I saw this on TV as a violin playing, church going, straight-A, painfully shy elementary school child of Korean immigrant parents living in the white suburbs of Long Island. It's Woody Allen as misfit turned criminal Virgil Starkwell in the mockumentary, Take the Money and Run. I've never forgotten how hard I laughed, and since then I have followed Woody Allen's career and life. Though I have not seen all 50 of his movies, he is one of the world's great filmmakers and makes among the most complex and interesting cinematic roles for women(E.g.Wonder Wheel).  

PS -- Woody is not a pedophile, nor did he in 1992 molest 7-year old Dylan Farrow in the attic of a rental house in Bridgewater, CT that one time which she remembered in Mia's taped interrogation of her. This taping occurred during the Woody Mia explosive breakup and the Woody Soon Yi budding romance. Woody and Soon Yi, the adopted daughter of Andre Previn, married in 1997 and have raised 2 adopted daughters who are now in their 20s. I speak out because Soon Yi is Korean American, and it's been hard to see her so silent. It's not a bad decision for personal peace, but I know that Woody is being maligned by the hype and the bandwagon support of the Me Too movement which I also support. Ironically the Me Too movement was spearheaded by the journalist Ronan Farrow, originally born as Woody Allen's son, Sachel Allen, who was financially supported by Woody though Mia never allowed Woody to spend any time with him. Ronan is actually Frank Sinatra's son who Mia married when she was 21 and he was 50. Mind-bending reality surpasses fiction.​

I was looking for "3 Month Old Lung Patient" which is the painting she said she kept for herself. I could not find it, but I found: "The Dance of Life in Nhamacurra" and "Resting Embryo and Orange Moon" and "Little is Enough for Those in Love". ​

Fantastic interview with Alyce Mahon, curator of Leonor Fini: Theater of Desire exhibit. Also Tracey Bashkoff curator on Hilma af Klimt and Johanna Moorhead on Leonora Carrington. Much to discover in the Great Women Artists Podcast with Katy Hessel.

Another YouTube gem. This reading has made me see Gauguin differently and Keanu too. Keanu says, "..for what we leave behind, for who we want to be... It is the most human thing." PS- Peter Doig's art is in the background which he acknowledges. CRUSH!!

The Artist Project from the Met has contemporary artists commenting on works in the collection. Mariko considers the bowing and nature of respect in the Japanese tea ceremony, seeing the unseen, and what it means universally for all beings.

The Guggenheim exhibit 2018-19 that blows everyone's mind and rewrites modern art-  "HIS story"

Doig says," I wanted this painting to be dreamlike." This painting was started eight years prior. I identify with what sounds like a kind of fermentation process and his feeling of geographical outsiderness/displacement. Love the sensitivity in this painting.

"Leonor Fini: Theater of Desire" was a phenomenal show in 2018. Thank you Museum of Sex curators.

"Don't compete. Don't compare. Don't complain, Don't explain." 

You give me courage. I look forward to your next novel.

Young Jean Lee is a fiercely experimental playwright. Here she is in a band! Her voice and stage presence are like an average person singing karaoke except that she is performing songs she has written. With sincerity, sly humor and devastation truth, she weaves story, performance, music, art and play into an offering of comfort for others who may suffer when facing loneliness, getting old, tragedy and death. I was mesmerized, entertained and truly comforted by the wisdom in these songs. The highlight is at 23 minutes in when Young Jean does a song based on her mother's grandmother's comments on aging. So dark and hysterically funny.

I continually question how artists can impact the world in a profound way. Today I came across an answer in Lily Yeh. Through an unexpected opportunity to transform an inner city lot, she went on to do the same in a massive dump site in Nairobi where 100,000 people live and then to build a Genocide Memorial in Rwanda. Seeing the memorial, people said, "When we see beauty, we see hope. Our loved ones can some home in honor and dignity." Lily explains that through art, we travel to the "dustless world" a sacred place of pristine beauty and poignant serenity." This is her Web site.  http://barefootartists.org/. There is a documentary on her called The Barefoot Artist. 

The Gwangju Biennale 2018 is showing 22 paintings from North Korea to the South Korean public for the first time through the extraordinary and courageous efforts of curator, B.G.Muhn, Georgetown Art professor and artist. My expectation of North Korean art was cartoonish social realism, but in these paintings changed my view completely.  I am struck by the expressiveness, the vibrant colors, rhythmic lyricism, playful sentimentality and sense of togetherness and humanity. I wish I knew what the poster behind the bus stop said that no one is noticing. The women around the laptop is a fascinating scene as is the way the pink and yellow fabrics are painted in contrast to the drab surroundings. My father was from Anju in North Korea. His family fled and became refugees in 1943 when he was 9 years-old. Seeing these images feels healing. Thank you B.G. Muhn for pioneering this connection to artists in North Korea. You have made a bridge so that we can see each other with more humanity.

"Special Lecture on Korean Paintings" by Oh Ju-seok is the best, most passionate and heartfelt writing on Korean paintings I have found since Dr. Zo Zayong. "A Hen Leading a Brood of Chickens"(middle painting), is one that Oh loves dearly. Surrounding are other works by Byeon Sang-byeok (1730-?) a late Joseon period artist nicknamed "Byeon the cat" because he excelled at painting cats and received the title "master hand" for his wonderful paintings of birds and animals. 

Today I ordered Ai Weiwei's book, Humanity. On August 4th, his studio in Beijing was demolished to pave the way for a shopping center. He has lived in Berlin since 2015. Here are some quotes from him book which compelled me to want to read it:
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"This problem has such a long history, a human history. We are all refugees somehow, somewhere, and at some moment."
"Allowing borders to determine your thinking is incompatible with the modern era."
"Art is about aesthetics, about morals, about our beliefs in humanity. Without that there is simply no art."
"I don't care what all people think. My work belongs to the people who have no voice."

At the MoMA today, I unexpectedly came across the fantastic work of Congolese artist, Kingelez (1948-2015). Delighted and stunned, I also thought about Gaudi, Hunterwasser and other architect/artists who break all barriers and make us dream. Kingelez uses recycled materials such as cardboard, bottle caps and tinfoil to create a colorful, fantastic vision of a utopian urban cityscape that is a place of abundant color and shapes, beauty, humanity, wonder and optimism.

Kingelez has called his art extrêmes maquettes (English: extreme models),[and has said, “I make this most deeply imaginary, meticulous and well considered work with the aim of having more influence over life. As a black artist I must set a good example by receiving the light which pure art, this vital human instrument, kindles for the sake of all. Thanks to my deep hope for a happy tomorrow, I strive to better my quality, and the better becomes the wonderful. I exhibit a mode of expression which fits me like a glove, and I point out that I am another artist.”

PS- Also at MoMA today, there was a protest of MoMA employees who chanted, "Modern Art, Ancient Wages" as well as "Solidarity Forever." 

Here's a video from the MoMA site.  ​https://www.moma.org/calendar/exhibitions/3889
Below is a video is French that displays his work. 

​Alice grips my heart when I see her work and think about her life. Andy really meant it when he said that she and Louise Nevelson were the best "girl" artists he knew. Here, he offers himself in such a public and vulnerable way, and Alice responds with her most tender portrait. Alice always painted directly on the canvas without sketching beforehand and with heavy outlines which is technically "wrong". Barkley Hendricks is another one of my favorite portrait artists. It's amazing that they knew each other as well.

This clip is in French, but her work says it all. She is influenced by nature, flower, animals, insects, German and Chinese Folk art, textiles, vintage toys and the atmosphere of the Bloomsbury Group including such writers as Virginia Woolf and E.M. Forester. I intuitively understand her. I adore her work. CRUSH! 

Last Thursday, I was in a packed Riverside Church to see this talk, "The Courage to Show Up: A Conversation with Brene Brown and DeRay McKesson". Of course I knew about Brene, but I knew almost nothing about DeRay except that he was one of the leaders of Black Lives Matters. What happened was so astonishing that I have not stopped thinking about their unscripted, unrehearsed and vulnerable conversation on the most difficult politically charged topics right now. What struck me the most was not only their refreshing (not canned-food) authenticity and courage but also DeRay's sincere optimism. He was above all curious, open, and engaged with the people who hold such different views. The talk could have go for hours more, and we would have all been riveted.  I reflect on why I love seeing my artist friends' works in progress. Why people ask questions about the process and want to know the thoughts behind the making of things? The talk gave me a window into Brene's and DeRay's process. They had no answers or fixed opinions. It was pure flow. In the spirit of that talk, I'm posting my painting in progress and my makeshift studio, exactly as it is today. Ito Jakuchu's One Hundred Puppies, made around 1790 when he was eighty-six is the catalyst behind this painting. It's one of the his last works so this painting is an homage to him, and I am in a conversation with him. I am thinking about love, abundance, infinity, mortality and of course puppies.

Alexander Shundi's Fantasy Trains spring from the memory of a home-made train made by a loving father and given as a birthday present to the 8 year-old artist-to-be in Italy in 1952. Shundi has taken this metaphor of train as a child's toy as well as a symbol of modernity and made a work of Proustian richness and Shakespearean dimensionality, Fantasy Trains are a playful synthesis on art history, death, war, world cultures, capitalism, food, soccer, Pinocchio and so much more, all presented with wonder, whimsy, irony and a wicked sense of humor. There is no subject or question that is not transformed into an abundant meditation on life, history, memory, desires, nostalgia and what it means to be human. 

Alexander Shundi does not have an army of assistants nor does he use computers to make his work. His materials are humble found objects, roller skate wheels, everyday bits, rock, wood, items from around the world and his own masterful craftsmanship. He gives us an offering that reflects the vibrancy of his world, and he invites us to explore and explode the treasures in our own imaginations. Shundi's art has heart, soul, guts and magic that pulsates with life and points us toward the future. Alex is taught me how to create, and I am deeply grateful for his generosity and extraordinary spirit.

The two presenters of the Art Channel, Grace Adam and Joshua White, are wonderful. This episode made me connect Do Ho Suh's work to Korean wrapping cloths (bojagi) traditionally made from leftover scraps of fabric. 

Kiefer fans might be surprised by his recent show, "Transition from Cool to Warm". Many pieces are playful, sensuous and erotic, filled with orgasmic women and flowers. In a letter Kiefer says, "Never have I had such doubts. What is it with colors everywhere? Have I succumbed to temptation? Have I become an affirmative painter?" I laughed when I read that, but I also had to pause recognizing the range of his art. I am reminded of Oscar Wilde. "The only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it."