1. How My Mother’s Embroidered Apron Unfolds in My Life
1944/Arshile Gorky
SEATTLE ART MUSEUM
After escaping Turkish oppression in his native Armenia, painter Arshile Gorky (1905–48) moved to New York. He may be seen as the bridge in American art between the likes of Europeans Miró, Cézanne, and Picasso, and the New York movement of abstract expressionism, in the form of Jackson Pollock and Willem de Kooning. He even shared a studio for a time with de Kooning. But sadly, Gorky’s life was punctuated by tragedy—including a devastating fire that destroyed his studio and much of his work—and ended with his suicide.
Knowing the artist’s troubled history adds a new layer to How My Mother’s Embroidered Apron Unfolds in My Life. The highly specific title of this piece is characteristic of Gorky’s work. It gives a sense of what was on his mind when he was painting and urges us to look for forms and narrative within the abstract wash of colors.
Published: April 2011
When I first looked at this, a random picture I thought it was a sculpture of a whale’s tail. I liked it better, but still a lot of work went into it.
They captured the part about one ear being higher than the other.
Can this be the original print???
I remember going on a school field trip (back in the 1960’s) to the Volunteer Park collection and being stunned by the power of these Crow screens. They are nearly six’ high and each one is almost 12’ long. As an adult I’ve worked on making a digital graphic of them and was interested in the insight about the crow partially hidden by a rock. The shape of that crow always seemed odd to me but now it makes sense.
Another interesting crow in this murder scene (i.e. group of crows!) is the only one that seems to be completely unconcerned and disengaged from the riotous dynamics of the composition. Its the fourth crow to the right on the bottom row. An old crow who has seen and heard it all, perhaps?
My version of this wonderful Edo period screen: http://www.aztectees.com/east_asia.html