Caravaggio's bones, Hopper's diner, Seurat's palette

There were two interesting art stories in the front section of yesterday's New York Times. Neither had much to do with actual art, but both offer great entries into art.

First, the recently discovered bones of the infamous 17th-century painter Caravaggio were honored Saturday by officials in Porto Ercole, Italy, the artist's final resting place. Caravaggio has long been a favorite rogue and rapscallion for writers and adventure-seeking art historians. Half a dozen books have been written about him in the last decade that have proved to be popular sellers with a more general audience. I've no hard evidence, but I'd bet that at least some of those general readers have gone on to consider Caravaggio in more depth following those first encounters. Perhaps reading another book on him, or even just spending more time in front of his paintings when they came across them in museums. This new story, of the bones, is another way for non-art people to get interested in something art-related, even if it does have a bit of the tabloid stink to it. My favorite parts of the Times article are quotes by incensed and skeptical art-worlders looking down on the whole sordid scene. It's their loss, and ours, not to see beyond the surface of the story and to take advantage of the opportunity to educate us more about the artist and his work. 

Second, Jeremiah Moss gives us an Op-Ed write up chronicling his search for the real New York diner from Edward Hopper's famous painting, Nighthawks. Where Caravaggio's bones might take us from the outside world in, here is an approach that starts with a work of art first and then moves outward, into the real world. It's particularly worth noting here, that Moss has a blog called Vanishing New York, which he describes as "a bitterly nostalgic look at a city in the process of going extinct". His quest for Hopper's diner then proves the perfect foil for making a connection between this ongoing passion for the city, and visual art. 

Both of these articles (and their placement outside the paper's art section) are perfect examples of ways in which we might connect to art, or might come to it, outside the normal paths of museum visits, art appreciation course, and the like. These unusual, more unlikely ways are also, I think, particularly valuable for engaging new viewers and future art lovers. As long as we recognize and encourage them when we see them.

Lastly, all this reminded me of a quick posting a few week's ago on the hugely popular general blog, kottke.org featuring George Seurat's palette. An object, a single image really, that as I'll probably post about again later this summer from the Art Institute of Chicago, functions in much the same way as Caravaggio's bones and Hopper's diner; as an alternate way into art.