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AUSTIN ART MUSEUM EVENTS
     The Francisco Matto exhibition at the Blanton Museum is a great one for taking your children and grandchildren. But hurry, the show comes down September 27, 2009. Enter the Univ. of Texas parking garage on M.L.K. Street next to the Blanton or park across the street adjacent to the Bob Bullock Museum. It was fun taking Michael (6) and Angela (9) who returned home, discussed the show with their parents and made drawings of what they saw. They especially liked Matto's found-wood totems.
     Chuck Close's digital pigment prints are at Austin Museum of Art on Congress Ave. through November 8, 2009. The artist was asked why he didn't use more models when producing the huge frontal portrait heads. He replied that he didn't like people around. We can ask Austin artist Sydney Yeager about this. She was one of his subjects.  There is also a variety of work from AMOA's permanent collection.

NETFLIX SUGGESTION
     We really liked THE VISITOR. Be sure to rent director Tom McCarthy's 2008 THE VISITOR with actor Richard Jenkins rather than the 1979 one of the same name or the two named The Visitors, with an S, (1972 & 1993). Walter, a professor in Connecticut, returns to New York to discover strangers in his apartment. The relationship that ensues between the depressed, grieving widower and the young immigrant couple, especially the charasmatic young man, changes his life. It's a simple, quiet, very beautiful and poignant drama. Nothing here to offend even little ole' church ladies.

BOOK IDEAS
     PROVENANCE: HOW A CON MAN AND A FORGER REWROTE THE HISTORY OF MODERN ART, by Laney Salisbury and Aly Sujo, Penguin Press, 320 pages, $39.95. In this case crime did pay when these guys sold about 200 or more fake Chagall, Braque, DuBuffet and other paintings, to museums and collectors all over the world.
     And did you know that the Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre in 1911? Gone for two years, it's still a mystery. For my September birthday my friend LuAnn Barrow, with whom I share grandchildren, gave me VANISHED SMILE: The mysterious theft of Mona Lisa by R.A. Scott, historian and novelist. Her new book is published by Alfred A. Knopf, 2009, $24.95.
     There seems to be a theme here. Both sound interesting. Ask me about them when I have finished reading them. I'm going to start with MONA.
    

Comments

Hi Carole,
So glad you're spreading the word about AMOA's shows! I'm glad you quoted Chuck Close because he's a fascinating artist--we have some great books about him in the AMOA Museum Store. The show also has fascinating daggereotypes on mirrored metal and monumental tapestries. And the photo of Sydney Yeager is in our "Collection Selections" exhibition, and is by Austin photographer George Krause, who shows at Berman Gallery. There's also Picasso, Alex Katz, Luis Jimenez, and more by Katz. Thanks for your enthusiasm! Dana
Unknown said…
Hi Carole,

Thank you for recommending the Francisco Matto exhibition. It does provide a really wonderful viewing experience for children. In fact, on September 20th, we are participating in Austin Museum Day. We will offer a focus on family programs (tours, art activities, etc...) all focused around the Matto exhibition.

Best,

Kathleen Brady
Director of PR and Marketing, Blanton Museum of Art

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