Posts by Linda Bennett
Traditional Masks for Healing
While masks remain a flashpoint in 2020, traditional African masks were considered sacred. The masks shown here, courtesy of the University of Michigan Museum of Art, were worn by the village healer or shaman who in turn connects with powerful spirits to bring relief from illness, infirmity or imminent death. They are beautifully individually crafted…
Read MorePL Recommends #7
Artist Stories from the Pandemic (2.5 min) Parrishart.com Parrish Art Museum on Long Island recently gathered artists living throughout the Island to share thoughts about art and life in the time of COVID. Some feel they are not able to fully realize their artist potential now, some are frustrated with virtual art as a venue,…
Read MorePL Recommends #6
Coronavirus: A global pandemic told through art (5 minutes) BBC Newsnight Art Historian James Fox In this excellent video, James Fox explores three paintings relevant to the current pandemic. Dame Barbara Hepworth’s pastel, ethereal drawing of doctors, surgeons, and nurses, was inspired by the care that her very ill daughter received in the 1940s. Andrew…
Read MorePL Recommends #5
The Rallying Cry of Street Art During Coronavirus (3 min) Mashable Watch and listen to two artists (Los Angeles and Barcelona) leveraging their talents to spread public health messages, inspire hope, and using their art to document this time for the future. It’s a great example of putting that truism into play–think globally, act locally.…
Read MorePL Recommends #4
In this installment of PL Recommends, we look at how art can keep us connected when the pandemic keeps us apart and how artists are creating messages encouraging communities to participate in public health measures to decrease the spread of COVID. Public health messaging has to be relevant to the individual for these practices to…
Read MorePL Recommends: #3
This week we focus on…poignant creations of children who, although separated by oceans, share common feelings of loneliness and isolation…innovative ways to experience art and culture during the pandemic…and how Native American artists are lending their skills to COVID-19 public health campaigns. Then a podcast takes you to Colorado, where you’ll learn about a unique…
Read MorePL Recommends: Week 2
This week’s lineup includes an article on pandemic art created by one publication’s readers (some quite impressive)…a look at how British sculptor Sir Antony Gormly and the infamous Bansky are responding to the pandemic…and a commentary on how “starving artist” has become all too literal. We also suggest an insightful and sobering podcast that examines…
Read MorePL Recommends #1
In this new Pandemic Lens feature we present articles, essays, opinions, and commentaries about art created during quarantine. As interpreters of the societal mores, cultural events and moods of the time, artists lead us deeper within ourselves and allow us to confront, explore, process and cope with our thoughts, emotions, and feelings ranging from grief,…
Read More