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The Enso (Soon to be Ubiquitous To You)
Oct 05, 2024 by Tim Pingelton
Once you know what "enso" means, you will see them everywhere. For more than 2500 years, this symbol has reflected the "still center" of Japanese Zen Buddhism and/or the Chinese Taoist importance of nothingness.
Three Things I love About Flanders
Apr 08, 2023 by Tim Pingelton
The relatively small area of Belgium known as Flanders is absolutely incredible for its output of outstanding visual artists, beer brewers, and the writer Georges Simenon. And, what's even more incredible, is that these artists and brewers produce(d) works unique to themselves, as Simenon produced not only one style of novel but several seemingly non-derivitave styles.
But What About Isaac?
Mar 26, 2023 by Tim Pingelton
Several well-known artists painted the biblical scene from Genesis in which Abraham, in a divine test, took his only son Isaac out into the wilderness to sacrifice him. At the last second, an angel stayed Abraham’s hand, which was clutching a knife, and tells him to sacrifice a nearby ram instead. I wonder what Isaac thought about this moment. Let's investigate how these artists apparently viewed Isaac's thoughts at that crucial moment in his life.
"The Doctrine of Laches" Novelized
Mar 19, 2023 by Tim Pingelton
My novel Art Appreciation came to form after pondering the Doctrine of Laches, which is a legal defense in which defendants are protected in civil matters if the claimant has been exceedingly lax in coming forward with an accusation of the defendant's guilt. These words are dry and boring, but, put into play in the novel, they become colorized, forcing detours and creating paths into unexpected plots.
A Pricey Cat Door
Mar 11, 2023 by Tim Pingelton
Joseph Mallord William Turner used one of his paintings, which would be worth mucho dinero today, as a cat flap. One of his cats scratched it up, and now it is restored and is in in the Tate Gallery, London. That's all.
The School of Athens Needs a New Superintendent
Mar 05, 2023 by Tim Pingelton
Behold the wonderous fresco painted by Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (better known as Raphael) from 1509 to 1511. It is in the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace, not far from the chapel in which Michelangelo spent so much time on his back high on scaffolding during the same time. It’s a large painting, measuring about 17 by 25 feet, and it went nameless until the 17th Century. I guess, until then, it was just referred to as the painting on the wall of the library. Now we call it The School of Athens.
If I were one of those superintendents who really know their district’s policies, here is what I would report to the school board after evaluating The School of Athens...
Zeus was a Dawg!
Feb 26, 2023 by Tim Pingelton
I have sought out many museums and have very seldom been let down by their collections, exhibits, or architecture. A few times, I have been just floored by these three elements (eg, The Uffizi Gallery in Florence), and a very few times I have been underwhelmed (a tiny maritime museum with about five model ships of no great significance and a small room showcasing the accomplishments of a few sailors seemingly of importance to no one outside of their immediate families).
Most museums imbue me with a special reverential and familiar feeling. This sensation caused me to smile for about three hours nonstop as I wandered through the amazing collection at The Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia. Van Goghs and Cézannes hang amid decorative doorknobs, butter molds, ladder-back chairs, and Yoruba sculpture—all items of especial beauty in design and manufacture. The Barnes houses an amazing, eclectic collection and, to me, is the very definition of “museum.”
A “museum” is simply a home of the Muses. The etymology is simple and direct. The virtues of the Muses cover all of the fine arts and sciences.
The Science of Pointillism
Feb 20, 2023 by Tim Pingelton
George Seurat created the easy-going feel of Pointillistic park scenes by following the hard-science-based color theories of Benjamin Thompson and Michel Eugène Chevreul. The influence of color theory was and is enormous, allowing visual artists to convey deep emotion through studying wavelengths of visible light.
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