Art Hag

Vigil | Audio Installation At Green-Wood Cemetery

You have one more week to catch artist Leigh Davis' audio installation Vigil at the newly restored Historic Chapel at Green-Wood Cemetery. Inspired by Davis’ participation in the Threshold Choir, a nationwide group that carries on the “ancient tradition of bedside singing to the dying,” the work examines the “power of loss and memory through song.”

The immersive piece features angelic vocals softly emanating from speakers as visitors gaze upon the Chapel’s radiant stained glass windows, providing the opportunity to “acknowledge the passing of time and the complexity of grief while sitting together,” the artist states on her website. 

The piece was designed to be experienced in venues rich with “history of loss and rebirth.” Davis debuted Vigil in September 2016 at the Clermont Estate, a historic home overlooking the Hudson River. The installation was first presented at the Green-Wood Historic Chapel in October 2017 as part of Open Source Gallery’s Reimagining Tradition, an exhibit of site-specific projects that connected “socially engaged art and ritual practice.”

Green-Wood welcomed Vigil back to its newly refurbished Chapel in September 2020 as a response to the overwhelming “individual and collective loss” currently sweeping the country due to the pandemic. “[S]itting with others in grief, or imagining those who’ve departed before, can bring to light both the personal and universal aspects of mutual loss and invite a chance for these emotions to be processed in a therapeutic way,” the artist notes. The majestic, hallowed setting, “a place of solace and comfort for those grieving for over a century,” according to Green-Wood, allows visitors to meditate, reflect, and “contemplate the complexity of mourning” in an environment that exudes serenity and calm.

About the Historic Chapel

Green-Wood's Gothic-style Historic Chapel was built in 1911 by Warren and Wetmore, the firm behind the design of Grand Central Terminal. The non-denominational venue features a minimal limestone interior with a soaring domed ceiling that accentuates the dazzling stained glass.

Founded in 1838, Green-Wood Cemetery was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2006. The Historic Chapel was granted individual landmark status in 2016, according to Brownstoner. The Chapel closed in July 2018 for renovations and reopened last month.

About the Artist

Based between Brooklyn and Washington, DC, Davis is an interdisciplinary artist who explores “culture, community, and memory,” according to her website. Her recent works focus on end-of-life experiences and how they “help us understand both the emotional intricacy of grief and the ways in which we construct our beliefs about human consciousness and a possible afterlife.”

For her installations, Davis regularly employs spaces that possess “their own spirituality or sense of community” to complement and highlight her narratives and form connections between the audience members with each other as well as with the subjects and the spaces.

Visiting Green-Wood

Before heading to Green-Wood Cemetery, visitors can download the lyrics to the three vocal arrangements featured in Vigil here. Davis' installation is a welcome haven during these challenging times, where visitors can immerse themselves in the healing energy of music.

Vigil will be presented through October 19, 2020, from 10am to 4pm daily. Masks are required and visitors must keep a distance of at least six feet while in the Historic Chapel. Learn more at www.green-wood.com.

Monkey: Journey to the West | Lincoln Center

I really wanted to love Monkey: Journey to the West.  Being a long-time fan of Blur and Damon Albarn, I was excited to learn that he and his Gorillaz collaborator, Jamie Hewlett, and the director Chen Shi-Zheng, had adapted the 16th-century, classic Chinese novel for the stage.  I've been anxious to see the production since it debuted at the Manchester International Festival in 2007, so I was incredibly excited to learn that it was set to open up this year's Lincoln Center Festival on July 6th and play for three weeks.

After seeing it this past weekend, I was left feeling disappointed.  While I did enjoy the eclectic mix of  electronic/Chinese Opera/pop music Albarn composed (the catchy, girly Heavenly Peach Banquet will be stuck in your head for hours!), the colorful and quirky visuals (Hewlett designed the sets, costumes, and created animations), and the dynamic (though at times out of sync) acrobatics, martial arts and aerial stunts, the dialogue and narrative are seriously lacking.  Granted the fable is pretty complicated, but the narrative is so choppy and confusing that it doesn't even come close to telling a clear or cohesive story.  The show's program offers a scene-by-scene synopsis that provides a shallow explanation of what is happening.

Quick summary:  The Monkey King, born from a stone egg, one day realizes that we are all destined to die.  Not cool with the prospect of his demise, Monkey seeks out the Daoist Master Subodhi who grants him immortality and gives him the name Sun Wu Kong - Monkey with the Realization of Emptiness.  Monkey then obtains armor and cloud-hopping shoes, giggles annoyingly and acts obnoxiously (whilst wearing a yellow tracksuit reminiscent of Albarn's Blur days), wreaking havoc under the sea and up in heaven, causing Buddha to imprison him under his palm for 500 years. 

Guan Yin, the Bodhisattva of Compassion, releases Monkey under the condition that he accompany  and protect the wet blanket monk, Tripitaka, on a voyage to India to collect Buddhist scriptures.  They are joined by the languid Sandy (a general who was exiled to a river of sand and eats humans for kicks), a white horse (who was formerly the Dragon Prince), and the mildly amusing Pigsy, a gluttonous, lusty Daoist sage.  Aside from Pigsy, the sidekicks aren't all that interesting.  Their intriguing backstories might have spiced up their roles if they hadn't been glossed over.  You learn more about Sandy and the white horse by reading the program. 

The crew encounters some obstacles along their journey—The White Skeleton Demon (who tries to eat Tripitaka), The Spider Woman (who tries to seduce them), and Princess Iron Fan (who possesses a magic fan they need to extinguish a fire).  Monkey gets kicked out of the group for his erratic behavior and penchant for violence and then returns to save everybody, and they all ultimately reach Paradise and enlightenment.

Hewlett's animations could have helped fill in many of the show's gaping holes—he could have added fun introductions and descriptions of characters (many minor characters come and go, in and out of nowhere), and while the super-titles introduced the names of each of the nine scenes (as well as translated the Mandarin dialogue and lyrics into English), he could have added some narrative graphics to entice the audience with clues as to what was about to happen.  His animations were particularly helpful in scenes that might otherwise have been difficult to portray, like Monkey's birth, or Monkey's turning into a bee so he can fly down Princess Iron Fan's throat and fight her from within (seriously).

Overall, Monkey: Journey to the West is a visual and musical treat.  The many kids in the audience seemed engrossed throughout and delighted by the exciting spectacle.  For the adults - just don't expect to be enlightened. 

Learn more at monkeyjourneytothewest.com (two hours, no intermission).  Through July 28th.

 

Billy Childish | Lehmann Maupin

For over thirty-five years, artist, writer, musician Billy Childish has been producing a variety of creative works -- hundreds of paintings, over forty volumes of poetry, a series of autobiographical novels, and more than 120 blues/punk influenced albums.  I Am The Billy Childish, currently on view at Lehmann Maupin's Lower East Side space, gives visitors just a hint of Childish's prolific output.

Born in Chatham, Kent in 1959, Childish left school at 16 and worked on a dockyard and as an apprentice stonemason.  A portfolio filled with one hundred drawings earned him admission to St. Martin's School of Art where the artist's "defiance to authority led to his eventual expulsion from art school in 1981," (from the show's press release).  This clearly did not deter Childish from creating art in various ways, exploring themes of "war, history, social protest, as well as his own experiences of alcoholism, and the sexual abuse he suffered as a child."  The first floor of the gallery presents the artist's recent paintings depicting volcanoes, the German mountaineer Toni Kurz, Finnish composer Jean Sibelius, as well as scenes of the Wounded Knee massacre.  The upstairs gallery surveys Childish's music and litery projects, showcasing zines, books, and a collection of poems.  Also on view are 55 of Childish's album covers, some featuring cover art by Childish and by artists Peter Doig and Daniel Clowes.

Influenced by Edvard Munch, Vincent van Gogh, and Dada, Childish's paintings feature shadowy figures against vibrating stokes of intense color.  As the old saying goes, "write what you know," and Childish boldly and honestly writes, performs, and paints what he knows and experiences.  At the exhibition's opening, the artist was on hand to read from his fifth novel, The Stonemason, as well as from his new collection of poetry, I Fuckt Frida Kahlo.  Learn more at Lehmannmaupin.com.  Through January 21st.

Kurz Descending (Study), 2011

Lt. Sydney A. Cloman, First Infantry, on His Horse on the Wounded Knee, 2011

Lt. Sydney A. Cloman, First Infantry, on His Horse on the Wounded Knee (detail), 2011

Erupting Volcano, Chile, 2011

Sibelius (Man with Stick), 2011

Sibelius Amongst Saplings, 2011

(Elgar) Man Sat on Chairs, 2011

Yoshitomo Nara | Asia Society

I made it back to NYC in time to catch the final day of Yoshitomo Nara's Nobody's Fool at Asia Society, the first major retrospective of the artist's work in New York.  The excellent exhibit which was divided into three themes: Isolation, Rebellion, and Music, and featured over 100 works from the 1980s through 2010, helped me see Nara's work in a new light.  Instead of just seeing sinister and adorable kids and puppy dogs, I learned that the work of the king of "kowa kawaii" is much more than simply "creepy cute." 

Nara was born in Hirosaki, Japan in 1959 to working parents who often had to leave him home alone as a child.  This ingrained in Nara a sense of isolation which he extensively explored in his work when he moved to Germany from 1988-2000.  During these twelve years, Nara explored emotions and vulnerabilities in children and animals, whom he finds interchangeable and representative of "loneliness and solitude, and signs of innocence and its fragility."  The "submissive obedience" of a dog "sadly" reminds the artist of children (from the show's notes).  To personalize his work even further, Nara once stated that the use of dogs in his work was a result of a failed attempt to adopt a stray when he was young.  The use of children, dogs, and solitary houses symbolize the artist's lonely and isolated childhood.

Highly influenced by music, especially punk bands like The Clash and Ramones whom he listened to in the 70s, Nara's work exudes a punk spirit of independence and rebellion.  Many of his works from the 90s include scrawled words "that express anger, frustration and the resolve to stand up to the challenges of life."  In 1991, his painting The Girl with the Knife in Her Hand introduced Nara's pared down style featuring canvases focusing on a single subject on monochromatic, empty backgrounds. 

One room in the exhibition is devoted to Nara's obsession with music, featuring ceramics emblazoned with lyrics from some of the artist's favorite songs.  Also showcased in the room are 100 album covers selected by Nara from his extensive record collection illustrating his favorite album art and giving viewers an idea of his musical inspirations.  His selected record sleeves include: Joni Mitchell's Clouds, Runt. The Ballad of Todd Rundgren, The Doors' Morrison Hotel, Jethro Tull's Stand Up, The Beatles' Revolver, The Rolling Stones' Flowers, Donovan's HMS, Loudon Wainwright III's Attempted Moustache, and Dan Penn's Nobody's Fool whose name Nara borrowed for the exhibit.  Nara himself has designed album covers for Jim Black, REM, Shonen Knife (Happy Hour), and the Japanese punk band The Star Club.  According to the show's notes, a possible reason for Nara's more recent characters appearing more contemplative rather than angry may be due to his current playlist of American folk and soul music.  The program booklet for the show includes two playlists that "reflect Nara's most current interest in music"—the first list featuring rock selections from bands like Small Faces, The Flamin' Groovies, The Lovin' Spoonful, The Turtles, and the second list featuring picks from singer-songwriters like Dan Penn, Donovan, Mary Hopkin, and Vashti Bunyan.

Nara recently began collaborating with the designer Hideki Toyoshima using the name YNG in creating shack-like structures typically built from found materials to showcase Nara's work.  Nobody's Fool featured three of their collaborative installations.  Untitled (formerly Home) (2010) is a little house you can walk into and see three recent works by Nara, a maquette for his White Ghost sculpture that was on view a few blocks down on Park Ave and a 1983 video montage.  Doors (2006) features five colorful doors of varying shapes and heights that you can enter to see assorted drawings, a sculpture, and a photograph.  Drawing Room Between the Concord and Merrimack (2010) is a large, site-specific, mixed-media installation that features a hallway displaying new paintings and older drawings from 1992-2000 that leads to recreations of Nara's studio, a concert stage, and a carnival tent—"familiar, exciting, and inviting" venues.  Prior to Nobody's Fool opening, Nara and Toyoshima held open studios at the Park Avenue Armory where they worked on rebuilding Home and creating new drawings.

Nara's Neo Pop, Edo period ukiyo-e print-influenced works are much more than cutesy kids with anger management issues and dreamy puppies.  Nara's work is deeply personal and emotional, exploring "feelings of helplessness and rage" and "loneliness and rebellion," emotions that the artist has harbored for years and that have influenced his work.  Learn more about Nobody's Fool at asiasociety.org.  Closed January 2, 2011.

*Photos weren't allowed, but I managed to get a couple of pics.  Also, see below for Shonen Knife's video Banana Chips from the band's 1998 album Happy Hour, whose cover Nara designed.  In the video, the band members are animated in a style strongly influenced by Nara (sorry if the song's chorus gets stuck in your head...).

Untitled (Lonely), 2008

Peace Sign, 2003, made from handmade stuffed dolls, from the installation Untitled (formerly Home), 2010

Dog sculpture (front)

Dog sculpture (rear)

 

 

Raymond Pettibon | David Zwirner

"Hard in the Paint" is a basketball term that describes a player trying to make a shot while positioned inside the painted lines just underneath the net—a difficult spot to score since the player is usually surrounded by members of the opposing team.  In slang, the phrase also describes a "confident, tough, or aggressive" attitude.  Hard in the Paint is also the title for Raymond Pettibon's current exhibit at David Zwirner, featuring new drawings referencing art history, classic literature, sports, politics, and pop culture. Composed with frenetic, almost violent lines and deep, bold colors, Pettibon's works definitely exude a "hard in the paint" swagger.

Born in Tucson, Arizona in 1957 and based in Venice Beach, California, Pettibon's early work was driven by the Los Angeles punk scene in the 70's and 80's along with the album art, comics, concert fliers and 'zines that were created during that time.  Pettibon designed album covers for several bands, perhaps most notably Sonic Youth and Black Flag (whose founding member, Greg Ginn, is Pettibon's brother) and created Black Flag's well-known logo—four thick, black, vertical bars.  With his punk and hardcore connections, it's almost hard to believe that the text Pettibon incorporates into his artwork is culled from the writing of Proust, Faulkner, Flaubert, and the bible. "Fragments from American society have been singled out and distilled to key images" and paired up with text that ranges from a single word to several lines and paragraphs (from show's press release).  Images of baseball players, surfers, flowers, explosions, sports cars, news events, the earth, and even Liberace, are juxtaposed with words that "relate both rhythmically and narratively to the visual content of his drawings, although their relationship may not always be immediately apparent."

Though it might take a while to uncover them, Pettibon's smart, energetic, and richly colored drawings deliver messages and commentary about contemporary culture.  The artist doesn't spoon-feed viewers the meanings of his works, but it's definitely worthwhile studying and (hopefully) discovering them on your own.  Learn more at Davidzwirner.com and at the artist's website Raypettibon.com.  Through December 21st.

*Sonic Youth's Thurston Moore has edited and will release Raymond Pettibon: Front Row Center on his imprint, Ecstatic Peace Library.  The 160-page book focuses on Pettibon's work with bands, music, and the record label SST.  Learn more at ecstaticpeacelibrary.com.

Clockwise from far left:  No Title (She must know...), No Title (I am too...), No Title (Me and my...), No Title (My flame flicker...), No Title (It has in...), No Title (That obliging schoolgirl...), No Title (Almost a perfect...), all 2010

Clockwise from top left: No Title (Ohne title...), No Title (Faster faster please...), No Title (For getting a...), No Title (The church bell...), all 2010

Left to right:  No Title (Driftwood, Wax, and...), No Title (5,000 strokes is...), No Title (A slight ascent...), 2010

No Title (The Invisible Man's...), 2010

Left to right:  No Title (Zebra), 2010, No Title (Manhattan rising advancing...), 2010

Clockwise from top left:  No Title (Hanging day at...), No Title (It may happen...), No Title (Hers seemed to...), No Title (No Primer No Bondo...), No Title (My 5-year plan...), all 2010

No Title (Female on the...), 2010

No Title (A painter hangs...), 2010

No Title (Why? I've no...), 2010

Left to right:  No Title (The news put...), 2010, No Title (Don't ask! Don't...), 2010

Left to right:  No Title (Pacific ocean blue), 2010, No Title (Going, going the...), 2010

Alternative Press 25th Anniversary Exhibition | Sloan Fine Art

Coinciding with last week's CMJ Festival (the College Music Journal's annual music and film marathon that takes over much of lower Manhattan for a week) the alternative music magazine Alternative Press or AP celebrated its 25th anniversary with a special, 3-day exhibit at Sloan Fine Art.  The main gallery displayed artwork by musicians who have been featured in the magazine over the years from bands like the Pixies, Elastica, Garbage, Tool, Marilyn Manson, Rancid, My Chemical Romance, and Gym Class Heroes.

The back room featured "photographs, milestones and memoirs from the Alternative Press archives" (from the press release).  Started 25 years ago, the AP was initially a four-page, fold-over zine handed out at punk shows.  The publication's mission was always to be "the definitive source for the underground music scene."  The magazine evolved into a full-color glossy featuring some of the top alternative acts, particularly during the 90s, like The Cure, Depeche Mode, Morrissey, Bjork, Beastie Boys, Fugazi, Smashing Pumpkins, Radiohead, Nine Inch Nails, Nirvana, Rage Against the Machine, and many more. 

Unfortunately, the exhibit was only on view for three days, October 21-23, but see below for my pics of some of the highlights.  Learn more at Sloanfineart.com. 

Black Francis (Pixies), Violet #4, 2008

Justine Frischmann (Elastica), Mothertongue, 2010

Elizabeth McGrath (Miss Derringer), Gunakadeit, 2010

Shirley Manson (Garbage), Peking Noodle (Ode to Louise Bourgeois), 2010

Shepard Fairey, Joan Jett, 2010

Top: September/October 1985 cover, featuring New Order / Bottom: October/November 1985 cover, featuring The Cure

AP covers through the years

Left: Eve Prime, Nick Cave, 1991 / Right: Heide Locke, My Bloody Valentine, 1992

Marina Chavez, Beastie Boys, 1994

Miranda Penn-Turin, AP 112, November 1997, Bjork

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

~Alex Prager Directs- Los Angeles-based photographer Alex Prager has directed Despair, a vibrant and surreal four-minute short film starring Bryce Dallas Howard (doll-like daughter of Opie Cunningham, nee Ron Howard).  Inspired by the classic suspense film, Night of the Hunter (1955), and the 1948 ballet The Red Shoes,  Despair is set in LA in the 1960s and "was conceived as a living, full-sensory version of her photographic work."  Prager states, "I'd like to show the before, now and after of one of my images--that's really the concept of the film."  Directing films seems like a natural step for Prager since her photographs tend to be cinematic, dramatic, and bursting with color.  A still taken from Despair has been selected for MoMA's New Photography 2010 group exhibition opening on September 29th.  Learn more and watch Despair at Nowness.com.  Click here for my post on Prager's terrific show Week-End that was at Yancey Richardson early this year.

~Ryan McGinley Directs Again- Another photographer who has dabbled in short film is Ryan McGinley.  His latest, Entrance Romance (it felt like a kiss) stars an amorous dog, some unlucky goldfish, and model and very good sport, Carolyn Murphy.  Again, you can watch the film at Nowness.com.

~Scott Campbell Collaborates on New "It" Bag- Tattoo artist and fine artist, Scott Campbell, has teamed up with one of his A-List tat clients, Marc Jacobs, the Creative Director for Louis Vuitton, to help design bags for the brand's Spring 2011 menswear collection shown in Paris yesterday.  Read more about the collab at elle.com and check out the Vuitton collection at style.com.  Several of the boys were sporting skin-art on the runway and a couple of the bags towards the end were embossed with Campbell-like art.  Click here for my post on Campbell's first NYC gallery show, If You Don't Belong, Don't Be Long.

~The Hole Opens- Former Directors for Deitch Projects, Kathy Grayson and Meghan Coleman are opening a new gallery called The Hole at 104 Greene Street in Soho.  Officially opening on June 26th, the gallery space will also house a retail shop - Holey Books, a cafe, and an artists' dating service called Hole Lotta Love.  Until The Hole's official opening, they currently have on exhibit Not Quite Open for Business, a show featuring unfinished art, poems and symphonies created by 20 artists.  Sounds like The Hole will be a fun place and a welcome addition to the Soho galleries.  Learn more at flavorwire.com. 

~Shoot the Piano Player- British artist Luke Jerram has teamed up with Sing for Hope to install 60  pianos in parks and public spaces all around the city in all five boroughs from June 21 to July 5th.  The installation titled Play Me, I'm Yours, started in Birmingham, England in 2008 and has traveled to cities around the world.  According to Jerram, the project aims to "provoke people into engaging, activating and claiming ownership of their urban landscape", and encourages Liberace wannabes to tickle the ivories and post pictures of themselves with the pianos at nycstreetpianos.com (where you can also find more info on Jerram, Play Me, I'm Yours, and piano locations). 

~A Bell For Every Minute- A shitload of angels are going to be getting their wings thanks to artist Stephen Vitiello's A Bell For Every Minute, a Creative Time sponsored, site-specific work created for the High Line.  The multi-channel sound installation takes place on the High Line in a "semi-enclosed tunnel between West 13th and 14th Streets, with sound recordings of bells taken from all over New York City and beyond" going off every minute and a "chorus of the selected bells" chiming every hour on the hour.  A map is available to help visitors identify the original location of each bell.  Learn more at creativetime.org.  Throughout the summer.

~Last Chance for Key to the City- This weekend is your last chance to pick up a Key to the City and explore and unlock 20 "secret" and unusual sights throughout the five boroughs.  Sponsored by Creative Time, the project is the brainchild of artist Paul Ramirez Jonas.  I really wanted to check out this project but June really flew by quickly and the temperatures have become uncharacteristically hot for this time of year and I've been characteristically lazy for any time of year.  If you're willing to brave the heat and humidity this weekend, pick up one of the 25,000 keys at the kiosk in Times Square by Sunday.  Learn more and see some of the things you can check out with a key at flavorwire.com.  Check out creativetime.org for more info.  Keys available at Times Square through June 27th (though the locks will be available through Labor Day).

~Northside Festival-  The great, free weekly L Magazine has organized a festival in Williamsburg and Greenpoint that's so huge it needs 4 days to fit in all the events including more than 250 bands playing at over 40 neighboring venues, 25 gallery shows, and 9 film screenings.  Among the bands playing are the hipsterific Les Savy Fav and Liars.  Learn more at northsidefestival.com.  June 24th through 27th.

~Inez and Vinoodh Celebrate Silver Anniversary- Dutch photography duo Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin are celebrating their prolific 25-year career with a retrospective called Pretty Much Everything at the Foam Museum in Amsterdam.  The exhibit showcases 300 of the pair's innovative and sleek images taken between 1985-2010 and will be followed up next year with a book published by Taschen featuring over 600 of their photographs and an original piece written by author A.M. Homes.  Learn more and read a brief interview with van Lamsweerde at wwd.com.  Pretty Much Everything is on view through September 15th.  See my post on Inez and Vinoodh's Sculptographs show at Andrea Rosen this past April here. 

Objets d'Art | Photography

Here's a quickie round-up of some photo shows I've checked out recently...

~Philip Andelman, Three Days in Paris at Milk Gallery:  Hello Nasty!  I LOVE the Beastie Boys!  I'm a longtime fan of their music and videos (I still listen to classics Paul's Boutique and Check Your Head regularly in their entirety), I agree with the causes they fight for, and I love their sense of humor.  When I learned that director/photographer Philip Andelman (who has directed videos for biggies like Jay Z and Beyonce) photographed Michael Diamond, Adam Horowitz and Adam Yauch for three days last June in Paris alongside their old friend, director Spike Jonze, and new friends The Dead Weather (Jack White's other side project), I rushed to check out the pics in Three Days in Paris.  As Andelman explains, he "documented what he describes as 'high jinks' with the bands—who had met each other for the first time the week before in a London hotel lobby and were joined in Paris by director Spike Jonze" (from Nowness.com).  It's clear that the Beasties had lots of fun hamming it up for Andelman while playing petanque in the Palais Royale, baking baguettes in a patisserie, and mugging for the camera dressed in berets and Breton striped shirts.  Andelman's black-and-white photos also capture the boys having dinner with Jonze and The Dead Weather posse, horsing around at the Ritz, and visiting the Louvre.  Andelman also shot Jack White and co. onstage and backstage at La Cigale.  Three Days in Paris will make you envy Andelman and wish you could hang with the musical bunch in the City of Lights.  Learn more at milkstudios.com and nowness.com.  Through May 29th.

~Alex Guofeng Cao, Decompose/Recompose: Resurrect at Stux:  Alex Guofeng Cao's first solo exhibit in NYC, Decompose/Recompose: Resurrect, at Stefan Stux Gallery consists of large-scale black-and-white images of celebrities composed with grids of thousands of copies of teeny-tiny images of a related celeb.  For instance, a large image of "Marilyn Monroe decomposes into strings of repeated pictures of JFK, or of the Mona Lisa" (from the press release) and a large Andy Warhol portrait breaks down into multiple copies of his silk-screen portrait of Mao Zedong and vice versa.  "These finely produced photographic mosaics, inspired by Cao's interest in similarly pieced works from Greek and Roman antiquity" are reminiscent of Chuck Close's photorealist grid paintings and make "the pixel itself a new, self-conscious carrier of meaning itself, and not merely a structural support for its expression."  As the shows press release explains, "The process of decomposing the original image allows it to re-emerge with a new lease on life; to be resurrected..."  Learn more at Stuxgallery.com.  Through May 29th.

~Richard Barnes, Animal Logic and Murmur at Foley Gallery:  In Animal Logic, Richard Barnes gives the viewer a "behind-the-scenes look at the curatorial process of evaluation and representation" (from show's press release).  Barnes shows the taxidermied animals in hokey museum dioramas either "placed behind glass or in front of a painted scenery, draped in protective sheathing or crated" conveying "a tension between their original wild, living context and the imitation thereof as approximated by their current containers."  In an interesting contrast, on view in the back gallery is Barnes' Murmur, a series of black-and-white photos documenting the flight formations of starlings in a suburb of Rome.  The massive, pixelated patterns the swarms of birds form against vast, cloudy skies are haunting and dramatic.  Learn more at Foleygallery.com.  Through June 5th.  

~Osang Gwon, Deodorant Type at Doosan Gallery:  Four Deodorant Type photo-sculptures by South Korean artist Osang Gwon are view at Doosan Gallery.  These eerily life-like sculptures date from 1999-2010 and are constructed in the same meticulous fashion as the ones Gwon presented at Arario Gallery last October.  Learn more at Doosangallery.com.  Through June 5th.

~Mohamed Bourouissa, Peripheries at Yossi Milo:  Algerian-born, Paris-based photographer, Mohamed Bourouissa's depicts "the tensions and issues affecting daily life for young people living in the suburbs of France" via staged photos shot in "carefully scouted locations, such as apartment building rooftops or subway stations, with specially selected models and strategically placed lighting" (from the press release).  The carefully planned images explore "the social and economic issues of the area in which the artist grew up, while questioning stereotypes about life in the suburban territories of Paris and other cities in France."   Peripheries shows another side of France that tourists generally don't get to see.  The tension acted out in some of these photos is fierce, unnerving, and cinematic.  Learn more at Yossimilo.com.  Through June 19th.

Andelman - The Beasties contemplating patterns in the sky, 2009

Andelman - The Beasties playing petanque in the Palais Royale, 2009

Andelman - Adam observes Adam and Mike preparing baguettes, 2009

Andelman - The Beasties outside the bakery on Rue St Dominique, 2009

Andelman - The Last Supper, 2009

Andelman - Spike, Adam, Mike, and The Dead Weather posse in the women's room at the Ritz pt.2 (left), 2009; Spike throws Mike over his shoulder as the evening comes to an end (right), 2009

Andelman - Alison and LJ share a moment, 2009

Andelman - Jack clowns around at lunch, 2009

Andelman - Lalo and the Dead Weather, 2009

Cao - OBAMA vs LINCOLN, 2009

Cao - OBAMA vs LINCOLN close-up, 2009 

Cao - LINCOLN vs. OBAMA, 2009

Cao - LINCOLN vs. OBAMA close-up, 2009

Cao - SINATRA vs. MINELLI, 2009

Cao - SINATRA vs. MINELLI close-up, 2009

Barnes - Backlit Hoofed Animals, San Francisco (top), 2005; Man with Blue Crosses, San Francisco (bottom), 2006; Giraffe (right), 2005

Barnes - Diorama with Bobcat Removal, San Francisco, 2005

Barnes - Flayed Man, MCA, Paris, 2005

Barnes - Murmur #1, 2005

Barnes - Murmur #21, 2006

Gwon - Jangular, 2010

Gwon - Garden, 2007

Bourouissa - La rencontre (left), 2005 and Le fendere (right), 2005

Bourouissa - Sans titre (metro) (left), 2007 and Le telephone (right), 2006

Bourouissa - Peripherique, 2007

Linder Sterling & Jon Savage | Boo-Hooray

Fans of punk and post-punk should check out Linder Sterling and Jon Savage's The Secret Public at the Boo-Hooray gallery pop-up which has temporarily set up camp at Steven Kasher at 521 West 23rd Street.  Savage, the author of the punk tome England's Dreaming and Sterling, artist and singer for the post-punk band Ludus, named the show The Secret Public after the art fanzine the pair first published in 1978.  Many of the images on display "originally appeared as flyers and as posters for the Buzzcocks, Joy Division, Magazine, and Factory Records circa 1977-1980" (from boo-hooray.com) and include original collages, posters, flyers, and handbills as well as pages from issues of the zine.  Also included in the show are somber, black-and-white photographs shot by Savage documenting the "urban decay in London and Manchester circa 1977/1978, some of which provided the basis for his collages and montages."  Sterling's 1969 collage of a nude woman's torso with lips replacing her nipples and an iron replacing her head is probably most recognizable as the cover art for the Buzzcocks' Ogasm Addict single released in 1977. 

The Secret Public acts as an homage to the merging of visual art and music and to the good, old-fashioned, printed zine.  It also serves as a time capsule for a bleak period in England that strongly influenced music, art, and culture.  The Secret Public exhibit is dedicated to Malcolm McLaren who played a pivotal role in introducing punk to England and the masses.  Learn more about The Secret Public at boo-hooray.com.  Read an interview with Jon Savage at dazeddigital.com and read an interview with Linder Sterling by her longtime friend and former Smiths front-man, Morrissey at interviewmagazine.com.    Ends soon - through May 23rd.

Secret Public p. 12 (back cover), Another Music in A Different Kitchen/The Secret Public, Linder Sterling, January 1978

Secret Public pgs. 6-7, T.V. Sex, Linder Sterling, January 1978, offset printed fanzine

She-She, words by Linder Sterling, 1981

Untitled, Linder Sterling, color photocopy, ca. 1969; Orgasm Addict, The Buzzcocks, sleeve art, 1977

Go-Go, Jon Savage, photo montage, early 1977

Music by Muzak, Jon Savage, photo montage, 1978

Untitled, Linder Sterling, photo montage, 1978

London's Outrage, no. 2, p. 9, Jon Savage, photo montage, early 1977

London's Outrage Sex Pistols cover, 1976/77

London's Outrage, Jon Savage, photocopied fanzine, 16 pgs, Dec 1976

Shimmy, Jon Savage, photo montage, July 1979 and Shimmy (Joy Division poster), 1977

The Factory flier, Tony Wilson, original photocopy, 1978

Buzzcocks/Magazine handbill, Linder Sterling, 1978

I Want My 120 Minutes

Just last week I mentioned that as a wee one I first saw Sonic Youth's Kool Thing video on MTV's Sunday, late-night program 120 Minutes which aired from 1986-2003.  I loved that show because it played alternative/indie videos from bands I actually liked, instead of the mainstream stuff and/or heavy metal they played regularly on heavy rotation (back when they still played music videos).  Never being a fan of Springsteen, Aerosmith, Van Halen, or ew, Phil Collins, I always looked forward to the weekly 2 hour dose of "alternative" music videos.  If, like me, you waited each week to see if they would play The Smiths, Morrissey, The Cure, New Order, Depeche Mode, The Pixies, The The, Siouxsie and the Banshees, or if you fondly remember bands like XTC, Cocteau Twins, Aztec Camera, The Primitives, The Housemartins, Psychedelic Furs, Gene Loves Jezebel, Flesh For Lulu, The Church, The Smithereens, The Damned, The Sundays, Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine, Nitzer Ebb, The Mighty Lemon Drops, and so on, you should definitely check out tylerc.com/120minutes.  The site's creator culled together most of the playlists from the show's run and conveniently links to each of the videos.  While you don't see full episodes (so no hosts Dave Kendall or Matt Pinfield) you also don't have to sit through the endless commercials, and you can just click on the clips you want to see.

It's great way to indulge in nostalgia and relive younger couch potato days when U2, REM, and No Doubt were still considered alternative and when "indie" bands, music, and videos were still good - yeah, I'm a geezer...  Below is a video by Echo and the Bunnymen (the first band I ever saw play live) that aired on the January 17, 1988 episode.  Enjoy!

Gainsbourg, Je T'aime... Moi Non Plus & A Brand New Life | Tribeca Film Festival

I was a happy holder of a day-pass to the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival on Tuesday - thanks T & A!  I was super excited to see Gainsbourg, Je T'aime... Moi Non Plus, director Joann Sfar's biopic of the iconic, ultra cool, Gallic singer/songwriter, provocateur, and unlikely ladies man. Sfar, a cartoonist, added some nice imaginative animation and puppetry to the film which was certainly a stunningly stylish spectacle, but unfortunately I felt overall it focused too much on style and too little on substance. 

The film glosses over Lucien Ginsburg's (Gainsbourg's given name) childhood during WW2.  His father (who's initially a strict disciplinarian and ends up a giddy, celeb-gazing goofball after his son's success) hides his young son at a boarding school in the country, and after one night spent hiding from Nazis in the woods, Gainsbourg is suddenly a grown up, struggling painter in Paris (played by Eric Elmosnino).  (Also, the sisters whom the young Gainsbourg illustrated stories for during their childhood are completely forgotten in the film after the first few scenes.)  Gainsburg's many lady friends come and go with nary an explanation of who they are until Brigette Bardot (Victoria's Secret model Laetitia Casta) makes her dramatic appearance to Initials BB.  Casta is surprisingly a convincing Bardot and their brief affair livens up the story.  After Gainsbourg pens Comic Strip, Bonnie and Clyde, and the scandalous Je T'aime... Moi Non Plus for Bardot, her party-pooper husband, Gunter Sachs, puts a stop their relationship.  Gainsbourg soon after meets the English starlet Jane Birkin (played by Lucy Gordon who sadly committed suicide shortly after this film was made) and records the legendary song with her and releases it in 1969.  The pair marry, have daughter Charlotte, and split due to his over indulgent ways.  I always thought the story pretty much ended there, but the film quickly shows an older, grizzled Gainsbourg meeting another young lass, Bambou (Mylene Jampanoi), in a nightclub and the pair having a Serge Jr. 

As I said, the film just touches upon aspects of Gainsbourg's life and doesn't delve in too deeply.  I doubt it is strong enough to garner Monsieur Gainsburg a new, younger fanbase and think it will leave die-hard Gainsbourg fans unsatisfied and wanting more.  Eric Elmosnino's performance is pretty great as he successfully conjures Gainsbourg's coolness and je ne sais quoi - white Repetto jazz shoes and Gauloises and all.  His resemblance to the singer in his later years is uncanny.  See a video of stills from the film below.

The second film I checked out on Tuesday was Ounie Lecomte's A Brand New Life. Having only read a brief description of the film, I wasn't sure what to expect.  Wow!  This small, unassuming film totally blew me away!  The story is based on real-life experiences the Korean-born, Paris-based director/writer encountered while living in an orphanage as a child and subsequently being adopted by a French family at the age of nine. 

The main character Jinhee, played by the absolutely amazing Sae Ron Kim, starts off as a wide-eyed, smiling, singing, happy girl living with her single father.  One day he takes her on a long trip and leaves the unsuspecting child behind at an orphanage.  Kim is an adorable, little powerhouse who effortlessly conveys her emotions dealing with abandonment, loss, disappointment, sadness, anger, confusion, and fear.  I'm not very maternal, but even I wanted to scoop her up and take her home!  Jinhee's friends in the orphanage are equally impressive, especially Sookhee (Do Yeon Park) who takes the newcomer under her wing and coquettishly spouts out "hellos" and "thank yous" to potential adoptive parents visiting from the west.  Surprisingly, in a refreshing contrast from similar movies, Lecomte's orphanage does not include any "mean girls" or evil nuns.  All the girls act like sisters and their no-nonsense house-mother cares for them all like her own.

A Brand New Life features flawless direction and story-telling along with natural, impeccable performances.  I definitely plan to see this movie again when it is generally released and highly recommend it to all.  Heartbreaking yet hopeful, A Brand New Life is perfection!  See trailer below.

Kim Gordon | John McWhinnie at Glenn Horowitz Bookseller & Art Gallery

Ever since first seeing Sonic Youth's 1990 Kool Thing video on 120 Minutes on MTV (remember that show?), I've harbored a girl-crush on Kim Gordon.  The singer, musician, mother, writer, fashion designer, and filmmaker is also an artist.  The Noise Paintings, a series of works on canvas and paper that exhibit Gordon's "recent explorations using paint, lyrics, and personal catch phrases to create a collision of the verbal and the visual" (from show's press release) is currently on view at Upper East Side art gallery cum bookseller John McWhinnie at Glenn Horowitz.

Gordon, a graduate from Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles, presents a series of white canvases emblazoned with black text scrawled in dripping, bleeding acrylic paint spelling out "lyrics and personal catch phrases" and names of bands.  According to the show's press release, "They are like personal mantras, surfacing repeatedly at moments of creative charge and expression.  Based on the names of noise bands, there is a sense of homage as well as obsession.  From the provocative (16 Bitch Pile Up) to the banal (Wet Hair) by way of the more obscure (Sudden Oak), in The Noise Paintings the words find a new unique form each time the artist commits them to a surface." 

The cozy two-story space housed in an uptown brownstone also displays some of Gordon's personal items that served as inspiration for the series including a wooden shelf filled with husband Thurston Moore's cassette tapes, pictures of their daughter, a Lonely Doll book by Dare Wright, zines, art books, Raymond Pettibon works, and shelves of albums by primarily female performers including Marianne Faithfull, Deborah Harry, Patti Smith, Francoise Hardy, and Joan Jett.  Gordon's minimal canvases resemble a mix of graffiti, Asian ink drawing, and abstract painting and much like the artist, exude an alluring coolness and insouciance.  Learn more at Johnmcwhinnie.com, papermag.com and refinery29.com.  Through May 8th.

 

Where They At | Abrons Arts Center

Bounce is a rap movement originated in New Orleans in the 1980s that uncharacteristically boasts an array of female, gay and transgendered performers.  While the lyrics focus on the usual topics including sex, parties, and dancing, bounce music is "steeped in deep Southern roots traditions" and influenced by "Mardi Gras Indian chants, brass band beats, and call-and-response routines" (from show's notes).  Where They At: a multi-media archive of New Orleans Bounce at the Henry Street Settlement's Abrons Arts Center in the Lower East Side features photos, oral histories, and video collected by Aubrey Edwards and Alison Fensterstock focusing on the pioneering women, gay and transgendered rappers "in early New Orleans hip-hop and bounce."

The title of the exhibit, Where They At, is taken from the title of a 1992 song recognized as "the first bounce release" by DJ Jimi Payton (the song was also recorded earlier as a "homemade cassette-only release" by T.T. Tucker).  Where They At the exhibition features large, color portraits of female bounce rappers Mia X, Ms Tee, Magnolia Shorty, and Cheeky Blakk and gay members Big Freedia, Chev off the Ave, and Vockah Redu.  A lyric sample and brief quote about how each artist got involved in the bounce movement is printed beside his/her portrait.  As the show's notes state, "[T]he prominence of queer members of the bounce community... defies the myth of insurmountable homophobia within hip-hop and speaks to a curious tradition in African-American entertainment in New Orleans, which has accepted and celebrated queer and cross-dressing entertainers for over half a century — from Bobby Marchan to Katey Red."

Where They At is a great introduction to a less familiar style of rap along with its cast of fabulous and colorful players.  Learn more at Abronsartscenter.org.  Through April 3rd.

Katey Red

Cheeky Blakk

Magnolia Shorty

Big Freedia

Vockah Redu (left) and Ms Tee (right)

Mia X

Chev off the Ave

Bobby Marchan

Snapshots, various images from The Sissy Sweetheart Ball, 2009

Mr. Brainwash | Icons

I am a total sucker for pop culture, fashion designers, supermodels, artists and rock stars, so French street artist Mr. Brainwash's first U.S. show, Icons, is right up my alley.  Mr. Brainwash (Thierry Guetta) fills up two floors of a 15,000 square-feet warehouse space in the Meatpacking District with silkscreens of iconic figures from the art, fashion, music, and even technological worlds; larger than life installations; sculptures made from tires; and collages of famous musicians from various genres made entirely of broken vinyl records on wood (I can't even imagine how many crates of vinyl were smashed to bits for this show).  Though you may not have known his name before, you'll recognize Mr. Brainwash's work - he designed the pop-inspired cover for Madonna's latest greatest hits album Celebration (which has a huge wall in the show devoted to the many variations of the cover), and he's responsible for the prints that popped up around town last summer of Mr. Spock dolled up in Marilyn Monroe drag.

While his silkscreen and vinyl record portraits make up a bulk of the show, his large installation pieces are definitely impressive and cheeky.  See my pics below of the real taxi cab the artist had custom built for the exhibit which he encased in Matchbox packaging, his giant, pink paint can, tipped over and spilling "paint" down through the grates in the floor, and the 12 feet-tall, old-school boombox down in the basement level with all his vinyl portraits of musical legends.

The bright colors, famous faces, and kitchen pantry labels all pay homage to pop art and Warhol, but Mr. Brainwash adds his own street art touch to the works - especially in Tomato Spray, a parody of Warhol's famous Campbell's Soup cans which instead shows a tagger's spray-paint can wrapped in the iconic, red and white label.  Mr. Brainwash clearly admires many high profile players in many fields, and clearly has a blast representing them in his work.  Definitely check out this fun, celeb obsessed, pop infused show.  Through March 30th at 415 West 13th Street between 9th Avenue and Washington Street (open daily from 3:00-10:00pm).  Read a brief article on Mr. Brainwash at flavorwire.com and check out the artist's website at mrbrainwash.com.

AC/DC, broken vinyls and CDs on wood 

Barry White, broken vinyls and CDs on wood

Biggie Smalls, broken vinyls and CDs on wood

Billie Holiday, broken vinyls and CDs on wood

Blondie (Deborah Harry), broken vinyls and CDs on wood

Bruce Springsteen, broken vinyls and CDs on wood

Diana Ross, Sade, Michael Jackson, broken vinyls and CDs on wood

Elvis, broken vinyls and CDs on wood

Jay Z, broken vinyls and CDs on wood

Kiss, broken vinyls and CDs on wood

Louis Armstrong, broken vinyls and CDs on wood

Prince, Stevie Wonder, Nat King Cole, broken vinyls and CDs on wood

Close-up of lower, right corner of Prince portrait

Slash, broken vinyls and CDs on wood

Velvet Underground, broken vinyls and CDs on wood

Silkscreens of assorted artists, designers, models

Tomato Spray, silkscreen and oil on canvas

Silkscreens of Bill Gates (top left), Jack Dorsey (top right), Steve Jobs (bottom left), Mark Zuckerberg (bottom right)

Silkscreens of Madonna, Andy Warhol, Mr. Spock

Who Shot Rock & Rock | Brooklyn Museum

I went to the First Saturday event at the Brooklyn Museum earlier this month with what felt like at least half the population of Brooklyn.  It was insanely packed!  With good reason, the Brooklyn Museum always plans a fun-filled night for visitors of all ages every first Saturday of the month free of charge.  To properly inaugurate its terrific, new exhibition, Who Shot Rock & Roll, the museum scheduled a handful of local indie bands (including Crystal Stilts) to play, screened the cheese-tastic movie Purple Rain, and planned a dance party (which I believe they have every month).

The exhibit Who Shot Rock & Roll is really great, though unfortunately there were so many people at the museum that night, it was really difficult to get up close to the photographs and read the info cards.  I wasn't able to snap pics or even take notes (it was that packed!) so I unfortunately can't provide too much detail here.  The show's curator, Gail Buckland, did an impressive job of collecting images of a variety of music stars from various generations and genres.  The exhibit is divided into six parts:  photos of artists early in their careers; behind-the-scenes images; concert/performance photos; pictures of crowds and fans/ groupies; portraits; and conceptual images/album covers.

A gigantic, color photo of David Lee Roth oddly and unexpectedly greets you to the show. Then, more appropriately, it begins with a series of photos of a young Elvis Presley.  Images of other musical pioneers included the infamous pic of Johnny Cash giving the finger; several images of the Rolling Stones; Bob Gruen's famous shot of John Lennon and the New York City skyline as well as stunning portraits of each of the Beatles shot by Richard Avedon; Janis Joplin; Jimi Hendrix; Jim Morrison; and a hole corner devoted to (I feel unfairly) Bob Dylan.  There was one terrific, large-scale collage of Michael Jackson and a couple of great shots of Tina Turner in action, a reminder of how photogenic and charismatic she is.

Some of my favorite pics featured bands I grew up listening to (I know I'm dating myself here) like The Clash, Blondie, B-52s, Queen, Talking Heads, The Police, and Joy Division.  There was a print of Pennie Smith's iconic shot of The Clash bassist, Paul Simonon, smashing his guitar as seen on the cover of London Calling, as well as a number of other wonderful shots she took of the band (particularly Joe Strummer).  Other bands featured from around this period include, The Velvet Underground, Iggy Pop, The Sex Pistols, Bow Wow Wow, The Ramones, and Kiss.

The section featuring fan shots included a shot by Ryan McGinley of Morrissey's always reverent audience; an amusing shot of rabid Morrissey fans tearing up one of the performer's shirts; big-haired New Kids on the Block fans waiting anxiously for the band; and an Andreas Gursky shot of a Los Angeles Madonna concert where the singer is dwarfed by her thousands of fans (Madonna is also featured in shots from the 80's taken by Marisol). 

One small room is devoted to iconic images of Grace Jones shot by Jean-Paul Goude.  Anton Corbin's portrait of U2 for the cover of Joshua Tree is featured and Stephane Sednaoui's lively video for Bjork's Big Time Sensuality is screened on a loop.  Surprisingly, there is only one shot of Kurt Cobain, a backstage photo of the singer looking forlorn, and one pic of Courtney Love during her "Kinder Whore" days.  There's also a black-and-white shot of Radiohead with the band looking typically somber. 

For the youngins, more contemporary artists include a small wall devoted to hip-hop legends including Jaz-Z, Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls.  Other shots of more recent performers include Amy Winehouse, MIA, and the White Stripes.  Who Shot Rock & Roll is a fun exhibit that shows the pivotal role the photographer plays in creating and selling a musician's "image".  Learn more at brooklynmuseum.com.  Through January 31, 2010.

Where the Wild Things Are

If, like me, you are super excited for Spike Jonze's film adaptation of Maurice Sendak's beloved children's book, Where the Wild Things Are, I have a couple of suggestions that might tide you over until its October 16th release.  First off, there's the sweet and dreamy soundtrack, primarily written by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' awesome front-woman, Karen O.  You can have a listen here.

Next, there are a couple of exhibitions of Sendak's art you can check out and be reminded of your childhood dreams of fantasy lands and footie pajamas.  The Animazing Gallery in Soho currently has on view Sendak in Soho, displaying and selling approximately 200 works by the author/illustrator including lithographs, watercolors, and drawings featuring the furry, rumpusing menagerie from his classic tale.  Unfortunately, and maybe apropos, I almost had my head chewed off for attempting to take pictures, but you can see the works in the exhibit at animazing.com.  A portion of the proceeds from this show will go to the Rosenbach Museum & Library in Philadelphia and the Jane Goodall Institute.  Through November 8th.

The Animazing show coincides with exhibits at The Morgan Library & Museum in Manhattan and the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco.  The Morgan Library exhibit, Where the Wild Things Are: Original Drawings by Maurice Sendak, which opens today, features early drafts, manuscript pages and a preliminary sketch of Max in a scene that did not make it into the final, published book.  Through November 1st.  Learn more at themorgan.org.  The Contemporary Jewish Museum in SF presents There's a Mystery There: Sendak on Sendak, featuring "original watercolors, preliminary sketches, drawings, and dummy books from more than 40 of Sendak's books, all from the Rosenbach Museum and Library in Philadelphia, the repository for Sendak's artwork and working materials. This major retrospective sheds light on the many mysteries of his life and art by exploring the intensely personal undercurrents in his work; and it does so using Sendak's own words, insights, and remarkable stories" (from the Contemporary Jewish Museum's website).  Learn more about this exhibition at thecjm.org.  Through January 19, 2010.

MoMA has scheduled Spike Jonze: The First 80 Years celebrating the 39-year-old artist's imaginative and creative works in film (Being John Malkovich, Adaptation, Where the Wild Things Are), music videos (Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Beastie Boys, The Breeders, Bjork, Daft Punk, Fatboy Slim, Weezer) and even commercials (the Gap, IKEA).  Learn more at moma.org.  From October 8-18th.  Read more about Jonze from this September 2nd article from the NYTs Magazine.

If you're a serious, die-hard fanatic of the book, you can even dress like the characters with an exclusive clothing line made for the awesome boutique Opening Ceremony.  The line includes the iconic, white wolf suit Max wore (for adults), a furry K.W. dress or coat, and a hirsute vest called Judith (these items were named after the monikers given to the monsters in the movie).  See here.

And finally, you can have a peek at the official Where the Wild Things Are movie website here.

Maurice Sendak was born in Brooklyn in 1928.  He has written or illustrated over 100 books throughout his 60 year career.  Where the Wild Things Are was published in 1963.  According to IMDB, Sendak had wanted to make a film adaptation of his book since the 90's but was not able to find a suitable director until he personally approached Spike Jonze to take on the project.  The film, which was initially going to be fully animated, has been in production since 2005 (though Jonze and Dave Eggers had been working on the screenplay prior to that)!  Originally scheduled for May 2008, the film's release date was bumped back twice!  I hope all the hype and my inflated expectations for this film don't ruin it for me.  Let the wild rumpus start!!!

Objets d'Art | News

*The second edition of the Guggenheim's It Came From Brooklyn is happening tonight from 8:00pm-12:00am featuring Julian Plenti (aka Paul Banks, the singer from Interpol).  As a part of celebrating its 50th anniversary, the museum is hosting the monthly music and literature series featuring artists from Brooklyn.  Also part of tonight's line-up is opening band I'm In You (nice to see they're keeping up with the current trend of HORRIBLE band names); writer/director and Brooklyn Heights resident, Hampton Fancher, who will read a selection by former Brooklynite, Henry Miller; Fancher's neighbor, novelist Rivka Galchen; and comedian/actor Eugene Mirman who will be on hosting duty.  Last month's inaugural show featured bands The Walkmen and High Places and writer Colson Whitehead.  Learn more at Guggenheim.org.

*The 13th Annual DUMBO Art Under the Bridge Festival is happening  this weekend - September 25th-27th.  Alongside open studios and outdoor activities, there will be "touchable, accessible, and interactive art, on a scale that makes it the nation's largest urban forum for experimental art."  Learn more at dumboartfestival.org.

*The Kitchen, a non-profit, artist organization that "identifies, supports, and presents emerging and under-recognized artists" is hosting a block party on Saturday, Sept. 26th from 12-5 on West 19th between 10th and 11th Avenues.  This free, family-friendly event will feature live performances, artist-led activities and crafts like face-painting, puppet and mask-making, temporary tattoos, cookie decorating, hula-hoop (!) and drum workshops and more.  Learn more at thekitchen.org.

*David Zwirner will exclusively represent the estate of late artist Dan Flavin (1933-1996).  Zwirner launched a website on September 18th that, as the NYT's Carol Vogel explains, "is intended as a practical resource for Flavin aficionados, covering issues of conservation and installation as well as the artist's exhibition history and examples of his work," (from Inside Art, Sept. 18, 2009).  David Zwirner Gallery will present Dan Flavin: Series and Progressions in November 2009, showcasing the artist's work spanning his 40-year career.  Learn more at Davidzwirner.com. And see Zwirner's website for Flavin here.

*Los Angeles artist Mark Bradford has won the prestigious John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Fellowship!  According to the foundation's website, "The MacArthur Foundation supports creative people and effective institutions committed to building a more just, verdant, and peaceful world."  This means Bradford, and fellow recipients, will receive $500,000 over the next five years.  Congrats!
See all the 2009 Fellows at macfound.org and read more at latimesblogs.com.  Remember, you can see Bradford's work alongside former MacArthur Fellow, Kara Walker's, at Sikkema Jenkins & Co.  Read my post here.

*Philippe Starck - reality star?  The world renowned French product designer will take on the Donald Trump role a la The Apprentice (or Tim Gunn on Project Runway, if you prefer) in his new reality series Design for Life, which premiered on September 14th on BBC2.  The show pits 12 young British designers against each other, competing in weekly challenges until one by one they get eliminated and the winner gets to work for six months at Starck's Parisian design company .  Each contestant was personally selected by Starck, not the show's producers, based on drawings they submitted.  According to the Independent, "he did not even want to know their names or genders.  He wanted to select ideas that were not necessarily great but that he felt had potential... people who think freely and differently."
Now this is a reality show I'd actually watch!  Argh!  I wish I had BBC2.  Read more at independent.co.uk.

*Ed Ruscha - movie star?  American artist Ed Ruscha will star in a film directed by Los Angeles-based video artist Doug Aitken which will debut on October 23rd on Tiberina Island in Rome.  Read more at theartnewspaper.com.

*And lastly, another of my favorite fashion designers, Martin Margiela, is publishing his first book.  It will document the Paris-based, never-before-seen designer's work including fashion, art, design, and performance.  Originally from Antwerp, the enigmatic Margiela founded his own label in 1988.  His clothing designs range from completely wearable and minimal, to subtle, edgy touches like exposed stitching and deconstruction, to way more out-there ideas like cloven-toed shoes (which I love), glass  slippers (which I don't love), over-sized shoulders, visible nude padding, and a hair coat.  The book, retailing for $100, is published by Rizzoli and will be released in October 2009.  Have a peek inside at hypebeast.com, wallpaper.com, and rizzoliusa.com.

Happy weekend!!!

Invader at Jonathan LeVine Gallery | Part Deux

I'm back in NYC and exhausted but thought I should keep my promise from Friday and post what I saw of Invader's Top 10 show at the Jonathan LeVine Gallery on Saturday.  I fortunately arrived at the gallery shortly after it opened at 11am, managed to spend a good amount of time checking out the work, and still made it to catch my ride out of town!  Though it was a frantic, mad dash on a Saturday morning, it was totally worth it to catch Invader's fun, poppy, musically-influenced, eye-crossingly dazzling pieces! 

The images on view, created from Rubik's Cubes (or Rubikcubism), reminded me of a few things - Georges Seurat's neo-impressionistic work (perhaps this is neo-neo-impressionism!), Devorah Sperber's thread spool pieces, Roy Lichtenstein and pop art in general (with its bright colors and pop culture imagery).  As the title of the show suggests, Invader selected his Top 10 album covers and faithfully recreated them using Rubik's Cubes.  The albums chosen were:  The Cure's Three Imaginary Boys, Nirvana's Nevermind, The Velvet Underground & Nico, Daft Punk's Homework, The Sex Pistol's Nevermind the Bollocks, Supertramp's Breakfast in America, Pink Floyd's Atom Heart Mother, Iron Maiden, The Clash's London Calling, and The Beatles' Abbey Road. 

While the four images grouped together (Nirvana, The Velvet Underground, Daft Punk, and The Sex Pistols) as well as The Clash were immediately recognizable, it took me a moment to recognize The Beatles and the Iron Maiden covers.  Though I love The Cure, I couldn't make out the recreation of their Three Imaginary Boys cover.  In all honesty, I am not a fan of Pink Floyd and while I was able to make out the cow on their album cover, I did not know whose or which album it was.  And since I know nothing about Supertramp I could not make out that cover at all.  I had to cheat and use the show's list at the gallery desk to identify the last three :(

There was also an iPod availabe showing a short (a little over 2 minutes)  time-lapse video of The Clash and The Beatles reproductions being made.  Also on view in the Rubik's Cube designed gallery were six tiled Space Invader characters grouped together, and one little blue guy hiding above the entrance watching visitors come and go.  I'm really happy that I got to see Top 10 before it closed.  See my photos from the exhibit below.  I've provided links to photos of the album covers for easy reference.

The Beatles, Abbey Road (below)

The Clash, London Calling (above)

Pink Floyd, Atom Heart Mother (above)

The Cure, Three Imaginary Boys (above)

Supertramp, Breakfast in America (above)

The Velvet Underground & Nico - Nirvana, Nevermind - Daft Punk, Homework - The Sex Pistols, Nevermind the Bollocks (above)

Iron Maiden (above)

 

Invader at Jonathan LeVine Gallery

Wow!  How serendipitous!  I was going to write a post about Parisian street artist, Invader, simply because I really love his work (I always get a stupid grin on my face when I see one of his pieces), and whilst doing a little research on him, I found that he's currently got a show in Chelsea - that ends Saturday the 25th -- tomorrow!!!  I don't know how I missed that!  Fortunately, his show is at the Jonathan LeVine Gallery, and after calling them tonight, I've learned they are one of the few Chelsea galleries that is open on Saturday over the summer (I hope I am not mistaken).  Hooray!!!

So I am going to rush over to the gallery tomorrow morning before I take off for the weekend and check out the Invader show before it closes.  I will post about what I see on Monday, but in the meantime, here's some info about Invader...

He's a street artist from Paris, who in 1998, began a project in which he "invades" public spaces in cities throughout the world with his artwork created with colorful mosaic tiles that make up characters from the vintage Atari video game Space Invaders (and sometimes Pac Man ghosts as well), creating pieces with a digital pixel feel.  Currently these works can be found in 40 major cities across the globe, spanning 5 continents! 

Top 10, the artist's current solo show at Jonathan LeVine, uses tiles as well as Rubik's Cubes to recreate his personal selection of the top ten album covers of his generation.  The Clash's London Calling, The Beatles' Abbey Road, The Sex Pistols' Nevermind the Bollocks, Nirvana's Nevermind, and The Velvet Underground's Warhol illustrated banana album cover, are all represented using his unique technique of Rubikcubism.  Awesome!  I really hope I'm able to make it to see this show before it closes.  If not, I am going to be one very sad Art Hag :*(  Fingers crossed!

Read more at the Jonathan LeVine website here.  And check out the artist's very cool website here.  It includes a map of cities that have been "invaded" as well as some other samples of his work from this project.

A Rubikcubism Pac Man ghost above the entry-way to my favorite NYC shop, Comme des Garcons, on West 22nd Street.

A Space Invader around the corner on West 21st Street and the Westside Highway (northeast corner).