Arshile Gorky at the PMA

A few weeks ago I found time to visit the Philadelphia Museum of Art to view the Arshile Gorky exhibition. Here is what the PMA website says about the show:

Arshile Gorky: A Retrospective

Now Through January 10, 2010

Arshile Gorky: A Retrospective celebrates the extraordinary life and work of Arshile Gorky (c. 1902-1948), a seminal figure in the movement toward abstraction that transformed American art. This exhibition, which includes about 178 works of art, surveys Gorky’s entire career from the early 1920s until his death by suicide in 1948.

I thought the show was informative and thought provoking. I always enjoy seeing a retrospective as I feel it provides one with a better understanding of the artist's aesthetic development.

I highly recommend seeing this exhibition. It is only up until January!


Arshile Gorky
Woman with a Palette
1927
Oil on Canvas

One of the most informative characteristics of the exhibition was that it showed direct influences of Gorky and briefly described these influences. The painting pictured above was one of those influenced paintings.

Poken: The New Business Card

Yesterday, on NPR: All Tech Considered, Omar Gallaga reported on a new technology that allows individuals to share information quickly and efficiently. It is small and similar in appearance to a USB drive. When you meet someone and want to exchange information, your Pokens link together and information, such as your Facebook and Twitter page are shared. To access the shared information simply insert the Poken into your computer's USB drive and the information is transferred. What a great idea to cut back on the use of paper for business cards!

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=101963191
(image provided by http://www.doyoupoken.com/PokenWeb/corporate/howdoesitworks.jsf)

Banks' Disposal Methods

This posting veers off the path of arts and culture but I think it is necessary to spread the word.

Take a look:

http://throughthelookingglass.typepad.com/through_the_looking_glass/

Doodling

Alix Spiegel, a reporter for National Public Radio (NPR), wrote an interesting article on doodling. She notes research conducted by Jackie Andrade,a professor of psychology at the University of Plymouth who recently published a study on doodling in Applied Cognitive Psychology, regarding how doodling keeps the mind focused on a particular task. This article would be a great read for teachers who encounter children doodling during classes. I can remember numerous times throughout my education when the teacher scolded classmates for doodling during class. If they only knew doodling served as a way for the children to stay focused in class instead of daydreaming.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=101727048

How Did I End Up Here?

Greetings and welcome to my culture blog! I am Pamela Annarilli and I am currently the Administrative Coordinator of the Creative Glass Center of America at Wheaton Arts and Cultural Center.

I hold this institution close to my heart because throughout my intellectual journeys of the past four years it has always been the place I return to. My involvement with WheatonArts began in 2005 when I was an intern in the Ceramic Arts Studio under the mentorship of Terry Plasket, to whom credit is due for my knowledge of the ceramic process. After my internship, Terry invited me to continue working in the studio. One year later I left for Penn State to study under Chris Staley. After I had completed my time at Penn State, the doors, arms, and hearts of the artists at WheatonArts welcomed me back. Shortly after returning I left to pursue foreign language studies for about one year. At the end of my studies I decided to work for the arts in an administrative position. Susan Gogan, the Executive Director of WheatonArts, invited me to work for the CGCA,a division of WheatonArts, and I gratefully accepted.

Shortly after receiving the position as Administrative Coordinator I was accepted into the Arts Administratin program at Drexel University in Philadelphia, PA.

I am a patron of cultural, visual, and performing arts organizations and, therefore, my blog will cover topics relating to the Arts and Culture sector. My time and attention is divided between two states and two main art centers - Philadelphia and South Jersey. I spend my days working for the Millville Arts District in South Jersey and my nights and weekends are spent in Philadelphia. These two areas differ immensely. South Jersey is characterized by fields that stretch to the horizon, quiet evenings with the songs of chirping crickets, and wild life creeping onto your door step. The cultural sector of Philadelphia produces an evident, energetic heartbeat that penetrates all experiences and differs from the quiet reflection one finds in the country landscape of S. Jersey. I have found the arts experiences in both areas to be equally stimulating in their unique ways.

I anticipate that this dichotomy, when it is fully explored by writing in this blog, will serve to highten my perception of these two cultural centers.

Please, enjoy.