Discovering Contemporary Art

  "All the Beauty and the Bloodshed" HBO Documentary, Laura Poitras (1hr 57 mins) This weekend I watched the 2022 Documentary about Nan Goldin titled "All the Beauty and the Bloodshed." Produced and directed by Laura Poitras, the film follows the life and work of Nan Goldin, and her activism in the Opioid epidemic. The film is emotional and thought provoking as Nan Goldin shares openly and honestly about her life from childhood through to the present, as well as the struggles faced by many during the AIDS crisis and opioid epidemic.  Nan Goldin, Buzz and Nan at the Afterhours, New York City, 1980, Silver dye bleach print Nan Goldin, Nan and Dickie in the York Motel, New Jersey, 1980, silver dye bleach print Nan Goldin shares in the film about the struggles within her family and with losing her sister to suicide at a young age, and that the most important relationships to her were her friends. As such, her photographs capture the lives, situations, and personalitie...

  Manetti Shrem Museum of Art, Davis, California Entrance sign to Loie Hollowell's exhibition, "Tick Tock Belly Clock." Last week I was able to visit the Manetti Shrem Museum of Art in Davis, California. The Manetti Shrem is a contemporary art museum with architecture that feels futuristic and inviting through its open atmosphere. One of the exhibits being shown was Loie Hollowell's "Tick Tock Belly Clock." Loie Hollowell is an artist born and raised in Northern California, whose work focuses on the body, spirituality, femininity, birth, and abstraction. This exhibition, "Tick Tock Belly Clock," features soft pastel drawings and oil paintings revolving around themes of pregnancy and birth. One wall of Loie Hollowell's exhibition with 5 soft pastel drawings Another wall of Loie Hollowell's exhibition featuring 7 soft pastel drawings Loie Hollowell's pieces all feature symmetrical compositions with soft pastel colors. They are hung on the...