YO YO YO !! talk about a live wire !!
. . . we thought the BOBO show would be good – but we hadn’t a clue – it was well, well, beyond the pale. and well well beyond the uptight conceptualist shows – the New York Times has been crowing about for summer offerings. It reminded us of that super great BLACK & WHITE show, ‘INFINITE FILL’, that CORY ARCHANGEL curated for FOXY PRODUCTION – a couple of summers back. just beats all the competition hands down. period.
This is a conceptual show that EXPLODES !! LIFTS OFF !! & FIGHTS BACK !!
BRAINS, BRAWN and VISUAL BEAUTY. what can I say – this is the one to see. it’s a DYNAMO !!
The opening was great. electric. crowded. fresh smart kids. a lot of friends from Philly came in. the artists in the show – it was like walking on a mountain range – just turning from one super dynamo to the next. non-stop. what do they put in that Philly water ? or, maybe these guys just aren’t drained by trying to stay alive in NYC. put it this way, a room, ok a small one – in a Philly ‘art’ house costs $175/month – the same comparable (small) room in a Brooklyn artist house, even in Bushwick, forget Williamsburg, costs $750+ a month. you live in Philly – it seems you got lots of free time to blow-it up and put it out. ..and it looks like, maybe even – take-over.
‘BOBO on 27TH ST’ – is also a show on wheels – that is, a show with great timing. It is actually the artworld equivalent of ‘Wall-E’ !! if you can think and dream – beyond WALK & TALK !!
except BOBO is PIXAR !! minus a couple of million zeros – in the budget.
. . . we’ll take the last lines from A.O. SCOTT’S film review of ‘Wall-E’, published in the New York Times WEEKEND ARTS of FRIDAY, JUNE 27, 2008 – to start the dialog:
“The paradox at the heart of ‘Wall-E’ is that the drive to invent new things and improve the old ones – to buy and sell and make and collect – creates the potential for disaster and also the possible path away from it. Or, put another way, some of the same impulses that fill the world of ‘Wall-E’ – our world – with junk can also fill it with art.’ !!
here’s a couple of ‘teasers’ – photos from the opening – a whole !! photo report on the show – goes up next week !!
‘BOBO’S ON 27TH’ – CURATED BY BOBO – PHIL COTE, NICK PAYNE & DREW GILLESPIE
JULY 3 – AUGUST 1, 2008
FOXY PRODUCTION – 617 WEST 27TH ST – CHELSEA – NYC
note: summer hours … MON-FRI 11-6pm !!
futuristic ‘jukebox’ by BOBO – meet the artworld’s – ‘Wall-E’ !!
say hello – to our EVE !! a changing light form by BEN PHELAN.
YO YO YO – you go girl !! – an animated video … by ANNIE PEARLMAN, a local NYC artist, by way of Vermont – why does it take a village, that is, BOBO & PHILLY – to get this NYC talent – on the stage where she belongs ?
BOBO made the great ‘statement’ frame around the screen. including the plastic ‘garbage’ bags which are a bright, albeit subtle translucent – green and yellow, in reality. and put a beautiful plastic 3D case over the screen. Annie hadn’t seen it till the opening night & she loved it. what’s not to love. in a BOBO show.
just one aspect of this amazing #D piece by JESSE GREENBERG
ouch. BUDDHA DOG by BARKEV GULESSERIAN, not everyone in the show, is on the card.
the free form on the wall, near the ceiling. by BEN PHELAN.
LINDSAY BEEBE with her great ribald painting on the war, and down dirty anatomy !! of the sexes. hey, dude – what else do you think – bottomline – differentiates us, humans – from the robots ?
at less these guys ain’t sipping nutrients from straws & having test tube babies. this isn’t coarse – its the ultimate primal survival.
BRIAN McKELLIGOTT has the same kind of raw sex dialog going on, in his painting too – so you know – BOBO is trying to tell us, something !! beyond WALK & TALK !! art show.
scattered about, text messages from BRENT COWLEY – just in case, you miss the point that this is not just a show – in a gallery – but – a visual ‘cirque’ with a message . . . message in a bottle.
. . . a visual ‘clue’ on one of the BOBO constructed frames – that help the individual artworks – explode off the Foxy ‘white box’ walls.
. . . . what is it about this show – that makes me think this show is as close to giving birth, defining evolution and foreseeing the future – as 3 young musicians, named BOBO – in a space called FOXY – can get ?
more pix from the opening post EARLY next week.
~YO YO YO !!/BOBO !! |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | July 5th, 2008, 1:50pm
PHILLY’S … BOBO hits 27TH ST. – OPENING TO-NITE – THURSDAY JULY 3, 2008, 6-8pm
‘BOBO’S ON 27TH’ – CURATED BY BOBO: PHIL COTE, NICK PAYNE & DREW GILLESPIE
running JULY 3 – AUGUST 1, 2008
FOXY PRODUCTION – 617 WEST 27TH ST, CHELSEA – NYC
note: gallery is in summer schedule: open MON-FRI 11-6pm
featuring work by: LINDSAY BEEBE/MATT BERRIAN/BOBO/BRENT COWLEY/LIZZIE FITCH/JESSE GREENBERG/COLT HAUSMAN/MILES HUSTON/BRIAN McKELLIGOT – [would that be RUDY !! no, it’s not !!] -/ANNIE PEARLMAN/BEN PHELAN PIFAS/&/TED SEFCIK
. . . apparently BOBO isn’t just a band, or even an art band – they’re a collective that runs a house gallery, in the house where they live in Philly – where the rents are cheap & the living is easy – just to keep it brief, and cool. looks like they’ve got Philly humming & now they are bringing some of that hum to our city !!! MICHAEL GILLESPIE is letting them take over FOXY PRODUCTION for the summer. we happened to catch them last week – while they were just beginning to face up to the task of getting the BOBO show on the road, unpacked & and up and running. the opening is to-nite – can’t wait !!
from left: NICK PAYNE and DREW GILLESPIE of BOBO
PHIL COTE of BOBO – whoever, said curating a 10+ artist show was a stroll-in-the-park – was wrong !! NOT !!
at left, far out primal painting by LINDSAY BEEBE. the back wall – a collaboration by the 3 live wires that are collectively known as – BOBO – & which will showcase a live feed from BOBO on 9TH St. in PHILLY !!!
angular shaped far out primal canvas by BRIAN McKELLIGOT. BOBO created a total environment around their show. which including building up 3D plaster ‘frames’ around paintings, attaching protruding (colored) lights and, scattering a detritus of human existence on the floor.
here – we caught the genesis !!
NICK COTE. beside him a selection of small wild paintings by MATTHEW BERRAIN.
DREW GILLESPIE of BOBO (left). local JUSTIN SAMSON drops by after the JOHN CONNELLY PRESENTS opening of a smaller group show – ‘A. T. COMPLEX’ – with a much more minimalist thread – in which Justin has several really good pieces. definitely worth. Photos of that opening, last Thursday June 26, 2008 – post next week.
‘A. T. COMPLEX’ runs June 26 – August 2, 2008 at jcp on 27TH ST.
it’s looking to be really great. really new & fresh.
back wall by BOBO.
painting by LINDSAY BEEBE.
painting by BRIAN McKELLIGOT. BOBO built up the 3D frames, and all the other wild stuff, like the lights, going on around the art works.
paintings by MATTHEW BERRAIN.
there were actually just as many, if not more 3D pieces in the show – its just they weren’t unpacked yet !!
. . . p.s. we’ll fill in the artist’s credits – after we see the show to-nite. it was too chaotic at the time to stop for data !!
. . . . ‘pop-up’ painting by COLT HAUSMAN. it’s a (beautiful) rendering of Philadelphia’s City Hall !!
BEST OF PHILLY – believe it !!
‘FOXY PRODUCTION / INSTALL KIT’
FOXY PRODUCTION’S MICHAEL GILLESPIE knows a good thing when he see it – he has a caught a live wire by the tail !!
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH, JUNE 26, 2008
check out: the great pre-show presentation on the FOXY WEBSITE !!
check out: artlovers first happens upon BOBO/New York Underground Film Festival/March 24, 2007
. . . BOBO aspires to be “newspaper boys !! ”
check out: more pix of BOBO/New York Underground Film Festival/w. myspace link !!
check out: BOBO’S POSTER/BUSHWICK ART FESTIVAL 2007 !!
FOXY PRODUCTION
~PHILLY’S BOBO hits 27TH STREET !! |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | July 3rd, 2008, 12:09pm
. . . mirror, mirror on the wall – who’s got the best waterfall of all ?
last week !! to catch – ROB PRUITT’S – 1,000 crushed Viagra pills-infused, DIY waterfall – the aptly named – ‘VIAGRA FALLS’ !! in:
‘WHO’S AFRAID OF JASPER JOHNS?’ – A SHOW CONCEIVED BY URS FISCHER & GAVIN BROWN
running MAY 9 – JULY 12, 2008
TONY SHAFRAZI GALLERY – 544 WEST 26 STREET – CHELSEA – NYC
opening night – water falls – inside and out.
water cascades down the 2nd story entry stairway. we always knew that stairway must have had a reason . .
. . . say what – about being made from “renewable” resources. wonder what the budget was on this ?
ROB PRUITT, on the right, looks down on his manmade waterfall – a first of its kind – don’t think anybody ever thought this up before ? – with him, is SPENCER SWEENEY.
at the top.
a view of the waterfall, going down towards the entry doorway
the pump. at the bottom.
no there were no fish, not even goldfish . . . but, yes there were viagra pills crushed into the water.
handfuls were in little dish containers on the reception desk at the opening. we know someone. well, maybe our music critic, who grabbed a handful and sold them for $100 in Washington Sq. Park the next day !!
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH, from the night of the opening, MAY 8, 2008
see: the original post on the opening
TONY SHAFRAZI GALLERY
~ROB PRUITT/WATERFALLS |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | July 3rd, 2008, 11:01am
OLAFUR ELIASSON – ‘THE NEW YORK CITY WATERFALLS’
PRESENTED by the PUBLIC ART FUND
4 locations on the EAST RIVER
running JUNE 26 – OCTOBER 13, 2008
the 90 to 120 ft. tall water flowing (downwards !!) installations will operate from 7am to 10pm – 7 days a week. They will be lit after sunset. They have been designed to protect water quality, and aquatic life (from their pumps.) They also run on”green power” – electricity “generated from renewable sources”.
The local tabloids don’t seem that impressed – and only seem to be able to makes news out of how much the Falls cost to make – !! – and how much they are supposed to generate in extra tourist dollaers, with much text being given over to debating the feasibility of the gov’t provided estimate that . . . “the local economy will get at least a $55 million boost from the massive public artwork”. (NEW YORK POST/Saturday, June 28, 2008).
In fact, the The New York Post subtitled their article – “Tourism stream or $55M pipe dream”/”AWE, WHATEVER”/and concludes that .. “… visitors at the South Street Seaport seem hardly impressed by the waterfall art under the Brooklyn Bridge.”
According to the published reports – the Waterfalls were built on a budget of $15.5 million dollars – try to which truthfully seems like a big joke – even for a small nowhere, more serious minded – art “blog” like this one – and, even though New Yorkers usually like a big joke – esp if the money didn’t come out of their own taxpayer pockets, (though apparently almost 2 million did come from public funds – published reports have it as: $13.5 million in private donations – remainder from the Lower Manhattan Development Corp.) – they still didn’t seem in the mood for a big scam at this particular time – when everyone is being hit hard and harder. and city life gets tougher & tougher. unless your parents are movie stars, investment bankers, Euro moguls, or NYU big bucks parents – like the current breed of well funded spawn now happily at play – where (real) artists once used to roam. Supposedly the money went for materials and “salaries” – I’d love to see a break-down of those salaries !! Since this is a “non-profit” Public Art Fund venture – shouldn’t that info – be available for the public record ?
especially since one article (again my favorite source, the NEW YORK POST – just like Agent K – in MEN IN BLACK) – reports that EDC (Economic Development Corp.) President SETH PINSKY states that … much of the money generated (for the city) is directly due to the money spent constructing the $15.5 million waterfalls, in the form of salaries and materials. Pinsky goes on to say that .. since those salaries are then spent in the city on food and entertainment, the economic boom is closer to $23 million. . . . . whoa, wait a minute – if you read the press from the Public Art Fund – it’s pretty clear OLAFUR travels with or at least, starts with his own whole, self-contained in-house technical crew – and tell me – they don’t take their hi-end salleries and split back to Germany or Denmark or wherever they are from – as soon as possible ..
budget considerations & NYC grumpiness, aside – the waterfalls seem pretty enough – from the photos posted on their dedicated website –
check it out: nycwaterfalls !!
the PUBLIC ART FUND has some basic info on their website – though its pretty dull in format & even its site photos – are labelled incorrectly !! see: PUBLIC ART FUND
. . . . where according to their website, you can find out that … “OLAFUR ELIASSON was born in Copenhagen in 1967. He grew up in both Iceland and Denmark and currently divides his time between his family home in Copenhagen and his studio in Berlin – where STUDIO OLAFUR ELIASSON employs a team of 30 architects, engineers, craftsmen and assistants” … “who conceptualize, test, engineer, and construct installations, sculptures, large scale projects and commissions.”
. . . we’ll give the last word – on the city’s summer of 2008 – ‘pissed-off’ economic temperature, to a musician, who else better, to get it right … on the city’s authentic (as opposed to gentrified) soul – ANDY BUTLER of the band – Hercules and Love Affair – who was quoted in the New York Times, in a recent music review by HUA HSU, published in the Arts & Leisure Section, Sunday, June 22, 2008 – “Mr. Butler said, ‘New York isn’t so conducive to a party anymore,’ referring, in part, to the city’s stifling high cost of living.”
. . . don’t feel like seeing the falls myself, neither do most of my friends – day to day struggles – aren’t making us feel like care-free tourists, I guess, just the trampled underground. . . . but they look pretty enough, esp. in their diversity.
all photos below courtesy: PUBLIC ART FUND.
GOVERNOR’S ISLAND/PHOTO: BERNSTEIN PHOTOGRAPHY
PIER 35/PHOTO: BERNSTEIN PHOTOGRAPHY
BROOKLYN PIERS 4 & 5/PHOTO: BERNSTEIN PHOTOGRAPHY
BROOKLYN BRIDGE/PHOTO: PUBLIC ART FUND
~OLAFUR ELIASSON/WATERFALLS |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | July 3rd, 2008, 10:03am
first two photos: OLAFUR ELIASSON is a guest speaker at the ‘Public Art Fund Presents Tuesday Night Talks at the New School’, New School, NYC. MARCH 29, 2005
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
OLAFUR ELIASSON, and TOM ECCLES, who was at that time, the Director of the Public Art Fund.
(Mr. Eccles is now Executive Director of the Bard College Center for Curatorial Studies.)
check out: the original posting !!
the following series of photos: OLAFUR ELIASSON opens ‘Your engagement sequence’ at TANYA BONAKDAR, CHELSEA, NYC, APRIL 28, 2006
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
see: the original ‘Your engagement sequence’ post !!
~OLAFUR ELIASSON/archives |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | July 2nd, 2008, 6:43pm
