The Art Monk - The Blog of Sandro Sebastian

    Okay, so I'd HEARD of the movie before and remember a moderate ad campaign back when I was in high school for this film. No recollection of how big a success it was, or if there was a huge buzz about it with the young people. But after having my own art school experience with Pratt last year, I decided maybe it would be good for a laugh.      It never ranked high on my list of "must sees" and frankly, in my head, I always assumed it some raunchy, young adult, late teens early twenties party movie with ignorant young people living their "devil may care" years in the fashionable way; wasting time with partying and disrespecting authority because we're just way too cool for this. You know, that lifestyle that Hollywood keeps trying to tell me SHOULD appeal to me for some reason, that bratty little phase we're all supposed to go through and come out on the other side with nothing but awkward misadventures and cringeworthy anecdotes. Y'know, normal p...

    I never liked book reports in school, and I never liked that generic classroom discussion about "what the author means by such and such." I think it's most important for people to be able to talk about art by way of how it strikes them personally, which can be anything. There's no right or wrong way to enjoy a piece, as long as you enjoy it for an interesting reason, or experience it an interesting way. That way you can validate the silent, unspoken opinions of others who may be experiencing it the same way but are too intimidated to discuss it out loud, wondering if it is valid for academic discussion. Anything that affects the way you experience it SHOULD be valid for academic discourse.      I realized, maybe back it October of this year, that I'd never read a Jane Austen novel. Then I looked at the workload I'd carved out for myself, my "busy little schedule" as we all have, and said what we all say, "I'll get to it when I've go...

     Another title purchased while in Brooklyn, NY, from an independent little bookstore in Williamsburg a few blocks up from where I was residing. It's always satisfying to discover these little hold out small businesses competing with the big, trendy, sexy Barnes and Noble tyrant. I walked in, only having noticed it accidentally while walking by to a CVS or something, for some toothpaste or whatever.     I cruised the shelves and made mental notes of where I'd like to come back to and browse later on, but on the center table, near the entrance, you know the spot, just near the front counter, but placed in the vicinity of the swinging front door so a gust of cold air shrivels you up every time a new customer enters, there were some new titles they had on display, and I was excited to read this one.  I almost never buy things on impulse, but if I want it living with me, I want it living with me.        Earlier that yea...

     It was maybe about a year ago, while I was living in Brooklyn, NY, attending Pratt Institute, seeking my MFA in painting and drawing, that I took a trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art while they had their Eugene Delacroix exhibit in the winter months of 2018 going into 2019. I had already been making weekly, or semi-weekly trips to the place, copying ancient works of art from Egypt and Africa, along with Chinese and Greek works, wanting a break from the overly academic constraints of Pratt, but after seeing the Delacroix exhibit, and feeling my spirits raise, I headed over to a gift booth area and saw this title sitting there. A big, juicy, epic long biography of one of my favorite painters, and definitely my favorite Impressionist: Pierre Auguste Renoir.      Since purchasing the book, and taking it back to my apartment in Williamsburg, (hopping the 2 necessary subways to get back from Manhattan) I started reading about this person's life...