#houston museum of fine arts

[quinn-sw]

This is Michael Sheen as Nero in 1805 and no one can convince me otherwise.

(It's not actually him but you really can't tell walking pass this painting can you? It's uncanny lolllll

I always thought he has a very beautiful classical sculpture/painting like face and here's my proof :))

[bybookorbynook]

Van Gogh Exhibit at the Houston Museum of Fine Arts.

The lines were long and the number of people overwhelming but all I felt was sadness at the realisation that all of this came too late.

"Give me my flowers while I can smell them, because after I'm gone it won't mean a damn thing."

[toreii]

Getting to know this hot stud

[psionically]

the gold of my people

[heavyinmyheart]

I seem to have my best moments with this girl.

[houstonphotojourney]

If you live in Houston and are planning to visit this exhibit STOP READING this post now!! I wouldn’t want to ruin any of its surprises :).

In truth, I never heard of Ron Mueck before, but I had seen some advertisements for the “hyperrealistic” artist and the latest exhibit by him at The Museum of Fine Arts here in Houston, Texas.  It looked odd but interesting so off I went! Turns out Mueck is Australian born to German parents who were interestingly toy makers so he grew up making puppets and such-even did work with Jim Henson. You��ll also find his creations in Labyrinth and The Storyteller movies – who knew?! (Not me!)  He worked in TV and film in the US and London prior to switching over to art in the mid 1990’s. I have to say, this is unlike anything I have ever seen – they are all so life-like its bizarre to experience!! Enjoy!

Ron Mueck Exhibit at The Museum of Fine Art Houston Texas

Young Couple – 2013

Untitled (Seated Woman) 1999

Crouching Boy In Mirror (1999-2002)

Two Women (2005)

A Girl (2006)

Had to get the other visitors in the shot to show the SIZE!!!

Still LIfe (2009)

Youth (2009)

I didn’t want to completely freak out any of you that may have been reading while drinking hot coffee, but had I posted this photo from the OTHER angle you would have seen a VERY detailed view of this sculpture including the baby’s still attached umbiilcal cord to both mother and child.  While I wouldn’t care as it IS art…I wouldn’t want readers to spill their coffee :) as her anatomy is very correct!

Couple under an umbrella – 2013

The detail is amazing!!

Stay tuned for more adventures and as always, I appreciate your comments and reading!

Thanks!

Elizabeth and Max

Crazy, Odd Exhibit at The Museum of Fine Art in Houston, TX – Ron Mueck If you live in Houston and are planning to visit this exhibit STOP READING this post now!!

[cherry-coloredfunk]

"Still Life with Fruit"

[wanderingggminddd]

Going to a museum was something so small but I absolutely feel in love with all the art and the experience.

[heavyinmyheart]

I either close my eyes or talk too much during pictures lol. Best Sunday in a long time.

[biyaself]

Getting ready to go the Museum of Fine Arts The Kusama - At the End of the Universe exhibit went up today and I'm so excited to go see it!!!! ☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️☺️ Now if only the weather would cooperate

[heavyinmyheart]

The Pixel Forest is was one of my favorite experiences of this whole year. I felt at home.

[mrstephenscorner-acts]

Houston's Blue Triangle Community Center

Third Ward Center needs work but priceless mural can be saved By MOLLY GLENTZER | January 25, 2016 9:32 PM The leaky ceiling endangering the indoor mural at the Blue Triangle Community Center needs to be repaired, but the artwork, John Biggers' historic 1953 painting "The Contribution of the Negro Woman in American Life and Education" is in great shape, an expert said Monday. "It looks incredibly stable," said Museum of Fine Arts, Houston curator Alison de Lima Greene. The curator examined the mural after a news conference called by Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, who along with Blue Triangle founding president Charlotte Kelly Bryant urged Houstonians to contribute funds to repair the Third Ward building's roof. That project could cost $200,000, but they also hope to raise $1 million to $2 million for broader improvements to the center. Jackson Lee said she is seeking federal funds in addition to donations and corporate funding. The center, built as a branch of the YWCA, has long served as a meeting space for women and girls of color. "This institution still has life," Jackson Lee said. "We're here today to continue that life, to expand it." Biggers' mural, with three sections divided in the center by a tree and a broken column, celebrates strong women. The painting contains dozens of figures, featuring Harriet Tubman, who helped enslaved people escape to freedom on the Underground Railroad, and Sojourner Truth, an abolitionist and women's rights activist. Greene first saw the mural about 20 years ago, when she was writing an essay for an exhibition catalog of Biggers' work. Seeing it again was a bit like revisiting an old friend who miraculously hadn't acquired any wrinkles. "This is in great condition," she said. "The people here have been the best caretakers possible." Some of the funds raised would be used to restore and preserve the mural, Bryant said. While the ceiling is warped and stained, the wall is inset under a frame that has protected the painting. Biggers came to Houston in 1949 to establish the art department of Texas Southern University. He mentored several generations of Houston artists, including Kermit Oliver and recent MacArthur Award winner Rick Lowe, before he died at 76 in 2001. Several of Biggers' works, including a rare sculpture, are prominently displayed in the exhibition "Statements: African American Art from the Museum Collection" at the MFAH, which Greene curated. The saliva test Greene peered closely at the mural, which was painted directly onto the textured plaster wall in tempera paint. She believes Biggers must have also applied a protective coating. "Do you mind if I do something very old-fashioned?" she asked Bryant. Greene touched an index finger to her tongue. "Saliva is one of the most neutral materials," she said. She swabbed her wet finger over two very small, dark spots she had noticed on the mural. They didn't come off; that meant the spots were likely "artist-made." A few crackled spots have developed on the painting, but nothing serious that a painting conservator couldn't minimize, Greene said. "What I'm not seeing, which makes me very happy, is, I'm not seeing drips. And I'm not seeing paint lifting. When paint lifts, that's when you worry." The mural is important to Houston's art history. Greene said it was Biggers' doctoral dissertation project. "It's the summation of the first stage of his work, when he was coming out of social realist traditions, based on what he learned in college and looking at artists like Diego Rivera, to give Houston a portrait of strength and hope," Greene said. Biggers painted his seminal "Web of Life," one of several murals on the TSU campus, five years later, completing that arc of his career. His 1957 trip to Africa later profoundly influenced his work. During his final and perhaps best-known phase, his imagery evolved to focus on patterns inspired by row houses and quilting. Quilters, symbolizing matriarchy, were always a prominent theme in Biggers' work. A quilter representing the artist's grandmother appears in the left-hand corner of "The Contribution of the Negro Woman in American Life and Education." Wedding site Bryant proudly waved an appraisal that valued the painting at $1.3 million. Greene said monetary value wasn't really an issue with this mural. "Unlike painting on canvas, you don't move it around," she said. "I always think about the value of painting resting first with how it speaks to its community." The mural fills a wall in the front of a multi-purpose room filled with antique furniture from a long-gone Houston mansion. The room is used for board meetings and small worship services. People have gotten married under the painting. During summers, Bryant teaches science, math and spelling to area children in the room. She often reminds them to look at the mural and think about the talents they'd like to offer the world. Arts, Design & Culture Writer / Editor, Houston Chronicle E-mail: molly.glentzer@chron.com Twitter: http://twitter.com/#/mglentzerHous Comment: We have to do whatever it takes to keep our history