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want vs. need
Last summer we asked visitors to tell us what makes something valuable and consensus agreed on the intangible: meaning. Your child's first ceramic blob, the hotel keycard from your honeymoon, the ugly blanket your best friend made for Christmas one year—meaning appears to be the driving force behind keeping this stuff.
So, consider this: if subject matter determined the cost of a painting, would it affect the painting's value if size, materials and time invested remained the same? Are price and worth interchangeable? The constant tension between cost and value when experiencing and/or purchasing art is why I fell hard for New York City artists (husband and wife), Cristine Santora and Justin Gignac.
Their Eyes Were Watching God
No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency
Notes from a Small Island
snowy day
On this out-of-nowhere snowy day (it was a completely different season 24 hours ago), I thought it would be fun to look at some famous winter scenes throughout art history, all of which can be found in the 700s here at TSCPL.
The Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry (1413—16 AD) is often referred to as "the king of illuminated manuscripts". Commissioned by Jean, Duc de Berry, one of the highest nobles in 15th-century France, it was painted by the Limbourg Brothers from Flanders (now Germany) and is a classic example of a Medieval book of hours. The image on the left, February, is from the calendar section and represents winter in a peasant village. The inhabitants of a farm are shown warming themselves by the fire, while in the background, daily life—cutting wood, taking cattle to market—goes on as normal. Much has changed in 650 years but I bet if you looked outside right now you'll see some things are just the same.
Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library
1515 SW 10th Ave Topeka, KS 66604-1374 (785) 580-4400
www.tscpl.org
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