Art Hag

Venice Biennale

The 54th Venice Biennale just kicked off in Italy and the historic city of water is teeming with artists, curators, gallerists, collectors, journalists, millionaires, models, fashion types, and revelers.  Being a broke, broken, nobody without connections, I have to experience the Art Biennale vicariously via the web.  Here are some links with coverage on the people, parties, and oh yes, the art...

~Artdaily.org reports that the German Pavilion, featuring the work of the artist Christoph Schlingensief who passed away last summer, received the Golden Lion Award for Best National Participation. 

~Art Observed has some great pics of the ILLUMInations exhibit at the Central Pavilion and also reports on the recipients of other major prizes.  Christian Marclay was awarded the Golden Lion for Best Artist for his incredible work The Clock (yay!) while Swedish-born, Berlin-based Klara Liden received Honorable Mention. The Silver Lion for Promising Young Artist went to the Sheffield-based, sound installation artist Haroon Mirza.  Congrats to all!

~NYT's Christoph Niemann illustrated a delightful and charming travel diary of his first 72 hours in Venice for his Abstract Sunday blog.

~Art Info has the dish and party pics of Dasha Zhukova's bash for Commercial Break, an exhibition of video art curated by Neville Wakefield for Zhukova's Garage Projects.

~Over at Style.com are more photos from the Commercial Break hoedown along with pics from the party for Doug + Mike Starn's Big Bambu installation (which was erected atop the Met last summer).

~And Art Info has 18 questions for the ever dapper and amusing Biennale juror, John Waters.

Next stop on the art world party train? — Switzerland for Art Basel, June 15-19...

See Big Bambu being constructed along the Grand Canal below...

 

Ai Weiwei

"If you don't speak out, if you don't clear your mind, then who are you?" — Ai Weiwei

It's impossible not to be angry or upset about the April 3rd arrest of Ai Weiwei and the subsequent charge of "economic crimes" brought against the artist by Chinese officials.  While hoping for his immediate and safe release, you should definitely check out Frontline's great piece on the artist, Who's Afraid of Ai Weiwei?.  Produced by freelance journalist and filmmaker Alison Klayman, who followed Ai for several years, the fascinating 18-minute piece features interviews with "China's first global art star" as well as brief conversations with his mother, art assistants, friends, journalists, and fellow artists. 

Considered to be the voice of the common man in China and often referred to as "Ai Shen" which translates to "Holy Ai" or "Ai God," according to The New Yorker writer Evan Osnos, Ai is the son of the famous Chinese poet, Ai Qing, who along with Weiwei and the rest of their family, was exiled to western China during the Cultural Revolution and forced to do menial labor.  Ai Weiwei is not only a world renowned sculptor, photographer, and installation artist, but also an outspoken political activist who frequently, boldly, and peacefully speaks (and blogs and Tweets) about local corruption and goverment abuse.  Who's Afraid of Ai Weiwei? traces the 53-year-old artist's career back to 2008 when he was selected to design the Bird's Nest Stadium for the 2008 Olympics hosted in Beijing.  While working on the stadium, Ai became disenchanted with the project, realizing that the Olympics were presented to him as "an act of integration and openness" but were actually a "celebration of the leadership of the Communist Party" and ulitmately "a fake smile that China was putting on for the rest of the world."  Ai quietly protested the event by not attending the opening ceremony. 

Klayman also discusses Ai's response to the 2008 Sichuan Province earthquake and his outrage at "the lack of government responsibility."  Ai organized a citizens investigation consisting of volunteers of all ages who went about hounding government officials to collect the names the government refused to release of the thousands killed by the earthquake.  In the summer of 2009, Ai was viciously beaten in his hotel room by police when he traveled to Sichuan to support a local earthquake activist who was on trial.  A month later, while setting up a solo exhibition in Munich, Ai was hospitalized for bleeding of the brain - most likely a result of the brutal beating he received in Sichuan.  The defiant picture above was Tweeted by Ai while he was being treated in the hospital.  His Munich exhibition included a monumental and moving tribute to the vicitims of the Sichuan earthquake — an installation made entirely of children's backpacks, similar to the one's belonging to the school children who were killed when their poorly built schoolhouse collapsed on them during the quake.  The backpacks spell out in Chinese characters the heartbreaking words spoken by the mother of one of the young earthquake victims - "She lived happily on this earth for seven years." 

In April 2010, Ai returned to Sichuan with Klayman, Osnos, a videographer, and others to confront the police who beat him.  After a long, fruitless day of filing an official complaint, fans greeted the artist as he and the group were having dinner - before the police came along to try to bully Ai, only to be outwitted by the aritst.  As fellow artist Chen Danqing states, "Weiwei has a little hooligan inside him, so he knows how to deal with other hooligans.  Because the Communist Party are just hooligans, really, you have to turn yourself into a hooligan as well."  Klayman's film also shows footage of Ai attending the opening of his current installation at the Tate Modern in London where his 100 million hand-painted, porcelain sunflower seeds are on view as well as the Chinese government bulldozing the artist's newly built Shanghai studio back in January of this year.  The artist responded by recording the demolition and showing it online, declaring it one of his most powerful artworks to date.

While Chinese officials may think they are making an example of Ai by imprisoning the high profile artist/activist, they are really just confirming to the west the crookedness and injustice of their system.  When asked by Klayman if he finds himself fearless, the soft-spoken, teddybear-like artist winces and humbly states it may seem "I act more brave because I know the danger is really there.  If you don't act, the dangers become stronger."  Let's all hope for the quick, safe release of the brave, inspiring, and amazing Ai Weiwei.  Watch Frontline's Who's Afraid of Ai Weiwei? at pbs.org.  Read Creative Time's response to Ai's detention at creativetime.org and read about the Tate Modern's protest at guardian.co.uk.

Photo of the Tate Modern from Art Daily.org, April 8, 2011  (credit: REUTERS/Luke MacGregor)

 

ARMORY ARTS WEEK 2011 | NYC ART FAIRS

Armory Arts Week has officially kicked off with The Armory Show happening over on Piers 92 and 94 waaay over on the west side and a bunch of smaller art fairs taking place all around the city.  Check out Art Observed's handy-dandy breakdown of all the fairs and see Art Slant's Trong Nguyen's 24 Hour Fair Primer—the artist/writer's itinerary and strategy for taking in all the fairs, art, and parties over the next few days.

Also, i-Phone users should definitely download the FREE app Collectrium which allows visitors at the Fountain, Moving Image, Pulse, SCOPE, and VOLTA fairs to identify registered artworks just by pointing and clicking their phones. The app will provide information on the selected works (title, artist, date, dimensions, media, and more); allow users to add pieces to "My Collection"; allow users to email images and/or share selected works with friends on Facebook and Twitter; and provide contact information for the exhibiting gallery.  Collectrium users will also be able to find all info and schedules for the fairs, view the fairs' catalogues, and enter notes for works that are not registered on the app.  So cool!  I heart nerds...  Learn more about Collectrium at artdaily.org.  Most of the fairs run through Sunday, March 6th.

Screengrab from Art Daily.org

Objets d'Art | News

~Butoh at the Joyce - I've never been very interested in dance performances, but when a friend invited me to see the Japanese Butoh dancers Sankai Juku perform their 2008 piece, Tobari As if in an inexhaustible flux, at the Joyce Theater last week, I figured "What the hey?  Why not?", and I'm so glad I did.  Performed by a troupe of eight, bald, male dancers whose bodies are entirely powdered in white (sometimes resembling marble sculptures, sometimes resembling ghosts, and sometimes stupidly reminding me of that movie Powder), the performance was beautiful, emotional, and powerful.  Everything from the graceful and controlled movements (which often released snowy wafts of powder), the gorgeous costumes, the dramatic lighting, and the music (which reminded me of a low-fi version of The Knife), was perfect and merged to create a poetic and hypnotic experience.  I know this description won't do it justice at all, but it's like a mixture of modern dance (minus the jazz hands), kabuki, tai chi, and slow-motion kung fu, mime, and vogue poses.  I know that sounds down-right awful, but the choreography is complex, fluid, and disciplined, and the overall production, that explores life, death, and rebirth, was elegant, evocative, and haunting - almost moving me to tears a few times.

Founded in 1975 by lead dancer, director, choreographer and designer, Ushio Amagatsu, Sankai Juku introduces a new work approximately every two years (!) and has performed in 41 countries and over 700 cities around the world.  According to the Playbill, Amagatsu's works present "an abstract vision of the infinite, evolutionary movements, the relationship of the body to gravity, and the relationship of gravity to the earth and the environment."  Butoh emerged in Japan after WWII and is attributed to two dancers - Tatsumi Hijikata and Kazuo Ohno (who died June 1, 2010 at the age of 103 and is featured on the cover of Antony and the Johnson's 2009 album The Crying Light).  Whether you're a fan of dance performance or not, go see Tobari performed by Sankai Juku before it ends October 17th.  Learn more at Joyce.org.

~Levi's Photo Workshop pop-up - Levi's just opened up in Soho a Photo Workshop - a "community-oriented space" that will host photo exhibits, classes, events and parties.  Open through December 18th, the space has a small shop area selling books, jeans, and jackets and more importantly has a fully equipped photo studio available for rent, vintage cameras available for rent, and rows of Macs and assorted printers for visitors to use free of charge!  Check it out at 18 Wooster Street and learn more at workshops.levi.com.

~The Simpsons Meet Banksy - I've gotten into the habit of only half-watching The Simpsons since the last few seasons haven't been as good as they used to be (though it's still a heck of a lot better than most anything else on television), so when I glanced up mid-way through last night's couch gag showing a dank and miserable Chinese sweatshop producing cheap Simpsons merchandise I thought, "Huh?"  Then when I noticed during the end credits that Banksy created the politically-scathing sequence it all made sense.  Had I seen his name tagged throughout Springfield during the opening sequence I would have saved myself some confusion.  This airing is very apropos to further irking China alongside Liu Xiaobo's recent Nobel Peace Prize win.  Anyhoo, you can see the show's opening below.

 

 

 

 

Objets d'Art | News

Not a whole lot going on these days — summer shows are winding down and galleries and museums are prepping for their big Fall shows.  There's practically tumbleweed blowing around the streets of West Chelsea!  Here are a few things to tide you over in the meantime...

~More ART (Art Reality Television) - The Ovation cable network (channel 83 for those with Time Warner) has 11 art-oriented programs on offer for those who are suffering from Work of Art withdrawal.  While the shows mainly focus on art theft and heists this week, one show last week titled Money Money Money dished on the "commercialization of contemporary art" and another called Art Race featured two struggling artists racing across America in 40 days using only their talent and artwork to pay for all their needs and essentials (hopefully they'll repeat these in the near future).  Alas, it seems doubtful there will be any over-the-top outfits to ogle like the ones worn by WOA's China Chow and Jeanne Greenberg Rohatyn.  Read the full story at artinfo.com.

~Labor Day Weekend in the City - If you aren't joining the mass exodus heading out of the city for the long holiday weekend, you might want to take advantage of the thinner crowds at the 1st Thursdays DUMBO Gallery Walk (September 2nd) and/or the third annual Governors Island Art Fair.  Organized by The 4heads Collective, the 2010 Governors Island Art Fair will occur every Saturday and Sunday from 11am-6pm throughout the month of September (from the 4th-26th).  And though I don't think the crowds will be any smaller, there's PS.1's final Warm Up line-up of the summer.  DFA's Holy Ghost! will perform.  I guess this means summer is officially over :(

~Nick Cave's Soundsuits in Vogue - I didn't want to shell out the cash or break my back hauling around the September issue of US Vogue, but while flipping through someone else's issue I noticed an eight-page accessories spread featuring some bright and furry Soundsuits by the artist Nick Cave.  The editorial is called Monsters, Inc and was shot by Raymond Meier.  You can check out the images at thefashionspot.com.  They look like awesome, psychedelic Muppets with a taste for designer handbags and shoes.

A couple of Nick Cave's Soundsuits featured in the September 2010 Vogue

Objets d'Art | News

~Last chance for Event Horizon - Antony Gormley's Event Horizon, presented by the Madison Park Conservancy, ends its five-month run this Sunday, August 15th.  The public art exhibition featured 31 life-size, iron and fiberglass body casts of the British artist.  The sculptures were placed in and around Madison Square Park and on the edge of rooftops of some surrounding buildings.  The end of Event Horizon means no more statues to mistake for suicide jumpers or for tourists to pose with and grope.  Learn more at eventhorizonnewyork.org and at the artist's website Antonygormley.com.  Ends August 15th.

~Congrats to Work of Art winner! - Spoiler Alert: Congratulations to Abdi Farah on nabbing Work of Art's grand prize of $100,000 and a solo show at the Brooklyn Museum.  The 23-year-old Pennsylvania native and graduate of U Penn was definitely one of my faves to win - if not always for his work [though I did really like his Baptism drawing and I.E.D. (Improvised Explosive Device) head bomb sculptures], most definitely for his super nice and positive personality.  This show seems to have a bunch of online haters, so it'll be interesting to see if Bravo brings it back for a second season.  Read more at bravotv.com/work-of-art.

~Happy birthday, Andy! - I just started reading Andy Warhol and Pat Hackett's POPiSM The Warhol Sixties (I love it so far) this past weekend - coincidentally, last Friday, August 6th would have been the late artist's 82nd birthday.  To mark the occasion, Flavorwire has compiled 82 Things You Didn't Know About Andy Warhol, a list of trivia and tidbits about the pop icon.  I particularly like #24, "Warhol enjoyed eating alone, and wanted to open a chain of restaurants called "ANDY-MATS — 'The Restaurant for the Lonely Person;'" #42, "Warhol was a regular volunteer at homeless shelters in New York City;" and #59, "The IRS audited Warhol every year from 1972 until his death in 1987."  Who knew?!  Check out the full list at flavorwire.com. 

A statue from Antony Gormley's Event Horizon in Madison Square Park

A statue from Antony Gormley's Event Horizon on the roof of a building (center) on Fifth Avenue

Objets d'Art | News

~Brooklyn or Bust - The New York Times asked a bunch of museum directors, artists, and business executives for suggestions on a business plan for The Brooklyn Museum.  While the museum has tried re-branding itself by adding a completely out-of-place glass entrance hall a few years back, hosting free First Saturday festivities every month, and exhibiting a solo show for the soon-to-be-announced winner of Bravo's Work of Art, the institution still unfairly lacks the prestige its Manhattan counterparts enjoy.  I liked the suggestions artist William Powhida and Rochelle Slovin, the Director of The Museum of the Moving Image, offered best. Powhida suggests the museum organize a survey show of contemporary Brooklyn artists and "engage one of its greatest assets, artists working in Brooklyn..."  Slovin's advice is straightforward: "Continue to take excellent care of your treasured collections... more great exhibitions, more performances, more joyful noise."  Chairman of the Blackstone Group, Stephen A. Schwarzman, also has an excellent tip — "to instill the same feeling of pride that New Yorkers feel about other institutions that make this city great, from Central Park to Yankee Stadium."  It's The Brooklyn Museum fer chrissakes!  Represent and take advantage of that borough's fervent pride!  Read the full article at nytimes.com.

~Tim Nye: Art Guy - The NYTs also has a profile on former dot-com entrepreneur turned gallery owner, Tim Nye.  Nye, who opened Nyehaus in a four-story brownstone on West 20th Street last year, organized the recent, three-gallery-spanning Swell shows which featured surf themed and/or inspired art.  Read the article at nytimes.com.

~Jerry Saltz's Top Twenty - New York Magazine Art Critic and Work of Art judge Jerry Saltz makes like Nick Hornby and lists his top twenty favorite paintings in New York.  His selections include works by Henri Matisse, Jackson Pollock, Frida Kahlo, Philip Guston, Paul Cezanne, Marsden Hartley, Kazimir Malevich, Georgia O'Keefe, Edouard Manet, Goya, Rembrandt, and Caravaggio from collections at The Met, MoMA, The Guggenheim, The Frick, The Brooklyn Museum and The Hispanic Society of America.  While it's cool to learn Saltz's top picks and discover some new works, the highlights of the article are his smart, charming, and passionate descriptions.  Check out his list and see a slideshow of his selections at nymag.com.

~Bookworms Rejoice! - David Zwirner Gallery is launching its first annual summer Pop-Up Bookstore next Monday for one week only.  From Monday, August 9th - Friday, August 13th, the pop-up shop will have special offers on rare and out-of-print books, signed artist catalogues, DVDs, and more.  The Pop-Up Bookstore will be open from 10:00am - 6:00pm daily except on Wednesday and Thursday when it will stay open until 7:30pm.  Shop early and shop often!  Learn more at Davidzwirner.com.

Jeronimo Elespe | John Connelly Presents

John Connelly Presents for the last time (more on that below) Spanish artist Jeronimo Elespe's small scale oil paintings on aluminum panel.  Elespe's portraits, landscapes, interior scenes and abstract images are based on the artist's "personal experience of friends, family and home as filtered by time, memory and the process of painting" (from press release).  Adding to the personal nature and intimacy of his paintings, the artist tends to work "on many paintings at once, over a period of time, sometimes months or even years and the accumulation of paint symbolizes the history of a picture's lifespan from the private and secret life of the artist's studio to the public life of a gallery setting..."  Inspired by early Renaissance painter Antonello de Mesina, Elespe's portraits, have an old, classical feel to them, yet at the same time something about his subjects exude an uncanny modernness and an odd sort of coolness.  Paintings like Abril, Aurico, Chanatip, and J. Benjamin feature fuzzy or shadowy, indistinct figures that give the works an unsettling and haunting vibe. Learn more at Johnconnellypresents.com and check out the artist's website at Jeronimoelespe.com.  Extended until August 6th.

While Elespe's paintings alone are worth a visit to the gallery, another reason to go is to bid farewell to John Connelly Presents since this will be the last show there.  The gallery is closing because Connelly has been appointed the Director of The Felix Gonzalez-Torres Foundation starting in September.  John Connelly Presents will host a closing reception on Friday, August 6th from 6:00-8:00pm.  Stop by and wish them all well.

Clara T., 2010

Abril, 2010

J. Benjamin, 2010

Chanatip, 2010

F.E., 2009-10

Cardan, 2010
Carmelo, 2010

Aurico, 2010

Fall/Winter 2010 Fashion Ads

Fashion and art often mix, and as the Fall 2010 ad campaigns begin to trickle onto the web, we see Stella McCartney, Bottega Venetta, and Missoni collaborating with some high profile artists.  First up, McCartney has teamed up with British artist Barry Reigate who illustrated some whimsical flowers, eyes, and bubble letters over Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott's photos of model Natalia Vodianova.  The playful results remind me a bit of the adorable unicorns, bunnies, bears, and ice cream cones floating around on Love Magazine's homepage.  Bottega Venetta recreated New York artist Robert Longo's famous Men in the Cities drawings with live models posed in the twisty, jerky, contorted stances of his angsty, 80's corporate business men and women.  And in what is the most surprising pairing for me, stripey knitwear brand Missoni commissioned experimental director Kenneth Anger  (Scorpio Rising) to produce a two-and-a-half minute film featuring several members of the Missoni family shot in dreamy, lava lamp-like imagery.  See the hypnotic clip below and read more at models.com.

In related news, WWD reported this morning that British designer Hussein Chalayan is working on a film and installation that will explore "the overlap between clothing and art," finding inspiration in "disciplines such as anthropology, music, design and art."  The project will be exhibited at Lisson Gallery in London from September 8-October 2nd.  Read more at wwd.com.

Chelsea Art Walk

Tomorrow night (Thursday, July 29th) marks the first annual Chelsea Art Walk!  Twenty-five Chelsea galleries are joining forces and extending their hours for an evening of special events.  In many cases, this may be your last chance to catch several shows before they close within the next couple of weeks.  With most galleries closed on Saturdays during the summer, it's harder for those with regular work schedules to make it to exhibits, so this special night offers 3 extra hours to catch up.  Along with artist talks, book signings, performances, and meet-and-greets, there will also be lots of food and drink specials at participating restaurants around the neighborhood.  Learn more and download the complete gallery/event listing and map at artwalkchelsea.com.  July 29th from 5:00-8:00.