Category Archives: Reviews & Opinions
Leonardo da Vinci and The Last Supper
“Tell me if anything was ever done?” These words were scribbled several times by Leonardo da Vinci in his sketchbooks around the time he finished painting “The Last Supper” in 1498. Commissioned by Lodovico Sforza, the duke of Milan, it graces the wall in the refectory of the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, in Milan, Italy. I read Leonardo and the Last Supper, by Ross King, 2012. Much has been written about the Renaissance artist and arguably his second most famous painting (after the “Mona Lisa”), and this is the most recent. It is a well researched account of the …
Happy New Year
On this last day of 2012, I look back in reflection as we all do. This past year has had some nice successes, but there have been many challenges and disappointments in it for Michelle and me, so overall I am happy to bid adieu to 2012 and look forward with anticipation to a better 2013. Each year, my mother sends us the upcoming year astrology predictions from the Calgary Herald newspaper. We saved the 2012 ones until yesterday, and reviewed them in comparison with the year’s events. Eerily, about half of the predictions held true for us both and …
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The Fallacy of Public Art – Part 3
In 1999, I was invited by the North Vancouver Arts Commission (NVAC) to participate on their Public Art Steering Committee. The NVAC is a municipal agency that decides how the local governments spend public money on Arts and Culture. The District and City of North Vancouver were creating a Public Art Program for their municipalities, ostensibly from the ground up. I remember thinking “Fantastic! This is my opportunity to really make a difference, and to help my fellow professional artists.” I thought this would be a chance to create a really effective and accountable Public Art Program, as opposed to …
The Fallacy of Public Art – Part 2
I have had quite a lot of experience with the Public Art process. In the 1980’s, I entered many open call public art competitions, most of them in the Greater Vancouver area. I was rejected from all of them, and I accepted it as I had not had a lot of experience in my chosen field of stone sculpture. A significant event occurred in 1990 that was a career game-changer for me. A colleague and I were commissioned by a developer to create a granite sculpture to adorn a public space. The developer was going to give one of its …
Invest in Art for Enjoyment
While on a visit to my relatives in Alberta, I came across an article in the Calgary Herald newspaper that caught my eye, Invest in Art for Art’s Sake. It made me smile, as the article says exactly what I have been telling my patrons for decades. Often I am asked by a visitor to the gallery, “Should I buy this sculpture for investment?” What they are really asking is, will this art work appreciate in monetary value in the future? I have always replied that a Michael Binkley sculpture should appreciate in value over time, but that should not …
