Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Jonathan Harris on TED Talks

Jonathan Harris is a storyteller/artist/computer scientist who is a great example of Frank Lloyd Wright's "form and function" philosophy. This TED Talk demonstrates why.






You can see more of Harris' work on his
website - make sure to peruse the sketchbook.

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

While in Tennessee...

We visited the Hunter Museum of Art in downtown Chattanooga, a really cool place that we need to return to at some point with kid in tow - there's the Aquarium, the Creative Discovery Museum, neat shops and lots of historical locations of interest. But for me the best part of the visit to downtown was the Deborah Butterfield sculpture titled "Hunter." Butterfield is an American sculptor who "is best known for her sculptures of horses made from found objects, especially pieces of wood." (Wikipedia) What was amazing to me was the sense of presence you got when you first saw the piece - I couldn't ignore it, I had to get close to it . Even though the piece was of the horse standing, there was a contained but vibrant energy to the piece - she says in the Wikipedia entry that "For the pieces I make, the gesture is really more within the body, it's like an internalized gesture, which is more about the content, the state of mind or of being at a given instant." The appearance of the horse as being made of driftwood also resonated with me (maybe I am truly a New Englander?). Other works by Butterfield are online at the Gallery Paule Anglim, as is her bio and reviews.