to-nite . . .
GB TRAN’S NEW GRAPHIC NOVEL – VIETNAMERICA – BOOK LAUNCH – THURS JAN 27, 2011 / 7-9 PM
FREE ADMISSION COURTESY OF RANDOM HOUSE PUBLISHING & GB TRAN
MoCCA/MUSEUM of COMICS and CARTOON ART – 594 BROADWAY – SUITE 401, EDGE OF SOHO, NYC
come join rising talent GB TRAN and the MoCCA community for a special event – the launch of GB’s incredible graphic memoir – VIETNAMERICA: A Family’s Journey – a new, full-color hardcover from VILLARD BOOKS . . . GB will discuss the core of VIETNAMERICA the story behind his family’s survival and escape during the Vietnam War, their reinvention as refugees in the United States, and his own discovery about how the past we don’t know can shape and define us. A book signing will follow a Q & A session.
LIBRARY JOURNAL compares VIETNAMERICA to ART SPEIGELMAN’S classic – MAUS – calling it a “kick-in-the-gut graphic novel”, read more about GB’s book – here !!
while you are there – make sure to check out the amazing work of: LIZA DONNELLY, DENIS KITCHEN and AL JAFFEE – currently on display – but, heads up – coming down JAN 30, 2011 !!
like they say on the MoCCA NEWS RELEASE:
NEVER STOP READING COMICS !!
~GB TRAN: VIETNAMERICA BOOK LAUNCH |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | January 27th, 2011, 9:32am
FROM THE VAULT . . .
. . . just going through some archives – and quite by accident happened upon this old invite card for LAUREL NAKADATE . . so thinking, that’s a great coincidence, great timing – and I’ll never find it again – I better put it up – here it is.
LAUREL NAKADATE – A MESSAGE TO PRETTY
10.20.06 – 11.25.06
OPENING RECEPTION – THURSDAY OCTOBER 19, 2006/ 6-8 PM
DANZIGER PROJECTS 521 W 26TH STREET NYC 10001 T. 212 626 6778
~CHARLIE’S ANGEL: LAUREL NAKADATE/A MESSAGE TO PRETTY |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | January 26th, 2011, 7:21pm
LAUREL NAKADATE – at the opening of her first NYC solo show: ‘WE ARE ALL MADE OF STARS’, DANIEL SILVERSTEIN GALLERY, CHELSEA, NYC. DEC 05, 2002.
PHOTO: NANCY SMITH
LAUREL NAKADATE/IMAGE COURTESY: MoMA PS 1 – SCREEN GRAB
CONGRATS TO CHARLIE’S CHOICE – LAUREL NAKADATE – WHOSE 10 YEAR RETROSPECTIVE:
‘LAUREL NAKADATE: ONLY THE LONELY’, at MoMA PS 1 – OPENS TODAY – SUN JAN 23, 2011 / 12 – 6PM
the show will run thru AUG 8, 2011
MoMA PS 1 – LONG ISLAND CITY, QUEENS
from the MoMA PS1 website:
LAUREL NAKADATE is known for her works in video, photography, and feature-length film. This Nakadate’s first large-scale museum exhibition and will feature works made over the last ten years in all three media,including her early video works, in which she was invited into the homes of anonymous men to dance, pose, or even play dead in their kitchens, bedrooms, and living rooms.
Also included will be Good Morning, Sunshine (2009), a more recent work in which Nakadate enters the bedrooms of young women, wakes them, and instructs each to strip down to their underwear for the camera. Nakadate’s two features, Stay the Same Never Change (2009) and the The Wolf Knife (2010) mine similar terrain – the power and fragility of the adolescent female body. The exhibition will also be the premiere of Nakadate’s latest photographic series, 365 Days: A Catalogue of Tears, currently in progress. These photographs document a year-long performance that began on January 1, 2010, in which the artist documented, and continues to document herself before, during, and after weeping each day.
The exhibition brings together bodies of work that touch on voyeurism, loneliness, the manipulative power of the camera, and the urge to connect with others, through, within, and apart from technology and the media.
Laurel Nakadate: Only the Lonely is organized by KLAUS BIESENBACH, Director of MoMA PS 1 and Chief Curator at large at The Museum of Modern Art.
note: CHARLIE being CHARLIE FINCH of artnet, of course !!
see previous post: CHARLIE’S CHOICE: QUIET/WLIP & LAUREL NAKADATE/JAN 18, 2011
~CHARLIE’S CHOICE/LAUREL NAKADATE/ONLY THE LONELY/MoMA PS 1/OPENS TODAY |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | January 23rd, 2011, 11:53am
FILE UNDER: WHERE IS THE LOVE ? . . .
. . . had a really fun evening last night, courtesy of PATRICK DUFFY at that chic little bar – B.E.S – at the bottom of 22nd Ave – 559 WEST 22nd and 11th Ave. needless to say, ABSOLUT VODKA served up a mean lemon mint cocktail that just hit the spot. A book signing jaunt for ANTHONY HADEN-GUEST – celebrating the success of his latest scribble & doodle compilation – ‘IN THE MEAN TIME’ – everybody was in great spirits – but esp Anthony, who was raving to all – about his recent legal action against WALTER ROBINSON and artnet !!
ANTHONY HADEN-GUEST – celebrates the launch of: ‘IN THE MEAN TIME’ – at B.E.S., CHELSEA, JAN 20, 2011.
if you are new to the scene and don’t know who this legendary guy is, British-American writer, reporter, cartoonist, art critic, poet and socialite – you can check him out on WIKI !!
of course, artlovers was the first to review his new book – but since it was air mailed to us directly from its FREIGHT+VOLUME Miami Basel Art Fair debut – I was just cheerfully expecting to say hello, party a little bit, ok I partied a lot !! – and get the man’s personal imprint – but whoa – there was more in store, surprise, not !!
there was Anthony happy as a lark – raving to all – about his having just papered – as in: subpoena – Walter Robinson and artnet !! and apparently just days, after Walter finally posted a review of his book, to boot. ha.
ok. here’s the background story:
allegedly Haden-Guest lost a whole storage locker of a “lifetime” – on the art scene’s worth of valuables – including art works by DAVID SALLE, ASHLEY BICKERTON and DONALD BAECHLER – not to mention at least 9 DAN ASHER pieces – all told said to be worth over “$1 million”. The slick action by well-known NYC storage franchise PUBLIC STORAGE – supposedly took place while Anthony was in London – from what I made out – he was only 3 months delinquent – and never received a FINAL NOTICE – even though he claims – he had been in touch with PUBLIC STORAGE – from London, saying he would clear things up – upon his imminent return . . .
the story made the NEW YORK POST – ‘Anthony Haden-Guest loses treasure trove’, last March 2010. “I owed them $1,350 dollars. A couple of months before, my lawyer had asked them to give me details so I could wire them monthly payments. They refused . . . . I have been kidnapped in Lebanon. I have been stabbed 50 times in my apartment. But this is the worst thing that has ever happened to me. And there is an aroma here that isn’t lilies of the valley.”
sure enough, lo and behold, a couple of minor pieces from the Haden-Guest locker facility collection – just surfaced last week – on artnet – for sale !! Anthony is over the moon – obviously – it’s a great stroke of luck – just what he needed – to get to the bottom of this sleazy action & retrieve his stuff – but apparently Walter isn’t talking – about who sourced the works – hence the subpoena !!
it’s also my feeling that – since Walter is such a control freak – don’t tell anybody I said this – but apparently Haden-Guest had to hound, beg and badger Walter for a month – before the mighty artnet honcho obliged with a review of ‘In The Mean Time’ – in other words, pretty much – just what everybody else goes through with Walter – and supposedly the subpoena – legal compulsion to spill the beans in court – went in – exactly a day or so after the artnet book review finally posted !! and yep, Anthony was looking mighty happy bout that timing.
just like the cat – that swallowed the canary. or what !!
ANTHONY HADEN-GUEST reaches for my book – all the while cheerfully spilling the beans on Walter and artnet !!
“I just subpoenaed Walter Robinson” – his new mantra.
never a dull moment – in the art world – and its only halfway thru January.
“for Nancy – The Archivist”, ha !! love it.
plus I got a little drawing too, after his name. yo, not everybody does.
he was also shilling limited edition cards – individual editions or sets of 40 – of his cartoons – $200 a pop.
they were actually pretty attractive – yeah, I wanted one – but that was a little pricey pour moi.
“YOU ARE NAKED.”
“WE ARE FREE SPIRITS.”
just in case you think Anthony is dreaming on, no.
he has long legend of being an irresistible ladies man, with the equipment to match – that’s what they say. though no, I can’t vouch for it myself – but I’ve heard tell in such graphic terms – let me put it this way: the way it’s been said leaves no room for exaggeration . . . hoo-ray for Brits.
SIMON CERIGO – artlovers man-about-town – has known Anthony forever. even sharing – some of the coarser booty. yes, even the art world a has low-life groupies. as opposed to sharing Anthony’s ‘critical’ take – on the art world, bye the way. an important point – he would want clarified.
B.E.S. was also selling limited edition T-shirts – with Anthony Haden-Guest caricatures on them – $50 a pop.
that’s it – final straw.
we’re gonna start selling stuff too – watch out for an artlovers pop-up store – coming soon, too. damnit.
MARK ENGER EXPLODING SKY – LIMITED EDITION T-SHIRTS – WITH ALFREDO MARTINEZ PRISON DRAWINGS – UP FIRST !!
oh yeah, baby. watch out.
artlovers going commercial, big time. not selling out. just selling. the good stuff, too.
back to story, at hand – ANTHONY HADEN-GUEST – LIMITED EDITION TEE’S !!
but this one was my fave – ‘ORAL DOESN’T COUNT’.
the evening’s host: PATRICK DUFFY.
also making the scene – big Haden-Guest fan . . .
STUART BRAUNSTEIN.
also popping by, ANDRES SERRANO.
on the right: KEVIN KAYE of FREIGHT+VOLUME which published the book.
with him artist VLAD PETKOV, in town for a few weeks, hailing from BULGARIA, yes.
MIA UDEA – who will be showing at the new MICHAEL BANKS gallery.
artist LAURA KAPLAN.
Simon told me there were quite a few “mafia” types – as in art world mafia types dropping by – but since he didn’t want to point them out, and they go below my usual radar, (and yes. it gets lower every day) – I didn’t catch them.
this was actually LAURA KAPLAN’S sculpture in the restroom – alleyway !!
it looked pretty good there, too.
the whole joint is pretty chic. nice fashion art evening vibe, nice mysterious lighting. good-looking food.
loved this silkscreen on the restroom door . . . .
because it appeared to be – a needlepoint !!
cheers to Anthony. may your book and art – find on-going success. may your court case prevail. may your collection be returned – esp the Dan Ashers !! may Walter Robinson squirm in court. and above all else – may the chick parade go on – forever. oh yeah.
UP-DATE – WALTER: SAT JAN 22, 2011/11:55 AM
ok. WALTER ROBINSON is not a control freak. he just likes things his way, and for everybody to know he is at the top of the food chain. sorry.
I just said that because I’m still mad and offended that he did not come by, or even write-up in any way – like even: “former artnettie has a show up, so what?” – my little art show at OTHER MUSIC last year. I felt in the polar art wars – ARTNET vs EVERYBODY ELSE, but mostly ARTFORUM – I deserved a little shout-out just for having been being on the right side of the game, and forever. no ?
at least now, I know why. I’m so friggin clueless. when he inquired after my show and asked to see some work – idiot that I am – I didn’t know I had to then harass and hound him – to actually snag – some friggin’ face time. Walter is my secret crush, everybody knows that. without Walter, where would I be . . . what would I have to write about – if he didn’t leave the new frontier wide open for me. plus he is a damn great painter – but what the hell, so am I. and here we both are – scribbling odes to everybody else. no wonder we both get twisted out. Walter rules.
just can’t you spread the love, big guy ?
UP-DATE – ROBERTA: SAT JAN 22, 2011/12:39 PM
ok. and here’s why I got so mad at Roberta. even though everyone knows she aces it (mostly). top 1% be damned. . . but then why would I have a niche to call my own, to wail from, if she didn’t ? and more important – if I do pop a bonafide newbie – she’s my one best chance at – checkin’ them out ?
o.k. the one friggin’ time she mentions a blogger – it’s friggin low-ball artcat ? now come on, that just ain’t right – where’s the love ?
PHOTOS COPYRIGHT: NANCY SMITH
~ANTHONY HADEN-GUEST PAPERS ARTNET |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | January 21st, 2011, 9:41am
JACK EARLY’S EAR CANDY MACHINE – OPENS – THIS – FRI JAN 21, 2011 / 6-8 PM
SHOW RUNS THRU MARCH 5, 2011
DANIEL REICH GALLERY – 537A W. 23rd ST – CHELSEA – NYC
a former collaborator of ROB PRUITT’S . . . PRUITT-EARLY’S ‘POP LIFE: RED, BLACK, GREEN, RED, WHITE AND BLUE’, 1992 exhibit at LEO CASTELI in NEW YORK – was recently re-visited and re-discovered (!!) in the recent 2009 – ‘POP LIFE: ART IN THE MATERIAL WORLD’ at the TATE MODERN, LONDON.
as part of that famed Early-Pruitt team – JACK EARLY has exhibited at 303, DAVID ZWIRNER, and GAVIN BROWN’s enterprise. as well as with the FRANCOIS PINAULT COLLECTION in PUNTA DELLA DOGANA, VENICE.
read more: bout the show – here !! – DANIEL REICH GALLERY
~JACK EARLY’S EAR CANDY |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | January 20th, 2011, 12:37pm
not to mention, SHAMANS !!
FILE UNDER: WONDER WHAT MATTHEW DAY JACKSON, THINKS BOUT THIS.
last week to catch: DENNIS McNETT’S FLAT-OUT, ALL-OUT, NO-STOPS – ART WORLD TAKE-DOWN !!
DENNIS McNETT – ‘REAPING WAVES AND VITAL VESSELS: THE PASSING OF THE WOLFBATS’
up through SAT JAN 22, 2011
JOSHUA LINER GALLERY – 548 W.28th ST – 3rd FLOOR
DENNIS McNETT – installation shot. carved wood, wood cut prints & screens, 2010
DENNIS McNETT – detail. talking bout: PATTERN, URBAN CODE.TAGS. INFORMATION – ENCAPSULATED.
PHOTOS BY: BROCK FETCH/COURTESY: DENNIS McNETT FLICKR PHOTOSTREAM
yeah, go back & check out: those FLICKR pix !! amazing production !!
the show kicked off with a huge charade of a parade . . . hard-core street spectacle – viking style !!
we’re gonna have to start calling New York City – HOME OF THE NEW CENTURY – SHAMANS !!
I dare you to really, really think on that – for a moment.
watch the DENNIS McNETT – VIKING – PARADE on YouTube !!
from the gallery press release:
“JOSHUA LINER GALLERY, in collaboration with gallery artist DENNIS McNETT, is thrilled to present a first-ever, spectacular event in the streets of West Chelsea: ‘The Passing of the Wolfbats’.
Part art parade, part shaman uprising, ‘The Passing of the Wolfbats’ will gather art enthusiasts and neighborhood residents for a celebratory procession through the heart of the New York art world. The purpose ? To wake up the city’s sleeping spirits of creativity, expression, and personal soulfulness . .
Led by a Viking ship, drummers, marchers with banners and battleaxes, and a flock of Wolfbats – McNett’s signature symbol of transformation – the procession will feature many elements from the artist’s work, including mythological figures and folklore, animal and skeleton forms, and masks and costumes, all emblazoned with McNett’s distinctive linocut imagery . . . ”
yep, read more !!
on the left: DENNIS McNETT, beside him MIKE HOUSTON of CANNONBALL PRESS
AHA/AD HOC ART – ‘BROOKLYN BLOCK PARTY/LINO CUTTERS’ – OPENING. BROOKLYN DEC 12, 2008
PHOTO: NANCY SMITH
DENNIS McNETT – WOODBLOCK PRINT DETAIL – ‘BROOKLYN BLOCK PARTY’
yeah, his work blew me away . . . . check out the full post – in our archives !!
MATTHEW DAY JACKSON – with his ‘Viking Burial Ship’ – FEIGEN CONTEMPORARY, AUG 11, 2004
PHOTO: NANCY SMITH
I say MATTHEW DAY JACKSON – because his big art world break-out happened when he exhibited his viking ship !! in 2004.
see: artnet/ART LOVERS NEW YORK – PEOPLE SECTION/11-17-2004
MATTHEW DAY JACKSON – ‘Viking Burial Ship’.
PHOTO: NANCY SMITH
SHAMANS have been on my mind for awhile now – shamans, codes, art magic. keys. dreams.
started with pictograms – and the complexity of their simple but powerful universal code – codes !! plural – their encoded information. how simple graphics – resonate – with a trove of information & data. started with catching those ‘frontier’ breaking hi-definition digital photographs of huge lost civilization mountain range pictograms in South America – on TV – picked up by overhead orbiter cameras, in outer space. continued through – internet guru turned painter – JOSH HARRIS . . . and I guess, can be found throughout human history.
the oldest cave art: simple codes, a bison painting, a human hand palm print. cave paintings the oldest graphics – encapsulating human experience. holding a record of human history – we were here – that speaks to us, helps us unravel out very beginnings – even today. and for sure, at the time – was not just a sign of existence for future history seekers – but in real time – encapsulated graphic information – were n visual notes as in messages – keys of information – enablers. holders of shaman visions, dreams and record of moment, i.e. primitive internet – WE LIVE IN PUBLIC – caveman style – for our human ancestors – to help them with deal with the passing of time, and as well – a visual holding ‘tank’ – a code – a pictogram – containing and passing on to the person, or shaman who could grasp the message – and ‘write’/’tag’ the new ones. primitive pictorial record keeping: history keeping & making . . . .before there was written language – and even after, urban name tag sticker bombing ? – because of course, there always things that cannot be expressed by words.
pictorial ‘keys’ – in a nano-phrase: creativity.
taking the ‘humans’ past the Neanderthals – in the survival race – and the resulting ‘civilization’.
in other words – shamans, pictograms, codes – the mother-lode of a planetary shake-down !!
pattern. knowledge . . .
and warfare and territory expansion & early sea exploration – – the VIKINGS sowed the seeds.
yeah, this show – pretty much says – it all.
~VIKING INVASION/DENNIS McNETT |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | January 19th, 2011, 10:19am
. . . ok. so I have a chip on my shoulder and why not.
how can you burn bridges that never stood up for ya. lose friends you never had.
but, in making my case – maybe it’s also time – to thank somebody big time. and that would be CHARLIE FINCH – my biggest fan, secret weapon, instigator of my most outrageous outbursts, and yeah, name caller. yeah he gave me my nom de plume: Crackula – and in a nano nutshell – as we all know by now – he nailed it.
Although my initial pleas to come visit QUIET in real time – the JOSH HARRIS dot com Pseudo-fueled million dollar Millennium party, which was made immortal – I pretty much think – in ONDI TIMONER’S 2009 Sundance winner – WE LIVE IN PUBLIC – fell on deaf ears – his included. and art world snobbery ruled – he was the only one to take a chance, and come see the very first rough cut footage – when we looped the first draft – wild and raw (is not the word) – summer of 2001.
Charlie was the only one to come see it – and to write about it !!
His essay titled ‘Video Killed the Internet Star’, posted JUNE 27, 2001 in artnet.
it began like this:
The video event of the summer passed by completely unnoticed by the art-world establishment.
‘The only art-world person who came by was you, Charlie,” said Daniel Silverstein, exhibitor of the appropriately named ‘Quiet’ Josh Harris’ digitalized video of his YEAR 2000 New Year’s revels in Silicon Alley.
While maintaining a cordial acquaintance with Josh, we assiduously avoided his party invitations over the years, and expected little when we wandered into Silverstein Gallery on a hot summer’s day.
What a mistake! For two hours, this brilliantly edited, multi-tasking cinematic revolution riveted us to our white summer chair.
read the rest of the essay – yes: CHARLIE FINCH/VIDEO KILLED THE INTERNET STAR/artnet/7-27-01 – it’s got great pix, bye the way courtesy of Pseudo
almost exactly a year later, with new-found respect for my production skills and esp my talent scouting, with the pix to prove it – Charlie egged Walter Robinson, founding editor of artnet, to post a few of my photos – on artnet – and told me to “go take a few pix” of the up-coming TRACEY EMIN SHOW/FALL 2002 – for the essay he intended to write on it. no promises as to outcome.
but sure enough – although Walter had initially been seriously dubious, sure enough when Charlie’s article posted – there were my pix published for the first time – ever !! 3 photos running down the left-hand margin of a great little somewhat inflammatory and most definite fun: Charlie Finch at-his-best essay called: ‘EMINENT DOMAIN’, a neat little, wicked little scribble – that pretty much made Tracey Emin a household name on this side of the ocean.
yeah, read the complete essay, it’s a notorious riot: CHARLIE FINCH/EMINENT DOMAIN/artnet/9-27-02
that her work centered on quilts – was pretty much just an inside joke – among close pals. and, in fact forget the quilt stuff – next stop – my very own photo column – under my very own by-line on artnet, which Walter titled: ‘ART LOVERS NEW YORK – PHOTOS BY NANCY SMITH’ – which ran in the PEOPLE section of the artnet online magazine from 2002-2004. and what a huge wave – that was. what a rush. I generated the coverage myself. Walter gave me unprecedented freedom, did my editing and wrote the captions – after being briefed by me in person or by email. a paprazzi’s dream come true. who knew.
at some point shortly after going public – the column, or report as I liked to call it – became the first and only report/page on artnet to develop it’s own market and attract its own advertising. all bitterness aside, it’s not so nice to be summarily fired with only 2 days notice at Christmas !! Dec of 2004 – and esp for “being too successful” . . . I would be seriously remiss – if I did not thank Walter for catching the ball, believing in me – and letting me rip.
. . . . giving me my very first platform, and it was a major one. right at the top. when no one else would. (and, no. no names. those are the real biggest losers. pretty much every art mag in town. go figure. (o.k. ART FORUM said: we don’t do party pix.)
and thanks, Walter for doing such a wonderful job editing and captioning my stuff. it was always super exciting to bring my newest batch of pix into your office. it was a wild time in the art world – and I was there. thank you Walter.
ok. you didn’t fire me. you set me – free.
TRACEY EMIN and GAVIN. never did get his last name. LEHMANN MAUPIN inaugural show at their new space. SEPT 21, 2002
PHOTO: NANCY SMITH
and my very first published photo, ev-ah.
so, to thank Charlie at the beginning of a New Year, and hopefully a great one – I’m not really one for looking back.
(and sorry to everybody I’ve ever dissed. but come on – how do you think the ones that are really burning bright – feel about being left off your lame game lists, and out of your slow lane reviews. eventually of course, somebody’s gonna pop – to blow the whistle – and guess it just kinda fell upon poor Crack. to take up the slack.
irrepressible: impossible to control or hold back.
first.
Simon Cerigo showed me this heartfelt ode to SURE, the 24 yr. old Brooklyn born and bred street sticker bomber – who made the ultimate sacrifice and gave his young life to enemy combat in a tour of duty as a U.S. Marine Intelligence officer – in Afghanistan this past December 2010 – that Charlie recently penned. I’d like to share it with you. Charlie the Finch seems to have been very moved by my recent post on the sad loss of this very gifted New York native son. R.I.P. SURE.
SURE ENOUGH
Passing by his bower
if it’s only in my mind
Offering a flower
From those he left behind
Sacrifice unimaginable
A sacrifice for me
So young
A life so tangible
Dead, protecting all that’s free, Semper Fi, Charlie Finch.
and next, here’s a little surprise.
a couple of previously unpublished pix from LAUREL NAKADATE’S first NYC solo show way back in 2002 – also at DANIEL SILVERSTEIN GALLERY – whose very first steps forward – were noted and marked by Charlie. and Charlie alone.
and who I’m sure also thanks Charlie for his early support – esp as it is usually offered up – in the face of the cliched mainstream.
without your audacious grasp, not to mention wicked 3rd party fan mail, I know I’d have no voice. no pix on the web. no play in the game. and maybe wouldn’t be willing to run such a crazy wild race.
blame it all on Charlie, dudes . . . . NANCY SMITH aka CRACK/CRACKULA
video artist LAUREL NAKADATE at the opening of her very first NYC solo show – ‘WE ARE ALL MADE OF STARS’ – DANIEL SILVERSTEIN GALLERY, CHELSEA, NYC. DEC 05, 2002
PHOTO: NANCY SMITH
LAUREL NAKADATE, at the opening. in front of one of her looping, not to mention shocking !! rough & tumble on many levels – video productions.
GREGOR HORNIAK, for many years a colorful character in the ‘observer’ ranks of the art scene – got his 5 mins of fame – and moved up to become a veritable ‘player’ – when Laurel featured him – in one of her earliest unprecedented ‘romps’ – which play on the foibles of the male race – with particular focus on the most vulnerable among its species.
LAUREL NAKADATE, ‘WE ARE ALL STARS’ – installation shot.
DANIEL SILVERSTEIN GALLERY, opening DEC 05, 2002. Chelsea, New York City.
ALL PHOTOS: COPYRIGHT NANCY SMITH
Gregot truly got his uneoterd 5 misn of haem, too.
~CHARLIE’S CHOICE: QUIET/WLIP & LAUREL NAKADATE |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | January 18th, 2011, 1:49am
oh yeah I forgot – there was one more 2010 NEW YEAR’S – d-i-r-t-y ditty:
eanie meanie miney – boredom
no one I know – reads ARTFORUM
DEDICATED TO THE LOSERS at CANADA – I can’t think of a better bunch of nitwits & has-beens – to lose the mojo wars over Joe Bradley.
big gallery eat up – little gallery. shark bite NYC style – gobble gobble, yum. losers.
who knows – maybe one one day: MOJO can rhyme with GOGO.
if you a need a translation – here’s the nano version:
yep. those are all my pix, not to mention commentary – up there on the web universe promoting Joe Bradley.
I had pix of him up – way before Canada jumped on the bandwagon to exploit the free press. not to mention top-of-the-line talent scouting. top 1% knock-down, baby. artlovers style.
of course, Canada made off like a bandit – and what did they do – with their new found booty, why – take out $2000 ads in ART FORUM.
let’s not even get into – we don’t pay for press – but we pay ARTFORUM through the the teeth to post an image.
and then surprise – we get a review.
artlovers doesn’t have too many rules – anarchy rules – but that slimy action at Canada prompted the only hard and fast rule around here.
simply put, it goes:
we build you up – jump start ya – and the first thing you do when you finally score some dough – is turn around and take out ads on ARTFORUM – we walk, and we never come back – except to haunt ya. and take you down.
what ? you didn’t know the art world in NYC – was a blood sport / where are ya – even Philly knows that.
yeah that’s damn straight: if instead of shooting a little bit of dough – not to mention respect – back at us – for the lift-off and to go forward – you take out an ad on ARTFORUM – you are kicked off artlovers – for good. a lot of galleries in this two-bit town hit this sorry note – I’m sorry to say. besides Canada.
look at all the losers on 27th St. – if there are even – any left ? for them, the last just-barely-breathing survivors of this decade’s (initially) bright new wave, and it’s subsequent collapse – aka the great art world wipe-out of 2008, and to which I am proud to have contributed – at both ends of the action – going up and then coming down – damn straight. I hear tell – the clock is ticking. sad and loud.
hello Korea. Korean no-name generic pop art – taking up the rental slack. ugh. a fate worse than death. you walk in and the sales girls, yes plural. approach you like airline stewardess – in heat.
yep. 2011- it’s the season of ‘eating bitter’ – how do I know ? I read it in the NEW YORK TIMES !!
yep – that’s JOE BRADLEY, a young Joe Bradley on the left. with his band CHEESEBURGER. NYC, JULY 24, 2003
what a diff 7 years make. and to think – I think I’m getting old. I’m just getting gold-en. archive-wise.
Joe’s nom de band ? – MALIBU VON !! he was the frontman and singer. sometime he even wore little tights. I think he could fit into girls’ ones – at that time. I’ll try and find a photo – for another rainy day. and yep. I miss Eunice Kim, his ex.
now there is talent. she went to harvest medical weed in California one year – you make a whole pile of dough in a short time and have a party while you’re doing it – and never came back. rumor on the street is: she took up with a young surfer dude – and never looked back. good bye Joe.
also at the downtown event – on the left, EMMA GRAY, who was at that time U.S. Features Editor at ART REVIEW. beside her, EMILY BUTLER, at that time Marketing Director, ART REVIEW. I was working for Emma at the time – doing the Downtown Party Pix (NYC) for ART REVIEW.
just so you don’t think Walter Robinson is the only (insecure) dick, I mean schmoo – in the art world – society photog PATRICK McMULLAN who was doing their Uptown Party Pix page – told them – that if they continued to have me on board – even though our paths never crossed – they couldn’t have his stuff – so in effect he got me fired. so that was the second time I was fired from an art mag gig – for being “too successful.”
but, unlike art net – that was actually painful – as they paid !! and well. and it was my only friggin’ check at the time.
when Walter fired you – it was from a job – that didn’t pay – so, go figure.
and hurrah for MARSHALL McLUHAN and the power of the independent publisher media medium of the web – cause here I am – still laughing at ya. leaving you light years behind – in the dust. the both of ya. ROAD RUNNER, ya. TRON speed.
EMMA GRAY eventually got fed up too, and re-located to L.A. – where she has just opened up her own gallery space:
EGHQ/EMMA GRAY GALLERY/LOS ANGELES.
also on hand: CHARLIE FINCH – looking good !! schmoozing up the broads.
CHARLIE FINCH – the scribe – scribbles.
and yeah – to the BB/BULLET BRAIN jerk whose artwork is in the background – pay up your outstanding debt, already – for work done, and well done, I might add – don’t see your name surfacing any place else dude. and I will start crediting your work, again . . . when it pops up.
I’ll take one of these if you want . . . .
hey, art world web site looking for a bill collector. must know martial arts.
ALL PHOTOS: COPYRIGHT NANCY SMITH – DOWNTOWN NYC – JULY 24, 2003
~oh yeah, MR. MOJO ? |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | January 16th, 2011, 10:54am
MATT ENGER – MY NEW COLT PATTERSON – 1838 REVOLVER
PHOTO: COURTESY OF MATT ENGER/EXPLODING SKY
FILE UNDER: what did I tell ya – R.I.P.
. . . well, so the world turns.
truth is stranger than fiction, and maybe – just maybe, the future does unfold in your dreams. and the artists, the true artists – quick to burn your sorry ass. I’m sorry to say. watch out – not quite knowing how, but for sure, why !! – hold the key.
crazy, wild shamans – the lot of them.
MARK ENGER – SILK SCREEN – VINYLS.
MARK ENGER – EXPLODING SKY – STUDIO VISIT. NEWARK, N.J. APRIL 2010
PHOTO: NANCY SMITH
if you walked through bitter cold snowy Jersey this week, you might just think the state was in mourning for last week’s sad loss of local son – MARK ENGER – whose silk screen studio re-located to NEWARK, NEW JERSEY in the big gentrification of 2004. All the city and state buildings had their flags flying at half mast. but no, it wasn’t just in Jersey – it was all over the country, and it sure weren’t for no dumb ass artist – cowboy hero or not. it was for the 20 people gunned down in ARIZONA, and left seriously wounded or plain outright dead. no second chances dead and just pretty much as if so – as in gravely wounded. the now termed – Arizona massacre – and esp for Rep. GABRIELLE GIFFORDS – who was effectively ‘cored’. that is shot right through head – in such a way – that she is most likely now effectively a living zombie, a dead walking.
R.I.P.
seriously R.I.P.
seriously I say this – with all sadness and huge sorrow for my adopted country. that I revere. with only the kind of reverence – only anybody who has also walked the giant morass of an immigration battle – it is to be here, now can know. and let’s just leave it at that: paid my dues and lost a lot in the doing – to be here. in the land of the free and the home of the brave.
so I feel it’s important to state quite plainly now – that though my crew has a huge fascination for guns, all kinds of guns, I’d have to say it’s not to glorify guns or promote crazy madmen. nor the companies that produce and sell madmen magazines that re-load 30 shots at the speed of a hair trigger touch. we are the generation that came after COLUMBINE. yes, just like 9/11 – I think there are milestones in history – that mark the civilization and the cultural imprint – ‘before’ and ‘after’. and Columbine is one of them. the first mass shooting by armed students at a high school. the dialog that followed extended all the way as to whether to install in-case-of-emergency loaded guns in frie engine red break-the-glass boxes in every high school throughout the country. the train of thought collapsed when the next thought came up – so, then who should be taught to handle those use-only-in-emergency guns, anyways. the staff, the students, only the staff. who wants gun culture taught in every school in America. I do. yeah you heard me right. at the very time I want all the guns off the street and out of the gangs – I want my kid to know how to shot. when fired upon. period. end of story. martial arts, and yoga should be mandatory.
the world is getting rougher and tougher and harder – not easier and sweeter, ok. maybe more fat. for westerners. but it sure ain’t global homey and sweet. and yeah I’m brain damaged., I’m a New Yorker who witnessed 9/11 up close and personal on Grand St.and FDR on the 20th floor – about what, a mile as the crow flies. saw the 2nd plane make a big detour turn on the EAST RIVER and fly right thru that baby – the 2nd tower. lucky I couldn’t see the jumpers – only heard the cries. yeah it made a mark. it took a toll.
raising my kids on the corner of RIVINGTON and the BOWERY in the 80’s – talk about gun play. on the roof. cops & robbers all the time. drug wars. gangs. junkies nodding out pushing their kids in swings in the park with huge hunting guns falling out of their baggy pants pockets. yeah. terrorists harnessing airplanes full of commercial passengers and turning them into missiles – weapons of mass destruction taking down 2,000+ people, New Yorkers, just your average every day schmoos – in front of my eyes and wondering if my kid can come home, will come home from school . . so what do I know about being attacked. a New York City friggin artist. never mind all the New York Times science articles asking: so. where are the aliens ? don’t get me started. one hint: RNA. nano-particles – there ya go – you breath them in – that’s why so many people do yoga. no, I’m not joking. don’t you watch TV. interplanetary space is so vast – that space travel has to be so tiny – we can only get as small as our lunchbox-sized orbiters, em but . . . well you get it . . . or ya don’t read some cutting edge science, physics. – I can’t break down – everything for ya.
yeah, it was a long time ago – and like forever America was so innocent and so invulnerable. that American boys grew up with the mandatory cowboy holster and guns – nobody cared that we wiped out the “first natives”. no to mention the huge sci-fi water pistols !! rifles !! man those things needed to be tripod – stabilized they were so big. and no, I’m not against toy guns. esp if i am not against ‘art’ guns. I’m just saying that this is what it is – this is our time. this is our culture. not flowers not landscape not nudes.
guns and quilts = America.
guns. war. expansion of will and territory – victory by force of hand and pattern.
quilts. sampling. binary pattern leads to evolution, thought. physics. leads to computers. leads to nano biology and RNA – if you can crack a super nano nutshell of a definition.
that being said, I have to say I was shocked at reports that SARAH PALIN “included Giffords on a map that targeted 20 Democrats for defeat in last November’s congressional elections. The map included cross hairs over each district, and in urging their defeat, she told supporters, ‘don’t retreat, reload.'” wow. that’s sad. that the political rhetoric has come so low. truth be told I’m kind of disillusioned that the country I paid such hard dues to be in – stoops so low. all in the name of freedom and democracy. I mean I’m all for free speech – but this is just bad. tell me that crazed gunman of all of 22 years – didn’t shoot 20 victims for her 20 cross hairs. tell me the Mexican border towns don’t have police forces – not even female officers are safe. tell me Arizona isn’t fever pitch politics. the gunman is just the crazy who picks up the cultural vibe – kind of the mass safety tab – that blows – the high pitched radar that goes crazy from overload. the one brain in the gene pool – that short circuits. instead of creates. that doesn’t dream . . .
or as the mainstream media says: “The shootings have prompted an ongoing feud among politicians and pundits over what motivated (the shooter) – politics or insanity.”
looks to be one and the same. American politics, just like NYC art world, I might add – is a very low ball game – now, anyways. always personally thought – the B-BOYS, the break dancers, the real hard-core old school ones – should rule.
of course – NYErs are reportedly rushing to buy guns – before they are banned. 33 percent increase in requested mandatory FBI background checks over last Monday. and anyway don’t they have any gun laws in Arizona – how did that unstable kid ever get through high school – let alone get his hands on guns ? how come they weren’t cursing him out on FACEBOOK. bet they thought he was too crazy – gonna come to school and blast ya.
of course, a little later on Palin reportedly justified her words by saying OBAMA said in one of his campaign speeches – that “if they bring a knife – we bring a gun” – which brings us right back to the Civil War – does it not – and the deadly steely serious amount of bloodshed that was needed to win that one . . . so much so the wining general was said to have been helped by his growing up near, or was it – that his father or one of his relatives owned one – a slaughterhouse. so he could stand the stench. talk about blood libel. and so it goes.
full circle.
R.I.P. MARK ENGER. EXPLODING SKY – THE BLOODY CIVIL WAR THAT UNITED THIS GREAT COUNTRY – LIVES ON.
MARK ENGER – CIVIL WAR ENACTMENT – ARCHIVAL PHOTO FROM HIS STUDIO
PHOTO: NANCY SMITH
MARK ENGER – GUN PLAY
STUDIO PHOTO: NANCY SMITH
MARK ENGER – SOUTHERN BOY – DON’T TREAD ON ME.
STUDIO PHOTO: NANCY SMITH
MARK ENGER – SILK SCREEN – ON CANVAS
STUDIO PHOTO: NANCY SMITH
MARK ENGER – STUDIO VISIT – EXPLODING SKY WORLDWIDE. NEWARK, N.J. MARCH 2010
PHOTO: NANCY SMITH
HELL, YA – WE WIPED OUT THE ‘FIRST NATIVES’, TOO. GUN CULTURE MADE THIS COUNTRY.
MARK ENGER, SILK SCREEN WITH PAINT.
STUDIO PHOTO: NANCY SMITH
CRACK says:
tell me about guns . . . versus abstract paintings on tarps – with gestural lines . . . no, Charlie – I don’t think Joe Schmoo – MaGoo – is on the mark, the bull’s eye this time around . . . been there done that. or at least the one person who could make a play for him – just ain’t talkin’ . . . just ain’t friendly.
something like: the mojo wars and canada . . . got me singin’ the blues. got me down.
I immigrated from Canada, did ya know ?
pretty much – went to high school with that dude with the 70s mustache . . .
talk about herd instinct in the urban jungle. and to think I set it off – well there ya go, CHARLIE FINCH – you have LAURA NAKADATE, I have the boys. the Joes. Joe Grillo, Joe Bradley. or like they used to, emphasis – used to – say bout Walter Robinson – he that make you, can take you down.
don’t ever believe your own press. young dudes.
isn’t that such a truism – it’s a friggin’ cliche.
or: keep the media beasts fed – or they get mighty cranky. at the very least invite them to the after party. seriously, dude.
someone actually wrote in to tell me – “when I google JOE BRADLEY – all I get are artlovers photos”. no joke.
took a lot of heavy lifting – to get that babe to fly.
it’s at this point – where you hope nobody is left reading – except C.F. no. not the comic artist/musician – but Charlie Finch the scribe, so that – you can say – what’s really – on your mind !!
ha. I like gun play. mental gun play. web gun play. bang – you’re dead.
just today, Simon reminded me – sneaking around my scribbled notes. I swear he reads my crumpled up discarded scribbles and, my emails, I bet. it’s ok – I read his – that I was, emphasis was – gonna start the New Year with this little ditty:
eenie meanie miney moe
who is the art world’s biggest schmoo – Walter Robinson !!
but I had no idea where the thought came from – except I awoke with it on the tip of my tongue. New Year’s day. and scribbled it down. funny except for that fact that he fired me – for being so “successful” . . .
it’s a New York thing, forget it if you never lived here – you’ll never get it.
AND NOW I HEAR – IT’S ALL THE RAGE – name calling Walter Robinson – a schmoo. ha.
who woulda thought. paranormal thought could revolve around – such minor activity . . .
re-energized now – looking back at those tattered New Year’s Eve notes with new respect – they also go on to say:
eenie meanie miney splatter
in the art world architecture doesn’t really matter
SPERONE WATERWATER was better off – as a squatter.
eenie meanie miney – yid
don’t come to New York – unless – you’re a rich kid.
eenie meanie miney – pouts
whatever happened to – talent outs ?
eenie meanie miney – dotter
I’m growing my hair white – so I can be in Harry Potter
eenie meanie miney – daughter – got a crush so bad
on Luna Lovegood’s father !!
web gun play – calling names – wish lists. sure I have my own form of the game.
and it sure ain’t wishy-washy dumb.
case in point – ok.
referencing my memorial cry for MARK ENGER, (post below.)
who are the stupid and stupider ‘art’ critics who play – such a losing game in this town. ok.
here’s my kind of list. my kind of game.
let’s start at the top – the first name rhymes with my last name. duh. except put an R for an N.
who ?
gets it right 80% of the time – though always guaranteed to get the bottom feeders – while completely and consistently missing the top 1% – that sails right over her head – so who cares.
need more clues: she would bring you RACHEL HARRISON, disses SHEPARD FAIREY, and just told you last weekend, one year later – after the fact !! that performance art was dead and that that idiot MARINA was the swan song. and oh yeah, look for paintings to be the new big thing = esp local New York City ones. oh yeah that’s original thinking – as if this site’s thesis wasn’t built on that premise 10 years ago. man, if she’s cutting edge – I must be TRON.
MATT ENGER – EXPLODING SKY – MINIATURE HAND CAST GUN
COLT – 1873 PEACEMAKER – that’s what it was called for real – get it !!
5.5 INCH BARREL – MADE IN U.S.A.
open the tiny box – it’s a lapel pin.
it’s signed M ENGER 2010 – yeah – he signed it for me.
MATT ENGER SIGNING HIS MINIATURE REPLICA COLT – 1873 PEACEMAKER – STUDIO VISIT, NEWARK, N.J. OCT 9, 2010
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
~GUN PLAY |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | January 14th, 2011, 3:24pm
MARK ENGER 1963 – 2011
FILE UNDER: MARK ENGER – LIVE ON FOREVER – THANKS TO THE POWER of VIDEO !!
if you’ve followed artlovers – you’ve caught the EXPLODING SKY logo on the site many a time – before a major MAY 2010 web crash caused our grid formatting to change . . . the EXPL SKY logo brought up 2 different videos at various times. both made by snakemonkeytv.
the first to go up – was a serious one – a visit to Mark’s – EXPLODING SKY WORLDWIDE studio – where we see him doing what he loved best – MARK ENGER – master silk screener at work . . .
yes, you better watch: MARK ENGER – of EXPLODING SKY – SILK SCREENER SUPREMO – AT WORK !!
the next video that surfaced under the EXPL SKY logo – was quite a little bit more wild crazy – but 100% Mark – who was not just a super talented guy – but a funny wild brilliant crazy streak slice of dark American South pie – kinda guy.
and yes, that ciggie habit – skull and bones – it did him in.
yep, watch it: and cry – with laughter. MARK ENGER, 1964-2011 – R.I.P. WE MISS YA – YOU CRAZY CRAZY GUY.
oh oh. ok !! so the man or should we say, the brain behind snakemonkeytv – turns to be none other than Lower East Side underground legend: M. HENRY JONES !!
check out: snakemonkeytv !!
check out: EXPLODING SKY
check out: EXPLODING SKY WORLDWIDE/blogspot
MARK ENGER – A GREAT ARTIST – AND A DEAR FRIEND, R.I.P.
PHOTO: NANCY SMITH, NOV 11, 2006. NYC.
P.S. JOSH HARRIS – JUST WROTE IN:
“MARK ENGER IS MY HERO. A GREAT ARTIST WHO UNDERSTOOD WHAT IT MEANS TO GO FOR IT, ALL THE WAY”
AMEN.
~MARK ENGER, R.I.P. – LIVE ON !! |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | January 8th, 2011, 5:07pm
