a new beginning

Posted on December 26, 2015 by Sandy Lupton

November marked the beginning of a new era for me at work. After nearly 30 years working in a small satellite office, I was asked to report to the main office 2 days a week. This office lies smack dab in the middle of Norfolk’s NEON Arts District.

While the drive is a serious pain in the ass with its traffic, tunnels and tolls, the rest of the deal is pretty sweet. The building is full of creative folks to play with and its location offers plenty of opportunities for lunchtime art adventures with my art buddy Siobhan.

The surrounding buildings are being adorned with murals of all styles and themes, with more murals popping up all the time. Even the sidewalks are painted!

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The building I work in is just a short walk to the Chrysler Museum, and I’ve managed to catch a few awesome shows. My favorite so far is the Georgia O’Keeffe exhibit. It is small, but shows examples of her flowers, photos, abstracts and landscapes. The small size of the show allowed for plenty of time to read the accompanying words – my favorite part. She was a real piece of work.

Georgia O’Keeffe: A Place of Her Own

Saints and Dragons: Icons from Byzantium to Russia
Tseng Kwong Chi – Performing for the Camera

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Across the street from the building, we also toured the newly renovated
Glass Wheel Studio.

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Inspiration is around every corner in Norfolk’s NEON district!
I’m glad I get to be a part of it.

the art of video games

Posted on May 7, 2015 by Sandy Lupton

The Art of Video Games
Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Virginia

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“ The Chrysler presents an exhibition that does more than trace 40 years of creative artistry and technological advances in digital entertainment. It poses the question of whether video games deserve to be considered art.”

My Daddy was so excited in the late 70s when he brought home PONG- the very first video game I had ever seen. We all sat around the TV and played for hours. I remember playing Pac Man and Space Invaders at the Pavilion in Myrtle Beach in the early 80s. I have fond memories of Frogger, Asteriods, the Atari system and Mario. When my baby was growing up in the 90s there was Pokémon and Donkey Kong. My most recent video game purchase was a Wii system and Wii Fit, Wii Dance Party and Wii Bowling. Its crazy how much video games have changed in a relatively short amount of time.

This exhibit at the Chrysler Museum of Art shows video games from the beginning of time (or so it seems) — to the present. It was interesting to see how much the graphics have advanced over the years. I enjoyed playing the vintage arcade games, but my favorite part was the art that the visitors made depicting their favorite video game characters.

The exhibit ends this Sunday. Check it out if you can- it was a hoot!

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oh so close to greatness…

Posted on June 20, 2014 by Sandy Lupton

Chrysler Museum
Norfolk, Va

It’s mind-boggling really… just how close you can get to greatness at the Chrysler Museum in Norfolk. Cassatt, Renoir, Gauguin, Warhol, all on display. No ropes or barriers — nothing to keep you from standing right where THEY were standing when THEY were creating their great works.

I stood mesmerized… breathing the same air, seeing the same brushstrokes, feeling the same awe as the artist must have felt as the work emerged from a blank canvas. It is hard to catch your breath when you see Cassatt’s beautiful, chubby baby in “The Family” or back away slowly from Paul Signac’s, “The Lagoon of Saint Mark, Venice” and watch as millions of colorful marks turn from chaos to masterpiece before your eyes.

We went to the Chrysler for Father’s Day. First a picnic on the grounds under an amazing tree. Then a tour of the newly renovated museum. A fabulous day with my parents, my sister, my brother-in-law and the many artists whose works grace these halls.