Birthday 1942

For some reason, I often feel the need to cover the passing of great artists on this blog.  During their lives, they inspire us in so many ways, it seems only right to acknowledge their impact.  We've just lost two such great artists- each of whom had a major impact on me personally.    Dorothea Tanning passed away a few weeks ago, at the age of 101.  Her 100th birthday was celebrated around the world with various exhibitions.  I'd seen her work first at the Philadelphia Museum of Art when they had an exhibition around their acquisition of her masterpiece, Birthday.   This was, by far and away one of the most fascinating and memorable exhibitions that I've ever seen, and I've included her work in every surrealist lesson I've done since then.

Star Wars Concept Art

The other major loss is that of Ralph McQuarrie.  Among other concept art work, his vision formed the color and texture of the Star Wars universe, a film that helped turn me to the dark side  and my generation on to a rich imaginative universe.  I'm sure I'm not the only one who can claim that Star Wars is where I first learned about the possibilities of imaginative thinking.