~SIMON CERIGO/NEW MUSIC VIDEOS . . .
September 2nd, 2010here are 5 music videos – you might enjoy watching !!
1. BATHS – LOVELY BLOODFLOW/YouTube !!
2. WAVVES – POST ACID/YouTube !!
3. ARCADE FIRE – SPRAWL II (MOUNTAIN BEYOND MOUNTAIN)/YouTube !!
4. BRAIDS – at castle awesome2/YouTube !!
. . .this foursome is a new group out of Montreal !!
5. FRIGHTENED RABBIT – Swim Until You Cant See Land/YouTube !!
POSTED BY SIMON CERIGO – THURS SEPT 2, 1010 – 1:52 PM
~IN HONOR OF PHILIP LOEB/YOO-HOO, MRS GOLDBERG !!
September 1st, 2010
AN EVENING – IN HONOR OF – ACTOR PHILIP LOEB !! – TO-NITE: SEPT 1, 2010 / 6:30 PM
SPONSORED BY THE ACTOR’S EQUITY ASSOCIATION
at: THE MUSEUM of JEWISH HERITAGE – A LIVING MEMORIAL TO THE HOLOCAUST – EDMOND J. SAFRA PLAZA
36 BATTERY PLACE – NEW YORK, NY
DIRECTIONS: SUBWAY 4/5 to BOWLING GREEN, walk west along Battery Place. SUBWAY R to WHITEHALL STREET, walk west along Battery Place to South Ferry, walk north along Battery Park/State Street, turn left & walk west on Battery Place.
FREE & OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
IF YOU SAW THAT DELIGHTFUL & ABSOLUTELY NEEDS TO BE HERALDED – DOCUMENTARY – ‘YOO-HOO, MRS. GOLDBERG’ – BY AVIVA KEMPNER – THEN YOU KNOW WHY – THIS EVENT HEADLINES ARTLOVERS TO-DAY !!
. . . forget what you usually see on T.V. shows about the earliest T.V. sitcoms – LUCILLE BALL – did not – initiate the genre. that’s just what they’d like you think. it was GERTRUDE BERG – who played Lower East Side matriarch – MRS. GOLDBERG – who actually kicked off the sitcom ball game !! though the show – didn’t time-travel – culturally – as well Lucille Ball’s – ‘I LOVE LUCY’ – maybe that was because – it was so topical – and therefore a little more prone to appear dated – as opposed to Lucy’s generalized and second generation slapstick comedy. in fact, if you even casually – follow Ms. Kempner’s documentary – which is very very lively, thoroughly entertaining and chockful of vintage clips – it’s not a step too far to conclude that the producer, writer, and star of the show – Gertrude Berg – a native-born New Yorker – was not only the true mother of them all – but – an early blogger as well. well before there was a blogshere !! she was on the air – with her take !!
A real multi-tasker, and thinker – not just a gifted comedian and entertainer – Gertrude Berg – stepped out of her home each morning – with the issues of the day on her mind – and a story to tell – fresh – for each day’s live broadcast. She absolutely generated her own whole show, and she did this day after day. Unlike Lucille – she had no outside writers – it was all Gertrude – 24/7 and on point. She wrote the scripts – that had the first T.V. audiences in stitches – as she brought ethnic immigrant life – the newcomers from the old country – who landed on New York’s Lower East Side – to life – for a vast new national T.V. audience – national as in country-wide – even in the heartland – who had previously no real inkling of what was afoot in America’s biggest city. and along with the hilarious family ups and downs – she served up – gentle but insightful takes on the politics of the day and the world – New York City style !!
probably – therefore – it comes – as no surprise – that her show got caught up in the national embarrassment – that we now so plainly see those sorry blacklisting days of the 40s and 50s to be. seeing the original clips – it’s hard to understand what antagonized these small-minded censors – so much. All of Gertrude Berg’s writing comes across as very gentle chiding – even when it touched on national issues. She wrote from such a heartfelt and truly concerned place. yet the co-star of the show – PHILIP BERG – who played JAKE GOLDBERG – Molly Goldberg’s husband on the show – and – therefore the first father knows best !! – took a heartbreaking fall for the gang – and was blacklisted. As Aviva Kempner details so poignantly in ‘Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg’ – it was for his union activities – and not for his role on the program per se – that got him into hot water. but he was forced from the show – signaling not only the beginning of the end of the show, but of his own life as well. Heartbroken and well – just plain broken – he took his own life on Sept 1, 1955. and the union activism that got him blacklisted ? – he was one of the first founder activists for an actor’s union – or – as it is called today – the Actors’ Equity Association – and so, no wonder they are the honoring sponsors of this event to-nite. the eve of Labor Day weekend and the 55th anniversary of his untimely death.
I believe he jumped from a hotel window – he had been at the height of his acting career. as for the show, ‘Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg’ never found a replacement – for the depth of heart and warmth of humor he brought to the role -and it went off the air, rather unceremoniously, as Ms. Kempner notes – to be replaced by the more stylized and innocuous – ‘I LOVE LUCY’.
excerpts of ‘Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg’ – along with other clips related to Philip Loeb and his career will be shown to-nite.
to-nite’slive panel guests – honoring the memory of Philip Loeb will include:
AVIVA KEMPNER, director, ‘Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg’
ANNA BERGER, actress on ‘The Goldbergs’
PETER FREIDMAN, an actor who is writing a play about Loeb
Dr. STEVE LOEB, Loeb’s grandnephew
Dr. GLENN SMITH, a Loeb biographer
and JIM BROCHU, an actor, and playwright of ‘ZERO HOUR’.
. . . and if you want to spend a really entertaining and thoughtful moment – on Labor Day weekend !! – check out – the official website for – Aviva Kempner’s – ‘Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg’ – and meet GERTRUDE BERG – the “most famous woman in America – you never heard of” – !!
see: YOO-HOO, MRS. GOLDBERG !!
~SHELF LIFE . . .
August 31st, 2010. . . talking about shelf life, wow – even your local supermarket can of string beans says: BEST BY DEC 2012.
talk about a hot potato – expiration date !!
CAMPBELL SOUP CANS – MOVE OVER !!
speaking of which – CONGRATS !! – TO JIMMY FALLON & CREW & CAST !! – YOU GUYS ACED THE EMMYS – !!
- BEST AWARDS SHOW – HANDS DOWN – IN A LONG LONG – TIME – !!
ALL PHOTOS: COPYRIGHT: NANCY SMITH
~JOSH’S PICTOGRAMS & OTHER ART WORLD MOGULS . . .
August 27th, 2010FEELING THE HEAT – !!
OR: MY SUMMER OF 2010 & THE UP-SIDE OF UNEMPLOYMENT – MORE TIME FOR CELEBRITY MAGAZINES & DAYTIME T.V. !!
OR: THE CELESTIAL – SIGNS – I HAVE SEEN !!
JOSH HARRIS – INTERNET GURU, FOUNDING C.E.O. OF JUPITER COMMUNICATIONS and PSEUDO.COM – & – STAR – OF – 2009 SUNDANCE WINNER – WE LIVE IN PUBLIC – a kind of bio pic on his adventures in the internet bubble – and the hardcore gang of artists – he surrounded himself with . . .
JOSH HARRIS . . . LANDS BACK IN NYC – WILLIAMSBURG – AND IN SO DOING – ALONG THE WAY – SAVES ALFREDO MARTINEZ – A SORRY BROOKLYN NATIVE SON – IF THERE EVER WAS ONE – FROM THE BLACK HOLE OF SECRET PRISON DETENTION – IN CHINA.
JOSH & ALFREDO MAKE LIKE ANDY (WARHOL) and JEAN MICHEL (BASQUIAT) – TAKE ONE !!
but really all Josh wants to do is paint. now that his huge internet fortune has (pretty much) burst – along with the rest of that fun bubble – it seems he can no longer contract-out his painting ‘concepts’ – to Ethiopian street artisans – the Gilligan’s Island paintings that pop up in WE LIVE IN PUBLIC – and so, its hands-on !! for now !! but actually not without – still landing, as ever – on the proverbial – dot.
I probably might not have found these painting so interesting 10 years ago – but now – how time flies and things change – and voila – you couldn’t find a better cross – between evolutionary pictograms – and ‘MAD MEN’ retro chic !! you could just imagine them up there – on the background walls – of any one of those ‘MAD MEN’ sets with their vintage bric- a-brac and huge ceramic ash trays !! talk about retro color palettes.
but, it’s the evolutionary pictogram angle – ‘internet guru – me have message’ – that sets them apart. and makes them damn spooky. not to mention – popular culture signifiers.
First, if you ever watch any of those new daytime HISTORY CHANNEL science programs – that are now up-market geared to the new T.V. audience of over-educated under-employed at-home masses – like moi and perhaps vous – you know it’s a super great time to be watching science programs, esp those on archaeology, geology, astronomy, and yes, even – space travel !! and it’s no wonder – it’s these sciences that have been making the huge great amazing leaps. and it’s mostly because of the new hi-powered state-of-the-art hi-definition digital orbiting photography – beaming back. not only up-close images of way distant planets and stars – but helping us locate new archaeological data – such as immense pictograms – that can only be seen from aerial heights !! – carved into mountains on earth – that cannot be denied (and who made them ?) – and locating otherwise overgrown, eroded, and for centuries overlooked – and apparently absolutely accurate cosmically-aligned free-standing monuments – newly attributed to the Mayans, who are turning out to have been much more far-ranging travelers – than previously thought . . . and are now – the ‘it’ culture. in a kind of – spooky – proverbial – karma-like way – wouldn’t you know – in our very own historically overlooked-as-primitive cultural backyard – Mexico and the South Americas !!
Mexico – what a 21st century hot potato !!
of course. the fact that – aerial pictograms – in very contemporary-style graphics – of earth animals such as a spider and a pelican speak to – ‘outer-world-visitor-was-here’ – they can only be seen from a great height over the globe – as opposed to caveman pictograms that speak to the first humans – is freaky enough. but the Mayan texts, inscriptions, and monuments – which turn out to be 3-D pictograms – pointing to planetary alignments – like Stonehenge – absolutely parallel with pinpoint accuracy – the newest conclusions of the hardcore science – American astronomers !!
and, damn if those ancient MAYANS – weren’t right. according to the programs – the newest scientific data tells us – some kind of huge – cosmic event – which will greatly affect our planet – will result from a huge gravitational pull of a major celestial alignment – to occur – Dec 21, 2012. the very day the Mayan Long Calendar ends.
and Age of Aquarius aside – which is also tapped to occur that very same day – it doesn’t look to be shaping up to be – a nice new age Woodstock party – as much as it’s looking to be a huge global wipe-out. so big – they say – a gravitational pull on earth – that we are feeling the effects now. as in extreme weather. double dip recession. global gridlock. war. conflict.
factoring in the – Mayan take – it’s the end of their cyclical calendar – and, watch out. apart from the thought – that they might have been ‘visitors’ – and I’m inclined to agree – they were renown for their harsh world view – human sacrifice was aplenty – skulls tumbled down the steps of their temples – according to the early Spanish explorers – not to mention – I remember reading somewhere – that recently they found huge charnel houses, down there. for an artist – its very plain to see from their graphic inscriptions – and pictograms – that their culture was hard-edged, cruel and all about pretty much – just about war. I guess, well, what else is new. hello world. going all the way back to prehistoric times.
but very little poetry compared to say the earliest inscriptions of the playful Hindu culture. or the gentler Mother Earth lore of our Native Americans.
but, isn’t it – so fun – ironic – to find the ‘it’ ancient culture of the moment – in whose pinpoint observations – we now turn to for keys to the future – right here on this side of the globe – as opposed to all those previously way fawned-over Greek, Egyptian or even ancient Roman ruins – the previous fulcrum of all art history – so fought over and hoarded, in our museums.
Josh himself says the “paintings take about a week to do after much angst” . . . and aside from having titles like “dead mother” – he says “the paintings are an anamorphic representation of human consciousness that the singularity can process.” singularity – I think corresponds to the same primal ‘pictogram’ stick figure configuration found in each canvas. look it up – anamorphic means – “pertaining to gradual evolution from one type of organism to another” !! – so maybe we aren’t so off track. in linking his attempt – to primal code. artwise – think ZUNI . . .
of course Josh isn’t the the only art world mogul – feeling the heat – of the portending 2012 gravitational alignment !!
in today’s NEW YORK POST – real estate developer and big time art collector – ABY ROSEN – is outed for letting one of his properties – 400 PARK AVE. – go for the measly sum of $35 MILLION. he has been reported as having been caught in debt-driven financial straits on and off throughout the past year . . . but yikes. just $35 million – for a whole 21-story office building, in Manhattan !! a good Picasso at auction could net you more than that . . . what happened to the DAMIEN HIRST – shark or beef – in formaldehyde – tanks ? weren’t a couple of those supposed to net a sum close to that . . . guess not – or he wouldn’t be selling the building.
no wonder Deitch split the scene – to become a curator in la la land. not that I think Aby Rosen was a friend or even a client of Jeffrey’s – but Jeffrey obviously saw the writing on the wall – when these moguls hit the red side of the ledger books – it’s a sad bad day for the art scene. I’m not crowing – it’s bad. for us all. for the game in general. for the trickle down effect – to the people who make a living on the fringe – taking the pix and talking the talk- and – for the artists they collected in particular – who definite – look lame now, too.
see: ’400 PARK GRABBED FOR $35M’/LOIS WEISS/NEW YORK POST – AUGUST 26, 2010
and then there’s newsprint mogul, INTERVIEW publisher, Andy Warhol pal, and major major art collector PETER BRANT – who seems to be a pretty nice guy – at least from a distance – fighting to keep his money and his sanity – in a huge messy hurtful mind spirit if not body-bashing divorce . . . from his wife of 15 years – and mother of his 3 youngest children – VICTORIA’S SECRET and SPORTS ILLUSTRATED MODEL, PLAYBOY COVER GIRL model – STEPHANIE SEYMOUR. apparently the union was pretty real at the get-go and Mr. Brant did not get a pre-nup. the only up-side . . . Mr. Brant got into financial woes several, quite a several years back, that landed him a short stint in prison. the mainstream press, and some clueless bloggers – myself included – inferred from that – that he was a thief. he has gone on to say – notably in a recently published interview – that he was just stupid. guess what. a lot of people believe him on that, now !!
and in fact – he did recently sell, I believe at auction – a later Picasso for what – upwards of $20 maybe even $30+ million to shore up his businesses, lifestyle and I guess million dollar lawyer fees.
see: ‘DIVORCE CELEBRITY STYLE’/LAURA HOLSON/SUNDAY STYLES/THE NEW YORK TIMES/AUGUST 22, 2010
PHOTOS COPYRIGHT: NANCY SMITH
EXCEPT FOR THE 2 NEWSPAPER SCANS
~ALFREDO/LOST & FOUND !!
August 19th, 2010
JOSH HARRIS and ALFREDO MARTINEZ – MAKE LIKE ANDY (WARHOL) and JEAN MICHEL (BASQUIAT) !!
UPON ALFREDO’S – SAFE RETURN – FROM A 3 MONTH DETENTION IN CHINA – AND A SWIFT 24 HR. DEPORTATION – BACK TO THE HOMELAND – OF – THE U.S.A. – AND – NEW YORK CITY !!
WILLIAMSBURG, BROOKLYN. SUN, AUG 15, 2010.
PHOTO: NANCY SMITH
OK . . . where to begin.
so, JOSH wants credit, and rightfully so, for putting out the initial – APB – ALL POINTS BULLETIN – alert that apparently saved Alfredo’s scruffy little 300+ lb. native Brooklyn-born Puerto Rican American neck !! yep the ENGER BROS – aka EXPLODING SKY – got it right – their friend was being held – in the dark, scary and creepy Chinese Prison system. and supposedly without anyone’s knowledge – !! it’s estimated by Alfredo that he was in there for approx 3 mos. and it was not looking to have a happy ending – any time soon. According to Alfredo – he was hauled off the streets – no reason was given – restrained, and deprivation-tortured, denied outside contact and kept literally in the dark – about where he was and how long he would be there. he was also told to keep his mouth shut about it – but since he is now out – here goes !!
back to the beginning. luckily Josh’s APB included Alfredo’s friend & patron in China – the so-called “rich kid” BYRON HAWES. and apologies to Mr. Hawes !! it seems anybody who can buy their own set of shoes – is termed a “rich kid” by Alfredo . . . anyways it turns out BRYON HAWES is a writer/contributor to TIME OUT MAGAZINE in CHINA and luckily besides being a huge fan of Alfredo’s artwork – he is diplomatically connected, in a way that Alfredo needed big time. Apparently he is the son of a former ambassador of Canada’s to China, and his mom was an ambassador to France (maybe) – or something like that – Alfredo also claims Byron dated the granddaughter of Chinese Premier DONG CHOU PING – but that’s another story for another time – anyways Byron, just like in the best B grade movies – knew exactly who to call to – to locate Alfredo, and surprise surprise, within a couple of hours of Byron’s well-placed phone call – Alfredo was unceremoniously deported and sent home – on a one-way flight on Quatar Airlines – courtesy of the Chinese government !! talk about a hot potato.
looking pretty weary, after his long flight, not to mention his black hole of a Chinese prison ordeal – Alfredo is happy to reunite with a New York Post – at Josh’s local headquarters in Williamsburg.
although you have to take everything Alfredo says with a grain of salt – he can spin as good as he can whip up a working gun from spare parts – a big part of the ‘hot potato’ problem – obviously. usually the weirdest parts of his stories – are the truest. at any rate – we had caught him – right upon arrival – not quite long enough for him to get rested enough to embellish any colorful details and – according to him – the facts were harsh enough to stand alone. He certainly looked shell shocked enough to support his claims of abduction, torture and illegal detention.
He thinks, or claims at any rate, that the whole thing was set-off by his rather arrogant statements regarding the handmade guns and weapons drawings that littered his hotel room – in a small rural area – in China – where he was a bonafide American artist-in-residence (hard to believe, but true) – that caused panic to the hotel maid – who in turn blew the whistle – that brought Alfredo an impromptu visit from the local cops. The ‘in-your-face-Chinese-cops-take-that’ exchange that played out, according to Alfredo’s macho telling – was repeated – verbatim – in that NEW YORK TIMES ARTICLE – referenced in our preceding post – and that probably did not help !!
here’s that NEW YORK TIMES link again: “For China’s Western Expatriates…”
you can find Alfredo’s (notoriously stupid) quotes on the cop hotel visit – in the captions under his photo allotment – in the ‘more photos’ segment . . .
you can also evaluate for yourself – what the local Chines cops encountered. the fearfulness, awesomeness ? top drawer DIY skills ? hot potato for sure scale – of Alfredo’s gun making skills – in the pix posted in our previous post, ‘Where in the World is Alfredo’ ….
I would state that Alfredo’s gun making skills are self-taught – but he did tell me once he learned how-to – from guerillas in the South American jungle – so who knows – though I personally think, that was a small embellishment – but with Alfredo – trust me, you never know. I do know Alfredo’s gun making skills can come in handy. JIM JARMUSCH used him as the gun ‘consultant’ in his film – ‘Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai’ (1999)
in fact, many of Alfredo’s friends saw him – in the title character played by the hulking and strange Forest Whitaker – though Jim has denied basing the character on Alfredo. but . . . many of the hand-made weapons that are bandied about in the film – are Alfredo’s handiwork, if not also his lumbering gait and shady, sketchy ? under-dog world view. to put in a kind word – yes, this the guy you would most want to be – beside you in a terror attack end-of-the world scenario. let’s leave it at that.
anyways – Alfredo says he was at his local rural internet cafe in China – and although he says yes he had overstayed his visa – that’s no problem – in China – you just pay a fee and life continues – that’s what he says – when he noticed the arrival of a very intimidating wave of all black-clad heavily armed extremely serious high level pumped-up big Chinese security force – in effect – a squat team – swarm the place. he was curious and drawn to the action – like a moth to a flame. when all of a sudden he realized – it was he – who was the object of the heavy-duty hunt – a burlap hood was thrown over his head – with no further ado, no warning, no questioning, no words. he was scared like he was never scared before and taken off – he knows not where, nor for how long. weeks. days. He was subjected to hi-tech hi-level deprivation torture. that is he was held in a cold cold small room – where he was strapped into a hard cold “stainless steel” chair … that … “looked like a Phillipe Stark design – if Phillipe Stark designed torture chairs” – he could laugh now – but being somewhat stouter than the average torture detainee, in China – they had to improvise restraining straps, he adds, but it was harsh. he was allowed no sleep. no movement. he had cramps and was harangued incessantly “to sign papers” and “squeal” on his “contacts” in China .. he says he kept saying he was just an artist and an American version at that – but that didn’t seem to go over too well. he said he truly feared for his life and this is the one fact I most certainly believe. he says being aware of the big gun power around him, their make, and even his “intellectual” knowledge of hi-level deprivation torture – did not make it any easier. he says he lost track of time . . . of how long he remained imprisoned there – in what he surmises was a high level high security secret detention center – till he was removed and driven away to a regular Chinese civilian detention center – where he was placed with . . . “you know, ordinary criminals like pick pockets . . . and the food was pretty good, well ok compared to the last place” – all in all, totaling almost 3 months of unlawful detention – as far as Josh can decipher from Alfredo’s last email – till he put the – APB.
it sure looks like Bryon Hawes, and Josh Harris saved Alfredo’s sorry Brooklyn ass . . . without Josh’s APB and definitely without that one well-placed (high-level we assume) diplomatic phone call of Bryon’s – Josh says, impressed: “Bryon knew exactly who to call” – Alfredo was looking to be eating mangy Chinese prison food – for the rest of his life. Once Byron made the call – it was less than 24 hrs and no questions asked – that Alfredo found himself on a one way ticket home.
now he just has to scramble, like rest of us among the sorry recession ruins of the 2010 NYC art scene !! welcome home – back to the real art world – Alfredo !! he got the most upset of the whole interview – when I asked him if he was eligible for food stamps.
Josh’s current digs, c/o Jeff Gompertz. the spare-to-bones – but wired – Josh Harris headquarters in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. apparently, it’s funny to a lot of people, especially those who were at QUIET, or have seen WE LIVE IN PUBLIC – that Josh now finds himself in Williamsburg. and, why not / it’s pretty much the center of the world. or close enough. if you want to throw the near-by – Bushwick into the mix.
it’s basically – a nice empty loft space – with great light – on the top floor of a 5 story building – where Josh, ever the aspiring artist – for real – can paint. forget that internet guru bit. though his as yet un-realized project – the WIRED CITY – still seems to pop up in conversation.
one of Josh’s canvases.
another one. he says it takes about a week to realize – one.
I didn’t even know Josh knew how to stretch a canvas !!
the top floor place – has nice light coming in from the former ‘industrial’ use windows . . .
just in case you are wondering – a space like this – in the heart of currently super trendy Williamsburg – easily goes for about $2,500/mo.
you can look out – across the roof – past the East River to a bird’s eye view of midtown Manhattan !!
and sure enough, just in time to give credence to the claim that Williamsburg – is indeed the center of the world – or the center of all that really matters !! – in strolls – OBASH – !! – leader of the Iranian Ex-Pat band – the YELLOW DOGS !!
no surprise here – of course we knew him. in fact we caught the hard-driving band in one of their earliest NYC performances at the JASON GRUNWALD exhibit – closing party – they played along with SISTERS – at EASTERN DISTRICT – in Bushwick !! way back in March – March 21, 2010.
I’ve been meaning to get those pix up – maybe this will finally – seal the deal.
OK. I know – I’m about as good as Alfredo – with the real-time promises !!
and, sometimes – out of sheer stubborness – and maybe, hard times – I just like to keep the best pix – to myself.
ALL PHOTOS COPYRIGHT: NANCY SMITH
~WHERE IN THE WORLD – IS ALFREDO ?
August 12th, 2010
T-SHIRT DESIGN & CONCEPT & PHOTO COURTESY: MATT ENGER/EXPLODING SKY
. . . the international search for ALFREDO MARTINEZ, who has been an artist-in-residence in China !! for the past several years which began last week, has been resolved. and MATT ENGER of EXPLODING SKY – called it right !! surprise, surprise, NOT !!
the week long search for Alfredo began last Sunday Aug 8, 2010 when – JOSH HARRIS, the star of SUNDANCE winner WE LIVE IN PUBLIC – sent out an intimate mass email asking if anybody had heard from Alfredo recently . . . apparently they have been regular email correspondents, and Josh had not heard from his old pal in a while. Alfredo made that huge big basement shooting gallery – equipped with real assault rifles – and a real movie props permit – to shoot them !! – featured in the film . . .
On Tuesday Aug 10, BYRON HAWES, who, the street buzz story relates as a “rich” kid with diplomatic connections who meet Alfredo in China a year or so ago – and had reportedly been his most recent collaborator and patron – and who now seems to be re-located in NYC – got in on the search . . and said he was also “a little concerned as well. . .” as he had not heard from Alfredo, either. in a long while.
Meanwhile, also on Tues Aug 10, 2010 – MATT ENGER of EXPLODING SKY – knowing Alfredo from way back – that is for at least 2 decades+ longer than Byron, and just about the same amount of time Josh has – jumped into the email game of search – with his take – the FREE ALFREDO t-shirt !!
looks like it doesn’t a take rocket science – to figure out what happened to Alfredo – already a convicted felon here in the USA for his notorious JEAN MICHEL BASQUIAT scam of 2002 !! – that rocked the international art world of blue chip auction markets & “certificates of authenticity” – another story for another time !! – surprise surprise, NOT !! turns out MATT ENGER had his art world pal – down right !!
In his first email with the T-shirt image, dated Aug 10, 2010 12:16;33 PM EDT – MATT stated that “these shirts will be available on explodingskywear.com by this Sat nite Aug 14, 2010. all proceeds will be used to get Alfredo out of a Chinese Gulag (800. fine) and a ticket to the States (?). I suggest we fly him to L.A. with winter coming, it will be easier for him to survive and meet new friends.” ( I think Matt made up the gulag part ? esp the fine bit – and I’m pretty sure all proceeds will remain, LOL, at EXPLODING SKY !!
though you gotta put your hands together for Matt’s presentience – right on the mark !!)
though it took BYRON HAWES diplomatic connections to come up with the real nitty gritty.
this email from BYRON HAWES greeted me as I checked my email first thing this morning, it is dated AUGUST 12, 2010 1:28:03 AM EDT !!
“Just got off the phone with someone from the Consular Section of the US Embassy here, and they managed to locate Alfredo.
He’s been in custody here for a few weeks, and will be deported back to NYC the day after tomorrow (or thereabouts). Both the embassy and police have promised to let me know as soon as his flight arrangements have been finalized, and I will let you all know.
I spoke with Fredo, and he seems in pretty good spirits. In classic Fredo fashion he said the jail was quite comfortable, and that he has probably been eating them out of house and home. He laughed his big boisterous bear of a laugh for ages when I told him about your ‘free Alfredo’ t-shirts, Mark.” (sic) – (it was Matt who made ‘em – oh well what can you do – Matt & Mark Enger – who are EXPLODING SKY – are identical twins – and its damn hard to tell anything about them apart – except that they are very touchy about their respective credits !!)
anyway – Byron concludes with “I’m going to meet him at the airport when he’s off (he apparently has no shoes, so I guess I’m going shopping). Updates forthcoming. B ”
ALFREDO MARTINEZ was profiled recently in the NEW YORK TIMES – in their big spread on EX-PATS in CHINA !!
see: ‘For Expatriates in China, Creative Lives of Plenty’ – by DAN LEVIN. Published Jan 8, 2010. THE NEW YORK TIMES
these 2 photos of ALFREDO – are in the accompanying photo ‘link’ . . .
the caption reads:
“While some expat artists find fame in China, others seek anonymity (sic). One afternoon in August 2007 the Beijing police burst into ALFREDO MARTINEZ’S hotel room, which was filled with drawings of guns and bombs, and demanded to know if he was a terrorist. The maid had found the sketches, which looked very much like blueprints, and the hotel alerted the authorities.” PHOTO BY MIKA MATTILA
“Mr. Martinez, a 6-foot-2-inch, 300 pound Brooklyn native, stood his ground. ‘You idiots,’ he said. ‘I’m an artist. Either artist me or get out.’ The men in uniform left, but Mr. Martinez, 43, did not. Today he remains in Beijing, spending time at a 24 hour Internet cafe and squatting ata friend’s countryside hut, where he assembles models of assault rifles and draws weapons on paper.” PHOTO BY SHIHO FUKADA/THE NEW YORK TIMES
so, just in case you are just joining us !!
~ here’s a brief summary of ALFREDO’S BASQUIAT CAPER !! as first reported by artnet !!
see: FBI BAGS PURPORTED BASQUIAT FORGER/6/25/02 !!
~ a quick pictorial flashback to the JOSH HARRIS / PSEUDO DOT.COM / QUIET GLORY – DAYS !!
JOSH HARRIS (center) and ALFREDO MARTINEZ (at right) – when they strode the streets of downtown NYC – as the kings – they were – of the underground art scene – supported by Josh’s multi-million dollar, as in $86 million !! – internet gold pile, (Josh founded and IPO’d – JUPITER COMMUNICATIONS – the very first internet trend tracking company – for those of you who read the business pages !!). and yes !! they ruled !! this was the start of QUIET – Josh’s million dollar Millennium party – later to become the starting point of Ondi Timoner’s Sundance winning (2009) WE LIVE IN PUBLIC. This photo footage was taken in Dec 1999 – as QUIET was just evolving from the seed of an idea, a distraction to offset Josh’s chagrin – that his girlfriend had taken off to go skiing in Aspen without him !! – to the full-blown mind-boggling party and first 24/7 live streaming surveillance internet all-artist, as in hard-core artist, not Bravo baby-steps artist !! – ‘reality’ show – mother of them all !!
PHOTO COURTESY: WE LIVE IN PUBLIC
ALFREDO MARTINEZ (center) designed, built and ran – the QUIET shooting gallery featured in the film. He acquired all the legal permits to run it as a movie ‘prop’ with all the necessary safety regulations. anyone could come in and learn to shoot – assault rifles, real ones of course. under supervision, of course. and everyone did !!
PHOTO COURTESY: WE LIVE IN PUBLIC
see: WE LIVE IN PUBLIC – THE MOVIE / OFFICIAL WEBSITE !!
NANCY SMITH. since people always ask me – here is the earliest photo I could find – of me – when I first hooked up with Alfredo – some time pre-1999. in the streets of Soho. I did his p.r. and helped him build his guns and papier-mached the big pieces on paper – for his early shows. I had met him at an early Mariko Mori show – and was willing to work for trade of (his) artwork – so there ya go !! the galleries would also kick in, sometimes several thousands of $$ – to make sure my organizational skills – kept the shows on track !! it was Alfredo who brought me to Josh – when Josh wanted to buy a mint condition historically important – Early American quilt for a pal’s wedding present – and the rest is history. I guess. I actually brought him a Mennonite antique wool Log Cabin quilt – from the 1880′s !! (it cost $5,000 at the time.) I even remember Josh’s first words on learning about those early American quilts – “are you telling me – this is a spiritual artifact ?” Josh was nothing – if he wasn’t a quick study !! you guys – still really haven’t caught up to him !!
PHOTO: VALERIA
(note: I’m clutching the protective pouch – of my just beginning-to-be ubiquitous 35mm camera !! which my friend Valeria – had used to take the photo.)
~and, more to the point:
below are some pix Alfredo sent me last year or so, from China. I believe they were taken in the heyday of his time with BYRON HAWES – !! though no credit was given for the photographer.
~MATT BUA/CATAMOUNT PEOPLE’S MUSEUM !!
August 9th, 2010
meanwhile, closer to home – MATT BUA has an ‘organic’ site specific art project – installation/event – going on upstate !! in the Catskills !! and, most strikingly – it’s in the shape of a cat !! a big cat, a bobcat !!
it’s an open-to-all ground-root’s up – “people’s museum” !!
. . . “a handmade People’s Museum has been constructed in Catskill, NY in the form of a lounging bobcat using discarded tree branches and cut offs from local mills. The interior of this over-sized Lynx Rufus houses a collection of materials and displays celebrating the people, stories and history of the Catskill Mountains. Content for displays are collected from both historical organizations and the surrounding community. The museum has a unique focus of seamlessly blending the stories, visions and personal collections of residents with the voices of historians The folk legends, urban myths and favorite, almost forgotten tidbits on display make this new public space a place to soak in what this area is really all about.
Do you you have a favorite story your grandfather told you ? An old photo of the state that you really like ? A memory of a building that once stood ? . . . A vision of the future ? Bring it ! Tell it !”
you can see & read more of Matt’s “new museum”, as well as go back thru his initial sketches, thoughts and research,
here: bobcathouse.blogspot.com !!
MATERIAL COLLECTION DAY: SATURDAY, AUGUST 14, 2010 / noon – 3 PM !!
when – you can get a sneak preview of the town’s newest museum – and make sure to bring your OWN !! local stories, ideas, books, xeroxed notes of interest, photos and artifacts to add to the museums growing collection . . .
THE OPENING DAY – CELEBRATION – WILL TAKE PLACE: SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2010 / noon to 6 PM !!
you can find a map to the area here: THE CATAMOUNT PEOPLE’S MUSEUM !!
p.s. this calls for another – little flashback – from the artlovers’ archives !!
the very first time we encountered MATT BUA was at a funny great show in the summer of 2005 !!
it was called – SASQUATCH SOCIETY !!
MATT BUA – beside his ‘collective’ piece (made with JESSE BERKOWETZ) – it’s the crazy wooden hand-built framed canvas to his right – in the background !! SASQUATCH SOCIETY, Sixtyseven, Chelsea, NYC.
opening night reception, JULY 28, 2005.
PHOTO: NANCY SMITH
in fact, here’s the link to the report: GOOD-BYE TO SUMMER 2005 !!
it’s only a short 5 years ago, but how things have changed !! – but, it’s a definite fun trip back – !!
and yeah, even there among the bigfoots – you can find some seeds – to this summer of 2010′s hand-made ‘wood-based’ – harvest !!
ALL PHOTOS COPYRIGHT: NANCY SMITH
~FREE LIFE CENTER OPENS To-NITE at NEEDLES & PENS/SF !!
August 6th, 2010and in a funny reverse –
FREE LIFE CENTER – A TOURING – MODULE DIY – ART INSTALLATION by MARK WARREN JACQUES & SETH NEEFUS !!
out of PORTLAND, OREGON !!
OPENS – AT NEEDLES & PENS – in SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA !! TO-NITE – FRI AUG 6, 2010 / 7-10 pm !!
with musical performances by PIONEER, TEMPIST FUGIT & OLD FRIEND as well as VALERIE GEORGE !!
check out: the NEEDLES & PENS website for the details !!
the show runs thru AUGUST 31, 2010.
also most def !! check out the FREE LIFE CENTER website – !! – which features a quick-time video of the FREE LIFE CENTER going up, at a previous gig – along with some great banjo-sounding gui-tar strumming – !!
see: FREE LIFE CENTER !!
from the NEEDLES & PENS press release:
“MARK WARREN JACQUES and SETH NEEFUS are two Portland-based artists embarking on a dream. Free Life Center houses their optimism and creativity, and you are invited to join them as they take their mobile art center on a nomadic journey.
Inspired by the community of free thinkers around them , they bring knowledge of earthy spirituality and simplicity to encourage others to share the ‘free life’ through hosting an experience of music, art, skillshare, storytelling, and creativity.
Free Life Center is a large scale freestanding installation crafted from salvaged building materials. the one-room structure emanates the artists’ homespun aesthetic and their commitment to a high level of DIY craftsmanship. The construction is modular (built in sections) and can be adapted to suit a variety of configurations along their journey, whether it is a traditional gallery space or a site-specific event outdoors.
These vagabond dreamers will host community events, musical performances, workshops, drawing parties, and more within the walls of the Free Life Center at all stops along their Art-tour starting in June 2010. From the structure itself, to the art, inspiration, collaborations and experiences of their newest project, mark and Seth hope to spread ideas that can lead to a more healthy, happy, and creative free life.” – Leslie Miller, Pacific Northwest College of Art
~YACHT PLAYS SEAPORT – To-NITE !!
August 6th, 2010HEADS UP !!
YACHT PLAYS THE SOUTH STREET SEAPORT/NYC – TO-NITE – FRI AUG 6, 2010 – at 8 PM !!
ADMISSION FREE – IN AN OPEN AIR CONCERT – PRESENTED BY THE RIVER TO RIVER FESTIVAL !!
we first caught the awesome YACHT – aka JONA BECHTOLT !! – out of Portland, Oregon – when he played at CINDERS – way back in 2007 – !!- SAT APRIL 14, 2007 – to be specific.
it was an amazing night – the other band up – was the also awesome beyond belief: TELEPATHE out of Brooklyn !!
the artwork on the wall was by art collective – SPACE 1026 – out of PHILLY !! no kidding the night rocked !!
art + music = BELIEVE IN ME !!
here are some archival pix – from the night !!
YACHT = aka JONA BECHTOLT – says hi – just before he goes on “stage” !!
there was just enough time for him to show us some of his recent CD releases . . .
some of which included or featured – some of his own far-out intense artwork !!
more – early CD artwork by YACHT !!
onstage – YACHT – was a one-man – explosion of energy, word, and song !!
it got hot – in the small CINDERS storefront gallery. real quick . . . the place was packed.
SPACE 1026 – out of Philly – artwork on the wall.
CINDERS co-founder KELIE BOWMAN at the small venue – but super intense, out-size YACHT performance !!
among the for-sale offerings – on the CINDERS bookshelf that night . . .
BRIAN CHIPPENDALE’S – BIG HARD COVER COMIC BOOK !!
and CINDERS co-founder – STO’s limited edition print – ‘BELIEVE IN ME’ !!
ALL PHOTOS COPYRIGHT: NANCY SMITH. NYC, APRIL 14, 2007
see: the original post: YACHT / TELPATHE at CINDERS !!
see: the post on YACHT’S CD artwork !!
see: YACHT on MYSPACE !!
~JOSH HARRIS/WE LIVE IN PULIC, RULES !!
July 27th, 2010
so, yep here is the MOMA – MUSEUM OF MODERN ART NYC – BROCHURE OF EVENTS FOR JULY 2010 !! – starring JOSH HARRIS !!
in the see-thru custom built – community !! – shower – he had designed and built for QUIET – the Pseudo Millennium Party – featured in WE LIVE IN PUBLIC !!
(and ya, you better believe there were a plenty of live action camera feeds – directed on that baby.
you coudld watch the action, 24/7 – in the bubble dining room – in real time !!
and yah, I took showers in it – but alone – and, with a huge fleece blanket wrapped around me !!)
it had huge hot water aplenty – unlike Josh’s multi-million dollar custom-built Broadway at Spring St. loft !! but, that’s another story !!
THE BIG QUESTION: does Josh finally feel – like he’s being taken – seriously – for – a bonafide artist – ala JEFF KOONS and DAMIEN HIRST – ?? – gracing the MOMA brochure thus – instead of the C.E.O. of a ‘fake’ company – let alone the “biggest internet guru – you’ve never heard of” – !!
hope so !! and yo, Josh – try to remember your pals on the way, up. as if !!
~MY PLASTIC HEART, HURTS !!
July 27th, 2010
ok, if you are truly on a shoestring collecting budget – there is still plenty of opportunity to score !!
name one place? MY PLASTIC HEART – 210 FORSYTH – in the Lower East Side – almost right next door, if not exactly next door to the HALF GALLERY & right around the corner from the LANDMARK SUNSHINE MOVIE THEATRE !!
where they seem to have plenty of MATT SIREN – GHOST GIRLS – at $45 a pop !!
and in an amazing ‘right on’ range of colors.
the black head, on the right – that’s the way the MATT SIREN – GHOST GIRL looks – inside the package !!
it’s the very last few days to catch the current featured show – here’s a little sampling.
‘Slippery Slope’ by Robots Will Kill (RWK).
mixed media, 11 x 14 in. ($150).
‘I AM THE FUTURE’ – Dacosta !!
digital print on archival stock, 13 x 19 in.
detail, ‘I AM THE FUTURE’ – Dacosta.
‘Billi Kid Sinatra Stencil’ – by Billi Kid
spray paint & stencil on wood. 12 x 12 in.
more MATT SIREN – GHOST GIRL boxes – line the wall.
talk ’bout color range – would be hard-pressed – to choose a box !!
and love love the graphics. the lay-out. the font. the shadows. and, the muted off-colors !!
apparently, I’m not the only one with a ‘make a choice’ dilemma !!
ALL ABOVE PHOTOS – COPYRIGHT: NANCY SMITH
. . . and opening – this FRIDAY – JULY 30, 201O !!
‘CHAPTER ONE – THE CONFRONTATION – ROHBY VS PHU’ – !!
the show runs JULY 30 – AUGUST 13, 2010 !!
check out: MY PLASTIC HEART !! NYC !!
~chasing summer’s art !!
July 15th, 2010
ANNE EASTMAN has really got her ‘mobile’ art – down. it still might be beyond the reach of most of ya – but that’s your problem. and at $4,000. (!!) – it’s a no-brainer, probably the sleeper of the season.
ANNE EASTMAN, ‘The Importance of Doing Nothing’, 2009.
Iridescent plexi mobile, wood frame, stretched fabric. 24 x 24 x 24 in. ($4,000)
BILL BRADY/ATM GALLERY – 542 West 24th St – up thru July 23, 2010.
also at ATM – in the back room: PETER SUTHERLAND, ‘Ice Cream and Tacos’, 2010. two different looping videos . . .
and don’t miss the small TOMOO GOKITA, in the office !!
across the street, a big ROY LICHTENSTEIN offering – brought the desire to get back to ATM, and re-check that ANNE EASTMAN mobile out again !!
ROY LICHTENSTEIN, ‘STILL LIFES’, up till JULY 30, 2010 – GAGOSIAN GALLERY, 555 W. 24th St.
also on the way to check out the Lichtenstein show – JOE BRADLEY with his new baby son, BASIL, and baby mama VALENTINE !!
later on 23rd St – NATE LOWMAN.
and, MELISSA BROWN.
. . . they were on their way to the opening of ‘Shred’ at Perry Rubenstein – where we caught, for the first time, the elusive, but mighty talented BRIAN DOUGLAS aka ELBOW-TOE !!
he was way happier hanging out with fans – than being photographed !! no kidding.
but his piece was really great.
BRIAN DOUGLAS (ELBOW-TOE), ‘Bears’, 2010. cut paper glued on birch panel.
35 x 48 in. ($12,000.)
the show also featured a nice SHEPARD FAIREY .
SHEPARD FAIREY, ‘Big Brother is Watching You’, 2010, retired stencil, mixed media on paper.
44 x 30 in. ($20,000.)
though I preferred the SWOON offering, ‘HELICOPTER’, 2010.
screenprinting on collaged paper with handpainting. 73 x 52 in. ($14,000.)
esp the access to checking out the collage work !!
along the border edges of the piece.
and the draftsmanship of the screenprinting.
‘Shred’ was curated by CARLO McCORMICK and runs thru AUGUST 27th at PERRY RUBENSTEIN on 23rd St.
ALL PHOTOS COPYRIGHT: NANCY SMITH
~ONDI TIMONER & WE LIVE IN PUBLIC !!
July 8th, 2010
ONDI TIMONER and ROBERT REDFORD.
SUNDANCE INSTITUTE DIRECTORS LAB, UTAH. JUNE 2010.
PHOTO COURTESY/INTERLOPER FILMS
more info on this conference and a brief up-date on WE LIVE IN PUBLIC – to post shortly in artlovers’ MOVIE REVIEW SECTION !!
in the meantime, check this out !!
Ondi’s team just sent us a great link to a video-interview with Ondi – put out by the AMBULANTE FILM FESTIVAL , where WE LIVE IN PUBLIC recently enjoyed a special presence. The festival, in Mexico was founded by actors GAEL GARCIA BERNAL and DIEGO LUNA . . .
read more: 4th AMBULANTE FILM FESTIVAL/LA TIMES !!
there’s one priceless quote in that LA TIMES link:
“the actors, and the director of the festival, ELENA FORTES, said they wanted to challenge the assumption that documentaries are boring” !!
yo, everyone knows – DOCS RULE !!
here’s the link to the interview: ONDI TIMONER on WE LIVE IN PUBLIC/AMBULANTE FILM FESTIVAL !!
what’s so great about the clip, is Ondi relating how our Pseudo / JOSH HARRIS dot.com millions NYC-based downtown Millennium Artist Party – QUIET – started it all off !!
plus the clip actually has a really cool sound track, and is edited really sweetly.
at the very beginning – the ‘underground’ artist bunker based on Japanese pod hotels and archival footage of Nazi concentration camp prisoners stacked one on top of the other – goes up. it will house over 100+ in-house production crew and artist guests – as well as quite a few live wires. and not, just as in characters. literally, each bunker was wired for 24/7 surveillance and had its own small screen for choosing among several live action channels of the multi-faceted event.
JEFF GOMPERTZ and JOSH HARRIS.
Jeff built the bunker pod hotel – with a lot of input from Josh.
he had to put it up pretty damn fast – like in one week, two weeks – tops.
though it’s come down through legend and the media – as being described as an “underground bunker hotel” – though it was a truly a hotel, underground is used in the rebel sense – it was fabricated to look like an underground bunker, but it was actually installed on the 2nd or 3rd floor of an old manufacturing loft building on Lower Broadway near Chambers St. what was really underground – was the art scene that Josh tapped to make it all happen – a raw frontier downtown art scene – where the only things you had to have – were an ability to capture Josh’s A.D.D. T.V. baby – attention span – and, not, that’s NOT !! be affiliated with an established gallery. from there on in – it was one big wide-open and really wild scene. talk about 24/7 artist par-tay !!
of course any hotel, downtown or not – underground bunker or not – had to come up with some sort of eating option – as in FOOD !!
the dining room at QUIET serviced the 100+ artist residents and guests – and was most def not – bunker – it was 4 star. for real. with its own 4 star Asian chef and 4 star meals. 3 meals a day. and completely FREE. the seating arrangements could get a little intense – but let’s not go there. it was wired too.
the bubble wrap interior and the creative dining menu, and even some over-the-top table-top performances were the brain child of OWEN BUSH. the bubble dining room, and small custom kitchen – were actually built in the adjoining building. a one or two story storefront that used to be a famous photographer’s studio at the time of the civil war. After QUIET it morphed into the LEO KOENIG gallery and CANADA was downstairs. there was a lot of rivalry.
actually rivalry ruled. everywhere, and all the time. but particularly between these two after-the-shock of QUIET gallery venues. Leo used to block off the entrance to the stairway leading to CANADA at his openings – with a big piece of wooden board – so CANADA couldn’t ride on his coattails !!
and, it’s really true – what Ondi says – that everybody there – would have opted to stay there forever, if they could have. it wasn’t so much the community – as the intense anti-community !! – the rush of the 24/7 rivalry and jousts to stay in Josh’s favor, in the spotlight and in the dough !! big time. big time money. big time rivals. kept you in high-gear production mode double-time. no fake wannabes there, you could get shot – it was that intense. plus like Ondi says – free meals 3 times a day. free pod hotel lodging, and a huge dot.com budget. not to mention – the never-ending open bar driven parties.
speaking of which – all you new generation VAMPIRE fans.
nobody’s saying this, in the mainstream media press or in the various festival interviews – but it’s true.
the downtown VAMPIRES of New York City came out of the shadows of their daytime hiding jobs – to run a lot of the QUIET parties. daytime didn’t exist at QUIET. It was nighttime, party time all the time.They even had their own huge super intense VAMPIRE NEW YEAR 2000 PARTY, on the night before New Year’s Eve proper !! JUDGECAL, aka CAL – the leader of the pack – worked for Josh at Pseudo and also ran the war video game installation on the (real) underground basement floor, right next to Alfredo’s shooting gallery, and the now infamous interrogation room !! At some of the real early parties – you could even score your very own custom-made pop-on fangs !! on the spot. no kidding. I know because – I was there. I witnessed it first-hand. and, no I personally – didn’t get pop-on fangs. but I was really and truly – honored, mke that fascinated – that Cal and the Vampires chose my quilt installation space – also adjacent to the shooting (as in guns) gallery in the real basement – for their wild and ritualistic party-hearty pre-NEW YEAR 2000 all night bash !! they were not evil, they were just intense. much very wired into the cosmic forces and rhythms of the natural primordial world. celebrating the Millennium – was a natural. after awhile there was no day and there was no night at QUIET, at some point it all meshed. there were no windows. there was no sunlight. and if you were working behind the scenes for Josh – you were working 24/7. you just crashed – in that damn pod hotel – until it became an orgy – but like Ondi says, “that’s a narrative” for another time. another person. put it this way, I dug the Vampires over the quasi-porn stars.
that was the thing about Quiet – it had this amazing range. from day to night, vampires to college kids proposing Zen gardens on the rooftops. guns to quilts. Josh would arrange to have anybody who pretty much made a contribution to the creative energy – ‘financed’ and installed – with the one hand, while he deliberately pushed buttons and sabotaged others – with the other. the 360 degree world of human nature – from creative genius to puppet master. dot.com CEO to Luvvy. in other words: the works. looking both backwards and forwards. making things and tearing them down. the juice, the in-the-moment – was unbelievable.
. . . and, I do remember when Ondi got hired !! like she says here, in this Ambulante clip – “so, I go hired for this job” – to film QUIET 24/7 for the live action feeds – with such matter-of-fact countenance – yet with such look-back-in amazement realization. She was just, what 31 ? when she approached Josh for work. Josh liked the rough cuts of ‘DIG!’ that she had to show him !! and gave her the job. that’s the way it worked. and p.s. she had a large film crew with her 24/7.
see: ONDI TIMONER/WIKIPEDIA !!
what can I say. the only words – that every struggling young artist who hits the Big Apple wants to hear, and what ultimately makes QUIET and WE LIVE IN PUBLIC such a rush: was that yes !! at QUIET and in WE LIVE IN PUBLIC – indie talent could prevail. raw talent could win. and raw talent could rule.
just to make sure you got the picture right: make that . . . nothing-to-lose talent. end-of-the-world and beginning of the Millennium talent. fulcrum and vortex of the very beginning birth of the internet – talent. 100% straight up – Indie talent. rock bottom NYC underground talent. raw and rough cut. burning the night, losing the day – and owning the city. for 2 weeks. at the rock bottom day zero crossroads of this crazy millennium century. and its only, what – one decade later.
under-written and funded by an eccentric dot.com visionary – only 10 years ago – a bunch of ground zero NYC artists and tech nerds – partied like it was the end of the world – under the no-holds-barred yin yang inspired – black and red PSEUDO logo.
the FEDS, the suits, they even sent in FEMA !! the NYPD and the NYFD thought we were a suicide cult !! or at the very least – ya’ll – pure anarchy in the heart of the country’s biggest cost of us, and they shut us down. the dot.com bubble burst, and Pseudo went belly-up.
Flash forward . . . just 10 puny years later.
and it’s starting to feel like the end of the world. except it’s – corporate anarchy that rules.
funny how – instead of a rogue artist group under a stark black and red Pseudo logo . . . now it’s the innocent green and yellow flower of the BP suits – that captivates the imagination, and rules the waves with their 24/7 live action ocean floor feed. and you thought you’d never live to see a bubble – you’d actually want to see busted. and you thought Pseudo – meant deceptive. I’m thinking just 10 years later – the gulf oil spill is only gonna make a bunch of outsider artists and nerdier than nerd computer geeks – look even more – Pseudo. out of this world. and right on message.
and, as the Millennium progresses – with each succeeding interview – Ondi seems even more amazed that she was there to “catch it”.
see: PSEUDO/Wikipedia !!
~TEKSERVE/INTERNATIONAL FASHION HIT !!
June 30th, 2010
IMAGE COURTESY/THE STREETFASHION+5XPRO
. . . we always knew our friends at TEKSERVE were great patrons of the arts, but wow – their give-away reusable canvas bag – is making international fashion headlines !!
thanks Kate – for the heads up !!
see: thestreetfashion+5XPRO/MARTEDI 29 GIUGNO 2010 !!
~TAYLOR McKIMENS/mini me !!
June 30th, 2010
was I surprised TAYLOR McKIMENS did such a great job of ‘installing’ Kathy’s inaugural show ? no way.
and in fact I had seen a ‘mini’ version of his new painting !! – in this little mini book he gave me last Spring.
this is the book laid flat – back cover & front cover.
it’s all of 4 sheets stapled together – with 2 staples !! – in the center. the book laid flat is 4-1/4 x 2-3/4 in. !!
(closed it’s 2 x 2-3/4 in. !!)
check out Taylor’s trademark – fly !! – at the top right hand corner.
the large painting in the ‘NOT QUITE OPEN FOR BUSINESS’ show – is the centerfold !!
here’s another ‘spread sheet’ – is it that supposed to be Taylor – on the right ?
Taylor comes from the deep South West !!
for more, check out his: website !!
more golden oldies !!
TAYLOR McKIMENS IN HIS BROOKLYN STUDIO. JUNE 2007.
MISAKI KAWAI, in pal TAYLOR McKIMENS’ STUDIO, BROOKLYN. JUNE 2007.
PHOTOS COPYRIGHT: NANCY SMITH
~MISAKI KAWAI/SECRET SCRAP !!
June 30th, 2010
IMAGE COURTESY: MISAKI KAWAI STUDIO
it was fun to see Misaki’s work in the THE HOLE inaugural show – esp because Kathy Grayson’s curatorial sensibilities tend to tilt to the very intense, and even grotesque !! and wow – guys it’s summertime !! doesn’t that count for anything – !!
talking about Misaki – her studio has just put a new limited edition handmade zine – ‘Secret Scrap’ !! In a small of edition of just 50, it is compiled from her drawings and “handmade scrap collage” !! it’s 24 pages, 4-1/2 x 6 in. produced in color ink jet and rope bound for $20 !!
you can see more about it on her website: MISAKI KAWAI/SECRET SCRAP !!
in fact her website is a nice summertime cruise: MISAKI KAWAI !!
SECRET SCRAP COVER/IMAGE COURTESY: MISAKI KAWAI STUDIO.
FLASH – FROM – THE PAST !! talk about GOLDEN OLDIES !!
here’s a couple of early pix of MISAKI – in HER BROOKLYN STUDIO, taken JUNE 2007 !!
PHOTOS COPYRIGHT: NANCY SMITH
~THE HOLE INAUGURAL SHOW OPENS/TO-NITE & MY BAD !!
June 26th, 2010
yes, that HOLE OPENING – to-nite – is the KATHY GRAYSON & PALS – inaugural opening !!
104 GREENE ST bet PRINCE & SPRING in SOHO . . . SAT JUNE 26, 2010 / 6-9 !!
and yep, a lot of people are calling the title of the gallery – more than – a slight tad unfortunate !!
kind of in that sad AUREL SCHMIDT take – when she’s in that desperately seeking attention mode . . . know what I mean ??
. . . and, if you think the title is a bad omen of things to come – and why are those smart ass girls so defensive – when we know they are bad ass to the core – check out the first image on their press release/website. LOL. well, wow – thank god they changed that (previously posted) sleazy one. the new one is actually way better. well but wait. maybe it does come round – as the images do seem to revolve. you’ll know it – when you see it – beer froth (??) on a butt naked Barbie doll-type butt on the (clean) beach with a Freudian beer bottle – is the best way to put it. art from behind, get it ??
catch: ART FROM BEHIND !!
& catch: the first 2 press releases on the gallery’s minimalist, way cool website !!
actually – the ‘button’ logo reminds us of PATRICK GRIFFIN’S work – and if he’s on the agenda – then – things are looking up. . . it’s also maybe the best way to say HOLE GALLERY, which is, by not !! the fact that this first – ‘NOT QUITE OPEN FOR BUSINESS’ – exhibit, a group show of “unfinished art, unfinished poems and unfinished symphonies” – has been handed over to TAYLOR McKIMENS to pull off !! – and which promises over 20 local artists !! just might make it – a reason to celebrate summer in the hot grimy gritty city – to-nite !! one thing’s for sure – everybody is gonna be watching, to see – if – they can pull it off.
but, more to the point – I wonder if they’re gonna be able to pull off – some booze ?? and I don’t mean beer. I guess frozen Margaritas – in plastic cups – might be asking for too much ??!!
Rob Pruitt – where are ya – when we need ya most ?
UP-DATE: SUNDAY JUNE 27, 2010 – 10:30 AM
MY BAD !! & PIX FROM THE OPENING – WHICH WAS DRY, AND HOT – BUT FUN ANYWAY, IN A DARK KIND OF WAY. . .
my bad !!
AUREL SCHMIDT finally gets – raw – right !! and we all know – that is the true meaning of: hole !!
oh you bad girrrls !! when I got home – there was big doc on COURTNEY LOVE playing out on MTV !!
self portrait by AUREL SCHMIDT, ‘For Lucien’, 2010. pencil and colored pencil on paper. 7 x 10 in.
what helped – was that she went against grain, keeping the image small – in a room full of ego-sized pieces . . as well, the perspective, duh, and color aspects – transcended any easy sleaze write-off. even from moi.
former DEITCH DIRECTOR & now: THE HOLE DEAL – in her own right – super curator of the dark, she hopes (!!) – KATHY GRAYSON and the show’s design heart – TAYLOR McKIMENS !!
my bad, again. Taylor did not organize the show – it’s all Kathy curated thru and thru – and pretty predictable as such, but that’s ok – if it means 20 more talent plus artists – get their work shown . . . the big apple is big enough. Taylor designed and produced the installation !! a big, can we say: BOBO !! inspired – riff on ‘construction’ materials left lying around after the fact !! great break-up of the space !! great off-key hues. pretty funny. well actually, pretty comic !! that pale green plank of wood behind Aurel’s drawing above – completely f-a-u-x !! – and, Taylor McKimens produced !!
and, just what the doc called for – cause otherwise, except for this high ceiling-ed going nowhere alcove in the very front, the exhibition space proper – was pretty much – just a hole in the wall – with low ceilings and narrow at that that. with ugly exposed brick walls. hey, space is space – eat your heart out !!
yep – that’s a STEVE POWERS enamel on aluminum sign – 20 x 8 ft.
it says: ‘If You Were Here I’d Be Home Now’ !!
there was no way to step back and get a full shot. in fact – hooray for sites that can’t be photographed – you couch potato – you’ve got to get off your butt – and get there to see it for yourself. its gorgeous . . .
guess that wall – might function as a kind of a ‘guest’ alcove for large, narrow pieces ?
then the show proper started – with a sweet note, and probably thanks to Taylor – MISAKI KAWAI, ‘White Fluffy’, 2008. acrylic on canvas . 202 x 20 in.
(sorry guys – there were no prices on the public / price list ??)
TAYLOR McKIMENS. ok I bet you finally start to hear a lot about Taylor, aside from forever being beamed up – outta these pages – with this large painting. it’s found pretty much at the end of the somewhat winding exhibit, and shows that a genius piece can be exhibited in what look looks like a former office warren with low ceilings and still soar. white box gallery or not . . . I’m still calling Taylor the Jackson Pollock of his generation. period. drips. get it ?
yep, she’s blowing bubbles – amidst the drips !!
Taylor’s pal – Philly-based MATT LEINES – had a nice wall too – his work looked great splayed out on the faux McKIMENS pegboard !!
CANADA’S MICHAEL WILLIAMS had a show stopping piece – as well.
MICHAEL WILLIAMS, ‘Unfinished Face’, 2010. oil on unprimed canvas. 52 x 68 in.
on the right – ANDREW JEFFREY WRIGHT had a very cool – piece in the show too.
with him MARIA and NOAH LYON. if you are in STOCKHOLM – you can catch the last week of Noah’s show at STENE PROJECTS !! and/or you catch a nice head trip by hitting his website: RETARD RIOT !!
ANDREW JEFFREY WRIGHT , ‘Art Blog’ !!
you gotta love it. or what !!
even SWEENEY had a great piece in the show – loved that it was – star shaped portrait !!
detail, SPENCER SWEENEY. ‘Yet To Be Titled’. 2010. mixed media on canvas.
5 pointed star at 47 x 47 in.
IO. and yes, she had work in the show too.
raw looking photographs.
what would a KATHY GRAYSON show – be – without ROSSON CROW !!
with her on the left: L.A. dealer HONOR FRASER.
up close and beautiful: HONOR FRASER and ROSSON CROW.
there were several large ROSSON CROW paintings in the show – this was my fave.
and in that back room alleyway – alongside the ROSSON CROW and TAYLOR McKIMENS canvases – guess who ??
BARRY McGEE – a mechanized ‘tagger’ !!
albeit a slight bit – rickety – but a true beaut . . . no doubt about it.
maybe you could have him work on it a few more hours – make it slightly more hardy.
my bad !! – it’s gets the last word – on THE HOLE – from us !!
ALL PHOTOS – COPYRIGHT: NANCY SMITH
~AMY GARTRELL/LAST WEEK . .
June 22nd, 2010
AMY GARTRELL, and best bud – PATTERSON BECKWITH, arrive at the opening of Amy’s new show, ‘Whatever and Ever’ at DANIEL REICH. Sat, May 22, 2010. the show runs thru June 26, 2010
Amy’s show just got a sweet review in the NEW YORK TIMES !!
see: AMY GATRELL/KAREN ROSENBERG/THE NEW YORK TIMES/JUNE 18, 2010 !!
NOTE: THE SHOW JUST GOT EXTENDED – THRU JULY 17 !!
AMY greets long time pal – SPENCER SWEENEY, at the opening.
SPENCER SWEENEY .. . said to have done very well at BASEL – with big-time names like PETER BRANT and VAL KILMER – thrown into the mix !!
one of Amy’s flower photo collages, 2009. 25.5 x 19 in. ($5,000).
Amy told me – she puts the actual objects onto the scanner bed – to get the effects she is looking for – a kind of hyper realism – that actually goes very romantic.
AMY GARTRELL, ‘Couple’, 2010. ink on paper.
8.25 x 8.75 in. ($2,000).
detail, AMY GARTRELL, ‘Couple’.
one of the more unusual pieces is a kind of modernist dollhouse – that riffs off the modernist designs Amy has painted directly onto the gallery walls. it comes on a very stylized pedestal !!
AMY GARTRELL, ‘Compartmentalization is Cool’, 2010. Glazed ceramics, model chair, MDF, acrylic.
54 x 18 x 18 in. ($8,000).
on the right, gallerist DANIEL REICH basking in the cool summer eve of last month’s so reasonable weather !!
with him, artist/photog GRANT WORTH.
CYRUS has brought along his pet plant !! it’s a violet – and when he is not out and about – he hangs it from a hook in his Brooklyn garden !!
POSTED BY NANCY SMITH – JUNE 22, 2010 8:55 AM
PHOTOS: COPYRIGHT NANCY SMITH
~SHEPARD FAIREY: FULL CIRCLE !!
June 22nd, 2010well, there’s fame – and then, there’s F-A-M-E !!
NICK ANDERSON/6-17-10/HOUSTON CHRONICLE CARTOON – ON NEW YORK POST’S – PAGE SIX – JUNE 18, 2010
SHEPARD FAIREY, ‘JEAN MICHEL BASQUIAT’, the poster image for Shepard Fairey’s recently closed show at DEITCH PROJECTS, titled ‘MAYDAY’.
HOPE to S.O.S. – nice symmetry or what ?
POSTED BY NANCY SMITH – JUNE 22, 2010 8:15 AM
PHOTOS: COPYRIGHT NANCY SMITH
~HALF FAME !!
June 19th, 2010HALF FAME !! HAVE FAME !! AIN’T FAME – A BITCH ??!!
more pix . . . from the HALF GALLERY – ‘A WAYS A WAY’ opening . . . curated by MEREDITH DARROW and DEVENDRA BANHART. LOWER EAST SIDE, NYC. JUNE 8, 2010.
a small painting by KEEGAN McHARGUE. ‘Untitled’, 2007.
acrylic on canvas, 36 x 26 in. ($6,000.)
yes. that’s Half Gallery co-owner, and BRAVO game show ‘judge’ – BILL POWERS on the left.
the show featured an arrangement of new, and curious !! DEVENDRA BANHART works on paper . . . they were small, in the range of 12 x 9 in. , and very intense. eyeballs – that could almost be taken for, well – bullet holes. very different from the works of his, we have seen in the past, which were mostly spidery line and dot and dash drawings. and usually incorporating words – and done only in black ink. these were in color and had full color spectrum-inducing backgrounds. gouache and pencil on paper. the price range ? approx $1,800. not bad, at all.
my advice, scoop one up – before they blink !!
next to Devendra’s work – was another series of attention-grabbing – graphic pencil and gouache drawings by ADAM TULLIE. gorgeous, and mysterious !!, on their own terms – they made me immediately consider just how bizarre and unpredictable a turn – Devendra had taken. the works, again seemed as priced as close to the bone as one could get – $1,200 – and still be (almost) fair to the artist. it’s definitely a buyer’s market. I mean these are unique and very complicated pieces – and very complex ones at that – not prints. a decade ago, these would be print (multiple edition) prices !!
the artist behind those very intense drawings, was at the opening – ADAM TULLIE. He had just come in from Los Angeles, where, funny great fact – he is a roommate of Devendra’s !! guess that makes him, most enviably – just one degree of separation from the flame of fame – in what most certainly must be the very epicenter of cool and creativity in good ole San Francisco.
outside, artnet scribe CHARLIE FINCH was basking in the fame of local pundit glory !!
with him is KATE CERIGO, whom he has known ever since she was a tiny tot – running around many a downtown opening in the 80′s – including those of BASQUIAT and HARING – a true downtown, Rivington and the Bowery, Lower East Side storefront artist-bred kid !!
p.s. people keep asking Kate about her necklace !!
it’s a gold-plated punched hole template – a riff off those plastic canvas and yarn projects of camp days past – that comes in a kind of new age kit with a needle and some yarn, and you embroider your own design !! (yeah, I did Kate’s – well we collaborated – she put in some stitches too, how fun !!)
check it out – its put out by: return to me !!
then Charlie took me and Kate over to his favorite nite-time after-opening hang out – the BABY GRAND – !! – 161 Lafayette corner of Grand St. (duh !!) which just happens to be one tiny sweet slice of a Karaoke !! bar !! and, who knew – a star is born !!
Elvis in the house !! CHARLIE FINCH – warbles righteous !!
I guess – a finch is a finch is a finch !!
POSTED BY NANCY SMITH – SAT JUNE, 19, 2010 9:27 AM
ALL PHOTOS: COPYRIGHT NANCY SMITH