I finished a book called Chrysalis by Kim Todd last week.
At the moment I'm in love with the person whom the book is about. I think this sort of conundrum has happened before, in love with the leading character in a biography who has passed on. In love with the idea of them. Merian traveled to Suriname to paint insects, such a grand adventure. I can't imagine in a era where women weren't doing anything individually without a man, here Merian a divorce comes traipsing into the South American city wanting to draw and paint insects.
After reading this book I want to relook at Maria Sibylla Merian: Insects of Surinam
Another book I recently finished is Deep Storage: Collecting, Storing and Archiving Art. I love the idea of the artist as not just a collector but also a archivist. Maybe this stems from my own obsession with libraries and things that withhold information. One of the first places my mom took me museum wise was the Harry Ransom Center, which at the time was the place where the University of Texas at Austin housed their art and their rare or special collections. Later they moved their art to the Blanton Museum of Art.
As people pass through the exhibitions, as I did those many years before, they have no idea what these facilities hold behind the scenes. They carry with them so many objects with historical perspective that it could make the average persons head spin. Each exhibition facilitates a small view into what they hold.
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