We were at the Denver Art Museum on “free Saturday” last to see the Joan Miró (1893-1983) exhibit. It was very well done and surprised me with a nice selection of his small, very abstract sculptures–bizarre and humorous work, largely made from found objects, fused together and then cast in bronze. I hadn’t seen any of this before. Miró’s philosophy? The following seems pretty accurate, and in his own words:
“I feel the need of attaining the maximum of intensity with the minimum of means.”
I might ask…Isn’t that also the goal of many a photographer?
The exhibit will be at DAM through June 28th. Don’t miss it!
Now to the other extreme…
There was another artist with an exhibit at the DAM that really had me marveling at his ultra super-duper realistic technique: John DeAndrea (b. 1941), a local Colorado sculptor. His life-like human forms will have you thinking they might wake up, stand up, and walk out of the room at any moment. Indeed, viewers tended to talk in whispers so as to not wake them up! He nails every detail, down to freckles, crow’s feet wrinkles, goosebumps, and lines left in the skin from clothing removed just moments before.
The following images show off John’s work, but it’s really hard to see the detail unless you are there in person, staring intently at the pores, the feet, the hands, from 12 inches away. Definitely don’t miss this exhibit either (through June 21st)!
That’s John on the right working on the plaster cast that will then be used as a mold for his sculpture of the women seated on the chair…
John DeAndrea Sculptures, #1. Denver Art Museum, 2015
Just like Sleeping Beauty, all it would take would be a kiss to awaken her from her slumber…
John DeAndrea Sculptures, #2. Denver Art Museum, Colorado, 2015
A close-up. Note the freckles, and the small crease in her hip where her underwear left a light mark in her skin…
John DeAndrea Sculptures, #3. Denver Art Museum, Colorado, 2015
(A side note…The above images also show off the effectiveness of the Fuji X100s in low light. They were all captured at ISO 3200, handheld, with no flash. In Lightroom, I applied noise reduction, along with a color balance correction, but that’s about all.)
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