Paper and Threads

Last week my husband and I went to the NYCB working rehearsals 3 days in a row.  These are offered as part of becoming a FRIEND of the ballet company and they are amazing!  On Wednesday we listened to Andrew Litton conduct all of the music for 3 upcoming ballets.  On Thursday and Friday we watched two 2-hour working rehearsal sessions of ballets being performed this week.  I try to do a sketch each time I'm there, but the lights are usually too dim.

This is a sketch of an assistant conductor following along in the score (left) with just a glimpse of Andrew Litton conducting.  The full orchestra was in the pit, but I could see the very top of the harp. 

The Prodigal Son Ballet - several dancers were in costume, on the stage, before the lights went down.

A full dress rehearsal with orchestra of "Scenes de Ballet" - a wonderful ballet danced completely by students from the School of American Ballet.  The sets were gorgeous and the students amazing.  The choreography depicts a Russian ballet studio, with a very long barre diagonally in the middle of the stage.  Dancers are in pairs, with one on the left of the barre, and then another dancer on the right side pretending to be the mirror image of her.  The precision was extraordinary.  The auditorium was completely black when the curtain went up, so I memorized one dance position, and then sketched the dancers at home, reversing one to get the mirror image.  It was really hard.

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What an amazing day.  I've lived in Manhattan for more that 20 years and I've never seen such a large, very happy, energized crowd - of all ages, races, and both sexes.  A friend of mine made me a Pussy Hat - THANK YOU Michelle - and I felt appropriately dressed as I got off the subway and walked to our groups starting place. 

We were 4 blocks away from the start of the March when suddenly the streets were packed from sidewalk to sidewalk and extra streets had to be closed down. 

Progress was very slow.

But that gave us time to read some of the very clever signs. 

This one says "Hate does not make America Great Again."

Meanwhile my two grandchildren who live in Washington DC, and were with the big March there, had their own signs.  Annabelle made herself one to stress Girl Power. 

And William (Age 5) carried one made by a friend that said  "Be Kind, Tell the Truth, Be Respectful.  I expect at least as much from the President as I do from my 5 year old!

As I look at the Womens' Marches that took place around the world, I'm in awe!  New York's crowd was estimated at 400, 000, LA 750,00, and DC 500,000.   This power needs to now be converted into a movement that will change Republican policy.  Everyone needs quaranteed human rights, women need to control their own bodies, diversity of all types needs to be respected, and this country needs affordable health care. 

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I saw two art exhibits that inspired me to draw more faces.  There is a huge retrospective exhibit on Francis Picabia at the Museum of Modern Art:  Our Heads Are Round So Our Thoughts Can Change Direction.  I learned that he was from a very wealthy family and rarely stayed with one specific type of art - making it more difficult to be well known in the art world. 

This is a wall photo of Francis Picabia at the entrance to the exhibit, playfully sitting on a child's toy. 

Link to Museum Website:  https://www.moma.org/calendar/exhibitions/1670?locale=en  

I was immediately attracted to the set of paintings that he called "Transparencies."  He appropriated existing art for the layers in these large paintings - incorporating images from mythology, religion, and even other artists.  It is hard to imagine how he created the layers in oil paint.  In Salome, the painting below, it is speculated that there is the body of a contemporary nude dancer, a Boticelli head, John the Baptist's head on a platter, and figures, columns, and ceramics from the Greeks.

I walked through the Gallery of "Transparencies" and sketched various faces, and then added the black head from one of the paintings that I think was part of his "Monster" series.

Several days later, we joined friends at the Whitney Museum.  This is the best photo I was able to take of the architecture of the new building.  It was a cold, windy day, so I'm surprised to see any people out on the balconies.

The main exhibit was "Portraits" from their collection. 

http://whitney.org/Exhibitions/HumanInterest 

I loved it because there was a very loose definition of portraits - and many were collections of symbols or favorite things of the artist. 

As soon as I saw the Calder wire head of Varese, I knew that I had to draw it from the front and side. 

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I haven't been at the Monthly Meetup groups since summer and miss it.  This Saturday my NYC Grandchildren weren't arriving for an overnight until 2:30, so I had time to join the group for 2 hours at the Time Warner Center to enjoy the Holiday Decorations and do some sketching. 

The main Atrium, overlooking Columbus Circle, has beautiful hanging stars that change colors constantly.  Here are two photos that I took.

I decided to analyze their shapes and draw them, and then added the cityscape very loosely.

In the remaining session I sketched a window display from J. Crew Men just because I liked the Christmas tree in earmuffs, gloves, and slippers. 

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I was waiting to meet friends from DC at ABC Carpet, which is a winter wonderland each holiday season.  Each year we look at the displays and get so many ideas for colors and decorating.  I took the time while waiting for them  to draw a few of the animals that were part of their displays.   

We did some shopping at Fishes Eddy and Flying Tiger, also on Broadway around Union Square, and then in the afternoon spent a few hours at the FIT Museum exhibits.  Photography was not permitted in the Proust's Muse (Countess Greffulhe) exhibit, but these were elaborate clothes from another era and too hard to draw on the fly.   A second exhibit, Black Fashion Designers just opened and was amazing - full of clothes I would love to wear now.

Proust's Muse will end on January 7th and Black Fashion Designers on May 16th. 

This is a photo of many terrific designs, especially the white and black evening dress. 

And this is my sketchbook page documenting 3 of my favorite designs.

Posted by Shirley at 2:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)