HARVEY SHIPLEY MILLER, head honcho of the JUDITH ROTHSCHILD FOUNDATION - about to depart in his signature drive - a chauffeur driven limo. CHRISTIAN HOLSTAD - OPENING - ‘LEATHER BEACH’ - a way scary S & M installation at Prince’s deli.
presented by DANIEL REICH GALLERY, MARCH 11, 2006.
PHOTO: NANCY SMITH

see: the original report: ‘on the other side’ !!

first posted on the home page: JAN 14, 2009.

see: ARTS GROUPS PROTEST DEFAULT ON GRANTS - by ROBIN POGREBIN/NEW YORK TIMES

HARVEY SHIPLEY MILLER is the sole trustee of the defaulting JUDITH ROTHSCHILD FOUNDATION.

OMG HARVEY !! - what’d ya do with all the dough ??!! - our resident big mouth - who requested NOT to be outed as the source of the following particular bit of very true local color - would like to say he isn’t surprised by funny biz at the JUDITH ROTHSCHILD FOUNDATION - that HARVEY SHIPLEY MILLER was sighted, even last year, “so drunk he was crawling on all fours” !! down some well-lit Chelsea Street. He also had a very young good looking boyfriend - with a brand new gallery - several years back. everyone always asked: and the gallery is funded by who ?
almost a fable.

too bad, think he spent a lot of that dough on new art, and yes thank god. cause the window he was supposed to service - really didn’t amount to much - truth be told. he certainly must have supported a big segment of the art scene - with his JUDITH ROTHSCHILD FOUNDATION funded contemporary drawing collection - and I bet the contemporary dealers are more sad than the unrecognized dead artists to see - him bottom out. or is that flame out. too bad. he was a cool enough guy to buy a couple of large ALFREDO MARTINEZ drawings, and even some ANDREW GUENTHER works on paper, too. that was when I used to cover ALFREDO, (and ANDREW GUENTHER, and a quite few others) - for artnet (2002-2004). Harvey told me he was a big fan of my down & dirty, sometimes even funny - ALFREDO MARTINEZ sound bites.

EASTERN DISTRICT LA MODE NOIR PRESENTS:
‘BLACK APPLE IS HOME’ - A PUBLIC SCHOOL EXHIBIT
OPENING RECEPTION: FRI JAN 15, 2020 / 7-10PM
the show doesn’t look to run more than a week ? FRI JAN 15 - SUN JAN 23, 2010
EASTERN DISTRICT - 43 BOGART ST - L TRAIN To MORGAN
FOOD & DRINK BY ROBERTA’S

see: PUBLIC SCHOOL !!
see: EASTERN DISTRICT !!

3 ARTISTS - AAKASH NIHALANI, MARIO BROS. & KAHBASM - of (COLLECTIVE) EASTERN DISTRICT - are going to introduce - EASTERN DISTRICT LA MODE NOIR - A COLLABORATIVE PROJECT BETWEEN EASTERN DISTRICT GALLERY & NEW YORK FASHION HOUSE - PUBLIC SCHOOL. IT LOOKS TO BE BLACK APPLE ART-INSPIRED PUBLIC SCHOOL-MADE GARMENTS - AND MOST SPECIFICALLY - T-SHIRTS. (AS IT TURNS OUT - NOT !!)

“All 3 artists through their different mediums of work have been trying to offer people a different perspective of New York (The Black Apple) whether it be addressing social issues or just wanting people to engage with their work using public spaces.
Public school finding perfection in imperfection, holding a pen in one hand and a sword in another.
Public School and Eastern District make their home - the Black Apple home / a platform of learning.
Please join us for the exhibit - ‘BLACK APPLE IS HOME’ - curated by the Black Apples.”
About the artists:

AAKASH NIHALANI’s - “street work consists mostly of isometric rectangles and squares. Using brightly colored tape - he selectively places these graphics around New York to highlight the unexpected contours and elegant geometry pre-existing in the city itself. All execution of his street level tape work is done on site, with little to no planning.”

MARIO BROTHERS - “the latest addition (!!??) to the Brooklyn art iconoclast - whose work consists of mixed media collages. MARIO BROTHERS live and work in Brooklyn, NY.” - and is a collective.

KAHBASM - is a painter, illustrator, landscape designer and graffiti artist based in New york. Working in all mediums from the street to the studio. Cash4’s work documents the American urban experience using simple iconography and nomenclature.”

UP-DATE: TUES JAN 19, 2010: OK !! - IT WAS DEF NOT A T-SHIRT SHOW - IT WAS A GROUP SHOW OF ART ON LEGIT WALLS - but due to the mean temperature on the street, i.e. the serious intent of the NYPD to shut these guys down - and, you cannot mess with the NYPD - even in a casual lighthearted way - as I guess some of these black apples have learnt - the hard way - seems like the NYPD has seriously taken a big bite out of their collective fun - they apparently don’t even feel safe in the legit white box - as opposed to the rough walls of the subway or street. even under assumed names. and as part of collectives !! (so no one individual can be held responsible unless - totally caught red-handed in the act). well, hitting up, make that - slicing up - commercial posters - was a big no no, duh !! though it made for a real live-wire mean streak, for a while there - it had the whole city - entranced. I mean can’t they lose the street brand and just use - new - assumed names for the gallery exhibits. you know, like POSTERBOY COLLECTIVE becomes MARIO BROS. COLLECTIVE. collective being the key word. a safety-in-numbers brand - if I ever did hear one.
guess not, too hardcore & too stubborn. in a nutshell: Black Apples !! and the people who love them !!
PUBLIC SCHOOL, OR WHAT !!

. . . so, from the get-go we were told, being a site that googles, and is pretty mainstream, I guess - that none of the artists were in the house . . . and, really we found out pretty quickly - the only way to approach the situation - was to take pix - and not ask names. period. plus: I don’t want to be a NYPD tracking site, either. though it was a gallery show. art on the walls. for legit sale. . . which seems to be a positive - heading in more productive & legal directions.
used to be when the (street) artists hit the gallery walls - and, they all crave recognition - they would cover their eyes, with finger gestures, bandannas, or shades, even hoodies. no more. it’s too mean out there. in the age of the internet - paradoxically anonymity rules. collectivity cloaks. we considered ourselves fairly lucky that we were even allowed to take pix of the crowd - in general.

HEAD DESIGNER - MAXWELL OSBOURNE - of PUBLIC SCHOOL.
not sure of PUBLIC SCHOOL’S ultimate connection to the show - except that they seem to be fans of Black Apples - in general.
read: their mission statement - for yourself !!

HEAD DESIGNER - DAO-YI CHOW of PUBLIC SCHOOL.

this table at EASTERN DISTRICT - kinda said it all:
“GAME ALWAYS SPOTS GAME”.

artwork by AAKASH NIHALANI - his street work doesn’t come with the mirrored reflection insert - shown in the gallery here, but it is the most gracious of all the street art around - hands down.

AAKASH NIHALANI.
see: AAKASH NIHALANI/Youtube !!
(yo. you posted it guys - its out there - alive & kicking - nada to do with me. you can’t cut it both ways.)
(I’m just trying to help you go, make that: get - legit.)

didn’t get the name of the next artist - !!

but we got the name of this Black Apple fan: LORI !!

PUBLIC SCHOOL ARTISTIC DIRECTOR and EASTERN DISTRICT GALLERY FOUNDER/DIRECTOR - MICHAEL ‘TIDO’ CABRERA.

black apples are beautiful - are they not ?

SEAN QUINCY - a young designer at PUBLIC SCHOOL.

the next group of work was by the art collective: MARIO BROS.
don’t ask, don’t tell.

by my count - according to variance in style - there were at least 3 different MARIO BROS - all collage artists & one sticker artist . . . or something like that. the other 2 were on the west wall.

what can I say - loved this duo - sublime.

loved the sticker - MARIO BROS, right. “newcomers to Brooklyn” sort of gave it away. this is a huge huge brand with a long long history - maybe - even the most universal of tags - even kids in elementary school - do it without even thinking.
with collage art made so ‘hot’ as in notorious by POSTERBOY - safety is in collaborative universal brands. the more artists who jump on the collective bandwagon - the better ?

hey, anybody could be - a ’sometime’ MARIO BRO.

the other MARIO BROS. collages were arrayed on this wall.

these seemed very classic. almost academic - hard to picture them in the context of illegal street art . . .

but of all the MARIO BROS. stuff - these seemed the most influenced by POSTERBOY - in their very preciseness.
but missed that large subway scale.
see: POSTERBOY/Youtube

not sure where one MARIO BRO. ends, and another begins, guess that’s the point.

these collages ranged in price from $750 - $1,000. they are all on the small side and unique.

leaving the realm of collage & collaborative behind - there was a great piece by - Cash4 !!

and then there was a big wall array by the so-called: KASMIR KAHBAZM !!

look like a couple of black apples to me !! - you didn’t have to be ‘technically’ black to be one - you just had to be - bad.
but, yo - just guessing. anybody’s guess - is as good as mine ?
and. like the man said - the artists weren’t present !!

not shy - JUAN DOE !!
he had the second show in the gallery - ‘MADE In BROOKLYN’ - back in FEB/MARCH 2009 !!
super talented - painter, cartoonist, illustrator - check out: ARTIST KNOWS BEST !!
“a place where art is more powerful than hate.”

not sure if he collaborated with those comic book hero - images on the MARIO BROS. collages behind him. though I guess that’s a good guess. I dunno maybe not ?
check out: an early JUAN DOE/MARVEL COMICS/Youtube !!

ALL PHOTOS (& GUESSES): NANCY SMITH

. . . trying to stay on top of the scene - and, its a downtime - relatively speaking for good ole NYC - is a loser’s proposition. first of all - ALFREDO MARTINEZ just made the NEW YORK TIMES, big time - our expat in CHINA !! and, more importantly - I find myself in the very same position Steven Sebring was in - a fleur on the floor - at her feet. I just can’t bear to edit any of this stuff - down !! what is it about this woman - that turns photogs to mush ? starting, I guess with Robert Mapplethorpe.
I stayed at the opening the whole 3 hrs. completely entranced. so, tell me the following needs a second edit.
as if !! I don’t know - but, no can do - with the same lovin’ hands - that hold this art baby’s camera.

at 63 - PATTI SMITH - still real and raw and wild. She wasn’t into having her photo taken, though I wanted to yell out - you look great . . . so I only took a few, of her - after all it was her night. and, she had been nice enough to answer my question about her Native American Indian ancestry. which was: “yes on her mother’s side - the Amagansett - but then they all moved to Canada”. She said they were just a farming tribe - that she wished they had been a warrior tribe - let me tell ya, Patti - there is no farming tribe - without the heavy-duty warriors - to keep the turf safe.

Patti seemed to be having the best time - when greeting pals, and taking them for tours of the show.

the current set of boots.

in the large back room installation - STEVEN SEBRING presented strikingly intense & extremely minimal photographs of 14 ’significant’ objects belonging to Smith - blown up to huge proportions. more on that - later.
STEVEN SEBRING - ‘BLACK BOOTS’, 2008. archival pigment print. edition 1/3. 42 x 32 in. ($12,500)

ok - that’s the second and last time I am gonna try to get her face - I’m gonna lay low - and wait for a time when she isn’t looking . . .

STEVEN SEBRING. he had no problem being photographed - but I would say over-all he seemed on edge over the show.
I heard I wasn’t the only one who felt his documentary needed one last closer call - final edit. but when you consider what a hard case she can be - you can only wonder at his years of access - and, all the material he was on-board for. and all the beautiful still photos, and film footage - he took. and, that she let him.

case in point, one of the first photos you encounter - when you enter the show.

STEVEN SEBRING, ‘CONEY ISLAND’ 1996. archival pigment print, ed. 1/3. 40 x 32 in. ($12,000).

talking about legends, MICHAEL STIPE showed up, and of all her friends - she seemed the happiest to see him.

no wonder, he was keeping it real. as usual.

more legends. filmmakers JONAS MEKAS, and ALBERT MAYSLES (’GIMME SHELTER’) - with STEVEN SEBRING and MICHAEL STIPE.

JONAS MEKAS - aka - ‘the godfather of American avant-garde cinema” - he worked with ANDY WARHOL, JOHN LENNON and ALLEN GINSBERG. very sharp radar - still !! and the nicest guy. very cool to a fellow photog (that would be me) with a super, make that - unrelentingly - curious mind.
see: JONAS MEKAS !!

ALBERT MAYSLES - he made ‘GIMME SHELTER’ (1970) - on the tragic 1969 Rolling Stones concert at Altamont Speedway.
see: ALBERT MAYSLES - rhymes with hazels !!

ok - here’s my best shot: PATTI SMITH and MICHAEL STIPE

greet …

CALVIN KLEIN.

… that woman on the right is JESSICA LANGE.

JESSICA LANGE.

ANNE DEXTER JONES.

part-time actor and jewelry designer WARIS AHLUWALIA, and filmmaker CHIARA CLEMENTE.

KELLY CUTRONE - she is the coolest of them all, you know of PEOPLE’S REVOLUTION and the HILLS !!
you know - she was - LAUREN CONRAD’s employer !!
see: KELLY CUTRONE !!
up-date: KELLY CUTRONE’S own !! reality show, titled: ‘KELL ON EARTH’ - !! - will premiere FEB 1, 2010 - on BRAVO !!

ELLEN COHEN, senior editor at RIZZOLI.

RIZZOLI put out the definitive book on the film:
‘PATTI SMITH: DREAM OF LIFE’ - FILM BY STEVEN SEBRING

representing the downtown scene - DONALD SHERIDAN - silk screen printer for ANDY WARHOL - at the Factory - back in the day - and still running his own shop.

guitarist JOFF WILSON, of the hometown band - THE BOWERY BOYS - wearing a CBGB t-shirt.
He played on the KOSTABI show a few times, a few years back.

LENNY KAYE - long time musician with PATTI SMITH - he is cameo-ed in the film.

he is also the subject of one of the most haunting photos.

STEVEN SEBRING, ‘LENNY KAYE LAST NIGHT AT CBGB OCT 15, 2006′.
archival pigment print, ed. 1/5. 10-3/4 x 41 in. ($6,500).

detail, STEVEN SEBRING, ‘LENNY KAYE LAST NIGHT AT CBGB OCT 15, 2006′.

another really amazing photo - they were mostly of PATTI - was this one …

STEVEN SEBRING, ‘DIOR’, 2007. Platinum print, ed. 1/5. 20 x 16 ins. ($5,500).

detail, STEVEN SEBRING, ‘DIOR’. how he ever talked her into this, I do not know. she might not look very happy - but she looks straight-out gorgeous.

here’s one of Patti’s own photos - also very haunting - and yet, note - it’s from 2009 !!
PATTI SMITH , ‘AUTO PORTRAIT’, 2009. Unique Polaroid print, 12-11/16 x 11-9/16 in. ($3,000).

PATTI SMITH and STEVEN SEBRING, ‘PORTRAIT: MIXED MEDIA’, 2009
Albumen print with mixed media, 20 x 25 in. ($20,000)

detail, PATTI SMITH and STEVEN SEBRING - ‘PORTRAIT: MIXED MEDIA’, 2009.

there was also an archival poster from many years ago.
PATTI SMITH DRAWINGS / ROBERT MAPPLETHORPE FILM and STILLS / ROBERT MILLER GALLERY / JUNE 7 (1978)

there was a re-creation of her room, with early an MAPPLETHORPE loop running on the t.v. - it was hard to make out.

I preferred this offering of PATTI SMITH - poet - typewriter and books. aka ‘ephemera’.

and Polaroid.

on top - ‘JOAN of ARC’ !!

GREGORY CORSO, POE, WILLIAM BURROUGHS, WILLIAM BLAKE.

WILLIAM BLAKE - a big cornerstone for her. She talks alot about his influence in the movie.

GREGORY CORSO - ‘LONG LIVE MAN’.

Patti’s ‘gesture’ painting - featured in the film.

PATTI SMITH, ‘STRANGE MESSENGER’, 2004. oil, pencil and gauze on canvas mounted on board.
91-1/2 x 92-1/4 in. NFS.

detail. PATTI SMITH painting. sorry, nice novelty - but that’s about it.
and, no. you can’t have it - all !!

which takes us full circle back to that large back room - where the STEVEN SEBRING - monumental and most minimal photos I’ve ever seen - of 12 ’significant objects’ - held court.
yes, her childhood dress - she holds it up in the movie - she really did come out of a time, the late 40’s - when young rural girls still wore these kind of dresses, handmade by their moms - she really did come out of the authentic American rural experience, growing up in factoryland South Jersey USA, and splitting for the big city - New York City - as soon as she was able.
American rebel to the core, ground roots up.

looking back,

at an American life - rebel. icon. musician and poet. PATTI SMITH and MICHAEL STIPE.

OPENING PHOTOS - WED JAN 6, 2010 - PHOTOS BY NANCY SMITH
‘PATTI SMITH and STEVEN SEBRING - OBJECTS OF LIFE’
the show runs JAN 6 - Feb 6, 2010
ROBERT MILLER GALLERY - 524 WEST 26th ST - NYC

see: REVIEW of ‘PATTI SMITH: DREAM OF LIFE’ by STEVEN SEBRING/on artlovers

IMAGE BY: CARLY RABALAIS

CINDERS GALLERY PRESENTS:

‘KNOW NEW YORK’ - CURATED BY STO.
OPENING - FRI JAN 8, 2010 / 7-10 PM
the show runs Jan 8 - Feb 7, 2010
CINDERS - 103 HAVEMEYER ST - BROOKLYN
HRS: WED-SUN 1-7PM

featuring the work of NEW YORK CITY BASED ARTISTS:
DIANE BARCELOWSKY, HISHAM BHAROOCHA, ROBIN CAMERON, RAUL DENIEVES, ANDREW GUENTHER, MAYA HAYUK, ELI LEHRHOF, DENNIS McNETT, CAMERON MICHEL, LEIF PARSONS, CARLY RABALAIS, LEIF RITCHEY, JONATHAN ROSEN, RYAN WALLACE & ERIC WHITE.

STO WRITES:
“All around me people are taking notes, mapping things out, rewiring circuits, reinventing conventions, collecting, combining, and making connections that often turn into new and honest adventures for the eyes and ears, the head and the heart. They just won’t stop. Our posse is getting big, our posse is getting bigger. And I’m still getting to Know New York. Even after living here for almost 10 years, I will always be getting to Know New York a little bit more everyday. It Just never stops going and growing and morphing, energy like electrons running into each other wild like bumper cars to the galloping sounds of the JMZ rolling by my window. I’m excited for a New Year to begin, a new era for all of us to start together.
These artists are all living in New York.
They are out in the middle of the night collecting bits of street trash sparkle to brighten your day. they are using circular rhythms and parallel lines to find a piece of peace while others do dance moves in the street with gold pants and silver balloons. Life in abandoned hotels out in the desert armed with futuristic yet medieval-style prosthetics for enhancing life.
The wolfbats have come out of the caves and the spirits are arising. Envisioned revisions of popular culture are reassigning the meanings of what we know reality to be with a faux facsmile. Or a magic carpet ride, several twists of fate, and a bit of dumb luck.
This is the first in a series of exhibitions that focuses specifically on New York artists.
Let’s begin the year by getting to know they neighbor.”

CINDERS has started to post some images from the show - on their website, here are two - that seem to express the wide range of being !!

painting by: ANDREW GUENTHER

snowflake by JOHNATHAN ROSEN

SPENCER SWEENEY - PLAYS CAMERA TAG - WITH HIMSELF !!
image courtesy/GBE

SPENCER SWEENEY
DEC 9, 2009 - JAN 19, 2010
Gavin Brown’s enterprise - 620 Greenwich St - NYC
hrs: Tues-Sat 10am-6pm

SIMON CERIGO dropped in on the SPENCER SWEENEY ‘LIVE’ installation at GBE yesterday. He is happy to report that the installation - and Spencer Sweeney - himself - being part of the installation - are more spaced out than ‘DISTRICT 9′ - the science fiction movie, which is Simon’s current rave fave.

in Simon’s words: “The show, which is a voyage through Sweeney’s many alter egos - has a wonderful audio aspect to it - which represents Spencer’s obsession with music and the tools of its ‘representation’. Being an audiophile myself - I was impressed with the broad range of vintage tube and transistor equipment. The whole space explodes with Mr. Sweeney’s frenetic, reckless, and delicate painterly maneuvers. The show also functions at its highest potential when there are a lot of (happy!!) people there - having a party.

up-date: the next performance is - this FRI JAN 15, 2010 - at 8pm.

Film Review
JANUARY 4, 2010 by NANCY SMITH

‘PATTI SMITH: DREAM OF LIFE’ - premiered on P.O.V. - PBS Channel 13 NYC - WED DEC 30, 2009.

. . . heading into this New Year’s Eve, I sunk deep into a big funky look back - instead of partying - I slept for 2 days solid - except for some intermittent - weird hour - kitchen table-top - solitaire - with real cards - and a bottle of KHALUA leftover from Christmas. what the hell ? was life that bad - would the future - be that mean.

finally emerging at what crazy hour - 3 am - Friday night, really Saturday morning Jan 2. 2010 - and totally out of sync with the rest of the world - with nothing to lose, nothing to do, and thinking nothing to gain - I turned on the t.v. - fully expecting to bore myself back to sleep with infomercials. not.

with typical innate crackula timing - I had hit the remote - with some kind of magic - that promised more life was yet to be lived !! talk about flip. despair to transfixed delight in a nanosecond - as the opening credits of ‘PATTI SMITH: DREAM OF LIFE’ - began a seriously off-hours broadcast re-run - on PBS - for the city that never sleeps. wow !! did I get snapped up and swept away - or what. a documentary, more like a dream, and thus aptly titled, more like a poem, or a love song - it caught the core - of what can only be called wild, raw, deathly beautiful, off-the-wall and truly - anti-establishment - inspiration. the iconic punk mother musician of them all - Patti Smith - looking back, and going forward. mostly through black and white footage, accompanied by a narrative in her own words - of a pretty straightforward, yet personal nature. a little guarded. a little visionary. also interweaving in the words of her songs, and the texts of her poems.

I fell hard. immediate entrancement - smack up against a poem of a portrait of a rebel of an icon. a cinematic poem of a slim but strong-boned woman, with a mostly unkempt mane of hair - always in men’s clothes and a series of hard-core boots - a documentary of fleeting moments strung together - like black and white Christmas lights - with the lightest of touch - and joy - by a fashion photog - of all people. it’s a documentary that feels photographic, as opposed to cinematic. ghostly as opposed to agenda-like. footage that was allowed to run free. feel wild. catching a ghost by the toe ? you can catch a few fleeting frames of the filmmaker himself - Steven Sebring - he’s that wild strawberry-colored character that kind of bookends the film’s spin. and the film does spin a fine web - with bits of archived historic footage - memories - caught up in the also mostly black and white footage Mr. Sebring pulled from the past 11 years of jumping in on her life - starting from the moment when he first interfaced with her, in 1995, when she (has to) return to perform, after the deaths of her husband, and her brother.

what a way to wake up to: YEAR 2010.
just imagine how Patti Smith felt. She turned 63 this past Wed Dec 30th !! she was in concert for 3 nights, as per her 11 year tradition at the Bowery Ballroom, and this gossamer of a film tribute debuted on Channel 13. apparently almost around the clock !!

so, she goes from 50 to 60 in the 11 years Mr. Sebring filmed her. its fascinating to watch. esp in one so free and wild. 50 can still be young in artworld years, it’s only ten from 40 - but 60 really seems to be on the cusp of turning a corner.
it’s also fascinating to watch the intertwined clips from even further back - illuminating her true blue American journey from early rural factory roots to the punk rock scene of New York City in the late 60s, and 70s - CBGB, and the Chelsea Hotel via the words of William Blake - and seriously interfacing in person - with Robert Mapplethorpe and William Burroughs.

truth be told - at times it felt like it needed one more edit. by a harsher hand than the loving one that held the camera.
loved all that passing highway scenery, give me more - but the scenes with her parents were a smidgen too long. that early footage with her son - where he is talking in his room to the out-of-range interviewer is way too corny. and the scene where she is on the beach with, I guess, a new lover - is downright cringe-inducing. bad enough they are trading pee stories, but to see this rebel icon, who doesn’t think twice about showing up on stage in a beat-up man’s suit jacket with messy lame hair - transparently calculating the risks of alienating her man - by outdoing him with bragging rights - is too much. well I guess it is revealing. even Patti Smith has clay feet. but better watch out or that segment is going to end up in YouTube afterlife - as the closest thing the artworld has ever got - to being celebrity ridiculed on - by Joel McHale and his E!! Soup.

on the other hand, on the list of: wish there was more of. wish there was more footage of her husband and that he had been more clearly hi-lighted as such - as his briefest of brief cameos flash by, we aren’t all insiders. same with the the members of her band, wish there was more on them, and on her bro. it was riveting to hear her tell of his support from earliest days forward.

and then, there’s her painting. put it this way - I don’t dream to post my musical pretensions - just cause primal music has a case for it. ok. just because Jackson Pollock used drips - doesn’t make all drip painting - painting. though it was kind of fun to see her try to cross the cultural divide, and it was touching to see her final cameo - one of the few moments filmed in color - as she sits beneath her big, now framed drip painting.

I haven’t said too much about her music. well, it’s in there - as it should be - beyond words - included are great clips of her in early performance. and later forays. Simon says her first 2 albums “were amazing. in a class with the Velvet Underground. She was much more important, much more of a punk icon, than Blondie.”

you can watch the trailer, and catch more info on the film,
- including interviews with the film’s maker STEVEN SEBRING & PATTI SMITH, herself: here on P.O.V./PBS !!

more pix - from ‘PATTI SMITH: DREAM OF LIFE’ - off the TV !!

loved loved loved - all those - on-the-road trip clips !!

see that big ole POLAROID camera to the right. she’s pretty much joined to the hip with it - throughout !!
wonder if she can still get film - for it ? it’s fun watching her handle it - heavy-duty snapshots for sure !!

lots of the action takes place at the Chelsea Hotel !! or is that - Hotel Chelsea - that they call it now ?

at some stage in her life - she’s got these great messy braids down the front - love it.
you can also watch her rings change places on her fingers, over the years, if you look closely.

with ALLEN GINSBERG.

with ROBERT MAPPLETHORPE, who she talks about the most. and with whom she seems to have been the most bonded.
she even shows us a small ‘Persian’ urn of a portion of his ashes, and says it’s not so much ashes - as fragments of hard chalk-like substance - I think they call that bone, Patti.

the film’s maker - STEVEN SEBRING

later on. that Polaroid is still hangin’ in there.

today. or at any rate - the latest segment caught on the film.
the film follows her in real life - for 11 years, from 50 t0 60.
and includes some early archival footage - going all the way back to childhood, and of course: those heady, early CBGB days - when PATTI SMITH ruled.

yep, you can just catch a glance of her painting, a gesture drip sort of thing - behind her. ok. it doesn’t look too bad, here.
maybe you had to see some of the live footage of her creating it. maybe it was her commentary at the time - that rang a little flat for me. ok. no fair - I’m in art 24/7.
ok. not bad for a rebel punk musician. poet. thinker. seer. put it this way - at least she counts us on her side of things.
and that’s a good thing.

SIMON and I both knew Colin from way back in the early days of the EAST VILLAGE GALLERY scene - ca. 1981 or 82, 83 - when they both had start-up store-front galleries, pretty much around the block from each other. both had serious agendas, and serious ‘other agenda’ distractions. put it this way - they both liked to party, in their own way - and being a businessman/gallerist - wasn’t high on the list. Simon’s gallery, the self-named SIMON CERIGO GALLERY - was more visual, as in pictorial - in context, showing early WALTER ROBINSON and even DAN ASHER; while Colin’s was more of a visual but cerebral high-style. COLIN was able to outlast Simon and endure until his untimely death, (in FALL 2003) as he had family resources to fall back on - and he was also a little sharper on the networking. Our most interesting intersection with Colin, apart from Simon’s inclusion in ART CLUB 2000’s ‘1970′ - was our 1995 purchase, from AMERICAN FINE ARTS - of an early MARIKO MORI large-scale photo, called: ‘LOVE HOTEL’ - which we purchased for the grand total of $3,000. We had to sell it, a few years later - when it hit $60,000 at secondary market. of course the very next year, after we put ours to market - her photos were hitting well beyond $120,000-$160.000+. ouch. . and yes it was COLIN de LAND, not JEFFREY DEITCH - who first showed MARIKO MORI in NYC. and yes, ALFREDO MARTINEZ !! and MARIKO MORI were an item - in her early punk days, when she still had bad skin - in NYC, on the Lower Side. and yes, it was at the first DEITCH - MARIKO MORI show - that I first met Alfredo. they had already broken up way before. it was something you just never knew whether to believe or not, but just like most of the tall tales - that Alfredo spins - the most far-fetched !! are usually - the truth !! I know, because - I did ask Mariko Mori once, personally - and she did confirm - though in a one word sentence . . .

COLIN de LAND 1955-2003.
photographed at the last AMERICAN FINE ARTS opening he was able to attend. PHOTO: NANCY SMITH
the show was: SILVIA KOLBOWSKI, ‘Like Looking Away’, SEPTEMBER 12 - OCTOBER 5, 2003.
by this time AMERICAN FINE ARTS/COLIN DE LAND FINE ART was in Chelsea - on 22nd St.
the opening was on Sept 13, 2003 - and by Oct 26, 2003 - there was a memorial for COLIN at COOPER UNION, with the after party at CBGB.
by this time - I was working as an event photographer for WALTER ROBINSON at artnet. I felt really honored that Colin, clearly not at the peak of good health, had picked up his camera to play ‘photo tag’ with me, and that he had let me get the last photo of him - at the very last event he could attend at his namesake gallery. esp as - no one was else was allowed to snap any pix of him. ok. he was wearing a wig, but he still looked pretty good, and playful. but Walter declined to publish it - go figure. way to go, Walter. guess I can just damn well - do it myself, now.
and, yes it was Colin de Land who made trucker hats most chic !!, (and, not ASHTON KUTCHER !!).

DANIEL, or as we all like to call him, DANNY, McDONALD was pretty much running the gallery day-to-day, at that point, and he was watching over Colin like a mother hawk. He obviously, unlike Walter, enjoyed - and grasped the beauty of the ‘camera play’ !!

this was the artist - SILVIA KOLBOWSKI - whose show was to have the legacy of being - the last one Colin could attend.

this was the show’s card.
by that time - Colin was using a standard, text only - format - for every show.
it was kind of a fore-shadow - in style, looking back.

PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH

NEXT UP - WHAT ELSE IS THE NEW YEAR GOOD FOR - BUT, A LOOK BACK ?

WE’VE GOT SOME ARCHIVAL PIX - FROM the DANNY McDONALD / ART CLUB 2000 - SUMMER 1997 EXHIBIT: ‘1970′ - at COLIN de LAND’S AMERICAN FINE ARTS - WHEN IT HEADLINED THE EDGE - in SOHO !!

artlovers’ roaming contributor, music critic, party crasher and big mouth - SIMON CERIGO - was one of the artists featured in the show . . . which asked: “where were you - in 1970?”.

SIMON CERIGO, with daughter, KATE CERIGO in tow, rides up to the opening, MAY 26, 1997.
Kate was 11. Simon was 45.
Simon’s t-shirt reads: THE ABSOLUTE SOUND - always the cutting edge audiophile & music fan - Simon was a devout follower of high end music electronics - on which to hear that cutting edge music - and ‘THE ABSOLUTE SOUND’ - was the high end audiophile bible of the time.

sitting in the window - looking at the camera - CHARLIE FINCH !! as JOHN WATERS - strolls by !!
ART CLUB 2000, ‘1970′ - COLIN de LAND AMERICAN FINE ARTS. SOHO, NYC. MAY 26 1997.
it was the summer show and ran till SEPT 1, 1997.

KATE on the gallery front steps.

the gallery also had one of those ubiquitous Soho banners.

ART CLUB / 1970 - the sign for the show.

yep, that’s DANIEL aka DANNY McDONALD - in the red T.

the youngest member of ART CLUB 2000, and Simon says: the best looking, CRAIG WADLIN in the theme appropriate paisley shirt Simon on the right. and yeah, Simon does need shades indoors. you know what that means, don’t ya ?
. . . ‘medicated’ out of his skull. what else is new.

DANIEL McDONALD tinkers with the video installation. different interviews ran on the different monitors at the same time. when it worked.
ok, so what ART CLUB 2000 did for this exhibit, ‘1970′ - was they asked several, mostly well known artists, (Simon was the least known), in a taped interview: “Where were you in 1970 ?”
Simon’s answer, that won him a one-way ticket into this insider club ?
“I was in Providence Town, MASS hanging out with JOHN WATERS and DIVINE, the whole group. at a dive bar called PIGGY’S TRUCKSTOP - where I was the DJ. I was 18. I had been at WOODSTOCK - the summer before.”
some of the other artists interviewed: VITO ACCONCI, ISA GENZKEN, LES LEVINE. ALEX KATZ, CAROLEE SCHNEEMAN & HENRY FLYNT. just goes to show ya, how fleeting fame is, and Simon is probably still the most interesting, edgey, and most unknown - not to mention, baddest - of the lot !! and the only one you’ll still see out on the scene - ok. sometimes JOHN WATERS pops up - but he wasn’t interviewed.

CHARLIE FINCH on the couch, Kate next to him.

in the center, that’s a (younger) WALTER ROBINSON. on the right is his ex-wife.

MR. KNOW IT ALL. SIMON CERIGO.
ART CLUB 2000 - ‘1970′. COLIN de LAND AMERICAN FINE ARTS.
MAY 26, 1997.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH

‘Untitled’ (Paramount Hotel/Nude). 8 x 10 in. C-print. 1992-93
an early ART CLUB 2000 - self-produced image !!
yes, that’s a bleached blonde DANIEL McDONALD, in the dark socks !! on the extreme left.
the only real break-out artist of the group, would be photographer PATTERSON BECKWITH, in the center, his face just above the back haired Asian beauty.
ART CLUB 2000 - a group of intense (7 members at the max) art students from COOPER UNION - was initiated under the guiding hand and auspices of COLIN de LAND, back in 1992.
the image is from the ART CLUB 2000 - web archive: Between Bridges: ART CLUB 2000
you can also score a little more info on them, here: ART CLUB 2000
(CRAIG WADLIN’S PHOTOGRAPHY website.)

(another ghost of Xmas past) - COLIN de LAND.
ART CLUB 2000 - ‘Untitled (Individuals of Style Portrait, Studio Sample with Colin de land). 11 x 14 in. digital print. unique, 1993.
posted on: Between Bridges: ART CLUB 2000

artwork by HUMA BHABHA - image courtesy/ATM GALLERY

BILL BRADY of ATM - is pleased to announce that gallery artist - HUMA BHABHA - has been included in the selection for the upcoming WHITNEY 2010 BIENNIAL. HUMA BHABHA always serves up both a great visual and contextual statement - of rich complexity and superior originality.

but overall - the selection seems a little on the ’strange’ art side of things, with a lot of the artists unknown to this scribe.
THE BRUCE HIGH QUALITY FOUNDATION is given a chance to show they deserve their recent p.r. - can they jump to the plate ?
DANNY McDONALD, best known for his work with ART CLUB 2000 - sprung out of the glory days of COLIN DeLAND and AMERICAN FINE ARTS - is a surprise pop-up. good luck, Danny !! ARI MARCOPOULOS rings a bell - and his participation should be both lively and pictorial. the big question mark is - GEORGE CONDO - what the hell - is he doing in the mix - can a slot in the WHITNEY BIENNIAL - be bought ?

watch: a brief statement by the 2010 BIENNIAL curators, FRANCESCO BONAMI & GARY CARRION - MURAYARI !!
it sounds more like an apology than anything else - not a good sign - for the first step - going into a big project - whose rep, in fact the whole brand - has been severely diminished, one could even say, squandered over a past decade - of very lame - outings.

you can see: an interesting take on the Museum itself in this video clip, 2nd option down here !! - and the 2010 animation logo - is swift !! but the naming of the names seem to take a dubious jittery second place vibe. these guys seem more scared - than anything else. you know - like when a pol or CEO gets the chairperson seat - outta default - cause no one else wants to handle the hot potato - of a sinking ship. but maybe, just maybe - their steely low-down - will hit a steely mark ?

THINGS THAT STAY, THINGS THAT GO
DANNY TINNENY’S SELECTIVE SALVAGE
DEC 11, 2009 - JAN 3, 2010
ELK GALLERY - 426 PRESIDENT ST. - BROOKLYN - NY
HRS: FRI-SAT/1-7PM

JOCKO WEYLAND wrote us a lengthy, but worthy missive on this ‘alternative’ show on the glorious banks of the GOWANUS CANAL !! - the site of a one time on-site/found/rove exhibit under the ELK umbrella.
too bad we couldn’t make the opening - Friday, Dec 11 - supposedly they had bonfires going in 55 gallon oil drums .. and beer. but it was also the biggest rainstorm of the year. so go figure.

anyways, JOCKO writes:

“With Bond Street on one side, the Gowanus Canal on the other, bordered by
Carroll to the south and the cobblestones of President Street to the north,
“The Lot” is a repository of gritty and occasionally sublime readymade
beauty.  Almost everything there has a functional purpose, though much has
stayed past its prime thanks to the preservationist instincts of Danny
Tinneny, the lot’s owner,  “arranger” and undisputed king. All these objects
help give the lot its unique character and often transcend their utilitarian
origins to enter the realm of the purely sculptural, combining undeniable
formal qualities and socio-historical resonance. Posing questions as to what
is art and what is not without essaying any dogmatic answers, the lot’s
contents blur that supposed boundary with Duchampian aplomb. An accumulation
of weathered, battered, and engrossing remnants of the Gowanus’ industrial
past and its more recent multi-use incarnation, the aesthetically rich
environment has resulted from both chance and judicious reclamation. Whether
it’s a peacefully decaying 1958 Oldsmobile 88, various bollards, a backhoe,
forklifts, a Grove crane, rusted dumpsters, bales of wire, oil drums,
numerous ladders, stacks of wood, sandbags, tires, and shipping containers,
they all are part of a not entirely accidental cement sculpture garden.  Set
off by the big skies above the canal, ringed by an aluminum barbed-wire
topped fence, the weedy domain with its semi-feral cats hunting amongst the
detritus is evidence of a keen sensitivity to the appeal of what many
consider junk.

The lot has had many lives, first as a car salvage business and now as the
home to the office of a moving company, a woodshop, parking for movie
stylist RVs, and many other activities, including Macro-sea’s summer 2009
dumpster pool project, for which Tinneny was both enlightened landlord and
crucial participant. Now more changes are afoot, and before that
transformation occurs there is an opportunity to take stock of these sundry
inanimate things and see them in a new light. “Things that Stay, Things that
Go” contextualizes these gems that were saved on purpose (and some that
stayed just because) in a garage-turned-gallery and its courtyard. An homage
to the past and present, the inspired ad-hoc arrangement Tinneny has brought
to his workaday surroundings will be reconfigured into an installation
replete with aesthetic and historical allusions and minimalist charm. Tools
and useful implements’ impact on the sculpture of the last 100 years can be
pondered, as can the graphic material that was saved for decorative
purposes, seen through the prism of one man’s unselfconsciously artful
attitude toward debris. A collective wish to fully appreciate the lot’s
magical diversity is at work in this exhibition, from the fire call box to a
chest-high safe, the vintage matador prints, a tarp-covered AMC Javelin, a
toolbox full of 1940s records and  “The Watchman” mannequin, along with the
all the other selectively salvaged treasures. In this display machines,
practical devices and pictorial ephemera generate a nuanced tonal
conversation about volume, shape, and feel, as well as a chance to celebrate
Tinneny’s discriminating eye for the beauty inherent in functionally.

Directions: F train to Carroll Street Stop, walk east (towards the Gowanus)
on Carroll Street, left on Hoyt, then right on President. Go to the end of
the street through the gate into the lot and walk about seventy-five feet
until “Things that Stay, Things that Go” is seen to the right.

Presented with the cooperation and support of the Tinneny family and
Macro-Sea.”

there is an excellent slide show of the exhibit: on the ELK website !!
ALL PHOTOS BY ROB ERICKSON !!
here’s some favs - it was hard to edit them down . . .

inset photo of DANNY TINNENY - by JONATHAN KROLL.

looking good - or what !!?? GOWANUS CANAL !!

while you are on the ELK website - look around - it’s a nice little alternative cruise . . . with some real punch.
FOR SURE, don’t miss the ELK sounds: here !!
on the top right, under ONE ELK SOUND; ANOTHER ELK SOUND.
and the zines and the films and the books !!

note: JOCKO WEYLAND IS A WRITER, PHOTOGRAPHER, and CHRONICLER OF SKATEBOARDING, AMONG OTHER PASTIMES - in AMERICA. when we saw his film - ‘BEIJING SUMMER’ - under the ELK/FILMS archive - there was something about BEIJING, and GOWANUS CANAL - that resonated in our head.
of course - ALFREDO MARTINEZ - !! - former GOWANUS CANAL celebrity resident and current CHINA ARTIST-in-RESIDENCE !!
Jocko Weyland wrote that funny piece on ALFREDO for VICE !!
see: JOCKO WEYLAND on ALFREDO MARTINEZ !! in CHINA !!
for more on JOCKO WEYLAND, check out: RAW CHINA - PHOTOS BY JOCKO WEYLAND !!
and if you have 10 more mins, check out: JOCK WEYLAND on OPEN CITY - THE ELK & THE SKATEBOARDER !!