The Infinite Art Tournament, First Elimination Round #22/64

Faceoff #1: van der Goes v. Gorky

Hugo van der Goes
1440 - 1482
Dutch

Lost to somebody named Vincent van Gogh in Round 1.

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Arshile Gorky
1904 - 1948
Armenian; worked in the United States.

Lost to Natalia Gontcharova in Round 1.

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Faceoff #2: van Goyen v. Gozzoli

Jan van Goyen
1598 - 1656
Dutch

Lost to Francisco Goya in Round 1.

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Benozzo Gozzoli
1421 - 1497
Florentine

Lost to El Greco in Round 1.

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Vote for the two artists of your choice! Votes generally go in the comments, but have been known to arrive by email, by postcard, or in a sealed envelope.

Please note that you may vote only once in each face-off.  Opining that both of the artists in one of the two face-offs is superior to the other is fine, but casting your votes for two artists in the same face-off is not permissible.

The Infinite Art Tournament, Round 2 TIEBREAK: David v. Gauguin!

Here's the other half of the tiebreak action that started last week. 

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Jacques-Louis David
1748 - 1825
French

Beat 20th century American Stuart Davis after a tough fight in Round 1.
Tied Honoré Daumier in Round 2.

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Paul Gauguin
1848 - 1903
French; worked in France and Tahiti

Took care of business versus Henri Gaudier-Brzeska in Round 1.
Tied with Thomas Gainsborough in a gripping Round 2 artists' duel. YOUR VOTE COUNTS!

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Vote for the artist of your choice in the comments, or any other way that works for you. Commentary and links to additional work are welcome. Polls open for at least one month past posting.

The Christmas Cad

IV: The Christmas Party

My Christmas Cad was really jolly last night.

We were out at a Christmas party with his friends!

He’s so funny. He kept saying “Ho ho ho, ho!”

And I kept telling him “No, silly, you’re only supposed to say “Ho ho ho!”  But then he’d just do it wrong again!

I don’t think he realized that everybody was kind of laughing at him.

He’s a silly guy, but I love him more than anything!

Next Week -- V: Playing Santa 

The Infinite Art Tournament, Round FOUR: Eakins v. Feininger!

We celebrate the first weekend of even-numbered months with Fourth Round contests here in the Infinite Art Tournament.  It's an all-American December, with Tom Eakins facing off against the (to him) young whippersnapper Lionel Feininger!  Who will prevail?  Let's vote!

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Thomas Eakins
1844 - 1916
American

• Crushed German pioneer Adam Elsheimer in Round 1.
• Soundly defeated Belgian James Ensor in Round 2.
• Racked up a strong victory on late votes against Jan Van Eyck in Round 3.

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Lyonel Feininger
1871 - 1956
American; worked internationally

• Crushed Jean Fautrier in Round 1.
  
• Held off Carel Fabritius in Round 2 by a two-vote swing. YOUR VOTE COUNTS!!!
• Made it by Tsugouharu Foujita in Round 3

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Vote for the artist of your choice in the comments, or any other way that works for you. Commentary and links to additional work are welcome. Fourth-round matches are open for at least three months after posting.

The Songs of the Fifty States: Hawai'i

(What is "The Songs of the Fifty States"?)

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"Crab Claw Ginger" by Georgia O'Keeffe, under sponsorship from Dole Pineapple.

Hawai'i!

Size: 28,311 km² (42rd)

2012 Population: 1,392,313 (40th)

Statehood: 1959 (50th). 

American Human Development Index: 5.73 (8th -- way out of order)


Art Mecca: The Honolulu Museum of Art is the major player in terms of paintings of the European tradition and such like.  Mrs.5000 and I swept through a few days ago and found it a charming and welcoming, probably underpatronized, institution with a robust regional collection.  "Robust regional collection" means, here as elsewhere, lesser-but-still-quite-good paintings by names on the A-list hung next to very impressive paintings by names that sound vaguely familiar.  There is also, as you might expect, a very strong collection of Asian arts.

There was until recently a separate entity called The Contemporary Museum, but it merged with the then "Honolulu Academy of Arts" in 2011 to form the HMA.  From the tone of a FAQ about the merger, we can deduce that the Academy was by far the dominant partner in the merger, and that plenty of fans of TCM felt like their institution had been more or less devoured.  Bummer.

In the state's much smaller second city, the Hilo Art Museum opened with great promise and a credible starter collection in 2007, but crashed and burned in 2009.

There are of course a number of institutions dedicated to the traditional arts and culture of Hawai'i and Polynesia. In fact, I daresay that if you are specifically interested in Hawaiian art, this is probably the U.S. state with the richest offerings available.

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Michael 5000's Hawai'i

First Visited: November 23, 2013 (50th)
Most Recently Visited: December 3, 2013 (2nd)

First Run In: November 25th, 2013 (17th)
Best Run: 4.01 miles, Honolulu, November 25th, 2013.

Have Admired the Visual Arts In: Yes (see above).
Have Geohashed In: Once, unsuccessfully: Expedition #152.
Have Slept Overnight In: Yes.

Counties Visited: 2/5 (tied for 49th)
% Complete: 40% (24th)

Mrs. 5000's Counties Visited: 2/5
% Complete: 40%
Mrs.5000 First Visited: November 23, 2013 (50th)

Atlas of All Roads Travelled

Plans and Aspirations

It's easy enough to imagine various scenarios in which I might find myself back in Hawai'i.  But, it's even easier to imagine that the trip just finished was a one-time deal.

The Infinite Art Tournament, Left Bracket Second Round: Fouquet v. Fabritius!

Jean Fouquet
1425 - c. 1480
French

Lambasted by Tsugouharu Foujita in Round 1.
Knocked Dan Flavin's lights out in First Round Elimination.

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Carel Fabritius
1622 - 1654
Dutch

Skunked Henri Fantin-Latour in the Tournament's second-ever shutout in Round 1.
Lost to Lyonel Feininger by a two-vote swing in Round 2. YOUR VOTE COUNTS!

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Vote for the artist of your choice in the comments, or any other way that works for you. Commentary and links to additional work are welcome. Polls open for at least one month past posting, but likely much longer.

The Infinite Art Tournament, Round 2 TIEBREAK: Daumier v. Gainsborough!

The Gainsborough v. Gauguin match ended in a tie, ushering in at long last a chance for Daumier and Jacques David a chance to jump back into the action.  Here's the first of the tiebreak matches. 

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Honoré Daumier
1808 - 1879
French

Beat Dutch master Gerard David easily in Round 1.
Tied the Classical Revolutionary Jacques-Louis David in Round 2.

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Thomas Gainsborough
1727 - 1788
English

Beat Renaissance Florentine Taddeo Gaddi in an amazing come-from-behind victory in Round 1. YOUR VOTE COUNTS!!!
Tied with Paul Gauguin in a thrilling Round 2 shootout. YOUR VOTE SURE COUNTS!!!

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Vote for the artist of your choice in the comments, or any other way that works for you. Commentary and links to additional work are welcome. Polls open for at least one month past posting.