http://www.baterbys.com Baterbys Art Auction Gallery in Pointe Orlando en-us http://www.baterbys.com/newsletter.html Join the Baterbys E-Newsletter and get a free art print. http://baterbys.blogspot.com/2010/01/picasso-and-rembrandt-moma-post_07.html The MoMA talks about Picasso's late period influences. http://baterbys.blogspot.com/2010/01/resurgence_06.html Find out about the Spanish Renaisssance http://www.baterbys.com/abouttheauction.html Learn about Baterbys Winter Auction on February 27th http://baterbys.blogspot.com/2009/12/conquest-and-spanish-art_17.html Learn about the development of Spanish art for the Spanish Masters Exhibit http://baterbys.blogspot.com/2009/10/1997-by-farah_30.html Ken Keeley will be featured at Baterbys upcoming November 7th auction. http://baterbys.blogspot.com/2009/10/its-in-symbols-salvador-dali_09.html Salvador Dali employed many symbols in his works. Find out what they mean! http://baterbys.blogspot.com/2009/07/capturing-generation-work-of-peter-max.html Peter Max will be featured at the upcoming Baterbys American Masters Exhibit. http://www.baterbys.com/ http://www.baterbys.com 432 124 http://www.baterbys.com American Master Artists come together for an exhibit hosted by Baterbys Art Auction Gallery October 2 to 10 in Pointe Orlando. Ken Keeley, Andrew Wyeth, Peter Max, Thomas Kinkade and Leroy Neiman pieces will be featured in the exhibit to showcase the evolution of American thought and landscape. It's a collection of multiple stories about America's fight for progress while maintaining its principles, values and perspectives. The diversity of the exhibit is strung together with the fabric of America, spanning the length and breadth of decades that have shaped our nation's history. Peter Max's visual impact on the 60s is comparable to the Beatles influence in music. His famous 'cosmic 60s style' pervaded magazine covers, like Life Magazine, and appeared on national television. The year 1976 was when Max began his annual July 4th tradition of painting the Statue of Liberty. In 1982 Max painted six Liberties on the White House lawn, and then personally helped to actualize the statue's restoration, which was completed in 1986. While Peter Max impacted America with his psychedelic art, Andrew Wyeth was rebelling against the status quo. As the pop art movement spread, Wyeth's art maintained a realistic stance that displayed the countryside of American people and places. In his piece Spring Sun Wyeth portrays an older man praying for a fruitful season. Wyeth's simplistic focus on one image counteracted the fad of the 60s but his works still reflected another side of American life and landscape. As Max and Wyeth were interacting in harmonious opposition in the American art scene Ken Keeley stood out in his endeavors in photorealism (photorealism evolved from pop art in the late 1960's.) Yet, it was the year 1997 that was the most prominent for Ken Keeley in his piece '97 Newsstand. 1997 was an eventful year - the world was shocked by the deaths of Mother Teresa and Princess Diana, Tobacco companies were ready to file settlement for lawsuits litigated against the industry for smoking-related health problems, the first adult mammal was successfully cloned, and the East Asian Financial Markets were showing signs of downturn. These events appear to be oppositional, but Keeley took on the task of unifying the events to relay a message of the times. In much the same way the American Masters Exhibit, hosted by Baterbys Art Auction Gallery, seeks to take artists that appear oppositional and showcase their unifying messages. The American Masters Exhibit is about the diversity of these artists' voices and styles as much as the unification of their thoughts and perspectives. Keeley's '97 Newsstand, Peter Max's Statue of Liberty's and Andrew Wyeth's Spring Sun can all be seen at the upcoming exhibit. All of the artworks that will be on display are available for sale at affordable prices. Opening and reception night will be on October 2 at Baterbys Art Auction Gallery. The event will start at 6pm. Guests will be treated to cocktails and hors d'oeuvres by Cuba Libre and a short talk about American art by one of Baterbys' art experts. There is no registration or entrance fee. All that is required is filling out an RSVP form at www.baterbys.com Come experience our nation's progress, values and important events through an art exhibit featuring American Masters. Baterbys also does quarterly art auctions to benefit local charities. November 7 is the next quarterly auction benefitting Hope and Help, which provides assistance with programs such as Case Management, Peer Support Services, Food Pantry and much more. Auction preview is at 5 PM and bidding starts at 6 PM. Before I started working for an Art Gallery, it didn’t take me very long to decide if I liked a piece of art. My process of deduction was very straightforward: if the artwork's salient images and stylistic elements were attractive, I could infer some sense of preference towards liking it. My predisposition to simply "look at what's there" made it easy for me to judge and call out beauty or in some cases, the lack thereof. Lately, my perspective has been changing drastically. Now that I am forced to learn the stories behind artworks, I am realizing that real beauty – whether it is in the context of art alone or in anything embedded in our daily lives – is not a static attribute, but a byproduct of continually interweaving and interpreting stories. Real beauty is found not in what we see right away, but in what we come to understand because of what we begin to see when we seek more meaning Our gallery has a Jack Levine piece that looks like a Japanese Anime poster. I used to deride anime art because I thought it was too esoteric. So in a heartbeat, after seeing this piece displayed under the luminous gallery spotlights, I knew I didn’t like it. I think I almost called it cheap and undeserving to be displayed beside Picasso’s and Dali’s. When I was researching about it, I found out that it was one of the pieces in Levine’s most noteworthy collections. As a major figure in Social Realist Art, he spent a significant period of time in Japan learning about the political and cultural landscape that had fortified the country. He satirically painted about the corruption and the profusion of greed and decadence in the powerful socio- political classes of Japan. After piecing the stories together, I began to see the art in a different light. The characters in the piece must have represented the broader political climate that has equally uplifted and beset Japan. It’s about the age-old story of corruption in government, and deserves even more derision than Japanese Anime plots that somehow resemble the same setting. Taking time to understand and not just perceive, I have learned that beauty is not based on fractions of thoughts derived from the initial snapshots of our senses. Each element that constructs our lives, from the simplest experience to the most valuable relationships, has its own story. If we take time to understand the finer points of the plot, we will surely see the grander scheme of why they’re collectively beautiful. After all, beauty does not end in one story alone. It is constantly in motion…just like our lives. I am a terrible artist. I can cook, write, take half-decent photographs, put together video clips, but draw? Or paint? Sculpt, carve, print? No. Not me. My artistic talent is limited to stick figures and squiggly lines. So, when given the topic of inspiration for this blog, I was at a loss. I just don't do any of those things. It seems that nothing inspires me to create art. Nothing! I thought to myself that the last time I attempted to create art was a lovely oil pastel from the fifth grade--I haven't been inspired to draw or paint since. If anything, I've been inspired to not create art, so as to spare the world from my complete lack of talent. The problem with this line of thinking is that it's not true. Not entirely, anyway. All the stuff about me being completely talentless--100% fact. That I've been keeping my (lack of) artistic gifts from the world...well, it's not exactly the whole truth. A few months ago, I joined a group of really talented artists for an evening of social interaction and quick sketches of a live model. I dragged my fiancé out with me, and planned just to watch and socialize. In terms of actually drawing something, I was purposely unprepared. Everyone is supposed to bring their own sketch paper and pencils, etc. and I confidently showed up with nothing. Our model for the night donned a black, full-skirted dress, and pearl necklace, and heels. In her hand, she held a spatula, which she proceeded to use as a prop in various poses that evoked both riled 50s housewife and saucy pin-up girl. She moved pretty quickly and with each position, bursts of laughter from the crowd of artists quickly overtook the sound of pencils furiously scratching paper. Everyone was having fun and I was awestruck. And jealous. I ran to the car and sheepishly returned with some notebook paper and a pen. Encouraged by my friends and ever-supportive fiancé, heartened by the raucous mood of all these artists who I thought would be more serious, and inspired--yes, inspired--by the realization that it really didn't matter what I drew as long as I had fun, I put pen to paper. I sketched away, laughing as I went, feeling like I was in on the joke that everyone else was already sharing. The goal, more or less, of the evening, is to win some sort of prize, or at least bragging rights, for best sketches. I felt so much relief and elation at the sketches I produced that I even turned one in for judging. Me---the adamant observer! I would love to tell you that this was a turning point in my artistic life--that I went on to win some recognition for my brilliant renderings and am now looking at art schools and illustration deals. That would be a load of nonsense, though. My drawings were just as bad as I had imagined they would be. Truly terrible stuff. But at least I had fun making them. So what inspires me? The idea that it doesn't matter how lopsided my figures look, how unrecognizable they might be from their model, but that I have a good time while I draw them. The sketch group event is held once a month. I haven't been back since, but I think about it from time to time. And when I do go back, I'll be prepared. http://www.baterbys.com Viewing artworks by 20th Century Masters is a rare opportunity. Baterbys’ unparalleled aim is to make the immersive experience of viewing art available to anyone. Our location at Pointe Orlando - a premium entertainment and shopping complex in the heart of Orlando’s tourist epicenter - is right across the Orlando Convention Center and an impressive list of five-star hotels such as the Rosen Plaza and the Peabody. Baterbys Art Auction Gallery is available for events such as private parties, corporate lunches/dinners, product launches, etc. View the unabashed glory of Fine Art in the center of Orlando’s busiest and most visited tourist destinations – come to Baterbys Art Auction Gallery. For more details about using the gallery space for your events, please email artgallery@baterbys.com.