THERE’S A BENEFIT in decluttering: Things previously forgotten bring renewed joy. For instance, over the years I’ve been to the Canadian Grand Prix several times. And in one of the them I combined R&T business/pleasure with a visit to the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts.
I had forgotten about this mini 2007–2008 Exhibition Calendar, but its artists call for retrospectives here.
Germaine Krull. The Monte Carlo Years. At the beginning of European hostilities leading to World War II, photographer Germiane Krull (1897-1985) moved from Paris to Monte Carlo.
The museum displayed 155 of her photographs evocative of what it termed “the many facets of this privileged resort area located between sea and mountain.”
This reminds me of 1992, when I attended the Sporting Club introduction of the McLaren F1.
Maurice Denis. Earthly Paradise. The museum noted, “French artist Maurice Denis (1870–1943) was one of the acclaimed members of the group of painters called the Nabis, or prophets.”
Inspired by Gauguin, the Nabis went on to invent what the museum terms “a symbolist art that shares similarities with Art Nouveau.”
I love the gentle repose of this woman.
American Streamlined Design: The World of Tomorrow. The museum wrote, “Streamlining, a style characteristic of North America in the 1930s, sprang directly from the science of aerodynamics.”
The museum’s exhibition included office, household appliances and tools, the kitchen and bathroom, interior decorating, and sports and leisure.
On a very modest note, there are Fiestaware plates and bowls in our kitchen. Alas, no streamlined pitchers.
Communicating Vessels: New Technologies and Contemporary Art. The Daniel Langlois Foundation for Art, Science, and Technology had celebrated its tenth year in 2007. A collaborative effort of the museum and foundation brought together “digital technology in the media arts and the artists’ interest in the phenomena of language, encoding and the translation of one system of reality with another.”
This reminds me of the exhibition “It’s Only Rock and Roll,” at the Phoenix Art Museum; this museum, the benefactor of the Copperstate 1000. Another nexus of cars, art, and museums came in “Legends of Speed at Phxart.”
Once Upon a Time: Walt Disney. The idea for this exhibition grew from a European trip taken in 1935 by Walt and Roy Disney. “They returned to the United States,” the museum wrote, “with more than 300 illustrated publications, comprising a library of images that would inspire their drawing and creations.”
The exhibition combined Disney works with western European influences ranging from the Middle Ages to Surrealism.
Two other Disney links: “Mickey and a Melting Watch??” and “Haring, Warhol, Disney,” the latter, another exhibit at the Phoenix Art Museum.
It seems I have been blessed with encounters involving cars and art. ds
© Dennis Simanaitis, SimanaitisSays.com, 2021