Art is the Solution

The Last Supper 1984 Source: Goldwell Open Museum October is the month of all things spooky. So, to celebrate the month of Halloween, I want to talk about a sculpture that rethinks a classic piece of art in a uniquely creepy way: The Last Supper by Albert Szukalski. Housed in the Goldwell Open Museum—an outdoor sculpture park that was created to house the piece—the piece reimagines Leonardo Da Vinci's fresco the Last Supper . As you’re probably aware, this fresco is one of the most famous and recognizable pieces of art in the world (my guess is that only the Mona Lisa and Starry Night are more famous). However, you could be forgiven for failing to recognize Da Vinci's influence on Szukalski’s work. Instead of the flesh and blood figures that populate Da Vinci's work, Christ and his apostles appear in Szukalski’s sculpture as ghosts. According to my research , Szukalski was inspired to create the Last Supper after observing the similarities between the landscape of the...

The Lady with an Ermine Source: Wikimedia Commons Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa is probably the most famous painting in the world (or, at least, it is certainly the most famous painting in the Western world). However, the Mona Lisa was far from da Vinci’s only masterpiece. My personal favorite da Vinci painting is entitled The Lady with an Ermine . The piece depicts a young woman in a blue and red dress with a white stoat entwined in her arms. Her face is tilted away from the viewer in a three-quarters profile. A half smile dances across her lips while her bright, intelligent eyes focus on something that is invisible to the viewer. Although it has been damaged over the centuries, it remains a beautiful and enticing piece of art. Like all Renaissance artists, da Vinci was interested in capturing the idealized grace of the human form. This is especially true of his portraits of women, which are imbued with a calm, dignified beauty. However, more than almost any other Renaissance artist...