SIX THINGS: SAGMEISTER & WALSH
MARCH 15, 2013 – AUGUST 4, 2013
THE JEWISH MUSEUM – 1109 FIFTH AVE, NYC
as in, designers: STEFAN SAGMEISTER, and his new business/creative partner .. JESSICA WALSH.
and that’s REALLY (!!)
SIX THINGS to do . . . on the path to HAPPINESS.
with the way the New Year started for me, sudden death to put it bluntly – I was so .. on it !!
the show opened on Tuesday, March 12, 2013.
I had heard about it just a few hours earlier that very same day, but like I said: sad things were calling for big change, and I was on it !! I was a seeker.
and as it turns out, I would be .. a believer.
what could be better than that. and, yeah I do call that .. HAPPINESS.
esp in the big city that can let you down, and .. eat you up.
truthfully, I approached the opening .. a little dark on the inside, with even a touch more skepticism . . . than usual.
though I had heard the museum, under new guidance .. was reaching for a new cutting edge, I wasn’t sure just how much they were prepared .. to ‘bleed’ !!
and those purple balloons with hand-painted white fonts .. the show’s first step forward, so to speak .. well, I dunno.
but not to fear . . . SAGMEISTER weaves his magic, as ever.
from the very moment you turn the institutional corner and come face-to-face, with what is really, in physical fact a small exhibit; large ideas and wonderful things … bloom irrepressibly into life. graphics animate & ideas: pop.
it’s an ‘art’ experience . . . that crosses many borders, and just for that very fact alone, is not to miss.
an oasis of thought, and super creative, yet mostly simple .. production values, ‘SIX THINGS’ is guaranteed to still even the most hyper-maniacs among us, and touch under even the most hardened skins.
in other words:
in this super-charged city of constant images but very little real substance.
let the Sagmeister Game of Substance … begin.
STEFAN SAGMEISTER, ‘If I Don’t Ask I Won’t Get’, short video in collaboration with STEVE ROMANO.
damn, NEVER JUDGE A ‘FONT’ . . . out of context !!
whoa, black hand-drawn oriental calligraphy-like .. single letter fonts – on balloons, way to .. go.
way to .. think.
way to .. fly !!
GET, IT ?!!
ideas .. take off, like balloons, and ideas / thoughts: like bubbles burst.
in your head.
connect . . the dots !!
wipe-out, wash-out. be born.
from left to right, that’s
SANTIAGO CARRASQUILLA, STEFAN SAGMEISTER, and JESSICA WALSH.
Santiago Carrasquilla is a designer in the new Sagmeister & Walsh studio, who worked on several of the concepts in the show, in particular .. the bubbling (!!) water ‘fountain’ .. in bubble letters (!!) on the floor. more on that, soon.
Jessica Walsh is Stefan Sagmeister’s new business partner.
this exhibit, ‘Six Things’ .. “marks the the first exhibition of their newly founded design firm, Sagmeister & Walsh”.
I have to tell you, I cannot lie – the moment I turned the stereotypical & proverbial (!!) museum corner and immediately faced up with this large scale video, my heart skipped a beat, and life was changed f-o-r-e-v-e-r. shock & awe.
what a rush.
literally you feel like you are 2 inches away from the the creative process, upfront & personal.
the word: exuberance does come to mind. so does, immersion.
so does: sharing.
the short .. visual attack / film’s premise is:
“If I Don’t Ask I Won’t Get.”
think on it. and if the bubble bursts .. so, what.
blow up another, and ask .. again.
persistence.
reaching. the hardness of a hand-made steel nail (the font) .. combined with the fragile pop / short span .. life of a balloon. the infinite potential of a momentary thought, desire, want, and .. need.
ps: the texts that accompany the pieces .. are very good too, illuminating without being draining. plenty of thought pathways, but no information-overload on Sagmeister’s dime, that for sure.
naked in the water, naked in your thoughts.
ASK.
apparently the first step on the road to .. HAPPINESS.
SO: what I also liked about the video, on a purely technical tangent . . was how it caught the ‘state’ of photography today, and the implicit potential for ‘pure’ & universal visual communication.
going even more technical .. it also gets in-your-face technical about the essential difference between say, old school 35 mm film and digital photography, which was a little hard to get used to in the beginning but now, as obvious .. here, reigns supreme – and that would be: the loss of ‘depth of field’, if not the concept of ‘background’, altogether.
in short: auto-focus. face/subject forward, background: wipe-out.
flat screen, white field, big energy. high def.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
~SIX THINGS: SAGMEISTER & WALSH .. ASK |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | April 4th, 2013, 8:25am
. . . will the REAL . . . NICK CAVE – PLEASE STAND UP !!
FILE UNDER:
he’s a god, he’s a man, he’s a ghost, he’s a guru
you’ll see him in your nightmares
you’ll see him in your dreams,
but he’s not what he seems . . .
watch: NICK CAVE & THE BAD SEEDS .. RED RIGHT HAND
this seems to be the original 1994 soundtrack – I know because, it was the sound track to my life . . . for a long long time. it’s the true, driving .. birth.
yes, I was living off the Bowery, at the time.
listen to the man: “Play it LOUD”.
this is also a GREAT GREAT TAKE, just more recent & live !!
it’s slightly slowed down, and more to the edge of sexy, than deathly.
like … when the musicians push against the drive, and .. tease ya.
but it’s also better tech-wise – so, you can get it to go really loud.
watch: NICK CAVE & THE BAD SEEDS / live
DEDICATED TO YOU KNOW WHO . . . ghostman, SIMON.
some people have their dark sides, but then some people have their really, REALLY dark .. sides.
some people are called .. crack, for being right .. on.
right on the razor’s edge, the red right hand. aka .. crash smart.
some people ride the white death train ..
and don’t come back.
~NICK CAVE & THE BAD SEEDS |
Posted in Indie Music Reviews, The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 30th, 2013, 10:58am
ELIZABETH PEYTON
March 29 – May 13, 2013
Gavin Brown’s enterprise – 620 Greenwich St, West Village NYC
the show opened last nite, THURS MARCH 28, 2013 . . .
ELIZABETH PEYTON. the opening was pretty low key, at least the public face of it was.
I’m thinking that there was some serious action .. that had already gone on,
.. behind the scenes.
ELIZABETH PEYTON, ‘Jonas Kaufmann, March 2013, NYC’, 2013.
oil on panel, 23-1/4 x 18-1/4 in.
detail, ELIZABETH PEYTON, ‘Jonas Kaufmann’.
ELIZABETH PEYTON, ‘Jonas Kaufmann’ watercolor.
detail, ELIZABETH PEYTON, ‘Jonas Kaufmann, March 2013, NYC’, 2013.
watercolor on paper, 12 x 9 in.
the front surface of the frames – was silver leafed. n-i-c-e.
a less typical work .. in this show.
ELIZABETH PEYTON, ‘Elias, Elias Bender Ronnenfelt (Leipzig)’, 2013
color pencil & pastel pencil on paper, 8-3/4 x 6 in.
also unusual . . in the color palette and composition.
ELIZABETH PEYTON, ‘Elias Bender Ronnefelt’, 2013
oil on canvas, 10 x 8 in.
ELIZABETH PEYTON, ‘Var’.
ELIZABETH PEYTON, ‘Var’, 2013.
oil on panel, 15-1/4 x 12 in.
MICHAEL STIPE
see: MoMA PS1 and MICHAEL STIPE bring a geodesic dome to .. ROCKAWAYS. GOTHAMIST MARCH 9, 2013
JESSICA BAJOROS . . .
we did a studio visit with her, a little while back . . . HESH introduced us.
see: JESSICA BAJOROS
see: more JESSICA BAJOROS
Jessica told us that, JASON BANKER, who we meet on that 2012 studio visit – has just completed a new documentary feature, which he directed .. along with TIFFANY SUDELA-JUNKER and JORGE TORRES-TORRES .. titled ‘My Name is Faith’, 2012 .. about the hardships of rescuing a child born into a meth ‘lifestyle’ .. and, it is getting some serious buzz.
see: MY NAME IS FAITH
she also asked us if we had seen Hesh’s new haircut .. yes we did !!
and looking g-o-o-d !!
in fact, HESH is putting up a new group show, ‘MIRARE’ .. opening soon !!
in fact, this soon:
THURS APRIL 11th from 6-9 PM at COACHMAKERS GALLERY on MOTT ST, between BROOME & KENMARE .. should be a big par-tay, to say the least.
see: HH PRODUCTIONS/facebook for list of participating artists.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
~ELIZABETH PEYTON |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 29th, 2013, 7:45am
GREGORY CREWDSON, somewhere around YALE, MARCH 25, 2013.
PHOTO: ARTLOVERS ARCHIVE
damn, the OSCARS ..
and even Yale’s dumb red tape ?!! .. they won’t show ‘BRIEF ENCOUNTERS’, the a-m-a-z-i-n-g film by BEN SHAPIRO .. on GREGORY CREWDSON, and his work .. to the students there .. because it’s not his own work, (the film itself ?) or something REALLY REALLY stupid .. like that.
if anything makes you REALLY REALLY wonder about really really goes on up there .. that runs counter-intuitive to all things good, and ..smart .. this would be it.
CHECK OUT: ‘BRIEF ENCOUNTERS’ .. a film on and about GREGORY CREWDSON – by BEN SHAPIRO (2012).
be warned, though the TRAILER is good, it’s NOWHERE as GOOD AS THE FILM. so see the film, duh !!
a frame from GREGORY CREWDSON – ‘BRIEF ENCOUNTERS’ a film by BEN SHAPIRO ..
still one of the best images ever, and the entire sequence, narration, and background of the snowy street shot – is one of our cinematic all time faves .. ever.
read: GREGORY CREWDSON – ‘BRIEF ENCOUNTERS’ premieres in NYC, NOV 11, 2012
~GREGORY CREWDSON |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 27th, 2013, 8:54am
NEW ART – IN BROOKLYN: POSTED BY KATE CERIGO, THURS MARCH 21, 2013 / 5:33 PM
WHAT HAVE YOU DONE FOR ME LATELY ?
A BRIEF HISTORY of the FIRST SIX MONTHS at 109 . . .
OPENED SAT MARCH 9, 2013 / 6-10 PM
the show ran thru MARCH 17, 2013
109 GALLERY – 109 BROADWAY – SOUTH WILLIAMSBURG, BROOKLYN, NY
the show’s ‘poster’ image . . .
NICHOLAS STEINDORF, ‘Green Corner’, 2012
25 x 27 in. digital inkjet print.
($750)
JERRY BLACKMAN, ‘Lance1’, 2013
18 x 12 x 12 in. ceramic.
($1,200)
LAUREN SEIDEN, ‘Untitled Wrap’, 2013
16 x26 in. graphite and pencil shavings on paper wrapped on stretchers.
($1,700)
HEIDI HAHN, ‘I Can’t Believe I’m Just a Painting’, 2013
32 x 26 in. oil on canvas.
($1,900)
PHOTOS AND REPORTING: KATE CERIGO
~WHAT HAVE YOU DONE FOR ME LATELY .. PART II |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 21st, 2013, 4:25pm
NEW ART – IN BROOKLYN: POSTED BY KATE CERIGO, WED MARCH 20, 2013 / 3:40 PM
WHAT HAVE YOU DONE FOR ME LATELY ?
A BRIEF HISTORY of THE FIRST SIX MONTHS at 109 . . .
OPENED SAT MARCH 9, 3013 / 6-10 PM
the show ran thru MARCH 17, 2013
109 GALLERY – 109 BROADWAY – SOUTH WILLIAMSBURG, BROOKLYN, NY
PIX FROM THE OPENING RECEPTION:
BORIS RASIN
top:
‘Brawl at the Parliament, Kuwait City, May 18 (2011)’
11.5 x 8.2 in. watercolor. ($450)
bottom:
‘Brawl at the Rada, Kiev, Ukraine, May 24 (2012)’
12 x 8.25 in. watercolor. ($450)
ADAM WISSING, ‘Untitled (cloudscape)’, 2013
72 x 48 in. pigment print & mounted projector.
($3,000)
ADAM WISSING, ‘Untitled (cloudscape)’, 2013
ADAM WISSING, ‘Untitled (cloudscape)’, 2013
JAMES MILLER, ‘Untitled’, 2013.
16 x 21 in. oil on panel.
($1,900)
CLAUDIA CORTINEZ, detail, ‘Viewfinder’, 2013. 46 x 38 in.
mounted inkjet print in wood frame.
($1,500)
CLAUDIA CORTINEZ, ‘Viewfinder’, in background.
back wall:
HANNAH RAWE, L: ‘Cherry Bunnies’, R: ‘Say Sorry’.
linoleum prints on newsprint, aqua resin, wood & acrylic.
($700 ea.)
at right:
CLAUDIA CORTINEZ, ‘Viewfinder’, 2013.
MORE PIX – FROM THE OPENING – POST: THURS MARCH 20, 2013
PHOTOS & REPORTING: KATE CERIGO
~WHAT HAVE YOU DONE FOR ME LATELY, PART I |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 20th, 2013, 2:38pm
the WALL STREET JOURNAL also likes .. ANTONY HEGARTY .. of ANTONY & THE JOHNSONS.
ANDY BETA mentions him in that recent DEVENDRA BANHART interview, writing . . .
re DEVENDRA: “In 2002, around the time his debut album was released, he moved to New York and became a figurehead in the ‘freak-folk’ movement, along with other outre musicians like harpist JOANNA NEWSOM and cabaret vocalist ANTONY HEGARTY.”
and a few weeks back – ANTONY got a huge shout-out on the WSJ FALL FASHION WEEK 2013 OVER-VIEW – at the top of the HIGHLIGHTS.
under ‘BEST SHOW’, and a most magical runway image, from PARIS, the caption reads:
“It seemed to be THOM BROWNE’s corpse-in-the-snowy-woods scene in New York — until GIVENCHY stole Paris fashion Week with a poetic collection that came with a passionate performance by New York band Antony and the Johnsons and a full orchestra. Was it the music and the scene ? Possibly. But Mr. TISCHI’S romantic clothing (and the torrid look shared by model NATALIA VODIANOVA on the runway and her LVMH scion boyfriend ANTOINE ARNAULT in the front row) cinched the deal.”
WALL STREET JOURNAL – ‘Fall Fashion, If You Dare’, March 7, 2013.
SIMON CERIGO’S VERY first music review for this site, back in MAY 2005 – was .. ANTONY and THE JOHNSONS’ second album, I AM A BIRD, of which Simon wrote: this CD . . . “is a wonder to behold.”
see: SIMON CERIGO REVIEWS .. ANTONY and THE JOHNSONS – I AM A BIRD.
ANTONY HEGARTY, of ANTONY & THE JOHNSONS – NYC. DEC 10, 2004.
PHOTO BY & COPYRIGHT OF: NANCY SMITH
I always thought it was funny, as in poignant/hard … that Antony recorded for a small indie record label called, SECRETLY CANADIAN, as I was .. secretly Canadian, for real !!
until my kids were able to sponsor me just recently.
I got here in the early 80s, when there were few issues, and then the immigration laws, just got harder and harder. esp for artists.
ANTONY would often pop up at downtown art openings back in the early 2000’s. so would DEVENDRA. in fact it was a banner few years for artists and musicians .. to mix and match. usually it was the (folk) musicians who were equally talented artists, and who were showing their art in small indie venues in the Lower East Side. and if not the musicians themselves, it was their small circle of friends, the people who did the unique art work for their highly individual CDs.
one big hub/small storefront space .. for this kind of activity was the long gone AFF / ART FIEND FOUNDATION run by a moveable collective headed by LEIF RITCHEY and TOOYA. located at 123 Ludlow St, just north of Delancey – it was to give rise to the fast-shooting-star emergence .. of the now famous, Paris-based sister artist/musicians .. CocoRosie. if you ever heard the soundtrack to THE FIFTH ELEMENT … well this the real deal.
(in a nutshell.)
in fact, the photo of ANTONY, above .. was taken at an opening of drawings by MATTEAH BAIM and LEIF RITCHEY, at AFF. it was very organic. very revelatory, and very grounded, all at the same time.
‘sound fragments’ .. at the opening were provided by RED BONE SLIM and HONEY CHILE.
RED BONE SLIM being .. BIANCA ‘COCO’ of CocoRosie.
this was the slim paper invite to the show, it measures 4-1/2 x 4 in:
GREEN . New, works, drawings & Sculptures
Matteah Baim & Leif Ritchey
Friday, December 10 / 7-10 pm
ART FIEND FOUNDATION
123 LUDLOW STREET
212.420.1033
Sound Fragments by Red Bone Slim & Honey Chile
that’s . . December 2004.
and yes . . that’s a phone no. (!!) landline, too – on the card. just even a few short years ago, ok .. 8 !! there were .. NO, NONE !! – gallery ‘websites’ !!
card courtesy: ARCHIVAL COLLECTION NANCY SMITH, NYC.
see: ANTONY and THE JOHNSONS – OFFICIAL WEBSITE
WATCH/LISTEN: ANTONY & THE JOHNSONS – ‘Cut The World’ . . . with WILLEM DAFOE, MARINA ABRAMOVIC & CARICE VAN HOUTEN
~ANTONY |
Posted in Indie Music Reviews, The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 19th, 2013, 9:30am
DEVENDRA BANHART is ALSO .. quite an accomplished artist – as in: visual arts.
his touch is very hands-on, inward, dreamy, symbolic .. musical. lyrical. mysterious. revelatory.
it speaks, it SINGS .. of the inter-relatedness of man & cosmos. man & body. man & imagination/mind. man & inner world. man & dreams.
man & the ‘trail’, the ‘path’ .. of creative thought.
back when he first hit NEW YORK CITY, he used to show his work at various group shows, and at CANADA GALLERY.
this is a piece he had in WHITE BOX gallery, a political show, just before some election, or something like that.
‘hands’ usually play a featured role in the drawings .. as in guitar ? as in Middle Eastern ‘palm up’ ?
as in eastern Indian mythology .. as in: the hand you are dealt ?!!
you can see the hands evolving here, at each side .. at the bottom .. border corners. and the ‘capping’ hand at the center – top.
instead of big sweeps of line or gesture, his work usually is built up with small, rhythmic elements .. often in pairs.
much like how a musician uses notes, and harmony.
pairs: yin. yang. male. female.
l-o-v-e ?
DEVENDRA BANHART, drawing on paper. NYC. MAY 5, 2004
PHOTO: NANCY SMITH
~DEVENDRA BANHART .. drawing |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 17th, 2013, 7:25am
DEDICATED TO: SIMON CERIGO, MUSIC MAVEN WAY BEYOND THE CROWD, AND NOW .. WAY BEYOND THE BEYOND.
and, YEAH .. PLAY IT LOUD !!
SO:
the WALL STREET JOURNAL . . . just posted a sweet interview with DEVENDRA.
subtitled: ‘Devendra Banhart Returns With a New Record’ . . .
see: ‘A Quiet Place in the City’ – ANDY BETA .. INTERVIEWS DEVENDRA BANHART, WALL STREET JOURNAL/MARCH 14, 2013
it’s very interesting, with lots of good info.
apparently Devendra, with make-over .. and looking good, I mean who wants to be labelled a Hairy Fairy folk freak forever, esp when you are just 31 (?!!) . . . has returned to New York City from the West Coast, and no not LA, San Francisco.
turns out he has finally found his balance, after that mad NATALIE PORTMAN thing, and is seeing, make that .. is engaged to, seriously .. “the photographer and furniture designer ANA KRAS.”
the new album is titled: ‘MALA’ and is put out by Devendra’s new label: NONESUCH, and damn . . . if it doesn’t look and feel like a .. winner !!
rhythm, and back beat .. is everything. esp when you’ve already got a lock on the melody, brains & lyrics.
check out: DEVENDRA BARNHART – ‘Fur Hildegard von Binger’ .. from MALA, from NONESUCH
ok. first thing I wanna say, is also DAMN .. doesn’t that cover art look just the twin sister to the FRENCH KICKS ALBUM .. SWIMMING – which we just feature posted ?!!!
see: FRENCH KICKS, ‘SAID SO WHAT’, SWIMMING
am I right, or what ?
ok. second.
SIMON REVIEWED DEVENDRA BANHART’S early album, CRIPPLE CROW … for artloversnewyork in DEC 2005.
SIMON didn’t say a lot .. but what he did say was point perfect.
it was his 4th music review for this site.
he sure could call ’em.
see: SIMON CERIGO reviews DEVENDRA BANHART, CRIPPLE CROW – DEC 2005.
from the artlovers vault:
DEVENDRA BANHART . . . at OTHER MUSIC, NYC. APRIL 25, 2004.
PHOTO BY & COPYRIGHT OF: NANCY SMITH
BROOKLYN HIPSTERS .. KEEP YOUR PAWS – OFF THE PIX. more on that later.
P.S.
HEY SIMON, you ghost. and look at that .. you are the new ‘it’ KEYWORD. so chic after all.
so, what’s the music like up there, I mean it is .. up there, right ?
as opposed to you know, Simon loved DANTE !!
what ? cloudy, stormy, freaky ? serene ?
one big jam that never stops ? I believe it.
after I read the WALL STREET JOURNAL interview at 6 this morning, I promptly fell back asleep, and there I was .. transported through time, reality (?) at a DEVENDRA BANHART gig, at some smokey funky ghostly venue. and they, the band !! were all .. turning me onto some real funky psychedelic weed !!
but .. of course. you gotta walk like an Egyptian. afterlife, dudes, tell me about it.
just not the same dimension, is all.
~DEVENDRA BANHART resurfaces .. |
Posted in Indie Music Reviews, The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 14th, 2013, 9:17am
PETER HUTCHINSON: THE LOGIC OF MOUNTAINS
1963-2013: A 50-Year Survey of Constructions, Collages, Books and Film
FREIGHT+VOLUME – 530 W 24th St – CHELSEA, NYC
MORE PIX – FROM THE OPENING:
PETER DONNELLY, with PETER HUTCHINSON on the right, at the opening – FREIGHT+VOLUME, NYC. MARCH 5, 2013
Mr. Donnelly runs Mr. Hutchinson’s long-time studio in Providence, Rhode Island.
a self-portrait from back .. in the late 70s.
PETER HUTCHINSON, ‘Hunter’, 1978. Photo collage with text, 11 x 14 in.
($2,500.)
PETER HUTCHINSON, ‘Roman Empire Series No. 1: Romulus and Remus’, 1980.
Photo Collage with text, 20 x 30 in.
($5,000.)
detail, PETER HUTCHINSON, ‘Roman Empire Series No.1’.
PHOTOS: NANCY SMITH
~PETER HUTCHINSON .. PIX FROM THE OPENING .. PART III |
Posted in The Bomb | By Nancy Smith | March 13th, 2013, 9:32am
