What Is Art? It’s Global; Lighting!
Claude Lévêque’s “Asile,” 2011, brought to Art Basel Miami Beach by Kamel Mennour Gallery in Paris.
When I came across a small book titled What Is Art? I was fascinated to learn that it was a book on aesthetics written by none other than Leo Tolstoy. Though it was first translated into English in 1898, Tolstoy’s explorations within its pages are surprisingly fresh today. “It is assumed that everyone knows and understands what is meant by the world beauty,” he writes. “And yet not only is this not known, but now, after mountains of books have been written on the subject by the most learned and profound men over the course of one hundred and fifty years—since 1750, when Baumgarten founded aesthetics—the question of what beauty is remains completely open, and each new work on aesthetics resolves it in a new way.”
“Amigos,” by Elmgreen & Dragset in Madrid-based Galeria Helga de Alvear’s Art Kabinett installation (there’s a wonderful review on Art Agenda’s site).
Walking through the halls of the Miami Beach Convention Center while being bombarded by the sensory overload created when so much art is gathered under one giant-sized roof for Art Basel Miami Beach was quite an experience last week. I wanted to share with you a few of my favorite pieces with an obvious theme that fits our point of view at Global Lighting perfectly: not only are they brightly conceived in a material sense, they are great examples of art creating repartee. I hope they “lighten” your day!
Claire Fontaine’s work in the booth of T293 Gallery from Naples, Italy.
