Over a long career Faith Ringgold has used her art to support civil rights for African Americans and feminist causes. The first retrospective of her work in France makes the message clear through its title “Black is Beautiful”. Ringgold was born in 1930 in Harlem and grew up surrounded by the art, literature and music … Continue reading “Faith Ringgold: Black Art Matters”
The British Tate museum has a large collection of David Hockney’s work. A large selection from the collection is on view in Aix-en-Provence, a great opportunity to appreciate the variety of Britain’s most famous pop artist, from his California swimming-pool paintings to collages, portraits and objects. Hockney was born in Yorkshire in 1937, and despite … Continue reading “David Hockney: Pop Art in Aix-en-Provence”
Our bioboxes are short “Who Am I?” quizzes to help introduce pupils to famous figures in the English-speaking world. This one is about American artist Edward Hopper. It gives biographical information and some of his most famous paintings. It would be a great introduction to the artist if you’re planning to have your pupils participate … Continue reading “Biobox: Edward Hopper”
Edward Hopper lived and worked in New York City from 1913 till his death in 1967. Many of his paintings depict the city, but also more generally an essence of American life. Hopper’s vision of that life was of isolation and solitude. He loved films, too, and his paintings often have a cinematic quality: like … Continue reading “Edward Hopper: Views of America”
Many of Edward Hopper’s paintings are like mini-narratives of mid-20th-century America. Although he also painted landscapes, he is best known for portrayals of lonely urban life. There are plenty on show in Edward Hopper’s New York at the Whitney Museum in NYC. We’d like to challenge your pupils to write stories inspired by the images. … Continue reading “Creative Writing Competition: Edward Hopper”
David Hockney is one of Britain’s best known and most popular artists (a retrospective at Tate Britain in 2017 attracted a record half million visitors). His brightly coloured pop art in many media is instantly recognisable. Since 2018, he’s been living in Normandy and was inspired by the Bayeux tapestry to produce a narrative cycle … Continue reading “Digital Seasons with David Hockney”
Under the pseudonym Henry Fuseli, Swiss artist Johan Heinrich Füssli, became one of the leading lights of the 19th-century British art world and a popular proponent of Romanticism and the Gothic. His many depictions of Shakespearean scenes, the supernatural, dreams and nightmares are rich food for the imagination. A new exhibition at the Musée Jacquemart … Continue reading “Gothic Nightmares: Fuseli”
An evening at the Irish Cultural Centre in Paris will provide lots of insights on Northern Ireland, a nation with a still fluctuating identity and status 101 years after its creation. Activist art, thought and song will all combine on 8 June. The Government of Ireland Act that came into force on 3 May 1921, … Continue reading “Everything You Wanted to Know about Northern Ireland”
A retrospective exhibition of Georgia O’Keeffe’s long career at the Pompidou Centre is a great opportunity to work with pupils on her depiction of the U.S.’s wide open spaces. O’Keeffe was born in Wisconsin in 1887 and lived to the age of 98. Her career spanned many of the movements of modern art, at first … Continue reading “America Seen by Georgia O’Keeffe”
Marseilles is an appropriate setting for an exhibition on surrealism in American Art: it was from its port that many members of the Surrealist movement fled Nazi occupied France for New York. Find out more at the centre de la Vieille Charité until 26 September. The exhibition examines the cross-fertilisation between European and American Surrealists … Continue reading “Surrealism in American Art”