Ryan Pickart's Portraits

Ingrid, Ryan Pickart

I came across oil painter Ryan Pickart's work over on Escape Into Life here. It's a bit like a modern Klimt, in pastel oils rather than gilt, but still with those big languid eyes, no? They just jump out of the flat, decorative background.

The artist has more work, including some lovely sketches, on his blog.

Alina, Ryan Pickart

Kiss

The first onscreen kiss was captured in 1896 by the Edison Co. in "The May Irwin -- John C. Rice Kiss," showing a couple kissing and talking. They were dressed formally, and he sported a large mustache. Audiences were scandalized."The spectacle of their prolonged pasturing on each other's lips was hard to bear," fumed publisher Herbert S. Stone in a review. "Such things call for police interference." Warhol's 1963 film Kiss is a 54 minute long view of different couples kissing.

More on kissing, from The Science of Kissing: 

• Do you tilt your head to the right when you kiss? 90% of the world does.
• 90% off the world kisses with their mouths now, though the custom has spread from European civilization as recently as the 20th c. 
• There here is a 50% chance that a first kiss with a person will be the last--people use the information gleaned from a kiss, like the genetic compatibility indicated by their smell, to take it or leave it.
• Only 13% of prostitutes' clients demonstrate an interest in French kissing, presumably because kissing involves more than physical pleasure 

Experiment: Slow Art

Today I'm going to MoMA with a purpose: the challenge is to really look at a work. I mentioned a Slow Art event at MoMA a while ago. It asked participants to pick one or two works and just look at them from 15 minutes to an hour. I don't think I can handle an hour--so I'm aiming for 30 minutes.

But now I have to choose what to look at for that long? I'm tempted to choose something in the Monet's Water Lilies exhibition, because it will be big and pretty and I don't know that I fully appreciate Monet.


I've also been checking out the permanent collection. Of course, I can't go wrong with a Picasso. The collection has a magnificent collection of Odilon Redons--but they don't seem to be on view. I love Klimt's The Park, but I'm afraid I would get bored with it.


Of course, maybe I should choose something less well known. If they had Cy Twombly's Four Seasons up, I know what I would choose (it's another absolutely beautiful set of seasonal paintings.) I have quite the penchant for landscapes this morning. A portrait would also be a nice choice, because you could make up stories about the person. Ah well, decisions, decisions.

Anybody have any ideas?