Greatest Christmas Present Ever

I can't believe I haven't written about this yet!  Look what my sweet fiance got me for Christmas!!  Replacing my old school, fuddy-duddy, 30GB iPod Classic that couldn't even handle photos with this marvel of technology was a true thrill.  I knew I was going to get it for Christmas - Chris asked me specifically what I wanted, and after some waffling between this and the Droid, I said this would be perfect (the sleek, fit in the palm of my hand design is what really swayed me.  Well that, and the App Store).  I was expecting the 8GB but he surprised me with the 32GB!!  I looooooooooove it.  The touch screen is great, I love how you can switch from portrait to landscape orientation (making, say, e-books much easier to read), and it is just sooo easy to use and sync with my iTunes library.  It's my baby!  Greatest thing ever!

The Cutest Kitten Ever

Art History Essay #3: Visit to The Rachofsky House

On the second floor of the Rachofsky House is a painting by Anselm Kiefer entitled Untitled (To the Unknown Painter).  The work was produced in 1983 and is composed of oil paint, emulsion, shellac, latex, and straw on canvas.  It is a large work, approximately four feet by six feet.  It depicts the interior courtyard of a building designed by an architect who notoriously worked for Hitler.  In the center of the courtyard is a tall, thin, monument upon which is displayed an artist's palette.  The lush application of paint combined with the straw added to the mix gives the painting a thick, gritty texture.  The roughness of the painting's surface enhances the confrontational subject matter of the painting.

Kiefer is well known for producing work that references German history, in particular the period of World War II and the Holocaust.  As a German born in the aftermath of that period, he has struggled in his art to come to terms with the impact of those events on the German nationality and how to reconcile himself to living with the shadow of that history over his country.  His work in general, as in this painting, is dark and textural, and contrasts stark subject matter with fragile materials - i.e. straw.  By raising a monument to the "unknown painter," Kiefer is indirectly memorializing the millions of unknown whose abilities to react to and record the atrocities of the Holocaust were lost.  At the same time, he contrast this with the (at the time) socially accepted art and architecture espoused by the Third Reich.  The shape of the building dwarfs the individual monument, and its walls seem to reach out to enclose it.  The emphasis seems to be the loss of the individual in the face of an overwhelming and ominous force.

I was struck by this painting the moment I saw it.  In the context of the smooth, airy, light planes of the Rachofsky House, the texture and darkness and size of the painting stood out dramatically.  Compositionally I think it is quite successful in conveying the impression of the individual being nearly overwhelmed by seemingly immovable forces.  I love texture in paintings and was very impressed by the mixture of different paints in combination with the straw.  It altogether enhances the brutality of the painting's subject.

On Coziness

This is the time of year when coziness abounds.  Chilly, rainy weather compels me to stay indoors with a fleece blanket, my cat, a cup of coffee (or wine), and a good book.  Thanksgiving leftovers bring on sleepiness.  Christmas trees and lights add a festive yet warm and cuddly feeling to everything.  If a fireplace is available, even better!  There is nothing like the flickering and crackling of a nice fire to add atmosphere.  The mornings can be difficult when all I want to do is stay tucked in underneath my nice warm, floofy comforter and high thread count sheets, particularly when the cat is snoozing away on my legs.   Getting to wear all my favorite sweaters and jackets, cozy pajamas, and my favorite sweater socks (complete with tassels) is one of life's greatest simple pleasures.  Not to mention, bring on the hot chocolate and Starbucks Peppermint Mochas!  Ah, winter isn't so bad!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am thankful for the fact that I am able to sneak additional helpings of all the side dishes while everyone else slips into tryptophan induced comas - being that I don't eat meat and all.  Whee!!

In other news, I know I haven't posted in awhile.  Frankly nothing has struck me as JUST SO WONDERFUL that I must write about it.  Or it could be that I'm lazy.  But here's something that makes me happy: I found shoes to wear to my wedding!  Here's a picture:

Aren't they gorgeous??

Book Heaven!

The Witching Hour by Anne Rice

I feel like I've been a terrible R.I.P. participant, and it's all this damn book's fault!  I wanted to read four books for the challenge, and this is only my second.  It literally took me five weeks of determined effort and one renewal to get through this.  Now don't get me wrong, I love Anne Rice - the Vampire Chronicle books are terrific - but this was a serious change of pace for me.  My fiance recommended this as one of the best books he'd ever read; he said it gave him chills.  Sounded good to me!

This is the first book in Rice's Mayfair Witch series.  It weaves a complicated story ranging in location from New Orleans to San Francisco to France, and in time from the 16th century to the present day.  It begins with the drowning of Michael Curry, who miraculously is rescued and resuscitated by Dr. Rowan Mayfair, a brilliant neurosurgeon.  This experience results in Michael inexplicably gaining psychic power in his hands - when he touches people or things he gets "flashes" of information about them.  As he struggles to cope with this experience, his and Rowan's life begin to intertwine.  Meanwhile, a mysterious Englishman, Arthur, arrives from a paranormal research organization called the Talamasca.  Eager to learn both about Michael's power and (for reasons that are explained later) to meet Rowan, Arthur sets in motion a series of events that results in Michael and Rowan falling in love and embarking on a journey to learn about the vast, complex history of Rowan's family, the Mayfairs, and to determine the purpose of Michael's powers.  

That's probably a really cruddy summary but I find it hard to describe an immensely dense, complicated story that really could have been two books instead of one: one dealing with Michael and Rowan's story (what I considered "the action") and one covering the Mayfair family history.  The family history, covering over three hundred years in extraordinary detail, takes up a whole third of the book.   While I enjoyed it quite a bit, it made for slow reading when all I really wanted was to get back to the "real" story in the present day.  It's quite the worthwhile read, but I recommend having a LOT of time to do so.