Georgia O’Keeffe has been a fascinating artist to me for a long time. We studied her in high school, and I was interested in her flower paintings and “cow bones.” As an adult, I learned of her relationship with Alfred Stieglitz, and therefore of his contribution to the photography and modern art world.
I have long admired her independence, and her following her calling to explore the West, at a time when it was much more desolate and isolated than it is now. She pushed herself to try new things and to be “uncomfortable,” and definitely not follow the “normal expectations of a woman and housewife in the 1930s.”
She walked miles a day, painting things that would have been considered “garish” or “not worthy of someone’s canvas.” She held her own with her headstrong husband, and invented modern American art in the process.
I am constantly fascinated by how creative people work. What time are they the most creative? What do they need as “fuel” (food, drink), or supplies? Do they like clutter or do they need clean surfaces?
Georgia’s kitchen bookshelf and studio workshop are on display at the museum. Her artwork is also on constant rotation at the museum, which means that Zheng and I will have to go back and visit soon.
PHOTOS: Her workshop and bookshelf!
