The smell of fresh cut grass is in the air. The days are longer. And yet, it feels too soon for it to be Easter. But then again, it is a moveable feast.
And now a recap of the past week.
Music Monday’s choice this week for “Song of the Day” was The Guest, from Mary Timony’s new solo album, Untame the Tiger. I wasn’t really familiar with Helium, her band from the 90s, but had listened to Ex Hex in the past and liked them. The new album was created while she was going through the breakup of a long term relationship and the death of both her parents and yet it still manages to be uplifting in moments.
The video director for The Guest was Brett Vapnik. Vapnik had directed Timony in the 1999 cute indie short film Dream Machine. She has also created videos for Helium and other indie bands.
I posted another mural I found while checking out Cleveland. This one is by local artist Lauren Pearce. She’s showing work in Italy next month as part of a group show curated by Larry Ossei-Mensah.
While in Cleveland I also had the pleasure of seeing what the student artists from Cleveland Institute of Art have been working on. The exhibition, created entirely by the students, had a lot of impressive work.
The Warhol Museum was on my mind as their director, Patrick Moore just stepped down after being with the museum for 13 years. I also thought about seeing Warhol’s painting, The Last Supper, one of his many takes on the Leonardo da Vinci work, when I was there last month.
The meaning behind Warhol’s work is often hard to decipher. Thankfully, curator Jessica Beck has written an excellent essay about Warhol and his The Last Supper paintings. In it she explores the possible meanings behind the series, how it may have tied in to the tension between Warhol’s sexuality and his religious life, and in particular how his work references the AIDS epidemic. It’s up on the museum’s site, and is a worthwhile read.
For more on Warhol’s life, and who he was as a person, the Netflix series, The Andy Warhol Diaries, is really well done.
In sad news, Richard Serra died on Tuesday. I’d seen his work many times over the years, most recently at Gagosian gallery in 2020.
This video from PBS NewsHour gives some background on his art and process, while also touring his 2007 exhibition at MoMA.
That show had me remembering the Vampire Weekend lyric from their 2010 song White Sky, which references a “Richard Serra Skate Park” at MoMA. While checking in on the latest with the band, I saw that their new album, Only God Was Above Us, is coming out on April 5th.
They’ve released four songs so far. The single, Mary Boone, in particular, is a favorite. I loved 2013’s Modern Vampires of the City and this song feels like it could be from that album. It uses a sample from Soul II Soul’s Back to Life, as well as a choir, which add to the nostalgic feel.
The title references Mary Boone, the famous and influential New York gallery owner who was convicted of tax fraud in 2019. So, more Vampire Weekend NYC art references.
I feel like I need a clever sign off, but instead I leave you with this- Richard Serra created the verb list seen below to work from when creating his sculptures. My verbs of choice for the week are- to mix, to pair, to continue, to expand.
What will yours be?