Fresco fragment from Piero della Francesca’s Legend of the True Cross, portraying Constantine’s victory over Maxentius in 312. In Arezzo, Italy, Cappella Bacci. I took hundreds of photographs while I was away, but the one I keep returning to is this fragment. A segment from one of the more damaged frescos by Piero della Francesca […]
Author: deborahbarlow
Taking a Break
Italy last year, in the company of experts (who are now new parents as well) I am out of range for several weeks. I will be back to musing, both fast and slow, on June 1. For updates in the interim: Facebook Instagram Twitter
Irwin at the Hirschhorn Museum
Robert Irwin’s “Untitled” (1969), at the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington DC. (Photo: Drew Angerer for The New York Times, Robert Irwin / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York) Robert Irwin holds a particular place in the California annals of contemporary art, and he holds a particular place for me personally. He figured larger than life […]
Incubation and Its Mysteries
My daughter Kellin noodling with her niece Siena 18 months ago Joan Acocella, long standing dance and culture writer for the New Yorker, discusses how the path of a new idea comes into form in her recent article, A Nice Little Talk. She uses a set of conversations held between dancers as a good example […]
Under, Above, Everywhere
Nigralle, by Deborah Barlow Mixed media on wood panel, 36 x 36″ Circulation, by Kay Canavino Digital Archival Print, 13 x 28″ Limantour, by Ramah Commanday Ceramic, 18 x 21″ I’m so happy to be showing my work with two artist friends whose work I admire greatly, Kay Canavino and Ramah Commanday. The idea of […]
Creativity and Meditation
The cosmos suggested in the etchings on an abalone shell In writing about inspiration and meditation, musician and performer Amanda Palmer described the conundrum posed by those two concepts: The songwriter in me struggles like mad when meditating. The rules of my conditioned art-mind say that nothing must stand in the way of a developing […]
Micro-Cultures of our Own Making
In one of the essays included in William Gibson‘s book, Distrust That Particular Flavor, he refers to the “personal micro-culture” that every artist creates around herself. “We [are] shaped as writers, I believe, not much by who our favorite writers are as by our general experience of fiction.” That notion of a micro-culture extends beyond […]
Time, Information Management and Art Making
Advertisement seen in China last year A few ideas have been perennially circulating in my thinking lately. One is that consensus reality is overrated. I am increasingly interested in connecting with what might be termed the invisible elements of life. The other is that the perpetual 24/7 news cycle that permeates our lives is more […]
Times of Too Much
Sometimes just the idea of empty is deeply soothing. (Mojave Desert) Helpful thoughts when you’ve tipped into overload: Now, everything gets dropped into our laps, and there are really only two responses…culling and surrender. Culling is the choosing you do for yourself. It’s the sorting of what’s worth your time and what’s not worth your […]
Pocketed Fear
Mark Rylance plays Thomas Cromwell in “Wolf Hall,” brilliantly brought to life in the writing of Hilary Mantel (Photo: PBS) I’m a passionate fan of Hilary Mantel‘s books, especially Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies. In a profile of the author by Larissa Macfarquhar that appeared in the New Yorker in 2012, Mantel’s way […]