The End, 1991, by Edward Ruscha at MoMA. (Photos by C-M.)
You know a show has to be good when it opens up with a video of a Rube Goldberg machine. And that is exactly what kicks off Vik Muniz’s “Artist’s Choice” show at MoMA, one of the more deft and entertaining exhibits I’ve seen in a while. Avoiding complicated wall texts and impenetrable catalogue essays, Muniz simply and cleverly tells a story by using the images at his disposal — works from MoMA’s permanent collection — linking one to the next through visual or thematic similarity. Bubble shapes lead to other bubble shapes lead to spheres lead to rocks lead to scissors. It’s as if he’s turned the gallery into one giant Rube Goldberg machine and the viewer is the little metal pinball that gets prodded from one piece to the next.
In one stretch of gallery, for example, a vintage New York City subway map is followed by a photo of a man on a subway by Philip-Lorca diCorcia. The yellow in the photo’s subway seats is then echoed in a yellow canvas by Ellsworth Kelly, which is followed by a sculpture of an egg yolk by Kiki Smith, which is linked to an egg timer by a ’60s industrial designer from Italy… The show, titled Rebus (a visual riddle), manages to ultimately (and seamlessly) connect a stack of Post-It notes to a felt suit by Joseph Beuys. It is totally Wallace & Gromit, in the best of ways.
I snapped a few photos of the exhibit and have arranged them here to create my own rebus. I call it The Artist’s Last Thoughts.
The show is up through February 23rd. Do not miss.
Click on images to supersize. More after the jump.
“You’re a brunette, 6′, long legs, 25-30, intelligent, articulate and drop dead gorgeous. I, on the other hand, have the looks of Herve Villechaize and an odour of wheat.” The personal ads in the London Review of Books. (ackackack.)
The other day I linked to a list of porn stars who are on Twitter. Well, as my colleague Mlle. Connasse so helpfully pointed out to me, it was a totally gay-free list. So, to make up for the oversight (and avoid a kerfuffle with the C-Monster.net human resources department), here is a rundown of some hot gay porn Twitter feeds: Starrfucker, Queer Me Now, Rod Barry, and Pierre Fitch (who is currently looking for models for his website).
Paul Goldberger leads a tour of the revamped Alice Tully Hall, which he describes as “a radical reconstruction.” I’d be curious to know the source of that wall of Brazilian wood. (Unbeige.)
Visuals from the winning proposal for the P.S. 1 architectural courtyard installation for this summer.
Your moment of the Three Degrees — because it’s about three degrees outside. (Love the chiffon!) (Mercy, Mlle. Connasse.)
Out in the cold: The Rose Art Museum, at Brandeis. (Photo by kenudigit.)
As you may have heard, Brandeis University wants to shut down the Rose Art Museum, with plans to liquidate it’s 6,000-piece collection to help the university stay afloat financially. And, as you may have heard, a whole lotta people are not very happy about it, including a number of the university’s alumnae — one of whom, Eric Gordon, is a graduate of the class of ‘76, and currently serves as the head of paintings conservation at the The Walters Art Museum in Baltimore. He has kindly agreed to let us publish a letter he sent to the university’s president this afternoon regarding the situation:
Dear President Reinharz,
I cannot begin to express my shock, disbelief and disappointment in your decision to close the Rose Art Museum and sell its collection in order to meet financial pressures brought on by the current state of the economy. Your decision is short-sighted, irreversible and one you will find hard to live with in the future. It will forever change the character of the university, diminishing its breadth and diversity of the student body, faculty and the potential for Brandeis to be a leader in the humanities.
In NYC:Zones of Conflict, featuring the work of An-My Le, Emily Jacier and many others, at Pratt’s Manhattan gallery, through Feb. 7. There will also be a symposium, Image Wars: Conflict, Media, Globalization, tied to the exhibit, this Friday at 2 p.m.
In Poughkeepsie:Marc Willhite at Korkd, the corkboard-sized art space at Baily Browne CPA & Assoc., through Feb. 27. (Looks like a good one!)
In London: Edward Burtynsky, Australian Minescapes, at Flowers East, through Feb. 9.
Hydro-Pharmacology – otherwise known as pharmaceutical pollution — brewing what is sure to some incredible superbacteria that will be the end of us all.
Queens Museum of Art Weather Station, by SP Weather Station, tracking the weather in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, for the duration of the biennial. (Photo by C-M.)
Hey Folks:
While I get the Digest good to go, here’s a little something to keep you occupied: me on WNYC talking about the Queens International 4 at the Queens Museum of Art. The segment includes a photo essay of my pix, so please check it out!
Channelling pachamama: Pipilotti Rist’s Pour Your Body Out. (Photos by C-M.)
If my vagina could appreciate art, what would it want to see? Something earthy, I imagine. Images of damp soil, lush flowers, and gigantic, wall-sized boobs. Oh, and lots and lots pink. Well, today was her lucky day, because I spent a good portion of the afternoon experiencing Pipilotti Rist’s Pour Your Body Out in the atrium at MoMA, perched inside the embracing shag-rug confines of a giant circular couch (hello, womb!), with my head resting on a rather labial-looking pink pillow. It was like being back at Smith.
As girly as this 25-foot high video is (and it’s girly), it’s also spectacularly stonerrific. (Especially good for an I-can’t-move-my-facial-muscles strain like Trainwreck.) There’s slow-mo images of fertile earth, luscious tulips, lily pads, pigs and a frolicking strawberry blond, all set to a medley of gooey, abstract tones that seem like the sorta soundtrack you might hear if you’re parked in utero. I have to confess: I was skeptical at first. I’m not big into vag art. But this was quite refreshing. By the time I set aside my labial pillow, fixed my hair and put on my shoes, I felt very rested — and ready to take on the rest of the museum. Rock on, Pipilotti.
You’ve got ’til Monday, Feb. 2 to see the show. More images — and video — after the jump.
Aarhus Town Hall in Aarhus, Denmark, designed by Arne Jacobsen, with Erik Møller, 1937-42. See the bird’s eye view here. (Photo by Seier + Seier.)
The Day in Corporate Malfeasance: Merill Lynch CEO spent $1.2 million on a swanky office re-do as he was preparing to lay off employees. Here’s the full shopping list. (Thanks, Big Papi G.)
Calling all filmmakers! Moviehouse at Third Ward in Brooklyn is looking for your two-minute films. Deadline is Feb. 2. (Read the blog’s sidebar, on the right, for submission details.)
