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Found
Tom’s Tombstone
At Cleveland's Riverside Cemetery, you’ll find the grave of Thomas “TOM” Joseph Baran. Well, technically just the headstone as Tom is presumably still alive and kicking. An engraved headstone speaks (literally, it is written on) of art and aesthetics, noting Cimabue and Giotto. It also has pictures of Superman; Jesus (many Jesuses); a corner devoted to a beloved poodle Clare; spends some time on Hegel’s concept of Geist; and it contains several telescopes and countless other wonders.
I Spy With My Little Eye…
Maybe as a child you played the game “I spy with my little eye…“? Or on road trips, the license plate game? Or the letter game (things always get stuck on Q and Z)? I have fond memories of childhood trips driving across America whiling away the hours with things like these. I still love to wander, whether in the car or by foot, and am always on the lookout for new visual information...
Cleveland’s Trapped Tree
Walking through Cleveland this week, I stumbled on "Trapped Tree" in a quiet corner of the city. This unusual moment, until recently hidden by brush deep in the Ohio City neighborhood, became uncovered as a new greenway opened alongside it.
The Fire Hydrants of Taos, NM
What is the appeal of typologies? (Here, fire hydrants of Taos, New Mexico.) Is it bringing things across geography and squishing them together visually? Is it the delight of seeking and finding? Or maybe it is the joy at human inventiveness within specific limitations?
A Paint By (Only) Numbers
Erasure art is a special pleasure. Different from collage, which often assembles things from various sources, the act of making art through erasing depends on the form of the original to (some extent) staying intact. This week, we wondered what would happen if we erased the lines of a paint by number.
Find a Rock and Make a Wish
Strolling up the chilly Maine coast (and into Canada), you might start looking for seashells just as you would on many other beaches—but then you quickly notice an unusual proliferation of stripes. Stripes… on rocks. Big rocks, small rocks, in-between rocks… all decorated by a stunning variety of zips.
Where Does All the Art Go?
There have been artists who comb thrift stores for hidden treasures and sometimes you hear about a lost masterpiece found at a yard sale—but what about art with a slightly less glorious trajectory? We found this once-loved painting (it was framed after all) at a giveaway table at the local dump, as if its owner saw it not worth keeping nor worth finding a home for.
An Unfinished Paint by Number
When you wander across an unfinished paint by number for sale, what are you to make of it?
9-Note Register: America’s Empty Signs
One type of American roadside signs is those that have fallen into disrepair or become partially disassembled such that where there was once a sign, all that remains is a window to the world behind it. The “frame” of the sign, which previously kept some name, symbol, or slogan, now holds the space behind it—a shifting picture.
Six Books’ Stories with Denise Markonish
MASS MoCA curator Denise Markonish shares her stories of experiences with selected books featuring Nick Cave, Jen Bervin, Mary Ruefle, Barbara Bourland, Carl Belz, J.M. Arms Sheldon, and Camille Flammarion.
Found : A Poetic License
Yesterday, I stopped by the Montague Bookmill ("Books you don't need in a place you can't find") and came across this little number: a Poetic License. The license is the brainchild of Kenspeckle Letterpress in Duluth, Minnesota, which created the item at the request of a friend who [...]
John Cage on Beginning
Last night I came across this quote in my friend's office in Philadelphia. Creating art that resonates or impacting the world around you isn't the result of ambitious ideas or flawless execution. It's the result of doing. Start. Now. You can explore more Gwarlingo posts about the creative process [...]
The Art of Taking Risks : 13 Years, 3500 Artists, 7 Memorable Lessons
When I was a girl, I was fearless. I was always falling out of trees, off of speeding bicycles, into muddy creeks. Once, I was bitten by an angry goose. I was knocked on the head accidentally with a baseball. A rock. And a basketball. On one hot [...]
Accused of Harboring an Unlicensed Dog? Take a Lesson from Writer E.B. White
"Analyzing humor is like dissecting a frog," says the writer E.B. White. "Few people are interested and the frog dies of it." It's been years since I've read White's classic books Charlotte's Web and Stuart Little. I had forgotten how funny the author could be until yesterday, when [...]
Found: Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s The Valley Curtain
It’s been a while since I’ve shared a find from my ephemera collection. For my last "Found" post, I published two vintage images of two comic odd couples from my vernacular photography collection. I discovered this striking postcard of Christo and Jeanne-Claude’s Valley Curtain far from its source in [...]