Notices by Tarnport (tarnport@mastodon.green), page 3

Deborah Zlotsky. Insofar, 2012.

#Painting

Mainie Jellett. Abstract Composition, 1935.
She was instrumental in establishing abstract #Painting in Ireland, though her subject matter remained very Irish-traditional and often religiously Catholic, even icon-like. She was strong and eloquent, an avid feminist, studied under André Lhote in Paris, but unfortunately died very young.

Tarsila do Amaral. A Negra, 1923.
Another woman paving the way to Brazilian modernism in the early 20th c. This portrait was painted within 1 year of the last #Painting I posted by Malfatti and only a few years after her contemporary challenged entrenched traditionalism in Brazilian painting for the first time. Look at how fast it blew up. This painting is often cropped online to remove the feet, which is odd since do Amaral's most famous painting, Abaporu, is dominated by a similar huge foot.

An 80s "Memphis-style" #Painting by Neil Loeb from a retail site. I'm most interested in the back view, the "bones." It's made to look glossy and post-modern machine-generated ethereal, but that's only artifice, not so different than the illusions of traditional representational art which claim to be windows onto landscapes or people's faces, but in fact are only 2D paint on canvas, too. Rags, wood, pigment - and in this case some bolts, too - arranged to trick the mind into seeing more.

In the USA I was always branded an Extreme Leftist. I came to think it was true. But I've found over 12 years in Europe that I'm not extreme at all, but rather moderate, in fact. It's the USA that was Hard Right. It's all relative. My friends here are mostly farther Left than me. For example, in referring to East Germany as Occupied Germany, or refusing gay marriage as a sellout. It's nice to pass such graffiti and smile at the idealism and not feel indicted, much less responsible.

Hammershøi. Interior with Young Man Reading, 1898. #Painting More work in white on black on white. Somber but soft.