PA Spotlight: Harry Bertoia
You should probably recognize that last name, as in the Bertoia Chair. That’s right, Harry Bertoia (shown third from right in his diamond chair) lived in Pennsylvania for many years of his life and his family grew here in Barto, Pennsylvania. He was mostly known for his widely popular furniture, but was also a sculptor and university lecturer. He introduced wire rods into the furniture design scene in 1952 and worked with Charles Eames to develop his signature molded plywood chairs. How’s that for a resume? I managed to grow up loving his chairs, but never really knew of him until I did some research. My uncle worked for a company that plastic-coated the wire…
PA Spotlight: N.C. Wyeth
N.C. Wyeth is a great American illustrator and painter who’s life began and ended in the month of October, so I thought it was fitting to feature his legacy in this month’s PA Spotlight. N.C. Wyeth came to Pennsylvania thanks to two of his friends who relocated for Howard Pyle’s School of Art. Howard Pyle was called the “father” of American illustration, and Wyeth immediately meshed with his methods and ideals. His first commission was for the Saturday Evening Post in 1903, at the age of 21 he created a bucking bronco – in a moment where he referred to his work as ‘a true solid American subject’. After returning from a few trips out…
PA Spotlight: Chip Kidd
Chip Kidd, a renowned designer came from a small town not far from me, Shillington in Pennsylvania. He now practices his design from the big apple of New York City and Connecticut where his work thrives, boasts and wows. He is probably more known for his work on book jacket design and most recently entered the music industry with a group known as artbreak. Chip Kidd’s career could have ended at one pivotal moment in his life. A class assignment at Penn State was to design a book jacket for John Updike, where the teacher in turn suggested that book design would not be a good career choice for him. Thankfully this did not stop…
PA Spotlight: Keith Haring *Updated
My hometown of Reading, Pennsylvania isn’t home to many famous art types but we can boast of a few. One of those few is Keith Haring, an artist and social activist whose work responded to the street culture of New York City in the 1980′s. Keith studied at the Ivy School of Professional Art in Pittsburgh before moving to New York City where he was inspired by graffiti. He first received recognition through his chalk drawings in the subways using bold lines and vivid colors. They were usually of active figures with strong messages about life and unity, a rising theme in the 80′s. Around 1982 he began forming a high-society social circle including Madonna,…
PA Spotlight: Charles Demuth
Charles Demuth was an American talent who was born and remained in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Most known for his work, Figure No. 5, a great indicator of Pop Art, Demuth was also credited for developing a painting style known as Precisionism, where American landscapes were depicted in precise, sharply defined, geometrical forms. Charles Demuth’s life spanned from the early 1880′s until he passed in 1935 due to complications of diabetes. His career was peppered with praise from the New York Times, several museums and the love, respect, and company of fellow artists Georgia O’Keefe, Arthur Dove, Charles Duncan and many more. The 1920′s launched his art from still life watercolors into the theme of industrial America…
