On Summit

This week London witnessed the expected media buzz that now goes hand-in-hand with the unveiling of the newest Fourth Plinth sculpture . Over the last few years the big reveal has become something of a big deal in the art world; presenting (if nothing else) the chance for contemporary art to demonstrate it still has the power to rankle and subvert. As the Mayor of London's website proclaims, the Fourth Plinth sculptures are "ambitious and provocative and question the role and nature of contemporary art in our public spaces." By that criteria, Marc Quinn's Alison Lapper Pregnant , Yinka Shonibare’s Ship in a Bottle , and Antony Gormley's One and Other certainly delivered the goods. Thoughtful, human, and provocative, these works challenged the traditional idea of monumental public sculpture as well as our notions about what we choose to celebrate. Sadly, this year's work misses the mark. Powerless Structures, Fig 101 by the Scandinavian artist-duo Elmgreen a...

The Columbus Museum of Art has every reason to crow about their current exhibition Caravaggio: Behold the Man! . The chance to present a Caravaggio painting on North American soil is a coup for any museum; an event worthy of all the banners, billboards, and fanfare money can buy. And while I'm as big a fan as anyone of the art world's original enfant terrible , I'll admit to being much more excited about the CMA's other blockbuster show, Monet to Matisse: Celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the Sira k Collection . Edward Degas Houses at the Foot of a Cliff (Saint-Valery-Sur-Somme), ca. 1895-1898 Columbus Museum of Art Acquired in 1991, the Howard C. and Babette L. Sirak Collection represented a watershed moment for the Columbus Museum of Art. Complementing the earlier contributions of notable collector Ferdinand Howald, as well as an already strong selection of American modernists, the Sirak Collection provided a breadth of coverage the CMA had previously been lacking...

I've been using Goodreads for the last couple years to keep track of what I read - and perhaps more importantly - to see what friends and colleagues are reading. I work in a library, so keeping abreast of new titles as well as books in a variety of genres is important. Goodreads helps me do that. It's also a great place to find recommendations from people who have similar tastes. I invariably learn about books I'd probably never had heard of through my Goodreads friends. Add in the copious social features (places to share reviews, comment on reviews and update your status) and you've got a pretty neat tool for book lovers. As if that weren't enough, the "Never Book Ending Quiz" is addictive and educational. This year (2012 that is) I signed up for the Goodreads 2012 Reading Challenge. It's a system that allows you to set a target number of books to read in the coming year and then track your progress. My hope is that by using this tool I'll be a...

I took advantage of the unseasonably warm weather yesterday to visit Scioto Park during my lunch break. The river was running high thanks to a few days worth of rain, but the sun was just starting to peek through the clouds. While I was enjoying the splendor of nature at its most natural, I was struck by a particularly tall and particularly straight conifer on the east slope of the ridge leading down to the river. On closer inspection it turned out this specimen was not a tree at a all, but a cell tower cleverly camouflaged to look like a tree. Of course this is the same park that's more famously known for its twelve foot tall stack of limestone bricks cleverly arranged to look like Leatherlips, so who's to say things have to be what they appear to be. For what it's worth, I support both these initiatives. More monumental sculptures of indigenous peoples and more cell towers that look like something other than cell towers are probably both good things.

The Wexner Center recently screened Sophie Fiennes' documentary "Over Your Cities Grass Will Grow" . This film artfully documents La Ribaute, the studio compound created and maintained by the artist Anselm Kiefer from 1993 to 2008. Located in an abandoned silk factory near Barjac, France, La Ribaute is a surreal amalgam of industrial work spaces, sculptures, tunnels, and installations. Conceived by Kiefer as a kind of "total work of art" the space acts as both a work of environmental art in its own right as well as a place where art is created. Now I'll admit up front that I'm not a huge Anselm Kiefer fan. I find his paintings to be more or less "OK" - and really, given the sturm und drang that Kiefer seems to be aiming for, "OK" suddenly sounds like a pretty insulting assessment. It's not meant to be. It's more an acknowledgement that I get it and I understand it, I'm just not moved by it. Sure, Kiefer has cemented h...

I'm currently in Nashville, taking part in the 2011 PLA Results Boot Camp . This professional development workshop offers library staff the chance to learn about strategic planning, data-based decision making, resource allocation, and change management. As part of the program our group was given the opportunity to tour Nashville's Main Library. Along with the usual amenities offered by a major metropolitan library, the Nashville Public Library also boasts a number of special collections worth checking out. The Wilson Limited Editions Collection includes over 800 books designed and illustrated by artisans for the Limited Editions Club and Arion Press. The Civil Rights Room contains a wide array of media documenting Nashville's role in the Civil Rights struggle. The Nashville Room is a terrific local history resource while Gregory Ridley's copper panels illustrating the story of Nashville represent a terrific example of public art in a library setting. Of course the t...

All of the sudden the arts calendar in Central Ohio is packed with some top-notch shows and events. Here's a rundown of what I'll be checking out in the next month, and why: What: Caravaggio: Behold the Man! The Impact of a Revolutionary Realist. October 21, 2011 - February 5, 2012, Columbus Museum of Art Why: It's a Caravaggio painting. It's in Columbus. Isn't that enough? Seriously, people fly to Europe to see this sort of thing, and this one's going to be in your own back yard. Go see it. What: Alexis Rockman: A Fable for Tomorrow September 16, 2011 - December 30, 2011, Wexner Center for the Arts Why: Maybe you no longer believe painting can tell vital stories. Perhaps you've forgotten what it's like to get lost in a painting. Maybe you've decided that only 19th-century landscape painters can do sublime. If that sounds like what ails you, then Alexis Rockman is the cure. Think big-budget message movie without the shitty dialouge and crappy CGI...