philadelphia museum of art

Roberto Capucci Exhibit at the Philadelphia Museum of Art

Filed under: Apparel, Art

The Philadelphia Museum of Art is currently featuring more than 80 sculptural fashion creations by Italian designer Roberto Capucci in an exhibit called "Art Into Fashion." Capucci is known for his wild and interesting use of silhouettes and structural design elements to create fashion that's as much art as it is clothing. The exhibit marks the first survey of Capucci's works in the United States and also includes various sketches and drawings from past years.

Roberto Capucci was born in Rome in 1929 and sold his first design at age 18 to the wife of film director Roberto Rossellini. The "Art Into Fashion" exhibit runs through June 5, 2011.

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Tags: apparel, fashion, museum, philadelphia museum of art, roberto capucci

New Exhibit In Philadelphia Explores Chagall's Artistic Legacy

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Art

A new exhibit at the Philadelphia Museum of Art in Philadelphia explores the legacy of Marc Chagall and his artist compatriots. "Paris Through the Window: Marc Chagall and His Circle" runs from March 1 to July 10 and focuses on the work of Chagall and others in Paris in the early 1900s.

Chagall arrived in Paris in 1911 and was immersed in the artistic styles flowering in Paris at this time. He worked at La Ruche, a beehive-like building that was home to a variety of artists' studios. French sculptor Alfred Boucher opened the building in 1902 offering inexpensive space and free models for talented artists. It blossomed into a vibrant community for artists to exhibit work and share ideas. When Chagall joined La Ruche it already had many Eastern European artists who had also moved to Paris to discover firsthand the most recent trends in modern art. Other artists there in the 1910s included Archipenko, Kisling, Lipchitz, Soutine, and Zadkine, who were represented in the exhibition by two sculptures in cedar wood that have not been displayed at the Museum since 1963. Shown above is Chagall's "Paris Through The Window" which was painted in 1913. The exhibit seeks to capture the atmosphere of artistic excitement in Paris at this time and also explores a bit of history, looking back to at Chagall's return to Russia during World War I and the rise of the Russian Revolution and his second stay in Paris in the 1920s.

The museum website has a series of podcasts devoted to the exhibit which offer a comprehensive roadmap to all that is going on in a Chagall painting. For example, in the painting shown above, the artist's double-faced self-portrait in the lower right hand corner is a representation of the two sides of his spirit, looking back toward his homeland but also forward toward Paris, Cubism and a world of changing ideas and ideals.

Tags: chagall, marc chagall, museum exhibitions, museum exhibits, philadelphia museum of art

Philadelphia Museum of Art Makes Staff Cuts

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Art

The Philadelphia Museum of Art is working to balance its budget in this economy. Philly.com finds that the museum is seeking to cut around $1.7 million from its operating budget for the fiscal year ending June 30. The cuts will take the form of staff and salary cutbacks, deferred exhibitions and, pending city approval, an increase in admission fees. The museum is trying to avoid a deficit in the next year which has been forecast to be as high as $5 million. The museum will eliminate 30 jobs which is about seven percent of the staff. Chairman H.F. "Gerry" Lenfest warns that if the value of the museum's endowment continues to fall more reductions may be required. Like other large museums the museum is dependent upon the interest and earnings generated by its endowment. The value of its endowment was at $346 million in July but by the end of December it had been reduced to $256 million. The museum also owes around $60 million in loans for expansion. The city of Philadelphia may be reducing its support of the museum as well, down from $3 million to around $2.4 million for fiscal 2010.

Gallery: Culture in Trouble