The Rijksmuseum De Meesterwrken is currently undergoing an extensive renovation until 2013. With an unrivaled collection of works from the 17th-century Dutch Golden Age, the museum has selected highlights to display.
My respective encounters with two masterworks marked my visit: Jan Vermeer's The Kitchen Maid (1658) and Rembrandt's The Night Watch (1642).
Rembrandt, The Night Watch (1642)
The Night Watch (less popularly known as The Militia Company of Captain Frans Banning Cocq and Lieutenant Willem van Ruytenburch) is stunning. Rembrandt was commissioned to paint a towering group portrait of an Amsterdam militia company. Amidst the throngs of visitors to the Rijksmuseum, I was dwarfed by the painting and was gobsmacked as I admired both Rembrandt's use of light and the virtuosic way he created a sense of movement in the scene.
Jan Vermeer, The Kitchen Maid (1658)
By contrast, Vermeer's The Kitchen Maid is a much smaller painting in size and subject. It's a simple scene: Daylight streams through the window as a maid pours milk from a jug into a bowl. But Vermeer's use of naturalistic light to infuse life into this domestic moment is masterful. I have seen both works reproduced in books or slides, but nothing compares to visiting the works and seeing them in person.
When I arrived in Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport this morning, I had no plans to take a taxi or airport limo to my destination in town. That's Toronto behaviour.
In Amsterdam, do as the Amsterdamers do. I took the train from Schiphol to Centraal Station and made my way to my final destination. It was dead easy to purchase a train ticket, find the platform, board the train and enjoy the view.
Cost? 4.20 Euros for a second class fare. I understand there's little value in purchasing a first class ticket. Time? 15-20 minutes from Schiphol to Centraal Station.
In Toronto, we like to complain about this missing piece of the puzzle -- a viable public transit option connecting Pearson International Airport with the city. Sure, we have public transit (TTC), a shuttle that takes users to the downtown core, taxis and limousines. The cost varies between 2.50 - 70 CAD. But convenience also varies depending on your mode of transportation.
Wouldn't it be grand to have an accessible, inexpensive airport transfer in Toronto? Dare to dream, eh.
The Abstract Expressionist New York exhibition at the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) is a stellar collection of works by some of the better known artists of the art movement.
Jackson Pollock, Number 1A, 1948
Of course there's nothing to replicate a visit to the Museum of Modern Art in New York to experience the paintings in their home. But the AGO's exhibition provides viewers with an an excellent look at Abstract Expressionism.
The Jackson Pollock works will surely be an attraction because he's such a famous painter synonymous with the drip technique as seen in Number 1A, 1948. The technique gave Pollock a way to create and interact with the canvas and paints by dripping, pouring and splattering in dance-like movement. Look for the Pollock's hand-print autograph in the top right corner of Number 1A, 1948.
The Pollock works were wonderful to see. But don't miss the works by Barnett Newman, Willem de Kooning, Clifford Still, and Mark Rothko. Watch for my blog post on Rothko coming soon.
Sassen is a fashion photographer in Holland, and as a child lived in Kenya where her father, a doctor, ran a medical clinic. Her return visits to Africa began in 2002. he images were captured in Senegal, Kenya and Tanzania.
What I found striking in her work was its non-documentary feel. By that, I mean Sassen's pictures don't appear to "capture" daily goings-on of their subjects. Instead, they're alluring for their use of bold colour yet remain distant as subjects pose to avoid the gaze of the viewer. These images are thoughtful constructions by an artist with a point of view that is informed by multiple perspectives.
Sassen's pieces was part of an exhibition called "Dynamic Landscape" which also included works by Olga Chagaoutdinova, Scarlett Hooft Graffland and Dayanita Singh.
I haven't lingered in the Art Gallery of Ontario's Walker Court since the AGO re-opned after Frank Gehry's redesign over two years ago. Of course Gehry's wonderful sculptural staircase is the grand feature in the space as it links the Walker Court with other spaces in the AGO. But on a recent visit, I was particularly struck by the marvelous natural light streaming through the windows and glass roof. It lightens the space and is a them throughout the entire gallery.
I recently visited the Art Gallery of Ontario where Toronto artist Jon Sasaki is showing his installation: Pine. At times, it's funny; and at other times, it's sublime. But it's mostly an accessible nod to image-making and recontextualizing iconic landscapes captured in paintings.
For Pine, Sasaki visited Canoe Lake in Algonquin Park where Tom Thompson created some of Canada's most recognizable paintings. Instead of an easel and paintbox, Sasaki used tools used by some contemporary artists: a video camera and an eight-foot crane. The video itself captures bumps and crashes as the camera operator attempts to rotate a camera and crane 360 degrees through the folliage.
Sasaki's installation demonstrates the folly in attempting to capture pristine beauty in nature as the camera-work in the shot is mostly imperfect. But the video achieves moments of sublime elegance as the camera soars above the trees to provide a breathtaking view of the lake.
It's not Tom Thomson, of course. But it's a smart re-imagining of the landscape. The installation includes a lightbox image of the crane and camera in an image reminiscient of Thomsson's oil on canvas paintings, such as "Jack Pine" (1916-17).
I have always enjoyed Sasaki's work -- as with his previous works at Nuit Blance 2008, I Promise It Will Always Be This Way. Do you remember the mascots at Lamport Stadium? I've blogged about the works at Nuit Blanche before, and it's where I first encountered Sasaki's work. I'm looking forward to Sasaki's next project.
To commemorate the death of her twin sister, Sbu Myeni created the Dr. Seni Myeni Foundation of Hope. The foundation's goal is to help orphaned girls in the village of KwaNyuswa in the Valley of 1,000 Hills in South Africa where the Myeni sisters grew up. KwaNyuswa is a semi-rural village outside Durban. Although they lived during the apartheid regime and were surrounded by poverty and HIV and AIDS, the sisters excelled.
For more on the backstory of starting the foundation, here's a short documentary I made:
The foundation has found its first two students: Nqobile Nzama and Ntokozo Gcwensa.
I recently interviewed Sbu Myeni about the girls. Here's the story of Nqobile Nzama.
Nqobile Nzama
Nqobile Nzama's mother died in 2006. Nqobile is now 13 years old and is in grade seven. Her gogo (or grandmother) is raising her along with two cousins who are also orphaned. Their corrugated iron shack leaked every time it rained. Neighbours intervened and with the help of the Hillcrest AIDS Centre Trust, they gathered enough building material to build a two-room shelter.
In June 2010, Nqobile was the best student in her class with a grade average of 83.9%. She attended what was considered to be the worst school in her community where there is a low-graduation rate and limited options for its students. Nqobile's grandmother couldn't afford the R260 South African Rand (or $39.10 USD) for the annual tuition for a better school.
Nqobile's Family Dwelling in KwaNyuswa
The Dr Seni Myeni Foundation of Hope enrolled Nqobile at Inkamana High School, a private Catholic boarding school in Vryheid. It's one of the best schools in South Africa with a 100% Matric pass. The fees are approximately$2500 US per year and the fee includes tuition, board, meals, uniform, school supplies and transport.
"This has been a life changing experience for Nqobile," says Sbu Myeni. "Her teacher told us that getting an opportunity to attend such a prestigious school changed Nqobile's outlook altogether and boosted her confident significantly. She has made many friends and is focused on being the best student amongst her peers at her new school."
Inkamana High School is where Seni Myeni, the namesake of the Dr. Seni Myeni Foundation, attended school.
I'm a Canadian journalist and filmmaker. I have produced and directed over 200 documentaries and profiles. Their subjects run the gamut from pop culture, literature, film and dance to television, theatre, visual art and architecture. I have interviewed Francis Ford Coppola, Colin Firth, Margaret Atwood, Peaches, Yann Martel, Edward Burtynsky, Bruce Mau, Jason Reitman and Heath Ledger to name a few. Over the years, I have also lived in South Africa making several documentaries and short films. My documentary work has been broadcast on TVO and CTV, and my short films have screened internationally in film festivals, art galleries, and design and music conferences. My work has also been featured on CBC Radio's Q. Passionate about moving pictures and sound, I've been creating videos for the web before the launch of YouTube. Opinions expressed here are my own.
