City View Villefranche-sur-Mer Blair Pessemier Acrylic/canvas 16 x 13 inches
Laurie Fox Pessemier Mimosa and rose petals Acrylic/canvas 14 x 14 inches
Impression Cocteau Chapel Blair Pessemier Acrylic/canvas 16 x 13
Boat Blair Pessemier Acrylic/canvas 16 x 24 inches
Lighthouse Cap Ferrat Laurie Fox Pessemier Acrylic/canvas 28 x 36 inches
Bussan Vecchio Blair Pessemier Acrylic/canvas 12 x 12
Artnotes: Inspired by the Foundation Maeght
A major path through the sculpture garden was roped
off. I thought I would just ask the
gardener to read me the sign indicating the artist. “Which sculpture?” He asked. The one with the ladder, I pointed out. “Oh, that’s Dietman,” he continued, “and that one is Calder, and the
mosaic is Talcoat.” I knew then we were
in a very special place, where the apparent maintenance crew knew all about the
art.
Yesterday we visited the Foundation Maeght in St. Paul de
Vence. If I knew how great it was, I would
have gone sooner.
I went because I thought the life size figure painting retrospective
for Djamel Tatah looked interesting, and
it was. Since the 1980s he has been
painting life size (anonymous) people, arranged in groups, or singularly, on
different grounds, using photography, wax, paint, wood… The
hanging of the 50 or so works in the show was phenomenal – when you looked up
the stairwell, the portion of the painting with a single man seemed to stand at
the head of the stairs. White background
work was hung in the sunny room with a stained glass piece by Miro, so the
image appeared to have come in a on sunbeam.
The architecture, by Lluis Sert, was remarkable. I can’t do it justice with words – the
building was built to house some of the greatest artwork of the twentieth
century. Artists, architects and
benefactors (Marguerite and Aimee Maeght) worked closely together to realize
the project. There is a sculpture garden
by Gaicometti, and a “labyrinth” by Miro (this is phenomenal), works by Pol Bury,
Chagall, Joan Mitchell, Bonnard, just to name a few.
We started the tour at the chapel of St. Bernard. The most minimal, abstract, stations of the
cross were executed by Ubac. There was a stained glass window made for the
chapel by Braque. All of these things
were made in the 1960s for the dedication of the museum in 1964 (thanks also to
Andre Malraux).
I have never seen such a “single thought” running through a
contemporary property. When one visits
Versailles, or Malmaison, one can say “oh, there’s that wonderful theme”, but
most new museums, houses, properties are designed on a computer, by a “team”
and there is inevitably an incongruous element (not to mention the overwhelming
souvenir shop). Not so at the Foundation
Maeght. Yes, in the shop were actual
signed lithographs (not posters) by the artists represented in the museum, but
no Monet pencil boxes.
I was overwhelmed by
the perfection. I am tempted to become a
member so I can access their library.
I was so thankful for this Monday at St Paul de Vence, sunny
and bright. The rain started again on
Tuesday afternoon, and continued, with few small breaks until today,
Saturday. I managed to get out last
night and paint a large view of the lighthouse at Cap Ferrat and the bay. Blair has taken each opportunity to dash out
and add a stroke or two to his work.
These are heavy art headwinds we are dealing with.
I have artnotes piled up for the coming weeks, spending much
time before the computer. When we’re not
watching Mr. Moto movies (or Broadway Danny Rose, my favorite movie, thank you
V for bringing it), I am writing you art letters.
