summertime

In my eyes, Jackson Pollock's Summertime is the most beautiful piece of Art in the universe. It gave me goosebumps the first time I laid eyes on it. It was like looking at one of the great wonders of the world.

I love the energy of the painting. The colors are inspired, the madness of the strokes are moving and electrifying. Amidst all the perceived mess, everything, amazingly, is in order and well balanced. And the size of it, I keep forgetting how big it is.

There's a film about Pollock's life starring Ed Harris. You should see it. Did you know Pollock was married to another artist? Lee Krasner was his wife. It's a shame that her reputation as an artist was eclipsed by Pollock's popularity. Krasner was an influential and talented artist too.

The painting in the background is called Gothic Landscape. Painted by Krasner a few years after her husband's death. Notice the thick vertical strokes? They're meant to be trees and the violent and expressive brushstrokes reflected her feelings of grief.

Picasso

Pablo Picasso is known the world over as one of the leading figures in twentieth century art. He co-founded the Cubist movement- an avant-garde art movement that revolutionized European painting and sculpture, and inspired related movements in music and literature. According to Wikipedia: "In cubist artworks, objects are broken up, analyzed, and re-assembled in an abstracted form—instead of depicting objects from one viewpoint, the artist depicts the subject from a multitude of viewpoints to represent the subject in a greater context. Often the surfaces intersect at seemingly random angles, removing a coherent sense of depth. The background and object planes interpenetrate one another to create the shallow ambiguous space, one of cubism's distinct characteristics."

There are almost 4 dozen Picasso works in the Tate collection. Several of them are on display at Tate Modern.

The Three Dancers, 1925

Bowl of Fruit, Violin and Bottle, 1914

Head of a Woman, 1924

Seated Nude, 1909-10

Nude Woman in a Red Armchair, 1932

Did you know Picasso is the world's most stolen artist? The Art Loss Register has 550 of his works listed as missing.

tate part deux

The Kiss by Rodin is probably the most important sculpture at Tate Modern. But don't take my word for it because I thought this was a joke.

Obviously, the pundits think this is Art.

Below is meant to be half of a face.

Sheesh, the subject must be really ugly.

I could have done this.

This is that in the foreground.

I want.

Wall Explosion II by Roy Lichtenstein. Click his name to visit his awesome website.

Ave Maria.

Also known as Hail Mary. Get it?!?

For some reason, I see a big chunk of nougat.

Whilst this one, looks like jacket potatoes on a slab of wood.

Hannibal Lecter's platter?

Funny and disgusting, no?

tate modern

Of all the attractions in the British Isles, Tate Modern is my favorite. The Tate Modern in London is the UK's national museum of international modern art. The galleries are housed in the former Bankside Power Station, designed and built after the Second World War.

Works of international modern and contemporary art dating from 1900 onwards make up the collection.

Because it's a huge facility, the museum is divided into several galleries on the buildings 5 floors. The Tate Collection is on display on levels three and five, whilst level four is reserved for large temporary exhibitions and a small exhibition space on level two is allotted for works of contemporary artists.

Yesterday, I visited it again after picking up my new passport at the Philippine Embassy. I only spent not more than 90 minutes because it was already late afternoon when I got there and yet I ended up with almost 300 photos. It's great that visitors are now allowed to take pictures because the last time I was there with Ketty about 4 years ago, it was still prohibited.

I have to break this entry in parts. Here's the first batch of photos.

I could live here.

But I have to do something about this wall.

Not digging the bubblegum on acid look.

And maybe change the statues at the altar.

How's this for the laundry room?

The Venus of the Rags is beautiful.

This one's titled White Spring.

Perfect in my kitchen because it reminds me of breakfast.

Speaking of breakfast, here's a Francis Bacon.

And another one of his called Triptych.

Marvel at Matisse.

In case you're wondering who he is, this is him.

White Field. Mixed media. A relief using hundreds of nails. Ingenious.

There's an exhibition about voyeurism, surveillance and the camera.

Do you agree?

Me channeling Big Brother. I'd have this framed someday.

This one's rather curious.

Of course it's not just some random cctv footage. There's a fox roaming the halls of the museum!

shoot

Shot at Tate Modern in London.

fireworks

The commencement.

Rays of light.

Explosion of colors.

Fire in the sky.

The Finale.

All photos were taken from my bedroom window. Maidstone's night sky was painted with myriad colors in celebration of the town's River Festival last night. It was a 15 minute spectacle of fireworks which left me awestruck.

Friends invited me to meet downtown and join the townspeople in the revelry but I just couldn't miss the CSI trilogy.