Nancy Charak at Chicago State University

Cri de Coeur No. 5951, watercolor, prsimacolor, graphite on birchwood panel, 18"x24.

January 29, 2013--March 15, 2013

"What's Abstract?" two-person exhibit at Chicago State University with Julian Williams, curated by Joyce Owens

More About Vincent Van Gogh Sunflowers

This is nice to know:

UGA scientists reveal genetic mutation depicted in van Gogh's sunflower paintings

		IMAGE: The most common, wild-type sunflower variety is shown in box A, and its florets are shown in B. Box C shows a double-flowered mutant variety, with its florets shown in... Click here for more information.

In addition to being among his most vibrant and celebrated works, Vincent van Gogh's series of sunflower paintings also depict a mutation whose genetic basis has, until now, been a bit of a mystery.

In a study published today (March 29) in the journal PLoS Genetics, however, a team of University of Georgia scientists reveal the mutation behind the distinctive, thick bands of yellow "double flowers" that the post-Impressionist artist painted more than 100 years ago.

Artist of the Day: Peggy McNamara

Yesterday my buddy MaryW and I went to the Field Museum to see the Extreme Mammals and Maharajah shows. Then we wandered through stuffed and taxidermied African animals into birds ditto. In birds we found an astonishing display of art depicting birds by Audubon, Agassiz and Peggy McNamara. Peggy's watercolors sparkle bringing life to the birds that pop off the paper. Peggy is the museum's artist in residence.

Sacred Spaces: Scale

Surf on over to this CLICK HERE, settle back, nudge the scroll bar, learn about scale.

Magdalena Abakanowicz via Satellite

A screen grab of the satellite view from google earth of a portion  of Magdalena Abakanowicz's sculptural installation, "Agora," at the corner of Roosevelt and Michigan, Chicago, Illinois.

Artist of the Day: Karel Appel

Action painting at its utmost zenith, Karel Appell.

Artist of the Day: Rodin

Nancy Charak, photograph, Rodin Burghers of Calais, London

Nancy Charak, photograph, Rodin in Metro Paris

Nancy Charak, photograph, Musee Rodin Paris

 Today's artist of the day is Rodin. I go along with Google and the Google doodle on this. There's a Rodin museum in Philadelphia, that I'm sure is worth the trip. My first trip to Paris was a 3 day marathon that missed the Musee Rodin. The third photo of the lines waiting to get in to the museum were taken on my second trip, and it was later in the afternoon, my feet were starting to hurt, and I remembered seeing ice cream a few blocks back.

Two Words for the Day:

Two words for the day, Wednesday, November 7, 2012.  They are ragnarok and schadenfreud. Ragnarok for the circular firing squad the Republicans are going to have to go through in order to become civilized citizens of an enlightened country. Schadenfreud for the fact that it's totally okay to gloat and enjoy the afterglow.

All This Has Happened Before. . .

Lonche Man dental x-rays

Okay, I'll take a stab at this.  This is an x-ray of Stone Age dental work. This is knowledge that was forgotten and then remembered.  Here's the link to the Oxford University Press' Very Short Inroductions Series.

Advanced analytical methods, based on radioactivity and radiation, have recently revealed that therapeutic dental filling was in use during the Stone Age. As part of the team that performed the study, I worked with experts in radiocarbon dating, synchrotron radiation imaging, dentistry, palaeo-anthropology, and archaeology. Our discovery was based on the identification of an extraneous substance on the surface of a canine from a Neolithic human mandible.