Roll Call: Favorites of the Decade

Untitled (Mylar), Tara Donovan, Installation Shot at Met

 So I was asked the big question: Who are my favorite 3 artists/artworks of past 10 years?

Clearly this is an impossible question, and perhaps for that reason my mind went utterly blank...especially as I mentally had to reject so many things made prior to 10 years ago. But it bothered me I couldn't answer.

The next day, because I think better on paper, I made a list:

• William Kentridge (and, by the way, check out the PBS documentary that just came out)
• Tara Donovan
• Doug Aitken
• Julie Heffernan
• Mark Bradford
• Michelangelo Pistoletti

Not sure but strong maybes:

• Murakami
• Hernan Bas
• Claire Twomey

Not sure due to 10-year time restriction:

• Jeff Wall
• Cy Twombley

 So let's get quite contemporary, and you tell me, what would you pick? Can you pick? I can't even choose a favorite color, so I understand not being able to. But a fun game if you want to drive yourself bonkers.

Kline & Motherwell

How is it that I knew and loved Franz Kline, but MoMA's Abstract Expressionist New York was the first time I really appreciated Robert Motherwell?

New York, Franz Kline

No. 7, Franz Kline

Zinc Doors, Franz Kline

 I still have a lot of art historical catching up to do. This whole time it's as if Robert Motherwell was waiting in the wings for me, so to speak.

Elegy 57, Robert Motherwell

Elegy to the Spanish Republic, Robert Motherwell

Beside the Sea, Robert Motherwell

Beside the Sea, above, is a new favorite of mine. Clearly, I love the stark palette with the bold, expressive brushstrokes. Both artist's work vary much more than what I'm showing here. Yet the similarity is still distinct, and belies some of the difference that the exhibition stresses.

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The Big Picture: Abstract Expressionist NY at MoMA

One: Number 31, 1950, Jackson Pollock

Abstract Expressionist New York at MoMA is a large show, and I only had time to see 'The Big Picture,' a painting and sculpture-centric takeover of MoMA's 4th Floor. Of course, the typically large Abstract Expressionist canvases, bursting with color, are difficult to hang next to each other even when from the same artist. Rather than playing off each other, they often seem strangled. Jackson Pollock's One: Number 31 was an exception; this enormous canvas could hold its own in a brawl with just about any work of the era.

Personage with Yellow Ochre and White, Robert Motherwell

MoMA has a treasure trove of Abstract Expressionist pieces, so its great to see them all out. The exhibition wasn't the art history lesson I had hoped to get from it, showing rooms of individual artists instead of making comparisons. Maybe that's for the better; it's rather a lot to take in as it is. Yet it felt lackluster and unfocused compared to some of the excellent shows MoMA has put on recently (Marina Abramovic, William Kentridge). On the other hand, this focus on artists made cherry-picking favorites easy enough: Mark Rothko, Franz Kline, Robert Motherwell, Barnett Newman. Swoon

No.5 / No. 22, Mark Rothko

Chief, Franz Kline

Two Edges, Barnett Newman

I guess the conclusion is: there's some fantastic art up on the walls of MoMA right now, but you can't see it very well.

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Kevin Bourgeois at Causey Contemporary

The installation of this show is just such a fantastic, seamless background that really shows off the work of Kevin Bourgeois to great effect. I loved it the second I walked in. Here, however, is the rub: the works viewed on their own were something else.

I found it hard to distance my reaction to the (rather horrible) subject matter from the way it was depicted, too distracted by repulsion to judge it as a work of art. Does that mean it failed as a work of art, or conversely that it was successful?

How is one meant to appreciate work that tackles difficult, uncomfortable subjects or, in this case, rather wallows in dark tropes? It's up at Causey Contemporary in Williamsburg through November 14 in case you want to judge for yourself.

iheart variations upon variations

This past Friday I had the chance to see this print, along with four other symbol prints in the iheart variation 003 series by Seth Carnes, arranged and re-arranged on the walls of the Roger Smith Hotel. (Check out some of the configurations here.) The artist considers the symbols "volatile and alive." Seeing other people put the prints into different relationships with each other was fun and intriguing...as was seeing the other artist's prints that were created in response to this series. How fitting that these prints are available on ArtWeLove, so anyone can take these symbols home and, by putting them together in different ways, contribute to their meaning.

iheart variation 003 by Seth Carnes

Then to add variation upon variation, other artists were invited to respond to these prints. The results were as unique as you might imagine:

iheart variation 003_001, variation by Molly Dilworth

iheart variation 003_007, variation by Changha Hwang

More variations on the work here.

The collaborative nature of the original series, and the further artist variations, celebrates the interlacing of meaning without ego and grows richer for it. If you are in New York and want to do your own remix of the original series, visit the Roger Smith Hotel lobby corridor, which is lined with a grid of 15 framed prints, and re-mix, re-arrange, and re-sequence to your heart's content every Tuesday, and second and fourth Sundays at 6pm, through January 9.

Freaky Friday: Peace and love abound

Rather uplifting art news this morning. No masterpieces stolen or drawn on with crayon, no street artist getting arrested or--more likely--selling out, no grotesque fart of a piece going for millions at auction. Instead there was mature dialogue that fostered understanding. Hmmm....I'll put it down to Freaky Friday.

 Read on:

Enrique Chagoya makes peace with Loveland, Colorado: Agrees to depict a loving Jesus

Last week, I posted about a woman who walked into the Loveland Museum/Gallery and destroyed a piece of artwork by Enrique Chagoya. I questioned at the end of my article whether critiques with the weight and emotional volume of Chagoya’s print – which depicted Jesus in sexual acts (a Christian favourite) and an Islamic prophet kneeling before pigs, among other things.

Under normal circumstances, the immoral act of destroying ones art would likely make an artist completely irate. Chagoya, however, has agreed to work with the pastor of Loveland’s Resurrection Fellowship church to create a piece of artwork depicting Jesus in a positive light. Pastor Jonathan Wiggins wrote Chagoya after opposition to the artwork began asking if Chagoya would be able to “offer [his] artistic ability and compose an image of Christ representing love and understanding, something precious.”

Chagoya agreed, and the project has received overwhelming approval from the 1,400-member congregation, according to the Denver Post, who quoted pastor Wiggins as saying that “we had standing ovations at the end.” Six members of the congregation are said to have walked out in protest of the redemption efforts.

More here at Art Threat.

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Dust up over Ai Weiwei's Sunflower Seeds

And I thought it looked like a fun romp. Silly me. Apparently everyone (like Roberta Smith ) knew Ai Weiwei's installation of clay sunflower seeds was a potential health hazard due to the dust created when people romped or otherwise interacted with the installation.

Personally, I would sign a waiver to take a run through an enormous hall of sunflower seeds like it was some McDonald's ball pit on art steroids. But before you get like me, and sniff pish posh on deadly dust, check out these 8 Deadly Works of Art at Hyperallergic.

Romping through Sunflower Seeds at the Tate Modern

"Last week, we[*] had the pleasure of making the journey out to the Tate Modern in London to experience Ai Weiwei’s latest installation. The contemporary artist from China worked with the village of Jingdezhen to individually mold and hand paint over 100 million ceramic “Sunflower Seeds” which lined the entry hall adjacent to main doors of the museum. Every person was invited to partake and interact with the “land of seeds”. It was a romp for many who jumped, ran, played, and even laid down on the 1000 square meters of hand created artwork. The seed carpet, measuring inches thick, was a veritable playground for the staff of AM as we scurried onto the ceramic play-land along with the hundreds of families and museum patrons that made believe they were on the beach, in the snow or simply relaxing in the park. Ai Weiwei seemed to have captured the imagination of everyone who stepped foot on his seemingly magical creation."

 *being the author of article at Arrested Motion blog, also the source of the image

The line that really drew me in was "a romp for many who jumped, ran, played, and even laid down on." I love experiencing art like that--interactively, in my own way. And the fact that it is in Tate Modern's spectacular Turbine Hall really seals the deal.  It was at the Tate Modern that I first really fell for contemporary art via Cy Twombley's Le Quattre Staggione (which later moved to the atrium at MoMA where I saw them again upon moving to NYC). 

I want to fly to London(!), but for now I guess I'll settle for my blog reader and going to work.

Installation Shot in the Turbine Hall, Tate Modern, London

Disco color: Chino Amobi's Pregnancy Pact

Star, 2010

 Yes, that is an anime figure on her shoulder (and double yes, these bright colors signify I am no longer planning my funeral.) This mixed media work makes no secret of its pastiche of influence and sources, but one of the things that really impressed me when I saw these works by Chino Amobi was how seamlessly the elements work together.

Sailor's Black Virgin, 2010

Through November 7th at Like the Spice Gallery, this bright show with a bit of a disco feel integrates color and cultural, medium and message in a shock to the system. The artist combines cultural references from anime to his Nigerian roots in these energetic pieces, and somehow it works, which is surprising (maybe) and kind of awesome. I tend toward the understated and simple in my aesthetic, but I can appreciate the bombast and vibrancy displayed here, not least because its so well-done. 

So, enjoy a little disco color to jumpstart your Monday morning.



Milk My Chain, 2010

Death Warmed Over

Albert York, Woman and Skeleton, 1967

Luckily there are no end of art images to give visual expression of my inner state (hint: I'm the one on the left). It will have to do as there are no appropriate images of "death warmed over" from a Google search--in fact, I recommend you not Google that. But now I'm rambling, so may I recommend:

This image of Albert York's came from Art Inconnu, a blog where somebody knowledgeable showcases interesting art. I suggest you check it out while I wallow in self-pity.

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Sick

Paperweight,  3 ½" x 2 ½"

Apparently this knick knack has a toothache, but its a close enough approximation of how I feel--swollen head and all.

My new mantra that I mutter as I walk around is: "I will not be sick" followed by (on the subway) "do not touch anything". Let see how that works for me.

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Why it is OK brain cells die--from Nicholson Baker's The Mezzanine

I hope you enjoyed that passage as much as I did on my commute this morning. The third of Nicholson Baker's books I've read, this one traces a man's trip up an escalator in 134 pages. I'm only at Chapter 3, but nothing has happened yet. Rather it's a discursive exploration of consciousness that's I hope lives up to The Anthologist.

And next time you're hungover, just say to yourself, "No, I don't give a shit who introduced the sweet potato to North America." (See point b)

Dennis Maher at Black and White Gallery / Project Space

"In his first New York solo exhibition, Buffalo-based artist and architect Dennis Maher explores un-building and re-building as a transition; a movement from one position to another, a relationship."

Based on that press release description, it shouldn't be too big of a leap to see why I responded to Maher's work on a thematic level. If only I could just flatten everything I own into patterns and re-arrange until beautiful! Sounds much better than shoving dressers and searching for a Phillips head screw driver only to lock myself out of my apartment for 5 hours on Saturday...but that's another story.

More to the point, while locked out I had a chance to see some of the neighborhood galleries I missed the night before. Lucky me, because I came upon Dennis Maher's work at Black and White Gallery /  Project Space. Inside the gallery is a room of large prints that seem more concerned with evocative pattern-making than than depiction. Composed of digital photographs of the contents of rooms re-arranged in square patterns, they felt like (an attractive) Frankenstein of a home.

This one above, not surprisingly, is titled Kitchen Floor, broom included.

All the prints interact nicely with the installation behind the gallery (pictured top). It shares the concern with textures and colors and relational positioning. The agglomeration of elements seems suited to the debris of the neighborhood's streets as well as the work inside. Sometimes home does seem like a tenuous burden of re-shifting things that only gradually take on the full significance of "home." Or at least that's how I interpreted it.

Williamsburg 2nd Fridays Gallery Crawl

It's not all crowded subway trains in my neighborhood

What do you know? I moved to Williamsburg just in time for the 2nd Fridays gallery crawl. It will be great to see a bit more of my new neighborhood, an a few galleries I like (Slate Gallery for example) are having events and some I'm not familiar with (Graphite with a new show by Tae Hwang) come recommended.

Full list of events and spaces if you are so inclined:

• Tae Hwang In Between at Graphite
• "Exploring 100 Years of Figurative Art: Part II " Including the Realists" at Figureworks
• Sarah H. Paulson Your point will change... at Alice Chilton Gallery
• Chino Amobi Pregnancy Pact at Like The Spice
• Artist Talk: Barbara Thomas The Floating Color Series at Slate Gallery

And then there's also:

Gitana Rosa (Can't forget the show name: Hung: Checking out the Contemporary Male)
19 Hope St. #7 (b/w Roebling and Havemeyer)


Black and White Gallery (less than a block from my new apartment)
483 Driggs Avenue (between N 10th and N 9th)

Hogar Collection (recommended to me)
362 Grand Street (the corner of Marcy Ave)

Pierogi ( <3 )
177 N. 9th St. Brooklyn

Right up my alley: Parisian flat containing €2.1 million painting lay untouched for 70 years

As my friend put it when he emailed me this article, this seems right up your alley. Dead on.

An apartment kept although never visited. An exquisite Boldini portrait and old Mickey Mouse toys found. All discovered after the owner's death under a thick layer of dust. More from the Telegraph here.

The portrait discovered there has since been attributed to Giovanni Boldini and went for a nice 2.1M Euro at auction, spurred on by the discovery that the never-before seen piece had been painted of the artist's muse, actress Marthe de Florian.  Boldoni (1842–931) was an Italian genre and portrait painter who was known as the "Master of Swish," because of his flowing style of painting. He painted many high society people.

Portrait of the dandy Robert de Montesquiou

Traces of glamor come through even under dust an inch thick.

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Go See: Pipilotti Rist at Luhring Augustine

It was in my plans even before I read this review of the show to go see the Pipilotti Rist, just because her video installation Pour Your Body Out in the atrium of MoMA was so lush and engrossing. I didn't even know she has made a chandelier of underwear. (pictured above)

Now it's been moved to top priority. : )

Sisyphus

That's what I'll be up to this weekend: moving.

Lots and lots of moving. The expected difference being that I will be done when this weekend is over. I have gone up and down the stairs only a few times, but enough to despair a bit.

However , where there is despair, there is also LOL cat photos in google image searches, sort of a visual illustration of the greater cosmic ying and yang.

If you don't hear from me next week, assume a couch fell on my head.