Lynne Kiesling
The Museum of Modern Art is hosting an exhibition of James Ensor’s work. Ensor was a late 19th-early 20th century Belgian painter, and the best word I can think of to describe his work is … eclectic. From the NYT review of the exhibition:
He was an aggrieved traditionalist with a pop-culture itch, equally entertained by Rubens and tabloid cartoons. He was a sophisticated artist who helped shape early Modernism, not in a Paris studio but in an attic room over a novelty shop in a resort town on the North Sea. …
He’s hard to pin down. Gothic fantasist, political satirist, religious visionary: one minute he’s doing biblical scenes, the next the equivalent of biker tattoos, in a style that veers between crude and dainty.
I’ve only seen some of his work, I think at the art museum in Hamburg Columbus, Ohio. Definitely worth a look if you are going to be in New York.
Of course, those of you who know me know that this post is nothing more than a thin veneer over an excuse to link to the outstanding They Might Be Giants song, “Meet James Ensor”:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFiNAGP1KlY]
By the way, note the way-sweet use of the brushes on the snare drum to hold the rhythm together. Lovely accompaniment to the voices, guitar, and accordion (*love* the accordion!).