October 25th is International Artist Day #ArtistDay. Charlie has always loved @Art and to draw. Since he is still fighting a toothache I’ve not going to bother Charlie this morning. Instead I’m going to make a Get Well Card for Charlie. Would you like to make one with me?
If Charlie was still #Homeschooling today we would celebrate International Artists Day in our #Homeschool Art Class. Charlie would study Bob Ross his favorite painter while I checked out Picaso’s work.
Would you like to join us and learn about artists this morning. Even though Charlie isn’t homeschooling now that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t still take the time to learn something new every day. Then were going to make Cookies in the shape of artists supplies.
Today we take the time to celebrate International Artist Day on October 25th. Art as a creative human expression encapsulates myriad things. Art portrays the beauty of life or a bitter reality. Art records history, revolutions, rebellions, and sometimes art is a means to escape them.
In short, there is no history or culture without art. International Art Day celebrates all forms of art including paintings, sculpture, photography, architecture, music, and more. Through this celebration we show our respect for the passion and creativity in all artists. As art provides us with a medium of speech let us also see the work of those artists who study, research and criticize artists to showcase their art of words,
In the Summer of 1961 President Kennedy made an effort to settle a salary dispute between the Metropolitan Opera and the American Federation of Musicians. President Kennedy succeeded. Kennedy’s actions signaled his passion for the arts.
Congress, in the mid 60s, designated the National Cultural Center, launched in 1958, as a “living memorial” to President Kennedy and authorized $23 million to begin construction. National Cultural Center, is now simply known as the Kennedy Center.
The following year President Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts & the Humanities Act, which created the National Endowment for the Arts. By 1970 focus on the arts increasingly spread to television and cinema.
Mobil Oil committed more than $1 million to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for presentation of Masterpiece Theatre on PBS and for 5 million copies of new Sesame Street magazine to be given free to preschool children in low-income neighborhoods. This was the largest gift to CPB from the business community to date.
A decade later President Reagan, himself a former actor appointed a Presidential Task Force on the Arts & Humanities to review the purposes of the National Endowments; broaden private support; engage more non-government professionals, private groups & individuals; & recommend ways to strengthen the overall structure of both agencies.
Still another President would show his support as well. Bill Clinton, in his 1997 State of the Union Address, asked Congress to maintain support for the arts and President Bill Clinton urged citizens to make the year 2000 a national celebration “so that we can remain the world’s beacon not only of liberty but of creativity, long after the fireworks have faded.”
Recently the Museum of Modern Art in New York City reopened after a $400 million renovation adding over 40,000 square feet for galleries (including two at the street-level) inside the new West 53rd St. tower. These attractions are free to the public.
International Artist Day Activities
- If you have the means purchase a piece of art to dress up a wall and encourage a local artist on International Artist Day.
- Take a painting lesson and make some friends sipping Wine. You can likely frame the result!
- You don’t have to be an art lover or critic to spend a few hours in an Art Museum. While there take the tome to let the art speak to you.
Colorful Facts About Famous Art And Artists
- Salvador Dali once explained that the idea for melting clocks in his famous painting “The Persistence of Memory” came from Camembert Cheese he saw melting in the Sun.
- The Mona Lisa only gained notoriety after the painting was stolen in 1911. For about 350 years only a few critics and scholars celebrated and acknowledged this painting!
- Did you know art competitions used to be a part of the Olympics? The categories were painting, sculpture, architecture, music, and literature. I sure didn’t know that. Did you?
- Gemstone paintings originated in Rajasthan, India. Painters use precious and semi-precious Gemstones, including Ruby, Sapphire, Jade, Lapis Lazuli, etc., in fine powdered form to create beautiful works of art.
- Did you know Picasso could draw before he learned to walk? The first word Picasso spoke was “pencil.”
Why We Love International Artist Day
- Artists are a passionate and talented lot that deserve our respect for their work and contributions to our culture.
- Great works of art are truly uplifting and on International Artist Day can open our senses to such inspirations.
- All artists, regardless on skill level, earnings, or status benefit from a celebration like International Art Day.
Thank you,
Glenda , Charlie and David Cates
