phoenixmcarthur
LightNews LightNews
banner
mmcarthur.bsky.social
phoenixmcarthur
@mmcarthur.bsky.social
3.7K followers 540 following 9.4K posts
Founder: Aardvark Digital Agency, poetry junkie, wishful potter, voracious reader, lover of Indie, punk, and Obscure Rock, Jazz, Classical, Science & always the Resistance. 🧷💪 #ArtHeals
Posts Replies Media Videos
Pinned
mmcarthur.bsky.social
phoenixmcarthur @mmcarthur.bsky.social · Oct 13
"We have art so that we shall not die of reality." - Friedrich Nietzsche
mmcarthur.bsky.social
Whoever wants music instead of noise, joy instead of pleasure, soul instead of gold, creative work instead of business, passion instead of foolery, finds no home in this trivial world of ours.

~ Hermann Hesse, Steppenwolf
November 27, 2025 at 5:27 AM
mmcarthur.bsky.social
M.C. Escher ~ Documentary
YouTube video by MUSIC?
youtu.be
November 27, 2025 at 5:26 AM
mmcarthur.bsky.social
Grandma Moses :
Get Out the Sleigh, 1960

Oil on pressed wood

Further description in the alt text 👇
depicting a nostalgic winter scene of a family preparing for a sleigh ride, likely in reference to the popular Thanksgiving song "Over the River and Through the Woods". Painted on pressed wood, it features a horse-drawn sleigh and is characteristic of Moses's style of painting cheerful rural American life from her own memories. Subject: A cheerful winter scene of a family getting ready for a sleigh ride, inspired by memories of rural life and American folk songs. Style: This painting is a quintessential example of Moses's "abstract naturalist" style, characterized by nostalgic, idyllic depictions of farm and country life based on her own memories and experiences.
November 27, 2025 at 5:24 AM
mmcarthur.bsky.social
Meret Oppenheim :
Stone Woman, 1938
As part of the Surrealism movement, this symbolic painting presents a compelling blend of reality and fantasy, capturing a surreal vision that provokes deeper contemplation. In the artwork, a series of stones are artfully arranged on a sandy landscape, with the lower part submerged in what appears to be a body of water. This composition potentially forms the silhouette of a reclining woman. The interplay of earthy tones and fluid brushstrokes contributes to the surreal and dreamlike atmosphere. The arrangement suggests a natural yet mystical convergence between human figures and natural elements, embodying the surrealist fascination with unexpected juxtapositions and symbolic meanings.
November 27, 2025 at 5:21 AM
mmcarthur.bsky.social
Georgia O'Keeffe :
Birch and Pine Tree No. 1, 1925

Oil on canvas | 35 x 22 inches

Philadelphia Museum of Art
November 27, 2025 at 5:17 AM
mmcarthur.bsky.social
Odilon Redon :
Vision from In the Dream (Dans le rêve), 1879

One from a portfolio of ten
lithographs on chine appliqué
Lemercier et Cie., Paris
November 27, 2025 at 5:15 AM
mmcarthur.bsky.social
Sonya Sklaroff (American, b.1970) :
Thanksgiving NYC Style, n.d.

Oil on canvas | 48 x 36 in
November 27, 2025 at 4:28 AM
mmcarthur.bsky.social
Lyonel Charles Feininger (1871-1956) :
Gelmeroda, 1936

Oil on canvas
101 x 81 cm | 40 x 32 in

Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY

Further info in the alt text 👇
This crystalline painting features one of Feininger’s favorite subjects - the Gothic church of Gelmeroda, located near Weimar, Germany. In his many images of the 14th-century structure, Feininger explored the building as a physical connector between the past and the present. Here, he adopts the angled fragmentation of form and space found in Cubism and Italian Futurism to give a sense of spiritual energy and transcendence. In 1937, one year after this work was completed, Nazi officials included Feininger’s art in the notorious Degenerate Art exhibition, prompting him to return permanently to the US.
November 27, 2025 at 3:18 AM
mmcarthur.bsky.social
Laura Donefer (Canada, glass artist)
Fearless and unconventional approach, moving the medium beyond decorative refinement. Creating expressive, large-scale sculptures, she embraces raw texture, emotion, and found objects, making pieces often described as shamanic.

Further info in the alt text 👇
Her most famous contribution, the Glass Fashion Show, transformed the public perception of glass art into a performance spectacle. Donefer’s work emphasizes concept and passion over pristine technique, establishing her as a vital, revolutionary figure in contemporary glass.
November 27, 2025 at 3:04 AM
mmcarthur.bsky.social
Wang Yinxian (1943-2018) & Zhang Shouzhi (b.1932) :
Flowing Teapot (Quo Pot), n.d.

8¼ in. | 20.9 cm. across

Further info in the alt text 👇
With a very compressed, curved body and an integral loop handle issuing from the back of the teapot and and across the body to join the front of the mouth rim. Wang Yinxian (1943–2018), a female artist, alias “Zhaoyang,” was born and raised in Yixing, Jiangsu province. Wang started her career in the Yixing Purple Clay Factory in 1956. She began to study and practice Yixing pottery at the age of 14, and produced teapots with both traditional and innovative designs throughout her career. She was awarded one of the country’s highest artistic titles, “China Arts and Crafts Master Wang studied with renowned masters such as Wu Yungeng, Zhu Kexin, Pei Shimin, Jiang Rong (maker of lot 15 in the present sale) and Gu Jingzhou. She epitomized the strengths of several artistic schools and was known for her huahuo (花貨, naturalistic ware), but also exceled in making classic forms. Wang collaborated with Zhang Shouzhi, Professor of the Department of Ceramic Art, Central Academy of Arts and Crafts, Beijing, to create this teapot with abstract, curved outlines inspired by the form and movement of snails. Various examples of this teapot design have been widely exhibited and published.
November 27, 2025 at 2:32 AM
mmcarthur.bsky.social
Emmy Andriesse (Netherlands, 1914–53) :
Amsterdam, Winter, 1944-45

Gelatin silver print, printed by 1962

The Art Institute of Chicago
November 26, 2025 at 11:48 PM
mmcarthur.bsky.social
Auguste Herbin (France, 1882-1960) :
Composition inspirée par la danse, 1942

Oil on canvas
36-¼ x 28-¾ in | 92 x 73 cm

National Museum of Modern Art
Centre Georges Pompidou
November 26, 2025 at 10:07 PM
mmcarthur.bsky.social
Paul Gustave Fischer (Danish, 1860-1934) :
A Winter Day on Krystalgade, 1894

Oil on Canvas | 14.3 x 10.2 cm

Further info in the alt text 👇
Subject: A winter scene in Copenhagen, showing Krystalgade from Nørregade, with a view of the University Library and Rundetårn. Artistic style: Known for its naturalistic portrayal of urban life and detailed rendering of atmosphere.
November 26, 2025 at 9:14 PM
mmcarthur.bsky.social
Johannes Itten
(Swiss, 1888-1967, Bauhaus) :
Der Bachsänger
(Helge Lindberg), 1916

Oil on canvas

Kunstmuseum Stuttgart

Further info in the alt text 👇
“Der Bachsänger (Helge Lindberg)” is an artwork created by Johannes Itten in 1916. The piece is a portrait that belongs to the art movement known as Cubism. This genre is characterized by its abstract qualities and fragmented forms, demonstrating a break from traditional representations of figures and subjects. The artwork depicts an abstracted figure engaged in a contemplative or reading activity, with an ethereal and geometric rendering that Itten employs to convey depth and form. The figure’s attire and the surrounding environment blend into a series of interlocking planes and facets, using a multitude of colors, predominantly cool hues with striking patches of warmer tones, to build the composition’s dynamic feel. A white cat appears in the lower right corner, rendered in a similarly stylized manner, adding an element of whimsy and domesticity against the otherwise austere backdrop. The background includes abstracted objects, possibly a globe or lamp and books, contributing to a further sense of depth and context within the Cubist framework.
November 26, 2025 at 8:33 PM
mmcarthur.bsky.social
And the winner is ... 🤣
November 26, 2025 at 4:05 PM
mmcarthur.bsky.social
Joan Miro :
Femmes, oiseau au clair de lune
(Woman and Bird in the Moonlight), 1949

Oil on canvas
32 x 26 (81.5 x 66)

TATE London

Further description in the alt text 👇
This work belongs to a series of paintings that Miró made in 1949–1950 in Majorca. Miró's use of simple shapes and bright colours constitutes a highly personal visual language, often charged with symbolic meaning. In this case, the women and bird of the title are easily identifiable under the moon and stars. When asked whether the title used here was correct, the artist replied (letter of 17 June 1954): 'To the whole of this series of paintings, which was executed very slowly, I gave on completion a general title of "Paintings", but later, to be more precise and give a more objective and concrete meaning, I entitled your picture "Femmes, Oiseau au Clair de Lune".' Jacques Dupin has pointed out that Miró's paintings of the period 1949-50 can be divided into two contrasting and complementary series: a series of very elaborate paintings noteworthy for the diversity and extraordinary refinement of their grounds (the present work is an example of this) and a further series of completely spontaneous paintings of a summary, gestural character. In the 'elaborate' paintings, he writes, 'Figures, birds, animals, stars, and signs play and combine with one another with an elegance and acrobatic sureness, a casualness in the revelation of mystery and a joy in their nostalgic evocation of a primitive world which together confound the imagination'.
November 26, 2025 at 3:27 PM
mmcarthur.bsky.social
Victor Brauner (1903-66) :
Géométrie d'une tête (Geometry of a Head), 1959

oil on graphite on prepared panel
November 26, 2025 at 6:42 AM
mmcarthur.bsky.social
Mohammad Al-Fayoumi (Egypt, b.1963) :
Omda (The Mayor), n.d.

Bronze
28 x 41 x 27 cm
November 26, 2025 at 5:14 AM
mmcarthur.bsky.social
Kurt Schwitters : En Morn, 1947

No material was considered unsuitable for art by Schwitters. His collages using magazine cuttings, found objects, sweet wrappers etc paved the way for pop art and arte povera.

📸 : ©Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris/DACS 2012
November 26, 2025 at 4:49 AM
mmcarthur.bsky.social
Kurt Schwitters :
47.15 - Pine Trees C.26, 1946-47

📸 : Kurt and Ernst Schwitters Stiftung, Sprengel Museum, Hannover
November 26, 2025 at 4:48 AM
mmcarthur.bsky.social
Edward Steichen :
The Flatiron, 1904, Manhattan, NY

gum-bichromate over platinum print
19 x 14.75 in | 48.3 x 37.5 cm
printed 1905
November 26, 2025 at 4:46 AM
mmcarthur.bsky.social
I wrote a paper on Jelly Roll Morton in college. This guy is arguably the father of jazz, and included in Alan Lomax's recordings for the Library of Congress.

If you don't know about him, I suggest you learn. He was an amazing man and musician.
Doctor Jazz
YouTube video by Jelly Roll Morton - Topic
youtu.be
November 26, 2025 at 4:43 AM
mmcarthur.bsky.social
📸 : Chris Schmidt -
Andromeda

Our closest galactic neighbor
Under the dark skies of Ellis County, KS

Stats for nerds --
Camera: Nikon D3400
Lens: Rokinon 135mm f2.0
Mount: iOptron SkyTracker Pro
Settings: (50 stacked) 135mm 90sec. exposure
ISO 1600 f/2.8
Stacking in DeepSkyStacker
November 26, 2025 at 4:36 AM
mmcarthur.bsky.social
Jean-Michel Basquiat :
She Installs Confidence and Picks Up His Brain Like a Salad, 1987

oil and acrylic on wood panel
238 x 228 x 6 cm

Collection Lambert in Avignon, France
November 26, 2025 at 4:34 AM
mmcarthur.bsky.social
Pablo Picasso : La repasseuse,
(Woman ironing) Paris, 1904

Oil on canvas
45.75 x 28.75 in | 116.2 x 73 cm

Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, NY
November 26, 2025 at 4:19 AM