, others less so, but all reveal an intensity that we have come to associate with her.

There has undoubtedly been a renaissance of spectacular architecture over the past decade or so. Business Insider presents what they consider the 25 coolest new buildings of the past year. Whether you agree with them or not, there certainly are some curious specimens in their selection. Two that strike me are a library/museum in Baku, Azerbaijan by Zaha Hadid, and the shimmering glass facade of an office tower by Wingardh Arkitektkontor AB in Stockholm.

The Hammer Galleries in New York have put up an interesting view of their art collection as a moving video through the gallery. Enter via the arrow at the front door. Their artists include Leger, Miro and Calder.

A curious,lovely and puzzling video called The Maker has been winning awards world-wide. Their promo says, "A strange creature races against time to make the most important and beautiful creation of his life.". I think you'll want to see this one.

A Chinese sculptor named Xiang Jing has received recognition for her nude sculptures. She works in porcelain, fiberglass and bronze, and originally concentrated on figures of women. People are particularly fascinated by the vacuous, even supercilious, expressions on her models. She has commented, "The deeper you go, you move further away from gender but you get closer to human nature."

An absolutely stunning structure called Blossom-Gate has been designed by a Viennese firm for the entrance to a flower park in Xiangyiang, China. The firm, Prechteck, has used strands of bamboo with such delicacy that it resembles volumetric calligraphy. Scroll down to see their concept of people interacting with the space. Another interesting structure by Prechteck was designed for the headquarters of a Chinese retailing company.

Another must-see piece of architecture was created by Renzo Piano for an auditorium in Italy. It looks as if it would be as joyous to walk through as it is to see from outside.

This may be a commercial venture, but Corning Glassware has produced a video showing how its different glass composites can be utilized in the home and outside. Beautifully done.

Nikon is showing the winners of its Small Wonders photography show. Be sure to see #5, Embryos of the black mastiff bat, and #3, pistil of Adenium Obesum.

c.Corinne Whitaker 2012