eMusings

June online gems for your surfing pleasure:

If you are as fascinated by Mayan drawings as I am, you will want to look at these. Whenever, as artists, we think we have reinvented the wheel, or the paintbrush/pencil, it helps to remember that humanity has been producing exquisite markings long before us, and hopefully long afterwards.

The world of digital photography gets ever more complex, but this little gadget camera promises to overturn our preconceptions, if not our sense of control. The Lily camera is one that you toss into the air. It starts taking pictures as soon as it is airborn and can continue uninterrupted for some 20 minutes. Using GPS technology, the camera tracks its owner's movements and considers the photographer's wrists as "home base". It is waterproof, weighs only 2.8 pounds, and offers a range of possibilities for those with creative vision. It can loop, zoom, fly over and pan. Production starts in 2016, with an initial price of $500.

There have been many reports about this year's Venice Biennale but this sculptural installation caught my eye. These large stainless steel pieces are meant to reflect the spaces around them and connect people viewing them as light passes through. They are beautifully installed in the vaulted interior of the 400-year-old basilica of San Georgio Maggiore.

Yayoi Kusama has established the polka dot as her own personal brand and has seen it proliferate around the globe. Now the country of Denmark will show the first retrospective of her work in Scandinavia, including pieces that have seldom or rarely been seen. Kusama's interest in fashion will also be on display.

Another intriguing installation in Venice was created by Brazilian artist Veio and shown in the abbey of San Gregario. These enigmatic sculptures exist somewhere between bird, human, and animal in extreme abstraction and are sponsored by the Marni Italian fashion firm.

"David Salle New Paintings" is the title of a new body of work by the esteemed painter and sculptor. Marking a sharp turn from his well-known geometric forms, Salle seems to be exploring Picasso and Rauschenberg, Johns and Pop Art commodity items. The work feels a bit tentative, but it will be instructive to see where Salle goes from here.

In addition to the sites mentioned above, the Guardian has posted photos of the pieces in Venice that strike their fancy.

Every so often we find some lovely contemporary music online. This ethereal, delicate recording combines the refinement of Satie with the gentle touch of a true troubador.

A friend of mine recently saw an exhibition of the sculpture of Joan Miro and I was reminded of the exuberance and wit of his sculptures. I had seen a number of them at the Maeght Foundation in Provence, France, some years ago. Here are a few, for your viewing pleasure. Be sure to look at "Girl Escaping".

In our April, 2015, issue, our site of the month featured the work of Sarah Lucas, the provocative member of the group known as YBA (Young British Artists). She is now exhibiting at the British Pavilion at the Venice Biennale. Provocative as ever, (one reviewer described walking into the exhibition as like "diving into a gigantic bowl of custard"), Lucas presents pieces that she calls "topless muses". She is now being seen as more elegant than before, more sophisticated in her use of materials. However you see them, they are indeed seductive to the eye.

c. Corinne Whitaker 2015