#dot seurat

[callmedotseurat]

Bernadette Peters during the Broadway run of Sunday in the Park with George. (May 1984)

Photos by Howard Kissel

[sondheimfam]

i don’t need therapy; i get all my relationship advice from the genius annotations on the lyrics of sondheim songs

[theleanbean]

Why am I doing this to myself again (wip)

[dangerliesbeforeyou]

btw if ur wondering that i'm blogging less because i have a Life then fear not, i am actually blogging less because i've been working on a pointillism piece for days now and i am slowly losing my MIND SEND HELP PLEASE

[dottie-n-stripes]

ik you revealed stria and piers names, but does mom flecker have a first name yet?

i've spent a lot of time thinking and i think i finally have some cheeky names hehe. dottie's mom is seurat (artist who created pointillism for a squid who made dots LOL) and her auntie is rosette (what leopard spots are called)

[artsandculture]

A Sunday on La Grande Jatte (1884) 🎨 Georges Seurat 🏛️ The Art Institute of Chicago 📍 Chicago, United States

In his best-known and largest painting, Georges Seurat depicted people relaxing in a suburban park on an island in the Seine River called La Grande Jatte. The artist worked on the painting in several campaigns, beginning in 1884 with a layer of small horizontal brushstrokes of complementary colors. He later added small dots, also in complementary colors, that appear as solid and luminous forms when seen from a distance.Seurat's use of this highly systematic and "scientific" technique, subsequently called Pointillism, distinguished his art from the more intuitive approach to painting used by the Impressionists. Although Seurat embraced the subject matter of modern life preferred by artists such as Claude Monet and Pierre-Auguste Renoir, he went beyond their concern for capturing the accidental and instantaneous qualities of light in nature. Seurat sought to evoke permanence by recalling the art of the past, especially Egyptian and Greek sculpture and even Italian Renaissance frescoes. As he explained to the French poet Gustave Kahn, "The Panathenaeans of Phidias formed a procession. I want to make modern people, in their essential traits, move about as they do on those friezes, and place them on canvases organized by harmonies of color." Some contemporary critics, however, found his figures to be less a nod to earlier art history than a commentary on the posturing and artificiality of modern Parisian society. Seurat made the final changes to La Grande Jatte in 1889. He re-stretched the canvas in order to add a painted border of red, orange, and blue dots that provides a visual transition between the interior of the painting and his specially designed white frame.

[eahostudiogallery]

Pointillism revisited

Pádraig Timoney - Not To Put Too Fine A Point On It… 1

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Michelle Possum Nungurrayi - Women's Dreaming

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Maggie Hall - Momma Said There Would By Days Like This, 2023

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Damien Hirst

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Tyler Hobbs

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Bruno Falibois

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Georges Seurat - Seated Bather, 1883

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RA Clayton - Window Dressing

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Sigmar Polke - Untitled

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Erwin Blumenfeld c. 1955

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Michael Schreiner

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Ruth Thorne-Thomsen - Dot Lady

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Greg Keenlight

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Fiona Banner - Break Point, 1998

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Thomas Andréa Barbey - Nuit Mars, 2023

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Michael Wolf - Street View, Portraits

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Auguste Herbin - The Roofs of Paris in the Snow, 1902

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unknown via final thought

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[nancydrewwouldnever]

Georges Seurat, The Circus, 1891, oil/canvas (Musée d'Orsay, Paris)

Details showing color dots

[theadaptableeducator]

An ‘Ism’ Overview - Pointillism vs. Impressionism

Pointillism and Impressionism are two important artistic movements that emerged in France in the late 19th century. While both movements sought to capture the fleeting beauty of the natural world, they differ significantly in their techniques, styles, and aims. In this essay, I will explore the similarities and differences between these two movements, focusing on their origins, methods, and outcomes.

Impressionism emerged in the 1860s as a reaction against the academic style of painting that dominated the French art establishment. Led by artists such as Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, and Pierre-Auguste Renoir, the Impressionists sought to capture the fleeting effects of light and atmosphere in their paintings. They used loose brushstrokes and bright, vivid colours to create an impression of the world around them. The aim of the Impressionists was not to create a realistic representation of the world but to capture its fleeting beauty and transience.

Pointillism, on the other hand, emerged in the 1880s as a response to Impressionism. The technique was developed by Georges Seurat, who believed that painting should be based on scientific principles. He believed that the eye could blend small dots of colour together to create a more luminous effect than if the colours were mixed together on the palette. Seurat's technique involved using small dots of pure color, called points, arranged in a systematic way to create a sense of form and depth. Unlike the Impressionists, who used loose brushstrokes and blended colours, the Pointillists used small, discrete dots of colour that were carefully arranged to create a precise effect.

One of the key differences between Impressionism and Pointillism is their approach to colour. Impressionists used bold, vivid colours to create an impression of the natural world, while Pointillists used a more scientific approach to colour, using small dots of pure colour that were carefully arranged to create a more luminous effect. Another difference is their approach to form. Impressionists used loose brushstrokes and blurred edges to create a sense of movement and transience, while Pointillists used precise dots of colour to create a sense of form and depth.

Despite these differences, both Impressionism and Pointillism sought to capture the fleeting beauty of the natural world. Both movements were concerned with capturing the effects of light and atmosphere, and both sought to create a sense of movement and energy in their paintings. However, while Impressionism was concerned with creating an impression of the natural world, Pointillism was more concerned with creating a precise, scientific representation of the world.

In conclusion, while Impressionism and Pointillism are two distinct artistic movements, they share a common interest in capturing the fleeting beauty of the natural world. While Impressionists sought to create an impression of the world using loose brushstrokes and vivid colours, Pointillists used a more scientific approach, using small dots of pure colour arranged in a systematic way. Despite their differences, both movements made important contributions to the development of modern art, and their influence can still be seen in the work of contemporary artists today.

[tarzinnia]

Surface Tension

This is for @littlewhispersofsolitude OTP Prompt: Kisses

"Kissing each other as tears well in their eyes because they're not sure if/when they'll see each other again. Wrapping their arms around each other, pulling them closer to feel every bit of them in case it's the last time they get to."

A/N: I hope I credited the prompt properly. Please correct me if I need to change how I did that.

Pairing: Peter Parker x OC or Peter Parker x Reader

Warnings: Angst maybe?

She was sitting on a small blue blanket near a tree; it wasn't their tree since this was Central Park. Their tree, where they usually shared lunch, was in a park in Queens, much closer to each of their apartments but she had asked to meet him here, near her office. She said she needed to finish this project before she left tomorrow but he knew it was to keep the moment impersonal somehow. Easier.

As if anything was easy.

As if anything was.

As if anything.

As if.

He didn't approach her. Not yet.

She hadn't started searching for him amongst the people dotted here and there like a painting by Seurat. People walking, lounging on the grass, tossing a frisbee.

She was motionless, however, her face turned slightly away. His eyes followed her gaze to a brown-haired young man and a slender woman each holding the hand of a small boy between them, lifting the child up every so often and swinging him, his bare arms taut while his little legs bicycled through the air.

He didn't care to examine the emotion that descended from his throat and twisted somewhere in the vicinity of his heart at the vignette displayed on the grassy lawn. Him watching her watching them. What could be. Whatever there is. Whatever...

As if.

Her raised arm indicated she had spotted him and he strolled over to the tree that wasn't theirs.

"Hi."

"Hi." She was smiling at him but her eyes were not. The word inscrutable came to mind but he didn't normally use fancy words like that.

"I bought sandwiches, I hope that's okay?" She gestured at the paper sack from a deli near her workplace and pulled two water bottles from her ever present tote with I read banned books emblazoned on the side. He gave her that tote last October, when they sat under their tree, its bare arms reaching up. Reaching out. As if.

He didn't want to sit near this tree. He didn't want to sit and catch the scent of her perfume. To sit and watch her delicate fingers brush her hair from her eyes as the breeze blew wisps about her face. To sit and see her wistful smile as she watched him eat. Reaching out with her fingers to brush a crumb off his cheek. As if.

They ate in silence. The words were knotted in the tangles and twists of a timeline that began at their tree and ended at the tree that wasn't theirs. They sat together, watching as the couple with the little boy tossed a kite in the air. Watching as it danced clear of the open arms of nearby trees, reaching for the sky. As if.

Him watching her watching them. Until she caught his eye and cleared her throat, and began to gather their empty wrappers and napkins, sweeping them into the tote. Inscrutable, he thought.

His hand closed around the pink bottle in his pocket and he slowly withdrew his hand, turning away slightly so she couldn't see as he set the bottle on the blanket and twisted off the lid. Two wands. After the very first time at their tree he added the second one just for her.

He turned toward her, drawing a wand out and lifting it to his lips so that the bubbles came around them like a cloud. Floating towards her, floating into open arms reaching towards his, floating towards the sky. As if.

"Peter." Her voice caught on his name. Her arms wrapping around him, holding him tightly while the bubbles floated around them and above them and vanished one by one.

She kissed him as if afraid the memories would vanish like bubbles. She kissed him as if their arms would forever be empty, she kissed him as if it were the easiest thing in the world to love him.

She kissed him as if she would never see him again.

As if.

"I'm coming back, Peter. I love you. You know that. I promise I'm coming back."

He looked at her face, no longer inscrutable; reaching out with love.

As if it were a kite, his heart lifted toward the sky. As if.

END

[susandsnell]

🌻🌻🌻

send me a 🌻 and ill just tell you whatever the fuck i want

i personally think that doublecasting dot / marie in sunday in the park with george, while obviously a great way to showcase a star lead female, is actually a mistake; aside from the tendency of productions to lose you emotionally with corny grandma wigs, you might be better served thematically (especially considering the weird subtext of young george and old george sharing an actor while also talking to his great aunt/grandma who happens to also be the spirit that comes to him as dot speaking to georges seurat and it's real messy) by doublecasting the old woman (aka georges seurat's mother) and marie in terms of the details they notice and getting to showcase an older actress instead, with dot's spirit coming back as herself lending itself to greater cohesion.

thanks for this, and happy holidays!

[callmedotseurat]

George & Dot! Mandy Patinkin visits Bernadette Peters backstage at Sondheim's Old Friends in London. (November 2023)

[art-portraits]

Self Portrait

Artist: Vincent van Gogh (Dutch, 1853–1890)

Date: 1887

Medium: Oil on artist's board, mounted on cradled panel

Collection: Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States

Description

In 1886 Vincent van Gogh left his native Holland and settled in Paris, where his beloved brother Theo was a dealer in paintings. Van Gogh created at least twenty-four self-portraits during his two-year stay in the energetic French capital. This early example is modest in size and was painted on prepared artist’s board rather than canvas. Its densely dabbed brushwork, which became a hallmark of Van Gogh’s style, reflects the artist’s response to Georges Seurat’s revolutionary pointillist technique in A Sunday on La Grande Jatte - 1884. But what was for Seurat a method based on the cool objectivity of science became in Van Gogh’s hands an intense emotional language. The surface of the painting dances with particles of color - intense greens, blues, reds, and oranges. Dominating this dazzling array of staccato dots and dashes are the artist’s deep green eyes and the intensity of their gaze. “I prefer painting people’s eyes to cathedrals,” Van Gogh once wrote to Theo. “However solemn and imposing the latter may be - a human soul, be it that of a poor streetwalker, is more interesting to me.” From Paris, Van Gogh traveled to the southern town of Arles for fifteen months. At the time of his death, in 1890, he had actively pursued his art for only five years.

[lovinglampcalzonepalace]

Mandy Patinkin & Bernadette Peters | SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE (1984)

George, a contemporary artist, reads from the diary of his great-grandmother Dot, the subject of Seurat’s famous painting, and speaks to her.

George: Dot, why did you write these words?

Dot: They are your words, George, the ones you muttered so often when you worked.

George: “Order”…”Design”…”Tension”…”Composition “…”Balance”…”Light”…Dot, I cannot read this word.

Dot: “Harmony.”

George: So much love in his words. Forever with his colors. How George looks. He can look forever. What does he see? His eyes so dark and shiny, so careful, so exact.

The world of the painting begins to fade until all that is left is a large, white oil canvas.

George: White. A blank page, or canvas. His favorite. So many…possibilities.

[droughtofapathy]

The Gilded Age of Broadway Divas: Duets, Trios, and Other Crossovers

While I wait for my matinee show to start, here's our final compilation just six hours before our season finale. If you've been following along with this series, you'll notice how much overlap there is in the theatre. Everyone has been with, or sung with, or played the same role as everyone else. Here is just a taste of the sublime combined talents of our favorite Broadway Divas. And yes, this is my petition to have a musical episode.

#1: "Lily's Eyes," (The Secret Garden) Miscast 2022 - Audra McDonald and Kelli O'Hara

I watched this, and my soul transcended space and time. Performed at MCC's 2022 Miscast gala honoring Christine Baranski (of course), Audra and Kelli have a brief tiff about which soprano is worthy of Soprano Island before joining together to sing the most resplendent duet you will ever experience in your life.

The Secret Garden opened on Broadway in 1991 starring Rebecca Luker as Lily. Kelli and Audra are singing the parts of Lily's husband and brother-in-law respectively. And like Lily, Rebecca Luker has since passed away. Knowing that they are singing not only to honor Christine, but also to Rebecca, their dear friend and fellow soprano, is yet another layer of heartbreak. I love this song.

#2: "Move On," (Sunday in the Park with George) Princetown concert 2022 - Audra McDonald & Michael Cerveris

Former co-stars reunited in Princetown last year to sing this impromptu duet from the Pulitzer-winning Sunday in the Park with George. Sunday is filled with sublime music, and "Move On" is one of the best. In it, Dot appears to George, the grandson of Georges Seurat, and encourages him to move on with his artistry and stop worrying about perfection. The show itself is beautiful and complex, and a proshot is available for your convenience.

Audra and Michael had previously done a three-day, semi-staged production of this show in 2004, also featuring Patti LuPone as Yvonne/Blair Daniels (the role Christine Baranski created in the original pre-Broadway workshop). Interestingly, this trio would move on to take part in the Lincoln Center Broadcast of Passion in 2005 with Audra as Clara (the Marin Mazzie role), and Patti as Fosca (the Donna Murphy role).

Michael Cerveris would play Giorgio multiple times in his career, including the 10th Anniversary concert with Marin and Donna.

#3 Tonight: Quintet (West Side Story) - Lucky to Be Me: The Music of Leonard Bernstein (2010) - Kelli O'Hara, Donna Murphy, Michael Cerveris

Speaking of Michael Cerveris and Donna Murphy, and joined by Kelli O'Hara, this audio comes from a 2010 concert celebrating the music of Leonard Bernstein. The youtube video incorrectly attributes this to a 2012 concert, but it is not.

"Tonight (Quintet)" is, of course, from West Side Story, where Bernstein wrote the music, and Sondheim wrote the lyrics. Because this was a concert, certain singing parts are taken by those who would not sing such parts in a full production...anymore. (Lest we forget Natalie Wood in the movie.)

Donna sings Anita, and Kelli sings Maria, the two young Puerto Rican women in the show. And I think we'll leave that there. Michael Cerveris sings the part of Riff, and they are joined by Cheyenne Jackson as Tony.

Also featured in this concert is the amazing, incredible, beloved soprano Victoria Clark, who has starred opposite all three of our Gilded Age actors at one point or another. As the Margaret to Kelli's Clara (Light in the Piazza), the Sally to Donna's Phyllis (Encores! Follies), and in Titanic with Michael Cerveris. Theatre, it's all connected.

#4: LoveMusik (2007)

A little more on LoveMusik. While I've already detailed a little on my Donna Murphy post, here's some more about Michael Cerveris, two-time Tony winner. As Kurt Weill, Michael was nominated for a Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, and Drama League Award, but did not win any. While the show itself was given mixed reviews, the performances of Donna and Michael were almost universally praised.

The 2007 Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical included three Gilded Age nominees. Debra Monk (Curtains), Audra McDonald (110 in the Shade) and Donna Murphy (LoveMusik). All three lost to Christine Ebersole of the Grey Gardens variety. Fair. I suppose. However, Audra and Donna tied for the Drama Desk. And there WAS a wonderful clip of their award ceremony online for years, except now that I need it for this, it's been taken down. Of course.

#5: "At the Ballet," (A Chorus Line) - Audra McDonald & Kelli O'Hara

Joined by Megan Hilty, Kelli O'Hara and Audra McDonald performed "At the Ballet" from A Chorus Line at a Lincoln Center Marvin Hamlisch tribute in 2013. Audra showcases a robust lower range I simply adore. Unfortunately the lower key change leaves Kelli's soprano in an awkward place, but I love her anyway.

A Chorus Line is one of the musical theatre greats, and while "At the Ballet" is often overshadowed by "What I Did for Love," it's my personal favorite. The original stage show ran for 6,137 performances, and was nominated for twelve Tonys, winning nine. After Follies, this is the show I most want to see fully staged. A 50th Anniversary revival was rumored back in 2016 for 2025, but I'll believe it when I see it.

#6: The Ladies Who Lunch (Company) - Take Me to the World: A Sondheim 90th Celebration - Christine Baranski & Audra McDonald (ft. Meryl Streep)

Legends. Icons. Divas. What more can I say about "The Ladies Who Lunch," performed by Christine Baranski, Audra McDonald, and Meryl Streep, mother to Louisa Jacobson? As the story goes, they had done so many takes that by this time, they were well and truly on their way to being drunk. And yet, Audra McDonald still sounds more exquisite than anyone on earth.

I watched this when it premiered "live" on YouTube during the early days of the pandemic. Several Broadway stars who would go on to The Gilded Age are featured, including Kelli O'Hara, Laura Benanti, Nathan Lane, and Michael Cerveris.

It has been almost four years, and I have still not recovered from this song's placement in the concert. Picture it: you have just been emotionally wrung out by Donna Murphy's revelatory "Send in the Clowns," sung whilst seated in front of an Al Hirshfeld print of Passion, with her cleavage out in true Mrs. Astor fashion. And then suddenly there's jaunty Company music, and an illustration of the great Elaine Stritch with her martini glass high. And then there is Christine Baranski in a bathrobe and a truly massive glass of red wine. And you think it cannot get any better. And then the second verse hits and there's Meryl Streep with a cocktail mixer. AND THEN Audra Fucking McDonald. They put those two songs back-to-back and expected me to recover one day? As if.

Bonus: "Lips Together, Teeth Apart" (2018) - Nathan Lane & Christine Baranski

While not a musical performance, I would be remiss if I didn't direct your attention to this masterpiece. Did you ever think you'd hear Aunt Agnes gunning to see Ward McAllister's dick? No? Well, here it is. Terrence McNally wrote "Lips Together, Teeth Apart" specifically for his 1991 original cast which included Christine as Chloe and Nathan Lane as her brother Sam. And they are going through marital troubles with their respective spouses. Nathan and Christine reunited in 2018 to perform this scene for McNally's 80th Birthday.

But the Gilded Age connection doesn't stop there:

In 2019, The New York Times Magazine ran a special "America 2024" issue, as a tribute to Terrence McNally. The whole thing is a fantastic read, and I'd recommend it. In it features photoshoots depicting scenes from several of McNally's plays, including "Lips Together, Teeth Apart." And look who's here: Donna Murphy as Chloe (the Christine Baranski role), Broadway's Leading Man Brian Stokes Mitchell, Michael Shannon as Sam (the Nathan Lane role), and Katie Finneran.

And on one of four covers for this issue, Celia Keenan-Bolger.

With that, the conclusion to my little Diva miniseries. I hope you've found this as entertaining as I have. And if you'd like me to go into more detail about anything you've seen throughout this series, let me know, because I have so much more gossip and drama that I had to restrain myself from adding.

LINK TO MASTERPOST

[lostcirce]

Orchid with Peach Trees and Cypresses, Van Gogh

[April 1888, oil on canvas]

Dotting, using Georges Seurat’s fine-tuned technique, to orchestrate this scintillating composition. Diagonal strokes used in the Cypresses to create a contrast to the delicate dabs of pastel colour used on the Peach Trees.