Art in the City
"Life's Pleasures
The Ashcan Artists' Brush with Leisure, 1895-1925"
Detroit Institute of Arts
So before this exhibit my knowledge of the Ashcan School was limited-I knew they painted gritty urban scenes, subject matter that set them apart from their peers in the early 20th century, and that the most famous example of their work was George Bellows' "Stag at Sharkey's", the famous boxing painting with the lean, grappling boxers. Featured on a postage stamp, that painting was also highlighted in my childhood copy of of Readers Digest's Story of America which I remember well. (I pretty much memorized all the pictures in that book. Yes, I am a nerd.) But after my visit last week to the renovated DIA, I know all about it.
The Ashcan School primarily consisted of 8 painters, shockingly known as "The Eight", who actually weren't a formal school at all-they only ever all showed together once. But because of the similiarity in subject and time the press lumped them together. In fact, only 5 of the 8 painted the kind of scenes stereotypically considered 'ashcan' a fact borne out by the DIA exhibit. When you hear the name 'ashcan' you don't think polo or croquet or sunlit picnics in Central Park but there they were. Overall, the exhibit was a handsome one but its modest size ("Stag at Sharkey's" was not included) and scope made it seem rather B list. I was also a little bummed that the only Edward Hopper included was a very dull sketch. Given the massive ongoing Hopper exhibition and the fact he was only loosely grouped with the Ashcans I guess I shouldn't have been surprised.
I was happy, however, to have an excuse to check out the new renovations and arrangement of the museum. Like a lot of museums, the DIA is experimenting with mixing things up-instead of just going in strict chronological order they are grouping things by theme or pattern. When that works it can definately make you see things in a new light but when you don't buy into the theme it can become a game of 'one of these things is not like the other'. I was reminded though of how much I love Jean-Leon Gerome's "Solitude", (see above) one of the museum's signature pieces and a postcard of it for my fridge was my only purchase. (Big spender me!)
The Ashcan Artists' Brush with Leisure, 1895-1925"
Detroit Institute of Arts
So before this exhibit my knowledge of the Ashcan School was limited-I knew they painted gritty urban scenes, subject matter that set them apart from their peers in the early 20th century, and that the most famous example of their work was George Bellows' "Stag at Sharkey's", the famous boxing painting with the lean, grappling boxers. Featured on a postage stamp, that painting was also highlighted in my childhood copy of of Readers Digest's Story of America which I remember well. (I pretty much memorized all the pictures in that book. Yes, I am a nerd.) But after my visit last week to the renovated DIA, I know all about it.
The Ashcan School primarily consisted of 8 painters, shockingly known as "The Eight", who actually weren't a formal school at all-they only ever all showed together once. But because of the similiarity in subject and time the press lumped them together. In fact, only 5 of the 8 painted the kind of scenes stereotypically considered 'ashcan' a fact borne out by the DIA exhibit. When you hear the name 'ashcan' you don't think polo or croquet or sunlit picnics in Central Park but there they were. Overall, the exhibit was a handsome one but its modest size ("Stag at Sharkey's" was not included) and scope made it seem rather B list. I was also a little bummed that the only Edward Hopper included was a very dull sketch. Given the massive ongoing Hopper exhibition and the fact he was only loosely grouped with the Ashcans I guess I shouldn't have been surprised.
I was happy, however, to have an excuse to check out the new renovations and arrangement of the museum. Like a lot of museums, the DIA is experimenting with mixing things up-instead of just going in strict chronological order they are grouping things by theme or pattern. When that works it can definately make you see things in a new light but when you don't buy into the theme it can become a game of 'one of these things is not like the other'. I was reminded though of how much I love Jean-Leon Gerome's "Solitude", (see above) one of the museum's signature pieces and a postcard of it for my fridge was my only purchase. (Big spender me!)
posted by Sam @ 5:36 PM
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