Frank Lloyd Wright

This weekend I got to go tour the Frank Lloyd Wright home + studio in Oak Park, IL!  It was something I've wanted to do for a long time and I'm so excited I finally got a chance to go.
Below are some pictures of the outside of the building (no photography allowed inside) and some pictures I pulled from the interior.

Outside of his house in Oak Park

Outside of his studio

I appreciate that he's well known mostly for the home he built instead of giant sky scrapers or other such buildings.  Frank Lloyd Wright's prairie style architecture is some of my favorite.  I was actually surprised though that from the outside, his house didn't strike me immediately as being very much in his style. 
Our tour guide talked about how Wright built this home at the time when he was just developing his prairie style of architecture and actually I thought this style was more evident in the interior, especially the interior which he added later.

This dining room is very prairie style to me.  This room (added later) to the house was by far my favorite space.  The way he designed the chairs to be so high and go around the table and create an intimate dining room space is lovely.  The intricate screen he designed to go over the lights and create a serene kind of ambient light, really genius.  I loved this room. Also, you can't tell but the walls are covered in a very light linen fabric. 

Here's the drafting room in Wright's studio.  The shape of the space was really unique, and the guide explained to us how Wright used a very intricate set of chain pulleys to keep all the walls in space.  Very cool space, I can see how it would be easy to be creative in a place like that.  After this visit, I love Wright even more!  (For those who haven't already, I'd also recommend the book Loving Frank.) 

Charles Ray, Hinoki

So I'm heading off to the Art Institute of Chicago tomorrow with one of my best friends from college who is visiting me!  I'm so excited, especially to go to this museum with someone who was an art major with me back in college. 

So with that on my mind, I thought I'd share thoughts I had on one of the pieces I enjoyed the most featured in the galleries of the new modern wing.
The piece called, Hinoki, by Charles Ray, is carved out of Cyprus wood and occupies an entire gallery in the modern wing, and rightfully so.  It is a gigantic sculpture of a broken tree trunk.  Sounds simple, in fact I'd say I saw a lot of people glance at it then determine they didn't want to look closer and left that gallery.  It's true, at first you think it's just a broken tree trunk.  You might think, as so many people do, why is this art?  But then as you look closer, you see the details, the shapes of the limbs, see how it hollow in the center, then suddenly you realize you're looking at something that's man  made!  I love it when art surprises you like that.  I remember physically stepping back because I was taken aback almost.  Love having that reaction to art, I think Ray would appreciate it too.

Anish Kapoor

Anish Kapoor is an artist that I've only in the last few years become familiar with.  He is known mostly for his sculptures which engage viewers through their size and simplicity.  The sculptures often have an element of mystery and the viewer is able to explore the sculpture by walking in and around it.  His use of space and its interaction with the viewer is extremely unique and I think you'd be hard pressed to find an artist who allows as much interaction with their work as he does. 
The other thing about his work is that he engages viewers through the materials he uses.  I know for me, when things are shiny or have a mystery to their surface, I really want to reach out and touch them.  And this is how he creates another level of fascination in his work.  Take this piece for example in the permanent collection of the Tate Modern called Ishi's Light.  

How badly do you want to walk in ther and touch that shiny dark surface!  I can only imagine what it feels like to stand within that sculpture.One of his pieces I feel privileged to see frequently is is Cloud Gate.

Most people in Chicago know this sculpture only as 'the bean,' but it is in fact a sculpture designed and created by Anish Kapoor.  He said about this sculpture "What I wanted to do in Millennium Park is make something that would engage the Chicago skyline ... so that one will see the clouds kind of floating in, with those very tall buildings reflected in the work. And then, since it is in the form of a gate, the participant, the viewer, will be able to enter into this very deep chamber that does, in a way, the same thing to one's reflection as the exterior of the piece is doing to the reflection of the city around."  Pretty awesome.

Matisse: Radical Invention, 1913–1917

I just got the Art Institute membership magazine in the mail yesterday and there is a Matisse show coming!  It opens on March 20th and it sounds like it will be an extremely focused, but really exciting exhibition.  The works that will be on display are only from a certain time in his career (1913-1917).  Sometimes I feel like this dissuades me from attending an exhibit, but in Matisse's case I think it will be fascinating.  More about it here.