Monday, September 28, 2009

The Accidental Masterpiece by Michael Kimmelman

This collection of essays from New York Times art critic Michael Kimmelman delve into the works of artists such as Robert Smithson and Walter De Maria, Pierre Bonard and Marcel Duchamp, and Hugh Francis Hicks, a Baltimore dentist who kept his lifelong collection of lightbulbs on display in his basement, which he dubbed the Museum of Incandescent Lighting, until his death.* Kimmelman explores the ways that art can be found almost anywhere if you look hard enough, or are open to seeing it, and how life can be enriched by seeing art in the unexpected, noticing the beauty of everyday life. This might sound a little cheesy but I assure you it's a fascinating and engrossing read.



*The lightbulbs are now on display at the Baltimore Museum of Industry, where I made it a point to visit after reading this book.

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