I On the Arts

As many times as I visited New York City in my youth on various museum adventures, I somehow neglected to pay a visit to the Frick Collection.  For those of you not in the know, the Frick Collection is a small but incredibly distinguished collection of European paintings, sculpture, furniture and decorative arts located in [...]

As a monitor in the List Gallery, I have the privilege of spending 2.5-3 hours each week surrounded by a varying landscape of paintings, drawings, and sculpture.  This year, I’ve feasted my eyes on colorful seascapes, mysterious forest scenes, intricately made family quilt paintings, sculptures both colorful and monotone, and many more.  All the while, [...]

Sometimes the best discoveries are accidental.  Some time ago, iTunes was giving away free downloads of the pilot episode of MTV’s “Awkward.”, a show I knew little to nothing about.  I figured that I had nothing to lose from a free download, so I took advantage of Apple’s magnanimity, figuring I’d stumble upon the episode [...]

Over spring break, I spent some time at my old haunt, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, which boasts the largest permanent collection of art west of the Mississippi.  While at the museum, my love for the art of curating increased tremendously. What I saw proved that sometimes a truly fascinating exhibit might not [...]

Recently, I decided to leave the Swarthmore bubble for our exciting nearby urban metropolis of Philadelphia.  Since it is my goal to know my way around the downtown area like a local, I decided I would visit the somewhat lesser known Galleries at Moore College of Art and Design on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, along [...]

Recently, my studio art class, “Figure Composition”, took a trip to New York.  After an early wake-up (and a mild panic when I realized that the power outage on campus had caused my alarm to reset itself), a long bus ride, and a delicious lunch at the Tick Tock diner (which I am told is [...]

In person, J. Henry Fair, whose photographs grace the walls of the McCabe Library Atrium, is witty and self-effacing, yet rather mysterious. There is a sardonic edge to his words and a pensive air to his manner.  During my interview with the artist, he turned down my admittedly thoughtless offer of a paper napkin in [...]

For the next month and a half, Swarthmore College will be taken over by the nature-loving imagination of Tom Uttech, who is exhibiting concurrently in the List Gallery and in the atrium of McCabe Library.  The former show is titled “Adisokewini” and features his recent oil paintings, and the McCabe show exhibits some of Uttech’s [...]

Haverford’s Cantor Fitzgerald Gallery, located on the first floor of the Whitehead Campus Center, is a wholly different kind of space than Swarthmore College’s own List Gallery.  Where the List Gallery is brightly and warmly lit, with golden wood paneling and a pretty, light atmosphere, the Cantor Fitzgerald Gallery is a more intense, crisp, almost [...]

This past Thursday, I journeyed out to the World Café Live in Philadelphia to see Riley Road perform in their first headlining show. Readers might recall my earlier interview piece about Riley Road, but for those who missed it, I’ll talk briefly about the band. Riley Road is made up of three 15-16 year olds [...]