Where High Gets Low.
Brad Downey spent two days working with professional conservator Magdalena Recova to uncover 15 years worth of graffiti that had been painted and repainted on a small section of a graff wall in Vienna. Think of it as graffiti history, played backwards.
Find more on Downey’s work here.
Asco’s Spray Paint LACMA, 1972. (Image courtesy of Harry Gamboa Jr.)
Hey Folks:
Taking the week off because it’s the freakin’ end of summer and I’ve got work comin’ out the hoo-ha. In the meantime, may I kindly direct you to ARTnews magazine’s September issue, where I’ve got a story on Chicano art — one of the most challenging pieces of writing I’ve ever done.
So, if you want to learn all about what went down in the photo above (that’s really LACMA and it was really sprayed) and you’re keen on reading about a crew of artists who you may not know, but whom you should…then, by all means, click right here. Or, better yet, pick up the mag, which is on newsstands now.
xox,
C.
Desperate times call for desperate measures. Cash For Your Warhol, by Hargo (aka Geoff Hargadon).
I’ve organized a little online show for the folks behind the Add-Art Firefox plug-in that riffs on advertising and selling out. For the purpose of this digital gathering, I’ve teamed up with eight brand name vandals — Stikman, Skewville, infinity, Hargo, eko, Celso, Cake and Abe Lincoln Jr. – to replace all of those annoying web ads with something waaaay artier and entertaining. (Haven’t heard of the plug-in? You can read all about it here and download it here.)
In this post, find examples of each of the artists’ “campaigns.” To see the complete series of pieces that each artist created (along with an explanatory write-up of the show), visit Add-Art.org.
Special thanks to Hana Newman for pulling this together.
eko.
Abe Lincoln Jr.
Stikman.
infinity.
Celso.
Cake.
Skewville.
And whenever possible, add a unicorn. Tips for Artists Who Want to Sell, 1966-68 by John Baldessari. (Photos by C-M.)
While I was in L.A., I managed to pop into LACMA for a brief jaunt through the John Baldessari retrospective that just opened this past Sunday. I have to admit that his work had always struck me as a little clinically conceptual — the ultimate in art-industry inside-baseball. (Full disclosure: Prior to this show, my exposure to him had been limited to group shows.) But this exhibition, which gathers more than 150 objects dating back to the early ’60s, has convinced me that he has a very wry sense of humor, even if it’s an art-nerdy one.
In one video, he says “I am making art” over and over — an absurdist art mantra. In his Ghetto Boundary Project, from 1969, he marked the boundaries of a San Diego, Calif. ghetto (as defined by the local planning commission) with stickers — making him an O.G. street artist. In the seriously stonerrific video, Six Colorful Inside Jobs, from 1977, he has a house painter paint a small cube six different colors. I was hypnotized.
There are unusual photographic collages and arrangements and a giant brain sculpture that incorporates video of the viewer. (Yep, it was a head-trip.) Moreover, the imagery is saturated with Southern California — images of film stills, palm trees, blue skies and wide streets lined with bungalows. I really dug it.
Pure Beauty is up through Sept. 12. If for some reason, you can’t make it. There’s always his digital app, which lets users create their own 17th century Dutch still-life. Plus: read Christopher Knight’s review in the L.A. Times here.
Continue reading ‘Photo Diary: John Baldessari’s ‘Pure Beauty’ at LACMA.’
Spent Sunday at dawn paddling around Randall’s Island with artist Marie Lorenz, as part of her long-running project, The Tide and Current Taxi. It was all kinds of awesome. My WNYC colleague Jennifer Hsu made the most wonderful video of the whole experience (that’s her in action, above). Check out our report over at WNYC Culture.
7400-Mini Antelope, 1999, by Carlee Fernandez. Part of Carnage II 7000, a series of sculptures consisting of altered taxidermy. (Photo by Edmund Barr; courtesy of Fernandez.)
The group shot. Taken well before the kegstands got everyone crunky. (Image courtesy of Fluent Collab and Santiago Forero.)
Remember that conceptual art frat party I went to Austin? Well, the group shot is out — and we’re in it. (And I think my hair is bigger than my head. (Dang humidity.) Anyhow, it’s all pretty darn collegiate-looking if you ask me. And all I gotta say is that New York could use more stuff like this (aka free beer and chips and salsa in someone’s backyard). Larry Gagosian, please get on it.
Thanks to the folks at Test Site for the good times (and the photo).
“Rednecks” get crunky on lots of domestic beer at Mullet Toss 2010 on the Florida/Alabama border. Best viewed LARGE. In fact, this photo is so damn good, y’all better make it your desktop wallpaper. (Photos by C-M.)
In the event that you were wondering what the redneckiest of redneck events in these continental United States might consist of, I’ll fill you in: the Interstate Mullet Toss — an annual party in which the good folk of the Florida panhandle get together at an old honky tonk called the Florabama to toss mullets across the state line, drink lots of bushwackers and Bud and cheer on the local ladies during the bikini contest. Naturally, there’s also plenty of clothing removal and occasional fist-fighting. Though, admittedly, it’s not all straight-up rednecks. There are also redneck wannabes, redneck-watchers and rednecks-in-training. All around, it was an excellent time. And, for the record, I threw my mullet 38.2 feet. Not bad for a virgin.
Many more photos after the jump. Click on images to supersize. You know you want to see ‘em.
Continue reading ‘Photo Diary: Gettin’ rednecky at Mullet Toss 2010!!’
Partying hearty with the faux fraternity types. (Photos by C-M.)
While in Austin, @ktsmither gave us a tip that Test Site, a city arts lab, was hosting an event by artist Michael Smith (a.k.a. Baby Ikki). He and curator Jay Sanders had transformed a tony home in a well-to-do neighborhood into an art frat house — ΟΣΦ, Omicron Sigma Phi — and were staging a “reunion” party (complete with keg). From what I heard, the neighbors got slightly ruffled at the idea of some possibly vomitous revelry moving into the area. But fortunately this was a gentlemanly fraternity, channeling an a-capella-group-from-Amherst kind of vibe. So, we spent a pleasant afternoon drinking beer in the name of art — and then everyone gathered for a group shot on the front lawn. An all around excellent afternoon, made better by the fact that it’s now been enshrined as art.
Learn more about Test Site here.
Continue reading ‘Roadtrip Diary: Partying like a frat star in Austin.’
